Arthur Silber at Light of Reason has announced that the LA transit strike has done him in financially and he will be putting the blog on hiatus. He explains why the strike matters so much to him here. We're really sorry to hear this as Arthur's voice is one we highly respect. He does have a paypal button if you can spare a few dollars. We hope he'll be back.

Atrios thanks his lawyer who helped him with the Donald Luskin threat to expose his identity and sue him. It is none other than Alabama lawyer Sam Heldman, who writes the blog Ignatz, currently on hiatus. Great job, Sam.

Atrios will be donating his paypal donations for six weeks to a very worthy organization--the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama, which provides quality legal representation to those on death row and those without funds to retain counsel. Alabama is a nasty Southern state when it comes to the rights of the accused. Give all you can. You can give directly to EJI by mailing a check to them (let Atrios know because he's keeping a tally):

Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama
122 Commerce Street
Montgomery, AL 36104

Atrios, you're a mensch. And, of course, so is Sam.

Terry at Nitpicker is being called to Iraq. He's looking for someone to take over writing his blog for a year. You can e-mail him at nitpickerblog@hotmail.com. It's really a good blog. We hope someone keeps it going for him.

Baby Kos, now called Ari, is home with his happy and tired parents. Kos wrote the most amazing story of the 23 hour labor and birth that you can read over at his baby blog, FishyShark. You should read it. Kos is a amazing story teller and writes in riveting detail about all 23 hours of Elisa's labor. We read it in one sitting, holding our breath the entire time. Congrats to Markos and Elisa, and to Ari, a big welcome to the Planet earth. Kos and Elisa, you done good!

Dwight Meredith, writing for Wampum Blog hits the proverbial nail on the head in deciphering the "joint statement" released by Atrios and Donald Luskin settling their (happily) short-lived feud:

Luskin: Man, did I ever screw the pooch? Having a lawyer write the letter threatening suit against Atrios was a stupid mistake. Not only would any such lawsuit be frivolous, but the truck-load of scorn heaped upon me by the blogosphere has decimated whatever small shreds of credibility I may have previously possessed. Therefore, I have decided to fold my cards and cut my losses.

Atrios: Okay.

Go over and read how Dwight arrived at this analysis.

T. Christopher Kelly writes on TalkLeft as TChris.

He is a member of Kelly & Habermehl, S.C., a law firm based in Madison, Wisconsin. His practice concentrates on the defense of individuals and organizations accused of crime in federal and state courts, with a special emphasis on appellate and post-conviction representation.

In 2005, he was the lead attorney in United States v. Booker, a Supreme Court case that struck down mandatory federal sentencing guidelines as violating the Sixth Amendment.

This appeared on Donald Luskin's and Atrios's weblogs today:

A JOINT STATEMENT FROM DONALD LUSKIN AND ATRIOS We both regret a series of misunderstandings that have resulted in something that neither of us intended. We have discussed our differences, and both of us are confident that such misunderstandings will not occur again in the future. As a result, Mr. Luskin is retracting his demand letter of October 29, 2003. We congratulate each other on having quickly achieved an amicable resolution. We are both glad to have put this behind us.

A credit to both of them for resolving the matter without a lawsuit.

About 15 minutes after our last post on Sunday night, we got hit by food poisoning and a fever that reached 101, sending us to the doctor Monday morning and then back to bed until just now. We're going to try to make it to work today, we should be back here tonight.

Public Defender Dude has been in a jury trial the past two weeks. The jury is out now. His thoughts on the various stages of the trial, from the day there was testimony by "lying cops" to closing arguments and now to sweating out the deliberations is a great read for anyone who's interested in trials.

Mrs. Kos has gone into labor and Baby Kos is on its way. Stay tuned.

Update: It's a healthy boy. We got a phone call from Kos, the labor was 23 hours. Congrats to Kos and Elisa.

In our experience, there are two cities that stand head and shoulders above the rest on Halloween: New Orleans and Maui. Here in New Orleans, the festivities are underway. At night, the streets of the French Quarter are closed to traffic. The costumes are plentiful and outlandish. Police patrol on horseback. Crowds swell the second story balconies of almost every establishment and residence, throwing beads and candy down to those below. Street musicians are everywhere, playing terrific blues and jazz.

We've got a NACDL Budget Committee meeting and a Legislative Affairs meeting left this afternoon before we shut down to enjoy the festivities, and indulge in some more oysters on the half-shell, seafood gumbo, and our very favorite, beignets.

A happy Halloween to all.

In our experience, there are two cities that stand head and shoulders above the rest on Halloween: New Orleans and Maui. Here in New Orleans, the festivities are underway. At night, the streets of the French Quarter are closed to traffic. The costumes are plentiful and outlandish. Police patrol on horseback. Crowds swell the second story balconies of almost every establishment and residence, throwing beads and candy down to those below. Street musicians are everywhere, playing terrific blues and jazz.

We've got a NACDL Budget Committee meeting and a Legislative Affairs meeting left this afternoon before we shut down to enjoy the festivities, and indulge in some more oysters on the half-shell, seafood gumbo, and our very favorite, beignets.

A happy Halloween to all.