Abolish the Death Penalty

The mastermind of the deadly "Beltway Sniper" attacks that terrorized the Washington, DC, area seven years ago was executed last night.

John Allen Muhammad -- who directed one of the worst outbreaks of crime in the nation's history -- died in Virginia's death chamber as some of his victims' relatives looked on.

While I wish Muhammad spent the rest of his days experiencing the hell he gave to his victims and their families, I did not wish that he would perish by the hands of lethal injection. There was a time in my life that I believed in the death penalty for crimes of murder and rape, I do not now. Taking a life as a way of a punishment is not only inhumane it is downright wrong. We do not live in the Wild West anymore. We cannot just string someone up by the nearest tree and expect to gain justice from it.

The American Civil Liberties Union believes the death penalty inherently violates the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment and the guarantees of due process of law and of equal protection under the law. Furthermore, the ACLU believes that the state should not arrogate unto itself the right to kill human beings – especially when it kills with premeditation and ceremony, in the name of the law or in the name of its people, or when it does so in an arbitrary and discriminatory fashion.

To have a “ceremony”, where the victims’ relatives watch the death penalty being carried out is not a way to end their grieving.

Capital punishment is an intolerable denial of civil liberties, and is inconsistent with the fundamental values of our democratic system. Therefore, through litigation, legislation, commutation and by helping to foster a renewed public outcry against this barbarous and brutalizing institution, the ACLU strives to prevent executions and seek the abolition of capital punishment.

I for one have never believed that I would have anything in common with the ACLU. I do agree with their position wholeheartedly. I am a practicing catholic and the death penalty is against catholic doctrine, but it not just my faith that guides my feelings. How can someone be pro-life and be pro-death penalty?

A majority of governments in the United Nations General Assembly voted on November 15, 2008 to support a global moratorium on the death penalty, over the objections of the U.S., China, Iran and Sudan.

The non-binding resolution, adopted by a vote of 99 members in favor, 52 against and 33 abstaining, asks all governments in the world body to “establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.” The measure says the death penalty “undermines human dignity” and that there is no conclusive evidence of its deterrent value.

The use of the death penalty places the United States in an uncomfortable position, since most of the other countries that use capital punishment are, at best, only marginal democracies. International human rights discourse generally assumes a right not to be executed by the state. The death penalty is wrong and it needs to be abolished.

Recently, opponents have focused on the possibility of mistakes in the application of the death penalty, which might lead to the execution of an innocent person. Advances in investigative technology have bolstered their argument. While none of the individuals actually executed has been retrospectively proven innocent, a number of inmates currently awaiting execution have had their convictions thrown into doubt.

The Supreme Court recently halted executions of the mentally handicapped, and this year extended the ban to those under 18 years of age at the time of the crime. These rulings were partly in response to public disapproval of such executions, but also stimulated by the perceived U.S. deviation from international norms. The Court has chosen to manage the death penalty at the margins, rather than directly challenge the process. How can we as a people on this earth make putting a person to death arbitrary?

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How to become popular the wrong way

Do I understand the Oprah Winfrey phenomenon? Absolutely, positively not. I do not understand many of the things that get people to become fixated on a person or a television show or why people who have little talent become the most popular people in pop culture. I started thinking about this today as I watched Dr. Phil discuss parenting. I would take Lucy’s advice from the peanuts before I would listen to Dr. Phil.

David Letterman has never been funny, yet he gets 6 million people to watch his show every night.

Tim McCarver from Fox Sports is the second worst baseball announcer on television. Joe Morgan from ESPN is without a doubt the worst. How these two individuals are allowed in our living rooms is just amazing.

Wanda Syke’s has a new television show coming out on TBS. Can anyone remember the last time she did anything worth watching? Yeah, me neither.

Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, and The Kardashians, shall I say any more?

How about how Celebrity Rehab? Can you imagine watching a show about D-list actors who spend most of the day wondering why they are where they are? I was a ball player before I was a professor, I could have just packed it in when my ball playing days were over, but I decided to get a better education instead of doing drugs and putting on weight to get on Celebrity Fat Camp. Oh, god!

Bruce Jenner was an Olympic hero; Brody Jenner is a no talent reality “star”. Better thank dad for all of those Wheaties boxes he appeared on.

Wesley Snipes was an actor with a great career until he took on Uncle Sam and was charged with tax evasion charges. Now he just plays in B-movies and his once budding career is a thing of the past. People now only care about his fall and never care about the actor, why?

Brittany Spears is a talented performer and she is a train wreck of a person. Lindsey Lohan is a talented actress and just as big a train wreck, if not worse. They let their lives personal struggles get in the way of their careers. Yet we watch them intently become the anti media darlings for the wrong reasons.

Jose Canseco was the first 40 homerun and 40 stolen base man in Major League Baseball history. We no longer speak of his five hundred home runs; we only speak of his steroid use and his Celebrity Boxing. Canseco’s book, Juiced, outed the steroid use in professional sports and put baseball into the limelight for all the wrong reasons. Not until the congressional hearings was baseball’s steroid use handled in baseball. Canseco was right on the money with his steroid allegations, but off the mark with his career.

We are fixated on the rise and fall of individuals and it is a terrible shame when a former star becomes the punch line for late night television jokes. Maybe if we decided to read the classics, watch National Geographic specials, or better yet, worry about our own lives; we can spend less time reading Star magazine and more time being productive every day.


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Weekly thought Bonanza November 8

On Sunday/Monday, I produce a column called “The Weekly Thought Bonanza”. The column is based on all of the random thoughts that run through my head all week, and trust me there are a plethora of them. I will try to share as many of these thoughts as I can, so each one of my readers can think just a little bit extra over the coming week.


Fort Hood is a prime example of the military not paying attention to a soldier’s mental stability. Ever watch that scene from the movie Hamburger Hill where the soldier killed the Drill Sergeant? When I was in basic training I witnessed a person in my platoon try to commit suicide right in front of the group. The soldier stayed in the unit for a week until he was sent to psyche. Just incredible.

Cats are now getting the H1N1 virus. What next, pigeons?

Billions of dollars of taxpayer money went to most of the banking institutions in this country. Several countries around the world did the same thing to their financial institutions. If you’re a small business or need a personal loan it is almost impossible to borrow money from one of these institutions. How can we give all of this money and not get it into the hands of the people who need it?

Tim Tebow, the Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Florida, is the perfect student athlete. He is definitely one to emulate.

UFC fighting has become more popular than boxing. Professional boxing, I am afraid is going by the wayside. Too many champions in each division has so diluted the sport, it is tough to recognize who is the real champion. Do we really need five heavyweight title holders?

ESPN films are outstanding.

Is anyone monitoring what children put on U tube nowadays? I cannot believe some of the content that young people are posting on that site. Parents please monitor your children’s internet usage more closely.

Green Mountain Coffee’s Chai Latte is absolutely fabulous. My Kuerig Machine has never been so happy.

ABC’s Flash Forward is absolutely a phenomenal new show that has kept my interest each week it has been on. Finally, a new show to talk about at the water cooler in the morning.

The new Cherry Dr. Pepper commercial with Gene Simmons and his son is an instant classic.

Sesame Street producers are getting criticized for a parody that appears to take a stab at Fox News, and the ombudsman for the show says that the criticism is justified.

In a two-year old episode that was rebroadcast on October 29, the 40-year-old PBS children’s show features Oscar the Grouch making the decision to star in his own news network, called the Grouch News Network, or GNN. The skit features CNN’s Anderson Cooper filling in for Oscar as he chats with “Walter Cranky” and “Dan Rather-Not,” parodies on Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather.

But when a muppet caller decides that the news is not grouchy enough, she says she is changing the channel to Pox News. When PBS starts to get into politics, then we have a seriously situation here. PBS is supported with taxpayer money and has always leaned to the left in the political spectrum. When Sesame Street becomes political, it is time to review their funding.

The “Weekly Thought Bonanza” thought of the week. The family show V, had its season premiere on Tuesday night to great ratings. My problem with the show is that the episode was sponsored by K-Y Jelly is ludicrous. This was a family show and to have it sponsored by an adult product makes no sense to me

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Wishing you were in eight grade again

I have often wished that I could go back in time to the eighth grade and give myself a good kick in the rump roast to point me in the right direction in life. Just imagine going back in time and getting a chance to tell yourself the do’s and don’ts in life. There would certainly be more do’s than don’ts.

The obvious one would be to try harder in school, but that doesn’t really make sense considering I have my PhD. Maybe I would tell myself to not try so hard on the school work as you’re only as good as your last degree.

I would definitely tell myself to get over that awkward stage with the ladies. I remember being star struck with girls who were grades ahead of me. Boy, if I knew then what I know now, “mama mia,” is all I can say.

One of the most important things I would tell the eighth grade me is to do right by people. So many times in my life I did not do the stand up thing. I made fun of people who were not as strong as me and I did not stand up for people I should have stood up for who needed a friend. People needed me to be the boy with integrity and I would certainly change that.

I have always regretted some of the things I did as I child. While I was a boy, I was an absolute current affairs junkie. I watched the news every day and enjoyed knowing the who’s who of the world. Back then I did not know how to interpret the news. I picked my favorite people and voted for them in elections, if I liked your persona I followed you. If I did not, then I did not respect you. Hey, it was the mind of a thirteen year old boy.

I had always wished my parents were tougher on me when I was younger. Bless their hearts they loved us too much to ever be that way. When I played sports my parents cheered the loudest and yet I always felt I should have pushed myself so much harder. I coasted, when I should have spent that extra hour a day in the gym. I had drive and desire but I did not give the extra effort.

At the end of every day I wished a good night to my parents. No amount of money in the world can bring those nights back, but if I could go back in time I would appreciate those calls so much more. I miss my grandparents every day, all day.

I always wanted to be more involved in the youth group at church. I started to go to the group, but I stopped abruptly for basketball games and television. I certainly wanted to be a part of something special and rewarding, yet I did not put in the time. Something always seemed far more important.

I never made close friends when I was younger. Maybe it was because I was not into sharing with other boys my age. I certainly did not have any problems with girls. I spent night after night talking on the phone, especially to one person in particular. Those days were like a blur for so long until one day I sat and thought about all the things we talked about and the one thing we never spoke of, growing up and trying to figure out how to duplicate the times we had. I could have learned a long time ago what really truly mattered in life, but I did not.

The boy I once was grew up to be a man, a husband, a friend and most importantly a father. I hope that I will be able to look back into my life and give advice to my son and to my future children that makes sense. To give good advice you have had to have that life experience yourself. I did things that were right and I did things that were wrong. No one is perfect and that should be a part of any advice given. You need to laugh when they laugh, cry when they cry, show emotion and show that you will be a parent and not just a friend. Be there for guidance and be there when they fall. Dust them off and get them back on the path that was once in front of you. You made mistakes and you learned from every one of them. Be tough when you need to be. Push so they need to be pushed and back off when they need it.

Life is hard enough for an eighth grader today. Guns in school, peer pressures that were not there when I was in school are there in droves nowadays. Show patience, love, and be their rock. It is all you can do to be the person they need. Never live vicariously through them as that is the worst thing you can do.

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Picking on the Christians for humor isn't funny

This will be the most controversial column I have ever written, but it will be what I feel and what I believe is true. I wrote a column on sensitivity a few weeks back and I told America to relax a bit. What I did not realize was there is a lot more to this sensitivity issue than what meets the eye.


Last week Larry David, yes the Larry David from Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm fame, decided it would be funny to urinate on a portrait of Jesus to make it look like he was crying. I watched the scene a few times and I did not find it funny because it was not a funny scene. The more I thought about it the more my mind raced. Larry David is Jewish and if a scene in a television show desecrated a synagogue the public outcry would be ten times the amount it is now for David’s scene.

Why is it alright to desecrate a Christian symbol but not the reverse in the name of comedy? It is accepted that making fun of Italians or the Irish or even blondes is ok, but doing the same to African Americans or Jewish people is not? Neither should be acceptable ever. Growing up with ethnic jokes was a norm for many individuals. Sensitivity and letting things roll off your back is one thing, outright being insensitive is another.

Being insensitive and wrapping it up as a comedy is something that does not mask the underlining meaning. It is wrong to hurt someone’s feelings by poking fun of the color of their skin, their religious beliefs or their physical appearance. Society seems to let certain jokes and comments slide when they are made at the more dominant races or people of Christian faith. I wonder how we allow this. Society generally police’s itself when it comes to this issue. When a television commentator, athlete or Hollywood actor makes a derogatory comment to a minority group, the news media generally crucifies the individual. When it is the reverse, the news media turns a blind eye.

I heard a professional basketball player who is an African American say that white athletes never get any criticism because they are above everything in the eyes of the fans. I do not see this at all. I see that most fans are color blind when they are rooting for their favorite teams. We thankfully have left the days where African American athletes feel like second class athletes.

We as a nation need and should put all of the negativity behind us. Whether I like his politics or not, I am so proud as an American that we elected a person who is half-African American as our President. We need to elect more leaders from diverse backgrounds.

I am also extremely proud as an American to say that whether it is in athletics, politics, or in the workplace, we are turning the tide and making racism and politics a thing of the past.

We still have a long way to go and the Larry David’s of the world just bring back insensitivity to new levels and call it humor. If Larry David had any real stones he would have done the pissing thing to the Koran. Then he would have gotten a reaction.

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Weekly Thought Bonanza, November 1

On Sunday/Monday, I produce a column called “The Weekly Thought Bonanza”. The column is based on all of the random thoughts that run through my head all week, and trust me there are a plethora of them. I will try to share as many of these thoughts as I can, so each one of my readers can think just a little bit extra over the coming week.

Minnesota Viking Quarterback, Brett Favre returns to Green Bay for the first time since he was traded last year to the Jets of New York, via New Jersey. Brett will receive mostly boos from the Green Bay crowd, which absolutely blows my mind. Before Favre arrived in Green Bay the Packers were just about the worst franchise in football. Favre was pushed out by Packer management and now he is the bad guy? C’mon Green bay, if a man wants to continue his craft and there is someone who wants to pay him for it, then I say go ahead and collect the check.

Coffee Nerdness Thought of the Week. The Green Mountain Holiday Pack is to absolutely die for. The Ginger Bread and the Spiced French toast is absolutely delightful!

Why can’t people put a toothbrush and toothpaste in their desk, lunch pale, or pocketbook and brush their teeth during the day? Oral Hygiene is so friendly to the work environment it needs attention.

I am not one of those people that like to kick someone when they are down, but I must tell you that I could kick every single person right in the keister who was mixed up in the Ana Nicole Smith saga. Let the criminal courts sort it out and make them all go away.

Don’t you hate when singers retire then un-retire then retire again? Farewell tours over and over again make absolutely no sense, when you know they will be back again. People just go on tour and if you don’t want to sing any more or not go on tour, don’t.

How do athletes blow money like it is nothing? Listen guys and girls, hire a super agent and have them invest your money. You will be the wiser. Blowing a hundred million dollar fortune, ala Antoine Walker formerly of the Boston Celtics, on gambling and cars is just downright irresponsible. You are college students, take a finance course.

If you watch the last four minutes of a basketball game you can pretty much skip the first 44 minutes. You could save so much of your life by doing that.



T-mobile just doesn’t have the coverage to even bother with it.

A hunter today bagged a 780 pound boar. The boar measured six feet eleven inches and was one of the biggest wild boars ever killed by a hunter. Imagine bumping into that animal in the woods/

Here is a hope that Windows 7 is so much better than Windows Vista.

Chef Matthew Mitnitsky broke the world record for the largest meatball in Concord, N.H., Sunday, Nov. 1,2009. The meatball weighed over two hundred and fifty pounds. That is one big meatball.

People who drive fast in a residential neighborhood should have their license pulled and fined up the ying yang.

The Yankees are about to win the World Series folks.

American car companies need to make better cars if they are once again going to dominate in the world. For years they have made inferior cars with terrible gas mileage.

The Weekly Thought Bonanza thought of the week. How does Taco Bell offer eighty nine cent tacos? Is there real beef in them?





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