I've been humming this song all day, thinking of the passing of Sen. Ted Kennedy -- our lion in the Senate. I'm off to the jail and the gym. BTD is also occupied this afternoon.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

I'm just getting home from work and BTD is traveling this evening.

What have I missed since noon? I'm seeing Dan Froomkin's criticism of AG Eric Holder and Obama's "baby steps" towards "justice for Bush's torturers" and John Sifton at the Daily Beast's criticism of the heavy redactions in the CIA document dump.

Chris Brown got 5 years probation for his assault on Rhianna. He also must do 180 days of community service that involves physical labor and stay 50 yards away from Rhianna.

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

Now that progressive bloggers have decided that President Obama needs to have his potential failure on health care reform rationalized, I wonder if the Obama team is considering throwing the "Left of the Left" a bone on the torture scandal.

I certainly would be quick to step up to become an apologist for Obama if he would get behind the idea of a Truth Commission (See? I do not even need actual prosecutions. I am a cheap date.)

This is an Open Thread.

A personal aside, this is worthy of a a chuckle. I have good friends who run that place, including the author of the diary and the proprietor. But I have to laugh at the "civility" problems, cuz, you know, it was all my fault once upon a time. Maybe not so much anymore.

In non me-centric news, the Yanks tooks the 3 game series in Fenway and the Gators are preseason number 1 in the AP college football poll. (Ok, that is pretty me-centric news too.) I am not angry at all right now.

This is an Open Thread.

What's going on?

This is an Open Thread.

I woke up to no water and the Denver Water Department outside my front door. A pipe broke under my lawn and sidewalk and was leaking large amounts of water into the street. First they said I might have to call a plumber and repair it if turned out the leak was on the house side -- but then they determined it was on the city side. Next, big tractors with huge claws arrived and they tore up the concrete sidewalk and lawn and dug down to replace the broken pipe. [More...]

The President's weekly address. He discusses the "myths" of health care reform. The public option is discussed in supportive fashion. Buuut, not in a particularly committed way. Jeff Feldman has a good take.

This is an Open Thread.

We've filled the page with health care and crime news today. What else is going on?

Newspapers are about to suffer another revenue loss...movie theaters are deciding to cancel their print ads with show times.

I'm getting excited about Huffington Post launching a Denver edition next month. I had dinner last night with the new editor of the Denver edition, 22 year old Ethan Axelrod, and Katharine Zaleski, HuffPo's Senior News Editor (just a few years older than Ethan.) We had a fun night, they've got great ideas and are assembling a well-balanced and interesting group of Coloradans to contribute to the venture. Memo to Ethan's dad: He'll need a car instead of just a bicycle in a few months. We get snow and nights are really cold and I'll bet he'll be working late on many of them. [More...]

This post amused me. Apparently, Yglesias needs defending. Meanwhile, at the same blog, a post, wait for it, asserting that Yglesias (and folks like him) have an impact on the health care debate ("Matt Yglesias writes perceptively on why Democratic health care reform is failing, but -- perhaps understandably -- doesn't see his own role." (My emphasis.)

As I understand the argument defending the Ezra Klein axis, it is that they are irrelevant. I certainly hope that is right. Apparently, there is some disagreement on the point at ObiWi.

This is an Open Thread.

Your turn.

This is an Open Thread.

Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 200 meters at the World Track and Field Championships in Berlin:

Talk amongst yourselves. Here's a topic - does Brett Favre signing with the Vikings guarantee that Percy Harvin will be the Rookie of the Year?

This is an Open Thread.

I think I found my new BFF. Say hello to the brand new "The Snitching Blog", by Loyola Law Professor Alexandra Natapoff. Its tagline is: "A comprehensive resource on criminal informants: legal developments, legislation, news stories, cultural reactions, commentary and more...."

Professor Natapoff is an award-winning scholar and a nationally-recognized expert on snitching in the criminal justice system. Prior to joining the faculty she served as an assistant federal public defender in Baltimore.....She clerked for the Honorable David S. Tatel, US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia, and for the Honorable Paul L. Friedman, US District Court, Washington, DC.

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