Weekend Odds and Ends

Only 5 days 'til the Great Pumpkin arrives. Is your pumpkin patch sincere enough?

Last week, Sen. Dodd announced plans to filibuster the current wiretapping bill, because of its retroactive immunity for the telecom companies involved in the months after (and before?) 9/11. Backup arrived in the form of statements from not only Sen. Biden, but also from Sens. Obama and Clinton too, who indicated filibuster support. Perhaps they realized that cowering before an unpopular, failed President is not a winning campaign position.

Glenn Greenwald is (understandably) skeptical about all this for now.

U.S. to Turkey: We know our war is awesome, but please stop trying to crash this party.

The State Department concedes that maybe we need this 'oversight' business for Blackwater operations. Potentially being subject to laws is not something they're taking well, though.

Do Republicans know the definition of 'torture'? Ol' Bushie and Rudy Guiliani proudly do not.

Is Stephen Colbert serious about his presidential bid? If so, federal election law dissents.

Finally, a Florida state investigation concludes that "University of Florida police were justified in using a Taser against a student who refused to stop questioning Sen. John Kerry on campus last month." Don't tase me, bro!