The judge presiding over Rod Blagojevich's criminal case has agreed to recommend the Bureau of Prisons admit him to RDAP -- the residential drug and alcohol program that allows inmates who successfully complete it to cut up to a year off their prison terms.

The news is reporting he asked for drug treatment even though Blago's attorneys gave no reason for the request. Also the reports state Team Blago asked he be placed in the program when he starts his sentence.

First of all, the program is for drug and/or alcohol treatment, so there's no reason to assume the request was based on drug use. [More...]

Busy today.

Open Thread.

The judge in Rod Blagojevich's case has recommended to the Bureau of Prisons that he be designated to the low-level prison in Englewood, Colorado, outside of Denver. (BOP website for Englewood here.)

Blagojevich isn't eligible for a camp because his sentence exceeds 10 years. So a low security facility is the next best thing. Englewood is pretty decent. Lots of clients want to go there. (Here's the Commissary list.)It also has an adjacent camp which he can get to when he does qualify.

He may even find friends there. Enron's Jeffrey Skilling is serving his sentence at Englewood, and he doesn't get out until 2028.

A judge's recommendations are not binding on the Bureau of Prisons, so it's not a certainty that's where he will go. Bed space may play a role. The judge also extended Blago's surrender date until March 15, to give him more time to sell his home.

Jerry Sandusky waived his preliminary hearing today. Some lawyers (ex-prosecutors mostly) are criticizing the move, saying he gave up the ability to get the alleged victims' versions on the record and under oath now, which would be valuable at trial for impeachment if they change their version of events.

Personally, I think it was an okay move and the least damaging to Sandusky in the long run. Had the hearing proceeded, the media would have continually reported the most sensational allegations over and over. By the time of trial, the odds of finding unbiased jurors would be even more unlikely than they are now. [More...]

Here is the final conference report of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2012, with slight changes to the detainee provisions, which were made in response to objections by the Obama Administration. A version with just Subtitle D, entitled “Counterterrorism,” is here. The section continues to page 685. The explanation for the changes is here.

Shorter version: Indefinite detention is here to stay and Guantanamo is not closing anytime soon.

The press release from the Armed Services Committee is here. Here is the old version if you want to track the latest changes. The Detainee provisions begin on page 364.

Sen. Carl Levin puts his spin on the changes here.

Check out the Lawfare Blog for technical analysis and Human Rights Watch's statement saying the bill is fundamentally flawed and Obama should veto the newest version. (Don't count on it.) [More...]

Via Atrios, when Republicans like eminent domain:

Two pipeline companies are seeking the clout of eminent domain. While the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has yet to rule, it signaled this year that it was leaning toward giving firms condemnation power to gain rights-of-way for their pipelines.

Many years ago, I penned a legal defense of the Kelo decision. Many "conservatives" claimed outrage over the decision. My defense was largely premised on the court's adherence to existing precedent that gave deference to the elected branches of government, especially, State and local government, on issues of purely local concern. The "conservatives" claimed that the "violation" of private property rights made the issue one of Constitutional concern. We'll see what they say now.

Paul Krugman responds to Ezra Klein:

[O]nce you realize that the GOP is not now, and never has been (at least not since the 1970s) concerned about the deficit. All the fiscal posturing of the last couple of years has been about using the deficit as a club to smash the welfare state, with the secondary goal of frustrating any efforts on the part of the Obama administration to help the struggling economy.

The entire debate has been fake. If you don’t understand that, or can’t bring yourself to admit it, you’re missing the whole story.

Fair and balanced in the Beltway.

Our earlier open thread is just about full.

My computers seem to be malware free now, but I'm still being very cautious. The last expense I want this time of year is a new computer or even worse, two.

In political news, Newt Gingrich today promised an evangelical group in Iowa he'll remain faithful to his current wife. In a letter promising to oppose gay marriage, he added:

"I also pledge to uphold the institution of marriage through personal fidelity to my spouse and respect for the marital bonds of others," he wrote.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

There was a lot of action in the war against drug cartels today. The Mexican Army killed 11 suspected cartel members in a shootout in Valle Hermoso, 30 miles south of Matamoros, which in turn is south of Brownsville, Texas. The shootout was part of operation "Noreste," which according to the Mexican Military, "seeks to generate a climate of peace, trust and harmony for the population."

The Mexican Navy captured one of the founding members of the Zetas, Raul Lucio Hernandez Lechuga, aka "El Lucky."

Colombia extradited former Norte Valle Cartel chief Ramon Quintero Sancelmente to the U.S. [More...]

The Supreme Court has decided to hear Arizona's appeal of court decisions holding its immigration law, SB 1070, unconstitutional.

The issue the Court will decide is one of pre-emption, whether federal immigration laws preclude Arizona from enacting the four controversial provisions ruled unconstitutional by the district and appeals court. The 9th Circuit ruling is here. Arizona's Petition for Certiorari is here. You can access the pleadings here. [More...]

The media is giddy with excitement over the Jerry Sandusky preliminary hearing tomorrow. The Court decided to allow live-tweeting for real-time coverage.

Sandusky's lawyer says no plea deal is in the works. Some of the alleged victims will testify.

Also not having a great week: Joe Paterno, who broke his pelvis in a fall yesterday.

I didn't blog this weekend because my laptop got taken over by the latest virus (malware) scam, which starts with an alert that your computer is infected. It uses the official Microsoft logo. Within minutes, all executable security programs are disabled (it plants something in your computer registry) so your anti-virus and anti-spy software programs don't work; it hijacks your browser; and every 20 seconds or so, it pops up on your screen telling you to activate its program for $60 to be free. It took me all weekend to get it removed, no easy task, because it also disables your ability to implement the fix. It even disabled my printer from printing the fix. What a nightmare. [More....]