Category: society

Drones and civilian deaths

Posted on October 23, 2013 by - human rights, politics, society

I’m just shaking my head…

“Actually, IDGAS how many. Killing potential enemies is messy”

That was a facebook comment in response to my current animation about human rights groups challenging the Obama Administration over the number of civilian deaths due to drone strikes.  Ok, so even if one can’t feel simple human compassion for the deaths of non-Americans, I can’t understand how these people don’t see the impact these strikes have on our standing in the international community.  Seems like it would just make the job of “killing potential enemies” harder.BruisedLiberty

The World of Justice Scalia

Posted on October 8, 2013 by - free speech, human rights, politics, society, womens issues

Here’s a well-informed Supreme Court Justice of the United States.  According to a New York Magazine article, Justice Scalia only reads The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times.  He admits he gets most of his news from talk radio and his favorite host is Bill Bennett.Scalia

*update: Be sure to read Justice Scalia’s answer to why he became an avid hunter.  Scalia recounts when his grandfather and namesake Antonino became too old to go out into the woods, he would sit on the back porch and shoot rabbits who ventured out in the vegetable garden.  When the interviewer suggests this isn’t a very sporting way to hunt, Scalia excuses it because his grandfather was 85 at the time.  I wonder if Justice Scalia will be metaphorically shooting defenseless things from the Court bench in his old age…

*update #2: “… the only heroic opinion I ever issued— was my statement refusing to recuse”,  Justice Scalia said of his decision not to recuse himself from the case which involved former Vice-president Cheney, his hunting buddy.  If I can find the cartoon I did about that case, I’ll post it soon.

Found it!  From 2004:ScaliaResponseRecusalSM

Another mass shooting- this time in Washington, DC

Posted on September 17, 2013 by - human rights, politics, society

Another mass shooting in the United States.  If I sound weary, it’s because I am.  Although it’s early and details about the shooter are still emerging, the common ingredients are all there: easy access to guns, previous gun-related arrests, the powerful gun lobby, mental illness, and  violent video games.  Here’s a graphic reflecting who commits these mass shootings from Mother Jones:Screen shot 2013-09-17 at 6.37.41 AMI guess they forgot to include a graphic showing the male/female ratio.