Speculation

Virginia Governor Mark Warner, a Democrat, has granted clemency to Robin Lovitt just before his scheduled execution. The key piece of evidence (a pair of scissors) was accidently thrown away by a clerk and at the time of Lovitt's conviction, the DNA evidence could only prove that the blood on the scissors was that of the victim. The defendent's DNA was not found on the weapon. Gov. Warner thought the loss of this evidence constituted an extraordinary circumstance that warranted clemency. Based on what I know, I respect this decision. We should never execute a person if there's any lingering doubt. The moral argument for the death penalty is sound; its practical application in the hands of men is not. That's why governors have the power of clemency--it serves as a final check on the inherent weaknesses in man's attempt to administer justice.

I was upset, though, by the New York Times incorporating into its reporting on this story an analysis of the political ramifications of Warner's decision. Warner is widely speculated to be a viable contender for the Democratic nomination for President in 2008. The Times leaves the reader with the impression that this decision was tempered in significant part by Warner's political calculations as he anticipates a Presidential run.

The problem with this is that Warner has presided over 11 executions. As governor, he's had 11 opportunities to appease the liberal base of his party by granting clemency before an execution. 11 times he didn't grant clemency. Could it be that Warner made this decision because there really was doubt in Lovitt's case?

How nice it would be if newspapers actually reported the news instead of incorporating rank speculation into their accounts.

A Voice of Reason. And it's a Democrat.

Senator Lieberman just returned from a Thanksgiving visit in Iraq. His op-ed in the Wall Street Journal is worth reading. It's even worth doing the sign-up if you have to. His perspective on the situation in Iraq is well thought out and buttressed by first-hand experience on the ground. Were that that rest of his party and the slimy Republicans who care more about polls than progress more like him.

Who said that?

Bookmark this blog.

Intergalactic Politics

One of the many reasons its hard to take Canada seriously:

OTTAWA, CANADA (PRWEB) November 24, 2005 -- A former Canadian Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister under Pierre Trudeau has joined forces with three Non-governmental organizations to ask the Parliament of Canada to hold public hearings on Exopolitics -- relations with “ETs.”

By “ETs,” Mr. Hellyer and these organizations mean ethical, advanced extraterrestrial civilizations that may now be visiting Earth.

On September 25, 2005, in a startling speech at the University of Toronto that caught the attention of mainstream newspapers and magazines, Paul Hellyer, Canada’s Defence Minister from 1963-67 under Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prime Minister Lester Pearson, publicly stated: "UFOs, are as real as the airplanes that fly over your head."

Mr. Hellyer went on to say, "I'm so concerned about what the consequences might be of starting an intergalactic war, that I just think I had to say something."

Hellyer revealed, "The secrecy involved in all matters pertaining to the Roswell incident was unparalled. The classification was, from the outset, above top secret, so the vast majority of U.S. officials and politicians, let alone a mere allied minister of defence, were never in-the-loop."

Hellyer warned, "The United States military are preparing weapons which could be used against the aliens, and they could get us into an intergalactic war without us ever having any warning. He stated, "The Bush administration has finally agreed to let the military build a forward base on the moon, which will put them in a better position to keep track of the goings and comings of the visitors from space, and to shoot at them, if they so decide."

Hellyer’s speech ended with a standing ovation.

Merry Winter Break

Why the left hates Christmas

A long time ago...

A sometimes overlooked, but great generation:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lloyd Brown remembers Armistice Day in 1918 as few -- ever so few -- veterans can.

"For the servicemen there were lots of hugs and kisses," recalls Brown, of Charlotte Hall, Maryland, a teenage seaman aboard the battleship USS New Hampshire, in port stateside when the fighting stopped. "We were so happy that the war was over."

Now 104, Brown adds, "There's not too many of us around any more."

No one knows exactly how many of America's World War I veterans will celebrate Veterans Day, which marks the armistice of November 11, 1918, that ended what then was considered the Great War. An estimated 2 million Americans served in Europe after the U.S. entered the war in 1917.

Today, the Veterans Affairs Department lists just eight veterans as receiving disability benefits or pension compensation from service in World War I. It says a few dozen other veterans of the war probably are alive, too, but the government does not keep a comprehensive list.

Problems in Paris

La France should read this: Will rioters burn the French social model?

Lunar Dragon

So it looks like China is looking to land a man on the moon in 2017. This is interesting for several reasons--the least of which isn't that NASA plans to return Americans to the moon in 2018. At this point in the game, the Chinese propaganda machine is far more capable than their manned space program. To the Chinese's credit, they have become only the third nation in the history of mankind to launch men into space. But to go from only two manned flights to landing a man on the moon (and presumably returning him safely to the earth) in only 12 years requires a tremendous amount of resources--resources I'd be surprised to see China muster given various socio-economic factors within its borders.

Also of interest are their various pretexts. I don't doubt that China would be pleased to know more about the lunar atmosphere and the applicability of Helium 3. But make no mistake, a lunar mission--like the rest of their space program--would be about about global prestige.

Peanuts

Jimmy Carter Then and Now on Iraq's WMDs.

Praise for Alito

Bork this.

Filling the footsteps of a giant?

Hat tip to Charles Blanchard for this excellent article at National Review: Missing Parks.

The final line sums it up:

Detroit buried a giant on Wednesday. How sad that Rosa Parks is survived by pygmies.

Racist attacks...

Yet another example of how disgusting and hypocritical Democrats are when it comes to race:

Black Democratic leaders in Maryland say that racially tinged attacks against Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele in his bid for the U.S. Senate are fair because he is a conservative Republican.

Such attacks against the first black man to win a statewide election in Maryland include pelting him with Oreo cookies during a campaign appearance, calling him an "Uncle Tom" and depicting him as a black-faced minstrel on a liberal Web log.

Operatives for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) also obtained a copy of his credit report -- the only Republican candidate so targeted.

But black Democrats say there is nothing wrong with "pointing out the obvious."
...
Delegate Salima Siler Marriott, a black Baltimore Democrat, said Mr. Steele invites comparisons to a slave who loves his cruel master or a cookie that is black on the outside and white inside because his conservative political philosophy is, in her view, anti-black.

"Because he is a conservative, he is different than most public blacks, and he is different than most people in our community," she said. "His politics are not in the best interest of the masses of black people."

Three's a crowd

It appears as though distant Pluto has three moons instead of one. Astronomers, however, are baffled by the orbits these moons occupy; the orbits simply don't adhere to expectations derived from evolutionary models. This discovery, like so many others in astronomy, frustrate rather than support the model of cosmic evolution that scientists so faithfully adhere to. Yet scientists will go to great lenghts to find an explanation--no matter how much of a stretch or improbability it is--that is compatible with evolution. If discovery after discovery fails to buttress the naturalistic framework of science, couldn't it be possible that nature itself reflects the handiwork of a Designer?

Back to blogging

I've neglected my blog during the last several weeks because school has been busier than ever. I hope that I can be a bit more faithful in posting those things that I find particularly interesting or noteworthy.