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.

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.