Time for a new open thread, all topics welcome.

I've been offline for a week because it's moving time again -- after 4 years in my condo that the movers set on fire when moving in my stuff, the owner has decided to sell when my lease is up in September.

I am pretty sure I have OCD when it comes to new places to live: I turn on the shower to test the water pressure, knock on the bathtub to see if it's plastic, open the cabinet door on top of the microwave above the gas stove to make sure it's vented to the outside, make sure the apartment or condo is not too close to the trash room, the freight elevator, the residents' elevator or the inside dog park. I remember to ask if my Weber barbecue with a one pound propane cannister is allowed on the balcony. I ask if every unit is pre-wired for gigabyte speed internet; is the washer dryer stacked or side by side and are they full size; and on and on. Not to mention, who would want to live in a mid rise or high rise anywhere near downtown Denver and not have a gorgeous and unobstructed view of the mountains or city skyline? They are becoming harder and harder to find. [More....]

I´ve been super busy this week because I had a lot to get done before leaving tomorrow for the annual Aspen legal conference. Here is this year´s agenda. It´s always a privilege to be one of the speakers among the terrific group lawyers who speak and attend every years.

I´ll be online sporadically through the weekend and will try and post some stuff. Until then, I´ll leave the conversation to you. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

It really did snow here yesterday -- the latest I can remember that happening. I have a cracked windshield (noticed it last week -- goes from top to bottom in an S type line) and am off to the windshied replacement place. My Jeep is 10 months old and has 2,100 miles on it. This shouldn't happen, but it did.

Here's a new open thread, all topics welcome.

I'm busy with motions and stuff.

Questions of the day: Will the Judge in the Roger Stone case get the unredacted Mueller report? What happens to DT, Jr. if he ignores his subpoena? What happens to Barr? Can Trump, Sr claim executive privilege as to matters that occurred during his campaign and before he was sworn in? Should Congress writ Michael Cohen in from prison?

Highlands Ranch students last night walked out of the vigil for their deceased classmate when a group aligned with the Brady Org., Sen. Michael Benett and others hogged the stage to talk about gun control, which the students believe politicized the event and prevented them from talking about their deceased classmate. It also did a disservice to the real issue as they perceive it in this case which is mental health. The juvenile charged is transitioning from a she to a he and prefers to be called Alec or "he." Many students have said he didn't receive he support he needed. The 18 year old suspect, by the way, has excellent lawyers (Haddon Morgan -- who represented Kobe Bryant and so many others).

Here's a new open thread, all topics welcome.

I absolutely thought today was Mother's Day and put up an open thread called "Mother's Day Open Thread". Then I texted the TL kids to tell them I was on my way, and they responded, "Where are you going, Mothers Day is next week". So now I'm all tressed up (hair fixed up and dressed, not to be confused with "dressed up" )and no place to go. I guess I'll just read the news and check out places to to visit in Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Mexico.

It's still time for a new open thread, all topics welcome.

Sometimes it's good just to sleep, read and think about other things rather than dwell on all that's going down the drain under the present toxic administration.

ISIS Leader al Baghadadi has stepped out for the first time in five years. He's gotten a makeover -- instead of looking like a religious figure, he now looks like a military commander. His message appears designed to let us all know he's alive and although conceding ISIS has lost its physical territory (and the state it was creating as a Caliphate), and they got badly trounced at their last battle in Baghdouz, ISIS is regrouping as a global insurgency right now (no need to conquer big swaths of land and instill governing forces like before). He praised the Sri Lanka bombings and mentioned factions in Mali and Africa that had recently aligned with ISIS. He also mentioned new groups joining with them in Khorassan. Probably his most telling line was that Allah commanded them to make jihad, but did not command they acheive victory. In other words, he's telling his supporters to be prepared to die, as they will fight until the resurrection. [More...]

Joe Biden is officially running for President.

Yesterday I tuned into MSNBC on the radio while driving for quite some time. They were playing snippets of Democratic candidates taking questions at town halls. When I tuned in, I didn't know whose voice it was at first, but based on the accent, after about 1 minute, I realized it was Bernie Sanders. Not surprisingly, I agreed with every position he mentioned on issues -- mostly human rights. My positive reaction faded a minute later (as did that of the live audience which audibly reacted, and it didn't sound positive) when he started talking about how he was always at the forefront of the fight for racial equality and marched with Dr. MLK in 1963. If he would just find a way to tout his own horn without claiming to be the first to take every progressive position (or, as in 2016, that he's leading a revolution.)

Sanders did say if he isn't the nominee, he will do everything he can to fight for the Democratic nominee because Trump is so dangerous.

I do not think Biden or Sanders can beat Trump. Is there a Sanders clone out there who is 30 years younger without baggage?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Mick Jagger is on the mend.

Question: What part of the college admissions cheating scandal is interesting to you? The scam itself, the coaches, proctors and test takers, the parents, and if so, what about them: their wealth or their sense of entitlement, the students, the charges, the way they were arrested, why some are pleading guilty and others aren't, or something else? [If the answer is none of it, just scroll on by, no need to tell us, I'm going to write about it anyway].

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I'm still buried under with work, but I am hoping to take a little break to blog and barbecue this weekend.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I apologize for the lack of open threads recently. It's because I start one and try to include something worthwhile and end up writing half a novel about a topic and then get diverted to something else and never finish it.

So here's an empty open thread, all topics welcome.

TalkLeft wishes everyone a Happy Valentines Day, especially El Chapo's lawyers, Eduardo Balarezo, Jeffrey Lichtman and William Purpura, who didn't win, knew they wouldn't win, but relentlessly pounded away at the government's evidence, and despite being ham-stringed by the judge in every cross-examination,were rock stars in the courtroom and did the best they could do for their mythical client.

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