Via Steven D. -- The attorney for accused Ft. Hood murderer Major Nadal Hasan explains what should be obvious to most intelligent people regarding why those accused of crimes are afforded the right to a lawyer. Wolf Blitzer, as we all know, is not among this group:

Blitzer's behavior is inexcusable for a journalist. But it is about par for Blitzer.

Speaking for me only

Has the Media tired of Joe Lieberman's antics? We know the Washington Post's Fred Hiatt, who engages in the same type of dishonest antics (heck even Ezra Klein called him out) will never tire of him, but Gail Collins writes today:

Somewhere between the time when it seemed as if Olympia Snowe was writing the health care plan and the moment when Ben Nelson grabbed the reins, it looked as if the bill was being written by Joe Lieberman. I don’t want to suggest that he is not still the central figure in this whole crisis because that could cause him to race over to Fox News and issue a new set of threats.

(Emphasis supplied.) Lieberman is a punchline now. But the hard question is for Democratic leadership - will they allow obstructionists to block health care reform? Or will they be willing to use reconciliation? Time will tell.

This is an Open Thread.

Is anyone watching the Country Music Awards? Taylor Swift gave an impressive opening performance. It's a strikingly all white audience. Carrie Underwood sings well, but she has the personality of a piece of furniture. Other than America's Next Top Model, I don't see much else to watch. I'll probably only tune in for Keith Urban, Sugarland and Kenny Chesney.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Here is the text of Lou Dobb's statement that he is leaving CNN.

Shorter version: He wants to be a pundit, not a journalist. He says he wants to

....engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day. And to continue to do so in the most honest and direct language possible.

More here. His replacement will be named tomorrow. Speculation on who it will or should be?

The LA Times reports that death row inmates in California have better living conditions and more privileges that those doing life in the state's maximum security prisons. Law Prof. Doug Berman of Sentencing Law and Policy provides his take. Mine is somewhat different.

The problem with the LA Times article is that it focuses on why inmates prefer death row, one reason being the better conditions and another being the extraordinary time they will spend there awaiting execution, without reporting on the principal reason for California's excessive delay in carrying out executions. It's not the number of appeals the prisoners get. It's that the inmates are indigent and require appointed counsel, and there aren't enough qualified lawyers willing to take the cases, which means they spend years on death row before even beginning their appeals. [More...]

A federal judge in South Carolina ruled yesterday that the state's "I Believe" license plates containing a picture of a religious cross, violate the First Amendment. His ruling is here (pdf).

The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly warned that “government may not promote or affiliate itself with any religious doctrine or organization.” .... This limitation on government action is based on the clear understanding of our founders that “a union of government and religion tends to destroy government and to degrade religion.”

[More...]

In the midst of economic contraction unseen since the Great Depression, it is unsurprising that the economic developments plans of the City of New London now lay in ruins. Opponents of a government that is accountable to voters are rejoicing in this opportunity to again criticize the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo. Here is the WSJ Editorial Page:

The Supreme Court's 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London stands as one of the worst in recent years, handing local governments carte blanche to seize private property in the name of economic development. Now, four years after that decision gave Susette Kelo's land to private developers for a project including a hotel and offices intended to enhance Pfizer Inc.'s nearby corporate facility, the pharmaceutical giant has announced it will close its research and development headquarters in New London, Connecticut.

The aftermath of Kelo is the latest example of the futility of using eminent domain as corporate welfare. [. . .] That's especially galling because the five Supreme Court Justices cited the development plan as a major factor in rationalizing their Kelo decision. Justice Anthony Kennedy called the plan "comprehensive," while Justice John Paul Stevens insisted that "The city has carefully formulated a development plan that it believes will provide appreciable benefits to the community, including, but not limited to, new jobs and increased tax revenue." So much for that.

(Emphasis supplied.) The demand for judicial activism by "unelected judges" to overturn the governing decisions of local ELECTED officials is, of course, ironic and hypocritical. But more importantly, it is bad Constitutional law. Let's revisit what the Kelo decision held:

So sayeth the WaPo's Steven Pearlstein:

[A]t the risk of sounding naive, I'd like to offer a novel idea for changing the legislative dynamic, restoring majority rule to the legislative process and keeping health reform alive: Debate it on the Senate floor. That's right, forget about spending another six weeks searching for those elusive 60 votes to break a filibuster, going back and forth with weak-kneed centrists like Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu who can't seem to decide what they really want, or self-righteous egotists like Joe Lieberman, who thinks he can call all the shots. If they have suggestions for improving the bill, let them do it the old-fashioned way: propose an amendment on the floor and see if they can get 49 other senators to agree.

To get things started, it will be necessary to put Vice President Biden in his rightful constitutional place as presiding officer, where he should make clear he'll do whatever is necessary to restore majority rule to the Senate, even as he jealously protects the rights of the minority to blabber on as long as it wants and offer whatever amendments it thinks necessary. And if that means overturning some outmoded precedent laid down by some dead predecessor, so be it.

Apparently, not all of the Village is enamored of the shenanigans of Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, Mary Landrieu, Evan Bayh, etc.

Adam Bonin set up this Act Blue page for 20 Democratic representatives in competitive districts who voted No on Stupak and Yes on the public option. This is "moderate centrism" you can support imo. The representatives were:

AZ-01 Kirkpatrick, Ann
AZ-05 Mitchell, Harry
AZ-08 Giffords, Gabrielle
KS-03 Moore, Dennis
NY-19 Hall, John
FL-08 Grayson, Alan
MI-07 Schauer, Mark
NY-24 Arcuri, Mike
WI-08 Kagen, Steve
CA-11 McNerney, Jerry
IL-08 Bean, Melissa
IL-11 Halvorson, Debbie
IL-14 Foster, Bill
MN-01 Walz, Tim
NY-23 Owens, Bill
NH-01 Shea-Porter, Carol
NY-01 Bishop, Timothy
OH-15 Kilroy, Mary Jo
OR-05 Schrader, Kurt
NV-03 Titus, Dina

Yesterday was a big day for medical marijuana in Colorado when a Denver District Court judge tossed last week's ruling by the State Board of Health changing the definition of "primary caregiver." Today, the reactions come in. Here are a few:

• Aurora Sentinel Editorial: Stop Playing Games with Medical Marijuana
• Westword: Brian Vicente on victory in hearing to void Board of Health's medical-marijuana ruling
• Aspen Daily News: Dispensaries prepare for more regulation

Last night in Boulder, just after midnight, the City Council passed temporary rules regulating dispensaries by restricting where they can be located. [More...]

It is becoming more and more apparent that reconciliation is the only way to pass "health care reform," even of the Rahmbo "anything that can pass" variety. Ben Nelson says he will filibuster any bill that has a public option OR does not contain the Stupak Amendment. So regular order in the Senate is over. If President Obama and Senate Leader Reid want health care reform, even of the Rahmbo variety, reconciliation is the only way.

Next week Reid unveils the bill after it receives its CBO score. Then Lieberman and Nelson and Landrieu, etc. vow to filibuster. And then we can move to reconciliation. If Obama and Reid really want to pass health care reform. I assume they do.

Speaking for me only

Today is Veterans Day. The AFL-CIO Veterans Council provides these thoughts:

[. . .] While we take the time on Veterans Day of 2009 to reflect upon and honor the courage and sacrifice shown by our veterans as they continue the fight to defend liberty and freedom against those that seek our demise, I would urge all Americans, and especially all American policymakers, to similarly take heart of the particular plight of the veteran community during this time of extreme economic hardship in America. Today, figures from the U.S. Department of Labor show that the unemployment rate among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans stands at 11.3%, which is significantly above the overall rate of 9.8% for the nation as a whole. Approximately 185,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are out of work. [More. . .]