>> ^schlub:

This video doesn't even show the guy getting hit. Yes, it shows the off-duty cop swinging a baton, but you can't actually see it hit the guy (meaning, you can't see what part of the guy's body is being hit, nor can you see how hard he might be getting hit). Also, you can't see him use the "pepper spray" either. All you see is a can in his hand - and we learn through narration that he was sprayed -- since the camera's pointed at the dash at the time. She says he has a bloody lip, but, you can't see the blood in the video.
Additionally, you can't see what the guy on the ground is doing.
I'm just sayin's all
Just because a cop uses force to subdue someone doesn't mean it's an abuse of power.


There's a use of force continuum for a reason.

Just because we can't see what is going on doesn't mean that the officers use of a weapon is warranted.

What I saw was an escalation in force that was unwarranted which ended in the officer putting the lives of the perpetrator and his at risk. He was outnumbered and practically waylaying on a drunken idiot who was on the ground with friends who were there.

Here's how I would have handled the situation ask them to leave upon which no acquiescence I would contact the police and tell them there is a drunk and disorderly person on the property which I am protecting.

Being an off duty cop working security means that if you make an arrest that's double the paperwork. There's paperwork for the client in your contracted capacity and then paperwork for the police in your official capacity. Fuck that, if I'm off duty then the guys working that night can do the official paperwork.

Imagine yourself a lawyer sitting in a quiet courtroom like you've done hundreds of times before, working through all the boring paperwork for hours at a time etc. Suddenly a man faceplants from a balcony not 50 feet from where you are. Some would just sit there nonplussed because something that far out of your expectations takes time to register.

You'd think they'd have a shovel somewhere on that tow truck, or could borrow one from somebody...


I've dug out my share of tires (and made tire paths) before... not fun, but better than filling out paperwork.

>> ^yellowc:
So what about the emergency call? Not urgent any more? Keep driving, worry about paperwork later?


It's okay, the police officer radioed in to let the response desk know that the Autobots were on the case

So what about the emergency call? Not urgent any more? Keep driving, worry about paperwork later?

from the cops accent, this was in the southern usa. not sure which state exactly, but they don't really care about speeding that much, so I'm not surprised that he didn't give him a ticket (excuse the double negative). Also a lot more paperwork with international drivers licenses.

in the north and western usa, state troopers give tickets to everyone they pull over. if they are "having a bad day" you could get a ticket for doing 5mph over the limit...

and any US interstate highway is certainly capable of supporting 100 mph speeds. It's just the other drivers that make it dangerous.

Ron Paul has always been exactly this crazy, he has a 100% consistent voting record saying he doesnt really want the government involved in anything. Thats fair enough, its his opinion. The problem now is that the entire vocal faction of the GOP has turned into the tea party, which is basically an uninformed, rabid, hypocritical, unintelligent version of Ron Pauls vision.

The problem with libertarianism like the one Ron Paul advocates is that it sounds good in a slogan, and in theory "I don't want no gov'ment up in my business!", but really, its a crazy idea. If you want a society without any goverment "interference" in your life, pack your shit an move to The Democratic Republic of Congo, thats a 100% libertarian right there. You can do whatever the fuck you want, everything is private market, including the justice system, the army,hospitals, schools and people themselves. All you need is to pay for it. Its Ron Pauls utopia. No stinking officials anywhere messing up your shit. No paperwork or anything, just free market all the way. In many ways, its exactly like the wonderful world of the Founding Fathers. You know, before they created the government and all that..

Government sucks. Hell, Democracy, in many ways, sucks. But its the only thing we've got, so we need to work with it.

It's not been limited to Obama, but a long thing in US (and other nation's) history, with the occasional "collateral damage" hidden in diplomatic paperwork.

I think Pakistan "closing down" the land-line to Afghanistan is a mere bargaining chip for reconstruction funds and an attempt to demonstrate its supposed national sovereignty to its own people in light of recent events (the flood-catastrophe, even requiring financial/humanitarian aid from its "nemesis" India).

With the local infrastructure weakened by the floodings Pakistan might even need US intervention to keep local landlords from returning back to power (you might recall something similar happening last year with parts of the pakistan border regions forming a semi-autonomous Islamic-sharia-state).

That's me hoping at least.

>> ^Herostratus:

I have pretty great insurance and was floored by the statement of benefits ("This is not a bill") I received after acute appendicitis. Everything had been covered 100% (including a pic line and once-a-week homecare nurse for a post-op infection), but they sent me the paperwork. It was insane; a doctor who stopped in my hospital room once for less than 5 minutes and merely asked me "How are you feeling" charged the insurance a ~$700 consulting fee. Next to that was the amount paid by the insurance: $0.
It was hilarious to see the charges and total submitted by the hospital in one column (tens of thousands) and the "fuck you, we're paying you this and you'll like it" from the insurance company in the second column (somewhere around 10-20% of that requested).
I'm not sure who was being the bigger dick in this situation, but I didn't pay for anything (except for my monthly $200 pre-tax deduction from my paycheck, which is still pretty crazy, but I ended up utilizing what most people end up just giving away to their insurance company).


I got a similar statement of benefits recently. Thank you for the reference point.

>> ^Herostratus:

I have pretty great insurance and was floored by the statement of benefits ("This is not a bill") I received after acute appendicitis. Everything had been covered 100% (including a pic line and once-a-week homecare nurse for a post-op infection), but they sent me the paperwork. It was insane; a doctor who stopped in my hospital room once for less than 5 minutes and merely asked me "How are you feeling" charged the insurance a ~$700 consulting fee. Next to that was the amount paid by the insurance: $0.
It was hilarious to see the charges and total submitted by the hospital in one column (tens of thousands) and the "fuck you, we're paying you this and you'll like it" from the insurance company in the second column (somewhere around 10-20% of that requested).
I'm not sure who was being the bigger dick in this situation, but I didn't pay for anything (except for my monthly $200 pre-tax deduction from my paycheck, which is still pretty crazy, but I ended up utilizing what most people end up just giving away to their insurance company).


Having family in the health industry, I can at least try and explain why they bill so high and why medical insurance companies pay out so low. It was explained to me that usually insurance companies will fight tooth and nail to pay out as little as possible(most of the time for less than is even economically feasible), so to combat this, hospitals charge exuberant amounts and they meet somewhere in the middle. It's pretty much a negotiation.

It is incredibly difficult for a hospital that is not funded by the government to break even let alone make money. Everything is expensive. Most hospitals barely break even, and when the economy takes a dip, a significant number can close down.

I have pretty great insurance and was floored by the statement of benefits ("This is not a bill") I received after acute appendicitis. Everything had been covered 100% (including a pic line and once-a-week homecare nurse for a post-op infection), but they sent me the paperwork. It was insane; a doctor who stopped in my hospital room once for less than 5 minutes and merely asked me "How are you feeling" charged the insurance a ~$700 consulting fee. Next to that was the amount paid by the insurance: $0.

It was hilarious to see the charges and total submitted by the hospital in one column (tens of thousands) and the "fuck you, we're paying you this and you'll like it" from the insurance company in the second column (somewhere around 10-20% of that requested).

I'm not sure who was being the bigger dick in this situation, but I didn't pay for anything (except for my monthly $200 pre-tax deduction from my paycheck, which is still pretty crazy, but I ended up utilizing what most people end up just giving away to their insurance company).

Sorry what's he saying? "Why don't you become a stork like me and deliver babies?" Christ, someone's got to do the paperwork.

>> ^rychan:

Actually, costs for an 800 pound plane are $3,800 to $4,000 dollars based on the quotes from BRS Aviation here http://www.brsparachutes.com/full_price_list.aspx
I would not call that "much more" than a few thousand dollars. I realize there may be some additional installation costs, but still, we're talking far less than 10 thousand dollars.
>> ^AzPilot:
Cost for such system ( Ballistic rescue parachutes ) are much more than just a few thousand dollars. When you get the FAA involved costs for a single bolt will skyrocket. In order to manufacture such a system for aircraft you must secure an STC from the FAA (http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/stc/), this alone can cost the investor hundreds of thousands of dollars. Which he would have to pass along to the consumer. Each individual aircraft would need an STC as well if the system was not designed for that exact airframe. Cirrus aircraft all come with the CAPS system. http://cirrusaircraft.com/parachute/



unfortunately thats only the tip of the iceberg. For a normal light aircraft cessna 172 style its more like $20000, plus fitting costs, plus paperwork and certification costs.

Best job on the planet my rear, I have just as much fun sitting in a 3x6 square, filling out paperwork, and warding off small talk with the guy who consistently doesn't smell very good.

I'm NOT IN DENIAL!

My take on it is that it's horrible and misguided that the right keeps reigniting old debates I thought civilized society put to bed a looooong time ago (like torture, collecting evidence without warrants, imprisoning people without trial, separation of church and state, Title 2 and 7 of the Civil Rights Act, etc.). This is just another in a long line.

For me, I keep wanting to ask people "why do you care?" I mean, isn't it a good thing if people from Ireland or Mexico want to come here? Why not let anyone who wants to be a citizen just do the paperwork and background checks and become a citizen? If they come here, and make a life here even without legal status, and have kids here, what's the big deal?

If it's a matter of them not obeying our normal (as opposed to immigration) laws, or not paying their taxes, then we should deal with them in the same way as a citizen who breaks the law or doesn't pay their taxes.

The goal of this movement is to give government the power to deport whole immigrant families, including children born to illegal immigrants, without the complication of having to come up with a legal justification for "deporting" their natural-born US citizen children or forcibly splitting up the family by deporting the parents only.

Why is that so important to people that they want to alter an Amendment that was passed largely to overrule the Dred Scott decision?

I just don't get what people are thinking.

In reply to this comment by Ryjkyj:
Hey dude, what's your take on this fourteenth amendment bullshit? My wife discussed it a little bit with her co-workers this morning and they brought up some new: people-come-here-from-Ireland-etc-for-better-birth-care-and-their-kids-incidentally-become-citizens thing. I don't think I can support removing the 14th amendment for any reason but my wife's co-workers all seems to think it's a good idea.

Now here's the disturbing part: it's not like my wife works for some right-wing think tank. She's a social worker for the state of Oregon DHS...

Happy anniversary BTW.