Two things that made me happy today

Well, two of THREE things that completely made my day (the third being the fact that I, even after two years without a thorough dental check-up, have perfect teeth free from cavities).




SOCIAL SECURITY? Doomed until 2006, when it will still be doomed, if not more than it is now.

Frist is reluctant to put off a vote until 2006, when lawmakers will be focused on midterm congressional elections and the atmosphere will be more politically charged, aides said. But with polls showing widespread skepticism of Bush's proposal and some Republicans opposed to the approach, GOP leaders signaled yesterday that they may have no choice but to put off action.

FINALLY, somebody saw the light... realized that the real problem wasn't Social Security. The rather trivial problem with Social Security could easily be fixed with a plan that will still provide many Americans valuable retirement support at a reasonable cost to the rest of the people. But Medicare... I'm so sorry, Mr. President. Coming up with a (ridiculously expensive) drug benefit for Medicare isn't solving any problems. John Kerry wanted to make health care affordable and available to all. Bill Clinton wanted universal health care. You? You don't give a damn. You're too busy at your ranch in Crawford, Texas... reminiscing the good ol' days when you were the governor of the state most synonymous with capital punishment.

Which brings me to the second wonderful news today:

JUVENILE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT... The four justices that voted to allow the state to allow the death sentence to be imposed on minors cannot honestly call themselves pro-life.

In concluding that the death penalty for minors is cruel and unusual punishment, the court cited a "national consensus" against the practice, along with medical and social-science evidence that teenagers are too immature to be held accountable for their crimes to the same extent as adults.

At least somebody is acknowledging the fact that holding a despicable double-standard over teens is utterly unfair and illogical. We are ignored by many, dreaded by most, and respected by almost none. But when it comes to law... we're supposed to be the mental and physical equivalent to an adult. I wish they'd just get rid of capital punishment, or only use it in the direst of circumstances. There is no substantial difference between an 18 and a 19 year old...

Christopher Simmons was 17 years old when he killed a woman.

The court said its judgment, which overturned a 1989 ruling that had upheld the death penalty for 16- and 17-year-old offenders, was also influenced by a desire to end the United States' international isolation on the issue [of the death penalty].

What, were some of the justices' native countries threatening to revoke their citizenships?

There have been 22 executions of juveniles since 1976, 13 of them in Texas.

Surprise, surprise...

Music, Rice, and Sex

Chen Shui-Bian is a dumbass. Read Newsweek? Go to page 30, read about him complaining about how China "lacks...a neutral military". Then look at the picture of him flashing his thumbs-up in the seat of a tank. Neutral military, allrighty. Next, read about how he complains "passing the anti-secession law [that could mandate military action against Taiwan if it declared independence]...would be like casting a shadow and causing torrential rains." Think about this hard for a second. APUSHers, ya'll know about that "civil war" thing in our history...you know, that whole thing where the most Americans have died in any war in American history. What was that fought over? SECESSION. And you wonder why China is pissed.

There's also that big quote: "We do hope that Taiwan's democracy could serve as a lighthouse for China." Do you know how insanely improbable that is? It's like saying "We do hope that Russia's 'democracy' could serve as a lighthouse for America." Chen wants to impose democracy on China. We've seen how well forcing democracy works on a little country like Iraq, now let's have a regime change in the most populous country in the world. Great idea, genius, you put us asians in america with our uber SAT scores to shame.

The ironic thing is that the people don't care much. Chinese people sell our crap to Taiwan, and Taiwanese people sell their crap to China. We listen to the same music. We eat rice. We have sex with each other, while in the background the leader of Taiwan tries to sustain a controversy that the people really don't give a shit about.

Yes, that's a good idea, let's all listen to music, eat rice, and have sex.