The eagle flies on a Friday.

Happy Labor Day Weekend everyone.

The Rolling Stones and Guns 'N Roses singing "Salt of the Earth."

Here's one of my favorite statue/sculptures, in downtown Omaha, at the Lewis & Clark landing, along Omaha's Missouri River Walkway. If you're ever there, it's well worth a visit. It's the second-largest labor monument in the U.S. Two-hundred-fifty tons of cement and 39,000 pounds of steel were used in its construction. It's by Matthew Placzek.

Larger version here. I'm not starting my weekend until after a visit to the gym and then the jail. What are your plans?

To get this out of the way, I do not know how Hillary Clinton would have handled health care reform if she had become President. I DO know Barack Obama had much more of a mandate than Bill Clinton (or George W. Bush, Ezra) ever had. There was a reason I was talking him up as a potential FDR for our time (something I do not believe Hillary could have been, the Media hated her too much.)

So now, back to the actual reality we are living, Obama has done a poor job of playing a strong political hand so far. Let's all of us (ObamaBots, PUMAs and the rest of us) hope that changes.

This is an Open Thread.

If you could go to the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadow, NYC or go watch the Woodward Stakes, featuring super filly Rachel Alexandra, at Saratoga in upstate New York this weekend, which would you choose?

Here was Rachel Alexandra destroying Belmont and Travers winner Summer Bird in the Haskell:

This is an Open Thread.

I'd probably rather be almost anywhere than the dentist, but that's where I'm headed for the rest of the day. At least the drive to his office in Boulder will be pleasant.

How long have you had the same doctor or dentist? I've had the same doctor for 28 years and the same dentist for 25 years. (Which is not as long as I've had the same auto insurance policy -- 38 years.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Obama Adminstration says enough to disclosure of CIA-detainee documents in the ACLU's FOIA lawsuit. The ACLU is not pleased.

Susan Atkins, paralyzed and dying, is up for parole again. She wanted to appear in person:

Atkins, 61, is riddled with cancer, paralyzed over most of her body and has had her left leg amputated. "She is kind of poor condition -- poor, but stable condition." Atkins is able to speak, but is not capable of entering the hearing room on her own....

Enough already. It's been 40 years. Let her out. Update: She was denied parole today.

The SEC's Inspector General has a report saying the SEC bungled the Bernie Madoff probe for years. [More...]

Update: (TL): I had a good day in court but am now headed out to dinner. Best part of the day: My motions hearing today was in a federal multi-defendant case. And guess who turned up to argue on behalf of a co-defendant? The TL Kid. He was great. Coolest feeling ever to argue in court next to your kid. And we all won our motions.

*****

By BTD

I've had a lousy day. Hopefully my night will be better. This song always made me feel better:

This is an Open Thread. One additional thought -- Kevin Drum quotes Yglesias saying you can't understand America without reading Moby Dick. Drum disagrees and I am agnostic on that. But I do believe you can not fully understand this country until you have visited Las Vegas. Reading Robert Venturi's book Learning From Las Vegas will help too.

At the Vuelta today, the peloton did an imitation of the Dems on health care reform:

[Sorry, You Tube pulled the video. Update -- Inspector Gadget found a new video. The crash starts at the 3:25 mark.]

This is an Open Thread.

I've been at work all day and have a motions hearing tomorrow. Actually, I got back two hours ago and am just now caught up with: the news, e-mail, twitter and facebook. It's exhausting reading all these things every day. Not to mention weeding out the latest comment spammers from England, Australia, the Philippines, India and Malaysia.

Which reminds me, the season finale of "Weeds" is tonight. What a fast season. I hear there's a bit of a "shocker" at the end. Update: I heard right, the last two minutes were completely unpredictable and now we have a huge cliffhanger. Great scripting.

And, TalkLeft occasional poster Ethan Brown's new book Shake the Devil Off: A True Story of the Murder that Rocked New Orleans --is in stores tomorrow. Hope you'll check it out, Ethan is a great writer.

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

In New York where I am today, it is the afternoon. But in Denver, where Jeralyn is today (I think), it is the morning (you mean it is not Thursday morning in Denver? . . .)

The Vuelta de Espana started Saturday. Through Stage 3, Spartacus (aka Fabian Cancellara) leads. But with the Vuelta dedicated to brutal mountain stages, he is not going to win. Probably thinking more about the Worlds. If you need an American rooting interest, Chris Horner is riding for Astana (where it looks like Contador is trapped for the 2010 season.)

In me-centric sports news, the Gators begin their campaign on Saturday for their third national championship in college football in the last 4 years. Go Gators! Yanks still lead the Sox by 6. I remain content.

This e-mail exchange is good. Let's everyone know what Joe Klein is - imo, stupid and no "progressive" and a McCarthyite to boot. But of course, the new Klein (the Ezra variety) is on his way to emulating the old Klein. No one else will say it, but I will. Speaking for me only of course.

This is an Open Thread.

We're about to get a big thunderstorm. More Sunday news:

• Marijuana gaining mainstream acceptance

• Dick Cheney lashes out about torture investigations

• The California wildfires are really bad

Whats on your mind tonight? This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

With every ending comes a new beginning.

From a sad day for America, to a future that remains our's to shape and define. Where should we start?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.