Last week Rudy Giuliani touted Bernie Kerik's crime record. Now, in a speech calling for wants a virtual border fence instead of a real one and in response to critics who say he turned New York into a sanctuary city, he touts his own.

"The policies that I utilized with regard to illegal immigration were in the context of overall policies that probably were the most successful in the history of the country in creating an orderly, legal, lawful society," he said.

His arrogance knows no bounds.

Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer David Chesnoff is everywhere these days.

Two weeks ago, he got a good result for Darren Mack, charged with killing his wife and shooting a judge (life with parole after 20 years rather than life without parole which is what he would have gotten if the jury didn't buy Mack's insanity defense.)

He's representing David Copperfield in the alleged sex assault investigation stemming from an incident in the Bahamas, which he calls a "smear campaign." Last week he got deportation proceedings halted against an Iranian World Poker player.

And now, he's gotten boxer Mike Tyson a sentence of 24 hours in jail on a felony cocaine possession and DUI charge even though the prosecutor asked for a year in jail. Tyson's success in rehab convinced the judge not to hammer him. Nice job, David.

I just received an e-mail from the John Edwards campaign, written by John's mother Bobbi. It's very clever -- on two levels. She writes:

As a member of our campaign family, If you donate just $20.08 (for the year we'll elect my son the next president of the United States!), I'll send you Elizabeth's recipe for bread pudding, David and Judy Bonior's recipes for "Sweet Potatoes with Apples" and "Mushroom Soup," along with Joe and Kathy's recipe for "Old Fashioned Down on the Farm Country Stuffing" -- and my own special recipe for one of John's favorites, Mac n' Cheese! Click here to make a contribution and get five favorite Thanksgiving recipes!

Level one: You get something back for your donation -- that's a great selection of "comfort food" recipes and it gives you a homey, warm feeling just reading the list: Mac 'n Cheese, sweet potatoes, bread pudding.

Level two: While I have no data on this, I suspect that it's mostly women who are in charge of the family thanksgiving day menu and interested in holiday recipes. By offering the recipes, it seems like Edwards is targeting women voters, trying to take some from Hillary.

I've put a short poll below as to who chooses the Thanksgiving day recipes (not the menu)in your house:

Flailing presidential candidate Tom Tancredo met his match at a debate in New Hampshire this weekend.

Tancredo was pitching his "English only" plan, denigrating not just the U.S. but Europe.

Describing the United States as "the last best hope" for carrying on the ideals of western civilization, Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo called last night for an end to the nation's "bilingualization" and "Balkanization."

"I think Europe can not be counted on to help us in this endeavor," Tancredo said last night at Magdalen College in Warner. "They've already become, to a large extent, Islamicized. And that is worrisome."

Several audience members challenged him, including Siham Elhamoum, a recent college grad from Vermont [More....]

What a pathetic campaign the Democratic Presidential race has become. I could not be more disgusted by it. And the answer appears to be yes, the Obama campaign is mudslinging too:

Barack Obama has unveiled a new line of criticism against Hillary: In speeches he appears to have started to point to the allegation made in Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta's Hillary book that the Clintons secretly formulated a 20-year-plan to deliver the presidency first to Bill, and then to Hillary. "I'm not in this race to fulfill some long-held plan or because it was owed to me," Obama said the other day. Asked if that were a reference to the Gerth allegation, an Obama spokesperson left virtually no doubt that it was, telling Newsday: "Barack Obama has not been mapping out his run for president from Washington for the last 20 years like some of his opponents."

Shame on the Obama campaign. Shame on Democrats. This race has devolved into the pettiest, stupidest most substanceless campaign I think I have ever seen from Democrats.

I have long said this. Today, I am proven right:

Senate Democrats appear ready to omit Iraq withdrawal timelines from a supplemental spending bill in hopes of clearing in December funds for the troops — but House leaders have no intentions of following suit.

Good for Speaker Pelosi and good for House Democrats. Now who do we have to worry about? The eternal capitulation leaders, Hoyer and Rahmbo. Watch out for them.

The answer appears to be yes. Responding to this Edwards ad:

the Clinton campaign said:

"If John Edwards really cared about working people, he wouldn't have taken a $500,000 salary from a hedge fund that is foreclosing on working people around the country," said Clinton campaign spokeswoman Hilarie Grey. "Sen. Edwards should spend his time talking about how he's going to help those people instead of launching ridiculous attacks against Sen. Clinton."

Empty, stupid GOP talking points from the Clinton campaign. Awful. And in case you are wondering, I remain a STRONG supporter of NAFTA and free trade. Edwards is dead wrong on NAFTA and trade. Explaining why would be good from a candidate. But if unable to do so, going to personal attacks in response is unconscionable. Shame on the Clinton campaign.

At Daily Kos, Devil's Tower misreads a question and answer from the last Democratic debate. When pressed by Wolf Blitzer to choose between US national security and human rights, Chris Dodd said:

DODD: Obviously, national security, keeping the country safe.

Devil's Tower took this to mean that Dodd would compromise the Constitution:

The job of the president is to defend the Constitution. The Constitution first, the Constitution last, the Constitution always. Nowhere is the president given one inch of leeway to consider setting aside that Constitution in exchange for an illusion of security.

Devil's Tower is mistaken. What was being referred to by the question was US posture when human rights in other countries may conflict with US national security interests. Not when the Constitution might conflict with our own security interests. It is ironic that Devil's Tower misinterprets Dodd, who has done more to fight for the restoration of habeas corpus than any other member of Congress. More.

Sunday night is usually my favorite tv night. Not tonight. The American Music Awards pre-empted the good shows and the only other thing on was football.

I tried, I really did, to get into the Music Awards show -- if not for the music, for the dresses. Both were pretty dismal. The best of the music was Sugarland doing a song with Beyonce.

It made me long for the old days, when singers had personality and belted out their songs while having fun onstage. Here's Janis, and a live version of "Piece of My Heart" -- performed in Germany in 1970 1969. Watch how she invites the audience onto the stage and how much fun she's having.

The New York Daily News explores Rudy Giuliani's use of his pals' private aircraft, including that of casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson.

The days of candidates reimbursing their pals with the cost of a commercial first-class ticket instead of the much higher cost of renting the aircraft and pilot ended in September.

Hillary and Obama never did it.

Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama accept no corporate aircraft, choosing instead to rent planes at full market cost to avoid the appearance of a conflict.

Here's the list of the owners of the planes Rudy's used:

More...

Frank Rich has a terrific column today in the New York Times on what Judith Regan could tell about Rudy Giuliani. It's also a succinct recap of the various elements of the story to date, from Bernie and Judith to Bernie and Rudy to Fox and Rudy.

Whether Ms. Regan’s charge about that unnamed Murdoch “senior executive” is true or not — her lawyers have yet to reveal the evidence — her overall message is plain. She knows a lot about Mr. Kerik, Mr. Giuliani and the Murdoch empire. And she could talk.

More...

Don't miss the Evidence of Misjustice segment on 60 Minutes tonight. It will air the results of a joint investigation with the Washington Post on the use of the discredited comparative bullet lead analysis technique.

Hundreds of defendants sitting in prisons nationwide have been convicted with the help of an FBI forensic tool that was discarded more than two years ago. But the FBI lab has yet to take steps to alert the affected defendants or courts, even as the window for appealing convictions is closing, a joint investigation by The Washington Post and "60 Minutes" has found.

Concerns developed over the technique in 1991. TalkLeft wrote about it in 2003 (here too.) In 2004, the National Academy of Sciences concluded the technique was bunk and the FBI stopped using it in 2005. But it has refused to release the list of the 2,500 cases in which the technique was used.

Dwight E. Adams, the now-retired FBI lab director who ended the technique, said the government has an obligation to release all the case files, to independently review the expert testimony and to alert courts to any errors that could have affected a conviction.

....The Post and "60 Minutes" identified at least 250 cases nationwide in which bullet-lead analysis was introduced, including more than a dozen in which courts have either reversed convictions or now face questions about whether innocent people were sent to prison.

More....