The crowd began cheering. Everyone was happy. I knew that if I tried to intervene I would be taken away, and that the executions would go ahead. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to change what was happening and I might put myself in danger.

--

I found that I was laughing quite loudly. Everyone was laughing. Even the superintendent grinned in a tolerant way. "You'd better all come out and have a drink," he said quite genially. "I've got a bottle of whisky in the car. We could do with it."

--

It's videos and accounts like this that make me wonder if I can ever be for the death penalty or any sort of coldblooded execution. It's an issue I can't figure out my stance on. What justifies this? Anything? Impossible question.

kleinbl00, what's your take on Syria, and on the Middle East in general? America first? Human rights first? Compromise? Is there a solution? I occasionally wonder what I would do if I was president, but I have no idea -- and that's when I take a step back from whatever critical thoughts I'm having of Obama that day.