Al Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri yesterday called for more lone wolf and other small scale attacks against the U.S. His reasoning is that even small attacks cause us to overreact with security, which is expensive and contributes to diminishing our economy.

In an audio speech released online a day after the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 strikes, Zawahri said attacks "by one brother or a few of the brothers" would weaken the U.S. economy by triggering big spending on security, SITE reported.

..."We should bleed America economically by provoking it to continue in its massive expenditure on its security, for the weak point of America is its economy, which has already begun to stagger due to the military and security expenditure," he said.

He also wants to see big strikes -- the kind that that take ten years to plan -- against the U.S.

Somewhere between where I parked my car at the courthouse and the courtroom today, I dropped my wallet with all my credit cards. Since I keep my ID in a separate card folder, I had no idea it was missing. When I got to my office after court to get the mail, the receptionist handed me my wallet and said a man in a sports coat dropped it off and didn't leave his name.

On a blustery, rainy day, this person drove or walked a half mile from federal court to my office to return a wallet I had no idea was missing. What an incredibly nice thing to do.

Since I have no idea who he is, all I can do is thank him here and hope he sees it. Thanks, stranger!

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Open thread.

Update: The voters of El Paso and Pueblo have spoken. Senate President John Morse and Senator Angela Giron are out. They will both be replaced by Republicans.

Today was voting day on the efforts to recall two Colorado legislators over their support for new gun control laws.

For Senate President John Morse: El Paso County Clerk and Recorder live update results here. For State Senator Angela Giron: Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder live update of Senate District 3 results here. [More...]

President Obama is about to address the nation on Syria. Here's a thread to discuss.

Update: Shorter version is Obama is asking Congress to delay a vote.

Obama lays out the evidence Assad's regime used chemical weapons. He says if we don't act, Assad will not hesitate to do it again. Other dictators will try to obtain chemical weapons, as will terrorist groups. Turkey Jordan and Israel are at risk.

He determined in the national security interest of the U.S. to respond by a targeted military strike. He knows it won't be popular, after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The purpose is deterring and degrading Assad's chemical capability.

Even though he has the authority to order the strike himself, he took the debate to Congress. [More...]

Now that the entire world is following my advice on Syria, my work is done. (snark) Here is an open thread to comment on that and other important issues, like how the Oregon Ducks beat the Washington Redskins last night.

Open thread.

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.