A better way to deal with the poor.

[Diogenes]

A certain mid-southern state had some issues with the electric chair and mental retardation or at least consideration of such. I do believe its possible to get a single view population within a state that may side with inhumane actions, mob mentality if you will.

Yeah, well I think you are buying into propaganda regarding Texas' execution of an allegedly mentally handicapped Mexican. Mental retardation was one of the smoke screens thrown up to prevent him from being executed for killing that young girl in a horrible and grisly fashion.

My philosophy is that mental incompetence is no defense for a heinous murder. Mad dogs should be shot, even if rabid. (not their fault.)

Leal's backers say he has learning disabilities, brain damage and suffered from

[Skipjack]

I am against the death penalty. The simple reason is that mistakes are made, investigations are often sloppy and the human factor can play mean tricks during trials as well. The death penalty is irreversible.
I am for life long prison and hard work in prison also. Have them work for what they broke! This has such a bad taste these days thanks to Hitler (do I hate this man!), but I dont see anything wrong with making people work for reparation of the damage they did.
I am sure that if those thugs in the UK right now would have to work for the damage they did (and would not be let out until they are done paying it off), they would think twice about doing it again. To these people work is the highest punishment.
Plus, while they are working they get their heads off criminal stuff. They learn comradry with their co workers and they even get the feeling of success and achievement when they have finished a job well done.
Back in the days here, they would get a beer and a smoke as a reward for a week of well done work.
Unfortunately, with the so called "humane" prison systems all over Europe this sort of punishment has gotten a bad taste to it.
As if work was something bad...

[Ivy Matt]

So what you're saying is a State can do no wrong as long as its voters dictate what is right or wrong? That sounds absurd.

Er, are you implying that the Federal government, as opposed to the states, can do no wrong as long as its voters dictate what is right or wrong? That sounds absurd to me.

[seedload]

A certain mid-southern state had some issues with the electric chair and mental retardation or at least consideration of such. I do believe its possible to get a single view population within a state that may side with inhumane actions, mob mentality if you will.

You are talking about what you would prefer, not what is written down to and agreed to. The Constitution says that this is a state issue, not a Federal issue. Regardless of the fact that you prefer to have mental illness dealt with by the Federal Government for fear that the states may kill the mentally ill, the Constitution says that it is not a Federal issue.

Like all issues, someone has an idea about how to do it right and decides that the only way to make it happen is Federally, so they ignore the Constitution or skirt it, talking retorically about it living and breathing, all the while knowing that the Constitution specifically says one thing and they are specifically trying to do another - just because they think they are right. Education, Drinking Age, Jobs Programs, Health Care, blah blah blah. A sea of Federal money, stolen for the purpose of bribing the states into doing what the Fed wants.

It is hard to amend the Constitution for a reason. But, if this is what you want, then amend the Constitution instead of just deciding that it would be best done Federally and just doing it regardless of the Constitution.

And if you believe the ends justify the means, just be aware that right now we are drowning in the ends.

regards

[ScottL]

I'm not saying Federal is greater than State or vice-versa; but I gladly note that without some intervention, slavery might've continued. As of late I don't have much faith in anyone doing the right thing any more and so many are skewing the little results they do manage.

For instance, Obama was supposed to have the majority of the TARP debt paid back by now, but there's still a good chunk out there. Or that GOP candidate Perry claims 40% job growth in Texas without noting that these jobs are at Walmarts and Kmarts with no benefits which will lead to an influx in population over stressing their job market and casuing another collapse within Texas.

[Diogenes]

I'm not saying Federal is greater than State or vice-versa; but I gladly note that without some intervention, slavery might've continued. As of late I don't have much faith in anyone doing the right thing any more and so many are skewing the little results they do manage.

For instance, Obama was supposed to have the majority of the TARP debt paid back by now, but there's still a good chunk out there. Or that GOP candidate Perry claims 40% job growth in Texas without noting that these jobs are at Walmarts and Kmarts with no benefits which will lead to an influx in population over stressing their job market and casuing another collapse within Texas.

Plumer: “The state boasts the highest percentage of minimum-wage workers in the country . . . .”

Meyerson: “It has the fourth-highest poverty rate of any state. . . .”

Unfortunately, neither of these writers really understands what these numbers mean. The biggest problem with both claims is that Texas has the second largest percentage of under-18-year-olds in the country. Children between ages 0 and 17 don’t make much income, if any, but they nonetheless are factored into per capita income calculations. In order usefully to compare what people are making across the states, a better approach is to compare GDP per adult. In 2008 Texas ranked 14th, which is not too shabby. Even more important, from the day Perry became governor in 2000, until 2010, Texas ranked 10th in terms of real GDP growth per adult. By contrast, California ranked 24th.

Krugman and his cronies may not realize it, but Texas’s very young population also dramatically raises the rate of people in the population earning the minimum wage. Given that single women with kids make up such a large portion of those in poverty, it isn’t surprising that the high birth rate also drives up the poverty rate.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/ ... -jr?page=1#

[ScottL]

The problem Dio, is that you can cite several conservative sources and I can cite several Liberal sources and we can go at this, back and forth. I will admit to some partiallity to Huntsman, at least he's willing to point fingers on both sides.

[krenshala]

As of late I don't have much faith in anyone doing the right thing any more ...

If you want more people to do the right thing, make sure doing so is in their best interests.