I've received a few e-mails asking me when the blog is going to resume coverage of crime and injustice issues. A typical complaint:

There are civil liberties violations, judicial
decisions, the conviction and death of the
innocent...Isn't that worth a little discussion?

Here's the response I just sent to the sender of the most recent one.

In the past two days, I've written posts about the sixth anniversary of Guantanamo detentions and the ACLU's "close Guantanamo" campaign, yesterday's federal court decision throwing out four detainees' lawsuits against Rumsfeld and other military officials, Marion Jones being sentenced to 6 months for lying about steroid use, O.J. Simpson's arrest and jailing pending a bail revocation hearing, a federal judge's decision to stop a planned deportation to Egypt because of possible torture there, delays in implementing the Real ID Act, a PA exonerated death row inmate who will receive $4 million compensation, and the Supreme Court oral arguments in the Voter ID law case.

I don't think I've ever left the topics of crime and injustice. There's just additional coverage of the primaries now, because it's primary season.

Suggestion: If you think the coverage is all political, just scroll down the front page of 15 posts and if you want more, click on the link to the previous 15 posts. You'll see it is not. We just write a lot here.

We haven't had an open thread yet this week and I'm off to court for the afternoon.

You pick the topics, all are welcome, and I'll be back late this afternoon or tonight.

Update: Bill Richardson will hold a press conference at the N.M. state capitol at 3pm ET. Hope someone writes what he said in the comments.

Update: Something else I wanted to mention, given the new group of frequent commenters here. TalkLeft does have diaries, and you'd like to write one, you can e-mail me to change your user permissions to "diarist." When we get a few posted, I do a "diary rescue" (like this) to bring greater attention to them. As for diary rules, they are below:

Speaking for me only.

Barack Obama is the strong frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. His smashing win in Iowa has been the catalyst. In the RCP average, he holds and 8 point lead over Clinton and a 19 point lead over Edwards. His path is clear. Win New Hampshire big. Roll the big Mo to South Carolina and and then hold the upper hand on Super Tuesday February 5.

Hillary Clinton has a conceivable path to the nomination. Run close to Obama in New Hampshire (if she keeps it within 5, I think she can spin it to a draw maybe), perform well in South Carolina and beat Obama on Super Tuesday. I think the chances are slim of any one of these things happening, let alone all of them.

John Edwards has no conceivable path to the nomination in my view. Even if he has a miracle second in New Hampshire, Obama will have buried him. Moreover Obama is already the change candidate and Edwards' reluctance to go after Obama, both in Iowa and in New Hampshire, demonstrated to me at least, that Edwards really is not running for President, he is just running against Clinton.

More . .

Iowa is behind us. This was a great experience and I want to thank the readers who sent in donations to help with the cost. (It was expensive.)

I won't be going to New Hampshire but Big Tent and I will blog about it anyway.

I'll also be returning to blogging about crime and injustice issues.

I'm leaving for the airport now. I have to say, cold as it was, Iowa is a fine place to visit with very nice people. It was a pleasure to be here.

This is an open thread, all topics.

Update [2008-1-4 12:7:33 by Big Tent Democrat]: Jeralyn did a fantastic job giving us on the ground coverage. I think we owe her some support for her great efforts. I urge you to contribute to TalkLeft to thank Jeralyn for her wonderful efforts.

Most of you probably aren't old enough to remember the movie Wild in the Streets, about a politician running for Congress on the platform "Never Trust Anyone Over 30."

The Hillary and Obama events today in Cedar Rapids and Coralville made me think of the film, because the caucuses are shaping up to be a battle between the middle-aged and geriatric vs. the young. And then, there's Edwards, whose support of the working person and the poor encompasses all age groups.

More....

I'll be watching college football the rest of the day. I am not sure when J will check in.

Go Gators!

This is an Open Thread.

Update [2008-1-1 18:23:53 by Big Tent Democrat]: Hail To The Victors.

It's beyond cold here -- and I say that as someone who's used to the cold. The wind is very strong and there's humidity making for the kind of cold that chills you to the bone.

It's 7 degrees out with a wind chill factor of minus 15 to 25. It will not get out of the single digits tomorrow. By Wednesday, the temperature will climb a bit and by caucus day, while it will still be cold, it's not expected to deter people from coming out since snow is not expected.

Where were your candidates tonight? Joe Biden was on the local news extolling his family members including his 90 year old mother, who are here with him in Iowa. His wife, daughter, two sons who are attorneys (one is AG of Delaware) have been coming out every weekend to campaign for him. He still thinks the race is wide open. Since he doesn't have a real shot of winning, it makes me wonder what he's really running for. I'd guess Secretary of State.

John Edwards is spending the evening with family.

Last night, Hillary and Bill stayed at the hotel that Jane and I are staying. I assume they are still here but I haven't seen them. It's not a big hotel. At 9:45 pm, everyone's invited to a Hillary event at 4th & Locust. Jane says it's an outdoor concert with Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Outdoor? I don't think so. But in case there's also an inside party, we may head down there just before midnight. Bill and Hillary will both be there.

More...

Greetings from Des Moines! Wherever you are tonight -- whatever you're doing -- we wish you a happy and healthy new year.

Something to be joyful about: By this time next year, we will have elected a new President. The 8 year reign of George W. Bush will finally be over. While we will be cleaning up his mess for years to come, at least the worst is be behind us.

Happy New Year everyone!

I'll be back later for one more post - the Des Moines Register Poll. And I do not know if Jeralyn will be posting the rest of the day.

But in the meantime, Happy New Year to all, on behalf of all of us here.

And speaking for me only, GO GATORS! Destroy Michigan tomorrow!!

Like Markos, I thought Steve Gilliard was one of the finest writers the blogs ever produced. Here is Matt Bai offering a NYTimes Magazine tribute to him:

Steve Gilliard was born into this Harlem and took it all in, but he wouldn’t find his voice on the corners. He was quiet, bookish, overweight. He won entrance to an elite high school, where he passed his time reading obscure military histories, then studied history and journalism at New York University. He found his true calling, though, on the Internet. In 1998, when he was 34, Gilliard joined a new site called NetSlaves.com, whose blogger-reporters chronicled the misadventures of the new high-tech work force, and there he discovered his own kind of incendiary oration. It was by the dim light of a computer screen, rather than on the sunlit corners of Harlem, that Gilliard took to expertly excoriating the moneyed establishment.

We still miss him terribly.

I'll be offline running errands most of the day, in preparation for leaving for Iowa Monday. Here's a place for you to discuss what's going on in your world and the world at large.

Merry Christmas everyone. It's been snowing all night in Denver -- we've got 4 to 8 inches on tap by evening with treacherous driving conditions -- a good day to stay home and keep a fire going while Christmas dinner is in the oven. And, of course, check the blogs and news.

Here's a cheery Christmas video for you, Darlene Love on David Letterman, Christmas, Baby Please Come Home (hat tip to Dan at 5280.com.)

How's your day going so far?