The FBI was busy in Denver today, raiding medical marijuana businesses, but, the U.S. Attorneys' office says they weren't after the pot -- even though they seized it.

FBI has busted an operation run by Russians who they say came up with an elaborate scheme to steal from credit card companies that somehow involves a local medical marijuana business and a local car dealership, according to sources and the U.S. Attorney's office.

Law enforcement officers arrested four people Friday morning across the metro area who were allegedly part of the bank fraud operation. FBI agents also served search warrants at more than a dozen locations, including personal residences, auto dealerships and the medical marijuana business called Alternative Medicine of Southeast Denver (AMSD), a company that is the same building as CannaMed, on Leetsdale Drive in Denver. CannaMed is where people can apply to get medical marijuana.

Four persons of Russian nationality were arrested and charged with bank fraud and making false statements on loan applications. [More...]

Green Day is in town, playing at the Pepsi Center tomorrow night. If anyone wants to see them beforehand, they are staying at the Westin. (I was at the gym which is across the street and saw their huge tour bus parked outside.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

In Texas, "Squeaky" Fromme left prison today after serving 34 years on her life sentence. She's now 60. (Background here.)

In California, Bruce Lisker was released after 26 years. (Background here.)

Lisker was released on bail at 7 a.m., a week after a federal judge overturned his murder conviction, ruling that he was prosecuted with “false evidence” and his defense attorney did not adequately represent him.

What Lisker, locked up since age 17, now a bald middle-age man, is looking forward to:

[He wants] to go for bike rides on the beach and smell the ocean breeze, eat a bowl of French vanilla ice cream and go running in a straight line for as far as he wants to without having to jog in circles like he did in prison. He needs to apply for a driver’s license, get a copy of his Social Security number and birth certificate so he can find a job — another condition of his bail.

Paul Krugman:

“I am in this race because I don’t want to see us spend the next year re-fighting the Washington battles of the 1990s. I don’t want to pit Blue America against Red America; I want to lead a United States of America.” So declared Barack Obama in November 2007, making the case that Democrats should nominate him, rather than one of his rivals, because he could free the nation from the bitter partisanship of the past.

This was a schtick, not a serious statement. The defenders of the schtick, like Mark Schmitt, argued that it would help Obama achieve policy goals. I never believed that. I believed it would help Obama get elected by keeping the Media on his side. I think it did that. But now is the time for governing. The PPUS is a clear failure on that front. So when is it jettisoned? Sam Stein reports:

Michael Vick has been signed to a two year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.

My view: He's done his time, he's entitled to re-enter society and get back to work. Football is a sport, it's not a job that requires some greater degree of purity than any other job.

Under the reinstatement plan, Vick can participate in preseason practices, workouts, meetings, and play in the Eagles' final two exhibition games. He could receive full reinstatement at any point, but Goodell said he would grant that by the weekend of Oct. 18-19 at the latest, provided Vick lives up to his end of the agreement.

According to Fox's Jay Glazer, Vick signed a one-year, $1.6-million contract with a team option for 2010. The option is for $5.2 million.

[More...]

On Comcast tonight: The premiere of Woodstock: Three Days of Peace & Music (The Director's Cut)in HD. It's four hours long.

Or, you can watch former President Clinton address Netroots Nation on C-Span. He's just about to take the stage.

Heads-up for this weekend: 150,000 attendees are expected at the 18th annual Seattle Hempfest, billed as the 'World's Largest Annual Pot 'Protestival'.

Or you can discuss anything else you're finding interesting today.

He'll be speaking momentarily. Netroots Nation is being broadcast on C-Span. It is online at C-Span.org and of course at the Netroots Nation site.

Via Sam Stein:

Former Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean fired one of the clearest warning shots at hesitant Democratic lawmakers on Thursday, insisting that if the party was unable to produce a health care bill with a public plan, there would be electoral consequences.

As he has done before, Dean criticized talk of substituting a government run program with co-operative insurance plans, calling the latter a "fig leaf." "This talk about co-ops is a political compromise it is not a policy compromise," [Dean said[. . . .] "And I think most people, on both sides of the aisle know that co-ops won't work."

[More...]

The National Enquirer, which has been mostly correct on the John Edwards-Rielle Hunter story, reports today that Edwards has taken a DNA test and the results are he's the father of Hunter's daughter. The rag also says he's told Elizabeth and child support payments are being worked out. Take it with a grain of salt, but it's out there. Let's see if denials are forthcoming.

ABC is reporting Bernie Madoff had a mistress. And, that she spoke against him at his sentencing hearing, calling him a "beast" without revealing the affair.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Ex-Gov. Sarah Palin doubles down on her false "death panel" claim. More at AP and CBS. Let's hope seniors are tuning her out.

Think Progress says Palin was for end-of-life counseling before she was against it.

After "insulting" seniors below, now I take a shot at the younger generation - in this case Matt Yglesias and Ezra Klein, who come to pre-excuse a potential political failure by the Obama Administration on health care. Yglesias cites Klein:

I don’t know how many times a president has to fail to solve this problem before we admit that it’s not a matter of presidential messaging, or toughness, or will, or strategy. FDR, Truman, Nixon, Carter and Clinton all took runs at this prize. All of them failed.

This is ridiculous. 2008 is not 1994. Or 1976. And so on. And to say FDR "failed" or LBJ "failed" on health care reform is beyond ridiculous. Hell, if Obama can achieve "the failure" LBJ did, how exciting would that be?

Here's a question though, why are Yglesias and Klein intent on excusing a potential Obama failure on health care reform? What do they know that we do not? We know Klein is an Obama Administration apologist and pet (I'm sorry if that offends, but that is simply what the evidence demonstrates.) Is the inside word that health care reform is gonna fail? And if so, do Rahmbo and Axelrod really think that whispering this nonsense into the ear of young Klein is gonna ameliorate the resulting political debacle? Really?

Speaking for me only

This is the type of response I would expect from the Media:

As to the emerging meme that the media is playing up this sensationalism while ignoring the real story — the horrific plight of women in Africa — it’s nonsense. Of course the latter is much more important. But it’s not news.

Absorb that sentiment for a moment. And then consider it is NOT from a member of the Media, but rather from James Joyner who then expands on this thought in responding to this comment - "Its only news because you say so:"

Well, me and every editor and news producer on the planet.

Joyner does not recognize that is in fact the problem - every Media type thinks that way. It is the classic response to media criticism - that's just the way it is. 'The way it is' is atrocious and unacceptable. That is the point of the criticism.

Speaking for me only