Child Molesters and the Death Penalty

You know I have an opinion about this. Mandatory death penalty for child molesters, period. It is probably not "politically correct" and some would consider the death penalty either "cruel and unusual punishment," that it violates the Constitution, and some say that only God has the right to end a life, "WWJD????," and other bull-dukey. To them I say "Tough Twinkies." Our Constitution allows the killing of other humans in war-time. Congress has the right to determine when a war is called for...killing is condoned under the Constitution...even the "collateral damage" of civilians in Iraq right now, and isn't considered cruel and unusual. Not even when the means of killing is with a bomb. Maybe back in the olden days...olden like in European torture chambers, when people could be killed for complaining about the king, or for not "getting with the program" regarding religion...maybe in Salem, MA...being burned at the stake could be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

But in this day and time when children can be taken from the safety of their home or their neighborhood, raped, tortured, murdered, and dumped like trash in the most cruel and unusual way, their assailants should be "euthanized," or "cleansed." There is no rehabilitation for a perpetrator. Some might argue that the death penalty is retributive punishment and not restorative...that we want to take the life of a murdering sonofabeeeootch because we're mad, rather than to try to understand the lousy childhood that made these perverts commit the heinous act they did. Damn right...but it will never, ever take away the pain and terror suffered by that child, nor the agony those parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, neighbors, and classmates will suffer for the rest of their lives. But it WILL remove one buttwipe from the face of this earth. There should be mandatory death sentences for these people. No change of venue, no mitigating circumstances, no obstacles placed in the way of the police who are charged with finding these beasts living among us, nothing standing in the way of the prosecutors trying to get these monsters off the streets.

And frankly, I am sick to death of even one cent of my taxes going to support these people in prison. My husband works his butt off to put a roof over our heads, and if he doesn't work, we have no heat, no lights, no food, no clothes, no medical care. I think our prison system is f---ed up...people who have minor drug infractions are in jail. Turn them the frig loose...give them out-patient services, rehabilitation if they want it. Put criminals in jail. Put child molesters to death.

I thought the word "penitentiary" comes from the word "penitent" which means to be sorry, to express humble or regretful sorrow for sins or offenses...remorse for those things done which cannot be remedied. I don't see that happening in penitentiaries with child molesters. The penitentiaries aren't working for these losers. How many dead children's names can we list right off the tops of our heads...Adam Walsh, Polly Klass, Danielle Van Dam, Erin..., Megan..., Amber..., Carly Bruccha (sp?), Jessica Lunsford, and the lastest, Christopher... who have been stolen and raped and murdered and dumped like garbage? And how many did I forget to list? How many more before we have had enough? I have had enough.

...I'm baaack...

Well, it feels good to be able to sit down and check on my blog...not that it was going anywhere. It's been a few weeks, and I noticed cobwebs were beginning to gather around the corners, and you could write your name in the dust on my "welcome" page.

I bit off more than I could chew this semester; only three classes, but at my age, it might just as well be fifty classes. My brain is old, shriveled, and dried out. Did you ever try to unroll an old photograph only to have the finish crack? That is how my brain feels whenever I am faced with a new topic. Mallory says I study too much; she thinks 14-16 hours per day is way too much, although she's devoting at least that many hours a day on hers. Now granted, she's studying organic chemistry II, evolution, and physics II, and I'm studying U.S. history, administration of childcare programs, and domestic violence. But I've had nearly a 40-year long break in my studies. Anyhow, either I'm in the early stages of Alzheimer's and forgetting things, or I'm a closet over-achiever; I was on line looking up my homework assignments fearing I was far behind, and discovered, to my amazement that I'm two weeks ahead in one class, a month ahead in the second, and a week ahead in the third. So, I can sit here and bore everybody with pointless chatter.

To begin, my catering partner Vicky and I met with a couple yesterday about catering an event for them for 150 people. We got the job, and I'm quite happy. Being ahead with my schoolwork will give me time to do a little baking (and freezing) beforehand.

Next, but more exciting, my #2 daughter, Meeghan, has been continuing with the family tree. She's been working on this project for over 2 years now, and has about 10,000 names in her database. If your last name is Lathrop, we might be related. Also Fuller and Burruel. Meeghan discovered that some ancestors were neighbors and friends of Wyatt Earp. Some other ancestors were founders of Stanford and Yale universities--that should qualify us for some free college tuition, you'd think. Sad how our family dumbed down over the years, huh?

Matthew is still in school, and still alive, thank God. And still wants to be a firefighter. I know that a lot of his issues will resolve as he ages and matures. I've been asked if I worry about him becoming a firefighter. I honestly worry more about what he does every time he leaves the house now, and feel relieved to know that he will have other firefighters "watching his back," instead of his "friends" who supply him with beer.

We finally got my husband, Scott, new wheels. I've been chauffeuring since our truck was totalled back in September. The gas mileage stinks, but then Scott doesn't go anywhere but work and home (7 miles round-trip per day). A 2000 Mercury Mountaineer. It's in perfect condition, and was a compromise. He wanted another pickup truck (king cab with a camper shell), but we couldn't find exactly what we wanted at a price we could afford. He wanted to be surrounded by airbags, and be higher up than other vehicles. After seeing small car-truck/SUV t-bone collisions, I had to agree. So the Mountaineer is like a car in that the inside is very roomy and comfortable. The back seats go down so it's like a pickup with the camper shell. It has 6 airbags. He's happy, and it's cut my chauffeuring time in half. Matthew is very happy too, and wants to "help" install more speakers, and do some customizing something-or-other.

Granddaughter update. All three are perfect in every way. Sarah is beginning to look like a teenager, but is still nice. That'll change soon...she's doing the eye-rolling thing. She's been playing the clarinet, but will be switching to the French horn in the fall. Ariel is already quite an artist. And Rachel's vocabulary has gone from zero to adolescence in one year (she's only 4). A year ago she hardly said a word, and this year she knows how to say "asshole" and when it is called for on the expressway. She told her mommy she wants ice-cream in her "pie-hole".

Monica has trying to fly extra hours for the past couple of months since football season is over, and will be coming to spend a few days at home toward the end of this month.

It is sad and lonely here without Pokey. One of these days we will think about adopting a Tibetan spaniel. We'd like to find a little older female one through a Tibetan spaniel rescue, if possible, instead of a puppy.

I just finished reading, "Imperial Life in the Emerald City." I had a hard time putting it down to do homework. It traces the mis-steps and missed opportunities in Iraq, and makes me so, so, so sad for all of the people over there. And very angry at our administration. I hope you can find it at the library. Hasta luego, amigos!