I've been wanting a GMail e-mail account since July when I blogged at the DNC in Boston next to Ezra at Pandagon who had one. It's in beta-testing still and you can't just sign up for one. Just this week it integrated with Outlook.

Instapundit to the rescue. Glenn graciously provided me with a Gmail account yesterday. With hundreds of e-mails a day coming in, the search feature should be big benefit. I'll let you all know soon on how it compares. My e-mail address there is talkleft@gmail.com.

In New York City today, liberal bloggers have packed the Tank, for a symposium on how liberal energy can remain focused and effective following the 2004 election.

There will be a Drinking Liberally party tonight at The Tank, open to all.

The Tank was home to liberal bloggers for the RNC in New York. Here's a picture of a bunch of us blogging there.

Up until now, the studies that have been conducted of Gulf War Syndrome have focused on stress as the cause. No more. The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced that $15 million will be set aside for studies that examine other causes of the disease.

Gulf War veterans have experienced undiagnosed illnesses with symptoms such as chronic fatigue, loss of muscle control, diarrhea, migraines, dizziness, memory problems and loss of balance.

It is critical to determine whether toxins are the cause of the disease. A new report commissioned by the VA indicates this may be the case.

Evidence supports a probable link between exposure to neurotoxins and the development of Gulf War veterans' illnesses," according to one of the 143-page report's key findings.

"A substantial proportion of Gulf War veterans are ill with multisymptom conditions not explained by wartime stress or psychiatric illness," the report said. Research indicates that the illnesses are "neurological in character" and possibly caused by exposure to certain toxic agents such as sarin gas used by Iraq in its 1980s war against Iran or certain pesticides.

700,000 U.S. soldiers took part in Gulf War I. More than 100,000 have experienced the symptoms described above. The symptoms have been experienced by Australian, British, French and Canadian troops.

The Guardian has more details. The report is available here. The VA's media advisory (pdf) is here.

Michael Crowley at Slate takes an in-depth look at James Dobson of Focus on the Family, whom Josh Marshall calls the Grand Inquisitor and Yuval at Left Coaster calls the Ayatollah Next Door. [links via Dem from CT at Daily Kos and Memorandum]

Yale Law Professor Jack Balkin outlines his opposition to Bush's pick of Alberto Gonazales for Attorney General and speaking points in the event he is confirmed:

It is time for those who think the Bush Administration has gone too far to stand up to the President, to make the legal case against his Administration's policies and appointments. For years conservatives railed against judicial activism. It is time for liberals to start railing against government officials-- including judges-- who show disrespect for basic Rule of Law values, who flout basic protections of American constitutional law and international human rights law, and who seek to concentate ever greater power in an unaccountable executive.

A big thanks to Crooks and Liars, the new liberal video blog, for making this clip of the debate on Hannity and Colmes last night on the Scott Peterson verdict. They edited the show down to highlight my segments. It's best viewed on Windows XP but it looked fine to me on Windows 98.

Alternative viewing: Keith Olbermann interviewing Joe Trippi on the role of the Internet in finding voter irregularities in the election.

Or this most entertaining Daily Show clip of John Stewart discussing John Ashcroft's resignation.

Update: the ACLU slams Ashcroft for his disdain of American law.

He's back....at least today. Ashcroft gave a speech today at the conservative Federalist Society:

Federal judges are jeopardizing national security by issuing rulings contradictory to President Bush's decisions on America's obligations under international treaties and agreements, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Friday.

In his first remarks since his resignation was announced Tuesday, Ashcroft forcefully denounced what he called "a profoundly disturbing trend" among some judges to interfere in the president's constitutional authority to make decisions during war.

"The danger I see here is that intrusive judicial oversight and second-guessing of presidential determinations in these critical areas can put at risk the very security of our nation in a time of war," Ashcroft said in a speech to the Federalist Society, a conservative lawyers group.

Well, we won't have him to kick around any more, thank goodness.

What were they thinking? Police in Miami used a stun gun on a six year old child. Their purpose: to keep the child from cutting himself on a piece of glass.

Understatement of the month:

"I really can't believe they did that," County Commissioner Joe Martinez told the newspaper. "This might be a good opportunity to review our policy."

The transcript of my live coverage of the verdict for the Washington Post is here.

I can't stand watching Amber Frey's lawyer Gloria Allred gloat on television although I like Gloria personally. She is not a prosecutor in the case yet she is now referring to the prosecution's plans for the death phase as "we." Amber Frey is the next Joan of Arc. Have to change the channel.

I do not believe the charges against Scott were proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The evidence was paltry at best. He was tarred by being a liar and a cheat. Scott Peterson was tried and convicted in the media, months before the trial started.

There was no murder weapon, no cause of death, no time of death, no identifiable crime scene, no witnesses. And a reconstituted jury that deliberated less than a full business day.

This jury as much said, "Someone killed her and there is no other explanation so it must have been Scott." Shameful. That is not proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Let the appeals begin. And may the jury spare his life.

Tune in to Hannity and Colmes tonight, where I will be outnumbered by about 5 to 2. Gloria Allred, former OJ cop Mark Fuhrman, and Lis Wiehl, among others. Lis has done a great job all day today reporting live from the courthouse. We don't agree on the case but she's a friend and a pleasure to watch.

TalkLeft has received 2,500 visitors in the last hour. One hour. It's amazing that so many people are obsessed with this case. It's also amazing that there are still hundreds of strangers outside the courthouse cheering. Shades of Rome and gladiator days. Very sick.

A verdict has been reached in the Scott Peterson case. It will be announced at 4 pm. I will be doing a live chat for the Washington Post immediately following the verdict. You can submit questions now. [Update: Transcript here.]

I'm also scheduled to be debating the verdict tonight on Fox News' Hannity and Colmes. Details and chat links to follow when available, this post will be updated and periodically bumped.

Now that it's a done deal, feel free to post your verdict predictions here. I'm still mulling mine over. The speed with which the jury returned its verdict after gaining its latest new alternate as a member may not bode well for the defense. Keep your eye on the background of the new foreman. I think he will be key.

Update: The cable news channels will carry a live audio feed of the verdict. There are no cameras in the courtroom.

Some enterprising inmates at the Walla Walla Prison in Washington State, fearing Martha Stewart would get a cookbook out first, stepped up plans for their own. "The Convict Cookbook" has been released, and is filled with recipes with names like "Po' Mans Burritos, Cell Block Fudge, Dope Fiend Sandwich and Prizzon Po Carcass Casserole."

The twist: The recpipes are all prepared without the use of a stove. Their only heat utensil is an immerser coil that they put in water to make it boil.

The book has 163 pages of recipes. The book includes short facts and insights into prison life. There is also an essay "Why Do We Cook in Our Cells? or Bad Guys, Good Taste?" by Rick Webb, one of the authors. He explains that while prison food is OK, it becomes monotonous over time, and cell cooking provides some variety and creativity for inmates.

Cooking food in a prison cell isn't easy. Some recipes can be cooked on radiator pipes. Others require the prison kitchen. Many of the recipes involve plastic bags standing in as mixing bowls.

All involve some ingenuity.These cookies are so named because heroin addicts often come to prison craving sweets," Dunn wrote.

Boulder high school students get a surprise visit from the feds. What a colossal waste of resources.

[Note to commenters. Please be clever and find words other than those that are in themselves words of violence. There are robots and spiders and censors all around and it does TL no good to be linked to the words without the context.]