Thanks, that was an interesting read. I did notice that a lot of the quotes they used were from the early 20th century, so it makes me wonder if maybe his views changed later in life.

Certainly surprising though that someone who seemed so committed to peace could hold views like that.

Do you have anything about the child molestation you mentioned?

If you don't mind me asking, could you site a source for the whole Ghandi thing? It's just that I've studied India before and never heard either of those accusations. Thanks.

No worries. I find evolution fascinating and am always happy to discuss it.

Well, yes. That is the point. The pain is enough to bring a perpetrator to a stop, yet not enough to kill or to cause permanent damage (rare exceptions).

Actually what's nice about tasers is that usually it isn't the pain that's causing the compliance, it's the fact that it causes neuromuscular interference. This means that even if the person could resist the pain (which it is very possible for a determined suspect to do) their muscles won't respond while they are under. The wider the spread of the two probes, the larger the area of muscles are effected.

So you don't care how a taser works, what its effects are or what useful purpose it may serve? These are all relevant points to the discussion about whether the taser should be allowed or not. I also didn't think I wrote too much, but I guess if you don't have the patience to read less than a page of writing you've got bigger problems than tasers.

The argument that I made stated that of all the non lethal tools that can be employed by police, the taser is the least cruel because it is the most effective while also causing the least permanent damage.

As far as the video: if you are being arrested don't resist. That is the surest way to get in trouble. If you think you are being wrongfully arrested plead your case later, and then file a complaint against the officers. Did he deserve to be arrested, certainly not at first, but they officers were just trying to escort him out of the building. It was when he started fighting that he got himself into trouble. What you have to keep in mind though, is that this guy went in their intending to make a scene. He asked questions without waiting for answers because he was looking for attention and not answers. The fact that he got national attention as the "don't tase me bro" guy was more than he could have ever dreamed for.

Now the more important point that you are trying to make, and I think it's a relevant one, is that police can abuse their power. This is a fact that is not limited to tasers and is, in my opinion, a serious issue that needs addressing. That is what the media is there for to call our attention to. Cops are humans, and some humans are dicks. I would not make the mistake, however, of associating a few bad apples with all police in general. In my experience I've found that law enforcement officials generally are just concerned about doing their job and keeping people safe. If they don't absolutely have to, a police officer is not going to use a taser. The amount of paperwork alone is a pretty good deterrent, not to mention that the tasers keep track of every time they are fired so there's no way to hide the fact that you used it.

Now let us move onto the insane paranoia.

Think about it — how many laws have you broken today? This week? This month?

None very serious. I also haven't been harassed by cops so I guess it isn't an issue.

Have you changed lanes without a turn signal? Exceeded the posted speed limit?

Almost certainly, but the good thing about traffic crimes is that a) they are severely underenforced and b) usually just amount to a small fine.

Hired a neighborhood kid to cut your grass and then paid him under the table?

You clearly don't understand how taxes work. The government doesn't care about small amounts, and paying a kid to mow your lawn is not illegal. If you can show me even one instance where someone has been prosecuted for paying someone to mow their grass then I will concede the point.

Engaged in commerce with someone who is in the country illegally?

Unless you knowingly hired someone who was an undocumented worker then you are completely safe, and even when people are caught hiring undocumented workers its almost always the workers that get in trouble, not the one who hired them. Once again, know the law before you make outrageous claims.

Bought lemonade from an unlicensed "dealer" in the form of an innocent child?

You don't need a license to sell lemonade. Stop being dumb because this is getting old. Lets pretend though for a second that you aren't being delusional and that instead of lemonade you said alcohol (a beverage you do need a license to sell) and that instead of innocent child you said bootlegger. This is a little bit more of a reasonable scenario.

Even in this scenario, however, it would only be the bootlegger that would get into trouble, not you for buying the alcohol.

It sounds like you are really wound up and angry at the world. Maybe there is a good reason for it, maybe their isn't. I don't know you personally so I can't say. What I do know is that it might help to take some deep breaths and relax. We don't live in a ridiculous police state, and people are not constantly being harassed by the police. The police have better things to do, like go after actual murderers and rapists.

In case you haven't noticed, we have gotten way off track, so one last word about tasers. You really loved to give hypotheticals, so how about I try one or two? Lets say a man who is high on some drug comes charging at a police officer with a bat. Now in this situation, an officer could legally use his firearm. The man poses an immediate threat. However, with the taser the police officer can attempt to subdue him in a non lethal way that will have virtually no side effects. Bullets, by the way, have some pretty serious health side effects.

One more hypothetical, two men are fighting with each other. An officer, who doesn't have backup wants to break it up but neither man is stopping. With a taser the officer can fire it so that one prong hits each man and because they are touching both will be electrocuted until they separate. Once again, no side effects and you get the desired result, which is compliance.

You appear to be oversimplifying (or to put it away, you dumbed down a little too much). While it is true that the majority of humans (and any other sexually reproducing species) are heterosexual it is also true that homosexuality is also prevalent in a minority of the population. Furthermore it is prevalent to the point where it cannot be dismissed simply as a mental disorder.

Furthermore if homosexuality is unnatural (as you claim it to be) then we would not expect to see it in nature. Cases of homosexuality in animals for example should be few and far between. Is this the case? I'll let you decide. Here is a list of mammals in which homosexuality has been observed.

African Buffalo

African Elephant

Agile Wallaby

Amazon River Dolphin(Boto)

American Bison

Antelope

Asian Elephant

Asiatic Lion

Asiatic Mouflon

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin

Australian Sea Lion

Barasingha

Barbary Sheep

Beluga

Bharal

Bighorn Sheep

Black Bear

Blackbuck

Black-footed Rock Wallaby

Black-tailed Deer

Bonnet Macaque

Bonobo

Bottlenose Dolphin

Bowhead Whale

Brazilian Guinea Pig

Bridled Dolphin

Brown Bear

Brown Capuchin

Brown Long-eared Bat

Brown Rat

Buffalo

Caribou

Cat (domestic)

Cattle (domestic)

Cheetah

Collared Peccary

Commerson's Dolphin

Common Brushtail Possum

Common Chimpanzee

Common Dolphin

Common Marmoset

Common Pipistrelle

Common Raccoon

Common Tree Shrew

Cotton-top Tamarin

Crab-eating Macaque

Crested Black Macaque

Cui

Dall's Sheep

Daubenton's Bat

Dog (domestic)

Doria's Tree Kangaroo

Dugong

Dwarf Cavy

Dwarf Mongoose

Eastern Cottontail Rabbit

Eastern Grey Kangaroo

Elk

Euro (a subspecies of wallaroo)

European Bison

Fallow Deer

False Killer Whale

Fat-tailed Dunnart

Fin Whale

Fox

Gazelle

Gelada Baboon

Giraffe

Goat (Domestic)

Golden Monkey

Gorilla

Grant's Gazelle

Grey-headed Flying Fox

Grey Seal

Grey squirrel

Grey Whale

Grey Wolf

Grizzly Bear

Guinea Pig (Domestic)

Hamadryas Baboon

Hamster (Domestic)

Hanuman Langur

Harbor Porpoise

Harbor Seal

Himalayan Tahr

Hoary Marmot

Horse (domestic)

Human

Indian Fruit Bat

Indian Muntjac

Indian Rhinoceros

Japanese Macaque

Javelina

Kangaroo Rat

Killer Whale

Koala

Kob

Larga Seal

Least Chipmunk

Lechwe

Lesser Bushbaby

Lion

Lion-tailed Macaque

Lion Tamarin

Little Brown Bat

Livingstone's Fruit Bat

Long-eared Hedgehog

Long-footed Tree Shrew

Macaque

Markhor

Marten

Matschie's Tree Kangaroo

Moco

Mohol Galago

Moor Macaque

Moose

Mountain Goat

Mountain Tree Shrew

Mountain Zebra

Mouse (domestic)

Moustached Tamarin

Mule Deer

Musk-ox

Natterer's Bat

New Zealand Sea Lion

Nilgiri Langur

Noctule

North American Porcupine

Northern Elephant Seal

Northern Fur Seal

Northern Quoll

Olympic Marmot

Orangutan

Orca

Pacific Striped Dolphin

Patas Monkey

Pere David's Deer

Pig (Domestic)

Pig-tailed Macaque

Plains Zebra

Polar Bear

Pretty-faced Wallaby

Proboscis Monkey

Pronghorn

Przewalski's Horse

Puku

Quokka

Rabbit

Raccoon Dog

Red Deer

Red Fox

Red Kangaroo

Red-necked Wallaby

Red Squirrel

Reeves's Muntjac

Reindeer

Rhesus Macaque

Right Whale

Rock Cavy

Rodrigues Fruit Bat

Roe Deer

Rufous Bettong

Rufous-naped Tamarin

Rufous Rat Kangaroo

Saddle-back Tamarin

Savanna Baboon

Sea Otter

Serotine Bat

Sheep (Domestic)

Siamang

Sika Deer

Slender Tree Shrew

Sooty Mangabey

Sperm Whale

Spinifex Hopping Mouse

Spinner Dolphin

Spotted Hyena

Spotted Seal

Squirrel Monkey

Striped Dolphin

Stuart's Marsupial Mouse

Stumptail Macaque

Swamp Deer

Swamp Wallaby

Takhi

Talapoin

Tammar Wallaby

Tasmanian Devil

Tasmanian Rat Kangaroo

Thinhorn Sheep

Thomson's Gazelle

Tiger

Tonkean Macaque

Tucuxi

Urial

Vampire Bat

Verreaux's Sifaka

Vervet

Vicuna

Walrus

Wapiti

Warthog

Waterbuck

Water Buffalo

Weeper Capuchin

Western Grey Kangaroo

West Indian Manatee

Whiptail Wallaby

White-faced Capuchin

White-fronted Capuchin

White-handed Gibbon

White-lipped Peccary

White-tailed Deer

Wild Cavy

Wild Goat

Wisent

Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby

Yellow-toothed Cavy

Now once again, this is just mammals. There are equally long lists for birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. In fact you can find homosexuality in virtually every sexually reproducing organism. Why is this the case? There are a lot of theories as to why homosexuality is so prevalent but I won't go into them here (unless you're actually curious). The point is that having some portion of the population as homosexual clearly is advantageous to the survival of that population.

Maybe it would be useful to think of homosexuality like left handedness. The majority of the population is right handed, however there is a minority that are not. They didn't choose to be, that's how they are.

I find it hard to imagine how one would choose to be a certain sexual orientation. There was never a moment in my life when I thought: I think I'd prefer to be attracted to women, and if you are a straight male (which I am assuming you are) then I would assume you never had to choose who you were attracted to. It happens on a biological level. If, however there was a moment when you felt yourself attracted to men and then chose not to pursue that attraction and instead "decided" to be attracted to females then...well that sounds like a personal issue, but I would understand why you're confused.

For people who are curious exactly what her views on the subject are, here are a number of relevant quotes from her on the subject of gay marriage and homosexuality in general.

The theory of punctuated equilibrium doesn't really contradict the general theory of evolution, it just explains some of the details in various circumstances. You are correct though that under certain environmental pressures evolution can proceed more rapidly, and when there is very little environmental pressure to evolve organisms may undergo almost no evolution.

I'm not sure, however, what point you are trying to make with this.

Not really. I learned it through school and just generally hearing stuff from friends or reading it on the internet.

By the time my parents would have felt I was ready for the sex talk there was nothing else to tell me about.

I meant to say "...in the same way mathematical proofs can be proven".