Stunning!
Category: Politics
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Elgin Marbles: A Piece of The Parthenon in London
Looting is looting. and rationalizations are rationalizations!
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Here! Here! John Roberts!
Supreme Court says race-based testimony discriminated against black death row inmate.
How can one tell if someone who can count on being remembered by history is a decent person? If being remembered well by history is vital, the pivotal question is, “whose history?”
If, for example, Trump and the Republicans get their way and destroy our country – and no one else has a say, already their obvious purpose – Trump will be the greatest President in history.
I am hoping that Chief Justice John Roberts, someone who I think is very concerned with how he will be remembered, is acting according to how he HOPES the future will go – even when history is uncertain or appears, like now, to be going in the wrong direction. I am hoping that he is an honest person, acting on the strength of his convictions. I am hoping that he is a good person capable of risking a BAD history looking down on him, acting in favor of a GOOD history looking up!
In this case, as in the Obamacare case, Justice Roberts found for a respectable future. Here, a short remark in a much larger context made all the difference in the world to Justice Roberts. However much it appeared that the defendant was deserving of the death penalty, the Justice found he was entitled to a new sentencing trial:
“Roberts said it did not matter that the introduction of the expert testimony was only a small part of the proceedings.
“When a jury hears expert testimony that expressly makes a defendant’s race directly pertinent on the question of life or death, the impact of that evidence cannot be measured simply by how much airtime it received at trial or how many pages it occupies in the record,” Roberts wrote. “SOME TOXINS CAN BE DEADLY IN SMALL DOSES [my caps].”
Justice Roberts was decent here, and my hope is decent always!
Here! Here! John Roberts!
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The Map of Mathematics
On the long side, but well worth it! Perhaps start it and find you watch it through.
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My Apology and My Pledge
I did a wrong thing! I made a non-responsive comment on someone’s Facebook post. By non-responsive I mean that my comment did not apply in any way whatsoever to the content of their post.
I said, “Compare him to John McCain who can’t name names.”
I realized my error last night and intended to delete my comment then, but unfortunately didn’t get to it.
John McCain had no relation to the subject of the post, except that my appreciation for someone who could take responsibility for his position prompted me to insert a comment referring to someone who didn’t.
It was a personal indulgence and I was wrong to do it.
Following my inappropriate comment were two additional non-responsive comments. The first one, two screens long and in all-caps, bore no relationship to the content of the post except for the first word, “OH !”
The second, in a more temporate manner made clear that they were referring to the subject of the post, but then went on to raise the possibility that the subject of the post was of dubious character:
“… & worse yet , we have no idea what, other then some possible facts , maybe motivating his opinion.”
That’s character assassination!
Those two additional responses have driven home to me that it is wrong to intrude in someone’s home, their Facebook page, “their home,” to indulge myself at my host’s expense.
I will have good things to say, or if I disagree, I will take care to only specifically address the content of the post while always respecting the sensibilities of everyone else present in places where I am a guest. “True conversation only!”
In future, I pledge to try my very best to never again fall into the trap of indulging myself at the expense of my host.
