I'm told there's a football game on, so I guess that's what BTD is up to.

The TL kid is coming over for dinner. He asked me to make one of my mother's recipes he loved as a kid: chicken in a pot, with mashed potatoes. He doesn't know it but all you do is saute some onions and garlic in olive oil, add some chicken breasts, salt, pepper and paprika, and then after they are brown on both sides, add some chicken broth and 1/2 cup sweet vermouth.

If you're not watching football, ABC is replaying the opening episode of The Bachelor. It's already been leaked who wins (I won't tell here), so now watching it is all about the edit and the melt-downs along the way.

And in the election department, Public Policy Polling has the Martha Coakley senate race at a toss-up: Republican Scott Brown leads her by one point. Good.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Playoffs. NFL. They start today. In the afternoon game, the Jets travel to Cincy. Cincy is a 2.5 point favorite. the Jets demolished the Bengals last week, 37-0. The Jets are an emptional roller coaster team. They are up now. I like the Jets (+2.5).

In another rematch game, the Cowboys again host the Iggles. The Eagles are resilient. I think they bounce back from having been swept by the Boys. I like the Iggles (+3.5) tonight.

This is an Open Thread.

Update: This thread got trashed by a few commenters. It's closing and being cleaned.

If you're looking for something different for dinner, Dr. Andrew Weil has posted a recipe today for Hemp Crusted Salmon.

Colorado's battle over medical marijuana regulation is heating up again. Here's state senator Chris Romer's proposed bill (updated 12/30) and medical marijuana attorney Rob Corrie's opposition to it. Lots more legal details here.

I'm off to court for the rest of the afternoon, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

The eagle flies on Friday . . . and freezes its a** off. Even in Florida.

This is an Open Thread.

Google's Nexus One is out. It looks awesome, even better than The Droid. And has some features the iPhone doesn't, like letting you speak instead of tap your text messages. Check it out for yourselves, here.

The drawback: Unless you want to pay $529.00, it's only available on T-Mobile. What's that about? I guess I'll wait until the spring when Verizon is also going to offer it.. unless I decide to upgrade to the iPhone 3GS and stay with AT&T instead. These phone company wars are really tiresome. If you need help deciding if the Nexus is right for you, here's an article with some of the pros and cons. (Hint, if you are a crackberry addict who needs keys to type instead of glass to tap, it might not be for you. Or if you live out in the sticks.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Percy Harvin was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Mediation continues over the Pacquiao-Mayweather megafight.

The Iowa Hawkeyes capped off a tremendous season by beating Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl 24-14. Kirk Ferentz may be the best coach in America (along with Coach Pete of Boise). The Big Ten had its best bowl season in memory.

Gilbert Arenas is facing suspension after bringing guns into the Washington Wizards locker room and pulling one on a teammate.

This is an Open Thread.

I'm blogged out. And the season premiere of The Biggest Loser is on. One of the contestants is 526 pounds.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Another season of The Bachelor starts tonight. I'm not expecting much, but it's like a train wreck, I just keep watching. I think Jake will make a terrible bachelor, he's bland, cheesy and moralistic. I'm hoping the women provide some fireworks.

For those of you not watching, and I suspect that's all of you, this is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Susie Madrak finds the Pete Peterson hacks at it again.

From the pols are pols file -- NYTimes Editorial:

Anyone who doubts the degree of executive branch pliability [. . .] needs to consider this: The party that urged the Supreme Court not to grant the victims’ appeal because the illegality of torture was not “clearly established” was the Obama Justice Department.

The shot of the college hoops season so far:

This is an Open Thread.

Iron Chef at the White House with Michelle Obama. The task is for the four chefs to cook using ingredients from the White House garden. The garden was beautiful.

Also tonight: New episodes of Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters.

What are you watching tonight? If nothing, feel free to discuss something else.

Crime news has been slow this week but should pick up tomorrow when the courts reopen, and I'll be getting back to those issues.

For those of you with things besides Yemen and AQAP on your mind, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

The war on terror is predominating the news. I suspect it will for the next several weeks.

For those not watching football or following Yemen, Somalia and the latest related developments, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.