There have been 234 executions in Texas under Gov. Rick Perry (database here.) Four more are imminent, scheduled over the next 8 days. One is Duane Buck. At Buck's sentencing, prosecutors argued in part he should be sentenced to death because he is black and therefore a threat to public safety.

Duane Buck is one of four men scheduled to die by lethal injection in Texas, where Perry is governor, over the next eight days – an exceptional rate even in this execution-happy state. At Buck's sentencing hearing, the jury that set his punishment was informed by a psychologist that black people had a higher rate of violent behaviour, a statement used by the prosecution as its key argument against giving him an alternative penalty of life imprisonment.

[More...]

Some of my legal work has stirred some deeper thoughts on the law and I expect to be writing some lengthier pieces at Talk Left this week on the law.

I just don't have much to say about GOP politics and debates right now, and nothing new to add about President Obama's moves of late. I'm a little more optimistic than Jeralyn on where he is headed these days. I'll try to explain why in a post later today.

For now, an Open Thread.

The Associated Press has this analysis of Obama's assertion that his job bill pays for himself:

The jobs plan is an IOU from a president and lawmakers who may not even be in office down the road when the bills come due. Today's Congress cannot bind a later one for future spending. A future Congress could simply reverse it.

Anyone else notice Obama is proposing taxes on those who make $200,000 rather than $250,000? Is that gross income before deductions? Or taxable income? Or what?

In other news, How Obama Wants to Pay for His Debt Plan.

The military appeals court at Guantanamo has upheld a life sentence for Osama bin Laden's media director, Yemeni Ali Hamza al Bahlul, age 41. The 139 page opinion takes substantial liberties with the meaning of conspiracy.

Copyright troll Righthaven is about to go down for the count. It told a federal judge it is considering filing bankruptcy after being ordered to pay $34,000 in legal fees to a blog commenter it sued for reposting a LV Review Journal article.

The Denver Post and 50 other papers who are part of the Media News Group that signed with Righthaven are terminating their relationship . The new chief executive of MediaNews Group, John Paton, who replaced Dean Singleton last week, "said it was “a dumb idea” to sign in the first place."

Paton said if he was MediaNews’ chief a year ago, he likely never would have signed on with Righthaven, which hoped to fix the print media’s financial ills by suing bloggers and website owners for reposting snippets or entire copyrighted articles. Terms of the Righthaven-MediaNews deal grant each side a 50-percent stake in settlements and verdicts.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Today, Paul Krugman writes about Europe's flailing elite insisting on how perfect their conduct has been on the economy:

On Thursday Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank or E.C.B. — Europe’s equivalent to Ben Bernanke — lost his sang-froid. In response to a question about whether the E.C.B. is becoming a “bad bank” thanks to its purchases of troubled nations’ debt, Mr. Trichet, his voice rising, insisted that his institution has performed “impeccably, impeccably!” as a guardian of price stability.

Krugman goes on to explain that this is, in fact, Trichet's problem -- he has acted in the interests of the rentier class and thus is in the process of destroying Europe and the euro. For the details, read Krugman's column, but I was struck by this part of the piece:

Those suspicious people taken off the Frontier airlines plane in Detroit? One was ill, one had to use the bathroom. All three were cleared, and fully cooperative with police.

FBI Detroit spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said reports about sexual encounters taking place in the rest room are false, describing them as “stories spinning out of control.”

...[FBI Detroit spokeswoman Sandra] Berchtold said today "They’re victims of circumstance and victims of the day."

We are all victims of the day.

The federal courthouse in Palm Beach was closed this morning due to a suspicious van parked nearby. The van had derogatory language printed on it. The language was critical of police handling of a child molestation case.

West Palm Beach police spokesman Chase Scott says a police dog alerted to the possibility of explosives inside a rental van after 8 a.m. Monday. It was checked because of unspecified derogatory comments written on the outside of the van.

After the bomb squads checked out the van and determined there was no threat, the courthouse reopened.

A post office and state health department building were also evacuated.

The line between concern and fear and paranoia is blurring quickly.

Most ridiculous story of the 9/11 Fear Brigade yet. Read the whole thing.

My response to that passenger?

If you're that nervous about flying, why not stay home?

President Obama says we won't live in fear. Really? Who's he fooling?

• Federal agents are questioning a man after device found in his carry-on bag
• Police in Massachusetts scrambling to track down a Penske truck
• FBI agents working frantically to verify car bomb terrorist threat
• Flight to Baltimore diverted after 'suspicious behaviour' by passenger
• Snipers line roofs at World Trade Centre site, as service gets underway
• Internet shut down in buildings near Ground Zero as safety precaution
• Suspicious object discovered at Dulles airport, 22 miles from Washington DC
• Three people have come to U.S. with 'intent' to carry out plot, say officials

Making Out in Frontier flight restroom causes arrests and fighter jets to shadow plane from Denver to Detroit. Three passengers were hauled off the flight. No arrests were made. [More...]

The Concert for New York City (2001)is replaying now on VH-1,, from 4pm to 10 pm on VH-1. Don't miss it, the performances are great. You can watch online here.

Paul Simon originally planned to sing "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" today. He changed it to "Sounds of Silence."

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

Check out these 1966 and 2009 versions of Simon and Garfunkel singing the song. Truly timeless and beautiful.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

A senior official says the NYC al Qaeda terror threat now appears more like a wild goose chase. The information has not been able to be corroborated and the plot details don't add up.