Month: December 2005

Live from San Quentin, it’s the Tookie Williams show.

12:35 AM – Tookie declared dead.

12:39 AM – I’m watching live coverage from the prison, where media is set up in front of a podium and an 8 foot table where I’m guessing the witnesses will sit. Man, watching the camera guys and other various news folk makes me count my blessings that I never followed through with my dream to be a news god. Talk about boring! I feel for these people.

12:45 AM – Witnesses are led in. Speaking now. They’re describing what they saw.

12:47 AM – Witness says the execution didn’t actually begin until 12:22 AM.

12:48 AM – A couple of witnesses gave Tookie a ‘Black Power’ salute. As they left, they yelled out. News media says that’s the first time he ever heard an outbreak like that in the death chamber.

12:50 AM – Witness says the execution seemed like it took longer than it should. At one point, someone thought they heard Williams say, “Are you doing that right?”

12:51 AM – 36 minutes and 15 seconds from the time Williams walked into the death chamber alive to when he was declared dead.

12:53 AM – Williams’ family sat motionless until the very end, when the outburst occurred. Two women and one man were staring at Williams. At one moment they were praying, the next moment they were saluting Williams. He was trying to keep his head up as long as he could. The family was whispering words like “I love you” and “God Bless You”.

12:55 AM – Williams kept his glasses on during the execution process.

12:56 AM – First set of witnesses led out. Next set of 6 witnesses are led in and are now introducing themselves. Talking now. It took up to 18 minutes to get the IV into Williams. He was talking with the attendants during this time.

12:57 AM – Rita Cosby from MSNBC talking now. She says Williams died defiantly. He wouldn’t look at any members of the media for the first 8 minutes. Finally, he did turn his head and look around the room. 3 minutes after the lethal injection, his breathing slowed down dramatically.

12:58 AM – The family shouted, “The State of California just killed an innocent man!”

01:00 AM – More witnesses sharing their experience. Williams’ lawyers smiled periodically at him. He was speaking to the guards. He was somber. Williams’ family tried to talk with him, whispering words to him. As the process began Williams’ breathing was erratic, but later slowed down. Reporter from KNX radio looks shaken as he reads from his notes.

01:02 AM – At 12:13 AM, Williams was clearly exasperated at the length of time passing while prison officials attempt to insert the IV.

01:04 AM – Witness now saying that Williams appeared much older than recent published pictures suggest. He was shocked by the size of Williams and he thought that Williams was sticking his chest out, almost starring down the witnesses in the room.

01:06 AM – New witness claims Williams was extremely active. He says he felt physically ill while he watched the process. He says he had to continually remind himself of what Williams did, and it wasn’t easy to watch. After Williams was strapped in, one of the witnesses yelled out, “Tookie!”. Witness says Williams was a very big guy. He had obviously been working out quite a bit while in prison.

01:08 AM – Question from the assembled media – “Did Williams exhibit any remorse or any fear during the process?” All witnesses say “No.” Williams seemed frustrated more than anything else. Williams tried to intimidate, he tried to control the room. He was not resistant at all. His demeanor was like one who was trying to be proud. He was trying to keep his reputation intact.

01:11 AM – Witnesses leave. Another set of five witnesses now at the microphones, introducing themselves. More sharing. Experiences are very similar from other witnesses. Most of the words Williams was mouthing were inaudible.

01:14 AM – Witness says the most striking thing she saw was the struggle to find a vein to stick the IV. He was quite active. One of the attendants patted his hand on Williams’ chest.

01:18 AM – Yet another witness shares how extraordinary it was that the execution took so long. 10 minutes passed while everyone in attendance waited for an announcement that Williams had died. Question from the gallery – “What was the feeling in the room while everyone waited for the announcement that Williams was dead?” Witness says it was very silent, except for some mechanical noises. Finally, the reading of the death warrant and the time of death was sudden, loud and booming.

01:20 AM – More of the same stories being relayed.

01:22 AM – Final witnesses led out. Now arriving, the prison warden.

01:23 AM – Warden at the podium now, reading prepared statement. Williams spent his last moments meeting with his legal team, along with his visitors. Williams was transferred from visiting to the death ward at 6 PM PST. He refused food, but requested milk and water. He declined to seek a spiritual advisor.

01:25 AM – Warden outlining the “ritual” of what happens during the final hours before execution. Williams didn’t have an official last statement, but did pass along something to family members. Question from the gallery – “Was there anything abnormal about this execution, given the witnesses comments about a struggle to get the IV into Williams?” Warden says nothing was out of the ordinary, other than Williams suggesting to officials where they should place the needle.

01:27 AM – Warden leaves the stage, in the middle of a question from a member of the media.

01:28 AM – No other officials speaking, media now talking amongst themselves. Warden comes back to podium. Taking a few more questions. Funeral director will pick up the body. Warden is not aware of any funeral or service for Williams. For this Warden, Williams’ is the first California execution he’s witnessed.

01:30 AM – Warden says that Rev. Jesse Jackson spent a considerable amount of time with Williams. Warden leaves the stage. A new spokesman is talking now, explaining what security procedures were in effect before, during and after the execution.

The same questions are being asked over again by the media, so the event is essentially over. Justice has been served and I hope there can now be some sense of closure for the surviving family members. – Bill 1:34 AM PST 12/13/2005.

G’night Tookie.

MORE: From Schwarzenegger’s statement of decision (PDF)

Is Williams’ redemption complete and sincere, or is it just a hollow promise? Stanley Williams insists he is innocent, and that he will not and should not apologize or otherwise atone for the murders of the four victims in this case. Without an apology and atonement for these senseless and brutal killings there can be no redemption. In this case, the one thing that would be the clearest indication of complete remorse and full redemption is the one thing Williams will not do.

Clemency decisions are always difficult, and this one is no exception. After reviewing and weighing the showing Williams has made in support of his clemency request, there is nothing that compels me to nullify the jury’s decision of guilt and sentence and the many court decisions during the last 24 years upholding the jury’s decision with a grant of clemency.

Therefore, based on the totality of circumstances in this case, Williams’ request for clemency is denied.

Period.

Recent documents released to Republican aides to a special house committee investigating the federal response to Katrina contained emails from staff members to Governor Kathleen Blanco. The contents of the messages illustrate a paranoia among her staffers who were consumed by fears of Blanco not looking like a strong leader in the days just after the hurricane.

Trying to avoid a public relations disaster, aides to Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco fretted over her not appearing in charge after Hurricane Katrina hit, even worrying about her clothing, documents released Monday show. Thirteen pages of e-mails sent in the immediate days after the Aug. 29 storm also reflect the Blanco administration’s concerns over race relations _ specifically, the number of black victims leaving Louisiana to find shelter.

The dialog in this email is especially rich.

Aides also had concerns about Blanco’s physical appearance and discussed ways to make her look strong but compassionate. Their ideas, according to the e-mails, included having Blanco “put a few bags of ice in the hands of the citizens who need it” and stop “doing too many ‘first lady’ things.”

“Gov. Blanco might dress down a bit and look like she has rolled up her sleeves,” press consultant Kim Fuller of Witt Associates wrote in a Sept. 4 e-mail to aides including Bottcher, Mann and Kopplin. “I have some great Liz Claiborne sports clothes that look kind of Eddie Bauer, but with class, but would bring her down to level of getting to work.”

“She would look like a woman, but show she is MOVING MOUNTAINS,” Fuller wrote.

Style over substance. Sounds like the Democratic Party to me.

Catholics shall Limbo no more.

THE Pope is set to abolish the concept of Limbo, overturning a belief held by Roman Catholics since the Middle Ages.

Limbo has long been held to be the place where the souls of children go if they die before they can be baptised. However, a 30-strong international commission of theologians summoned by the late John Paul II last year to come up with a “more coherent and illuminating” doctrine in tune with the modern age is to present its findings to Pope Benedict XVI on Friday.

Ever since reading this story, I can’t get that silly “Limbo Rock” song outta my head. Here are the lyrics, in case you want to sing along.

‘Iraq The Model’ has updates and photos of democracy in action.

Others: Gateway Pundit |

For a second night, racial rioting has plagued the streets of Sydney, Australia. Dozens have been arrested, but police haven’t yet been able to quell the violence. Part of the problem has to do with the way individuals are inciting one another to continue rioting. Text messages sent by angry youths initiated the violence and the technology continues to be the used to encourage more people to join the fight.

According to New Zealand TV station TVNZ:

One (text message) congratulated Australians for the fight they put up against the Lebanese, but called for more attacks.
 
“We’ll show them! It’s on again Sunday,” the message said.
 
Another warned of retaliation from the Middle Eastern groups.
 
“The Aussies will feel the full force of the Arabs as one – `brothers in arms’ unite now…”, the message said.
 
Another called for “straight up WAR”.
 
“The leb’s/wogs won’t stand for this…”, it said.

Last night, a mob of 5,000 chased and bashed people of Middle Eastern appearance at Cronulla Beach, a hot spot for surfing. 

Prime Minister John Howard must get a handle on the situation as soon as possible. Australia doesn’t need to rival or best the recent riots in Paris.

Tim Blair blogs from Australia and provides updates here.

Video news report from Ynetnews (Israel)

I can’t believe ABC News had the guts to report this story.

Surprising levels of optimism prevail in Iraq with living conditions improved, security more a national worry than a local one, and expectations for the future high. An ABC News poll in Iraq, conducted with Time magazine and other media partners, includes some remarkable results: Despite the daily violence there, most living conditions are rated positively, seven in 10 Iraqis say their own lives are going well, and nearly two-thirds expect things to improve in the year ahead.

And then there’s this remarkable statistic:

Average household incomes have soared by 60 percent in the last 20 months (to $263 a month), 70 percent of Iraqis rate their own economic situation positively, and consumer goods are sweeping the country. In early 2004, 6 percent of Iraqi households had cell phones; now it’s 62 percent. Ownership of satellite dishes has nearly tripled, and many more families now own air conditioners (58 percent, up from 44 percent), cars, washing machines and kitchen appliances.

And on the political front:

Preference for a democratic political structure has advanced, to 57 percent of Iraqis, while support for an Islamic state has lost ground, to 14 percent (the rest, 26 percent, chiefly in Sunni Arab areas, favor a “single strong leader.”)

This positive news comes at a time when Americans are fatigued over the daily doses of negative news about car bombings, suicide bombers and the deaths of American soldiers. Yet on the eve of new elections, a majority of Iraqi people have a mindset of acceptance and the will to continue their forward movement toward a democracy.

Lets not forget that our troops are able to read, hear and view the same media we take in daily.

Conservatives need to fill their circles of influence with this positive news too. If we don’t, the disinformation of the MSM will continue to cast doubt about our mission, and our resolve will be weakened. The Bush administration needs to continue to remind Americans that good things are happening in Iraq, and that our soldiers are doing a great job which is producing strong positive results.

Others: | Captain’s Quarters – “A new poll by ABC/Time shows that the Iraqi polling numbers tossed around by Democrats for the past month in defense of their cut-and-run “strategy” were bald-faced lies.” |

Following up on a story from earlier in the week, a man has admitted that he put false information in a Wikipedia entry about John Seigenthaler Sr., as a prank. And what a prank it was. He’s now unemployed, and Wikipedia got whuped upside the head.

Brian Chase, 38, who until Friday was an operations manager at a small delivery company, told Seigenthaler on Friday that he had written the material suggesting that Seigenthaler had been involved in the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy. Wikipedia, a nonprofit venture that is the world’s biggest encyclopedia, is written and edited by thousands of volunteers.

Seigenthaler discovered the false entry only recently and wrote about it in an op-ed article in USA Today, saying he was especially annoyed that he could not track down the perpetrator because of Internet privacy laws. His plight touched off a debate about the reliability of information on Wikipedia–and by extension the entire Internet–and the difficulty in holding Web sites and their users accountable, even when someone is defamed.

In a confessional letter to Seigenthaler, Chase said he thought Wikipedia was a “gag” Web site and that he had written the assassination tale to shock a co-worker, who knew of the Seigenthaler family and its illustrious history in Nashville.

Ouch! Wikipedia, a “gag” website. I’m sure that makes the elitist wikigeeks feel good, especially after putting in 120 hours a week to police the online “gag” encyclopedia. Heh.

But Chase said that once he became aware last week through news accounts of the damage he had done to Seigenthaler, he was remorseful and also a little scared of what might happen to him.

Chase also found that he was slowly being cornered in cyberspace, thanks to the sleuthing efforts of Daniel Brandt, 57, of San Antonio, who makes his living as a book indexer. Brandt has been a frequent critic of Wikipedia and started an anti-Wikipedia Web site in September after reading what he said was a false entry about himself.

Using information in Seigenthaler’s article and some online tools, Brandt traced the computer used to make the Wikipedia entry to the delivery company in Nashville. Brandt called the company and told employees there about the Wikipedia problem but was not able to learn anything definitive.

Brandt then sent an e-mail message to the company, asking for information about its courier services. A response bore the same Internet Protocol address that was left by the creator of the Wikipedia entry, offering further evidence of a connection.

Whoa! Where was Brandt during Memogate?

Chase said that as Brandt and the news media were closing in and he realized how much he had hurt Seigenthaler, he decided that stepping forward was “the right thing to do.”

Meanwhile, the fate of Wikipedia remains in question.

Jimmy Wales, who founded Wikipedia, said that the site would make more information about users available to make it easier to lodge complaints. But he portrayed the error as something that fell through the cracks, not a sign of a systemic problem. “We have to continually evaluate whether our controls are enough,” he said.

Is Wikipedia ready for primetime? I’m still not convinced.

Stanley “Tookie” Williams being nominated five times for a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to quell gang violence and four times for a Nobel Prize in literature.

The Old Grey Lady is at it again. In a world where anything and everything she disagrees with is Bush’s fault, the most prominent newspaper in the United States takes aim at the commander in chief and blames him for the impending death of New Orleans.

The editorial for this eleventh day of December tries to disguise itself as a statement of concern over the fate of the Big Easy. Even the headline, “Death of an American City” attempts to reach out and grab at the heart of the reader, immediately setting him off into an emotional state whereby no logic can survive. Yet this opinion piece isn’t about saving New Orleans. It’s about hating President Bush and blaming him, not Louisiana government, for failing to lead.

We are about to lose New Orleans. Whether it is a conscious plan to let the city rot until no one is willing to move back or honest paralysis over difficult questions, the moment is upon us when a major American city will die, leaving nothing but a few shells for tourists to visit like a museum.

We said this wouldn’t happen. President Bush said it wouldn’t happen. He stood in Jackson Square and said, “There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans.” But it has been over three months since Hurricane Katrina struck and the city is in complete shambles.

At this moment the reconstruction is a rudderless ship. There is no effective leadership that we can identify. How many people could even name the president’s liaison for the reconstruction effort, Donald Powell? Lawmakers need to understand that for New Orleans the words “pending in Congress” are a death warrant requiring no signature.

The rumbling from Washington that the proposed cost of better levees is too much has grown louder. Pretending we are going to do the necessary work eventually, while stalling until the next hurricane season is upon us, is dishonest and cowardly. Unless some clear, quick commitments are made, the displaced will have no choice but to sink roots in the alien communities where they landed.

The real agenda for the New York Times is to press its anti-war passiveness by aligning the death of New Orleans with their perceived failure of the War in Iraq. By playing a game of ‘if onlys’, the Times position is this – if Bush wouldn’t have taken the U.S. to war with Iraq, New Orleans would be a glowing city on a hill in a bowl.

The price tag for protection against a Category 5 hurricane, which would involve not just stronger and higher levees but also new drainage canals and environmental restoration, would very likely run to well over $32 billion. That is a lot of money. But that starting point represents just 1.2 percent of this year’s estimated $2.6 trillion in federal spending, which actually overstates the case, since the cost would be spread over many years. And it is barely one-third the cost of the $95 billion in tax cuts passed just last week by the House of Representatives.

Total allocations for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on terror have topped $300 billion. All that money has been appropriated as the cost of protecting the nation from terrorist attacks. But what was the worst possible case we fought to prevent?

Losing a major American city.

Doesn’t it sound like the Times is trying to link New Orleans to the tragedy of 9/11? Yep, sure does.

“We’ll not just rebuild, we’ll build higher and better,” President Bush said that night in September. Our feeling, strongly, is that he was right and should keep to his word. We in New York remember well what it was like for the country to rally around our city in a desperate hour. New York survived and has flourished. New Orleans can too.

The New York Times thinks Bush doesn’t want to help New Orleans. If you didn’t know better they’d have you believe that Bush outright lied on the night he spoke to his fellow Americans, and that he really wants to do everything in his power to permanently drown the city and it’s inhabitants.

But they don’t stop there. The editorial goes on and puts the screws to America itself. The Times tries to impart a strange sort of guilt by association implication on the rest of us by saying, “Maybe America doesn’t want to rebuild New Orleans”. If that’s the case, the Times suggest that we all look New Orleans in the eye and tell her so. By using this tactic, The New York Times attempts to put Americans in the role of the cold hearted family member who quickly decides that it would be easiest to simply remove life support from their sibling in order to ease their suffering.

If the rest of the nation has decided it is too expensive to give the people of New Orleans a chance at renewal, we have to tell them so. We must tell them we spent our rainy-day fund on a costly stalemate in Iraq, that we gave it away in tax cuts for wealthy families and shareholders. We must tell them America is too broke and too weak to rebuild one of its great cities.

Our nation would then look like a feeble giant indeed. But whether we admit it or not, this is our choice to make. We decide whether New Orleans lives or dies.

So, there you have it America. Your friends at the New York Times say “go ahead, pull that plug and live with the fact that you and your nasty evil president killed the Big Easy!”

Could state and local government take the lion share of blame for lacking effective leadership in the three months that have passed since Hurricane Katrina? Absolutely, yet The Old Grey Lady decides instead to convict the president of murdering New Orleans, proving once more that its opinion makers are nothing more than Bush hating liberals. The New York Times should have done the right thing and reserved its criticism for those who deserve much more editorial real estate – Governor Kathleen Blanco, Senator Mary Landrieu, Senator David Vitter, and most importantly, Mayor Ray Nagin.