Let them Lead Lives of Quiet Contemplation

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling authored by Justice Kennedy, struck down the law under which Patrick Kennedy (who is not related to the Supreme Court Justice) was sentenced to death. Kennedy was convicted of raping his 8 year old stepdaughter, and Louisiana is one of six states that, until yesterday, allowed the imposition of the death sentence for child rape.

Now, officials in Louisiana, Oklahoma, and other states across the South, where all six of these states sit, are looking for ways to get around the ruling. The opinion essentially said that it is unconstitutional to execute someone for a crime where the victim did not die. "We cannot sanction this result [execution] when the harm to the victim, though grave, cannot be quantified in the same way as death of the victim." Harm to a victim can never be calculated in any comprehensive or convincing way. The closest we can ever come to accurately calculating the damage done is the binary "is the victim alive or dead" calculation. Otherwise, we risk imposing the death penalty in an arbitrary manner, which the Supreme Court has over and over again declared unconstitutional and in violation of the 8th Amendment.

For officials to try to find a way around the court's ruling is repugnant to the theory of justice that we operate under as a society. Yes, laws can change, but the Court did not just strike down the individual laws of six different states. The Court struck down the idea that a death sentence could be imposed for anything other than a crime where the victim died.

Besides, spending the rest of his life in a Louisiana prison is not going to be a walk in the park for Patrick Kennedy. The lowest person on the totem pole of prison life is not the former law enforcement official, nor is it the snitch. The lowest person on the totem pole is the child molester, child abuser, and the child rapist. Life in prison is never easy, but if your crime included harming a child, it is even harder.

The death penalty is not an incentive to not commit crimes. Justice Kennedy even wrote in the opinion that restricting the imposition of the death sentence to crimes where the victim died could help preserve the life of a rape victim, as otherwise there may be no reason for the rapist to not kill.

Death is different. The Supreme Court has this for decades, in case after case. We treat it differently when it is caused, and we consider it differently when there is the possibility of it being imposed.

So, here is my message to officials in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, South Carolina, and Georgia: Let Patrick Kennedy and his ilk sit in prison for the rest of their lives. Throw away the key and let them live out their days away from society. There is no need, little purpose, and rarely, if ever, closure when a perpetrator no longer breaths. Lock them up and forget about them. Better to let them spend the rest of their natural time considering their own horror, locked away from public consciousness, rather than putting them front and center, like a supernova, burning bright at the height of public awareness before blinking out and leaving the victim to deal with the crime on their own all over again. And above all else, better to respect the rule of law and the principles of justice, rather then to cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of temporary local satisfaction over national consensus and conscience.

Pulling our Heads out of the Sand

Still think abstinence-only education programs work?

Seventeen girls at a high school in Glaucester, Massachusetts got pregnant during this recently concluded school year. And apparently there was some kind of pact. It has been reported that girls were more disappointed when they found out they were NOT pregnant than when they found out they were expecting.

I spent a quarter working at a juvenile court in Massachusetts. I saw more young girls walking through the courtroom with multiple children in their care then I like to think about. Girls without a high school diploma, many of whom will never get one, trying to raise children. And now I hear about this group of teens who were TRYING to get pregnant.

The local school board is set to discuss the possibility of giving easier access to contraception. One parent interviewed questioned the wisdom of the decision, saying that there was not going to be someone following the girls around to make sure they take the pill. First of all, Let this be considered a big smack on the back of the head of every member of the school board. Of COURSE you need to provide easier access to birth control. But more important than access to items, schools need to be a place where there is easy access to information. Information about how to prevent pregnancy. Information about how to effectively use birth control. Information about how to grow up smart and healthy.

What students need, more than anything in this area, is an effective program of sex education. Abstinence should be part of the program, of course, but abstinence-only programs are a classic example of sticking your head in the sand. High school students are going to have sex, whether the schools teach them how to be safe and smart about it or not. So can someone please explain to me why it is better to not teach them?

An effective sex education program would not have kept all 17 of the girls at Glaucester High School from getting pregnant this year. But it could properly arm them and their classmates with the information that they need to make their way in the world.

Mark Twain said "I never let my schooling interfere with my education." Effective sex education programs are an instance where a class can bridge the gap and be both schooling and education. It is long past time to pull our heads out of the sand and accept the world as it is. Seventeen new children will hopefully be able to learn from such a program as they go through school.

Tim Russert (1950-2008)

Tim Russert, the long time host of NBC's Meet the Press, died today at the age of 58 of a heart attack.

A sad day in the world of journalistic politics, Russert has been a consistent and calming voice in an ever-changing world. He will never be forgotten by those he grilled, and by those he spoke to.

Our hearts go out to his family, his colleagues, and his subjects.

He will be sorely missed.

There is Something Seriously Wrong...

On Washington Street in the West Roxbury area of Boston, there is a small brick building. A sign on the building identifies it as a Disabled American Veterans chapter building. And leading up to the front door of the building is a flight of steps.

9:02 + 13 Years

Christopher Nguyen is graduating from high school.

A simple statement, a seemingly random sentence, plucked out of nowhere and presented on this page. Christopher Nguyen is graduating from high school. So are millions of other students across the country. So what makes this one noteworthy?

13 years ago, Christopher Nguyen was a four year old child in a day care center while his parents were at work. One day in April, he was one of 21 children at the America's Kids Day Care Center. By the end of that day, 15 of his playmates died in what was at that time the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil in history. Christopher Nguyen is a survivor of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

Since that fateful day in the spring of 1995, Timothy McVeigh, who drove the truck, has been executed for the death of eight federal officials. Terry Nichols, McVeigh's co-conspirator, was sentenced to life in prison for those eight officials, plus on 161 counts of murder by Oklahoma state courts. The Murrah building was razed to the ground and replaced by a national memorial, and a new federal building has been built in Oklahoma City. Life has gone on, for Oklahoma, for the United States, and for the survivors.

And now, the first of the six child survivors is about to graduate from high school. Christopher Nguyen carries forward. He does not remember the bombing, which is hardly surprising, but seeing him standing, staring at the last remaining pieces of the Murrah building that today stand at one side of the memorial, you can see in his eyes the questions that will likely dominate his life. Why did he survive, when so many others did not?

On the outside of one of the gates to the memorial are the following words:

We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity.

Now Christopher Nguyen will take his first steps out into the world. He is both a survivor and a symbol. I wish him nothing but the best, and a long, happy, and healthy life. And I hope that the survivor of this ultimate act of violence and hate will see in his lifetime even a glimmer of peace for us all.

Debriefing the Derby

On the heels my last post, I was listening to Ronn Owens on KGO today. He was discussing the death of Eight Belles and horse racing in general, and I decided to chime in.

When Agony Follows Ecstasy

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) statements are often viewed as a joke (at least by me). Among other things, PETA has started an X Prize-type competition for a commercially viable good tasting replacement for meat. And today, they have called for the suspension of jockey Gabriel Saez, who rode the ill-fated filly Eight Belles in yesterday's Kentucky Derby.

PETA is claiming that Saez should have known something was wrong with Eight Belles. Looking at the most recent headline horse racing tragedy would give credence to their argument. When Kentucky Derby champion Barbaro suffered the injury that would eventually lead to his being euthanized, jockey Edgar Prado immediately got him slowed down, saving the the horse's life for the moment and giving him a fighting chance to live a long and successful life at stud. Saez, on the other hand, was not able to do anything to preserve Eight Belles' chances, and therefore he must have been at fault.

A closer look at the two injuries, however, show how ridiculous PETA's claims are. Barbaro broke ONE HIND leg. Eight Belles broke BOTH FRONT legs. Barbaro could support himself on 3 legs. In the words of the Churchill Downs veterinarian, Eight Belles "didn't have a front leg to stand on." With such a painful injury, and no hope of a successful course of treatment, the only humane thing to do was to euthanize her.

Understandably, PETA has probably never watched a horse race, and has no concept of the connections that are forged in the business. If Saez could have done anything, anything, to help Eight Belles, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have done it. If there was any foul play at all, and I do not believe that there was, the only thing I can conceive of right now is that the owner or trainer gave the horse drugs when she should not have been racing. Again, however, I DO NOT BELIEVE this to be the case. What happened, as I see it, Eight Belles finished second in the race, and on the cool down, had a freak accident in which one front leg hit a weird patch of dirt, breaking the ankle, and causing the horse to go down. This put such a strain on the other front ankle that it, too, broke, leading to the tragedy of a horse being euthanized on the track at Churchill Downs.

I was in Louisville, Kentucky in the summer of 2006, for a conference. I was not going to go to Louisville and not see Churchill, so I skipped a morning's events and took a taxi down tot eh track. I took a few tours around the grounds, and have a horseshoe from the stables behind the track. It is a powerful place, rich in history and tradition. The Kentucky Derby truly is the Great American Race, with all due respect to NASCAR and the Daytona 500. For a tragedy such as this to strike at the heart of such a great tradition is heartbreaking. For PETA to make such outrageous claims in the hope of blatant self promotion is sickening. Let those connected to Fox Hill Farms (Eight Belles' owner), horse racing, and sports fans in general mourn such a tragic and all too early loss.

And one final side note/post script to the Derby. According to Sports Illustrated, the jockey who rode Big Brown to victory, Kent Desormeaux, got back to the winner's circle after a two year slump that included less than 200 wins in 2005 and 2006 combined. Horse racing really is a different animal altogether, when nearly 200 wins over two years is a slump. Driver Richard Petty, the King, had a total of 200 wins over his legendary NASCAR career, giving him the most wins in history, with a margin of 95. The sport of kings has a standard of excellence all its own. That is one of the things that make it special, and keeps it relevant even today.

Two weeks until the Preakness, then three more until the Belmont. And on May 2, 2009, the world will focus on Louisville and Churchill Downs once again, as for the 135th time, the three year olds will run for the roses. Hopefully next time only with triumph, and without any tragedy.

Laughter of the (Green) Gods

You have got to love the split-personality San Francisco. The liberal bastion of the west is not only forcing people to be environmentally conscious, but forcing them to be humble about it as well.

In order to promote environmental protection, San Francisco is starting to enforce regulations that require landlords to recycle. Not a terrible idea, considering the state of our environment. Toss those empty cans into the blue bin instead of the black one, and they can be made into new cans, or into anything else that aluminum is part of, instead of just wasting away in a dump somewhere. Not a terrible idea, in my humble opinion, to "encourage" this kind of environmental consciousness. Call it paternalism, call it liberal overreaching, call it whatever you want. I call it a good idea.

I should note at this point that my family has had and used a recycle bin for as long as I can remember.

But now, not only are residents forced to recycle, but to hide the bins as well? It now has come out that San Francisco is handing out $100 fines to residents who do not put empty recycling bins out of sight. On the side of the house is no longer good enough. Now these giant bins have to be put completely away in a garage or otherwise out of sight.

Again, I should note that the bins are always placed in my family's garage so that we have easy access to them.

Is San Francisco that hard up for cash that it has to fine both the recyclers and the non-recyclers? I do not care how deep the treasury's debt is. This is ridiculous. The government can take a loss for a good purpose, and supporting recycling certainly meets this requirement. I can understand requiring a resident to pull the bins off the curb, but the side of the house seems like a perfectly reasonable place to store them.

As for eyesores, the giant contractor's truck that is always parked on my street, or the white, windowless van that always blocks the fire hydrant, seem more like sight pollution than a few recycling bins will ever be.

Population Bust?

What the hell is going on in the Bay Area? Today I was listening to KGO online to keep up with some local issues even while I still live in Boston, and every other commercial is for Pacific Fertility Center. Is there a rash of impotence going around the Bay? I am horribly confused. Why the sudden need to inundate the airwaves with commercial after commercial for fertility treatments? Maybe they are just trying to make it seem like there is, so anyone with the slightest difficulty conceiving will come charging into their office. Maybe it is the variances of internet radio, where not every commercial gets broadcast online. All I know is that I half expect to see no newborns when I am home next week.

Chalk one up to the advertisers.

Busting Bracketology

Today is the first day of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Today and tomorrow, 64 teams will play and be cut down to 32. Across the country, billions of dollars are changing hands as people enter pools, attempting to predict the outcome. On ESPN, Mike and Mike have their annual bracket wager under way. This year, if one loses, he will have to dye his hair a different color every day for a week. If the other loses, he will have to enter a competitive eating contest. It is all in fun and games. For pride, for a little bit of money, and for the spirit of competition (and a distraction from work).

But in a many states, bracket pools constitute illegal gambling. Depending on the amount of money changing hands, and the way a pool is run, people could even be facing jail time. Not that any of these rules are ever enforced. And I would bet dollars to donuts that the people charged with enforcing these laws are actually breaking them by participating in pools themselves. Former University of Washington football coach Rick Neuheisel was fired from that position for entering a bracket pool. Let me repeat that: the football coach was fired for betting on a totally different sport. Neuheisel was later awarded millions of dollars in damages against the University of Washington and the NCAA.

This is not a joke, folks. This is serious business. And like many of our drug laws, it is utterly ridiculous. Any law that makes criminals out of this many Americans is probably not a good law. And enforced or not, these laws are on the books, available for use by law enforcement agencies. Have a problem with your neighbor? Odds are you could turn him in for betting on Kansas to beat Duke in the championship game. Or for that other favorite betting time of year, the Super Bowl.

Sports and gambling go hand in hand. They cannot be separated easily. And why should they? For the most part, it is all in fun. Let those of us who were never tall enough or good enough to ever play major college basketball have some fun riding not just our favorite teams but our analysis of their matchups (or jersey colors or mascots in some cases) to victory.

As for my bracket this year? North Carolina beats Texas in the championship, with UCLA and Wisconsin joining them in the Final 4. Go Tar Heels!

Sex and Silence

Doctor-patient confidentiality.

Think about that phrase for a minute. Think about what it means. Think about everything that it implies. You can say anything to your doctor, and they cannot reveal it to anyone. There is a similar protection for clergy members and attorneys. These are professions that require candor to effectively do their job, and society has recognized this and provided protections for the individuals who serve in these capacities.

Today, this principle seems to conflict more and more with the idea of parental control over their minor children. Today, confidentiality does not apply to teenagers, and issues over parental notification laws for abortions have gone all the way to the Supreme Court. This presents doctors with a huge problem, however. A new study has been released saying that 1 in 4 teenage girls in the United States have a sexually transmitted disease. To put that in raw numbers, more than 3 million girls between 14 and 19 have an STD. Dr. Margaret Blythe of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on adolescence says that there are many doctors who do not want to discuss these issues with their teenage patients, or tell them to get tested, as the results of these tests would have to be released to their parents.

This should present on obvious solution to the problem at hand, or at least to this particular piece of the puzzle. I agree 100% wholeheartedly with the American Academy of Pediatrics on their recommendation that teenagers be allowed confidential screenings. Many teens do not want their parents to know that they are having sex, but they still need medical advice. And teens in this situation should not be forced to go into a new situation, with strangers they have never met, in order to get advice and treatment. The Haight Ashbury Free Clinics serve an important purpose, and should be imitated throughout the country/world (I know, I'm a dreamer). But teens should not have to go to the clinics to get advice. Instead, they have to be able to go to a doctor they know and trust, secure in the knowledge that they can get the treatment and advice they need, without being subject to the wrath of their parents.

Whether we like what teens are doing or not, the fact is that they are going to do these things. Sex and drugs and other things are facts of life. The best way to help is not to cover our eyes and ears and scream "HELL BOUND" like the Christian Right, but instead to deal with reality as it presents itself to us. It is time to be realistic, and we need doctors to be able to give advice to teens. We would not stand for a doctor giving our information to someone else, why would we stand for them being able to give someone else's information to us?

And yes, I do understand the counterargument. Parents are responsible for their children, we would never let a doctor perform an operation without consulting a parent, yada yada yada. And part of a doctor's advice should be to encourage a sexually active teen to talk to his or her parents. As far as I am concerned, however, if I had a teenager, it would be more important to me for my teen to be healthy and safe, and cared for by a doctor I know and trust, even if that doctor would not tell me things I think I need to know.

This report by the CDC shows that it is long past time for confidential testing for teens. Hopefully this becomes reality, and we can see these numbers drop in years to come.

Doing Right in Light of Loss

I do not usually comment (or care) about dead actors and celebrities, but I figured it might not be a bad idea to praise people when they do the right thing. Heath Ledger died without having updated his will to include his ex or to his two year old daughter. Court papers do not say what his estate is valued at, but his New York City belongings alone are worth $145,000. All of his property was to be given to his parents and sisters.

Here is the happy ending to this particular chapter of the story (since the story itself can't really have one): Kim Ledger, Heath's father, has said that the family will make sure to provide for Ledger's ex and their daughter. It is nice to see Mr. Ledger not just say that he will use his son's money to not only take care of his grandchild, but of her mother as well. It is the right and decent thing to do.

I hope (and would very much like to believe) that Mr. Ledger will stick to his pledge. Hopefully this will remind everyone to update their wills whenever something changes in their life. Not everyone in the world is as reasonable as Mr. Ledger appears to be.

Seatbelts and Sake

Yet another minor child has been found drunk at school. I feel like every day there is a report of a kid in single digit years (in this case 4) drunk. I am of the opinion that the legal drinking age is too high. But I'm talking about lowering it to 18 (you can die for your country but you are not allowed to order a beer?). Or maybe even down to 16 if you are with your parents. But 4? Give me a break. Anyone who gives alcohol to a child should be thrown in prison. And no, I am not talking about the occasional sip during a religious observation or to see what it tastes like at a family dinner at home. But no child should be given their own drink. And no one should have to be told that.

I saw this particular case reported in a video on CNN. I also saw something really good in the video, though. The reporter was interviewing a parent who was sitting in his car while picking up his child from the school. While he was talking, you can see over his shoulder the car door open, the kid get in, reach up and put his seatbelt on. Maybe there is hope for us yet. The drunk 4 year old is the exception. I would like to (and in fact do) think that the kid putting on his seatbelt unprompted is the rule.

Musings and Philsophy for July 5

"I am sometimes a fox and sometimes a lion. The whole secret of government lies in knowing when to be the one or the other." – Napoleon Bonaparte

Revealing the name of a CIA agent sentences that agent, as well as any secret contact they may have had, to death. Causing someone to be unjustly executed is also a capital offense. Being against capital punishment, I think it is fair to be merciful and to sentence Karl Rove to life in prison. Of course, everyone knows that a presidential pardon is probably already written and sitting in Bush's desk drawer, but at least someone responsible will answer for it. Maybe now Rove will back the idea of a journalist's right to keep his sources private.

"Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." – Benjamin Franklin

The USA Patriot Act is showing its true colors as a war on Americans. Richard Kreimer, a homeless man, has filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey suburb saying that they used the Patriot Act as an excuse to evict him from the train station where he was sleeping. Already an unconstitutional, anti-American piece of legislation that violates our most fundamental rights, the Patriot Act is now taking us another step closer to a totalitarian government, spying on its citizens and preying on the weak.

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." – Nelson Mandela

Commercials over the weekend coinciding with, and having the same goal as, the Live 8 concert series featured Nelson Mandela speaking to a crowd about debt relief and aid to Africa. "We know what to do, and how much it will cost," he said. Mandela is a great world leader, and a man who has dedicated his life to the betterment of those around him. We can only hope that the world leaders meeting this week in Scotland at the G8 Summit listen to him and pledge the aid needed. The richest owe a debt to the poorest. We can and must spend the money and send the aid. To borrow from the Declaration of Independence, whose anniversary we celebrated yesterday, nothing less than our sacred honor is at stake.

"Justice is rather the activity of truth, than a virtue in itself." – Horace Walpole

President Bush now has the opportunity to nominate a new Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Bust has repeatedly declared his admiration for Justices Scalia and Thomas, the most conservative members of the Court. Instead of following this line, Bush should look to Earl Warren as the ideal justice. A man of vision and daring, Warren presided over many of the greatest moral decisions the Supreme Court has ever made, including the landmark Brown v. Board decision in 1954. Oh, and by the way, Earl Warren was a conservative Republican from California appointed by President Eisenhower.

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." – Galileo Galilei

On July 4, NASA successfully crashed a probe into a comet to learn more about the origins of our solar system. Another success for the oft-ridiculed agency deserves accolades and applause. Revealing our past can help us learn about the future. Where we come from can help point us to where we are going. Hopefully more successes will be forthcoming, and NASA can return to the prominence it had in the heyday of Apollo success.

America has come a long way in 229 years. Our nation was founded on the ideals of freedom and justice. There are people who work every day for these causes, and towards furthering freedom around the world. We stand in the shadows of great men and women who have gone before and worked to bring us to where we are today. I only hope that it does not all come undone before our eyes, and that we can, in the words of the Constitution, "secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity."

Sleeping in Farragut Square

On June 28, I had the opportunity to view two very different Washingtons. First, I was on Capitol Hill, attending a hearing on religious tolerance at the Air Force Academy and a press conference and platform rollout for the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Great Congressional leaders like Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee spoke about the need to protect equality of opportunity, not just the top one percent, and the importance of a safety net for those who cannot always do the job themselves. Jesse Jackson spoke of the need to protect the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which has been under attack as the Bush administration stands idly by and lets states chip away at our most cherished and most important right.

After leaving Capitol Hill, I took the metro down to Farragut Square and saw why the goals of the Congressional Progressive Caucus were so important. Four blocks from the White House, in the capital city of the richest nation that the world has ever known, people were sitting on benches in the square, with everything they own in the world in a bag next to them. These people, men and women, were dirty, looked tired, hungry, and dejected. They could see the affluence around them. People were going to and from work wearing suits, talking on cell phones, listening to music, and all they could do was stare blankly ahead. Most would probably not have a roof over their head that night, and where their next meal would come from was unknown.

The system failed these people. They are Americans. They deserve both opportunity and security, but they have fallen through the cracks. Undoubtedly some of them are veterans, and wore the uniform and defended this country, only to come back and be neglected and ignored. Even if they are not veterans, however, no one deserves to be treated this way.

And yet President Bush believes that there are no problems in America today that cannot be fixed with a tax cut. I wonder if President Bush has taken the opportunity, as he speeds through Washington's streets in one of his armored limousines or over the city in his Marine helicopter on his way to his private 747, to look around him and see the problems in the streets. This is not an unreasonable question. It is not like he has to go to New Delhi, Mozambique, or Mexico City, or even to San Francisco, Atlanta, or the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. All he has to do to see the poverty that Americans live with every day is walk four blocks to Farragut Square.

A society is judged be the least of its citizens. President Bush has forgotten this and is instead toadying to his cronies and saving them money with his tax cuts for the top one percent. These super-rich executives and heirs should realize that yes, they pay more in taxes than the average American, but they also earn more and therefore have a responsibility to those who and cannot make upwards of $500,000 per year, and in some cases over $1,000,000.

America is best served when we raise everybody up. We all benefit when no one is sleeping on the streets. President Bush needs to end these disastrous tax cuts for the wealthy. Trickle-down Reagonomics did not work in the 1980s, and it cannot work today. Instead, we need to build up our foundations, reinforce the least of our society, and provide assistance to those who need it. Then we can and will be the great nation envisioned by so many of our greatest leaders on both sides of the aisle. Only then can we truly say that we have reached the American dream, the true manifest destiny, an America where no one has to sleep in Farragut Square.