Another death penalty case in the Supreme Court

A Kentucky case involving the issue of whether execution by lethal injection constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. will be argued in the United States Supreme Court on January 7, 2008. I am personally opposed to the death penalty for several reasons. From a moral standpoint, I don't believe the State should kill people unless it is absolutely necessary to protect the public. The public can be protected from murderers by locking them up for life without parole. Also, in the past decade, thirteen Illinois inmates who were sentenced to death have been released due to innocence. Imprisoning innocent people is bad enough. Killing them is horrific. Finally, the State uses tremendous resources in getting a person sentenced to death and having that sentence upheld. I believe those respurces could be used for better purposes.

Having said that, I doubt the constitutional claim raised in the Kentucky case will be successful. Capital punishment is specifcally referenced in the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, indicating that the Framers of the Constitution did not consider it unconstitutional. And lethal injection is certainly a less cruel form of execution than hanging, the method employed in the late 18th century. Nevertheless, New Jersey's legislature recently abolished the death penalty and I hope other states follow suit.

Respecting Each Other's Views

In a couple of my blog posts I've criticized actions of some right wingers. I hope this is not interpreted as an expression of disrespect or disparagement of all conservatives. I think conservatives make an important contribution to our political life by reminding us that goverment cannot solve all our problems and that big government can be a dangerous thing. Some conservatives share my concern for what the neocons have done to our country lately. Bush promised us less government but has delivered a bigger, more intrusive and less efficient government, at least in my opinion. I welcome conservative comments on this blog even when they differ with my views. I just ask that we all respect each other and each other's views.

The 2008 candidates

I just wanted to share my views on the 2008 Presidential candidates. Unfortunately, the one I support, Chris Dodd, has no chance of winning. Dodd is an experienced Senator and I agree with him on most policy issues, including ending the Iraq war and providing universal healthcare through a system that will utilize private insurers. Essentially, Dodd's plan would offer to all of us the coverage choices that members of Congress have.

I also admire Dennis Kucinich for his consistent outspoken opposition to the war in Iraq. Kucinich was saying in 2004 that we needed to bring the troops home. Most Americans did not imagine back then that we would still be stuck in Iraq in 2008.

I think most of the Republican candidates would be disastrous. Most would keep us in Iraq endlessly. Mitt Romney is an incredible phony who has changed his position on many major issues to pander to the right. Rudy Giuliani is decent on some social issues, but he would continue the nightmarish war and the Bush policies of imprisoning detainees without trials and spying on Americans without warrants. Giuliani was weak on civil liberties as mayor of New York and he would be weak on them as President.

I once admired Ron Paul for his antiwar stance and his principled opposition to big government. But the more I learn about him, the more bizarre he seems. In the early 1990's for example a newsletter was sent out called the Ron Paul Survival Report which made some hideous racist statements. Paul blames a ghostwriter for those staements and claims they don't reflect his views but I think that is a lame excuse. Paul also claims that he wishes the government would strictly follow the Constitution, but he ignores it at times. For example, he argues that children born in the US with parents who are illegal aliens should not be citizens. That would be unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment.

Odds are, we are in for a contest between Hillary Clinton and Giuliani. If that happens, I'll hold my nose when I walk into the voting booth and vote for Hillary. But I won't like it. I don't trust her and I suspect she'll keep us in Iraq.

The Far Right Attacks Al Gore's Nobel Prize

I was very happy to see Al Gore win the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to unite the international community in dealing with the global warming problem. Sadly, right wing extremists have attacked the awarding of the Prize to Gore which should come as no surprise. To me, global warming is a greater threat than terrorism because of the extent of the potential damage to our planet. Sadly, the right has spread all sorts of disinformation on the subject, and so have major energy companies who fund pseudo-scientific research designed to debunk global warming. Congratulations to Mr. Gore for his Nobel Peace Prize. Hopefully, we will act on the global warming problem as he suggests before it is too late.

The Right Smears The Frost Family

I just wanted to express my disgust for the manner in which right-wing pundits like Michelle Malkin and Rush Limbaugh and right wing bloggers have smeared the family of 12 year old Graeme Frost because Graeme presented the Democratic Party's rebuttal to President Bush's weekly radio address recently and he questioned the President's veto of the bill to expand SCHIP, a program that helps to insure children who need insurance. Ordinarily, these are lower middle class children as the poor are covered by Medicaid.

Malkin and Limbaugh both told lies about the family, suggesting that they have considerable assets and do not really need SCHIP. Right wing blog posters have made wild hatemongering statements, including one that called for the family to be hung.

The facts show that this family is exactly the type of low income family SCHIP was designed to help. The parents have a combined income of about $45,000, not much with four kids in an urban neighborhood. They have a home worth about $263,000 and commercial property valued at about $160,000 but are paying mortgages on both. Two kids attend private schools, but are on scholarships. The father once owned his own small business but had to give that up in 1999, in large part because of the cost of health insurance.

I understand that there might be some legitimate arguments against expanding SCHIP. But the attacks against this family from the right are inexcusable.

Happy Holdiays

If anyone is reading this blog, I wish you all the best for the holidays. As our nation heads into 2007, things continue to get worse in Bush's War in Iraq. Bush is going to increase the number of troops and get more Americans killed. Also, our nation will continue its massive human rights violations under Bush, including renditions, torture, and confinement without hearings.

If President Clinton could be impeached for false statements under oath about sex, what are we waiting for now? Ample grounds for impeachment exist. Many responsible Republicans supported the impeachment of President Nixon, realizing that he had violated the law by participating in a cover up of crimes. What Bush is doing is worse than what Nixon did. Let's get the impeachment machinery going.

Bush won't listen to the military

I find it frightening that President Bush is so stubborn about accepting the advice of his top military advisers. In 2003, they were telling him that more troops were needed in Iraq. He ignored them. Now the Joint Chiefs of Staff are unanimous in saying that it's too late to add more troops because Iraq has already descended into chaos. Again Bush isn't listening. He plans to add more troops despite the unanimous advice of the Chiefs. All this will accomplish is getting more American soldiers killed. Bush is an incompetent President.