OCTOBER 28, 2010
A twice convicted murderer in Arizona found out Elena Kagan did not necessarily want to play well with her new classmates. In her first vote as a Justice of the Supreme Court she also learned that the votes of a Supreme are final, very final for Jeffrey Landigan. She voted, with three other Supreme Court Justices, to stay the execution of Landigan, as a Federal Trial Court and Federal Appellate Court had done.
Not so fast Justice Kagan. The majority rules and even in Washington D.C,, four does not beat five. In a 5-4 ruling, which was not signed, but received the needed votes from Justices John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito to overturn the two lower Courts stay of execution. Justice Kagan sided with the minority but within hours, Landigan was dead. He was only the second person executed in Arizona in nearly ten years. He had been on death row since 1990. Prior to the murder he was executed for, he had been convicted of second degree murder.
At issue was a drug that is in short supply in the United States, sodium thiopental, a strong sedative. Arizona bought its supply from an unidentified source in Britain. No evidence was before the Court or any lower Court the foreign drug was unsafe.
The anti-death penalty crowd convinced lower Court judges it was not proven safe. This is another case of law-making from the bench, what can’t be done at the ballot box some misguided Judge will do it from the bench.. The drug was designed to kill the prisoner. The only way it would be unsafe was if it didn’t work. The drug is a sedative meant to give the murderer a peaceful death. If it didn’t put him to sleep, the drug administered after it would kill him and accomplish the mission. It worked in Arizona. Landigan is burning in hell as you read this.
Andy Dick, insert joke here, was in a coffee house, apparently in a state of extreme intoxication when he leaned over and kissed one of his male companions on the mouth. He then exposed his genitals to the diners, got up and staggered down the street. This was at least his third incident of for similar actions in addition to his two arrests for obscene sexual behavior. Let’s vote this moron off the planet.
There was a nice letter at the Chronicle’s website praising Ms. Chami for being a fine leader before she was in high school. I do not think we should be electing the 8th grade class president or prom queen as our State’s Attorney. If that is the best she has to offer, the choice is even clearer in favor of Clay Campbell.
NASA is planning a one way mission to Mars by 2030. The goal is to establish a permanent settlement on the red planet. The reason it is a one way mission to Mars is because we think can get there but we have not figured out how to get back. It seems the cost, technology and power source is beyond our knowledge, as of now.
I am fully aware that many discoveries are a direct result of the space program but is this mission necessary. By its own parameters, everything we send to Mars will end up as space junk since we cannot bring it back. We have done such a wonderful job with planet Earth, do we really need to start impacting Mars. Go ahead Glenn, have at it.
Notable births on this date:
1017 Henry III Holy Roman emperor (1046-56)
1907 Edith Head fashion designer (MGM)
1907 Lew Parker actor (Lou Marie-That Girl)
1907 Lew Parker actor (Lou Marie-That Girl)
1914 Dr Jonas Salk NYC, medical researcher, made polio a fear of the past
1926 Bowie Kuhn baseball commissioner (1969-1984)
1926 Bowie Kuhn baseball commissioner (1969-1984)
1936 Charlie Daniels country music star (Devil Went Down to Georgia)
1944 Dennis Franz Maywood Ill, actor (Norman Buntz-Hill Street Blues)
1955 William Gates billionaire CEO (Microsoft) He is my age, hard to tell us apart.
Notable deaths on this date:
900 Alfred the Great English monarch, dies
1957 Anthony J Morabito co-owner of SF '49ers, dies while watching a game
1980 Leon Janney actor (Hawk), dies at 63
1957 Anthony J Morabito co-owner of SF '49ers, dies while watching a game
1980 Leon Janney actor (Hawk), dies at 63
Notable events on this date:
1492 Christopher Columbus discovers Cuba
1636 Harvard University (Boston) established
1776 Battle of White Plains; Washington retreats to NJ
1790 New York gives up claims to Vermont for $30,000
1636 Harvard University (Boston) established
1776 Battle of White Plains; Washington retreats to NJ
1790 New York gives up claims to Vermont for $30,000
1919 Volstead Act passed by Congress, start prohibition over Wilson's veto
1922 1st coast-to-coast radio broadcast of a football game
1922 Benito Mussolini takes control of Italy's government
1924 White Sox beat NY Giants 8-4 in Dublin, less than 20 people attended game
1922 1st coast-to-coast radio broadcast of a football game
1922 Benito Mussolini takes control of Italy's government
1924 White Sox beat NY Giants 8-4 in Dublin, less than 20 people attended game
1962 Khrushchev orders withdrawal of missiles from Cuba, ending crisis
1965 Gateway Arch (630' (190m) high) completed in St Louis, Missouri
1965 Pope Paul VI proclaims Jews not collectively guilty for crucifixion
1965 Pope Paul VI proclaims Jews not collectively guilty for crucifixion
1977 TV's Rhoda gets married
1988 Jurors award $147,000 to Tacoma parishioner seduced by her minister
1988 Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen gives $10 million to U Wash library
1989 Oakland A's sweep SF Giants in earthquake/BART series
1988 Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen gives $10 million to U Wash library
1989 Oakland A's sweep SF Giants in earthquake/BART series
BRUCE A. BRENNAN
Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
