Via Sentencing Law and Policy, this article in Harvard's Journal of Legal Analysis rebuts the notion that plea bargains are good for defendants:

How can a prosecutor, who has only limited resources, credibly threaten so many defendants with costly and risky trials and extract plea bargains involving harsh sentences? Had defendants refused to settle, many of them would not have been charged or would have escaped with lenient sanctions. But such collective stonewalling requires coordination among defendants, which is difficult if not impossible to attain. Moreover, the prosecutor, by strategically timing and targeting her plea offers, can create conflicts of interest among defendants, frustrating any attempt at coordination.

[More...]

Illinois drivers will continue to drive free of anti-abortion messages staring at them on license plates. The Supreme Court rejected a petition by Choose Life, Inc. to force the state to offer "Choose Life" plates.

The high court on Monday left in place a federal appeals court ruling that state officials were within their rights in trying to keep viewpoints on abortion off of Illinois license plates. Choose Life Illinois, Inc. sued to force the state to issue the plates.

The 7th Circuit ruled it's not a free speech issue, because the plates are issued by the Government. The state government in Illinois said it does not want people to think it is taking a position on abortion.

"Choose Life" plates have been upheld in many states. Only two states have pro-choice plates:

Montana has a plate that says “Pro-Family, Pro-Choice,” and Hawaii has an official decal that says “Respect Choice.”

The Supreme Court today rejected without comment former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio's cert petition seeking review of his insider trading conviction.

Nacchio has been in prison since April, serving a six year sentence. The 10th Circuit, while rejecting his arguments about the exclusion of his expert witness, did rule the trial court miscalculated the amount of loss resulting from his stock sales by using the wrong standard and he should be resentenced. (Opinion here.)That hasn't happened yet.

He also has a motion for a new trial pending in the trial court.

UPDATE: Tebow misses Mon. practice, still not cleared to play. I guarantee you this is the biggest story in Florida this week.

Could Max Baucus look any more like a bumbling fool? Apparently, yes:

The Senate Finance Committee was supposed to convene for a vote on its controversial health care bill tomorrow. Now, that's looking doubtful.

A cynic might think Baucus' overlords, the insurance industry, do not like the way this is going. I am more a believer in the "Baucus is an idiot" theory. YMMV.

This is an Open Thread.

Two weeks ago, I wrote that if Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who heads up the US military effort in Afghanistan, threatened to resign if his recommendations were not accepted, he should be fired. McChrystal has continued to act in an unacceptable fashion and folks are noticing:

National security adviser James L. Jones suggested Sunday that the public campaign being conducted by the U.S. commander in Afghanistan on behalf of his war strategy is complicating the internal White House review underway, saying that "it is better for military advice to come up through the chain of command."

I have stated previously that I tend to favor Gen. McChrystal's assessment of and recommendations for the situation. But his behavior has been unacceptable. I believe the White House should adopt his recommendations and then sack him.

Speaking for me only

Is President Obama a wimp? Or a leader? This weekend the President's team has been pushing the story that the President is working for a public option:

Despite months of outward ambivalence about creating a government health insurance plan, the Obama White House has launched a behind-the-scenes campaign to get divided Senate Democrats to take up some version of the idea for a final vote in the coming weeks. [. . .]

The White House initiative, unfolding largely out of public view, follows months in which the president appeared to defer to senior lawmakers on Capitol Hill as they labored to put together gargantuan healthcare bills. It also marks a crucial test of Obama's command of the inside game in Washington in which deals are struck behind closed doors and wavering lawmakers are cajoled and pressured into supporting major legislation.

The question is who is the President pressuring? Triggers and co-ops are not a public option. And thew White House can not possibly think that will fly with progressives. So what is the compromise public option the President will push for? Two options imo: (1) the Schumer level playing field public option; or (2) the Blue State public option. I prefer the Blue State Option. More . . .

Monday, the Supreme Court, with newly appointed Justice Sonia Sotomayor, begins its new term. Among the cases of interest:

• Whether police may reinterrogate a continuously imprisoned suspect about an offense for which he invoked his right to counsel three years earlier
• The applicability of Second Amendment gun rights to state and local governments
• Whether the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment bars Florida from imprisoning juveniles for the rest of their lives without any possibility for parole.
• The validity of a federal law that allows the government to hold alleged sexual predators indefinitely in protective custody once they are deemed to be "sexually dangerous," even after they have served a full criminal sentence.
• Whether Congress has the power to ban possession and distribution of images of animal cruelty, such as pit bull fights.

[More...]

Some may be watching football, I'm waiting for Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters.

The Forbes list of the wealthiest 400 Americans came out last week. Bill Gates is still number 1, Michael Bloomberg is at 37, and so on.

For those of you with more important things on your mind, here's an open thread. All topics welcome.

Mohammed Zazi, father of Najibullah Zazi, remains on bond in Colorado where he is charged with lying to federal agents about conversations he had with Iman Ahmad Wais Afzali of Queens, NY. (Complaint here.)

The grand jury in Colorado hasn't met yet, and until they do, Zazi is entitled to a preliminary hearing. It was set for October 9, but on September 21, the Government filed a notice that it intends to use information against Zazi that was obtained by FISA wiretaps and electronic and physical searches.

Zazi's federal public defender, Ed Harris, filed a motion Friday seeking disclosure of major categories of information. If the matters are sensitive to national security, he is requesting the Judge review them. He's also asking that the preliminary hearing set for Oct. 9 be transferred from the Magistrate Judge to the District Court Judge. [More...]

Another beautiful fall day here. It's my last one for three weeks, as I'm leaving next Sunday for a week-long trip to my favorite health spa in California, returning late the following Sunday.

Here's Padma Lakshmi, talking about how she wakes up every day in New York, hits the gym for a few hours and returns to have tea and breakfast in bed. For me, it will be waking up at 6am for a five mile mountain hike, followed by a very healthy and elegant breakfast brought to my room. (Then the gyms for flexibility, cardio and strength training, yoga, pilates, etc, interspersed with massages, herbal wraps, facials, etc.)

It will also be the first time since I started TalkLeft in 2002 that I won't blog or be online for an entire week.

What are you doing to stay healthy and reduce the future cost of your health care? And how many of you are spending less time online these days and more attention to your own lives?

In the deadliest attack in more than a year, 8 U.S. soldiers and 2 Afghan troops have been killed in a attack by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"Coalition forces effectively repelled the attack and inflicted heavy enemy casualties while eight Isaf and two ANSF [Afghan National Security Forces] members were killed," the Nato statement said.

The attack took place near Nuristan, a mountainous region. The Taliban says it has 35 police chiefs in custody and they will be taken before a council. There are 100,000 Nato and US forces in Afghanistan and their commander, Gen. McChrystal wants 40,000 more. So far, [More...]

The game garnering the most attention is Monday night when Brett Favre faces the Packers. I'll talk about that game tomorrow (hint - Percy Harvin comes up.) Today I am picking 5 games, trying to bounce back from my miserable 1-4 week (now 10-10 for the season.) So I am looking for 5 sure winners, and I found them.

Cincinnati travels to Cleveland. The Browns are terrible. Cincy is only a 6.5 point favorite. I think bettors have not yet absorbed just how bad the Browns are. I like the Bengals (-6.5).

When was the last time an 0-3 team was favored on the road? Well Tennessee is a 3 point favorite at Jacksonville. I like the Titans (-3). More . . .