LA return (after la return)

Good news, seekers. Murray’s Brag and Gag Rag is now in the mail and, if you are extremely lucky and your particular postal representative is in an unusually good humor, you may actually receive it some day. (Sorry for the cynicism. I had a check sent back to me yesterday that I mailed to UPS on September 9th; a rather sizable check. Not the kind you want floating around purgatory for 3 months. UPS obviously did not swallow my “check’s in the mail” routine and nearly suspended my service until I agreed to write them another check last month. But, don’t worry, I’m over it now. Somewhat.) The B and G R’s text is printed in black and red this year. Being a good Baptist during my youth (it wore off), I recognized the black text denoted the speech of mere mortals - Murray, in this case. I assumed the red text represented the voice of God. I found out at the end of the letter that the red text was Jane’s - close enough.

By the way Murray, “…remember ‘94 when you burned down the house?” I don’t believe we heard that story at Felberpalooza.

Hey, Adam, glad you made it back safe and sound. I’m looking forward to the show tomorrow. Usually the high point of my radio week.

No kidding, nine hours to fly from Chicago to LA? What? did you have to go through Atlanta? A standing joke in the Southeast, since every flight to anywhere connects through Atlanta’s Hartsfield International - When you die and go to Heaven (or Hell), first you have to go through Atlanta.

Best wishes and hopes go out to our buddies in the Pacific Northwest. Stay dry, if you can. You probably don’t want to know that the skies were a beautiful Carolina blue today in the Piedmont and a balmy 68F. Yeah, I thought not.

Happy Hanukkah!!!

My flight took a mechanical delay Thursday afternoon, and by the time it was fixed, You were probably well into the laughs in Chicago. I seem to be fated to miss the tapings.

sigh. I see there is another Adam/Mo WWDTM in January. Maybe I’ll just drive. Thank goodness Marker’s Mark doesn’t go bad.

Got into a heated arguement at the airport today (putting my son on a plane to his dad’s house). I’ve spent the last few hours trying to figure out if I really am a horrid person. I’ll let the FA crew weigh in on my questionable soul…..

Wolff Blitzer was talking about how FL has suspended death row executions because of a botched leathal injection; saying that because it was not instantaneous, it was “cruel and unusual punishment” and violated the condemned man’s humane rights. My response to this was “Bullshit!” The people on death row are not there because they jay-walked or littered. These are people that are sentanced to die for particularly heinous crimes committed against their fellow man. Did they rape humanely? Did they torture and kill humanely? At some point, there is a grain of truth to the eye-for-an-eye way of thinking. While it might not be humane to turn them over to their victims’ families for their death sentance (although I sometimes think fitting), why is there such an obsession for making their deaths utterly peaceful, painfree and instantaneous?

Having been the victim of sexual assault, and having experienced the utter hollow, sanitized and meaningless ‘victory’ within our judicial system; maybe I am unable to fairly view the issue.

Katie

I don’t usually blogwhore here, but it happens that last February, when the State of California had its collective tights in a knot over the Michael Morales death sentence (also by lethal injection, as it happened), I drafted a post on the subject, to which I refer the assembled company. I still think it’s valid. The accumulated comments are pretty interesting too; some of you may recall posting them.

Florida doesn’t have much of a record for humane executions, does it? After all, Florida was the proud owner of “Ol’ Sparky”, an electric chair that was the moral equivalent of the sort of car you start by sticking a screwdriver in the ignition because you lost the key… At least they could blame Ol’ Sparky’s misdeeds on poorly maintained machinery. This embarrassment is squarely attributable to incompetent humans.

Since the death penalty is one of those issues- like abortion and the existence of God- that have no actual resolution and thus endure forever, I shall merely state that a few years ago I was searching online for flights from Syracuse to Minneapolis and at least two major airlines wanted to route me through Atlanta. In what universe does that make sense?

The problem with the death penalty is not the effect on the person being executed, regrettable as that may be. It is the effect on the society imposing it, and on the people involved in it. It is the fact that we begin to believe that we as a society have the right to decide who should live and who should die.

I always remember the conversation in the Fellowship of the Ring, where Gandalf and Frodo are discussing whether Bilbo ought to have killed Gollum, back when he first found the Ring. Frodo says that Gollum deserves to die. And Gandalf says:

Deserves to die? I daresay he does. Many that live deserve to die. And many die that deserve life. Can you give that to them? Then do not be so eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the wise cannot see all ends.

It just broadcast here and it was amazing - if you missed it, get the podcast.

Just heard it as well. I’ve got to say the ‘Bluff the Listener’ round was rather interesting. I was sure I had the answer because there’s no way in hell that the third option could have been made up. But I guess if a Unicorn could be pleasured by a Bigfoot then just about anything is possible. Last time you get the benefit of the doubt Adam.

Aww, Dale. It is a rather forgettable name. And if those poor students didn’t have to work so hard they could keep up with current events.

An impressive return, Adam.

I always thought it was spelled Chanukkah. Anyway, I’d better get that straight before giving my upcoming Homily entitled “Jews: Zionist Comedians or Hegemonic Purveyers of Mandelbread?” I’m plowing new ground here, I know, but such is my fate. I’ll expand on the story of Ecce Homo, the Catholic order founded in the 19th century by Jews who converted to Catholicism. It was originally dedicated to bringing Jews to the “true faith” of Christians. They’ll like that. I’ll finish up by ennumerating the many times the Jewish elders have bollixed up their translation of the Old Testament. What can possibly go wrong here?

Since we’ve been discussing the Death penalty, here’s a few statistics on some countries who have banned it and when they did:

* San Marino (1848)
* Venezuela (1863)
* Portugal (1867)
* Netherlands (1870)
* Costa Rica (1877)
* Panama (1903)
* Norway (1905)
* Ecuador (1906)
* Colombia (1910)
* Iceland (1928)
* Denmark (1933)
* Italy (1947)
* Finland (1949)
* Germany (1949)
* Austria (1950)
* New Zealand (1961)
* Malta (1971)
* Canada (1976)
* Nicaragua (1979)
* France (1981)
* Australia (1984)
* Belgium (1996)
* Bosnia-Herzegovina (1997)
* Azerbaijan (1998)
* Turkmenistan (for God’s sake) (1999)
* Mexico (2005)

Just a few, for your consideration.

Rebecca - my podcast (iTunes) for WWDTM doesn’t update until sometime early in the week (Mon/Tues?). How do you get yours?

Cooper - we kinda ‘banned’ it in 1967 (take that Malta) but started again in 1977.

Personally I think we should lock ‘em up and throw away the key - especially since it’s cheaper. No hope - that’s the punishment.

For the record, my objection wasn’t to Esther’s not knowing who Tim Johnson was, it was the particular poetry of “brain stroke dude.”

We are, quite simply, incapable of applying the death penalty in a just or equitable manner. And the execution of the innocent is utterly unacceptable, if not reprehensible. Add to that the dangers inherent in granting to a government the authority to kill people, and abolition of the death penalty makes sense to me. So does life imprisonment without parole for murder, or for knowingly getting a murder conviction of an innocent person, as has happened way too often.

And I have to agree that there is a detrimental impact on society in the execution of anyone. It renders a society more, not less violent.

Wow, Adam. Adam. What a lightning round!

I think I need a cigarette.

Whew! Anyway, congratulations! We’ve missed hearing you on the show!

No matter how savage a crime someone has committed, our inflicting pain and suffering on that person—or condoning it—diminishes us as humans. The golden rule says nothing about what people deserve. Some people seem to think that mercy and forgiveness are for wimps, but it’s just the opposite—they take tremendous strength.

That’s my sermon for the holiday season. Joy to all!

Hey, Rebecca. It’s amazing, I don’t smoke, either! But thus is the mighty Felber Power. Especially when that fantastic climax to the show was preceeded by those great bluffs by Adam/Mo. Whoof.

We need to find some handy alternative for the tobacco-free. Light up Red Vines, or something.

Cooper, you may just be onto something there. . .

This has got to be the only place on the web where you can talk about WW,DTM and the death penalty in the same thread. Well, when in Felberland…

Adam/Mo: a most excellent show. I got to listen to it twice on Sirius and have the pod-cast as well. The best show in months.

As far as the death penalty, my feelings are that a person, who chooses to disregard the laws of our society, particularly in violent or vicious ways, is in effect saying they don’t want to live by those rules. If that is their decision, then they have to accept the consequences of that decision. If that society decides that the penalty for those violations is death, then so be it. There are of course several other things that come into this conversation: prevention, real deterrent, better education, etc….

I don’t think it would be quick or pretty, Landis. I’ve never tried to overdose anyone, but respiration would slow, leading to gasping and (I think) agonal breathing, which might appear to the faint of heart like suffering.
The present system is designed to be humane. Deep sedation, than a potassium bolus that quickly stops the heart. Of course, if the I.V. has infiltrated into the subcutaneous tissue, the sedation is less effective and the KCl burns like hell.
So don’t try to execute IV drug abusers with bad veins. Or rather drop in a central line (into the big veins around the neck or collar bone) before proceeding.
Not that I’m advocating for death. Incompatible with hippocratic oath, most say.

Landis,

I don’t actually know what the vet injected into my miniature dachshund, but she did it with great skill and compassion, and Gretch died very peacefully. I will always be grateful.