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"Pay close attention to that man behind the curtain!"

Friday, September 05, 2003

Kill, kill, kill (for inner peace and mental health)

Paul Jennings Hill was a man who opposed abortion. But he wasn't just your average lunatic. He was extra loony. Kinda like the "Muslim extremists" from Saudi Arabia who plowed into the World Trade Center towers -- except he was a former Presbyterian minister (like Fred McFeely Rogers) and an American (like Timothy McVeigh). He told reporters Tuesday, "I'm willing and I feel very honored that they are most likely going to kill me for what I did." Well, he got his wish.

Hill was executed by lethal injection this past Wednesday for shooting abortion provider Dr. John Bayard Britton in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun, killing him. He also killed Dr. Britton's volunteer escort and injured the doctor's wife in the same incident.

The decision in this case tells us this. Some people think it's okay to kill doctors who "kill babies." The state of Florida thinks it's okay to kill the people who kill doctors who "kill babies." I'd bet there's even somebody who wants to drop a nuke on Florida right about now. Just hold on a freakin' minute!

For the record, I'm against killing babies. But I don't think abortion is the same thing. On the other hand, I don't think that abortion should be treated like "birth control," but ultimately, it's the woman's decision and hers alone. I'm also against capital punishment, but if Hill had been pointing a shotgun in my general direction, I would have shot him in an instant. I'm all for self-defense. And while I don't believe in capital punishment, I wouldn't shoot the executioner in the head. I might stand outside with a sign, write letters to the editor of my local papers or to my state representatives, and/or start a blog on the topic. Finally, I'm planning to rent Bowling for Columbine as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.

Oh, yeah. There's one little thing all the stories about the execution seem to have left out. The governor of Florida is none other than Jeb Bush, whose own Untitled "bio" page fails to mention that he is the brother of the guy in the White House. No need to point out the obvious, right?

As Phil deGruy once intoned to a Louie Armstrong melody: "And I say to myself -- goddammit -- what a sick twisted world."
Posted at 6:07 PM by: [Permalink]
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