What Goes Around, Comes Around

I hear Saddam Hussein is at the end of his rope with these endless legal proceedings. Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. Have you heard that there is a new Iraqi TV show called, Hanging with Hussein? Someone stop me. I thought he might get away, but they got the drop on him. I'm out of control. Enough already, I have a point here besides making tasteless jokes. I generally try to steer clear of these political things, but Saddam's execution has got me to thinking about his life and death and my feelings about capital punishment in general. Saddam Hussein was a member of an elite group of history's mass-murders, who had both the willingness and the resources to kill at a whim and in unimaginably large numbers. Like all serial killers, he deluded himself into the belief that his humanity ranked above that of his victims, that he was empowered to decide who would live and who would die. Those in the free nations of the world who toss the words tyrant or dictator around in describing our free-elected leaders, would do well to study the life of an actual tyrant. In a tryant's realm, citizens don't camp at the gates of his home shouting insults and holding court for fawing media. They suffer in silence and fear or risk disappearing into eternity. I am opposed to capital punishment, in principle, in fact I try not to kill anything, even bugs. I can't make one, so I don't feel right about killing one. You may believe differently and I am certainly okay with that. I can only speak for me. The idea of capital punishment is relatively easy to get on board with and it is understandable that many people support it. After all, its the old eye-for-an-eye thing and there is a certain symmetry to it. Plus, we generally get kind of ticked off about murders, so revenge is on our minds. Practically speaking though, I can't see the point of killing some killer. If we can keep these knuckleheads locked up forever then I prefer that approach. Most of the time our system keeps murders around so long that by the time they are actually executed, the crime is a distant memory. Oh, and it really barbaric, in my opinion anyway. I guess, since the tyrant had killed or ordered the killing of several hundred thousand people and since there was a sizable minority of the Iraqi people who would love to see him come back, his execution was an imperative for the majority of Iraqis. Once and for all, Saddam and his mob of heinous killers have been eliminated, and if that closes his legacy, then I guess his execution is a good thing. His death is undeniably good, however the means. In happier news, Sneedlet 1 is here for the night. I picked him up this morning and he helped me clean the garage. Mostly, he helped by dragging stuff around and finding new uses for ordinary household items. He also fixed his grandma's car with his Bob The Builder tool kit. Thank goodness for that, she needs the car for work next week. I also tried to take a twin bed to the Goodwill Store this morning. Younger Son Sneed built the bed from oak and it was really nice and very sturdy. He no longer needs the bed and wanted to get rid of it. The guy at the Goodwill said that they couldn't take it because beds don't sell well to thrift store shoppers. I think he was just too lazy to deal with it, because only thrift store shoppers buy used beds. When I got home a neighbor asked me if I bought a new bed. When I explained the situation, she asked if she could have it. We carried it into her house and all ended well. My truck is now loaded with the latest batch of crap that we just had to have and it will get dropped at the dump tomorrow since it is not salvagable. I hope we got our money's worth out of all that stuff. Merle. Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgemental and cranky Tag: Daily Life Personal Finance Humor