IN COLD BLOOD - 2

From an editorial in the Los Angeles Times:

Unless there is a last-minute stay, Troy Anthony Davis will die Wednesday by lethal injection, raising the distinct possibility that the state of Georgia will have executed an innocent man. His is perhaps the highest-profile death penalty case in the country, attracting the attention of such public figures as former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI and former FBI Director William Sessions, all of whom have called for clemency, as well as the European Union, which on Monday urged Georgia's pardons board to commute Davis' sentence. The board was not swayed. On Tuesday, after hearing hours of testimony from both sides, it rejected Davis' request for clemency and set the stage for his execution.

That a man who may be innocent of the crime for which he will be executed is horrendous. People here in the US and around the world are right to protest the outrage and plead for a stay of execution for Troy Davis. I hope and pray that a stay is ordered. I don't know if Davis is innocent or guilty of the crime, but the justice system has not proved his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. What happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'? As the editorial says:

For a state to justify executing someone, the case against him or her must be ironclad. The case against Davis is anything but. Georgia's governor has no power to stop executions, and Davis' defense attorneys may be out of options. His execution, if it proceeds, should remind all Americans of the potential for injustice lying at the heart of a primitive method of punishment.

It's long past the time for us to rid ourselves of the barbarous and primitive method of punishment, if we wish to think of ourselves as a civilized country.

And we should take another look at Rick Perry, governor of Texas and a candidate for president of the US, who did not struggle at all as he presided over 234 executions during his terms in office.

I ask again: what is a state execution if not killing in cold blood?

UPDATE: From the Guardian:

The execution of Troy Davis was delayed temporarily by the US supreme court on Wednesday night, in a dramatic intervention just as he was due to be put to death by lethal injection.

As the first news came in at the Jackson prison that houses death row, a huge cheer erupted from a crowd of more than 500 protesters that had amassed on the other side of the road.

Thanks be to God and the Justices of the Supreme Court!

H/T to Jonathan Hagger and Dan Sloan on Facebook.

UPDATE 2: At approximately 9:30, I heard on Democracy Now that the execution is now proceeding.

Lord, have mercy on us all.

ANOTHER TRAGIC GAY TEEN SUICIDE

From Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin:

Fourteen-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer posted an “It Gets Better” video last May describing his struggles with the constant bullying he experienced at school. He expressed confidence at that time that his family and friends could carry him through the difficulties. But in the face of renewed bullying at the start of a new school year as a high school freshman, the bullying got worse. it turns out that it wasn’t.

Jamey's video:

Jamey’s father Tim Rodemeyer said, “To the kids who are bullying they have to realize that words are very powerful and what you think is just fun and games isn’t to some people, and you are destroying a lot of lives.”

How heartbreaking! A beautiful young life snuffed out at the age of 14. Jamey is gone because the bullying became unbearable. What are the thoughts of the young people who bullied Jamey now? How many deaths will it take before bullying will be addressed in a serious way by so-called adults?

Almighty God, our Father in heaven, before whom live all who die in the Lord: Receive our brother Jamey into the courts of your heavenly dwelling place. Let his heart and soul now ring out in joy to you, O Lord, the living God, and the God of those who live. Amen.

Almighty God, look with compassion upon the sorrows of all who love Jamey. Remember them, Lord, in your mercy; nourish them with comfort, consolation, and a sense of your goodness; lift up your countenance upon them; and give them peace. Amen.

ELIZABETH WARREN - NO ONE GOT RICH ON HIS OWN

From Elizabeth Warren, candidate for the US Senate in Massachusetts:

I hear all this, you know, “Well, this is class warfare, this is whatever.”—No!

There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody.

You built a factory out there—good for you! But I want to be clear.

You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for.

You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate.

You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for.

You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did.

Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea—God bless. Keep a big hunk of it.

But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.

Yes, Warren's words have gone viral on the internet, but I want to call attention to them because everyone should read them.

RUTH GLEDHILL SAYS RUMORS ARE LIKELY TRUE

In the comments, Lapin notes that Ruth Gledhill believes the rumors about Archbishop Rowan Williams' resignation are likely true, because Lambeth Palace did not issue a denial but said only that the palace will not comment. You can listen to the BBC interview with Gledhill this past Sunday on BBC Radio for only a few days more. Gledhill bravely speculates on who will be named to replace Rowan. She says Abp. John Sentamu of York is very popular.

UPDATE: On the other hand, Bishop Dan Martins of the Diocese of Springfield reports on his blog, Confessions of a Carioca, from Quito, Ecuador, where the Episcopal Church House of Bishops just completed their semi-annual meeting:

It's not often that I indulge in news mongering, but my ears perked up this afternoon when the Bishop of Bath & Well, a guest of this meeting of the HoB, brought his greetings to the house.

First, he addressed the rumor, first appearing in the British press a week or so ago, that Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will have resigned within a year's time in order to return to academia. This, Bishop Price told us, will not happen. He told us this emphatically, and without a hint of doubt. One might be forgiven for inferring that he had some inside information.

The word from Bishop Price.

ON MAKING MY BED

Today I finally fessed up to the cleaning lady that I preferred to make up my own bed with a clean set of sheets. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, CL said, 'I know! I'm terrible at making beds. My daughter complains, and one woman fired me over my bed-making!' My CL does a fine job with all her other duties, so I would not consider firing her over the way she makes a bed, although her method produces results that are much less than satisfactory.

I admit it. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist about wanting a neatly made bed. My previous CL made a bed with a perfection that even I could not equal, so I was a bit spoiled and had high expectations. Our mattress is deep, so it's a bit difficult, but entirely possible, to get the fitted bottom sheet positioned right. Then I want the top sheet, light blanket, and quilt evenly positioned on the the bed. Hospital corners at the bottom of the bed for the top sheet and blanket are de rigueur. Like ironing, I take pleasure in a bed well made. With both chores, I can plainly see the result of my effort.

The new CL has been with us several months, and for a while, I'd remake the entire bed after she left, which involved more work than making up the bed from scratch. Then my CL hurt her back and was out for a while, and Grandpère and I made do for several weeks by sharing the cleaning chores. When she returned, I continued to make the bed to help her so she would not have to strain her back which was not yet fully healed. Finally, the day arrived when she was fully recovered, and I decided to tell her that I wanted to continue the task. I feared I would hurt her feelings, but I did not. All's well that ends well.

A DAY FOR REJOICING - 'DADT IS DEAD'!

From The Advocate:

The military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, one described in 1993 by President Bill Clinton as “an honorable compromise” that eventually destroyed thousands of careers, ended Tuesday at 12:01 a.m., nine months after Congress repealed the law.

Though September 20, 2011 may be remembered as much as a nonevent for the nation’s armed forces as it is a landmark day for equality, an official military memorandum on the end of DADT distributed Monday is striking nonetheless:

“From this day forward, gay and lesbian Soldiers may serve in our Army with the dignity and respect they deserve,” Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh and Army officials wrote (see a PDF of the letter here). “For over 236 years, the U.S. Army has been an extraordinary force for good in the world. Our Soldiers are the most agile, adaptable and capable warriors in history — and we are ready for this change.”

The announcement is long overdue but welcome nevertheless. Lest we diss President Obama and the Democrats in Congress unduly, this announcement would not have come under the presidency of John McCain.

According to ABCNews, when the repeal of DADT passed in the US Senate in December of 2010, McCain made the following statement:

“I hope that when we pass this legislation that we will understand that we are doing great damage,” he said.

“Today is a very sad day,” McCain sighed later.

No, Sen. McCain, you are wrong; today is a day for rejoicing. Gays and lesbians have long served bravely and honorably, and you well know the truth, but now they can be honest and forthright without fear of being thrown out of the military.

And, President Clinton, it was never 'an honorable compromise.' How could the policy that 'destroyed thousands of careers' of faithful service members ever be called honorable?

A TRUE FISHERMAN

Letter to the Men's Helpline:

Hi Andy, I really need your advice on a serious problem: I have suspected for some time now that my wife has been cheating on me. The usual signs: if the phone rings and I answer, the caller hangs up; she goes out with the girls a lot. I try to stay awake to look out for her when she comes home but I usually fall asleep.

Anyway last night about midnight I hid in the shed behind the boat. When she came home she got out of someone's car, buttoning her blouse, then she took her panties out of her purse and slipped them on. It was at that moment, crouched behind the boat, that I noticed a hairline crack in the outboard engine mounting bracket. Is that something I can weld or do I need to replace it?

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

AND ISN'T IT ABOUT TIME?

From the AP:

Drawing clear battle lines for next year's elections, a combative President Barack Obama on Monday demanded that the richest Americans pay higher taxes to help cut soaring U.S. deficits by more than $3 trillion. He promised to veto any effort by congressional Republican to cut Medicare benefits for the elderly without raising taxes as well.

"This is not class warfare. It's math," Obama declared, anticipating Republican criticism, which was quick in coming.

Now if only President Obama and the Democrats hold the line on the taxes in the plan. And I want to know more about the details of the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

The Republican reaction was swift and bluntly dismissive.

"Veto threats, a massive tax hike, phantom savings and punting on entitlement reform is not a recipe for economic or job growth-or even meaningful deficit reduction," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. "The good news is that the Joint Committee is taking this issue far more seriously than the White House."

If the Republicans want to call it class warfare to ask the very richest people in the country to pay their fair share in taxes, that's fine with me. Right now the poor and middle income folks are losing the class war, and it's time to fight back against the greedy people and their supporters in Congress. The president's plan won't make it through Congress, but - Damn! - the Democrats will have a decent issue to run on in the coming election.

THE MAN BEHIND THE STORIES AND DRAWINGS

Elizabeth Kaeton, who knows how much I like the stories, wrote to say that yesterday was the birthday of Brian Andreas, who writes and draws the illustratons for the 'Story of the Day', which I copy and post quite often. She sent the link to an interview with Brian which is a delight.

A late Happy Birthday, Brian!

And here's the Story of the Day from StoryPeople.

this is the center of the universe at this
moment unless you're looking in
another direction or are thinking about
something from a long time ago, in
which case it will wait quietly right here
until you return

A BIRTHDAY PRESENT!

Ah, but is it the drink I want?

Alas, no.



If it was a glass of a nice wine, or a glass of Taittainger, or a dram of a good single malt....