Latest production
In Forsyth County's latest production of "Don Quixote," the county commissioners interchangeably play the lead role chasing the windmill of sectarian prayer before public meetings. The citizens of Forsyth County play the supporting role of Sancho Panza following blithely as their hero goes out on yet another fool's mission. The audience of religious zealots clap wildly throughout the performance, encouraging Señor Quixote on his fantasy quest.
Unfortunately, the critics played by the U.S. Supreme Court saw only the humor in the production and gave the performance two thumbs down. With that, the production came to an end, leaving us with a bill for $200,000 and a cast searching for more comedies to produce at taxpayer expense.
JOHN WIGODSKY
Winston-Salem
Legal consequence
In an article published in the Journal, "Action put off on guns-in-parks issue" (Jan. 23), Forsyth County Commissioner Bill Whiteheart admitted that he violates the county's concealed-weapons ordinance by keeping a gun locked in his vehicle while attending commissioners' meetings. Has he received a citation and been fined or whatever the legal consequence would be? Surely an elected official making such a reckless comment would be held accountable.
Whiteheart set an unacceptable example. Or is there a double standard, and elected officials get some kind of immunity? If true, there is yet another unacceptable standard.
The fact that guns, concealed or unconcealed, cannot be taken into courthouses and carried onto public-school grounds supports my position for stricter gun laws. If more people bearing arms in all venues make us safer, then why not have guns in courtrooms or on public-school grounds? That will probably be the next proposal of the current N.C. General Assembly.
Where does the audacity stop? In a truly civilized country, we would not even be having this conversation. Some of us are trying to maintain a civilization, and the task grows more difficult each day.
ANNE GRIFFIS WILSON
Winston-Salem
Pipeline nightmare
The writer of the letter "Pipeline dreams" (Jan. 24) should thank President Obama for quashing the development of the Keystone XL pipeline. This pipeline would have created some temporary blue-collar jobs but enabled millions of gallons of oil to flow from the Canadian tar sands across pristine countryside in the United States.
Our amber waves of grain turn black when pipelines spring leaks. Our purple mountains' majesties turn gray from the carbon monoxide produced from burning this fuel.
Encouraging the dirtiest, most polluting methods of oil-shale extraction in the world is not ethical. We can end our dependence on foreign oil by driving less and seeking out alternative and sustainable sources.
ANDREW L. BREWER
Winston-Salem
The candidate
I think I have a solution to this unemployment thing. No need for me to compete with others for the small pool of jobs. It was right before me, but I never saw it. All I have to do is say outlandish things and run for office!
For starters, I could propose building an electrified fence along the border to keep "the illegals" out, to gain a small following. I could continue by suggesting secession from the union to further grow my number of supporters. And when I decide to jump in the presidential race and I'm asked about foreign policy, I could simply respond by saying I don't need to know who the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-stan is.
When the Benjamins start to stack up, I can take a pilgrimage to Tiffany's and drop a cool half-million dollars on jewelry. I'll have to keep it hushed because I'll be busy convincing the public that I'm a struggling, hard-working American.
I already figured out that if the mainstream media asks me for solutions to fix unemployment, I can simply dance around the issue by spouting cute little catchphrases like "this administration is making things worse" or "this president has failed us all." (Notice that I never offered a solution.)
And when my bid for the Oval Office fails, I can settle down, write a book or two and go on a national speaking tour. So be on the lookout for me because I need your support (and your money, too).
MARTY PITTMAN
Winston-Salem
Finish the Thought
Briefly complete the sentence below and send it to us at letters@wsjournal.com. We'll print some of the results in a few days. Only signed entries, please, no anonymous ones.
"Gov. Bev Perdue decided not to seek re-election because …"
The Reverend Larry Pittman, Tea Party Patriot, calls for public hangings to resume.
ReplyDeletehttp://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NC_XGR_BURNED_BODIES_NCOL-?SITE=NCWIN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
I couldn't agree more with Rep. Pittman, but with two provisos:
Delete1. That we add to his list of "hanging" crimes the act of being a legislator or school board member in NC.
2. Since executuion is in no way "justice", as he puts it, but simple revenge, let's do it right, the way the "civilized" English did from the 12th to the 19th centuries by reinstituting hanging, drawing and quartering.
The process occurs in four stages:
1. The prisoner is "drawn" (dragged) behind a horse, sometimes on a wooden panel, sometimes not, to the place of execution. During this phase, the great Scottish patriot William Wallace was attacked by the following crowd, whipped, kicked and bombarded with rotten food and excrement.
2. After the king or queen's proclamation was read aloud and the prisoner had been given a chance to repent, the hanging was done by pushing him off a ladder, from which he was allowed to dangle until near death from strangulation.
3. Then the prisoner was cut down and emasculated, symbolically disinheriting his heirs. Then he was cut open and disemboweled and his heart was cut out. Most died somewhere around this time, but at least one Jesuit priest struck out at his executioner even as the knife sank in. Then the head was cut off and the body cut into four parts, thus the "quartering".
4. Finally the parts were displayed at various nearby places, with the head stuck on a pole on London Bridge. I would suggest the food court at Hanes Mall as a local substitute.
I would advocate a nice final touch. After the body parts had completely rotted, they were often buried. But in the case of heretic John Wycliffe, Pope Martin V, 44 years after Wycliffe's death, had his body dug up, his bones burned and pulverized and thrown into the river. Surely that would provide final "closure" for the victims of the crime.
Since such ceremonies drew huge crowds, we could hold ours in stadiums, charging admission, and since no stadium could possibly hold all those wanting to attend, also put it on pay-per-view, thus not only defraying the cost incurred, but solving all of the state's budget problems.
If anyone has a better idea, I'd like to hear it.
I might add that we must remember how "civilized" the English were. Women were not subject to hanging, drawing and quartering. To avoid offending "decency", as the English law put it, women were merely burned at the stake.
DeleteA significant number of the people put to death in this manner had committed "religious" crimes...in other words, disagreeing with the Church of England. Wouldn't our local fumblementalists love to bring this all back.
God save the Queen!
Why not go balls to the wall...bring back crucifixion.
DeleteAfter all, these self-proclaimed "Christians" have more in common with Pontius Pilate and the high priests than Jesus anyway.
DeleteI would go for that, except we would still have to have the disemboweling, etc, to get the full effect.
DeleteThere are all kinds of extra wrinkles that we could add to extend the spectacle and add to the profits.
During the Spanish Inquisition, even the dead could be tried and punished. Pope Formosa was twice dug up and excommunicated. This started a trend and disinterred corpses were often on trial. Where corpses were unavailable effigies were made. After sentencing, the dead were again burnt to 'death.'
Digging up the dead and excommunicating them reminds of a comedy act by Rodney Carrington in which he fumes about how much he hates the song "It's a Small World." He remarks that he would like to go to Walt Disney's grave, dig him up, and kick his [posterior]. It's a lot funnier to hear him rant it during his routine.
DeleteRe heads on posts: a lot of 'em ended up on posts on the walls of the city of York, England, which has a well-stocked history of violence, torture, and executions. The heads were soaked in brine to preserve them for longer display.
DeleteLTE1: Fully agree.
ReplyDeleteLTE2: I own a number of firearms, several with no real sporting use, including some handguns. However, I do not carry one with me when I depart my home. I do not understand the fuss over toting a gun into a park. If someone feels sufficiently imperiled as to require a gun in a particular place, the sensible thing is to go somewhere else. Grilling hot dogs while looking over one's should and packing heat makes no sense.
Commissioner Whiteheart should be booted off the board for his statement. As for leaving the gun in the locked glove compartment, I don't regard that as carrying a concealed weapon, since it isn't available to him when he's in the meeting, but the lousy example merits expulsion. What a dolt.
LTE3: "Our amber waves of grain turn black when pipelines spring leaks. Our purple mountains' majesties turn gray from the carbon monoxide produced from burning this fuel."
ReplyDeleteHyperbolic hysteria. Apparently Ms. Wilson hasn't heard of the emissions control devices fitted the exhausts of internal combustion engines. Yes, a spill is messy, but such are consequences of our technology, and can be kept to a minimum. That said, I don't have a problem with a thorough review, and OT has educated me re the essentially illusory job gains.
Conservation and alternative fuels are desirable, but are longer term and partial solutions.
LTE4: Mildly amusing send-up of the R clown show, yes. The Dem side is as dismal, as not only are outlandish things said, but incumbents do outlandish things.
ReplyDeleteFinish the thought: Bev opted out because she's 65 and didn't want to spend the best remaining years of her life dealing with doofusses. Mind you, I don't necessarily agree with her politics and policies (teachers do not like her), but if I had to deal with the current legislature, I'd think about another line of work as well.
Ha, ha. Know and love Rodney Carrington. He is a naughty boy who tells the truth as he sees it...thus unsettling many other folks.
ReplyDeleteHis "Small World" routine is in one of his books. I've been to Disneyland, many many years ago, but never to Disneyworld...my idea of hell.
As to Bev, I have friends who know her pretty well...according to them she is a bright, vivacious, caring person and Stab is probably right...they say that she has had enough of the nonsense and doesn't want to spend her remaining years dealing with it.
Not much of a McCrory fan though...his aw shucks, I'm just a regular guy BS...maybe the Dems can find someone better. I hope it isn't Mayor Joines though...he's too valuable to our own city. Am I being selfish? Yes.
More about public hangings. In the early days of Forsyth County, the hanging ground was way out in the woods, where Hanes Park is now, over a mile from downtown, because, unlike our civilized English brethren, the local folks did NOT want such spectacles in their town.
ReplyDeleteIn those days, they left the body hanging for some time as a message to other potential miscreants, who were not limited to killers. Later the hangings took place on North Liberty Street, near Smith Reynolds airport, again, away from the city center, and the hangees were immediately buried on the site. Those graves, along with those of indigents buried in the "potters field" are currently still there under the County Ground Maintenance facility.
Anyone who thinks that executions, public or private, deter crime is living in a fantasy world. Study after study has shown that the death penalty has ZERO effect on murder. In fact, the states, including West Virginia, which do not have the death penalty, also have the lowest murder rates.
That might be, in part, because the vast majority of murders are not planned, but spontaneous. The last thing on the typical murderers mind is law...it is their rage at the person who they are about to murder.
Hello, everyone. It was a beautiful day today, spent it with the grandson celebrating his birthday doing what HE wished to do: walking the malls. We went to Tanger Outlet and 4 Seasons Mall where we finally found what he thought would be an acceptable birthday gift: a Green Bay Packers toboggan. We spent the rest of the evening watching his favorite TV shows on the cartoon network and playing games on the Wii. He's asleep now, we'll be baking cookies tomorrow before taking him back home.
ReplyDelete@Rush: I personally think that the death penalty is just that: a penalty for a crime committed. Executions then was more like knee-jerk justice whereas now it's more like a trip to Club Med, but I don't think that death penalties have ever been imposed as a deterrent.