At downtown Denver's Civic Park yesterday, there were long lines for public marijuana giveaway. Police were on hand, but all went smoothly.

Shouting "Free the weed!" scores of marijuana lovers stood in line Monday for free joints offered by opponents of tax issues on the statewide and Denver ballots in November.

"It is legal to hand out marijuana to people in Colorado and it is legal to do it without paying a penny in taxes!" shouted [attorney]Rob Corry, who helped organize the event at Denver's Civic Center.

The giveaway was organized to protest a measure on this year's ballot, Proposition AA, which sets sales and excise taxes on marijuana. I support the tax and urge Coloradans to vote for it. [More...]

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi requested an execution be continued to accommodate her re-election campaign. She was scheduled to attend a fundraiser kicking off her re-election campaign. Gov. Scott accommodated her request, not knowing the reason.

[Marshall Lee]Gore was initially scheduled for execution in June, but the date was twice delayed because of legal skirmishes over Gore's sanity.

After Gov. Scott last month rescheduled the execution for Sept. 10, the date of Bondi's "hometown campaign kickoff" at her South Tampa home, Bondi's office asked that it be postponed. The new date is Oct. 1.

The relatives of the victims were not pleased. Also, as AG, Bondi has been fighting challenges to Florida's 2013 "Timely Justice Act" to speed up executions.

After much just criticism, Bondi apologized today, calling the request a mistake. [More...]

Somali pirate negotiator Ali Mohamed Ali scored a big victory last week when a U.S. District Court Judge ordered him released on bond subject to home detention pending trial, primarily due to the excessive length of his pretrial detention (28 months.) The Court's opinion is here.

The Government filed an emergency request for a stay pending appeal, which has been granted by the Appeals court.

PER CURIAM ORDER filed [1455209] granting motion to return appellee to custody [1455046-2]; The district court is directed to enter an order returning appellee immediately to the custody of the United States; Granting request to expedite briefing; Setting briefing schedule: Appellant’s Memorandum of Law and Fact due 09/09/2013. Appellee’s Memorandum of Law and Fact due on 09/12/2013.

Ali is now back in custody. Ali's case has been the subject of several appeals, including one over jurisdiction. He was assisting the victims of the pirated Danish ship and its owner by negotiating with the pirates for the release of hostages.

It's taken me ten days, but I have finally watched all 75 episodes of Pablo Escobar: El Patron del Mal. The version with English subtitles starts here and ends here.

The series does not use real names for most of the characters, but the characters are all real. If you do watch the series, be sure to read about who they are in real life, and what happens to them.

Of course, the real story of how Pablo Escobar was killed is much more interesting than the series reveals. As the result of a FOIA lawsuit, the U.S. had to release a treasure trove of documents, which are available here. The involvement of the U.S. military (to enable finding Escobar's location through phone-tracking technology), the Pepes, the Cali cartel, the CIA, the DEA, and corrupt Colombian politicians, police and military officials is enlightening, to say the least.

On to Breaking Bad. And the season premiere of Boardwalk Empire. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

With the uncertainty of both Congressional and international support for a military strike against Syria by the U.S., some news on the possibility of returning to the UN:

The United States said on Sunday it did not rule out returning to the U.N. Security Council to secure a Syria resolution once U.N. inspectors complete a report on a chemical weapons attack, but indicated Arab countries were seeking a tough response. [...] French President Francois Hollande, increasingly under pressure at home and among European partners to seek a U.N. mandate before any military intervention in Syria, on Saturday suggested he could seek a resolution at the U.N. Security Council despite previous Russian and Chinese vetoes.

French officials say a draft resolution presented jointly by Britain and France at the end of August was not even read by Russia and China, let alone discussed. U.N. inspectors are likely to hand in their report later this week roughly at the same time as the U.S. Congress votes on whether to allow limited strikes on Syria.

"On President Hollande's comments with respect to the U.N., the president (Obama), and all of us, are listening carefully to all of our friends," Kerry said. "No decision has been made by the president." After the news conference, a U.S. official said Washington was not seeking a vote at the moment. "We have always supported working through the U.N. but have been clear there is not a path forward there and we are not currently considering proposing another vote," said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

More on the flip

My picks: Notre Dame +4 Competitor: Michigan, Georgia -3½ Competitor: South Carolina, Oregon -23 Competitor: Virginia, Utah State -10 Competitor: Air Force, Oklahoma State -27 Competitor: Texas San Antonio, Michigan State -23 (5 units) Competitor: South Florida, Syracuse +16½ Competitor: Northwestern, Western Kentucky +13 Competitor: Tennessee, Cincinnati -8 (3 units) Competitor: Illinois. -- Late CG Specia -OVER 43 1/2 in MSU-USF gamer

Season Record: 10-12 ATS, -3 units.

You can listen to the Amato and Armando Show (sans Amato this week, my bad) today at noon EST on Netroots Radio. Lots of college football (and soccer, NFL) Here is the player:

Listen LIVE here:The Daily Kos Radio Player

Can't see the Flash player? Click here to download the stream directly.

Open Thread.

I've made my Saturday College Football picks (recorded my sports radio show, broadcast on Netroots Radio tomorrow at noon EST), but only me, the NSA and my investment house know what they are. To be revealed tomorrow morning as I turn the tables on my bad opening weekend.

Open Thread.

This seems a good development:

The United States would give Syria 45 days to sign an international chemical weapons ban or face the wrath of American military might, under a draft resolution being circulated by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.). The alternative to a use-of-force resolution could forestall an immediate American strike and create an incentive for Assad not to use chemical weapons against his own people again. It may also provide a rallying point for lawmakers who are reluctant to either approve strikes or reject the use of force outright.

I think there are problems with the wording and details but I applaud the thrust. Restart the diplomatic track. The Obama Administration should take a look at this.

Shellie Zimmerman's lawyer today announced she has filed for divorce.

John Donnelly, a family friend who testified in George Zimmerman's defense at his trial, told Reuters that Shellie was "devastated" when her husband "just packed up and left" after his acquittal and was gone for a month without telling anyone his whereabouts. Shellie had lost touch with him and had grown increasingly upset.

The divorce petition is here.

(No character attacks on anyone please. They will be deleted.)

Jack Balkin wrote:

Under the U.N. Charter, it is illegal for member states to attack each other because they claim another state is violating international law unless they are acting in self-defense or unless they are authorized to do so by a Security Council resolution. There is no such resolution with respect to Syria. The whole point of the Charter is to keep (for example) Russia from attacking (for example) Israel because Russia claims that Israel is violating international law. What goes for Russia attacking Israel also goes for the United States attacking Syria.

This story is being under-reported in the press. Imagine a New York Times headline that read:

Obama seeks to violate United Nations Charter: Asks Congress's Blessing.

But that is exactly what is happening. Obama may say that he is just trying to enforce international norms, but he is doing it by violating article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter. To invoke a metaphor from another war, he is destroying the village in order to save it.

I point this out not because I think it is the most compelling reason to oppose Obama's Syria policy, but because it makes a mockery of the argument that we must support Obama's Syria policy in order to defend international norms. For example, E.J. Dionne writes today:

The NFL punishes players who use marijuana.

Marijuana Policy Project has purchased a billboard ad calling on the NFL to stop the punishments. The billboard is in front of Sports Authority Field at Mile High, where the Denver Broncos will host the first NFL regular season game of the year tomorrow.

The 48-foot-wide Broncos-themed billboard highlights the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol and urges the NFL to "stop driving players to drink" with harsh penalties for marijuana use, noting that, "A safer choice is now legal (here)."

There's also a Change.org petition you can sign here. Here's a photo of the actual billboard. The Marijuana Policy Project will hold a news conference Thursday at 10 a.m. MT in front of the billboard (1700 N. Federal Blvd., Denver)

Robert Dewey served 17 years of a life sentence for a Colorado rape and murder DNA evidence later proved he did not commit.

After release from prison in 2012, he had nothing. In June, Colorado passed a law (available here) allowing up to $70,000. a year compensation to the wrongly convicted. Dewey was present when Governor Hickenlooper signed the bill into law.

A Colorado judge has now approved a $1.2 million settlement to Dewey. 5280 Magazine has a long feature article on Dewey's journey, Resurrection.

Of note: [More...]