Quick quiz.

[Russ Chewning]

He was sorry for bringing it up. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was true.

Your right Russ. Those are your opinions. I just hope no one in your family becomes a drug dealer(Like your son), because you would want them dead. Right? Big fan of the death penalty?

Well, since you asked, I'll let you know where I am coming from. I'll start with a story.

A friend of mine comes up to me when we are working in Qatar, and asks if I had heard about the kid in Tampa (where we both lived) who killed an FBI agent. I said no, and he told me the kid had ran a red light late by at least 3 seconds, and had broadsided the FBI agent, and pushed him underneath the wheels of an oncoming bus. Died instantly. Kid had minor injuries.

My friend asked me what I thought the law ought to do to the kid. I told him the kid needed to go to prison for at least 3-4 years. He killed someone through an irresponsible act.

Then my friend tells me it was his son who had killed the FBI agent. There was a silennt moment, and I said, "Sorry that happened man. Sorry you had to hear my opinion on what he should get, but you asked me in such a way as to get my real opinion, uninfluenced by the fact you are a friend.

I did NOT turn around on my opinion and tell him I hope it all worked out for his son. I have more integrity than that. He told me he understood, and it was okay.

I then went home and told my 16 year old stepdaughter that if she were in the same situation, of killing someone through her own irresponsibility, that we would not pay for any lawyer, or be responsible in any way for any court costs other than those mandated for us to pay until she is no longer a minor. Same with drunk driving.. Same with drugs. She knows my personal opinions on all these things.

So.. to answer your question.. YES, I would believe in the death penalty, even for my own kids. I've taught my kids to be responsible. What they do beyond that is completely on them, and they know they are held to the same standard as a total stranger.

To the best of my knowledge, my 19 year old stepdaughter has never done drugs, even though drug use is rampant among the teens in our area.

My stepdaughter understands that the minute she either flunks out or decides to quit college, she is no longer welcome to live at home. I hold my kids to an EXTREMELY high standard, and funnily enough they have little problem with that. They are well on their way to becoming productive members of society.

Look at it like this. If there was an enforced death penalty for hard drug dealers, would you see drug use as rampant as it is today? Very unlikely.

If there was an enforced death penalty for a first offense of drunk driving, would people drink and drive? Doubtful.

There are a lot of easy fixes for certain problems in society, it's just that most of our citizens do not have the willpower to see these things through.

And yes, I AM a BIG fan of the death penalty. We don't use it on enough offenses, however, and there are too many appeals. I think if we could shorten the appeal process to 12 months, that would be awesome.

Russ

 

[supergreenman]

Jude - There's a whole big fraction of the country that would have no clue what you're talking about...

I fold my pizza, that's the best way to eat it. Either that or just get a calzoni

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

And yes, I AM a BIG fan of the death penalty. We don't use it on enough offenses, however, and there are too many appeals. I think if we could shorten the appeal process to 12 months, that would be awesome.

Russ

Yeah, if we could use the death-penalty for practical purposes, I might be for it. Like, if they fried the guy who mugged an old lady or lethal injection for Enron Execs, I might be for such a form of punishment.

At this point, they only use the stinkin' law for murderers and I'm sorry but my list of annoying people far exceeds that. Until the reach of the death-penalty and my list are the same, I will have to be against the practice altogether.

 

[supergreenman]

Yeah, if we could use the death-penalty for practical purposes, I might be for it. Like, if they fried the guy who mugged an old lady or lethal injection for Enron Execs, I might be for such a form of punishment.

At this point, they only use the stinkin' law for murderers and I'm sorry but my list of annoying people far exceeds that. Until the reach of the death-penalty and my list are the same, I will have to be against the practice altogether.

You sir have a very unique point of view. It's very hard to disagree with it.

My opposition to the death penalty is as follows: The courts through the government represent me. Since I don't believe in killing people, it's against my moral code, I wouldn't want my government to do it on my behalf.

I'm more than happy to have my tax dollars spent to keep these people out of society for the rest of thier lives.

IMHO Kenneth Lay and his band of corporate pirates hurt a thousand times more people than any one drug dealer ever could have.

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

You sir have a very unique point of view. It's very hard to disagree with it.

My opposition to the death penalty is as follows: The courts through the government represent me. Since I don't believe in killing people, it's against my moral code, I wouldn't want my government to do it on my behalf.

I'm more than happy to have my tax dollars spent to keep these people out of society for the rest of thier lives.

IMHO Kenneth Lay and his band of corporate pirates hurt a thousand times more people than any one drug dealer ever could have.

Actually, it's much much cheaper to keep someone in prison the rest of their lives than it is to impose the death penalty. Do you know how many people suddenly have a full-time job the moment the jury rules for capital punishment?

I mean, one might be able to argue that they'd be for the death penalty because it's good for the economy!

 

[Pinocchio]

?????????

Bad Dog!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Russ Chewning]

Actually, it's much much cheaper to keep someone in prison the rest of their lives than it is to impose the death penalty. Do you know how many people suddenly have a full-time job the moment the jury rules for capital punishment?

I mean, one might be able to argue that they'd be for the death penalty because it's good for the economy!

Economic breakdown, please. Show me the figures that show costs for and against the death penalty.

I'm calling shenanigans on this one..

Russ

 

[supergreenman]

Economic breakdown, please. Show me the figures that show costs for and against the death penalty.

I'm calling shenanigans on this one..

Russ

Call shenanigans all you like, once you got up on your soap box and hijacked a thread about what 3 pool players had in common this discussion should have continued over in NPR where I dilegently avoid any political threads.

JMO

 

[Russ Chewning]

Call shenanigans all you like, once you got up on your soap box and hijacked a thread about what 3 pool players had in common this discussion should have continued over in NPR where I dilegently avoid any political threads.

JMO

Okay, I will...

SHENANIGANS!!

Russ

 

[Cuebacca]

Call shenanigans all you like, once you got up on your soap box and hijacked a thread about what 3 pool players had in common this discussion should have continued over in NPR where I dilegently avoid any political threads.

JMO

TAP TAP TAP!

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

Economic breakdown, please. Show me the figures that show costs for and against the death penalty.

I'm calling shenanigans on this one..

Russ

I'm not going to do the research for you. You can google it anywhere and see what others have shown. The differences are typically astounding. Jailtime is cheap and that's not including the free-labor we usually get out of our prisoners. When we sentence someone to death, it gets automatic appeal which means a team of lawyers on both sides and we're really just getting started.

 

[Handsumm]

jsp,

Don't take this criticism to heart. It's not your fault he had a total disrespect for himself and for his fellow man and felt his wallet was worth more than the lives of the people he was destroying. There are some crimes that are a "mistake", and then there are some crimes that deserve the death penalty.

I've always been a fan of the death penalty for drug dealers. Some people are going to disagree, but IMO, the only thing lower than a drug dealer is a serial killer.

And at least most of the serial killers have an excuse, as most of them are sociopaths, without the ability to feel guilt and responsibility the way normal people do.

That's my two cents, and I know it's going to make a few people mad. So be it.

Russ

That has to be some of the most Ludicrous talk I have ever heard. Killers should be killed, agreed. But what about someone who sells something that isn't harmful at all like Marijuana. What a bad guy huh, we should kill him.

Anyways, stop hijacking peoples threads for your own personal, very obscure, opinions.

 

[Joseph Ortega]

Okay, I will...

SHENANIGANS!!

Russ

Russ,
I agree with you on almost 100% of what you have said. If my child did become a drug pusher i might change my mind and become a hypocrite. Other than that im right behind you on this one. I think drunk driving has got to be the single most irresponsible thing you can do. In Texas the laws are the harshest in the country and i dont think they are harsh enough. I have friends who have been caught drunk driving and i can no longer look at them the same anymore and I smile when i hear of all the money and heartaches it causes them. I cant stand to think of some dumb ass getting drunk and killing my wife and child. my 0.02

 

[Russ Chewning]

I'm not going to do the research for you. You can google it anywhere and see what others have shown. The differences are typically astounding. Jailtime is cheap and that's not including the free-labor we usually get out of our prisoners. When we sentence someone to death, it gets automatic appeal which means a team of lawyers on both sides and we're really just getting started.

Did you not catch the part where I talked about drastically changing the appeals process?

Russ

 

[Stones]

"Who are three people that have never been in my kitchen."

Now real props to the person who knows where that quote is from.

From the Cheers episode where Cliff goes all in on the final Jeopardy answer. ]"Who are three people that have never been in my kitchen?" was his question, but what was the answer?

I think it had something to do with George Washington, Abe Lincoln and someone else. Maybe Roosevelt?

 

[Russ Chewning]

That has to be some of the most Ludicrous talk I have ever heard. Killers should be killed, agreed. But what about someone who sells something that isn't harmful at all like Marijuana. What a bad guy huh, we should kill him.

Anyways, stop hijacking peoples threads for your own personal, very obscure, opinions.

And I clarified "hard" drug dealers in another post. Conveniently enough you zooooooooomed right on past that one.

I see the death penalty as perfectly acceptable for someone who gets caught dealing crack or heroin. Those are two truly dangerous drugs. Near instantly addictive.

And the point remains... Marijuana IS illegal. If you don't like that, then vote someone into office that will change that.

The point is, by and large Americans don't care enough about legalized drugs to vote those changes into law.

And marijuana is harmless, huh? Hmmm.. If you had a business, would your first choice between two equally qualified candidates be the person who smoked marijuana, or the one who had never done drugs?

(Insert rant about how it's an impossible question, you can't find out for sure, blah blah, rey rey.)

I think we both know that if you habitually smoke pot, your odds of being a truly productive member of society decline greatly. Because at the very core of it, you are breaking the law, and KNOW you are breaking the law.

Russ

 

[Russ Chewning]

Russ,
I agree with you on almost 100% of what you have said. If my child did become a drug pusher i might change my mind and become a hypocrite. Other than that im right behind you on this one. I think drunk driving has got to be the single most irresponsible thing you can do. In Texas the laws are the harshest in the country and i dont think they are harsh enough. I have friends who have been caught drunk driving and i can no longer look at them the same anymore and I smile when i hear of all the money and heartaches it causes them. I cant stand to think of some dumb ass getting drunk and killing my wife and child. my 0.02

Well imagine that.. In America, somebody speaking out FOR personal responsibility!

Mark your calendars, everyone! I think it's one of the signs of the impending Apocalyspe!

Thanks for standing up for what's right, man..

Russ

 

[BazookaJoe]

Flame away..

Russ

Ok.
You're an idiot.

Wilson, ban me if ya have to, but Russ is a friggin moron.

With guys like him, no wonder Bush was elected twice.

 

[ARM9BALLER]

Wow Russ! You got this whole country figured out. America with no crime would mean that hundreds of thousands of people would be out of jobs(FBI etc... I'm voting for you if run for Prez.

What is your interest in Billiards when maybe 90% of the pool world would have gotten the electric chair at some point in their lives?

You can tell all the STORIES you want but no DESCENT father would just sit there and let their Daughter or Son get put to death for a drug charge. You'd be crying like a little *****!

Tell me another story.

 

[Russ Chewning]

Wow Russ! You got this whole country figured out. America with no crime would mean that hundreds of thousands of people would be out of jobs(FBI etc... I'm voting for you if run for Prez.

What is your interest in Billiards when maybe 90% of the pool world would have gotten the electric chair at some point in their lives?

You can tell all the STORIES you want but no DESCENT father would just sit there and let their Daughter of Son get put to death for a drug charge. You'd be crying like a little *****!

Tell me another story.

So let me get this straight.... You don't believe selling crack or heroin should be a crime punishable by death?

Okay.. Okay.. I get where you are coming from. You're not that much in support of the death penalty. But, of course, you fail to see my true point.

We MIGHT have 100-200 cases a year of people put to death if it were actually made law and carried through swiftly. And I very much doubt it would be that many.

As far as my interest in billiards, ha ha.. Well, I think I've made it abundantly clear that there are quite a few people I detest in this game. For the reason you mentioned, that 90% of them have committed fairly serious crimes in their lives. However, that has nothing to do with the fact that I love to play, and I am a very competitive person.

So, just so we have it clear.. Can I get you on record as being against the death penalty for heroin and crack dealers?

Russ