Trial Outcomes: Scott Peterson and Robert Blake

EmeraldPrincessOnline

What is the cosmic synergy that sealed the fate of Scott Peterson and Robert Blake on the same day? Or is it just that now that we have the new crime spree to ruminate over from Atlanta so it was time to make room for all of the TV coverage of Brian Nichols, and in order to make way, it was time to wrap-up the months and years of trial coverage for Peterson and Blake to clear the decks for an intense focus now on Brian Nichols. Hardly a blip on the radar about the eight dead in the church shootings near Milwaukee.

And by what irony is it that Scott Peterson (O! So guilty!!!) was convicted and is sentenced to death by lethal injection, yet Robert Blake (O! So guilty!!!) was acquitted by all 12 of 12 jurors on the murder counts, yet there was the one juror holdout who voted to find him guilty of "lying in wait". And how is it then that an innocent man, a man who (per their verdict) did not murder nor arrange for the murder of Bonnie Lee Bakely, just exactly how is it that there was one holdout on that count?

Once again the trial outcome in the case of Robert Blake screams to the whole rest of the world that people in America and the criminal justice system here is bipolar at best.

While watching the live coverage of the announcement of the verdicts in Robert Blake's trial, as he was overcome with emotion on hearing the "not guilty", he reached for some medication (perhaps nitroglycerin for a heart condition) then dropped to the floor. As he sat there reeling in the shock of the moment -- being guilty no one could have been more surprised by the verdict than Robert Blake himself -- as he gasped for air and drew in that big, deep-cleansing breath, I couldn't help but wonder what Bonnie Lee Bakely's last big, deep-cleansing breath was like -- in that moment of terror/horror as she was being murdered. Too bad the video cameras weren't rolling to record her final moments and her big deep breath as they were focused today on Robert Blake in the courtroom.

Just because someone is a one-time TV star, how is it in our culture that that gives them immunity from conviction for murdering their wives? But hey, if you're a manure a.k.a. fertilizer salesman, you're goin' down, pal. (Not that it is not deserved in Peterson's case. I just don't see that the two cases are all that dissimilar.)

For all the Scott Petersons and Robert Blakes of the world: good-bye, so long, it (hasn't) been good to know you.

Climate Change Insanity - Flooding and Drought

The Emerald City, Seattle, and the surrounding area of western Washington, make up a substantial part of the Northwest and the dominant portion of the population. Growth has continued. Demand for electricity and water have increased.

Year after year there are tremendous floods on nearly every river in western Washington (more than a dozen rivers), and every year there is whining and hand-wringing of concern about water conservation and a drought and how there isn't going to be enough water to get us through the summer.

Only a few months ago there were simultaneous news stories on local television stations and in the newspapers covering the flooding and the drought. What's wrong with this picture?

The insanity of it is that even with global climate change, even with the lack of typical rainfall to fill the regions' reservoirs through the winter months to sustain us through the next summer, it never seems to occur to public officials to increase the storage capacity of the reservoirs.

We always get the rain. We always get adequate rain. But when it comes -- such as when there is flooding -- the water runs off into the rivers and out into Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. It's not that the water doesn't come. The water, i.e. rainfall, does come, but the municipalities simply are never prepared to receive it and store it when it does come.

This is not a new problem. It has been going on for as many years as I can remember.

• The rain comes.
• The floods come.
• The cries of "drought" come.
• The fear of "fire season".
• The anxiety over "water restriction".

The cycle perpetuates year after year. What folly! What madness! Public utility districts need to construct more facilities to trap and store the rainwater when it comes, because it does and it will surely come. Why that precious natural resource is allowed to simply run-off into flood plains and out to sea is beyond my comprehension.

Does no one else recognize the insanity of same-day news coverage of floods AND drought?!?