Nominations are open for the 2006 Bloggies Awards. If you nominate TalkLeft, I hope it will be for Best Topical Weblog or even Best Design. You can nominate blogs in multiple categories and up to three blogs per category. Here's my nominations:

• Best American Weblog: Atrios and Daily Kos
• Weblog of the Year: Firedoglake
• Best Political Weblog: Daily Kos and Crooks and Liars
• Best Group Weblog: Huffington Post
• Most Humorous: TBogg and Jesus' General
• Best Writing: Digby and Body and Soul
• Best New Weblog: Firedoglake
• Best Community Blog: Daily Kos

You can only vote once, so go ahead, take a few minutes and nominate your favorite bloggers. Once the nominations are done, the final voting is done by a committee of 50, so nominations are all you get to make.

Does anyone feel like blogging today? I need to attend to other things, so I hope readers will take over.

The new law blog at the Wall St. Journal is reporting that Ana Marie Cox will be leaving Wonkette and replaced by David Lat, the male prosecutor who authored Underneath Their Robes pretending to be a female named Article Three Groupie.

If true, count me as underwhelmed and very disappointed. The few times I read Underneath Their Robes, Lat was praising conservative judges to the hilt. His favorite word was "hottie."

As for whether the report is true, while Gawker Media won't confirm, Lat did quit the U.S. Attorney's office last week and said he'll be back blogging in Washington. Today on the UTR, he says he's leaving for a two week vacation in India.

Good luck to Ana Marie, who reportedly is about to begin a national book tour to launch her new book, Dog Days.

On the other hand, the Wall St. Journal law blog is well worth reading and free.

It's a new year. Let's get started on the right track.

There are too many right-wing chatterers commenting on TalkLeft who are making noise without substance. Several are new in the past few months, and may not have read the commenting rules. They are here. Please read them. If you continue to comment in disregard of the rules, you will be banned.

In particular, there is a four a day comment limit for right wing chatterers. Readers should let me know when a new chatterer pops up or violates the rules. I will then find their last or their offending comment and add a warning. So, if you are a contrarian commenter on this site, check back to the last comment threads you've posted on. Once you are notified you're a chatterer, it's four a day max for you. If you disregard the limit, you will be banned.

Next, and this goes for all commenters regardless of your political philosophy: Lose the insults, the name-calling and degrading responses to other commenters. You may think you are being witty, I don't.

I'm a little late getting this up today, but I'm busy at work and so awash in paper I might drown. I need one of these, badly. [Update: A huge thank you to the generous reader that just contributed the money to buy the scanner. TalkLeft readers never cease to amaze me. This is so appreciated.]

In case I miss the news about whether Jack Abramoff has a plea deal, please fill us in. Also of note:

• Raw Story: Abramoff's firm knew of the payments he received from ex-DeLay aide before the story broke.

• Va. Gov. Mark Warner has two weeks left to order DNA testing in the case of Roger Coleman, executed in 1992. If he does, and if it turns out he was innocent, he will be the first known case of wrongful execution in the country.

• Atrios on 2005 being the year of the President who believes he can break the law.

• Crooks and Liars has some great Daily Show clips up.

• Reddhedd at Firedoglake reviews the Patriot Act debate and the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine as applied to Bush's warrantless NSA surveillance. Also read Judd at Think Progress on how the NSA plan put us all at risk.

Congratulations to Steve and Melissa. Preston Davis Green has arrived on the planet earth. Another example of beautiful people making beautiful babies. And check out the hair!

Happy New Year to all, from Jeralyn, TChris and Last Night in Little Rock. We hope it rings in justice and peace.

For those of you who will be online, this is an open thread.

Update: Here's a live streaming thread of the gathering in Times Square, including music, courtesy of Crooks and Liars.

Here's a smattering of what I've found interesting today:

• RJ Eskow on today's WaPo Alito article
• Avedon Carol's always excellent round-up.
• Glenn Greenewald on threatening Administration critics with prosecution
• Digby on Constitutional Thuggery
• TBogg's soccer post about his daughter Casey
• Norgwegianity leads us to Separated at Birth, for anti-Cheneyites everywhere.

Huffington Post bloggers have their end of year blog posts up. Mine is a top ten list of the Villains of 2005. You can add your own in the comments.

Arianna has some resolutions she'd like George Bush to make:

• "Next time the mother of a slain soldier camps out in a ditch outside my ranch, I'll meet with her right away";
• "Next time a Cat 5 storm destroys a major American city, and my point man is more worried about the way his clothes look than helping the victims, I won't say he's doing a 'heck of a job'"; and
• "No more equating loyalty with competence. Sorry, Harriet."

Nora Ephron has a one line resolution for the President, and yes, it's funny.

Bill Maher writes his thoughts on 2005.

Maybe next election, people will start to think, who gives a damn if I want to have a beer with this guy?

Predictions? Bob Cesca has very funny ones, that leave you wondering if maybe they could happen. That's a scary thought, here are just two:

I haven't had time to read the news today. Is anything happening? This thread's for you. I'll be back here tonight.

There are a million New Years' Resolutions I could make. But, I don't believe in them, unless I make them during Christmas week to get a head start. Who wants to be the person huffing and puffing at the gym on Jan. 2? At least if I start Dec. 26, I'll feel like an old-timer by the time the newbies roll in.

I've decided to forego all of the traditional resolutions this year. I lift however many pounds I can lift. I weigh what I weigh. No matter what resolution I make, I'll never have more money in the bank.

So, this year I'm making a resolution for TalkLeft. Last year I promised myself I would redesign the site, whether I could afford it or not. I'm very proud that I did it, albeit in December, with my own funds and without asking readers for help.

For 2006, I have a new goal. Again, it's one I will do without asking for contributions. It is learning graphic design, and I started the day after Christmas. Like most analytical lawyers, I am very left-brain and very right-brain challenged. Yet, I cringe with envy every time I visit Jane and Reddhedd at Firedoglake and see how they begin every post with an awesome graphic.

I have had Adobe Photoshop 6 for years but no one to teach me how to use it. This week I shelled out the bucks for Adobe CS-2 which comes with a video tutorial, and I promise, that by December 31, 2006, I will be able to make my own graphics.

It's that time of the year to organize and close up files and work on the books. If there's something going on in the world today, here's a place to discuss it. In the meantime,

• Manassas, VA wants to redefine the family for housing limit purposes, a move many call racist and anti-immigrant. [hat tip Patriot Daily]

• Journalism prof Jay Rosen is back on the case of Bill Keller and the New York Times.

• Crooks and Liars is seeking nominations for the best video clips of the year.

• Roger Ailes has an end of the year quiz.

It's Colorado's warmest holiday on record and not a day to spend inside. For anyone wanting a place to chat, this space is for you.

If you're looking for something new to read, check out the 2005 Blawg Review Awards for the best law blogs. Sentencing Law and Policy wins best blog by a law professor, Scotus Blog is named best blog by a law firm; Howard Bashman of How Appealing is the blog for legal breaking news; I get an Award of Merit for TalkLeft. There's many, many more.

The awards were judged by Themis, and the accompanying artwork of She-Hulk by Greg Horn depicting Lady Justice is very cool.