A federal judge on Friday heard a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) against the government’s assertion that it has the authority to search, seize and copy laptops, cell phones, cameras and other devices of people at America’s borders even if there is no suspicion of wrongdoing.

Specifically, the hearing was on whether the government’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit against laptop search policies at the border was legitimate.

As Obama buys into the deficit hysteria of the GOP, he is endangering not only the social safety net on which millions depend, but also his own particular job. One aspect of the 2012 election calculus that I don’t think Team Obama realizes is that a deal like this will throw away any hope he has of holding onto the Catholic voters that supported him in 2008.

In states like Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri, Ohio, and Florida, Catholics are a sizable chunk of the electorate, and Obama cannot afford to alienate them. If he caves to the GOP on the debt ceiling negotiations and sacrifices Social Security and Medicare to protect the tax gimmicks so beloved by the MOTUs and banksters, these voters will not be happy.

Just let those states sink in: Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri, Ohio, and Florida. Obama’s not going to win them without significant Catholic support, and cutting the social safety net is NOT going to help get those votes.

Leon Panetta kicks off his new job as Secretary of Defense with a trip to Afghanistan. On the plane over there this morning, he told reporters that we just need to kill 10 or 20 leaders of al Qaeda and we will “strategically defeat” al Qaeda. (h/t Spencer)

I’ve spent much of the past twenty-four hours dealing with local Democratic Party functionaries who were trying to shout me and a few other folks down over this issue. Instead of wasting time trying to get people like me to say that the yellow liquid being trickled on us all is just rain and not urine, they would be better served trying to figure out how they can convince the vast apolitical majority of Americans to get into the voting booth — you know, the people who don’t follow the politics of Supreme Court justices but care mightily about their pensions — without being able to honestly deploy the “we’ll save Medicare and Medicaid” hole card.

I marched in the parade with our local Democratic Party on Monday… most of our members are truly progressive, and many of them are pretty upset with the president. We tossed tootsie rolls to kids and a few adults, too. It was the first time I had done that. Usually, I’m a spectator, taking photos [...]

Two skits featuring The Muppets on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson: Let Me In (with a cameo by Tonight Show bandleader Skitch Henderson) and Glow Worm, featuring Kermit the Frog, from December 31, 1965.

Consider yourselves warned. You can only hide for another week. Because next Friday, July 15, Sarah Palin’s hired hagiographic film The Undefeated (sadly, probably not based on the Iggy Pop song of the same name) will be released in multiple cities across the United States.

Which is worse?

If Obama cannot be swayed, House Democrats will have the choice: do they want to remain in the minority for the foreseeable future? Or did they run for office for some reason other than personal enrichment in their post-Congress lobbying careers?

After the Ninth Circuit lifted the stay on a circuit court ruling that labeled the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy unconstitutional and banned enforcement, the military officially suspended Don’t Ask Don’t Tell to comply with the ruling. So regardless of the vote in Congress, the Pentagon study, the long lead time for implementation, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is officially dead.