The Netroots is meeting in Austin the next few days. I will not be there. But if I was, I would talk about what Markos said:

“I’m positioning myself, at DailyKos, which isn’t the broader netroots, to not be carrying water for anybody,” he said. “We’ll work to keep our party honest. We’re not going to pretend that just because he’s Barack Obama, his actions aren’t sometimes problematic. But that doesn’t mean we’re abandoning him or that we won’t vote for him. That’s ludicrous.”

And I would discuss this approach to accountability:

A good fundraising month for Obama:

Senator Barack Obama raised $52 million in June, his campaign announced on Thursday morning, more than twice the amount he raised one month earlier before claiming the Democratic presidential nomination.

. . . Last week, Senator John McCain announced that he had raised $22 million in June, which was the best fund-raising month of his campaign. So while Mr. Obama’s $52 million haul is significantly higher, he also faces a bigger fund-raising burden because of his decision to not accept public financing. . . . . [Obama] . . . has set a goal of raising $200 to $300 million for their general election effort.

More . . .

Rolling Stone guitarist Ronnie Wood has entered rehab for an alcohol problem. Video here.

We wish him a successful program. Relapse isn't fun for anyone.

This is another open thread.

The House has passed another useful bill for Senate Republicans to filibuster.

The bill, which passed on a voice vote, would block two-thirds of the federal covert operations budget until each member of the congressional intelligence committees is briefed on all secret operations under way. Panel members also would be granted access to any other details necessary to assess the value of intelligence operations.

If this refreshing concept of congressional oversight were somehow to make it past Senate Republicans, the president will make sure to crush it.

The White House has threatened to veto the bill because it says it would go too far and infringe upon the president's right to protect intelligence.

Protect intelligence? From our elected representatives in Congress? Is the president worried that they'll drop the intelligence and break it? Accidentally feed it into the paper shredder? Where in the Constitution does the president find a right to protect the entire executive branch from oversight? [more ...]

I do not know where everyone is and I have no idea what is going on in the world. So fill me in. This is an Open Thread.

I like this quote from our friend Markos:

“I’m positioning myself, at DailyKos, which isn’t the broader netroots, to not be carrying water for anybody,” he said. “We’ll work to keep our party honest. We’re not going to pretend that just because he’s Barack Obama, his actions aren’t sometimes problematic. But that doesn’t mean we’re abandoning him or that we won’t vote for him. That’s ludicrous.”

When a snitch accuses someone of a crime in order to reduce a sentence that he anticipates or is already serving, there's good reason to doubt the snitch's credibility. Law enforcement agents and prosecutors nonetheless have few qualms about building cases around the testimony of a snitch -- unless the snitch points the finger of blame in the wrong direction, like Raymond Garrett did.

Garrett, who founded the Brick Money Entertainment record company, made a deal with federal prosecutors. He pled guilty to a drug trafficking charge. In exchange for his agreement to cooperate against other wrongdoers, prosecutors agreed to recommend that he receive a 10 year sentence. So far, everybody's happy.

But then "Garrett told investigators that two Utica police officers were involved in criminal activity." If he had made similar allegations against anyone else, they may have been taken at face value, as they so often are. Police and prosecutors were less willing to believe him after he accused the police. [more ...]

Try to wrap your mind around this logic:

Joshua Marquis, district attorney in Clatsop County, Ore. ... rarely, if ever, drops criminal charges because a defendant passed a lie detector test prior to trial. "The science behind them is not strong," Marquis said. "The absolute worst offenders -- people who are true sociopaths -- lying is a way of life for them, so they're going to probably pass them easily."

Marquis, does, however, see polygraphs as a useful tool in monitoring probationers, a growing practice that has been upheld by dozens of courts despite defense lawyers' claims that such tests violate the constitutional right against self-incrimination.

So lie detector tests aren't reliable when defendants offer them as proof of innocence, but they suddenly become reliable when a probation agent wants to question a probationer. Can't have it both ways, Mr. Marquis. [more ...]

Not surprisingly, I don't often get promotional e-mails from the Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration. Today I did, with the news that another convention will be taking place in Colorado just before the Democratic National Convention. It's the Law Enforcement Explorers.

Law Enforcement Exploring is a worksite-based program for young men and women who have completed the eighth grade and are 14-20 years old. Law Enforcement Explorer posts around the country help youth to gain insight into a variety of programs that offer hands-on career activities. For young men and women who are interested in careers in the field of law enforcement, Exploring offers experiential learning with lots of fun-filled, hands-on activities that promote the growth and development of adolescent youth.

4,500 teens from all 50 states will be attending the conference. Details of the "fun-filled activities":

The week-long conference will take place on the campus of Colorado State University and will feature several team competitions including arrest and search techniques, crime scene investigation, bomb threat response, and hostage negotiations. Seminars on gang violence, psychological profiling, effective communication, narcotics trafficking and interdiction, and border protection are also planned.

More...

It's official. President Bush invoked a claim of executive privilege to prevent Congress from obtaining Justice Department interviews with Dick Cheney and others over the leak of the identity of Valerie Plame Wilson. A subpoena for the information was issued in June.

The Wilsons respond (no link, received by e-mail):

“Today the president took the unprecedented step of asserting executive privilege to thwart congressional efforts to review Vice President Cheney’s interview with Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald concerning the betrayal of Valerie Wilson’s covert CIA identity. We agree with Congressman Waxman that the position taken by the president is ludicrous.

The American people have a right to know what role the vice president played in the leak of Ms. Wilson’s covert identity for political purposes. The fact that the Attorney General is recommending the assertion of executive privilege reveals that this Department of Justice is as beholden to the White House as that run by former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

More...

Best read of the day so far....Guest Bloggers John J. Donohue III and Daniel Schuker at Balkanization, Dodging the Death Penalty Bullet for Child Rape, about why the Kennedy v. LA decision, despite it's two factual errors, was the right decision.

I hope someone sends it to the Obama campaign.

I've been wondering who will be the musical guests for the Democratic National Convention and related parties. By drips and drabs, we're getting more information. Today's news:

Among the big-name performers likely to make a splash in the Mile High City are hip-hop king Kanye West, reggae/hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean and the rap/rock fusion band N.E.R.D.

Bono will be in town, but not to perform for the convention -- AT&T is throwing a party for his One Campaign. Kanye West may perform at the event. As to Wyclef Jean and N.E.R.D., they likely will be at the MTV/Rock the Vote Party.

As to the big corporate sponsors for the event, it's the usual crew:

United Airlines, Google, Coors Brewing Company, Anheuser-Busch, Xcel Energy and telecom giants Motorola, Qwest and -- a brand you'll see plastered all over the place in Denver -- AT&T.

AT&T will be front and center during the convention since it is providing the wireless. [More..]