The Glade 4.0

Chris Rock makes me lol on this one:

[youtube]bMG2ON092GM[/youtube]

"Just cause he made some good movies? Are you kiddin me? Even Johnny Cochran didnt have the nerve to go 'well did you see OJ play against New England?'"

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“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general”. - Mark Rippetoe

Typically, incarceration is either serving to rehabilitate, or as a deterrent for both the convicted and others to reoffend. This is going to do nothing except cost the taxpayers money. I think there are occasional cases where one must ask, "What benefit is being served by incarcerating the person? Is that benefit going to outweigh the cost involved in this case?" In many cases the system already does this -- house arrest, probation or suspended sentencing is often taking these factors into account.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

That was great.

Perhaps. But I think you also have to ask "what benefit is there in applying the law in an inconsistent and possibly unpredictable fashion?" Essentially, we're saying: "If you make it inconvenient enough for us to enforce the law, then...meh. We'll probably just let you get away with it". Looking at the broader picture, I don't see how that's of benefit to the public, either. It really just encourages people to do exactly what Polanski did -- commit a crime and then run away.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

Heh, that's a great quote.

You're getting back to the deterrent factor. I don't believe that applies in this case, as I have discussed above.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

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"It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others' productivity, when they modify the commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.' The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor."

Damn, Nitefox beat me to it.

"I'm Chris Hanson."
"Piss off"

LMAO

The question, Taly, is one of overall Justice. He was convicted of a crime, and when you are convicted of a crime, you do the time. Roman Polanski was able to buy his way out of his debt to the society he wronged by violating it's laws. Those laws protected him, but when he violated them, he fled.

You may not feel that the laws of society apply to folks, but the rule of law is at the very center of our society. Without it, you have anarchy. And, while that might *sound* attractive to some people on some level, an Anarchy would eventually just be a society based on a different sort of law, with a different system of justice that would likely be a lot worse than our current system.

Roman Polanski broke the law. He was tried by a jury of his peers, and convicted. He should serve his sentence.

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It feels like all the people who want limited government really just want government limited to Republicans.
---The Daily Show

As I understand it,

He pled guilty, no jury of his peers. It was part of a plea bargain. The judge indicated he might add another 48 days on above what was already served. The sentence was never handed down because he skipped before the sentencing hearing and they decided not to sentence him in absentia.

This is one of the big questions right now, the original judge is not only retired, but dead.

He now faces a new judge who would may or may not limit himself to the indicated 'old sentence' and would in reality only be limited by the laws in effect at the time of the original trial and the laws in effect now for captured felons who have fled to avoid punishment.

That has got to scare him as much as anything else.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

He deserves to be scared!

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"Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use one!"~ Matthew Quigley

"nothing like a little meow in bed at night" ~ Bruskey

"I gotta float my stick same as you" Hondo Lane

"Fill your hand you son of a *****!"

An inflexible law is just stupidity. Or in the words of Jean Luc Picard, "There can be no justice so long as law is absolute." (Not that I believe in "justice" as a concept anyway...Justice is fiction.)

Anyway, none of this is to say the guy doesn't deserve it, he's a creep. I just think it's an utter waste of taxpayer's money at this point.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Now you're appealing to Star Trek. lol

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The Dude abides.

Actually it's not. Unlike O.J., Roman Polanski is guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. You can not get away with drugging and raping an underage girl simply because you're a famous movie director. Now, we can argue around the subject of whether sex with a 13 year-old girl should be illegal, but what he did would have been deplorable had he done it to a 33 year-old woman. I realize that there are cultures where bullying either a 13 year-old girl or a 30 year-old woman into sex is considered a man's moral perogative in God's eyes, but the United States is not one of them. Neither is France.

He drugged someone to be docile and compliant, and then when she still didn't consent, he raped her. He fled so as to dodge the repercussions of his actions. Then so much time passed that he allowed himself to think it was okay, and his stature as a famous film director would overshadow his crime. Perhaps, had he gone to jail for whatever pitiful amount of time he would have undoubtedly been sentenced to (on account of being a famous film director) that would have been true. Instead, he added another crime to his list. When he found out he wasn't going to get off scott free for rape, he fled to France. And frankly, **** France for holding him all these years.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

I don't disagree with the sentiments of your post, Corolinth, but for me, "making sure the bastard gets what's coming to him" is not a good use of my tax money. Protecting society from a dangerous criminal? That's a good use, it potentially affects me or those I care about. Rehabilitating someone into a productive member of society? That's a an acceptable use of taxpayer money, it potentially generates benefits than it costs. Even giving the victim or their families some satisfaction or closure can be worth it. But I wouldn't be willing (if given a choice) to pay one sent to punish a guy like Polanski, because it has no potential to benefit me, the taxpayer, (or even the victim, the taxpayer) in the slightest.

Like I said, if there were some provision under the law for a guy like Polanski, who has the money to pay for it, to cover the bill for his own incarceration, I'd probably laugh at Polanski the whole time. As it is, any further money spent on this goon just lets him victimize everyone who has to foot the bill. Take your roofies and bend over, taxpayers...

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Then it's a good thing it's not your tax money.


It's worth every cent to me that this guy gets locked up. If for nothing else, that some other bastard thinks twice about being able to hide out in cheese-eating surrender monkey-land long enough that a pathetic outcry by his miserable sycophants will absolve him for ass-raping a little girl.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

"Cheese-eating surrender monkey-land" - I love it.

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The Dude abides.

Thank you, Vindi. You have rather eloquently and concisely stated my position on the matter.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

Glad to have been of service gentlemen.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

The point is the practicality in this case isn't the issue. It's about upholding the rule of law.

If he posted bail and left, we should have sent The Dog after his ***.

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"It's real, grew up in trife life, the times of white lines
The hype vice, murderous nighttimes and knife fights invite crimes" - Nasir Jones

I guess I don't give a **** about the rule of law, either, which colours my perceptions. I see Law mostly as a way to weed out the less fit criminals, and allow particularly competent criminals to rule supreme above the law-abiding sheep of the world. It's a necessary evil, but still an evil to be fought against wherever possible.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

You very obviously do care about the rule of law. You are proof of it.

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"It's real, grew up in trife life, the times of white lines
The hype vice, murderous nighttimes and knife fights invite crimes" - Nasir Jones

The rule of law is the only thing that protects you against a society that would be ruled by the greatest and most diabolical of criminals. You might lay that title at the feet of politicians, but even they are not above the law (or at least, in theory, should not be).

I am all for a flexible law, as well. I think Judges should have a good deal of discretion in sentencing. That being said, Roman Polanski had sex with a 13 year old girl, and was convicted of that crime under the rape statute.

I don't think the fact that he made a deal is particularly relevant in this case, given his flight from justice. He would have much stronger ground to stand on had he not fled.

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It feels like all the people who want limited government really just want government limited to Republicans.
---The Daily Show

I'm not Barack Obama and I approve this message.

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The Dude abides.