"Justice" in DC reply

I would like to salute Nick Nassar for his article in 1/30/01 Tech News for a couple or reasons: he could have thrown many red herrings in our faces, but he kept that to a minimum; he could have lashed out at President Bush and at him alone, but he did not. Nevertheless, several points in the article need to be refuted.

Personally, I'm a Republican, conservative, anti-PC, Rush Limbaugh kind of a guy, to an extent. However, I am not oblivious to the causes of Democrats, social rights groups, etc. I myself am a member of a minority, have been discriminated against, and have enjoyed several years of government assistance, which helped me get my footing in this country. I will attempt to address a couple of issues, which I believe most people accept as true and move on without considering them further.

"Texas executed more prisoners than any country in the world, … including a very disproportionately high number of poor and minorities." That's a speculation that tries to make us believe something that is not necessarily true. Here's another example: "In the State of Massachusetts, an overwhelming majority of people who own an automobile, have to pay $30 for inspection each year. Therefore, the State of Massachusetts is prejudiced against people with cars, or the system is flawed in some other way." If more poor people or members of minorities commit crimes, should not more of them be in jail? Since when being poor or a minority is an excuse for one's actions?

President Bush did claim to be a "uniter, not a divider." He did pick an overall conservative cabinet. The Democrats have been running this country for 8 years, and, quite honestly, have not done a good job at it (if good economy is your counter-argument, you are wrong: Bill Clinton did little to help, and economy is not the only factor by which an administration should be "graded"). So now, after having lost, they want Bush to give them key positions. Ridiculous! Not only do they want to remain in power, but also be able to hinder Bush's agenda. So, not giving in to wishes of Democrats is being a divider. Logical conclusion, isn't it? And I don't exactly appreciate the derogatory tone with which the phrase "conservative ideology" is brought across.

"[Police] were especially persistent in taking cardboard tubes from signs in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a black activist and journalist on death row." Whenever this subject is brought up, I tend to loose my temper. Mumia Abu-Jamal shot a cop in the back of his head. He and his brother then fled the scene. After his arrest and during the trial, neither he nor his brother testified in Mr. Abu-Jamal's defense; neither of them said he was innocent. Not a word! Yet he is probably the most recognized "prisoner of conscience" in the world. He has written at least 3 books while on death row. Most of Hollywood and countless civil rights groups have staged protest upon protest, demanding his freedom. Why?

There are three things that can be done now: you could reserve to name-calling; or, you could write a counter argument and send it to Tech News; or, you could realize that there's always another viewpoint and consider it.