According to White House spokesman Jay Carney, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who at this time lies in a Boston hospital recovering from wounds, will stand trial in a Federal courtroom for his crimes. This is a good thing. It's about time that our government shows a commitment to the ideals that it stands for. Unfortunately there are still several "vocal" members of the GOP who are advocating that Mr. Tsarnaev be tried as an enemy combatant. While I believe they certainly have a right to voice their opinion, it is saddening that leaders of our country would show so little care for the liberties and freedoms of their fellow citizens.
LINK to the story at CBS.com
Showing posts with label Boston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boston. Show all posts
Monday, April 22, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
How Should the Marathon Bomber be Tried?
The (as far as we know) lone surviving Boston Marathon bomber has been captured. Soon he will have to be tried, the question is will he be tried as an American citizen in a criminal trial, or will he be tried as a "terrorist" in a military trial? I think this will be a watershed moment in American history as it will define how our country wishes to travel through the turbulent years ahead. Will we stand by our judicial system and trust it to give guidance to the future generations in our nation, or will we undermine it by intimating that it is not be trusted by turning this young man over to the military to be tried?
IF he is tried as a terrorist in a military trial, it means that he will not be allowed a defense lawyer, nor will the public likely be privy to what occurs during this "trial". Essentially, he will simply disappear, no doubt to the Guantanamo Bay facility where even now, there are an indeterminate number of "terrorists" languishing in a virtual purgatory. This will give very few people in the United States a sense of closure on what has become a national tragedy. No matter how he is put on trial, the dead will not come back to life, and the wounded will not miraculously recover. The American public though does deserve to see that justice is done for those who have suffered at this mans' hands.
IF our justice system in this country is sound and fair, there is no reason that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should not be able to be tried in a civilian criminal court setting. Timothy McVeigh was tried in a criminal court proceeding and I believe that by anyones account, he is presently serving a justified sentence for his crime, the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. An attack that killed 168 people and injured over 800. So put in that perspective, the Boston Marathon bombing actually pales in comparison. There is no reason that a civilian court cannot try Mr Tsarnaev for his crime.
IF he is tried as a terrorist in a military trial, it means that he will not be allowed a defense lawyer, nor will the public likely be privy to what occurs during this "trial". Essentially, he will simply disappear, no doubt to the Guantanamo Bay facility where even now, there are an indeterminate number of "terrorists" languishing in a virtual purgatory. This will give very few people in the United States a sense of closure on what has become a national tragedy. No matter how he is put on trial, the dead will not come back to life, and the wounded will not miraculously recover. The American public though does deserve to see that justice is done for those who have suffered at this mans' hands.
IF our justice system in this country is sound and fair, there is no reason that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should not be able to be tried in a civilian criminal court setting. Timothy McVeigh was tried in a criminal court proceeding and I believe that by anyones account, he is presently serving a justified sentence for his crime, the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. An attack that killed 168 people and injured over 800. So put in that perspective, the Boston Marathon bombing actually pales in comparison. There is no reason that a civilian court cannot try Mr Tsarnaev for his crime.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Are Sequestration Cuts To Blame for Boston Marathon Bombings?
One has to wonder if the sequestration cuts are to blame for yesterday's Boston Marathon bombings. Have across the board budget cuts resulted in lower security standards which allowed the person or persons to plant bombs within a few hundred feet of the end of the Boston Marathon? How much security was in place for this years race, and how much security had been implemented for the race just last year? Were there bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling the area before or during the race?
With 3 dead and reports of wounded now over 140, Congress will soon be answering tough questions. Is balancing the budget as important as protecting American interests and lives within our own borders? There is no credible evidence at this time of who may have been behind this bombing, but it's becoming quite apparent that most fingers are starting to point at Arabic and Muslim suspects. If so, what have the last ten years or so been all about with the mass deportations and supposedly stricter controls on immigration? Has it all been a smoke-screen to make Americans feel safer when in actuality nothing is being done to make America anymore secure?
Many have complained about how after 9/11 the measures taken to protect America were nothing more than a ploy to instigate draconian laws which have done nothing more than limit constitutional freedoms in this country. Will this bombing now be used to roll out the Patriot Act II? We've had instances in the last few years where American children have been dragged in handcuffs out of their schools for offenses as small as hitting another student or bringing a pen-knife to school, yet we are apparently so lax in our security that not one but at least three bombs were planted in a public area where a huge event was being staged, and two of those bombs allowed to be detonated. Perhaps it's time to stop punishing the innocent and do a realistic assessment of how we can truly make this country safer.
With 3 dead and reports of wounded now over 140, Congress will soon be answering tough questions. Is balancing the budget as important as protecting American interests and lives within our own borders? There is no credible evidence at this time of who may have been behind this bombing, but it's becoming quite apparent that most fingers are starting to point at Arabic and Muslim suspects. If so, what have the last ten years or so been all about with the mass deportations and supposedly stricter controls on immigration? Has it all been a smoke-screen to make Americans feel safer when in actuality nothing is being done to make America anymore secure?
Many have complained about how after 9/11 the measures taken to protect America were nothing more than a ploy to instigate draconian laws which have done nothing more than limit constitutional freedoms in this country. Will this bombing now be used to roll out the Patriot Act II? We've had instances in the last few years where American children have been dragged in handcuffs out of their schools for offenses as small as hitting another student or bringing a pen-knife to school, yet we are apparently so lax in our security that not one but at least three bombs were planted in a public area where a huge event was being staged, and two of those bombs allowed to be detonated. Perhaps it's time to stop punishing the innocent and do a realistic assessment of how we can truly make this country safer.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
America: Land of the panicky children
Has everyone heard about the "bomb scare" in Boston today?
Battery LED signs advertising for "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" on Adult Swim were mistakenly thought to be bombs. These were small signs showing an alien figure giving people "the finger!" Are we that scared in this country, that everytime we see a device made with wires and batteries that we're going to automatically assume it's a bomb?
Thanks to President Bush and his administration trying to brow-beat Americans into being scared silly that terrorists are around every corner, we've become a laughing-stock. Would a terrorist really be stupid enough to make a bomb that looked so strange and out of the ordinary? Or would a terrorist design a bomb that would look like something that no one would look at twice? I think it would be the second option. People in this country need to get their heads out of their collective asses and start remembering what it's like to live without looking over their shoulder every five minutes thinking they're about to be killed.
Battery LED signs advertising for "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" on Adult Swim were mistakenly thought to be bombs. These were small signs showing an alien figure giving people "the finger!" Are we that scared in this country, that everytime we see a device made with wires and batteries that we're going to automatically assume it's a bomb?
Thanks to President Bush and his administration trying to brow-beat Americans into being scared silly that terrorists are around every corner, we've become a laughing-stock. Would a terrorist really be stupid enough to make a bomb that looked so strange and out of the ordinary? Or would a terrorist design a bomb that would look like something that no one would look at twice? I think it would be the second option. People in this country need to get their heads out of their collective asses and start remembering what it's like to live without looking over their shoulder every five minutes thinking they're about to be killed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)