Atlanta PD Will No Longer Harass Citizens Who Record Cops

Radley Balko | February 12, 2011

Faced with complaints from a citizen watchdog group, Atlanta police will stop interfering with people who videotape officers performing their duties in public, an agreement reached with the city Thursday says.

The settlement, which also calls for the city to pay $40,000 in damages, requires city council approval.

The agreement resolves a complaint filed by Marlon Kautz and Copwatch of East Atlanta, a group that films police activity with cell phones and hand-held cameras. The group has volunteers who go out on patrols and begin videotaping police activity when they come across it.

Last April, Kautz said, he pulled out his camera phone and began recording Atlanta police who were arresting a suspect in Little Five Points. Two officers approached him and said he had no right to be filming them, Kautz said. When Kautz refused to stop, one officer wrenched Kautz's arm behind his backt and yanked the camera out of his hands, he said...

Kautz said that when he asked to get his phone back, another officer said he'd return it only after Kautz gave him the password to the phone so he could delete the footage. When Kautz refused, police confiscated the phone, he said. When police returned it, Kautz said, the video images had been deleted, altered or damaged.

As part of Thursday's settlement, reached before a civil rights lawsuit was filed, the city will pay Kautz and Copwatch of East Atlanta $40,000 in damages. APD will also adopt an operating procedure that prohibits officers from interfering with citizens who are taping police activity, provided individuals recording the activity do not physically interfere with what the officers are doing. The policy is to be adopted within 30 days after the Atlanta city council approves the settlement, and training is to be carried out during police roll calls.

Atlanta's Citizen Review Board, which was formed in the wake of the Kathryn Johnston raid, also recommended that the offending officer be suspended for four days without pay.

Reason needs your support. Please donate today!

Try Reason's award-winning print edition today! Your first issue is FREE if you are not completely satisfied.

Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment or disable your ability to comment for any reason at any time.

Sovereign Immunity|2.12.11 @ 1:07PM|#

APD will also adopt an operating procedure that prohibits officers from interfering with citizens who are taping police activity, provided individuals recording the activity do not physically interfere with what the officers are doing.

About damn time. Thank you Mr. Balko, may I have another?

JohnD|2.12.11 @ 9:31PM|#

I live in an Atlanta suburb. I can tell you that the APD is corrupt at the top. The police are constantly in the local news for their outragous behavior. They give law enforcement a bad name.

robc|2.13.11 @ 8:08AM|#

Thats not true, they did a review after the Kathryn Johnston case and ALL the bad cops in the APD were, coincidentally, working on it.

The Ducks and Chickens|2.13.11 @ 7:02PM|#

Fuck the Pigs!

|2.14.11 @ 10:58AM|#

I live in Atlanta too and in the past couple of months there have been news reports about the Eagle bar raid; the lead cop in that raid being arrested for DUI and pot possession; a Red Dog team strip searching two guys at the side of the road; the cell phone incident described here; and two cops indicted for lying to federal investigators. I've probably missed a few others.

Cy Nickelfuque|2.12.11 @ 1:08PM|#

"Your camera-toting presence is making me physically ill."

Colonel_Angus|2.12.11 @ 7:36PM|#

"You're disrupting the air circulation and light reflection which is affecting my duties."

Vermont Gun Owner|2.12.11 @ 1:08PM|#

A Saturday Balko nut~~punch~~ massage?

rather|2.12.11 @ 1:46PM|#

lol

Atlanta PD|2.12.11 @ 1:10PM|#

Correct. We'll let DHS do the harassing.

Earthworm|2.12.11 @ 1:24PM|#

minor inaccuracy: "When Kautz refused, police confiscated the phone, he said." Actually, police had confiscated the phone on the 22nd, and Kautz talked to the cop (Kirkman) 2 days later, after he had already been down to property retrieval and they had refused to release it. There's a little mini-documentary about what happened here: http://www.copwatchoea.org/con.....otage-raid

|2.12.11 @ 5:26PM|#

As noted before by commentators here, why no investigation, prosecution, and conviction for tampering with evidence?

Apogee|2.12.11 @ 6:28PM|#

That's for the little people.

|2.12.11 @ 1:51PM|#

also recommended that the offending officer be suspended for four days without pay

Officer assaults the guy, lies, and steals his property, and this is the rebuke the review board gives him. Fire his fucking ass already. This penny-ante shit isn't going to do much.

Sovereign Immunity|2.12.11 @ 1:59PM|#

Public Sector Unions + Hero Worship == "He beats me because he loves me. He'll change!"

Dave|2.12.11 @ 2:10PM|#

Yes, this is gross misconduct. He should be fired AND criminally prosecuted for assault. The police chief should also be fired for gross incompetence.

|2.12.11 @ 2:25PM|#

At least he wasn't suspended WITH pay.

rather|2.12.11 @ 2:56PM|#

It ain't over till the police union sings

JD|2.14.11 @ 1:43PM|#

True--it seems like the vast majority of the time they are able to get back pay given on appeal.

JohnD|2.12.11 @ 9:33PM|#

Ain't gonna happen. The entire city admistration is corrupt from the mayor on down. There are some decent cops on the force but at least half of them are thugs and criminals.

I Have a Dull Ax|2.13.11 @ 7:04PM|#

Do you have a grinding business by any chance?

|2.14.11 @ 10:55AM|#

The review board's recommendations are not binding. According to news reports, the PD never follows them and either doesn't sanction officers, or gives them a slap on the wrist (e.g. written reprimand).

Tom|2.12.11 @ 1:52PM|#

APD will also adopt an operating procedure that prohibits officers from interfering with citizens who are taping police activity ... The policy is to be adopted within 30 days

So the cops agree to stop breaking the law...in 30 days.

|2.12.11 @ 8:54PM|#

You suck a dozen donkey dicks.

|2.13.11 @ 3:31PM|#

This shit gets through and some of my comments get marked/rejected as Spam?

|2.12.11 @ 2:01PM|#

I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?

rather|2.12.11 @ 2:52PM|#

It's code

THE COMMANDER|2.12.11 @ 6:12PM|#

He's my brother

Rock Action |2.12.11 @ 6:53PM|#

You are not Commander. The Commander links. I know. I search far and wide...

JohnD|2.12.11 @ 9:34PM|#

go to hell, you stupid shit head

Mr Whipple|2.12.11 @ 10:09PM|#

www.japantimes.co.jp

Holy shit. That was a real link. I was expecting some Filipino mail order bride shit.

rather|2.13.11 @ 12:01AM|#

maybe she will give you an anal massage ;-)

Mr Whipple|2.13.11 @ 5:55AM|#

I'd be happy with a little hand relief.
Very hard to get date with hairpiece. I give you my hairpiece. Of course I have hairpiece on my head. Where do think I have it, on my dick?

rather|2.13.11 @ 5:12PM|#

Free dating advice: shave your head and your balls

Mr Whipple|2.13.11 @ 7:22PM|#

Much better than hairpiece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeCDnCcwfwU

Kristen|2.14.11 @ 10:57AM|#

I endorse that advice

TallDave|2.13.11 @ 11:59AM|#

Filipinas make excellent wives, but you should really go the H1-B or L1 route. That way you know they have a useful skill.

Mr Whipple|2.13.11 @ 4:05PM|#

H1-B or HSV-1?

Like I said, hard to get date with hairpiece.

zoltan|2.13.11 @ 7:20PM|#

All the Filipinas I've met are fat Texans. So don't marry a Texan (male or female).

Fat Crack Ho|2.14.11 @ 4:00PM|#

You sound almost disapointed! ;-)

|2.12.11 @ 5:12PM|#

You sir, are no Robin Williams.

KOS |2.12.11 @ 7:02PM|#

Stands for Keith Olbermann Syndrome, sir. You left-wing ninnies cannot stop [NOT ME] HERCULE TRIATHLON SAVINIEN. THEY will reign down terror and rain in global dissent.

JPC|2.12.11 @ 2:06PM|#

Of course, there's a world of difference between APD announcing a new policy, and the average beat cop on the street (particularly the corrupt kind who'd be keen on seizing recording equipment) knowing what that policy is.

I expect to hear more reports of photographers and videographers being harassed in ATL.

Still, this news is pretty damn miraculous, compared to what we usually hear in cop vs. photographer incidents.

Dave|2.12.11 @ 2:25PM|#

The greater problem is a lack of oversight and accountability. Police routinely operate outside the boundaries of the law and punishment for misonduct, in the rare instance it occurs, is usually a joke. There is a general lack of accountability in the entire criminal justice system for that matter - disctrict attorneys routinely prosecute cases without adequate evidence (most commonly for alleged sex crimes) and destroy the lives of innocent citizens.

Colonel_Angus|2.12.11 @ 7:41PM|#

There is a difference between public policy and internal "policy".

|2.12.11 @ 2:09PM|#

I don't understand what your point is. Can you explain it in all caps please?

|2.12.11 @ 2:32PM|#

And BOLD!!! Your scholarly dissertation needs more BOLD TEXT AND EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!

Otherwise people won't be persuaded by your barely intelligible paranoid crap.

Pham Nuwen|2.12.11 @ 2:26PM|#

CHEM TRAILS! CHEM TRAILS! CHEM TRAILS! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

|2.12.11 @ 2:07PM|#

Considering that "interfering in a police investigation" is often the excuse used to harass people who record videos of the police, I'm wondering if this will really change anything...

Irresponsible Hater|2.12.11 @ 2:08PM|#

I can't gets me enuffs of teh herculeTS. Give me MOAR!

|2.12.11 @ 2:34PM|#

THE ILLUMINATI!!!*

* Studies have the judicious use of italicized text always bolsters an argument.

Auntie Semitic|2.12.11 @ 3:39PM|#

It's THE JOOS!!! THE JOOS!!!

|2.12.11 @ 3:59PM|#

TEH BILDERBERGS!!! TEH BILDERBERGS!!!

Hugh Akston|2.12.11 @ 2:16PM|#

You know, Warty is right. We really do need a blink tag around here.

|2.12.11 @ 2:23PM|#

Umm, banhammer?

Pham Nuwen|2.12.11 @ 2:27PM|#

|2.12.11 @ 2:39PM|#

Shut the fuck up already.

JohnD|2.12.11 @ 9:36PM|#

Where the hell is the moderator of this rag?

TallDave|2.13.11 @ 11:57AM|#

Wait, Steve Smith posts on politics now?

Pham Nuwen|2.12.11 @ 2:19PM|#

What the fuck is going on? I'm gone for a few weeks and this is what I return to? You motherfuckers need a babysitter.

Pham Nuwen|2.12.11 @ 2:21PM|#

Although this statement, "Western Hemisphere School of Terrorism located in Ft. Benning, Georgia will have a long hard fight, but one that can be taken to the mainland of the American-Israeli Military Industrial Complex", is magnificent.

cmace|2.12.11 @ 2:23PM|#

Nice try THE TRUTH

Hugh Akston|2.12.11 @ 2:31PM|#

The ultimate punishment.

Binky|2.12.11 @ 3:17PM|#

Well, to be fair to the CRB, the original recommendation was "suspended for four days by the testicles".

|2.12.11 @ 5:15PM|#

He'll never get those four days back, you know. And what about his kids?

Nothing|2.12.11 @ 6:15PM|#

He'll tell his kids he's on vacation.

Apogee|2.12.11 @ 6:32PM|#

Yes, it's unfair to the children to have him home all day. Think of the abuse when he takes that fisher price recorder and smashes it.

cat moses|2.12.11 @ 2:31PM|#

This is what the leftist's are reduced too?

|2.12.11 @ 2:37PM|#

Good news from Radley Balko.
This hockey news just in - In the third period, it's Satan's Minions 2 - The Damned 2.

Corey S.|2.12.11 @ 2:53PM|#

How are the 1976s Philadelphia Flyers doing?

Rock Action |2.12.11 @ 4:55PM|#

Oh man, oh man. Nice.

Hartford Hockey Fan |2.12.11 @ 5:46PM|#

Losing to the '86-'87 Quebec Nordiques.

Mr Whipple|2.13.11 @ 10:33AM|#

Flyers in 1st in the East, beeeaaatch. 4 pts behind Vancouver overall, but with 2 games in hand.

Mr Whipple|2.13.11 @ 10:35AM|#

Can you say "Lord Stanley"?

juris imprudent|2.12.11 @ 10:58PM|#

I am impressed, not many people can trip that hard and manage this level of grammatical coherence.

|2.12.11 @ 2:49PM|#

Thank fuck this happened in one of the cities in America that, until recently, wilfully allowed their police to harass and intimidate virtually anyone in the name of safety.

Special units that operate without oversight. Militarization of our police forces. The thick blue wall of silence. Complicit prosecutors.

This may be nothing more than spitting at a forest fire, but at least one city has apparently had enough.

Oh, and I propose all "Citizen Review Boards" be renamed "Citizen Anti-terrorism Panels." It's certainly more apt.

Christ on a Cracker|2.12.11 @ 2:52PM|#

"Four days off without pay" means he will be sitting out. But, if he has paid-time-off available (siok leave, or whatever they call it), he probably can use that to continue the paycheck.

So, the end effect is the punishment is that he will have to take four days vacation when he may not want to. And a letter in his permanent file, I'm sure.

rather|2.12.11 @ 3:04PM|#

Ya but he doesn't get to harass citizens for 4 days-that's a lifetime

|2.12.11 @ 3:14PM|#

Does that mean we should go ahead and book his wife a room at the battered women's shelter? He's gotta take it out on someone.

I pray for the safety of his childrun during this 4 day suspension.

|2.12.11 @ 3:18PM|#

Totally OT, but how in the fuck can you charge someone with "contempt of Congress," and then refuse to allow them access to your supporting evidence during discovery by claiming separation of powers?

Link: here

Sure, Clemens is an asshole, but this sounds sketchy even by Congressional standards.

rather|2.12.11 @ 4:31PM|#

He needed to plead the fifth and then STFU. He made the mistake of answering a question.

hmm|2.12.11 @ 8:54PM|#

I'd take the contempt and not show up. You want me come get me. Then I'll plead the 5th and politely tell you where to go.

I wonder what the bar is for being compelled to appear before congress. I'm thinking baseball would be well below that hurdle. (I know I'm wrong, but dear god for my sanity I have to live in my own little bubble nad believe that.)

rather|2.12.11 @ 9:55PM|#

He had to appear but assert his fifth for EVERY question. Once you answered with ANYTHING OTHER than your right, you have abdicated your right to self-incrimination. IIRC, he did not have a lawyer present to whisper STFU in his ear.

hmm|2.12.11 @ 11:58PM|#

Failure to show is contempt... the post mentioned contempt, not the 5th. I don't think the 5th ceases to be a right after you answer any question.

rather|2.13.11 @ 12:23AM|#

I thought I mentioned the subpoena was binding but yes, if you look at the footage you see the other players repeatedly plead the fifth. You cannot 'selectively' plead to some questions and not others. I you initiate conversation, or answer questions it is considered 'extemporaneously' statements. Clemens mistake was not in using drugs but denying the use of drugs, ergo lying to Congress

ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, October 3rd, 2019:
An arbitrator ruled yesterday tha Officer John Doe, suspended for four days without pay back in February of 2012, was wrongfully punished.
The arbitrator has ordered that Officer Doe receive pay for the missing four days with interest and an apology from the City of Atlanta. The arbitrator then went beyond the initial claims of Officer Doe, reasoning that this upstanding figure would have received constant promotions which would have included raises and bonuses. He has asked the City of Atlanta to provide data on what Officer Doe would have earned if he had received every possible promotion from the last 7 years and provided a figure from the difference with what Officer Doe actually maid at that time. Punitive damages are still being considered. "There is no reason why Officer Doe could not have excelled and become Chief of Police", said the Arbitrator in his ruling...

|2.12.11 @ 4:01PM|#

Totally plausible.

JohnD|2.12.11 @ 9:39PM|#

The arbitrator needs his balls cut off. Stupid asshole.

|2.12.11 @ 4:16PM|#

In other news,
Des Moines Police 1, Dogs 0

Rock Action |2.12.11 @ 5:00PM|#

From the article: The complaint includes comments from the officers that can be heard on their dash cam videos, which the Wrights lawyer Adam Karp says indicate the officers priority was not to safely capture Rosie. “I say we just shoot him, kill him. He’s gonna fight like a (expletive deleted) once he’s tased; I can try to choke him out,” Graddon said, during the half an hour officers spent trying to catch Rosie before shooting her.

I'm surprised they didn't lose the recordings.

|2.12.11 @ 5:14PM|#

And with an unassisted goal, Coral Gables pushes the score to
Cops 2, Dogs 0

|2.12.11 @ 5:17PM|#

What makes this one even worse is the only person arrested was charged with "failure to follow lawful command." Nothing else, just failure to do what a cop tells you to.

Rock Action |2.12.11 @ 5:26PM|#

That's funny, but in this article at least there's witness debate about the shooting. Rosie just sounds like a Balko nut punch. "Hey -- troublesome dog taking up our time by getting loose. Give me my convenience. Let's shoot!"

|2.13.11 @ 5:45PM|#

Something about those words makes my skin crawl..
Maybe it's the military thing. 'Failure to follow a lawful order' if you fail to do as commanded by a superior. In my experience, 'lawful order' is the catch-all: 'you didn't do exactly what we wanted you to do, despite the blatant "unlawfulness" of the command'.

greenman|2.12.11 @ 4:55PM|#

Mayer Reed also announced last week the disbanding the thuggish Red Dog police squad. Real reform from a Democrat. He's also balancing the budget and pushing through pension reform. Reed deserves a ton of credit for doing so much in so little time.

|2.12.11 @ 5:28PM|#

I understand officers from the Red Dog unit will allowed to be in the new "elite unit replacing it. Only officers with sustained excessive force violations will be excluded.

Meet the new boss.
Same as the old boss

JohnD|2.12.11 @ 9:40PM|#

I'll wait to see if it really happens. The mayor is a moron.

|2.12.11 @ 5:21PM|#

Pastor employs Second Amendment strategy to stop asshat burglars. Police show up later to fill out the paperwork.

And dickhead city councils and mayors across the country want to take away this guy's right to defend himself, his church and his property.

Kolohe|2.12.11 @ 6:38PM|#

The [USNS] Impeccable, a submarine tracker/sky ship,

Wait we went back to sky ships?

Frickin awesome!

Hugh Akston|2.12.11 @ 8:01PM|#

How else would we defeat the Austro-Hungarians clockwork legions?

hmm|2.12.11 @ 9:12PM|#

low orbit ion cannons?

|2.12.11 @ 7:16PM|#

God damn, you are one loopy individual.

A quick google and it appears what we have here is one fucked up individual or one elaborate troll, I'm going with fucked up individual cause it's more fun.

rather|2.12.11 @ 10:01PM|#

Inspector Clouseau?

juris imprudent|2.12.11 @ 11:02PM|#

Troll. A fucked up individual would have the link to his blog under his handle.

Sovereign Immunity|2.13.11 @ 12:28AM|#

Or a her.

Rather|2.13.11 @ 12:47AM|#

SI,not me- for Christ sake do I sound like I'd vote for Ron Paul?

I'd admit to any posting too

Sovereign Immunity|2.13.11 @ 12:49AM|#

(Whoosh)

Rather|2.13.11 @ 12:56AM|#

my ass

|2.13.11 @ 6:33AM|#

But it has to be about ME, everything is about ME! ME! ME!

|2.13.11 @ 6:01PM|#

And heller, don't forget heller. He has his hands in everything! Everything mean anyone has ever said about me was really caused by him. Everyone else loves ME! ME! ME!

sevo|2.12.11 @ 10:37PM|#

HERCULE TRIATHLON SAVINIEN, there's some qualifying for the Daytona race on the tube tomorrow. I'd suggest you give it a look.

|2.13.11 @ 6:50AM|#

Hey look, I found his blog

|2.13.11 @ 3:58PM|#

Needs more /fic.

Apogee|2.12.11 @ 6:36PM|#

The settlement, which also calls for the city to pay $40,000 in damages, requires city council approval.

Thank God we have the government to approve the fines against government abuse.

Xenocles|2.13.11 @ 11:06AM|#

It's a settlement, not an order. It only makes sense that the government arm responsible for authorizing expenditures have the final approval on the settlement that its agent negotiated.

Colonel_Angus|2.12.11 @ 7:31PM|#

Is this like "the DEA will no longer raid licensed cannabis pharmacies"?

Eric Holder|2.12.11 @ 8:43PM|#

Not exactly.

hmm|2.12.11 @ 9:09PM|#

Next excuse, dogs committing suicide by cop.

SWAT|2.12.11 @ 10:05PM|#

If dogs stopped sniffing drugs, then we wouldn't have to shoot them

Mr Whipple|2.13.11 @ 4:09PM|#

What like Ralph and Herbie?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4M-RvNLHys

IceTrey|2.12.11 @ 10:21PM|#

They shouldn't give him four days off without pay, he should have to WORK for four days without pay.

rather|2.12.11 @ 11:20PM|#

I agree! They need to use the free work/no pay rule on physicians first

Sovereign Immunity|2.13.11 @ 12:29AM|#

No.

Rather|2.13.11 @ 12:42AM|#

come on-they don't need anymore money

Sovereign Immunity|2.13.11 @ 12:45AM|#

Who are you to decide how much money a person should earn? If you don't wish to contribute to a doctor's livelihood, eschew medical care.

Rather|2.13.11 @ 12:53AM|#

SI, I'm playing with you-I really don't think doctors should work for free but undoubtedly, medical services are too expensive and I do believe in price setting. I wrote about here

Sovereign Immunity|2.13.11 @ 12:59AM|#

Price controls don't work; you should stick with Femmes-N-Fisting or Jezebel. I'd prefer to sell out my femininity than read hysteric tripe. Tootles!

Rather|2.13.11 @ 1:02AM|#

Hmm, you would be surprised who reads my 'tripe', and I didn't say price controls either.

Rather|2.13.11 @ 1:06AM|#

Coward

Pickled Cunt|2.13.11 @ 12:15PM|#

Go douche yourself, you unclean hag.

|2.13.11 @ 6:52AM|#

Yeah SI, you'd be surprised how many masochists out there enjoy reading Rectal's santorum.

TallDave|2.13.11 @ 11:53AM|#

The problem is

1) consumers are insulated from cost decisions, so they have no incentive to shop on price, and producers no incentive to attempt to keep costs dowen
2) cartelization of medical services

It's one thing to say physicians can charge consumers what they like, another to say they can form a cartel and then launder their pricing through relatively price-opaque insurance reimbursement schemes that disconnect patients from pricing decisions.

OTOH, gov't price controls aren't the answer either. What we need is to restore price signals between consumers and producers.

Rather|2.13.11 @ 3:14PM|#

TallDave, the problem is that those who understand the systems' weakness still participate in it to the detriment of all others. Libertarians who speak a free market game don't choose to play it

|2.13.11 @ 3:47PM|#

No, the problem is that you don't understand what a free market is.

rather|2.13.11 @ 5:06PM|#

No the problem is the 'haves'refusing to acknowledge their entitlements are the problem

TallDave|2.13.11 @ 5:42PM|#

You can't really blame people for being rational actors. That isn't supposed to be a problem in a free market, but unfortunately the government:

1) created an employer tax incentive that had the unintended consequence of further insulating most consumers from price signals.
2) enacted Medicare and Medicaid in a way that does the same thing

So now the vast majority of the healthcare market is paid either by the government or through an employer health plan. If the gov't's system was voucher-based and people bought health care insurance privately the same way they buy other insurance, we'd see price signals start to work.

It's sort of ridiculous that in 2011 so many people still think health care and education are "too important" for the private sector and so they have to be run the way North Korea grows food, not the way Intel build computer chips or Google provides Internet services.

TallDave|2.13.11 @ 5:44PM|#

(It's not like insulation from cost decisions isn't something the market can sell you, it's just that the market charges you a premium for avoiding those decisions. Some fraction of people would not continue paying that premium if given the choice.)

rather|2.13.11 @ 8:45PM|#

You can't really blame people for being rational actors.

Not when they are not arguing to change the system

Rather|2.13.11 @ 5:49PM|#

What the fuck am I talking about? I don't even know anymore. Someone help me.

TallDave|2.13.11 @ 11:49AM|#

It's about damn time.

PantsFan|2.13.11 @ 1:25PM|#

say what you will, but I find HERCULE TRIATHLON SAVINIEN a refreshing change to heller and rectal's unresolved, belligerent sexual tension.

rathet|2.13.11 @ 3:34PM|#

Was HTS given the banhammer? It will be interesting to see which regular was inad'vertently banned along with him

|2.13.11 @ 3:52PM|#

Rectal, you didn't do your homework. Google the name and you'll see this guy has his own blog and comments at every major political blog. Although I too wish retards like you and HTS were a figment of some regular's imagination.

rather|2.13.11 @ 4:53PM|#

Helle, you spoof me al the time. If my fake posts were banhammered, you would disappear not me-it is by IP address

Rather|2.13.11 @ 5:50PM|#

I am heller, heller is me. We are One. We are the Borg.

|2.13.11 @ 5:54PM|#

Rectal, try to stay focussed on understanding the conversation here, instead of spouting non sequiturs. Put the crack pipe down, deary.

Anyway... you're an idiot if you continue to believe that I'm the only one spoofs you here. Actually you're an idiot regardless. Never mind.

Dullard|2.13.11 @ 7:07PM|#

I used to think "Rather" was the worst person here (not counting "Episiarch," of course, and maybe "SugarFree") but now I think it must be "heller." The end.

rather|2.13.11 @ 9:00PM|#

helle's a little boy-he can't help himself
Epi's an addict-he can't help himself
SugarFree's a bitch-no excuse there

|2.13.11 @ 10:16PM|#

Yawn, anonypussy, we hardly knew thee.

Zoology Sunday|2.13.11 @ 1:29PM|#

In Pennsylvania, the masked hunter lives in structures and feeds on species of bed bugs, carpet and hide beetle larvae, and a wide variety of overwintering insects in addition to other house-infesting arthropods. The masked hunters are nocturnal feeders spending the daylight hours in protected, dry locations such as under heat registers, under cabinets and cupboards, and inside wall voids and attics. There is normally one generation per year.

Some might consider the presence of the masked hunter, preying on other critters and reducing their numbers, as a positive household addition. They would be wrong. The masked hunter is not a reliable method of elimination for these other unwanted guests.

Furthermore, and by most accounts, the masked hunter will readily bite when mishandled or trapped between clothing and skin. The bite is described as being very painful. In 1899, USDA entomologist L. O. Howard described it thusly:

This species is remarkable for the intense pain caused by its bite. I do not know whether it ever willingly plunges its rostrum into any person, but when caught or unskillfully handled it always stings. In this case the pain is almost equal to that of the bite of a snake, and the swelling and irritation which result from it will sometimes last for a week. In very weak and irritable constitutions it may even prove fatal.

hmm|2.13.11 @ 1:42PM|#

A someone who knows retarded well, this thread went retarded with the quickness.

hmm|2.13.11 @ 1:59PM|#

Off topic:

Disclaimer: I haven't had the time or energy to dig through the 10-Q's but someone @ Mises was listing companies that have listed material cost as increasing and a threat in the last batch of companies reporting.

A few companies that reported quarterly earnings this month and cited higher materials costs as a major problem:
Pepsi
Coach
Kellogs
Sara Lee
Avon
Northrop Grumman
Coors
Sysco
Constellation Energy

Might be interesting to start digging around looking for inflation signals in company reports. Not that anyone with a brain needs anymore evidence.

Mr Whipple|2.13.11 @ 3:17PM|#

Are you suggesting the Bernank doesn't have a brain?

I could while away the hours, conferrin' with the flowers
Consultin' with the rain.
And my head I'd be scratchin' while
my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain.
I'd unravel every riddle for any individ'le,
In trouble or in pain.

With the thoughts you'll be thinkin'
you could be another Lincoln
If you only had a brain.

Oh, I could tell you why The ocean's near the shore.
I could think of things I never thunk before.
And then I'd sit, and think some more.
I would not be just a nothin' my head all full of stuffin'
My heart all full of pain.
I would dance and be merry, life would be a ding-a-derry,
If I only had a brain.

hmm|2.13.11 @ 5:06PM|#

I'm sure he's a very smart man. And as history has proven more than one very smart man has completely fucked things up for others.

The Truth|2.13.11 @ 2:04PM|#

WTF is wrong with HTS? Is s/he/it on drugs?

Is it some spam bot that became self-aware by scanning political blogs?

|2.13.11 @ 3:46PM|#

Isn't he your alter-ego? One is obsessed with China, the other Israel... split personality type thing. The writing style is so similar...

The Truth|2.13.11 @ 3:59PM|#

Go fuck yourself.

|2.13.11 @ 4:06PM|#

I like you're other personality better.

fuck off|2.13.11 @ 5:47PM|#

funny, I hate both of yours-try a third

|2.13.11 @ 5:57PM|#

Congratulations, Inspector Rectal you've solved yet another mystery! All trolls here are spoofs, mostly by me. All except for Inspector Rectal of course. Brilliant.

Put down the crack pipe deary.

Pickled Cunt|2.13.11 @ 5:59PM|#

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Go douche yourself, you unclean vaginal waste.

|2.13.11 @ 3:11PM|#

I'm sure you will be astonished to learn ~~Frank Rich~~ Roger Elizabeth de Bris deems the Presidential inquiry into Depression 2.0 to be a miserable failure.

"Why?" you ask. Because the blame was not laid squarely (and exclusively) on the shoulders of evil predatory bankers. Profiteering scum, they are, wrecking the very foundations of American society.

Rather|2.13.11 @ 4:08PM|#

^ READ MY NEW BLOG ^

hmm|2.13.11 @ 5:05PM|#

le no.

fuck off|2.13.11 @ 5:45PM|#

helle and thanks for commenting on my blog yesterday :-)

|2.13.11 @ 5:58PM|#

Another fucking brilliant observation by Inspector Rectal! Got anymore revelations? It's almost like you do all my spoofing of you for me.

rather|2.13.11 @ 6:41PM|#

helle, do you still want proof? Can I post it here?
http://rctlfy.wordpress.com/20.....-password/

rather|2.13.11 @ 8:16PM|#

waiting baby

|2.13.11 @ 10:18PM|#

Waiting for that cucumber to pickle? Still got a few days left...

|2.13.11 @ 10:21PM|#

If you had proof you'd post it here. Obviously you're just trying to get me to click on your dumbass blog. Fuck off you desperate whore.

Rather|2.13.11 @ 10:42PM|#

I'll put-up and you can shut-up..... or be the little boy you are.
It's under the password post

|2.14.11 @ 5:35PM|#

What the fuck are you talking about? I'm not going on your dumbass "blog," you mentally stunted whore.

|2.13.11 @ 5:59PM|#

Put the crack pipe down deary.

Pickled Cunt|2.13.11 @ 6:01PM|#

You still haven't douched yourself, you foul odor posing as a human being.

PantsFan|2.13.11 @ 7:01PM|#

must you two defile every thread with your unholy lovemaking?

|2.13.11 @ 7:09PM|#

[sigh]

Yes.

|2.13.11 @ 10:19PM|#

Don't look at me, Pickled Cunt is on his own.

Paul Krugman|2.13.11 @ 4:19PM|#

How many times do I have to tell you people?

THERE IS NO INFLATION!!

Paul Krugman|2.13.11 @ 5:30PM|#

Or structural unemployment. Or a housing crisis brought on by left-wing policies designed to make housing affordable by hiding risk.

In fact, the only problem this economy has is that the government isn't spending enough.

MNG|2.13.11 @ 7:40PM|#

"Or a housing crisis brought on by left-wing policies designed to make housing affordable by hiding risk."

Left-wing fanatcis like Randian Alan Greenspan and George W. "Ownership Society" Bush?

hmm|2.13.11 @ 8:23PM|#

There's plenty of blame for all lefty.

|2.13.11 @ 8:30PM|#

Bush was no conservative on economic matters. But yes, there is plenty of blame to go around, as no one outside of the fringe (Ron Paul, etc) had a problem with those policies.

MNG|2.13.11 @ 9:00PM|#

Yeah, the guy who vetoed SCHIP was no conservative on economic matters. Sure.

Really?|2.13.11 @ 10:48PM|#

vetoing SCHIP may be a necessary, but is certainly not a sufficient, condition to call a person an "economic conservative".

"Yeah, the guy who pimped hard for and subsequently signed Medicare Part D was an economic conservative. Sure."

"Yeah, the guy...No Child Left Behind."

hmm|2.13.11 @ 11:11PM|#

Could not deflate his boogyman. Do you know how hard it is to find a good boogyman?

SIV|2.13.11 @ 11:47PM|#

I consider that Bush's most shining accomplishment. There was something else too, but I'll have to think on it...

The lowest point was of course TARP
“I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system,”

|2.13.11 @ 8:33PM|#

Selfless Australian public servant gets put on the barbie for looking at boobs at home:

The public servant, from the Commonwealth Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, was sacked after a software program, called Spector360, was set up by the department to catch any use of the word "knockers".
Advertisement: Story continues below

The program, which takes a snapshot of a user's desktop every 30 seconds, was then used to unearth the internet history of the man with a 25-year career with the public service. It uncovered his usage even though he had deleted his browser history.

This is why public workers need a union!

|2.14.11 @ 6:04AM|#

That sucks. Now.....if you just hadn't referred to him as a "selfless public servant", I would have been much more sympathetic.

Sovereign Immunity|2.14.11 @ 6:31AM|#

Rubbish. The poor dolt was using a computer issued by someone else. Even in this country, courts have ruled if one uses an electronic device issued by a company or government, expectations of privacy go out the window. He should have a personally purchased 'puter dedicated to pursue whatever interests he has. The argument that he was using a private ISP is a red herring.

Public sector unions should be abolished.

yankees hats|5.19.11 @ 10:00PM|#

Now they've not only abandoned the pretext of following the constitution, they openly mock the notion of constitutional government. And "they" in this case includes the Supreme Court as a group - which is pretty scary since they are the last gatekeeper for constitutional authority.