Denver has come up with an innovative and smart program to cut prison overcrowding, save money and help the elderly at the same time:

Since May, Denver city jail inmates have been making weekly rounds to the homes of elderly and disabled residents who need help maintaining their yards.

"We take care of little minor issues," said Denver Sheriff's Deputy Michael Newtown. "If it's a tree branch that's fallen, or (at) a lot of homes, we'll take the trash out for them and stuff like that." This winter, they'll shovel snow.

The inmates, sentenced to the county jail for non-violent crimes like drug possession, disturbing the peace or shoplifting, volunteer for the program. If they have a ten day sentence and volunteer one day, the remainder of the sentence is deemed served. [More....]

It's no surprise that The New York Times endorsed Barack Obama. The lengthy editorial makes a compelling case for Obama if you're still in doubt.

You heard it here first:

Big Ten Country Will (Mostly) Go Blue

That prediction may have been unduly pessimistic. The Big Ten Battleground Poll gives Barack Obama the lead in all eight Big Ten states.

The Badgers, Gophers, Hawkeyes, Spartans (or Wolverines), Wildcats (or Fighting Illini) and Nittany Lions are solid blue. The Buckeyes are looking good. It will be an Obama landslide if the Boilermakers (or Hoosiers) turn blue. Can the Big Ten sweep? Will it be America's Bluest Conference?

Update: Add Scott McClellan to the list of Republican Obama-endorsers. The video is here.

MCCLELLAN - From the very beginning I've said I'm going to support the candidate who has the best chance of changing the way Washington works and getting things done. I will be voting for Barack Obama.

original post:

The latest Republican to abandon ship, after finally noticing that John McCain's GOP is not just out-of-touch but downright nasty, is former Minnesota governor Arne Carlson.[more ...]

Second update: The jury retired early again, citing exhaustion. The jurors seem to have resolved the chaos that interrupted deliberations earlier today. They will return tomorrow to continue working toward a verdict.

Bump and update: After a "stressful" day one of jury deliberations in Ted Stevens' trial, day two is being described as "chaotic." At least one juror is described as having violent outbursts; some jurors are asking the court to send that juror home.

The request is problematic. Is the juror refusing to deliberate in good faith (which might be grounds for excusing the juror) or simply stating opinions forcefully? If the juror is excused, is it too late to get an alternate on board, or have the alternates been contaminated by reading or viewing news coverage? A mistrial or hung jury may be coming, but it's still a bit early to make that prediction.

original post: [more ...]

I'm at work today. Big Tent Democrat and TChris have several posts up, but in case they need to get on with their day, here's an open thread for you. All topics welcome, just be civil. I'll be back tonight.

Some welcome news from the Bureau of Prisons: Pregnant inmates will no longer be shackled during transport. The policy change is here (pdf.)

This new policy represents a sea change in the United States, where the shackling of pregnant women during transport, labor, and even delivery has long been routine in jails and prisons. Currently, only California, Illinois, and Vermont have enacted state laws restricting the practice of shackling pregnant women. By contrast, international human rights bodies have repeatedly expressed concern about policies that permit shackling of pregnant women.

In other good news, an Arizona judge has declared the conditions of the Maricopa County jail in Phoenix -- Sheriff Joe Arpaio's domain -- unconsitutional. [More...]

Not quite an apology, not exactly a mea culpa, but Alan Greenspan managed to confess that he was sorta kinda wrong while claiming to have done the best he could. Criminal defendants who make such a half-hearted attempt to accept responsibility during sentencing hearings usually wind up serving a long stretch in prison.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said a "once-in-a-century credit tsunami" has engulfed financial markets and conceded that his free-market ideology shunning regulation was flawed.

"Yes, I found a flaw," Greenspan said in response to a grilling from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "That is precisely the reason I was shocked because I'd been going for 40 years or more with very considerable evidence that it was working exceptionally well." Greenspan said he was "partially" wrong in opposing regulation of derivatives and acknowledged that financial institutions didn't protect shareholders and investments as well as he expected.

[more ...]

So I was watching CNN and they are trying hard to pretend Pennsylvania is in play. I can not blame them really as McCain is pretending it is in play and so is PA Governor Fast Eddie Rendell. One assumes Rendell wants his state (or himself) to keep receiving candidate love for the next 10 days. Can't blame him for that.

Of course, Pennsylvania is NOT even remotely in play. Q Poll has Obama by 13 in the Keystone State. Morning Call has Obama by 10. Susquehanna has Obama by 8. Hell, at this point, it seems a stretch to argue Virginia is in play. It is possible McCain can come back in North Carolina, salvage Missouri and skate through in Florida. But I tell you where McCain will not win - Pennsylvania -- as well as Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. And that, with the other Kerry states, gets Obama past 270 electoral votes. This election is over. McCain needs a miracle not to get blown out.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

11 days of campaigning left and looking for drama is what we are left with. So we start with the dramatic polls. An AP poll (which apparently ended its polling Monday night) has Obama's lead down to 1. A month ago, this poll had Obama by 7 (a month before that this poll had McCain winning by 5.) This is an interesting poll. For example, it has Republicans gaining dramatically in the Congressional generic ballot in the last 20 days, cutting a 13 point deficit to a 6 point deficit. To say the least, that seems a very suspect result to me. Actually, who are we kidding? This poll result is a joke.

Now for other polls that make us laugh - John Zogby's new tack for publicity is to have the WIDEST margin for Obama (previously he would have the smallest margin or even a McCain lead.) Zogby now has Obama with a 12 point lead. As for the real polls, DKos/R2000 has Obama up 10, 51-41. Fox has Obama by 9, 49-40. ABC Tracker has Obama by 11, 54-43. And so on. Look, we can try and generate some drama in this race but it is kind of a ridiculous exercise. It's over.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

The McCain campaign has been rummaging through the Republican attic for old attacks to launch against Barack Obama. Tax-and-spend liberal didn't take, so it was only a matter of time before they dusted off soft on crime.

The flier sent by the Republican Party in Nevada and other states this week says Obama has voted against tough penalties for drug and gang-related crimes, and is against "protecting children from danger."

Obama voted "present" on a bill that would have prosecuted children in adult court when they are accused of firing a gun near a school. Keeping children in juvenile court, away from the possibility of an adult prison sentence, constitutes "protecting children from danger" in my world. [more ...]

Democrats will gain Senate seats in November. As the economy continues to decline, voters will walk into voting booths and think or whisper or yell "I'm not going to take it any more!" And they will vote against Republicans because they understand that the economy functions well when Democrats run the government and not so well otherwise.

In the best case, Mitch McConnell is unseated, Ted Stevens is defeated, and Democrats control 60 seats, giving them a filibuster-proof majority. Since a few Republicans (particularly those facing reelection in two years) will discover a bipartisan spirit, Democrats might be effectively filibuster-proof with numbers in the high 50's. How many Senate seats do you predict Democrats will gain this year?

[more ...]