Chihuahua playing pool

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64-year-old man, Tased three times at home, sues

From Digby, who is the queen of caring about this kind of legalized torture.

Our latest threat to humanity is a 64-year-old pancreatic cancer survivor with a heart condition, who fell on his front steps and badly hurt his leg. He's in pain, the paramedics treat him and start to leave.

Then in come the cops, like a house on fire. Let's go to the videotape:



Rules of engagement. Be sure to watch the video. It's the whole news report, just 3 minutes or so, and not just a torture flick.

Note that before being Tased*, the guy told them he was just letting off steam, and that his wife had warned the police of his heart condition. They still nailed him three times. I guess being fully incapacitated once isn't fully incapacitated enough.

Seriously. The Tasing* starts at about 2:25 on the tape. Watch it carefully. The first shot puts him on the floor, writhing. A pause. Then they shoot him again. A pause. Then they shoot him a third time. It's very deliberate.

Anyone want to guess how many cops were in the room?

GP

(*About that capital "T" on Tased and Tasing. I've decided to comply with the law. See, Taser is a trademark, like Kleenex, and must be capitalized; if writers like me start calling it "kleenex", the beast that owns the trademark loses intellectual property rights, and we wouldn't want that.

Besides, Taser International is a company, with a stock price and a huge financial interest in making sure everyone on the planet thinks Tasering is good safe fun, sort of a mash-up of police work and frat parties.

TASR stock was up around 30 for a while, but now it's down near 4, so the boys and girls at corp HQ have some work to do; those bonuses don't pay themselves, you know. And we want to recognize that work by recognizing the corporate actor behind this whole drama. And their lobbyists. And their lobbyists' friends.

And you thought this was a story about ... cops. Not at all.) Read the rest of this post...

Bernanke: shut down banks if threatening system

While letting a bad bank makes sense, Bernanke himself has helped make this nearly impossible. The problem of too-big-to-fail has been made worse since the crisis. The troubled bank list is growing by the day while the list of profitable banks shrinks. Concentrating profits in fewer and few banks is extremely dangerous until someone decides to break up this situation. Any talk about "too big to fail" is laughable until they decide to remake the banking system. Anyone happen to see anyone in Washington with the courage to do that? Me neither. The longer they wait, the larger the problem becomes and the more expensive it will be to fix it.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a panel investigating the financial crisis that regulators must be ready to shutter the largest institutions if they threaten to bring down the financial system.

"If the crisis has a single lesson, it is that the too-big-to-fail problem must be solved," Bernanke said Thursday while testifying before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

If the lesson was so important, then why is he not doing anything about it? Why grow the problem? Read the rest of this post...

Mormons promise to stop baptizing Holocaust victims (again)

The Mormons, who baptize the non-Mormon dead, have promised (again) to stop doing it to Holocaust victims. See, this has been an ongoing problem:

This is the latest development in a series of talks that began in 1994, when Jewish genealogist Gary Mokotoff alerted his peers to the LDS practice known as “baptism for the dead” in which living people stand in for the deceased to offer that person a chance to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the hereafter. Mormons believe it is their moral obligation to do the temple rituals, while those on the other side can choose whether to accept the action or not.

The proxy baptism practice was deeply offensive to many Jews, who had suffered so greatly for their faith.

So Mokotoff and a delegation met with LDS leaders, who agreed to remove Holocaust victims from their master list.

The task proved more difficult than they thought. Many of those names continued to appear in the database.

One recipient of a posthumous baptism was the mother of Barack Obama, a story first reported on AMERICAblog.com. Read the rest of this post...

Fact–Simpson blames vets for deficit; Rumor–White House to accept apology on their behalf

OK, I made up the rumor, but I'm still placing bets. As to the fact, here's Keith Olbermann, subbing for Lawrence O'Donnell on Countdown:



In a surprise move, Rachel Maddow piles on in the show that follows (usually she and Keith tag-team their subjects).

About 30 minutes in, she goes back to Alan Simpson, the "milking the system" remark, and the "veterans not helping" crack. Her follow-on comments about the social contract are excellent (no video, but here's a very rough transcript). At the end, she asks pointedly:

"Whose idea was it to let Alan Simpson anywhere near Social Security?"

(Rachel, pick us. We know the answer: That would be Team Like Nixon to China. Cookie, please?)

Update: Looks like VoteVets have just added their voice to the call for Simpson's resignation. This is getting interesting.

GP Read the rest of this post...

Poll: Unemployment affects three out of four Americans

Huff Post:

Nearly three out of four Americans have been directly affected by the recession, either because they have been unemployed or know someone who has lost their job, according to a new survey.

The report, prepared by Rutgers professors Carl Van Horn and Cliff Zukin, find that 73% of Americans have either been unemployed themselves (14%) or saw an immediate family member (12%), another member of their family (30%) or a close friend (17%) lose a job.

The survey also finds profound pessimism about where the economy is headed. More than half of Americans say they believe the downturn reflects a "lasting economic change" (56%) rather than a "temporary economic downturn" (43%). Large majorities believe that the economy will remain in recession or worse a year from now.

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Seattle shop clerk attacked and called a terrorist

The Teabagger call to violence continues.

Writing the court, a Seattle detective said Stainbrook entered the 7-11 store in at 362 Denny Way. The clerk was standing near a coffee machine when Stainbrook accosted him.

"For unknown reasons a person threw change on the floor near the victim's feet then punched the victim on the left side of the head," the detective said.

"After the suspect struck (the clerk) with his fist he said, 'You're not even American, you're Al-Qaeda. Go back to your country.'"

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Forbes: 'As U.S. Troops Move Out Of Iraq, Oil Companies Move In'

Looks like we may have our Mission Accomplished moment after all. Forbes (h/t KerrynowCampau; my emphasis):

[A]s the troops move out, the oil companies are moving in. According to a July report from the U.S. government’s Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, oil production in Iraq is currently about 2.4 million barrels per day. The goal, by 2017 is to produce 12 million barrels per day. That’s quite a leap, especially since average production levels have held steady for more than two years. It’s going to a take a lot of investment to expand production by 10 million barrels per day.

How much? That’s anybody’s guess. For example, in January, ExxonMobil signed an agreement to redevelop and expand an oil field in southern Iraq. A company spokeswoman says that “total field capital expenditure will depend on full project scope,” which is currently being examined.

There’s a pile of oil money pouring into Iraq right now. Since last year, the Iraqi government has awarded 11 development deals to various consortia. BP and China National Petroleum Corp. are developing the enormous Rumaila field, which has a total proven reserves of about 18 billion barrels. Other companies winning awards include Royal Dutch Shell (working with ExxonMobil on one project and Malaysia’s Petronas on another), France’s Total SpA, Angola’s Sonangol, Italy’s Eni SpA, Russia’s Lukoil and China National Offshore Oil Corp. The signature bonuses to be paid by the consortia are anywhere from $100 million to $500 million.

Looks like the Russians and Chinese get a piece of the action after all. Cheney must be very upset.

There's a lot to notice here, with a large good news–bad news component. Let's go to the tote board:

It's good for Iraq; they need the income.
It's bad for Iraq; much of that income will likely be stolen (see: Egypt).

It's good for oil prices; more supply.
It's bad for oil prices; customers don't have pricing power anyway.

It's good for oil companies; mmm, money.
It's bad for oil companies; mmm, hubris.

It's good for the world; more oil to play with.
It's bad for the world; with so much supply, the addict won't switch to a maintenance drug like methadone ethanol.

The next phase of the Iraq war — the battle to build an economy; the battle between corrupt players to control that economy; the role of the 50,000 in tilting that battle for control — has begun.

Forbes has started to tell that story, albeit from a cheerleader perspective. A good read nevertheless. Click and learn.

GP Read the rest of this post...

How's that post-partisan thing working out?

From Huff Post Hill:

Getting a jump on those articles of impeachment, author David Limbaugh is scorching his way up the Amazon rankings with his latest book, "Crimes Against Liberty: An Indictment of President Barack Obama." It's number seven now and headed for the top of the New York Times best-seller list.

At some point, the President needs to have a little personal epiphany and realize that regardless of how far to the right he moves on issue after issue, the right still attacks him as the second coming of Satan. Read the rest of this post...

Coast Guard responds to oil rig fire 80 miles off Louisiana coast

The early reports say no oil was being drilled yet which should be positive news. CNN:

An oil rig has exploded 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana, with 13 people overboard, including one injured, the Coast Guard said Thursday morning.

The explosion happened south of Vermilion Bay on the Vermilion Oil Rig 380, which is owned by Mariner Energy, said John Edwards, a chief petty officer with the Coast Guard in New Orleans.

Thirteen people have been accounted for, said Petty Officer Bill Colclough of the Coast Guard. One person is injured, he said, and all are headed to a hospital in Terrebonne Parish.

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Words fail Arizona's Governor Jan Brewer at debate

Yesterday, Arizonans saw the first and probably only debate between the incumbent Governor, Republican Jan Brewer, and her Democratic opponent, Terry Goddard. So, this is important. You'd think the candidates would be prepped and ready. But, Jan Brewer couldn't even give a full one minute introduction. From the local FOX affiliate:

At the beginning of the debate, she stumbled a bit with a long and awkward pause during her opening statement.

Long and very awkward ending with her bold statement "We have, um, did what was right for Arizona":

More from FOX Phoenix:

Goddard accused Brewer of damaging Arizona's image and business prospects by portraying the state as a violent place because of border-related crime.

Goddard said that's untrue and outrageous and she should admit she's wrong. "There are no beheadings that was a false statement and it needs to be cleared up right now," he said.

She responded, "Terry I will call you out, I think you ought to renounce your support of the unions that are boycotting our state." He dismissed her demand, saying he opposes the boycott.

Afterward, reporters asked her why she didn't answer Goddard about the beheadings. They said, "About the headless bodies? Why won't you recant that… do you still believe that?" She turned on her heel and left the post-debate news conference -- and the reporters were left grumbling.

This fits the description of Brewer provided to us by Arizona State Rep. Kirsten Sinema. Read the rest of this post...

Glenn Beck argues for making conservatives permanent victims

If Democrats don't have a worldview to offer, this is what fills the void. Read the rest of this post...

Newsweek: Why the 44th president is no FDR—and the economy is still in the doldrums

Michael Hirsh writes a powerful essay in Newsweek explaining how Wall Street didn't, and won't, have to face real reform because of Geithner and Summers having rolled the President. But Hirsh doesn't give the President a pass.

Obama can hardly take all the blame for the surprising persistence of high unemployment and slow growth. Among the new headwinds beating the economy down in recent months was Europe’s currency crisis, for example. But the leadership question can’t be ignored. Financial and economic reform just never seemed to be a subject that kindled Obama’s passions, his critics say. (The White House strenuously disagrees: “Financial reform has been a top priority to the president since day one,” administration spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki told me.) For much of his first 18 months in office, Obama always seemed to be finding some new thing to focus on. He spoke about financial reform, but he often seemed to address it on the fly, as he was tackling other priorities, like health care. To be fair, Obama was also juggling two wars. Yet all in all, he seemed perfectly willing to leave things to his trusted lieutenants, Geithner and Summers, puzzling some Democratic allies on the Hill. “Doesn’t the president realize he’s got a big flank exposed here?” said one Democratic staffer pushing for tougher restrictions on Wall Street early in the summer of 2010.

There was so much passion and ambition in Obama’s words about fixing the economy, and so much dispassion and caution in his policy choices. Early in the Democratic primaries, in January 2008, Obama had stunned many of his supporters by praising Reagan as a transformational president—a contrast to the eight years of Bill Clinton, Obama added cuttingly. Reagan, Obama said, “put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it.” Yet at what would seem to be a similar historical inflection point—what should have been the end of Reaganism, or deregulatory fervor—President Obama seemed unprepared to address the deeper ills of the financial system and the economy. Several officials who have worked with the Obama team said the president’s heart was in health care above all else. “He didn’t run for president to fix derivatives,” says Greenberger. “And when he brought in Summers and Geithner, he just thought he was getting the best of the best”—good financial mechanics, in other words, who would “get the car out of the ditch,” to use one of Obama’s favorite metaphors.

Obama was clearly not pushing very hard to be FDR or even his trust-busting relative Teddy Roosevelt. Now it looks like grim growth and unemployment numbers could extend all the way into 2012. Distracting himself with health care and other issues, Obama may have politically maneuvered himself out of the only major remedy that could bring unemployment down and growth up enough to assure his re-election: another giant fiscal stimulus. Today, after engendering Tea Party and centrist Democratic resistance to more government spending by pushing his health-care plan, the question is whether he has the political capital he may well need, in the end, to save his presidency. And after a two-year fight over financial reform, one other question still lingers: has Wall Street come out the big winner yet again?

Hirsh is correct overall, but misses one rather large uber point. The President wasn't distracted from financial reform by health care reform. The President seems in a perpetual state of distraction from practically every promise he ever made. Oh how we wish Barack Obama had been "distracted" by health care reform. That distraction would have been most welcome. Instead, the President gave a few speeches, issued a few vague "goals," and then let his lieutenants screw everything up by ceding as much as they could to conservatives in the hopes that the job could done in the easiest way possible, regardless of the results.

Let's play a little game. Here's what Hirsh just wrote about financial reform:

There was so much passion and ambition in Obama’s words about fixing the economy, and so much dispassion and caution in his policy choices

Now let's change two words:

There was so much passion and ambition in Obama’s words about health care, and so much dispassion and caution in his policy choices.

There was so much passion and ambition in Obama’s words about gay rights, and so much dispassion and caution in his policy choices.

There was so much passion and ambition in Obama’s words about climate change, and so much dispassion and caution in his policy choices.

There was so much passion and ambition in Obama’s words about immigration, and so much dispassion and caution in his policy choices.

CHANGE has yielded to CAUTION. And even that isn't entirely true. Barack Obama never really pushed change at all after the election. It's going to be fascinating to see what he promises for his second term, and whether (and why) anyone believes him. Read the rest of this post...

Lehman's ex CEO requests more socialism for CEOs

Shouldn't he have thought about the consequences of gambling before they required a bailout? Fuld has never offered to pay back the bonus money that he raked in during the peak bubble years so why is now complaining about not being bailed out? The bankers are complete frauds and have no idea what capitalism is about. They all spent millions to lobby for unregulated markets so let them live with the end result.

Boo hoo.

Richard Fuld, former chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., said regulators relied on “flawed information” in denying his company aid that was extended to competitors.

“Other firms were hurt by their plummeting stock prices,” Fuld, 64, told the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission at a hearing in Washington today. “Lehman was the only firm that was mandated by government regulators to file for bankruptcy. The government was then forced to intervene to protect those other firms and the entire financial system.”

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Thursday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The President had a busy day of foreign policy yesterday. Today, he doesn't have any events on his public schedule, but does have a meeting with his national security team. Meanwhile, Secretary Clinton will be hosting the direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians at the State Department today. These talks will last for a year.

It's been said Washington is full of sharks. Turns out that might be true -- literally. A fisherman hauled in an eight-foot bull shark in the Potomac earlier this week. It was down the river from DC, but close enough. Earlier this summer, a bear was spotted on Connecticut Avenue. When I was running in Rock Creek, I asked one of the rangers if the bear story was true. She said it was possible. After all, bears do love garbage -- and there's a lot of that in DC, too.

The latest update shows Earl still has winds of 145 mph. The storm is probablygoing to skirt the North Carolina coast early tomorrow before heading towards New England. Here's the latest track:
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Why is 'halal' food so dangerous?

When it's available, I buy kosher for certain foods and travel across Paris to my favorite butcher who sells halal products. I know some people who choose kosher meals on flights because they believe that it's going to be better than the standard meals. The way some are reacting to this scandal that's not a scandal, you would think that eating halal will somehow force Islam on you and you will be a changed person. I can somewhat appreciate one mayor's concern that by selling halal only products at a Quick (when other Quick restaurants sell non-halal) might promote segregation instead of bringing people together but it still sounds like a stretch.

I can't say that I feel segregated when I buy food at my halal butcher. I'm much more interested in the fact that I'm buying the tastiest chickens for the best price in Paris. Is that really so bad?

On Wednesday, popular French fast food chain Quick, the No. 2 burger chain in France after McDonald's, started serving halal-only food in 22 of its French outlets, targeting France's large Muslim population, an underexploited market that has long been ignored by big business.

If it's a savvy business decision — Quick says sales doubled at restaurants that have tested the concept — the move has also opened a new chapter in the perennial war over how much society should accommodate Muslim traditions.

Or in essence, what it means to be French.

Politicians left and right have attacked the move from every conceivable angle. Some ask why halal food should be foisted on the general population, while others worry the Quicks in question will promote segregation of the Muslim community instead of acceptance. France argues that integration is the only option for minorities, and the only way to preserve social cohesion.

Just a guess here but any talk about "preserving" social cohesion is a joke. It doesn't exist today and focusing on side issues like this rather than true integration into schools and jobs will only delay any serious progress on the issue. Read the rest of this post...

Facebook data center to be powered by coal

There's progress for you. Would it really be so hard to find a modern power source? What's silly about this is that the data center machines will be very energy efficient, which is great. If they want to be the tool of the future, they shouldn't be operating with dirty energy from yesterday.

Facebook will not say how much electricity it uses to stream video, store information and connect its 500m users but industry estimates suggest that at their present rate of growth all the data centres and telecommunication networks in the world will consume about 1,963bn kilowatt hours of electricity by 2020. That is more than triple their current consumption and more electricity than is used by France, Germany, Canada and Brazil combined.

Facebook announced in February that it planned to build what is expected to be the world's largest centralised data storage centres in Portland, Oregon. Although it will include some of the world's most energy-efficient computers, the sheer scale of the Facebook operation will almost certainly use more electricity than many developing countries.

The company has said it will source its electricity from Pacific Power. It uses coal power – the dirtiest form of power generation – for 67% of its electricity, and produces less than 12% of its electricity from renewable sources. The company has said it plans to generate more electricity from renewables in future but has given no detailed information.

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