Auctioning off Lenin's Corpse Tookie Williams Earlier this

Auctioning off Lenin's Corpse

Tookie Williams
Earlier this week some of the people in my office were talking about the impending execution of Stanley Tookie Williams who faced the death penalty for four murders he was convicted of in 1979. After a number of appeals and requests for stay, the case was brought before California Governor Arnold Schwartznegger for a request for clemency. Schwartznegger reviewed the cases and denied the request, stating that there was no evidence of innocence or justification for mercy in the case. A few days ago Williams was put to death. As we talked about it I had to talk about it as theory. I am in the minority in America because I don't believe in the death penalty. I don't believe that justice is accomplished, I don't believe that the act achieves deterrance for future actors of the crime. Beyond that, I have a very difficult time understanding anyone who feels that they can reasonably decide whose acts are severe enough to merit ending a life. Still, it seems to me that the question at play is whether someone can redeem themselves through good works? If someone does some really bad things but afterwards does a lot of really good things do the good things make up for the bad? I understand that some people think there may be some question as to whether Williams committed the murders he was convicted of. I don't know enough to have an opinion, although the fact that twenty years worth of appeals never freed him seems to be pretty convincing. Still, he harbors no secrets about having started a street gang that has killed a number of people and ruined a number of young lives through violence and drugs. Since then he has come to recognize the danger of street gangs for young people and has published books and created a crusade to keep kids out of gangs. Do the good works outweigh the bad?

Defining The Clergy
I've been turning this over in my head a little bit as of late. Recently, Pope Benedict XVI issued an edict banning gay men from the Catholic priesthood. What is odd to me is, regardless of your stance on Catholicism or your stance on homosexuality, I'm not sure how one would know. Priests take a vow of chastity upon their ordination. What I struggle with is how a sexual preference manifests itself in an obvious way in someone who is chaste?

Don't Be Like Mike
Losing Might Be Everything"Give me a couple of million dollars and I guarantee two things. First, I will quit my job immediately. And two, you will never hear from me again."

Bizarre