Pariah

Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. - George Santayana

More than thirty-five years since President Richard Nixon brought our troops home from Vietnam, and our government still hasn't learned.  In an attempt to show our pride and support for American troops, we have forgotten that we never wanted them in harm's way in the first place.

I wonder if the only reason why the government keeps getting away with it, without the huge protests and demonstrations of my youth, is because there is no draft.  If everybody's children were subject to conscription, would we scream a little louder?

Because I know a few people are curious, my reaction to the verdict in the Casey Anthony case:

O.J. Simpson
Michael Jackson
Robert Blake
Casey Anthony?  Yes, Casey Anthony.

This country, especially here in Central Florida, is suffering from a single massive stomach ache, caused by the verdict in the Casey Anthony. On my Facebook page, so many of my friends have posted the same thing: "I am sick to my stomach over this!"

I am not sick to my stomach. I lost faith in the jury system when O.J. was acquitted, and in the intervening 20 years I have seen nothing to change my bitter, cynical attitude.

Commentators are screaming on TV. The Anthonys have been receiving death threats. And Casey should be a free woman by Thursday. As Nancy Grace said after hearing the verdict, "the Devil is dancing tonight."

We will never know exactly why the jury found her not guilty on all charges related to the baby's death. No one could have done more than the prosecution did to present every bit of evidence, with testimony from well-qualified experts to back it up. But juries, as a group, are not comprised of rocket scientists, and I suspect, based on the speed with which they reached a decision, and the reports of minimal note taking, they were incapable of understanding the tough stuff, so they ignored it. I hope they are happy with themselves as they watch Casey reap the rewards of celebrity, unencumbered by the young child who sleeps with the angels.

Today, one juror finally came out of hiding, and stated that the jurors cried, and were sick to their stomachs over the verdict. The juror stated "I didn't say she was innocent." No kidding.

I don't believe in death threats or any form of mob justice. Those people who indulge in such behavior are doing it for themselves, not for Caylee or for her memory. My wish for Casey is that she never have another happy day, and that her life become one long litany of civil lawsuits, IRS liens, and a social cold shoulder that will leave her friendless, without a loving husband or another child. She should always have to be on the move, rootless, without family to love her or support her.

Casey Marie Anthony, a spoiled sociopath, is the symbol of everything that is wrong with this country. She is, and should forever be a pariah. Outcast. We have no place in our society for mothers who murder their children. And since this jury was too chicken to do their civic duty and at least pay attention to the evidence before rendering a verdict that will live in infamy, she gets to walk. Just keep walking, Casey, and don't look back.

And the last day of the road blog-a-logue:

June 28, 2011

My name is Cindy and I'm a food blogger . . .

Yeah, right. I haven't cooked a thing in ten days. Let me tell you, ten days is too long to be away from my son, my pets, and my stove. I've got a LOT of making up to do. On the positive side, we did a lot of eating, and I have pictures of everything.

We are now on the last leg of our journey. I am not speaking to Mandy at this point. Yesterday we needed a detour after being routed off I-65 by the police because of a fatal accident further down the road. She got us to the hotel by way of the Ninth Circle of Hell, which I now know runs through northern Alabama. I will never ride on US-278 again. Especially at night, in the pitch black dark.

The very best part of northern Alabama

The Casey Anthony trial drags on . . . her attorneys filed some creative motions during the past few days, on of which resulted in her submitting to three competency evaluations in less than two days. One of the psychologists doing the eval was my favorite forensic psychologist in the world. He has helped me so much, both as a defense and a state's attorney, and I trust his opinions and him completely. Anyway, the trial shall go on . . . and on.

The food at Big Bob Gibson's.  Awesome.

We hit the Peach Farm in a big way, on our way home. I did the smart thing, and bought a beautiful peach bread, which I will slice and present on a tray to my coworkers tomorrow, along with an amaretto peach preserve, also purchased, and some butter. You may not remember my two week crusade to make the perfect peach bread, but I finally threw up my hands. Some things are simply not meant to be.

    

I realized that as much as I enjoy tradition, there were certain things we did not do this trip. Not one visit to the Starbucks on Financial Centre Parkway. As Rob pointed out, no stops at the Barnes and Noble. I did not browse in the Clinton Library Store. We did not walk into the H.U. Lee Memorial Garden. This is magnificent, totally authentic Korean garden with gates identical to those we saw in Korea. No lunch at The Varsity in Atlanta. No dinner at Kobe's or Benihana's. Places we always go. Either our vistas are expanding, or I'm getting too old to gallivant around Little Rock.

I did not finish Antimony. That was my knitting goal for this trip, and I was completely disciplined about trying to accomplish it. I did not get off track even once, despite the siren song of new yarn I purchased at Hobby Lobby. Still, I am very pleased with both the project and the progress and I intend to finish it as soon as I can, forsaking all other projects until the final cast-off.

         
Now and then ...

My son has informed me we are coming home to a clean house. Life is good.

And you will be happy to know - at least I hope you will - that I have a headful of ideas. A whole bunch of recipes with which to tinker and tweak.

Check out today's recipe for Spinach - Shrimp Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing on the recipe blog by clicking on this link.