Catching Up

The worst of my family emergency has passed, so I'll be able to post hear from time to time - more so as the year draws to a close.

As you may know, onetime gang founder Tookie Williams is slated to be executed for murder in California at midnight tonight- 3:00 A.M. Tuesday morning, Eastern time - thereby giving Governor Schwarzenegger a chance to live up to his "Terminator" nickname. Not convinced that Williams has atoned for his crimes enough to get clemency, despite years of preaching against violence and drugs, Arnie sees it fit to have him put to death by lethal injection. Ironic, isn't it?

Another story I caught on the Web today is that Australia's Murray River, which separates the states of Victoria and New South Wales and provides drinking water for the South Australian state capital of Adelaide, is dying, its point of entry into the sea being congested by sand buildup and salinization. Years of irrigation and overdevelopment in the Murray River's basin have placed the river in danger, and the Australian government is being pressured to act.

Conservatives in the United States are likely to point to this latter story and say how it proves that other nations are no better than we are. That may be true. But it's very rude - and very American - to downplay one's own misdeeds by citing others guilty of similar offenses.