
Journal the_mad_poster's Journal: The Death Penalty 34
Soo... aborting a creature that cannot possibly live on its own is murder.... but executing a 40 year old woman is justice.
Fascinating.
I used to be in support of the death penalty, but the more I think about it, the more it seems like it's just an excuse for state and federal officials to legally kill people where it would otherwise be murder.
What amuses me is the thoroughly stupid arguments around it though. I mean... the constitution is the supreme law of the land. The constitution contains an explicit recognition of the "unalienable" right to life. Doesn't that make any one person killing any other person a violation of that person's rights? It's not like you can forfeit a right by committing a crime, so you can't argue that.
Why is it that the more I think about things... the more liberal I become? I mean, years and years ago when I was still a kid in school, I used to think:
1) Anti-gay rights laws were fine because people can choose to be straight. I "justified" this retarded mentality by saying "It's not like black rights because black people didn't choose to be black".
2) I used to support the death penalty.
3) I used to be against abortion.
4) I used to believe that things like the Iraq war were justifiable on the grounds that the other guy was an asshole.
But then when I actually started to think about the ramifications of these positions and the logic (or lack thereof) supporting them, I gradually abandoned them until, here we are.
In other words... I haven't been a conservative since I was a kid... I'm not making this up to be insulting, it's true. The more I read and paid attention to the world, the more liberal my views gradually became. I had strong social conservative views only when I had minimal information. As I gathered more information about history, culture, and current events, I became more and more liberal.
The only question is... why?
texas is becoming more liberal too... (Score:2)
AOL> me too!!! (Score:2)
Usenetme three!!!111 (Score:1)
Its a common experience (Score:2)
And yeah, I could have made the same list when I was a kid ... so perhaps the difference is that, in some ways, non-liberals are just refusing to "grow up" by clinging to their "childish/shildhood" beliefs well after they have any reason to (which is why we get so frustrated trying to reason with them - can't be
my reasons... (Score:2)
i read that most people start out liberal and become more conservative; however, that's not the case f
Granted, I'm into Death Either, but (Score:2)
You still have a right to avoid cruel and unusual punishment. The debate here, is much more vast.
That's all. It just bothered me.
Re:Granted, I'm into Death Either, but (Score:2)
The rights that are named in the Declaration of Independence are the things that they claim governments are created to protect. But no one ever claimed that the constitution preserves those rights for all people at all times. They did so claim about the Bill of Rights.
So if he's saying that
Drifting to the middle (Score:1)
I think the biggest thing I pay attention to more so then I used to is infringement on the Constitution. I don't really buy into the "living document" argument and think people really need to understand the language of the times it was written to understand the intent of the document. Language and meanings of words change over time and wha
Re:Drifting to the middle (Score:1)
Let me simplify it for you without singling anyone out:
The condition that exists today, from what I see, is that People Group 1 has group of Rights A. Other people, such as People Group 2 or 3, want the same rights as People Group 1, the group of Rights A. I have no problem with that. We should all bask in the glow and joy of having Rights A.
What I see being discussed is that Peo
Re:Drifting to the middle (Score:1)
Re:Drifting to the middle (Score:1)
That I don't know because it is not a topic that is discussed alot here in Virginia unless the state is trying to ban gay rights. I do not specifically what they are asking, but if you listen to the far right, it is being portrayed as the heart of the issue. Let's take the marriage issue for an example because this is the one that I can probably illustrate my point easier with. The religious right wants to say that if you let anyone
Re:Drifting to the middle (Score:1)
Oh, but that's discrimination, and some judge is SURE to force churches to marry gays, right?
(that was my sarcastic voice).
Re:Drifting to the middle (Score:2)
I think there's a middle way. I do think original intent and what the language meant at the time is CRITICAL in understanding the document. However, I also think it is clear that the founders used V
Re:Drifting to the middle (Score:1)
I do as well, but like I said, that is the issue that is being portrayed, or at least is from what I read.
and I'm not sure how white fits into that group
Only because of a kind of snarky inside joke between Bodak and I that everyone has their own effective government lobby group except for white male christians. We joke that we are the one group of people that apparently don't have the right to complain about how we are being treated because we were given everything at Pl
Re:Drifting to the middle (Score:1)
I know you don't mean it that way, but that's exactly this guy's [adl.org] argument, and I don't think ya'll are particularly sympathetic to him. Yeah, it's a snarky joke, and there's a bit of something to it, but....
Re:Drifting to the middle (Score:1)
But on the brightside, only three more weeks until hockey season then we can get back to laughing at and with one of our favorite nutjobs.
Re:Drifting to the middle (Score:1)
You just poked a spot that's near to me, since I was staff at Bradley while Matt was there, and my wife is from the same area he is, so I've heard more stories than make the media. He always harped on that whole "I'm just representing white people" thing, and it's stuck with me.
Re:Drifting to the middle (Score:1)
I hate Illinois Nazis.
Re:Drifting to the middle (Score:1)
Re:Drifting to the middle (Score:2)
The entire point of governemnt is to tell people what they can and cannot do with their bodies. You cannot steal from people, or push them in front of subways, or cheat them financially. If government could do only one thing, it should be to protect innocent people from those who would do them harm. You describe abortion as murder, which is of course the ultimate
Hehehe... (Score:1)
Re:Hehehe... (Score:1)
Re:Hehehe... (Score:1)
Re:Hehehe... (Score:1)
As an ex-Episcopalian and ex-Catholic I have standing to say :-)
Moo (Score:2)
Oh, you're wrong, as usual.
aborting a creature that cannot possibly live on its own is murder
Noone can live on their own. Everyone requires water, food, oxygen, and so forth. The fetus just gets them in a more efficient manner.
but executing a 40 year old woman is justice.
The comparison makes no sense.
the constitution is the supreme law of the land.
Actually, it isn't. The Constitution provides the framework for the supreme law of the land.
The constitution contains an explicit recognition of the "un
Re:Moo (Score:2)
The Truely conservative Viewpoint (Score:2)
I would prefer the government stay out of our personal lives whenever practical.
Considering the incompetence displayed on trivial matters, do you really trust the government with peoples' lives?
And what could be more personal than executing people?
Not to mention that so far our techonology and medicine is unable to un-execute someone, and it is generally less expensive to keep someone in prison for life rather than execute them. (You gotta be fisca
Heres an odd opinion (Score:2)
If the person is sentenced to Life,. no hope of parole then I believe that the Defendant should be given the option of voluntary euthanasia
Mainly because I think making someone spend the rest of their life in prison is inhumane
What Rehabilitation does it serve to lock someone away for the rest of their existence . I would sooner die than lose my freedom
Having said that , The death penalty is barbaric in any other case.