The Big Ten had a banner day yesterday (for the Big Ten -- these things are relative - the Big Ten went 2-1. The SEC had a disappointing day - they also went 2-1.) Can Sparty keep it going today? They have the turmoil at Texas Tech in their favor. Tech fired coach Mike Leach this week amid charges of player abuse - charges Leach hotly denies. In any event, they play a game today. And Tech is an 8 point favorite over Michigan State. I like Sparty (-8).

Ole Miss, Arkansas and South Carolina carry the SEC banner today. I like Ark (-8) over East Carolina, Ole Miss (-3) over Oklahoma State and South Carolina (-3.5) over Connecticut. In the other game today, I'll take Northern Illinois (+7) over South Florida.

This is an Open Thread.

Happy New Year! New Year's Day means college football. 5 games on tap today. Here are my selections:

The Outback Bowl features Auburn from the SEC versus Northwestern from the Big Ten. I am tempted to take Northwestern with the 8.5 points, given that this is clearly a down year for the SEC. But I think Auburn has the better players and should be able to cover. I like Auburn (-8.5).

Bobby Bowden's last game is the highlight of the Gator Bowl. FSU faces West Virginia, which is a 3 point favorite. Sentiment rules the day. I like the Noles (+3). More . . .

We wish everyone a happy and safe New Year's Eve.

As we usher in a new decade, if you had a magic wand, what would you fix first?

If you're going out, have a glass of champagne for us. If you're staying in and will be online, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Voting ends today in the Third Annual ABA Jornal Blawg 100. If you can spare a few moments to vote for us, we'd really appreciate it. They've removed the vote counter so there's no way to know if we are still in the lead.

The A-team at TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime—Jeralyn Merritt of Denver, T. Christopher Kelly of Madison, Wis., and Armando Llorens of San Juan, Puerto Rico—take a shamelessly liberal view of crime and justice news and issues.

Quick Take: When Merritt just has to stray off topic, she spares her politics-hungry readers and posts at PopLeft.

Please register (it only takes a few seconds) and vote for us here -- as well as for your other favorite law blogs. And many thanks to those of you who take the time, we really appreciate it.

The college bowl season has shattered my dream of reaching the .600 mark with my college picks. after sticking my head above water to 6-5 with my bowl picks - Miami, Bowling Green and Arizona all failed to cover. Now I am 6-8, with 19 games left. I'll need a 17-2 finish to bring my season mark to .600. Not going to happen. But there are still games to pick, including 4 today. Tomorrow, I'll be picking the New Year's Day bowls.

Houston meets Air Force. Ironically, Houston is the team with the air attack and Air Force will keep it on the ground. Houston is a 5 point favorite. The Mountain West has proven its mettle in the bowls. C-USA, not so much. I'll take the Air Force (+5). More . . .

I got my H1N1 flu shot today -- at the grocery store. Probably not necessary, but for $10.00, I figured better safe than sorry.

The 8 civilian Americans killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan today were CIA agents. It happened inside a U.S. facility. How did they get in? More security failures?

The bomber managed to slip past security at Forward Operating Base Chapman in the eastern province of Khost before detonating an explosive belt in what one U.S. official described as a room used as a fitness center.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

If you want to see a good pitch in favor of the health bill, Kevin Drum has one:

"Community rating" is wonkspeak for a requirement that health insurers cover everyone at the same price, regardless of preexisting conditions or health status. James Surowiecki says it makes private health insurance unnecessary [. . .] I agree, and it's one of the reasons that, warts and all, I support the current healthcare reform legislation so strongly. My take is that community rating at the national level can eventually lead to only two outcomes: (a) the end of private health insurance completely1 or (b) the transformation of private insurers into regulated public utilities.[. . .] I'd prefer the former, but the regulated utility model works OK too, and it's hard to see how you avoid one or the other in the long run.

If true, then hosanna. The problem is, as always, regulatory capture. Will the community ratings be enforced or will there be a new formula built to beat the system? As Drum says, a public option would have insured (pun intended) a good result. But we did not get that.

Also I agree with John Cole here.

This is an Open Thread.

Via Susie Madrak via Lance Mannion, a great interview by Jesse Pearson of David Simon, ranting and raving about the issues of the day, talking about The Wire and his new show, Treme. Well worth the read.

This is an Open Thread.

I'm sure there are other topics besides al Qaida and Charlie Sheen to discuss.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Florida football coach Urban Meyer announced yesterday he was resigning due to health reasons. The shock in the Gator Nation is great.

The NFL is in action today. 3 wins yesterday got me back to .500 during the college bowl season.

As Jeralyn has documented, al Qaida related terrorism is back in the forefront of the news.

This is an Open Thread.

The New York Times has a really lengthy article on terminal sedation and end of life decisions. If there's a better way, I haven't read about it. Seems like a no-brainer.

Another interesting article: The Bail Sitters, about the security guards hired to guard the rich on bail -- think Bernie Madoff and Cameron Douglas. It asks whether the guards would rat out their ward given that's who's paying them. In Cameron Douglas's case, the answer was yes. As to the fact that only the rich can afford them, is that a reason to deny bail to those who can? [More...]

Fliers can expect tightened security measures in the aftermath of yesterday's foiled terror attempt. Yesterday I saw the new George Clooney film, Up in the Air, and the first scene of him going through security reminded me of how much time and energy is wasted flying anywhere. (The film was okay, not great, and if you haven't seen it, beware of a review at Daily Beast that tells the surprise ending without so much as a spoiler alert. Shame on them and don't they have editors?)

As a follow-up to my lengthy post on Charlie Sheen's Aspen arrest yesterday, Sheen's wife is no longer speaking to the cops and the DA says he won't decide whether he'll follow through with charges against Sheen until his next court appearance in February. He told TMZ he does file charges for false reporting.

We have another day of snow here. What's going on in your neck of the woods, and how are you spending the weekend?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.