Motes And Beams

Some on the right are up in arms about the 300 or so Mexicans killed by Fast and Furious. I guess they have forgotten the 50,000 Mexicans killed in the last 5 years by supporters of Drug Prohibition. Roughly 150 times as many dead. If Fast and Furious is a horrible crime what is support for Prohibition?

I intend to remind my friends on the Right of this until they put an end to Drug Prohibition.


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11 responses to “Motes And Beams”

  1. Scott M Avatar
    Scott M

    Are drugs legal in Mexico? Do the Mexicans have responsibility for what happens in Mexico? There is a well worn trope of The Left that only the Rich Gringos act, everyone else just reacts. That allows any problem, anywhere, to be put at the feet of the Hated Class regardless of ciscumstance.

    Why is it that 99% of Libertarian energy seem to be only about drugs? Sure, there is a Libertarian position on almost any topic, but it seems only drugs inspires any passion among the L crowd?

  2. Simon Avatar
    Simon

    Why are the libertarians on about Drugs?

    A couple of reasons – where is the Constitutional Amendment for Prohibition? I assume the right favors following the Constitution. Or is that following limited to what it likes and feels it is OK to ignore what it doesn’t like. How Lefty of the Right.

    And then there is the support the Taliban gets from heroin prohibition. One foot on the gas the other on the brakes – brilliant.

    And then the violence in America. Roughly 10,000 murders a year. About 2,000 of those are innocents caught in the cross fire.

    Then there is the support prohibition provides for American gangs. Did you know that the Zetas are now operating in North America. Is that a good idea?

    And then there is the prison population. And wasting time going after drugs instead of thieves, rapists, and murderers. Have you looked at how clearance rates for those crimes has gone down as prosecution of the Drug War has gone up?

    Are you aware of the money it costs? At least $25 bn at the Federal level. At least $75 bn at the State, Federal, and local level. All for a program 67% of Americans say isn’t working. Only 11% say it is working. The rest are either unsure or decline to state.

    The militarization of the police. SWAT teams. What if those teams get repurposed against the Right? Oh. Wait. That is already happening.

    Is turning Mexico into a narco-State a good idea? How about the rest of the transit countries?

    I could go on. But that is enough. For now.

  3. Brett Avatar
    Brett

    “Why is it that 99% of Libertarian energy seem to be only about drugs?”

    I’ll overlook the insult implicit in the hyperbole to note that the Drug War has been the most upfront and widespread governmental tyranny of our lifetimes. That is why people go on about it. The entire enterprise is decidedly not OK in a purportedly free country.

  4. Randy Avatar
    Randy

    Why is it that 99% of Libertarian energy seem to be only about drugs? Sure, there is a Libertarian position on almost any topic, but it seems only drugs inspires any passion among the L crowd?

    This one isn’t that hard to figure out.

    Most of the stuff the government does that is consistantly maligned by the conserv/libertarian Right does not end up putting people in jail or on probation nor have the unintended consequences of a violent black market. Our drug laws do cause these things. Once one understands the immorallity of the drug laws and the human suffering they cause, it’s difficult to push it down on the political agenda list, the way a lot of Dems and Repubs do.

    There are a lot of things to fix in our body politic. Ending a war that was immoral to begin with s/b a no brainer.

  5. Scott M Avatar
    Scott M

    So the Libertarians are only mad at the innocent people caught up in the drug wars, yet they quote numbers about active participants in the drug war. Jesse Jackson assures us that when two black men shoot one another it’s Whitey’s fault. I suppose Libertarians assure us that when two drug cartels shoot each other that is also Whitey’s fault.

    I thought the foundation of Libertarian thought was personal responsibility. Yet When the Zetas and the Sinaloas battle it’s America’s fault, especially the fault of people like me that don’t want more slackers made more comfortable.

    How about we blame the people that kill for killing and we blame the buyers for buying and the users for using? Or maybe the L crowd doesn’t think those brown people can be expected to act or identify responsible behavior. You know, like black guys that are certain The Man is trying to trap them with drugs so they buy/sell/use drugs just to show The Man he can’t be pushed around. Even during the Crack Wars in the US, if you didn’t buy/sell/use, or hang out with those that do, you were far less likely to see any harm.

    This thread confirms my point about disproportionate L focus on drugs. There are dozens of unconstitutional government actions a day but I suspect this is more about making dope more mainstream than much else. Have any of you sent money to the drug cartels?

  6. Simon Avatar
    Simon

    Scott,

    You seem very confused and totally unclear on the concept. I’ll let a Nobel Prize Winning Economist explain it to you.

    The Drug War as a Socialist Enterprise by Milton Friedman

  7. Simon Avatar
    Simon

    BTW Scott. If you are fine with an unConstitutional Drug War what other unConstitutional efforts are you OK with?

    Ever notice a Drug Prohibition Amendment? Me either.

  8. Simon Avatar
    Simon

    And Scott,

    What other forms of government waste do you think are worth ignoring?

    If you read around here for any length of time you will see that we like to hit them all. But you are correct “Prohibition” is one of our favorites.

    It is a huge waste AND a violation of rights.

  9. Randy Avatar
    Randy

    This thread confirms my point about disproportionate L focus on drugs. There are dozens of unconstitutional government actions a day but I suspect this is more about making dope more mainstream than much else.

    Funny, your conclusion seem to have nothing in common with the responses that you received. Therefore I conclude that Scott M is a sadistic drug warrior and the only reason he supports the war on drugs because he likes to see people wounded, maimed or killed.

  10. Brett Avatar
    Brett

    “There are dozens of unconstitutional government actions a day…”

    Indeed there are. The subject of this post, however, is Drug Prohibition, and most remarks will pertain to it. Your attempt to use this unremarkable circumstance to malign your presumed opponents on this issue is…remarkable.

    When the subject of the post is another unconstitutional governmental action such as the States’ 1998 Master Settlement, the Executive’s arbitrary use of Executive Orders, the Congress’ passage of unconstitutional legislation while refusing to adopt a coherent budget, or the Judiciary’s willful misconstruction of both law and Constitution, I’m sure you will find most comments germane to the post.

  11. Kathy Kinsley Avatar
    Kathy Kinsley

    “I intend to remind my friends on the Right of this until they put an end to Drug Prohibition.”

    Good Luck.