Correction, please!(Dick Gephardt's tax policy; other political issues)

Gephardt's Generosity

ITEM: "Democratic presidential candidate Dick Gephardt wants to repeal President Bush's income tax cuts to help employers provide health insurance for their workers," reported the San Francisco Chronicle for April 16th. These cuts "have been phased in partially, but are not to take full effect until 2006. Gephardt would not require taxpayers to return money already received from the tax changes."

CORRECTION: The Missouri congressman not only wants to chuck out the relatively small breaks taxpayers have realized, but also would stick the government's nose further into health coverage. The oh-so-generous lawmaker would be kind enough not to require taxpayers to "return money already received." This is a ludicrous statement considering that government took this money from those who earned it in the first place. Tax cuts allow taxpayers to keep more of their money. The notion that the government is magnanimous for not taking more -- because Gephardt thinks more money should be taken for health insurance programs -- implies that Washington has a right to all assets.

Sympathy for Teen Thugs

ITEM: An April 12th press release by Amnesty International USA "condemned the United States death penalty record in 2002, during which the nation carried out the only known executions of juvenile offenders worldwide...."

ITEM: "The death penalty is the most absolute form of a human rights violation," said Amnesty's Andrea Huber in Geneva, as reported by Reuters for April 11th. She said the execution of "juvenile offenders," is a "practice that violates international law...."

CORRECTION: The three instances of capital punishment in question - following trials and appeals - complied with the laws of the state of Texas, which had proper jurisdiction. These "juvenile offenders," who were in their mid-20s when executed in 2002 after seven or eight years of appeals, were murderous thugs. Does the fact that Napoleon Beazley was a few months short of 18 when he pumped two .45 caliber bullets into the head of a car-hijacking victim mean his crime was any less heinous? The state of Texas said no, after giving the killer much more due process than Beazley gave his victims.