This is my John Galt speaking cartoon

[--Pete]

Hi,

If we are to have capital punishment as a deterrent, then it has to be public.

And leave the remains on public display for many years.

I don't know if that statement is serious or tongue in cheek. Either way, I think not. The unusual makes impressions, the common is ignored.

Idiocracy?

That's good; I'll inform the OED.

Maybe we could call it "Legalistic Totalitarianism".

I like that. We've gone from the capricious and often unfair rule of a monarch to the inflexible and often unfair rule of a legal code. Once again, the sweet spot is away from the extremes.

Philip K. Howard has written three good books on the topic of legal reform; Death of Common Sense, The Collapse of the Common Good:How America's Lawsuit Culture Undermines Our Freedom and Life Without Lawyers: Liberating Americans from Too Much Law.

Thanks, added to my to read list.

--Pete