Clearly The Answer Here Is To Cut Police Funds

Because after all when government fails to do its duty, we must then deregulate and cut money, correct?

Police in Lexington, Kentucky, are apologizing for mistakenly thinking a severely injured woman found at a crime scene eight days ago was dead, then failing to get her to a hospital until more than 3 1/2 hours after they found her.


According to a timeline of events from a Lexington Division of Police press release, officers responded to a call at 6:24 p.m. on June 9 and arrived at the house five minutes later. They didn't find the victim's body until 7:50 p.m. Then, they took another hour and 15 minutes to notify the coroner. A half-hour later, at 9:35 p.m., the coroner arrived. No one requested an emergency care unit until 11:07 p.m.

The woman died at the hospital the following day, Lexington police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts said.

"We felt like we made a mistake in the way we handled the health assessment that night," said Roberts. "Because of the way she looked, appeared, officers thought she was deceased. Because of this incident, we have made a policy change.

"Anytime there is a case where a person is badly beaten, even if officers think they are dead, paramedics will always be called." said Roberts. She added that the Lexington Division of Police is performing an internal investigation.

It is a brutally tragic case.  But since cops are all overpaid, lazy, union thugs according to the wingers, we must make cuts in the Lexington Police Department, you see.  We have no choice.  Big Coal has to have those tax breaks in Kentucky, so there's just no funding to spare. It's tragic, I know.  Those are the breaks in a world run by the GOP.

Maybe Rand Paul can help those cops get jobs.

World Cupdate

We start off Saturday play with Netherlands vs Japan in Group E.  The Oranje opened up with a 1-3-2-4 set with striker Robin Van Persie at point, while the Samurai Blue went 1-2-3-4 with the front 2 midfielders wide and the deadly Keisuke Honda leading the attack.  The first half started out strong for both sides but then moved into an odd defensive battle as neither side had the power to cut through nine men in the middle and back, and it turned into a floating free-for-all at the hash line.  Japan clearly decided early that a draw versus Big Orange was a win, and collapsed on any Dutch ball on their side.  The second half saw the Dutch go on the assault, and it paid off with a cross to Wesley Sneijder who ripped it in past keeper Kawashima at 53'.  Japan suddenly had to go all out to equalize, but the Dutch then locked the ball down and Japan just couldn't convert despite a number of nerve-wracking chances.  The Oranje made it to the end of full time with the win here to lock up the group, and Japan can still advance with a point next week.

Match 2 was Ghana and Australia, and the Black Stars were in the driver's seat after the Serbs handed the Germans the loss yesterday.  Meanwhile, the Socceroos came in at the worst position in the Cup at a loss and minus 4 AND down Tim Cahill on a red card after Germany pummeled them last week.  They needed a huge win here just to stay alive.  Both teams were playing that popular 1-3-2-4 front to back that we've seen in this tourney, Asamoah Gyan the striker for Ghana and Harry Kewell the point man for the Socceroos.  But Australia finally shook off the horrific game last week as Brett Holman scored off of keeper Kingson's misplayed rebound off the free kick at 11'.  The victory was short-lived however as the Socceroos' luck turned black again as Kewell took a red card for a handball that blocked a goal in the penalty area for Ghana, and on the penalty kick Asamoah Gyan made them pay and equalized at 25'.  Australia, now a man down was on the edge of disaster.  The second half however saw the Socceroos play their game as Ghana got sloppy and couldn't push forward enough outside of Gyan to score.  If it wasn't for that red card, Australia would have won, but they will settle for the 1-1 draw and keep their chances alive.

Finally rounding out the other Group E match was Cameroon at Denmark, with the Indomitable Lions favored against the Danish Dynamite and both squads badly needing a win to try to catch Japan for the #2 slot.  The Lions ran a 2-4-4 formation with Samuel Eto'o and Webo up front, with the Danes running a familiar 1-3-2-4 setup with Nicklas Bendtner at point.  Cameroon's 2-front formation paid off instantly as Eto'o scored from 12 yards out at 10'.  Denmark however played tight and Bendtner equalized at 33'.  The second half was all Denmark as they adjusted to pick up Eto'o and it was Rommedahl who put in the back of the net at 61'.  Cameroon came on strong but it wasn't enough as Denmark win 2-1, and Cameroon are the first team eliminated in this World Cup.

'Nuff Respect Due

The Democrat's hope running against the Bachmanniac is Tarryl Clark, and she's not throwing softballs at America's Favorite Batshit Crazy Winger.  And damn, it's good to see her people on the ball like this.  She can beat Michele Bachmann.

On Friday, Democratic candidate Tarryl Clark said she will begin a television ad on Sunday that accuses Bachmann of siding with BP over taxpayers.

The congresswoman from Stillwater has altered her tone since BP voluntarily agreed to the White House's request, warning instead that the account should not become "a permanent ATM card" paid by BP.

The 30-second ad spot says that "Michele Bachmann calls making BP pay for the clean up 'extortion,'" and quotes Bachmann as saying, "If I was the head of BP, I would let the signal get out there, we're not going to be chumps." The ad closes by saying, "If Bachmann lets BP off the hook, guess who's paying? Us. Michele Bachmann: Standing up for BP. Not us."

As much mileage as I get on posts from One L, No Brains here, I'd much rather be calling her "Former Congresswoman".  Give a little to Tarryl Clark if you can.

Worst Public Relations Guys On Earth

Whoever is holding BP CEO Tony Hayward's PR leash needs to be fired even more than Hayward does.

BP chief executive Tony Hayward, often criticized for being tone-deaf to U.S. concerns about the worst oil spill in American history, took time off Saturday to attend a glitzy yacht race off England's Isle of Wight.

Spokeswoman Sheila Williams said Hayward took a break from overseeing BP efforts to stem the undersea gusher in Gulf of Mexico to watch his boat "Bob" participate in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.

The one-day yacht race is one of the world's largest, attracting hundreds of boats and thousands of sailors.

In a statement, BP described Hayward's day off as "a rare moment of private time" and said that "no matter where he is, he is always in touch with what is happening within BP" and can direct recovery operations if required.

That is likely to be a hard sell in Gulf states struggling to deal with the up to 120 million gallons of oil that have escaped from a blown-out undersea well.

The worst environmental disaster in US history, at the worst possible time for the US economy, and the guy responsible is at...a yacht race.  An actual.  Honest to goodness.  Yacht race. Not metaphorical in any way, but an actual race with yachts.

Hayward's done.  He may not survive the weekend.  Hey BP?  Fire his ass.  Then fire your PR firm.

Predator-Prey Cycle

An exhaustive study of the 2007-2009 foreclosure crisis (still ongoing, frankly) showed that even despite income levels,  African-Americans and Latinos were more likely to be foreclosed upon.

Recent African American and Latino home borrowers — regardless of their income — were much more likely to lose their homes to foreclosure than non-Hispanic whites during the ongoing housing crisis, according to a new study.


In fact, as their incomes climbed, minority borrowers saw their likelihood of foreclosure grow even larger in comparison to non-Hispanic white borrowers in the same income bracket.

That's the conclusion of "Foreclosures by Race and Ethnicity: The Demographics of a Crisis," a new report by the Center for Responsible Lending, which analyzed racial and ethnic data on more than 80 percent of the estimated 2.5 million home foreclosures completed between 2007 and 2009.

The study found non-Hispanic whites accounted for 56 percent of home foreclosures during this two-year period compared to just 16 percent for Hispanics and about 12 percent for African American homeowners.

But nearly 8 percent of blacks and Latinos who got home loans or refinanced between 2005 and 2008 ultimately lost their homes to foreclosure between 2007 and 2009, compared with just 4.5 percent of non-Hispanic whites.

That means that, overall, black and Hispanic homeowners were 76 percent and 71 percent more likely to go into foreclosure than non-Hispanic whites. And blacks and Latinos with the highest incomes were 81 percent and 94 percent more likely to face foreclosure than non-Hispanic whites with similar incomes, the study estimates.

"These disparities hold across all income lines," said Keith Ernst, the center's director of research, who co-authored the report.

That's vital information there and should put the nonsense about the Community Reinvestment Act causing the foreclosure crisis to bed for good.  Sadly, there are those who aren't paying attention to the bolded statements there once again saying this proves that Those Damn People wrecked the economy, but real wingers don't let facts get in the way.

The reality is that the mortgage industry was more than happy to victimize minorities to get money because housing prices were going up, and they only way to get more money was to get more homeowners borrowing.  That meant going to minority borrowers, a lot of them first-time homeowners, and giving them the slimiest deal possible because they could get away with it.

All that greed backfired eventually.  But it's nice to blame minorities when even the ones with high income were getting foreclosed on more than whites.

Specifically Not Feelin' Randy, Part 8

Rand Paul has the solution for Kentucky's long-term unemployed when the jobless rate is near 10%:  Get a job, you lazy bastards!

“In Europe, they give about a year of unemployment. We’re up to two years now in America,” Paul said on Sue Wylie’s WVLK-AM 590 radio program.

“As bad as it sounds, ultimately we do have to sometimes accept a wage that’s less than we had at our previous job in order to get back to work and allow the economy to get started again,” Paul said. “Nobody likes that, but it may be one of the tough love things that has to happen.”

Paul was responding to a question from Wylie about Thursday’s Senate Republican filibuster of a $120 billion package of additional jobless benefits and state aid. Tens of thousands of Americans will have exhausted their unemployment benefits this month without that extension.

Paul said he supports the filibuster. If the Senate thinks the bill is necessary, it needs to find the money to pay for it elsewhere in the federal budget rather than add to the $13 trillion national debt, he said.

“It’s all a matter of making priorities,” Paul said. “Some tough decisions will have to be made.”

Because when you've got a mortgage payment or rent, car payment, day care, groceries, and credit card bills to pay, taking a job at McDonald's for a fraction of what you were earning (and less that what unemployment was giving you) will solve all your problems.  That is if the McDonald's manager wants to actually hire somebody overqualified when they've got 6 applications for every open position.

America can't afford to help you any longer because we're too busy with tax cuts for the rich and for corporations.  The Senate Millionaires Club is just disgusted with how lazy you are.  If you were really a hard worker, Kentucky, then you'd be rich like they were.

The Rand-publican solution:  get a job, you hippie!  You know, even though there's more people than jobs now.  Why haven't you started your own successful small business yet?

StupidiNews, Weekend Edition!

• 13 are suspected dead in a US missile attack in Pakistan's North Waziristan region.
• President Obama is once again calling for the release of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on the occasion of her 65th birthday.
• The European Union has approved tough new sanctions on Iran, including a ban on new oil and gas investment.
• Russian President Dmitri Medvedev is pushing the Ruble as the world's new reserve currency.
• A new Pew survey shows adults are just as likely to text and drive as teenagers are.

Last Call

One of the major arguments I keep hearing about why states (and extrapolating, the federal government) can never, ever raise taxes on the rich is because they'll simply leave, and they can more than afford to.  But Ezra Klein discovers that this just doesn't happen when taxes on the rich go up.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, which is really stellar on state tax issues, has put together a list of relevant studies on this question. All of them find that the effects of migration between states of higher taxes are minimal:

1) Economist Andrew Leigh did a national study (PDF) looking for effects of state income tax rates on migration patterns. He could not find a statistically significant relationship.

2) After Maryland instituted higher tax rates on wealthy individuals in 2007 and 2008, tax returns from millionaires dropped. But the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found (PDF) that the drop was not due to millionaires leaving, but to the recession making them no longer millionaires.

3) The California Budget Project notes (PDF) that California imposed a temporary tax increase on high earners from 1991 to 1995, and the number of millionaire filers increased by 33.4 percent. Another high-income tax hike was implemented in 2005, and the number of millionaire filers increased by 37.8 percent.

4) New Jersey increased taxes on high earners in 2004, and Princeton researchers did find (PDF) that New Jersey lost $37.7 million in tax revenue after migration by wealthy tax payers. However, that number was dwarfed by the more than $1 billion overall revenue gain from the tax increase, and the number of high-income filers still increased between 2004 and 2006.

As the New Jersey numbers suggest, it would be going too far to say that state tax rates have no effect on cross-state migration. However, you have to balance that against evidence that the revenue generated by state tax increases on high earners overwhelms that lost from taxpayers' leaving.

The New Jersey study is especially telling.  Yes, some rich folks did leave New Jersey.  But most stayed, and the state got a massive revenue boost because of it.   It's funny how the Village and the Republicans are always screaming about protecting our precious rich Americans, when some of the most wealthy have no problem giving back.  Warren Buffet has said several times that the richest Americans need to pay more in taxes...but hey, all those poor people in the Senate can't afford it.

Wingers Are Barton On A Winner

Think Progress has compiled the Right Wing Noise Machine defense of Joe Barton's "shakedown" comment.  While officially the GOP wants Joe to apologize, the reality is that a vast majority of Republicans agree with Barton and are backing BP because they can't pass up any opportunity to hate Obama.

– PAT BUCHANAN: “Barton made a very courageous statement in my judgment. … To have anyone stand up and even indirectly defend [BP] and say that they were a victim of a shakedown shows some political courage.”

– INGRAHAM: “I think Joe Barton, before he apologized, had a legitimate point.”

– NAPOLITANO: “That is a classic shakedown. The threat to do something that you don’t have the authority to do. ”

– KILMEADE: “One Congressman calling the BP compsensation fund a ’shakedown,’ but does he have a point?”

– GINGRICH: “The president is directly engaged in extorting money from a company.”

– VARNEY: “It is Hugo Chavez-like, is it not? To sieze a private company’s assets.”

Steve M. has more on this too.

The reality is that the Wingers have Obama Derangement Syndrome on one side, and a need to pretend they are human enough to pass by faking dislike for BP on the other.  Not only have they stopped pretending to dislike BP, they are now openly pulling for the oil spill to ruin this administration.  They literally cannot control themselves.

Even faced with the fact that this is the worst environmental disaster this country has ever dealt with, they cannot help but cheer for the oil spill to cause as much damage to Obama as possible so that the Republicans can "win" a disaster of epic proportions.  They're not even pretending anymore.  Joe Barton and his defenders made that abundantly clear despite the fact that Americans overwhelmingly want Obama to get even tougher with BP.

That's what kind of people we're dealing with here.  That's all they have to offer:  a deep and irrational hatred of Obama that borders on sociopathic.  Let's not kid ourselves.  All they care about is destroying Obama. If you had any doubts about the stakes of this midterm, then this week should have dispelled those thoughts immediately.  It's win at any cost for them.

Even if that cost is watching this country burn.

World Cupdate

In Group D action, Germany provided a lesson to everyone in the Cup this year:  anything can happen.  The heavily favored German juggernaut only ended up blitzing themselves as German star Miroslav Klose was double-carded in the first half, giving the Serbians a man-up advantage.  The White Eagles then immediately tore into the stunned German defense as Milan Jovanovic put what turned into the game winner away less than a minute later at 38'.  The Serbs then held off the German attack and suddenly things are looking increasingly grim for the Europeans in this Cup save for the Dutch.  So far the officiating has been mostly solid, but today's double booking on Klose and yesterday's shaky arbitration in Mexico-France (South Africa and Australia have legit gripes too) is starting to make me wonder.

That brings us to Group C and the United States versus Slovenia.  The Green Dragons came in leading the group and were looking to put it away with a win over the Yanks, while the USA, nursing a number of injuries from a physical match with England, were fighting with their backs against the wall.  The teams matched up 2-4-4 attack plans, and the Slovenians, confident after their victory over Algeria, guaranteed another win. It looked fated to be so as the Yanks immediately got behind again as Birsa arced a 30 yarder into the corner past keeper Tim Howard at 13'. Suddenly the United States were in dire trouble of playing a meaningless game next week against Algeria as the Green Dragons ran rampant in the first half.  A second goal by Ljubijankic at 43' all but buried the dreams of the USA for another four long years.   But the second half saw the US sub in Feilhaber and Edu for Findley and Torres, and immediately it paid off with a Landon Donovan goal at 48'.  The US then poured on the offense, and several yellows gave the Yanks a number of set pieces to tie, but they couldn't convert until Mike Bradley powered one home at 82'.  But a piece of lousy officiating and an early whistle robbed the US of goal #3 at the end.  The Yanks again play their hearts out for a draw.

That left Algeria vs England, the Desert Foxes taking on the Three Lions.  England had a wonderful chance to advance for sure with a win here, and it looked early like Wayne Rooney and crew would do just that, slamming into the Desert Foxes defense with a number of early opportunities as Algeria's shaky nerves nearly cost them everything, but they resisted everything thrown at them with smart play and a 3-4-3 plan that kept England busy on counterattacks.  Rooney stepped up his game to inspire his eleven in the second half to try to put the game away.  The Desert Foxes however lived up to their name and frustrated England a number of times and most importantly didn't give up a booking until 85'.  Sloppy play from the Three Lions allowed Algeria to play for the draw, and that's what they got as the whistle blew on 0-0 and the sound of boos and suddenly it's the US that have the chance to break this Group wide open with a +2 goal advantage over England heading into next week.

That Poll-Asked Look

The latest Gallup poll shows Americans want job stimulus spending, big time.

Among four pieces of legislation Congress could consider this year, Americans are most supportive of authorizing more economic stimulus spending. Specifically, according to a June 11-13 USA Today/Gallup poll, 60% of Americans say they would favor "additional government spending to create jobs and stimulate the economy."

Nearly as many Americans -- 56% -- favor regulating energy output from private companies, a key element of the "cap and trade" bill that has been stalled in Congress and that President Obama alluded to in his Tuesday night Oval Office address. However, it should be noted that the question highlights the positive goal of reducing global warming, but not any of the potential costs for business and consumers.

Americans also approve of more regulations on banks and are split on health care reform.  Republicans naturally want no additional spending or regulation and a full repeal of health care legislation, Democrats want the opposite, but Independents prefer all four measures, including repealing some or all of health care reform.

As I said earlier today, the Dems still have a long way to go to convince people health care reform was worth it.  But they do have a fair amount of support for job stimulus spending...so why are Democrats like Ben Nelson blocking it?

Maybe it has something to do with Nebraska's 5% unemployment rate, and the fact Nebraska gets as many Senators as California and Michigan, states hurting badly for jobs and being blocked on job legislation by Big Ben.

Awesome New Frontiers In Obama Derangement Syndrome

NRO's John Derbyshire finally says openly what's on every Obama-hating mind out there:  that they're openly rooting for the oil spill to wreck this administration for good.

In slightly different words: The best we can hope for is that the thing just goes on gushing through the bore hole indefinitely. (Or until we can drill enough relief wells to reduce the pressure. Don’t hold your breath.)

I’m as horrified as anyone by this — if the guy has got it right, and I’ve understood him correctly. At the same time, as a constitutional pessimist, I’ll own to a certain grim satisfaction. The infantile optimism of post-JFK America may have met its match down there in the Gulf. Nature is not mocked.

"Yay! We've finally got something Obama can't fix! He's done! Now America will be dominated by Very Serious People again instead of Dirty F'ckin Hippies who want to use government to make people's lives better rather than using it to make rich people more wealthy. The nerve of President Kenyan Muslimguy!"

That's right folks, we've fnally gotten to the point where the Wingers are pulling for the geyser to cause as much damage as possible, so they can say "I told you so!" in November.

Oh, the name of Derb's post?



No, We Can't.


Assholes.

Insert Your Own "Uh-Oh!" Joke Here

Uh-oh!  Spaghetti-Os...

Campbell Soup Co. is recalling nearly15 million pounds of canned "SpaghettiOs with Meatballs" because of possible under-processing, the U.S. agriculture department said.

The recall includes 14.75-ounce cans with a use-by date between June 2010 and December 2011 of three varieties of the product: "SpaghettiOs with Meatballs," "SpaghettiOs A to Z with Meatballs" and "SpaghettiOs Fun Shapes with Meatballs (Cars)."

Consumers who have purchased those products with a plant code of "EST4K" should not eat them and should return them to the store where they were purchased for an exchange or full refund, Campbell Soup said.

Fifteen million pounds of food.  Boy, if there were only a government agency that could monitor something with the potential to widely affect millions of Americans who...you know, eat food.  Peanut butter, tomatoes, spinach, now Spaghetti-Os...what's it going to take, folks?

Down The Memory Hole

Remember Elena Kagan?  The White House is hoping you do...and you don't.

The White House is quietly choreographing every aspect of Elena Kagan's march toward a lifetime term on the Supreme Court.


From working to dampen the impact of revelations about her stint in the Clinton White House to going out of their way to trumpet praise from conservative backers, members of President Barack Obama's team are using every available tool to burnish Kagan's image.

Take the public release of tens of thousands of pages of files from Kagan's time as an aide to former President Bill Clinton. The Clinton presidential library in Little Rock, working with White House lawyers, has for two weeks in a row made the records available on Friday afternoons, a time when few people are paying attention. That puts stories about the records in Saturday newspapers, when even fewer are reading.

The last installment of those documents – about 11,000 e-mails Kagan wrote and about 70,000 more she received while working in Clinton's White House – is scheduled to be released on Friday, a little more than a week before the Senate Judiciary Committee is to begin Kagan's confirmation hearings.

The White House is pressing hard to define Kagan for Americans before her opponents can. A new poll shows the public's opinion is still highly shapeable.

It's highly shapeable because there's bigger things to worry about presently.  But that's about to change.  Kagan will get her hearings soon and it's going to be right back into the crucible for her.  She might want to shoot BP a  thank you card.

Very, very quietly, that is.

Daddy Scares Us

David Sanger illustrates in the NY Times today the exact problem with the Village and with Republicans on Obama, the oil spill, and BP.  One one hand, they complained bitterly for weeks that he hasn't done anything.  Now they are complaining that Obama's $20 billion escrow fund is dangerously close to the Imperial Presidency.

The Wall Street executives who needed the government to prop them up, but still thought their services were worth millions a year, were cast by Mr. Obama as a shameless privileged class. Toyota was described as seeking profits over safety; Wellpoint, the insurance giant, was castigated for seeking to insulate itself from the new health care legislation by taking actions that the law will soon prohibit.

Against that backdrop, forcing BP to take a $20 billion bath — even before the inevitable lawsuits are filed — seemed an easy decision. Mr. Obama had no legal basis for the demand, but concluded he did not need one. “He had a power other presidents have used — you call it jawboning,” Mr. Emanuel said.

The question is whether the cumulative effects of these actions create an impression that, over the long run, may make it harder to persuade both American and foreign corporations to cooperate with Mr. Obama’s program to reinvest and reinvigorate the American economy.

“He’s walking a very fine line here,” said Jeffrey Garten, a professor of trade and international finance at the Yale School of Management and a former top official in the Clinton administration’s Commerce Department. “He is taking each case on the merits as he sees it, but he runs the risk of sowing a level of mistrust about all big companies. And it’s those companies — not small businesses — that he will need to invest and innovate for the kind of recovery he wants.” 

It's laughable, watching Sanger defend these huge multinationals and chiding Obama on using the bully pulpit, not days after his colleagues smashed Obama for not doing enough to suspend the notion that he too was in the pocket of big business and that he worked for corporations, not the people.  Obama's going to scare off the big companies!  They'll leave for China and take millions of jobs with them if they can't get away with fleecing the American people!

The only person bought and paid for here is Sanger.

There are plenty of Villagers and folks on the left suffering from Obama Derangement Syndrome too, folks.  It's starting to get a little ridiculous.