Post 1, thursday 26

Sports:
Donadoni of the Italian FA was fired today, after losing to Spain in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008 recently. While the game was lost in PK's officially, it was only unnaturally elongated by the persistence and dedication to the method of flopping by Italy. Hopefully this spells an end to this awful portrayal of football, but unfortunately, it may signal a return to catenazzio, which is way worse. I heard they re-hired the coach who won WC 06, but what that exactly means is unclear. The team is in bad shape for the future, with an aging back line, and few rising stars in the mid-field. Luca Tony can hold down the lone striker position, but their offense seems toothless without Totti.

I shall write later about Spain v Russia, hopefully

Politics:
Two supreme court decisions were handed out recently.

One deals with the death penalty, as it relates to rape cases. While I find the crime of child rape very reprehensible, to warrant it with the death penalty, I cannot agree with. That is why I agree with the decision the Supreme Court agreed upon. The decision stated that while the crime is awful and causes years and years of anguish, the final result is not as irrevocable and irreconcilable as death itself. While it is saving the lives of criminals, this decision saves the lives of two individuals in Louisiana, and reverses laws on the books in several other states.

As it stands to my knowledge now, there are only two crimes that warrant, under law, the death penalty - murder and treason. My personal beliefs lie in that there should be no death penalty. I think it doesn't actually solve any crimes, and the investment the court system must put into a capital crime case is actually higher (in order to make sure they are killing the right guy, you wouldn't want the wrong guy to die for a crime) than keeping a man behind bars for life. While this decision, I think, didn't deal specifically with a constitutional matter, it had to be done in order to unite national law.

Moreover, if the decision had been the reverse, I believe it could have started a snowball effect as to what crimes can constitute capital punishment. While I don't think it could get so extreme, that could result in petty theft causing death. More realistically, it could have eventually resulted in a night of poor decision making resulting in the death penalty for drunken vehicular manslaughter. Kudos for stopping the snowball effect.

The other decision dealt directly with a constitutional matter, Amendment number 2 of the bill of rights. In a great decision, the court decided, yes, it is legal to hold a gun, as is stated in the constitution. Who would've thought? Thank god it is a slap in the face to liberals, who prefer to pick and choose which rights of the constitution we should have, while parading around the limits of the first amendment. It is also, in a way, a slap in the face to conservatives. Perhaps they will be more grateful of the bill of rights, now that their gun rights have been protected judicially by them. Perhaps now they can stop complaining about "liberal courts and judges legislating from the bench."

More specifically on the matter, this is not an umbrella decision, upholding everybody's right to "bear arms." There are provisions, as their should be. Convicted felons have restricted gun access, as do the mentally ill. The right to guns should be available, but only to those who can exercise it without endangering the people themselves.

This means that cities and states which are opposed to guns cannot just throw a law out there which states guns are illegal. If this decision is that unwanted by the people, than it would take a full amendment to state it, making it only the second amendment to overturn another one. Moreover, I think it would result in the first reversal of an amendment which reverses another amendment. This decision remained consistent with the constitution, and it would take a full constitutional matter if it is decided that guns are not a right.

Hopefully it shuts up pompous liberal assholes, talking about the danger of firearms, but sadly I think it will make them louder. Thankfully this is a life post, and they will not be voted off simply because whoever the president is does not like them.

-Knuttel