It's been a while since I've done a list of short items, so here's another. As usual, the title is the name of a square-dance figure, and the last list item is the definition of the figure.
- Judith Regan has been fired by HarperCollins.
- The death penalty is suspended in Florida and California, after a problem with an injection in the former state resulted in a 34-minute execution.
- The commander of the Guantánamo Bay detention center is clamping down and going back on plans to ease conditions there. Admiral Harris says, "They’re all terrorists; they’re all enemy combatants," and "I don’t think there is such a thing as a medium-security terrorist." Never mind that these political prisoners have never been charged with anything, much less convicted. And that "[s]hortly after Admiral Harris’s remarks, another 15 detainees were sent home to Saudi Arabia, where they were promptly returned to their families."
- According to a new poll, 66% Think U.S. Spies on Its Citizens — the remaining 34% are, apparently, in a fantasy dream-world. 51% think these tactics are justified.
- New Jersey joins the short list of enlightened states that understand that giving civil rights to gay couples doesn't hurt anyone.
- South Dakota's Senator Tim Johnson is ill, with uncertain recovery after brain surgery. The Democratic Party's majority in the US Senate is at risk, depending upon what Governor Mike Rounds chooses to do in the event that he must appoint a replacement for Senator Johnson.
- The Georgia Board of Education refused a request from a wingnut who wants to remove Harry Potter books from school libraries. The board noted that banning all books that refer to witchcraft would toss out "Macbeth" and "Cincerella" as well. She's considering an appeal. She should consider moving to a deserted island.
- Ahmet Ertegun has died. Mr Ertegun founded Atlantic Records, and was responsible for acts as diverse as Ray Charles, Sonny and Cher, and Led Zeppelin. He was depicted in two 2004 biographical films, Ray and Beyond the Sea.
- Own the beaus, touch 1/4 by partner tag.
1 comment:
I've never quite been able to understand how it is that execution by lethal injection is, apparently, not a straightforward procedure. I'm not trying to minimise the enormity of the death penalty, which we abandoned in the UK many decades ago, but rather to question why this particular method seems to have problems.
Those of us who have pets have nearly all had to make that really hard decision in our lives, the one that allows our pet to die with dignity, surrounded by those who love him. In each case I have witnessed, an initial injection sends our pet peacefully into a deep, deep sleep. A second injection stops the heart. There is no reaction from the animal, who appears simply to have fallen asleep.
Why then, if a veterinarian is able to perform this humane service for a dog, is it not possible to adopt a similar procedure for the death penalty?
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