I've been at work all day and still have motions to write and a hearing tomorrow to prepare for before returning to blogging.

Here's a place for you to keep each other up to date on the news and exchange some thoughts.

All topics welcome.

Via Politico, Columnist Bob Novak hit a pedestrian while driving to work today in his Corvette. He says he didn't know he hit anyone, didn't see anyone and drove away. A bicyclist saw it, followed him and stopped him. [More...]

Remember when the mighty Republican party was accusing Democrats of being obstructionists for using the filibuster and other tools to block the Republican agenda, particularly the confirmation of extremist judges? It's entertaining to see Harry Reid using Republican rhetoric against the opposition party.

Reid has found a way to overcome objections of the chief Senate obstructionist, Tom Coburn, who has blocked scores of popular bills that deserve to be passed. [more ...]

Yesterday, John McCain wanted more Media attention. Today, Matt Yglesias notes Ben Smith's piece on John McCain cancelling his press availability:

[McCain] hasn't explained what he meant by juggling the timeline on the surge and Awakening . . . ; whether he meant that Obama was deliberately selling out the country; whether he shares his campaign's grievance with the press; or what he thinks of his staff's genocide-themed attack. And now he's canceled the avail.

I guess McCain did not want more Media attention after all.

By Big Tent Democrat

Fred Hiatt has been a silly person for a long time. But his latest contortions on Iraq are not interesting in its disingenuous but in what Hiatt will say in December 2008 or January 2009. Why do I say that? Because Hiatt writes:

[Obama] says his aim is to "succeed in leaving Iraq to a sovereign government that can take responsibility for its own future. "What if . . . Iraqi leaders are right that this goal is not consistent with a 16-month timetable? Will Iraq be written off because Mr. Obama does not consider it important enough -- or will the strategy be altered?

Leave aside Hiatt's contortions about what the Iraqi leaders said. What happens to Hiatt's rationale in January 2009, when there will be no Bush Administration (and hopefully, no McCain Administration) to force Maliki to halfheartedly soften his request that the United States leave Iraq? What then will happen to Hiatt's silly argument? One more Friedman Unit and Hiatt and his ilk will have to think up some other rationale for why the U. S. has to stay in Iraq.

By Big Tent Democrat, speak for me only

Some are championing Jonathan Turley's line of argument that all possible criminality by the Executive Branch is equal and the most serious of business, requiring even impeachment. Remember Turley supported the impeachment and removal of President Clinton. This is a wrong headed approach to take in my opinion. You can not reasonably compare anything even arguably done by President Clinton to the brazen attack on the Constitution and the separation of powers by the Bush Administration. I reject Turley's argument in its entirety and think it muddles the issues in a harmful way.

For example, lost in the shuffle of Obama advisor Cass Sunstein's statement about egregious crimes is the fact that Sunstein actually does not believe that Bush Administration did anything wrong. As I discussed in 2005, Sunstein supported the Bush Administration claims on military tribunals and illegal wiretapping. Indeed, Sunstein endorsed the Bush Administration's argument regarding the inherent authority of the President to disregard laws when acting as Commander in Chief. More . . .

The Third Circuit wrote the latest chapter today in the ongoing saga of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), a law that Congress passed in 1998 to replace the Communications Decency Act, which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in 1997. In general terms, COPA prohibits commercial websites from publishing material "harmful to minors" (even if that material is not obscene) without making a good faith effort to prevent anyone younger than 17 from viewing it. Requiring a credit card would be an example of a good faith effort.

The law was promptly enjoined by a district court because it seemed likely to abridge First Amendment rights. That decision was affirmed by the Third Circuit, but the Supreme Court disagreed with the Third Circuit's narrow decision. The case went back to the Third Circuit, which again agreed with the district court. Another trip to the Supreme Court produced a 5-4 decision upholding the injunction on the ground that there are probably less restrictive ways of protecting minors, including filtering software, than criminalizing the distribution of "harmful" materials. [more ...]

L.A. Police Chief Bill Bratton and his wife Rikki Klieman (former Court TV anchor and a good friend of mine) have pulled out their checkbook and donated to the group fighting the effort to ban gay marriage on the November ballot in California.

"The Constitution guarantees life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," Bratton said this week. "I see no reason why gays can't pursue happiness through marriage."

The donation came about when their friends, celebrity publicist Howard Bragman and his longtime partner, Chuck O'Donnell, told them they were getting married. Bill and Rikki asked what they'd like as a gift.

Bragman was direct: No gifts -- instead, make a donation to Equality California to help stop Prop. 8. And please make it public.

All of TalkLeft's coverage of Bill Bratton is assembled here. In 2002, I attended his swearing in ceremony in L.A. and wrote this lengthy report.

Poor John McCain. He has to compete for attention against Barack Obama even when Obama is out of the country. And he has to compete for attention against Bob Barr, who is likely to deflect some votes that would otherwise come his way. Now, at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, he'll have to compete for attention against the entertaining Ron Paul, whose planned rally during the Republican convention looks to be so popular that it's had to move to a larger venue -- the Target Center in neighboring Minneapolis.

Paul, who has often voiced his differing policy views from presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, has made it clear in past interviews with CNN his supporters won’t be in Minneapolis to interfere or cause problems for the Republican Party. “We’re not going to disrupt them,” Paul told CNN last month. “We’re not going to demonstrate as much as present a positive case for values that we believe should be the Republican values.”

As opposed to McCain's values, which are ... um ...

John Edwards was in Denver today, promoting his anti-poverty plan.

The former senator has been traveling the country promoting an anti-poverty campaign called "Half In Ten," meaning the goal is to cut poverty in the U.S. in half within 10 years.

More on his appearance here. Video is here.

According to the National Enquirer, last night he was in Los Angeles where he ran into some sleazoid reporters. I hope the story isn't true, but it's beginning to make the rounds. Curious that the reporters included no photos or video footage. What are they saving it for? Or doesn't it exist?

Here's a more flattering pic of Rielle Hunter.

In any event, if the story becomes national news, at least he's found a way out of being asked to serve as Obama's VP candidate.

I had the tv on in the background and this new ad came on. On my TV, the "Obama, Obama, Obama" (in response to the question, who's to blame for rising gas prices, was louder than it is in the video released by the McCain campaign.

It's clever to use real Obama supporters as the chanters but will anyone buy that Obama is responsible for ourrent high gas prices? A better argument (although also not true)would have been that if elected, Obama won't make prices go down. As a Senator, and one who has rarely been there to cast votes the last year and a half, it's just silly to blame our current gas prices on him.

A few weeks ago I beat Denver Post gossip columnist Bill Husted to the punch in reporting that Bruce Springsteen was free from Aug. 24 to Aug. 30 and could be coming to the DNC. Last week, I beat him by a day in reporting Kanye West, reggae/hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean and the rap/rock fusion band N.E.R.D. were scheduled to perform at DNC events.

Today, Husted beats me with some DNC musical guest news I haven't heard about: The Temptations will be performing for three nights at a "mansion" near 1st and Humboldt in the Country Club area.

As to the Aug. 24 Red Rocks concert with Sheryl Crow and Earth, Wind & Fire, Husted says even though Dave Matthews' people told him this weekend that Matthews is not scheduled to perform, he's convinced Matthews will be there.[More...]