I'm speculating J will write some stuff today. No sourcing,

Update (TL):: Just shows how important it is to source speculations. I'm busy at work, nothing from me for a while.

Open Thread.

I'm going to annoy a few of my fellow lefties and say that we should stop getting bent out of shape when people respond to the Trustees report by saying that Social Security is "going bankrupt" or "running dry" or some similar formulation. There's a hyperlegalistic sense in which this isn't accurate, but honestly, it would be a helluva dramatic event if the trust fund ran out of money and Social Security suddenly had to slash benefits by 25% in 2033 (see chart above). Referring to this as "bankruptcy" isn't all that big a rhetorical stretch, and everyone on both left and right should put away their fainting couches, ditch all the tired excuses, and get to work on a fix that would involve — say it in unison, folks! — a very modest and phased-in cut in benefits combined with a very modest and phased-in increase in taxes.

(Emphasis supplied.) Actually it is more than a "rhetorical stretch." It's a lie. And not for "hyperlegalistic" reasons. Let me explain why I think so on the flip.

My nephew, who suffers from autism, graduates from high school this year. His determination, and that of his parents and his sister, has filled me with admiration. The University of Missouri newspaper, The Missourian, wrote about it:

Update: The City of Sanford has rejected the resignation of Police Chief Bill Lee.

Seminole Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester has unsealed documents in the George Zimmerman court file, allowing only for the redaction of witness names. The order is here. This does not unseal police files, just the court file. A hearing on the media's motion for access to police files is set for Friday.

Attorney Mark O'Mara was on CBS this morning. He said that the purpose of George Zimmerman's apology at the bail hearing was not to increase the likelihood of his getting bond, but to address the Martins who had rejected Zimmerman's earlier attempt to apologize. He said had he known that it would upset the Martins, he wouldn't have had his client take the stand as it wasn't necessary to get bond. He basically apologized to the Martins. [More...]

The jury is expected to hear opening arguments today in the federal trial of John Edwards taking place in North Carolina. Here's a primer on what to watch for. An overview is here. The key questions are here.

While in many ways it will be the trial of Andrew Young vs. John Edwards, and whether Team Edwards can effectively impeach Mr. Young’s credibility, it's also going to be a very technical trial about the interpretation of campaign finance laws.

The Indictment is here. There are six charges. [More...]

George Zimmerman has posted bond and been released from jail. The Orlando Sentinel says the jail reports he used a bondsperson to make the $150,000. bond.

Here's a photo from Reuters and the Orlando Sentinel. The Seminole County Sheriff issued this statement [More...]:

My Sunday daily kos article, Prof. Jack Balkin on 'Living Originalism' and the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, covers ground regular readers will be familiar with. See Constitutional Interpretation, Originalism and a Living Constitution and Dred Scott,Originalism and a Living Constitution.

Open Thread.

For some reason, the media wants people to think that witness John, the one who told a Fox News reporter that he was outside the night of the shooting, observed two men wrestling, that the man on the bottom was wearing a red sweater (Zimmerman had a red jacket), cried out to him for help, and he went inside to call 911, didn't come forward with this information until the end of March. Not true. He gave his account to the media the day after the shooting. From his video interview above with Keith Landry of Fox News Orlando on Feb. 27:

"The guy on the bottom, who had a red sweater on, was yelling to me, 'Help! Help!' and I told him to stop, and I was calling 911," said the witness, who asked to be identified only by his first name, John.

John said he locked his patio door, ran upstairs and heard at least one gun shot. "And then, when I got upstairs and looked down, the guy who was on the top beating up the other guy, was the one laying in the grass, and I believe he was dead at that point."

[More...]

There must be readers with something besides the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case to talk about. If so, here's a place.

If you want to continue the Zimmerman discussion, you can do that here too. It's an open thread, all topics welcome

I'm going to watch Key Largo on PBS, and check for new developments in the John Edwards and Kim DotCom/ MegaUpload cases.

As Tom Maguire aptly notes, some of us have day jobs and can't spend two hours watching a hearing. So I didn't watch the George Zimmerman bail hearing live. But I just read CNN's transcript (parts 1, 2 and 3) (again thanks to Tom for the links.)

While it cuts out in places for commercial breaks, it appears to be almost a compete transcript. My thoughts, based on the transcript, are below. I also recommend Tom's analysis which I just finished reading after writing this post. I'll probably add some others views later, or in a new post, since this one is so lengthy. [More...]

Our hero

Happy Ben Masel Day:

Ben Masel, the happy warrior against the drug war who became one of Madison’s most beloved civil libertarians, may have died last year. But his legacy is very much alive. It will be celebrated this afternoon at the Capitol — where Masel so frequently protested secrecy, intolerance and injustice — and tonight at the Barrymore Theatre. City officials have even voted to make this “Ben Masel Day.” And rightly so.

Bail has been set for George Zimmerman in the amount of $150,000.