Some Things To Rant About

Tookie Williams

"Is Williams redemption complete and sincere or is it just a hollow promise? Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings, there can be no redemption." With those words, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger effectively ended the life of Tookie Williams. As I predicted last week, the Terminator failed to do the right thing by sparing the life of Mr. Williams. The Governor has now become an expert in redemption. Can't handle a referendum or a budget, but redemption is his bag. "Without an apology and atonement....?" Since Williams has claimed innocence for 26 years, it would be difficult to apologize for a crime that he claimed he did not commit. I have seen this same scene played out in "Clemency Hearings" countless times over the years. Let's assume that, at the last minute, Williams had admitted guilt and apologized for the crimes. What would have happened then? Schwarzenegger would merely have said something like this. "After 26 years, Williams finally admitted committing the crimes for which he was convicted. He did this only as a desparate measure to try to save his life. This is insulting to the families of the victims." Different tactic, same result.

With rare exceptions, clemency in this country is a sham. Governor's appoint members to parole boards and then tell them what to recommend. In the rare instance when a clemency board member elects to go against the wishes of the Governor, they are summarily fired. These "clemency decisions" rest solely on the current political climate. They generally refuse to commute death sentences. If a convicted killer admits to the crime, the Governor uses that against them. If they refuse, that is used against them as well. It is time for those in this country to stand up and say, "enough is enough." The death penalty is wrong, especially for a country that claims to be the standard bearer for human rights. When someone in this country is executed, anywhere, all Americans have blood on their hands, whether they like it or not. From the moment that the California Department of Corrections posted the description of the crimes on the website, I knew that Tookie had no chance. The Governor's office would have requested or ordered that this information be put on the web, providing cover for the Governor. This leads me to only one conclusion. The Terminator is a coward.

CIA Prison Scandal

When Condi Rice visited Europe last week, she was constantly bombarded with questions about the alleged secret prison sites run by the CIA in countries all over the world. The Europeans were investigating whether or not the USA had violated air space rules in transporting "prisoners" from one country to another. Condi answered every question in the same broken record fashion. "The United States does not condone torture, period." Sounds great, but do actions no longer speak louder than words? This is a difficult sell, considering that Vice President Dick Cheney has been pulling out all the stops in trying to prevent anti-torture language from being used in the recent McCain bill. Always the good soldier, a mini-Boosh if you will, Rice used the very same tactic that Booshco has always used. If you say the same thing over and over again, no matter how nonsensical it may be, eventually it must be thought of as true. Swiss Senator and investigator Dick Marty stated simply that he "deplores the fact that no information or explanations were given by Rice." Having always been a Boosh apologist and clone, Condi has given even "friendly" countries reason to distrust us even further, if that is even possible. She is an embarassment to our country and to humanity itself.

The Polls Don't Change Much Despite Boosh Speeches

As Boosh has travelled around the country attempting to sell his "Iraq plan," it appears that, for the most part, the voters have tuned him out. Despite his speaking tour, 58% of Americans say the he still has no clear plan on Iraq, and 59% disapprove of his handling if Iraq in general. At least his speech yesterday provided some comic relief. It also showed the danger of not having complete control of the audience, a rare occurence with this dimwit and his dwindling number of handlers.

Somehow, the microphone was handed to a female with a foreign accent. Her question was, "How can you continue to talk about 9/11 and Iraq being tied together when NO foreign member of the press or Middle East expert has confirmed any ties whatsoever?" The immediate Boosh response was, "What? I'm sorry, I didn't hear your question. I really didn't." The woman then repeated her question. Boosh responded, "I appreciate the question. (shorthand for, who let this foreign bitch in here anyway) After 9/11, world politics changed for me. Oceans no longer protect us." Brilliant. A true, spontaneous bit of genius. Oceans don't protect us anymore? What the hell does that mean? Did oceans protect us prior to 9/11? Did the Japanese swim over here to bomb Pearl Harbor? Do former New Orleans residents not already know that the oceans aren't there for our protection?

For God's sake, get this embarassing pile of puke off of my television set and off of the public airwaves. You can rest assured, all future Boosh speeches will be returned to military institutions, and other carefully controlled venues. They will make it impossible for someone to catch the moron off guard. I know that he is isolated, but surely someone could have prepared him to answer the same question that his press secretary, Scott McClellan, gets hammered with multiple times on a daily basis. And yet he butchered it. Buying time by pretending not to hear the question, then answering in a fashion that insults the intelligence of an average third grader. Oceans no longer protect us? Okay, time for another lobotomy. The first three clearly failed.

That is it for today. I am not in a good mood!

Cyclone