Post Sept. 11 terrorism laws, passed in New York by Gov. George Pataki and legislature not a week after the catastrophe, are now being used against seemingly ordinary criminals, according to a Nov. 1, 2007 New York Times article by Timothy Williams.
State terrorism laws were first applied to a drastic case back in 2002: the Beltway Sniper attacks in the Washington, DC area. John Allen Muhammad was charged and convicted of being a terrorist of sorts, and was subsequently sentenced to death.
The 16 shootings that Muhammad committed, ten of which resulted in fatalities, far outnumber the shootings of two people shot by Bronx gang member Edgar Morales.
Morales may terrorize people, but he is not a terrorist.
"Terrorist" will most likely remind people of that historic day six years ago, and the word should not be used to describe just anyone.
Justice Michael A. Gross defines terrorism as an action meant to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population," and that lead the jury to convict Morales as a terrorist. Coercion and dominance are tactics used by petty thieves; terrorists use intimidation and coercion to further their personal beliefs and ideologies.
"When you fire a gun into a crowd, whether you hit your intended victim or not, you make them fearful for their lives, and that's why, in my opinion, the terrorism charges applied," said a juror identified as Linnea in The New York Times.
Morales was convicted of first-degree manslaughter, attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and conspiracy, and the terrorism charge was tacked thrown on top of that,. Being a "terrorist" raises the intensity of sentencing, extending a 15-year sentence into a 25-to-life one, according to The New York Times. With such a vague definition, any criminal can be placed on the same level as a member of Al Qaeda for the sake of keeping them in prison longer.
Remember this: all terrorists are criminals, but not all criminals are terrorists. Charging and convicting someone as a terrorist should be reserved for the very worst perpetrators should they be tried at a state level.
Read between the numbers, Glaeser
Buffalo. The City of Good Neighbors. The city that banded together during the October storm, the community that comes to life during traditions like The Taste of Buffalo, the fans that believe in their sports teams.
A recent article by Edward L. Glaeser entitled "Can Buffalo Ever Come Back?" paints Buffalo as a dying city that needs to be taken off life support.
Glaeser rails against government-funded projects in Buffalo, claiming developments such as the waterfront are just "bribes" to encourage people to stay. It'll take more than a Bass Pro Shop to keep people in the area - there's more to Buffalo than pretty buildings (though Frank Lloyd Wright designed one.)
Glaeser claims the subway system was a waste and has experienced declining riders - tell that to the people who ride it everyday. Clearly he's never gone downtown to visit the Central Library, see a Sabres game or rock out in Lafayette Square during Thursday at the Square.
Each and every Buffaloian is aware of the deep-rooted history within the second-largest city in New York State. We all know about the Pan-American Expo, President McKinley's assassination and the Underground Railroad, but it's more than that. Buffalo is snowstorms in October, the Allentown Art Festival, and getting into the Albright Knox for free on Friday. Buffalo is chicken wings, beef on weck from Charlie the Butcher, Loganberry and eating Anderson's custard when it's snowing.
It's the things residents remember and need to explain to the newcomers - like no goal and wide right. Buffalo sports fans remember Flutie Flakes, regard the Dolphins as the Bills' rivals and believe the Sabres are scary good as Rick Jeanneret. Buffalo is a city of history, but most of all, Buffalo is home.
The question isn't whether Buffalo can come back, it's how much Buffalonians want their city to change.
Glaeser is a professor of economics at Harvard, and crams his article with numbers and statistics to support his argument - using the numbers alone to condemn the city. No matter what the sum may be, Buffalo is more than those numbers - it has a community and a life all its own.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
