>In Sierra Leone, a major cocaine-trafficking prosecution was almost upended by the attorney general’s attempt to solicit $2.5 million in bribes.
Are we caring about crackheads in that half a**ed 5th world country?
Legalize, tax at 5% and defund
There would be fewer causalities, more liberty and fewer SWAT teams.
All of this over one group of people who become personally offended at the idea of another group of people ingesting a chemical to ‘feel different’.
We are seeing a replay of the 1920s right before our very eyes, only this time it’s worse. Our inability to LEARN FROM HISTORY is just STUPID!!!
One thing is certain. The least effective a policy/program/agency of the government is, the longer we can be assured of it’s existence. Even worse, the more we see something isn’t working, we double down on what we are doing wrong. It’s as if people can’t just ‘let go’ when it’s clear that something isn’t working....
Anyone could make a big list:...
Social Security
The War on Drugs
Public Education
Medicare/Medicaid
War on Poverty
I could literally type all night, so I’ll stop now....
What passes for “logic” regarding policy in the year 2010:
“Hey, this isn’t working”... “We obviously haven’t spent enough money on it” (the question of whether or not we should even be doing it in the first place is never raised)
To all of you ‘drug warriors’ out there, what do you propose we try next? What we’ve done thus far has been a failure. You must realize we are broke, our Constitution has been shredded, and even if we weren’t broke, we would sure as hell go broke building enough prisons to incarcerate everyone that takes a puff from a ‘joint’. Are you willing to destroy what’s left of our country in this failed idealistic pursuit?
Legalize drugs, tax them, and criminalize driving a car or doing anything else hazardous to others while under the influence. I don’t care what witless things people do to themselves unless they put others at risk.
I wish the NY Times would source its info to the actual cable so we could check to see if its interpretation of what the cables say is actually what the cables say.
A certain US politician whose name shall not be mentioned lest it draw paroxysms of rage has suggested that elements of aggressive US foreign policy might draw the ire of some foreigners. Can we ask the question of exactly how much did the DEA respect the constitutions and legal systems of foreign states in these operation? Did the close relations between the DEA and certain corrupt foreign political leaders damage the image of the US abroad?
Nice to know that wikipedia is better edited than the NYT.
Can’t wait for that reading of the ol’ Constitution.
Trivia bump