The Nonexistent GOP Learning Curve

The Republicans fear that Obamacare is going to be a horrible, expensive, and invasive law that is going to destroy jobs. They are so hell bent on killing it, that they have chosen to sabotage our economy and the credit of our country. So, the choice as they see it is, a) wreck the economy to save us from Obamacare, or b) allow Obamacare to go on as is and wreck the economy. The difference is that (a) is a certainty, (b) is not. The real fear is that Obamacare works well enough that the Republican party will be relegated now and forever more into minor political party status. They can't allow that to happen, so the only real option is to sabotage the economy and hope that the American electorate is too stupid to realize it and they can regain the White House. They tried that during Obama's first term and were soundly defeated. Learning obvious lessons of the past is not a GOP strength.

The GOP Drug

Facebook always creates some interesting dynamics.  I have one comment thread on one friend's status about food stamps that as arced into comments on foreign debt and even Benghazi!. I have another friend that is commenting on what drugs the GOP are on, presumably as a result of their recent House votes to defund Obamacare and take money from the food stamps program (SNAP).

I won't even mention the new Koch brother funded ads about Obamacare.  They are sick.

I did some quick research and found that foreign aid makes up about 1.5% of our total budget of $3.67 trillion.  Whereas the SNAP program makes up about 2% of that budget.  Also, SNAP is one of the most efficiently run programs with only 3.8% error rate in under/overpayments and the return on investment from $1 in food stamps is very high when you consider how much it returns to the economy.  The number that I have seen is $1.73.

Republicans are on a drug called religion and conservative fanaticism. If fictional Jesus were alive today, he'd be on food stamps and wondering what will happen to him if he needed medical care. He would be unemployed because the suits at the Koch brothers would never give a long haired dark skinned hippie a job.

Thoughts on Recent News Events

It is a sad state of mental being when I am not really shocked by the events that took place at the Navy Ship Yard in Washington D.C.  The pro gun lobby will defend their position.  The pro gun control lobby will defend their position.  The mental health advocates will defend their position.  The religious bigots will defend their position.  And nothing will change.

The time-lapse video of the raising of the Costa Concordia was very interesting.  A pretty remarkable feat of engineering.  Reading stories about all the food stores that are sealed in refrigerators and freezers, etc., does not sound pretty.  I'm glad I won't be within 100 miles of that thing when they get ready to scrap it.  The biohazard is going to be nasty.

The Jersey Shore boardwalk fire was a crazy thing to watch.  30 mph winds swept through the whole place.  I guess they are now suspecting the damage from Sandy may have been the trigger for this fire.  Undoubtedly they will rebuild, and even though it may not have the old feel charm, I'm sure the new buildings will be quite extraordinary and a whole lot safer.  Not only from fire, but from future hurricanes and storm surge.  In the long run, it could be quite a boon for that area.

I haven't seen much of the Colorado flooding with everything else going on.  Crazy stuff happening there with hundreds of people still unaccounted for.  Coloradans that live in those locations are a hardy bunch.  I suspect that most of those missing will be found in survivor mode.  I wonder if the secession chatter coming from the north eastern counties will continue during the "emergency."  I'm sure any silence is only temporary.

The NFL completed its second week and I find myself pretty much in "meh" mode.  It is always more interesting once 4 or 5 games are in because we will then know more about who the pretenders are.

Remembering 9/11

While everyone is thanking our military for protecting our freedoms, and rightly so, I can't help but think of all the freedoms we have lost since 9/11/01. We can't get on an airplane without taking off our shoes or belts. We've been subjected to full body scans. We can't walk into a government building without passing through a metal detector. All of our emails and phones calls are monitored for terrorist keywords. Our government has tortured people and held them without due process. We have targeted American citizens with drone strikes. We are paranoid about every non-white person who happens to be within 100 miles of a border. We get stopped by Border Patrol within our own country. We have lawmakers that are actively trying to reduce the number of people that can vote in a democracy. I recognize that we still have far more freedoms than most people in this world, and those freedoms are being protected by a strong military presence throughout the world, but I have to wonder if it has all been worth the cost?
Here is a post from a Facebook friend that is very scary to contemplate.  I haven't attempted to verify these numbers, but they don't seem out of line with what I have heard in the past,

R.I.P. The 2,976 American people that lost their lives on 9/11, and R.I.P. the 48,644 Afghan and the 1,690,903 Iraqi and the 35,000 Pakistani people that paid the ultimate price for a crime they did not commit.

And that doesn't even include the U.S. troops who lost their lives.  The numbers are staggering.  Are we really winning the war on terrorism?

Syria

My procrastinating on this whole Syria thing seems to be paying off as we have more diplomacy coming to bear.  I had a post written about why I do not believe we should go into Syria, but now I am seeing all sorts of stuff coming from the right about how Obama has now blown it completely and we are no longer a real super power.  Um, OK Glenn Beck, whatever you say.  Some folks think we've been played by Putin and he now comes across as the dove in all of this.  I would remain skeptical.  We've known for months that Syria has had chemical weapons and has used them in the past.  Where was Putin with his suggestion then?  Where was the UN then?  It was the imminent thread of an attack from the United States that brought this idea to the forefront.  Were we played by Putin on this?  Could be.  Should we care?  No.  Anything that can avoid an armed conflict is probably a good thing, but the devil will be in the details.  So, to Glenn Beck, is there any other country in the world that could have flexed it muscles the way the US did and have gotten Russia or anyone else to step forward with a better plan?  Does that not make us a super power?

I have no idea how this is going to play out, but the question has to be asked, who else has even remotely cared about what is going on in Syria other than the US?  I'm not even sure Israel cared because it kept Assad and others in his country focused internally rather than externally.

The other question that has to be asked is how would the conservatives have responded had it been President Romney in the White House.   I can assure you that their position would have been very different.  I think it is a sad state of affairs that we have a Republican Party that is so hell bent on being anti-Obama that they don't have a principled bone left in their dead party.  These guys change their positions to the anti-Obama position so fast that I'm shocked they don't have whiplash.

In a strange time warp soft of way, Obama has successfully turned the Republican Party into the anti-war party.  Maybe he deserved that Nobel Peace Price just for that.  Geez, even Donald Rumsfeld is criticizing the President on this.

Politics aside, I'll be happy to see a diplomatic end to this rather than see an escalation of violence.

The Death of Ariel Castro and Prisoner Assisted Suicide

Trigger Warning:  Suicide

Let's start wading back into the blogging waters with the subject of suicide.  Since I have recently experienced a situation involving suicide, I feel it is only appropriate to provide a trigger warning first.  This post is not intended to be about the subject of suicide in general, especially as it pertains to mental health issues and those struggling with other issues where counseling is probably the best course of action.  This post is going to be more on the subject of suicide/death penalty, and the actions taken by law enforcement that results in the death of a suspect.

My first reaction to seeing the news on the death of Ariel Castro was pretty much along the lines of good riddance.  I am in no way saddened by his death.  I even commented on a friend's Facebook post that I doubt law enforcement officials did much to make sure materials were not available to him.  Crime and death is always a tricky minefield to navigate, so let's step with care and see where it takes us.

There have been several recent, high profile incidents in the last year with respect to criminals being killed (or killing themselves) prior to being taken into custody.  I'm going to dispense with the alleged part of this since these are cases where the person was clearly guilty of committing a crime.  Two recent examples are the Tsarnaev brothers of Boston Marathon fame and the former LA Police Officer that was the subject of an intense manhunt in and around the LA area.  His name escapes me and is not relevant.  The bottom line is that I have no issue in either case with the criminal being killed in the process of searching for them and barricading themselves and fighting back.  I simply have no moral dilemma on this matter.  They clearly chose a path of resistance and have shown themselves to lack the necessary moral compass for me to consider having any compassion for them.  Good riddance and I won't lose any sleep over their passing.  I'm not even going to lose sleep over the fact that we may not know their motivations for their crimes, although in this case, I think those were clear.  The acts that were committed by the individuals in these two circumstances clearly have no basis in rational thought and if there is one thing I've learned over the years, trying to apply a rational reason for an irrational behavior or act isn't going to get you anywhere.

So, Ariel Castro killed himself.  I'm not sure we are going to know why, and I don't think it matters.  Maybe he had a change in conscience and couldn't live with his actions.  Maybe he couldn't stand the thought of living the rest of his live in conditions that were probably far better than what he subjected his victims to.

There are thousands of people in jail for life without parole and/or on death row.  It is routine to see a court order a prisoner be placed on suicide watch.  What if we abolished the death penalty and commuted all death sentences to life without parole, then offered an assisted suicide option to prisoners?  Would this be morally wrong?  Is it a better solution than an explicit death penalty?  Should the victims have a say in whether or not the criminal can make such a choice?  I don't know.

I would imagine that there are plenty of prisoners sentenced to life that would take the option if it was administered in much the same way the death penalty is (perhaps via lethal injection), but without all the creepy stagecraft and allowing victims to watch or observe.

For now, I simply pose the questions.  I'm not sure what my answers would be to those questions, but I am leaning toward being in favor of what I guess would be called prisoner assisted suicide.

Time to Start Blogging Again

I've been away from blogging for quite some time now.  There are many reasons for it.  However, I can assure you that it is not because I've softened in my convictions on various subjects.

One of the reasons I stopped blogging was because I was shocked at the continuing escalation of insanity in the various Republican Presidential candidates.  I mean, you can only call someone quanophrenic so many times before it loses its impact.  I really didn't think they could keep topping themselves in stupidity, and yet, here we are, experiencing ever increasing levels of bat shittery.  I simply ran out of adjectives and I haven't really found any new ones.

Second, I just felt that many people didn't care, so why bother.  It's not like I'm an expert voice on many of these subjects.  In fact, what I realize now is that blogging about some of these things have helped me to really think about some of those gray areas and moral dilemmas.  For example, the death penalty.  I've been neutral on it for quite some time.  I felt that I could justify it at times, but not others.  I read a lot of other blogs on the subject and listened to their arguments.  Then came the realization that if you can make arguments for and against a position, then you should probably adopt a morally defensible position as the default, and that is, quite simply, to be against the death penalty.

Third, I found myself in a very unexpected relationship.  I simply didn't feel the need to sit down and and write about a bunch of this stuff.  Again, not that I changed my position or abandoned those beliefs, but for the first time in a long time, I simply had something much more important to do, and that was to engage myself quite happily into this relationship.  I'm very happy to say that we will be getting married in October.

Now, for the reason to start blogging again.  There have been some news items recently that have left me with some dilemmas as to how I feel about it and the best way for me to resolve those dilemmas is to write about them.  The two big things recently are the Bradly/Chelsea Manning and Snowden affairs, and Syria. Just today, the suicide of Ariel Castro and how that all plays into the right to die/assisted suicide issue.

There are other subject that I want to comment on such as Obamacare and the game of chicken the GOP is playing with the debt ceiling.  The implosion of the atheist blogosphere with respect to the war on feminism and rape culture.  Recent rulings in marriage equality.  And, all the other usual suspects that I have written about in the past.

So, expect to see some blogs on these subjects over the next couple of weeks.  I can't promise much in terms of blogging frequency, but I will try and write something a couple of times a week and see how it goes.

US Boat Washes Up in Spain

This is a cool story.  Almost.  Two men were washed overboard on their boat of the coast of Massachusetts three years go and the boat has just now washed ashore in Spain.  Read the article for the whole story.  So, two points.  First, this is really cool in understanding how ocean currents work and perhaps a testament to the builder of the boat for it to have survived intact for three years in the harsh North Atlantic ocean.  Very cool indeed.  But then, there is the part about the insinuated miracle.  The older man, only a year removed from heart surgery, was fortunate enough to have a inflatable life preserver float next to him after being thrown overboard.  Oh, boy, here we go with this miracle crap again.  First of all, why bother saving the men after throwing them overboard.  Wouldn't it have been easier for god to simply keep them on the boat in the first place.  Second, these are supposedly experienced men out on the sea off the coast.  They note that these waters are often rough and unpredictable.  Then why the hell weren't they wearing life preservers to begin with?  If you ask me, they were stupid, and damn lucky to be alive.  Don't go spouting all this miracle nonsense.

The Legacy of Joe Paterno

I have been horribly derelict in my blogging duties over the last several  months.  I have, however, been finding myself writing blogs in my head at times when I am not near the computer and I say to myself, "you need to write that down."  Well, here is one of those times.  I meant to write about this days ago, but better late than never.

PZ Myers wrote a blog about Paterno and his legacy.  In this blog he simply asked the question, "How many football games do you have to win to make up for one broken child?"  Yes, if you judge Paterno's legacy solely on his on field accomplishments and try to weigh those against the molestations of children after the reported Sandusky incident, then absolutely, the man's legacy is wanting.  But let's not discount the off the field things.  He gave many young men an opportunity to get an education that may not have gotten the chance otherwise.  Were some rules bent for eligibility and grades on occasion?  I'm sure they were.  Show me any major college program where that does not happen.  Let's not judge him against what all other coaches have done.  So, in that respect, the harsh judgement is perhaps, not fair.

However, let's take a look at the Catholic priest scandals.  There are quite a number of priests in positions of authority, while not having committed any of the crimes, knew about them and did not report them, or did not follow through on such reports.  We judge those men harshly and demand that action be taken, not only the Catholic Church, but by authorities as well.  Those men are tarnished, and their legacy's found wanting.  Why should we give Joe Paterno a pass for doing the exact same thing?

The Guinness Difference

I just got back from a business trip to Dublin, Ireland.  While there, I had the pleasure to enjoy a vast quantity of Guinness.  I've always heard people say that the Guinness in Ireland is so much better than what we get here in the States.  I would have to agree wholeheartedly.  I think there are several reasons for this.  First, the Guinness in Ireland is simply fresher, but I'm not sure that alone is sufficient.  I also heard (no idea if this is true) that the Guinness brewed for export to the U.S. is brewed in Nigeria.  If so, that changes two important ingredients (this applies no matter where it is brewed, except in Ireland).  First, the water source will be different.  Being a home brewer myself, the mineral content of the water can have a direct affect on taste.  Second, the Guinness brewed in Ireland is all brewed with Irish hops.  I suspect that the hops used in Nigeria (or whatever) would be imported from Europe and is simply not the same.

After having sampled the Ireland Guinness, I did have a Guinness (or three) at my local bar last night.  It was clearly inferior to the Ireland Guinness, but even then, the Guinness here is still a damn good beer.

Insomnia Beer

I am a beer snob.  I don't drink any beer that has "light" in its name.  I don't drink beer out of a can.  I don't drink beer out of a bottle that has a twist cap.  I like trying foreign beers and I like trying regional and local beers when I travel.  One of my favorite beers is Four Peaks Kiltlifter.  It was my regular beer of choice at one of the bars I frequent.  During the first couple of months when I started to frequent this bar, I started having bouts of insomnia.  I eventually narrowed it down to the nights when I had been to the bar, and narrowed it down even further to the beer itself.  I changed beers for a few weeks and the insomnia went away.  This was very disappointing, but ultimately necessary.  Unfortunately, I need to add another beer to my insomnia beer list.  Smithwick's.  I've had a few while visiting Ireland and had very poor nights of sleep.  The good news is that if I stick to just Guinness, then no problems.  Yay!  Fortunately, I have a short list of favorite beers that don't give me insomnia.

To be Thankful to...

Another Thanksgiving is upon us.  Thanksgiving is a holiday that I never really gave much thought to.  For me, spending time with my family wasn't that big of a deal because, well, we were always home and together anyway.  It always seems like a lot of work for 10 minutes around the table.  Anyway, as my life as changed, through marriage, separation, and divorce, the meaning of Thanksgiving has changed a bit for me.  So, here is who I am thankful to.

To Kathy, for being a good friend over these last 4+ years, and for introducing me to a whole host of new friends through the Parrothead Club.  I now have people that I know and care about (and care about me) all over the United States, from Southern California, to Salt Lake City, Iowa, Rocky Point, and numerous places in between.  Yes, I lived a pretty solitary life, even when married, and I am very thankful to her to have given me this opportunity to meet so many others.

To Rick and Julie, for also being good friends over these same 4+ years.  For letting me share a bit of your family with you, whether it be a house boat trip, trips to Rocky Point, Key West, or even being able share with you the marriage of your son and daughter-in-law.

To Annette and Eric, for sharing your home in Rocky Point and allowing me so many opportunities to come and visit and enjoy some raucous times with good friends.

To so many other of my AZPHC friends.  You guys have become like family to me.  Welcoming me into your homes and allowing me to share in all the joys, triumphs, and a few tragedies.

To Jen, who I have known since grade school, and now have an opportunity to know so much more.  I am very much looking forward to tomorrows.

To my kids, Isaak and Emma, while I have missed the opportunity to watch them grow up on a day to day basis, I am very proud of who they have become and enjoy seeing the growth and maturity in them every time I do get to see them.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

One Million Moms is Fucking Scary

So, there is this group out there called One Million Moms.  First off, they are an activist organization that is trying to clean up the moral failings of America.  They are also a "Project" of the American Family Association.  Take note, any activist organization that uses the words "Family" or "Justice" is likely to be a right wing crack pot organization.  Oddly enough, the AFA is such an organization.  Anti-women, anti-gay, and pretty much every over nasty and disgustingly wrong aspect of morality you can think of.

Anyway, this OMM group has called for a boycott of Ben & Jerry's Schweddy Balls ice cream.  They have called for a boycott of DWTS sponsors because ABC actually mentioned what the meaning of transgendered was.  DWTS is now accused of promoting the pro-homosexual agenda.  They are claiming credit for the cancellation of "PB Club."  That is Playboy Club, but apparently they can't bring themselves to spell out Playboy.  Adult toys being sold on Pharmacy websites.  Etc., etc.

One of their bigger campaigns is to have Google and Disney pull their support of the "It gets better" campaign to help counter the bullying experienced by LGBTQ youth in this country that has led to numerous suicides.

You can scroll through the various list of things they find offensive.  Basically, this is just a branch of the hyper-bigoted AFA.

My Issues with Obama

Before I get accused of being an Obama sycophant, I just probably take a few sentences and mention all the things that his administration has done that has really disappointed me. 

First, his failure to tackle the torture issue.  Under Bush, the US committed torture.  Plain and simple.  There are two parts to this.  One, Obama did nothing to look into the prosecution of those that committed torture.  Two, it now appears that we have outsourced our torture to other nations by shifting "enemy combatants" to other countries that may not be so unkind to certain interrogation techniques. 

Second, Obama claimed to want to be a very transparent administration.  While this administration is indeed far more transparent that probably any President before, this Administration has fought just about every attempt by the public to gain information via the Freedom of Information Act by citing the States Secrets Act.  As a side note, shame on the courts for granting just about every request made by the Obama Administration.

Third, signing the extension of the Patriot Act.  This is one of the most unpatriotic and unconstitutional pieces of legislation ever written and both Dems and Repugs alike extended it with nary a wimper as to how much of our rights have been forfeited.  The existence of the Patriot Act alone is indication that the terrorists already won.

Fourth, his massive clamp down on marijuana and medical marijuana.  Massive savings at pretty much every level of government, from towns up through the Feds, would save billions of dollars a year by simply ignoring much of the petty, misdemeanor possession charges.  Police would be redirected toward other crime prevention.  Prosecutors could focus more on felony cases.  Less money would be spent on incarceration and courts.  This alone would probably be a non-trivial stimulus to the economy.

Fifth, his inability to take control of the true message during the all of the deficit an debt ceiling debacle.  The Republicans set the message early and Obama had no choice but to give in to their whims or else the GOPers would have crashed the economy.  He is finally getting now, but the Repuglicans are brazen now.

Sixth, his ordering of the killing of the American born terrorist, al-Awlaki.  When I wrote that blog, I wasn't  sure how I felt about that act, but now I believe it was illegal and leads us down a slippery slope.  Not unlike what Bush did with the torture memos.  At the very least, al-Awlaki should have been indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for various crimes.  Treason being one of them.  Then issuing a request to the Yemen government to apprehend him and extradite him to the US.  Had al-Awlaki been killed in that attempt, so be it.  But at least the due process of law for an American citizen would have been followed.  Also, if there was any evidence that he rejected his citizenship, then the Administration should have asked a court to reject his citizenship.  This would have opened up the drone attack as a true military operation against a sworn enemy of the US.

Occupy, Sabotage, and the Liberal Media

I see that I have been neglecting my blog again.  Truth is, I am sort of disgusted by the same old shit from the Republicans and their blatant attempt to sabotage our economy as the 2012 election approaches.  So, with that in mind, I have not paid much attention to the whole Occupy Wall Street movement and its various off shoots.  Part of me wants to say, "OK, whatever."  But there seems to be some real grass roots stuff happening here.  There is no consistent message.  There is no spokesperson.  It is just a lot of people kind of tired of the Wall Street class warfare.  I don't even think it is really targeted at Republicans either, although, their efforts to call our freedom to assemble "anti-American" doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.  They didn't seem to mind the various Tea Party assemblies back in the day, but, oh well, just another example of Republican hypocrisy.  The real target simply seems to be obscene amounts of money.  Now, I don't really think they care if Banker John Doe makes a lot of money.  What they are tired of is that they are resisting any and all efforts to get the economy moving again.  New Flash!  Trick down economics does work!

I do have one question for every OWS protester out there.  Did you vote in 2010?  Will you vote in 2012?  Will you get your friends to vote?  Your family?  The Republicans have passed legislation in dozens of states to make it harder for folks like you to vote, so, pick it up, follow their idiotic rules, and get yourself registered and eligible to vote so we can wipe these misogynistic assholes out of the state legislatures and out of the House of Representatives so that we have a real chance of growing our economy again. 

So, with all the blatant Republican hypocrisy, the clear attempts and avoiding any and all responsibility for governance, the obscene attempts to paint Obama as the one not willing to compromise, the massive public support of pretty much every aspect of the Obama job plan, where the hell is our liberally biased media and why aren't they saying anything about it?  Yes, they are covering the story, but they aren't asking the right questions.  They are simply reporting politics and not discussing facts.  They seem to be so afraid of being called out as bias that they are afraid to call a spade a spade anymore.

I won't even start of the actual Republican presidential candidates.  The ones currently in office are fucked up enough.

On the Passing of Steve Jobs

I've never been a big fan of Apple.  That really had nothing to do with Steve Jobs personally.  I'm not really a fan of the Apple business model either.  But, that doesn't mean I can't respect the contributions of Jobs to fields of personal computing and personal electronics.

I often tease friends about turning to the dark side as the seem to slowly covet a new Mac laptop or the iPhone.  While I don't see myself ever getting one of those devices, I have owned a couple of iPods.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the musical freedom that those devices have given me.

Without question, Jobs was an innovator, and his contributions will be sorely missed.

Arkansas Atheist Ad Campaign

An atheist bus ad campaign rolled out in Arkansas today.  The background story is of interest here because the ad, which says, "Are you good without God?  Millions are" was considered too controversial by the bus company and demanded a $36,000 security deposit to protect the bus company against vandalism. 

So, let's think about that for a second, the bus company was worried that people would be so enraged by that little sentence up there, that they wanted a special consideration made to run the ads (after a court ruled they had to because it was discriminatory not to).  The court ruled that $15,000 was fair (it isn't) and the Central Arkansas Coalition of Reason paid.

So, let's think about this, part two.  Who do you think the bus company was worried about vandalizing the ads?  Who else?  Christians.  What does it say about Christians that the bus company would be worried about them vandalizing their buses?  Hmm.

Would the bus company have been concerned about vandalism had the ad been a Christian message?  Probably not.  What does that say about the non-theists?  Hmm.

The Killing of Al-Awlaki

About a week ago, a US drone killed Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen.  He was purportedly a high ranking member of Al-Qaida and actively involved in plots against American interests.  The interesting point of all this is that he was American born, and therefore an American citizen.  So, the question becomes, was it legal to kill him without any legal due process?

I will say that my first reaction was good riddance, but at the time, I didn't know he was an American citizen.  Is it hypocritical to believe that Guantanamo Bay should be shut down all of its prisoners tried in a US Court of Law allowing due process of all, regardless of their citizenship, and then turn right around and not bat an eyelash at the killing of al-Awlaki?  How do the rules of engagement with respect to a war play out when the entity you are at war with is not a nation-state?  As an apparent "officer" of such a military entity, or as an acknowledged leader of such an entity a valid target in war?

While it is apparent that no US court will be willing to rule on such an issue since War Powers tend to be left to the discretion of Congress and the office of the President.  The one entity missing in all of this is Congress.  Congress should pass laws with respect to this type of action so that the guidance for the President is clear.  To avoid doing so is skipping out on its responsibility to enact such laws and therefore, they should not be so willing to criticize the President for this action.

I also can't help but think that if Bush had done this, there would be no end to the praise coming from the right as opposed to the guarded questioning of the legality we see today.  Also, to be fair, there are plenty on the right who applauded this action as well.  Again, whether I am bothered by that, I don't really now.

If I had to choose a side on this fight, I would say that I would be supportive of the action since he, by all appearances, was an active leader in a sworn enemy of the United States who willing left US soil to engage in activities against his country.  On the other hand, I can think of other situations where somebody has committed treason and left the country.  Under those circumstances, I'm sure the US would attempt to capture and extradite them to face trial.  The question then becomes, was he acting in the interest of a sworn and active enemy of the United States.

Lots of food for thought.

The Amanda Knox Tragedy

I have read only bits of pieces of the Amanda Knox story.  Certainly, there is something to be said of a trial by the press.  But the real tragedy is that a young woman was murdered four years ago and her killer is free, whether it was Knox, or her boyfriend, or somebody else out there.  Even if Italian prosecutors can successfully appeal an acquittal (that sounds so weird), I doubt the US would extradite at this point.  It would make for some interesting international relations.  But, at this point, even if the Italian police were to reopen the investigation without Knox and/or her boyfriend as suspects, it sounds like all the evidence is so tainted at this point that it may not be worth bothering.  The same thing can be said about the Casey Anthony trial, or the Troy Davis trial, or the Memphis 3.  When prosecutors are so focused on getting somebody, anybody, found guilty of a high profile crime, then there become two tragedies, the trials of the innocent and what they must endure, and the trials of a grieving family who must watch their killed loved one as nothing more than a footnote to a circus.

Picture Sharing

Just a few pictures/cartoons that have recently been shared to me.  They should all be self explanatory.