President Obama is heading west for three days of fundraising. There will be 8 events in all. Musical headliner for the LA fundraiser: The Foo Fighters.

Is the Megaupload extradition on shaky ground? The issue was raised by the Judge at Kim DotCom's bail hearing. The prosecutor acknowledged the extradition treaty doesn't refer to copyright offenses, but said the U.S. could bootstrap through the 2000 United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and New Zealand's Extradition Act. [More...]

Could the media get any more intrusive? CNN is actually running a live feed outside the funeral home where Whitney Houston's body is expected to arrive "later tonight."

CNN Live sent out a tweet saying:

View stake-out camera at funeral home where #WhitneyHouston body is expected to arrive in New Jersey. Watch live: http://on.cnn.com/cnndcl4

#ShameOnCNN (no that's not a real hashtag, I just made it up -- but it should be.)

I'm out for the rest of the day.

Open Thread.

Via CaseyOR, John F. Kennedy on September 12, 1960:

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.

[. . .] I would not look with favor upon a president working to subvert the First Amendment's guarantees of religious liberty. Nor would our system of checks and balances permit him to do so. And neither do I look with favor upon those who would work to subvert Article VI of the Constitution by requiring a religious test — even by indirection — for it. If they disagree with that safeguard, they should be out openly working to repeal it.

[. . ..] And in fact,this is the kind of America for which our forefathers died, when they fled here to escape religious test oaths that denied office to members of less favored churches; when they fought for the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom[. . . .]

More . . .

E.J. Dionne writes:

Some conservative Catholics still insist that the relief from regulation that Obama offered is not enough. I hope they reconsider, especially since the Catholic service providers most affected by the revised rule welcomed it. What bothers liberal Catholics about the arguments advanced by some of our conservative friends is that the Catholic right seems so eager to focus the church’s witness to the world on issues such as abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research and, now, perhaps, contraception that they would effectively, if not necessarily intentionally, relegate the church’s social justice work and teaching to second-class status.

That may be what bothers liberal Catholics, but what should bother progressives is the idea that religious doctrines are being used to attempt to limit women's rights and good public policy. Since the beginning of this controversy, Dionne has been willing to sacrifice women's rights and the progressive value of a government engaged in good policy in order to placate religious demands on a secular government.

If Dionne could find it in himself to say 'yes, accommodate religious concerns about public policy if you can, but if you can't, religion cannot dictate secular public policy,' then he can articulate a coherent progressive position. But he seems unable to say this. Dionne writes:

The Grammys are live on the East Coast but don't begin here until 7:00 pm, 20 minutes to go. The West Coast doesn't air until an hour after that. I'd say no spoilers, except everything is broadcast all over the internet and Twitter, and being watched on live feeds, so spoilers are fine. If you don't want to know, don't read the comments.

Bruce Springsteen opens with "We Take Care of Our Own." Jennifer Hudson will do a tribute to Whitney Houston. Most of the awards were given out before the show, only 10 awards will be live during tonight's show. Here's the list of nominees with live up-dating of winners. Adele and Taylor Swift and the Foo Fighters were winners this afternoon.

As for the red carpet, the fashion is never as good as it is for the movie awards shows, and always a little bizarre. Here's some that stood out to me below (Photo links will come down at the end of the show, so look now): [More...]

I'm still focused on the Grammy Awards show and Whitney Houston. The latest: Her daughter, 19 year old Bobbi Kristina, has been taken by ambulance from the Beverly Hilton to the hospital, for issues reportedly related to her emotional distraught over her mother's death.

Check out Big Tent Democrat's post at Daily Kos, E.J. Dionne Breaks Faith With Progressive Values.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Hutaree Militia members trial begins Monday. They've been picking the jury for weeks. 48 have been approved and Monday morning both sides will exercise their challenges to end up with a jury of 12 and 4 alternates. The defense says their clients were all talk and their speech is protected under the First Amendment. Most of the evidence comes from two informants who infiltrated the group and made secret recordings. The defense says:

"The recordings tendered thus far make it eminently clear that the group's objectives, even in their darkest light, included (1) exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech ... and (2) training to survive and defend themselves and their families in the event of chaos or an invasion by anti-American forces."

[More...]

In the wake of Whitney Houston's death, at Clive Davis'pre-grammy party last night, singer Tony Bennett urged the U.S. to legalize drugs.

"First it was Michael Jackson, then Amy Winehouse, now, the magnificent Whitney Houston," he began. "I'd like every person in this room to campaign to legalize drugs."

"Let's legalize drugs like they did in Amsterdam," he continued. "No one's hiding or sneaking around corners to get it. They go to a doctor to get it."

There's still no indication of cause of death. TMZ has reported she drowned in the bathtub. [More...]

Whitney Houston has died at age 48. She was in Los Angeles for the Grammys, preparing a tribute to Clive Davis. Cause of death is not yet known. Medics tried CPR for 20 minutes this afternoon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel where she was staying, to no avail. The New York Times has more on her life and career.

The Beverly Hills Police gave this interview, saying she was a guest at the hotel, her friends and co-workers were also there and identified her, and there were no obvious signs of criminal intent or drugs but the death is being investigated.

R.I.P. Whitney.

Bruce Springsteen will open the Grammys tomorrow night with "We Take Care Of Our Own", a single from his new album "Wrecking Ball." People are wondering whether it is a patriotic sequel to Born in the USA or a critique of America for failing to live up to its ideals? The song's hook (catchy, repetitive refrain) is:

Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own

But the somber visages of the everyday working people in the video and the remainder of the lyrics give the opposite message:

There ain't no help, the Cavalry stayed home
There ain't no one hearing the bugle blowin'
...Where's the work that will set my hands, my soul free
Where's the promise from sea to shining sea
Where's the promise from sea to shining sea

So what gives? Is he being ironic or sarcastic? [More...]

Guatemala's new President, Otto Perez Molina, said today he will propose that Central America legalize drugs at an upcoming meeting of leaders in the region.

"I want to bring this discussion to the table," he said. "It wouldn't be a crime to transport, to move drugs. It would all have to be regulated."

Does he mean it? Or is he only attempting to start a dialogue? A former military general who ran on a law and order platform promising an "iron fist" policy against organized crime, he authorized the army to join the fight against the drug cartels just one day after his inauguration..

In its February newsletter, the New Zealand Police again attempt to justify the raid on the Kim DotCom mansion and takedown of MegaUpload for the FBI. They say the raid was the culmination of several months of planning.

An OFCANZ (Organised & Financial Crime Agency New Zealand)team of five picked up the case last September and worked intently to meet their goal of a mid-January termination... Termination phases were simultaneously carried out in nine countries: New Zealand, Australia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States.

...Detective Superintendent Mike Pannett, New Zealand Police Liaison Officer in Washington, monitored termination activities around the world from the FBI’s Multi Agency Command Centre.

[More...]

Not much news today so far.

The southern border fence in Arizona doesn't seem to be working too well. Borderland Beat has a video of some guys using a lift jack to raise the fence off the ground and walk right under it with their duffle bags of (presumably) drugs. How much did we pay for that fence? $3 million per mile.

Federal estimates put the cost of building a mile of solid border fence at $3 million – meaning a border fence running the length of Arizona would cost about $1 billion. But Smith says the state will use inmate labor and donated supplies to cut expenses and meet his initial $50 million budget, though fundraising is expected to continue even after that point if it is reached.

President Obama is ready to send his 2013 budget plan to Congress. It proposes higher taxes on the wealthy, but what will be cut?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Government filed its sentencing statement today in the case of Detroit Underwear Bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Abudulmutallab is set for sentencing Feb. 16. Some of the counts he pleaded guilty to carry a mandatory life sentence. The Government says a life sentence is also warranted because he remains committed to martyrdom. It attached the report of Dr. Simon Perry, a criminologist and professor from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and former Israeli police officer/official (for 30 years) to support its position. Interestingly, Perry never interviewed Abdulmutallab. He's based his opinion on FBI debriefings he was not present at, Umar's statements to the court at sentencing, interviews with various people and his knowledge of terrorism and martyrs. [More...]