This is a photo I took of the Monument to Labor sculpture in Omaha, Nebraska, by Matthew Placzek. (larger version here.) It's a tribute to the workers in the labor unions that helped build Omaha and is the second largest labor memorial in the country.

Here's a brief primer on Labor Day.

Have a great holiday, this is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Last night's episode of "Breaking Bad" was probably the best one yet. The mysterious past of Gus Fring begins to emerge. He left Chile for Mexico in 1986, but there's no record of him since. In the three years he was in Mexico, the cartel considered him dangerous but untouchable. [More...]

John Cole endorses Jon Chait's critique of fantasy (Jon Chait's fantasy) liberal critiques of President Obama. Here's my question - how is President Obama's "pragmatism" working out politically? Is being a one term President part of the "pragmatism?"

How's Obama's Theory of Change working out?

Obama's "theory of change" was aimed at offering the political opposition a choice between cooperation on progressive policy initiatives or self-isolation through obstruction and extremism. In other words, in a country unhappy with partisan gridlock, Republicans would either go along with key elements of a progressive agenda, or shrink themselves into an ever-more-extreme ideological rump that was irrelevant to the direction of the country.

(Emphasis supplied.) One GOP landslide in 2010 and an Obama approval rating of 40 later, it seems difficult to argue that the Theory of Change has worked politically. Will Obama stick to it through the 2012 election and will it be advisable for him to do so? I argue, and I think "liberals" argue, that no, that would be a political mistake. Jon Chait and John Cole seem to be arguing that Obama needs to "stay the course." More . . .

An investigative report by the Associated Press reveals that 35,000 people around the world have been convicted of terror offenses in the past decade. There were more than 119,000 arrests.

That included 2,934 arrests and 2,568 convictions in the United States, which led the war on terror — eight times more than in the decade before.

Many of those arrested were not terrorists but people "put behind bars for waving a political sign or blogging about a protest." Martin Sheinin, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism says:

"Nowadays people are realizing the abuse and even the actual use of counterterror laws is bad for human rights and also bad for actually stopping terrorism."

Mick Jagger extolling the virtues of work, in 1987, on his solo album Primative Cool. Added touch: The World Trade Center Towers are behind the priest, firefighters and joggers as they go under a freeway overpass.

Enjoy your Sunday, this is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I think it's going to be a slow-news weekend. And the weather here is too nice to stay indoors. But it's the start of Labor Day weekend, so we need some appropriate music. Here's Bon Jovi with "Work for the Working Man." (Nice touch that the video also features Jack Bauer of "24" since we're on the precipe of the 10 year anniversary of 9/11.)

For those of you online, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Update: Judge Walton ruled a re-trial is not barred. The double jeopardy bar is too high. He's angry at the Government, and may seek to have the Government pay Clemons' cost if there's a retrial, but he won't bar a retrial. The judge expects the defense to appeal his ruling. A new trial date has been set for April 17. Great tweeting by TJQuinnESPN.

Judge Walton is ruling now. Via TJQuin@ESPN.com:

Walton: and even if it was intentional, I don't think I can conclude that's sufficient that there is a double jeopardy bar.

And then:

Sounds like he's ready to rule trial may continue, but every sentence contradicts the last. Ups and downs are murder.

...Walton: if there's a retrial, he might see if he can force gov't to pay for #Clemens' wasted time from first trial.

...He's speaking as if he has already ruled: the trial may go on.

[More...]

AmericaBlog interviewed Joseph Stiglitz:

Yes, you have heard it all before. It's still true.

In Iraq in 2006, U.S. soldiers herded 11 members of a family into a room, including a 75 year old woman and five children, handcuffed them, and shot them point blank.

The story was widely reported in 2006 (we covered it here, and even I gave the soldiers the benefit of the doubt as to whether they shot the kids at point-blank range -- silly me.)

A newly released cable from Wikileaks (available here) authored by Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, a few weeks after the killings, recounts the original police report of the killings stating that the family was handcuffed and shot at close range. The cable says soldiers then called in an airstrike to bomb the house and destroy the evidence.

The U.S. had maintained that the soldiers raided the house after getting a tip that a member of al-Qaida was at the house. The U.S. said a fierce gunfight ensued that left the house in a rubble and a few people, including the al qaeda suspect, dead. It refused to conduct a further investigation. [More...]

Many lawyers offer their clients the convenience of paying by credit card. The Feds have just instituted new reporting rules (available here) on such paymnts.

The IRS has implemented new compliance requirements through Internal Revenue Code Section 6050W that will affect all merchants (including government and non-profit entities). Beginning in calendar year 2011, all merchants will be required to report gross payments received through debit or credit card transactions to the IRS on an annual basis. To verify this reporting, banks and merchant service providers will be required to provide both merchants and the IRS with Form 1099-K by January of 2012.

From now on, your merchant name on your credit account at the bank must match your legal name on your tax ID number. Banks will be instituting compliance measures to check.

Here are the final regulations.

NYTimes:

The federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold at the height of the housing bubble, and seeking billions of dollars in compensation. The Federal Housing Finance Agency suits, which are expected to be filed in the coming days in federal court, are aimed at Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, among others, according to three individuals briefed on the matter. [. . .] The suits will argue the banks, which assembled the mortgages and marketed them as securities to investors, failed to perform the due diligence required under securities law and missed evidence that borrowers’ incomes were inflated or falsified. When many borrowers were unable to pay their mortgages, the securities backed by the mortgages quickly lost value. Fannie and Freddie lost more than $30 billion, in part as a result of the deals, losses that were borne mostly by taxpayers.

Count me among the fans of Nicole Polizzi, aka Snookie on Jersey Shore. Her personality is infectious, and if if I were in high school with her, I'm sure I'd want us to be friends. She also speaks in Snookiisms, which at times (although not in this newscast) range from hilarious to endearing. A few from her book are here. And she's laughing all the way to the bank.

Take off your age and gender bias lenses, and give her a look and listen:

Will she replace Diane Sawyer one day? Doubtful. But she surely could deliver the news on a channel like MTV.