Don't blame me, I voted for the other guy. (Politics General)

@Zincy
I feel like part of the problem is how many people claim that empathy is a bad thing and the like (usually cynical and pessimistic people) and starting to get to some people.

Amnesty International says Latvia has “arbitarily detained, tortured and forcibly deported” migrants and refugees for many years, in violation of EU laws.

Somehow I’m beginning to think Eastern Europe (including the ex-Soviet/Russian Empire republics) is just the US South on steroids. Guess it’s time to resurrect this dude to “teach them a lesson” ;).

@SleepySteve
Wow what a weird coincidence that AI releases a report just now painting an outspoken anti-Russian country as evil.

@Meanlucario
In Star Wars the Jedi viewed love and empathy as paths to corruption and, ultimately, the dark side of the Force, something Sidious was eager to exploit.

Conservatives, (generally) being Star Wars fans, seem to take that idea seriously. Ignoring that a) the Jedi were wrong about that and b) the Jedi almost went extinct because of it.

@SleepySteve
Most people are Star Wars fans. I think you might be on something if you are trying to blame Star Wars for people seeing empathy as a bad thing.

– Anakin Skywalker, Episode II

It was Anakin’s attachment to Padmé, his desire to keep her alive at all costs, that drove him to the Dark Side. If conservatives can’t tell the difference between empathy and possessiveness, that’s on them.

@Background Human
TBF conservatives love property over living things anyway.

@SleepySteve
Do you think of that about me, a conservative?

@Meanlucario
I don’t think you totally consevative though. You maybe have some liberal ideas.

That’s, that’s how that works. Nobody is 100% one thing or the other.

@igotnopicks
I’m very much a conservative, I just believe in criticizing my own side and not drink the republican punch.

Given the timing of alleged abuses - do you believe the should have released the report much much sooner (before the February) to satisfy you or much later? Or do you just say that such abuses are not worthy of public’s attention so AI should have stayed silent? Or you disbelieve that it is happening at all? If you have a problem with that report what should have happened instead?

@Background Pony #0847
I’m saying I don’t exactly trust AI’s recent track record and their timing is suspect. I would not be surprised if the report’s basics had been written up months or years ago and mothballed to be released at a politically opportune moment.

Good news bad news.

Good news: SCOTUS has rejected Trump’s attempt to stall the investigation into his treason. Which act of treason? I know, a shame you have to specify which one at this point. It’s the stolen nuclear secrets one.

Bad news: Republicans are just openly training poll watchers now. They are even telling them, no joke, to bring hidden guns with them. When one of the trainee’s asked if this was even legal he was told “that’s why you keep them hidden”.

Republicans saw how their second daddy Putin forced Ukrainians at gunpoint to vote and thought “Wow! Why didn’t we think of that?”

@SleepySteve
That sounds more like Imperial propaganda than reality.

Question, at what point does justice become vengeance?

Reading the reactions to the Parkland shooting verdict.

With families and various onlookers saying that the jury/courts/justice failed them because he got life without parole instead of the death penalty.

I’m going to deliberately skip saying my opinion for now, as I am more interested in others takes on it.

Does this qualify as a “failure” of justice, or is it a failure only under the purview of vengeance? Does justice need retribution to still be considered justice?

@Zincy
Death sentence is purely a revenge thing.

The tenants of sentencing should be:

That’s it. Maybe a tangential of disincentive. But pure “punishment”, ie. revenge, should never be part of sentencing.

On a purely utilitarian level, I could advocate for the death sentence if it serves a medical purpose (ie. human testing of life-saving drugs or the like), or if we were in a situation where the budget were so tight it was between feeding a convicted killer or an orphan.

Also, I get it. If someone so much as sneezed in the direction of one of my family members, I’d absolutely want to claw their eyes out. But as a “society”, we should be above that.

Personally anyone who would stoop as low as to shoot up a bunch of kids deserves the death penalty.

@Dustcan
Being secretive doesn’t make it any less illegal. I hope it gets leaked who are playing “voting dictator” and gets arrested for tampering with votes.

@Zincy
Revenge is not about justice, but feeling good about yourself. It’s why country/groups are demanding “justice” from people who are nothing but bones at this point and are going after their decedents (sins of the father). I feel like murder with the full intent of murdering others with no desire to stop deserves the death penalty (though the death penalty needs to be fixed to not bee cruel). Fix the system rather than trying vigilante “justice.”

While I do feel the death penalty should be mostly abolished, I do think clear cut cases of murder, especially one to this degree, does warrant the Death Penalty to be an option. In this case I’m fine with either option, but I do think this is something that ultimately should be up to the families.

@Kiryu-Chan
I feel like leaving it to the families is a mistake, since they would be quick to sentence an innocent person to death if they think they can pin the blame on them. Logic is needed, not emotions.

@The Smiling Pony
The budgetary argument isn’t even a good one, given that death row is more expensive than accomodations for ordinary inmates and, since defendants with a death sentence usually stay in there until said sentence is overturned on appeal or they’ve exhausted their legal recourses, their years of incarceration have a heftier price tag than what lifetime imprisonment would’ve cost in the first place.

It seems to be mostly over in Michigan. But I’m set to work the polls come the midterms, so now I have to worry if some MAGAt is gonna shoot up the place while screaming “STOP THE STEAL!”

“The place” I’m working at, mind you, is a church.

@Dustcan
Good luck. Hopefully these crazies being crazy year-round makes them act tamer than we fear.

And they would burn down a church if it was “teaching the wrong lesson.”

@Ereiam
Well yes, I mean in a very clear cut case of “little orphan Annie slowly starves to death, or the Sugarfield Childrens’ Park Cannibal eats a bullet”.