Dueling wasn't legal when Burr shot Hamilton, either.

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither breaks my leg, nor picks my pocket."

Thomas Jefferson

Any survivor who suffered legal ramifications from "Murder Park" could get Jeff Feiger to defend them. Feiger got his fame defending Kevorkian who participated in "murder" with consent.

By the way, Kevorkian was recently released from prison. I guess that murder by consent didn't work out too well for him.

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I am an American. That's the way most of us put it, just matter of factly. They are plain words, those four: you could write them on your thumbnail, or sweep them clear across this bright autumn sky. But remember too, that they are more than just words. They are a way of life. So whenever you speak them; speak them firmly, speak them proudly, speak them gratefully. I am an American. ...a tradition

I never said that we derive our rights from a contract, rather, making contracts is an exercise of our rights.

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"Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question."
-Thomas Jefferson in his first inauguration address

I know that.

Something interesting about the deul: Hamilton went into the deul planning NOT to shoot Burr. He thought that, as a Christian, it would be wrong for him to shoot Burr. So, why the hell did he enter the duel? Kind of odd, isn't it?

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"Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question."
-Thomas Jefferson in his first inauguration address

Actually that entire story is very odd.

You're right that before the duel Hamilton said repeatedly that he didn't intend to shoot Burr. Yet all witnesses agree that there were two distinct shots and that, upon inspection, both guns had indeed been fired.
Yet, none-the-less, when being taken back to his boat, the wounded Hamilton urged his aid to be careful with his gun because it was still loaded, indicating that he was either delusional from the wound or that he had fired accidentally without realizing it.

Huh, I never heard that. That is, indeed, odd.

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"Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question."
-Thomas Jefferson in his first inauguration address

I'm ok with neither... But

In your park idea, none of the victims are innocent because it's mutually consentual.

In a bar, not everyone has agreed to inhaling other people's cigarette smoke so there are innocent victims.

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Congratulations President-Elect Obama

By going into a bar, you agree to the terms set by the owner. If he allows smoking, you have agreed to inhale smoke. Now, let's say that a guy advertises that there is no cigarette smoke in his bar, then you walk in and are blasted by smoke. You have a plasuable claim against the owner.

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"Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question."
-Thomas Jefferson in his first inauguration address

They said my resume wasn't impressive enough.


To the above post, thanks for pointing that out. I don't understand why people don't see this.

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During the journey we commonly forget its goal. Almost every profession is chosen as a means to an end but continued as an end in itself. Forgetting our objectives is the most frequent act of stupidity.
-Friedrich Nietzsche, The Wanderer and his Shadow

All good socialists have villas in Southern France. That's not the point.
-Eurosocialist

Ah, I see you've read Joe Ellis' Founding Brothers.

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither breaks my leg, nor picks my pocket."

Thomas Jefferson

Ah HA! Yes, that's the one. I had been trying to figure out just which book I read that story in because I'd read three on the same period almost back to back to back and couldn't for the life of me remember which it was.

Thank you

I've known Ellis for quite a few years. Though he had some issues regarding his veracity about his military career, he's an excellent writer & I don't miss a thing he publishes.

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither breaks my leg, nor picks my pocket."

Thomas Jefferson