Open Thread.

The power of an endorsement - via Steve Benen, General Wes Clark endorses Alexi Giannoulas in the Illinois Senate race and revives an issue regarding Republican Mark Kirk's honesty:

During an endorsement of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias on Monday, retired four-star Gen. Wesley Clark criticized Giannoulias' opponent Mark Kirk's exagerations about his military career.

"[The exagerations] are a factor in this race," Clark said[. . . ] Earlier this summer, Kirk was embarrassed by revelations that he embellished his military record.

Endorsements give a candidate a chance to frame a story - bringing in Clark not only got Clarkophiles like me to notice, it also gave Alexi a chance to hit Kirk again on his lying about his military record, through Clark's appearance and endorsement.

This is an Open Thread.

Open Thread.

Open Thread.

It's "Restoring Honor" Day. Bob Herbert:

America is better than Glenn Beck. For all of his celebrity, Mr. Beck is an ignorant, divisive, pathetic figure. On the anniversary of the great 1963 March on Washington he will stand in the shadows of giants — Abraham Lincoln and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Who do you think is more representative of this nation?

This is an Open Thread.

Here's some of the news I missed while at work today:

6,000 pounds of cocaine seized in Florida is worth $80 million. In Sacramento, 475 pounds of meth seized last week was worth $100 million -- until the Sheriff decided it was 600 pounds and worth $200 million. In India, authorities seized a lab and found 16 pounds of meth authorities value at RS 13 crore, around $3 million. (Rs 16 Cr = USD 4 million). Do they just pull these numbers out of a hat?

The India meme: The drugs were made in India, by companies using Iranian and Chinese chemists, and headed to cartels in Central and South America who would then send them to the U.S. [More...]

My daughter is taking her drivers test. Time flies.

Open Thread.

Open Thread.

Open Thread.

Morning.

Open Thread.

I was in Missouri this weekend. Saw a few political ads - not impressed with the work and found that the folks in the heartland are not really tuned in to politics, but to the degree they were, they sure don't like Obama and the Dems. Judging by what I heard, I smell a 1994-style rout.

The good news? College football is just around the corner. Go Gators!

Open Thread.

Our earlier open thread is full, so here's another one.

In local news, Denver's Manager of Public Safety has resigned in the wake of complaints about his inadequate discipline of officers in two cases of excessive force. The videos of the beatings are very disturbing.

And Colorado Governor Bill Ritter announced plans to rebalance the budget. Among the numbers: The state expects to take in $9 million from medical marijuana licenses.

I'm off to watch "Weeds." All topics welcome.