I've been out all day and am just getting to the day's news. Did anyone watch Bristol Palin on DWTS? How did she do?

The Justice Department has asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for en banc review of its decision holding a warrant is required for GPS surveillance. In August, a 3 judge panel reversed a conviction and life sentence in a drug case because the defendant was tracked through a GPS device installed on his car without a warrant. The earlier opinion is here.

Paris Hilton was placed on a year's unsupervised probation on two misdemeanors today. The judge gave her a strong warning: [More...]

Via Digby and Howie Klein, Heh:

Harley Farger, a leading Delaware masturbator and planner of the Million Masturbators March, said it was difficult to organize masturbators “because they’re used to acting alone.” Mr. Farger, the executive director of the pro-monkey-spanking group MasturNation, said that the “wank and file” of his organization believe that masturbation is an inalienable right guaranteed by the Constitution.

“Our country was founded by rugged individualists,” he said. “And you know what individualists like to do.” He said that Ms. O’Donnell’s anti-whacking position was “ill-timed,” adding, “In this economy, masturbation is one of the few simple pleasures people still can afford.”

[. . .] A spokesman for the Wilmington Police Department, Crandall Darlington, said that the Million Masturbators March could cost the city tens of thousands of dollars, “especially when you include the cost of cleaning up afterwards.

Open Thread.

HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" premieres tonight. I sure hope it lives up to its billing. My earlier description of the show is here. The episode description for tonight:

January 1920. On the eve of Prohibition, Atlantic City’s Treasurer, Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), condemns alcohol at a Women’s Temperance League meeting, where he is noticed by Margaret Schroeder (Kelly Macdonald), a pretty, pregnant housewife who comes to him for help in getting her abusive husband Hans (Joe Sikora) a job. Later that evening, the duplicitous Nucky privately tells his ward bosses about the opportunity to make huge profits selling bootleg liquor.

[More...]

Open Thread.

I was 7-5 last week and now stand at 13-12-1 for the year. I start to take off today. Here are the picks:

Arkansas (+1.5) over Georgia; Army (-5.5) over N. Texas; Ga. Tech (+2.5) over North Carolina; Vandy (+12.5) over Ole Miss; Hawaii (+13) over Colorado; BYU (+10.5) over FSU; USC (-12) over Minnesota; Arizona St (+12) over Wisconsin; Nebraska (-2.5) over Washington; Air Force (+17.5) over Oklahoma; Auburn (-7) over Clemson; Miss St. (+7.5) over LSU; Mich St (-2.5) over Notre Dame; Boise St. (-24) over Wyoming; and Iowa (+1) over Arizon.

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

TGIF. Two working days until Monday.

Open Thread.

One of the more amusing spectacles I have been following is how American Prospect writers continue to argue against Markos' book "American Taliban" without ever acknowledging that The American Prospect co-editor Robert Kuttner penned an article in the American Prospect titled, yep, "American Taliban."

"Intellectually honest", aren't they?

Open Thread.

I'm just getting back from work and there's a lot of TV about to start...from the Big Brother and Top Chef D.C. finales, to America's Next Top Model and the new Jimmy Smit law show "Outlaw" which got totally panned by USA today.

My prediction for Big Brother: It will be Hayden and Lane in the F2 and Hayden will win. Too bad for Brittany, her house in Arkansas burned down last night (in real life) and they aren't telling her until after the finale. I hope she at least wins the $50k viewer's favorite player award.

The 9th Circuit today reversed the arson related convictions of ELF activist Briana Waters. Waters was sentenced to 6 years. The case involved the firebombing of the offices of a Univ. of Washington researcher who ELF allegedly "mistakenly believed was genetically engineering poplar trees." Reason for reversal: The rulings of the judge and evidence introduced by the prosecutors rendered the trial unfair. The opinion is here.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I have not thought about Richard Cohen for a while, but Balloon Juice mentioned his latest stupidity ("Terry Jones, As Right As John Brown") and it made me think of The Portent:

Hidden in the cap
Is the anguish none can draw;
So your future veils its face,
Shenandoah!

But the streaming beard is shown
(Weird John Brown),
The meteor of the war.

You think they will be writing poems about Terry Jones? Anyway, Frederick Douglass said of John Brown:

His zeal in the cause of my race was far greater than mine – it was as the burning sun to my taper light – mine was bounded by time, his stretched away to the boundless shores of eternity. I could live for the slave, but he could die for him.

You think someone is going to write something like that about Terry Jones? Maybe Richard Cohen.

Open Thread.

I'm finally done with court today, and about to watch the finale of the Bachelor Pad (even though I know who wins.) It should be fun to see what the pros from DWTS can do with them in such a short time.

Update: Congrats to Dave and Natalie. Of the two final pairs, they were my fave by miles. I've always liked Natalie, she has so much moxie and not an ounce of fake goody-two shoes-ness.(We also have the same birthday.) Dave really rehabilitated himself from his angry, psycho, over-macho performance on Jillian's season, something I never would have thought possible. I actually liked him on this show. [More...]

It's a beautiful day here, I'm headed out to enjoy it. I hope to be back for the "white carpet" at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

I was 5-6-1 last week. Here are my picks for today - Ga Tech (-14.5) over Kansas, South Carolina (-3) over Georgia, Florida (-16.5) over South Florida, Cal (-10) over Colorado, Notre Dame (-3.5) over Michigan, Miami (+8.5) over Ohio State, LSU (-10) over Vandy, Tennessee (+10) over Oregon, Washington (-13) over Syracuse, Penn State (+13) over Alabama, Stanford (-6.5) over UCLA, and UVA (+20.5) over USC, Also an EPL special - Chelsea over West Ham.

Go Gators!

Open Thread.