by TChris

Initial accounts of this beating of a man by police officers in New Orleans reported that the man was drunk and resisting arrest. His lawyer disputes both assertions:

The man, a retired elementary school teacher, had returned to New Orleans only to check on property he owns in the storm-ravaged city, and was out looking to buy cigarettes when he was arrested Saturday night in the French Quarter, the lawyer and the man's father said.

What the police described as resistance may have been a natural response to being beaten.

New York Times Editor Bill Kellor spoke in Phoenix last week at the annual Association of National Advertisers conference. Among his comments:

"Most of what you know, you know because of the mainstream media," Keller said. "Bloggers recycle and chew on the news. That's not bad. But it's not enough."

The Times, Kellor asserted, is different:

The Times' assets: "A worldwide network of trained, skilled [observers] to witness events" and write about them, and "a rigorous set of standards. A journalism of verification," rather than of "assertion," and maintaining an "agnosticism" as to where any story may lead.

Arianna calls Keller "Clueless in Phoenix."

by TChris

Tommy Chong is still trying to overturn his conviction, but he's staying out of jail and going back to work.

The performer has plugged back into the stand-up circuit. He's just written "The I Chong," which chronicles his "wrongful" stint in the pokey, for Simon and Schuster. And "AKA Chong," a hit at the Toronto Film Festival, documents his arrest and prison ordeal.

Chong hopes to raise money to pay for his legal fees. In the meantime, he's imparted some sage advice:

"If there was a lesson to be learned," Chong says in a phone interview from a friend's home in Los Angeles, "it's to never put your face on a bong."

by Last Night in Little Rock

CNN talking head Daryn Kagan is today reported by AOL, which is owned by the same company that owns CNN, to have been IM'g Rush Limbaugh while on the air, and Limbaugh has been using her IM's on his radio program, referring to her as his "mistress in Georgia" (the sexist pig).

AOL's posting:

by Last Night in Little Rock

Theodore Roosevelt Heller's obituary in today's Chicago Tribune showed he was a man of high character. When he was wounded in WWII, he forced his way back into the Illinois National Guard "insisting no one tells [me] when to serve [my] country."

Even in death, Heller showed still continues to serve his country:

Right Wing News has conducted a non-scientific survey among right-wing bloggers about President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.

Before summarizing the results, let me just say that I don't think bloggers or Senators should have a fixed opinion of the nomination before the confirmation hearings. No one has heard a word from Ms. Miers yet. She deserves the opportunity to be heard before her nomination is either condemned or championed.

That said, while I'm pleased to see so many right wing bloggers down on Bush, we have to keep the reason in mind: They expected Bush to nominate a right-wing extremist and an ideologue and they don't see one in Ms. Miers.

by Last Night in Little Rock

Justice Antonin Scalia, in NYC today as Grand Marshal of the Columbus Day parade, said yesterday that he did not expect to be named Chief Justice, although the President had bandied his name around as a role model for a Chief Justice. He also said that it would be an honor to be named, but it would have taken too much of his time.

by TChris

One might hope that senators, trying to decide how best to allocate federal funds to rebuild the gulf coast, would consult with urban planners, environmentalists, public health officials, and other experts in relevant fields. Instead, most of the "consultants" advising the senators are lobbyists.

"I was basically shocked," said Ivor van Heerden, director of a hurricane public health research center at Louisiana State University. "What do lobbyists know about a plan for the reconstruction and restoration of Louisiana?"

by TChris

If Karl Rove is indicted, will he lose his job?

The evolution of Mr. Bush's statements on the CIA leak case indicate how loath he is to lose the man he has described as his political "architect." Early on in the controversy over the disclosure of Ms. Plame's identity, the president vowed to fire anyone involved. Later, after testimony implicating Mr. Rove became public, Mr. Bush expressed a looser standard, saying he would remove aides who committed crimes. Last week, amid speculation that Mr. Rove might face charges from special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, Mr. Bush wouldn't say whether he would remove an aide under indictment.

Maybe, like Brownie, Rove will resign, only to be hired back on contract to investigate what the administration "did right and what it did wrong" regarding Valerie Plame.

by TChris

Karl Rove talked to James Dobson about Harriet Miers before her nomination was announced. Dobson has been telling his followers, with a wink and a nudge, that he has the inside skinny on Miers (information he "probably shouldn't know"). Dobson won't reveal his source or the precise content of his intelligence. At least, he won't reveal it without a subpoena. The New York Times reports,

Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who is chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and several Democrats on the committee said Sunday that they were considering calling the evangelical conservative James C. Dobson to testify on what he has been told about Harriet E. Miers, the president's Supreme Court nominee.

Dobson isn't entitled to have double-secret information about Miers. Specter has it right:

Snow began falling in downtown Denver a few hours ago. 12 inches are predicted to fall here by Tuesday - 18 inches in the mountains. It's a big one. I-70 leading to Vail and Aspen already shut down.

The storm hovered Sunday west of Denver, closing Vail Pass and downing power lines for about 2,000 customers around Breckenridge, Silverthorne and Keystone. Xcel Energy spokesman Tom Henley said it was not clear how long those customers would be in the dark, as repair crews - like most other travelers - were stuck in traffic.

Normally, I'm not snow-crazy, but the first storm of the year is exciting. The clean, white snow, the chill in the air, pulling out the winter clothes - this is just my favorite time of year. Then, in two days, it will be 70 degrees again.

Update: It was a grey day and a gloomy, wet storm. But Denver didn't get it as bad as some places.

[Update: (TL)] The three officers have been arrested, charged with battery and released pending further court proceedings.

Update: Crooks and Liars has the video.

*****
by TChris

Police officers in New Orleans were recently caught on tape beating an intoxicated man.

The APTN tape shows an officer hitting the man at least four times in the head Saturday night as he stood outside a bar near Bourbon Street. The suspect, Robert Davis, appeared to resist, twisting and flailing as he was dragged to the ground by four officers. Another of the four officers then kneed Davis and punched him twice. Davis was face-down on the sidewalk with blood streaming down his arm and into the gutter.