Police In The US Now Rival Criminals

According to Paul Craig Roberts, a former editor of the Wall Street Journal and former assistant secretary to the treasury under Ronald Reagan, “Police in the US now rival criminals, and exceed terrorists as the greatest threat to the American public.”

“This has been going on for forty years. These corruptions are emerging all over the country. It’s not systemic to a police department, per se, but it is systemic to the War on Drugs in the context that the federal government is basically corrupting local government with their funds and the helter-skelter way of putting these task forces together and diverting local police from their basic public safety duties to the priorities of the federal government in terms of the War on Drugs.”

—Former Deputy Chief Stephen Downing, a 20-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department.

A comment at How the DEA Harasses Amtrak Passengers.

It should probably be noted that Reagan was a great proponent of the War On Drugs.


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14 responses to “Police In The US Now Rival Criminals”

  1. Man Mountain Molehill Avatar
    Man Mountain Molehill

    If you really want someone to hate try Bill Bennett.

  2. captain*arizona Avatar

    How many people die from illegal drugs and how many people die from the legal drugs prescription tobacco and alcohol? I know the dopers don’t like to be reminded of this. Just because we all oppose the war on drugs does not mean these problems can be ignored. Hillary clinton on her listening tour is besieged by people with relatives with drug addiction problems not questions on e-mails.

  3. Man Mountain Molehill Avatar
    Man Mountain Molehill

    I remember reading an interview with Frank Herbert after the movie of Dune was released. He talked about what it was like filming in Mexico. He said that it wasn’t that they had to deal with both organized crime and the police, the police were the organized crime. Sound familiar?

    Hey zonetard; people getting fucked up on drugs is not a good basis for federal law. If you want to legislate against getting fucked up how about a 5 mph federal speed limit? No more accidents.

  4. CapitalistRoader Avatar
    CapitalistRoader

    It’s all about job security for the drug warriors. It’s a huge, influential lobby which no doubt throws millions in campaign contributions at politicians of every stripe.

  5. Man Mountain Molehill Avatar
    Man Mountain Molehill

    “It’s all about job security for the drug warriors” Also needle dick jocks with 2 digit IQs who get their rocks off toting big guns and kicking doors down. Pay them to leave. “here’s the deal, you can have you full pension, starting right now, if you quit and never work in any capacity in law enforcement again.”

  6. Kathy Kinsley Avatar
    Kathy Kinsley

    It’s all about the money. They make more from illegal drugs than the can from legal ones.

  7. Kathy Kinsley Avatar
    Kathy Kinsley

    That was going on even in the early 70’s – I lived in NJ then, and there was a nearby town which had a police chief – and it was well-known that anyone arrested by him who had drugs would never get charged – because the drugs would disappear.

    He was also known for giving good parties. (That, of course, was before the cops could make money by taking all their property from people they arrested – I’m sure he later adjusted his methods.)

  8. Man Mountain Molehill Avatar
    Man Mountain Molehill

    “It’s all about the money. They make more from illegal drugs than the can from legal ones.”

    Exactly. Yet another argument for legalization.

    Somehow I doubt bootleg Prilosec will have much appeal.

  9. Kathy Kinsley Avatar
    Kathy Kinsley

    “Somehow I doubt bootleg Prilosec will have much appeal.” Certainly not, if it’s legal. If illegal – umm – you’ve never suffered from heartburn? Yeah – it would have appeal if it weren’t OTC. That’s the whole point (and please don’t give them any ideas)!

  10. Man Mountain Molehill Avatar
    Man Mountain Molehill

    Yo. And bootleg heroin, cocaine and marijuana won’t have much appeal after legalization. What are these products really worth, absent Warren Drugz?

    Marjiwanna is an agricultural product. It’s a plant, grows in the ground, likes sunlight etc. I don’t have any direct evidence what it might be worth, but for a similar, legal product, for example, really primo organic catnip runs maybe $25/oz. I just paid $73 for 1/8 ounce of nominally legal buds. It’s mostly taxes, same as a pack of cigarettes costs upwards of $8 with an actual cost of goods of maybe $.50

    No good reason to think h and c would be disproportionately expensive; both are refined plant extracts, like sugar. What would you rather have, a police state or a relatively small number of drug addicts with a fairly inexpensive habit? You don’t need to commit much crime to support a $15 habit.

    I drink several cups of very strong coffee over a day. It’s mostly for the caffeine boost, I have no interest in decaf, postum or such. It helps me get through a days work. Am I a drug addict, a habitual user or just an average guy who likes his java fix?

    If I preferred the occasional line of coke for the same boost I’m suddenly a criminal. Somebody want to explain this to me?

  11. Kathy Kinsley Avatar
    Kathy Kinsley

    “If I preferred the occasional line of coke for the same boost I’m suddenly a criminal. Somebody want to explain this to me?”

    I thought I had – it’s all about the money. 😛

    Legal coke – and it IS legal in some medical circumstances – is quite cheap. WHEN the hospitals can get it.

  12. Man Mountain Molehill Avatar
    Man Mountain Molehill

    Back during WWII both the American and German regimes fed stimulants like meth and benzidrine to troops and factory workers by the ton. This was mostly so Rosie could work extra shifts at the rivet factory.

    Try doing that now.

  13. Man Mountain Molehill Avatar
    Man Mountain Molehill

    Whatever happened to Jury Nullification as a technique for overcoming the war on drugs?

    Back around the early 90s it was a popular argument in Libertarian circles. If people think a law is unfair even one juror can prevent a conviction under that law.

    On the other hand, as lefties like to argue, nullification means a KKK-dominated jury would refuse to convict a white man for killing a black one. boo hiss.
    On the exact same hand, O.J….

    Rogue juries can make a mockery of the law. Which is yet another argument for keeping the law simple and easily understood, and with a degree of common sense.

    OTOH, nulling insanely bad law.

    I never did make up my mind what I think about it.

  14. Simon Avatar

    Jury Nullification in drug cases happens often enough to make prosecution significantly more expensive.