1000 EXECUTIONS

1000 EXECUTIONS
No government is ever pure or wise enough to claim the power to kill-Albert Camus



As the United States apporaches its 1000th execution since 1977, more and more people understand that the death penalty makes mistakes, and disproportianetely affects the poor and people of color, doesn't deter crime, and is expensive, arbitrary, and immoral. 15% of all prisoners given the death penalty have been exonerated due to DNA testing, court technicalities, and bungled police investigations.

I find it suspect that the biggest supporters of the Death Penalty often are against a person's choice to have an abortion, and support the Iraq war. How can someone condemn a person's choice to have an abortion, and turn around a support the death penalty, and support war? I don't know how they can rationalize their views.

Stanley "Tookie" Williams (co-founder of the CRIPS) is scheduled to be executed in the State of California on December 13th. In 1981 he was convicted of murdering four people during two robberies and sentenced to death row at San Quentin State Prison. Stan deeply regrets his gang involvement but has always maintained his innocence of these crimes. He has been nominated four times for the Nobel Literature Prize for his children's books that warn young people about the pitfalls of joining a gang and exposes them to alternatives. He has been nominated 5 times for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in helping to prevent gang violence. Please join me in asking California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to grant clemency. Sign the petition to save Stan today!!

If you want to end the Death Penalty, please visit www.1000executions.org. If you want to further protest sign the Declaration of Life.

WHICH LOST CHARACTER ARE YOU?

WHICH LOST CHARACTER ARE YOU?
You are Jack. Self-appointed hero and doctor
extraordinaire, it's your job to save everyone.
You have little time for fun and games, but you
do like a good stiff drink every now and then.
You prefer your stitches black and have been
known to make gross pasta comparisons. And if
anyone needs CPR or a tracheotomy, you're the
correct person to go to.


Which Lost Character Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

THIS I BELIEVE

THIS I BELIEVE
Based on a 1950s radio program of the same name, Americans from all walks of life share their personal philosophies and core values that guide their daily lives. This series has been appearing on KPCC and other NPR member stations, and has inspired me to ask myself the question, what are my core beliefs and personal philosophies.

I believe in choice. I believe that the greatest representative of freedom is choice. Choice is an inherrent desire that is imbedded in our mechanism. It is woven intricately in the ethos of our country. Choice is being able to intelligently and honestly weigh the character and value of each object(s), and pick the one that best satisfies your need. Marxism fails because it does not trust an individual's choice, and choice is a privilege that humans will die for. In a society where our ability to choose is gradually being limited, by corporations, news organizations, government legislation, and ethical committees, we are finding ourselves marginalized. Capitalism is supposed to champion choice as its product. But as corporations are swallowing up their rivals, and flooding the market with cheap soul-less products, choice is dying. To have choice in society, there needs to be trust between those the consumer and the corporation. But choice is more than being able to choose from a hundred different brands of cereal. Choice also involves religion, culture, communication, education, and identity. We all may not agree with each other's beliefs, preferences, and lifestyles, but these are things that must be allowed to thrive.

INTELLIGENT EVOLUTION

INTELLIGENT EVOLUTION
The Vatican's Chief Astronomer (I didn't even know that the Vatican has such a position) said today that "intelligent design" isn't science and doesn't belong in science classrooms. The Rev. George Coyne, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, said placing intelligent design theory alongside that of evolution in school programs was "wrong" and was akin to mixing apples with oranges.

"Intelligent design isn't science even though it pretends to be," the ANSA news agency quoted Coyne as saying on the sidelines of a conference in Florence. "If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science."

As I am gaining a better understanding of my faith, the controversy of Intelligent Design vs. Evolution usually comes to the forefront with any conversations about God. But my faith is not solely based on whether evolution is a fact or science fiction, I really don't even care if evolution disproves the Genesis chapter of the Old Testament; I don't hang my faith on it. I do believe that Intelligent design is a theory, and can never be proven as a scientific fact, it requires faith. We can never scientifically prove that a God/Creator exists, and thus it does not belong in a science class but rather in a religion or theology course. Intelligent Design requires faith, it does not require evidence, as a theory it exists solely on faith.

Evolution, which is also a theory, hasn't been completely proven as well, there are enough holes in it to drive a big rig through it. But evolution can be proven. Evolution, as a theory, can be supported by evidence as we discover more fossils and gain more knowledge about the roots of our existence. Evolution on the other hand requires scientific evidence, it can not exist on the basis faith. Evolution can be proven right, and it can also be proven wrong; and even if evolution is proven to be wrong, it doesn't necessarily equate that Intelligent Design is correct. Evolution vs. Intelligent Design theories can coexist in an academic setting, but it should be discussed in its proper context.

In a June article in the British Catholic magazine The Tablet, Coyne reaffirmed God's role in creation, but said science explains the history of the universe.

"If they respect the results of modern science, and indeed the best of modern biblical research, religious believers must move away from the notion of a dictator God or a designer God, a Newtonian God who made the universe as a watch that ticks along regularly."

Rather, he argued, God should be seen more as an encouraging parent.

"God in his infinite freedom continuously creates a world that reflects that freedom at all levels of the evolutionary process to greater and greater complexity," he wrote. "He is not continually intervening, but rather allows, participates, loves."

I like that concept of God.

LOST

LOST

Television has sucked for a long time. A couple of years ago "24" got my juices going, but eventually I wasn't able to sustain my interest for it. Since Seinfeld left the airwaves, I've pretty much deserted watching any scripted shows. My TV was pretty much set on ESPN and the History Channel.

When I first heard of Lost, I was skeptical. I didn't like it without ever watching a single episode. The only reason the show even registered with me was because Dominic Monaghan (LOTR) was in it. I also felt that since I missed the first few episodes, I was going to get lost in all the plotlines, so I didn't bother watching it. When Season One came out on DVD, I quickly Netflixed it. I haven't finished the first season of Lost as Jo and I have gone through the first 12 episodes, but Season One of Lost is not just great television and great narrative storytelling, but it may be one of the greatest seasons of any television show in history. This show is more than just a scripted version of Survivor, and it is amazing to see writers at the top of their craft creating this masterpiece. I am playing catchup right now and have refused to see or know anything about Season Two. Abrams has created with a wealth of great characters, great plotlines, great drama, great mystery, and great scenery.

If you haven't managed to watch an episode or have been curious as to what the hoopla is all about, please give yourself a chance and don't deny yourself one of the best television shows to air in a long long time.

RANTING AND RAVING
I've been spending too much time in the Rant and Rave section of Craigslist L.A., and I have developed a new game. It's called Subject Line poetry. I take the Subject Line from a CL Rant or Rave, and I use it kinda like magnetic poetry and create a poem out of it. Did that make sense? Here's an example:

CHINESE PROVERBS
In response to your challenge
I sit here at my computer wondering
breast worms
speaking truth to lies
this week
...to the universe
My mother never wanted me, Father unknown
Wow!
Apes 1, Women 0
Greg is like a submarine
I'm a pot smoker and...
God is a woman
Please prepare
It's Thursday and Bush still sucks
Ok, helpe me out of here
breast worms...sick!
naive question, i know but can anyone answer
This what I need on my face now
My Mother, the Senile Republican

SMART WENT CRAZY

SMART WENT CRAZY
It's been awhile since I've updated my blog with any meaningful thoughts and ruminations. It seems like I'm still caught in a perpetual mental block in getting my book all straightened out. I am too indecisive about where I want my book to take me. I don't doubt that it's probably a reflection of what has happened to me over the past year, and what is happening to me now.

Some of my closest friends are going through tough times right now. The past few months have been rough for them. I could only hope that I am able to be there for them through their dark times, as they were for me. There are battles being fought everyday, sometimes we win, and sometimes we lose, but we have to keep fighting.

SAVE THE DERBY

SAVE THE DERBY

Save the Derby from demolition!! Developers are planning to tear down the Derby to build more than 80 high end condos. We don't need anymore condos in Los Feliz. The Derby is part of L.A. history, founded in 1928 by film pioneer Cecil B. DeMille, the Los Feliz Derby is the last of the five original Derbies. Featured in the film Swingers, the Derby is a Los Angeles landmark. Sign the petition, and write letters to key decision makers.