999 and counting…

Today, the 999^th person was executed since the United States reinstituted the death penalty back in 1976, which comes out as one prisoner executed every 10-11 days. According to 1998 data (the latest I could find), the US ranks #3 in the world in executions, and #20 in executions per capita, ahead of countries such as Vietnam and Syria. Delaware has been no small part of this, consistently ranking #1 per capita (not surprising given our small population). We were also the last state to execute a prisoner by hanging, which occurred several years ago at the prisoner’s request.

The death penalty is a tough issue for the Democratic Party and the nation as a whole; in most polls, almost ¾ of Americans maintain their support of it, at least in certain cases. However, as we reach this milestone, it is only appropriate to take some time and reflect upon the serious questions this raises:

- How many of those 999 were actually innocent?

- Does the government have the right to end life?

- Is the death penalty an effective deterrent or a waste of money?

- Why are we the last “western” nation to continue this practice?

- Has the death penalty been implemented equally and fairly?

Personally, I don’t have a real set of answers for these questions. Some reach to the heart of core principles and values, while others are a matter of practical truths and factual statistics. They are matters no individual and no party should take lightly. Most importantly, however, they are questions that we should work to resolve before, as a society and with taxpayer dollars, we send another 1,000 Americans to their graves.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Though the contributors to this blog have been on vacation from blogging for a couple weeks now, we would nevertheless like to wish all of our readers a happy Thanksgiving. We apologize for our lack of posts, but as I’m sure everyone understands, things have been quite hectic for all of us and will remain so until the end of the semester.

Certainly we haven’t lacked in worthwhile topics: Rep. Murtha’s call for a troop withdrawal from Iraq and the subsequent forced (staged) vote on immediate withdrawal by the Republicans was noteworthy, as was the administration’s vicious attacks on Murtha’s patriotism, which, realizing their hypocrisy after he stood up for himself, they have since backed down on. The vote by the Senate expressing the desire for significant change in Iraq next year was also a critical moment; the administration’s grasp on power is slipping. Their old, overused tactics no longer serve them well, and corruption continues to plague top Republican officials.

I’ll stop before I get onto my soapbox – just had to put something up to counter the recent crude smear on the Republican blog.

As we enjoy our time with our families and friends this Thanksgiving, as we devour too much turkey and stuffing, we should be cliché and take at least a few minutes to reflect on what we truly have to be thankful for; first off, that we live in a country where we can go online and criticize (or defend) our national leadership without fear. More importantly, however, we should be thankful for the soldiers who are bravely serving this nation; in spite of our vast disagreements over the reason they are in Iraq or how to bring them home, without those willing to serve their nation we would most defiantly have a whole lot less to be thankful for this turkey day and this holiday season.

A War on Terror Setback

On the College Republicans blog, they have declared certain events surrounding the recent terrorist attacks in Jordan to be a “victory.” Though it was heartening to see the Jordanians protest against Zarqawi and Al-Qaeda, I would hardly consider this a victory considering the larger implications.

This attack further illustrates that we have CREATED terrorist by going into Iraq, spreading instead of restricting Al-Qaeda's influence. It was, after all, Iraqis who perpetrated this act. It is particularly alarming that these new Iraqi terrorists have spread their reach beyond their own borders into a neighboring country.

We were told we were going into Iraq in part because Saddam had terrorist connections, in spite of a notable lack of "Iraqi terrorists" (it was mostly Saudis who attacked us on 9-11). Al Qaeda's influence in Iraq was also quite limited or non-existent prior to our invasion and occupation/reconstruction. Nevertheless, as witnessed by the tragic attacks in Jordan, it is far from limited now, and terrorists of the Al Qaeda network are currently using Iraq as a means of recruitment for attacks elsewhere.

I would certainly not consider that to be a "victory."

Hypocrite in PA

You know how Republicans are always railing against medical malpractice lawyers because, as they claim, those professionals drive up malpractice insurance? Well, now one of the most prominent advocates of capping and limiting malpractice rewards has been uncovered to benefit greatly from such a lawsuit.

ABC has reported that the wife of Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) sued a chiropractor a few years ago for $500,000. The jury awarded her the total amount, but the judge chopped it in almost in half, saying that half a million dollars was excessive. The Santorums won $350,000, claiming pain and suffering because Mrs. Santorum gained a few pounds. The actual medical bill for fixing Mrs. Santorum's back after the incident was $18,800.

Sen. Santorum was previously on record rallying for a cap on medical malpractice suits. The cap he wanted? Well, it was $100,000 less than he and his family was awarded not too long ago; $250,000. Now he is quoted as saying perhaps that proposed cap should be raised -- perhaps he thinks this raise will get him out of his hypocrisy dilemma.

But he can't possibly think the American people are that stupid, or does he?

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1300271#2

Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day, a day to reflect on the sacrifices made by those who serve and have previously served in our military.

At a time of great partisanship and contention, it is crucial that we remember that those who serve do so because of their love of this nation, not for any singular party or ideological cause.

Our veterans, along with our current soldiers, deserve our deepest respect and honor, along with our sincerest gratitude. While we may set a day aside for this express purpose, this is no less true the other 364 days of the year. Let us always remember those who have sacrificed to make this nation what it is, and let us always be grateful for that sacrifice.

ENOUGH

Once again, I would like to take the opportunity to recognize a Republican for doing something commendable. Senator John McCain has vowed to add an anti-torture measure to every major piece of Senate legislation until it is approved by President Bush. This comes after the administration has threatened to veto a defense bill containing the measure, which was passed by 90 Senators. Vice President Cheney has also urged that the CIA be exempt from the measure, which makes sense in light of revelations that there are secret CIA prisons in former Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe, as well as in Afghanistan. I don’t think they’re secretly giving the prisoners milk and cookies, after all.

I’ve included a lot of documentation and links, because I do not want readers who have not heard of this stuff to think I’m some sort of conspiracy theorists – quite frankly, I wish I were. I know this stuff sounds too wacky to be true, but the reality is that this administration has declared open war on human rights, as though it is not even ashamed to be doing what it is doing. This is lunacy, and it must be stopped.

Who better than John McCain, himself a former torture victim in Vietnam, to put his foot down and say ENOUGH? Let’s join him; I’d like to encourage everyone to contact the White House and tell them to stop sacrificing our beliefs and values; we cannot give up our way of life in order to “save” it. Recently, President Bush said, “We aspire for a hemisphere where the dignity of every human being is respected.” We can only hope that eventually, President Bush will end his hypocrisy and live up to these words.