Dec 3, 2018

Yes, you have the right to talk back to the government, but it could get you killed

fromReason: “The freedom of individuals verbally to oppose or challenge police action without thereby risking arrest is one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation from a police state.”
Police State America

High Court rules whites have to give their land to black South Africans without compensation

fromReason: South Africa's High Court rejected a legal challenge today brought by a group representing white farmers against President Cyril Ramaphosa's plans for land expropriation without compensation.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Details of the horrible carbon tax bill

fromHawaiiFreePress: The IRS and EPA will develop a cozy relationship to siphon cash from the vat of taxpayer funds for what the bill calls "Administrative Expenses" and "Other Administrative Expenses."
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

America is addicted to outrage. Is there a cure?

fromWallStreetJournal: A healthy society reserves anger for special occasions. Today taking 
offense has become a reflex.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Cop who enters wrong apartment and kills man is indicted for murder

fromCNN: A rare instance where a grand jury holds a police officer accountable for a wrongful death. Grand juries indict less than ten percent of cops brought before them.
Police State America     Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

Gun control advocates in California now want to tax semi-automatic firearms

fromTownhall: Right now, it's unclear what the tax would look like but Levine's chief-of-staff said they're considering a $25 fee per firearm, which is similar to Chicago and Seattle's tax. 
2nd Amendment Assaults

VIDEO: Carl Hart - The Science Of Illicit Drugs

VIDEO: The Cost Of The War On Drugs

Law enforcement's spending addiction.

Stephanie Slade: 'Drug Users Need Treatment,' Says President Obama. Not So Fast, Says Dr. Carl Hart

The vast majority of drug users are not addicts.  "For too long we've viewed drug addiction through the lens of criminal justice," President Obama said yesterday at a conference in Atlanta. "The most important thing to do is reduce demand. And the only way to do that is to provide treatment—to see it as a public health problem and not a  ... MORE

Stephen Chapman: No Opiates For The Masses?

Drug war becomes war against pain relief.  There is no problem so bad that government-imposed remedies cannot make it worse, spawn new problems or both. A new confirmation of that phenomenon may be on the way, thanks to new recommendations from an agency intent on curbing the use of opiates. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease   ... MORE

Drug War Myths Exploded: 7 Facts About Drugs That Will Make You Question Everything You Thought You Knew

by Johann Hari.  A prevailing lack of wisdom. There's no subject in our culture where the conversation is dominated by myths and misconceptions so much as drugs. We are frightened to talk about it. We are tempted to fall back on stock-phrases and mental spasms -- Just Say No, and all its more modern twists. I have always been sympathetic to more   ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - The Matter Of Marijuana

VIDEO: John Stossel - Pickpocketing Taxpayers

VIDEO: Glenn Greenwald - Drug Policy In Portugal

Effort To Curb Painkiller Prescribing Faces Stiff Opposition

by Matthew Perrone. The option destroyers meet opposition. A bold federal effort to curb prescribing of painkillers may be faltering amid stiff resistance from drugmakers, industry-funded groups and, now, even other public health officials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was on track to finalize new prescribing guidelines for opioid     ... MORE

Top White House Drug Official: War On Drugs Is A Failure

by Alex Mierjeski.   That makes it unanimous. The nation's top drug official went on CBS' "60 Minutes" Sunday night and proclaimed the old War on Drugs a failure. Michael Botticelli, who serves as the director of the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, also said he wants to reform and refocus U.S. drug policy. When asked by "60 Minutes"  ... MORE

Jacob Sullum: Pot Pleasure, Pot Problems

As prohibition collapses, abuse is less likely.  It stands to reason that legalizing marijuana, by making it easier, cheaper, and less risky to obtain, would encourage consumption. That is mostly a positive development, since it implies greater consumer satisfaction as more people enjoy a product that prohibition made harder to get.     ... MORE

Richard Juman: Why A Man Who Fought The Drug War For 30 Years Is Now Spearheading The Project To Stop It

Understanding Portugal's model.     When it comes to the War on Drugs, there are few people in a better position to comment on the futility, brutality and tragedy of the endeavor than retired Major Neill Franklin. He spent over 30 years participating in, and directing, state and local police anti-drug efforts before retiring to become the    ... MORE

Robby Soave: Man Jailed For Traffic Ticket Dies In Cell After 17 Days of Torture - Officers Watched It Happen

In the state's custody.   It was a death sentence. David Stojcevski, a 32-year-old resident of Roseville, Michigan, was arrested for failing to pay a $772 fine stemming from careless driving. A court ordered him to spend a month in the Macomb County jail. Over the next 17 days of his incarceration in a brightly lit cell—where he was denied clothing  ... MORE

Claire Bernish: What Happened When Gloucester, Mass. Stopped Arresting Drug Addicts, And Offered Help Instead

Government as public servants, what a novel idea.  Situated on the coast of Massachusetts, Gloucester’s claims to fame include its status as “America’s original seaport,” as well as being the real-life location on which events in the movie The Perfect Storm (2000) were based. Now, the small town has a new reason to be the center of attention:  ... MORE

The Likely Cause Of Addiction Has Been Discovered

by Johann Hari.    And, it is not what you think. It is now one hundred years since drugs were first banned -- and all through this long century of waging war on drugs, we have been told a story about addiction by our teachers and by our governments. This story is so deeply ingrained in our minds that we take it for granted. It seems obvious. It seems     ... MORE

The Nanny State Sets Its Sights On The Stogie Set

by James Bovard.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is finalizing regulations that could ban the sale of most of the cigars currently available in the United States. The FDA last year uncorked a 241-page, 70,000 word barrage of proposed restrictions on the sales and marketing of tobacco products. Some congressmen are pushing back against the      ... MORE

The Beginning Of The End Of The War On Drugs

by Ryan Cooper.    50 years of failure is enough. One of the many depressing aspects of the 2004 election was the crushing defeat of pro-gay marriage forces. Republican operatives, cynically stoking turnout with outright lies, put gay marriage bans on the ballot in 11 states, every one one of which was passed overwhelmingly. So it's jarring that gay  ... MORE

VIDEO: How Portugal Won Its War On Drugs

Feds Decide Better To Live In Pain Than Risk Drug Abuse

The rescheduling of hydrocodone.  Imagine being wheeled into an operating room for an eye lift. As the anesthesia begins to flow into your vein, you see that instead of small precision scalpels on the instrument tray next to you,  your surgeon will be using a hatchet and an ax. Panic swells as you slide defenselessly out of consciousness…      ... MORE