Opinion: In today’s pages: Speedy death penalty, steamy history
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Writer John Kenney discusses tyrants’ taste in music:
For Pol Pot, it was Michael Jackson’s ‘Off the Wall,’ the single from the album of the same name. They say that when he was in an especially good mood, Pot (Polly-O to his friends) would phone colleagues -- sometimes total strangers -- saying only, in a high-pitched whisper, ‘Tonight, gotta leave the 9 to 5 up on a shelf and just enjoy yourself . Groove. Let the madness and the music get to you. Life ain’t so bad at all if you live it off the wall.’ Then hang up.
Columnist Patt Morrison discusses city efforts to stop letting trashed styrofoam pile up, and author Kirkpatrick Sale marks the 200th anniversary of the steamboat journey that started the age of steam. Duke University law professor Erwin Chemerinsky says California must reject the U.S. attorney general’s attempt to hasten executions.
The editorial board memorializes the 250 Iraqis killed in Tuesday’s coordinated bombings. The board also thinks LAX’s latest problems are part of a pattern of neglect, and praises a court for preserving the high school exit exam.
Readers comment on Karl Rove’s departure. Santa Barbara’s Rod Hersberger says, ‘The real shame, though, is that all these voters were gullible enough to fall for his brand of trickery.’