Nebraska Death Penalty
The Nebraska death penalty has recently come into question in the state unicameral. Electrocution was the sole method until the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled the method unconstitutional in February 2008. Nebraska tried to pass a life sentence without parole to replace the death penalty but it fell one vote short of passing. The death penalty is wrong and should be replaced with a life sentence without out parole.
The death penalty is cruel punishment. There are reports of botched deaths when it comes to any form of execution. The last reported case of an electrocution gone badly was July 8, 1999 in Florida. Blood had poured from the mouth of the man being executed and oozed through the buckle holes on the straps across his chest. There are a number of cases more resent then that where lethal injection has gone wrong. The problems reported with lethal injection is not being able to find a vein, going through the vain and the poison being pumped into the surrounding tissue, and unusual violent reactions to the lethal drugs.
Fourteen states do not have the death penalty. Nebraska needs to adopt this practice, too. We were the last state to have electrocution as our sole method of capital punishment. Let us become one of the early adaptors of life with out parole.
The death penalty is wrong because you may execute an innocent person. The death penalty is also a long and complicated process. It clogs up the courts and cost millions of dollars. This long process also causes prolonged pain for the victim’s family, who must relive the trauma through multiple court hearings and appeals.
The most compelling reason for revoking the death penalty, and replacing it with life without parole, is that to kill another human being is wrong. Most death penalty cases involve the defendant being charged with murder. We cannot claim that murder is wrong when we turn around and kill someone who is convicted of murder. We are all human and none of us have the right to say that because it is a jury, judge, or law (which were written by man) that means it is acceptable to kill the killer. No one has the right to judge who should live and who should die, that is why there are laws against murder. We should not look the other way when someone is being killed, even if it is the authorities that are making that choice.
We all have a responsibility to do what is morally just. Choosing to let the state murder someone is no more just then letting anyone else get away with it. We need to let our state know that we do not support the death penalty; that it is wrong and we will not stand to let any more blood be spilled, even when the blood is not that of an innocent person.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Cell Phone Etiquette
I grew up in an age where not everyone had a cell phone. Only the really rich people in Hollywood had them and they were the size of your head. I must have been around 16 when I got my first cell phone and I was one of the first kids in class to have one.
My father worked for the railroad as an engineer and was gone more often then he was home. As a result a family dinner was not an every night thing and even when he was gone we only ate out maybe once a week.
Even when dad wasn't home we would set the table and eat in the kitchen. We didn't get to eat with the TV on much either. If we were in front of the TV and the big old yellow rotary phone would ring we could answer it but if we were at the table you let it ring and the answering machine could pick it up. Yes, there were answering machines and those where also really big, too. Our first answering machine took full size cassette tapes.
Here we are in 2009 and when I go out to eat I see other families eating and here are the teenage kids texting away. Every time my ex would take me out he would start texting with people. DRIVES ME NUTS! When you get a chance to sit down with your family you should enjoy it. People don't realize that it might be the last time they see the. And what are they doing - Playing with their phones. How romatic is it when you go out to eat with a significat other and the both of you spend the meal talking and texting other people.
Is everyones' lives that important that they can't take a few minutes out of the day to be here right now with a real live human being. I can't believe the lack of respect in the yonger gerneration. OH YEAH I SAID IT. I don't really mean that though. The young have never known respect and I didn't know what the word ment either a few years back. Then I learned that I will for the rest of my life be learning how to be respectful. It is a never ending process.
I guess the big bugger for me is that I love technology and love to use technology and think it is really cool all the things and posiblities that technology holds. I love that technology is changing so fast that we don't know what the future holds. 10 years ago Wired Magazine made some prodections about the futre of the Internet and technology. Some were compleatly off and some were on the right track. We just don't know and sometimes our wildest imaginations can't do what really happens justist. Oh, how I love technology.
But there seems to be something missing. The human connections, the human network. I miss sitting down to dinner with my family and knowing that our time together will be just for us. Why can't my sister give me 30 minutes of her time when I only get to see them once every couple of months. She talks and texts on her cell when we go out to dinner. I try to remember to turn my ringer off when we eat but if I forget I would never answer it.
I miss people. I miss all people.
My father worked for the railroad as an engineer and was gone more often then he was home. As a result a family dinner was not an every night thing and even when he was gone we only ate out maybe once a week.
Even when dad wasn't home we would set the table and eat in the kitchen. We didn't get to eat with the TV on much either. If we were in front of the TV and the big old yellow rotary phone would ring we could answer it but if we were at the table you let it ring and the answering machine could pick it up. Yes, there were answering machines and those where also really big, too. Our first answering machine took full size cassette tapes.
Here we are in 2009 and when I go out to eat I see other families eating and here are the teenage kids texting away. Every time my ex would take me out he would start texting with people. DRIVES ME NUTS! When you get a chance to sit down with your family you should enjoy it. People don't realize that it might be the last time they see the. And what are they doing - Playing with their phones. How romatic is it when you go out to eat with a significat other and the both of you spend the meal talking and texting other people.
Is everyones' lives that important that they can't take a few minutes out of the day to be here right now with a real live human being. I can't believe the lack of respect in the yonger gerneration. OH YEAH I SAID IT. I don't really mean that though. The young have never known respect and I didn't know what the word ment either a few years back. Then I learned that I will for the rest of my life be learning how to be respectful. It is a never ending process.
I guess the big bugger for me is that I love technology and love to use technology and think it is really cool all the things and posiblities that technology holds. I love that technology is changing so fast that we don't know what the future holds. 10 years ago Wired Magazine made some prodections about the futre of the Internet and technology. Some were compleatly off and some were on the right track. We just don't know and sometimes our wildest imaginations can't do what really happens justist. Oh, how I love technology.
But there seems to be something missing. The human connections, the human network. I miss sitting down to dinner with my family and knowing that our time together will be just for us. Why can't my sister give me 30 minutes of her time when I only get to see them once every couple of months. She talks and texts on her cell when we go out to dinner. I try to remember to turn my ringer off when we eat but if I forget I would never answer it.
I miss people. I miss all people.
Editorial #2 Draft
Nebraska Death Penalty
Nebraska has recently come into question in the state unicameral. Electrocution was the sole method until the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled the method unconstitutional in February 2008. Nebraska tried to pass a life sentence without parole to replace the death penalty but it fell one vote short of passing. The death penalty is wrong and should be replaced with a life sentence without out parole.
The death penalty is cruel punishment. There are reports of botched deaths when it comes to any form of execution. The last reported case of an electrocution gone badly was July 8, 1999 in Florida. Blood had poured from his mouth and oozed through the buckle holes on the straps across his chest. There are a number of cases more resent then that where lethal injection has gone wrong. The problems reported with lethal injection is not being able to find a vein, going through the vain and the poison being pumped into the surrounding tissue, and unusual violent reactions to the lethal drugs.
Most states have gotten rid of electrocution and replaced it with lethal injection. Only seven states have electrocution and the inmate can choose the method; some restrictions may apply. Two other states only have electrocution if the other methods are deemed unconstitutional.
The death penalty is wrong because you may execute an innocent person. The death penalty is a long and complicated process. It clogs up the courts and cost millions of dollars. This long process also causes prolonged pain for the victim’s family, who must relive the trauma through multiple court hearings and appeals.
The most compelling reason for revoking the death penalty, and replacing it with life without parole, is that to kill another human being is wrong. Most death penalty cases involve the defendant being charged with murder. We cannot claim that murder is wrong when we turn around and kill someone who is convicted of murder. We are all human and none of us have the right to say that because it is a jury, judge, or law (which were written by man) that means it is acceptable to kill the killer. No one has the right to judge who should live and who should die, that is why there are laws against murder. We should not look the other way when someone is being killed, even if it is the authorities are making that choice.
We all have a responsibility to do what is morally just. Choosing to let the state murder someone is no more just then letting anyone else get away with it. We need to let our state know that we do not support the death penalty; that it is wrong and we will not stand to let any more blood be spilled, innocent or not.
Nebraska has recently come into question in the state unicameral. Electrocution was the sole method until the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled the method unconstitutional in February 2008. Nebraska tried to pass a life sentence without parole to replace the death penalty but it fell one vote short of passing. The death penalty is wrong and should be replaced with a life sentence without out parole.
The death penalty is cruel punishment. There are reports of botched deaths when it comes to any form of execution. The last reported case of an electrocution gone badly was July 8, 1999 in Florida. Blood had poured from his mouth and oozed through the buckle holes on the straps across his chest. There are a number of cases more resent then that where lethal injection has gone wrong. The problems reported with lethal injection is not being able to find a vein, going through the vain and the poison being pumped into the surrounding tissue, and unusual violent reactions to the lethal drugs.
Most states have gotten rid of electrocution and replaced it with lethal injection. Only seven states have electrocution and the inmate can choose the method; some restrictions may apply. Two other states only have electrocution if the other methods are deemed unconstitutional.
The death penalty is wrong because you may execute an innocent person. The death penalty is a long and complicated process. It clogs up the courts and cost millions of dollars. This long process also causes prolonged pain for the victim’s family, who must relive the trauma through multiple court hearings and appeals.
The most compelling reason for revoking the death penalty, and replacing it with life without parole, is that to kill another human being is wrong. Most death penalty cases involve the defendant being charged with murder. We cannot claim that murder is wrong when we turn around and kill someone who is convicted of murder. We are all human and none of us have the right to say that because it is a jury, judge, or law (which were written by man) that means it is acceptable to kill the killer. No one has the right to judge who should live and who should die, that is why there are laws against murder. We should not look the other way when someone is being killed, even if it is the authorities are making that choice.
We all have a responsibility to do what is morally just. Choosing to let the state murder someone is no more just then letting anyone else get away with it. We need to let our state know that we do not support the death penalty; that it is wrong and we will not stand to let any more blood be spilled, innocent or not.
I don't care
I like to argue with people. So when given a topic, say the death penalty in Nebraska, I can argue either side. I would have fun. Deep down inside, I really don't care about Nebraska issues. There are a few reasons.
Someone asked, "What if your best friend, boyfriend, or a loved one does something that would cause them to be effected by the death penalty?"
I would quit talking to them because they are a POS if they did something to deserve that question being asked.
- Nebraska is not a bad place to live.
- There are not good controversial topics in the state.
- I have never viewed Nebraska as my home, despite being born and raised here.
Someone asked, "What if your best friend, boyfriend, or a loved one does something that would cause them to be effected by the death penalty?"
I would quit talking to them because they are a POS if they did something to deserve that question being asked.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
I-80
Stephen King loves to drive I-80 across Nebraska. I can understand why, it is kinda creepy. Everyone complains that the drive through Nebraska is boring. It’s only boring west of Kearney. Yes, I know it is brown 9 months out of the year, it is flat, and it sucks to drive at night. I don’t personally find it beautiful but I have to admit there is some beauty in the emptiness.
It’s not that empty there are plenty of things to look at, but you won’t see it if you are zoning out on the road. You have to look into the great expanse to see what is there.
I have spent 10 years driving between Kearney and Lincoln. I know the road, the signs, the fields and the trees. Yes, there are trees that I have watched grow over the past 10 years. It is mind blowing to notice how much a tree can grow.
I don’t like Nebraska and I’m so glad that I have been accepted into an art school in San Francisco. I will be working on my MFA in Advertising. I was born and raised here in Nebraska but it has never been my home. I am a fish out of water, literally, I need the ocean. But today I realized that while I don’t like Nebraska, I have spent so many years getting to know the Interstate that I will miss it, just a little bit, when I’m gone. I’ll miss the familiarity.
It’s not that empty there are plenty of things to look at, but you won’t see it if you are zoning out on the road. You have to look into the great expanse to see what is there.
I have spent 10 years driving between Kearney and Lincoln. I know the road, the signs, the fields and the trees. Yes, there are trees that I have watched grow over the past 10 years. It is mind blowing to notice how much a tree can grow.
I don’t like Nebraska and I’m so glad that I have been accepted into an art school in San Francisco. I will be working on my MFA in Advertising. I was born and raised here in Nebraska but it has never been my home. I am a fish out of water, literally, I need the ocean. But today I realized that while I don’t like Nebraska, I have spent so many years getting to know the Interstate that I will miss it, just a little bit, when I’m gone. I’ll miss the familiarity.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Volunteering
I believe that anyone who has the opportunity to volunteer should. If you have something to give other do it. Something as simple as time could mean the world to someone you may never meet. There is always someplace you can help out no matter where you live.
I would love to say more on this topic but then I would have to talk about what I am doing in the aspect of volunteering and I think it is inappropriate to do a good deed then brag about it. Negates the point in doing something good for others.
I would love to say more on this topic but then I would have to talk about what I am doing in the aspect of volunteering and I think it is inappropriate to do a good deed then brag about it. Negates the point in doing something good for others.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Tattoos
Whenever I go to the massage school in Omaha the girls spend the whole time talking to me because of my tattoos and I don't receive a proper massage because they are talking to me the whole time. I thought a massage was suppose to be a relaxing thing. They always have to ask "What does it mean?" There are symbols running down my back and they all mean something different. To explain the whole I have to explain the individual and that is an hour conversation. My other problem with the question is that the tattoos are on my back, I can not see they so I don't remember what I even have tattooed on my.
So for anyone thinking, "What's the point if you don't know what you have?" Every symbol means something, one is for protection from evil, there is the infinity sign, the turtle who holds the world on his shell, and others. Every tattoo has a meaning that I personal believe in, they therefore belong to me alone because only I know what it means to me.
Not only is they symbolic meaning important to me but I view tattoos as art. I don't mind when someone says it is a nice looking tattoo. My back is my design but the good work of the tattoo artist helps. The phoenix on my leg is completely a work of art. I wanted the phoenix but it turned out nothing like I had envisioned it. It is far more impressive and it is a beautiful work of art done by an artist named Chad.
The problem that I find with tattoos comes when some one tells me they like my tattoo and then follow it up with "look at mine." Playing "show and tell" with your tattoos does not earn my respect. It irritates me and causes me to loose respect for the person doing it. This is because my tattoos belong to me, I had them done for me. They are beautiful works of art that I get to take with me everywhere I go.
I did not have them done so that others would think they are "cool." I honestly do not care what people think about my tattoos, good, bad, or otherwise. In turn I do not care about other people's tattoos. I don't give two hoots about someone else's tattoo. Tattoos are art and I do like to look at art but I do not like to talk about art. Art is food for the eyes not the mouth.
If someone asks about your tattoos then I find no shame in answering a question. But it shows a complete lack of discretion, sophistication and class to start talking about your own tattoos with someone when they didn't ask. Especially if the tattoo is someplace where you have to remove some article of clothing so that other people can even see it. If you didn't put it someplace where people could easily see it then maybe you should not go showing it off to people who are not close friends.
So for anyone thinking, "What's the point if you don't know what you have?" Every symbol means something, one is for protection from evil, there is the infinity sign, the turtle who holds the world on his shell, and others. Every tattoo has a meaning that I personal believe in, they therefore belong to me alone because only I know what it means to me.
Not only is they symbolic meaning important to me but I view tattoos as art. I don't mind when someone says it is a nice looking tattoo. My back is my design but the good work of the tattoo artist helps. The phoenix on my leg is completely a work of art. I wanted the phoenix but it turned out nothing like I had envisioned it. It is far more impressive and it is a beautiful work of art done by an artist named Chad.
The problem that I find with tattoos comes when some one tells me they like my tattoo and then follow it up with "look at mine." Playing "show and tell" with your tattoos does not earn my respect. It irritates me and causes me to loose respect for the person doing it. This is because my tattoos belong to me, I had them done for me. They are beautiful works of art that I get to take with me everywhere I go.
I did not have them done so that others would think they are "cool." I honestly do not care what people think about my tattoos, good, bad, or otherwise. In turn I do not care about other people's tattoos. I don't give two hoots about someone else's tattoo. Tattoos are art and I do like to look at art but I do not like to talk about art. Art is food for the eyes not the mouth.
If someone asks about your tattoos then I find no shame in answering a question. But it shows a complete lack of discretion, sophistication and class to start talking about your own tattoos with someone when they didn't ask. Especially if the tattoo is someplace where you have to remove some article of clothing so that other people can even see it. If you didn't put it someplace where people could easily see it then maybe you should not go showing it off to people who are not close friends.
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