Will we all sleep better after Saddam is dead?

Being snowed in again, I've watched a surfeit of CNN and of course everyone is abuzz about the impending execution of Saddam Hussein. And not just an execution--but a hanging. Being from Texas--a state that executes more people than any other--I thought that perhaps I'd been inured to the realities associated with the practice of capital punishment--but I find myself with a sick feeling in my spirt at what will likely transpire in Iraq in a matter of hours, evidently. Not because I feel Saddam deserves to live--he deserves to die many times over--but because of what I fear his execution says about us. Bertrand Russell said this about the practice: "The reformative effect of punishment is a belief that dies hard, chiefly I think, because it is so satisfying to our sadistic impulses." I've thought about this today because execution in the United States has become rather sanitized--just a needle in the arm is all it takes. I realize that if Saddam's execution is made available for public viewing there will be many (including Americans) who will yell booyah at the moment his neck breaks, but I also suspect that many will turn away, grateful that this final disposition took place in Iraq, a country already regarded by many as uncivilized and barbaric.

Will Saddam's execution bring justice for all the people he killed and terrorized? Really? Will the world really be any safer, Mr. President? Or will the cheers and high-fives that are offered up at his death only perpetuate a particular brand of baseness and inhumanity.

Read more about the civilized practice of hanging here.

Give Me A Break From The Weather, and Hold the Holy Night

Well, it is Christmas Eve, and I'm tired and feeling, if possible, even more cynical than last year. This last academic quarter left me drained, and silly me, I didn't take the time during all the reading and writing to think ahead about this absolutely magical time to make kennel arrangments for Sophie. Imagine my shock to find out that everyone else had made arrangements, leaving no room in the proverbial inn. So, while the rest of my family gathers at my brother's house, Sophie and I have holed up in my Hooterville apartment to wait out the holiday. And, it is snowing again, so I find sequestering myself with good books, wine, hot cocoa, digital cable and my dog isn't such a bad thing. Weather permitting, I'll head up to the hills tomorrow for the day--but tonight is mine.

Day 3

Day 2

Blizzard 06

I've been encouraged to join the blogosphere--but it took a blizzard keeping me indoors to take the time. I figured now was as good a time as any to finally learn how to use the digital camera I received for Christmas 2005, so when nature called for Sophie--I took the camera along. These were taken about 13:00 today--and we're supposed to end up with 18"-24" before this is done. It isn't just snowing--it is blowing snow and the wind greedily snatches breath before you know it. Sophie, who generally enjoys romping in the snow, peed and dragged me back inside. Major highways are closed, as is the airport. It snowed like this my first winter here (March 2003), and I'd forgotten how isolating it feels. At least I still have electricity and my digital cable/internet.

So now that I have the first post under my belt--we'll see how much I keep up.