Bad news for people on death row:
* Huge day at the Supreme Court: “U.S. executions are all but sure to resume soon after a nationwide halt, cleared Wednesday by a splintered Supreme Court that approved the most widely used method of lethal injection. Virginia immediately lifted its moratorium; Oklahoma
and Mississippi said they would seek execution dates for convicted murderers, and other states were ready to follow after nearly seven months without an execution in the United States. Voting 7-2, the conservative court led by Chief Justice John Roberts rebuffed the latest assault on capital punishment, this time by foes focusing on methods rather than on the legality of the death penalty itself. Justice John Paul Stevens voted with the majority on the
question of lethal injections but said for the first time that he now believes the death penalty is unconstitutional.”
Personal note: I used to be a death penalty advocate, but after soul-searching, research and listening to a variety of opinions, I've come down on the side of life without parole. There are too many innocent people who get executed. We also know that the death penalty doesn't work as a general deterrent, although, as former FBI profiler John Douglas has said, it's definitely a specific deterrent. It's not that I have any sympathy for the fuckers who ended up there by raping and killing, mind, but a civilized society has a few more options besides "eye for an eye" justice.
In other news, Glenn Greenwald has an excellent post highlighting the media's fucked-up double standards, and explaining why it's not hypocrisy to denounce the Right's use of personality politics while engaging in some of our own:
The Right has mastered the art of transforming their leaders into heroic icons while demolishing the character of virtually every liberal and Democratic leader. Those are the themes that, far and away, dominate the establishment media's political coverage. There has been no more conclusive proof for that proposition than the news cycles of the last several weeks.
[snip]
Given that dynamic, Democrats have two choices and only two choices: (1) allow the Right to wield these themes unchallenged, in a one-sided manner, or (2) engage them just as aggressively and directly in order to neutralize the advantage they confer. The point is that having our elections decided primarily on substantive issues isn't an option, precisely because the Right and the shallow, slothful media ensure that petty personality controversies predominate. The only choice is to engage them or to ignore them, thereby allowing them to rage unchallenged.
When the Right inserts personality-based trash into our political discourse -- and when they build up their leaders based on mythological themes of heroic, morally upstanding character imagery -- it isn't an "ad hominem" attack to highlight the deceit that lies at the heart of those
claims, to document the actual character of those individuals. It's a necessary response for debunking the manipulative, substance-free character themes that are outcome-determinative in our elections, for neutralizing the twisted attacks that predominate.
[snip]
Decrying that principle while simultaneously subjecting the Right to it is not "hypocritical" or "contradictory" but, instead, is a means -- the only means -- for undermining it.
Excellent point. And I'd just like to extend that to debunking Expelled: the Farce. I've heard more than enough talk about framing, being above the fray, respond to sheer fuckwittery not with ridicule but with cold, hard science, etc. What Glenn speaks is the truth: sometimes, the only way to neutralize a particular method of attack is to engage in it gleefully. Put it like this: did your sibling respond better to "Please stop poking me in the eye," or "See how you like it! HA!" *POKE* "Not very nice, is it?"
Simple, yet effective, and it's about all these assclowns are capable of comprehending.
And finally, a vital question: Is your right-wing blogger stupid or evil? Village Voice has the answer:
Sick of political blogs? Too bad! The 2008 campaign is unavoidable; if you know what superdelegates are, or who said “God damn America,” you’re already a victim. Thanks to the curse of modern technology, you’ll be hearing what top Internet buffoons are saying about the candidates—whether you want to or not. So you may as well prepare yourself. Herewith, a rundown of 10 conservative Web scribblers who, by virtue of their high readership or annoyance factor, are likely to invade your casual conversations until the gruesome finale of our Celebration of Democracy drives us all back to our blessed, customary ignorance.
Quite amusing. It should help ease the pain until November. Ye gods, how I can't wait for "blessed, customary ignorance."
I, too, used to be a death row advocate. Now, it seems a bit hypocritical to me. We say killing is wrong, so in order to punish someone for killing we...kill them?
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't sit well with me, I'm afraid.