December likely is the month that bloggers balance the ledger sheet and reassess their time commitment to blogging because of the financial drain. How many hours were spent blogging, how much money did it cost in lost income from their day job and how much did the blog earn from donations? When they do, the blogosphere runs the risk of losing them. They may be news junkies, policy wonks or activists, but they live in the same capitalist world that you do.

So, as you're putting a little something in the pocket of your doorman, housekeeper, hairstylist, secretary, whomever.....think about the bloggers whose sites you read day after day either for enjoyment or enrichment, and please make a note to add them to your gift list. If ever there was a month to do it, this is it.

If you would like to contribute to TalkLeft, I certainly would appreciate it, and you can do so via credit card or paypal. [Links below]

It's the end to a busy week for me. Our last open thread is about to be filled. Here's a new one, all topics welcome.

Our last open thread is full. Here's a new one, all topics welcome.

Your turn. Our last open thread is full. All topics welcome.

I've got another busy day today. Here's a new open thread. All topics welcome.

Looks like an supporter of an Islamic militant group has taken between 13 and 50 people hostage at a chocolate shop in Sydney. He's making the hostages stand at the window with a black Islamic flag (that does not appear to match ISIS's flag. The news says it's an Islamic Shahada flag.) Here's a picture of the guy. Police say he may have an IED.

Update on Khalid el-Masri, the German shoe salesman who was mistaken for an al Qaeda operative and kidnapped by the CIA and tortured. I wrote about a few days ago. (I've been writing about him since 2005, the posts are collected here.) His lawyer says his life is destroyed.

Here is the latest on the Shami Witness investigation. He faces more questioning in Bengaluru where he is being held, but the investigation will primarily take place in New Delhi. [More...]

Here's a new open thread. All topics welcome.

Time for a new open thread. All topics welcome.

It's a dentist day for me in Boulder. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Homeland is back tonight, the Good Wife is not.
Our last open thread is full, here's a new one. All topics welcome.

Our open threads have been filling up much more quickly the past few weeks. They close automatically at 200 comments. So please don't be a blog-clogger. No one should have 20 or more comments in a single thread. And there's no need to take up a comment space just to say "wow" or "me too." Comments are for your thoughts and observations. An open thread just means you get to pick the topic you want to write about. Whether it's politics, what you cooked for dinner, TV, your pet, it's all fine.

As always, no name-calling (including calling others "trolls") and no personal attacks or profanity. TalkLeft welcomes all points of view. No one is a "troll" because they don't share your (or my) viewpoint. On the other hand, repetitive chatter -- making the same point over and over is objectionable, and those commenters will be limited to the number of times they can comment in a particular thread. If you want to have an extended conversation with a single commenter, please find another site for that. Open threads are not for extensive personal banter between two people. [More...]

Four days to set up a brand new computer is a record for me. I've had so many battles with tech support at various companies I feel like I've been through a war zone.

After the hardware issues (most of which resulted from poor or inaccurate setup instructions), there are the software licensing issues when trying to re-install your programs on a new computer, particularly with Adobe (Acrobat Professional and Photoshop) Microsoft Office and Corel Wordperfect. I was lucky this time, and didn't have to buy new versions of any of them.

I have a few more installations to go (scanner, fax machine, labeling and postage machine) after which I will take all the boxes and my old computer out to my storage unit and hopefully be done by tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's a new open thread, all topics welcome.

I'm still setting up my new computer. I'm just about ready to turn it on for the first time.

Our last open thread is full, here's a new one. All topics welcome.