Bumpers show a lighter side

Many Things

By Jim Flanagan

(Updated: Wednesday, March 19, 2008, 5:46 PM)

Bumper stickers of the month

Found on the shelf at the 41 Trading Post in Oakhurst:

Gun control - means using both hands.

Found on a Marine's vehicle: Stop global whining

Strange things in Fresno

There are numerous shiny brass handrails leading up to the entry doors of the Fresno County Jail.

Also, the city police chaplain's official vehicle looks more like a paddy wagon than a clergyman's vehicle.

Death penalty

I've said for some time that there is a very real economic reason, no matter where you stand on the issue as a matter of morality, for getting rid of the death penalty. In last Thursday's edition of the Fresno Bee was an article about a convicted murderer dying of natural causes. The relevant point is that he was convicted of a double murder 20 years ago and sentenced to die. The article stated that he was "awaiting execution in a California prison." That means that for the better part of those 20 years he was housed in death row, which is a whale of a lot more expensive than being housed in the general population. Add to that the appeals that we all pay for, and you get some idea of the economic reason to get rid of the death penalty. I mean, come on now. With a huge state deficit and proposed deep cuts in bare bones educational budgets, you'd think our esteemed governor and legislators, whose salaries we pay, would think of that as a healthy, long-term budget cut.

The whole truth

When a witness is sworn in during a hearing or a trial, he/she is asked to swear or affirm that he/she will tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Maybe journalists should be asked to do the same. Prior to President Bush's veto recently of the House bill meant to prevent the CIA from using many different kinds of interrogation techniques, the bill was mentioned in the media as only forbidding the use of waterboarding. But after the veto, President Bush and Sen. McCain told us that the bill went too far by outlawing many techniques not unlawful under international law. Had the bill been limited to the notorious waterboarding technique, Sen. McCain would have voted for it, and President Bush would not have vetoed it. Also, had the media correctly described the bill, the public would not have been misled.