Condign Punishment

Brother Bill opines re the BTK killer that:

Personally, I think we should be reading in the news that he "tried to escape" whereby he grabbed a gun from a guard, saw no way out, and shot himself in the head...five or six times.

Bill is showing his compassionate side. What he suggests would actually be kinder than what Rader deserves.

PC "Journalism"

How's this for an amazing piece of media America-bashing? In an article on an elderly woman's birthday in Amsterdam, Reuters seizes the opportunity to shoehorn into the story a ludicrously irrelevant swipe at the U.S., from the 19th century, no less:

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch woman who swears by a daily helping of herring for a healthy life celebrated her 115th birthday on Wednesday as the oldest living person on record.

Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, a former needlework teacher, was born in 1890, the year Sioux Indians were massacred by the U.S. military at the Battle of Wounded Knee.

The passionate soccer fan celebrated her birthday in a nursing home in the northern Dutch town of Hoogeveen.

It's a classic specimen of a PC social announcement, one which will be taught at journalism schools to future generations of journalistic novices eager to learn how it's done. Thanks for the tip to Jonah at The Corner.

Despite the utter dopiness exhibited by the writer of the piece, it does inspire one to consider a possible career as a composer of such announcements for Reuters. It seems like easy money. Here are a few of our practice efforts in case they ask to see a resumè of our work:

Joe and Flora Dillone will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on July 6th. They were married exactly one month before American planes, without warning, dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan incinerating 150,000 people in seconds. The Dillones have six children and twenty grand and great-grandchildren.

Frank Standish will be retiring this month from New Tool and Die works of Smithville, PA. Mr. Standish has been with the company for thirty seven years starting as an apprentice in 1968 shortly after U.S. troops under Lt. William Calley massacred 128 civilian Vietnamese at a village named My Lai in a typical act of American savagery during that war.

The Upper River High School class of 2000 will be holding their fifth year class reunion next week to celebrate the anniversary of their graduation in a year fraught with historical significance. It was in that year Republican George Bush, guided by the shadowy, Rasputin-like figure of Karl Rove, stole a national presidential election from Democrat Al Gore who actually had more votes than did Bush.

You get the idea. I bet we'd win the job if we applied.

Here's One To Watch

China's CNOOC, the third largest petroleum company in China (and state owned) wants to buy UNOCAL, a petroleum company in California, in an effort, no doubt, to secure oil reserves to fuel their burgeoning economy. Chevron Corp. has offered $16 billion for UNOCAL and CNOOC has offered $18 billion.

Some congressmen see this as a threat to our national security (sadly, only 40 of them.).

This is creating a dilemma that I knew would occur eventually and the implications could be huge. What we have here is a nation that has accepted US dollars in transactions for goods and services. The US dollar is a promise to pay and lawful tender for all debts public and private. In other words, as declared by the issuing country, these dollars cannot be refused.

In a capitalist economy, the shareholders of UNOCAL are entitled to receive the best offer for the company maximizing the value of their shares.

If it is the case that CNOOC (China) is not allowed to buy UNOCAL, China will undoubtedly question the benefit of holding so many US dollars as the purchasing power of this "money" appears to be limited.

A case can be made that there appears to be double standard regarding the true convertibility of US dollars into wealth. If China comes to this conclusion, it could have a major impact on all things economic in this country as the inflow of dollars from China are largely responsible for keeping our economy afloat.

Read more at the link.