Brandon Wayne Hedrick, age 27, was executed in Virginia this week. Afraid that the combo of lethal injection drugs could cause unbearable pain while paralyzing his body and rendering him incapable of communicating it, he chose the electric chair -- old sparky, as it came to be known. Via Sentencing Law and Policy, here's how one news article described his death.

He was ushered into the electric chair and a half-dozen execution team members secured him stiffly upright with leather and nylon straps on his limbs and torso before asking if he had any last words. A metal device holding a sea sponge soaked in brine was then attached to his right calf, and a wide strap with a hole for his nose but covering his eyes and mouth secured his head to the chair. A metal cap holding another brine-soaked sponge was strapped on the top of his head. Power cables were then connected to the head and leg.

An anti-war video put to the music of Jackson Browne's Lives in the Balance. It even has his endorsement.

There are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

(Guest post by Big Tent Democrat)

Update: The person who interviewed Lakoff understands my point. I agree with his post.

My post of a few days ago on George Lakoff's comments on the 2006 election has set off a number of Lakoff supporters, who have argued that I have misread Lakoff. Curiously, Lakoff's defenders do not cite to the text of what Lakoff actually said, instead explaining to me what they believe Lakoff meant. I suppose it is possible that Lakoff did not say what he meant, and if that is the case, then perhaps Lakoff is not as inept on political advice as he appears from those comments. But I am a mere mortal and can only glean Lakoff's meaning from his actual words. Most importantly, Lakoff's defenders have no acceptable answer for my principal critique; Lakoff's rejection of the power of negatively branding the Republicans, for its own purposes and to assist in the definition of Democrats.

Three defense lawyers for accused "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla got stranded in Beirut where they were taking depositions in the case and doing research to prepare for Padilla's Miami trial. Happily, they are now safe and on Cyprus.

Miami Assistant Federal Public Defender Orlando do Campo and two private lawyers, William Swor of Detroit and Andrew Patel of New York, traveled to Lebanon about three weeks ago. They were there to do research and take depositions in preparation for the scheduled federal trial in September of accused dirty bomber Jose Padilla and four other defendants before U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke.

The lawyers were stuck at a Beirut hotel, according to Swor's secretary. They had departed for Beirut on July 2 and were supposed to return on July 14. But war broke out July 12 when Israel began its campaign to recover two kidnapped Israeli soldiers. Israel bombed the airport, trapping the lawyers and thousands of other Americans and Europeans in Lebanon. The lawyers had no choice but to stay on at the hotel while the U.S. and other governments made plans to evacuate their citizens....

by TChris

You know your campaign isn't going well when ...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Albertini was arrested for public intoxication Thursday night in Knoxville, sheriff's officials said.

Albertini's top issues are "abortion, illegal immigration and the state pension system." Temperance must be farther down the list.

What an outrage! Las Vegas has made it a crime to give food to the homeless in city parks. Primarily aimed at soup kitchens, the law carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $1,000.00 fine.

In an effort to curb charity that is having unintended consequences, the City Council has made it illegal to give food to homeless people in city parks. Residents complained that the large numbers of homeless gathering in the parks make it impossible for others to use them, said city spokesman David Riggleman.

Not only that, but check out the definition of "homeless person."

by Last Night in Little Rock

Yesterday, the day after President Bush vetoed the federal stem cell research bill, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the state finance director to loan up to $150M to "the state's voter approved stem cell research institute, catapulting California into the lead as the nation's top public funder of the divisive research."

The California system is based on a $3B bond issue that is in litigation, but a state trial judge upheld the system in a "strongly worded ruling" that is subject to appeal. Schwarzenegger ordered the loan even though it is possible it might not get repaid.

In preparation for what may be a "large scale incursion" into Lebanon, Israel has called up reservists. Meanwhile, Hezbollah rockets continue to hit Haifa.

Correspondents in Jerusalem say it is understood the Israeli reservists being called up could fill in for troops in the West Bank and Gaza, releasing other soldiers to go up to the northern front. The move has widened speculation that Israel is preparing for a large ground offensive.

Israel is urging all civilians in Southern Lebanon to evacuate.

The call-up came as Israel dropped leaflets on southern Lebanon warning residents to immediately evacuate an area approximately 32km (20 miles) wide.

by Last Night in Little Rock

The San Francisco federal grand jury investigation Barry Bonds' alleged steroid use disbanded today without indicting him on anything. Last weekend, Sports Illustrated (SI.com) was anticipating his indictment. Even his lawyer was anticipating an indictment, and he apparently went public to soften the blow.

But, the U.S. Attorney announced today that the investigating is continuing with the new grand jury that starts next week.

Kevin Ryan, the U.S. attorney for Northern California, has the option of swearing in a new grand jury to continue hearing the case, and Anderson's subpoena indicates that is what Ryan will do.

In a statement released today, Luke Macaulay, spokesman for Ryan, did not address that question, but said the investigation was far from over.

"Much has been accomplished to date, and we will continue to move forward actively in this investigation -- including continuing to seek the truthful testimony of witnesses whose testimony the grand jury is entitled to hear," he said.

Now, this is really just a matter of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

by TChris

A legal challenge to AT&T's cooperation with the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program survived dismissal today, as U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker rejected the administration's oft-repeated claim that any scrutiny of its domestic spying programs would endanger national security.

"It might appear that none of the subject matter in this litigation could be considered a secret given that the alleged surveillance programs have been so widely reported in the media,'' Walker said.

Walker also wrote that he did not see how allowing the lawsuit to continue could threaten national security.

"The compromise between liberty and security remains a difficult one,'' Walker said. "But dismissing this case at the outset would sacrifice liberty for no apparent enhancement of security.''

Rep. John Conyer's (D-MI) is suing President Bush over the enactment of the Federal Deficit Rediction Act. Shorter version: The House and Senate passed different versions of the bill and even though they went to conference, the House never voted on the version passed by the Senate as a House clerk changed a provision in the Senate version and Bush signed it into law. Bush can't sign a bill unless it has been agreed to by both the House and Senate.

The Government moved to dismiss (pdf) Rep. Conyer's lawsuit, and last night, he filed his motion and brief in opposition.

No one in the House of Representatives voted on the version of the bill which was signed into law. The Senate version was never presented in the House for a vote. .... The Deficit Reduction Act needed to be passed by the House of Representatives in the same form that it passed the Senate. The Act never did and thus the Act is not valid. A law is not validly enacted if even "one of paragraph of that text" is different.

This seems pretty basic to me. The House members were disenfranchised. If this process is approved, what's to stop Bush from signing into law any bill passed by only one house of Congress? As Conyers said:

I'm guest-blogging for Eric Alterman today over at MSNBC's Altercation. The topics: Sen. Lindsay Graham, Bush's stubbornness on Guantanamo, Sen. Mike DeWine's pulled ad with phony 9/11 pics (done by the same company that did the swift boat campaign against John Kerry) and Joe Lieberman's new backer, Bill Clinton.