Things That Obama Has Gotten Wrong
Recent announcements of positions by Obama strike me as sometimes passable and at others wrong. I focus here on two of the latter:
1) Most civilized countries have now abolished the death penalty for good moral and pragmatic reasons. Too many innocents are executed. Wrong doers are all too likely to kill their victims to avoid detection (e.g. a child rapist for which Obama recommends the penalty). The death penalty costs far more than simply life without parole -- monies that could be better used, etc.
2) I grew up in the country with five guns in our home along with an handgun which a cop had given my father with which a murder had been committed. No way is owning a gun a right. It is a privilege which must be earned in several critical ways. Not the least of these is training in using guns along the lines of the requirements for a driver's license. And there is no reason why cities should not be able to restrict such weapons in the public interest. If one wants to use attack weapons, one can join the military.
I will wait and see on the use of religious organizations as non governmental agencies. We may need such, given our horrendous national financial situation.
And there are better ways to control communication operations than ex post facto prosecutions. Military requirements sometimes use prerogative to get a critical threat resolved. I don't know exactly where we are going to draw the lines with the new phenomenon of terrorist.
I support Obama's election, but will criticize when he gets things wrong, as I hope other supporters will do.
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PrivacyRights
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1) Most civilized countries have now abolished the death penalty for good moral and pragmatic reasons. Too many innocents are executed. Wrong doers are all too likely to kill their victims to avoid detection (e.g. a child rapist for which Obama recommends the penalty). The death penalty costs far more than simply life without parole -- monies that could be better used, etc.
2) I grew up in the country with five guns in our home along with an handgun which a cop had given my father with which a murder had been committed. No way is owning a gun a right. It is a privilege which must be earned in several critical ways. Not the least of these is training in using guns along the lines of the requirements for a driver's license. And there is no reason why cities should not be able to restrict such weapons in the public interest. If one wants to use attack weapons, one can join the military.
I will wait and see on the use of religious organizations as non governmental agencies. We may need such, given our horrendous national financial situation.
And there are better ways to control communication operations than ex post facto prosecutions. Military requirements sometimes use prerogative to get a critical threat resolved. I don't know exactly where we are going to draw the lines with the new phenomenon of terrorist.
I support Obama's election, but will criticize when he gets things wrong, as I hope other supporters will do.
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CollegeConversation
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PeaceEfforts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EndingPoverty
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/440neighborhood
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StudentConcerns
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AcademicFreedom
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PrivacyRights
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Israel_Palestine
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FindingHumaneJobs
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OurStupidEconomy
http://BlogByEdKent.blogspot.com/
http://www.bloggernews.net
posted by Ed Kent at 7:30 AM
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