The accusations flew in the Meg Whitman-Jerry Brown California gubernatorial debate today.

Here are some excerpts. Whitman:

"The real tragedy here is Nicky. After Nov. 2, no one's going to be watching out for Nicky Diaz. And Jerry, you know you should be ashamed, you and your surrogates ... put her deportation at risk. You put it out there and you should be ashamed for sacrificing Nicky Diaz on the altar of your political ambitions."

Brown:

"You have blamed her, blamed me, blamed the left, blamed the unions, but you don't take accountability and you can't be a leader unless you're willing to stand on your own two feet and say 'Yep, I made a mistake.'"

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Greta takes on Gloria Allred over the Meg Whitman housekeeper allegations. Pretty funny.

The San Francisco Chronicle interviewed immigration lawyers who say Whitman acted appropriately: [More...]

After a 7-6 week, my season record now stands at 29-24-1 (.547). Here are this weeks picks:

Vandy (+7.5) over UConn; Northwestern (-6) over Minn [3 units]; Army (+7) over Temple; Ohio State (-17) over Illini; UVA (+7) over FSU; Clemson (+3.5) over The U; Kentucky (+3) over Ole Miss; Navy (+10) over Air Force; Okla (-4) over Texas [5 units]; Wisconsin (-2) over Mich State; NC State (+3.5) over Va Tech; Georgia (-4) over Colorado; BC (+3) over Notre Dame; Iowa (-7) over Penn St.; USC (-10) over Washington; Oregon (-7) over Stanford; and Nevada (-21) over UNLV.

In EPL action, I'm riding Chelsea again, this time over Arsenal. 5 units.

Go Gators!

Reprehensible news article of the day:

From 1946 to 1948, American public health doctors deliberately infected nearly 700 Guatemalans — prison inmates, mental patients and soldiers — with venereal diseases in what was meant as an effort to test the effectiveness of penicillin.

American tax dollars, through the National Institutes of Health, even paid for syphilis-infected prostitutes to sleep with prisoners, since Guatemalan prisons allowed such visits. When the prostitutes did not succeed in infecting the men, some prisoners had the bacteria poured onto scrapes made on their penises, faces or arms, and in some cases it was injected by spinal puncture.

If the victims came down with the disease, they were treated with antibiotics.

The U.S. officially apologized today. The President of Guatamala appropriately expressed his outrage, calling the tests "crimes against humanity."

Mahsa Saeidi-Azcuy, the bullying prosecutor on this season's Apprentice, has quit her job after being moved to a non-courtroom position.

Most of the articles I've read say she was forced out. Why? Saeidi-Azcuy, who has had her law degree for a year, who portrayed herself as a justice-seeker, and who the show portrayed as a tough-as-nails tour-de-force in the courtroom, never told the DA's office why she sought a two month leave of absence, that she intended to appear on the show, seeking a job working for Trump. Had they known, they wouldn't have granted her request.

Even Ivanka Trump noticed her negative personality: [More..]

CNN wasted no time in firing Rick Sanchez after he ran his mouth on Pete Dominick's Sirius radio show, calling Jon Stewart a "bigot" and suggesting CNN is run by Jews.

Dominick pointed out that as a Jew, Stewart was also a minority - to which Sanchez responded, snickering, "Please, what are you kidding?.. Yeah, a very powerless people."

"I'm telling you that everybody who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, and a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart," Sanchez said. "To imply that somehow they, the people in this country who are Jewish, are an oppressed minority? Yeah."

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At the airport. Talk to y'all tomorrow morning with my college picks.

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

I was busy in Gainesville helping Urban Meyer scheme for the Alabama game . . .

Open Thread.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill into law that reduces the offense of possession of up to one ounce of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction, like a traffic ticket. The penalty has not changed -- both the misdemeanor and the petty offense carried a $100.fine. The Governor, who opposes Prop 19, said:

I am signing Senate Bill 1449. This bill changes the crime of possession of less than an ounce of marijuana from a misdemeanor punishable only by a $100 fine to an infraction punishable by a $100 fine. Under existing law, jail time cannot be imposed, probation cannot be ordered, nor can the base fine exceed $100 for someone convicted of this crime.

I am opposed to decriminalizing the possession and recreational use of marijuana and oppose Proposition 19, which is on the November ballot.

So what's the difference? According to the Governor:

There's a lot of TV tonight. Project Runway, Gray's Anatomy, the Apprentice and a new Jersey Shore.

What's on your agenda tonight?

In the news, the Tyler Clementi suicide continues to draw outrage. Invasion of privacy charges have been filed:

Mr. Clementi’s roommate, Dharun Ravi, 18, of Plainsboro, N.J., and another classmate, Molly Wei, 18, of Princeton Junction, N.J., had each been charged with two counts of invasion of privacy for using “the camera to view and transmit a live image” of Mr. Clementi. The most serious charges carry a maximum sentence of five years.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Government is seeking a life sentence against failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad.

“The premeditated attempt to kill and maim scores of unsuspecting innocent men, women and children with a homemade bomb can only be described as utterly reprehensible,” the prosecutors said.

The Government also says Shahzad was financed by the Pakistani Taliban and planned another bomb two weeks later.

So no credit for his waiving his Miranda rights and talking to the feds.

[T]he government also revealed that during Mr. Shahzad’s cooperation with Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and police detectives after his arrest, he “never expressed any remorse for his conduct.” They said he spoke with pride about what he and his co-conspirators had done, much as he did in court when he pleaded guilty.

Shahzad will be sentenced October 5.

Pete Rouse will replace Rahm Emanuel as President Obama's Chief of Staff. Who?

A trusted adviser dating back to Obama's first days in the Senate, Rouse helped guide Obama's Washington rise. Obama once described Rouse as "completely ego-free."

He's known as a "fixer." Some insiders are skeptical.

[S]ome insiders question whether Rouse will be forceful enough to keep the rival power centers in the West Wing in check. Where Emanuel had his own base and was in many ways the dominant generator of ideas within the White House, Rouse is considered more of an arbitrator. He is also viewed as unthreatening by other senior members of the staff.

Obama will make the announcement at 11 a.m. Friday.