The vote on the Democrats' proposed changes to FISA was delayed today.

Consideration of the Democratic-crafted measure to strengthen oversight by a special intelligence court was halted by Democratic leaders amid uncertainty about whether it could pass, and in the face of a veto threat from President Bush.

What it means: The Dems may not be able to pass a bill that revises and limits the powers included in Bush's August bill they allowed to pass right under our noses.

Inability of Democrats to achieve a vote in the House this week raises additional questions about its fate.

Any bill the House approves would have to be reconciled with a Senate version, with additional changes likely in that process.

So all those promises by the Dems telling us they voted for Bush's bill because they'd have a chance to redo it? Looks less likely now. Which means Bush's bill stays.

Think Progress has more.

Update: Thanks, everyone. So many of you contributed and included kind words about the site. It's much appreciated, and I'll be sending individual thank you emails to all this weekend.

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It's only 10:00 a.m. here so I mean this tongue in cheek, but I could use a drink.

Now that my taxes are done and filed, I see that I spent $6,000.00 on TalkLeft last year in design, troubleshooting, hosting and subscription fees.

No reader has contributed to the site since July. Not one of the groups, tv networks or news magazines which send me mass emails every day advocating their causes and shows has ever sent a dime.

So, how about buying me that drink? My favorites are Conundrum white wine, Grand Marnier, Patron tequilla and Ketel One vodka. In a decent establishment, that's about $10.

Here's how, it's very easy. If you don't like paypal (which takes credit cards if you don't have a paypal account) feel free to pull a five or ten out of your pocket and send it snail mail.

If you'd like to buy me a double or a bottle, I accept. If you'd like to do it anonymously, here's the Amazon link.

And if you don't want to contribute to my drinking, let me know and I'll put your money towards TalkLeft or another worthwhile expense.

Cheers!

The police in Scranton, PA apparently have so little crime to address that they've taken to citing people who use bad language in their own homes.

"It doesn't make any sense. I was in my house. It's not like I was outside or drunk," [Dawn] Herb told The Times-Tribune of Scranton. "The toilet was overflowing and leaking down into the kitchen and I was yelling (for my daughter) to get the mop." Herb does not recall exactly what she said, but she admitted letting more than a few bad words fly near an open bathroom window Thursday night.

Would the police have bothered with this if the neighbor who called to complain hadn't been an off-duty cop?

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding its confirmation hearing this morning on Michael Mukasey's nomination for Attorney General.

There's very little suspense involved as there is no real opposition to him.

If you're interested in the hearing, you can watch it on C-Span. Here's the Committee webpage with the witness list. There's a panel with Chuck Schumer and Joe Lieberman and another with former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, Mary Jo White. That ought to be enough to tell you its a shoe-in.

Connecticut's prisons are a tinder box, overflowed to the point where disaster is sure to strike.

The problem is exacerbated because the Governor, in response to a gruesome killing by two parolees this summer, ordered parole suspended for violent offenders, a class that includes home burglars.

Cubicles built for four are crammed with eight inmates, and enclosed areas known as dollhouses where inmates once played cards and wrote letters now hold 14 bunk beds. The corridors are lined with more beds. Each large room at the Willard-Cybulski Correctional Institution once had 50 beds and now has 118.

A member of the prison guards' union says:

Time Magazine examines the Florida prison system, particularly in the wake of the acquittal of 13 juvenile boot camp guards last week.

In another Florida case, a 36 year old was stomped to death by guards in his cell. The guards were acquitted despite their boot prints being found all over the inmate's back.

Both verdicts were vivid reminders of what critics call the rot of Florida's corrections culture...While no one is asking Florida to coddle its prisoners, adult or juvenile, many fear it has yet to break its dark habit of coddling abusive guards and other officials watching over those prisoners.

Below are some examples of the prisoner abuses that have come to light through filed lawsuits:

Update: The Supreme Court halted the execution.

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Christopher Scott Emmett is scheduled for execution in Virginia tonight. His lawyers are seeking a last minute stay from the Supreme Court based upon the lethal injection procedure. The state is resisting.

This would be Emmett's second stay. The first was granted two hours before his scheduled execution in June.

Monday night, a Nevada execution was halted. In that case the inmate wanted to die.

More...

Adam Liptak reminds us of an embarrassing fact:

In December, the United Nations took up a resolution calling for the abolition of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for children and young teenagers. The vote was 185 to 1, with the United States the lone dissenter.

Indeed, the United States stands alone in the world in convicting young adolescents as adults and sentencing them to live out their lives in prison. According to a new report, there are 73 Americans serving such sentences for crimes they committed at 13 or 14.

The Equal Justice Initiative advocates the restoration of parole availability for juvenile offenders who are sentenced to life. Its report is here (pdf). Liptak explains why that sensible proposal won't excite legislators:

Lynn Cheney told NBC's Norah O'Donnell today that Dick Cheney's geneology shows he and Barack Obama are 8th cousins, related through a relative from France in the 1700's.

Why was she telling this? She was "admitting" it to acknowledge any perceived bias on her part against Hillary.

Tom Tancredo didn't do too well in the fundraising department this quarter. His contributions totaled 764,188.87. His operating expenses were 1,192,933.01. In his home state of Colorado, he raised only 47,274.00.

Maybe that's why he's getting this desperate:

Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo wants foreigners seeking visas to join relatives in the U.S. to provide DNA samples to prove their family ties.

The Colorado congressman introduced a bill Tuesday in the House to require the tests, saying documents provided by immigrants to show they are related to U.S. citizens or permanent residents are sometimes sketchy and unreliable.

I thought Republicans were supposed to be the party offering less bureaucracy. I guess not if it makes a good soundbite or you're losing.

On 5280.com today I wrote about Hillary's fund-raising success this quarter in Colorado.

Over at HuffPo, there's an article "Hollywood Still Hearts Obama" about how Obama is raking it in with Hollywood stars. Since I already had the link to the FEC stats, I went and checked.

Obama raised $3,724,772.18 in California this past quarter. Hillary raised $4,869,227.82.

How about Beverly Hills zip code 90210? Obama raised 69,102.81. Hillary raised 154,515.00.

The HuffPo article doesn't give totals, just lists some stars' donations but it gives the wrong impression. A better, not to mention more alliterative title would have been "Hollywood Hearts Hillary."

I only found out about this today because I was going to do a segment on Dan Abrams show tonight about Rush Limbaugh (story below)and they canceled at the last minute because they are going to cover the Ellen DeGeneres meltdown instead. You can watch the video at the link.

I'm totally supporting Ellen.

In a nutshell: Ellen got a dog from a rescue mission. She paid $3,000 to have it neutered and go through training to make sure it would get along with her cats. The cats and dog didn't get along. Ellen gave the dog to her hairdresser who does her hair daily for the show and who has two young daughters. The kids bonded with the dog.

But Ellen didn't read the fine print of her contract with the rescue mission which said if she doesn't keep the dog it goes back to them. When they called to check on the dog, Ellen told them the truth. The rescue mission went and repossessed the dog. Ellen breaks down on the show saying it's all her fault and pleads with the company to return the dog to the kids.

More...