Texas executes Mexican; Tire inflation

The Nightly Build...

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Blood Lust

Bruce Tomaso, in The Dallas Morning News Religion blog, reports that the state of Texas executed convicted rapist and murderer José Medellín. Tomaso explains what made this case an international controversy:

"The case drew international attention from critics of the Texas criminal justice system because Medellín, a Mexican national, was not allowed to talk to a consul after his arrest. A 1963 treaty requires foreigners accused of crimes to be given that opportunity."

International treaties, the rule of law, rape and murder and the death penalty, this story has lots of angles to foster spirited debate. And it did. Within a few hours of the story being posted, it had attracted over 400 reader comments, perhaps a record for this religion blog.

That's right -- religion blog. You might think the discussion would include at least someone expressing moral opposition to the death penalty. Or some expression of hope that the dead man made peace with his God before the execution. If you thought that, you'd be wrong. The comments were a steady stream of what I can only describe as blood lust.

"Good Work state of Texas!!"
"One less criminal in the world to worry about."
"He got what he deserved, should've done it quicker!"
"Good effing riddance."
"This guy needed to take a dirt nap."
"I'm glad they put this rabid animal down."
"good bye, waste of human sh**!"
"Don't mess with Texas, OK?"
"Texas Rocks!"

And, finally, a couple comments that do touch on religion:
"Thank God This Man Is Dead."
"May he burn in hell for his crimes."

All this on a religion blog. It's an Old Testament God who is worshipped here. If that. There's not even a call to repent here. Just a mob mentality to stone the sinner. The compassion and forgiveness of Jesus is nowhere present. I don't know what this says about the state of religion, but it can't be good.

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Hot Air From McCain

The blogosphere continues to debate John McCain's ridicule of Barack Obama's advice to the voter who asked what consumers can do themselves to help with the energy crisis. Obama suggested proper tire inflation and regular tuneups.

The McCain loyalists defend McCain's ridicule. On the The Dallas Morning News Trailblazers blog, a reader says:

"I'll type slowly for those of you all trying save Obama from himself here. The DOE article says we can save about 3.3% by properly inflating tires. Not all tires an all vehicles are improperly inflated, but let us assume half are. The EIA DOE site says we use about 10MM barrel of gasoline/distillate for vehicles. Under these worst case conditions, proper tire inflation would save about 165,000 barrels per day. A single large offshore platform, never mind the whole coast, can output 250,000 barrels per day (ref. Thunder Horse, Wikipedia). Obama is just plain wrong on this one."

More mainstream sources have a different story:

"The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right." -- Time Magazine

Go ahead, McCain loyalists, quibble with the figures. Change this number or that until you tip the scales. The criticism of Obama's answer to the question, what can individual consumers do to help with the energy crisis, is still silly. NASCAR, the AAA, even John McCain himself now acknowledge the benefits of proper tire inflation. McCain is rallying his base, which, as this incident demonstrates, includes those who, in Obama's words, "take pride in being ignorant."