People Who Kill People

As of August 2009, there are over 3,000 people in the United States, counting days until their scheduled deaths. Nearly each and everyone of those people has been deemed responsible for taking someone else’s life. Whether it was the life of a helpless infant, an agonized woman, or even a powerful grown man, one thing is for certain: we, as a public, believe beyond a reasonable doubt, that those 3,000 people have committed some of the most torturous, gruesome actions we could ever imagine. These individuals all have different stories to tell, but there is one thing they all have in common: they wear an old solid color suit, and will likely never have a change of clothing. The suit has the letters ‘DR’ on the back, and it doesn’t stand for Dominican Republic.
Capital punishment — one of the most controversial topics of all time. Since before the common era, we’ve been asking ourselves one question: to kill or not to kill. In the 1600′s, men would get beheaded for speaking out against the king, and women would get hung or burned for potential witchcraft. Murders, on the other hand, were a more common practice and considered to be one’s personal business. Think of duels for instance. A man placed another life (along with his own) at stake, as a form of revenge for unjust or disrespectful actions. The idea of eye for eye was not only allowed, it was highly respected and even encouraged. Today, the theory of “kill or be killed” transformed to “kill to be killed.”
Thirty-nine out of fifty states practice capital punishment. Texas, California, and Floria at the top of the list for most executions, partially due to their large population, but mainly due to their state-spread strong support of capital punishment. But since everything is bigger in Texas, why would the execution rate be an exception? So if one does decide to brutally murder someone in cold blood, there must few applicable conditions envolved in order for the crime to qualify for capital punishment. However, here’s the trick: even if charged with capital murder, one is likely to land a plea bargain — life in prison without the possibility of parole. While opposers of the death penalty may say that such a sentence is perfectly just, perhaps even appropriate, I beg to differ. For starters, the entire idea of a “bargain” when referring to a life that was involunterally taken, appears too political for my liking. For instance, take the Matthew Shepard case. In 1998, the 21-year-old man was robbed, tortured, tied to a fence in a remote area and left to die all because of his sexual orientation. His brutal killers were able to obtain a plea bargain and received two consecutive life sentences. Although it’s safe to say they will never see the light of day, where is the fairness to the devasted mother who lost the person she loved the most? She will always live with the images of her viciously beaten son, while the two homophobes get the luxury of cable television and fully equipped gyms? Now there’s a “good bargain.”
Unfortunately, Matthew Shepard is not the only case. Brutal tortures and murders are under-punished each and every day. In some states, murder-related convictions (in lesser than first degree, or when the defendant is a minor) result in short sentencing, with as little as 5.5 years, 4.4 after “good time,” according to Crime Victrims United. But where’s the justice? One can take part in a murder — the single act of taking a life — and receive a shabby five year sentence as a slap of on the wrist? Ever since children went to grade school, they learned that their actions had consequences; why is it that our criminal justice system may at times forget the importance of setting an appropriate consequence for a particular action, especially when it comes to brutal killings. The way I see it is simple — Action: Murder, Consequence: Murder. Seems fair to me. Period.
However, many would say that the major problem with the practice of capital punishment remains unfixed — possible executions of the innocent. Unfortunately, our jurors are easily brainwashed, prosecutors and district attorneys are too convincing, and legal aids aren’t determined enough to win a case. Mix that up in a pot and it can result in an innocent person being put to death for a crime he or she did not commit. Essentially, there’s nothing unjust about the theory and idea of the death penalty in America. It is an appropriate punishment fitted for its’ crime in the eyes of justice. I acknowledge that the institution and practice of our criminal justice system is not perfect when it comes to investigations and procedures performed by officials after a crime. However, with the help of latest technology and DNA, forensic science and crime-related evidence is becoming nearly error-proof. As for the argument that executing the killer won’t bring back the victim and that we shouldn’t kill people who kill people to show that killing is wrong, we all know that two wrongs don’t make a right, but it sure as hell makes us feel better when justice is served.

Just Him & His Ego

Just when you may think that you have witnessed the douche-iest moments of Kanye West’s larger-than-life ego, he manages to top himself. Last night, at the MTV’s VMA Awards, West ran up on stage and proclaimed his disagreement with Taylor Swift winning an award for Best Female Video over Beyonce. West announced that Beyonce’s video, “Single ladies”, was “one of the best videos of all time,” but he was quickly boo-ed off stage. Talk about affirmative action..
Sources say that Swift was distraught by West’s interruption of her acceptance speech and even cried backstage. Luckily for Roc-a-Fella Records, Beyonce was able to graciously save face by allowing Swift to have her moment during Beyonce’s acceptance of the Best Video of the Year award.
Kanye is well-known for his assertive atittude and his controversial, loud-mouth opinions. From his political insults, to his fixation on racism, West’s voulgar spree began in 2005 during the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when he nationally stated that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” Personally, I don’t see West’s dilemma; Bush doesn’t care about white people either.
In early 2007, Kanye West’s cockiness reached a new level, when he decided to pose as Jesus Christ on the cover of Rolling Stone. We are all well aware of the desparate need to advance one’s career by selling magazines, but doing so by comparing yourself to Jesus Christ turned out to be more than people can bear. And if you think that the picture is worth a thousand words, the interview is guaranteed to leave you speechless. While we all understand, and even sympathize, with the difficulties of trying to become a millionaire rapper, Kanye’s life struggles of living in the suburbs with a professor as a father, can’t exactly be compared to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Although, there’s no argument when it comes to Kanye’s undeniable talent as a performer and a producer, his self-indulgement can certainly threaten his fan base, leaving just him and his ego as his imaginary friend.

Obama’s Reign & Its’ Troubles

Ah, Barack Obama… so much to say and so little blogspace. From his wonderful doings in Guatanamo Bay to his tremendous appointing skills of government officials, one thing is for sure: the man is hard to ignore. For starters, his approval rating is down more than 60%. That alone seems to be enough evidence of the fact that there are many, MANY things he is doing wrong. But, let’s start from the beginning..
He ran a hell of a campaign. Not only is he naturally a great public speaker, but he was also funded by numerous organizations and pretty much all of Hollywood. From Jay Z to Lil’ Wayne; you name them, they funded him. The millions of dollars that rolled in for various advertising strategies proved to be the key to winning over America. Secondly, his competition was slim. John McCain didn’t stand a chance to begin with simply due to the fact that America was scared of a Republican. Bush’s reign left America in so much terror that they would rather invest their faith in the hands of an inexperienced candidate, than a Vietnam veteran who served the country in more ways than one for decades, simply due to judgement of the party. As for Hillary Clinton, it seems ironic, if not suspicious, how she suddenly decided to withdraw from the race, especially at the peek of her prime. And while we may never know the reasoning behind Clinton’s logic, I’m sure you can use your imagination to figure it out. Once Clinton was gone, the rest was history — Obama was a shoe-in..
After waltzing his way through the campaign and being elected as the 44th President of the United States, the $787 billion economic stimulus plan came about, a big portion of which consisted of unnecessary spendings. Many Obama-supporters would argue that the stimulus plan funded the stock market, public schools and services, and prevented thousands of lay-offs. I agree that those are all fabulous deeds, but realistically, does it really take the full $787 billion American dollars which will later be paid of by the taxes of the citizens? Perhaps, Obama makes a great lawyer, but he’s far from a mathematician.
Next comes the health reform: the sole act of misinformation and miscalculation. The program and its agencies will costs much more than projected, as every United States program has in the past. In addition, the American public has been so misinformed about various aspects of the program, and all for a good cause: so we don’t understand the consequences of it. While Obama may claim that raising the cost of health care is the only solution to rebuilding our economy, the truth is that raising the cost of health care will only hurt it. If Americans spent more money on health care than they do currently, that means that they will spend less money on other priorities, from food to entertainment. Hence, if more money goes to health care, less money will be circulated socially and eventually, it will result in either public debt or an ongoing economic crisis — two marvelous options, don’t you think?
So here we are today: living in a country which is facing The Great Depression Part 2, starring Barack Obama as the villan, with no superhero to save the day. Let’s hope that by 2012, there will still be something left of our oh-so-tragic economy and perhaps this time, we will try something different: let’s elect a president who is aware of how many states are in America (see link).

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/barackobamavideos/youtube/obama-57-states.htm

Chris Brown’s “Harsh” Sentence

Well, it’s safe to say that Chris Brown won’t be doing any “wall to wall” time. The singer got off easy with a 5 year probation sentence and labor service. Some domestic abusers may side with the judge and agree that the sentence is fair, or perhaps even too harsh; but those who have seen pictures of Rihanna’s less-than-pretty face after the encounter may say that the sentence is simply a slap on the wrist.
Rumor has it that Chris Brown was beaten as a child by his stepfather, which would only go to prove that the apple may not fall far from the tree. Nevertheless, the ongoing Chris vs. Rihanna battle is a two way street. Break ups to make ups and the constant jealousy between the two, couldn’t have possibly led to a happy ending. Partially, I also believe that there was more to the physical encounter than what meets the eye. Let’s face it, Chris Brown wouldn’t suddenly tackle Rihanna and beat her beyond recognition, putting his own career on the line, for a mere argument. And while I’m certainly not one to make excuses for men who beat, assault, or abuse women, I think that in this particular case, Rihanna is not exactly an angelic victim. While the debate of who’s right, who’s wrong will probably never be resolved, it’s comforting to know that the stunning Rihanna has recovered from her injuries and will continue to amaze us with her bad choices in men voice.

Reality from Hell

At this day and age, unless you reside on the moon, you have certainly came across all the “intellectual” reality shows VH1 has to offer. Currently, shows such as My Antonio, Megan Wants a Millionaire, and Real Chance of Love 2 are scattered throughout the channel, intriguing us to find out what is really real about these shows? Thousands, if not millions, of viewers tune in every Sunday to watch the new episodes in which they witness a nervous breakdown of one of the contestants, a sizzling girl fight for the attention of their main squeeze, or to watch the larger-than-life powers of a self-proclaimed gold digger. From a logical standpoint, these shows are not inspirational, educational, and better yet, they don’t intrigue us on any other level than pure entertainment; but if we understand that these shows are kind of, pardon my French, stupid, why do we watch them religiously?
For starters, it may be the unrealistic appeal of reality. In other words, the platform of these shows is so ridiculous that it blows our mind, beyond any understanding. Think about it, will YOU ever find love in a house of 20 sex-craved, alcohol-induced, fame-chasers? Better yet, will you ever put your partners through a series of physical challenges and contests to prove their affection? Call me crazy, but I have high doubts that the most sufficient place to look for love is in a fake mansion, surrounded by 20 competitors, who swap silava on weekly, if not daily basis. In otherwords, the entire foundation of the “search of love” is not exactly your common setting. Don’t get me wrong, I am well aware that these shows are created for purely entertainment purposes, but the deep portrayal of the search for geniune connection from these contestants hits far from home, and maybe that’s exactly why we watch it. Maybe, the idea of having over a dozen strangers fight for our attention is unrealistic, but it’s certainly something that none of us would say no to.
The second reason for staying loyal to these reality shows is the characters; the casting and editing of the shows is marvelous. Remember Daisy de la Hoya from Rock of Love 2, who later landed her own show Daisy of Love? She’s certainly one of my favorites. She was quite the controversial character on ROL2 and her personality is the reason why most people even bothered to watch the show in the first place. Same goes for New York from Flavor of Love; while she may not be the brightest crayon in the box, she’s lively, outrageous, and leaves you with your jaw dropped as soon as she sets foot through the door. These personalities are hard to ignore. You can love them or hate them, but you just can’t seem to take your eyes of them. In addition, through tears, fights, and romantic dates, week by week, we develop relationships with these characters. Whether we want to throw them off a cliff or make sweet love to them, it’s still a relationship of some sort; there’s still a sense of attachment. So chances are, if you began watching the show from episode one, you will watch it until the very reunion.
So what did we learn from these shows? Probably nothing, other than the fact that 12 Pack/Dave has been trying very hard to land his own show and by now, he truly deserves it. We also learned that Heather from Rock of Love 2 can easily kick some butt according to the reunion show; and we are still confused on whether or not Blonde Baller from Real Chance of Love 2 actually has a boyfriend in a different area code — although I’m sure we’ll find out the answer to that one next week. In either case, whether you love these shows or despise them, stay tunned because it’s certainly a great source of entertainment. While it may not make you the next Einstein, it is guaranteed to make you laugh!

Welcome to Write Now Shop!

Welcome to Write Now Shop — the place for discussions, questions, and answers. On this blog, I will try to address as many subjects of common interest as possible. The blogs will consist of everything from corrupt politics, to scandalous sex subjects, to environmental concerns, and even celebrity gossip. In other words, if you are interested in it, if you have a question about it, or if you’re simply at work trying to waste some time while reading about it, you’ve come to the right place. New blogs will be posted every 48 hours and the topics will always vary. If there’s something you’re interested in that hasn’t been discussed on the blog, send me an email and I’ll be sure to write about it. So follow the blog and be sure to check back frequently, because this is the place where everyone can find everything!