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Category: current affairs
The Final Solution
No, this isn’t about The Holocaust (capital H) but about something more gradual, systemic, and pernicious.
Georgia is about to execute Troy Davis. He was convicted of killing a cop. There are irregularities in the case, namely a majority of “witnesses” have since recanted their testimony. The rest of the evidence is circumstantial at best, but the state of Georgia is going to kill him anyway. He was tried, found guilty, sentenced, and his last appeal was denied.
I have a simple, unsentimental reason for opposing the death penalty. You can’t take it back.
Here is a list of the people exonerated from Death Row since 1973. …
Paying For It
I just finished listening to a round table of pundits talking about Obama’s new jobs bill and going over the implications and possibilities. What occurred to me, not ten minutes ago, was that critics of these stimulus packages are not all wrong, nor are they necessarily doctrinaire.
It’s a natural thing to compare the current situation to the Great Depression (which was a lot worse, but pain is relative) and of course the Progressives are saying that we need federal spending to get out of it. After all, that’s what we did back then.
Everyone keeps forgetting a significant difference. The aftermath of World War II.…
9/12
I didn’t write anything for yesterday’s commemoration. Many others, most far better suited to memorializing the day, said a great deal. My paltry mutterings would add little to what is, really, a personal day for most of us. Like all the big anniversary events, the “where were you when” aspect makes it personal and maybe that’s the most important part, I don’t know.
Instead it occurred to me to say something about the element of the disaster that puzzles most of us, even while most of us exhibit the very trait that disturbs us deeply in this context. One of the most common questions asked at the time and still today is in the top 10 is: how could those men do that?…
A Few Questions For the GOP
President Obama is making his big speech tonight to a joint session of Congress to put forth his new jobs ideas. Naturally, the Republicans have responded ahead of time and have all but said they’re not interested. This is really helpful.
I have a few questions, though, for the Republicans ahead of time, some things that have been bugging me for a while.
According to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, “we need to stop doing what we’ve been doing.” He goes on to enumerate those things. Stop spending, stop threatening tax increases, and roll back the “big wet blanket of this explosion of regulation” on the private sector.…
The Wrong People
The federal government is currently requiring Fannie May and Freddy Mac to sue their business partners—the banks—over the mess they’ve all made together. This is awkward, because while they do that they are also being required to cooperate to untangle the mess.
Presumably, when all this is done, what it basically means is the government will know who to fine. And at what level.
Which is basically bogus. This situation requires major surgery, months in full body traction, and possibly a mercy killing. All this move does is put another band-aid on it.
No Longer Surprised
President Obama is withdrawing proposed tighter regulations on smog that had been part of his initial energetic approach to reform early in his presidency. No jobs have been created in the last month and congressional Republicans are shouting about regulations and the burden to business as the major reason.  I think they’re running out of excuses. I mean, we’ve rolled back taxes, rolled back regulations, given them money…and still no one is hiring. I don’t think anyone is going to.
Big business, including the banks, are sitting on huge piles of cash right now. Yet they won’t make loans. Not at levels sufficient to boost job growth. …
Revenge Porn
There is probably no way for me to write this without tripping over some bloodthirsty reactionary’s sensibilities, but you know, I don’t really give a damn.
In my home town, too.
A St. Louis publishing company has released a 9/11 coloring book. There is a reaction to it here. Wonderful cover.
Very patriotic. Nothing violent on the cover itself, but there are the twin towers and, I think, the proposed memorial tower.
Oh yes, and a cross. This is, after all, commemorating the assault by Muslims against Christians.
The subtitle is interesting: A Graphic Coloring Novel on the Events of September 11, 2001.…
And The Winners Are…
The Hugo Awards for 2011 have been presented. The winners are:
- Best Novel: Blackout/All Clear, by Connie Willis
- Best Novella: The Lifecycle of Software Objects, by Ted Chiang
- Best Novelette: “The Emperor of Mars,†by Allen M. Steele
- Best Short Story: “For Want of a Nail,†by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Best Related Work: Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who
Love It, edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O’Shea - Best Graphic Story: Girl Genius, Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse,
written by Phil and Kaja Foglio; art by Phil Foglio; colors by Cheyenne Wright - Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Inception, written and directed by Christopher Nolan
- Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Who: “The Pandorica Opensâ€/â€The Big Bang,†written by Steven Moffat; directed by Toby Haynes
- Best Editor Short Form: Sheila Williams
- Best Editor Long Form: Lou Anders
- Best Professional Artist: Shaun Tan
- Best Semi Prozine: Clarkesworld, edited by Neil Clarke, Cheryl Morgan, Sean Wallace; podcast directed by Kate Baker
- Best Fanzine: The Drink Tank, edited by Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon
- Best Fan Writer: Claire Brialey
- Best Fan artist: Brad W.