• Digby has the latest chilling details on the Jose Padilla case.

• Jane, Christy and the Firedoglake gang got a coveted press pass (with the assistance of Arianna Huffington) to the Scooter Libby trial. They are going to rent an apartment for the duration of the trial. They need help with expenses, so if you can spare some dollars, go on over and help.

• David Neiwert at Orcinus has some thoughts on American concentration camps.

• Dan Froomkin at the Washington Post wants to know where the outrage is over Bush's plan to escalate the troop numbers in Iraq.

Google is seeking to hire in a wide range of fields. They are now using psychological profiling, called an algorithm, to weed through candidates.

I love taking psychological profiles. I clicked on their job offerings to see what I might be qualified for, just so I could take the test.

The answer was none. There isn't a single job offering out of hundreds, legal or non-legal related, domestic or international, for which I even remotely have the stated skills.

Maybe you will have better luck. Factoid: If you land a job in their home office of Mountain View, CA, the head chef at the company cafeteria used to cook for the Grateful Dead.

Memo to Google: Think outside the box. Rather than look for people who can sell your product, look for people who can enhance your product.

Between the Denver snow storms and the holidays, it feels like I have done nothing but blog for the past ten days. It's time for me to get back to work.

Those of you at work with time to read the news and blogs and those of you lucky enough not to have to work for a living, likely will have much to opine upon.

Here's your spot.

And, in the spirit of the new year, if any of you readers would like to post diaries here, send me an email and I'll adjust your settings so you can.

John Amato at Crooks and Liars wishes everyone a happy new year. He also reminds readers of Atrios' apt comments, with which I agree, on what it means when a candidate takes out an ad on his blog.

I suppose this is as good a time as any for my occasional reminder as we enter the silly season. Ads appearing on this site by candidates are paid ads and do not imply any support or endorsement by me. I actually don't expect to get behind one candidate or another, though that could change, especially if suitcases filled with money appear on my doorstep. I'll try to do my best to avoid at least some of the food fight once it begins, though I'm human and have opinions and happen to write a blog about politics, so I imagine I'll get sucked in at times.

I'll definitely give my opinions about the policies candidates support and the way they try to deliver their message. And, of course, I'll be busy trying to push back against unfair media smears of any of the candidates. But, again, the fact that I praise or defend candidate X does not mean I've joined their team.

Happy New Year to all.

How are you celebrating the new year? Predictions? Personal resolutions? Hopes? How about a good riddance list?

Snowed in again. You Ain't Going Nowhere. The Byrds, 1968.

It is a freaking mess out here. This blizzard looks to be worst than the last one. And it's only just begun.

The airport is already in chaos:

Lines are already hundreds deep and airlines have canceled some flights as a result of the winter storm that began to dump snow on the Front Range this morning. Snow started falling in downtown Denver shortly before 10:30 a.m. and may fall at a rate of up to 2 inches an hour. Between 8 and 18 inches will be piling up on the ground. A couple of feet can be expected in the foothills as the storm pulses into Friday and even Saturday.

More on the aiport situation here. Frontier is being particularly hit hard. If you're driving, here are the current road conditions.

Here we go again. The snow is expected to begin falling around noon. I'm off to get as much done as I can before the snow gets too heavy to drive in and the roads ice up. Just little things, like going to the office to get the mail, the grocery store to stock up on food and pick up some fresh flowers to brighten a gray day.

Here's an open thread for you.

Public defenders toil daily in the courtroom trenches protecting constitutional rights for very little money and even less glory.

Now there's a blog awards just for them. Sentencing Law and Policy explains here.

But don't take our word for it, head on over to the Inaugural 2006 Public Defender Blog Awards and check out the diverse and thoughtful blogs and cast a vote.

The 2006 Blawg Awards didn't include a category for public defenders, an oversight that will be remedied next year. But there are some good sites there, so mosey over there too and check out the winners. TalkLeft won the Best Politico Law Blog Award this year.

The TL kid is with friends watching the Bronco game. He'll be back soon, we've got fresh tamales and homemade chicken enchilladas and green chile for dinner, with margaritas to accompany them.

The fireplace is turned on, it just started snowing heavily (again) and I'm glad to be warm and safe in my humble abode.

Best wishes to all of you for a happy holiday and let's hope next year at this time, our soldiers will be home from Iraq.

We're about to head into what is likely the blogoshpere's lowest week of readership.

I'll be offline most of Saturday as the TL kid is flying in -- assuming the airport stays open.

Let's give the gift of links to other bloggers. Who are you reading? If you have a blog and have a post that you think TalkLeft readers would be interested in, link to it in the comments (just use the html buttons so the site doesn't get skewed.)

And if there's anything else you want to say, here's a place.