Politic Tacs

The John Roberts-led Supreme Court starts its second term tomorrow. I don't think I'd like to be Justice Anthony Kennedy right now. I don't think the power of being the swing voter would outweigh the pressure. Affecting Kentucky (and the nation) is Baze vs Rees. Just how much pain during lethal injection is too much? To me, this is further proof that the Death Penalty should be abolished. How do we have the discussion of who deserves to die and how inconvenient should it be? Two wrongs don't make a right, right? It's such a strange juxtaposition that so many people who are pro-choice are anti-death penalty and so many that are pro-life are pro-death penalty. Would I give up a woman's right to choose in order to save a murderer from execution? Shoo. I just gave myself a headache.

Close but no bin Laden. Osama bin Laden seems like the Wizard of Oz at this point. A mythical character who, at the end of the Oil Brick Road, will be nothing more than a short bald white dude behind a curtain. Last month, U.S. troops searched the mountain caves in Tora Bora. Unfortunately, they failed to find Bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri, though their attacks left dozens of al Qaeda and Taliban dead. Not enough coordination and not enough "dark side", apparently. We need Darth Vader to ferret him out? Has it really come to this?

Exile on Hussein St. New reports indicate that Saddam Hussein offered to step down and go into exile one month before the invasion of Iraq. This is chilling, and why isn't anyone talking about it? The $1 billion price tag was steep, yes, but I don't feel like this is just a case of hindsight being 20/20. It's more like foresight is blind as a bat. I'm torn on this, though, as I've never been one for rewarding evil dictators.

Blackwater, a byproduct of what happens when you have war for profit, is under fire (no pun intended) for a shootout that left ten Iraqis dead. I'm curious, though, would this case be different if they were military and not mercenary?

I want to start a website listing the things Fred Thompson doesn't know. The Jena 6, Terry Schiavo, Bush's social security plan... and so on. I wouldn't even vote him in as fictional District Attorney of New York City at this point. Geez.

Love Louisville (but only if you love God?). I'm impressed by the efforts of Love Louisville but wish they weren't so God-centric. Why does it have to be about showing God's love? Why not your love? One of the many problems I have with Christianity is the abdication of responsibility. If you practice random acts of kindness, it's to show God's love. If you suffer tragedy, it's God's will. I thought one of the main things God gave us was... free will! I don't understand the motivation for doing good for God's reward or avoiding bad behavior in fear of God's punishment. Can't we, as people, want to be moral, responsible citizens simply for the sake of being moral, responsible citizens? Because it's the right thing to do? If this fear-driven goodness was the only consequence of religion, I might say hats off, but I think we've all seen God used in too many all too human, all too unfortunate ways. That said, I heartily applaud any Louisvillian (and anyone) who wants to be kind for any reason. On any day.

There was a CNN article this week about toilet paper theft at the Fond du Lac City County Government Center in Wisconsin. I'm glad this is news. I mean, SIX ROLLS PER WEEK, PEOPLE! Great civilizations have fallen for less!

Lastly, Newt Gingrich is not running for president (boo hoo). Bill Clinton made the Sunday rounds (like Hillary did last week, their omnipresence is impressive) and declared that he would be happy with an office in the White House basement, Kevin Costner lost $40 million dollars on failed Green Initiatives (so he's not a genius, at least he cares), and Jonathan Demme premiered his Jimmy Carter documentary at the Toronto Film Festival (said Carter regarding his faith, "I worship Christ who was the prince of peace, not pre-emptive war.")

Best regards from the Happy Heathen,
Ms. P

ps. Rock of Love finale post later tonight! My Morning Jacket "LP Questionnaire" answers all this week! More TV! More Politics! More cheese!