A federal grand jury has issued a subpoena to the Las Vegas Review Journal seeking the identity of anonymous online commenters:

The subpoena seeks the identities and personal information about people who posted comments on the story. The newspaper said prosecutors told the judge in the case that some comments hinted at acts of violence and the subpoena was issued out of concern for jurors' safety.

The grand jury is investigating possible tax offenses against business owner Robert Kahre. The paper said it will fight the subpoena. [More...]

Update: The White House has released a statement. Note no health insurance benefits:

For civil service employees, domestic partners of federal employees can be added to the long-term care insurance program; supervisors can also be required to allow employees to use their sick leave to take care of domestic partners and non-biological, non-adopted children. For foreign service employees, a number of benefits were identified, including the use of medical facilities at posts abroad, medical evacuation from posts abroad, and inclusion in family size for housing allocations.

More on President Obama's planned executive order on extending benefits to same sex partners of federal employees: It excludes most health care benefits. Via Politico:[More...]

Hump day.

This is an Open Thread.

Update: The police have arrested the four men in the Escalade.

Colorado experienced its first major medical marijuana dispensary robbery today. New Options Wellness in Boulder was robbed at gunpoint around this afternoon. There were no injuries but everything was taken. [More...]

President Obama will sign an executive order tomorrow extending health care and other benefits to the gay /lesbian partners of federal employees

At Huffpo: Obama Offers Gays a Consolation Prize.

The House of Representatives today passed the $106 billion funding bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The $106 billion measure, in addition to about $80 billion for military operations, provides for an array of other spending priorities, including $7.7 billion to respond to the flu pandemic and more than $10 billion in development and security aid for Pakistan and Iraq as well as countries such as Mexico and the nation of Georgia.

Democratic leaders pushing the bill on behalf of the Obama administration had to overcome an unusual alliance. Anti-war Democrats opposed continued war spending and Republicans condemned $5 billion in the measure to secure a $108 billion U.S. line of credit to the International Monetary Fund for loans to poor countries.

The roll call vote is here.

I was very pleased to read BTD's post earlier today on the lack of a meaningful and effective left flank of the Democratic party and the importance of pushing policies instead of specific politicians.

It's always amazed me how bold the right is on both foreign and domestic policy in contrast to the timidity of the left.

Where are the strident, prominent voices on, for example, criminal justice system which should be a classic left issue? While a prominent left blogger mocks proponents of marijuana legalization for supposedly espousing "Cheech and Chong mathematics," a centrist Democrat from Virginia (!) pushes for reform of our vast system of prisons and jails. For all the jokes made by left bloggers about faux moderates and "seriousness" they mock and marginalize the left flank every chance they get. [More...]

Via the Marijuana Policy Project: Rhode Island today becomes the second state in the country to allow the regulated sale of medical marijuana. The law allows three state-regulated and licensed compassion centers to dispense pot to those with medical needs:

In landslide votes of 68-0 and 35-3, the Rhode Island General Assembly today overrode Gov. Donald Carcieri's veto of legislation to allow the licensed, regulated sale of marijuana to seriously ill patients. Rhode Island will now become only the second state (after New Mexico) to license and regulate medical marijuana dispensing.

The new law is now in effect. In 2006, Rhode Island passed a law authorizing the the use of medical marijuana. While patients were permitted to grow their own pot or designate a caregiver to grow it for them, many were not able to obtain it. More on Rhode Island's laws here.

Radley Balko, Senior Editor of Reason, takes on one of my pet peeves in an interview in the Atlantic: crime laws named after individuals. He says (linking to this TChris Post):

Here's a pretty good rule of thumb: If you're naming a piece of crime legislation after a crime victim, it's probably a bad law. It means you're legislating out of anger, or in reaction to public anger over a specific incident. That's generally not how good policy is made.

Or, as I like to put it, Let us not enact laws out of grief and passion, or in response to a singular criminal event, however horrific it might be. Cooler heads are needed where our fundamental liberties are at stake. Examples: The Laci and Connor Law. Megan's Law. The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act.

I'm also not thrilled with Attorney General Eric Holder's proposal today for a federal hate crimes law, for reasons well noted by Colorado Independent.

(Guest Post by Boulder, CO criminal defense attorney Lenny Frieling:)

In a large South American country, a farmer looks out from his veranda over his two main crops. On the right side of the rutted dirt, row upon row of coffee are growing in the high mountain air. To the left, coca grows in equally ordered rows. Both crops require tending, and both require some degree of processing to yield roasted coffee beans on one side, processed cocaine on the other.

Both are transported to the United States. In addition to the shipping expenses, the coffee requires the payment of various tariffs, while the coca shipments are accompanied by gangs, bribes, guns, and related violence, to the extent that some towns in Northern Mexico are “owned” by drug cartels. Coffee arrives on US grocery shelves at $6 to $12 a pound. Cocaine arrives at around $44,000 a pound. [More..]

ABC will be airing an hour long program on health care with the President of the United States and other government officials. The Right Wing has employed the tried and true Drudge tactic of "working the refs." See Memeorandum. This tactic is as old as the John Birch Society.

Have no doubt though, it will work. Charlie "college professors make $250,000 a year" Gibson will be appropriately hostile to President Obama on the health care issue. And no, not by asking him about single payer. It will be a Harry and Louise night. Such is the state of our Media.

Speaking for me only

Transparency you can believe in:

The Obama administration is looking at using an executive order to block the release of photos documenting the abuse of U.S. military detainees, said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. "I have reason to believe they are looking at that as a way to resolve this situation," Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday.

Funny, President Obama refuses to use an Executive Order to stop military discharges of gay and lesbian soldiers.

Speaking for me only