David Green, the owner of Hobby Lobby , has said:

We're Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I've always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to run our business in harmony with God's laws, and (2) to focus on people more than money. And that's what we've tried to do. [...] We believe that it is by God's grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. [...] But now, our government threatens to change all of that. A new government health care mandate says that our family business MUST provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance. Being Christians, we don't pay for drugs that might cause abortions, which means that we don't cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary to our most important beliefs. It goes against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one.

Apparently, Green and his family run Hobby Lobby on "Christian principles" only when it is convenient and good for the bottom line. They send their "Christian" money to China and its policy of one child per family and forced abortions:

Open thread.

Yikes! That was ugly yesterday - lost all my profits for the year on a -26 unit day in CFB. But today will be different! Here's the Amato and Armando Show with our picks:

The picks (Disagreements in BOLD) - (A) Minnesota Vikings -1, (J) Chicago Bears +1, (A) Tennessee Titans +4, (J) Indianapolis Colts -4, (A)Atlanta Falcons +3½, (J) Buffalo Bills -3½, (J) Cleveland Browns -7, (A) Jacksonville Jaguars +7, Arizona Cardinals +3 over Philadelphia Eagles, (A) New Orleans Saints +5, (J) Seattle Seahawks -5, (A) New York Jets -1, (J) Miami Dolphins -1, (A) Tampa Bay Buccaneers +7½, (J) Carolina Panthers -7½ , New England Patriots -9 over Houston Texans, New York Giants -1 over Washington Redskins, (A) Kansas City Chiefs +6, (J) Denver Broncos -6, (J) St Louis Rams +71/2, (A) SF 49ers -71/2, (A) SD Chargers (PICK), (J) Cinncinati Bengals (PICK).

Open Thread.

Rivalry Weekend. The picks (2 units unless otherwise indicated): Arizona +11½ over Arizona State, San Diego State -3 over UNLV, Boise State -37 over New Mexico, UCLA +3½ over USC, Temple +8½ over Memphis, Minnesota +16 over Michigan State, BYU -15 over Nevada, Stanford -15 (3 units) over Notre Dame, Illinois +3½ over Northwestern, Missouri -4½ (3 units) over Texas A&M, Georgia Tech +3½ over Georgia, Iowa State +7½ over West Virginia, Virginia Tech -13 (3 units) over Virginia, Vanderbilt -14 over Wake Forest, Connecticut +3 over Rutgers, Kansas State -17½ over Kansas, Tulsa +4½ over North Texas, Tennessee -4 over Kentucky, Wisconsin -24 over Penn State, Clemson +4½ (3 units) over South Carolina, North Carolina -6 (4 units) over Duke, Alabama -10½ (9 units) over Auburn, Ohio State -16½ (3 units) over Michigan.

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

Lost of college pigskin on tap today. My picks: Bowling Green -2 over Buffalo U, Arkansas +24½ over LSU, Nebraska -2 over Iowa, SMU +10 over Houston, Marshall -4 over East Carolina, San Jose State +7½ over Fresno State, Pittsburgh +3 over Miami (Florida, Washington State +17 over Washington, Oregon State +23 over Oregon.

Open Thread.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I did. The hours of planning the dinner, googling recipes and cooking paid off -- every dish tasted just right. Everyone had seconds. And thanks to a TalkLeft reader who sent me two great bottles of Champagne when I moved last month, and another who sent me flowers for Thanksgiving, the atmosphere was lively and the scene pretty.

In the news, Marissa Alexander has been released from prison in Florida, pending retrial.

The ACLU has a new report on the more than 3,000 prisoners in the U.S. serving life without parole for non-violent crimes.

For 3,278 people, it was nonviolent offenses like stealing a $159 jacket or serving as a middleman in the sale of $10 of marijuana. An estimated 65% of them are Black. Many of them were struggling with mental illness, drug dependency or financial desperation when they committed their crimes. None of them will ever come home to their parents and children. And taxpayers are spending billions to keep them behind bars.

From Thanksgiving 2006: I Wish Thanksgiving Was For All of Us. It's disheartening that so little has changed since then.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, for the first time in years. I'm about to start. Is anyone else here cooking? What are you making?

I'm making a cornbread and fruit stuffing, two kinds of mashed potatoes ( regular and sweet), a green bean casserole, gravy, cranberry sauce and salad. In addition, of course, to the turkey.

I also made a giant lasagne last night, and put it in the freezer, just in case the turkey doesn't come out right. I'm much better at cooking one pot meals: sauces, noodle dishes and stews, than one big bird and a lot of side dishes.

I'm also checking out Black Friday deals. Be careful about clicking from Google, there are tons of links with m*lwAre. Who do you think has the best deals on whatever you are looking for?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

A Las Vegas judge has denied O.J. Simpson's bid for a new trial. Lawyers for Simpson argued at a hearing held months ago that his trial counsel was ineffective and had a conflict of interest. From the opinion:

“Mr. Simpson failed to demonstrate that counsel experienced an actual conflict of interest that substantially impacted counsel’s performance at trial. Mr. Simpson also failed to establish that the State withheld exculpatory evidence. Finally, Mr. Simpson failed to establish that appellate and trial counsel were ineffective or that any deficient performance by counsel resulted in prejudice. Given the overwhelming amount of evidence, neither the errors in this case, nor the errors collectively, cause this court to question the validity of Mr. Simpson’s conviction.”

Simpson's current attorney says he will appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, and if he loses, file a habeas action in federal court.

Busy work day. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

This week's Amato and Armando Show:

Our picks (Disagreement in BOLD (A) for Armando (J) for Amato): San Francisco 49ers -6 over Washington Redskins, New England Patriots +2 over Denver Broncos, (A) Arizona Cardinals -3, (J) Indianapolis Colts +3, (A) St. Louis Rams -1, (J) Chicago Bears +1, Pittsburgh Steelers +1 over Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers -4½ over Miami Dolphins, (A) Kansas City Chiefs -4½, (J) San Diego Chargers +4½, (A) Minnesota Vikings +4, (J) Green Bay Packers -4, Detroit Lions -9 over Tampa Bay Buccaneers, (A) New York Jets +4, (J) Baltimore Ravens -4, (A) Oakland Raiders + 1 1/2, (J) Tennessee Titans -1 1/2, (A) Dallas Cowboys +3, (J) New York Giants -3.

Open Thread.

An accord has been reached with Iran about its nuclear weapons program.

Iran has agreed to stop enriching uranium above 5%. The accord is to last six months. (Sounds more like a pause than a cessation.)

In return for the initial agreement, the United States agreed to provide $6 billion to $7 billion in sanctions relief. Of this, roughly $4.2 billion would be oil revenue that has been frozen in foreign banks.

Crystal Mangum, who falsely accused the Duke Lacrosse players of sexual assault, has been convicted of second degree murder in the stabbing death of her boyfriend. The judge sentenced her to 14 to 18 years in prison.

Mangum testified at her trial and claimed self-defense. The victim, who lived for 10 days after she stabbed him, told investigators before he died that he had been trying to get away from her.

She testified he beat her that night, but "she was unable to explain why paramedics who checked her out after her arrest found no evidence that she had been beaten or choked." Also, "blood drops were on the carpet in the hallway where Daye said she stabbed him, but not in the master bedroom where Mangum said she stabbed him. [More...]