Big Brother is back tonight on CBS for Season 13. There will only be 8 new houseguests, as the rest will be retreads from prior seasons. Please don't let it be Rachel or Enzo, but of course, who else would they pick but the most annoying people of seasons past? Those are the best picks for ratings. Hate, like guilt, sells in America. (Update: CBS is so clever. They picked the hated Rachel to return, but also brought Jeff and Jordan back, probably the nicest and most easy-going contestants I've seen on the show. Looks like it will be a great season. There's two really annoying new male contestants, and one overly chirpy soccer mom-type, but the rest of the group seems fine.)

We had the fiercest thunderstorm a few hours ago, right at rush hour. All the bushes in my backyard are lying on their side. The local news had a field day, tornado sirens were going off and they had to keep reassuring viewers there were no funnel clouds. The emergency broadcast system interrupted with flash flood warnings, and driving home must have been a nightmare. Glad I got home before it started. Were any of you out and about?

For those of you not watching Big Brother, and I assume that's all of you reading this, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Atrios:

No I don't know precisely how the play ends, but here in Act II various players are stamping their feet and making demands, followed by the ultimate capitulation for the 'good of the country.'

And Obama will have "saved Social Security." Write it down. 2 trillion in cuts for raising the debt ceiling. Great negotiating there. Unless, Kevin Drum is right:

A lawyer for Dominique Strauss-Kahn has confirmed his client will not plead guilty to anything.

The letter from the accuser's lawyer to the DA seeking recusal and appointment of a special prosecutor is all grandstanding. In three and one half pages, he never even cites a statute or case supporting his position. He declares himself judge and jury by proclaiming that the evidence shows DSK is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

What's he really up to? In my view, the letter is a pre-emptive strike at Vance's office in case they decide to charge his client with a crime for her admitted false statements to the grand jury or involvement in her jailed husband's financial crimes. By impugning the integrity of the DA's office, he's saying that any future charges against his client are the product of unfair bias. [More...]

Casey Anthony was sentenced to four years for lying to police and will be freed Wednesday, with credit for time served.

Juror No. 6 is willing to tell his story, but only for a price. He even has a publicist. Here's the letter. [More...]

Don't Worry, He's Got It.

Open Thread.

Classic from 2009:

Recent history has proved that the president's Chess Match style will require a little more patience than we're accustomed to in order to see the endgame -- to see how this all plays out. [. . .] Chances are: he's got this.

Dentist day for me. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Matt Yglesias:

Kevin Drum pretends President Obama is fighting against cutting government spending:

[T]his poll does pretty clearly tell us [. . .] large majorities are pretty obsessed about cutting the national debt — and those large majorities cut across practically every demographic subgroup. If you want to know why President Obama is willing to cut a deal with Republicans to drastically cut federal spending, this is it. We liberals have miserably failed to make the case for stimulus spending, and as a result conservatives have spectacularly succeeded in reverting the American public to its default state of believing that the federal books should always be balanced, the same as household books. On this score, we've just been flatly outplayed over the past couple of years.

(Emphasis supplied.) What does Drum mean "we?" The President has not been willing, he has been EAGER, to cut government spending. He has been talking like this for over a year:

Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, a Somalian man indicted in New York today was held for two months and interrogated on a U.S. Navy ship. The Obama Administration describes him as a militant with ties to AQAP and al Shabab, and says he was designated an "important target." My translation: He was on the kill or capture list and we decided to go for capture rather than kill this time. Next time could be different.

Obama officials say the new policy of holding detainees for interrogation on Navy Ships is much different than the previous Bush policy. The interrogations are more humane and they get Miranda warnings...after being interrogated. [More...]

A handy little primer, followed by some thoughts on the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and the presumption of innocence.

A Verdict of Not Guilty Includes:

• Based upon the evidence presented, we the Jury find that the defendant is absolutely 100% innocent.

• Based upon the evidence presented, we the Jury, cannot be absolutely sure that the defendant is innocent.

• Based upon the evidence presented, we the Jury are confident that the defendant is innocent.

• Based upon the evidence presented, we the Jury believe that the defendant is probably innocent. [More...]

It's been a long day here. Time for dinner and an open thread, all topics welcome.

I was driving to the jail to see a client when I heard on the radio the verdict would be announced at 2:15. The breathless commentators at HLN were in top form. One even announced Casey Anthony's parents were undoubtedly en route to the court, "hearts pounding in their chest" as if they were right there beside them. All of the commentators I heard predicted a guilty verdict -- citing the prosecution's closing argument. A few hedged their bets by saying juries are unpredictable. Not one called it for the defense. [More...]