The Exercise of Vital Powers

The difference between you, me, Microsoft and the government is that only the government can legally use force to accomplish its ends. This is why when you and I have a dispute, we go to court (the government) to settle it. For only the government can force you to submit to the judgement (I win of course because I’m always right).

Because the Government is the only entity that can use force, it attracts people who want to use force to achieve their ends. These are not the kind of people who are looking to provide Justice. Just ask the Duke Lacrosse team. Or Corey Maye.

There is bill that was introduced in the General Assembly yesterday, HB 185. This bill must die! The basic jist of the bill is to make it easier for a jury to sentence someone to death. Current law requires 12 jurors to unanimously decide to sentence someone to death. HB185 would change that to 9 jurors. This bill lowers the bar for the one act Government can do that is irreversible – take a person’s life.

Now, I’m not against the death penalty per say. I do believe that its value in the criminal justice system is mostly theatrical. When gangsters in Chicago have a shorter life expectancy on the street than on death row – I don’t believe its a deterrent. Also, the multiple layers of appeal that any capital case undergoes weakens the deterrence argument. So for the run-of-the-mill murders, I don’t see value in the death penalty. Its political theater.

There are cases where the evidence is over whelming, and where the death penalty is appropriate. The recent execution of Saddam Hussein, or the Nuremberg Trials are fine examples. However even in cases of genocide the value is diminished by the lengthy legal wrangling. Slovidan Milosevic died in his bed while awaiting trail in The Hague.

Both the left and the right have gotten this issue wrong. I suspect that is their goal. The Death Penalty, like gay marriage, abortion and Sunday sales makes for good political theater. Flashy stuff that makes for good sound bites that everyone can understand, but distracts the public from the real issues. Call it Legislative misdirection, to borrow a term from the magician’s trade.

We need the death penalty, but we need to set the bar higher. Saddam, Ted Bundy, Brian Nichols. Once we sentence someone to death, it should immediately be reviewed by the US Supreme Court, and then execution delivered with in 24 hours of that review. Ideally, I’d like to see double jeopardy revised to have any death sentence re-tried in a different state with different counsel, judge and jury.

HB185 goes the wrong way and should not be made law.

They’ve invented the Caffeinated Doughnut

HT: GriftDrift

With the price of oil going up, people are looking to ethanol. That’s driving the price of corn way up in Mexico.

Thats brings up two observations:
1) There are worse things than being addicted to oil.
2) If corn prices are going up, why the hell are we still paying farmers not to grow?

Here is an interesting new Blog/News site founded by the ex-head of CNN.

You can also read the New York Observer’s Profile of the site.

I really like how they plan to report on the little things, price of eggs, what the Kirkuk police blotter says, etc. You can tell a lot about the health of a free market economy by watching the prices of basic commodities.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Check out Blog For Democracy’s List of candidates for the Democratic Party of Georgia.

I like how they list the race of everyone running. So much for not being judged by the color of their skin.

And check out this bit of PC silliness:

according to the State Bylaws, a gender balance must be preserved between the Chair and 1st Vice Chair positions. Such that, if a man is elected Chair then State Committee members will only be allowed to vote for female 1st Chair candidates and vice versa if a woman is elected as Chair.

So the presence or absence of a penis is more important to the Democrats than who is qualified to hold the position. No wonder they are losing ground in Georgia.

While I laugh at this silliness, it does bother me. Without a capable opposition party the Republicans in this state will eventually develop the arrogance that infected the national Republicans.

Blame Global Warming, George Bush, Nancy Pelosi or whomever, I’ve been in a blogging drought the last several weeks.

Mostly its because I started a new job, a new website and several new projects which I hope will lead to either riches, world domination, or both.

I need to write about why I changed by position on the Iraq war, and why I should have been against it all along. I’ve got to debunk neo-prohibitionist nonsense that is floating around the Gold Dome in response to SR26 Which would legalize sunday beer & wine sales. I’ve got to start figuring out which white house hopeful I want to support.

I need to learn to not need sleep.

On this day in 1707 the Act of Union was signed, ending Scottish Independence and forming the United Kingdom.

Happy 300th birthday!

… or at least tries to.

New Idaho Congressman Bill Sali proposed a bill Wednesday to combat obesity by reducing the Earth’s gravity, saying that’s no more unreasonable than the Democrats’ legislation to increase the federal minimum wage.

Both defy “natural laws,” he said.

“The well-intentioned desire to help the poor apparently will not be restrained by the rules and principles of the free market that otherwise do restrain American businesses and workers,” Sali told the House of Representatives. “Apparently, Congress can change the rules that would otherwise affect the affairs of mankind.”

The Democratic-controlled House voted 315-116 to raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, with more than 80 Republicans joining Democrats to pass it. But Sali stuck to his stance that the market, not government, should determine how much workers are worth to employers.

“Obviously, it was a facetious notion to suspend the laws of gravity,” he told The Spokesman-Review by phone from Washington, D.C., about his “Obesity Reduction and Health Promotion Act,” which proposed helping Americans shed pounds by cutting gravity by 10 percent. “The same is true of the act we took today.”

HT: Club for Growth

Jason Pye and I have launched a new blog, Georgia Legislative Watch. Here is the press release we are sending out:

Two bloggers from the Metro Atlanta area have created a non-partisan citizen watchdog site called Georgia Legislative Watch.

With over a thousand bills introduced in the last session, its hard for the average citizen to keep track of what is going on in the General Assembly. Georgia Legislative Watch will harness the power of the Internet to provide competing analysis of pending legislation.

“The purpose of the site is to encourage people to get involved in the legislative process and engage other individuals in what is going on in state government,” said Jason Pye, one of two co-founders of Georgia Legislative Watch.

The site, with a layout similar to a blog, will post new legislation when it is introduced. Site visitors will be able to add their thoughts, opinion and analysis for each bill. Legislation will also be viewable by issue, allowing visitors to view only the bills that interest them.

Chris Farris, an Internet Professional and co-founder of Georgia Legislative Watch, highlights the collaborative nature of the site. “From wikipedia, to OpenSource Software, to Google the power of large numbers of people contributing their knowledge creates value for everyone. We hope that by providing a place where Georgians can express their opinions about pending legislation, we can provide a valuable service and help the General Assembly create better legislation”, he said.

Legislators from both sides of the aisle are encouraged to register and post about their own bills. Georgia Legislative Watch will highlight the comments from sponsors and co-sponsors of bills.

I’ve got a process which will upload new legislation each night, and Jason has promised to post vote schedules and legislator newsletters. Check it out.