Wednesday Stuff

Frontline was on PBS when I got home from the 'office' last night. From all the good stuff happening out here at the golf course, all those happy gladiators returning successfully from their battles with the defenders of the greensward, I was hurtled into a sad story of children in jail for life. Holy Cow. What a jolt back to a reality filled with anger and grief and stupidity. Over 2000 now in jail in the US for life. Felony murder - you get convicted of that and you're toast. Gone. In jail for life, no parole. Our criminal justice system has its glaring insufficiences, and this is one more of them. In the stories related I saw very little justice and no mercy. Appalling. A real bummer to watch; a real tradegy for those living with the consequences of their actions and a certain alignment of the stars. Mandated sentencing is stupid. Our criminal justice system not so just. (BTW, Habeas Corpus still has not been restored; maybe in a month or six or twenty-four.)

And then there is this story of two 16 year old girls in Perth, Australia, who strangled a 15 year old girl just to see if they would feel remorse. Given a life sentence but eligible for parole after 15 years. Jeeeesh...

On a lighter note, our Attorney General, Mr. Gonzales, goes back before Congress tomorrow; somebody should remind him, again, that truth will out. (If you're interested, dKos has much more on the sins of our AG.) And it looks like Mr. Wolfowitz is heading for early retirement - some European countries, and a host of Democratic Senators, want him to take a hike from his job as World Bank leader. Sanity on the rebound.

And more on the DC Madam service, uh, story. A high end fantasy business. I like that. I also like it that this female David is telling the DOJ Goliath to stick it and to talk with her customers if they don't believe her about her workers not selling sex. You know for sure the men folk were not buying. Yup, I like this spunky lady...

On an even lighter note: Movie time at our place tonight. I forget the options. You're invited but bring popcorn and beer and be prepared for subtitles (smile).