BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

It just never ends.  We have tried to overlook this last Republican disgrace, but it is just too good to let it go.  It seems that the conservative water walker Governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford, has discovered that confession is good for the soul.

After going missing for several days, being reported to be on a hiking trip in the Appalachians, and finally returning to South Carolina, Governor Mark Sanford has apparently decided that it was better to confess infidelity with a woman in Argentina — where he claims to have been — than have headlines stating that he was in the Appalachians for Naked Hiking Day.

Today the outspoken governor admitted that he has been involved in an adulterous affair with an Argentinian woman.  Maybe that is better than confessing he was hanging loose in the mountains.  The governor apologized to his wife, his children, his staff, and the citizens of South Carolina.

We are left to wonder if he had not received so much press for going missing this time if he would have come clean.  As previously reported by the national media, his wife had stated that from time to time he disappeared for several days to “clear his head.”  Truer words were never spoken.

This is another case of the morality and family values of those who hold themselves out to be above the rest getting bitten in the butt by their own actions.  And, it is another case of the hypocrisy that seems to be aiding the implosion of the Republican Party.  There are not enough do-gooders to cover the deficits in values and morality they preach.

Hats off to Governor Mark Sanford for coming clean — if in fact he is now telling the truth.

In a 5-4 decision today the Supreme Court of the United States made one of the worst rulings in history.

“DNA testing has an unparalleled ability both to exonerate the wrongly convicted and to identify the guilty,” the majority conceded, in an opinion written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. “The availability of new DNA testing, however, cannot mean that every criminal conviction, or even every conviction involving biological evidence, is suddenly in doubt.”

How wrong can one Justice be?  Of course every criminal conviction involving biological evidence could be in doubt — and is in doubt.  We should not be surprised that along with Roberts were Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito.  The split decision is proof that some, in this case the majority, on the Supreme Court would prefer to see innocent men and women in jail, possibly facing the death penalty, rather than look for the truth.

Our system of justice is flawed and has been for years.  While we talk of being judged by a jury of peers, there is more to justice than having 12 or so men and women sitting in the jury box.  A defendant should have the right to all means available to prove one’s innocence.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said it best, “This is a court of laws, young man, not a court of justice.”  Today the Supreme Court upheld this sad statement as fact.

Peter Neufeld, co-founder of The Innocence Project, was disappointed by the ruling.  As we know The Innocence Project has freed many on death row by DNA proof that was not available at the time of trial.

The five Justices who have no compassion for the innocent man or woman fear that the court system will be overrun with cases if the DNA testing is allowed.  So, to try to refrain from creating a further backlog of criminal cases, the Justices have basically determined that innocent lives are not that important once incarcerated.  These are the same Justices who put so much value on the unborn child and oppose abortions.

Today’s ruling seems to indicate that before birth everyone is entitled to life, yet once you arrive in this world your life loses value.  Additionally, today’s ruling flies in the face of finding the truth and supports the notion that a man convicted has no right to continue to fight to prove his innocence or to legal remedies afforded some.

Oh, how things look differently when you are the one caught with the hand in the cookie jar!  Senator John Ensign, Republican of Nevada, has stepped down as Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, but has made no indication that he is willing to leave Washington or his Senate seat.

It is clear that Ensign does not have the  judgment needed to steer a policy committee.  Apparently, his personal and personnel policies put his ability to lead in question.  Some may cheer at the noble act of stepping down from the chairmanship, but I suppose we will have to wait and see if Ensign has the guts to leave the Senate.

As we may recall, Ensign was among the most outspoken critics of Senator Larry Craig, calling for his resignation following the toe tapping incident in the men’s restroom in a Minnesota airport.  Maybe we should say at this point “if the shoe fits….”

Maybe Ensign is making a distinction between his illicit activities and those of Senator Craig.  Craig tapped his toe at a man, but was unable to get a response — except for an arrest.  Ensign, on the other hand, had sex with a campaign worker.  Maybe if the affair had been with a man rather than a woman Ensign would feel the need to resign.  But, as it is Ensign has made no overtures about leaving Washington.

The Republican hypocrisy continues.  Or, maybe they see a distinction between trying to have sex with a man and having sex with a woman.  Of course, in the case of David Vitter he was able to move from a seat in the House of Representatives to the Senate.

Just another notch in the belt for those who preach “do as I say, not as I do.”