Joe Biden told an interviewer that the Obama administration "misread how bad the economy was." The obvious question: How is that possible? The crappy state of the economy was clear to the rest of the (non-Republican) country, as was the need for an aggressive stimulus package. Only now is the administration realizing that the economy is really really bad?

The former head of Internal Affairs at the Baltimore Police Department, Joann Branche, says "the department is rife with corruption and turns a blind eye to bad officers patrolling the streets." Branche was fired in April for allegedly backdating documents so that disciplinary charges (which must be filed within a year of the alleged misconduct) would appear to have been timely filed. The president of the black police officers' union claims that Branche allowed charges against white officers to lapse while she pursued charges against black officers.

Blanche was fired five months after being promoted and given a $30,000 raise, a fact that lends some credibility to her contention that charging decisions were micromanaged by a Deputy Police Commissioner who interfered with her decision-making. According to Blanche, punishment was based on who the accused officer knew and back-door deals were struck with officers who were well connected.

[more ...]

Another legacy of the War on Drugs and the punitive lock-em-up mentality of the get tough on crime crowd is coming home to roost: Children of the incarcerated.

Federal data shows that 1.5 million kids have a parent in prison. Usually it's the father:

The chances of seeing a parent go to prison have never been greater, especially for poor black Americans, and new research is documenting the long-term harm to the children they leave behind. Recent studies indicate that having an incarcerated parent doubles the chance that a child will be at least temporarily homeless and measurably increases the likelihood of physically aggressive behavior, social isolation, depression and problems in school — all portending dimmer prospects in adulthood.

“Parental imprisonment has emerged as a novel, and distinctly American, childhood risk that is concentrated among black children and children of low-education parents,” said Christopher Wildeman, a sociologist at the University of Michigan who is studying what some now call the “incarceration generation.”

Sentencing laws are at least partially to blame. [More...]

Let's put the rumors to bed. The F.B.I. said today that soon to be former Governor Sarah Palin is not under investigation. No way. No how.

...[T]the FBI's Alaska spokesman said the bureau had no investigation into Palin for her activities as governor, as mayor or in any other capacity.

"There is absolutely no truth to those rumors, that we're investigating her or getting ready to indict her," Special Agent Eric Gonzalez said in a phone interview Saturday. "It's just not true."

Gonzalez added that there was "no wiggle room" in his comments that could exclude any kind of probe.

That's good enough for me. What's left? Money or just a bone-headed political stunt that will forever brand her a quitter. Take your pick. [More...]

Steve McNair, quarterback for the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans and briefly for the Baltimore Ravens before his recent retirement, was shot to death today inside a condominium in downtown Nashville. A 20-year-old woman, Sahel Kazemi, was found dead next to McNair. She died of a single gunshot to the head.

Details of the deaths are unclear. McNair rented the condo with his friend, Wayne Neeley, who found the bodies. Neely described Kazemi as a "friend" of McNair. The Tennessean describes the deaths as a "murder-suicide" and reports that McNair had been dating Kazemi for a few months. It also reports that a pistol was found next to Kazemi's body, although Neeley (according to the AP) said that "the gun was not 'readily apparent' when police first arrived."

[more ...]

It seems like the same songs make the list of top 4th of July music each year. Current TV's Sergio puts them in context. I especially liked the part [/sarcasm]about the Toby Keith song where the soldiers stomp and cheer and go totally wild as he belts out:

You'll be sorry you messed with the U.S. of A.
Cause we'll put a boot in your as*, it's the American Way

He also points out the critical verse in Springsteen's "Born in the USA" [More...]

In 2006, I wrote that "It's a Hollow Feeling This Fourth of July." Are we any better off this year? We haven't seen much tangible progress, but Bush and Cheney are gone and we do seem to be headed in the right direction, even if we are moving at a snail's pace.

So, yes, I'm going to celebrate. But I'm also not going to forget the freedoms we need to protect and defend, not just for our law-abiding citizens but for all who are living within our country, including those who continue to be detained at Guantanamo, who are languishing in our prisons, and who live in fear of being separated from their families and deported.

If you're looking for something to evoke a feeling of what today is about, here's one of my favorites:

What are your thoughts and plans this Independence Day? (Menu descriptions welcome.)

Update 7/4/09: The FBI says there is no investigation of any kind involving Sarah Palin.

*****

Original Post 7/3/09

Speculation is mounting on the internet that Sarah Palin is facing trouble over the source of the building materials for her Waslilla, Alaska home. If you remember, Todd was interviewed saying he built the house with his own hands and some buddies helped out with materials. [More...]

This is a gruesome story. Kristen Diane Parker, a lab/surgery tech at Rose Hospital in Denver (one of our most prominent medical centers) who was infected with Hepatitis C, stole syringes filled with the pain-killer Fentanyl from the OR, shot herself up, put saline in the used syringes and replaced them on the rack in the OR. She got fired and went to work in Colorado Springs where she did the same thing.

Rose Hospital is sending out letters to everyone who had surgery during the months she worked there to advise them they may be exposed to Hepatitis C.

Authorities say Parker admitted to changing out syringes containing a saline solution with ones filled with the painkiller Fentanyl. Parker injected herself with the drug, according to a complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Denver.

An affidavit by Mary F. LaFrance, an investigator for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, says at least nine surgery patients at Rose have tested positive for hepatitis C, which is incurable. About 6,000 patients are being advised they may have been exposed and need to be tested.

The affidavit supporting the federal criminal charges against her is here (pdf). [More...]

A sensible policy of drug regulation would treat drug use and abuse as a medical issue rather than burdening the criminal justice system with endless arrests, prosecutions, and incarcerations for conduct that primarily hurts those who voluntary engage in it. Sensible drug policy reform is fiercely resisted by unions representing prison guards and police officers whose jobs depend on continuing the ineffective status quo.

To justify the war's continuation in the face of mounting casualties and no possibility of victory, proponents of the drug war routinely claim that legalization or decriminalization of illicit drugs would encourage kids to experiment with them. The argument is based on faith, not research. A new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research concludes that "tough policing of the illegal drugs market may have the perverse effect of making drugs more affordable and thereby encouraging people to use them."

[more ...]

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is resigning. Reuters gives a few possible reasons. Since Palin has repeatedly said she's not a quitter, only this one makes sense to me:

She fears a looming political problem, perhaps even a scandal, and wanted out of the limelight, before the news broke.

Her statement does not allude to any problems. [More...]

If you have something on your mind and aren't busy preparing to celebrate Independence Day (please folks, cherry bombs and M-60's [revolting video warning] are not toys -- be safe!), here's the place to express it.