Reporters are on the move. The Blagojevich family appears headed to the courthouse. Looks like we have a verdict. I just found an easier way to post new developments. I created a TalkLeft Live Twitter feed. It will update automatically every time I add a tweet with updates.

Recap of charges below: [More...]

Via Steven D. at Booman Tribune, is Glenn Beck giving a speech at the Lincoln Memorial on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream Speech" "sensitive" to the concerns of African Americans? Will Abe Foxman of the ADL think that Beck should not do this? I mean, people are upset:

[Glenn] Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally, with former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin among the scheduled speakers, will take place on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, 47 years to the day after Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech there.

[. . .] Civil rights leaders have denounced Beck's plans, questioning his motives for choosing the date and place, which they said are historically symbolic of the country's civil rights movement.

Maybe Beck should move to a site a few blocks away. I mean, if he was interested in not offending people and creating unity. Will Foxman and the ADL be releasing a statement urging Beck to take into account the feelings of African Americans?

Speaking for me only

The jury in the trial of former Governor Rod Blagojevich and his brother Robert asked for the verdict form today. The judge told them not to indicate how they were split on counts they cannot reach a decision on. They also asked for the juror oath -- is this a last ditch effort to convince a holdout?

It seems a verdict is imminent. From their second note this morning:[More...]

Beltway catnip:

Speculation in the nation's capital on who will replace Robert Gates at the Pentagon has centered on an intriguing possibility: Hillary Rodham Clinton. Gates told Foreign Policy magazine that he wants to step down as secretary of Defense sometime in 2011. The appointment of Clinton to replace Gates would be historic. The former first lady and presidential candidate would be the first woman to serve as Defense secretary and only the second person – after George C. Marshall – to have served as both secretary of State and Defense. “That might appeal to her,” [Les] Gelb said.

That would not appeal to me. We need Hillary to run for President in 2016. She can't do the SecDef job through, say 2014, and then run for President. Not enough time. Wes Clark for SecDef!

Speaking for me only

Earlier I wrote about President Obama's boasting about his progressive accomplishments. What he can't boast about yet is any accomplishments regarding making our tax system more progressive. And it's not like this is an unpopular part of the the progressive agenda. Citing a poll (one of many) showing strong support for increasing taxes on the rich and corporations, Matt Yglesias writes:

[H]igher Social Security taxes for the rich, higher income taxes for the rich, higher corporate income tax[. . . .] That’s pretty much an aggressively leveling agenda. Broad tax increases are deemed unacceptable, as are broad reductions in retirement program spending (even when formulated as changes to the retirement age), as are cuts to defense and cuts to federal education spending. That’s what the public wants. [. . .] I don’t see why a practical politician would do anything other than talk about these measures.

(Emphasis supplied.) That is precisely what a good progressive politician would be talking about right now. That and jobs. Hello? Anyone? Bueller?

Speaking for me only

In an editorial today, the NYTimes demands President Obama say more about the Cordoba Center (or as the GOP haters call it, the "Ground Zero Mosque.") Conversely, I demand that politicians stay the hell out of it, other than to say what we all know - the owners of the site get to decide what they will do with it.

Similarly, Greg Sargent is obsessed with getting pols to talk about the "Ground Zero Mosque," just as the Wingnuts:

Right on cue, the NRSC just blasted out a release attacking Chuck Schumer thusly: "As Hamas Weighs In On Ground Zero Mosque, New York's Senior Senator Remains Silent."

Schumer's office has actually said he is "not opposed" to the center, but he hasn't said anything beyond that. What we're seeing here is that it does Dems no good to try to duck this issue. Republicans will attack them anyway.

(Emphasis supplied.) That's precisely the point Greg - the GOP will attack them anyway so don't let the GOP dictate what you say and do. Is there any rational reason why I should care if Chuck Schumer "supports" or "opposes" the Cordoba Center? Would Greg Sargent even think of asking Schumer's (or Obama's or Reid's) opinion about this except that Pam Geller decided it mattered? Is Newt Gingrich now Greg Sargent's assignment editor or Chuck Schumer's political consultant? Has everyone gone insane? More . . .

Gregory Taylor was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for stealing food from his church. It was his "third strike" under California law.

Stanford University Law School's Three Strikes Project, which is dedicated to representing offenders sentenced to life under California's harsh three strikes law, filed a habeas petition for him.

A California judge yesterday ordered Taylor's release, reducing his sentence to 13 years...time served. His prior offenses:

He was convicted of third-strike burglary due to convictions of robbery twice in the 1980s, once for stealing a purse containing $10 and once for trying to rob a man on the street. He didn't use a weapon in either case, and no one was injured.

[More...]

President Obama boasts about his progressive accomplishments:

"We have been able to deliver the most progressive legislative agenda -- one that helps working families -- not just in one generation, maybe two, maybe three," [President] Obama said.

That's nice. How about "delivering" some jobs? How about stimulating the economy? Are we counting the current economic crisis as delivering a progressive agenda? Gawd, I hope not.

Speaking for me only

A three judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday put gay marriages on ice pending an appeal of the trial court's decision overturning Prop 8.

The panel's decision gave no explanation for staying Walker's order directing the state to once again allow same-sex couples to marry.

The panel said the court would hear the Proposition 8 challenge on an expedited basis and hold arguments the week of Dec. 6. Another panel of three judges is expected to rule on the appeal.

Some proponents of gay marriage think stay order may actually help in the long run. [More...]

Writing about Harry Reid's stupid statement about the Cordoba Center (I ask again, who gives a sh*t where Harry Reid thinks it should be built?), Glenn Greenwald writes:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid -- the top-ranking Democrat in the Congress -- joined Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and friends today in opining that Park 51 "should be built some place else." Make sure you donate to Reid's campaign, as it's absolutely vital that this Good Democrat wins!

Arguments can be made in favor or in opposition to Harry Reid's candidacy, but I would hope they would focus on things Harry Reid actually has some authority over. Personally, I think Harry Reid's pander was execrable and stupid, but it has nothing at all to to do with being a Senator. Jed Lewison bizarrely wrote that "Harry Reid is using his influence as the majority leader of one of the two chambers of our nation's legislative branch to intervene in a matter of faith." Maybe I missed it, but I don't remember Harry Reid proposing or pushing any legislation on this "issue." What the hell is Jed Lewison talking about?

Speaking for me only

Sir Ian Gilmore, the outgoing President of Britain's Royal College of Physicians has called for the decriminalization of drug use in a parting e-mail to the organizations 25,000 members. He said decriminalization has the potential to both reduce crime and improve health.

He endorsed a recent article in the British Medical Journal by Stephen Rolles, from the think tank Transform Drug Policy Foundation, which argued that the policy of prohibition had harmed public health, encouraged organised crime and fuelled corruption. Sir Ian told the BBC: "Everyone who has looked at this in a serious and sustained way concludes that the present policy of prohibition is not a success.

[More...]:

It seems like a lifetime ago that Weeds season five ended on Showtime. The last scenes were of Shane Botwin, age 15, killing Pilar, the rich and powerful controller of Esteban (Nancy's new husband and baby- daddy, who happens to be both a Mexican politician and a drug-running mafioso) with a croquet maillot, while Nancy stares at her lifeless body lying facedown in the pool in disbelief.

But, back it is, and it looks to be another great season. [More...]