Oregon, My Oregon

Vicky Taft at PJ Media chronicles Oregon's Governor's Last Act of Political Sabotage

The timing of Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s announcement on the death penalty is quite, ah, interesting. The message it sends is even more damning.

The governor just abolished the death penalty by fiat. She didn’t ask voters. She didn’t talk to victims. One of her last acts as governor was a throat strike to victims.

Though Kate Brown has spent her years in office winnowing down the number of death row inmates from 34 to 17 and releasing violent murderers and rapists from prison, she chose this week to abolish the death penalty entirely in Oregon and “dismantle” a death chamber in Oregon that hasn’t been used in decades. And here’s why: she’s bugging out of office in mere days and handing over this time bomb to the newest woke governor to deal with. She did all of it without the consent of Oregon voters.

In her Twitter announcement — yes, that’s how she announced the unprecedented and controversial move — Brown spewed a giant word salad saying several things at once.

• Oregon’s justice is unfair.
• Death penalties don’t work.
• The state shouldn’t kill people.
• Prison rehabilitates.
• Death row prisoners whose sentences I’m commuting haven’t been rehabilitated.
• We don’t use it.
• It’s dysfunctional because we don’t use it.
• The death penalty does not make us safer.

Stone-cold killer Gary Haugen is among those presumably being put back into general population since death row has been abolished. He was imprisoned after he murdered his girlfriend’s mom and then given a death sentence when he killed another inmate. He wanted to be executed in 2011 when it was scheduled, but Oregon’s woke governor told him no; they’d keep him alive to show how tolerant they were, so there. Judges the governor appointed agreed to keep him alive.
. . .
Oregon voters have never voted to get rid of the death penalty. Indeed, they voted for it again in 1984. Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp told KOIN6 News that he must have missed the part where voters repealed it.

“Did the people of Oregon vote to end the death penalty? I don’t recall that happening,” he said. “This is another example of the Governor and the Democrats not abiding by the wishes of Oregonians. Even in the final days of her term, Brown continues to disrespect victims of the most violent crimes.”

1984? We left in 1983. I don't recall much debated about the death penalty at the time, although, even by then the practice was all but abandoned, although if a Californian had committed a murder they might have carried it out. There's really no excuse for not bringing it up for an initiative since then. I don't doubt it would pass, though. They continue to vote poorly. 

Electoral Politics on a Snowy Morning

Kind of a slow, snowy Sunday morning. We got about 3 inches in the "Blizzard" of 2022 as it seems to be getting billed in the press. Then it got really cold. A good day to curl up and warm yourself by the internet. So what's keeping us hot today? Nice Deb at Am Great on how the Pennsylvania Court Finds State’s Mail-in Voting Law Unconstitutional. Jazz Shaw at Haut Hair, Pennsylvania's mail-in voting law runs into problems from lawsuit. At Insty, Sarah Hoyt has a message TO ALL THE COURTS WHO REFUSED TO HEAR LAWSUITS UNTIL THE FRAUSIDENT WAS SWORN IN: Pennsylvania Court Finds State’s Mail-in Voting Law Unconstitutional.

We will not forget. That’s all. When you go to bed at night, or get up in the morning, remember: Americans remember. Your deeds won’t be forgotten. They also betray who refuse to stop a soft coup.

Michael Barone,  Voters Oppose 'Transformative' Policies, Want Reform of Dysfunctional Bureaucracies. And courts. Mark Tapscott at Insty, A THIRD AS MANY ‘VERY HAPPY’ AMERICANS AFTER YEAR OF BIDEN: "No, it’s not a push poll, it’s the latest data from the General Social Survey that finds only 19 percent of Americans describe themselves as “very happy” in 2021, compared to 31 percent back when that Trump guy was in the White House." At Town Hall, Ken Blackwell says Biden and His Clown Car Have Failed America!. Invoking the bridge collapse in Pisttsbught, Roger Kimball at Am Great, says there are Bad Portents for Biden, "Joe Biden came to town bearing a double-decker ice-cream smile. He likely will leave like Xerxes—confused, battered, alone." Nick Arama at Red State asserts How Manchin Is Greeted Back in West Virginia Shows What Americans Truly Think. I think that's going a little to far; Americans are varied lot, but it certainly reflects what Joe Manchin's state thinks on average.

More from Sarah Hoyt NAH. THEY KNOW THAT WON’T WORK:  James Carville To Democrats: Ditch The Radical Left If You Want To Win Any More Elections. . . . The soft left is also done. In Europe, here, everywhere. The masks are off, and we’ve seen what they are." AllahPundit at Haut Hair upbeat  when Bill Maher says The left has gone mental and it's turned me into a hero to Fox News. at Da Blaze, 'Liberals have their head up their a**': Bill Maher trashes leftists by saying they have 'gone mental,' blasts members of the 'Squad' "Now, some people think this means I've changed. I assure you, I have not," Maher declared. "I am still the same unmarried, childless, pot-smoking libertine I always was." At Based Politics, Ira Glasser On Bill Maher: Ex-ACLU Head Blasts Org's 'Partisan' Decline ‘They’ve Become Partisan’  Former ACLU Head Blasts Org’s Decline Away From Championing Free Speech. Another fine example of O'Sullivan's Law.

NewsMax claims McCarthy Reportedly Turns to Gingrich for 2022 Midterm Strategy. He could do worse, and still may. John Sexton at Haut Hair points out After years of complaining about 'dark money' in politics, Democratic groups outspent the GOP in 2020. Where are the news articles? It's only bad when Republicans do it. Also from Nick Arama, NYT Goes Full-Bore Delusional Explaining How Biden Attacking Doocy Was 'Feel-Good Moment.' He could have put the period after "Delusional."

On J6 matters, the WaPoo whines that Trump suggests that if he is reelected, he will pardon Jan. 6 Capitol rioters, on Da Hill, Trump says he'll treat Jan. 6 rioters 'fairly' if reelected: 'If it requires pardons, we will give them pardons'. Don't make me remind you of all the leftist domestic terrorists Democrats have pardoned. Althouse sees 2 almost-promises candidate Trump made at his rally yesterday in Conroe, Texas.

The one that's getting press is pardons for at least some of "those people from January 6th":
. . .
The one I'm not seeing, but I heard and would quote if I had a transcript, is that he will rehire all the military people who were let go because they were not vaccinated. And he supports backpay.

Also atop Da Hill, Youngkin sparks Democratic backlash in Virginia. WaPoo, More than half of Virginia school districts are defying Youngkin’s mask-optional order. Nice of Democrats to stake their fortunes on keeping kids in face diapers forever. I suspect is play well in Fairfax, but not Peoria. At DNYUZ, Virginia Republicans push for changes in marijuana law "Those changes could include moving up the start date for retail sales and getting rid of a provision that would give licensing preference to people who have been convicted of marijuana crimes." Yeah, OK I guess. At PJ Media Megan Fox, Loudoun County Rapist Who 'Scares' Judge Will Not Have to Register as a Sex Offender. Again, I favor letting young people get past their early mistakes, but would he be treated the same if he'd raped her in a MAGA hat, and not a skirt?

The furor over Justice Breyers conditional "resignation" has calmed down a bit. WaPoo, White House pushes back after Republican senator says Supreme Court pick will be ‘beneficiary’ of affirmative action. At Am Think Clarice thinks (no not yet), The Democrats Make Their Own Racism Explicit. Althouse reads that the NYT says that "Black women in the legal community are bracing for the possibility that the yet-to-be-named nominee will be judged unfairly as an affirmative action appointment."

Second: Ms. Profit's statement doesn't make sense. The nominee will almost certainly be "qualified, prepared and ready" and "ab[le] to serve," but that won't negate the fact that that she "only got this because she was a Black woman." We know from Biden's express commitment that only black women will be considered. If this person who becomes the nominee were not a black woman, then it is plainly the case that she would not have received the nomination. Is the problem that "people are going to say" what is obviously true? Why can't we say it? Is it a secret? Is it shameful? But Biden is openly saying it, and as I've spelled out in the previous paragraph, you need to decide whether you are pro-affirmative action or not.
. . .
The Justices on the Supreme Court — now, and after one is replaced by a new one who will be a black woman — are good enough but presumably not the best. Surely, the best never even make the short list. How could they? They can't — and shouldn't — fit the needs of the President.

Agreed; besides, "best" is different for different people, presumably "besr" for Biden requires the next justice being a black female (with no pronouns). 

Jack Shafer at Politico opines Let’s Be Real: The Supreme Court Is Political and Always Has Been. At Town Hall, Landon Mion watches the View so you don't have to, 'The View' Host Says a Black Woman Who Graduated from Harvard and Harvard Law Is 'Overqualified' for SCOTUS. Fine, don't let Biden appoint one. Besides, Harvard and Yale are overrepresented on the court. Sarah Hoyt again, I’VE ALSO BEEN ACCUSED OF THIS TREASON: ‘The View’ Smears Justices Clarence Thomas and ACB, Accuses Them of Being Race, Gender Traitors.

How can you betray something you’re born with? Does anyone sane swear allegiance to their sexual organs or their skin color? What kind of derangement even causes people to utter such bizarre nonsense. You what what The View needs? Thorazine. Lots of Thorazine.

Rick Moran at PJ Media on why The Cancel Mob Comes for Prominent Conservative Legal Analyst (Ilya Shapiro) over his comments on the new pick. 

Shapiro gave them all the ammo they needed in a series of tweets on the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer and Biden’s pledge to name a black woman to the high court. Shapiro is a fierce foe of affirmative action and let Biden have it with both barrels.

WaPoo admits the obvious as it looks Inside the campaign to pressure Justice Stephen Breyer to retire,  "The Supreme Court justice’s decision to step down followed an extraordinary campaign designed to pressure him to retire and make way for a new nominee to be named by a Democratic president."

David von Drehle at WaPoo opines If the Supreme Court ever abolishes the death penalty, we must thank Justice Breyer. Or blame. I'm generally not a strong death penalty proponent, but I think it should be preserved for the worst cases. 

Git 'er Done

Stacy McCain on the "Botched" Execution of Joseph Rudolf Wood III:

Yesterday, reacting to the botched lethal-injection execution of an Arizona murderer, I said: “Bring Back the Firing Squad. . . . It was good enough for Gary Gilmore.” And most people probably thought, “Hahaha. Stacy’s just being sarcastic again.” Well, guess what? A federal appeals court judge had made basically the same argument:

“Using drugs meant for individuals with medical needs to carry out executions is a misguided effort to mask the brutality of executions by making them look serene and beautiful — like something any one of us might experience in our final moments,” U.S. 9th Circuit Court Chief Judge Alex Kozinski wrote in a dissent in the Arizona death penalty case of Joseph Rudolph Wood III.
“But executions are, in fact, brutal, savage events, and nothing the state tries to do can mask that reality. Nor should we. If we as a society want to carry out executions, we should be willing to face the fact that the state is committing a horrendous brutality on our behalf.” . . .

Read the whole thing. My attitude about the death penalty is basically the same as my attitude about war: Git ‘er done.

A hard war makes for a long peace. War by half-measures, hemmed in by political concerns and fears of offending delicate sensibilities, can never accomplish war’s purpose, i.e., to defeat the enemy and force his submission. We ought not deceive ourselves about what war is.

Executions, like abortions, should be safe (for the bystanders and mothers), legal and rare. They should only be used where guilt has been established to a near statistical certainty (let's say p < 0.0001), since nothing is absolute, and after extensive review of the evidence. And only for certain especially heinous murders.

The recent rash of "botched" executions I lay at the feet of death penalty opponents. Humans are, if nothing else, remarkably able to kill other human beings.  The experimental drug cocktails being used now and producing the "botched" executions are being used because opponents of the death penalty put pressure on drug manufacturers and doctors not to participate, forcing states to go to untried cocktails.

I don't consider this execution "botched". A bit drawn out, perhaps, but there is no credible evidence of any pain or even awareness on the part of Joseph Rudolf Wood III. Inconvenient for the participants and bystander, perhaps, but not botched.

Want a killing drug that causes no pain?  Heroin.  Lot's of people die of heroin overdoses, and more than a few have been saved by interventions, and as far as I know no one has ever complained about how painful it is. Feel good, nod off, the end.