The European Union has asked the state government of Texas to implement a death penalty moratorium. This just came via e-mail from Gov. Rick Perry's office, in response:
“230 years ago, our forefathers fought a war to throw off the yoke of a European monarch and gain the freedom of self-determination. Texans long ago decided that the death penalty is a just and appropriate punishment for the most horrible crimes committed against our citizens. While we respect our friends in Europe, welcome their investment in our state and appreciate their interest in our laws, Texans are doing just fine governing Texas.”
That's not gonna cost Ol' Rick many votes, just so you know.
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Also, consider that an American considered "poor" is just as likely to have air conditioning in his or her home than is the average European.
I guess population density in Europe must take the blame for that too?
No, you can blame that on Europe's climate, which is considerably cooler during the summers (at least the non-Mediterranean bits). My wife's Belgian family is far from poor, but they've just never thought that they needed an air-conditioner.
Elizabeth - thats just it, they don't stay in jail.
Interestingly, the Catechism of the Catholic Church "does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor," assuming "that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined." It does, however, urge other options be considered first. Together with the reality that people have been wrongly convicted in the past, this causes me to have qualms about the death penalty. As such, my position on the issue can be best summed up as "Abolish the death penalty, when life in jail means life in jail."
The concerns of Europe, however, have absolutely no impact on my thinking, so I fully support Perry's response to the EU.
The death penalty, to be sure, has been abolished in Europe when applied to individual criminals. However, Europe as a whole is undergoing a self-inflicted demise of its culture and its progeny. So, Europe does in fact favor the death penalty, but only if it is suicide and only if it is applied to the continent as a whole.
Inevitably, the death penalty for individuals will be reestablished in Europe by the end of the 21st century by the Sharia law of Islamic governments in the UK, France, and Germany. Westminster Cathedral will be a mosque and the archbishop of Canterbury will become headless and then replaced by the Imam of East Londonstan.
ROFL. You should go on the comedy circuit, or maybe start writing science fiction with that kind of absurd imagination.
Oh, we are all SO against one country imposing its standards and values on another country. We are all SO against one country saying "we don't like how you kill people that don't fit in with your standards of behavior." How could a country be so arrogant as so make such a statement to another country?
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