MICKEY KAUS calls the ridiculously light sentence given Pim Fortuyn’s killer “Euromoronic:”
The Dutch three-judge panel, according to the NYT, said they were “persuaded that Mr. van der Graaf was not likely to repeat his crime.” But isn’t the relevant question whether someone else very much like Mr. van der Graaf is now likely to repeat his crime? … Among the lessons the twentieth century teaches us, one is surely that assassinations work — maybe not in the long-term (centuries), but in the medium term (decades). You’re not supposed to say this. It’s a bit like admitting that most great popular music is made on drugs. But Oswald, Sirhan, Ray, Amir, van der Graaf — name five other men who have done more to alter the course of history (for better or, in this case, worse) in their lifetimes. You’d think the Dutch judges would recognize this and adjust the punitive calculus accordingly. Instead, they’ve made an offer many ineffectual-yet-earnest activists may find hard to refuse.
The Euros seem to have trouble thinking this way in a number of departments.