Thursday, September 30, 2004

The Memory Hole

For all Bush's talk about appreciating the sacrifice of the military,
For all his talk about sending the right messages to troops,

Why didn't he attended a single funeral or memorial of soldiers killed in action during his presidency?

The Bush administration also ended the practice of providing homecoming ceremonies for deceased soldiers and banned media coverage of their arrivals, policies which were only fully enforced when the war in Iraq began. Bush's predecessors had attended the ceremonies of the dead brought to military bases including Dover Air Base. The photos of the flag-draped coffins were released last spring after a Freedom of Information Act request and several court appeals.

If the public supports the war and trusts the president's leadership, there would be no need to hide the consequences of defending our country, least of all the images of a noble commemoration of soldiers.

Friday, September 10, 2004

Beheading the French Way

By guillotine of course.

On this day in 1977, France executed Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian immigrant convicted of murder and torture. He was the last person to be executed by the blade.

France did not abolish capital punishment until 1981.

Via the Jurist.