The featured image is of Timothy Spall in Mike Leigh’s brilliant 1999 film, Topsy-Turvy. It’s about the life and times of Gilbert and Sullivan. Timothy Spall played Richard Temple who played the Lord High Executioner in the movie’s version of The Mikado. Behold.

That exhausts my knowledge of The Mikado. I do, however, find Yum-Yum yummy.

Gilbert and Sullivan may have used exclamation points, but I’m made of sterner stuff. A humble comma will do.

I am, however, knowledgeable about new Gret Stet Governor Jeff Landry hereinafter Gov. Clownfish. But there’s nothing funny about the return of executions in Louisiana after a 14 year hiatus:

Gov. Jeff Landry will push lawmakers next month to expand methods the state can use to carry out the death penalty, sources say, as Landry seeks to restart executions following more than a decade in which Louisiana’s death chamber sat unused.

 

Landry, a Republican, has long voiced support for resuming executions through means other than lethal injection drugs, which are in short supply nationwide. He will call on the Legislature to expand those methods in a special session slated to start in late February, according to four people familiar with Landry’s goals for the session.”

What’s next? The guillotine? Firing squads? The gas chamber? The electric chair? The noose?

There is no painless and civilized way for state sanctioned murder to take place. Gov. Clownfish is a bad Catholic, his church opposes the death penalty. That’s one reason why executions stopped in Louisiana: former Gov. John Bel Edwards is a good Catholic and opposes capital punishment like Pope Frank. Unfortunately, he’s anti-choice like Pope Frank as well.

Gov. Clownfish sabotaged efforts by Edwards on his way out of office to commute 56 death sentences to life without parole. So much for being pro-life. Landry digs death. Anyone surprised? I thought not.

Bob Mann points out the biggest problem with capital punishment in a recent blog post. The title says it all: A Killing Machine Fueled By Racism.

Of the 57 inmates on death row, 38 are Black. Anyone surprised? I thought not.

Louisiana has not executed a white person for a crime against a Black person since 1752. Anyone surprised? I thought not.

I’m opposed to the death penalty on moral, legal, and practical grounds. I think locking someone up for life is a fate worse than the death penalty. Capital punishment has no deterrent effect, it’s all about vengeance. Like George Orwell, I believe Revenge Is Sour:

Death by the guillotine or firing squad sound the most barbaric but they’re quick and effective. Hanging is by far the worst. No wonder the MAGA Maggots like it so much. It’s slow and painful.

I considered suggesting Jeff Landry and the death penalty as Spank’s theme for this year’s Krewe du Vieux but the idea wasn’t ripe. I have a talented krewe mate who would love to make a guillotine. I might try again next year because The Clownfish isn’t kidding around.

Behold, the Lord High Executioner Of Louisiana:

A quick reminder about Landry’s nickname. I stole it from my friend Clancy DuBos after reading this:

For now, at least, Landry looks more like the Clownfish than the Kingfish. In time, perhaps he’ll learn it’s best just to try to be the governor — and to respect the other two branches of government.”

Clancy turned the nickname over to me on Twitter:

I hereby bequeath you The Clownfish, only I ain’t dead yet. Thanks for the shoutout.

— Clancy DuBos (@clancygambit) January 25, 2024

That means I’m committed to writing more about Gret Stet politics as it gets Trumpier and Trumpier. It was a purple state with two Democratic senators when I moved here. Neither was an embarrassment like John Neely Kennedy. Who knew I’d be pining for J Bennett Johnston in 2024? Oh well, what the hell.

The last word goes to Lifehouse: