The Saga Continues: Palin kinda sorta agrees to participate in Troopergate investigation.

Hopefully It'll Give Us Superpowers Instead of Cancer: EPA opts not to clean up water in 35 states contaminated by rocket fuel ingredient.

Salt Is the New Oil: Salt shortage, cost increases could make for an icier winter.

Sonic Boon: City budget director wants to put Sonics settlement towards Key Arena debt.

Magnolia's Gonna Be Pissed: City pushes forward with plan for homeless housing in Fort Lawton.

Squirrels Are Next: Alaskan biologists declare war on rat population.

Death From Above: Scottish farmers claim recently reintroduced eagles are stealing, killing hundreds of lambs.

Before the Seattle Police Officers Guild can renegotiate its contract with the city in 2010, the City Council and Office of Professional Accountability Review Board (OPARB) will hold a public hearing on police accountability to allow the public to voice concerns about the department.

Earlier today, council passed a bill which will require OPARB and the council to hold public hearings 90 days before the city and the guild begin contract negotiations. The hearings won't necessarily have a direct effect on future contracts, but it'll certainly give any victims of misconduct a very public forum to air their grievances before the city signs off on another fat pay raise.

A Likely Story:Palin now claims Troopergate firing was over budgetary disagreements.

Checking Out: At least 53 dead in Pakistan hotel bombing.

Assassination Vacation: US military on the lookout for hit squads in Iraq.

China Syndrome: 12,000 Chinese babies poisoned by tainted milk.

Minor Offenses: Arkansas church compound raided in child porn investigation.

Dumped: Report says EPA is allowing toxic material to be shipped overseas.

Welcome to the New World Odor: Israeli police develop stink bomb for crowd control.

Good Thing You Weren't Carbon Dating!Scientists check Stonehenge's ID, find out it's younger than it looks.

Check back all week long for McCain and Palin's Greatest Hits:

Hey, they don't just draw blood! Some local pit bulls are giving blood.

And in other pit bull news... three pit bulls maul six year-old boy in Chicago; cops kill two to get the dogs off the boy, the third dog escaped. Woman in Seattle attacked by pit bull, escapes with only a damaged sweatshirt. Loose pit bull attacks woman walking her dog in Indiana. "He's normally so well behaved," says owner of pit bull that mauled another dog to death in Ontario. Police in New Jersey searching for owner of pit bull that attacked five children in a playground during recess. In New York a pit bull breaks through a door to get at a four year-old boy; boy currently hospitalized with serious facial injuries. Owners of three pit bulls that mauled a woman to death on Christmas day to face charges of "letting dangerous dogs run loose," which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison. Pit-on-pit violence comes to Omaha. And in Nevada...

They have the reputation of being a vicious animal. And just last week, a little girl died after being attacked. Pit Bulls cause big controversy and now, more than ever, local shelters are having a difficult time finding homes for them.

And in the interests of fairness and balance: pit bull saves man from house fire in Missouri. But, hey, who set the fire?

Seattle Police have closed off East Union Street between 27th and Martin Luther King Way after a cyclist collided with an open car door.

According to Seattle Fire Department Spokeswoman Dana Vander Houwen, the cyclist, a 22-year-old was taken to Harborview with non-life threatening injuries.

SPD spokesman Mark Jamieson says he doesn't know when the street will reopen.

In this week's online edition, eight Stranger writers consider the Washington Mutual meltdown: What it means, the pro and cons of converting your cash to gold, and whether this might be a good time to panic.

Jonathan Golob on where it all went wrong:

Then the housing bubble popped and some of those "top-rated" loans were no longer getting paid. Worse, it became impossible to sort out the good top-rated debt from the bad top-rated debt, because the banks collected so little information. WaMu—like many other financial organizations that invested in these "safe" investments—can only sell these mortgage-backed investments for pennies on what it paid. Our money, to an unknown extent, is gone.

Bethany Jean Clement on leaving WaMu forever:

I began to hate you, Washington Mutual. I said that I would like to close my account and that I was pressed for time three separate times. I said that I did not want to continue this conversation. You became increasingly agitated, and you browbeat me, intimating that I did not understand financial matters and saying that I was being "rash." I did not say, "Would you say that to a man?" But would you, Washington Mutual? You did not say it to Tim Keck, the publisher of this paper, when he closed his account the day before I did. Mr. Keck was neither rash nor emotional: He was merely a man who wanted his money.

Eli Sanders on his sentimental attachment to Washington Mutual:

I know now that this business of storing money probably shouldn't be about mushy sentiment. But it's hard for me not to be sentimental about Washington Mutual. The place treated me like an adult when I was a kid. It respected me—even when all I had to offer were inconsequential sums and a financial legitimacy that only existed because of my mom's guarantee.

Plus Dominic Holden on whether credit unions are safer, Jen Graves on why there's no reason for panic, Dan Savage on his shitty mortgage, Charles Mudede on the failure of neoliberal policy,and me on why poverty is the best defense.

Seattle Police arrested a 35-year-old man for indecent exposure at Green Lake Park on Monday afternoon after a woman caught the man beating off in the bushes.

According to the police report, the woman hid behind a tree and called police while she watched the man masturbate. While on the phone, the woman told police she "thought that [the man] had some kind of flesh-colored realistic-looking phony penis strapped to his genitals."

The woman also told police she recognized the man who, according a police report, had masturbated in front of the woman and her daughter near the Green Lake Community Center three days earlier.

Officers arrived and contacted the man, who produced a dildo from his pants told police that he only had it "to make it look like he did have a large real penis through his tight fitting pants."

Police arrested the man and confiscated his dildo. The report says the man has a prior conviction for indecent exposure.

FEMA to hurricane victims: No ice for you!!

(Bonus quote: "This isn't for their gin and tonics. This is for people who are extremely sensitive to heat, and ice has a huge impact on their health and safety."--Elise Hough, CEO of the Houston chapter of United Cerebal Palsy)

[Image via Weather Channel.]

The Rat City Rollergirls have, by default, won a trademark dispute with the Starbucks corporation, and will not have to change their logo.

Back in May, Starbucks raised concerns that the roller derby team's logo has a "very similar look and feel" to the Starbucks logo.

According to the RCR's attorney, Quinn Heraty, Starbucks never filed an official objection to the Rollergirls' logo, and their trademark inquiry has been terminated.

A local group working to ban pit bulls in Seattle has nixed its plan for a citizen initiative after receiving threatening emails from pit bull lovers.

You've heard that people sometimes look like their dogs, right? Well, it appears that pit bulls also share some aggressive, nasty traits with their owners.

Here are a few choice comments sent to members of Families and Dogs Against Fighting Breeds (FDAFB) and Dogsbite.org:

"You should be publicly executed for your actions against our beloved pets."

"You all ought to be neutered"

We forwarded your information, address, name, Myspace blog, etc to the Seattle FBI because you could be one of those AR {Ed note: Animal Rights?] terrorist type[s]

This comment was also left on dogsbite.org, under the name of a member of Families Against Breed Bans (FABB), after dogsbite.org linked a story I wrote about a pit bull owned by a FABB member that attacked another dog, which I posted on Slog last week.

The FALSE information you posted will seal our case. Again, our attorney is Allen Ressler of Ressler &Tesh. NO CITATION WAS filed against FAITH [Hynoski, co-owner of the pit bull that attacked another dog, and wife of Joel Hynoski, who was named in the citation] ..check the record. You are GOING DOWN.

The citation ... is being Contested.

One person's account of an alleged event does not make the info you posted true. See you in court.

Adorable, aren't they?

These are the same people who are defending animals that, as Dan mentioned earlier, mauled a 6-year-old boy in Moses Lake on Friday night.

According to the AP:

The boy was bitten on the face and head before the mother and other relatives pulled the dog off.

An aunt, Alissa Gonzales, says doctors reattached the boy's nose and ears. He faces more surgeries.

But wait, there's more:

In the last week or two, pit bulls also did this:

Alfred Roberts was walking his wife's service dog, Vinny, an English Labrador, when it was attacked. Roberts said that [a pit bull] charged and latched onto Vinny's throat. Roberts tried to beat the pit bull with his cane as bystanders came to help.

A police officer who was inside the restaurant eventually sprayed the pit bull with Mace, but it did not deter the dog. One of the bystanders used a fire extinguisher to stop the attack,

And this:

An 82-year-old woman is hospitalized after being seriously injured in a pit bull attack in Hasbrouck Heights.

Police say Stella Torti was hurt while trying to protect her own small dog, a Shih Tzu, from the larger animal.

Which led to this:

Someone broke into the Bergen County animal shelter overnight and snatched up a pit bull that had attacked an 82-year-old woman in Hasbrouck Heights hours earlier

Pit bull lovers absolutely refuse to admit that their beloved animals are dangerous.

They'll tell you that irresponsible owners were responsible for these attacks.

They'll tell you all dogs are dangerous, but according to statistics from the Seattle Animal Shelter, pit bulls are responsible for twice as many bites as any other breed.

Legislation isn't likely to happen anytime soon—the city council's gearing up to work on the budget, so issues like this tend to get pushed to the side—but if you want to see these fucking monster dogs regulated, call council member Jean Gooden, who will be meeting with breed ban activists soon.

From the Seattle Times:

The cancer patient who was mauled by puppies in his Parkland home last month has died in a Shelton nursing home.

Mason County Coroner Wes Stockwell says autopsy results are still pending for 55-year-old Michael Warner, who died on Friday.... Warner was dropped off at a hospital about a month ago. Doctors called the police who arrested his daughter and another women for investigation of criminal mistreatment.... Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer says it appears that more than 20 dogs were left in Warner's home and not fed. Troyer says some of the puppies used Warner as a food source.

But what kind of puppies were they? Evil pit bull puppies that eat cancer patients for fun? Or cute lab puppies that eat cancer patients because they have no choice?

UPDATE: Mystery solved! Pit bull puppies! So cute!

...but that won't stop it from tearing a six year-old to shreds.

This story is highly ironic, says Slog tipper Brooks.

The majestic grizzly bear, once king of the Western wilderness but threatened with extinction for a third of a century, has roared back in Montana.

The finding, from a $4.8 million, five-year study of grizzly bear DNA mocked by Republican presidential candidate John McCain as pork barrel spending, could help ease restrictions on oil and gas drilling, logging and other development.

Seattle Police detective Ron Smith and four other members of the Iron Pigs motorcycle club—made up of firefighters law enforcement officers—have pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor firearms violations related to an August 9th shooting at a biker rally in Sturgis, South Dakota.

On Monday, the Meade County prosecutor dropped assault charges against Smith, who is a high ranking member of the Seattle Police Officers Guild.

The prosecutor also dismissed a perjury charge against Smith on September 5th.

If information on the Sturgis Police Department's website is correct, Smith's firearms charge isn't likely to stick either as, according to the the site, law enforcement officers are exempt from state firearm regulations:

(Apologies for the legal mumbo jumbo)

Can I carry a firearm in South Dakota if I have a firearms permit in my state? Pursuant to SDCL 23-7-7.3 the Attorney General and the Secretary of State are currently working on reciprocity agreements for concealed weapons permits with a number of states. SDCL 23-7-7.3 provides:

The attorney general shall compare South Dakota permit issuance statutes with the permit issuance statutes in states with which reciprocity is sought or requested in order to determine whether the laws of the other state meet or exceed the requirements of this chapter for the issuance of a permit. The secretary of state may enter into reciprocity agreements with other states after the attorney general has notified the secretary of state that the other states' laws meet or exceed the provisions of this chapter.

Note to Law Enforcement Officers:

On Thursday, July 22, 2004, the President signed into law H.R. 218, the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004," which exempts qualified active and retired law enforcement officers from State laws that prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms.

The Seattle Police Department has apparently pulled a number of pager-sized wearable cameras, which officers had been testing, after the Seattle Police Officers Guild complained that the cameras violated the guild's current contract. "The city never negotiated it with us. We fired off a...cease and desist [letter] and told the city we’d file an unfair labor practice," says Guild president Rich O'Neil. "They’ve pulled them. Command staff has assured me they’re back in a box."

I wrote about the personal cameras—dreamed up by a few former Seattle cops—back in February.

According to O'Neil, officers used the cameras to monitor a Critical Mass ride on August 29th, one month after a violent clash between cyclists and a motorist.

Vievu, the company that produces the cameras, has pushed them as a way to exonerate officers from false misconduct accusations. Although the cameras could potentially benefit officers just as much as the public, O'Neil says the city would need to bargain with the Guild to put the cameras on officers and on the streets.
"I personally have an objection to it but I know that’s where the world is going," he says. "Everybody deserves a little privacy. I can imagine the first time somebody forgets to turn it off before they go in the john."

When asked why testing the cameras is any different from having officers test new Segway units, O'Neil said that "a Segway couldn’t get you disciplined."

The Seattle Police Department could not be reached for comment this afternoon.

Might as well get it up on Slog...

...with their bare knees, shoulders, lyrcra-clad thighs, etc.

Leaders of South Williamsburg's Hasidic community said yesterday that bike lanes that bring scantily clad cyclists—especially sexy women—peddling through their neighborhood are definitely not kosher.

The red-faced religious sect is calling on city officials to eliminate the car-free lanes on Wythe and Bedford avenues, and to delay construction of a new one planned for Kent Avenue.

"I have to admit, it's a major issue, women passing through here in that dress code," Simon Weisser, a member of Community Board 1 in Williamsburg-Greenpoint, told The Post.

The Hasidic community wants the bike lanes removed because, you see, members of their sect are "forbidden from looking at members of the opposite sex who aren't fully dressed," according to one member of the Hasidic community quoted by the NY Post.

It never hurts to be reminded that membership in the American Taliban isn't restricted to batshit evangelical Christians, I suppose. But someone needs to let the Hasidic community know that other New Yorkers are free to ride their bikes where they please. If you're not supposed to look at members of the opposite sex who aren't fully clothed, avert your freakin' eyes.

Thanks to Slog tipper Durbin.

The PI's David Horsey:

Although pit bulls have been banned from other cities and from entire states, Seattle's political "leadership" wants to be fair and not judge one breed more harshly than another, even if that breed has been responsible for more than a fifth of all dog bite incidents in the city while making up a mere four percent of the total canine population. Actually, that statisitic is outdated. The latest count reveals that, in 2008, pit bulls have been involved in half of all biting incidents. Can anyone still claim these dogs are not in a category all their own? ...

Can someone explain why the rest of us should have to live with that kind of risk just so a few of our neighbors can have a particular kind of pet? I'm sure plenty of pit bull owners are well-meaning, but I cannot help but think that a lot of them are sort of like the people who insist on their need to keep assault rifles in the house. For these people, there is an allure to owning a thing that is so potentially dangerous. It must make them feel especially masterful and imposing. Their testosterone level must get a real spike from the possession of something that is frightening to more timid souls. Frankly, though, I'd rather my neighbor had an assault rifle than a pit bull. An assault rifle can be locked away or hung on a wall and it's not going to wander off down the street and pull its own trigger.

The Sioux City, Iowa, city council voted unanimously yesterday to ban pit bulls in that city.

Around 3:30 this morning, two men entered the Lusty Lady strip club [EDITOR'S NOTE: ECB POINTS OUT THAT THE LUSTY LADY IS A PEEP SHOW, NOT A STRIP CLUB], pulled a gun on the front desk clerk and demanded cash.

SPD spokesman Mark Jamieson says the men forced the employee into the back of the club and then took money from a cash register. Jamieson was not able to say how much money was taken.

A Lusty Lady employee called police, but the suspects were gone by the time officers arrived. No one was injured during the robbery.

SPD Robbery detectives are investigating.

King County prosecutors have filed felony harassment charges against a Seattle man for threatening a fellow member of the Idris Mosque in Northgate last month.

According to court documents filed on September 11th, the accused, Khalid Bouhdili, had been confrontational with other members of the mosque for about a year and had tried to “usurp leadership” of the mosque’s prayer services and “enforce his ‘radical’ views on the rest of the mosque’s attendees.”

Records say Bouhdili unsuccessfully attempted to take over the leadership of several prayer sessions at the mosque on July 12 and 14. On his second attempt, according to the documents, the victim—who we're not naming—confronted him.

During the confrontation, court documents say, Bouhdili began yelling that the victim was wearing “non-Islamic clothes” and accused the man of being an FBI agent and “an enemy of the Prophet’s tradition.” Bouhdili then left the mosque, yelling, “The end of your life is near!”

One week later, Bouhdili returned to the mosque, again accused the victim of being an FBI agent, and attempted to take over another prayer session. According to the court filing, the victim subsequently contacted police, fearful that Bouhdili would “follow-through on what he construed as a…death threat.”

According to the victim, in conservative Islam, calling someone an “enemy of the Prophet” is considered a “death sentence” that “allow[s] and even encourage[s] anybody to kill the named ‘enemy’”

King County prosecutors have issued a warrant for Bouhdili’s arrest.

This just in:

A 4-month-old girl was fatally mauled today by her family's two pit bulls, according to the North Las Vegas Fire Department. The grandmother who was babysitting the child was also bitten when she tried to save her, Capt. Cedric Williams said.

"Somehow the dogs got inside the house," Williams said. "They were the family pets.".

The police had to shoot and kill the dogs to get 'em off the kid and her grandmother. Nice pets.

Jesus.

Residents in one area of the Texas coastline have been warned they must evacuate before the arrival of Hurricane Ike or "face certain death."

The storm has already killed more than 70 people in the Caribbean, with Haiti and Cuba particularly badly hit.

Partial Reprieve: Edmonds school district students who fall behind on lunch payments to get milk with their cold cheese sandwich.

Success!: Bush administration declares bin Laden was not the "mastermind" of 9/11, and that the bad guy is already in jail. War on Terrorism: Won!

In the Water: Drugs are in drinking water of at least 46 million Americans.

Yikes: Coastal areas of Texas evacuated in anticipation of Hurricane Ike.

Tax-and-spend: McCain wants workers to pay tax on employer-provided health care coverage.

"Cocky wacko": Palin, according to Lincoln Chafee.

Dirty Tricks: Michigan GOP seeks to disenfranchise (mostly black) voters whose houses have been foreclosed.

Elitist: Photos surface of McCain celebrating his 70th birthday on yacht of convicted felon Raffaello Follieri.

Whiner: Palin asks "Purpose Driven Life" author Rick Warren to "send her some Bible verses on how do you deal with the unfair, unjust attacks and the mean-spirited criticism that comes in."

Well, That Seems Reasonable: As WaMu stock tanks, new CEO gets $20 million pay package.

Taking the Lead: New Zealand adopts cap-and-trade system.

Meh: Burner releases economic plan built around middle-class tax cuts, "fiscal discipline."

Recipe of the Day: Braised Romano Beans (recipe and photo via Smitten Kitchen)

Continue reading "The Morning News" »

According to records from animal control, a pit bull belonging to one of the founders of Families Against Breed Bans (FABB) attacked another dog last Sunday at the grand opening of a pet store in Phinney Ridge.

"There [were] over 100 dogs through here on the weekend. We only had one incident," says Nadja Chorba, owner of the Zak and Zoe pet store. Chorba says members of FABB had been invited to the store to talk about breed bans and educate the public about pit bulls. Then, Chorba says, the pit bull "decided he was unhappy at the moment" and attacked another dog. "There weren’t any loud noises" or anything else that would have startled the pit bull, Chorba says.

In an email, the owner of the yellow Labrador, Sam, that was attacked, claims that the pit bull belonging to the FABB founder "turned violently on [Sam] and locked his jaws on Sam's neck." Sam's owner called the incident "an unprovoked attack."

Animal control was called and the pitbull's owner received a $269 citation.

The owner of the pit bull could not be reached for comment.

Photo via FABBseattle.com

A jury has acquitted Michael Lujan of obstruction and pedestrian interference charges filed against him following a violent altercation with police officers in the University District last year.

From my November 2007 story:

According to the police report, Michael Lujan, 26, and Mark Hays, 36, crossed out into traffic on 45th Street, right in front of an unmarked police SUV. When Lujan approached the vehicle, the driver—Sergeant Shane Anderson—instructed the men that they were "committing the crime of pedestrian interference." According to the report, Lujan and Hays walked away making "disparaging remarks" about the police. Officers—all members of one of the SPD's elite Anti-Crime Teams—ordered the men to halt. Lujan and Hays ran, but one officer was able to grab Lujan. Moments later, the officer was tackled by Hays and all three men tumbled to the ground.

In February, a jury convicted Mark Hays—the man on the ground in the video—of assaulting an officer.

^{Oil Field Girls, Jerry Bywaters, 1940.}

ECB already mentioned this government/big oil corruption scandal in the morning news, but it's worth quoting from—it sounds like an HBO miniseries waiting to be written:

As Congress prepares to debate expansion of drilling in taxpayer-owned coastal waters, the Interior Department agency that collects oil and gas royalties has been caught up in a wide-ranging ethics scandal — including allegations of financial self-dealing, accepting gifts from energy companies, cocaine use and sexual misconduct... The reports portray a dysfunctional organization that has been riddled with conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior and a free-for-all atmosphere for much of the Bush administration’s watch.

Sock it to 'em, New York Times.

Not only did the officials—at this federal agency which is only second to taxes in its revenue collection—accept big gifts and bribes "costing taxpayers billions," but:

The investigation also concluded that several of the officials “frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives.”

Can you see the sex scenes? Snorting drugs and humping on a board-room table? The government actually in bed with oil interests?

Drill, baby, drill!

Seattle Polce are investigating a murder in Beacon Hill after a man was found shot to death earlier this morning.

At 12 50 this morning, someone flagged down a patrol officer on the 700 block of S. Dearborn and told the officer there was an injured man in The Jungle, a wooded area on the northwest side of Beacon Hill near I-5, dotted with homeless encampments.

Police found the man—on an access road near the 1100 block of South Atlantic Street—dead from an apparent gunshot wound to the chest.

Officers searched the area but were unable to find any suspects.

Impasse: Boeing expects strike to last at least 30 days.

Impasse Broken: Bellevue school district won't seek injunction against striking teachers.

Scandal: Oil agency gone wild!

In Pakistan: Bush said to have authorized raids without Pakistani government approval.

Hillary: May have been a better VP choice, according to Biden.

"Lipstick on a Pig": OK to use on Hillary, but not Palin/McCain?

9/11: Seven years old today.

Still Lying: Palin and Bush still repeating "Bridge to Nowhere" fabrication.

Equal Pay: McCain may oppose it, but he "supports the concept."

Bully for Them: Workers with professional degrees, such as doctors and lawyers, were the only group to see their earnings increase during the most recent economic expansion.

Palin: Quoted author so anti-Semitic he was booted from the journal of the far-right John Birch Society.

Rossi: Women's right to health care no more important than choosing "favorite brand of soda."

No Hot Lunch for You: Edmonds denies kids hot lunches if they're more than $10 in debt to school

Recipe of the Day: Heirloom Tomato & Crouton Salad with Persian Cucumber, Sweet Peppers, BasilImmaeatchu

The PI:

Starting Thursday, Seattle motorists and residents can sound off in person about eight proposed options for replacing the downtown part of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Public open houses are scheduled in three neighborhoods, all in the early evening hours.

Those dogs are, um, even more dangerous than I thought...

Pit bulls "tag-teamed" victim, 71

Thanks to Slog tipper Jube.

God's Will: McCain endorses Palin's view that God wants the US to win the war in Iraq.

All in the Family: Palin fired aide who dated wife of Todd Palin's close friend.

Shifting Tactics: US increases use of Predator drone planes in search for bin Laden in western Pakistan.

"Greatly Exaggerated": Reports of Steve Jobs' death, according to Jobs.

"Uppity": Black MSNBC reporter, according to Georgia Republican candidate.

Deja Vu: City, county and state seek residents' input on Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement options.

Neat: Scientists attempt to replicate Big Bang.

Broken Record: Arctic ice loss in August likely to smash previous record.

Buyers' Market: Seattle home prices drop 14.5 percent, to a median of $428,500.

Blame Brad Owen: Lieutenant governor ruled in favor of initiative requiring legislative supermajority to raise taxes, an issue Senate Democrats are now arguing before the state supreme court.

Recipe of the Day: Tomato Jam (recipe via New York Times; photo via Spin Spin on Flickr)

Continue reading "The Morning News" »

Special late-morning edition, because Slog mysteriously buried my original Morning News post, scheduled for 8:00 this morning.

Out: WaMu CEO Kerry Killinger, on the heels of plummeting stock prices and losses from bad mortgages.

In: CASA Latina breaks ground in Central District.

Struggling: Obama campaign seeks to gain financial advantage over publicly financed McCain.

Holding Steady: Troop levels in Iraq, at least until Bush leaves office.

18 Million Cra... Never Mind: NY Times refers to nonexistent Clinton-Palin feud as "cat fight."

God's Law: Evangelicals seek to overturn ban on endorsing from the pulpit.

Struggling: Airlines projected to lose $5.2 billion this year.

Tell Us What You Really Think: Condoleezza Rice offers "less than hearty endorsement" of Sarah Palin, noting, "she's a governor of a state here in the United States."

Hmm: Bush taps McCain's 2000 finance committee chair to rescue bailed-out mortgage buyer Fannie Mae.

That Little Old Lady Must Have Provoked Those Dogs Somehow: Elderly woman mauled by pit bulls in SeaTac.

Increasing: Anti-Semitic incidents in Britain.

Declining: US demand for bottled water.

A Robot Could Generate Better Cliches: So why does Maureen Dowd still have a column?

Recipe of the Day: Tomato Gratin (photo and recipe via We Are Never Full)

Continue reading "Morning News" »

Twenty four little hours ago the cover of the PI featured a story about poor, misunderstood pit bull owners and their poor, misunderstood pets. The cover of this morning's PI features an another pit bull story. Here's the headline:

Pit bulls turn woman's morning routine into horror: 71-year-old victim healing; dogs shot dead by officers

The mauled woman—who must have done something to provoke those dogs (considering the number of elderly people attacked by pits, being elderly should probably be regarded as a provocation)—has "severe bite wounds and lacerations all over her body." And the owners of the two dead dogs are making all the usual excuses:

The owner, identified by his son and a neighbor as Travis Cunningham, had owned the dogs about three years, said Cunningham's 18-year-old son, T.J. One of the females was the mother of the other dogs, two males and a female, T.J. said.

"They've never been aggressive," T.J. Cunningham said. "I understand (the deputies) were doing their jobs. I just don't know why they had to take all the dogs."

...

James Stine, a neighbor and a co-worker of Travis Cunningham, said that he had never seen the dogs show aggression toward people. Stine said the dogs were gentle and playful and had even been in the company of small children without trouble. "They were really well-trained and well-behaved," Stine said. "They were playful and would lick you silly. That's why I was so surprised when I heard what happened."

Such good dogs! So well-behaved! But here's what the police found when they showed up:

The deputy saw the two white pit bulls atop a person underneath the porch landing of the yellow, two-story house... "The dogs were tugging and pulling on the person, and there was a large amount of blood," sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart said. "When the deputy approached, one of the dogs looked up and his mouth was covered in blood."

The deputy pulled a gun and shot the dogs—good for the deputy.

Back to pit bull "activists": the breed's apologists insist that there's no such thing as a bad pit bull, only bad pit bull owners. So a pit bull that hasn't attacked—yet—is a good dog, a well-trained dog, and well-behaved dog. And when a pit bull does attack, well, that's all the evidence you need that this particular dog must have had bad owners. In other words, heads-I-win (the pit bull argument), tails-you-lose (a great deal of blood, a limb, a child, your life).

De Reuters:

A French judge has ordered two departments and seven prominent members of the Church of Scientology in France to stand trial on charges of organized fraud. The case is the latest in a series of legal battles that have pitted the French judicial system against the Scientologists, who could be forced to stop their activities in France if found guilty.

The latest suit centers on a complaint made in 1998 by a woman who said she was enrolled into the Church of Scientology by a group of people she met outside a metro station. In the following months, she said she paid 140,000 francs (21,340 euros) for "purification packs" and books which she said were a fraud. Other complaints then surfaced, prolonging the investigation.

Judge Jean-Christophe Hullin ruled that the Scientologists' Celebrity Center, bookstore and seven Church leaders should be tried for fraud and "illegally practicing as pharmacists."

This isn't the Hubbardites' first problem in France:

The Church of Scientology has faced numerous setbacks in France, with members convicted of fraud in Lyon in 1997 and Marseille in 1999. In 2002, a court fined it for violating privacy laws and said it could be dissolved if involved in similar cases.

Hourra! Le séjour s'est accordé...

Seattle Police shut down the southbound lane of 12th Avenue East—between Jefferson and Remington Court—near Seattle University earlier this morning after a motorist and a cyclist collided.

The cyclist, a 32-year-old man, was headed southbound on 12th when he collided with a northbound Chevy Blazer as the driver turned left into a gas station parking lot.

The cyclist was transported to Harborview where he is listed in serious condition. According to SPD spokesman Mark Jamieson, the cyclist was not wearing a helmet.

SPD interviewed and released the driver, a 45-year-old man. Jamieson says the driver told police he didn't see the cyclist.

12th Ave was reopened around 11:30 AM.

Crisis Averted?: Feds bailsout Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Power of Prayer: Sarah Palin's church believes it can convert the gays.

Vetting: Robert Reich tells you how it's done.

Convention Bounce: Gallup has McCain at 48%, Obama at 45%; Rasmussen has both at 48%.

No Choice: Biden asserts that, as a Catholic, he believes life begins at "the moment of conception."

Regrouping: The Taliban's new haven is in Pakistan.

Oh, Shut It: Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe questions "whether [Obama] loves his country." By bringing up flag lapel pins. Seriously.

Recipe of the Day: Zucchini Bread (recipe from How to Cook Like Your Grandmother; photo by pinprick on Flickr, via Creative Commons).

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The Meade County State's Attorney has dropped perjury charges against SPD detective Ron Smith for his involvement in the August 8th shooting of a Hell's Angel at a biker rally in Sturgis, South Dakota.

The perjury charge apparently stemmed from confusion over whether the gun Smith used in the shooting was his personal firearm or a SPD service weapon.

Records from SPD initially indicated the gun was department issued, but further investigation revealed Smith had purchased the weapon from the department in 1996.

Smith still faces assault and weapons charges

He’s a Fighter Not a Lover: McCain casts boilerplate policies as "change."

It’s the Economy: Unemployment hits 5-year high after 84,000 jobs are cut. Stocks dive.

It’s the Housing Market: Foreclosures and late payments hit record.

It’s the Weather: Eastern Seaboard braces for storms Ike and Hanna.

Twitter: King County executive Ron Sims uses Twitter to announce budget shortfall rising to $90 million.

Widower: Bhutto’s former husband poised to become Pakistan’s president.

Tribal Warfare: Dwindling Duwamish tribe sues to regain federal recognition, rights to fish in Duwamish River and Elliott Bay (you sure you want to fish there?). Muckleshoot tribe files in federal court to deny recognition.

Drug Warfare: Student sues Seattle Central for allegedly coercing her into signing confession about possessing marijuana a block and a half from the school.

Bags of Hot Air: Man who loved ACT II microwave popcorn claims artificial butter flavor gave him lung disease. "I just loved popcorn, and I would eat four to six bags a day,” he tells the Seattle P-I, "especially the ones with lots of butter that taste like you're going to the theater."

Bursting Bubbles: Comparing the words used most at conventions.

Fight, Fight, Fight: Your way though John McCain’s speech.

Quite a Pair: Curmudgeon vet and baby machine seek to lead the free world.

Danny Westneat: He loves, loves, loves Sarah Palin so much. She didn't talk much about policy but he also liked that.

Dick Cheney: Supports Georgia's inclusion in NATO and smacks Russia for invasion.

You Mean That Wasn’t Already the Rule? City board recommends that lawmakers found guilty of ethics violations pay fines with their own money, not with city money.

You Mean That Was the Rule? Teenager pleads not guilty to manslaughter after shooting a hiker, because it is legal for 14 year olds to shoot rifles without adult supervision.

Rough Rider: Mayor Nickels announcing plan to fund $8.6 million for completion of Burke-Gilman trail, extending to Ballard, this week.

Rough Patch: Port Commissioner Pat Davis appeals to block a recall petition. She had signed a memo extending payment to a retired chief; now 180,000 signatures are required to get Davis recalled.

Rough and Tumble: Detroit mayor pleas guilty to felony charges of obstruction of justice and perjury, arising from affair.

An Army of One: Quaker asks to distribute counter military recruitment leaflets in high school, where military is recruiting students, but school superintendent has refused. ACLU preparing to sue.

Lights on Broadway: Car hits gas pump, igniting fuel and giving a bystander second-degree burns.

Fashion Police: Fourth person arrested in Riviera Beach, Florida for wearing sagging pants. 29-year-old Kenneth Smith was charged with disorderly conduct and exposure of his undergarments in public.

The City Hearing Examiner has ruled that Prescott Development can continue with plans to demolish the Waldo Hospital in the Maple Leaf neighborhood to make way for 39 townhomes and cottages.

Maple Leaf residents have been fighting Prescott's plan since May 2007, when the developer purchased the property from Campfire USA.

The Maple Leaf Community Council (MLCC) appealed Prescott's permit application with the city over plans to remove a number of trees at the site and concerns that demolition at the site would expose the neighborhood to lead dust.

"In our estimation [the lead dust] will reach the neighboring houses, and it will reach the [adjacent] reservoir and park," says MLCC president David Miller. "There's no plan to control the dust [and] there's no plan to handle the lead in the soil," he says. "It['s] like the city is experimenting on our neighborhood,"

Miller says the MLCC will closely examine any further permit applications from Prescott.