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Anarchy Now!

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My college roommate used to go bonkers about this bit of graffitti we’d pass down the road: a giant "Anarchy" sign (A in a circle) with the word NOW writ large beneath it. "Now!!!" he’d start. "We want our anarchy now! We don’t want to wait! We want it this very minute! Right now! Do … Read more

Lincoln Again: From a Slightly Pinker POV

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If you missed it earlier, be sure and see von’s defense of Lincoln over at vox popli.

Today, however, another debate over the 16th President is brewing.

A while ago I attended a seminar where four giants of the contemporary theater were discussing their craft and how it relates to social issues, in particular AIDS. Among them was the irrepressible Larry Kramer, who wrote "A Normal Heart," and who rants like a banshee when fired up. In one particular monologue he raised an audible guffaw from the audience when he noted that Abraham Lincoln was a gay American. Kramer doesn’t take audible guffaws at his announcements lightly. He was immediately fired up, challenging the audience to defend their skepticism of this claim. It seems Larry knew more than he revealed to us that night.

In a new book titled The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln, C.A. Tripp (a psychologist, influential gay writer and former sex researcher for Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey) concludes that Lincoln was indeed homosexual (others, including Carl Sandburg have hinted at this, only to have such passages in their books later edited out, it appears). From the review of Tripp’s book in The New York Times:

The subject of the 16th president’s sexuality has been debated among scholars for years. They cite his troubled marriage to Mary Todd and his youthful friendship with Joshua Speed, who shared his bed for four years. Now, in a new book, C. A. Tripp also asserts that Lincoln had a homosexual relationship with the captain of his bodyguards, David V. Derickson, who shared his bed whenever Mary Todd was away.

In "The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln," …Mr. Tripp…tries to resolve the issue of Lincoln’s sexuality once and for all. The author, who died in 2003, two weeks after finishing the book, subjected almost every word ever written by and about Lincoln to minute analysis. His conclusion is that America’s greatest president, the beacon of the Republican Party, was a gay man.

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Legalese-Free Open Thread

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With all due respect to my brilliant co-bloggers, whose collective grasp on the subtleties of constitutional law are sincerely quite impressive, this thread is for non-legalese discussions on politics. One suggested topic, William Kristol’s savaging of Donald Rumsfeld in the Washington Post today. In short he argues: [S]urely Don Rumsfeld is not the defense secretary … Read more

Back in Court

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OK, so at first I was going to rant about the idiocy of his defense that the 10 Commandments on his judicial robe "would not be in anybody’s face." But after further reflection, I’ve concluded that Circuit Judge Ashley McKathan of southern Alabama is well within his rights to wear that robe if he wishes … Read more

The Disintegration of a Vision

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On a thread many moons ago, we debated the "sanctity" of someone’s last will and testament. Once the person is gone, what’s the rationale, in the face of changed circumstances or desires, for fulfilling their wishes? I can’t find the thread (useless search engine), but I recall that I stood with those who value honoring the wishes of those who have passed because of the ramifications it can have on those of us still living if we don’t. In essence, a will is a social contract, and as soon as society stops honoring them, we’ll need a radical reconsideration of how we handle our own plans for the redistribution our worldly belongings.

The Barnes Foundation Gallery houses some of the most important artwork of the past few centuries. Somewhat outside Philadelphia, the collection and its trustees have been embroiled in a dispute about its current location, which was dictated as permanent in Barnes’ will.

The location is difficult to get to, the facilities are rife with access problems, and the installation of the artwork is quirky at best (See this image for a sense of Barnes’ affection for "salon style" hangings). And more than just that:

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Calendar Padres

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OK, so really, who is this for? I mean when the local auto store sends calendars with buxom babes weilding powertools in bikinis, or the Fire Department issues the city’s bravest in monthly poses sans shirts, there’s a bit of suggestion on the part of the models that the buyers might, just might, mind you, … Read more

Another Take on Patriotism

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Left2Right’s Elizabeth Anderson offers a justification for patriotism that is designed to appeal to the thinking person on either side of the Left/Right divide. She uses New York City as the base of her metaphors for liberal and conservative ideas and ideals. Although I find her tribute to NYC heartwarming, I find her arguments a bit less than convincing. Being on the left, myself, I’ll focus on her advice to me:

To the Left: Chinatown shows how free trade in goods and free movement of people are inextricable from the free exchange of ideas and willingness to learn from and welcome them, no matter their origin–attitudes that lie at the core of the cosmopolitan ideal. It also forces us to acknowledge the special cultural conditions needed to foster "diversity" at its best. Not every national culture is as good as the U.S. at opening itself up to immigrants from so many lands and enabling them to become fully "us" (and this is not to say that we are all that great in other regions of the U.S., or with respect to certain immigrant groups). To promote the cosmopolitanism we love, we need to treasure the local conditions for its flourishing, and this requires robust support for and love of America itself. We also have to acknowledge that former Mayor Giuliani brought spectacular benefits to the city by insisting not just on a crackdown on crime, but on restoring order and civility to the streets, without which people cannot raise families in the city, nor enjoy the great diversity it offers, but will rather retreat behind closed doors and ethnic enclaves hostile to outsiders. (This is not to deny the costs of Giuliani’s crackdown.) Cosmopolitanism needs patriotism to survive.

Here I think Anderson makes mistakes in her logic based on an overly romantic view of the city and a misperception about immigrants’ attitudes.

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Poorly Sanding the Porch

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Ever have a goal in mind that requires two steps, where the success of step two relies on the solid execution of step one? Say, like painting the porch. There’s a real satisfaction in laying down that shiny new coat of paint on the planks, stepping back and seeing it sparkle, knowing how great it’s gonna look when it dries…you don’t really mind all the bending over, the fumes, the mess, the careful attention to the edges, all the details.

But that’s step two. Step one in the process is stripping or sanding down the old coat of paint. Now, step one requires equally careful execution if the final goal is to be successful, but knowing that it is simply a means to an end, there’s not as much personal satisfaction in the task. Really, for most people, despite how important it is, step one seems a horrific drag, and it’s hard to get as excited about the details. Still the details are incredibly important…a poorly sanded porch will not result in a beautiful new painted porch. There’ll be uneven patches, build-up, those awful tell-tale relief lines…in short, a mess that will likely embarass you for years to come.

I suspect to a large degree this explains the FUBAR situation in Iraq, the seeming incompetence, the lack of attention to detail. And I suspect it’s because Iraq was always just step one. Iran is step two, and always has been.

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Foot-in-Mouth Friday: Open Thread

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Share your favorite examples of recent stupid quotes and actions…preferably Rumsfeld-free. Mine comes via Atrios: From the 8-times divorced Larry King, talking to John and the wonderful Elizabeth Edwards, regarding her recently diagnosed breast cancer: "Senator, has there been any thoughts and this happens in any case where the male hears the news from the … Read more

WTF Are They Teaching Children These Days?

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We need a new category for the posts here. One conveying, more or less, "OMG, I Can’t Believe They’re Serious" Via Kos, comes this: Students at one of the area’s largest Christian schools are reading a controversial booklet that critics say whitewashes Southern slavery with its view that slaves lived "a life of plenty, of … Read more

Fair and Banal

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In his 1995 book Banal Nationalism, Michael Billig explains how a constant stream of banal, subtle nationalistic messages in Western media quietly encourages citizens to obey the law and be nice to one another in ways they might not otherwise be. As long as there’s a political spectrum of sources balancing each other out, though, this isn’t so bad.

[I]n the established nations, there is a continual ‘flagging’, or reminding, of nationhood. The established nations are those states that have confidence in their own continuity, and that, particularly, are part of what is conventionally described as ‘the West’. The political leaders of such nations – whether France, the USA, the United Kingdom or New Zealand – are not typically termed ‘nationalists’. However…nationhood provides a continual background for their political discourses, for cultural products, and even for the structuring of newspapers. In so many little ways, the citizenry are daily reminded of their national place in a world of nations. However, this reminding is so familiar, so continual, that it is not consciously registered as reminding. The metonymic image of banal nationalism is not a flag which is being consciously waved with fervent passion; it is the flag hanging unnoticed on the public building.

You can test this yourself if you travel. The Italian flag strikes you in Italy. The Union Jack in London. Or, more dramatically, read the press there and you’ll immediately notice a surprising number of stories that strike you as "nationalistic" for that place. Spend long enough abroad, and then return to the States, and you’ll notice it here as well. Eventually, however, as you begin to follow the press regularly (here or abroad) your awareness of this fades. I’ve had this happen several times when I lived in various countries abroad. Coming home to the US, it stuns me…and then, again, fades.

Flying down and then back from Miami this past weekend, I watched the FOX News channel on the plane. I don’t have cable at home and so almost never have the, er, pleasure of the incessant nationalistic message it broadcasts. It hit me like a ton of bricks.

But why?

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Clout vs. Dignity

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There’s no denying it: In my lifetime the quality of life for openly gay people has dramatically improved. As a gay American, I consider that a testament to the good hearts and sense of fairness in straight Americans. And in those quieter moments, when I’m not focussed on the scapegoating and wedge politics, I’m deeply grateful for this. I remember what it was like before, and I don’t imagine for even a moment that all the credit for the improvements belongs to the radical activists. Much of it belongs to the mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers who demonstrate braver love and truer loyalty to their gay family members than I thought possible when growing up in a small town in Ohio.

There’s some introspection going on among gay leaders in America, however, following the devastating defeat for gay marriage at the ballot boxes across the country. According to today’s New York Times:

Leaders of the gay rights movement are embroiled in a bitter and increasingly public debate over whether they should moderate their goals in the wake of bruising losses in November when 11 states approved constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriages.

In the past week alone, the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay and lesbian advocacy group, has accepted the resignation of its executive director, appointed its first non-gay board co-chairman and adopted a new, more moderate strategy, with less emphasis on legalizing same-sex marriages and more on strengthening personal relationships.

The leadership of the Human Rights Campaign, at a meeting last weekend in Las Vegas, concluded that the group must bow to political reality and moderate its message and its goals. One official said the group would consider supporting President Bush’s efforts to privatize Social Security partly in exchange for the right of gay partners to receive benefits under the program.

"The feeling this weekend in Las Vegas was that we had to get beyond the political and return to the personal," said Michael Berman, a Democratic lobbyist and consultant who was elected the first non-gay co-chairman of the Human Rights Campaign’s board last week. "We need to reintroduce ourselves to America with the stories of our lives."

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Getting Uglier in Kiev

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A doctor in Vienna is now insisting that Ukraine opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned during the campaign in what he’s openly calling an attempt to kill him. There’s conflicting information coming out, but Yushchenko’s camp seems to be saying the only questions remaining are which agent was used and by whom: Doctors needed to … Read more

Click ‘n Sniff

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File under "Engineers with wa-a-a-a-y too much time on their hands." A new service being tested by Tokyo-based NTT Communications Corp. sends out smells according to data received over the Internet. Users attach a device to their laptops that resembles a crystal ball with a nozzle. The device receives aroma data from the central server … Read more

The Maintenance Costs Disconnect

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I’ve noticed an odd disconnect among bloggers I argue with about what they so derisively call "entitlement" programs. They’ll agree with me that there are "maintenance" costs associated with a capitalist/democracy—that some re-distribution of wealth (as Revolution protection, if not philanthropy) makes sense, but when they think about the details—the fact that some of their taxes end up in the pockets of other citizens—they begin to see red. It’s not rational, in my opinion, this disconnect: agreeing these programs ensure that our way of life is possible but refusing to accept that this means others may momentarily benefit from their hard work. In addition to irrational and horribly short-sighted, I have to admit it, it sometimes seems mean and greedy to me too.

I’m totally convinced this irrational greed is driving the desire to privatize Social Security.

Enter Paul Krugman, whose column today is as insightful as it is clear in explaining why this issue has been poorly framed and when examined more closely reveals a political agenda, not a need.

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The Comforts of Home

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Some random thoughts, for this season of homecomings, on what makes a home. Having just spent a grueling week selling art in Miami, I returned last night to what I’ve always considered a terribly small apartment, but now have a profound new appreciation for. The first two days in Miami Beach, while setting up my … Read more

Slippery Slope or Up in Smoke?

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SCOTUS is considering Ashcroft v. Raich, 03-1454 today and it’s expected to bring some, er, high drama. Essentially the question at hand is whether Federal law (in particular, the Controlled Substances Act) trumps state laws allowing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The drama is best illustrated by the case of Raich’s co-plaintiff (lawyers, … Read more

NewsFlash: War Against Islamic Terrorists NOT All That Parallel to Cold War

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OK so this is a few days old already, but I’ve been busy eating.

The Defense Strategic Board report "Stratetic Communication" (pdf file) is now on their website. It was discussed a few days ago in the NYTimes, where the focus was on how the US is "failing in its efforts to explain the nation’s diplomatic and military actions to the Muslim world," but it also drew distinct differences between the current conflict against radical Islamist ideology and the Cold War:

"In stark contrast to the cold war, the United States today is not seeking to contain a threatening state empire, but rather seeking to convert a broad movement within Islamic civilization to accept the value structure of Western Modernity – an agenda hidden within the official rubric of a ‘War on Terrorism,’ " the report states.

"Today we reflexively compare Muslim ‘masses’ to those oppressed under Soviet rule," the report adds. "This is a strategic mistake. There is no yearning-to-be-liberated-by-the-U.S. groundswell among Muslim societies – except to be liberated perhaps from what they see as apostate tyrannies that the U.S. so determinedly promotes and defends."

The report says that "Muslims do not ‘hate our freedom,’ but rather they hate our policies," adding that "when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy." (emphasis mine)

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Juan Cole Threatened with Libel Suit by MEMRI

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Via Matthew Yglesias~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has threatened to sue Professor Juan Cole if he doesn’t retract recent comments he’s made about the organization. [President of MEMRI] Colonel [Yigal] Carmon’s letter makes three charges: 1) that I alleged that MEMRI receives $60 million a year for its operations. 2) That I … Read more

Caveat Emptor: Can Buying This Home Cost You Your Rights?

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The branch of the homebuilding company, Mercedes Homes, operating in Brevard County Florida, writes into the fine print of their contracts that customers cannot complain about inferior construction to their neighbors. They actually filed a lawsuit against one woman for doing so:

Jay Ann Contardi couldn’t imagine a problem any worse than the deluge of rainwater pouring into her leaking home. That is, until she ran afoul of the aggressive lawyers representing her builder, Mercedes Homes.

"It has changed my life. I’m afraid to talk to my neighbors. I’m afraid to walk my daughter to the bus stop. I’m afraid to talk to you right now," she told NewsChannel 2 reporter Dan Billow.

She’s not the only one. Other Mercedes homeowners asked us to protect their identities.

"I feel like I’m in a police state. I can’t do anything. I have no avenues. I have nowhere to turn," one homeowner said. That’s what it feels like when you’re sued for talking to your neighbor.

In the company’s plush corporate offices, executives hatched a plan to make buyers sign away their First Amendment rights.

"It’s there in black and white. The customer should read his or her contract thoroughly before they enter into it," said Patrick Roche, Mercedes Attorney.

When you buy a Mercedes home, the fine print says you can’t complain to your neighbors, call the news media or even carry a picket sign, even if your new quarter-million dollar home leaks through the roof, walls and windows.

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Rather Stepping Down

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I can hear the champagne corks popping now. Dan Rather announced Tuesday that he will step down as anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News in March, 24 years after his first broadcast in that position. Rather will continue to work full-time at CBS News as a correspondent for both editions of 60 … Read more

MoMA Reborn: The Happy Hangover Review

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The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has reopened in midtown Manhattan and the reviews are in. They range from unlearned and dully dismissive (see New York Post columnist Gersh Kuntzman in Newsweek) to fawning and overcongratulatory (see New York Times art critic, Holland Cotter’s love letter). In other words, what you’d expect.

What I didn’t expect (my personal taste in museums running toward industrial and rough around the edges) was to be so charmed by the new building (by famed Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi). From what I had heard, I expected to hate it. Artnet columnist and all around crumudgeon Charlie Finch had me expecting something terribly cold and corporate:

Sitting in the spacious sixth-floor atrium of the brave new Museum of Modern Art, listening to a dentefricial Ron Lauder praise himself and his wealthy colleagues, one remembers a more intimate MoMA where working class people brought a sandwich in a brown bag and a book of poems, or Shakespeare, to rest and bask in the temple of art.

That world, and that ethos, are gone forever. Even 9/11 could not bring them back, at least not in midtown Manhattan. Looking at Rosenquist’s F-111 like an altarpiece, one can hear the little blonde girl quoting Pogo, "We have met the enemy, and it is us."

Looking at Taniguchisan’s sterile environment, like a larger version of the interiors at MoMA QNS, one thinks of the auditorium scenes in films such as Charly or 1984. The individual is sucked out of existence in this matrix; the individual artist disappears in the wake of the exchange value of the art object.

We had a totally different experience at the opening we attended last night (the fiance and I). It may have been the flowing cocktails, but we had a great time and found the new building wonderous.

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Child Malnutrition Rising in Iraq

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If I had a dollar for each time, in response to arguing that the innocent Iraqis who’ve died in this war deserved a better solution to the problem of Hussein, I was told about the number of children dying of malnutrition under Hussein’s regime (who presumedly were now better off since we invaded), I’d, well, … Read more

Solution for a Nation Drowning in Debt? A Boat, of Course.

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hat tip to constant reader wilfred for this item
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In our house, when money’s tight, we consider which luxuries we normally enjoy that we can do without. We eat out less often. We take a cheaper vacation than the one we had hoped for. We keep on walking past Century 21*, pretending it’s not there.

When the Federal government finds itself in the same position, however, it decides it’s time for the taxpayers to buy the president a yacht.

The Senate voted 65-30 for the legislation late on Saturday that sets aside funds for a range of priorities including a presidential yacht, foreign aid and energy.

OK, so it’s only $2 million dollars to buy back the U.S.S. Sequoia which was sold three decades ago. (A price distressing the current owners, who are claiming it’s now worth $9.8 million.) But, come on, what else would we spend that $2 million on, if not a boat for the Bushes. I mean how else do we expect them to live in the style they’re accustomed to, if we deny them this basic necessity? But that’s not the ultimate insult. The ultimate insult is that this pork-ladden monster** is something these jokers are proud of.

"I’m very proud of the fact that we held the line and made Congress make choices and set priorities, because it follows our philosophy," Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said in House debate.

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P0rn-free Open Thread

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Po-o-o-o-orn Free…as free as the wind…er…um…u-h-hh, yeah. My co-bloggers are all off doing very important top secret work for the government, so I’m opening up a thread for what ails and/or cures ya. One possible topic: In the extremely petty, and not even remotely funny corner of why I’m embarassed to be a New Yorker … Read more

Insert Bad Porn Pun Here

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Porn’s back in the news. This surprised me a bit, because I assumed with the exit of Ashcroft, we’d refocus on more serious threats to the nation, but apparently pornography poses a public health risk that requires Congress’s attention: Comparing pornography to heroin, researchers are calling on Congress to finance studies on “porn addiction” and … Read more

Losing (and Regaining) My Religion

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I’ve had a rollercoaster relationship with God my whole life. At times I’ve been what one would call a "devout" fundamentalist; at other times I’ve been downright agnostic. Watching an episode of "Nip/Tuck" the other day (a truly godless show if ever there was one), I found myself thinking I would have to consider atheism in order to reconcile what appeared to be contradictions in what I understand/believe about the universe.

Two recent commentaries have helped me regain my comfort with my faith, however. Both express the idea that belief systems are there to help you deal, not hurt you. That embracing your belief system can improve your life, not limit it, even intellectually.

One of the commentaries was by Harvey Fierstein on the PBS program "In the Life" :

I operate under a complicated belief system pretty much of my own device which I base on scientific laws and humanistic principles. And, all in all, it works for me. I tell you this not to seek converts or to invite any discussion of any specific religion. I just want you to know that my beliefs might seem just as silly to you as yours do to me. And that’s cool. (pdf file)

Harvey is a true Mensch in every sense of the word. If you don’t know him, I’d highly recommend any of those commentaries.

The second commentary appears in today’s New York Times. The fabulous Irshad Manji expresses dismay at how when travelling across Europe she was repeatedly asked "Why does an independent-minded woman care about God? Why do you need religion at all?" She explains in a very thoughtful way, incorporating what she sees as a hypocrisy in those questions. In a nutshell, she feels that widespread secularism is Europe’s response to the abuses of religion over the centuries. It’s primarily a defensive position. She highlights how this defensive position is feeding much of the resistence to bringing Turkey into the EU, and in doing so she rather cleverly brings us back to an eye-opening conclusion:

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White Flag Not Optional?

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Press and Valentino (two Dartmouth professors of government) argue in the NYTimes today that our twin goals of planting democracy in Iraq and (in order to do so) defeating the Iraqi insurgency are, most likely, mutually exclusive. In a nutshell, they argue that historically, "occupying" forces have almost never beaten insurgencies without resorting to unrestrained brutality. The one recent "success" in doing so (the British defeat of the Malaya insurgency) represented a non-native (i.e., unsupported by the locals) and relatively small insurgent force.

This is why the history of counterinsurgency warfare is a tale of failure. Since World War II, powerful armies have fought seven major counterinsurgency wars: France in Indochina from 1945 to 1954, the British in Malaya from 1948 to 1960, the French in Algeria in the 1950’s, the United States in Vietnam, the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, Israel in the occupied territories and Russia in Chechnya. Of these seven, four were outright failures, two grind on with little hope of success, and only one – the British effort in Malaya – was a clear success.

Many counterinsurgency theorists have tried to model operations on the British effort in Malaya, particularly the emphasis on winning hearts and minds of the local population through public improvements. They have not succeeded. Victory in Malaysia, it appears in retrospect, had less to do with British tactical innovations than with the weaknesses and isolation of the insurgents. The guerrillas were not ethnic Malays; they were recruited almost exclusively from an isolated group of Chinese refugees. The guerrillas never gained the support of a sizable share of the Malaysians. Nevertheless, it took the British 12 years to defeat them, and London ended up granting independence to the colony in the midst of the rebellion.

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Absolute Power (and I’m not talking Vodka)

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Ethical Schmethical. Rallying around their embattled leader, House Republicans yesterday moved to change the House rules to allow Tom (the rules do not apply to me) DeLay to continue on as Leader even if he’s indicted: The conservative Texas Republican was reconfirmed to his post by House GOP members Tuesday without objection, despite an ongoing … Read more

Images, Reality and Video

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I had read several accounts of the fatal shooting of an unarmed, wounded Iraqi in the Fallujah mosque before I had seen the video. I understood that the US Marine in question had been wounded in his face the day before and that another man in his unit had been killed by the booby-trapped body of an insurgent.

Based on this information I identified with the US Marine and told myself, in his shoes I would have very likely done the same thing; not taken any chances that this Iraqi was also booby-trapped.

His words reveal his mind at the time:

"He’s (expletive) faking he’s dead!"

"Yeah, he’s breathing," another marine is heard saying.

"He’s faking he’s (expletive) dead!" the first marine says.

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Force Feeding

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Via a diary on Kos

All the while I’ve been fretting about what type of democracy we’d leave in Iraq, behind the scenes it appears much bigger social engineering has been going on.

Under the umbrella of "Recognizing the demonstrated interest of the Iraqi Governing Council for Iraq to become a full member in the international trading system, known as the World Trade Organization, and the desirability of adopting modern intellectual property standards" (pdf file), back in April 2004 Bremer inserted into Iraqi law language that some are claiming "prevents [Iraqi] farmers from saving their seeds and effectively hands over the seed market to transnational corporations."

According to a report by GRAIN* and Focus on the Global South:

The new law is presented as being necessary to ensure the supply of good quality seeds in Iraq and to facilitate Iraq’s accession to the WTO. What it will actually do is facilitate the penetration of Iraqi agriculture by the likes of Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer and Dow Chemical – the corporate giants that control seed trade across the globe. Eliminating competition from farmers is a prerequisite for these companies to open up operations in Iraq, which the new law has achieved. Taking over the first step in the food chain is their next move.

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Don’t Let the Door Hit You…

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OK, so it’s not unexpected or even untraditional, but more folks are resigning from the Bush cabinet, and that means it’s time to speculate on replacements. RedState is reporting that Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and Secretary of State Colin Powell are both resigning. Last week Tacitus regular Macallan had recommended making John Kerry the new … Read more

Open Thread

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Someone ask for an open thread? Here’s one topic (if you don’t have one yourself): Number of Death Sentences Hits 30-Year Low. No points for suggesting it’s because Bush is no longer Governor of Texas. Here are some stats though: Since 1977, 885 inmates were executed through 2003 by 32 states and the Federal Bureau … Read more