The temperature is dropping here rapidly and snow is soon to come. I'm off to do a round of errands before that happens.

Here's an open thread for you, all topics welcome.

BTD is traveling, and I'm on my way out to dinner.

Anthony Marshall, Brooke Astor's 85 year old son was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison today for larceny and fraud in connection with his mother's estate. His 66 year old co-defendant, a lawyer pal, got the same sentence.

Whoopi Goldberg and Al Roker wrote letters of support for Marshall. Marshall's lawyer had argued that this should have been an estate case rather than a fraud or elder abuse case. The jury disagreed. I didn't follow the trial, but after reading about it once the verdict came down, had this to say:

I have no idea if the jury made the right call. Elder abuse sucks. But isn't it just another form of elder abuse to send an 85 year old non-violent offender to prison, even if he's an elder abuser himself?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Anybody know what George Lakoff is up to these days? Anyway, here's Drew Weston:

This President just doesn't have the stomach to make anyone do anything they don't want to do (except women to have unwanted babies because they can't afford an abortion or live in a red state and don't have an employer who offers insurance), and his advisors are enabling his most troubling character flaw, his conflict-avoidance.

This is an Open Thread.

It's a diarist over at Daily Kos vs. Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher.

What started it: This post by Jane at HuffPo suggesting progressives align with libertarians to defeat the health care bill. [More...]

Last night I watched the movie Julie and Julia. It was pleasant, nothing extraordinary. I'm pretty much a one-pot cook (stews, soups and pasta sauces.) In the summer, I grill. I haven't baked since the early 1980's when the TL kid was little. I gave away my Kitchen Aid mixmasters years ago. So how could I just spend $172.00 at Whole Foods, buying things like flour, brown sugar, chocolate chips and corn bread mix?

I also watched Inglorious Basterds. I thought it was going to be a comedy. I should have realized as soon as I saw Quentin Tarrantino's name that the violence would be over the top. I had to look up reviews afterwards to see what all the hoopla is about the movie. Apparently, it's what's called a "fantasy revenge" film. But I kept thinking, two wrongs don't make a right.

What silly things have you done this holiday season? If you haven't done anything out of character, this is an open thread, all other topics are welcome.

There are football games today. Should be fun to watch some snow games.

This is an Open Thread.

Are you snowed in on the East Coast or just relaxing inside tonight?

If you missed the health care news (BTD has followed the developments, just scroll down) the Dems have their 60 votes, here's the CBO summary of the Manager's Amendment (full letter here. ) And no one likes the abortion compromise.

Six detainees from Guantanamo have arrived home in Yemen. 91 Yemenis remain, among the 200+ detainees still being held.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Bowl season starts today. I'll make my picks for the weekend:

Central Florida plays close to home in the St. Petersburg Bowl against Rutgers. Rutgers is a 2.3 point favorite. I generally lean to the warm weather school in bowls generally and the crowd will almost certainly be all pro-UCF. I like UCF (+2.5).

In the New Mexico Bowl, Fresno faces Wyoming. Fresno has been to bowls consistently. Wyoming not recently.More importantly, the talent differential between these 2 teams is large. The line is Fresno by 10.5. I like Fresno (-10.5) in a big way.

In a Sunday game, I like an inspired Middle Tennessee (+4) over Southern Miss.

This is an Open Thread.

Your turn.

This is an Open Thread.

Your turn.

This is an Open Thread.

Also see Jon Walker's persuasive argument that no bill is better than the Senate bill (the House bill (even without a public option) is clearly superior to the Senate bill and arguably better than the status quo.)

Bumped: This is the month that many bloggers balance the ledger sheet and reassess their time commitment to blogging. There's no question blogging is a financial drain -- time that could be spent making real money at our day jobs. Whether blogging is an act of love or a means of keeping one's sanity in these uncertain times, we could all use a little boost.

For TalkLeft fans, we do have a line of gifts that bear our message. My favorites: The no-snitch teddy bear, the people-powered politics mousepad and of course, the 4th Amendment subway tote. [More...]

I've vented my spleen so much, there is no bile left. Don't worry about a thing, every little thing is gonna be allright:

This is an Open Thread.