Stop Whining!

The last few weeks were quite dramatic for American judicial system. We were told that the Constitution forbids an absolute ban on an individual owning a gun. We saw that the death penalty cannot be applied to individuals guilty of raping a child. And we learned that there continue to be limits, what that means has yet to be determined, on the extent to which the government can minimize the legal rights of detainees.

Along with many of you, I've read and listened to the complaining, the bitching and the moaning about each of these decisions (yes, I do read the Conservative blogs as well).

The Supreme Court got it wrong. Scalia is a (pick your favorite term). The liberals/conservatives are (another term). Sometimes the statements are more articulate, and on rare occasion I see a hint of empathy towards the other side. But, by in large, most comments come off as whining about the fact that the Court decided against one's side, with zero appreciation of the fact that at least there's a relatively fair system.

I'm hear to tell you that you before you start your next gripe session, you need to watch Ganja Queen.

Ganja Queen is an HBO documentary about a 30-year-old woman who gets caught smuggling 9+ pounds of pot into Indonesia. Read a good summary of the film here. She maintained that the drugs were planted and the movie presents some evidence to support her position.

Regardless, she is convicted (and subsequently lost two appeals) to 20 -- yes, that would TWENTY -- years in prison, avoiding a possible death sentence.

I strongly suggest you see the movie. And although I passionately support your First Amendment right to express your opinion about how F'ed up you think our system is, (kindly reminding you that arguments tend to be a lot more persuasive) you might just get a reality check before you go off on why -- the Justices, the Court, the laws -- suck.