Because I don't have a TV and I've been sick, I missed the whole train wreck thing in California. A horrible thing of course, and along with the hundreds who likely died in car crashes due to weather over the weekend, the thousands of elderly who died prematurely with preventable heart disease, the silent homeless who died on the streets in the cold, the countless invisible examples of child abuse that occurred, and the random shootings that occur so frequently they sit on the back pages of our newspapers, I join the nation in mourning the loss of these eleven lives. As I was listening on the way into work, every statement that came out of people's mouths translated it's way into a legal perspective.

"Prosecutors to seek death penalty against man responsible for eleven deaths in train wreck."
Intent? Multiple deaths = grounds for death penality

"Train engineers sought frantically to brake."
Hidden memo in train company or regulatory agency files indicating need for improved brakes. There is always a memo like this somewhere. Expect lawsuit seeking significant settlement. Legislative hearings on the need for greater train safety. Possible use trains as terrorist targets as in Spain.

"(Some dude who's name I can't remember) had parked his van on the tracks intending to commit suicide."
Insanity defense. Not legally competent to stand trial. No intent.

"(Dude) had multiple self-inflicted slash wounds"
See above

"(Dude) lost his nerve at the last minute and attempted to move van, but it was stuck. So he jumped out and watched from the street as the train crashed into the van."
Manslaughter. Likely lower class (class always matters), dead beat, race-dependant?, umsympathetic. Maybe murder.

"Prosecutor announces 'Had intent to derail train.'"
Start high, work low. Prosecutor's role to explain such things. Did he? Sounds a bit lame, but maybe that would work. Possibly Defense to argue this poisoned the jury pool and move to relocate the trial, probably to Berkeley, CA.

For those of you with TV, have fun with the circus. Well, maybe during a slow news year when anchors otherwise stuck with "5 inch snow fall, worst snowfall of the twenty-first century in Apple Peach, GA. Are we headed for an ice age or global warming?", but with current crap in Iraq, left over tsunami, and fun with Michael Jackson, may not end up monopolizing things.

Fuck you. It's my journal. I can be a cynic if I want. Also, remember the disclaimer at the top.