Our Worst Person of the Year for 2010 Is....

.........Ken Cuccinelli, the arch conservative far-right Republican attorney general of Virginia.

Perhaps, Suzy Khimm in a December 2010 article from "Mother Jones" (a magazine that is more to the left than I am) summed it up best when she said:

"Cuccinelli has relished his role as a political lightning rod who has used elected office for ideological warfare.

Jeff Goodell, an environmental writer for "Rolling Stone" said in the magazine's current issue that Cuccinelli has been using his office to deliberately rattle state institutions, such as The University of Virginia, from performing scientific research projects he personally and politically opposes.

Cuccinelli handily defeated a moderate, well-qualified candidate in Steve Shannon (both men are ironically from Fairfax County) by a shocking 58-42 margin in the state election that gave him the attorney general's office.

In a mere two years, Cuccinelli, who is only 42, has used his elected office in Richmond to cater to a variety of right wing and even extreme conservative causes: the death penalty, guns, pro-life, anti-gay, immigration, taxes, spending and property rights.

He was supported by the NRA and far right figures like Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson and Ron Paul during his run against Shannon.

Many gunsGodncountry folks in places like Boones Mill, Tazewell, New Market and Farmville saw Cuccinelli as their kind of anti-government extremist. But, not everyone was fooled by his traveling medicine man show, which was also how Gov. Bob McDonnell won his race that same year over state Creigh Deeds.

"The Washington Post" in an editorial for Shannon said that Cuccinelli would be 'an embarrassment to Virginia.' Alas, they were right.

Cuccinelli's main cause celebre has been using his far right 'fishing buddies' in federal courts like Judge Henry Hudson to block President Barack Obama's federal health care iniatives and he defends himself by saying that 'this is his Constitutional duty.'

As Goodell indicated in his article on global warming's main political culprits, Cuccinelli did indeed waste considerable state funds fighting former UVA professor Michael Mann's efforts to research global climate change (Mann is now at Penn State).

Cuccinelli also supported the dubious exectuion of Teresa Lewis, a rural woman who resided near Danville, who was found to be barely mentally eligible for capital punishment. The execution, which took place last September, drew protests from across America and around the world.

In short, Cuccinelli is everything that the far right (and the Tea Party of course loves this guy) represents: genuine hypocricy. Alas, Cuccinelli is up for reelection at the end of his term. But, perhaps his selfish ego will convince him to run for a more prestigious office like the Governor's mansion where he might run against a qualified Democrat who give him a good ole fashion quarterback sack. There are very few people who deserve it more.

PS- Apparently, when I mentioned him in an earlier entry, I didn't spell Ken Cuccinelli's name correctly. But, if we've learned one thing from the GOP it is to never apologize if you have erred!

Top 10 Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty

This list was actually compiled by Akorra.com rather than myself even though I am a staunch death penalty opponent, and I have made no secret of views here on this blog or in other media outlets.

Last night, Virginia, my home state, carried out the lethal injection of Teresa Lewis, 41, from Danville, Va., who had a mental iq of 72. If a person has an iq of 70 or less, they can not be executed.

I will get to more details of this flagrant human rights violation in a bit, but first here is the list:

1. An Eye for An Eye Makes the Whole World Go Blind
2. Life in Prison is an Alternative
3. Racial bias
4. Ignores Possibility of Redemption
5. Punishment Doesn't Always Fit the Crime
6. Contrary to Constitution
7. Gender Bias
8. Possibility of Condemned Being Innocent
9. Financial Bias
10. Geographical Bias

I think the cost of a death penalty case, which is reportedly around $2 million is another strong factor capital punishment, and one of the reasons why there are those on the libertarian right oppose the measure.

The fact that Virginia has an arch conservative Governor in Bob McDonnell, a favorite among fringe right-wingers and evangelical radicals, and a similarly far-right of center Attorney General in Ken Cucinelli doomed Lewis as both officials would probably execute their 86-year-old grandmothers for jay-walking if it could advance their political standing in the Republican Party.

According to Channel 7 in Roanoke, Va., the last meal Lewis had was fried chicken, sweet peas and a Doctor Pepper. The execution was carried out at 9:13 p.m.

Lewis was given a death sentence conviction for her role in a murder-life insurance scheme, but defense attorneys argued that she was duped by the two men who actually pulled the trigger who were both substantially smarter than her.

The National Coalition Against the Death Penalty released the following statement from anti-death penalty activist Andrea Bible about the Lewis execution:

"I am grieving because we live in a country where politicians and the courts believe it is ok to sue the state's resources to kill someone who functions at the level of a 13-year-old girl."

One of the two victims' daughter supported the execution and attended the lethal injection process at Jarrat, Va., where the sentence was carried out. Lewis, who is also a grandmother, had a son who wanted to visit her before she was killed by the state. As of Wednesday, the Virginians for Alternatives to Death Penalty (Vadp.org) said that he was in need of a ride to Jarratt. Vigils sponsored by the VADP were held at Jarratt and throughout the state.

It was Virginia's first execution of a woman since 1912.

Lewis' execution received international media attention as it was one of the lead stories in last night's BBC World News broadcasts and was the subject of an article in "The Vancouver Sun" (a newspaper in Vancouver, Canada).

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Female Justices Opposed Likely Execution

According to a tweet from NPRNews, both Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sonia Sotomayor were two of the three justices who were opposed to the highly likely execution of Danville, Va., resident Teresa Lewis, who would be the first Virginia woman to be executed since 1912. The execution is scheduled for tomorrow night.

I have made no secret of my vehement opposition to capital punishment which I firmly view as a human rights abuse that is unbecoming of American justice.

Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) rejected clemency for Lewis on Friday, an earlier time frame that past governors, such as Tim Kaine (D) who opposed capital punishment morally but still allowed several to go through during his four years in office.

Lewis' attorney told NPR that: "A good and descent person is about to lose her life because of a system that is broken."

The controversial case has made international news as it was one of the BBC's top stories last night. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmandinejad has ever used Lewis' impending execution to justify his anti-Americanism and his own dubious political stance in support of an execution (which was originally intended to be from stoning) of Iranian woman Sajjad Mohammad Ashtiani who was found guilty of adultery.

Ironically, Turkey, my late father's country which is also predominantly Muslim, does not allow the death penalty any more as capital punishment became a political mechanism there as late as the early 1980s.

Author John Grisham also wrote a letter to the editor to "The Roanoke Times" expressing his opposition to Lewis' execution.

The murder incident is a complicated one in nature as Lewis, now 41, hired Matthew Shallenberger (the trigger man) and Rodney Fuller to kill her husband Julian Lewis and her stepson C.J. Lewis.

Rocap also told NPR that one of the gunmen manipulated Lewis, who is borderline retarded (according to the BBC, she was just barely eligible for the death penalty by a 72 score--inmates with a 70 IQ can only get life imprisonment.).

Additionally, there is the fact that the co-conspirators/fellow culprits got lesser sentences in Pittsylvania County. Shallenberger committed suicide in jail. Fuller is serving life.

The incident happened on Oct. 30, 2002.

Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (vadp.org) is sponsoring state-wide vigils in Charlottesville, Fairfax, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Richmond and Norfolk among many other places, including one in the gas station town of Jarratt, Va., on I-95, due north of the North Carolina border, where the execution would take place, at 8:00 p.m.

I have done my part by calling, emailing and snail mailing McDonnell's office as well as contacting Pittsylvania County Commonwealth's Attorney David Grimes, in regards to my moral opposition of this impending execution.

You can call Gov. McDonnell's office at 804-786-2211. Even though, he has made up his mind, it is very important that he is challenged on this matter both politically and morally.