Even yourself? That's a sign of self esteem issues, you should get that checked out.

I don't find myself attractive, but I base my self esteem on other things, so it's not an issue, don't worry.

The retarded?  The severely disabled?

Well, I mean I'm not for pulling people out of their homes if they've done nothing wrong, and gunning them down. But if these people eventually end up hopeless lost and homeless I think it's probably the right thing to do. Some people that are retarded and severely disabled can work. You can still work as a Janitor even if you're retarded (we have a couple at college) and disabled people can still work a desk job.

Tell that to people that are still dealing drugs now that in most states there are laws on the books offering life without parole for some drug trafficking offenses.

Some people have the system figured out, or think they do anyway and find that the net gain will outweigh the potential risk. Not all people can be deterred, there will always be crime, but deterrents do work, they just don't work for everyone, at least to a certain point.

To each their own.

http://images.google.com/images?um=1&tab=wi&client=firefox-a&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=Uma+Thurman

I don't see anything "nasty as balls" in those pics.

Do tell, to whose drum do you march, Evonus?

To each their own, I just don't find her attractive. I guess from an older perspective she might be.

Well since this argument has been mainly demo and crystal monkey agree I figure I'll throw in my opinion. If you're going to ridicule me, don't read my post. If you want to debate, feel free.

Prisons should be rehabilitative wherever possible, provide humane separation of non-rehabilitory inmates from the rest of the law-abiding population when rehabilitation is not possible, and never punitive.

I agree with this for the most part. I do believe that a guy who raped and killed 15 people shouldn't be housed with a guy arrested for car theft. I don't agree with the "never punitive" thing.

If the goal of a free society is to protect the rights of individuals, it is necessary to remove those people from society who cannot refrain from violating the rights of others.

I agree.

It is not the place of the State to decide to "punish", but I do believe it is well within the State's authority to detain and separate.

I disagree. It is the states job to deal with people that can not operate normally within society. Now, I'm sure we'd disagree with which punishments would be assigned for the most part, but I think we can both agree jail time is a deterrent. Thieves and con men are put in jail for a certain amount of time as a punishment, so that when they get out they won't take the easy way out. Jail is simply another method of teaching people to operate within the bounds of society, and not try to take the easy way out, no matter what that is. Some people need to have a fear of a punishment hanging over their heads to not commit a crime. It won't deter everyone, but I don't think anyone besides homeless people who are starving to death wants to go to jail, so it will make people at least step back and think, "is this worth it."

Because of this, and because of the fact that I simply don't believe any government should have the authority and power to end the life of anyone -- regardless of what crime has been committed -- I'm opposed to anything beyond simple detention for those who are non-rehabilitative, and I believe that it is in the best interests of a free society to provide a realistic, reasonable path to rehabilitation for any who express a genuine desire for it.

This part I don't agree with, and it's simply because it just seems pointless to me to provide for people that can't ever amount to anything or contribute anything. I think that since they are basically the waste products of society that they should be disposed of, as efficiently as possible. They aren't worth anything because they can not operate with other people. It's not worth it to hurt other people emotionally, physical, or monetarily for these people, because they are worthless.

I'm also of the opinion that victims of crime deserve compensation for their losses in a much greater sense than the State currently provides.  Monetary damages are typically laughed at in the context of our prison system, namely in the sense that "you can't get blood from a stone".

I agree with this.

I'm not opposed to humane work camps as being part of that rehabilitory aspect of the penal system.  Production facilities and other organized working environments that enable an inmate who owes reparations to work an honest and productive -- not just busy work to earn a dime from the State -- day's work on the inside, with the non-essential portion of the inmate's salary going toward paying off whatever debt they owe their victims or victims' families.  Programs of this sort do exist in spotty fashion around the US today, but most of them are eaten up by shoddy management, bureaucratic red-tape and administrative costs, so victims and their families see nothing for it.  This could easily be corrected, but consistency in philosophy and approach must be mandated from the top on down, and, like so many other government-run entities, the prison systems in the United States are often mired in idiocy that would take a bulldozer to clean up.

Gulags comrade Stalin?

Nah, I'm just joking, I agree that they should be made to contribute like everyone else. I think that prison life should just be a harder day of work than that outside the system. This could help the inmates as well as society, because inmates could possibly learn trades, as well
simply getting used to normal work.

For those who are non-rehabilitative, repeat offenders who demonstrate no desire to rejoin society as a law-abiding member, prison should be simply that: a holding pattern for those who are a danger to others and need to be held safely apart from other individuals so as to not allow them to violoate the rights of others.  This should be done as humanely as possible, in my opinion, as there is no excuse for a civilized society to treat human beings like animals or worse, even if those human beings have demonstrated contempt for others and don't seem "deserving" of humane treatment.

My only answer to this is that, if you act like an animal, you get treated like one, for example, being put in a cage. If you have the mentality of a rabid animal, you should be put down like one.

I live in Boston. I think that explains it all. =D

And I'm from Boston. I'm so envious of you right now, I wish I lived in Boston. 

There's the electricity expended, which is a resource of the system, so I suppose it would be Artificial Life, but still...

It's not the actual virus that's using the electricity though, it's the machine that has the corrupted file that holds the virus. The Virus itself isn't actually consuming any of the power, even if it is directing the machines operations.

we're going to Yankee Stadium!! 

*hiss* 

I think that having prison as a terrible place is the SAME reason we have a death penalty, and should be changed for almost EXACTLY the same reasons.

And what reasons are those?

Not covering the crusades is one thing, because it happened a long time ago, and chances are the western view of it is biased, but the holocaust was pretty recent, and if we don't teach things of that caliber we might as well not teach history at all. If the Muslims kids can't keep it to themselves they should be suspended, just like a redneck would be if he clapped about MLK Jr. getting assassinated.

Where do you live in PA? Or are you in western New Jersey?

I live in Trexlertown, PA right by Allentown.

So if you're in Hellertown PA, that means you live less than half an hour from me. <3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceNf-11-ddI

Actually, I fucking HATE people who think that just because something has 'religion' stamped on it I can't point out that it's full of bullshit in general.

I point out stuff is bullshit simply because it has religion stamped on it.

P.S. What did mother Theresa do? I've never heard any bad things about her, so I'd love to hear the other side.