Though I'm an old fart who's seen many things, I've never actually witnessed the violent death of another human being. I've seen its immediate aftermath a few times. It stays with you forever. I remember going with my father for some reason to the south side Bethlehem home of a man who killed his son in a rage. Blood was everywhere, along with cockroaches crawling up and down walls and along the floor as women wailed. It stays with you. It changes you. It is why I believe most combat veterans are so unwilling to discuss their experience. It changes the murderer, too. I've seen it in their eyes, if I look long enough. The warm light of humanity flickers and then is gone. What's left is death.
As I'm sure most of you know, the US military plans to livestream the firing squad execution of a mass murderer who himself was an Army psychiatrist. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended this, saying it is a way to restore American values. I believe it erodes them and debases us, not just as Americans, but as human beings.
Hopefully, President Donald Trump will stop this madness. I'm not holding my breath.
In February of 1968, during the Vietnam War conflict, the Saigon Execution of a captured Viet Cong operative was photographed being shot in the head on a Saigon Street. Few will forget seeing it on television. The photographer captured the very moment the bullett entered his head. The images shocked the public, and fueled protests, but here is why Trump wants it public: the photos won the photojournalist a Pulitzer Prize in 1969….This president has a fetish on winning prizes by any means.
ReplyDeleteThis is not a foreign combatant. This is a US soldier - an officer - who betrayed his oath and murdered his fellow US soldiers who weren’t even armed.
DeleteI have no problem watching justice finally being served.
Unlike the Left, who will be focusing on the murderer who is finally being executed after 17 years, I’ll be remembering his victims.
These morons (Tump, Hegseth) think this is tough guy shit. They think it will deter other terrorist from doing similar things. But it will just be used as a recruitment tool, it will serve to radicalize more of them and elevate the status the terrorist they are executing into a martyr. It will only serve as propaganda for our enemies , and it will endanger more U.S. citizens and soldiers.
ReplyDeleteBINGO!!!!
DeleteBINGO!!!
DeleteThis is the dumbest point ever!
Delete1). Remember how we didn’t fight the Nazis or the Japanese in WWII so we wouldn’t upset them?
2). This is an execution of a US soldier who betrayed his country, committed murder, and was tried in a US Military Court. It is not the execution of a foreign combatant.
Sorry to let facts get in the way of your asinine point.
Trump and his administration have done everything they possible could to cheapen humanity. They gutted education, healthcare, and every social service we have and pitted us against each other. The only people who benefitted were the mega rich. This country went to hell in a hand basket in a blink of the eye. Pathetic is all I can say.
ReplyDeleteTalk about an exaggeration LOL. Letting a temporary increase in Medicaid funding due to COVID, expire isn’t gutting anything. Education? Please give us some details because I have noticed no cuts at my school district. Work requirements for some benefits, I wouldn’t call that “gutting”. 4.2% unemployment we shouldn’t have 40 million ppl on food stamps.
DeleteYour school taxes will sky rocket due to the cuts in education. Love that for you! Millions are being kicked off Medicaid. My Mom's supplemental pharmaceutical insurance just went from $20 per month to 123. And with all the corporate welfare and not paying people enough to live is a cause for so many people to be able to collect. Are you obstinate or just stupid???
DeleteThe solution is DON’T TUNE IN ! I won’t be watching. My thoughts are mostly with the dozens on that military base who were slaughtered by that monster. The look in their eyes would not have been pleasant, either.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that social media also is pushing this Muslim threat thing and equating this execution as a signal to Islam, I would wonder if this would be used if this was an ordinary mass murderer.
ReplyDeleteWill we soon go to drawing and quartering or other more violent public displays? It is just another step backward in an era of frustration.
this muslim threat thing that you mention is real. I have seen what they can do to innocent civilian men, women and children. It's not pretty
DeletetRump will be selling all of his hats, watches, phones and anything else in his closet to make a quick buck! Insanity!
ReplyDeleteThis is actually a great idea. I hope they do have a way to raise money and donate it to the families of this murderer’s victims.
DeleteIt won’t replace a mother or father who was murdered, but it might help with some of the expenses (college, mortgages, etc) that many have had to face alone.
And if the need no longer exists for these specific victims, I’d be happy to see any funds raised going to similar programs to benefit other families who have lost a service member in action.
Beware the rabid dog in the pentagon.
ReplyDeleteHiding state execution behind a curtain doesn’t make it any less humane than a public one. The difference between a violent, public execution and a private, peaceful one is the unmistakable deterrence that comes from the act itself.
ReplyDeleteLastly, most of us are done feeling sorry for murders, so if victims are not granted a peaceful death, why should these monsters be subject to one?
“I would to God that one of the most attrocious in each State was hung in Gibbets, up on a gallows five times as high as the one prepared by Haman—No punishment, in my opinion, is too great for the Man, who can build ‘his greatness upon his Country’s ruin.’” -George Washington
Certain Crimes deserve public execution for the benefit of everybody
ReplyDeleteToo bad we can't execute this fake blog.
ReplyDeleteGo away, Tricia.
DeleteLOL
DeleteI’m offended.
ReplyDeleteI’m offended that it takes 17 years to put a mass-murdering traitor to death.
I’m offended that so many of those clutching their pearls over this execution being live-streamed are mostly silent while Charlie Kirk’s assassination still gets played over and over on the internet.
I’m offended that some of the loudest voices against this execution being publicly televised are the same ones that are constantly trying to undermine our legal system by defunding the police and allowing criminals to walk free.
Most of all, I’m offended that people that SHOULD know better continually fall for and parrot the daily lies of the left.
In fact, I’m so offended that when I watch justice finally being done on December 3rd, I might only have 1 bag of popcorn during the broadcast.
If you can’t handle watching justice being served, watch something else.
Noi wrong again it will strengthen humanity
ReplyDeleteYou are a fool
DeleteI have slowly moved to thinking the government should not have the death penalty. But if we do have it, I think it should be available to any citizens that wish to view it. Why hidden? I think it is a terrible burden to place on the execution team alone.
ReplyDeleteAs repugnant as this execution may seem, we were forced to watch our president get shot and the assassination of Charlie Kirk on tv as well as multiple people mock it, so turn the tv off if you don’t want to see justice served. Let’s not forget the horror of what that terrorist did to our troops and one woman’s unborn baby.
ReplyDeleteWho forced you?
DeleteThere is not one Hans Christian Anderson in Congress or the Administration that will tell the current orange Emperor has no clothes.
ReplyDeleteThe Orange Man Bad won every single swing and contested state, the vaunted Blue Wall, the Electoral College and the popular vote.
DeleteYou’re delusional, get professional help.
It's curious that this execution seems your last straw on respect for human life. In a country that countenances 1.1 million abortions per year, and targeting of those abortions at minority populations, any thought of cheapening life is long gone. Massachusetts permits abortion until the moment of birth. Demonic women celebrated amid tears of joy. Protestors turned a mother who strangled her three children into a feminist hero who essentially performed a "fourth term" abortion. Same thing happened with a guy in NYC who killed in cold blood a father and husband because he worked for an evil healthcare company. Charlie Kirk was executed on TV and many celebrated, including a hateful NorCo council twit who opined that the widow and her kids would be better off without their husband and father. Those of us who are truly "pro-life" stand opposed to abortion, capital punishment and starting wars, most of which have been waged under false premises, if not complete lies. Those who favor executions should be forced to watch it with their children. Same with those who champion abortion and war.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the increase in maternal deaths since they made abortion illegal? Abortion is healthcare but you refuse to accept that. Look up ectopic pregnancy.
DeleteThe amount of stupid people here is astounding.
Live, pay-per-view from the White House lawn: a televised execution produced by Trump Media.
ReplyDeleteLive pay-per-view execution from the White House lawn. Produced by Trump Media.
ReplyDeleteThe decision to livestream an execution is a break from ordinary humanity. The killer is certainly inhumane, and perhaps the execution is inhumane, itself. But livestreaming is a form of blood lust that is at least one step beyond what we should expect from our leaders. Don't watch isn't the answer. It's not a "them" problem, if we accept it, it's an "us" problem.
ReplyDeleteI want the t-shirt concession
ReplyDeletetRUMP/hegseth - 2 bullies getting off on this
ReplyDeleteThey probably both take testosterone and need loads of erectile dysfunction meds!!!
DeleteI expect most every major leftwing news outlets will mention the event after the execution is completed. Within that story, they will include a single, still frame view with an arrow to link directly to a complete moving video of the whole thing (with the usual, but not serious) warning. Hypocrites as usual. Clicks are very important, don’t you know.
ReplyDeleteIt's horrible. To those on the right: WWJD? To those on the left, you lost your say by supporting abortion until birth. If you oppose premeditated murder for any reason, you are more evolved than almost everyone and may comment without being a hypocrite.
ReplyDeleteIt shows that as a society we are less. It does cheapen us. It makes us less of what we could be, and should be. Should we celebrate the taking of God’s gift, life? Of course not. But the man committed a horrific crime and took lives himself. Will the families of those who lost loved ones feel better if this is published? I don’t know.
ReplyDeleteWe are not celebrating the taking of a life. He forfeited that life when he committed his crime. I am fine with watching justice being served.
DeleteI'll start by saying this: The hyperbolic bravado of Hegseth and Trump is hot air that is diverting energy and attention from what this country actually needs.
ReplyDeleteThat out of the way, I support capital punishment, and I believe it should be public. Executions are the strongest form of justice and this should be handled solemnly and without trying to sugar coat it. Two forms of executions should exist: hanging and firing squad. The former for the general population, the latter for military or official crimes. Both should be publicly viewable. Not for "vengeance" or entertainment, but as a reminder of the stakes of justice and cost of civilization. It also gives the condemned a chance to publicly atone for their crimes. In this sense, the "pay per view" style publicity that Hegseth is putting on cheapens the entire affair.
We are all Barbarians. Few of us possess the warm light of humanity. It's not a right vs left thing. Every US president has supported premeditated death in some form. Every single one. Each side supports barbaric practices. A public execution makes us uncomfortable with the animal instincts we all possess. Whomever supports a particular type of killing should be required to watch it happening.
ReplyDeleteBernie, if it is live streamed impressionable children may see it, people with a mental illness may see it, and family related to that murderous event for which the execution has been prescribed may see it. It will be everywhere in a world quite different technologically from the one when the aforementioned Vietcong shooting took place in Saigon. This guy committed a heinous crime and should pay his dues, but broadcasting it in this fashion should not be the imagery promoted by our government. We're losing what little humanity exists and I don't feel broadcasting the execution in this fashion will soothe anyone.
ReplyDeleteYou’re pretty sheltered if you think anyone under 40 hasn’t already witnessed hardcore gore on the internet
DeletePresident tRump stop the madness? What I believe his thoughts might be: "Double plus good! Maybe I won't have to drop a nuke on somebody to keep the suckers and losers from thinking about those Epstein files!"
ReplyDeleteSaddam's execution made me question was it real. Just as much the death photos of JFK, Bin Laden, Che Guerrero, and so on. As a child that stayed home from elementary school because of the snowfall, even until this day I am still affected by what I watched as a live broadcast of Bud Dwyer's shot. And it was replayed once more for some insane reason..Parents, although this is a teaching moment for your children; please do t let them watch it.
ReplyDeleteExecutions have been part of the human experience since Cain and Abel. There is no way to believe that there is a civilized method to accomplish the task. We show you the condemned, tied down to the gurney, alive and breathing, Then we close the curtain. Reopen it ten minutes later and the condemned is dead. All very civil? Bullshit. Too many want capital punishment but can’t watch it. You need to experience the entire show and examine your personal beliefs. The USA had no problem dispatching hundreds of Nazi leaders following World War 2. Was that ok? Did it demonstrate how civilized are we? European governments had public executions of ex nazis in front of crowds of 50,000. Were they civilized?
ReplyDeleteHe’ll be executed no matter who sees it. Time to get back to the mess that is Northampton County.
ReplyDeleteThis will be more common as society continues to devolve. We are probably less than 15 years away from Democrats publicly executing former Republican office holders or Republicans publicly executing former Democrat office holders. The thugs within each party will cheer this on and lawfare will devolve to trying and convicting people of murder for budget cuts to some program like SNAP. We are already at the accusatory phase and it's only logical jail-time and death sentences are coming.
ReplyDeleteThen, there's the Sharia wing that will likely start imparting their own justice in the cities or counties where they make up a majority of elected office holders. The useful idiots will defend this, of course, right up until the day they are dragged out of their houses and taken straight to the webcam.
I’m all for him getting ventilated. I don’t think live-streaming is a good idea though.
ReplyDeleteFor those who believe the public’s execution will recruit more to destroy America, the reality is that the simple fact we are America is all the recruiting they need. They want to destroy America from the inside out. They are already infiltrated and pushing that agenda. Just look at NY. They are nothing more than wolf in sheep’s clothing. America needs to wake up and stand up for the American way of life.
ReplyDeleteWhat “religion” calls for the death of infidels when you refuse to accept and be a part of their “religion”?
America must protect our way of life. Rome was destroyed from the inside out and sadly we are walking a very close path to dying the same way.