I'm always the last to know. From a diary at Daily Kos:

And today you have the opportunity to listen to [Big Tent Democrat, aka Armando on] On Topic at Political Nexus.  The show will begin tonight at 5pm PST (8pm EST)--those who wish to listen live can do so at the "On Topic" BlogTalkRadio page (the only show currently listed is the one we did with MSOC on abortion; it will appear when the show goes live.)  Otherwise, you can access the archives of the show either at Political Nexus or at the BlogTalkRadio On Topic page.

Among the topics we'll be discussing during the half-hour show include:

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The downside to sending out mass fund-raising letters is that you never know in whose hands they will wind up.

This one from Mary Matalin, in which she pleads for contributions for Scooter Libby's appeal and argues Libby is innocent, ended up in mine.

Here it is in its entirety. Enjoy.

Durham, N.C. District Attorney Mike Nifong faces the music today for his conduct during the debacle that became the Duke lacrosse players' non-sexual assault case.

The ethics trial is being streamed at WRAL.com and you can watch live here.

The bar prosecutor's side:

"This didn't have to happen and the horrible consequences were entirely foreseeable," State Bar Counsel Katherine E. Jean said during her opening statement. "The harm done to these three young men and their families and the justice system of North Carolina is devastating."

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I put up a Sopranos open thread before the start of Sunday night's finale as I have every week the past two seasons. I was too angry after the show to add my thoughts. I waited until I slept on it and watched it again. My final reaction: Count me among those who are livid.

Like many viewers I've watched every episode of the show. Unlike the most obsessed viewers, I cannot recall all the players in all the episodes in all the seasons. I just enjoyed the show as I watched. It was entertainment. I never saw any greater message in the show, never cross-checked the minor characters with their real actor names to see if they re-appeared in future episodes and didn't analyze the dialog or action searching for clues.

But, at the end of each show I wondered what would happen next. I never expected that the final episode would be one in which nothing happened.

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(larger and original version here, via TMZ.com.)

Many believe that Paris Hilton deserves the same lousy treatment that a pauper might receive after being sentenced to 45 days in a Los Angeles jail, if only to teach her (and other privileged youth) that society's laws apply to the privileged and poor alike. Others would like to see indigent inmates treated as well as Paris. The salient question is whether Paris has been singled out for particularly harsh treatment because of her celebrity status.

At a news conference on Friday, Sheriff Baca said: “The special treatment appears to be her celebrity status. She got more time in jail.” Under the normal terms of the early release program, he said, Ms. Hilton would not have served “any time in our jail.”

Jonna Spilbor explains how the court could have put Paris' celebrity status to good use.

[T]he judge might have given Paris an equivalent sentence that recognized the reality of her celebrity status - incorporating a few days in jail, but also perhaps an anti-DUI public service announcement, or serious community service contribution. Such efforts might have far longer-lasting effects on both Paris and the rest of the world, than any amount of time she spends languishing in jail. ... Paris, unlike the average defendant is likely to have lived a life of privilege that means she might benefit from learning about the lives of the less fortunate, and doing some good - whether it means donating computers, working with kids, or volunteering for the Red Cross.

Spilbor projects Paris' release date to be between June 22 and June 25.

When the headline reads "Butts Charged With Stealing Toilet Paper," there's really nothing left to do but provide a link to the story. (Despite Bart Simpson's dream headline, the underlying story is sad, given the risk of jail for a woman who probably lacked the funds to buy her own tp.)

Number of senators favoring an up-or-down vote on a resolution expressing no confidence in Alberto Gonzales: 53.

Number who didn't want the question to come to a vote: 38.

Guess which party opposed an up-or-down vote on the no confidence resolution?

Republicans did not defend him, but most voted against moving the resolution ahead.

The only Republicans who voted to end debate were [corrected] Coleman, Collins, Specter, Sununu, Hagel, Snowe, and Smith. Joining the Republicans was the Party of One, Joe "bomb bomb bomb, bomb Iran" Lieberman.

Well, not really. I don't think Klein even knows the sentencing guidelines exist. But he did write this:

Surely, there are cases of perjury where jail is an appropriate penalty--cases where the perjurer let an actual criminal off the hook. . . . If it could have been proven that Libby had knowingly blown the cover of a covert operative, I'd be in favor of hanging by his thumbs. But Fitzgerald was unable to make that case. . . .

Ummm, Joe your beef is with the application of the Sentencing Guidelines and the cross-referencing used when obstruction of justice is involved. And no, I didn't know about this, until I read about it at TalkLeft. Maybe a big time journalist like Klein could talk to somebody that knows about the subject . . . before he spouts.

Dave "Mudcat" Saunders is a Democratic political operative who hates "elites." That's why, in his first post at Time's Swampland, he defended Joe Klein's plea for no jail time for Scooter Libby.

This comment captures the mood:

Posted by Carneyvore June 11, 2007

Shorter Mudcat:

"Metropolitan Opera Wing" Democrats are losing the rural vote because they are being too hard on Joe Klein for carrying water for rural hero, Scooter Libby.

It's a great day for justice. In addition to the al-Marri decision (blogged here), we learn that Genarlow Wilson, who TalkLeft last wrote about here, has been ordered released from his 10 year sentence for having consensual oral sex with a girl who was only two years younger. If Georgia prosecutors had any humanity, they wouldn't appeal the decision, but an appeal seems likely, and it may keep Wilson behind bars pending the outcome.

Even the conservative Fourth Circuit (or at least a divided panel on that conservative court) agrees that the Bush administration can't arrest someone who is in the United States, declare him an enemy combatant, and hold him indefinitely without trial.

The court said sanctioning the indefinite detention of civilians would have "disastrous consequences for the constitution — and the country."

The court's lengthy opinion (pdf) tells the story. TalkLeft background on the detention of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri is collected here.

Matt Stoller and David Sirota lay into the Beltway Elite on their analysis of the Iraq Supplemental. Stoller lambastes Stu Rothenberg's thinking:

Why take a chance alienating swing voters, Rothenberg asks, completely oblivious to the fact that this vote cost Democrats ten points among independents. We're already seeing rural voters turn against the occupation, and towards the Democrats. . . . Note also the contempt for the left, for people who want to end the occupation in Iraq. Where are we going to go, if it's not for Mark Udall in Colorado or Hillary Clinton in 2008? Well, I can say that this energy is going to translate either into primary challenges or into apathy, but it won't go into helping this party leadership much longer. I'm going to encourage primaries as much as possible, because what they want is for us to go away. . . .

Good for Matt. Sirota takes on the Beltway Dem class: