Matt Yglesias writes:

I think there’s a lot of value in the fact that guys like Kevin Drum and Glenn Greenwald who live outside the DC-NYC media/politics hub are able to offer commentary on current affairs from relatively high profile platforms. [. . .] Readers deserve to be able to read a varied set of people working with a diverse set of models. Among other things, the existence of variety gives people an opportunity to test theories about capture and such. I think regular readers would agree that Kevin and I generally have pretty similar sellout wanker political opinions.

I think that's right (and yes, I get the joke - obviously Matt does not think his views are that of a sellout wanker and neither do I. I do think that they have an insider/Beltway Dem perspective. My problem has always been the attempt to disavow this obvious reality.) I think it is important to understand this "capture" (Yglesias' word) phenomenon. Here is an obvious one - the great enthusiasm Village bloggers have for the Grayson Medicare Buy In plan. They all love it. Guess what? they all know it has no chance of passage or of being a stumbling block for passage of the heath bill they want passed - which by a happy coincidence, is the one the President wants passed. More . .

Glenn Greenwald discusses the latest addition to the WaPo Editorial Page Editor's New McCarthyite stable:

Marc Thiessen catapulted himself from obscure, low-level Bush speechwriter into regular Washington Post columnist, joining fellow torture defenders Charles Krauthammer and Bill Kristol. Today, Thiessen's column defends the Liz-Cheney/Kristol smear campaign against DOJ lawyers [. . .] Congratulations, Fred Hiatt: every time people are certain you can't possibly bring the Post any lower, you manage to prove them wrong.

Yes, the Hiatt Era at the WaPo will be remembered in infamy. Here's something I wrote about Hiatt in 2005.

Speaking for me only

A first in Oscar history: Kathryn Bigelow wins Best Director for The Hurt Locker, which also won big picture.

Sandra Bullock takes Best Actress on a night when Precious seemed to rule. Mo'Nique wins for best supporting actress.

Jeff Bridges for best actor in Crazy Heart -- I really liked Michelle Pfeiffer's introduction of Jeff Bridges.

Christoph Waltz was one of my favorite performances of the year, I'm so glad he won for best supporting actor for Inglorious Basterds.

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as co-hosts are getting good reviews. I didn't think they were funny or memorable. [More...]

The Red Carpet at tonight's Oscars 2010 has an hour left.

Who do you think looks great and who miscalculated? Too much beige for my taste, but I'm just tuning in.

Sarah Jessica Parker's dress is pretty but it fits her like a sack. Sandra Bullock looks great, many think she'll win Best Actress tonight. Here are the nominees.

Update: Please hold the spoilers as to who wins until all time zones have aired. They start at 6:30 MT (8:00 ET) (Not sure about the west coast, feel free to let us know in comments.)

Thanks to Disney, 3.1 million cablevision customers in New York won't be able to watch the Oscars (or anything else) on ABC. Disney pulled the plug just after midnight when negotiations with the cable company over a contract dispute didn't get resolved.

Regardless of who's right in the overall dispute, there was no reason for Disney to take it out on the customers the day of the Academy Awards.

The current contract expired more than two years ago but has been maintained on a month-by-month basis since.

Matt Yglesias:

What Theda Skopcol said

“FEMINISTS” who are pushing on abortion-funding limits rather than supporting American women need to examine their consciences. NOW’s obsession over abortion is, in effect, betraying a long tradition of American women’s advocacy on behalf of the wellbeing of families and the poor.

(Emphasis supplied.) I like the quote marks around "feminists," and the "obsession over abortion" especially. Nice touches.

Speaking for me only

Glenn Greenwald with a great catch:

[B]ack in mid-January, a mere six weeks ago, Grayson went on Hardball and advocated that the Democrats pass health care reform through reconciliation, which would enable them to avoid a GOP filibuster. But back then, all Serious People (i.e., dutiful Party Loyalists) insisted that the mere suggestion was crazy [. . .] Now that Party Leaders have embraced reconciliation, it's been magically and instantly transformed from Crazy Fringe Loser Talk into Serious, Sane, Responsible Advocacy -- all within a matter of weeks.

The Serious Person/Party Loyalist Glenn links to is, of course, Nate Silver, who wrote:

I'm headed to court for the afternoon, but here's some things to check out:

The Supreme Court won't hear the Uighur detainee case, but at least it vacated the lower court's opinion finding a federal judge can't order the release of the Uighur detainees into the U.S.

Also today, Enron's Jeff Skilling lawyers are arguing about the constitutionality of the "theft by honest services" statute and denial of a change of venue from Houston. White Collar Crime Blog is following closely.

Tomorrow, the Court hears argument on whether states can enact gun laws that restrict a person's right to possess handguns. The gun case is Otis McDonald v. City of Chicago.

There's also a case in which the court may further restrict Miranda rights. And the Court refused review today in U.S. v. McCane, a Tenth Circuit case that held Leon's good faith exception applied to vehicle searches that violated Arizona v. Gant. The petition was considered at the court's private conference.

In non-criminal law news, Think Progress reports John McCain may propose an amendment to ban changes to Medicare through reconciliation.

This is another open thread, all topics welcome.

Update: Live feed removed as the threat has passed.

10:10 am MT: The tsunami is expected to hit Hilo, Hawaii first at 11:05 am Hawaii time. The shores of all islands may be in danger. Advice for those in high-rises: Get to the third floor or higher. Stores are open and they are recommending people get food and water and medications for 5 to 7 days.

Maui is having trouble with cell phones. Don't dial 911 unless there is an absolutely emergency. Twitter is the recommended source of updates.

Apolo Ohno and Lindsay Vonn (skiing with a broken finger) are on tonight.

What's on your agenda this weekend?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Via Digby, funny:

WaPo editor Marcus Brauchli [. . .] was pissed that Quinn's latest "Let me tell you some stuff about my family" column ran, and has now declared that in the future her column "will appear online at 'On Faith,' a section of washingtonpost.com that Sally guides."

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Apparently Quinn trashed the place. And it no longer is her place. Of course being in print at the WaPo ain't all that anymore anyway. It is ironic though that Quinn was spending a lot of time calling for the head of WH Social Secretary Desiree Rogers and it is her head that ends up rolling. The First Lady and Ms. Rogers would not be human if they were not chortling a little.

Speaking for me only

How popular is Conan O'Brien? He posted his first tweet on Twitter a little over an hour ago and already has 43,000 followers. How enlightening was his tweet?

Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial. Somebody help me.

Over 100 people have re-tweeted it, which isn't that many. Unless they are all people like Ryan Secrest with 3 million followers, who retweeted it right before he tweeted about what he might wear on American Idol tonight.

Does Jay Leno tweet? Maybe he should. (Update: He does.)