Via thers, Elizabeth Warren:

Text on the flip.

Open Thread.

This WaPo story on the treatment of women in the Obama White House, based on reporting in Ron Susskind's new book, is neither surprising nor unusual. From the WaPo story:

Friction about the roles of women in the Obama White House grew so intense during the first two years of the president’s tenure that he was forced to take steps to reassure senior women on his staff that he valued their presence and their input. At a dinner in November 2009, several senior female aides complained directly to the president that men enjoyed greater access to him and often muscled them out of key policy discussions.

For women across the world, this is no doubt a familiar story. Men (especially men like me, to be clear) aggressively try to dominate discussions, oftentimes to the detriment of women. We need to be more sensitive about this issue in all contexts. I'm glad that Valerie Jarrett brought the problem to the President's attention, and hopefully the situation improved. But honestly, this is not a White House story, but a story about one of the many obstacles women face in all settings.

Speaking for me only

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole has rejected clemency for Troy Davis.

His legal appeals are exhausted, so his latest last-ditch effort before the parole board appears to be his last chance to be spared execution.

No appeal to the Supreme Court allowed?

Good read: Andrew Cohen's The Death Penalty: Why We Fight for Equal Justice.

Former President Bill Clinton is about to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative. You can watch live here. Or follow on Twitter here.

UPDATE by BTD - I'll be attending the CGI this afternoon at some point and maybe tomorrow. Anything in particular anyone want covered?

In Brussels, Attorney General Eric Holder said Obama remains committed to closing Guantanamo despite Republican opposition. If he doesn't get it done before the election, he'll keep trying after.

"We will be pressing for the closure of the facility between now and then - and after that election, we will try to close it as well," Holder said. "Some people have made this a political issue without looking at, I think, the real benefits that would flow from the closure of the facility."

He also said there will be no return to harsh interrogation techniques/torture:

Holder also said that the United States would stick to the "fundamental break" with some interrogation techniques that were criticized around the world as amounting to torture...."We have indicated that certain techniques that were used previously are in fact torture, and will not be engaged in again by the United States," Holder said.

SuperHeavy hit American stores today. Here's the story behind the album. Mick Jagger sounds great (as do they all) and the album is getting some great reviews. The group includes: Mick Jagger, singer Joss Stone, Eurythmics founder Dave Stewart, composer A.R. Rahman and reggae artist Damian Marley.

Here's Rolling Stone's report on the studio recording of the album and its review. You can listen to samples of the songs here.

DWTS begins tonight. Nancy Grace looks like she has had a bit of a makeover already, maybe it's just the spray tan, but she looks better. Can she dance? We'll find out. (I wonder if the pro cast had a say in their partners. Nancy's paired with a new cast member, maybe none of the regulars wanted to dance with her?) How will Chas do? Great I hope. I wonder if they will go last so we have to watch all the others too.

Breaking Bad was terrific last night, Gus vs. Don Eladio and Jesse steps up. If you missed it because of the lamest Emmy's ever, catch it On Demand or on AMC's website. There's also a new episode of Weeds tonight.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome. [More below]

Charlie Sheen is getting a $100 million payout from Warner Brothers, in settlement of his lawsuit over his television show (that I've never seen), Two and a Half Men. $25 million will be paid in two weeks, the rest over time.

Apple stock prices closed at an all-time high today, $411 a share, with a new record-high market valuation of $381.62 billion, which even beats Exxon Mobile.

Let the mega-rich pay more in taxes. Leave Medicare alone. They may have more money, but there's millions more of us and we vote. Our votes can lead to electoral victory. Who cares if they pout?

After a full day of clemency hearings for Troy Davis, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has delayed its decision on his execution, now set for Weds. at 7pm. More than 1 million signatures have been collected asking for clemency. [More...]

The FBI annual crime report is out. There were 1.6 million drug arrests. 82% were for possession only. 46% were for possession of marijuana. More than 50% of all arrests were for marijuana.

NORML has more.

LEAP (Law Enforcment Officers Against Prohibition): That's one drug arrest every 19 seconds.

"If we legalized and taxed drugs, we could not only create new revenue in addition to the money we'd save from ending the cruel policy of arresting users, but we'd make society safer by bankrupting the cartels and gangs who control the currently illegal marketplace."

The War on Drugs is an expensive failure that needs to stop.

John Judis, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. writes the cover story for the October 6, 2011 New Republic on the economy and President Obama. It's called Doom: Our Economic Nightmare is Just Beginning. TNR has provided me with this pass-through link so non-subscribers may read it. It's long, but very interesting, particularly from a historical point of view. (Although the parts about the world monetary system were way over my comprehension abilities.)

It starts out by saying our current recession is not just similar to the 1929 depression, it is the 1929 depression redux. It then recaps economic history since then and politicians and nations' responses. Shorter version: Obama shouldn't fall prey to Republicans clamoring for deficit cuts and decreased Government spending. Austerity is not the answer and to recover, we need more, not less, Government spending. [More...]