Reuters reports the ballot initiative in Colorado to legalize marijuana could make or break Obama's chances in the state. Colorado is considered a swing-state for Obama.

At issue is whether Obama will get a boost from young voters expected to be among the most enthusiastic backers of a Colorado ballot initiative that would legalize possession of up to an ounce of pot for recreational use - and give the state the most liberal marijuana law in the nation.

Young voters are not the only Coloradans who believe the initiative should be passed: [More...]

I'm tied up today. Open Thread.

George Zimmerman will get a hearing on the revocation of his bond , after he turns himself in. I think the judge will give him bond again.

Once he is re-bonded , this will become a minor footnote. It's just a distraction. I suggest people look at the available evidence. It either supports the state's case or it doesn't. In my view , the evidence does not defeat self -defense , which is what the state must do at trial . Other witnesses and physical evidence support that Zimmerman was attacked . Zimmerman still has a strong claim of self-defense. Keep your eyes on the big picture. This sideshow of coded calls with his wife about money won't change or undo what other evidence establishes happened. Focus on W6, W12 and W13, W11 and W20.

Good morning from Owl Farm. This is Jesse the baby peacock. (Bigger version here.)He loves to strut and pose for pictures. He lives indoors. He thought he was going to sleep in this bed last night, he was disappointed. Here's Anita holding him.

Anita wasn't kidding about all the new animals. Here are the roosters and hens. And some llamas from across the road.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Even driving to Aspen I can't escape the news (I stopped for gas and turned on my iPad.)

Judge Mark Lester has revoked George Zimmerman's bond.

Here is the Motion to Revoke Bond filed today, and the partial transcript of his wife's testimony at the April bond hearing.

It's time for the Annual NORML legal conference in Aspen. As always, I'll be staying with Anita at Owl Farm in Woody Creek, just outside of Aspen -- and with the peacocks. (And, she tells me 29 other animals.)

I'll leave you with a note that Hunter had on his fridge. I have no idea what he meant, but it seems particularly topical. [More...]

I'm pretty busy and traveling the next few days. But I'll post a bit on the weekend as I believe J is busy all weekend.

Open Thread.

NYTimes tells me that only 69K jobs were added in May and U6 inched upped to 8.2%:

The United States economy gained a net 69,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department said Friday, a dismal showing that reflected mounting fears of a global slowdown. The unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent in April. April’s gain in jobs of 115,000 was revised down to an increase of 77,000.

The data is not expected to have a major impact on the monetary policy outlook. Economists said it would take a payrolls number below 100,000 to jolt the Federal Reserve into action.

We need fiscal stimulus, not monetary stimulus, imo. We needed more of it in 2009 and 2010. We needed it in 2011. We need it now.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - if Obama loses this election, it will be because of what happened in 2009 and the advice provided him by the incompetent and corrupt Tim Geithner.

Rachel Dougall and Julian Ponder are the latest victims of Indonesia's drug laws. They moved to Bali from Great Britain. They have a 6 year old daughter Kitty, who may soon become an orphan. [More...]

Driving home from work, all I had for information on the reaction to the John Edwards' verdict was Sirius. Against my better judgment, I put up with the incessant commercials for debt and income tax relief. I was sorry I did.

On MSNBC, I thought the comments of Chris Matthews and his guests, including the authors of the Game Change, on John Edwards' post-verdict press statement, were appalling.

Matthews and his panel all agreed John Edwards was a delusional egomaniac with no particular political or social insight beneath the surface. One criticized his reading ability. One even called him a psychopath.

What was the basis for these attacks? According to Matthews & panel, Edwards had the audacity to suggest during his post-verdict press conference (you can view it here) that he might still have a political future. Matthews then aired his statements. I didn't hear Edwards say a word about re-entering politics. He talked about wanting to help children in poverty -- he may have been referring to a future public presence, but that's not even close to suggesting another run for political office. [More..]

Why did the jury unanimously agree John Edwards was not guilty on Count 3 charging illegal campaign contributions from Bunny Mellon in 2008, while it was hung on the other counts?.

This was the one count that they could reject before without even having to decide whether the money was a campaign contribution. They could reject it based on both or one of the following:

• Bunny Mellons' December, 2007 and January, 2008 payments were not deposited until after John Edwards withdrew from the Presidential race. Without those two checks, Bunny Mellon's contributions for the year did not exceed $25,000.

and/or

• Venue in the Middle District of North Carolina was not proven by a preponderance of the evidence on this count. The crime charged was illegal acceptance or receipt of campaign funds. The funds weren't deposited in the Middle District. They weren't even sent there. [More...]

Bump and Update: Huge loss for the Government. The verdict is not guilty on one count, jury deadlocked on others. Edwards spoke after court:

While I do not believe I did anything illegal, or ever thought I was doing anything illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong and there is no one else responsible for my sins," Edwards said on the courthouse steps.

"I don't think God's through with me. I really believe he thinks there's still some good things I can do and whatever happens with this legal stuff going forward, what I'm hopeful about is all those kids that I've seen, you know in the poorest parts of this country and some of the poorest parts in the world that I can help them," he said.

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