Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was allowed to address the military commission trial judge today at Guantanamo. When he was done, the judge said it will be the last time the defendants are allowed to comment on the course of proceedings:

Mohammed told the judge, Army Col. James Pohl, that "the government uses national security as it chooses," urging him to keep that in mind as he considers requests from defense lawyers and the American Civil Liberties Union to scale back the rules for evidence and testimony.

"Many can kill people under the name of national security, and to torture people under the name of national security," the Arabic-speaking Mohammed said through a translator. "And detain their underage children under the name of national security."

In an apparent reference to Osama bin Laden, Mohammed noted that "the president can take someone and throw them into the sea in the name of national security.

[More...]

A blog note. The thread in the last post got a little testy and uncivil. I'm not going to delete it, but, I note that, myself included, violated site rules in that thread and we will have no more of that from any of us, myself included.

Yes the election is close at hand, we're all nervous and testy, but unlike the Presidential Debates, we will follow our rules here.

Starting . . . NOW!

Open Thread.

Jed Lewison does a great job of laying it out:

Romney demonstrated that he is a puppet of the extreme Fauxlsification of reality that the Extreme Right wing of the GOP demands.

It lead him to a monumental blunder. Like W and Iraq.

I'll be back today flying solo on Daily Kos Radio from 11 to noon Eastern today. Discussing the debate.

How to Listen to Daily Kos Radio:

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

Open Thread.

The moment that will be remembered from last night's debate:

Update: Check out these photos of binders of women. Some are really funny.

The New York Times reports Mitt Romney had the most misteps in the debate.

Mr. Obama kept his eyes on his Republican opponent, whereas Mr. Romney’s gaze kept straying over to the moderator, Candy Crowley...

Mr. Romney had more bad moments than the president, particularly when he challenged Mr. Obama’s claim that he early on called the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, a terrorist attack, and Ms. Crowley backed Mr. Obama’s version of events. Mr. Romney stammered a bit after that, blinked as the president spoke and never quite got back on a steady, confident foot.

[More...]

Mitt Romney is one rude guy. It's not that he's a bully, it's that he is impervious to anything and anyone around him. It's all about him. And when he doesn't get his way, he stomps his foot like a spoiled brat.

He's rude and impatient. Which is a sign he doesn't play well with others. He thinks he knows best. Would he even listen to his own advisers, or would we be in for four years of Mitt knows best?

He was awful tonight. He may be one of the most unlikable politicians to come along in a while.

Mitt Romney needs to go to charm school. I bet he didn't have many friends as a kid.

Update: Romney just f*cked up big time. Candy called him out on being wrong about what Obama said in the Rose Garden about the Libyan attack. That may be the moment of the night. Romney spins a tale and gets caught red-handed.

Obama killed him in this debate. Will the media agree?

First, the good news, USA mens soccer team leads 3-1 over Guatemala. Look good to qualify for the next round. But Germany blew a 4-0 lead today so, as Yogi said, it's not over till it's over.

My Yanks? Ah, my Yanks. Do you believe in miracles? Here's hoping we can beat the best pitcher of his generation, Justin Verlander, while mired in a team wide slump. Hope springs eternal.

Meanwhile, in other news, there is a debate tonight that could very likely decide who will lead our country for the next 4 years. But other than that, no big deal. Live blog to commence at 9. It'll be on the flip once the debate starts.

One hour from now, the second debate begins between President Obama and Mitt Romney. It's a town hall, will someone ask about marijuana? Will it be the only thing they agree on all night, that it must stay illegal, or will one or both pander for the youth vote and pretend they aren't dead set against it?

Which Obama will we see tonight? Hopefully not the professor.

Here's an open thread for your thoughts before it begins.

I'm too nervous to blog about anything. I will do a live blog of tonight's monumental presidential townhall debate.

Talk amongst yourselves until the debate tonight.

Open Thread.

I'll be back today flying solo on Daily Kos Radio from 11 to noon Eastern today. Discussing tonight's debate.

How to Listen to Daily Kos Radio:

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

Open Thread.

Here is yesterday's show (skip the first minute, technical difficulties):

The 11 Show October.15.2012 by Netroots Radio

I want to be a Macho Man:

Romney aides told BuzzFeed their polling indicates that Obama's biggest vulnerability among Hispanics is that he's viewed as a "weak leader." In much of Latino culture, they explained, political leaders are expected to demonstrate a macho bravado[.]