Pubdate: Fri, 11 Jun 2010 Source: Ponte Vedra Recorder (FL) Contact: 2010 Al Sesona Website: http://www.pontevedrarecorder.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5156 Author: Al Sesona DRUG WAR IS A GOLD MINE Illegal drug trafficking will remain out-of-control until law enforcement and word merchants recognize the folly of non-working ways in practice for years without satisfactory results. In far too many instances, courts, judges and attorneys use the legal profession as a personal gold mine the average cash-strapped citizen taxpayer is out of touch with. There's simply no way a common business could isolate itself, charge hefty fees and remain a viable business -- $200 an hour and more, when the bulk of legal work is most often conducted by hard-working paralegals, perhaps doubling as secretaries, paid a typical wage. Eventually all counter-productive behavior self-destructs. However, it would seem far better to rearrange the system, long before that event occurs, wouldn't you say? Porous borders? Where's the accountability? Categorical references such as Democrat, Republican, progressive, whatever, merely cloud clear comprehension of enforcing the law, which must be nothing more, nothing less! When a pompous person clothed in a black robe sitting high above all others in the courtroom is allowed to sit for years, too well-paid, comfy with justice denied, you can forget friendships, families or communities evolving into a nation of praiseworthy people. Is it any wonder our young, having scant hope for a decent future, are drawn to use of illegal drugs as an escape mechanism? St. Augustine, the nation's Oldest City, should be squeaky clean when it comes to being an unblemished example of praiseworthy goodness and righteousness, to all eyes watching. What is there to show instead? County decision-makers to whom we entrust leadership and social order being permissive, rather than protective of a drinking village with a fishing problem and a one-in-a-million place to live. Pristine marshlands and depleting natural resources treated unwisely and infringed upon more and more. Parking meters, choked travel routes, traffic tickets galore, taxes heading higher and higher, jobs and services disappearing. To look at all this and not be fearful and alarmed of what lies ahead is crazy. Abuses, beyond shame and criminal, will continue, dear folks, until leadership conducts its day-to-day affairs in more wisely caring ways. Things will continue to worsen until you decide to make it all change for the better. Be heard from like never before, if you truly want to improve conditions for future generations to come. Please stop being silent and complacent! Please... get involved. Al Sesona St. Augustine - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake