Friday, January 20, 2006

Could It Be?


Whale in River Thames Causes a Wave

The whale was spotted in the afternoon as it flailed around in the murky waters of the Thames, stirring up patches of what looked like blood as seagulls hovered above and rescue boats stood at the ready. It was the first sighting of a Northern bottle-nosed whale in the river since British whale-watching records began in 1913.
Last week, marine officials said they saw two bottle-nosed whales in northeastern Scotland when the mammals are normally seen in northwestern Scotland. That, coupled with the sighting Friday of a second whale in a different part of the Thames, could suggest that something is disrupting the whales, said Laila Sadler, scientific officer at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
In a perhaps unrelated story a group of Rotarians from Washington State were seen sunbathing and swimming of the Northeastern cost of Scotland. A local reported that even from Scottish standards, these were some pale and sickly looking folks. With the constant singing of "Louie Louie", many locals felt the need to vacate the area.

"Next they will scare off the fish." said one local pub patron of the Rotarions.

No, wake him up and then shoot him...

Clarence Ray Allen, who had spent more than a quarter-century on Death Row, was executed by lethal injection on Jan. 17. He was the oldest and most infirm prisoner executed in the United States since the death penalty was restored in 1977, according to his lawyers. He was 76.

Not sure where you folks stand on the death penalty, I tend to go back and forth on the issue myself. Not an easy answer and so on.


It would appear that Mr. Allen was responsible for the deaths of 3 people, one by his own hand and 2 who he ordered killed from prison. Clearly, if the facts were correct, not a nice man. No one seemed to raise the issue of whether or not he was indeed guilty, but rather the issue of his age and various aliments became the issue. He was legally blind and in general poor health, which at 76 would seem no great shock to anyone.

So here is the odd part to me.

In Sept of 2005 Mr. Allen had a heart attack, severe enough that his heart actually stopped working. In other words he was dead, seems like a nice clean ending. No real issue for the people opposed to the death penalty. We let God decide when it was his time.

End of story, Right?

Nope. The folks at San Quentin revived Mr. Allen. Is it just me or does this become more then just a little redundant? The guy is scheduled to be put to death, he dies on his own and then we bring him back so we can kill him again? Man talk about not being able to think outside of the box.

What do you tell this guy? “Hey we almost lost you there but we were able to bring you back, by the way you die in 4 months.”

But hey I could be wrong.