Chris Bowers of My DD and Matt Stoller of BOP News are blogger-credentialed at Live 8 in Philly. Chris has great photos here.

Go over to One.Org and sign the letter to President Bush asking him to help end poverty.

Live 8 - they want your voice, not your money. AOL is broadcasting all of the concerts live simultaneously for free. Watch here.

by TChris

The consequences of the “lock ‘em up” mentality that pervaded the United States over the last quarter century are now felt by taxpayers as prisons warehouse an increasingly geriatric population. But the consequences of that failed philosophy are most acutely felt by the individuals who endure large parts of their lives behind bars, paying a ridiculous price for their mistakes. Junior Allen, who served 35 years in the Alabama prison system for stealing a $140 television set, is an example of a man who continues to be punished after he paid (or overpaid) his debt to society.

Despite extensive prison records in North Carolina, where he has spent more than half his life as inmate No. 0004604, Allen has been unable to establish his identity in rural Georgia, where he now lives with his sister, or in Alabama, where he was born 65 years ago to sharecropper parents. The monthlong effort to get a birth certificate and photo ID only hints at the new challenge he faces - that of transforming himself from less-than-model inmate to average senior citizen.

Allen was denied parole 25 times. Now, having finally been released, he’d just like to go fishing and find a job--if he could only get ID.

Update: Crooks and Liars has the O'Donnell video.

Over at Huffington Post today, Lawrence O'Donnell says he has confirmed that Karl Rove is the one who leaked the identify of Valerie Plame and Newsweek is now working on a big story about it.

I revealed in yesterday's taping of the McLaughlin Group that Time magazine's emails will reveal that Karl Rove was Matt Cooper's source. I have known this for months but didn't want to say it at a time that would risk me getting dragged into the grand jury.

McLaughlin is seen in some markets on Friday night, so some websites have picked it up, including Drudge, but I don't expect it to have much impact because McLaughlin is not considered a news show and it will be pre-empted in the big markets on Sunday because of tennis.

Since I revealed the big scoop, I have had it reconfirmed by yet another highly authoritative source. Too many people know this. It should break wide open this week. I know Newsweek is working on an 'It's Rove!' story and will probably break it tomorrow.

Say hello to Crawford's List, by journalist, author and tv commentator Craig Crawford. He's all over the Plame/Rove story, and says,

Newsweek is working on an 'It's Rove!' story and will probably break it tomorrow.

Craig's new book, Attacking the Messenger, is out, see the ad on the left side of TalkLeft.

Also say hello to NewsAmerica Now and Patriot Daily .

Both of TalkLeft's premium ad spots come available this holiday weekend. With the regular ad strip filling up, I want to offer alternatives. So, I've reduced the premium ad price and changed the policy to allow two ads in the premium space on the right.

Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald has stated in court pleadings that he already knows the identity of Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper's sources regarding the senior white house official who leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame to Robert Novak.

Miller did some reporting for a story but never wrote an article. She has maintained she intends to go to jail rather than reveal her source -- though Fitzgerald has indicated in court filings that he already knows that official's identity.

So, why is it so necessary for them to provide the information?

As the Wapo article suggests, the investigation has moved from one involving the identity of the White House official to one involving perjury - i.e., a cover-up. The source may have been questioned in front of the grand jury and lied.

Knowing the identity of the source is not enough for a perjury conviction. There must be two witnesses to the perjurious statement. Telephone records would not be enough, because they only provide the number dialed, not the identity of the person speaking. Matthew Cooper's and Judith Miller's e-mails and notes may provide that corroboration.

Reporters Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller have submitted their jail designation requests to the Judge. It will be interesting to see what the Judge recommends, and whether the Bureau of Prisons follows the Judge's recommendations.

Judicial recommendations are not binding on the Bureau of Prisons. However, if BOP does not follow a judge's recommendations, it must send a letter to the Judge explaining why. The defendant is not allowed to read the letter. Only the Judge and the Probation Department get to see it.

Contempt time is often called "dead time" and is usually served in a county or local jail. For example, if a federal prisoner gets called to the grand jury and refuses to testify, he or she will get contempt time added to their criminal sentence, to be served in the county hoosegow after their release on their federal sentence. Miller and Cooper aren't serving criminal sentences, though, and the Judge can recommend what he sees fit. Again, BOP might or might not honor the Judge's recommendation.

For Cooper, the local jail is the Washington D.C. jail, which as his lawyers note in their request, is a maximum security facility.

The New York Times October 16, 2004 (available on lexis.com)

President Bush's chief political adviser, Karl Rove, testified on Friday to a federal grand jury investigating whether it was anyone at the White House who had illegally disclosed the name of a C.I.A. undercover officer to a newspaper columnist, a lawyer for Mr. Rove said. ''He answered fully and truthfully every one of their questions,'' the lawyer, Robert Luskin, said.

Mr. Luskin added that Mr. Rove, who testified for more than two hours, did not seek to avoid answering any question on legal grounds.

NewsAmerica Now reports that MSNBC political analyst Lawrence O'Donnell says Rove was the Plame leaker. Daily Kos has the transcript [hat tip America Blog]:

A Skippy rant.

Even without his witty rant on the topic of why cable tv talk show hosts turn our children into bullies, we'd tell you to go visit Skippy so he'll hit the million visitor mark by his third blogivarsary on July 13.

Update: Thanks to all who contributed. I'll be sending you individual thank yous this weekend. I feel like Sally Field..."You like me, you really like me."

Original Post:

Today is the second of two TalkLeft appreciation days. If you're a regular reader, and you can afford to show us some * heart *, please do. If you can't afford to, no problem, you're still welcome here.

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by TChris

Few would characterize Justice O'Connor as a liberal -- it might be a bit of a stretch even to label her a moderate, although the label fits when she's compared to some other members of the federal judiciary -- but she was too far to the left for Reverend Flip Benham, Director of Operation Save America, who is happy to see her go:

"Although we applaud her decision to step down and care for her ailing husband, her 'swing-vote' status on the Supreme Court over the issues of abortion and homosexual rights wrought more havoc upon our nation than our foreign enemies ever have."

All but branding Justice O'Connor as a terrorist is over the top, even for right wing extremists, but those are the folks President Bush will likely try to appease when he nominates her replacement. Frightening times lie ahead.

Thanks to Mark at Dembloggers for putting up the video to my debate today on MSNBC's Connected Coast to Coast with Mark of Blogs for Bush.

WMV Link
MP3 Link

We talked about the growing influence of citizen journalists, I called on the President to consult with the Senate and nominate a consensus nominee, one show would respect constitutional rights and freedoms, and I endorsed 5th Circuit Judge Edward Prado (who, it was very cool to point out, was put on the federal bench by show host Ron Reagan's father, President Ronald Reagan.) It was a fun segment and Mark did a very good job representing his side.

I normally don't post pictures of myself on the front page of TalkLeft, but it's day two (and the last day) of TalkLeft Appreciation Days so I gave myself permission.

Ian at The Political Teen also has the video up of the segment.

Update: If you don't feel like watching, Bob Brigham at Swing State Project has a rough transcript of what I said. Thanks, Bob.