Corporal Punishment: A Good Rule of Thumb...Removal?

From MSNBC.com: Reno, NV (AP): The mayor of Las Vegas has suggested that people who deface freeways with graffiti should have their thumbs cut off on television. “In the old days in France, they had beheadings of people who commit heinous crimes,” Mayor Oscar Goodman said Wednesday on the TV show “Nevada Newsmakers.”... 

I’m saying maybe you put them on TV and cut off a thumb,” the mayor said. “That may be the right thing to do.” Goodman also suggested whippings should be brought back for children who get into trouble. Story... [Mark Godsey]