A Scandal a day...

And....yet another blowup for Sarah Palin To say nothing of Alaska Seccession-gate . And now we're hearing that the idiot McCain was only NOW sending his people to look into Troopergate. And Gov. Palin has now hired a lawyer.


I am trying not to smile a lot. I am completely failing, unfortunately.


EDIT: Dang! Did so much stuff come out in one day? Ke-rist!

The Police States of America

Democracy Now reporter Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar were arrested by the Minneapolis Police Department. Charged with conspiracy to riot. Footage from Rick Rowley and Brandon Jourdan.


Scenes from St. Paul -- Democracy Now's Amy Goodman arrested

Following up on this weekend's extreme raids on various homes, at least 50 people were arrested here today in St. Paul, Minnesota. Beginning last night, St. Paul was the most militarized I have ever seen an American city be, even more so than Manhattan in the week of 9/11 -- with troops of federal, state and local law enforcement agents marching around with riot gear, machine guns, and tear gas cannisters, shouting military chants and marching in military formations. Humvees and law enforcement officers with rifles were posted on various buildings and balconies. Numerous protesters and observers were tear gassed and injured. I'll have video of the day's events posted shortly.

...

UPDATE IV: The Washington Post has a few more details on the arrest of Goodman and the two Democracy Now producers. In addition to them, a photographer for Associated Press was also arrested today while covering the protests (h/t Edward Champion). An AP spokesman said of the arrest: "covering news is constitutionally protected, and photographers should not be detained for covering breaking news." Democratic strategist and CNN commentator Donna Brazile was hit by pepper spray on her way into the Xcel Center. Just as was true for the despicable home raids this weekend, there will be no shortage of people defending all of this (browse through the comment section here to see many such people). The fact that there were some criminals engaged in some destructive acts (who, needless to say, should have been arrested), apparently means that whatever the Police do both before and afterwards is justifiable (just as the existence of some Terrorists justifies whatever the Government does in many people's minds).">MORE

Federal government involved in raids on protesters

As the police attacks on protesters in Minnesota continue -- see this video of the police swarming a bus transporting members of Earth Justice, seizing the bus and leaving the group members stranded on the side of the highway -- it appears increasingly clear that it is the Federal Government that is directing this intimidation campaign. Minnesota Public Radio reported yesterday that "the searches were led by the Ramsey County Sheriff's office. Deputies coordinated searches with the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

Today's Star Tribune added that the raids were specifically "aided by informants planted in protest groups." Back in May, Marcy Wheeler presciently noted that the Minneapolis Joint Terrorist Task Force -- an inter-agency group of federal, state and local law enforcement led by the FBI -- was actively recruiting Minneapolis residents to serve as plants, to infiltrate "vegan groups" and other left-wing activist groups and report back to the Task Force about what they were doing. There seems to be little doubt that it was this domestic spying by the Federal Government that led to the excessive and truly despicable home assaults by the police yesterday.

...


After all, if you don't want the FBI spying on you, or the Police surrounding and then invading your home with rifles and seizing your computers, there's a very simple solution: don't protest the Government. Just sit quietly in your house and mind your own business. That way, the Government will have no reason to monitor what you say and feel the need to intimidate you by invading your home. Anyone who decides to protest -- especially with something as unruly and disrespectful as an unauthorized street march -- gets what they deserve.

Isn't it that mentality which very clearly is the cause of virtually everyone turning away as these police raids escalate against citizens -- including lawyers, journalists and activists -- who have broken no laws and whose only crime is that they intend vocally to protest what the Government is doing? Add to that the fact that many good establishment liberals are embarrassed by leftist protesters of this sort and wish that they would remain invisible, and there arises a widespread consensus that these Government attacks are perfectly tolerable if not desirable.
During the Olympics just weeks ago, there was endless hand-wringing over the efforts by the Chinese Government to squelch dissent and incarcerate protesters. On August 21, The Washington Post fretted:

Six Americans detained by police this week could be held for 10 days, according to Chinese authorities, who appear to be intensifying their efforts to shut down any public demonstrations during the final days of the Olympic Games. . . . Chinese Olympic officials announced last month that Beijing would set up zones where people could protest during the Games, as long as they had received permission. None of the 77 applications submitted was approved, however, and several other would-be protesters were stopped from even applying.

On August 2, The Post gravely warned:

Behind the gray walls and barbed wire of the prison here, eight Chinese farmers with a grievance against the government have been consigned to Olympic limbo. Their indefinite detainment, relatives and neighbors said, is the price they are paying for stirring up trouble as China prepares to host the Beijing Games. Trouble, the Communist Party has made clear, will not be permitted.

Would The Washington Post ever use such dark and accusatory tones to describe what the U.S. Government does? Of course it wouldn't. Yet how is our own Government's behavior in Minnesota any different than what the Chinese did to its protesters during the Olympics (other than the fact that we actually have a Constitution that prohibits such behavior)?


MORE

(no subject)

The History of Breaking Up Protests Before They Can Happen, How Cops Have Spent Years Squashing the Right to Assembly and Free Speech

Today Jane and Lindsay -- together with Glenn Greenwald, Twin Cities Indymedia, and Pacifica -- gave us compelling reports from the Twin Cities: frontline du jour in corporatist America's seemingly endless War On The Commons. Congress - with eager support from Senator Amy Klobuchar - put out a trough of 50 million dollars to pull local "law" enforcement into the RNC feeding frenzy. As Amy K helpfully pointed out, Congress also set out 50 million troughs for local cops before the nominating convention in Denver last week and those in Boston and New York in 2004. That's on top of the tens (hundreds?) of millions for the Federal "Fusion Centers" and the FBI, Fatherland Homeland Security, Secret Service, and our very own Pentagon's Northcom -- the domestic strong arm of General Smedley Butler's enforcement racket—to criminalize public assembly and speech during yet another major party coronation. Why do America's corporatist controlled organs of "State Security" need to pay hundreds of millions every four years to keep paper maché puppets off the streets and out of the parks?

Today in the Twin Cities and last week in Denver—just as in New York and Boston in 2004 and LA and Philly in 2000—the nominating conventions pageants' "law" enforcement sit below the Department of the Treasury's Secret Service in the power pyramid. That's why every time local citizens and demo organizers go to Federal court to beg for some shard of the First Amendment to cover a "permitted" march route near the convention sites, their attorneys end up hearing the Secret Service has the final say in "security" decisions affecting the conventions. No surprise, then, that when local Twin Cities "law" enforcement went on a round-up rampage today, FBI and Fatherland Homeland Security were right there with the locals for (yet another) warrantless search.MORE



RNC Stasi Sweeps: A Bob Fletcher Special?

What the hell were Ramsey County sheriff's department people doing invading houses in Hennepin-fricking-County? That last question, as it turns out, helps to answer some of the others.
Bob Fletcher is the sheriff of Ramsey County. Bob Fletcher is a Republican from the formerly lily-white St. Paul suburb of Maplewood, which has for decades had an uneasy relationship with its southern neighbor. Bob Fletcher is also on the verge of losing his job, as a long-standing FBI corruption probe that has already taken out two of his buddies is drawing its net around him; he may well feel that he has nothing to lose and everything to gain by using extralegal methods to please his RNC pals.
Sheriff Fletcher justified his tactics by amping up the alleged threat posed by the media groups and protesters whose lodgings were invaded:

In a statement Saturday morning, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said the St. Paul raid targeted the RNC Welcoming Committee, a group he described as "a criminal enterprise made up of 35 self-described anarchists...intent on committing criminal acts before and during the Republican National Convention."
"These acts include tactics to blockade and disable delegate buses, breaching venue security and injuring police officers," Fletcher said. Deputies seized a variety of items that they believed were tools of civil disobedience: a gas mask, bolt cutters, axes, slingshots, homemade "caltrops" for disabling buses, even buckets of urine.

Some folks begged to differ:

But the raids drew immediate condemnation from activists and St. Paul City Councilman Dave Thune, whose district includes the former theater at 627 Smith Avenue South, which was rented by activists as a gathering space.
"This is not the way to start things off," Thune said Saturday morning. "This is sending the wrong message. Regardless of how you feel about these people...they had a right to be there."
[...]
Thune was especially critical of Fletcher for taking action within St. Paul city limits.
"I'm really ticked off...the city is perfectly capable of taking care of things," Thune said. "If they had found anything that could have been used to commit a crime they would have arrested somebody."
Said Thune: "Unless they come up with anthrax or weapons of mass destruction, I think they came up short."

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permibus reports:

POLICE SEIZE PERMIBUS

Please Post Far and Wide including any Media Contacts You May Have

At approximately 6:25 pm on August 30, 2008 Minneapolis Police, Minnesota State Troopers, Ramsey County Sheriffs, Saint Paul Police, and University of Minnesota Police pulled over the Earth Activist Training Permaculture Demonstration Bus (Permibus) by exit 237 on Interstate 94. Initially the police told the people on the bus to exit. When the people on the bus asked if they were being detained they were told that they were but police were unable to provide justification. When asked why they pulled the bus over they refused to answer. After repeated requests to explain why the bus had been stopped Officer Honican of the Minneapolis Police explained that this was just a routine traffic stop though he did not explain the reason for the traffic stop. The police then told Stan Wilson, the driver and registered owner of the Permibus, that they were going to impound the bus in case they wanted to execute a search warrant later. After more than an hour of being questioned by Stan and Delyla Wilson as to the legalities of their detainment and the impoundment of the Permibus, the police then informed Stan that the bus, which is legally registered as a passenger vehicle in the state of Montana, was being impounded for a commercial vehicle inspection. Shortly afterward Sergeant Paul Davis, a commercial vehicle inspector arrived on scene. Despite the polices insistence that the reason for impoundment was for a commercial vehicle inspection the Permibus crew were not allowed to remove anything from the bus including computers, toiletries, and 17-year-old Megan Wilson's shoes. The police finally allowed the animals to be removed from the Permibus before it was towed, leaving the Permibus family standing beside their chickens and dogs, homeless on the highway.


The Permibus was relocating from the Bedlam Theatre in Minneapolis, where they had spent the day teaching Urban Permaculture, to a friend's house in Saint Paul for a well deserved break. The Permibus has been in the Minneapolis area since August 2nd when the crew appeared at the Midtown Farmers Market for a morning of Permaculture education including Permaculture 101, chicken care, seed ball making for kids, and the Permi-puppet show. During the past month the Permibus has parked at several local businesses and, as a neighborly gesture of respect for local police, Mr. Wilson contacted the appropriate precincts just to let them know the Permibus was in the area and had permission from the business owners to be parked on their lot. Through this, as well as other casual discussions with Minneapolis and Saint Paul police officers, the Permibus crew found the local police to be interested and respectful. However on August 30th all that changed when, for no apparent valid reason the police pulled over and seized the Permibus. After the incident Stan Wilson said, "If the combined law enforcement of Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Ramsey County, and the State of Minnesota can pull over and impound a vehicle and home used to teach organic gardening and sustainability, one has to wonder what it is our government really fears. After all, we seek to teach people that the real meaning of homeland security is local food, fuel and energy production. For that we have had our lives stolen by government men with guns."


As of now, after repeated requests to be present at any vehicle inspection, with an list of what they are inspecting for, as well as requests to be served any warrants for searches of the vehicles prior to a search and to be present during the search the Permi-family has been unable to ascertain the current status of the Permibus. On site Mr. Wilson was told that Officer Palmerranky was the inspector in charge of the case and would determine if the Permi-family's rights protecting them from unreasonable search and seizure would be respected. Neither Officer Palmerranky nor his supervisor has yet to return Mr. Wilson's calls.MORE

Pics of teh seizure here



Goodman now released:

September 01, 2008
Update: Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar Released After Illegal Arrest at RNC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 1, 2008

Contact: Mike Burke

UPDATE

Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar Released After Illegal Arrest at RNC

Goodman Charged with Obstruction; Felony Riot Charges Pending Against Kouddous and Salazar

ST. PAUL--Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar have all been released from police custody in St. Paul following their illegal arrest by Minneapolis Police on Monday afternoon.

All three were violently manhandled by law enforcement officers. Abdel Kouddous was slammed against a wall and the ground, leaving his arms scraped and bloodied. He sustained other injuries to his chest and back. Salazar's violent arrest by baton-wielding officers, during which she was slammed to the ground while yelling, "I'm Press! Press!," resulted in her nose bleeding, as well as causing facial pain. Goodman's arm was violently yanked by police as she was arrested.

On Tuesday, Democracy Now! will broadcast video of these arrests, as well as the broader police action. These will also be available on: www.democracynow.org

(no subject)

Campbell Brown interviews Tucker Bounds on Sarah Palin's national security experience


Year by year breakdown of Obam's and Palin's careers

(no subject)

Via: Open Left






More pics here

Its the HYPOCRISY, stupid!

Commenter Monie points out.

For example, on James Dobson's Focus on Family website( who is apparently a huge supporter of Palin's stances of abstinence and pro-life) he says the following about abstinence and purity:

In the Christian worldview, we have no right to sex.....In other words, chastity is a fact of gospel life. The New Testament makes clear that sex beyond the boundaries of marriage--the boundaries of communally granted sanction of sex----is simply off limits. To have sex outside those bounds is to commit an offense against the body. Abstinence before marriage, and fidelity within marriage--refraining from sex with somone other than your husband or wife--is just one of those basic rules that keeps you inside the Christian community. Any other kind of sex is embodied apostasy.

And yet when the chicken come home to roost...

Evangelicals rally behind Palin after pregnancy news

Most important for Palin, an elder statesman of the movement, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, released a statement lauding the Palins for acting in keeping with the group's policies and practices:

"We have always encouraged the parents to love and support their children and always advised the girls to see their pregnancies through, even though there will of course be challenges along the way. That is what the Palins are doing, and they should be commended once again for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out even in the midst of trying circumstances.

"Being a Christian does not mean you're perfect. Nor does it mean your children are perfect. But it does mean there is forgiveness and restoration when we confess our imperfections to the Lord. I've been the beneficiary of that forgiveness and restoration in my own life countless times, as I'm sure the Palins have," Dobson said. MORE

Somehow I DOUBT that if he would be so forgiving of this happened to a Democrat.



In the meantime, Daily Kos is Rounding up all the madness that is ">Alaska Seccession-Gate

So, without further ado, what we know so far (all the information, and much, much more can be found here, here, here, and here):

* As user Liz Arnett first informed us yesterday morning, the AIP is a political party in Alaska whose motto is "Alaska First." It's goal is to have a vote on Alaska's state status so that Alaskans may decide whether the state should secede, become a territory, become a commonwealth, or remain a state.
* The AIP has what most Americans would qualify as radical views on the relationship between the federal government and Alaska, including a belief that the federal government should be dissolved if gun rights are ever abolished or curtailed, a belief that the federal government is in breach of the Constitution, and complete opposition to environmental regulations and public ownership of Alaskan land.
* Yesterday night, it was is confirmed that Sarah Palin and her husband were members of the AIP at least in 1994. Indeed, Palin reportedly attended the AIP convention.
* In 2007, the Vice Chairman of the AIP, Dexter Clark, not only referenced Palin's membership, but also said that since she joined the GOP, "she is pretty well sympathetic to her former membership." Clark also goes on to discuss the need to "infiltrate" the major parties.
* In 2008, Palin recorded a message for the AIP's annual convention, stating that Alaska has "a great promise to be a self-sufficient state" and encouraging them to "keep up the good work."

Now, as jsl points out, since Michelle Obama was slammed as unpatriotic for saying that this was the for "the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country",and Sen. Obama got slammed because he wouldn't wear a freaking flagpin, one wonders precisely what are we to make of this? The lady was part of a secessionist party several years ago, and as late as this year, as governor of Alaska, was sending encouraging messages to them. Where, precisely, is HER PATRIOTISM??? Do we get breathless pundit speculation for weeks on end? DO we get screaming headlines? Do we get smug Dems. shaking their heads and ponyificating righteously that unpatriotic peeps really shoulkd be VP nominees? And DON'T tell me that her actual membership was 14 years ago, the mainstream media and rightwing media have gone to TOWN over Michelle Obama's college thesis (ohmigod!scary!black militant!) written in 1985 (22 years ago) and started a thankfully brief kerfuffle over Sen. Obama's missing thesis, written freaking 25 years ago! So now, ladies and gentlemen, what's sauce for the goose, had better fucking well be sauce for the gander.





And then, the Christian Progressive Liberal wraps it all up:

Beward the Double Standard

What I want to flush out is the DOUBLE STANDARD in this political campaign.
For the last year, I’ve watched Senator Barack Obama run a campaign equivalent to guarding Fort Knox, and yet, the Mainstream Media would rather continue to pick on him, his friends (face it, he’s losing them because every time the media digs up something stupid or controversial they say, he gets rid of them), his wife and family because of the obvious.

Yet, Senator John McCain; his drug-addict heiress wife, their many homes upon which no taxes were being paid until it was exposed in the media; the hiding out of their Bangladeshi daughter like she was dirty laundry; the demise of McCain’s first family and wife so he could marry the heiress who claims she is an only child - while there are three women who are biologically related to her - ALL OF THIS GETS A FREE PASS IN THE MEDIA.

I am sorry for any child of a politician because they didn’t sign on for their parent’s ambition to run for elected office. Not only does that include Malia and Sasha Obama, but that includes Bristol, Willow, Piper, Track and now, baby Trig Palin; as well as includes Bridget McCain.
But I am compelled to point out that the ReThugs started the mess of bringing children into the mix of political contests, starting with Rush Limbaugh’s attack on a twelve year old Chelsea Clinton.
Follow that up with McCain’s own jokes regarding Chelsea:

John McCain made this odious joke about Chelsea Clinton back in ‘98.

Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.”

– Sen. John McCain, speaking to a Republican dinner, June 1998.

I will be the first to agree that the children should be off limits on both sides of the aisle. But, My God, I’m fast getting tired of the expectation that the Democrats play by the rules when the ReThugs continue to demonstrate their approach to a political election is worthy of Malcolm X, “By Any Means Necessary.”

I want to discuss the DOUBLE STANDARD - you know; the one where if Bristol Palin was Malia Obama, the media would be all over how Barack and Michelle Obama are incompetent parents who taught Malia loose morals. While I am happy that the Palin family is supporting Bristol, and they should, let’s not allow the waxing poetic of what warm family values this represents. Sarah Palin is a woman added to McCain’s ticket that points to her five children as a virtue of being pro-life; but what gives her the right to tell me what to do with my reproductive organs?

I want to talk about the DOUBLE STANDARD - you know; that one where Mary Cheney, lesbian daughter of Dead-Eye Dick Cheney, is allowed to live freely and openly with her partner, Heather Poe, and even is allowed to procreate; while the administration her father serves in (hell, operates and runs since 2001) is busy outlawing gay marriage and making it illegal for gay people to become parents through adoption or artificial insemination. And the media has gone silent on her, and all the ReThugs outed from their comfortable closets, preaching on the vileness of being gay, and yet engaging in what is considered in many circles, a depraved lifestyle. But with the exception of Mark Foley, many of these SOBs are still holding public office; but $80 million dollars in taxpayer money was spent on publicly humiliating Bill Clinton for a blow job.

MORE

For the record, I don't like the scrutiny of Bristol, not even in relation to her mother's politics. I do believe that there are some places that Democrats should not follow the Republicans down and people's families are one of them. But I am sick unto DEATH of dealing with fucked up social conservative and Republican bashing of liberals as evil, evil, evil corrupted bastards who are SURELKY GOING TO HELL for every damn thing that they do, and then turning around and so dishonestly screaming bloody murder when we find that they are doing the same damn thing, and the frigging news media happily allowing the little liars to get away with it.

Hookers and Blow?

Oh, if these were Dems.??!!!

Vai: digital_femme

Is this what experience gets you?

Palin goes to war with investigation

In one of the stories yesterday about Palin's hiring of a lawyer -- which we now find out she's having the state of Alaska pay for -- I noted that her new counsel, Thomas Van Flein, asked the lead investigator in the case to turn over all witness statements and documents produced so far in the probe. That struck me not as a good-faith request but rather an effort to get into a fight over process and thus gum up the investigation until after the election.
And sure enough, today's Anchorage Daily News provides plenty of evidence that that is what's happening in spades. Though to this point Palin has said she would cooperate fully with the investigation, Van Flein is now challenging the standing of the entire inquiry. He claims that any investigation should be handled not by the legislature but by the state Personnel Board which, conveniently, is made up of the governor's appointees.

Van Flein is also charging that the state senator charged with overseeing the investigation is on a partisan witch-hunt. "Our concern is that Hollis French turns into Ken Starr and uses public money to pursue a political vendetta rather than truly pursue an honest inquiry into an alleged ethics issue," Van Flein told the ADN. To which French rather persuasively responded that the charge of partisanship rang at least a little hollow since the investigation was instigated and authorized by a committee dominated by Republicans (though it's only fair to note that Palin is not beloved by all Republicans in the state).

MORE

Oh yeah, and Alaskan taxpayers are footing the law bills

DID Palin get vetted? Like, at ALL?


There's also the whole 27 million dollars in earmarks via lobbyist while she was mayor of Wasilla thing going on.


Alaska Independence Party

Via: Marc Ambinder
At 6:00 Dexter Clark, Vice Chairman of the AIP says:
"Our current governor, we mentioned at the last conference, the one we were hoping would get elected, Sarah Palin, did get elected. There's a joke, she's a pretty good looking gal, there's a joke goes around we're the coldest state with the hottest governor. And there was a lot of talk about her moving up. She was an AIP member before she got the job as a mayor of a small town -- that was a non-partisan job. But you get along to go along -- she eventually joined the Republican Party, where she had all kinds of problems with their ethics, and well, I won't go into that. She also had about an 80% approval rating, and is pretty well sympathetic to her former membership."



She's definitely quite the "soulmate"

(no subject)

Eight Hours for Work, Eight Hours for Rest,
Eight Hours for What We Will!

That was the motto for the Eight-Hour Movement, chanted in labor demonstrations and union halls far and wide in the latter part of the 1800s. The fight for the eight hour day was a long one, originating with the onset of the Industrial Revolution itself (first in the form of the ten-hour day, with two hours for meals). In the earlier part of the nineteenth century, the fight was primarily through pressure on state legislatures to limit the hours of the workday; the existing trade unions tended to have a narrow focus on their own crafts, and their power rose and fell with the economic tide (as did their level of solidarity with other crafts in the form of labor councils). Legislatures were reluctant to hear arguments in favor of working hours on a human scale; it was felt that “the remedy is not with us” (as a Massachusetts legislative committee formed in response to the many petitions received from factory workers replied) and/or that limiting the hours of the workday would be bad for the economy. Workers shifted their arguments from more time for citizenship duties or further education, to the better quality of work that would result from the shorter workday. By the time the mid-1800’s rolled around, several states (New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Ohio, California and Georgia) had passed various ten-hour laws due to popular demand—laws which inevitably included loopholes for ’special contracts’. Those ’special contracts’ nullified the law; employers demanded them as a condition of employment, and blacklisted workers who stood up for their (paper-tiger) legal rights.
The general ineffectiveness of those laws spurred more interest in forming labor organizations—not the relatively smaller, city-based craft brotherhoods that occasionally would assert political power, but larger, regional unions that were politically driven. Those unions were also craft-based, and concerned primarily with the welfare of their own members (as well as control of their jurisdiction), but the seeds had been planted for national labor unions, and there was a renewed interest in forming trades’ councils and solidarity with other unions. This intensified with the rise of the railroads, when economies were no longer so “local”.


...


It wasn’t until the New Deal with its Fair Labor Standards Act that the eight hour day became standard. …or has it?
For the past two decades the eight-hour day has been little more than a footnote in the history books; the recent downturn in the average number of weekly hours worked in the U.S. can be attributed to rising unemployment. What happened?
Overtime pay was designed to penalize employers for not hiring more workers. But as the number of workers organized into labor unions fell, fewer workplaces paid double time—overtime fell back into time-and-a-half. Industries also adopted the practice of reclassifying workers as “associates” or “managers” in order to opt-out of paying overtime. The illegal practice of “working off the clock” (being required to work without pay as a condition of employment) has made a comeback. And the skyrocketing cost of health care benefits (for workplaces that provide them) has made overtime a cheaper alternative to hiring more employees. Introduction of the four-day, ten-hour work week in many industries (including construction), or of the three-day, twelve-hour week (especially in health care) has further eroded the eight-hour day; “4-10s” are likely to be in more demand due to the rising cost of gasoline (the state of Utah has instituted the four-day work week for most state employees). It should probably go without saying that displaced workers often work two jobs to replace the wages lost from their former employment.

MORE

(no subject)

Hurricane Gustav: Levees hold, storm falls to Category 2, hits 70 miles away from New Orleans, minimal damage.

RNC Protest update

10,000 march, and then idiot anarchists start a riot. 250 arrested.

They had come in their thousands – grandmothers, veterans, young families and even disgruntled Republicans bearing banners and peace flags, to demand an end to the five-year conflict. And for the most part, the demonstrations passed off peacefully.

But once the main antiwar march had finished, splinter groups embarked on a violent rampage, smashing windows, slashing car tyres, throwing bottles and even attacking Republican delegates attending the nearby Xcel Centre.

Many of those involved identified themselves to reporters as anarchists. These protesters, some clad in black, wreaked havoc by damaging property and starting at least one fire.

...


The anti-war march was organised by a group called the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, whose leaders said they hoped for a peaceful, family friendly event. But police were on high alert after months of preparations by a self-described anarchist group called the RNC Welcoming Committee, which was not among the organisers of the march.

Most of the trouble was in pockets of a neighbourhood near downtown, several blocks from where the convention was taking place. Police fired tear gas canisters and used pepper spray on protesters who tried to block key streets.

Up to 200 people from various groups marched in a noisy “Funk the War" march. Clad in black, protesters smashed windows of cars and stores, tipped over rubbish bins, pulled down street signs and bent the rear-view mirrors on a bus. Some wore gas masks and bandanas to protect themselves from smoke bombs and other chemical irritants. MORE

janradder sums it up:

So a small group of idiots managed to make sure that the message of 10,000 played second fiddle to theirs. Now, if you're going to tell me that's the fault of the media, stop. You (the anarchists) know just as well as I do that that's what the media does. Of course people breaking stuff and trying to start a riot is going to get more ink and more air time than people marching peaceably in the streets, holding signs and chanting. You know that and I know that and to pretend otherwise is just making excuses for yourself. Sure, it's fun to run wild in the street, but tell me, how is what you did any different from the college kids who riot after their team wins a national title? Because I really don't see a difference. You may have a point to all this, but what is it? And how are your methods getting it across? How does slamming a dumpster into the side of an occupied squad car show you want the war to end? How does smashing the windows of a Macy's tell people you want a change in government? How does assaulting Republican delegates (including an 80 year old man who had to be treated for injuries) help convince people that what the Republicans are doing is wrong? How does throwing a brick through a bus window and injuring the blue collar driver let people know you care about unions and living wages? How does throwing bent nails, newspaper kiosks and garbage cans in the street show that you care about the environment? Because to me, your actions make you no better than the people you're "protesting" against. As many have said, the ends don't justify the means, but what exactly are your ends? To prevent the Republican delegates from attending their convention and thus suppressing their right to free speech because your rights are more important or valid than theirs? Maybe you do have a valid point to all this but I certainly don't see it. All I see is a bunch of self-righteous thugs using political action as an excuse to break the law.

What interests me, though, is the many incidents of pepperspray and teargas aimed directly, not at protestors, but at press people and observing lawyers and in one case, Donna Brazile

The Uptake and I-Witness Blog have more.

See now, I wasn't gonna do more tonight. But this takes the cake.

McCain's Campaign Manager: This Election is not about the issues

Rick Davis, campaign manager for John McCain's presidential bid, insisted that the presidential race will be decided more over personalities than issues during an interview with Post editors this morning.

"This election is not about issues," said Davis. "This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates." MORE

Aha! That explains this

Yesterday, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds appeared on CNN for an interview with Campbell Brown. Brown was tough on Bounds, refusing to let him spout typical campaign talking points. She repeatedly pressed him on Palin’s foreign policy experience and qualifications, asking him to name one decision that she made as commander-in-chief of the Alaskan National Guard. Bounds was unable to do so.

Today, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer revealed that because of that tough interview, the McCain campaign has canceled the senator’s appearance on Larry King Live tonight:

The McCain campaign said it believed that exchange was over the line and as a result the interview scheduled for Larry King Live with Sen. McCain was pulled. CNN does not believe that Campbell’s interview was over the line. We are committed to fair coverage of both sides of this historic election.

The McCain campaign has repeatedly tried to intimidate the press. It is now angry about media coverage of Bristol Palin’s pregnancy, calling NBC’s reporting on it “irresponsible journalism.” Campaign staffers “even considered pulling out of one of the three presidential debates because it would be moderated by Tom Brokaw, a former NBC News anchorman.” When Newsweek wrote a cover story in May examining the hardball tactics conservatives might use in the general election, the McCain campaign “threatened to throw the magazine’s reporters off the campaign bus and airplane.”

Right then!


By the way: Palin is not and has never been Commander of Alaska's National Guard

Here's the deal: First off, Sarah Palin plays no role as the commander of the Alaska National Guard outside of the state. She never has, she never will. The actual commander--Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell--said so himself:

Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, considers Palin "extremely responsive and smart" and says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first responder. But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.

According to Global Security, "the governor commands AKNG [Alaska National Guard] while it is not in active federal service. The principal executive officer of DMVA [Department of Military and Veterans Affairs], the adjutant general, is an appointee of the governor."
It should be noted, however, that the current adjutant general, Gen. Campbell, was appointed in 2003--more than three years before Palin took office. So she didn't even make the decision determining who would run the Alaska National Guard.
But Tucker Bounds' wildly misinformed performance on CNN Monday leads to a more troubling question: On Sunday, John McCain himself touted Palin's national security credentials by referring to her experience with the Alaska National Guard. So the question becomes this: Does John McCain even know what Sarah Palin's role in Alaska is?
MORE

In the meantime, it appears that Palin wasn't a member of Alaska Independence Party That was her husband. She has been a registered Republican for years.

"Dexter Clark, husband of Lynette and a vice chairman of the Alaska Independence Party, said that when his wife told reporters that Palin had been an AIP member she was "acting on information from Mark Chryson," the party's regional chair for Wasilla, Palin's hometown. The 1994 convention was held in Wasilla, where Palin was a city councilmember at the time. Chryson "has repeatedly said to me personally and my wife, Lynette, and groups of party members at large, that at that 1994 convention, Sarah and Todd Palin attended and registered as members," Dexter Clark told Mother Jones.

Asked how Palin could have been a member, when state records did not indicate Palin ever registered as an AIP member, Chyrson, in an interview with Mother Jones, backed off his account. "What could have been the confusion—her husband was a member of the party. He was at the convention. She could have been considered—it might have been thought she was a member then." Talking Points Memo has reported that Todd Palin was a member of the AIP from 1995 to 2002, with the exception of a short period in 2000 when he was undeclared.

MORE



We do apologise for the misinfo there.



EDIT:

Palin Slashed Funding for Teen Moms

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wrote in her line-item veto changes by hand in this copy of a 2008 spending bill obtained by The Washington Post.

By Paul Kane
ST. PAUL -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee who revealed Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.

After the legislature passed a spending bill in April, Palin went through the measure reducing and eliminating funds for programs she opposed. Inking her initials on the legislation -- "SP" -- Palin reduced funding for Covenant House Alaska by more than 20 percent, cutting funds from $5 million to $3.9 million. Covenant House is a mix of programs and shelters for troubled youths, including Passage House, which is a transitional home for teenage mothers. According to Passage House's web site, its purpose is to provide "young mothers a place to live with their babies for up to eighteen months while they gain the necessary skills and resources to change their lives" and help teen moms "become productive, successful, independent adults who create and provide a stable environment for themselves and their families." MORE

zarq

EDIT: links to a refutation of the struck out part of this post.

John Scalzi calls this cheese metal.

I just want to lose myself in some noisy guitars. Sue me:)

Dragonforce - Heroes of Our Time

DragonForce - Through the Fire and Flames

Herman Li Interview

WHAT the fuck???!!! No frakking way. They can't have gone that far, right?

Via: The Campaign Silo at Firedoglake

ColdSnapLegal: reports the following was just on the Police scanner "Police are blocking 10th, 11th and St Peter and saying they are "going in for the kill because we are sick of this shit."

What, sick of allowing people their Constitutional rights? Really?

Along with the actions on the street, there are also a number of reports of mistreatment of those being held in the jail – a protester who is anemic and has passed out and was refused medical care, 15 others went on hunger strike to demand medical care for those who need it and there’s a report that one protestor being held has been pepper sprayed “all over her body” and is not being allowed to wash it off and now has 1st degree burns. We'll be getting contact information so folks can call and demand medical care for any in need.
Thanks to Doc Murphy, the contact numbers to use are:

St. Paul Mayor, Chris Coleman: 651.266.8510
Ramsey County Sherriff, Bob Fletcher: 651.266.8500

Complaint Number for the jail: 651-266-8989

Because I'm gonna need to calm down a bit.

Einstein the Parrot: Talking and squawking TED2006

This whimsical wrap-up of TED2006 -- presented by Einstein, the African grey parrot, and her trainer, Stephanie White -- simply tickles. Watch for the moment when Einstein has a moment with Al Gore.

Ian Dunbar: Dog-friendly dog training

Speaking at the 2007 EG conference, trainer Ian Dunbar asks us to see the world through the eyes of our beloved dogs. By knowing our pets' perspective, we can build their love and trust. It's a message that resonates well beyond the animal world.



Joshua Klein: The amazing intelligence of crows

Hacker and writer Joshua Klein is fascinated by crows. (Notice the gleam of intelligence in their little black eyes?) After a long amateur study of corvid behavior, he's come up with an elegant machine that may form a new bond between animal and human.