Day: January 17, 2014

Ready—Aim—-Fire!

I did not intend to post this on the day that there was a buzz on the net about another execution….sometimes things just work out that way……

Okay, I am not a supporter of capital punishment.  It is sanctioned murder…..period!  If abortion is murder….capital punishment is also…..

I bring this up with the hopes that we can have a substantive conversation on the subject….but I am afraid that it will digress into a pro-anti abortion debate…..sad that we cannot focus on the topic and not a random statement….but what will be, will be…..

I bring the topic up because there has been a big stink in the last decade or so on whether the technique of lethal injection…there have been problems with the drug/drugs….there has been a discussion on whether it is cruel and usual punishment…..and that is a subject for a political philosophical conversation.  Of course the gas chamber and electric chair were unacceptable because they were too expensive and the cruel thing also…..if we must have capital punishment what would be an acceptable technique?

Glad you asked.

That there is a shortage of lethal injection drugs is not news, but a Wyoming senator’s response to the situation is. Republican state Sen. Bruce Burns yesterday very simply pointed to state law, which commands a gas chamber to be used if those drugs aren’t accessible. Except Wyoming doesn’t have “an operating gas chamber,” and Burns sees the construction of one as too pricey, so he would like to suggest a Plan C: death by firing squad. “I consider frankly the gas chamber to be cruel and unusual, so I went with firing squad because they also have it in Utah,” said Burns, who adds that he also picked it because it’s such a cheap option. And he’s gone so far as to draft a bill that he intends to present at the start of the legislative session, which the AP reports begins Feb. 10. As for the number of death row inmates the change would affect, the answer is one: The state only has one convict on death row, and last carried out an execution in 1992.

IMO, if we must have sanctioned murder then why not a firing squad?  I mean it is efficient……it is simple and inexpensive…..why not?

Thoughts?

Voting Under Fire?

There has been a wealth of opinions on whether our right to vote is under assault from dark forces….it seems that some areas are being hit with all kinds of limitations…..I understand the concern about voter fraud….although I cannot say that I can find a report that states that it is a nationwide problem but that is that….my problem is where does limiting voting spots or times or some such help prevent voter fraud?  And why is it seem to be a problem only in states with GOP control?

Anyway there has been a report about the voting across the US………

Voting is one of the critical ways for citizens to voice their opinions and desires to leaders and express their will for the direction of the country. But while voting is the crucial bedrock of a healthy democracy, citizens’ access to voting varies considerably within the states where elections are the most hotly contested.

With election administration delegated to officials and boards in more than 3,000 counties and localities in the United States, the ease with which one exercises his or her right to vote can depend on where he or she lives. Not only do state voting laws differ across the nation, even within a state, county-based election administration varies widely.

This report evaluates the election performance of counties in the 17 states that had the smallest margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in 2012. This analysis allows us to better understand how well the election process is working within a state, and will hopefully encourage state and local officials to consider how they can improve the voting experience for their citizens.

Read more and download the full report here.

IMO, there should be a push to get MORE people to vote than ones that seem to limit who can vote…..but thenb there is always an agenda when dealing with politicians…..right?

I know that many organizations are trying to push back on what they see as infringements on the rights of the voter….and today there was a piece of good news for them and their agenda……

A nearly 2-year-old requirement that almost all of Pennsylvania’s 8.2 million voters must show photo identification before casting a ballot was struck down today by a state judge, setting the stage for a courtroom showdown before the state’s highest court. Commonwealth Court Judge Bernard L. McGinley, a Democrat, said the law would unreasonably burden the fundamental right to vote, and the state had been unable to convincingly explain why it was necessary. “Voting laws are designed to assure a free and fair election; the Voter ID Law does not further this goal,” McGinley wrote in his 103-page ruling. The law, one of the strictest in the nation, was signed by Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in March 2012 over the protests of every single Democratic lawmaker in Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled legislature. Enforcement of the law has been blocked by court orders pending resolution of the constitutional challenge. Both sides had vowed to appeal a negative decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. At a 12-day trial, the plaintiffs including the NAACP, the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters, and Philadelphia’s Homeless Advocacy Project emphasized problems in processing and distributing a new voting-only ID card available for free to voters who lack other acceptable IDs. They said dozens of registered voters who applied for those cards before the 2012 election did not receive them before ballots were cast.

This will be the precedence cited with any further attempts to block what they see as an infringement on the rights of Americans, all Americans, to vote……

And the situation goes on……….

Net Neutrality UpDate

By now all of us bloggers and such are concerned with SCOTUS and its newest ruling on net neutrality….we are concerned that somehow we will be placed into a muzzle and not have the opportunity to voice our opinions……..I also was concerned and then I ran across this piece that put my mind to rest…at least for now….

Much of the reaction to a federal court’s decision to gut net neutrality has been of the we’re-doomed variety, with critics worried that Internet service providers such as Verizon will be free to mess up our ability to stream movies and surf the web the way we want. But another camp is urging everyone to calm down because the FCC still has the potential to keep ISPs in check:

  • Yes, the court “vacated the heart of the FCC’s open Internet rules,” writes law professor John Blevins in the Washington Post, but it did not curb “the FCC’s ability to act in the future. Specifically, it concluded that the FCC could regulate Internet providers under a statute known as Section 706, which authorizes the FCC to take various steps to promote broadband deployment.” In fact, “the court may have handed the FCC—and the public—a victory that goes well beyond network neutrality.”
  • Much of the decision deals with how the FCC classifies ISPs, as “information services” rather than “telecommunication services,” writes Jon Terbush at the Week. “It’s not that the FCC can’t impose anti-discrimination regulations on ISPs; it’s that they can’t do so unless they classify ISPs as ‘telecommunications services,’ which would then subject them to common carrier regulations.” The agency could change the classification, as many reformers have long suggested.
  • But “even failing a common-carriers declaration, net neutrality isn’t buried,” writes Tim Fernholz at Quartz. “Both its opponents and proponents believe the court decision has unintended consequences that will empower the FCC to enforce the essentials of net neutrality without re-classifying ISPs. Even if they aren’t considered common carriers, the FCC is empowered to regulate them under a different statute.” In short, Verizon shouldn’t celebrate just yet.

I would say that I am okay now….but that would be a lie….these little toads in Washington will stop at NOTHING to get their agenda through……and that means the net…..no need to worry now….but never take your eye off what these people will try……we must be vigilante!

Mississippi Leads The Way

Most of my regular readers are aware that I reside in the great state of Mississippi or as I call it…..”the cultural Wasteland”…….there is a sign at the borders of the state that read…..”Welcome to Mississippi….Set your clocks back 150 years”……….Mississippi has always been at the bottom of most lists like poverty, education, income and health…….and the state has a large portion of the population that is incarcerated or has been in the past……..and in my incessant desire to know all things political I ran across this little tidbit about my state…..

(Newser) – Only six states allow prisoners conjugal visits—and the state where the practice began roughly a century ago, Mississippi, is poised to halt (but not legally ban) those visits Feb. 1. The prison commissioner in the state, where 155 of some 22,000 inmates had such visits last year, blames budget issues as well as “the number of babies being born possibly as a result.” The New York Times speaks to the spouses who treasure the time, even if it’s brief and less than comfortable. “It’s not romantic, but it doesn’t matter,” says the wife of an Arkansas inmate; she drives eight hours to see her husband, who is due for release in 2022. “Obviously they did something wrong. But they are human, too. So are we.”

Another spouse notes that ending the practice denies her the ability to have children in the future. “I feel like they are taking away my choice,” she says. Vocativ and the Times offer the basics on how such visits work:

  • They’re still also allowed in California, Connecticut, New Mexico, New York, and Washington; that’s down from 17 states in 1993. (The Times piece implies Connecticut’s program is not currently active.)
  • The practice began in the early 1900s at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, whose warden thought they would prod black inmates to toil harder in the fields; prostitutes were often brought in.
  • Today, inmates must be married and have a clean behavior record (generally no fighting, swearing, etc., in the last six months) to qualify; they usually have to apply for the visits, which occur only in medium- to lower-security prisons; federal prisons allow no such visits.
  • “Extended family visits” can last up to 24 hours for well-behaved prisoners nearing release. Mississippi has recently allowed only one-hour visits, the Times notes.
  • The visits occur in private apartments inside prison walls, which are usually outfitted with sheets, soap, towels, and condoms. The prison does not provide food.
  • California and New York allow same-sex couples to participate in the practice within marriages or civil unions.
  • The visits are largely free; Washington state participants pay $10.

Conjugal visits are permitted in some other countries—not always successfully.

And now you know way too much information on whether inmates get nookie or not…….happy?

I bring this up for a reason, I personally do not give two shits in Hell if inmates get laid or not……I bring it up because of Mississippi.  The state sucks and this is the best the GOP controlled legislature can do.  This is a prime example of the type of government you get when you let one party control everything.

One party rule will destroy a state or a nation…..keep that in mind.