Is anyone *not* redeemable?

Is there ever a point where a person is beyond redeeming?

This question occurred to me when I read David’s comment in response to my Death Penalty blog post, where he wrote: “I’m a sucker for redemption.” It got me thinking… There are many reasons for criminal incarceration, one being the idea of rehabilitation. But can everyone be rehabilitated? Or are some people beyond any hope?

WriterChick’s comment to the same post brought up the valid point that some types of criminals seem to have no “cure” for their compulsions. When they are released, they typically go back to the same crimes.

In a similar vein, consider the wife whose husband constantly cheats on her. We’ve all heard this story a million times. When she catches him, he cries and begs for forgiveness. She takes him back, and before long he’s back to his old ways. How many times have we cringed when we’ve seen politicians’ wives take back their cheating husbands, because we all know it’s just going to keep on happening?

Of course, every now and then, you find someone who is truly sorry and really doesn’t go back to his old habits. But those seem to be few and far between.

So how do you know if someone is redeemable, a part of those few exceptions? And if there is a point when someone can no longer change, how do you know when he or she has reached that point?

I don’t have the answers, but I’m curious what people reading this blog think. I know that a certain sect of Christianity, called Calvinists, believe people don’t have any free will at all and that some people are created for “destruction.” The unfortunate side effect of this belief is that some use it to never take responsibility for their actions. They don’t have to feel guilt because God made them do it, after all.

Then there are people like me who believe life is a mysterious merging of Calvinism and Armenianism. But that’s for a different post that I probably won’t ever write.

So, what do you think? Can anyone be rehabilitated? Or are some people simply beyond saving?

Acquitted for murdering a Twinkie thief

Ever think that sometimes life doesn’t make sense? Look no further than the bizarre outcome of a Twinkie murder for proof.

Long story short… A Texan was acquitted of murder when he claimed self defense after shooting a teenager IN THE BACK when the teen tried to steal Twinkies from his house. Keep in mind that he had the teenager on his knees, completely subdued, when he chose to shoot him. I’m all for self defense, but this is not an example of such.

The details of the story are in the link above, and you should definitely check it out.

Death Penalty: Yay or Nay?

So, I’m taking a break from humorous posts for something a bit more serious.

Just this past week, the Dallas County DA has announced that he wants to re-examine almost all of the pending death row cases to see if DNA evidence might exonerate some of the people in jail. This comes after Patrick Waller was released from prison over the summer when DNA tests revealed he was innocent.

I’m thinking about doing a project for my business about this topic, so I’m hoping some of you might share your views on this subject. Are you for or against the death penalty? And why or why not?

I can’t go into any more details about my idea right now, but if anything comes of it, my blog readers will be the first to know!

A beary serious problem

Hurricane Ike brought more than rain & wind…

You know, it really doesn’t matter how many times I watch this. I laugh just as much every time…

Spam…Text messages?

As if receiving 100+ spam in my e-mail account every day isn’t bad enough…

Today I received a text message on my cell phone… And it was spam! What the heck? When did people start spamming folks through text messages and how do I get it to stop?! Especially creepy is the lack of a phone number to go with the text.

Anyone else gotten something like this?

Blog Award!

I’ve received a blog award! It’s from KnightOwl73. Thank you KnightOwl!

Of course, this award comes with some fun stipulations:

1. Put the award logo on the post
2. Link back to the person who nominated you
3. Nominate 7 other blogs and link to them
4. Let your winners know of their winningness (make up words if you have to)

So here’s a moment of truth… I’ve been putting off posting about this award because I can’t pick just 7 winners! There are far more blogs that deserve the honor than just seven, and I don’t want anyone to feel sad if they didn’t end up on the list due to lack of space.

So, I’m taking a different approach. I’m still nominating 7 blogs, but of people I don’t know, who have never heard of me, never commented here, and know nothing about Dube’s World. These are just some random, fun blogs that I think you might enjoy too, in no particular order.

1.) People Who Deserve a Beat Down – Fun times! This blog calls out all the idiots of the world who get on our nerves.

2.) Io9 – I love science fiction. So of course, any blog that focuses on scifi is at the top of my list!

3.) Engadget - I also love technology. This is my favorite site to visit for technology updates.

4.) Happiness Project – A Harvard Law grad turned writer.

5.) Michelle Malkin – Incredibly entertaining conservative blog for anyone who loves politics like I do!

6.) Hello Kitty Hell – This is, without a doubt, the funniest website/blog that I have ever seen! It’s written by a husband who hates Hello Kitty, which – unfortunately – his wife has quite the obsession about. With that combination, hilarity quickly ensues.

7.) Joseph Mallozzi – Yes, the executive producer of Stargate Atlantis has a blog. And he writes about Stargate!

I hope you will enjoy these links! And I hope you will share some of your favorite blogs in the comments here so I can check them out!