Some of the usual good stuff from Jack Dunphy on Illinois' outgoing Gov. Ryan and his blanket commutations of death sentences. For those of you that wonder why Texas' governor is restricted in his/her pardon privileges, this is why. Just for a change it'd be nice to see a lefty just considering that justice had been done by a judge, district attourney, police, 12 men and women, and various other appellate types when they said "You know what? This fellow's got to die." But no, the sentence itself is unjust because. Here's a tip for those of you running for governor, President, any other executive office: sometimes people will die while you hold this office, and you could have prevented it. Sometimes they'll die because you tell them to do something. Now, try weighing the number people you know are going to die (we'll call them "condemned"), but deserve this beyond a shadow of a doubt--let's say it's a matter of public record--against the number people that won't necessarily die because some of the first group ceased to be. You don't know how many--could be none, could be 7, could be 100. But chances are it'll be More, and that's in addition to the people that have already died at the hands of the condemned. It sucks, but it simply Is. Humanity is sorta condemned to not knowing the minds of other men or the path of the future. There are all kinds of systems in place to take some of the guesswork out, but when it comes down to it 99.999% sure is still not 100%. Best to support the system that leaves you with the 99.999% than create a personal system that can't be quantified or audited or subject to scrutiny because it exists only in the framework of a leader's whims.