Think of how terrible it must be to fear needles and know that you’re scheduled for a shot. To make it worse, the doctor tricked Ronald Phillips by examining the poor fellow to locate a good vein during a checkup. That’s what happened – at least if we believe Phillips … <Read More>
PUNISHMENT or PENALTY?
Now that the 2013 World Series has ended, with all its twists and turns, who can forget Game 3’s dramatic conclusion as the St. Louis Cardinals won on that infamous “obstruction call.” Nobody was satisfied that the game should be decided by a runner obviously tagged out at home plate … <Read More>
Lethal Injection Drugs Still Clogging up the Punishment of Death
Lethal injection controversy still plaguing the death penalty. Now it’s whether states can mix their own lethal cocktail when they can’t obtain the drugs from outside sources boycotting. For my earlier reflections, read my op-ed on CNN.
All’s Well That Ends Well?
So the U.S. and Russia has struck a deal, and the UN Security Council signed on. Syria will fork over its chemical weapons – probably – for destruction, eventually. The “international community” will destroy them. Problem solved.
But is it?
Assume Assad, the mass-murdering international outlaw with friends in high … <Read More>
University of Heidelberg
Video of keynote lecture at University of Heidelberg available on YouTube courtesy of Julius Morche
When We Can’t Kill Those Who Deserve To Die
By ROBERT BLECKER, The Hartford CourantApril 1, 2012
Once again the politicians think they know better than the people, preparing to abolish capital punishment in the teeth of popular support for the death of those who most deserve it.
Ask the people about Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes — at
Playing Poker with Iran
“I’m not bluffing”, President Obama declares publicly to the world to convince Iran to open their nuclear facilities to inspection, forgo the pursuit of nuclear weapons, or “face the consequences.”
Now this declaration might strike us at first as bluster. Wouldn’t a bluffer always say he wasn’t bluffing? A compulsive … <Read More>
Over A Barrel: Insurance — the Tail that Wags the Dog
Over A Barrel: Insurance — the Tail that Wags the Dog
Unable to sleep, I tuned on CNBC – a business channel – this morning and heard an oil analyst attribute much of the spike in oil prices to the higher insurance costs surrounding the uncertainty over Iran’s near term … <Read More>
The Shadow
Poor Mitt Romney. Seems every time he might get some traction these days, something messes up. The latest – his appearance at Ford Field in Michigan, a football stadium with 65,000 seats, drew a crowd of 1200 to hear his major address. It’s a respectable number in itself – but … <Read More>
Taking the Penalty
Game and sport illuminate life. Where the offense seeks to penetrate a sacred space – score a goal, a basket, a touchdown – we playfully replicate sexual and power dynamics of human and political relationships.
“Let the Great Axe Fall” emphasizes a structural defect in some games and life itself. … <Read More>