Sunday, 11 December 2005
Arbeit Macht Frei
Some of you may recognize the title of this article.
Some of you may have known it in the past but forgotten its meaning.
Some of you have yet to be enlightened.
One of the most dangerous things in the world is a Social Liberal with an idea to enhance the Greater Good.
One bright idea that surfaces from time to time is the concept of Mandatory Federal Service.
It would be good for the Nation, it would benefit the Youth, allow all sorts of needed and beneficial public service.
It would also be in complete violation of the Spirit and the Word of
The XIIIth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
I ask you? What is so complicated about those words?
Now I have a confession to make. I at times have looked upon the Draft as something not entirely negative in its effects on the Republic.
Before you get too excited, let me explain. My thoughts stem in part from my upbringing.
I am a Navy Brat. I spent my childhood on military bases, in many ways isolated and protected from the outside world.
As a small boy I understood the Order of the Universe.
It was ordered in this fashion.
The Navy
The Marine Corps
The Army
The Air force.
Then came
Snakes
Rats
Spiders
Other assorted Vermin
Then way down at the bottom some very scary things called.
Civilians.
At the time I did not really know what Civilians WERE, but I got the distinct impression that they were not very nice, however I was not worried the Base Marines were between me and whatever they were. ;-)
So part of me approves in principle of a Military composed in large part of temporary members who do not WANT to be in it forever. Prevents Military Coups and such unpleasantness.
All of that may be true, but still does not in my mind over ride that Mandatory Federal Service is in fact,
involuntary servitude, NOT as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convictedFor me it is that simple. No attempt to rationalize or justify it can negate the simple words in the
XIIIth Amendment.
Some maintain the Constitution is a living document to be reinterpreted and modified as our Society changes.
I say we as a Nation paid too bitter a price for this Amendment to discard it for wishful thinking.
From
Statistical Summary
America's Major WarsDeaths
Combat Other
184,594 373,458
Combat deaths refers to troops killed in action or dead of wounds. Other includes deaths from disease, privation, and accidents, and includes losses among prisoners of war
Some may maintain that this is only the pipe dream of a few Transnational Progressives and no danger of it ever being attempted by the Government is possible.
I commend the following to their contemplation.
John Kerry Outlines Plan to Require Service for High School Students
As part of his 100 day plan to change America, John Kerry will propose a comprehensive service plan that includes requiring mandatory service for high school students and four years of college tuition in exchange for two years of national service.But what about the Constitution? Well another Democratic Leader who ran for his Party's nomination had some interesting words on his concept of Presidential Power.
"When I'm president, we'll do executive orders to overcome any wrong thing the Supreme Court does tomorrow or any other day," Gephardt said.So much for Separation of Powers and the Rule of Constitutional Law.
These were
not obscure and unknown political theorists, but persons who had the potential to be come the Commander in Chief of ALL US Military Forces .
Think about it.
Oh the title I began all this with? Began with that title because it is what comes to my mind whenever I hear a proponent of Mandatory Federal Service?
Arbeit Macht Frei?It means
Work makes free It was the sign over the main gate at Dachau.
It was a lie then, it is a lie now.
Make no mistake Mandatory Federal Service is Involuntary Servitude under the meaning of the XIIIth Amendment and is nothing more or less than an attempt to rationalize and justify what is in reality the simple concept called.
Slavery
In a free Society there may be places the Government can prevent you from going, but when the day comes it prevents you from leaving. You are no longer free.
"Take this Job and Shove it" I'm out of here is the minumum basis for Personal Liberty. That line when crossed is the Demarcation between a Free Society and a Slave State.
What is Mandatory Federal Service but that?
Linked to
Otimaster at The battle of the bridges Open Trackback Post
Oblogatory Anecdotes at Weekend Open Trackbacks
The Right Nation at (Open Trackback) Weekend Round-Up
The Uncooperative Blogger at Weekend Open Trackback Party!
Stuck On Stupid at Exploiting Terri Schindler (Schiavo) & Open Trackbacks
Robinik.net at Week-end Easy Open Trackback
Colbert Report at National Capital Region Blog Mafia Tonight
Right Wing Nation at Weekend Open Trackbacks
MacStansbury.org at OPEN TRACKBACKS 11
The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns at Another OTA Weekend
Blogs that Trackback to this Post:
On Monday
Stuck On Stupid with Exploiting Terri Schindler (Schiavo)
Bloggin' Outloud with Christmas Caption Contest
|
Thursday, 8 December 2005
Forward Charge In Full Retreat
The Democratic Party's attacks on President Bush and the Republican Party have faltered and bogged down.
Prominent Democrats are heard to state Publicly,
"Howard Dean does not speak for me."
If the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, does not speak for the Democratic Party, who does? There is only
one word which can describe this situation,
QUAGMIREThe burning question remains.
To where will the Democratic Party Cut and Run?
In related News there are questions being raised about the absence of an Exit Strategy from Bosnia/Kosovo and Germany.
The Normandy Invasion was June 6, 1944. Does the presence of troops in Germany a full 60 years later indicate that the European War is Unwinnable?
Isn't it past time to,
BRING THE TROOPS HOME!
|
Red State Christmas Deer
Hat Tip
Right Thinking From The Left Coast
And always remember, Bambis are more tender and better eating.
|
Wednesday, 7 December 2005
The Needs of the Many
Any Star Trek Fan will recognize Spock's Parting words from The Wrath of Khan
"The needs of the many...outweigh the needs of the few".
Before we expound on any political derivation of those words, it is fitting that we acknowledge the truth of them. Men and women have willingly looked at and made that choice down throw the ages, some in obscurity and some recorded as the ultimate examples of valor and Honor.
"Go, tell the Spartans, thou that passest by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie."
It is not that decision, but WHO makes it that delineates the difference between Heroism and Tyranny.
When the FEW make it,for themselves, it is Heroism,of the highest order, when the MANY or those who claim to speak for the MANY make it we are crossing a Rubicon towards Tyranny.
We have seen this recently with a Supreme Court Decision Kelo vs New London.
The case was appealed from a decision in favor of the city of New London by the Supreme Court of Connecticut, which found that the use of eminent domain for economic development (the central focus of the case) did not violate the public use clauses of the state and federal constitutions. The court found that if an economic project creates new jobs, increases tax and other city revenues, and revitalizes a depressed (even if not blighted) urban area, it qualifies as a public use. The court also found that government delegation of eminent domain power to a private entity was also constitutional as long as the private entity served as the legally authorized agent of the government.
The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider questions last raised in Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954). Namely, does the Fifth Amendment protect landowners from the use of eminent domain for economic development, rather than, as in Berman, for the elimination of slums and blight.
In a nutshell the Supreme Court Broadened part of the
Vth Amendment
nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation
Public use became public benefit, it became legal under the revised Vth amendment to take someone's home so a private development could increase the Tax Value of the property and enhance the economics of the surrounding area.
The needs of the many...outweigh the needs of the few
At our peril, we as Nation forget the words of Samuel Adams.
In 1772, four years before the Declaration was signed, Samuel Adams wrote a short piece entitled ?Rights of the Colonists as Men?. His words included the following
Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these:
First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property;
together with the right to support and defend them
in the best manner they can. These are evident branches of,
rather than deductions from, the duty of self?preservation,
commonly called the first law of nature.
In case this excerpt is not sufficiently explicit concerning the origin of the rights so mentioned, further words from this same piece by Samuel Adams will make the point more clearly:
Just and true liberty, equal and impartial liberty,
in matters spiritual and temporal, is a thing that all men
are clearly entitled to by the eternal and immutable
laws of God and nature, as well as by the law of nations
and all well?grounded municipal laws
In the minds some these simple truths have been perverted. Forgotten is that neither the Constitution, nor the Federal Government GIVES the Citizen these rights, but rather the Constitution acknowledges that those Rights are the Inalienable possession of EACH of us as person.
It is the corruption of the Right of the Individual by an assumed Right of the Group, where in lies our greatest danger as a Nation and as a People.
It is the duty of all of us to take what steps are necessary to preserve these rights. One method can be information. One group endeavoring to this end is
the Internet community of
Life, Liberty, Property
Each week it sponsors a Carnival of Liberty where topics are discussed and explored.
This week is
Carnival Of Liberty XXIII I encourage all to explore this weeks offerings and return weekly and also if you desire ADD to the sum.
YOUR Liberty is in YOUR hands, participate in maintaining it.
AS for Kelo vs New London? It is a loss, due to what in my opinion was judicial activism by the Supreme Court but it is ALSO an opportunity!
It puts this question back to the States and lesser forms of government. In a manner of speaking closer to where we may contact our representatives and ensure this travesty of justice does not endure.
We must use this opportunity and then move on to other areas where we as individuals my assert our inalienable rights.
When Life hands you a Lemon?
Grab a Shaker of Salt and a Bottle of Tequila. ;-)
|
Monday, 5 December 2005
The Open
Trackback Alliance V
For Monday
When I first started upon my journey through the blogverse I created a
Statement of PurposeNow upon reading it, one can realize that I did not hold to every detail of that original statement, but from it's basic premise, I have never swayed, in my belief that the Blogs are in fact the Committees of Correspondence of the Second American Revolution.
And that it is a Revolution of Information, no longer can we afford and allow elite gateways to control what we can see, hear and discuss.
One of the most important discoveries I make in those early days was the website of Samantha Burns, which included a unique informal community of bloggers, who not only linked to each other but actually browsed and read the blogs they linked to.
Later I was honored to be allowed to join another more formal blog community. At that time I decided that while I welcomed blogs that wanted to link to me, I was not that interested in simply joining blogrolls to add links. After that I made no more attempts to join any blog alliances. I have been kept busy supporting the linkages I have and at times I feel guilty that I cannot get around to all the websites on my blogroll as I could when it was smaller.
So why do I welcome this recent invitation to join the Open Trackback Alliance? Have I reconsidered my former decision?
No I am posting and joining this Alliance because it is RIGHT for me to do so.
Because it FULFILLS my original Statement of Purpose that the Blogs are indeed the 21st Century Committees of Correspondence, whose duty and honor it is to SHARE information, thoughts, ideas, news and to discuss the same. To diligently search for the truths that lie behind the distortions and half-truths of the Legacy Media.
What the blogs associated with the Samantha Burns site did informally, and without structure, this Alliance only aids and structures. There is in fact no conflict between what I do now, and what I decided to do sometime ago.
For I believe that those bloggers who find their way, here and in particular from the Blogs associated with Sam.
HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY.
Some of us are more Serious, some of us are more lighthearted and some post the common ordinary things that make one smile and recall that Life without the simple things to treasure is meaningless.
And it is important that all have a platform from which to speak.
As I understand this process you can link to this post and trackback to this post on ANY subject or post you think important. It is open. I will repeat this every Monday.
The Committees of Correspondence welcomes your intelligent comments. And also welcomes you to join the
OPEN TRACKBACK ALLIANCE
Blogs that Trackback to this Post:
On Monday
Diane's Stuff with The Joy and Wonder of Christmas
third world county with A question of intelligence
Y'al come back now, Y'heah? ;-)
|
Sunday, 4 December 2005
The Rape
of the Body Politic
I hate Gerrymandering. The artificial allocation of voting district demographics to fulfill a predetermined political outcome, in my opinion, is nothing more nor something less than the Rape of the Body Politic.
So when I saw in the Washington Post this article,
_
Justice Staff Saw Texas Districting As Illegal ,_it grabbed my attention. Gerrymandering is a vicious and venal practice that politicians AND voters cannot seem to resist. Greed is pernicious.
To blame these excesses totally on politicians would be simplistic. It is not unknown for the public to vote down redistricting referendums, to avoid the risk of the loss of political power by the Party in Control.
While I by no means agree with the political agenda of NOW I will have to admit that the information on redistricting issues and methods found here are quite helpful.
REDISTRICTING FOR ACTIVISTS 101 Here are the worst offenses.
Gerrymander: The drawing of political boundaries to give one group or party an advantage over another.
Packing: A form of vote dilution – unlawful under the Voting Rights Act - in which minority voters are concentrated in districts at levels higher than necessary in order for the minority voters to elect their preferred candidate.
Cracking: A form of vote dilution in which a geographically compact minority community is divided into two or more districts, illegally diluting the community's voting strength.You do not have to consider yourself an "activist" to support fair and impartial redistricting, that should be the hallmark of a good citizen.
Read and ponder these statements.
"The court ruled that, in fact, the new congressional plan created a sufficient number of safe minority districts given the demographics of the state and the requirements of the law," Holland said. He added that Texas now has three African Americans serving in Congress, up from two before the redistricting.
"This result quite plainly indicates a reduction in minority voting strength," Rich wrote in his concurring opinion. "The state's argument that it has increased minority voting strength . . . simply does not stand up under careful analysis."
The complexity of the arguments surrounding the Voting Rights Act is evident in the Justice Department memo, which focused particular attention on seats held in 2003 by a white Democrat, Martin Frost, and a Hispanic Republican, Henry Bonilla.
Voting data showed that Frost commanded great support from minority constituents, while Bonilla had relatively little support from Hispanics. The question to be considered by Justice Department lawyers was whether the new map was "retrogressive," because it diluted the power of minority voters to elect their candidate of choice. Under the adopted Texas plan, Frost's congressional district was dismantled, while the proportion of Hispanics in Bonilla's district dropped significantly. Those losses to black and Hispanic voters were not offset by other gains, the memo said.
"This result quite plainly indicates a reduction in minority voting strength," Rich wrote in his concurring opinion. "The state's argument that it has increased minority voting strength . . . simply does not stand up under careful analysis."Let me add one more component.
One person, one vote: Constitutional requirement that each district in a legislative body contain roughly the same number of people.One person, one vote. To me that is vital. Contrary to the wishful thinking of some, the Constitution does not support rights to groups but rights to
Individuals! There is a vast difference.
This statement bothers me.
"new congressional plan created a sufficient number of safe minority districts The creation of
safe minority districts should not be a consideration in redistricting, My position is that it should be done in an impartial and colorblind method, with the only considerations being, the population distribution, and
any changes whatsoever, no matter how well intentioned
are a violation of the very principles on which this Republic was founded.
If you will notice in one of the statements above,
a white Democrat, Martin Frost, and a Hispanic Republican, Henry Bonilla.
Voting data showed that Frost commanded great support from minority constituents, while Bonilla had relatively little support from Hispanics. Yes the VOTERS did not support a candidate merely because of the color of his skin.
Here is to my eyes the pernicious part of the procedure.
Frost's congressional district was dismantled, while the proportion of Hispanics in Bonilla's district dropped significantly. Those losses to black and Hispanic voters were not offset by other gains, the memo said.
Gains or losses to any particular minority group should never be an issue unless the redistricting process artificially deny them of representation.
The creation of "safe minority districts" by the altering of district lines is no different than a gerrymandering to artificially dilute their votes.
If Gerrymandering, to create a false degree of power and power for any particular group or political power is the Rape of the Body Politic, then in like vein Gerrymandering to "protect safe minority districts" can be described as a rapist who says.
But she
wanted it she
enjoyed it.
Rape is rape, you cannot oppose Gerrymandering and support the artificial creation of "safe minority districts" both are a perversion and a corruption of our political process.
To do so is to abrogate the rights of the individual.
I do not care how well intentioned the action is.
Linked to
Peakah's Provocations at Open Bar All Weekend!
Stuck On Stupid at Grandma Hoists Baby Jesus & Link Fest
The Uncooperative Blogger at Weekend Open Trackback Party!
Open Trackback) Weekend Round-Up
Oblogatory Anecdotes at Weekend Open Trackbacks
Colbert Report at Election Week 1 Open Trackback Party
MacStansbury.org at OPEN TRACKBACKS 10
NIF at It's the weekend
|
Saturday, 3 December 2005
Only in Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
We are continuously hearing excited and breathless pronouncements of the latest polls. The Presidents approval rating is etc etc.
Some polls that are not advertised too much are.
One I posted about in
The Lemming LeftDemocrats' own mood poll scares them
Jun. 29, 2005 at 10:48AM
A poll on the political mood in the United States conducted by the Democratic Party has alarmed the party at its own loss of popularity.
Conducted by the party-affiliated Democracy Corps, the poll indicated 43 percent of voters favored the Republican Party, while 38 percent had positive feelings about Democrats.
"Republicans weakened in this poll ... but it shows Democrats weakening more," said Stanley Greenberg, who served as President Clinton's pollster.It would appear despite wishful thinking that approval ratings are
not a Zero Sum game and a decline for one side does not necessarily mean an increase for the other.
There is also some more recent polling data I posted about in
The Lizard Brainfrom
Protein Wisdom "Full disclosure: I am not a pollster, nor am I a licensed statistician?so take my analysis with a grain of salt. But if I?m reading this right, 70% of Americans believe that Democratic party criticism of the war is motivated by partisan political impulses?a desire for power, to put it more forcefully?rather than a desire to help the US win the war in Iraq.
70%?
Similarly, 70% of Americans think that the Democrats? attacks on the war are damaging troop morale, which necessarily creates unnecessary problems in battlefield execution.
70% "
The above was reaction to an article in the
Washington Post:: Sympathetic Vibrations
Democrats fumed last week at Vice President Cheney?s suggestion that criticism of the administration?s war policies was itself becoming a hindrance to the war effort. But a new poll indicates most Americans are sympathetic to Cheney?s point.
Seventy percent of people surveyed said that criticism of the war by Democratic senators hurts troop morale?with 44 percent saying morale is hurt ?a lot,? according to a poll taken by RT Strategies. Even self-identified Democrats agree: 55 percent believe criticism hurts morale, while 21 percent say it helps morale.
The results surely will rankle many Democrats, who argue that it is patriotic and supportive of the troops to call attention to what they believe are deep flaws in President Bush?s Iraq strategy. But the survey itself cannot be dismissed as a partisan attack. The RTs in RT Strategies are Thomas Riehle, a Democrat, and Lance Tarrance, a veteran GOP pollster.
Their poll also indicates many Americans are skeptical of Democratic complaints about the war. Just three of 10 adults accept that Democrats are leveling criticism because they believe this will help U.S. efforts in Iraq. A majority believes the motive is really to ?gain a partisan political advantage."I got to thinking about all these polls last night. President Bush's approval rating is the one we hear the most about. I checked Rasmussen Polls on a regular basis and today
President Bush Job Approval stands at 46, everyone knows it has been lower, we are most surely informed when that happens, if it climbs a little, well that is not News is it?
But today I decided to look at President Bush's approval rating from a different viewpoint. One I have not seen used before.
We all know that the Constitution prohibits The President from running for a third term.
But if it were possible what Democratic Leader do we hear about as one of the most likely to win the nomination in 2008?
Hillary Clinton and according to Rasmussen's Hillary Meter:
Support Falls to 2005 LowNovember 30, 2005--If Hillary Clinton runs for President in 2008, just 25% of Americans say they would definitely vote for her. That's down five points over the past two weeks. It's also the lowest level of support measured for the former First Lady in 2005. (Review Trends).
Forty percent (40%) would definitely vote against Senator Clinton. That's little changed from two weeks ago. Rasmussen Reports has conducted a Hillary Meter poll every other week since April. Only once has the number who say they would definitely vote against Clinton been higher than it is now.
Forty-five percent (45%) now see Clinton as politically liberal. Over the past seven months, the number viewing her as politically liberal has ranged from a low of 42% to a high of 48%, often settling around the current level of 45%.
Thirty-five percent (35%) view New York's Junior Senator as politically moderate while 6% say she's conservative.
Collectively, today?s Hillary Meter places Senator Clinton a net 56 points to the left of the nation's political center. Two weeks ago, she was 53 points to the left of center.So the Democrats are going to have to find another best hope. All the pronouncements about a Decline in Bush's approval rating are meaningless if the Democratic Party's is lower.
Close only counts in Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.
Linked to
The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns at OTA Weekend
Point Five at Carnival of the Ecletic
Stuck On Stupid at Grandma Hoists Baby Jesus & Link Fest
The Uncooperative Blogger at Weekend Open Trackback Party!
Oblogatory Anecdotes at Weekend Open Trackbacks
Right Wing Nation at Weekend Open Trackbacks
MacStansbury.org at OPEN TRACKBACKS 10
NIF at COUGH
Stop The ACLU at Weekend Party for the Politically Incorrect
UPDATE There is a military phrase, "Defeat in Detail" from the looks a new Washinton Post Article
Democratic Lawmakers Splinter on Iraq, the process may have already started.
Marshall Wittmann, a former Republican political strategist now with the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, said Pelosi may have resurrected her party's most deadly liability -- voters' lack of trust in the party on national security.
"If Karl Rove was writing the timing of this, he wouldn't have written it any differently, with the president of the United States expressing resolve and the Democratic leader offering surrender," Wittmann said, referring to Bush's top adviser. "For Republicans, this is manna from heaven."
|
Where My Readers Come From
Well it has been about 2 months since I checked this out and I seem to have picked up a couple of dozen new nationalities visiting here. Welcome all.
Readers from Seventy Three different countries as of today.
Here was the last map.
Some day I hope to
CONQUER THE WORLD!
Yes the map will become
All Red!
do you hear?
ALL RED!
PS of all the Free Blogsite meters.
eXTReMe Tracker
gives the fullest list of Nationalities where others will go down to a certain percentage of visits and then lump the rest in "other". I would suggest signing up for it if you want to make one of these maps for yourself.
|
Friday, 2 December 2005
I Took,
You Took,
He Tookie
Which Is Out of Place?
If you choose Tookie as the word out of place, you would be correct as far as the grammatical rules of English Verb Conjugation are concerned.
As to the individual (I don't call rabid dogs that brutally murder innocent people a Man) called Tookie- Stanley Williams there are a range of reactions.
In the THE TOOKIE FILES By Michelle Malkin she writes
Convicted murderer Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the co-founder of the violent Crips gang who is on Death Row in California, is Hollyweird's current cause celebre. He is scheduled to be executed on Dec. 13 after 24 years of legal wrangling. The San Francisco Chronicle reports today that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to hold a clemency hearing Dec. 8.
Among the Save Tookie brigades: Snoop Dogg, Bianca Jagger, Jesse Jackson, Margaret Cho, Mike Farrell, Jason Alexander, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Glover, Anjelica Huston, Bonnie Raitt, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, and Noah Wyle.
I wrote about Williams' bleeding-heart worshipers back in 2000, when he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize:
San Quentin prison officials report that juvenile delinquents idolize Williams. His propaganda has been endorsed by the Congressional Black Caucus. As part of an ongoing public relations campaign to soften his image while he ties up the courts with specious legal appeals, Williams has been profiled sympathetically by People magazine, Time, the Los Angeles Times, and the ethnic press. He even appeared on a TV special introduced by President Clinton. Barbara Becnel, a crusading journalist who "edits" Williams' writings, once gushed that if the death-row inmate had "been raised in Brentwood instead of South Central, he'd be head of the state Democratic party."
Williams' groupies would have us believe that their Nobel Peace Prize nominee is a helpless victim of his environment, addled by low self-esteem, forced to turn to violence by racist oppressors, and now apologetic "for the atrocities which I and others committed against our race through gang violence." Spare us the sob story. Here are the cold-blooded facts missing from Williams' Nobel Peace Prize application:
Williams was convicted of murdering four innocent bystanders with a sawed-off shotgun in 1979. There was nothing peaceful or compassionate about the way [Albert Owens], Thsai-Shai Yang, Yen-I Yang and Yee Chen Lin died. Owen[s] was a white teen-age clerk at a 7-11 convenience store, shot twice in the back of the head -- execution-style -- as he lay unarmed on the floor during a hold-up. A witness testified that Williams mocked the gurgling sounds Owen[s] made as he lay dying. "You should have heard the way he sounded when I shot him," the witness quoted Williams.
The Yangs were Taiwanese immigrants who, along with their daughter Yee Chen Lin, were gunned down during a motel robbery two weeks after Owen[s] died. Half of the daughter's face was blown off by the shotgun blasts, former L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Robert Martin told me in an interview this week. Williams called them "Buddhaheads," Martin recounted, and robbed them of petty cash.
Williams has yet to apologize to the victims' families. When the trial ended, Martin told me, Williams muttered to the prosecution team, "I'll get every one of you m-----f-----s."
Spoken like a Nobel laureate.
Of course our Tookie has a multitude of supporters. He has his own website.
Tookie's Corner
He's got a book written about him. You may order the autobiography of Stanley "Tookie" Williams, Blue Rage, Black Redemption from Damamli Publishing Company. He even has his own movie. Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story played by Jamie Foxx, it is eery that Jamies birthdate 13 December 1967 and Stanley's date of execution Dec 13, 2005 are on the same day.
Yes those who hold forth that Stanley Williams is a redeemed man and has much to offer society are legion.
Then there are thos who think Stanley Williams is
not a special case but that the execution should be halted because.
Celebrities and Redemption Aren't the Point. States Shouldn't Kill.
No Special Break for Tookie
"Williams's case is about the power of redemption, his supporters say, but I think it's more about the power of celebrity. The state shouldn't execute Williams, but only because the state shouldn't execute anybody -- the death penalty is a barbaric anachronism that should have been eliminated long ago, as far as I'm concerned. But it can't be right to save Williams just because he's a famous desperado (or former desperado) with famous friends, and then blithely go back to snuffing out the lives of other criminals who lack his talent for public relations"
What does make him special, according to his supporters, is that he has been so lavishly repentant about the culture of violence he helped create.
Of course, there are hundreds of other men on death row who repent of their crimes and would appreciate a little executive clemency, but they don't have movie stars pleading their cases. Oh, and also lacking a publicity machine are the four people Williams was convicted of killing.
For me, this case just reinforces my belief that there is no way the death penalty can be fairly applied. Among the ranks of the condemned are few genuinely innocent men -- although one is too many. But death row is brimming with genuinely repentant men, not because some divine revelation has hit them but simply because they have grown older.
Tookie Williams is 51; his body has softened, his rage dissipated. The state of California will not be killing the same man it sentenced to death 24 years ago. But don't buy the argument that he's a special case, because he's not."
So it seems there is a division in the clemency side. One thinks his redemption and make him a special case the other that No one should be executed and he is not a special case.
Someone give me the odds on how many of these "we cannot execute any one person because we might kill and innocent", proclaimers ALSO support Abortion?
Mike Farrel is also a Supporter
General statement by Mike Farrell concerning Stanley Tookie Williams
To Squiggy from Mike
Because there's been a significant reaction to the press coverage of my opposition to the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams, I thought it might be a good idea to post a general statement for the benefit of anyone who has a question or concern.
I thought it was already quite clear that I oppose the death penalty. That means I'm against all state killing regardless of whether the individual in question is guilty or innocent. But some of those who have communicated their upset either aren't aware of that or feel this case should be an exception. Let me try to be more clear.
I believe killing is wrong. That being so, I believe that the state (or the people in a civilized society) have a special responsibility to always act in a manner that honors the principles of humanity that underpin our society. For the state to kill teaches that killing is appropriate under certain circumstances and, by extension, provides justification to those who believe that their particular case or circumstance warrants it as well. The young, in particular, learn behavior from us and this requires that we always reach for the higher standard
That apply to the unborn Mike? Is it against your moral standards to kill them? Me I am just an Unteachable Ignorant Red State Voter, I DO think that
"killing is appropriate under certain circumstances"
Though if someone were to be chopping Mike Farrel up with an axe, I might be willing to listen to him expound on his non-violent principles while he expired. Think he would? if he saw someone running up with a shotgun or would he be screaming
"Kill Them. KILL THEM!"
Despite being in agreement with Eugene Robinson Captain's Quarters in Celebrity Death Row Spotlights illuminates some glaring inconsistancies.
(One other point: does anyone else notice that three of four of Tookie's victims were Asian shopowners? Angelenos know what that entails for the gang culture of LA. These weren't just gang-banging murders but hate-crime executions, just the same as the dragging death of James Byrd. I notice Danny Glover and Jamie Foxx aren't clamoring for those murderers to get clemency from the governor of Texas, so why are they arguing for Tookie?)
I don't support the death penalty. Unlike the clueless Hollywood celebrities who manage to hijack this issue, I don't view the condemned as victims and moral guideposts, either. The elevation of Tookie to philosopher disgusts and sickens me, and it undermines the efforts to convince people of the uselessness and overreach of the death penalty.
But there is ONE THING I have not heard anyone mention or speak of. Particularly those like Mike Farrel who out of conviction, compassion and principle oppose this execution.
I it the other night when I heard Farrel talking about all this on TV.
If I could have looked him in the eyes after he had finished. I would have asked him something like this.
A lot of effort, and work has been expended to keep this bloodthirsty butcher alive , how about the families of the victims? What are their lives like these days.
Those who have lost loved ones at the hands of this thing, have they recovered? Do they still suffer.
Do you know?
Have you bothered to inquire.
Do you care?.
Linked to
third world county at Friday Featured Blogger/Open Post
Stray Dog at The Week in Review From You-Know-Who...
Bloggin' Outloud at Pastor Mark to Shave the Yetis
Right Wing Nation at Friday Open Trackbacks
MacStansbury.org at The Absolutely Earliest In The Morningest Friday Open TrackBack Post
NIF at COUGH
The Conservative Cat at Funny Stuff
|
Newer | Latest | Older
