Three stories in the news caught my eye today.
Betty Broderick is up for parole. Back in the early nineties, she shot and killed her ex-husband and his much younger wife after a really nasty divorce. She portrayed herself as a victim and a bunch of women supported her. She became the poster child for housewives who feared their husbands would dump them for younger babes. That happens so frequently in California. Books were written about her. Merideth Baxter (from "Family Ties")played her in a couple of TV movies.
Frankly a prosecutor friend of mine put it best: the solution for a bad marriage is divorce, not murder. Especially not a double murder where the killer slips into the house and kills the happy couple in bed.
A big thumbs down on Betty to the California Parole Board. No, I don't think she's a risk to society at large. But I sure wouldn't lay odds on the survivability of any new boyfriend who pisses her off.
Speaking of "victims," Conan O'Brien is reportedly signing a deal today that will give him $32 million to leave NBC in the wake of the Jay Leno fiasco. His staff will split an additional $12 million. It's been one of the better and more fun stories to watch in this grim new year. A bunch of idiots with money to burn screwing each other.
And now, thanks to the US Supreme Court, another bunch of idiots with money to burn will be able to use it to bankroll American elections.
The Supremes ruled today that business, unions and non-profits can contribute more freely to political candidates. It's a freedom of speech thing, say the Justices.
My favorite quote comes from Justice Anthony Kennedy, one of the High Court's conservative members, voting with the majority.
He says, "The appearance of influence or access," he wrote, "will not cause the electorate to lose faith in our democracy."
Oh really?
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
No Makeup Application Zone
Oprah wants everyone to stop texting and driving.
Her heartfelt (as much as anything coming from her mouth really can be) message today explained that those who text and drive are eight times more likely to have an accident than someone who is merely driving. That's TWICE as likely as someone using a cell phone the old-fashioned way...for talking.
I'm guilty of both and, as judgemental of DUI drivers as I am, I'm going to stop doing the mobile phone thing as much as possible. A friend told me today, he always pulls to the side of the road to text. I do too, although not always intentionally.
But I have a bigger gripe that Oprah didn't address.
What about drivers who are putting on their makeup at 80 mph? Or, as was noted by a friend, balancing their checkbook, calculator in one hand, pen in the other? Or even chatting with a friend in the passenger seat? Or many friends, as in the much touted way to green up our driving experience, the car pool.
"Your car is not a phone booth!" Oprah exhorts. She is absolutely correct.
It is also not a dressing room. That mirror hanging from the windshield, or the back of your sun visor, is not for putting on makeup. Your steering wheel is not a desk or a dining room table. Spill a drink, kill a child.
Keep it in mind.
Her heartfelt (as much as anything coming from her mouth really can be) message today explained that those who text and drive are eight times more likely to have an accident than someone who is merely driving. That's TWICE as likely as someone using a cell phone the old-fashioned way...for talking.
I'm guilty of both and, as judgemental of DUI drivers as I am, I'm going to stop doing the mobile phone thing as much as possible. A friend told me today, he always pulls to the side of the road to text. I do too, although not always intentionally.
But I have a bigger gripe that Oprah didn't address.
What about drivers who are putting on their makeup at 80 mph? Or, as was noted by a friend, balancing their checkbook, calculator in one hand, pen in the other? Or even chatting with a friend in the passenger seat? Or many friends, as in the much touted way to green up our driving experience, the car pool.
"Your car is not a phone booth!" Oprah exhorts. She is absolutely correct.
It is also not a dressing room. That mirror hanging from the windshield, or the back of your sun visor, is not for putting on makeup. Your steering wheel is not a desk or a dining room table. Spill a drink, kill a child.
Keep it in mind.
Friday, January 15, 2010
A Friend Died for the Second Time Today
This time, he won't be coming back.
John McElroy would have been 66 on his birthday at the end of February.
He and I were friends for thirty of those years.
He taught me good habits as a cop (except that he drove faster than any human being ever drove a law enforcement vehicle), told great stories, endured many of mine, made me laugh and finally, tonight, made me cry.
John was a stalwart and caring friend. He seemed to know just when to call to keep me out of trouble and listened with interest and good humor, no matter how bizarre the tale I told him. His adventures, on the other hand, always made me grin. In fact, if I answered the phone and heard, "It's McElroy..." I knew I could expect a treat: wonderful conversation, rapier wit and the kind of warmth that can only come from a kind, kind heart.
John died for the first time a number of years ago.
He had a heart attack while teaching a class as an agent of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. He was dead several minutes before being shocked back to life with emergency gear that had been installed just days before at the Highway Patrol Academy.
Later, eyes twinkling, he would tell me he'd died but was "rejected" and "sent back."
John's "death" and a continuing heart condition led to an early retirement from the KBI. He went on to become Executive Director of the Kansas State Gaming Agency, as well as an active sailor, RV enthusiast and fan of Segway scooters. In fact, John set legal precedent when he sued for Segway access to a Topeka shopping mall.
I had the good fortune of talking with John at least weekly, sometimes more often, in the months since he was diagnosed with stomach, esophageal and liver cancer in August. I learned four important things during our talks. Though one tough and unyielding old bird in most ways, he was a devout Christian. He accepted his fate and wasn't afraid to die. And he promised to keep laughing at me from Heaven every time I mess up.
John died this morning in hospice in Topeka. His wife, Martha, tells me he was at peace and that his last words were, seemingly out of nowhere, "Yes, yes."
I have no doubt whatsoever that means he wasn't "rejected" this time.
Rather, I know John accepted the Lord's invitation to join Him in a place where he will have the wind at his back, his sails crisply trimmed and his favorite beverage close at hand.
Go with God's Hand on your shoulder, my friend.
I await your laughter.
John McElroy would have been 66 on his birthday at the end of February.
He and I were friends for thirty of those years.
He taught me good habits as a cop (except that he drove faster than any human being ever drove a law enforcement vehicle), told great stories, endured many of mine, made me laugh and finally, tonight, made me cry.
John was a stalwart and caring friend. He seemed to know just when to call to keep me out of trouble and listened with interest and good humor, no matter how bizarre the tale I told him. His adventures, on the other hand, always made me grin. In fact, if I answered the phone and heard, "It's McElroy..." I knew I could expect a treat: wonderful conversation, rapier wit and the kind of warmth that can only come from a kind, kind heart.
John died for the first time a number of years ago.
He had a heart attack while teaching a class as an agent of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. He was dead several minutes before being shocked back to life with emergency gear that had been installed just days before at the Highway Patrol Academy.
Later, eyes twinkling, he would tell me he'd died but was "rejected" and "sent back."
John's "death" and a continuing heart condition led to an early retirement from the KBI. He went on to become Executive Director of the Kansas State Gaming Agency, as well as an active sailor, RV enthusiast and fan of Segway scooters. In fact, John set legal precedent when he sued for Segway access to a Topeka shopping mall.
I had the good fortune of talking with John at least weekly, sometimes more often, in the months since he was diagnosed with stomach, esophageal and liver cancer in August. I learned four important things during our talks. Though one tough and unyielding old bird in most ways, he was a devout Christian. He accepted his fate and wasn't afraid to die. And he promised to keep laughing at me from Heaven every time I mess up.
John died this morning in hospice in Topeka. His wife, Martha, tells me he was at peace and that his last words were, seemingly out of nowhere, "Yes, yes."
I have no doubt whatsoever that means he wasn't "rejected" this time.
Rather, I know John accepted the Lord's invitation to join Him in a place where he will have the wind at his back, his sails crisply trimmed and his favorite beverage close at hand.
Go with God's Hand on your shoulder, my friend.
I await your laughter.
Thousands Dead Just Another Photo Op For Some
The sight of Anderson Cooper blithely sitting on a pile of rubble in Haiti reporting on rescue efforts going on not two feet behind him turns my stomach.
Try that in this country, Andy, and somebody's liable to come upside your head with a brick. And deservedly so.
Yes, it's a disaster of monumental proportions and the networks need to, in their words, put a human face on it. But, just because you can get up close and personal because there are no authorities around to bust you for it doesn't mean you always need to do the casual campfire squat next to people working their ass off, or shove the lens of your camera literally into the face of a grieving father who has lost his family.
Good reporting is necessary but Haiti is a disaster, not a photo op. Cover it, don't lampoon it with silly live shots. A hand waving for help from under the ruins of a building tells the story so much better than anything that Andy Cooper can possibly say or do.
Try that in this country, Andy, and somebody's liable to come upside your head with a brick. And deservedly so.
Yes, it's a disaster of monumental proportions and the networks need to, in their words, put a human face on it. But, just because you can get up close and personal because there are no authorities around to bust you for it doesn't mean you always need to do the casual campfire squat next to people working their ass off, or shove the lens of your camera literally into the face of a grieving father who has lost his family.
Good reporting is necessary but Haiti is a disaster, not a photo op. Cover it, don't lampoon it with silly live shots. A hand waving for help from under the ruins of a building tells the story so much better than anything that Andy Cooper can possibly say or do.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Lifetime Lockups for Sexual Predators
Should rapists, pedophiles and the like be dropped into a black hole and forgotten about? I suspect most victims, cops and politicians would say yes.
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today challenging a federal law, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which does the next best thing.
The Walsh Act, along with statutes in twenty states, provide that convicted sex offenders who have served their time can be confined past their release date, usually in a mental health facilty. In other words, you do the crime, you serve your time...and then you serve more. Maybe a lot more. The extended commitment can be indefinite. Many offenders will be locked up for life. Not for what they've done...but for what they MIGHT do in the future.
Lawmakers acknowledge civil committments are expensive, perhaps three times the cost of prison, but they argue the program is designed to give serious sexual predators extended treatment and a shot at rehabilitation not available to them while serving their criminal sentence.
Those taking a more liberal view claim it "demonizes" predators.
What it really does is "incapacitate," them, in the words of law school dean Eric Janus, author of "Failure to Protect."
"Incapacitation" works for me. Let's come right out and say it. These are not likely candidates for rehabilitation. These are violent predators who will hurt more people if they are released from custody. Freedom for them should never be an option.
A "black hole?" Perhaps not. But civil commitment of sexual predators is the best we can do.
Let's hope the Supreme Court rules the Adam Walsh Act is constitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today challenging a federal law, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which does the next best thing.
The Walsh Act, along with statutes in twenty states, provide that convicted sex offenders who have served their time can be confined past their release date, usually in a mental health facilty. In other words, you do the crime, you serve your time...and then you serve more. Maybe a lot more. The extended commitment can be indefinite. Many offenders will be locked up for life. Not for what they've done...but for what they MIGHT do in the future.
Lawmakers acknowledge civil committments are expensive, perhaps three times the cost of prison, but they argue the program is designed to give serious sexual predators extended treatment and a shot at rehabilitation not available to them while serving their criminal sentence.
Those taking a more liberal view claim it "demonizes" predators.
What it really does is "incapacitate," them, in the words of law school dean Eric Janus, author of "Failure to Protect."
"Incapacitation" works for me. Let's come right out and say it. These are not likely candidates for rehabilitation. These are violent predators who will hurt more people if they are released from custody. Freedom for them should never be an option.
A "black hole?" Perhaps not. But civil commitment of sexual predators is the best we can do.
Let's hope the Supreme Court rules the Adam Walsh Act is constitutional.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Terminal Nakedness
EPIC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, has used a Freedom of Information request to discover that the body scanners TSA wants to deploy at airports can not only store images, but transmit them as well.
Naturally, TSA's public relations campaign promises passengers won't be at risk of having their electronically recorded nakedness displayed online for all to see. TSA counters EPIC by saying the machines' storage and transmittal functions will be disabled prior to shipment to the airports. I'm guessing that anyone with a twelve-year-old's computer expertise could hack in and change the settings. I suppose you'd need a twelve-year-old's mentality to think of doing it in the first place.
It's an interesting controversy. TSA says the devices will help them protect the traveling public. But should such a program be allowed to go forward if it raises concerns about personal privacy?
Would such an issue have been raised in the immediate wake of 9/11? Would it be raised in other countries, Israel for example, where terrorism is always a concern?
Questions to ponder.
Personally, I'd rather be scanned than sorry. Then again, having my naked image sent around the world without my approval could only help sell books.
Wes Clark Jr.(son of General Wesley Clark, the former Presidential candidate) may have the best idea of all. He suggests we all fly, "naked and unconscious with no baggage."
I accept that option only if airlines make the seats more comfortable.
Naturally, TSA's public relations campaign promises passengers won't be at risk of having their electronically recorded nakedness displayed online for all to see. TSA counters EPIC by saying the machines' storage and transmittal functions will be disabled prior to shipment to the airports. I'm guessing that anyone with a twelve-year-old's computer expertise could hack in and change the settings. I suppose you'd need a twelve-year-old's mentality to think of doing it in the first place.
It's an interesting controversy. TSA says the devices will help them protect the traveling public. But should such a program be allowed to go forward if it raises concerns about personal privacy?
Would such an issue have been raised in the immediate wake of 9/11? Would it be raised in other countries, Israel for example, where terrorism is always a concern?
Questions to ponder.
Personally, I'd rather be scanned than sorry. Then again, having my naked image sent around the world without my approval could only help sell books.
Wes Clark Jr.(son of General Wesley Clark, the former Presidential candidate) may have the best idea of all. He suggests we all fly, "naked and unconscious with no baggage."
I accept that option only if airlines make the seats more comfortable.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)