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I’ve got nothing else…

The State of California has been forced to suspend the pending execution of Michael Morales, 46, because the state cannot find any doctors willing to participate in the process. This has sparked a debate into the constitutionality of using anesthetics to execute prisoners.

I think this represents a wonderful step in eliminating the death penalty, but I’m not sure if this is the way to go about it. Certainly, this action has forced the issue directly into the public’s view for scrutiny. On the other hand, it does represent some level of civil disobedience that I am not sure is appropriate here.

To be clear, I feel the death penalty is, in most situations, wrong. I do not feel an all out pan on capital punishment is the solution, though. We should reserve the punishment for the absolute worst crimes our system of justice; I think that it may be even more appropriate to reduce the use of the death penalty to one crime — treason.

That aside, I think the debate is due. I think that the Supreme Court of California may be forced to declare lethal injection as method of execution unconstitutional, and, since there are no other forms of execution in the U.S. that pass the constitutionality test, it would lead to a de facto ban on the death penalty, starting in California.

I am not trying to start the debate over whether the death penalty is right or wrong here. All I am advocating is that the debate over the death penalty finally be placed at the forefront of the debate over our system of justice so that the issue might be settled once and for all.

I was browsing through the iTunes music store today and noticed a banner add for a free download of the pilot episode for NBC’s new show, Conviction. I’m not sure if the show will be any good, but this is a neat gimmick from NBC to promote the show.

Conviction, for those not familiar, is the latest incarnation in NBC’s Law & Order franchise. It focuses on the lives of young prosecutors in the New York County district attorney’s office. I’m not sure if it will be any good, but I’ll watch it and report back.

I’ve ordered a MacBook Pro to replace my old Powerbook G4 800, which recently had a stroke, for lack of a better term. It was a sad, sad day, but the silver lining to this crowd is that I can become an early adopter to the new technology. The new laptop from Apple is not without its criticism. One gripe in particular is the decision to eliminate the venerable PCMCIA card.

As I understood it, ExpressCard/34 is a technology that has been waiting to be released for years. It boasts higher throughput speeds than PCMCIA cards have, making it ideal for a new generation of peripherals. The timing does seem about right. The decision for Apple to remove the FW800 from the new MacBook Pro, but since there are very few individuals that actually need a PCMCIA card, either because they do not use the peripherals or there USB alternatives if they do, the time to migrate technology is now.

It is odd for Apple to suddenly switch their technology, but not unheard of, especially from Apple. I think that in the next few months, we will see Dell and Hewlett-Packard make the same design change in their laptops. While right now the only people truly hurt from this technology switch are the users of EVDO and similar technologies, there will be new solutions coming for them. Those users need to consider the costs of early adoption. For everyone else, the adoption of the new ExpressCard/34 will have no substantial impact.

I am haunted by Richard Cohen

In yesterday’s Washington Post, Mr. Cohen wrote an article about a poor high school student who failed algebra six times and, distraught, quit high school altogether. He devotes the rest of his article to why you don’t really need algebra after high school and therefore it should not be mandatory.

What, then, is the point of any high school subject?

I started thinking back to my high school days and how much of what I learned I no longer need. Take literature. I didn’t find “Death of a Salesman” very compelling then, and I don’t find it compelling now.

If I follow Mr. Cohen’s line of reasoning, why do we teach literature? How many high school graduates really need to know the complete works of Shakespeare? Or history? Does the Whiskey Rebellion matter in 2006? What is the purpose of civics? Most people either don’t vote or aren’t informed, so why bother?

The truth is, it is important to be exposed to all of this. Our nation needs to stress increasing the rigor of its education system, not weaken it. Why do we need algebra? Algebra exposes students to a methodical, abstract way of thinking. Just like we have literature to expose students to new cultures and ideas, and civics to expose people to the political process and the laws.

I’m not touting algebra as the end all, beat all subject. I happen to think it is important, but I also understand that not everyone comprehends it. But as part of a balanced, structured educational system, it is important to have student be exposed to it and perhaps fail than to simply remove it from high school curricula because too many people are failing. That hurts everyone, Mr. Cohen, except for maybe you, since you would have been saved the lesson of failure when you were in high school.