Do voters really want a return to the politics of yesterday and mores of the 1950's?

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court ruling that DOMA is unconstitutional.

They [the judges]found that gays and lesbians are entitled to heightened protection from the courts, based on the history of discrimination the group has suffered.

"Homosexuals are not in a position to adequately protect themselves from the discriminatory wishes of the majoritarian public," Judge Dennis Jacobs wrote for the majority.

The evangelical producer Dinesh D'Souza of "2016" resigned from Kings College today due to his affair with a woman not his wife. He brought her to a family values conference last month, introducing her as his fiance. He hadn't even filed for divorce yet.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Mitt Romney is fond of reminding voters he granted no pardons or petitions for clemency as Governor. Not even for the soldier in Iraq who sought a pardon for a conviction at age 13 for using a b.b. gun. The soldier wanted to become a police officer.

He often criticized the pardon and clemency decisions of others -- except for one: He had no problem with GW Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence. He called it reasonable, saying the prosecutor knew Libby had committed no crime. [More...]

Bruce Springsteen has posted a letter on his website explaining why he supports President Obama. He will be appearing with Obama in Iowa and Ohio at campaign events.

There's a lot of buzz yesterday about the new judge in the George Zimmerman case scheduling his trial in June. I doubt it will happen that fast. Even in non-high profile cases, delays to two to three years are not uncommon.

James Wonder was charged in 2008 with shooting a polygrapher for the U.S. Border Patrol during a road rage incident. Weeks after the shooting, prosecutors asked the grand jury to indict on first degree murder. The grand jury returned an indictment on manslaughter. His stand your ground hearing was just scheduled a few weeks ago for the end of October. The hearing is expected to take 8 to 10 days with 35 to 40 witnesses being called. (One of the issues recently decided: The state objected to the defense introducing Wonder's 3 hour post-arrest interview at the stand your ground hearing.)

Trevor Dooley, a retired bus driver, shot and killed a younger man who was playing basketball in 2010. His stand your ground hearing was in May, 2012. He lost, and trial was set for September. But Dooley is appealing the denial of his stand your ground motion, so the trial date was vacated. [More...]

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.