Hillary Clinton Promotes Assassination

Today, Hillary Clinton has finally gone too far. When asked why she was staying in the primary race by the Sioux Falls Argus Leader editorial board part of her response cited the June 1968 assassination of Bobby Kennedy in California (source). The implication? That Barack Obama may be assassinated so she is going to stick around a little longer "just in case." While such sentiments are vile in their own right they are compounded by the fact that the safety of Barack Obama is already a serious and valid concern of his supporters. While Clinton has apologized to the Kennedy family for her statement, she has not apologized to Barack Obama for its loaded implications.

In Hillary Clinton's own words:

"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. You know I just, I don't understand it [the calls for her to leave the race]..."

Clinton clearly was referring to a "what if?" scenario involving Barack Obama and the possibility of him being assassinated. Lucky for us, she is more than willing to step over the would-be corpse of her dominant rival in such an event. How patriotic and brave of her. Is this really what the Clinton Dynasty has been reduced too?

As expected, the Obama campaign condemned Clinton's outrageous remarks condoning the assassination of Barack Obama. Obama spokesman Bill Burton stated, "Senator Clinton's statement before the Argus Leader editorial board was unfortunate and has no place in this campaign." Unfortunately, while Clinton swiftly apologized for her indirect promotion of murder she only apologized to the Kennedy family and not to Barack Obama.

According to the AP, Hillary Clinton characterized her statements as follows:

I was discussing the Democratic primary history and in the course of that discussion mentioned the campaigns of both my husband and Senator (Robert) Kennedy waged in California in June in 1992 and 1968 and I was referencing those to make the point that we have had nomination primary contests that go into June. That's a historic fact," she said.

"The Kennedys have been much on my mind the last days because of Senator Kennedy," she added, referring to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's recent diagnosis of a brain tumor. "I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation and in particular the Kennedy family was in any way offensive. I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever.

"My view is that we have to look to the past to our leaders who have inspired us, give us a lot to live up to, and I'm honored to hold Senator Kennedy's seat in the United States Senate from the state of New York and have the highest regard for the Kennedy family," she said.

So on top of calling for the permanent removal of Barack Obama through the mechanism of assassination she uses the likely terminal condition of Senator Edward Kennedy to justify such outlandish sentiments. If the shameless actions of Hillary Clinton tell us anything, it is that she has no qualms about stooping to the lowest of levels to achieve her own inherently ambitious and selfish aims. This is presidential material?

Koran Used As Target

Today it was reported that an unidentified US soldier used a Koran for target practice (source). The now relieved and reassigned soldier in question left a bullet-riddled Koran at a shooting range located within the grounds of a Baghdad police station. It was quickly found by an Iraqi police officer on May 11 and today Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, apologized to the locals and even went so far as having another US military official kiss a Koran:

"I come before you here seeking your forgiveness," Hammond said to tribal leaders and others at the apology ceremony. "In the most humble manner I look in your eyes today and I say please forgive me and my soldiers."

Another military official kissed a Quran and presented is as "a humble gift" to the tribal leaders.The soldier, whose name was not released, shot at a Quran on May 9, villagers said.

The Quran used in the incident was discovered two days later, according to the military.

Hammond also read from the shooter's letter: "I sincerely hope that my actions have not diminished the partnership that our two nations have developed together. ... My actions were shortsighted, very reckless and irresponsible, but in my heart [the actions] were not malicious."

Clearly, Hammond's apology was appropriate and the shooter's letter very likely insincere, as he initially claimed he was unaware he was shooting at a Koran. Regarding a US military official kissing the Koran, that is nothing less than a disturbing spectacle which will not help to convince anyone we are truly sorry this incident ever occurred. Frankly, it adds nothing but a shameless display of American submission to Islam, whose followers were certainly offended by the reckless actions of one soldier. And while these Muslims have every right to be offended, and we most certainly should have apologized for the actions of the anonymous solider, an act of submission is completely undeserved and inappropriate.

Unsurprisingly, many of the locals were not amused by the actions of this unidentified American soldier or convinced of the sincerity of the American apology/submission:

Tribal leaders, dignitaries and local security officials attended the ceremony, while residents carried banners and chanted slogans, including "Yes, yes to the Quran" and "America out, out."

Of course, not everyone was so kind. The Association of Muslim Scholars strongly condemned using the Koran for target practice:

"As the Association of Muslim Scholars condemns this heinous crime against God's holy book, the Constitution of this nation, a source of pride and dignity," the groups statement said, "they condemned the silence by all those who are part of the occupation's agenda and holds the occupation and the current government fully responsible for this violation and reminds everyone that God preserves his book and he [God] is a great avenger."

This incident is undoubtedly a blatant gesture of disrespect to the religion most Iraqis adhere to - Islam. And while I am decidedly not a fan of playing nice with any form of superstition, the rules are different in an occupied land like Iraq. The actions of one US soldier could very well lead to the deaths of many other American soldiers at the hands of religious fanatics who will demand revenge. There is also a very real possibility that defiling this one Koran will help further destabilize an already unstable country.

While the soldier who shot at the Koran has been relieved of duty and recalled to the United States, there will certainly be a price to be paid for his actions. And far from following through on President Bush's promise to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqis this incident simply serves as one more example of how we have completely failed in that endeavor. Once again we witness yet another setback in a country that our soldiers cannot leave until we are confident the Iraqi people are ready to govern themselves and our departure will not come back to haunt us in the future.

Explain This, Christians II

As an atheist and Secular Humanist I explain the world around me using reason and science. Put simply, anything that occurs in this world is the result of logical cause and effect relationships that are limited to the natural world - the only one we know of. So rather than seeing such things as the devastating earthquake that hit China today as an act courtesy of some thug deity, I understand that it was the result of natural mechanisms and chance (source). Unfortunately, randomness scares Christians and other theists who do not view the world in this way and prefer to see everything around us as being controlled by a god who is often described as benevolent.

Using this theist understanding of the world, it is very difficult to coherently explain such things as an earthquake that kills over 8,700 people, as was reported today by the Associated Press (AP):

A powerful earthquake toppled buildings, schools and chemical plants Monday in central China, killing more than 8,700 people and trapping untold numbers in mounds of concrete, steel and earth in the country's worst quake in three decades.

The 7.9-magnitude quake devastated a region of small cities and towns set amid steep hills north of Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengdu. Striking in midafternoon, it emptied office buildings across the country in Beijing and could be felt as far away as Vietnam.

Of course, human pain and suffering is nothing new, but neither are the feeble explanations from the superstitious folks around us as to why it exists when everything is the result of some magical man in the sky. So why exactly would a benevolent deity kill thousands (likely tens of thousands) of people? For if you also believe your god is all-powerful and all-knowing he is responsible for such acts as these scenes, also reported by the AP:

Buried teenagers struggled to break free from the rubble, "while others were crying out for help," Xinhua said. Families waited in the rain near the wreckage as rescuers wrote the names of the dead on a blackboard, Xinhua said.

Parents of the dead students built makeshift religious altars at the site, resting the corpses on any available piece of plywood or cardboard, and burning paper money and incense in a traditional honor for their child in the afterlife, according to NPR's Melissa Block.

So, my theist friends, why does your god routinely violate his own prohibition on killing? And please spare me any mention of "miracles" following the earthquake in which a dozen or so people miraculously survive when thousands around them have died. A small number of initial survivors crawling out of the rubble in an utterly destroyed environment do not qualify as a series of miracles. The real miracle would have been a supernatural force stopping the earthquake from occurring in the first place. And its not like this is the first time such a thing has happened, nor will it be the last:

The quake was the deadliest since one in 1976 in the city of Tangshan near Beijing that killed 240,000 — although some reports say as many as 655,000 perished — the most devastating in modern history. A 1933 quake near where Monday's struck killed at least 9,000, according to geologists.

In the end, the earthquake that occurred in China today was a killer, and if you believe your god is responsible for all that happens around us then he is the one who used it to kill all of those people whose lives it claimed. And there definitely appears to be a pattern of your god violating his own rule on murder. Personally, I find it unconscionable to believe in such a being or excuse such behavior that is credited to him. So explain this, Christians. And don't give me that "god works in mysterious ways" bullshit or any of its variants. Worshipping a fabrication you don't even know the nature of should be shameful enough for you to at least avoid that line of bastardized reasoning.

Ellen Johnson Ousted

This is just a quick follow-up. American Atheists has now confirmed what many of us have suspected since the announcement that Ellen Johnson was no longer president - namely that she was forced out of the position. It is now clear that Johnson was ousted by the Board of Directors, though their specific reasons for this move are unclear. As of the time this post was published the homepage for American Atheists is hosting this message from Acting President Frank Zindler:

Statement Regarding Ellen Johnson

A specially called, and properly noticed, meeting of the five Boards of Directors that together comprise American Atheists, was held on April 29, 2008.

All members of the five boards were personally present via telephone at that meeting, including the President Ellen Johnson.

By a majority vote of the Board of Directors of American Atheists, Inc, and by a unanimous vote of the Board of Directors of two of the other four corporations, Ellen Johnson was involuntarily removed from the office of President of American Atheists, Inc. and from the office of President of the other four corporations.

The bylaws of each of the five corporations permit the removal of the President by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

Out of deep respect for Ellen Johnson's many services to American Atheists, in deference to her privacy, and with the desire that her Presidency be remembered favorably by history, American Atheists asks that this statement be accepted without calls for further explanation.

Be assured that the action taken was in the best interests of the organization and of its membership.

Frank R. Zindler, Acting President

American Atheists, Inc.; Charles E. Stevens American Atheist Library & Archives, Inc.; Society of Separationists, Inc.; United Secularists of America, Inc.; and American Atheists General Headquarters, Inc.

The only thing I wish to add at this time is that this announcement once again raises more questions than it answers. It also never fails to amaze me how much American Atheists, Inc. loves this cloak and dagger bullshit. They leave us to use our imaginations to attempt to discover why Johnson was ousted, and this can often be worse than making the actual reasons public. They should hire a PR firm, because their current public relations operation is rubbish.

The Death Penalty is Barbaric

Earlier today, Georgia took the dubious honor of becoming the first state to use capital punishment again following the end of the Supreme Court moratorium on the practice last month. The victim of this state-sponsored murder was murderer William Earl Lynd, who was killed with a lethal injection by his own government (source). While I certainly do not condone Lynd's actions of kidnapping and killing his girlfriend over two decades ago, I firmly believe those actions should be grounds to forfeit his freedom as opposed to his life. Quite plainly, no government should be given the authority or the right to engage in the barbaric act of killing its own citizens, and any religion or secular philosophy that supports such a flawed system of "justice" is morally corrupt. Additionally, the current bastardized reasoning of our American republic that to show Americans murder is wrong the state itself must murder is breathtakingly asinine and a flawed species of reasoning most of Europe has parted ways with.

Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, and as of the end of April 2008, the total number of executions in the United States stood at 1,099. This means that the murder of William Earl Lynd at the hands of the state government of Georgia means he is now the 1,100th individual put to death. And every single one of these individuals were executed because many Americans mistakenly believe that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime when the facts show that it is anything but that. In fact, on average, those states with the death penalty have higher rates of murder than those states that do not have it (source).

The deterrent argument is clearly flawed in other ways, not least of which is how executions are carried out - in private. If capital punishment is really a deterrent to crime we must wonder why such extreme and rash action by the state is not televised and made open to the public for everyone to see. After all, such strong action by the government is surely undercut by the fact that the audience it is geared toward never witnesses this lesson in tainted morality, which basically comes down to "don't kill people or we'll kill you." Nevermind the fact that most people will not murder because they recognize it is already wrong and those who do murder rarely think of their punishment, making such a message amazingly ineffective (source).

This twisted brand of morality comes predominately, though admittedly not exclusively, from the warped worldview of our Christian friends who support state-endorsed murder. Unfortunately, these Christians seem to forget their own religious restrictions on murder, not to mention usurp God's authority to take care of the initial murderer himself, and we should not be surprised. Such religious individuals only appear to care about the sanctity of human life before we are born, much like they focus most of their attention on life after death than before it. In their self-righteous parade to punish ther fellow humans with the wrath of God they always seem to miss the relevance of a point that they often take pleasure in noting when it comes to capital punishment - that we are all imperfect.

To a reasonable person, it is clear that logic dictates if we as humans are imperfect that such things as our systems of government and justice are also imperfect and susceptible to error. Not only does this mean that there is a possibility that wrongfully convicted individuals can be put to death, but there is ample evidence this has occurred and claimed our fellow Americans who did nothing wrong . It is also with regret that I inform those Christians who believe in resurrections that you cannot acquit a dead man - death is as eternal as organized religion is modern myth.

Additionally, I maintain that anyone who truly cares about human life and genuine morality (as opposed to "an eye for an eye" nonsense) should be concerned enough about a system where there is even the possibility of innocent individuals being put to death that they would call for its immediate termination. Unfortunately, not only does our current system persist but it trivializes justice by limiting the acceptance of evidence that could very well prove someone's innocence. I especially like the context this quote puts the shameful issue of innocent people being put to death in (source):

The execution of innocent people is such a gripping fact because it belies the claim that capital punishment exists to protect innocent victims from random violence. On the contrary, the death penalty imposes a tremendous risk of creating innocent victims with no real benefits to society.

Without a doubt, one of the primary the functions of our government is to protect every citizen in our society and capital punishment surely trivializes this mission. Not only is the practice of capital punishment responsible for the murder of innocent Americans and a failure as a deterrent, it gives our government a degree of power no government should ever be given over its people - the authority and right to murder its own citizens (it also violates that Constitutional prohibition on "cruel and unusual punishment"). As a strong proponent of the democratic ideals our country was founded upon I find such a concept sickening because it lowers our republic to the level of those very individuals we are trying to punish. And while those who violate our society's laws should certainly be punished and held to account for their actions, their debt must be paid with their freedom as opposed to their life.

This is something I firmly believe, because as an atheist and Secular Humanist I hold that their is no contradictory life after death (prove me wrong). This makes human life that much more valuable because this is the only life we will ever have. Consequently, the taking of any human life by any human must be viewed as a series offense, but should not be punished by murder because that is simply giving the guilty party a release from his or her guilt and the ownership of their actions. Frankly, it is just a little too easy to execute someone, especially when you believe in a nonsensical place like Hell where bad people will go and be punished for everything they did wrong for eternity. Unfortunately, such ridiculous beliefs do not amount to true accountability and trivialize both genuine morality and our justice system.

Instead of letting criminals off the hook by killing them for their actions we should be making them pay their debt to the society whose laws they broke and whose sensibilities they offended. This means that after an individual is found guilty of a serious offense such as homicide they immediately forfeit their freedom, as someone who has simply lost their freedom can be easily acquitted if they are ever found to be innocent. And while removed from society these individuals should have a diminished quality of life in which only their basic needs are met (no weight rooms or cable television; prison is not the Ritz) and they are given tasks in prison which can allow them to benefit the society they offended through their actions. To make these individuals forfeit their right to engage in our free in open society and then contribute to it from prison would certainly constitute a better form of punishment and emphasis on personal accountability than the barbaric practice of capital punishment Americans continue to cling on too.

Fortunately, in Europe a more civilized and learned approach is being taken in regard to capital punishment - they are getting rid of it. In its mission to seek universal abolition of capital punishment the European Union has made it a condition that all of its members must not engage in the practice (source). In addition to this, the EU has urged the United States to abide by International Law by at least halting the executions of those under the age of 18, if not the practice of capital punishment altogether. Those of us who applaud such actions here in the United States can only hope that such enlightenment will eventually reach our shores.

In the end, the death penalty is a barbaric practice that Americans should oppose based on its lack of merits and its inherent destructiveness to our shared morality and system of justice. It has claimed the lives of innocent people, does not deter crime, fails to hold criminals genuinely accountable for their actions and is a practice that no government should ever be given the power to use. There are no sensible religious or secular reasons to allow capital punishment to continue and organizations that care about human rights like the European Union have readily recognized this. It is time the United States get on the right side of the issue of capital punishment and begin moving towards universal abolition of this vile practice on the basis of the values it routinely claims to uphold.