Cherry Picking Constitutional Rights

Dzhokhnar Tsamaev, the alleged Boston Marathon bomber, is being held by the FBI and apparently has not been Mirandized. Just as the Second Amendment gives American Citizens the right to bear arms, the Constitution provides rights for those accused of a crime. They have the right to remain silent, and the right to an attorney. The right to bear arms is interpreted literally by those opposing legislation intended to curb gun violence. The right to remain silent and the right to an attorney is treated more liberally. If public safety is involved, these Miranda rights can be waived in an effort to get information from the accused. This smells of hypocrisy. Massacres involving guns do not warrant the passage of legislation limiting the right to bear arms. Massacres involving bombs do warrant a delay in reading the accused his rights. If limiting  the rights of an accused American citizen in the interest of public safety is justified, why is it not justified to implement meaningful background checks in order to reduce gun violence in the interest of public safety? Was the Boston Marathon massacre anymore heinous than the Newtown massacre? It made more noise, but that is hardly a reason for it receiving more attention. The Newtown dead are as dead as the Boston dead. Picking and choosing  what rights we are willing to compromise is a dangerous game. I do not disagree with delaying Miranda rights to gain information on the source of bomb materials and the whereabouts of possibly additional bombs. I do not agree that the right to bear arms is infringed by efforts to limit their possession to responsible citizens.

An Extreme Primitive Legal System?

The high primal is an avid reader of mystery books. Occasionally she will come across one that she thinks I would like and with effusive recommendations, makes it available to me. Such was the case with “ The Man From Beijing” by Henning Mankell ( of Wallender fame). The book lived up to its billing. It was difficult to put the book down in order to get some sleep. His treatment of the Chinese who built our rail system and the China of today held me entranced. When all was said and done , what really got my attention was what was said by the main character, a judge in the Swedish judicial system. During a visit to China she was quoted as saying, "Only an extreme primitive legal system can ever resort to capital punishment, which seldom if ever has a preventative effect."

I enjoyed the novel and its mystery but was left wondering how an advanced society such as ours tolerates capital punishment. Perhaps we are not as advanced as we think we are.

Thoughts For A Rainy Day

• Now that Charlie Sheen has lost his TV show he should consider reprising his " Major League" film role (Ricky Vaughn) by applying for an assistant pitching coach role with the Cleveland Indians. His acting skills would be invaluable in getting the pitching staff to act like big league pitchers. The pay won't be good but the clubhouse snacks should keep him going.
• Lately it has been Christmas everyday when I bring in the mail. Without fail there's a gift for me. I now have enough return address labels to last for years. It seems that every charity with a postage stamp has discovered me and in appreciation sends me a "free gift" - mailing labels! In return I should respond with some sort of donation - I guess that's what the address labels are for. If my application for a government loan is approved, I'll see what I can do.
• It appears that the opposition in Libya is struggling to form a united front. It might have been a good idea if they had done this before taking to the streets.
• Qaddafi is an asshole but the SOB has the military on his side. He may actually retain power or leave on his own terms. Obviously Mubarak had the wrong playbook in the Egypt games.
• Speaking of playbooks, there is only one playbook in Ohio and that's Jim Tressel's Ohio State football playbook. The football saint screwed up and kept quiet about some silly game his players were playing - selling memorabilia for tattoos and cash. Tressel has been disciplined and the media would have you think everything else going on in the state and the world is irrelevant. I've never understood Ohio's love affair with football be it Little League or whatever they call its football equivalent, high school, college or NFL. Love affair is not quite the proper term - moronic affair is more like it!
• Why can't health care providers post a list of services and their cost for patients?
• Peter King (R-NY) must have aspirations of becoming the Congressional Grand Inquisitor as he goes after Islamic leaders. Islam is a religion and as such is protected by the First Amendment. King should cool it, Islamophobia has no place in the halls of Congress or anywhere else.
• Surprised to learn that King has been a supporter of the Irish IRA. I guess that means he's qualified to spot a terrorist when he sees one.
• Illinois has become the 16th state to eliminate the death penalty. Thirty-six to go, one state at a time.
• If it rains much more, I'll have to shovel the driveway!

Execution Crisis

    Ohio (as well as other states) has a crisis of major proportions on its hands. Creating jobs? No, per the new Governor that's a piece of cake. Supporting schools? No, per the Legislature the status quo is just fine. Health care? No, that's Obama's problem. Killing people? Yes indeed! Lethal injection is the weapon of choice in Ohio. The problem is that the drug of choice, sodium thiopental, is no longer available. A drug company actually has a conscience and has stopped production of the drug to protest executions. Not to worry, the innovative Ohio Department of Corrections is prepared to substitute pentobarbital. One hitch. When the manufacturer of pentobarbital learned that its drug would be used to kill people rather than to make them well , they formally asked Ohio not to use the drug for executions. In blazing speed for a bureaucracy, Ohio announced that it would stick with the new drug. How can they do that? Apparently there is enough of a supply of the drug in the hands of distributors to satiate Ohio's appetite for putting people to death. As one official put it , " it is available, effective and humane". I guess what he meant is that no dog has ever complained about its use.
    Why not abandon capital punishment - it seems to be full of problems that no one has adequately addressed. When will we stop being hypocrites - admonishing Iran about the number of executions it carries out. Is a quota system more humane? And that is my rant for today !

Death Penalty Boutique

There must be something wrong with having the death penalty on the books. A lot of time is being spent in shopping around seeking the best fit for the death penalty. The latest shopping spree by the Supreme Court has ruled out the death penalty for child rape. Prosecutors trying to determine when a death penalty is proper are increasingly faced with tough decisions as to when the death penalty is the best fit. Not unlike shopping in a boutique - if it looks good go for it. If it turns out it is the wrong size let the Supreme Court tailor it. This is no way for a civilized nation to operate. Once and for all abolish the death penalty! (It is interesting that both candidates for the presidency of the United States have voiced their displeasure for the latest Supreme Court ruling. Not only is it interesting, it is disturbing. Anything for a vote, even a human life.)

As the supreme court ponders whether or not lethal injection is cruel and inhuman punishment the court should seriously consider asking Justice Scalia to offer himself as a guinea pig for a lethal cocktail so that they may gain some first hand knowledge of the degree of pain suffered.

Capital Punishment

I do not believe in capital punishment! If ever I had any doubts that capital punishment should be abolished I have put them to rest. The spectacle of Saddam Hussein’s execution, the decapitation during hanging of his henchman Barazan Ibrahim, the recently botched execution by lethal injection in Florida, a father's rejection of the death penalty for the murderer of his daughter, the number of condemned “murderers” declared innocent by virtue of DNA testing have all served to reinforce my feelings that the death penalty does not belong in a civilized society.The execution of the former leaders of Iraq may have satisfied the need for revenge by the Shiites but it now appears that most of the world community had no appetite for their hanging. Hussein was a merciless dictator responsible for the death's of thousands and deserved to be punished. The same can be said about Barazan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al Bandar. A more humane and more suitable punishment would have been to banish them to prison for the rest of their lives. No words can be found to justify the abhorrent act of one individual taking the life of another. Taking another life to atone for the crime is not the answer. We read that the decapitation of al Bandar could have been avoided if he had been weighed to determine how much slack to leave in the rope in order to ensure that the neck is broken , but not severed (ironically the same individual making this observation also called the hangings almost ideal). We further complicate the debate about capital punishment by engaging in rhetoric as to the most humane way to take a life. An answer to the latter question has not been forthcoming and never will be - there is nothing humane about taking a life!