I've got court in Denver early, followed by the dentist in Boulder and then the jail, in Englewood, yet another county. If readers would take over in this open thread, it would be a big help for me. Many thanks.

I don't know what TChris or LNILR's schedule is, but James the Menace Sensenbrenner and Tom Feeney are pushing a change in federal sentencing laws to establish mandatory minimums for all offenses, in a misguided attempt to get around Booker, and this deserves some coverage. If you don't find it here, check Sentencing Law and Policy for updates. The hearing is today and the witness list is here (pdf).

Update: The Oversight Hearing on post-Booker developments to be conducted Thursday morning by the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security will be webcast live starting at 10:30am .

Update your bookmarks....Firedoglake has left Blogger for Wordpress and has a new address and great new design. And Reddhedd is using her real name.

The Guardian unveiled its new website today. It is modeled on HuffPo and Journalism Prof Jay Rosen says the Guardian is way ahead of other papers for recognizing that reader interaction is essential.

Speaking of HuffPo, Arianna continues on her Vanity Fair tear..yesterday it was the Marie Brenner article's take on Judith Miller , today she lambasts Ms. Brenner for her treatment of Bob Woodward.

Yesterday belonged to Moussaoui and the Feingold censure resolution. What will it be today? Here's a start, feel free to add on:

• Arianna rips Marie Brenner's Vanity Fair article on PlameGate
• Atrios on Religion and Politics
• Josh Marshall says former Bush Aide Claude Allen may use the "evil twin defense" in his shoplifting case
• Raw Story gets an awesome bloglift (y.w.c.t.p.)
• Skippy says the "wartime president defense" (meaning don't attack the President during war time) is lame.
• Patriot Daily, whose proprietors spend all day combing the news and have been extremely helpful to TalkLeft in e-mailing me with headlines I might otherwise miss, is in danger of shutting down due to financial difficulties. If you can send them a few dollars, via their tip jar on the left side of their site, they would greatly appreciate it.
• The ladies at Firedoglake rake Joe Lieberman over the coals for his position on emergency contraception. Any time you hear somone mention Joltin Joe, make sure you also mention his new challenger, Ned Lamont, a man with true Democratic, American values.

Due to server problems, now fixed, voting in the Koufax semi-finals has been extended through Monday. If you had trouble getting your vote in yesterday or today, or haven't yet voted, there's still time. TalkLeft is nominated for Best Single Issue blog. I'd really appreciate your vote so TalkLeft makes it to the semi-finals. We haven't had any votes in days.

You can vote by leaving a comment that simply says "TalkLeft" here -- or if you'd like your ballot or identity to be secret, you can e-mail Dwight or Mary Beth and just say "TalkLeft for Best Single Issue Blog."

For all the Koufax Award categories, go here. You can only vote once in each category.

I'm deep in wiretap motions for a hearing tomorrow, so if something is going on in the world, here's a place to discuss it. And if you haven't voted in the Koufax awards yet, TalkLeft is nominated for Best Single Issue blog. I'd really appreciate your vote so TalkLeft makes it to the semi-finals. We haven't had any votes in days.

You can vote by leaving a comment that simply says "TalkLeft" here -- or if you'd like your ballot or identity to be secret, you can e-mail Dwight or Mary Beth and just say "TalkLeft for Best Single Issue Blog."

And 'round the Bloggerhood, check out:

• Law Prof Doug Berman on South Dakota sentencing laws and the new abortion ban.
• Part II of Larisa Alexandrovna's series on neo-con Michael Ledeen at Raw Story.
• USA Today: 8,000 desert during Iraq War
• Thoughts of an average woman on Wal-Mart using bloggers [hat tip Patriot Daily.]
• Avedon Carol of Sideshow and Digby and Tena at First Draft on abortion and sex and the radical right.

Voting is now open for the semi-finals in the 2005 Fourth Annual Koufax Awards for the left-leaning bloggers.

You can only vote once and for one blog in each catgegory.

TalkLeft is nominated for Best Single Issue blog. We are the only blog to win a Koufax award in the same category three years in a row (2002, 2003 and 2004.) In 2004, we shared the award with the excellent Grits for Breakfast.

This year will be the toughest yet, and perhaps it's time to give up the crown. But, if you'd like to vote for TalkLeft, I'd be thrilled to have your vote.

You can vote by leaving a comment that simply says "TalkLeft" here -- or if you'd like your ballot or identity to be secret, you can e-mail Dwight or Mary Beth and just say "TalkLeft for Best Single Issue Blog."

Say hello to Centcomm, the official U.S. Central Command website. Central Command is the major combat command that covers U.S. military operations in most of the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. It provides news/press releases, images and casualty reports from the CENTCOM area of responsibility, including anti-terrorism activities.

When reporting on government activities, it's helpful to get their side of the story, especially since I tend to opine so much on why they are wrong or where they are being less than candid.

Also, say hello to Up Against the Law, it's much more my style.

I'll be gone the rest of the afternoon, so here's an open thread.

The third annual blogads survey is up. It is a survey only of readers of politically influential blogs. If you'd like to be included, head on over and read.

For question 23, asking which blog referred you to the survey, it would be helpful if you'd answer "TalkLeft" so that later Blogads can break down the answers on TalkLeft readers.

The point of the survey, as stated by Henry of Blogads:

Even though the results will be severely unscientific, the project helps us all better understand blogs and where we all fit in the infosphere. Stuff like this also helps with evangelism -- headlines notwithstanding, too many pundits, advertisers and journalists are still blind to the political bloggers' radical force.

Again, the survey is here and only takes about five minutes.

It was 79 degrees in Denver today, way too nice to stay indoors working or blogging. Here's some things I would have blogged about had I been around. If you'd rather discuss other things, this is also an open thread.

• Rikki Lee Jones writes an anti-Joe Lieberman letter to Howie Klein (via Firedoglake.)

• Dan Froomkin's column in the Washington Post asking about President Bush, How Low Can He Go (make sure you make it to the last page where he cites me and TalkLeft, twice -- thanks, Dan!)

• Instapundit has quotes of Karl Rove commenting on the blogosphere. And don't forget to buy Glenn's excellent book, Army of David. just click on the ad on the right side of TalkLeft.

These are the final photos from Amsterdam, taken at a dance club called the Sugar Factory. I lasted until 2am, the kool kids stayed till 4.

Lindsay, the TL kid, Amanda and Ezra

larger version

Proof I was there at one point.

First, a huge thanks to TChris who has kept this site running while I've been in Amsterdam. Tomorrow is my last day here and there is so much more to see.

The hotel has only wireless, and mine seems to go out every five minutes or so, requiring me to log in with user name and password over and over again and eating many posts, which has been quite frustrating. Ezra, Amanda and Lindsay haven't had this problem, so it must be my computer settings.

The best part of the trip has been the walking, probably five to ten miles a day. While there are trams that go everywhere, walking has let me take in so much more and get a better feel for the city. It's been very cold and gray every day, but we were forewarned and brought coats, gloves, hats and scarves, so it's not much of a problem.

The Rembrandts are really something to see. So are the Van Gogh paintings. The architecture is very intriguing and the city is well laid out. All in all, a great trip so far.

Here's an open thread to discuss whatever else is going on in the world.

by TChris

The TalkLeft writers are working or playing or hanging out in Amsterdam. Here's a place to chat about the week's events.