American Vengeance VS. Norwegian Justice

Once upon a time when Puritan colonists came to this country, they decided the prisons back home in England were cruel pits. They would have a new kind of imprisonment called a penitentiary where criminals would go to do "penance" i.e. think about their crimes and atone for them. They would be humane and lenient.

Well that's all very nice but it was quickly forgotten and replaced with vindictive punishment because it made us feel morally superior and satisfied our anger. They don't do that in Norway and it has the Righteous Americans in a froth. How dare they treat those criminals like, like well people!? Everyone knows the only way to stop people from committing crimes is the threat of incarceration- except it doesn't. The death penalty -for instance is an excellent deterrent to murder-except it isn't. No one in the penal system in this country believes in the concept of rehabilitation -once a criminal always a criminal. They don't deserve a second chance.

For those foaming at the mouth that the terrorist-er excuse me extremist, will get out in 21 years after serving time in a cushy country club- he will not, the parole board can extend his time indefinitely and likely will. A cage- no matter how gilded- is still a prison. Next to exile, denying freedom to someone is the harshest judgement we can give -even to a monster.

A true disclaimer

I am tempted to use this myself if I ever get a comments section:

"Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Also, be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous."

Quote of the Day

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
— Theodore Roosevelt

A Novel Solution

We have too many people and not enough money, energy or space to deal with a world of nearly seven billion people. What is needed is a cheap, efficient way to deal with the strain on our resources. Here in America we have to share in the solution to cut costs and return some balance to the economy.

We can start by eliminating the sick, handicapped and elderly. They contribute nothing to the economy, they take up space and energy. The elderly spend their time in idle retirement draining Social Security. Raise the retirement age to seventy. Anyone above that-eliminate. The handicapped are obviously a waste of money. Do you know how much it cost to keep this man alone alive? We’re talking serious liability here. The cost to extend the lives of the sick and terminal ill is staggering- and for what? It’s just an ugly dilemma when the pesky notion of ethics meets the realities of commerce.

Paul Krugman asked in a recent column: “How did it become normal- or for that matter acceptable - to refer to medical patients as ‘consumers’ and doctors as ‘care providers’ ?” Because Mr. Wimpy liberal, health care is a business. It’s a product to be consumed and the cost efficiency must be contained if it is to remain profitable. It’s not just some essential need to keep people healthy.

Why stop there? Let’s bring back eugenics. The state can’t afford to pay for the lazy poor, pregnant single women, and illegal immigrants. It puts a strain on those who contribute to society; you know, people who work for a living. This solution has many advantages. It opens up more housing and resources thus improving profitability.

Forget all the abstract talk of ethics and such, this is about practicality.
Instead of sitting around pondering the morality of every goddamn problem let’s just do something for a change and worry about the consequences later. Humanity never could come to an agreement on such weighty matters anyway. Regarding problems as black or white has a certain elegant simplicity to it.

Either you are a contributing member of a capitalistic, consumer driven economy or you are a loafing socialist who’s thinks you are entitled to a free handout from the government. Only the fit and productive are allowed to live and prosper.

If you are nodding your head in agreement at any of this Swiftian satire, then you need to reconsider your values. It’s a shameful world when we look on each other as commodities or liabilities. We are human beings not products to be thrown away carelessly like a cheap plastic toy. What each of us contributes to the world can not be measured on a ledger sheet. Oscar Wilde remarked that “Americans know the price of everything but the value of nothing.”

Economics has ruined everything. There is no room for such things as kindness where profits are the only measure or worth. Our society is so desperate and money driven that we have lost sight of the social values we esteem. Discussion of ethics has become an abstract we praise without practicing. Mr. Krugman- an economist- sees the danger of this kind of thinking and we need to stop it.

The Honeybadger don't give a shit

Warning! This video is graphic and funny as hell. I think I found my new catch phrase.