By Ken Kowald
Some of you may have noticed that I did not emphasize in my last blog what public executions could do for the economy of Queens. Let me rectify that immediately, lest you think this is a matter of no concern to your pocketbook and mine.
First, two Queens leaders are very much part of the picture. The first, Mario Cuomo, was against the death penalty when he was governor and I would imagine he has not changed his mind. Mario was known, respectfully, as a thinker. In those days, those who did not like thinkers called them eggheads. After the egg industry objected, that soubriquet went out of fashion. I think in today’s lingo our Hollis neighbor would be considered an elitest and, since there is (as yet) no pro-elitest national organization, he may be stuck with that designation.
He was also known as the Hamlet of Democratic politics, but we’ll let that go since there are those who believe that Shakespeare was some minor nobleman who probably couldn’t spell for the life of him. But, in those days, spelling was neither here nor there, depending on so many factors it is beyond a blogger to go into them.
But, take my word for it, Mario Cuomo is a smart, sensitive human being. And, by the way, Shakespeare got quite a good education, which even Ben Jonson acknowledged, but he did snort that Will had “little Latin and less Greek.” Whereas, today, of course, everyone has lots of Latin and more Greek, right?
But, I digress.
Mario’s son, Andrew, our present governor, is also very smart. Hey, he grew up in Queens! How sensitive he is may be a matter of debate, but I think most people, with respect, may think his father has the edge there. But Andrew is a practical man, by his and almost everyone else’s definition, and in this age of noise instead of action, that is very important. So, although I would think Andrew may be against the death penalty, it is possible he could be persuaded, as a practical matter, to change his mind. Budgetary gaps in the billions are not easy to close.
Andrew has a good relationship with the state Legislature. Republicans in the state Senate (which they now control) are as a group in favor of restoring the death penalty, so they and Andrew need only work on the recalcitrant Assembly, which is by definition a Democratic fiefdom, and we are back in business.
And how about that other Queens luminary, John C. Liu, the city comptroller? He knows a thing or two about money, which is his job, and how to get it, which is another matter and I’ll leave that to the FBI and the Department of Justice. But why shouldn’t he be in favor of more revenue without taxing us a cent? Can someone out there find out?
So, there is a list for those in favor of the death penalty to work on and it can be done right now. Why wait? State revenue will probably fall this year since, for example, Wall Street bonuses are not what they used to be.
I would urge all those in favor of the return of the death penalty–purely for the purpose of raising revenue and with no moral implications–to write, telephone, e-mail, etc., Gov. Cuomo, Comptroller Liu and all Queens state senators and Assembly members.
But there may be ways for us right here in Queens to cash in on public executions in other states and start doing it even before we get the death penalty restored in New York state. As I mull over the possibilities–and there are many– I’ll leave the champions of execution justice against miscreants to start some action.
Let me know, dear readers, when you get the chance, what you and your friends are doing about revenue shortfalls and restoring the death penalty. The holiday season, after all, should not interfere with the way the world should be run. Since we have commercialized holy days and holidays so well, why can’t we do that with human lives?
