Fiscal Conservatism!

Now,  I understand that the often unpredictable (and uncontrollable) arc of the business cycle has something to do with the tax revenues of the government, but I think the cartoon does make a point about the promises so often made by fiscal conservatives. We’ll see if it holds true for McCain.

SILive Post of the Day

In what may become a daily installment judging by the level of discourse often displayed in the SILive forums, I’d like to post two entries on the news forum that I found particularly nuanced and intelligent:

44829. 2 illegals playing basketball

by shoredrywaII, 8/6/08 11:48 ET

Juan on Juan

Followed by the equally insightful:

by nobull101, 8/6/08 12:09 ET
Re: 2 illegals playing basketball by shoredrywaII, 8/6/08

What do you call 4 illegals in quicksand?

Quatro cinco

Notwithstanding the unfortunate conflation of hispanics with “illegals” (I suppose Trader and myself speak to the existence of hispanics for whom the description “illegal” would not apply), I am sort of concerned by the fact that the first post was met with a one-up, rather than some sort of show of disgust.

Update: Detainee Found Guilty of “War Crime”, Acquitted on Conspiracy Charge

By WILLIAM GLABERSON of the New York TImes

 

GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — A panel of six military officers convicted a former driver for Osama bin Laden of a war crime Tuesday, completing the first military commission trial here and the first conducted by the United States since the end of World War II.

But the commission acquitted the former driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, of a conspiracy charge, arguably the more serious of two charges he faced. His conviction came on a separate but lesser charge of providing material support for terrorism.

The conviction of Mr. Hamdan, a Yemeni who was part of a select group of drivers and bodyguards for Mr. bin Laden until 2001, was a long-sought, if some what qualified, victory for the Bush administration, which has been working to begin military commission trials at the isolated naval base here for nearly seven years.

Mr. Hamdan was convicted by a panel of six senior military officers who, according to an order of the military judge, could not be publicly identified. As permitted under the law Congress passed for trials here in 2006, the trial included secret evidence and testimony in a closed courtroom.

Mr. Hamdan, who has said he is about 40, faces a possible life term. The sentence is to be set in a separate proceeding before the same panel that is to begin this afternoon.

 

Full Story

“Too Fat to be Executed”

Hat tip to the Volokh Conspiracy:

Cooey’s public-defender attorneys filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday contending that his weight, the difficulty of finding veins suitable for lethal injection, and a drug he’s taking for migraines and seizures mean that Cooey might suffer “unnecessary pain in the execution of the death sentence.” . . .. 

Cooey was convicted and sentenced to death for the murders of Dawn Marie McCreery, 20, and Wendy Jo Offredo, 21, on Sept. 1, 1986. Cooey and an accomplice, Clint Dickens, abducted and raped the Akron-area college students before choking and bludgeoning them to death. Dickens, a juvenile at the time, was sentenced to life in prison.

Cooey was 12 hours away from death on July 24, 2003, when a federal judge stopped his execution, primarily because of a dispute over his court-appointed attorneys’ representation and billing in the case.

A nurse who examined Cooey in 2003 while he was in the Death House at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville said his veins were “sparse.” Cooey told officials to come in early to begin the lethal injection, adding, “I don’t have any veins.”

Dr. Mark Heath, an expert witness hired by Cooey’s defense team, indicated that Cooey’s “morbid obesity” and the anti-convulsant and painkilling medication he takes for seizures combine to cause a “higher risk of an inhumane execution.”

 

Two opposing considerations immediately come to mind: First, if it is in fact true that he really does not have accessible veins, then I think there is a compelling argument for the fact that trying to execute him via lethal injection may be cruel and unusual due to the necessity of repeatedly sticking him with his death needle. Second, an unintened consequence of a ruling in his favor would create the perverse incentive for inmates to gorge themselves and gain enough weight to make lethal injection impossible. Any thoughts?

Is Obama the End of Black Politics?

…I certainly don’t think so, but if what this NYT Magazine preview article means by “black politics” is the “combination of familiarity and fatalism” rooted in its leadership’s culture, in some regards, I’m glad to see it hit the road so that something bigger/better can come along. Is that weird?

Morning News; August 6th, 2008

1) Mets win on the back of another strong Pelfrey start and two Tatis bombs, but not without their closer-by-committee almost blowing it. Yanks lost to the Rangers due in no small part to Pettite’s inneffective start.

2) Though not worthy of an embedding in our illustrious blog, Paris Hilton, with the help of the Funny or Die crew, released a response to McCain’s ad using her image to attack Obama’s celebrity.

3) Oil prices remain “low” and the markets respond with a big day- though the Fed kept the Fed Funds rate at 2.0%, indicating that the Fed doesn’t think we’re out of the woods yet, even with some inflationary pressure. Finally, the Trader’s job security has declined somewhat since the market opened this morning, but it is the humble opinion of this utterly unqualified market watcher that the fact that he has remained at the company throughout this downturn is a strong indication that his office needs him and is loathe to let him go- even in the direst of fiscal situations.

4) Refusing to heed our own Bureaucrat’s warning, President Bush plans to speak out against China in anticipation of the opening ceremony of the summer Olympics to be held in Bejing, citing “deep concerns” about the state of human rights in China.”

5) News, but really no news, on the Guantanamo case- the jury has reached a verdict but won’t release it yet.

6) The United States has announced who will carry the U.S. flag at the Opening Ceremony- and it is none other than Lopez Lomong. A former lost boy from Sudan, he settled in upstate New York, ran cross country, and won the state championship in 2004. Incidentally, I raced him twice in my high school career (at state’s and at Brown), and I, as one might expect when racing a future olympian, was defeated both times by a margin I care not to divulge.

I’ll update with some more articles later this morning- I’ve been given an assignment to do so I have to jump on it with great vigor.

Unacceptable.

Sexual abuse in the military is finally seeing some coverage in the press, due mostly to testimony in the House last week by female members of the armed forces.  According to CNN, ”Women serving in the U.S. military today are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.”

For further coverage, see this article on Feministing.com.

Obama’s Response to McCain Tire Gauge Stunt

I am glad to see Obama possesses the same incredulity in response to McCain’s making fun of an idea that actually lowers fuel consumption. I think his response is appropriate.