HST, SCOTUS, and other acronyms...

not feeling inspired enough to bring up a topic that we haven't already brought up (or that chiniqua hasn't in her last three posts) i'll now proceed to piggy-back. i can do that as a post (as opposed to a comment), uh-huh, cuz i'm a member of this here blog.

as for HST: as much as i love conspiracy theories (and i happen to think the right wing gets away with a lot of shit by just pulling incredibly brazen stunts, covering them up, and accusing anyone who unearths anything of being a conspiracy theorist), i'm gonna go with the story circulating aspen in the week following his death (where bluenote and i were immediately dispatched--two days before it happened--to garner info). without being too revealing in this public forum (because you know EVERYONE who's ANYONE reads BBD.. we almost considered changing the address after the P. Hilton fiasco), it seems apparent that his wife was not at home, his son did hear a shot (it sounded muffled apparently, but isn't that what you'd expect if he had his mouth wrapped around the barrel?) and he was, indeed, extremely subject to highs and lows (had to be bipolar in my laywoman's estimation). also, if it was really over this supposed article about the WTC, the right wouldn't have to kill him because they could just call him a conspiracy theorist along with everyone else who's pointed out that the white house and the FCC had advance warnings. it's not as though the majority of americans were looking to HST for their cues on the truth (although GOD KNOWS we should've been). i also agree with chiniqua that the whole chargers-in-the-basement thing is a bit much.

moving on: the supreme court. yes, they made a good decision. yes, it was also by a vote of 5-4, and if bush has his way with the courts it'll be overturned as soon as possible. mom and i were kvetching yesterday about how much we hate scalia. he's such an asshole. from yesterday's WaPo (but i'm editing a bit to restore the opinion quote to its original form):

Scalia, in a separate dissent joined by Rehnquist and Thomas, [said critically,] "The court thus proclaims itself sole arbiter of our Nation's moral standards -- and in the course of discharging that awesome responsibility purports to take guidance from the views of foreign courts and legislatures."

Noting that most countries have more restrictive abortion laws than the United States, Scalia [added that] "The Court should either profess its willingness to reconsider all these matters in light of the views of foreigners, or else it should cease putting forth foreigners' views as part of the reasoned basis of its decisions. To invoke alien law when it agrees with one's own thinking, and ignore it otherwise... is sophistry."

THIS MAN IS A MEMBER OF OPUS DEI. i really don't know what else needs to be said about that to discredit his 'we hate international opinion' argument but he's faithful to someone on this planet, who, at the least extreme, is JP2, and is probably someone much, much scarier. and anyway fuck him and his xenophobic bullshit. surprise, antonin, the standards of decency in the rest of world society are evolving faster than they are here.

also in the opinion (but not printed in the WaPo), he wrote:

To support its opinion that States should be prohibited from imposing the death penalty on anyone who committed murder before age 18, the Court looks to scientific and sociological studies, picking and choosing those that support its position.

okay so he's not into skewed statistics, right? but what about this [from the article]: "As of yesterday, 20 states, including Virginia, permitted the death penalty for offenders younger than 18. That is five fewer than allowed the practice in 1989," i.e. 30 out of 50, which i THINK is more than half, don't allow it. but the number AS (please let his middle name start with an S) invokes is that "the 18 death-penalty states that limit capital punishment to offenders 18 and older amount to 47 percent of the 38 death-penalty states. 'Words have no meaning if the views of less than 50 percent of death penalty States can constitute a national consensus,' he wrote." way to juggle your numbers there, buddy, but all 50 states count, even those bleeding-heart ones where they don't execute ANYONE at all. like, hmm, well 100% of those 18 states allow minors to be executed, so clearly that's a mandate!

also: yes, it's fun to say and write SCOTUS. also WaPo.

want to comment on the fight between 50-cent and the game (WTF?!?!) but momzulita wants to go so i'll sign off.