No death penalty for Brendt Christensen

The more heinous the killing, the more we must all oppose the death penalty. Many wonder why Brendt Christensen is even eligible to die for the torture murder of a visiting Chinese scholar in his Urbana apartment in 2017, since Illinois abolished the death penalty eight years ago. Alas, for us death penalty opponents, the authorities used the FBI's involvement in the death of a foreigner to move Christensen's case from state to federal jurisdiction where the death penalty lives on. Sure seems like that decision was taken simply to resurrect the gallows for a truly nasty murderer.

That's unfortunate. The death penalty was not abolished just to prevent an innocent person from being executed. Since Christensen has confessed some feel that reasoning is moot. What is not moot is that the death penalty is barbaric, hearkens back to a primitive view of justice, and makes every citizen involved or supportive of it a party to state sponsored murder. There will always be horrible individuals who will commit horrendous crimes. But there is no need for society to mimic such behavior simply to satisfy the bloodlust of John Q. Public. A hundred thirty-four countries have abolished the death penalty. The United States, which lays claim to being No. 1 in everything good, needs to become No. 135 in promoting life rather than death for the worst of the worst. That will help bring out our best as a civil, sane society.

Quotes from the Dems' most antiwar candidate last nite

"War with Iran would be worse than war with Iraq. Donald Trump and his chickenhawk cabinet—Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, and others—are creating a situation where a spark would light a war with Iran. Trump needs to get back into the Iran deal, swallow his pride, and put America first."

Responding to Rep. Tim Ryan's claim the 2 deaths Wednesday of US soldiers in Afghanistan justify our continuing war there: "Will you tell the parents of those two soldiers that were killed in Afghanistan that we have to be engaged? That is unacceptable. We have lost so many lives, we have spent so much money,"

"There is one main issue that is central to the rest, and that is the issue of war and peace,"

Why can't more Democrats rise to talk common sense about America's descent into the madness of perpetual war?

Thank you, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

US deaths trending upward in Afghan war

Two US soldiers were killed in a firefight with the Taliban in Afghanistan Wednesday. This brings US deaths there to 9 in the first 6 months of 2019, on track for 18 US deaths. That would continue the upward trend of 11 in 2017 and 13 in 2018. The increase is attributable to US ratcheting up military ops in 2017 ahead of negotiations with the Taliban for a complete US withdrawal. But after 18 years of senseless war, what's the hurry? It sure is to the remaining 9,000 soldiers wondering which of them will be the last of the 2,382 (and counting) that have needlessly died there since 2001. US negotiators talk...and US soldiers die.

Threatening regime change, economic sanctions represent criminal war

President Trump continues his fairy tale Iran is bent on restarting its nuclear weapons program it renounced in 2003. By pulling out of 2015's 5 + 1 nuclear agreement and imposing renewed sanctions crippling 80% of the Iranian economy, Trump has essentially declared war on Iran. It would take a psychiatrist, maybe of team of headshrinkers, to figure out the madness of Trump's Iran policy. He's got Secretary of War, oops, that's Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, racing around the Middle East trying to line up a worldwide coalition to complete regime change in Iran. Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States and Israel are on board. The rest of the world thinks we're nuts. Good luck with trying to establish a friendly government to govern Iran's 80 million beleaguered souls if Trump succeeds. They'll to be as happy with Trump's degrading of their country and their lives as the Iraqis were of George W. Bush when he got hundreds of thousands killed while smashing up their country in his criminal Iraq war sixteen years ago.

Regime change policy underpinned by life debilitating sanctions amounts to criminal war as surely as dropping bombs from planes and drones. We're starving the powerless in Venezuela simply because they are a socialist country refusing American capitalist exploitation. The small, pitifully poor country of Cuba has been enduring US sanctions for sixty years simply for returning its natural wealth to its people instead of its former US masters. Iran, Venezuela and Cuba have plenty of company with 27 other nations the US sanctions in its delusional lust to control the world.

If some mythical country could magically announce regime change for America and follow up with sanctions impacting 80% of our economy, they would likely not see the sun rise tomorrow. It's time for the US to stop its murderous bullying of numerous nations via economic sanctions as well as by those more direct aerial bombs.

The loudest drunk in the bar

President Trump reminds me of the loudest drunk in the bar. He's petulant, brags incessantly, offers smug, insulting nicknames for his rivals, makes outlandish policy statements; then either forgets he ever said them, claims he never said them or simply does the opposite. He appears only happy when he's leading the chorus of his fearful, hateful, know nothing followers at incendiary rallies. His braggadocio and false bravado disgraces himself and humiliates our country with virtually every utterance. 

The irony is Trump's a lifelong teetotaler, the first and only of the 44 men who served as president. His reason is laudable; he saw his beloved brother Freddie die at 42 of alcoholism. Trump resolved to never even try booze. "If you don't start you're never going have a problem. If you do start you might have a problem. And it's a tough problem to stop."

Alas, teetotaler Trump is worse than the loudest drunk in a bar. Such a lout, if he awoke from a hangover to find himself master of the White House, would immediately shut his mouth and defer to wise men and women responsible for his doing as little damage as possible.