Cruel and Unusual

The supreme court is hearing arguments today in a death penalty case. The issue here is not guilt or innocence, or even the constitutionality of the death penalty itself, but rather the method of execution. The contention is that the current method - a cocktail of three drugs - may cause undue suffering to the inmate, and thus constitute cruel and unusual punishment.

I think it's fairly obvious that the death penalty itself is cruel, and it's become pretty unusual in Western democracies. All of Europe has banned capital punishment, as has Canada and Mexico. Although this case is not about the abolition of the death penalty, I hope it sparks national debate on the topic. It's time the US joined the rest of the modern world and stopped executing prisoners - especially in light of the recent exonerations. Since 1973, 126 people have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence. From 2000 to 2007 there has been an average of 5 exonerations per year.

We have no idea how many people may have been put to death wrongly, but it's safe to say that even one is too many. If we are to call ourselves civilized, we must treat even our prisoners with dignity and compassion.

Of course, our current administration disagrees...

Which of the Presidential hopefuls will have the courage to step up and take a stand on this? Does the death penalty stance of a candidate affect your feelings toward them, or are there more pressing issues for you? Do you think the Black Pope is a bleeding heart hippy liberal? Feel free to comment - anonymously if you wish - and we'll have ourselves a regular ol' cyber-salon right here...

I'm Skeered

With Halloween looming, I thought it might be a good time to take a look at the truly scary things going on in the Presidential race. Tell me...

Who is most frightening to you?

Rudy Giuliani
Mike Huckabee
Duncan Hunter
Alan Keyes
John McCain
Ron Paul
Mitt Romney
Tom Tancredo
Fred Thompson

For me it's a toss-up between Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, because I'm a religion wonk and both Mormons and Baptists are creepy. In all seriousness, Huckabee is doing well - we all laughed when Pat Robertson ran, but this guy could actually get the Republican nomination.

How bad could that be?

Well, Huckabee is in favor of:
-Repealing Roe v. Wade
-The death penalty
-Displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools
-Giving Israel access to our best weapons and military technology
-Supporting the Iraqi government militarily and financially

He is against:
-Funding for organizations that provide abortions
-Embryonic Stem Cell Research
-Gay marriage, civil unions, and even Gay adoptions
-Evolution (doesn't believe in it)
-Gun Control
-Amnesty for undocumented workers
-Troop withdrawal from Iraq

That's how bad it could be.

Romney's positions are similar, although he is somewhat less rigid about LGBT issues and stem cell research. Before you start thinking that he's the lesser of the evils, remember that he is in favor of abstinence only education, and opposed to medical marijuana. And here is the kicker - he publicly said, "We ought to double Guantanamo. I want them in Guantanamo where they don't get the access to lawyers they get when they're on our soil. I don't want them in our prisons. I want them there."

Are you scared yet?

Halo Achievements

Artist's Comments:
On the 16th, the eagerly-anticipated Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta was released over Xbox Live to select gamers who have purchased the right to download the pre-release. I, like most of the gaming community, was looking forward to the chance to test the game over Live. Unfortunately I wasn't among the the lucky few...

Those who were able to play the Beta have given it a wonderful review. It seems there are a few issues with some of the new weapons, but even those seem to be entertaining. A few lucky gamers even found an interesting easter-egg left in the game by it's developers over at Bungie: Cheneymania! (In case you've been living under a rock - the Vice President shoots people. Usually in the face.)

It seems that for the first few hours of the beta, it was possible to shoot an opposing player in the face 10 times with a shotgun and be given a special award. Shortly after the easter-egg was found, it was removed by the Development team - it seems that there were a few people in Washington (well, one in particular) that were offended.

Reverend's Comments:
Why stop at just making fun of Cheney's itchy trigger finger? There are so many folks in politics who are worthy. Perhaps the player who creates the worst possible plan of attack and refuses to listen to his advisors can unlock a Wolfowitz award... or a player who orders team mates to get rid other players, then denies he had any knowledge of it should unlock an Alberto Gonzales award.

What, exactly, does one have to do to get a Santorum award? We're not sure, but any award named after the homophobe from Pennsylvania is almost certainly worthy of excommunication...