An argument against the death penalty

I was listening to talk radio the other day as I often do on my commute home, and there was a blurb on some guy getting the death penalty. Now before I proceed, I should state that I actually believe, in principle, that the death penalty has its place; however, knowing that the death penalty is not administered consistently or seemingly with any logical rationale, I found myself revising my stance as follows: If we're not going to employ the death penalty with consistency--and to those most deserving of the ultimate penalty--then we ought not bother ourselves as a society with having a death penalty at all.

Liberals often argue that criminal justice is about rehabilitation, when in fact, it's about punishment. Surely, the death penalty is the ultimate punishment. In fact, it should be the Superbowl of penalties, with no question and no doubt as to the reasoning behind the assignment of such a sentence. The reality is our justice system doles the sentence out like so much candy, and there's no coming back from it. No recovery. No mulligan. No undelete. No Sci-Fi, cryogenic restoration to cover ourselves just in case someone screwed up. No consolation prize for DNA proving innocence or a reluctant witness coming forward at a later point in time. No, my friends, death is final. Death is absolute. Which is seemingly why it takes so long with appeals and cost so much in tax dollars to get the deed done. We have an inordinate amount of checks and balances, yet our "system" still finds ways to screw it up. People have already made the argument that it's cheaper to send someone away for life without the possibility of parole, then to give them the death penalty. So one could argue on the economic merits alone that we should do away with the death penalty.

Cost of carrying out the death sentence notwithstanding, let's make the argument that the system gets it right 99% of the time. That's a helluva batting or free throw average, but would you want to be the 1% of the people who gets the electric chair or lethal injection incorrectly?
"[Executioner]: Whoops! Sorry about that, Homey! We goofed. My Bad!" Not to trivialize the matter, but death does (sometimes) bring closure to the victims and/or the victims families...of course, it doesn't undo the deed that predicated the execution in the first place. Admittedly, I know full well how I would react if one of my loved ones fell victim to the unthinkable. Call it my Minority report, call it my pre-crime confession, call it pre-meditated insanity, call it what you will...I'm just telling you now, it wouldn't be pretty. And to keep it real, some people really deserve death, don't they? Case in point: Anyone remember Susan Smith? A decade ago, Susan killed her kids by strapping them in a car and pushing the car into a lake. We were supposed to feel sorry for her...apparently the jury did, although I can't see how...

This is the woman who after sleeping with three guys and getting dumped by one via a "Dear John" letter was sooooooo distraught, because "her man" told her that he couldn't deal with her having two kids. So what does Susan do? Why what any small town, blonde would do in a similar situation: she proceeded to strap her two sons in the back seat of a car and pushed her car into a lake. Then she told police that a "Black Man" carjacked her before she finally confessed that her story was a lie to cover up murdering her kids. This story received national coverage for weeks. It's ten years later and I am still pissed off by the outcome, not because Black men got bad press during that time, not because she destroyed a perfectly good Mustang, but because as a parent I was outraged at how someone could do that to their kids! Sadly, the jury apparently wasn't outraged at all, and tried to make sense out of non-sense--translated: Susan Smith did not get the death penalty, despite being more than deserving in my humble opinion.

So there you have it. Just one example, among many, of a person who deserved the death penalty, but failed to get it. As my father used to say, "If you're going to do something half-assed, then you might as well not do it all." Ladies and gentlemen, our society's doling out of the death penalty is clearly half-assed! Need I say more? Disagree? State your case.
Peace,
+THINKER

I need a music fix...

Some inspirational person once mused, "Music is the key to the soul." And no, it wasn't Sarah Connor, and "NO," the Sarah Connor I'm referring to is not the muscle-bound heroine of Terminator fame. Regardless of who said the aforementioned, magical phrase, I'd like to thank the originator for providing some insight into why music moves us the way it does.

I was introduced to music the way some children are taught to swim: I was thrown into the pool! Mind you, I consider my experience a good one. My uncle Vic--still one of the coolest guys I know--bought me my first L.P.: Parliament's "Chocolate City." George Clinton and William "Bootsy" Collins laid down the rhythms that created Funk (a.k.a. P-Funk), and Hip Hop as we know it today. I wore out most of the grooves in that album--this, after having to replace the album three times because the first three had scratches in them. At least the distributer was consistent! At a young age I quickly discovered that I had a serious problem...I had become a music junkie...and I needed a fix!

I delivered papers and sold cards door-to-door just to appease my music habit. Later, I worked at a record store, The Turntable, to fund my vinyl urges. But I still couldn't get enough. I DJ'd locally at house parties, at weddings, at colleges, and at clubs just so to have an excuse for playing my music how I wanted it, when I wanted it, and as loud as the audience could stand it! Music junkies like me are nostalgic. We never throw anything away. Vinyl L.P.s and 45s, Cassette tapes, DAT, and CDs--I've got it all just as if it were yesterday...or yesteryear. There is a section of my home that is a technological museum of music and the formats on which it has been delivered. I know I'm not alone, so repeat after me:

"Hi, my name is [state your name], and I am a music junkie."

R&B. Funk. Hip-Hop. Soul. Jazz. Blues. I even occasionally listen to classical music when no one is looking! Music clubs like Columbia and BMG hate me. I get my eight CDs for three bucks...buy the minimum to fulfill the contractual obligation...cancel my subscription and start over again. I listen to music in the car, at home, and when traveling. I even put my money where my music is--I bought stock in Sirius when it was just barely over a buck--and made a nice little profit to boot!

Don't feel bad if you're a music junkie. It's okay. And there are certainly worse vices to have...but I won't go there. Yes, music is the key to the soul. It can help you deal with depression, pump you up during exercise, take the stress of your day away, help you recall a special time, or just put smile on your face and a pep in your step. Music is therapy. Take a dose and call me in the morning...
Peace,
+THINKER

Who does Dick Cheney think he's fooling?

Recently, our illustrious Vice President made statements to indicate that by picking Bush-Cheney during the November election, America is less likely to become a victim of a terrorist act again. Does our Vice-President think Americans are so stupid as to submit to the politics of fear mongering? Who does Dick Cheney think he's fooling? To be fair, the specific quote made by Cheney occurred at a town hall appearance in Des Moines on Tuesday, where he stated that it was essential that Americans make the right choice in the Nov. 2 president election "because if we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we'll get hit again." Is that a guarantee, Mr. Vice-President? Taking his statement at face value, it would make less, not more, sense to vote for the Kerry-Edwards ticket! Or perhaps Americans are stupid enough to forget that the airplanes that totaled the twin towers occurred on his watch?

Sadly, the Bush-Cheney campaign has latched onto the 9/11 tragedy like a toddler sucking on a pacifier. Lo' be unto you if pull Dick Cheney’s binky! This is clearly the ultimate form of desperation. I just don't understand why they don't "get it." No one blames our current (or past) President for what happened on 9/11--okay, so some people do. But the fact of the matter is that pointing fingers gets us no closer to the preventative measures that need to be in place to avoid a repeat incident. I find it disgusting, however, that our current President chooses to continue to use the tragedy like so many companies use ad-placement in movies. The families who lost loved ones that day deserve better. The families who lost loved ones in Iraq deserve better. Our country deserves better. And interest groups are not helping matters.

The on-going discussion of the Swift boat incident and unfulfilled National Guard obligations only detract from the fact that neither the media nor the candidates are focusing on issues. These on-going insults to the intelligence of the American people should piss you off. Don't issues count during election runs anymore? I suppose what we need is good ol' fashioned drive by to wake us up. Remember when Gang violence was only an Urban problem? C'mon. You remember. It wasn't reeeeally a problem for America until it started infiltrating predominantly White suburban communities. Up until that point, authorities treated the symptoms, and not the problem. Make no mistake, "Terrorism" is no different.

As long as bombings and atrocities happened in other people's backyard--translation: somewhere in Europe, Africa, or Asia--it wasn't much for us to be concerned about. What a difference a day makes following the destruction of two sky scrapers. [Fast forward to present day and the mixed mission]: Since the "War on Terror" has begun, the lives of more than one thousand military men and women have been lost, several civilians have literally lost their heads, we have neither found nor eliminated any weapons of mass destruction, we have come no closer to finding Osama Bin Laden, the price of a barrel of sweet crude oil is floating in the $40-range, and by all counts, we have no exit strategy. Graphic? Disgusted? Good. Recall that we're once again removed from the ugliness. It all happens "over there." Sure, we do well to fall back on the humanitarian aspect of improving the lives of the Iraqi people, but somehow the notion of a whole new generation of extremists who are enraged at Americans occupying their country is none too comforting. Regardless of who gets elected in November, the legacy we leave (to our children) will be largely reflective of the legacy we leave to a post-occupation Iraq. Remember that!

Otherwise, you could simply believe our Vice-President's rhetoric--afterall, his is clearly the much simpler view:

• Step One: Don't vote for Kerry, less you increase the risk of another terrorist act. And don't consider that the terrorist act occurred while I was in office--that was Clinton's fault!
• Step Two: Don't recognize terrorism as terrorism--while you were sleeping, some nut blew up a ukranian church in Connecticut.

It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Even the best writers couldn't make this stuff up...it's just too easy... So what are you going to do about it?

Peace,
+THINKER

Things I want to know about the next President of the United States

The Democrats have had their day in the sun in Boston, and the Republicans have now had their day in the sun. Both campaigns got a bump in the polls, but what do they have in mind for managing our country for the next four years? As a social liberal and fiscal conservative, I ultimately consider myself moderate by most political gauges. While I have my own thoughts about who you should vote for, I think it's more important that you do the following:

• Get as much information you can. Ask yourself: What issues do I care about? Where do I stand? And more importantly, where do the candidates stand on the issues? Whose plan is better? Do we share most of the same views? Or are we "world's apart"? You won't get this by listening to commercials or sound bites. You need to work at it--that means reading the paper, reading the platforms, watching the conventions, listening to analysis, and political commentary, and yes, reflecting upon the candidates record to date. And there are a couple of other things you need to do as well...
• Register to Vote, and
• VOTE, dang it! It's not sufficient to bitch & moan, or to simply register, and not plan on voting, as Dave Chappelle pointed out on The Tonight Show!

As a public service, I am providing some crib notes for evaluating the candidates. You might consider asking yourself the same questions...the answers might surprise you.

Things I want to know about the next President of the United States

1. What is [President Bush's / Sen. Kerry's] plan to re-establish credibility with the United Nations and abroad?
2. What is [President Bush's / Sen. Kerry's] plan for The War on Terrorism? When will the troops come home? What is our exit strategy? What is the definition of "mission accomplished"?
3. What is [President Bush's / Sen. Kerry's] plan for providing incentives for companies to keep jobs in America?
4. What is [President Bush's / Sen. Kerry's] plan for dealing with on-going challenges to Roe v. Wade?
5. What does[President Bush / Sen. Kerry] see as "critical qualifications" for a Supreme Court Justice nominee?
6. What is [President Bush's / Sen. Kerry's] plan for ensuring that ALL children are presented with equal opportunities for education in a safe environment?
7. What is [President Bush's / Sen. Kerry's] plan for reducing the National debt, safeguarding Social Security, and simplifying the tax laws such that everyone pays their fair share?
8. What is [President Bush's / Sen. Kerry's] plan for making healthcare more affordable? And revising government policies prohibiting the purchase of generic drugs--at substantially lower cost--in Canada and/or overseas?
9. What are the preventative steps [President Bush /Sen. Kerry] will make in immigration and nationalization, and national security to reduce the risk of another episode of "9/11"?
10. What is [President Bush's / Sen. Kerry's] stance on calls for a constitutional amendment defining marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman?

Jobs for Americans. Healthcare. Education. Immigration. Taxes. Abortion. Gay Rights. Supreme Court appointments. National Security. International credibility. You may not care about some of these issues, but if you're reading this, odds are you care about at least a few. How much do you really know about where the candidates stand on the issues? Probably about as much as you know about where they stand on 527 organizations...and that ain't much! That said, what are you going to do about it? At the time of this writing, there are just 63 days left to election day. There's lots of time left to make an informed decision. Make your vote count...

Peace,

+THINKER