History repeats

This looks strangely familiar:

A Connecticut mother who says she wanted to give her son a better education will be arraigned on Wednesday on charges for enrolling the 6-year-old in another town, sparking outrage and support from people nationwide.

Tanya McDowell, a 33-year-old homeless woman whose last known address was in Bridgeport, Conn, is scheduled to be arraigned on charges of larceny and conspiracy to commit larceny for allegedly stealing $15,686 from Norwalk schools. Prosecutors allege that figure is the value of her son's education at Norwalk's Brookside Elementary School between the time he was illegally enrolled in January and McDowell's arrest on April 14. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.

Where have I seen that before? Oh yeah:

Williams-Bolar used her father's address, where she alleges she lived part-time. Yet the Copely-Fairlawn School District felt she was lying about being a resident, and hired a private eye to follow her, videotaping Williams-Bolar leaving her public housing home and dropping her children off at the suburban school.

They confronted Williams-Bolar, demanded that she repay the district $30,000, saying she didn't have the right to have her daughters in the district since she wasn't a taxpayer.

When she refused, Williams-Bolar was indicted on two felony charges, found guilty and sentenced to 10 days in prison. Because of the felonies on her record, the aspiring schoolteacher will never be able to enter the classroom.

Wanting better for your children used to be part of the American dream. Now, it's a ticket to jail - especially if you are poor and black.

Firefighters' union to national Dems: So long!

The International Association of Fire Fighters has announced that it is shifting its money away from national Democratic races and organizations to state-level campaigns as part of efforts to fight the wave of anti-unionism around the country:

"We are simply shutting down any contributions going to any federal candidates or to any federal PACs or committees until, quite frankly, our friends are willing to stand up and fight on our behalf with the same kind of ferocity that our enemies and those that are literally trying to destroy us are doing on the other side," Schaitberger told USA TODAY.

Good - it's about time.  The national Democrats have taken organized labor for granted for far too long. Talking hasn't sent them an effective message - maybe taking away money will.

(H/T Digby)

Jailbreak

Almost 500 Taliban prisoners have escaped from a prison in Afghanistan:

As the great escape was a break-in rather than a break-out, there was no need to surreptitiously get rid of the earth inside the camp; according to one local media report, the Kandahar plotters simply sold lorry loads of the earth in the city's bazaar from a tunnel stretching a reported 320 metres.
...

According to one of the escapees (whose numbers could dramatically tip the odds in favour of the insurgents on the eve of this year's "fighting season"), the tunnel was of sufficient diameter and high enough for the prisoners to stand upright for most of their walk to freedom.

Sections were lit by electric light and ventilated with fans, he said.
...
"It was very well organised. They only let a certain number of people go through at one time, because they wanted to make sure there was enough air to breath in the tunnel."

When the escapee prisoners got to the construction company compound at the end of the tunnel, they were met by their commanders and taken off in cars to safe locations.

And to compound the humiliation of the Afghan government and its Nato allies, the prison managers appear to have been totally unaware of the escape until long after the prisoners had disappeared into the night.

You know that an operation of this size and complexity had to have had people in the inside helping out, and people elsewhere turning a blind eye to what was going on.

This is not a reassuring sign for the US as it continues whatever mission it is pursuing in Afghanistan. Why are we there again?

See also: how does this new jailbreak rate in comparison to some other classic ones?

A media person explains why the media can't call idiots "idiots"

This column sheds much light on the craven nature of America's large media. In it, someone at the LA Times explains why it just wasn't possible for anyone in the media to come out and say about Palin - a serious candidate for the second-highest political office in the US - "hey - she's a fucking idiot".

This bit right here really brings the "argument" home:

Alas, we cannot [rip idiots like Palin to shreds]. Not only because it would be cheap and lazy and unbecoming, but also because Palin is too well-shielded by her own incompetence.

So: it is now "cheap" and "lazy" to call someone who is cheap and lazy "cheap" and "lazy", even a candidate for one of the highest positions of the land, and incompetence is an effective political strategy. It is difficult to imagine a clearer statement on the mindset that is preventing the press from actually being able to analyze and present in a serious way the major problems facing America today.