Demon seed

You just know that poor child is so conservative she'll never be able to smile anything but crooked...

Bail set for striking janitors at $888,888 *UPDATE: Bail reduced

This is the justice you get when all of the law officials in the nation's third most populous county are Republicans.

People arraigned on murder charges have had bail set as low as $30,000, but if you're making $5.00 an hour and sit down in the middle of a Houston intersection, you get intimidated -- at best -- by a mounted Houston Police officer, arrested, charged with a Class B misdemeanor, and thrown into jail with your bail set at "send-a-message" level.

Update (11/19) : "Bond rates were later reduced by a magistrate judge to $1,000 per person."

Houston and Harris County truly feels like the belly of the Neo-Fascist beast today.

More at MyDD, Daily Kos, and The Agonist.

Update (11/19): Matt Stoller stays on the story:

Representatives Sheila Jackson Lee, Henry Waxman, John Lewis, Al Green, Senator Ted Kennedy, Reverend James Lawson, Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis, Texas State House Representative Garnet Coleman, Houston City Council Member Ada Edwards, Reverend James Orange, and Reverend William Lawson have all spoken out.

If I were Chevron, Exxon, and Shell Oil - all of whom make billions and any of whom could end the strike - I would be nervous that Henry Waxman is asking you to intervene. A few million dollars in extra salary and health care benefits for the people cleaning your offices is a really small price to pay to prevent Waxman from really scrutinizing your business practices. He plays hardball, he dislikes corruption, and he's pushing global warming legislation.

HPD gets violent with SEIU protestors

Photos here.

We've seen this sort of hyper-aggressive police action, particularly with mounted officers, previously (at the Halliburton protest last year).

Update: The Washington Post has more, or you may click on the image of Ercilia Sandoval on the right. And Easter Lemming, who shot the video above has even more, including the link to the Justice for Janitors blog.