This is Viewpoints for Friday, April 22, 2016

In our name

Well, another person has been put to death in our name. And another will be executed later this month. But do the citizens of Georgia benefit from this gruesome practice? States that employ capital punishment have the same rates of murder and rape as states that eliminated the death penalty. Contrary to popular belief, the death penalty is not a deterrent. And you might think the death penalty, at least, saves money by shortening the prison sentence. Well, no, it doesn’t. Our laws allow for ample appeals. And that’s a good thing, given how many were found to have been wrongly convicted. Our courts are good but not perfect. As it turns out, the death penalty costs us more than life in prison. Worldwide, the death penalty places us in the minority along with Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea and Syria. Clearly, our natural response to terrible crime is vengeance. But as we humans attempt to be better, we quickly recognize that we cannot follow our most primitive urges. We definitely don’t improve by setting revenge into law. When the Bible established an “eye for an eye,” the intent was to bring violence down from a life for an eye. It seems worthwhile to reduce those aspects of our society which promote meanness and violence. When our government puts someone to death, it sends the wrong message to our children. We can aspire to something better and still be safe.

Work permits for foreigners

As you know, our nation is still recovering from one of its most trying economic times since the Great Depression. Millions of Americans are struggling to find jobs, and the workforce participation rate is at its lowest in decades. But not a day goes by that business groups and labor unions aren’t pushing for more legal immigration.

The United States gives new work permits to 1.5 million immigrants and other foreign workers each year — not including those given to illegal aliens through President Obama’s executive actions. When our nation is trillions of dollars in debt and has a shortage of millions of jobs, there is simply no way to justify these numbers. Taxpayers end up subsidizing the Americans who lose their jobs or can’t find work because of immigration. Recent college grads can’t find jobs. Immigrants who settled here last year can’t find jobs. Americans with a high school degree or less can’t find jobs. Who’s looking out for all these people?

It has been said that during bad times, “we the people” find out what kind of leaders we’ve elected. Congress needs to take immediate action to pass legislation that stops the issue of work permits to millions of illegal aliens. There are too many unemployed Americans who desperately need jobs.

Fun to watch

I was taught that a basic tenet of our American jurisprudence system is that counsel will be available in almost all criminal cases. In other situations where the advice of an attorney might be worthy, it is usually provided in proportion to the amount of wherewithal the client places on a table. The bigger the retainer pot, one might muse, the longer the silk-stockings. As the late country music artist Lefty Frizzell used to sing, “If You Got the Money Honey, I Got the Time.”

Dave Oedel, professor of Law at Mercer University in a recent special to The Telegraph opined that he is volunteering as legal counsel for former Mayor C. Jack Ellis in his quest to become our next county tax commissioner. If Ellis accepts the offer he will have able counsel, free, and that is about as rare as a bullfrog playing a fiddle.

Great balls of fire, what an election season we are having in my eightieth year. We have Hillary and Bill, Bernie and Donald, Ted and Marco on the national level. Locally we have C. Jack and what’s-his-name and the sheriff in my district. The whole entourage is followed by a caravan of pro-bona barristers spreading good cheer. Maybe before it is all over one of them will write a letter to the editor, and tell us “what is, is”. At no cost to the subscribers, of course.

I always enjoy elections, but this one will really knock the wheels off the cart. All I need is a Democratic primary ballot and a GOP general ballot, and a couple of Nu-Way chili dogs with a jug of sweet tea to enjoy while watching the returns.

Unburdened

With Gov. Deal’s rejection of the Religious Liberty bill, Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams, Guns N' Roses, Ringo Starr, Pearl Jam, etc., can now choose to perform in Georgia. Must be nice to be able to choose who to serve, unburdened, because your values haven't been compromised.

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 8:43 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Friday, April 22, 2016."