Friday saw a federal jury sentence Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the culprits behind the horrific bombing of the 2013 Boston marathon, to death by lethal injection. When I saw the headline pop up on my news feed, all I could think to myself was-
What’s the point?
Readers, no one- even the defendant- disputes Tsarnaev’s guilt. Tsarnaev’s cowardly attack murdered three innocent people and wounded over a quarter thousand others. That Dzhokhar and his brother, Tamerlan (killed in a standoff with police shortly after the bombing) are monsters is likewise not in question.
But with all of that in mind- the guilt, the heinous nature of the act- what’s a lethal injection going to solve?
Now this isn’t the first time I’ve talked about the death penalty on this blog, but I think there’s hardly a better example of how fundamentally useless the thing is. And don’t for a minute think this is some bleeding-heart outcry against killing- I’ve got no problem with that, and I actually think we don’t resort to violence nearly as fast or often as we should.
I. Just. Don’t. Get. It.
What are we trying to acomplish here?
It’s Not Justice
It’s not.
Tsarnaev murdered three people and mutilated hundreds of others. If we take a balance-the-scales approach to justice (which I don’t- but that’s another discussion), then we’d have to find some way of killing and reviving him three times and subject him to years of physical and emotional torture.
We can’t do that.
Morally or practically.
You can pick whichever you want, but it’s just not going to happen. If you want to you make justice your sticking point, then fantastic. And I don’t say that with an iota of sarcasm, I really and truly to laud that. But again, this isn’t justice. Continue reading
Culture War Reporters 
Shame Day: Sun News
Sun News and New Prosperity Mine
Some of you may remember the report I wrote this past summer describing the debate over the New Prosperity Mine application in Williams Lake. I attended a few debates over the mine with my mother-in-law and there was a very strong division in the room. Supporters of the mine wore blue scarves, were primarily white, and mostly discussed the economic benefits. Most of the individuals speaking out against the mine were from the reserves surrounding the mining area, where they would be most closely affected.
Why do they want to kill off these poor guys? But seriously, according to what I heard in the presentation, even losing a few grizzly would be a huge problem.
There were also several very detailed environmental reports brought forward after the general public discussion. While I wasn’t able to make every one due to work, I was able to sit in on a report by a grizzly bear specialist. They shared exactly how the mine project would harm the already threatened grizzly bear community in the area. Again, that was only one one of many other extensive environmental reports.
Continue reading →
Rate this:
Leave a comment
Posted in Canada, government, Islam, news, politics, writing
Tagged Avaaz, boston bomber, CBC, commentary, Enbridge pipeline, Ezra Levant, Ford Nation, Fox News, Fox News North, free market, government subsidy, graph, grizzly bear, hot chicks, journalism, lawsuit, libel, Margaret Atwood, media, Media Bias, Muslims, New Prosperity Mine, news, poll, private sponsors, privatization, privatize CBC, Rob Ford, Rob Ford smoking crack, sexy outfits, Stephen Harper, straight talk, Sun News, terrorism, Williams Lake