Dont steal public transportation

Today, on the Lightrail (RTD), there sprung up four cops checking to see that people had paid their fares. By "sprung up," I mean that I did not realize that they were cops until they took out their badges. (Though in my defense, I was reading my homework---so I wasn't playing much attention until the badges came out.)

Anyways, I am used to the RTD security guards; I treated them exactly the same way that I would the RTD guards. For me, there was no difference...I asked them how they were; I showed the cop my student ID (which doubles as my bus-pass) and went back to doing my homework. Ok, I did treat them differently---I normally joke to the guards that they should feel free to doublecheck my homework.

But there was someone else on the train who claimed to have paid and couldn't find their fare stub (provided that they were telling the truth). So the cops were writing down their information. Unfortunately, the person also claimed to have their wallet stolen recently. And because the cops had to make sure that they were who they claimed to be, at the next stop they took them off to remain in their custody until they (or the police) could confirm they were who they were.

I understand being willing to run the risk of a forty dollar ticket...and I suspect that the Lightrail guards are given false information all the time...but to risk arrest to avoid paying the RTD fare, well, that is just stupid.

The moral---don't steal public transportation, especially if you are trying to get somewhere on time.

Ten Years for Stealing Library Books

Tonight, I was watching a news story about Thomas Pilaar, the book bandit. He is the man who got sentenced to ten years and $53, 549 restitution for stealing books and DVDs from several library systems in the Denver metro area.

Pilaar was using multiple cards (at least seven) and borrowing up to three hundred items per card. He admitted in the interview that he was taking out three to five hundred items a day, and making five to six hundred dollars a day doing so. He would remove all the stickers and book stamps from the books, then unload them though an online book seller. Denver Public Library alone suffered at least $35,000 in losses though his actions (he was doing this in several other of the local counties library systems). A missed book stamp is what lead someone to call the police.

All to support a drug habit.

Now I will admit that he is right about ten years being a lot for stealing library books. Other criminals doing far worse have gotten far less time. Tommorrow night, Fox31 is going to be running a story investigating whether his lawyer is partially to blame for his long sentence.

I wonder how much time I would get for not paying my lost book fines. For those who do not knowthe story: an ex-roommate of mine left with quite a few library books taken out under my library card. I owe a touch over a thousand dollars. The only reason I have not paid off the fines is simply because money has been tight forever.

I just hope that I can get the money to pay off my library fines before I am sent to jail. But then again, I truly lost the books; I am not guilty of selling them.

So how bad is the theft of books? Or the loss of books for that matter? Looking at my lost book fines, I must admit that if the library was willing to let me just replace the books, I could do it cheaper than what they have fined me.

Could it be that the library system is more sacred than pension funds and human life? Based on my library fines and the sentence of Pilaar, I would have to say that someone thinks so.

(Ok, I will admit that as a writer and a book collector [occult books] that some part of me might believe that. But I realize that is not how I am supposed to think.)

Car Thief Transforms into a Goat

Here is a weird news story from Nigera. According to a newspaper in Nigera, two men tried to steal a car; and when the citizens chased them, one of them turned into a goat (the other man got away).

Reading this story, I must admit that I am amazed that anyone can believe this. But then again, we are talking Nigera where witches are still being hunted and killed.

I don't know any magician, witch or lunatic that can do it in the western world. Maybe we don't have strong enourgh magic to do such, or maybe I just have not encountered it.

The historian in me asks what type of drugs and toxins are in their food supply. Or is it just religion that makes them believe this.

Then again, in recent days, we saw a bad president try to turn himself into a good one; not that it worked, in my opinion.

Of course, one has to wonder if we don't have criminals who can do this in the western world. Makes one wonder what type of animals some of our disgraced politicians will turn themselves into.

The AP article that brought this weirdness up is:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_on_fe_st/odd_goat_thief

My position on the death penalty

In one of my recent entries on my Golden Dawn blog, I said that I was semi-pro death penalty. This disturbs both camps---for some reason, people believe that this is one of those issues that you either have to be all in or all out on.

At one time, I was completely pro-death penalty. To be quite honest, I brought into the argument that the death penalty acted as a deterrent.

One can rack up the loosing up of my opinion to college. A few semesters ago, I took my public speaking (speech) class, and one of the speeches we had to do was an emotional issue.

Personal experience in the past has taught me that people are emotional about the death penalty; in fact, one of the members of one of the rival Golden Dawn lodges here in Denver refuses to sit in lodge with me because of my views on the death penalty (someday, I might go into more detail on my GD blog).

One of the things that I discovered while researching the subject is that it does not actually work as a deterrent. Most murders turn out to be unplanned, spur of the moment affairs.

So if that justification for the death penalty does not hold up, is there any reason to have a death penalty?

This question recently arose when a court overturned a death penalty for a child rapist, calling it cruel and unusual punishment. In the court’s opinion, only crimes resulting in death merit the death penalty. I bet the child’s mother and father beg to differ. I know some witches who would beg to differ (which is another reason why some people will not sit in lodge with me).

Death penalties give comfort to the victim’s relative. Yet, in the end, beyond the fact that it makes victims relatives feel better, is there a purpose to keeping the death penalty as an option. In the end, we have to say yes.

The government wants to keep it as a punishment for treason. Personally, I understand that.

But I would insist that certain terrorists, who want to become martyrs by being executed (with the added bonus of going directly to a happy afterlife), be excluded. Sorry, if you really want to die for your political cause, I vote that you become a lab animal for testing the latest longevity treatments.

Back to treason, there is more than open threats to the American people and the government that the death penalty should be reserved for.

Recently, a jury here in Colorado decided that there was a case that deserved the death penalty. It involved the killing of several witnesses to a crime. Unfortunately, the sentence’s purpose may be simply symbolic based on the research that I have done; people on death row are more likely to die of old age than anything else. But nevertheless, this is one of those times when I think that perhaps the death penalty is the proper punishment. I know that the victim’s parents think so, and an entire jury; I guess that none of them are suitable lodge members either.