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

I just posted a piece at TPM Cafe Book Club on Eric Boehlert's book, "Bloggers on the Bus". The themes will be familiar to regular readers.

I will be writing more this week about a meeting with Bill Clinton I attended yesterday at his Harlem offices. A lot of food for thought was put on the table there.

Finally, please consider donating to Talk Left. If you like what we do, it would be nice if some of Jeralyn's costs could be defrayed. Here is the the paypal link, it's very easy (and takes credit cards even if you don't have a paypal account.)

If you don't like paypal, feel free to pull a few dollars out of your pocket and send it snail mail.

Speaking for me only. This is an Open Thread.

NYTimes Editorial:

The Obama administration, which came to office promising to protect gay rights but so far has not done much, actually struck a blow for the other side last week. It submitted a disturbing brief in support of the Defense of Marriage Act, which is the law that protects the right of states to not recognize same-sex marriages and denies same-sex married couples federal benefits. The administration needs a new direction on gay rights.

. . . The administration has had its hands full with the financial crisis, health care, Guantánamo Bay and other pressing matters. In times like these, issues like repealing the marriage act can seem like a distraction — or a political liability. But busy calendars and political expediency are no excuse for making one group of Americans wait any longer for equal rights.

Read the whole thing. It was disturbing to see apologias for this distressing action by the Obama Administration featured in many of the leading "progressive" blogs. The Times gets it right. The Obama DOJ has been incredibly disappointing to date.

Speaking for me only

Chris Bowers described a part of yesterday's meeting with former President Bill Clinton (I was in attendance):

President Clinton told the assembled bloggers that one of the best things they could do for elected Democrats is to function as a "countervailing" source of progressive pressure. That is, he encouraged us to offer left-wing criticism of Democrats on key policy areas, and that we should urge our leaders and elected officials to favor further reaching, more community-focused public policy. In fact, he indicated that he would have wanted more such progressive media pushing him during his time in office.

Additionally, President Clinton told the assembled bloggers that they should focus their pressure in a "sophisticated" pattern, focusing specifically on members of Congress who could be the most influenced. By this, he meant Democrats in safe blue districts afraid of primary challenges, and members of both parties in districts that could be swung in the next general election. He also indicated that he believed this was the start of anew progressive era in the federal government--the first since the mid-1960's--and was hopeful that major progressive agenda items on health care and climate change would pass as a result.

On the state of the progressive agenda, Matt Yglesias offers a contradictory view:

Thank goodness, this is over. David Letterman, losing the p.r. war over his boorish joke about Bristol Palin, the 18 year old daughter of Sarah Palin, has apologized. It will air on tonight's Late Show. Palin was milking it for all it was worth. Yes, it was her 14 year old that went to the baseball game but Letterman was clearly referring to Bristol, her 18 year old.

I thought Conan O'Brien's Paris Hilton joke was worse, yet nobody jumped on him.

Now, onto tonight's Bachelorette, Weeds and Nurse Jackie, and if there's time, "I'm a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here."

This is an open thread, all topics welcome