It's three degrees outside but I am headed out for dinner.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

President Obama is going to Tucson tomorrow. Jared Loughner had his first court appearance in federal court in Phoenix. The New York Times has a profile of his attorney, Judy Clarke. (Mine is here.)

Outgoing Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, a former District Attorney, has granted a pardon to Joe Arridy, executed in 1939, on grounds he likely was innocent. Additional reason: Arridy was mentally disabled, with an IQ of 46.

[A]n overwhelming body of evidence indicates the 23-year-old Arridy was innocent, including false and coerced confessions, the likelihood that Arridy was not in Pueblo at the time of the killing, and an admission of guilt by someone else. In addition, it would be unconstitutional today to impose the death penalty on anyone as intellectually disabled as Arridy.

Arridy spent 18 months on death row, always smiling and always playing with a toy train. He requested just ice cream for his final three meals and stepped into the gas chamber still grinning like a little boy.

[More...]

Open thread.

Yglesias does a Oh the places you'll go post. Here's where I've been in the US, chronologically - Louisiana - Florida - DC - Virginia - Alabama - Massachusetts - Rhode Island - Connecticut - New York - New Hampshire - New Jersey - Maine - Illinois - Arizona - Colorado - California - Pennsylvania - Missouri - Georgia - Tennessee - North Carolina - South Carolina - Mississippi - Kentucky - Puerto Rico - Washington - Indiana - Ohio - West Virginia - Delaware. Obviously, I went to these states more than once and New York, Florida and Puerto Rico are places I am present almost every month.

Where do you want to go in the United States?

We have post after post on the Arizona shootings this weekend. Does anyone have anything else to talk about?

If you're watching TV, check out the premiere of Shameless on Showtime. (Free this weekend to Comcast subscribers -- even those who don't pay for Showtime.) It's really good.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Open Thread.

Questions and more conflicting reports on the Arizona shootings. Did the shooter have help? Authorities are searching for a white male in his fifties. Did Judge Roll just stop to say hello to Rep. Giffords while he was shopping at Safeway, or had he planned to be there? News organizations provide different accounts.

Jared Loughner's last message on My Space today:

"Goodbye friends. Please don't be mad at me. The literacy rate is below 5%. I haven't talked to one person who is literate. I want to make it out alive. The longest war in the history of the United States. Goodbye. I'm saddened with the current currency and job employment. I had a bully at school. Thank you. P.S. --plead the fifth!"

Here's an open thread for late-breaking news on the Arizona shootings, and all other topics.

More thread.

I'll be in court until mid-afternoon. It's your turn to take on the news. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

It's Gorilla Juicehead Heaven as Jersey Shore returns with Season 3 tonight. The group is back in Seaside Heights, minus Angelina, plus Snookie's friend Dina. In Season 1, they all drove beat-up cars to the Shore (they left in big black SUV's.) This year, most are driving black BMW's. Mike "The Situation" has moved up to a Range Rover. Can they still be authentic? Probably, as this season is supposed to be the wildest yet.

Snooki has been on a roll. She has a new book out, A Shore Thing, filled with Snooki'isms. The Daily Beast provides a partial dictionary of terms. The New Yorker pans it here. [More...]

This post was funny.

Open Thread.

Open Thread.

In the college bowl games, I won with Stanford last night and hope to win with Arkansas (+4) (4 units) over Ohio State tonight.

Open Thread.