The Atheist Communist Caliphate Made Flesh, Spread the Clusterfuck Around Thread

[Tank]

What this guy said.

The conversation we ought to be having in response to the July 16 incident and its heated aftermath isn't about race, it's about police arrest powers, and the right to criticize armed agents of the government.

This deference to police at the expense of the policed is misplaced. Put a government worker behind a desk and give him the power to regulate, and conservatives will wax at length about public choice theory, bureaucratic pettiness, and the trappings of power. And rightly so. But put a government worker behind a badge, strap a gun to his waist, and give him the power to detain, use force, and kill, and those lessons somehow no longer apply.

What we owe law enforcement is vigilant oversight and accountability, not mindless deference and capitulation. Whether or not Henry Louis Gates was racially profiled last week doesn't change any of that.

Yes, what he said.

RV wanted to spark a CFiHP-MikeC rumble, but instead he just found agreement with TJ Brown.

Provocation FAIL.

Also: what Radley Balko said.

By any account of what happened—Gates', Crowleys', or some version in between—Gates should never have been arrested. "Contempt of cop," as it's sometimes called, isn't a crime. Or at least it shouldn't be. It may be impolite, but mouthing off to police is protected speech, all the more so if your anger and insults are related to a perceived violation of your rights. The "disorderly conduct" charge for which Gates was arrested was intended to prevent riots, not to prevent cops from enduring insults. Crowley is owed an apology for being portrayed as a racist, but he ought to be disciplined for making a wrongful arrest.

He won't be, of course. And that's ultimately the scandal that will endure long after the political furor dies down. The power to forcibly detain a citizen is an extraordinary one. It's taken far too lightly, and is too often abused. And that abuse certainly occurs against black people, but not only against black people. American cops seem to have increasingly little tolerance for people who talk back, even merely to inquire about their rights.

I'm not gonna say race has nothing to do with it (read black conservative John McWhorter on the Gates arrest: "The relationship between black men and police forces is, in fact, the main thing keeping America from becoming "post-racial" in any sense"), but this issue is a lot broader than even that.

[CubFaninHydePark]

What this guy said.

The conversation we ought to be having in response to the July 16 incident and its heated aftermath isn't about race, it's about police arrest powers, and the right to criticize armed agents of the government.

This deference to police at the expense of the policed is misplaced. Put a government worker behind a desk and give him the power to regulate, and conservatives will wax at length about public choice theory, bureaucratic pettiness, and the trappings of power. And rightly so. But put a government worker behind a badge, strap a gun to his waist, and give him the power to detain, use force, and kill, and those lessons somehow no longer apply.

What we owe law enforcement is vigilant oversight and accountability, not mindless deference and capitulation. Whether or not Henry Louis Gates was racially profiled last week doesn't change any of that.

Yes, what he said.

RV wanted to spark a CFiHP-MikeC rumble, but instead he just found agreement with TJ Brown.

Provocation FAIL.

Also: what Radley Balko said.

By any account of what happened—Gates', Crowleys', or some version in between—Gates should never have been arrested. "Contempt of cop," as it's sometimes called, isn't a crime. Or at least it shouldn't be. It may be impolite, but mouthing off to police is protected speech, all the more so if your anger and insults are related to a perceived violation of your rights. The "disorderly conduct" charge for which Gates was arrested was intended to prevent riots, not to prevent cops from enduring insults. Crowley is owed an apology for being portrayed as a racist, but he ought to be disciplined for making a wrongful arrest.

He won't be, of course. And that's ultimately the scandal that will endure long after the political furor dies down. The power to forcibly detain a citizen is an extraordinary one. It's taken far too lightly, and is too often abused. And that abuse certainly occurs against black people, but not only against black people. American cops seem to have increasingly little tolerance for people who talk back, even merely to inquire about their rights.

I'm not gonna say race has nothing to do with it (read black conservative John McWhorter on the Gates arrest: "The relationship between black men and police forces is, in fact, the main thing keeping America from becoming "post-racial" in any sense"), but this issue is a lot broader than even that.

The Balko quote is in my Facebook profile now--it's basically a much more articulate statement of how I've been arguing the Gates' arrest.

Also, I'm *shocked* that the 911 call and the caller's attorney has exposed Crowley as a liar in his police report...The Cambridge police should fire his punk ass and hire her--she had the mystery figured out at (to paraphrase) 'they could live there and just have had a tough time with the front door.'

The Balko article was fascinating - it makes me want to quit my day job as soon as I get the loans paid down to a manageable level and join the "record police action" project.  Fuck Gitmo or drift net surveilance, the stuff reported in this article should be the shit that has Americans who are concerned about their rights up in arms.

[Tank]

Bill O'Reilly, Statfag

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907270052

Here are the letters.

Peter Gillies, Victoria, Canada: "Has anyone noted that life expectancy in Canada under our health system is higher than the USA?"

Well, that's to be expected, Peter, because we have ten times as many people as you do. That translates to ten times as many accidents, crimes, down the line.

[RV]

We now know morph's real name: Jim G. Ferguson IV.

Rep. Pete Sessions — the chief of the Republicans' campaign arm in the House — says on his website that earmarks have become "a symbol of a broken Washington to the American people."

Yet in 2008, Sessions himself steered a $1.6 million earmark for dirigible research to an Illinois company whose president acknowledges having no experience in government contracting, let alone in building blimps.

Jim G. Ferguson IV — the younger half of the father-son team behind Jim G. Ferguson & Associates — told POLITICO that he and his father are trying to build an airship with a "high fineness ratio" that can be used in both military and civilian applications.

Yet Ferguson acknowledged that neither he nor his father has a background in the defense or aviation industries, nor any engineering or research expertise.

A search of publicly available records shows no history of the Fergusons ever being involved with the airship industry other than their attendance at a February 2005 Pentagon conference on the subject. 

[Jon]

"That is one fine Zeppelin you got there, Jim."

[CBStew]

Sgt. Crowley is this year's "Joe the Plumber".

[RV]

Am I reading this wrong or is Bill Brady a birther?

http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2009/07/which-gop-gubernatorial-candidates-are-birthers.html

[Quality Start Machine]

Dan Proft gets extra credit for cutting sarcasm with just the right touch of dickishness:

--I'll defer to Kirk Dillard on this matter as I'm sure he was fully briefed prior to cutting his endorsement commercial for Barack Obama.

[Brownie]

Dan Proft gets extra credit for cutting sarcasm with just the right touch of dickishness:

--I'll defer to Kirk Dillard on this matter as I'm sure he was fully briefed prior to cutting his endorsement commercial for Barack Obama.

That's a ridiculous answer to a ridiculous question. I love it.

[CT III]

Dan Proft gets extra credit for cutting sarcasm with just the right touch of dickishness:

--I'll defer to Kirk Dillard on this matter as I'm sure he was fully briefed prior to cutting his endorsement commercial for Barack Obama.

That's a ridiculous answer to a ridiculous question. I love it.

I'm voting for Proft for Governor if only because he makes extensive reference to "Marge Vs. the Monorail" in one of the articles on his website.

[RV]

God dammit. Fork was right?

For years Keith Olbermann of MSNBC had savaged his prime-time nemesis Bill O'Reilly of the Fox News Channel and accused Fox of journalistic malpractice almost nightly. Mr. O'Reilly in turn criticized Mr. Olbermann's bosses and led an exceptional campaign against General Electric, the parent company of MSNBC.

At an off-the-record summit meeting for chief executives sponsored by Microsoft in mid-May, the PBS interviewer Charlie Rose asked Jeffrey Immelt, chairman of G.E., and his counterpart at the News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, about the feud.

Both moguls expressed regret over the venomous culture between the networks and the increasingly personal nature of the barbs. Days later, even though the feud had increased the audience of both programs, their lieutenants arranged a cease-fire, according to four people who work at the companies and have direct knowledge of the deal.

But like any title fight, the final round could not end without an attempted knockout. On June 1, the day after the abortion provider George Tiller was killed in Kansas, Mr. Olbermann took to the air to cite Mr. O'Reilly's numerous references to "Tiller, the baby killer" and to announce that he would retire his caricature of Mr. O'Reilly.

"The goal here is to get this blindly irresponsible man and his ilk off the air," he said.

The next day, Mr. O'Reilly made the extraordinary claim that "federal authorities have developed information about General Electric doing business with Iran, deadly business" and published Mr. Immelt's e-mail address and mailing address, repeating it slowly for emphasis.

Then the attacks mostly stopped.

[RV]

DPD. Paddy Fitz update:

Patrick Fitzgerald, the top prosecutor in Illinois' Northern District, has been named interim chairman of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC).

In his new role, Fitzgerald will be the lead voice for the U.S. attorney community. It's the latest high-profile assignment for America's prosecutor, who has been busy overseeing the prosecution of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), bringing down mortgage fraudsters, and fighting with journalists.

Fitzgerald's assignment is significant. It means the U.S. attorney community now has a chief ambassador with some staying power. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) recommended Fitzgerald for another term, an overture that was well-received by Attorney General Eric Holder.

[Gil Gunderson]

America has it's first Anarcholiberallatinoathiestcommunosocialisticracialistfascist Supreme Court justice.

68-31.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/sotomayor-confirmation-vo_n_253298.html

And, from MediaMatters:

Three companies who run ads during Glenn Beck — NexisLexis-owned Lawyers.com, Procter & Gamble and Progressive Insurance — today distanced themselves from Beck. LexisNexis has pulled its advertising from Beck and says it has no plans to advertise on the program in the future. Both Procter & Gamble and Progressive Insurance called the Beck advertising placements an error that they would correct.

The decision by the three companies comes as over 45,000 ColorofChange.org members call on advertisers to pull their ads from Glenn Beck after the controversial news host called President Obama a "racist" who "has a deep-seated hatred for white people" on "Fox & Friends" last week.

[Quality Start Machine]

America has it's first Anarcholiberallatinoathiestcommunosocialisticracialistfascist Supreme Court justice.

68-31.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/sotomayor-confirmation-vo_n_253298.html

And, from MediaMatters:

Three companies who run ads during Glenn Beck — NexisLexis-owned Lawyers.com, Procter & Gamble and Progressive Insurance — today distanced themselves from Beck. LexisNexis has pulled its advertising from Beck and says it has no plans to advertise on the program in the future. Both Procter & Gamble and Progressive Insurance called the Beck advertising placements an error that they would correct.

The decision by the three companies comes as over 45,000 ColorofChange.org members call on advertisers to pull their ads from Glenn Beck after the controversial news host called President Obama a "racist" who "has a deep-seated hatred for white people" on "Fox & Friends" last week.

the FREE MARKET at work!

[CT III]

The decision by the three companies comes as over 45,000 ColorofChange.org members call on advertisers to pull their ads from Glenn Beck after the controversial news host called President Obama a "racist" who "has a deep-seated hatred for white people" on "Fox & Friends" last week.

Is this some sort of revelation?  Obama's deep-seated hatred for white people is the reason I voted for him.  It speaks to me.