Live Thread. Live Blogging to Commence as Soon as Possible. (Added (TL): I'll fill in till BTD arrives and then add my thoughts in comments.

90 minutes about domestic issues. 6 15 min segments. 2 minute answers for first question with remainder of time open. Lehrer picked the questions. There will be 3 on the economy, 1 each on health care, role of government and role of governing. They will focus on differences, specifics and choices. (Good luck with that.)

The audience will be silent. [More...]

Are folks interested in a live blog of tonight's debate? I think I can swing it, though to do the fancy "Cover It Live" doohickey, I need Jeralyn.

Anyways, Open Thread.

Last week, the Prime Minister of New Zealand apologized to Megaupload co-founder Kim Dotcom for the illegal interceptions of Dotcom's communications before the raid on his mansion and arrest, conducted at the behest of the U.S. which was seeking his extradition to face criminal charges.

Today the Prime Minister released the results of the review of the GCSB's illegal interceptions.

The Prime Minister's press release is here. It doesn't say much, other than to give the PM a clean bill of health for not having been briefed on Dotcom prior to the raid. He acknowledges there may have been a quick reference to Dotcom at a meeting after the arrests in February, 2012, but insists nothing was said about his residency.
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One advantage Democrats have over Republicans: They get the most popular musicians to perform at campaign rallies, while Republicans get requests from musicians to stop using their music.

Bon Jovi will be performing at at two free early voting events for Obama in Iowa this week. Both will be acoustical performances. On Sunday, Bon Jovi will join Katy Perry, Jennifer Hudson, and Earth, Wind and Fire at a concert in Los Angeles.

Politicians give back too. Check out Al Gore's rousing introduction of Bon Jovi at the 2007 Live Earth concert. The Live Earth concert is my favorite Bon Jovi performance, you can watch 20 minutes of it here. [More....]

Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson has blocked Pennsylvania's voter ID law. He ruled it could go into effect for next year's election, but cannot be implemented for the November elections.

His ruling came after listening to two days of testimony about the state's eleventh-hour efforts to make it easier to get a valid photo ID. He also heard about long lines and ill-informed clerks at driver's license centers and identification requirements that made it hard for some registered voters to get a state-issued photo ID.

The ruling, available here, was not based on constitutional issues.

Rather, the state Supreme Court had ordered him to stop the law if he thought anyone eligible would be unable to cast a ballot because of it or if he found the state had not complied with the law's promise of providing liberal access to a photo ID that voters were required to carry on Election Day.

The Denver Post picked a terrible week to add a most annoying feature to its website. There's now an animated bar across the bottom of every page. I haven't been able to close it. It may be the most annoying media feature next to sites that automatically play video when you click on a news article (ABC News in particular.) It's even more annoying than sites like MSNBC where you have to scroll halfway down the page before you get to the article.

The Post should fire whatever agency came up with this lame idea. Until it removes the obnoxious bottom bar, I'm not reading the Denver Post.

So where to get local news of the upcoming presidential debate and other issues?

• 7 News (KMGH)
• CBS News Denver
• 9 News (KUSA)

Update: Today there is an arrow in the center of the bar you can click on to collapse. I also was able to block it with my virus software. So I'll be reading the Denver Post again.

In tonight's debate between Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown, the 'independent" Brown was asked who is his favorite Supreme Court Justice.

His answer: Antonin Scalia.

I expect that to be in ads tomorrow.

Scalia arguing that the Constitution does not bar gender discrimination:

Leave it to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to argue that the Constitution does not, in fact, bar sex discrimination. Even though the court has said for decades that the equal-protection clause protects women (and, for that matter, men) from sex discrimination, the outspoken, controversial Scalia claimed late last week that women's equality is entirely up to the political branches. "If the current society wants to outlaw discrimination by sex," he told an audience at the University of California's Hastings College of the Law, "you have legislatures."

Full version on the other side.

Eric Hobsbawm has passed away. He was 95 and an unrepentant Marxist-Leninist. A giant figure in the study of history, his studies of the 19th Century are classics. May he rest in peace.

Mitt Romney urges that the US should repeat its catastrophic errors regarding the Iraq Debacle and listen again to Bib Netanyahu, this time on Iran. Juan Cole remembers Bibi's urging the Iraq Debacle, even though the Media seems to have conveniently forgotten.

Open Thread.

A few days ago, the New York Times reported that Mitt Romney would overturn Obama's position barring the used of enhanced interrogation techniques.

There are 18 lawyers, most of whom were part of the Bush Administation, on Romney's National Security team.

Here's the memo they wrote.

In related news, Romney and Ryan are now getting security briefings from the Obama administration.

A new season of Homeland begins tonight on Showtime. Same for The Good Wife. Also, there's a new episode of Boardwalk Empire. In case anyone's watching, here's a place to discuss them.

If you're doing something else, this is an open thread, all topics welcome.

More than 2,000 U.S. troops have now died in Afghanistan.

Justin Beiber threw up twice onstage during his debut "Believe" concert last night, but charged back each time and finished the show.

When he finally returned, Bieber had the poise and innate show-business smarts to come clean with the audience. "It's hard for me, you know, not feeling great and throwing up in front of a bunch of people," he said to laughs. "Will you love me even though I'm throwing up on stage?" Shrill shrieks. "OK, I wanted to give you my best show ever, so do you mind if I finish it?"

Here are some Supreme Court possibilities if Mitt Romney wins the election. Among them: Judge Janice Rogers Brown. Remember her?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

With Mitt Romney continuing to lose ground among voters who view him as out of touch, Republicans are trying hard to gin up expectations for the Obama-Romney debate. John McCain says it will be "one for the history books." Chris Christie says the debate will "turn the presidential race upside down." The hyperbole is echoed by some journalists, like Chris Cillizza, who today writes the debate will be a moment when "everything and everyone stops" and likens it to the Superbowl of politics.

I think many people will tune in to see how many times Mitt sticks his foot in his mouth and shows his disconnect from ordinary Americans. [More...]