The comments to this Gawker article about the two-toilet stalls at Sochi are pretty funny. Here's a photo.

Sochi will be the most expensive Olympic games in history, coming in around $50 billion, which is $40 billion over budget.

Shaun White has dropped out of the Slopestyle. Too much risk of injury on the oddly built course. He'll still compete in the half-pipe.

"There are definitely concerns about the course," he said. "It's been interesting to see how it's developed and changed over the past couple days. The big question is if it will continue to change. Because every day, they have riders meetings and they give feedback. Sometimes there's changes, sometimes there's not."

In TV news, Hollywood week starts tonight on American Idol. The show is much improved with new Judge Harry Connick, Jr. All the judges are good this year. [More....]

Not a good day for the Broncos, to say the least.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

My wagers:

Pre-game - SUPER BOWL XLVIIi SPECIALS - Who will Barack Obama pick to win the game? Denver

On the national anthem: SUPER BOWL XLVIII SPECIALS - How long will it take Renee Fleming to sing the official US National Anthem? Over 2 minutes 25 seconds +150

SUPER BOWL XLVIII SPECIALS - Will Knowshon Moreno cry during the singing of the National Anthem? No -140

On the coin toss - SUPER BOWL XLVIII - Coin Toss Tails -105

SUPER BOWL XLVIII - Will the team that wins the coin toss win the game? Yes

On the game result: Denver Broncos -2 1/2, Under 48

More on the flip.

Best news yesterday: Obama is searching for inmates who could use a sentence commutation. Deputy AG James Cole said during a speech:

It is the department's goal to find additional candidates, who are similarly situated to the eight granted clemency last year, and recommend them to the president for clemency consideration,"

Candidates for clemency would include inmates who have had clean records in prison, do not present a threat to public safety and are facing excessive sentences, according to the speech.

[More...]

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

R.I.P. Pete Seeger, who has died at age 94.

Yesterday's Supreme Court unanimous decision in Burrage is here. The Court ruled that the enhanced penalty for someone who provided drugs to a person who later died after ingesting multiple drugs only applies if the Government proves that but for the particular drug the charged person provided, the person would not have died. In other words, a "but for" test, not a contributing factor test. While this case is about a drug dealer, I think it could also affect some pain doctor cases. [More...]

I've got another really busy work day. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

I was on with David Waldman for most of the 2 hours today of Daily Kos Radio. We talked about Christie, Richard Sherman, and other matters.

Open thread.

In case you are wondering, I like the Pats (+5 1/2) (and on the moneyline (+200)) and the Niners (+3) (+110) today.

In soccer, Chelsea, Athletico Madrid and Barcelona are my choices.

Open Thread.

Hello all. While I haven't written a post in a year, I did rant about Benghazi and Bridgeghazi this morning on Daily Kos Radio. You can listen at this link. I start around the 41-42 minute mark. I rant for about 45 minutes.

Open Thread.

I'm working on a long post about the DEA and Sinaloa cartel, which I reported on at length in 2011 in a post called "The DEA and Mexican Drug Cartels: The "Snitch and Carry On" Tactic."

I'm not sure there's anything really new in the El Universal report, but I managed to write a 4,000 word draft about it anyway. I'm definitely going to edit it down before posting.

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

The Golden Globes: Breaking Bad wins Best TV Drama, Bryan Cranston wins Best Actor. In a surprise win, Robin Wright wins Best Actress for House of Cards over Julianna Margolies for Good Wife. Jared Leto won Best Supporting Actor in a movie (Dallas Buyers' Club) and Jon Voight won best supporting for TV (Ray Donovan.)

[Added:] Diane Keaton was absolutely stunning. She just lit up the screen as she gave a tribute to Woody Allen, who received the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award.

A new season of Shameless begins tonight on Showtime. Also on : Downton Abbey and the Good Wife.

More news: AMC announced Better Call Saul will start in November.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.