A Few Quick Thoughts

Fred Travalena, a terrific impersonator, Vegas showman, and TV personality, died today.

Man... a lot of openings in show biz due to "attrition"!


Yep, Sotomayor got reversed on Ricci. Good, and expected! Look for the same result on Maloney, though that'll be too late to affect her confirmation.


As to the GOP being moribund... well, you know my opinion on that. They have far larger problems than a couple of minor figures stepping out for some strange.

As to Madoff, I have no problem with his sentence. The problem isn't that HIS sentence is too stiff; it's that OTHER sentences are too lenient!

LOL

I guess it all depends on how you look at things.

Hey, with all these openings in show biz, you think Obama and his worshippers will want credit for "creating" these jobs? It just sounds like something they would do!

As for Madoff, like I said, the problem isn't the sentence...if that's what the statute calls for then fine. Throw the book at him, he deserves it. I just don't like it when judges develop different standards for different people when they hand down theie sentences. Madoff should be punihed for what he did...not to try to scare anyone else straight.

Yeah, new jobs created!

The method leaves something to be desired, of course.....



On Madoff, it's not unusual for judges to use high profile cases to set an example for others. Those are the cases everyone's watching.

But again, in my opinion MOST sentences are too light.

You see very little crime in the Middle East, where they publicly cut off hands and stone people and stuff like that.

Very effective deterrants.

In this country, it's a joke. That's one of the reasons so many of the foreign gangs operate with a feeling of impunity. Even if they're caught, they consider the penalties petty. The Russian Mafiya sneers at our system; it's a complete joke compared to what they'd get in Russia. Same thing with the Colombians, Islamics, etc. They don't fear us at all.

I don't believe in using our prisons for "rehabilititation". I couldn't care less about that.

I believe in the "penalty" part of the "penal system".

Times were better in the days of chain gangs and public hangings.

I know that judges often do this, but it just rankles me a bit when I see it. It just seems so damned arbitrary to use a person to set an example...especially when the example isn't really going to be heeded. Because if tough sentences were a deterrent the state of Texas would never see any murders committed, ya know!

As for the foreign gangs, you have that right...and it applies to domestic gangs too. What is there to fear when a guy like John Gotti can still basically run the Gambino crime family from inside a supermax prison? I am no fan of the idea that the prison system is supposed to rehabilitate criminals; it's supposed to be a punishment, not a rehab facility.

As for public hangings, that I am not a fan of...sounds too much like lynching. But I would have no problem with the gangs being taken care of the same way they did Pablo Escobar: "The gang members were killed in a gun battle with police." That would do wonders for the elimination of the gang culture, dontcha think?

Pard, I'm an engineer. We're pretty pragmatic people.

All I care about is the bottom line, and it seems we sure agree on that.

The Ricci case still did not address the underlying problem of Affirmative Action and other race-based discriminatory programs. They narrowly ruled on the issue of avoiding lawsuits not being a valid reason to discriminate. Still, how 4 SCOTUS Justices managed to vote to uphold the 2nd Circus is beyond me.

For Madoff, the way Judge Crawfish would have sentenced him would have been based upon the number of victims. 3 to 6 months in prison for each victim.

For the death penalty, I'd prefer all of those cases to get through the state court of criminal appeals within 6 months, and the state supremes within one year. Since the federal courts have no business in state crimes, it stops with the Governor. 365 days after the sentence is handed down, the perp assumes room temperature. The preferred method would be gas chamber on live TV. I wanna see the look on the perp's face when the cyanide capsule hits the chemicals in the bucket below his seat.

I'd even do pay-per-view to see that!


I saw the video of Saddam Hussein's hanging. Highly entertaining! Great satisfaction quotient! I replayed it MANY times.

One could hope so if they can't figure out what to do with yheir cajones. I really do think it's more of a propaganda campaign to keep the independents and dems with buyers remorse from seeing the GOP as a legitimate option.

Madoff sentencing? If it was that way for everyone, not a problem. It wouldn't bother me a bit IF the SEC that was charged w/oversight and fwank, dodd, et al were all there with him. Madoff is a good start, but I'd prefer all sentences to be a warning for future offenders.

CRAW!!! I thought you had abandoned me! Glad to see you weighing in, pal! I know your DP plan, and the fact is that yours is more constitutionally sound than what we have now, what with federal intervention in the criminal justice systems of the various states. Now, I don't think I have the stomach to just watch another person die that has not caused me or mine any harm. I have no problem with the death penalty, I just could do without watching it happen.

MD; I don't have a real problem with the length of the sentence at all because it is all covered in the statutes. I just don't like judges who grandstand and hand out sentences like this for public approval. I'm just being consistent with my complaints, since I have a problem with liberal judges who do the same thing. Just stick to the law, be consistent in sentencing, and skip all the grandstanding!

All sentences should be about punishment first. If trials and punishment were carried outswiftly/in a timely manner, than people would be able to see cause and effect.

I also hate to see the celbrity factor. Evil businessman bbaaaaad. Corrupt celebrity, give them a second, third, fourth chance.

The GOP won't die simply with these few strayers. It will die because it has failed to be an effective OPPOSITION to all this crap the Obamites are foisting on us. As to Sotomayor,the SCOTUS is NOT the place to go for sympathy. Her rulings,and opinions,being struck down at the rate they are,should be proof enough for the GOP to oppose her vehemently. But,in all-to-typical fashion these days,they won't. Say hello to Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor,as unqualified as she is. As to Michael Jackson,the guy had talent,no doubt. Too bad his personal life seemed to be the personification of weird.

I'd probably only watch the ones who were highly publicized because of the number of victims or the cruelty or something that made me really want that person to expire. Of course in Texas, since there's so many standing in line, the ones worth seeing would be a bit spread out. Maybe if they could do weekend reruns of the ones that screamed like little girls or had really messed up facial expressions....or if there's multiple ones scheduled on one night around the nation, have them all strapped down waiting, and have the audience call in to vote for which one goes next. "The most votes for the 8:15 Eastern timeslot came in for...(plop!)...RICO MOLINA!" (okay, now I'm going a bit off the edge with the tongue in cheek stuff)

Of course, with speeding up the process and making it public in that manner, it would actually FINALLY become a deterrant!

The GOP is probably not going to go after Sotmayor for fear of the racist tag being stuck to them, but they never learn that they are going to get that anyway...so they may as well grow a set and stand against this abomination of a nominee.

As for Michael Jackson, it is sad to see him come to this type of end, and at such a young age. But I don't think he ever was able to get free of his drug addictions, and it seems that he was done in the same way Elvis Presley was...by hangers-on who aided and abetted his drug abuse. And it is a shame that in many ways his death will overshadow his life.

I don't think for a moment that even televised executions would be a deterrent. Personally, I don't think that deterrence is even a valid argument for the DP or ever was...it should be punishment, period. Criminals rarely think of the consequences of their crimes, only of how to get away with them. Seeing someone assume room temperature isn't going to make some gang-banger, serial killer, or covenience store robber NOT pull the trigger. I just don't see it, man...I just don't see it!

Personally, I'm not all that concerned over whether public executions serve any deterrent value (though I believe they do). There are other issues, too.

People can see the punishment being meted, and enjoy "closure", particularly the families of the victims.

It reinforces, in a very public manner, the idea that the justice system DOES work. You get to see the living -- and dying -- proof.

And again: high entertainment value. I can't tell you how much fun it was watching Saddam Hussein being hanged.

The families of the victims can already view the executions of convicted murderers, and even then there is never any real closure for the families of the victims. The execution of a convict can never make the victims of the family whole again, because whether the perp lives or dies their loved on isn't coming back. What that execution does provide is a sense to the families and society of resolution of the case, and it satisfies all of our needs for retributive justice.

The 5-4 decision was much more than just 5-4.

Justice (?) Ginsberg, in the dissinting opinion still ripped Sotomayor for summarily dismissing without hearing the appeal.

On Bernie.. Not sure but the 150 year sentence seems appropriate to me since lots of very old folks lost everything. He should do like the CEO of Enron and cheat justice with a well timed heart attack.

On "Affirmative Action". When Michelle Obama talks about America being a, "..downright mean country.." I wonder if she is thinking about all those white students who did not get a seat at a prestiguous ivy league college in order to accomodate her and other minorities with lower test scores?? Do you not think they might believe America is a, "..downright mean country.." also?

But you miss my point. Personally, if my kid was murdered, I'd want to be there watching the scumbag who did it die, and preferably administering the bug juice myself.

But even if my kid wasn't the victim, there's still a reinforcement of the power and efficacy of the justice system. As I said, I really enjoyed watching Saddam Hussein swing. I watched justice being served, and watched that dirty baztard get his just rewards.

I'd have loved to watch Tookie Williams get the juice on play-per-view. Robert Alton Harris. Ted Bundy. Hell, I'd have taped them for replay.

We shouldn't be hiding that like some dirty backroom secret. If we're going to execute people -- and I believe we should -- then let's make it public!

It's not something to be ashamed of.

Yeah, Judge Sotmayor did get her hat handed to her on this one, and deservedly so. What she did showed a lack of judicial temperment and a disregard of the victim's claims, as she dismissed their claims as if they did not exist. I am waiting for the day that the SCOTUS has to decide a case involving Title VII of the CRA, because anyone with any knowledge knows that Title VII and the 14th Amendment cannot exist side by side. Either we will discriminate on the basis of race, or we won't. The idea that discrimination against whites, latinos, asians or anyone else can be justified because of past discrimination against blacks is ridiculous!

As for Mrs. Obama, her rise (and that of Sotomayor) shows just how wrong affirmative action is. There is no way in hell that denying a qualified student admission to your university because of some PC obsession with race makes the university community any stronger; in fact doing that will weaken your standing. It simply does nothing but salves the conscience of some tortured liberal idiot who thinks that by rewarding an udeserving minority he his going to right the historical wrongs of racism. Because ations like that are never about actally helping the minority, but about making liberals feel good about themselves!

If something like that happened to a member of my family, I would likely be there to see the DP carried out, but I still don't see where a public viewing serves the purposes of justice. Now, I was satisfied when McVeigh, Williams, et al went to meet their Maker...but I wasn't happy. The death of another human being is never a cause for happiness for me, no matter how much they may deserve the punishment they get.

As for needing to see justice carried out, I don't think that argument holds here in the US. We all understand the system we have, the protections, and delays built into it, so we are accustomed to the wheels moving slowly. Now in Iraq after Saddam was deposed they needed to see him swing to know that he was not coming back and that their justice system would do justice fairly and not protect the former dictator. That is understandable, but I don't think we need to see Tookie Williams die in order to know that the system works as designed.

You'd have the option to not watch if you like. By the same token, I want the option to watch.

That form of justice is being carried out in my name as a member of society. Why should I not be able to see it in action if I so choose? I can watch the trial. Why not the execution of sentence?

As I said, public hangings were the norm. And crime rates were a LOT lower in those days.

On top of everything else, I firmly believe there's a strong deterrent value in public execution. I don't care what the "experts" say, or the shrinks write. I know human nature, and anything said to the contrary simply flies in the face of that nature.

When you're a potential killer, and you've seen the real deal, as opposed to Hollywood's version, and you know what might REALLY happen to you if you do the deed, you may well rethink the whole thing.

Further, if we treat the whole thing as some dirty secret, we play right into the anti-death penalty people. If we as a society are so pro-death penalty, why do we hide the actual execution?

I suppose we have reached a point where we will have to agree to disagree (yet again). Try as you might, I remain unconvinced that people want to see people publicly executed. I just don't get that sense from the people I interact with and know well, including the ones who staunchly believe in the DP. I just don't see how seeing someone executed is going to serve the public, or make any criminal anywhere not commit a murder.

I think we can agree that people who commit crimes of all sorts, including murder, do not generally spend a lot of time thinking about the consequences to their crimes. And I just don't see where the sight of an execution is going to make them suddenly see the light and decide not to pull the trigger or swing the knife at a victim. I know someone right now who is facing a first degree muder charge and probable conviction, have known him since he was a kid, knew him as a young adult, and who was a coworker of my wife's. He knew full well what could happen if he got caught in this situation, but he allowed emotions (it was over a woman) to overwhelm all reason and murdered a young man because he had taken up with the murderers former girlfriend. No publicly shown execution is going to change that person from his chosen path. Watching the execution may be entertaining for you or others, but I don't think it would make one difference in stopping the next murder from occurring.

Stop copying my headings! I'M the one who gets to write "Well, so and so..."!

Get yer own style.


Obviously (at least to me) I'm not very invested in this issue. I'm pretty much a bottom-line guy, and as long as the appropriate miscreant ends up dead, I'm a happy camper.

I guess I'll have to find other forms of amusement.

I think what would be MORE effective would be if the death penalty actually had more meaning, by which I mean a speedier process from conviction to the gurney.

Expedited appeals, with a firm and short deadline. "One bite at the apple", instead of endless attempts with different issues each time. Things like that.

I'd like to see the convicted guy go from jury to the gurney in a year or less, which is completely doable.

Now THAT would have some impact, instead of the laughable system we have now where a guy can die of old age on Death Row, and everyone knows it.

Sir, I did not mean to step on your line. I hope I did not step on any copyrights, because I have a feeling a 'cease and desist' letter from you would be backed up with a bit more than some lawyerly words!

But we have come to agreement once again, because the DP system we have is broken. I could live with two appeals, but both should be limited to state courts; the idea of federal appeals courts having anything to do with state DP convictions is ludicrous. Appeals should be limited and after they're done convicts should assume room temperature within about 2-3 years. There have been people sitting on death row here in NC since I was a kid, now my oldest is starting early college/high school...and they're still there. That needs to end ASAP, or just drop the DP altogether.

That was funny, Ed!


But yeah, I'm with you. Jeez, by the time the bad guy gets his due, nobody even remembers what all the fuss was about.