I hope everyone enjoyed Father's Day.

It's down to the wire for the gay marriage vote in New York. Reuters says the bill is one vote short in the senate. If passed, New York would join Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia in allowing gay marriage. 39 states ban it and 4 states recognize civil unions.

On TV: The season finale of AMC's The Killing. I liked the show a lot, even though I thought it got bogged down at times. It's been renewed for another season.

On the grill: Apricot-glazed scallops and corn on the cob.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Florida Gators start their College World Series campaign today. Go Gators!

TalkLeft turned 9 years old yesterday. Independent bloggers seem to be fewer and far between these days. I'm not entirely convinced blogging remains relevant, but not everything can be said in 140 characters or less, and not everyone wants to carry on conversations on Facebook. So I think we'll soldier on a bit longer.

Thanks to every one of you who have read a page, posted a comment, given us a news tip, linked to TalkLeft, donated dollars and befriended us. You've made it all worthwhile.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Obama in Old San Juan.

NYTimes Editorial on SCOTUS' 5-4 decision (PDF) weakening the securities fraud law. I have not read the decision, but I will note that Congress can overturn this SCOTUS decision and political parties can at least talk about it. Maybe I missed it, but I have not seen any reactions from politicians on this case.

Open Thread.

It's day 3 of deliberations in the retrial of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

I've been entrenched in motions writing, and hope to be back here soon.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I wasn't supposed to pay attention to the GOP debate last night was I? cuz I didn't.

Here's a blatantly sexist take on it:

Michelle Bachmann was able to speak in complete sentences and therefore has stolen the critical MILF vote (or more accurately, the vote of those who will vote for women they consider MILFs) from Palin.

Sheesh.

Open Thread.

Game 6 of the NBA Finals today. The fate of the free world LeBron James Legacy hangs in the balance. Not really.

Bob Bradley must go. Who is Bob Bradley you say? THE problem in the US Soccer team.

Obligatory video.

Open Thread.

It's been a busy work day and I'm just getting online for the first time since this morning.

There's no verdict yet in the retrial of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

After years of avoiding the Casey Anthony case for lack of interest, I actually listened to an hour of testimony on Headline News as I was driving home from the jail -- probably because some commenters here have expressed an interest and I know nothing about the case. [More..]

The defense is making closing arguments in the trial of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

The jury in the Tahawwur Rana trial is still deliberating. Yesterday they had two questions, one about Ilyas Kashmiri, who is still either dead or alive. They wanted to know if "Pasha" was affiliated with ISI or LET and if Kashmiri was affiliated with LET. (The third count against Rana charges him with providing material support to LeT.)

Rep. Anthony Wiener said again today he won't resign. While I don't care about this story at all, I think he's toast.

Newt Gingrich aides resigned en masse today, including Rob Johnson, Sam Dawson, Dave Carney, Katon Dawson and Craig Schoenfeld.

On a more important topic, Radley Balko at Reason examines how many innocent Americans are imprisoned.

BTD and I are busy at our respective day jobs, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Did Ilyas Kashmiri really have a third eye? I've seen this reported a few places:

[Senior Taliban Commander]Qari Idrees said Kashmiri had taken part in Afghan Jihad against the Soviet occupation army and lost his two eyes and three fingers of his right hand in an explosion. However, he said, later his right eyesight was restored through a donated eye brought from Sri Lanka.

Lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn have filed their first discovery request.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Anthony Weiner thread is filling up. You can continue the discussion here.

The U.S. is still not convinced Ilyas Kashmiri is dead. Me either.

The defense rested in the Tahawwur Rana terror trial after calling two witnesses, a computer expert and an immigration lawyer. They didn't call their LeT expert Marc Sageman even though the judge ruled they could. The Judge asked the Government if he should dismiss the Indictment as to Ilyas Kashmiri, and the Government said no. Rana didn't testify. Closing arguments are tomorrow.

TV tonight: On The Bachelorette, Bentley gets exposed as a truly awful cad. And the guy with the mask finally takes it off. I wish they'd get to Thailand already, I'm looking forward to seeing Chiang Mai and Phuket. (They also went to Hong Kong and Taiwan, before finishing up in Fiji.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn pleaded not guilty to sexual assualt charges today.

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is back on the witness stand undergoing cross-examination in his retrial on corruption charges.

The Government rested its case today in the Chicago terror trial of Tahawwur Rana. The defense has said it will call a a computer expert and immigration attorney. Last week, the Judge denied the Government's motion under Daubert to exclude the expert testimony of Marc Sageman, an expert on LeT. They said it's unlikely Rana will testify. Rummana Hussein is live-tweeting from court.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.