Stupid Meme

In the past couple of weeks, I've seen an anti-muslim meme posted onto Facebook on at least two occasions. Posted as a jpg., the meme reads, as follows:

How stupid are we?
"We allow our government to flood our nation with Muslims, give them welfare for life (with multiple wives), and then tell us we must not offend them 'or we will go to prison'. Islamic immigration has destroyed every country in Europe, and it will destroy both Canada and the US.
Are we so stupid that we'll stand by and let this happen to our country?"

The first time I came upon this meme, I left a comment on the Facebook page where it appeared. I was highly critical of the meme but it was obvious that I wasn't going to change anyone's mind.

I came across the meme again yesterday, and I was tempted to leave another critical comment, when I was reminded of a quote by one of my favorite writers, Elizabeth von Arnim -

"............the less a person knows, the more certain he is that he is right, and that no weapons yet invented are of any use in a struggle with stupidity."

The person who had posted the meme was obviously a person described in the von Armin quote, and I'd be wasting my time trying to change the mind (such as it is) of that person.

However, I could not leave this unanswered. I could, at least comment on the meme in this blog.

From the content of the meme, there's no way of knowing if the original writer was American or Canadian. The posters I knew are Americans, so I will address it from the standpoint that they believe it applies to the USA.

I'll address the wording in sections.
"We allow our government to flood our nation with Muslims.......". According to the US Constitution, the government cannot exclude immigrants based on their religion. There's freedom of religion in the US and Muslims can't be prevented from immigrating.

"......give them welfare for life......". I know a few Muslims and none are on welfare.

".....(with multiple wives)...". I worked with a Muslim whose family had immigrated from the Middle East. At the time of their immigration, his father had two wives. The US government would only allow him to bring one wife.

".........and then tell us we must not offend them 'or we will go to prison'.......". This is a totally ridiculous notion. No one is in prison in the United States for offending Muslims.

As I said, I don't expect to change anyone's opinion, but I feel better after putting in my 2 cent's worth.

Celebrated Crimes

When I wrote yesterday's post, I thought that there might be a possibility that I'd finish reading volume one of Alexandre Dumas' Celebrated Crimes before the year's end. I see now that that won't happen.

The last book read in 2017 will be The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton.

Volume one of Celebrated Crimes contains two essays - The Borgias and The Cenci. It was the story of Beatrice Cenci which brought me to this collection. The Borgias contains so much historical information that I'm not certain that putting that essay into a work on celebrated crimes is entirely appropriate. However, because the tale of the Borgia family takes place during the First Italian War, it fits in perfectly with my recent exploration of the Spanish Conquistadors - quite a few of the soldiers whom fought alongside Cortés had also fought in the Italian Wars.

The main focus of The Borgias revolves around Pope Alexander VI. His story does not speak well for the Catholic Church during the Renaissance. Actually, his story does not speak well for humanity.

2017 Winding Down

2017 is almost at an end and I will be posting my list of books read this year in a few days. The last three books read were written by Edith Wharton; a collection of short stories - The Hermit and The Wild Woman - and two novels - The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence. I've enjoyed Wharton's work, but I doubt that she will surpass Elizabeth von Arnim as my favorite.

Although there are two days left in this year, it doesn't appear likely that I will finish the book I am reading currently, Celebrated Crimes by Alexandre Dumas (pere). There are eight volumes in the complete work, but it's possible that I may finish volume one before year's end.

I became interested in Dumas' Celebrated Crimes when I learned of the story of Beatrice Cenci. Her story is included in volume one of Dumas' book.

I've downloaded 16 ebooks from Project Gutenberg to start off 2018. These sixteen, plus the Dumas' collection should keep me occupied for quite some time.

Man in Pikachu Onesie Tazed and Arrested

According to sputniknews.com, one Steven Goodwine, Jr. age 27, was tazed and arrested after he began fighting with bouncers who had kicked him out of a bar in Arlington, Virginia. The peculiar aspect of this incident was that Mr. Goodwine was dressed in an outfit referred to as a "Pikachu onesie".

Being ignorant as to just what that is, I Googled the term Pikachu “onesie” to find a photo. The photos here come from the website for Target. To my understanding, the man in these photos is not Mr. Goodwine, but a model.

John Hinckley Jr. to be freed after 35 years

John Hinckley Jr., who attempted to President Ronald Reagan in March, 1981, is scheduled to be released from a Federally operated psychiatric hospital and needless to say, quite a few people are upset with U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman decision to release the 61 year old Hinckley.

Comments left on the Washington Post website include:

"A terrible decision.
When someone shoots a President, no matter how privileged one's background, there should not be a return to society.
Reagan's would-be assassin, Hinkley, being released - a person who paralyzed James Brady (a brave man who fought an admirable fight against gun madness, but nevertheless lost his crusade to the sickness that is the NRA), a person who also shot the Secret Service agent who sacrificed his body to prevent Reagan from taking another hit?
This is wrong.
Thank goodness that New York State has been keeping John Lennon's horrible murderer from returning to society".

and:

"If there's any bloodthirsty, marginally-insane terrorist out there, representing any half-assed crackpot group, and you need a little practice targeting a totally expendable American piece of crap, why not pay John Hinckley a visit? If the guy has to do volunteer work anyway, running down the street with a bull's eye on his back would seem to be right down his alley".

Folks on Facebook were equally upset.

"This man tried to kill the President of theUnited States and he gets out of jail. We are becoming a nation of complete assholes".

" 'Insane' that is a good word to describe this. Shot Prez Reagan, paralyzed Bradey, tried to shoot others! He should rot in jail till death!"

"He should have gotten the death penalty!"

However..........

Ronald Reagan was far and away my favorite POTUS. There'll never be another like him. But, I happen to agree with the President Reagan's son Michael Reagan, who believes the time has come to release Hinckley. Michael Reagan said the former president didn't believe in holding onto feelings of anger, "My father not only could say the Lord's Prayer, but lived the Lord's Prayer because of his forgiveness of John Hinckley".

The younger Reagan also said, "As my father taught me, if you want to live with anger all of your life, you're gonna be very unhappy. You've gotta learn to forgive and get on with your life and go forward, instead of looking back and being angry all the time."

According to Michael Reagan, President Reagan wanted to visit Hinckley and tell him in person that he forgave him, but doctors would not allow it.

Election Predictions Redux

It's only July and already I see My 2016 Election Predictions unraveling.

In that post from April, I made a number of predictions concerning the November POTUS election. One being, Hillary Clinton would be elected POTUS due to the fact that she is hated slightly less than Donald Trump. I still believe that prediction will hold, but it is the companion prediction which looks as if it won't come true.

At the time of that post, I believed that not only will Hillary become the first female POTUS, but she will be the first POTUS to have matching impeachments with her former POTUS husband. I was certain that because Hillary would be elected on an anti-Trump referendum, there would be little sympathy for her when she finally faces an indictment and impeachment.

After reading that FBI Director James Comey would not recommend charges against Hillary Clinton over her use of private email servers while secretary of state, I realized that she is unlikely to be impeached if elected.

Be that as it may, I still maintain that choosing between Trump and Clinton is like choosing between mustard or mayo on your shit sandwich. Take your pick.

William Faulkner's Sanctuary

A few nights ago, I was watching (on Youtube) a 1933 -pre Code film entitled The Story of Temple Drake,which was an adaptation of William Faulkner's novel, Sanctuary.

I hadn't read Faulkner's novel, but if this film was a "watered down" version of the book, I was certain that I'd find the novel to be especially scandalous. The film's depiction of a rape victim being forced into prostitution is said to be one of the reasons for the introduction of the Hays Code covering Hollywood movies.

I was able to locate a copy of Sanctuary as a pdf which I could download for free and convert to mobi.

At the beginning of the novel, I saw the book as being on an equal footing (regarding scandalous material) as the film, but it was not long before Faulkner took the story to a new level.

I consider myself well read and not easily shocked, but there were episodes in the novel that were more horrific than anything I've previously read. When Faulkner originally submitted the novel for publication in 1929, "his publisher explained that they would both be sent to prison if the story was ever published".

Not revealing the ending, I could say that there may be some justice in the end, but I can say without fear of contradiction, that no one would say the story ends happily for anyone.

The Blame Game

For nearly eight years, more than a few folks have tried to place the blame for every imaginable evil on POTUS Obama. No reasonable person, who either knows me personally or has read this blog, could accuse me of being an Obama supporter, but I have to say that he cannot be held responsible for all that's wrong within the United States. Obama could be classified more as a symptom, rather than a cause.

In a recent example, a Wisconsin man was sentenced to three years in prison and three additional years of supervised release for threatening to kill the President - accusing Obama of being a "usurper" to the office.

Now that we are in an election year, the mantle of Evil Personified has been transferred to Donald Trump.

Again, I am not fan of Donald Trump. I could no more vote for him than I could Hillary Clinton. I do not want to see either one elected POTUS. But, just as Obama cannot rightly be blamed for every evil, neither can Trump. As bad as he is, Trump is not the cause of all the problems facing the United States. Like the current POTUS, Trump is more symptom than cause.

This is why I have to call foul on a recent headline on a site called countercurrentnews.com -Trump’s America Is Here: Man Kills 3 People For Not Speaking English.

Another Wisconsin man, Dan J. Popp, is being charged with three counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the deaths of Jesus R. Manso-Perez, 40; Phia Vue, 36; and Mai K. Vue, 32, who were shot and killed on March 6 inside their apartment complex in Milwaukee.

In spite of research into police records having uncovered evidence of mental illness in Popp's history, several groups are urging that he be charge with "hate crimes" with some people claiming that the hate was brought on by Trump's "rhetoric and nationalist remarks".

Last year, when it was discovered that the man accused of the murder of three Muslims in Chapel Hill NC was a fan of Bill Maher and Rachel Maddow, the two Liberal celebrities were not blamed for inciting violence with their rhetoric. It's not even been established that Popp is a Trump fan, yet Trump is already getting the blame for the lunatic's actions.

If convicted in Wisconsin, Popp faces a mandatory life sentence on each count of first-degree intentional homicide...... three counts equals 3 life sentences. If guilty of a "hate crime penalty enhancer", Popp would receive an additional five years imprisonment.

Perhaps Wisconsin will continue to keep Poop's decaying corpse in solitary confinement after he has died in prison.

To Liberals, Being Called Racist is Worse than Being Called Murderer: Part Two.

This photo provided by New York State Governor's office shows the note left by two convicted murderers who used power tools to cut through steel pipes at a maximum-security prison in Dannemora, NY, near the Canadian border and escaped through a manhole, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday, June 6, 2015. He said Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, "are two dangerous individuals."

In another example of how To Liberals, Being Called Racist is Worse than Being Called Murderer, Huffington Post is reporting that Escaped Murderers Left Behind Racist 'Have A Nice Day' Note.

According to the story,

"Richard Matt and David Sweat, the two men who were discovered this weekend to have escaped a maximum security prison in upstate New York, left a parting message: 'Have a nice day!' But they certainly didn't mean it in a nice way."

"The note also includes a racist image -- a 'yellow square of paper with a smiling, bucktoothed face,' as the Associated Press describes it."

One person commenting on the story summed it up rather well;

"This article reminds me of something I once heard a comedian say about Jeffery Dahmer - the murder and cannibal. Someone in the news complained that he was a racist because he killed fewer whites. The comedian pointed out, maybe so, but isn't his racism way down on the list of things that are wrong with this guy?"

Two Indonesian Women Beheaded in Saudi Arabia Early April.

As international attention has been focused on Indonesia's execution of convicted drug smugglers, Saudi Arabia's execution of two Indonesian women earlier this month has gone under the radar.

From a story dated April 15, 2015;

"Efforts by President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo to secure reprieves for hundreds of Indonesians on death row in overseas prisons met a sudden setback on Tuesday with the unexpected execution of a mentally ill Indonesian worker in Saudi Arabia."

While turning a deaf ear to pleas for clemency from foreign governments regarding executions of foreign nationals by Indonesia, President Widoto is not too embarrassed to request clemency from Saudi Arabia regarding Indonesians on death row there. The Indonesian government has gone as far as offering diyat [blood money] - Rp 2 billion [US$154,410] in one incident, in attempts to save Indonesians from the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.

The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry has said that 36 nationals are currently undergoing legal proceedings in Saudi courts, and are threatened with the death penalty.

It added that they have been charged with criminal cases, such as witchcraft, adultery and murder.

Recruiter's Surrender Instrumental in Mary Jane's Reprieve.

Maria Kristina P. Sergio, aka Mary Christine Gulles Pasadilla, the alleged recruiter of Mary Jane Veloso, has surrendered to authorities in Nueva Ecija. According to philstar.com,"Sergio said she surrendered as she fears for her life after receiving death threats. She maintained, however, that she was not responsible for deceiving Veloso but she is willing to undergo investigation".

The National Bureau of Investigation-Anti Human Trafficking Division (NBI-AHRAD) alleges that Veloso is a victim of deception and human trafficking.

abs-cbnnews.com is reporting that Sergio's being in custody was instrumental in the Indonesian government's grant of reprieve that spared Veloso from being executed at midnight on Wednesday.

Sergio, along with her live-in partner Julius Lacanilao and an African man identified as "Ike" have been charged with human trafficking, illegal recruitment and estafa.

Rappler.com has done an excellent job covering all the aspects of Mary Jane Veloso's case.

Pacquiao Pleads for Mary Jane Veloso's Life.

From Sydney Morning Herald:

World boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao took time out from preparing for Sunday's megafight fight with Floyd Mayweather to join a massive outpouring of support in the Philippines for a Filipina mother of two whose execution appears imminent alongside Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.

"I am begging and knocking on your kind heart that your excellency will grant executive clemency to her," Pacquiao, a national hero in the Philippines, said in a televised appeal to Mr Widodo.

Tsarnaev’s Middle Finger.

From firstlook.org

What Explains the Power of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Middle Finger?

Thought provoking article.

Please Tell Your Father Not To Execute Her.

Mary Jane Veloso's kids to Indonesian president's son: Help save mom.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and the Death Penalty

At the National Catholic Register , Christine Williams writes that Catholics Debate Fate of Boston Marathon Bomber. After asking if Dzhokhar Tsarnaev crime warrants the death, Williams presents arguments for and against Tsarnaev's execution, without actually taking a stand either way herself.

That's not the case with Jonah Goldberg, who believes that the Boston bomber conviction puts death penalty opponents in an awkward spot.

Goldberg is an unapologetic supporter of the death penalty; that column is pretty much a repeat of a piece from July, 2012 -When a murderer is unsympathetic, death-penalty foes hold their tongues.

I don't expect to change Goldberg's beliefs on the subject; he's unlikely to be convinced by any argument I could put forth.

He asks:

How about now?
Are you in favor of the death penalty now?
I ask because the preferred argument from opponents of the death penalty is doubt: We can never be sure; look at all of the people released from death row; we can't afford to risk ending a single innocent life.

No, I am not in favor of the death penalty now. "Doubt" is not my preferred argument. I have absolutely no doubt that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is guilty as charged. He's guilty as Hell, but bringing up Michael Slager - "the North Charleston, S.C., cop who shot Walter Scott in the back as he was fleeing and then allegedly lied about why he did it"- doesn't change my mind either.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2267)

Assuming that the guilty party’s identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.

If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.

Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm—without definitively taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself—the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity “are very rare, if not practically non-existent.”

As Christians, we are called to show mercy and forgiveness. I realize that this will fall on deaf ears when speaking to non-Christians.

From a statement released by the four Catholic Bishops in Massachusetts:

"As the Bishops of the United States said in their 2005 statement A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death,'no matter how heinous the crime, if society can protect itself without ending a human life, it should do so.' We believe these words remain true today in the face of this most terrible crime".

So do I.

Further reading:Pope Francis: No matter what the crime, 'the death penalty is inadmissible'.
Pope Francis Would Spare Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Life.

Craig Hicks Judged to be "Death Penalty Qualified".

Craig Stephen Hicks, who is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the February 10, 2015 killings of 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat; his wife, 21-year-old Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha; and her sister, 19-year-old Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha is "death penalty qualified" according to Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson Jr..

Police have said Hicks appeared to have been motivated by a long-running dispute over parking spaces at the condominium where he lived in the same building as Barakat and his wife.The victims' families are adamant, however, that they were murdered because they were Muslims and have pushed for hate-crime charges.

I'm not at all certain how hate crime charges would affect Hicks' sentence should he be convicted. After all, he can only be executed once.

It's been reported that prosecutors have said that "Hicks confessed; that he was arrested with the murder weapon, a handgun that ballistics experts matched to shell casings recovered at the apartment; that there was gunshot residue on his hands; and that blood from one of the victims was on his pants". The evidence seems to indicate that Hicks is guilty and will, in all likelihood, be convicted.

Regarding the death penalty, I have to be consistent in saying that Hicks should not be executed. I am not arguing that Hicks is innocent. I believe him to be guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. As I've written in the past, my opposition to the death-penalty comes from my belief in the teachings of the Catholic Church, statements made by Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Being an atheist - or anti-theist - Hicks would probably disagree with my reasoning behind asking that he not be executed. Perhaps, life in prison may lead him to turn to God.

Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso's Appeal Rejected.

According to reports, [inquirer.net] Indonesia is preparing to move a Filipino death row inmate for execution after she lost her appeal in the Indonesian Supreme Court earlier this week.

While Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay renewed his appeal on Friday to Indonesian President Joko Widodo for the commutation of the death sentence of Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, Indonesia has so far turned a deaf ear to all appeals from the international community.

Last week, rappler.com published an article on the impact this tragedy has had on Veloso's parents.

I continue to ask for prayers for Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso and her family in Philippines.

Catholic Publications Call For Abolition of U.S. Death Penalty.

Some folks say that there are no coincidences. I don't know; I can't say for certain,one way or another. I do know, however, that when I wrote my two recent posts on the death penalty - [Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso and Australia and Indonesia at Odds over Death Penalty] - I was unaware that four leading Catholic publications would be issuing a joint editorial calling for an end to the death penalty in the U.S..

The four publications are;

National Catholic Register
National Catholic Reporter
America Magazine
Our Sunday Visitor.

Clicking on any of the links above will take you to the joint editorial.

While I applaud the publications' efforts, I am a little disappointed that in only one of the four publications - National Catholic Register - did any other writer in the respective publication add anything.

The National Catholic Register had death penalty articles by Pat Archbold of Creative Minority Report and Mark Shea. Mr. Shea went above and beyond the call of duty by posting a second piece on this on his Patheos blog.

While generally against the death penalty, Archbold is leery of the USCCB  "specifically calling on a Court to override the proper legislative authority of the states". I can certainly sympathize with his concerns.

I do not always agree with Mark Shea, but I want to highly recommend his Remarks on Pro-Death Penalty Arguments . He does an excellent job hitting ever pro-death penalty argument out there. If there are any arguments he's missed, I'd love to hear them.

Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso

Quite a lot of cyber ink has been used regarding the case of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the two Australian nationals scheduled to be executed by firing squad in Indonesia for drug offenses. I've even posted their story myself - [Australia and Indonesia at Odds over Death Penalty.].

Being against the death penalty, I pray that Indonesian President Joko Widodo will change his mind and grant clemency, but it appears very unlikely that Chan and Sukumaran will escape execution. The pair have already been transferred to the 'Iron Prison' awaiting execution.

While, as I say, much has been written on the two Australians, very little has been written about the other death row inmates convicted of drug offenses in Indonesia. One inmate in particular is a 30 year old Filipina named Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso. According to rappler.com,

Veloso, who comes from a poor family in Bulacan, north of Manila, only finished high school. She was in Malaysia supposedly to work as a domestic helper, but her would-be employer failed to meet her, the court heard on Tuesday. With two children back home, she agreed to an offer to bring two suitcases to Indonesia.

She was only supposed to bring the two suitcases with her on board the April 25, 2010, AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Yogyakarta, and someone was supposed to pick her up at the airport and get the package from her.

But that last part never happened, because she was arrested before exiting the airport. Concealed inside the suitcases were packs of heroin wrapped in aluminum foil estimated to have a street value of IDR6.5 billion at the time.

Like all the other inmates scheduled to be executed for drug offenses, President Joko Widodo has rejected her clemency request.

However, the country’s Supreme Court has agreed to review her case, giving Philippine officials and the woman’s family momentary relief.

Veloso does not speak English or Indonesian and it has been maintained that her court appointed Tagalog translator was not a qualified translator, but a student.

Being against the death penalty, I wouldn't want to see Veloso executed, even if she were guilty of the offense, but in this case, I believe her to be innocent of the charges. Knowing what I know about the situation regarding many Filipinas, I find her story absolutely credible.

I can only ask for prayers for her and her family.

Australia and Indonesia at Odds over Death Penalty.

In April, 2005, nine Australian citizens were arrested at Denpasar airport in Bali on suspicion of attempting to smuggle more than eight kilos of heroin out of Indonesia, following a tip from Australian police.
All nine were subsequently convicted; seven are currently serving sentences of between 20 years and life, while two - Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who the court has determined had recruited the others - were sentenced to death by firing squad.

I want to say from the start that my feelings on capital punishment follow the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Pope John Paul II :

[Punishment] ought not go to the extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity: in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today however, as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo has a policy of denying clemency for all drug offenders, and has chosen to ignore Australia's (and the UN's) pleas for mercy.

As much as I agree that the death penalty is too harsh a penalty, I can't say I agree with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's approach.

In 2004, Australia sent over $1 billion (Australian) in aid to Indonesia after the Boxing Day tsunami. Abbott is of the opinion that Indonesia needs to "pay back" Australia's generosity by not carrying out the executions.

"I would say to the Indonesian people and the Indonesian government: We in Australia are always there to help you, and we hope that you might reciprocate," Abbott said.

So, humanitarian aid must be paid back? There are strings attached? We aren't supposed to help our fellow man without getting something in return?

According to the bbc,

Mr Abbott suggested there would be consequences if the appeals were ignored.

"We will be making our displeasure known. We will be letting Indonesia know in absolutely unambiguous terms that we feel grievously let down."

I understand the frustrations of the Australians who want the Indonesian government to show mercy toward Sukumaran and Chan. Bali has been a popular vacation spot for Australians, but now, many in Australia are calling for a boycott.

In response, many in Indonesia believe "it's time for Australia to educate their people about how to behave as tourists" by not adding to the drug problem.

While the executions have been postponed, it's only a matter of time. Sukumaran and Chan are in need of our prayers.