You have to see this movie

Just got back from The Blind Side at the Woodinville AMC Theaters. What a great, inspiring, tear-generating movie, telling a true story of people motivated by faith and the difference they made in one person’s life. I cannot rave about his movie enough. Stellar performances by Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, Kathy Bates and the rest of the cast, plus some great lines about guns, Republicans and faith. SEE THIS, and if you have already seen it, SEE IT AGAIN. Better to see a good movie twice then a bad movie once.

Friday update

A short note to start out the morning. Great piece at nationalreview.com on Mike Huckabee and the implications of his commutation of Clemmons. The President’s speech on Afghanistan failed to convince a lot of people I think on two counts: 1.) his heart didn’t seem in it and 2.) what sense does it make to announce a surge and new strategy, then announce that the pullout/withdrawal starts in 18 months? If I am the Taliban, I tell the Afghan people not to cooperate with the Americans, because they will soon be gone (” See what their President says.”), and we will still be here.

Unemployment drops to 10% from 10.2%, good news and the stock market has rallied over the past several months, however, the growing debt, the falling dollar, the decline in retail sales, the increase in taxes, these do not bode well for our economic future.  Such a golden opportunity for the GOP, but they need new leadership, they need to be bold, they need to be positive and offer a true difference, I pray for my country that they are up to that challenge.

Kirby Update

First thank all of you for the kind and supportive messages. I miss you all more than I could ever explain. I am working on a few things, a couple of possible jobs on radio. I continue to teach and will be blogging here, so I will stay in touch with the issues of the day. Thank you all for the suggestions that I run for office, but before I do tha,t I would need to find a good divorce lawyer, at least according to the Boss.

A Thought on Governor Huckabee

A lot of you think some are being too harsh on Gov Huckabee over his commutation of Clemmon’s sentence in Arkansas. Let me clarify my criticism. Huck had no ability to foresee that years after having his sentence reduced this thug would kill four police officers. However, he has a responsibility to make up his own mind, to examine his record, the crimes committed, the court proceedings, etc. He should not rely solely on the Parole Boards’ recommendation, or the comments submitted, or lack thereof, to make this decision. It is HIS decision and HIS responsibility. If he did not personally review the record, but relied on other’s recommendations,  he did not do his job IMHO. If he did, he showed, again IMHO, poor judgment. That’s the issue, his decision-making process and his judgment. This thug, with his record, in and out of prison, should not have been allowed on the streets til at least he required a cane to walk, or needed a wheelchair. Huck’s  judgment shows him unfit for the White House, where far more important decisions are made every day and the judgment of it’s occupant can impact not just four police officers and a small community, but the world.

Did the justice system fail?

Many commentators are talking about the failure of ‘ the system ‘ in the case of Clemmons the thug. But did THE system fail, or just parts of it? The police certainly didn’t fail. They arrested him earlier this year when he committed crimes; they were the targets of his rage, four died, but before dying they gave him a gaping stomach wound which impeded his ability to evade and escape; they found him and dealt with him less than three days after his evil act. The prosecutors recognized him as a threat, and warned Arkansas and Washington authorities on seperate  occasions not to release him. They asked for a high bail in Washington which was reduced by a judge. So, I don’t see how they failed.

But the Governor of Arkansas took pity on him and released him. The authorities in Arkansas, after he was jailed here earlier this year, lifted a no bail hold order just last week with no explanation, an order which would have kept him in custody. The judge here lowered his bail, ignoring the prosecutors. The law does not allow for stricter punishment of someone with a record like his, His friends and family knew, or should have known, that he was dangerous, threatening to kill cops in their presence, yet, they did nothing, then aided in his medical care, and evading the law.

The whole system did not fail. The police and prosecutors tried to do their job.  Others did fail. And society does fail when it can not deal with evil. It fails in its’ responsibility to protect the innocent from the predators. So don’t tell me the system failed. That’s just an excuse for some to evade responsibility for the tolerance of and willful blindness toward evil.