Some of my legal work has stirred some deeper thoughts on the law and I expect to be writing some lengthier pieces at Talk Left this week on the law.

I just don't have much to say about GOP politics and debates right now, and nothing new to add about President Obama's moves of late. I'm a little more optimistic than Jeralyn on where he is headed these days. I'll try to explain why in a post later today.

For now, an Open Thread.

In other news, How Obama Wants to Pay for His Debt Plan.

The military appeals court at Guantanamo has upheld a life sentence for Osama bin Laden's media director, Yemeni Ali Hamza al Bahlul, age 41. The 139 page opinion takes substantial liberties with the meaning of conspiracy.

Copyright troll Righthaven is about to go down for the count. It told a federal judge it is considering filing bankruptcy after being ordered to pay $34,000 in legal fees to a blog commenter it sued for reposting a LV Review Journal article.

The Denver Post and 50 other papers who are part of the Media News Group that signed with Righthaven are terminating their relationship . The new chief executive of MediaNews Group, John Paton, who replaced Dean Singleton last week, "said it was “a dumb idea” to sign in the first place."

Paton said if he was MediaNews’ chief a year ago, he likely never would have signed on with Righthaven, which hoped to fix the print media’s financial ills by suing bloggers and website owners for reposting snippets or entire copyrighted articles. Terms of the Righthaven-MediaNews deal grant each side a 50-percent stake in settlements and verdicts.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Paul Simon originally planned to sing "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" today. He changed it to "Sounds of Silence."

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

Check out these 1966 and 2009 versions of Simon and Garfunkel singing the song. Truly timeless and beautiful.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I don't plan to write about the 9/11 anniversary. It's totally over-hyped, just like the anniversaries of the OKC bombing and every other disaster. Enough already. The media can milk the public without help from me. While I could counter the media coverage with posts about the many injustices in the last decade resulting from our war on terror, which has not made us safer, only less free, instead I'll just post great performances from the concerts relating to 9/11 -- especially those with a current relevant message.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

The 9/11 Concert for New York City was one of the best concerts ever. It also raised over $35 million. VH-1 will be replaying it on 9/11 from 4 to 10 pm and streaming it on the internet at the same time.

Here's a great 8 minute performance of "Little Pink Houses" by John Mellencamp, joined by Kid Rock around the 6 minute mark. Also don't miss the incredible violinist, particularly around the 5 minute mark. Really stellar.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Obama will be the proverbial Rolling Stone in 2012 if he keeps on his current path. Seniors will throw him under the bus.

How does it feel?
To be on your own?
With no direction home?
...Like a rolling stone ?

Both BTD and I are busy at work.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Sorry for being AWOL. Busy. And will be busy for the next few days as well.

Open Thread.

It's been a busy work day and now I'm headed out to dinner.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

This is a photo I took of the Monument to Labor sculpture in Omaha, Nebraska, by Matthew Placzek. (larger version here.) It's a tribute to the workers in the labor unions that helped build Omaha and is the second largest labor memorial in the country.

Here's a brief primer on Labor Day.

Have a great holiday, this is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I think it's going to be a slow-news weekend. And the weather here is too nice to stay indoors. But it's the start of Labor Day weekend, so we need some appropriate music. Here's Bon Jovi with "Work for the Working Man." (Nice touch that the video also features Jack Bauer of "24" since we're on the precipe of the 10 year anniversary of 9/11.)

For those of you online, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

President Obama will speak next Thursday at 7pm ET, so he doesn't interrupt NFL football. I could care less about football, but I would hate to miss eviction night on Big Brother, and with 8 million viewers, that's nothing to sneeze at. On tonight's show, here's hoping Shelley goes home.

Condi Rice had some sharp words today for Dick Cheney's portrayal of her as "tearful" in his book.

"It certainly doesn't sound like me, now, does it?" Rice said in the interview. "I would never -- I don't remember coming to the vice president tearfully about anything in the entire eight years that I knew him."

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that due process rights apply to all, even the undocumented. The opinion is here.

There's also a new Jersey Shore and Project Runway tonight. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.