Your turn. Be aware some new right-wing commenters have discovered TalkLeft. A few are interested in reasonable and civil discussion but several are here just to mock or stir up trouble. Don't feed the trolls, and when I return, troll comments and insulting comments will be deleted. Otherwise, enjoy the day.

To get you started, check out Think Progress -- the head of DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel told the Senate yesterday "The President is always right." They even have the video.

And Rudy Giuliani's ex-wife Donna Hanover has taken a gig as AOL's online love and sex coach. "You could easily imagine what her advice would have been to Judith Nathan, the current Mrs. Rudy Giuliani, who began the relationship while he was still married to Hanover."

One more: Attytood, telling America's news directors to cancel Bush's "fear factor."

You'll notice today a new ad on TalkLeft, one that's been here before. It will be up for the next month, through the August 7 Colorado primary. Colorado has three great Democrats running for the open seat in the 7th Congressional District, being vacated by Bob Beauprez who is going to challenge Democrat Bill Ritter (a real favorite of mine) for Governor. The race will be one of the most closely watched races in the country. There have been no dirty spats in this race, the three Dems have conducted themselves with integrity and positive campaigning.

But click on Peggy's video, hear her message and watch her. I've spent a few hours with her here and there over the last year and I believe she means what she says and she's very strong. She's doing well in the polls, has high name recognition and knows how to talk to people.

Get to know her, and see what you think. You can read my short interview with her here.

Murray Waas, who has been following Rove and Novak as close as anyone in Plamegate, offers up his reactions to Bob Novak's latest disclosure on his role in leaks investigation, particularly Novak's willingness to out Karl Rove.

Also on Novak's latest: Think Progress which notes he has backtracked on his prior promise to tell all.

My reaction, posted yesterday, is here.

Update: See Swopa here, who asks who the first person was to tell Novak that Joe Wilson's wife worked for the CIA and whether he knew this before he talked to his "primary source"? Swopa says it's a subject Novak dances around in his latest column. Also see Christy at Firedoglake who calls Novak's statement a "big yawn."

Bob Novak gave up two sources, and is holding on to the third by a thread. What happens when you give people up? The Eagles had it right, in Tequilla Sunrise:

Oh, and it's a hollow feelin' when
It comes down to dealin' friends
It never ends

Take another shot of courage
Wonder why the right words never come
You just get numb
It's another tequila sunrise,this old world
still looks the same,
Another frame, mm...

Here are the Eagles:

After Colin Finnerty was named in the Duke Lacrosse case, prosecutors in D.C. moved to revoke his deferred prosecution and make him stand trial on a misdemeanor assault charge. Finnerty's trial to the court (no jury) concluded today and the judge found him guilty and sentenced him to 6 months probation. The prosecution did not object to the sentence.

One of the victims, Jeffrey Bloxsom, testified that Finnerty pushed him on several occasions during a prolonged confrontation on Georgetown's main drag. Finnerty also threw fake punches that landed within inches of Bloxsom's face and hurled various vulgar homophobic epithets, Bloxsom said.

Bayly said he believed Bloxsom was guilty of "menacing" Bloxsom as part of an assault, even though it was one of Finnerty's friends who admitted punching Bloxsom at the conclusion of the confrontation, giving him a bloody lip.

Finnerty's lawyer, who said he will appeal the conviction, had this to say:

Bob Novak says his lawyers have told him Patrick Fitzgerald says the Valerie Plame leaks investigation is over as to him. The column is available to subscribers, which I am not, but I just got a full copy. Here's what's available on their website, more is below the fold:

I have cooperated in the investigation while trying to protect journalistic privileges under the First Amendment and shield sources who have not revealed themselves. I have been subpoenaed by and testified to a federal grand jury. Published reports that I took the Fifth Amendment, made a plea bargain with the prosecutors or was a prosecutorial target were all untrue.

Bump and Update: A big thanks to the Wall St. Journal which has agreed to put the full article online for free. You can read it here.

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Original Post

Stories like these make me so angry. The Wall St. Journal (subscription only) reports:

Last November, when Yassine Ouassif crossed into Champlain, N.Y., from Canada, border agents questioned him for several hours. Then they took away his green card and sent him home to San Francisco by bus, with strict instructions: As soon as he got there, he was to call a man named Dan.

Ouassif met with Dan, who of course was an FBI agent, and Dan (Fliflet) told him:

Mr. Fliflet told the 24-year-old Moroccan that he'd been monitoring his friends and him for many months, Mr. Ouassif recalls. Mr. Fliflet made him an offer: Become an informant and regularly report to the FBI on what his Muslim friends in San Francisco were saying and doing. In exchange, he would get back his green card. He could resume his education, bring his Moroccan wife to America, and pursue his dream of buying a car, moving to Sacramento and becoming an engineer.

Bump and Update: Congrats to Colorado's Bill Winter who was announced as the winner today.

******
original post: 7/10/06
Last Day for MapChanger Voting - Help Bill Winter

Today is the last day to vote for your favorite candidate to win Gov. Mark Warner's map changer contest. The winning candidate gets a campaign fundraiser with Gov. Warner.

I recommend Bill Winter of Colorado who will oppose Tom Tancredo. It's really close now, please help. Winter and John Courage are running neck and neck and have joined to ask Gov. Warner to pick them both.

The National Journal has published the newly released list of White House salaries. The big guys get $165,000.

In 2003, they made $151,000.

Not on the list: Cheney chief of staff Dave Addington. Why not? His predecessor Scooter Libby was on the 2003 list. [Via Tim Grieves at Salon's War Room.]

Wow. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, speaking in California yesterday:

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy yesterday criticized the federal Sentencing Guidelines and the lobbying efforts of correctional officers' unions.

"The only thing worse than sentencing under the guidelines is sentencing without them," he told judges and lawyers from across the Ninth Circuit yesterday. "I think the guidelines are far too severe," he added, explaining that spending money on prisoners while failing to invest in efforts to inform at-risk groups about sentencing undermined the principle of deterrence.

"The fact that the prison guards' association lobbies for higher penalties is sick," he added emphatically.

Best thing I've read all day. [Via How Appealing.]

Update: First person account from a Wall St Journal reporter (free link) who was on a train next to one of those bombed.

The news from Bombay is grim as the death count from the mass transit bombings now stands at 163 with more than 400 injured.

Eight bombs hit Bombay's commuter rail network during rush hour Tuesday evening, killing at least 147 people and wounding more than 400 in what authorities called a well-coordinated terrorist attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility in the bombings, which came in quick succession - a common tactic employed by Kashmiri militants. The blasts came hours after a series of grenade attacks by Islamic extremists killed eight people in the main city of India's part of Kashmir.

U.S. officials say the attacks "were likely part of the sectarian violence over Kashmir."

In 2003, the Goose Creek police department conducted an outrageous armed raid on a S.C. high school looking for drugs which they did not find. The principal resigned and lawsuits were filed.

Yesterday, "a federal judge approved a $1.6 million class-action settlement to compensate students who were searched....in a lawsuit filed against the Berkeley County School District and the Goose Creek Police Department by students' families."

The students will split $1.2 million. Their attorneys' will receive the remaining $400,000. The exact amount each student receives will depend on the final number of claims, but could average between $6,000 and $12,000 apiece.