Arizona has indicted and arrested motivational speaker James Arthur Ray, the spiritual guru who led a retreat in October at which 3 people died and more got sick during a ceremony inside a sweat lodge. His bond is set at $5 million.

The indictment is here. There are three counts, each alleging he recklessly caused the death of the victim. Manslaughter in Arizona is a class 2 felony which carries a penalty of up to five years. His attorneys released this statement, saying he had been cooperating in the probe.

"This was a terrible accident – but it was an accident, not a criminal act. James Ray cooperated at every step of the way, providing information and witnesses to the authorities showing that no one could have foreseen this accident," the statement read. "We will now present this evidence in a court of law, and we are confident that Mr. Ray will be exonerated."

Ray was arrested at his lawyer's office. I guess they couldn't pass up the opportunity for a perp walk. The $5 million bond seems completely excessive.

The big story of the day - the Florida Gators college football recruiting class. Florida got the #1 class. Texas and Alabama followed.

The premiere of the final season of Lost did a great number. (American Idol of course is the #1 show on TV. I have not even watched an episode in years personally.) As for the Lost episodes themselves, I am intrigued but thought there was a lot of filler in the episode. I think now that the set up is taken care of for Season 6, it should be great.

BTW, I have stopped writing about the health bill because there is nothing left to say. IF the bill is to be passed, for better or worse, the Senate Dems have to deliver a reconciliation fix, especially of the excise tax. Everyone knows it. Do the Dems n the Senate want to do it? If they do, it will pass. If they don't, it won't. It is the Senate's call. And only their call.

This is an Open Thread.

Like Charlie Crist in Florida, Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln looks like electoral toast. Given her performance today in President Obama's "Question Time" with the Dem Senate Caucus, it seems fair to speculate whether she is planning on switching parties. The Hill reports:

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) on Wednesday asked arguably the most contentious question during a discussion between Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama, hitting at conservatives and liberals. Lincoln [. . .] asked Obama to push back against "people at the extremes" of both parties, especially against Democrats "who want extremes." She also took a swipe at Obama's White House, referencing a constituent who "fears that there's no one in your administration that understands what it means to go to work on Monday and make a payroll on Friday."

Mitch McConnell would have been pleased. Obama responded to her as if she were a Republican:

From Sports Left -- New Orleans Saints LB Scott Fujita is speaking up for gay rights at the Super Bowl:

Last fall, in an interview on the Sirius XM Satellite Radio show “Edge of Sports,” Fujita bluntly supported a march for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights. “Just because I’m in favor of gay rights doesn’t mean I’m gay,” Fujita told the host, Dave Zirin. “I know who I am. My wife knows who I am.” Fujita, who played in college at California, and his wife, Jaclyn, have twin daughters who are 2 years old.

In Tuesday’s Super Bowl session with members of the news media, Fujita, who said his teammates give him some gentle teasing in the language of the locker room for his public opinions, reflected on how the campus he attended is known for progressive attitudes. “There is a certain stigma that comes with being from Berkeley,” he said. “And I’m proud of that stigma.”

[MORE . . .]

It's a jail day for me. At least it's a beautiful day for the hour's drive through the foothills to get there.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Denmark has information on David Coleman Headley, aka Daood Gilani, the American born man with dual Pakistani-U.S. citizenship. accused in Chicago of plotting both the Mumbai attacks in 2008 and the planned attack on a Danish newspaper.

Denmark won't provide information to a country that is seeking to execute the defendant. The charges against Headley include death-penalty eligible offenses, although the U.S. has not filed a notice of its intent to seek the death penalty. [More...]

Since Headley is cooperating with the U.S., it's unlikely the U.S. will seek the death penalty against him.

They ought to announce that now, so that they can get whatever evidence Denmark has to offer.

Politico:

Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Dick Durbin of Illinois have been working intensely on a jobs bill for more than a month, talking with relevant committee leaders and other members and dispatching aides to dozens of other meetings in the hopes of crafting a bill that could get through the Senate quickly. And when they walked into a meeting in the office of Reid (D-Nev.) on Jan. 22, they thought they were about to cross the finish line — the Dorgan-Durbin plan would be blessed by the small group of senators in the room, presented to the full Democratic Caucus on Jan. 28 and then taken straight to the floor for a vote.

But Montana Sen. Max Baucus had other ideas. The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, where the health care bill was debated for months last year, surprised the senators gathered in Reid’s office by suggesting he wanted a chance to mark up portions of the bill under his committee’s jurisdiction before it went to the floor, according to several people who attended the meeting.

The Black Hole that is Baucus and his committee is the path to ending the bill. If Senate Dems let Baucus get a hold of this, it is over.

Speaking for me only

I'm sure many of you are watching the season premiere of "Lost." I've never seen it, and I'm not sure I'll start, but if you really think I should, let me know in comments. Here's a cheat sheet.

The Denver auditions of "American Idol" are on first, and for sure, I'll be watching them.

The Oscar nominations came out today. Will the increased number of "best picture" films make a difference?

Whatever you are doing tonight, this is an open thread, all topics welcome.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the 22 year sentence of Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian who convicted and sentenced in 2005 of planning to bomb LAX airport on the millenium, as being too lenient because he didn't follow through with, and recanted, some of his cooperation.

Shorter version (because this is a very long post): The appeals court substituted its own view of what's a fair sentence for a terrorist for that of the trial judge, and then spends pages trying to say the trial court erred, even though the Government didn't even make that allegation.

Basically, the appeals court, being unhappy that Ressam, who is at Supermax, will only be 53 when released and still dangerous, orders him resentenced and removes the trial judge from the case. The 72 page opinion is here. [More...]

Dr. Conrad Murray is in Los Angeles, where law enforcement sources say a charge of involuntary manslaughter is imminent for his alleged role in the death of Michael Jackson. His legal team says they aren't sure what's happening, but if he's charged, he's prepared to surrender.

This should be no surprise. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is continuing to cooperate and provide information on the failed Christmas Day airline bomb plot. His lawyer is facilitating the negotiations. This is what often happens in criminal cases when a probable life sentence is on the table. Or, in the case of accused Mumbai co-conspirator David Coleman Headley, a death sentence.

All those Miranda fears are for naught. Criminal defendants get lawyers. Lawyers review the evidence. If the case is strong and the evidence likely to be ruled admissible, they consider plea bargains that involve cooperation. It happens daily in courtrooms across America. Terror cases are no different. What throws a wrench into the works is when law enforecment officers fail to abide by the rules and violate a suspect's rights. Then evidence can be thrown out and there's less incentive to make a deal. If they just followed the rules, it would be so much better for everyone.

Just two months ago I complained about the excesses in Congress $447 billion 2010 appropriations bill that passed the Senate.

Now we have the 2011 budget and billions in increases just keep flowing to the Department of Justice, DEA, FBI and many other crime-related programs.

At what point does someone stop and say, Whoa? Do we need this? Is it redundant of the money we've already given or of that being requested by other agencies? [More...]