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It's time for Key West and the 29th annual NORML Legal Conference. For those who haven't been to Key West, also known as the Conch Republic, it is a tiny treasure only 4 miles long, 2 miles wide and 90 miles from Cuba. It is the southernmost point in the U.S. and about as laid back as you can get. There's lots of pirates. And you can't beat the weather.

Big Tent Democrat will be around, I may pop in now and then, and we'll have our usual open threads like this one, all topics welcome.

We're back at work today. Some news:

Barney Frank is retiring at the end of his term.

The feds seized 150 websites as counterfeit.

I haven't bought anything on Cyber Monday.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

As this long holiday weekend comes to a close, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

The picks:

SMU -14 over Rice, Ohio State over Michigan (+300), Texas Tech +14 over Baylor (2 units), Oregon -28 over Oregon State (2 units), Marshall -3 over East Carolina, Mississippi +17 over Mississippi State, Wisconsin -14½ over Penn State (2 units), Missouri -26 over Kansas (2 units), Connecticut 0ver Rutgers (+175), Clemson (+155) over South Carolina, Oklahoma -28½ over Iowa State (2 units) Alabama (-21) over Auburn, Georgia -6 over Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt -1½ over Wake Forest.

Best bet - Stanford -7 over Notre Dame (5 units.)

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

You better shop around.

Tell us all the great deals you got today. And anything else that's on your mind. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

More than 2 million inmates are spending Thanksgiving in our nations' jails and prisons. This week there are 216,762 federal inmates. Here's Sheriff Joe Arapaio last year bragging he got the cost of the prisoner's thanksgiving meal down to 8 cents. (Yes, it's his real Twitter account.)

Contrast with the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution where the Warden recruits volunteers from the community to help make the day as pleasant as possible: [More...]

Big Tent Democrat and I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

Don't forget to check in with your local radio station to find out what time they will play Alice's Restaurant. It was November 28, 1965 that Arlo was convicted of littering in Stockbridge, MA. You can read the backstory here.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

There was another Republican debate tonight. The hopeful candidates called for more terror laws and extension of the Patriot Act. I didn't watch, did Newt ask for a law sentencing terrorists to life plus cancer?

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber has imposed a moratorium on the death penalty for the remainder of his term. He says he is morally opposed to it. He regrets that two executions took place during his term. Gary Haugen was scheduled to be killed in two weeks.

In addition to Frontline's A Perfect Terrorist (see here), it's performance night on The X-Factor. Simon Cowell says no one has invited him to their home for Thanksgiving yet.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

At the airport.

BTW Bronco fans, how about Tebow Time?

Open Thread.

Who wants to read about an informant-induced, non-operational terror plot in NYC that never was going to get off the ground when you can watch Homeland? It's much more compelling and about as real as the chances of a "lone wolf" pulling off a terror attack under the watchful, ever-present eye of the NYPD.

They were watching him for two years. Here's the Complaint. His website, which was being monitored, is trueislam. Here's his You Tube page. The informant was in this with Pimanetel -- they purchased stuff together and started building the bomb together at the informant's apartment, according to the complaint. Contrary to news reports (sloppy reporting), the complaint clearly states Pimentel was arrested with the components at the informant's apartment, not his own. They could have stopped this at any time.

The Inspire Magazine article (it's not a manual) has been all over the web since 2010. (Anyone can buy the Anarchist's Cookbook on Amazon -- there's even a Kindle version.)

Was it important to stop Pimentel? Of course. Did NY dodge an imminent bullet? Hardly.

Also on tonight: A new Next Iron Chef and Boardwalk Empire.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

The mini-bus spending bill passed by Congress and signed by Obama is chock-full of law enforcement and prison spending -- $27.4 billion, including increases of $4 billion for the FBI, DEA, ATF and Marshal's Service. The FBI gets an additional $1.1 billion "for new initiatives in national security, surveillance, violent crime and cyber security." The Senate removed a provision that a portion had to go to something called "special surveillance groups." But the DEA is getting $10 million to expand the El Paso Intelligence Center. There's $90 million for prison construction. (Start on page 234.)

It also has detainee and abortion-funding restrictions for female prisoners. (Sections 202-204.) And it tells the Bureau of prisons it can't spend money on cable TV services or videos for inmate recreational purposes. [More...]

A great article on how police brutality became the standard procedure for policing protests.

Open Thread.