Posted on 07/22/2011 11:55:54 AM PDT by neverdem
Since time immemorial, Mexicans have argued that were it not for U.S. demand for illicit substances, Mexico would have a manageable drug problem. More recently, we have also contended that absent the U.S.'s laxity on arms sales and its tolerance for the possession of extraordinarily dangerous weapons, the violence in our country would not be what it has become. Lately our leaders have added a new gripe: Americans are hypocrites because they support prohibitionist and costly drug-enforcement policies — yet, through the specious fallacy of medical marijuana, are legalizing drugs without saying so.
Needless to say, these three points are absolutely valid, true, irrefutable ... and futile. They are the equivalent of believing that flowers and fruits would thrive in the desert if only it rained. They would, but it won't. Americans have not, and will not, reduce their overall consumption of drugs; they will not repeal the Second Amendment or reinstate the assault-weapons ban, which was introduced in 1994 and lapsed 10 years later...
--snip--
On weapons, there are two problems in addition to futile Mexican posturing. First, firepower is fungible. Even granting that most arms used in Mexico come from the U.S. (in fact, only the traceable ones do), there is no reason to suppose that if they stopped moving south, other sources and suppliers would not fill the void. Otherwise, the abundance of guns in countries from Brazil to Afghanistan would be inexplicable.
Most important, though, violence in Mexico did not increase when, in 2004, the assault-weapons ban expired and George W. Bush declined to resubmit it to Congress. (Obama hasn't either.) Willful homicide and every other form of crime had been diminishing in Mexico since the early 1990s and continued to do so until late 2007, precisely when Calderón's war on drugs went into high gear...
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
“On weapons, there are two problems in addition to futile Mexican posturing. First, firepower is fungible. Even granting that most arms used in Mexico come from the U.S. (in fact, only the traceable ones do), there is no reason to suppose that if they stopped moving south, other sources and suppliers would not fill the void. Otherwise, the abundance of guns in countries from Brazil to Afghanistan would be inexplicable.”
Do I discern the faintest glimmer of intelligent life at TIME????
Is it POSSIBLE???
Then the Mexicans who say so are idiots. Their claim seems to be as follows:
Mexicans supply drugs and Americans buy = Americans fault
BUT.....
Americans supply guns and Mexicans buy = also Americans fault!
I’ve always liked the title fo that book, “Mañana Forever?”.
It makes me laugh and think back to the days I first started working in central Mexico:
“Senor Scott, “mañana” does not mean “tomorrow”. “Mañana” means, “not today”.
I still buy that old engineer a tequila or four when I go back.
They have really strict gun control in Ol’ Mexico, how’s that working out for them?
2.More recently, we have also contended that absent the U.S.’s laxity on arms sales and its tolerance for the possession of extraordinarily dangerous weapons, the violence in our country would not be what it has become.
3.Lately our leaders have added a new gripe: Americans are hypocrites because they support prohibitionist and costly drug-enforcement policies — yet, through the specious fallacy of medical marijuana, are legalizing drugs without saying so.
Needless to say, these three points are absolutely valid, true, irrefutable ... and futile."
Wow.
With this premise there is no need to read the rest of the article. None of the points are valid, true and they certainly aren't irrefutable. I would say they are all demonstrably false and I bet I could prove it to a reasonable person. Further I would say that they are deliberate lies used to point fingers away from their failed socialist policies that created the problems they are dealing with.
“On weapons, there are two problems in addition to futile Mexican posturing. First, firepower is fungible. Even granting that most arms used in Mexico come from the U.S. (in fact, only the traceable ones do), there is no reason to suppose that if they stopped moving south, other sources and suppliers would not fill the void.
Otherwise, the abundance of guns in countries from Brazil to Afghanistan would be inexplicable.”
Gee, he ALMOST made some sense.
Too bad he left out the simple fact that only 8% of all the (illegal) “arms used in Mexico” come from the U.S.
LEGAL arms sales to the Mex. Government may be higher, although I think they make their FAL’s domestically, or get them from Argentina.
Technically arms stolen from the Mex. government may originate in the U.S., but it would be disingenuous to claim those as a percentage of the guns being smuggled in.
NONE of the RPG’s, grenades, or machine guns are coming from U.S. civilian sources.
As to the “War on drugs”, I have mixed reactions.
I despise it’s constant use as an excuse to diminish our rights.
I am fine with idiots killing themselves with overdoses, so long as they do it in the privacy of their home instead of on the public street.
Smoke all the dope you like, inject poison if you want, but if you harm me while stoned I reserve the right to retaliate.
Push drugs at my family, I reserve the right to introduce you to instant punishment, no court required.
I cannot support total legalization, I sometimes wish I could,
But total legalization would mean I could not work to stop the pushers from targeting those who I care about.
Are those you care about impervious to your attempts to stop them from BEING TARGETTED?
Are you helpless to stop those you care about from becoming alcoholics?
Since we have all reached the age of consent, pretty much.
As the eldest child of a divorced family I got a lot of the task of attempting to keep them out of serious trouble.
Mostly successful until they went their own ways.
If hard drugs become fully legal, they will also be openly advertised, with seductive slogans and Madison Avenue sales pitches.
Pretty hard to overcome, look at some of the crap supposedly intelligent people legally buy now, unproven “Herbal” remedies, prescription drugs with forty-five second disclaimers, etc.
You would no longer be able to report the pushers to the cops, they would become “Upstanding business and taxpayers”.
Garbage like this makes me glad I never sired any kids!
Yes....and no.
They are laying the groundwork for excusing Operations Fast and Furious and Castaway by saying that they would have just acquired their firearms elsewhere.....
....so....it really doesn't matter that the DOJ and BATFE and State Department were involved in gun running to the drug cartels.
No real harm done, really, just because they got them from our Dept of State and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, 'cause they'd have gotten their hands on guns anyway.
/libthink
See?
Libthink is more convoluted that the Gordian Knot, it has to be to keep excusing their own doing things they accuse others of (and virulently revile them for even if the accused are innocent).
To them, it's okay if they do it, and even better if they spend our money in the process.
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