There is an old saying among political-campaign professionals that if you wear the white hat, you'd better be sure it doesn't get any spots on it. That's just another way of saying that if you choose to be judgmental of others and moralistic, then you'd better be sure there are no skeletons in your closet. People are tolerant of rascals; they tend to be intolerant of guys who pretend to be holier than the rest of us. [continues 531 words]
How is America's War on Terrorism going? Well, actually, it's not going anywhere. There are about 6,000 Americans in Afghanistan, concentrated in about four bases; there are trainers in Yemen, the Philippines and Georgia (the former Soviet Republic, not the Peach State). And that's it. Other than bad laws, busted budgets, overblown rhetoric and a few thousand dead Afghans and "Visiting Others," that's the whole box score. Where are the 60,000 members of al-Qaida the administration talked so much about? I don't know. Lying low, perhaps. I think a better question, however, is, were there ever 60,000 members of al-Qaida in the first place? I seriously doubt it. People who don't have to produce documented evidence of their claims are prone to exaggeration for purposes of inflating their importance and their budgets. Intelligence and national-security types lead the race, with drug-enforcement bureaucrats close behind. [continues 467 words]
National Perspectives Let's talk about the drug problem, which has been the object of America's phony war on drugs dating back to the Nixon administration. First, forget about Colombians, Afghans, Burmese, Mexicans or any other foreign suppliers. They aren't the problem. They are supplying product to meet a demand, and the demand -- 100 percent American in its origin, for our purposes -- is our drug problem. Demand in other countries is their drug problem. If there w were no demand, there would be no supply. Why, then, do Americans take these drugs? The answer is simple. At first, they take them because the drugs make them feel good. Later, they take them because they are addicted. Reducing demand will require two strategies: education to prevent as many first-time users as possible from becoming addicted, and rehabilitation for addicts. [continues 566 words]
Let's talk about the drug problem, which has been the object of America's phony war on drugs dating back to the Nixon administration. First, forget about Colombians, Afghans, Burmese, Mexicans or any other foreign suppliers. They aren't the problem. They are supplying product to meet a demand, and the demand - 100 percent American in its origin, for our purposes - is our drug problem. Demand in other countries is their drug problem. If there were no demand, there would be no supply. Why, then, do Americans take these drugs? The answer is simple. [continues 609 words]
It's probably a good time to think about what appears to be a growing problem -- the militarization of civilian police agencies. American police departments have always been semi-military, wearing uniforms and adopting ranks such as those used in the military. But there are crucial differences between police and the military that we ignore at our own peril. The duty of the military is to close with and destroy the enemy. The enemy is anybody designated as an enemy by the government. [continues 531 words]
Suppose your son or daughter became addicted to crack cocaine. Suppose he or she committed some nonviolent crime to support the habit. Suppose he or she was arrested. At this point, you might suppose the police would notify you. It doesn't always happen that way. Sometimes cops, using prison sentences as a threat, will force a nonviolent first offender to become a confidential informant. In one case, a 19-year-old girl was wired, given $85 to buy crack and instructed to go to a crack house and smoke dope with a man the cops suspected of murder and try to get him to talk about it. She failed, and the cops charged her with the original offense. [continues 456 words]
Suppose your son or daughter became addicted to crack cocaine. Suppose he or she committed some nonviolent crime to support the habit. Suppose he or she was arrested. At this point, you might suppose that the police would notify you. It doesn't always happen that way. Sometimes cops, using prison sentences as a threat, will force a nonviolent first offender to become a confidential informant. In one case, a 19-year-old girl was wired, given $85 to buy crack and instructed to go to a crack house and smoke dope with a man the cops suspected of murder and try to get him to talk about it. She failed, and the cops charged her with the original offense. [continues 519 words]
Suppose your son or daughter became addicted to crack cocaine. Suppose he or she committed some nonviolent crime to support the habit. Suppose he or she was arrested. At this point you may suppose that the police would notify you. It doesn't always happen that way. Sometimes cops, using prison sentences as a threat, will force a nonviolent first offender to become a confidential informant. In one case, a 19-year-old girl was wired, given $85 to buy crack and instructed to go to a crack house and smoke the dope with a man the cops suspected of murder, and try to get him to talk about it. She failed, and the cops charged her with the original offense. [continues 518 words]
Let's take a short quiz on liquor prohibition. In 1919, the Constitution was amended to ban the manufacture and distribution of alcoholic beverages in the United States. Prohibition was repealed in 1933. Did Prohibition succeed in banning liquor? No. Did Prohibition cause the formation of powerful criminal gangs? Yes. Did Prohibition cause violence as a result of these gangs fighting over territory? Yes. Did Prohibition cause a huge amount of public corruption? Yes. Did Prohibition result in a general disrespect for the law? Yes. [continues 521 words]
EZEQUIEL Hernandez 18, was by accounts of his family and friends a good boy. He was out herding his family's goats in southwest Texas near the border when he was shot to death by U.S. Marines on May 20. A grand Jury is currently investigating. Some people who knew the boy speculate that his ' death was the result of mistakes an honest, understandable mistake on the part of the Marines and a more serious, less forgivable mistake by politicians. They say it is inconceivable that Hernandez would have knowingly fired at Marines. [continues 617 words]
By Charley Reese of The Sentinel Staff Ezequiel Hernandez, 18, was, byaccounts of his family and friends, a good boy. He was out herding his family's goats near the border in Southwest Texas when he was shot to death by U.S. Marines a few weeks ago. A grand jury is currently investigating. Some people who knew the boy speculate the boy's death was the result of mistakes an honest, understandable mistake on the part of the Marines and a more serious, less forgiveable mistake by politicians. They say it is inconceivable that he would have knowingly fired at Marines. [continues 544 words]
