i was totally going to blog about kerry and dean, and how i'm excited about their cooperation, but instead i got all fixated on this.

maybe you know this story already. a crooked (white) cop in tulia, tx, names 40 black people -- 17% of the town's african-american population -- as members of a drug ring. the drug ring is entirely fictitious, as are the illegal actions of every single defendant. nevertheless, the cop is backed up by his (also white) superior officers, as well as the task force for which he works. (the task force is federally funded. it is a joint effort of several cities and counties, and the state of texas.)

there is no physical evidence, but on the cop's testimony, sentences range from 20 years (no previous offenses) to 435 years. let me emphasize again that these are all innocent people.

they were recently exonerated, and the cop indicted on perjury (among other) charges. and now a civil suit has been settled: a cool $5 million to be split between the plaintiffs.

problem is, that's not actually all that cool. plaintiffs' attorneys often take about thirty per cent of the gross, but let's say twenty, just to be nice. that leaves the plaintiffs with $4 million. here's the real problem, though: try dividing $4 million by 46 (the number of defendants in the lawsuit). the result is about $86,956.52, and i think it's eminently fair to say that that's just not enough. not when you've had your freedom and your reputation stolen, and that action sanctioned by the whole machinery of the state.

the state, i might add, of which george w. bush was governor at the time. the really cool part is how bush chose to complain, in the midst of the tulia operation, that the clinton administration hadn't been tough enough on drugs. where by "drugs," considering bush's own past, we have to assume he means "people who aren't white like me."

bush hasn't commented on this settlement.