… has putting decongestants (that work) behind the pharmacy counter actually achieved the end of halting meth production?

I didn’t think so. *sniffle sniffle wipe blow*

So why do we keep doing it? Why do we force every American to suffer under a failed policy? Where is the logic in doing so?

A women gets arrested at the Austin airport because she refused the government-mandated sexual assault enhanced patdown.

Claire Hirschkind, 56, who says she is a rape victim and who has a pacemaker-type device implanted in her chest, says her constitutional rights were violated.

[…]

Hirschkind said because of the device in her body, she was led to a female TSA employee and three Austin police officers.  She says she was told she was going to be patted down.

“I turned to the police officer and said, ‘I have given no due cause to give up my constitutional rights.  You can wand me,'” and they said, ‘No, you have to do this,'” she said.

Hirschkind agreed to the pat down, but on one condition.

“I told them, ‘No, I’m not going to have my breasts felt,’ and she said, ‘Yes, you are,'” said Hirschkind.

When Hirschkind refused, she says that “the police actually pushed me to the floor, (and) handcuffed me.  I was crying by then.  They drug me 25 yards across the floor in front of the whole security.”

Wow. The humanity of all of this.

This is what keeps us safe?

The thing is, we haven’t had a single terrorist attack since implementing “security through pornography.” But yet we have reports almost daily of indignity, suffering, pain, and torment being caused to the citizenry. Why is this acceptable? Is guaranteed inhumane treatment of all citizens on a constant and daily basis a rational justification? Is it a legitimate cost?

The TSA did release a statement Wednesday that said in part, “Our officers are trained to treat all passengers with dignity and respect. Security is not optional.”

But apparently dignity and respect are optional.

Real security may not be optional, but this sort of “farcical security” behavior is intolerable, unacceptable, and inexcusable.

Why are you putting up with it?

If there wasn’t video, you wouldn’t believe it.

Over at Gawker is video of Pat Robertson (yes, THAT Pat Robertson) calling for the decriminalization of drugs (or at least, marijuana) on the December 16, 2010 edition of the 700 Club.

“I’m … I’m not exactly for the use of drugs, don’t get me wrong, but I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot, that kinda thing it’s just, it’s costing us a fortune and it’s ruining young people. Young people go into prisons, they go in as youths and come out as hardened criminals. That’s not a good thing.”

Ah. There’s a video on YouTube:

(That video says this was on the Dec. 22 edition of the show. Whateva… he said it.)

However you want to take the man’s comments well… given a lot of the other looney statements he’s made in the past, perhaps this is just another. Or perhaps, there’s something sound to what he has to say. And you have to consider where this is coming from and the audience that listens to him and that he has influence over. This is rather against the grain. But for once, I’ll agree with the guy.

Art Carden @ Forbes writes:

As a Christian who has written and spoken against drug prohibition, I was both surprised and gladdened [to hear Robertson’s comments]. Given his influence among Christians and social conservatives, this is very encouraging.

Governments do a lot of silly and sometimes heinous things. The American War on Drugs is both: it is silly, and it is heinous. The economic case for drug legalization is rock-solid and straightforward, and a lot of the maladies and social ills that we associate with drug use are products not of the drugs themselves but of the fact that they are illegal.

Indeed. It’s not like all that violence going down on the US-Mexico border is the result of bad George Lopez jokes or tamale importation issues. It’s drugs.

Carden continues:

As a result of prohibition, we have more violence, stronger drugs, and an army of people with shattered lives. There are important moral consequence, as well, and these are moral consequences that should be especially resonant with Christians. My friend Timothy D. Watkins, a professor of music at Texas Christian University, said it well when I was looking for perspectives on this last year:

“Part of what [being created ‘in the image of God’] entails is the ability to make morally meaningful choices. The story of the Fall in Genesis is in great part about God allowing humans to make choices that are bad for them because without such freedom morality is a meaningless concept. Prohibition is the denial of moral agency.”

Drug prohibition–and any other attempt to regulate private, non-coercive behavior, for that matter–cheapens our humanity. It isn’t like we are getting anything in return. Prohibitions generally give us the exact opposite of what their advocates intend. The war on drugs is a war that is almost all cost with scant benefits.

Well, it all depends who we’re trying to benefit. It’s sure benefitting those directly involved in “the war on drugs”, namely the drug cartels and law enforcement (and perhaps pharmaceutical companies), at the cost is great pain throughout society. But hey… what’s a lot of death and crime when there’s money to be made and special interests to protect, right?

This just came over the wire from the Texas Department of Public Safety:

Dec. 16, 2010

DPS urges holiday travelers to avoid Mexico

The Texas Department of Public Safety is urging Texans to avoid traveling to Mexico during the holidays.

“Mexican drug cartel-related violence continues in the northern Mexican border cities, and other locations such as Monterrey and Acapulco.  Drug-related or other criminal activity has been documented in popular tourist destinations such as Cancun and Mazatlan. The safety and security of holiday travelers cannot be guaranteed if they venture into Mexico,” said DPS Director Steven C. McCraw.

The rising tide of violence in Mexico is well-documented from a variety of sources. Kidnappings, violence between cartels and battles between cartels and law enforcement authorities have escalated in recent years.

The U.S. State Department website lists travel information related to violence in Mexico. Among the items noted on the website:

• Kidnapping, including the kidnapping of non-Mexicans, continues at alarming rates.
• Criminal assaults have occurred on highways throughout Mexico; travelers should exercise caution at all times; avoid traveling at night.
• Rape and sexual assault continue to be serious problems in Cancun and other resort areas.
• Mexican authorities have failed to prosecute numerous crimes committed against U. S. citizens, including murders and kidnappings.

“We recognize people safely travel and vacation in Mexico on a daily basis, but the increase in violence is also a reality,” said McCraw. “There are no guarantees that drug-related violence will spare innocent bystanders and that criminals will refrain from attacking tourists.”

Travelers should always check the U.S. State Department website for the most up-to-date information related to security issues in Mexico. (See http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html or http://mexico.usembassy.gov/eng/eacs_MexicoSecurityUpdate.html.)

### (PIO 2010-129)

Read that last quote: “There are no guarantees that drug-related violence with spare innocent bystanders”.

This is all drug-related.

My prior posting was made and queued last night, before I saw this DPS warning. But the point remains. You want all this pain, fear, and suffering to end? The drug war needs to end.

Mary Mitchell writes that we should throw in the towel on the unwinnable war on drugs.

Why?

Because neither party directly involved in the drug war wants is to end. They both benefit, so why should they want it to end?

This is the kind of tragedy that makes James Gierach’s blood boil. For decades, Gierach has been on a crusade to end the nation’s failed drug war.

“Nearly any crisis you can name in America is made worse by the war on drugs: gangs, drugs, prison, AIDS, guns, crime, taxes and deficits,” Gierach argues.

“The reason that this drug war has lasted for 40 years is because both the good guys and the bad guys are in favor of it,” he said.

“The bad guys are in favor of prohibition because the only place you can get it is from them. And the good guys are protecting the growing prisons and subcontractors.

“You have to hire more judges, prosecutors, more probation officers, more parole officers, more drug counselors, and more drug testing labs,” Gierach continued, ticking off a long list of industries that benefit from the criminalization of drugs.

“So what we end up with are the good guys riding the drug war gravy train same as the bad guys,” he said.

James Gierach is a lawyer and board member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

He’s right. Look at the vast majority of problems in the Americas: North, Central, or South. Many of them can be directly traced back to drug prohibition. All this US-Mexico border violence? It’s all drugs. Do you think the violence would be as it is if drugs were legalized and sold like Pepsi? or even regulated/restricted sales like alcohol or tobacco?

I grant, drug use can destroy lives. But just about anything in this world can destroy lives. Sex can destroy marriages and destroy lives… should we make it illegal? should it be banned? Instead, when it comes to matters of gambling, alcohol, sex, etc. we treat these like health matters. Why don’t we focus more on drug use as a health matter?  Instead of pouring billions of dollars into 40 years of ineffective prohibition, what if that money was spent on health matters be it education, treatment, or taking care of other societal health issues like hunger? Why is the focus on making it a criminal matter? Stop making it a criminal matter and much of the crime and pain goes away. Could it create an increase in the health matter? It could, but then at least we could be straight about it, confront it, and work with it in the light. Instead, because it’s a criminal matter many people remain in the darkness and never get the treatment they need because they too afraid of criminal repercussions. Where is the humanity and compassion in that?

I don’t deny that drugs can destroy lives, but the “War On Drugs” is contributing far more destruction, waste, pain, suffering, and death. We need to stop the blind belief that this “war” is accomplishing something, that to call for a stop to failed policy is somehow showing you’re weak or in favor of everyone running around high 24/7. If we really want the social state to improve, ending the failed drug war is a good place to start. But it’s going to take YOU to be willing to stand up and say it.

John Stossel makes a good point. When it comes to all sorts of bogus claims, we’re happy to be skeptical. Ghosts, palm reading, buy this product and it will cure what ails you… snake oil salesmen have been around for ages.

Yet, we still want to believe.

It’s the same with politics. We want to have “hope”, we want to believe in “change”… and I’m not just talking Obama here, because “hope and change” and “getting better” is what the politicians always promise. They always promise big, but they never deliver on those things we want, and generally when they do deliver it’s the exact opposite.

They promise fiscal responsibility. Then they spend like drunken sailors.

They promise to cure poverty. Then their programs make it worse.

They promise to create jobs. But then they make life so complex and unpredictable that entrepreneurs are afraid to create jobs.

Almost none of their promises come true. But few people approach government with the skepticism it deserves.

Whether you believe in God — or psychics, or global warming — that’s your business. I may think you’re stupid, but if you waste your money on, say, a “strength” bracelet, you only harm yourself.

But being gullible about government hurts everyone. Government is force. When it sells us bunk, we have to pay even if we don’t believe in or want it. If we don’t pay up, men with guns will make sure we do.

It’s good to be skeptical. It’s really good to be skeptical about government.

 

U.S. to Host World Press Freedom Day in 2011

The theme for next year’s commemoration will be 21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers. The United States places technology and innovation at the forefront of its diplomatic and development efforts. New media has empowered citizens around the world to report on their circumstances, express opinions on world events, and exchange information in environments sometimes hostile to such exercises of individuals’ right to freedom of expression. At the same time, we are concerned about the determination of some governments to censor and silence individuals, and to restrict the free flow of information. We mark events such as World Press Freedom Day in the context of our enduring commitment to support and expand press freedom and the free flow of information in this digital age.

Emphasis added.

I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry.