I particularly appreciated this bit of political analysis: "really, I think it will show him to be the standard bearer of the liberal cause"

It seems that the Brett Favre-Green Bay Packers saga is such a worldwide phenomenon that it's being used by detainees in American military camps . . . [who] are using Brett Favre as a manner of getting at the guard troops there.

"They know Favre by name," said Wisconsin National Guard First Lieutenant Tim Boehnen, who is from New Richmond, Wis.  "One of the big words they know now is shenanigan.  They'll constantly talk about 'Favre shenanigans,' 'He's so good for the Vikings,' and 'The Packers have got to really feel bad about that one.'  "

According to Boehnen, it started when troops there started decorating their camp in Packers colors. . . .  "We spend a lot of time painting and making our compound our own and representing us.  Obviously, wherever Wisconsinites go, we bring the Packers with us."

Once the decoration job happened, detainees became curious. "They obviously then started up the conversations, and started talking about Brett Favre.  They soon learned about Favre going to the Vikings, and things just started going downhill from there. . . .  They'll hear guards talking about it, and then they pick up a lot of stuff from that, too," said Boehnen. "They're very crafty.  They learn different stuff from different ways."

The group is part of the 32nd Brigade, with more than 3,200 troops performing a number of missions in Iraq.  For Boehnen, it's especially hard because he has his own familial rivalry issues involving things green and purple.  "My family lives on the other side of the border, so when we get together, we always talk about the Viking-Packer disputes, as if it's not intense enough without the Favre situation."

But later today I'm going to reset a couple of days by going back 2 time zones west to Colorado for the holiday week.  It will be worth it!

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) signaled that the much-anticipated hearings examining the possible repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell" will likely happen next year.

Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has always opposed the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy and had hoped to hold a hearing in November, but this month appears out of question and December appears unlikely.

"We may not be able to have the hearing this year," Levin said in any interview on C-SPAN's Newsmakers program, which will air Sunday.

The principal reason for the delay is that Levin's panel is examining the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, which left 13 people dead and more than 30 injured. After several closed-door briefings, Levin said he planned to hold public hearings on the incident.

Levin stressed, however, that the delay necessitated by current events should not be interpreted "as any effort to avoid the hearing" on the subject.

Levin said that a repeal of the Clinton-era ban on openly gay people in the military cannot happen without a "careful" review by the armed forces.

In order to succeed in "dropping the policy" Congress has to listen to the military's concerns, but without giving up the goal of repealing the ban, Levin said. The repeal has to work in a way where it does not create conflict within the military or morale problems, he noted.

Despite the delay in the hearing schedule, Levin said time is not being lost because the Pentagon is already reviewing the policy.

Levin said that the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act could be one of the vehicles to carry repeal legislation.