The Anonymous Widower

The Cloud-Cuckoo Land That is Republican Politics

I’ve just looked at this page on the BBC web site, which sets out the policies of the various Republican candidates, who might stand against President Obama. It looks like they are all against same-sex marriage and abortion, for cutting immigration into the United States, making everybody pay for their own health care and reducing tax rates to companies.

I can’t think of any past or present British politician, except for perhaps the BNP, who would promote such a toxic mix of electoral suicide.

But then the United States is different and you sort out your own problems.

It goes without saying, that no-one would be in favour of improving the justice and penal system and abolishing the death penalty.  But then most Americans believe in vengeance and not justice.

As I’ve said Barack Obama has been a disappointment to me, but he’s orders of magnitude better than this psychotic bunch.

January 4, 2012 Posted by | News | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Racial Bias of the US Death Penalty

This article in today’s Guardian should be read by all.

It is one of the best and most scientifically correct articles I’ve seen on the death penalty and how in the United States, there is a racial bias in who gets convicted and executed.

In some ways, it sums up why I feel that Obama is one of the most disappointing US Presidents, I can remember.

Surely as a lawyer, who has practised at the sharp end and has seen how the death penalty aroused controversy in Illinois, he should have strong feeling against this cruel and unusual punishment.  But on the other hand he did approve the mission which led to the execution without trial of Osama Bin Laden.

January 3, 2012 Posted by | News | , , | Leave a comment

Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich says he is pro-life with respect to abortion.

Does that mean that he is against the death penalty?

I doubt it!

He has one of those special mirrors so he can shave both of his faces at the same time.

December 16, 2011 Posted by | News | , , , | 5 Comments

The Americanisation of the FA Cup

I hope the idiot, who thought it would be a good idea to ask Budweiser to sponsor the FA Cup, has done the right thing and gone to repent for the rest of his life in a monastery in Nepal or on Mount Assos.

The FA Cup is a British institution and although, it has been sponsored for some time now, all of the sponsors, hsve either been British or come from countries, where football is the national game.

Budweiser is an American company and luckily I’ve never ever sampled any of its products.  In fact as a coeliac, I can’t unless I want to be ill.

Just imagine what would happen if British Airways say, wanted to sponsor a major sporting event in the United States.

Yet again, the FA has shown that the fans don’t count.

One of the outcomes of this deal or perhaps the fact that the television rights have gone to ITV and ESPN, was that the BBC weren’t able to broadcast a radio commentary of the game this afternoon.

November 13, 2011 Posted by | Sport | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Amanda Knox and the US Justice System

I have no idea if Amanda Knox was guilty of murder or not.

The Americans put a lot of support behind her in an effort to persuade the Italians to free her, from a possible miscarriage of justice.

But then so many of the people in US jails have been failed by their own justice system. Several have been executed lately who didn’t get a trial with the care shown by the Italians.

But then Amanda Knox was white and intelligent, whereas most of those who suffer injustice in the States are black and illiterate and defended by lawyers, who aren’t the best to say the least.

But then the victim in the Amanda Knox case wasn’t American. We also don’t know how much pressure was put on the Italians.  After all their economy is rather rocky and if the United States withdrew support, it would have been serious.

October 5, 2011 Posted by | News | , , , , | Leave a comment

The Funeral Expenses of Troy Davis

The execution of Troy Davis in Georgia has been rightly condemned by many.

I have just received an e-mail, which says that his family are responsible for the expenses of his funeral.

September 24, 2011 Posted by | News | , | 4 Comments

The Great Advantage of Rick Perry As US President

He would be able to talk to President Ahmadinejad as an equal as they both have the same views on capital punishment.

This even extends to their views on  the execution of juveniles!

The two are made for each other!

September 22, 2011 Posted by | News | , , , , | 3 Comments

Christopher Hitchens

Read his article in the Sunday Times today.  Superb!

A previous version of the article is here.

September 11, 2011 Posted by | News | , | Leave a comment

The Second Tragedy of September 11, 2011

The attacks on this day were awful and no words can express the damage done to individual and collective lives.

The second tragedy of this event, is that Bush and Blair pursued such a misguided strategy afterwards that they made a second serious attack more likely to happen.

To show how badly they performed, you just have to look at how many people think the attacks didn’t happen and were an event staged by the CIA and the Israelis to get at Muslims.  Or something else equally false and bizarre!

We should probably have gone into Afghanistan, but Iraq now looks in the eyes of nearly everybody to be a colossal mistake.  Although saying that, Saddam was a cruel tyrant and had to go, if only to protect his own people.  But the Arab world seems to specialise in people like him.  Just look at Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt.  And don’t get me going on places like Saudi Arabia and a few others.  How many women would like to live in those countries?

The attacks gave us a chance to deal with the real problems of the world.  But we just made it worse, by our vengeful actions and our complete disregard for human rights at Guantanamo and other places we are just starting to know about.

September 9, 2011 Posted by | News, World | , , , , | 3 Comments

Those That Buy The Gun Live Will With The Consequences

The Times today has a story about one child of a couple in Alaska, who accidentally shot a sibling with a pistol, leaving the child a paraplegic. So they are doing what all good American’s do and reach for their lawyer and suing the manufacturer of the gun.

It would have been so much easier and less stressful, if they hadn’t bought the gun in the first place.

After all guns are designed to kill people and when they do, it’s more likely that the victim will be the owner of the gun or one of his friends or family.

September 8, 2011 Posted by | News, World | , | 1 Comment