The Other Side of the Coin

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Thu, 14 Mar 2002 13:00:00 GMT

I Knew We Would Be Friends

As soon as you opened your mouth
And I heard your soft
Sounds,

I knew we would be
Friends.

The first time, dear pilgrim, I heard
You laugh,

I knew it would not take me long
To turn you back into
God.

(The Subject Tonight Is Love, versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)

RKBA Responsibilities is a story I wrote about the other side of the coin of our right to keep and bear arms: responsibilities.

Alan Johnson at The Columbus (OH) Dispatch - Supporters Ready To Press Plan for Drug Offenders - three "mega-philanthroposts", Peter B. Lewis, George Soros and John G. Sperling, are pushing for an amendment to the Ohio Constitution providing money for drug treatment instead of incarceration. This is a bad idea. The state should spend no money whatsoever on anything to do with drugs. That means no money for prisons, no money for law enforcement, nothing. Drugs should be treated like all other vegetables and herbs. Allowed for sale in the supermarket as long as they are properly labelled with their content. I sent the following letter to the editor:

Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 17:40:55 -0500
To: letters@dispatch.com
From: "Bill St. Clair" <bill@billstclair.com>
Subject: Letter to the editor

I read with interest Alan Johnson's March 10 article about a proposed Ohio Constitutional amendment providing $85 million annually for drug treatment programs. This amendment is misguided, but not for the reasons that the drug warriors would have you believe. Jim McDonough is correct that it is a "camel's nose under the tent to seek to legalize drugs". May the camel completely enter the tent. And soon.

What consenting adults do in the privacy of their own homes ain't nobody's business. If they want to buy, sell, and ingest vegetable extracts (aka drugs), gamble, or pay for sex, it still ain't nobody's business. The state has no business making laws about any of it. Never did. Never will. Get used to it.

The state is also not responsible for rescuing people from problems that they create for themselves by doing stupid things like gambling or drugs. That's why the proposed amendment is a bad idea. If they ruin their lives, let them beg for alms on the street.

Stop wasting tax money and shredding the constitution with the hopeless and criminal war on some drugs. Do it today.

Daryl Cagle at Slate - Gun Battle! Wayne Stayskal Vs. Everyone Else! - a number of pro-gun cartoons from Mr. Stayskal followed by a number of anti-gun cartoons form many other cartoonists. Some are quite good. [kaba]

Joseph Sobran at LewRockwell.com - Am I 'Anti-American'? - If demanding strict compliance with the constitution, even in war-time, is anti-American, then both Mr. Sobran and I will gladly be so labelled. [smith2004]

The question of constitutionality rarely comes up, except in the feeble and marginal whimpers of pseudo-constitutionalists such as the American Civil Liberties Union, which actually favors socialist-style government in most respects. No president has ever been removed for exceeding his powers. President Bush doesn't even have to worry about that.

So if you consider the ruin of a noble experiment in limited government "Americanism," just set me down as anti-American.

Celia Hall at The Telegraph - 300 vitamin treaments face ban in Euro purge - the E.U. is about to "harmonise" the sale of vitamin and mineral supplements. This will ban many supplements currently for sale in Great Britain. This has been tried in the U.S. before and will probably be tried again. Ban the f.d.a. Do it today. [samizdata]

AP via Fox News - Gun Rights Advocates Chalk Up State Wins - our right to keep and bear arms is still being infringed, but things are looking up at least a little post 9/11. [trt-ny]

Joseph Farah at World Net Daily - Defenseless pilots - Tom Ridge is wrong about arming pilots. Way wrong. Why pilots need to be armed. Now. [trt-ny]

President Bush needs to tell Ridge he's wrong about this. He needs to call him in to the Oval Office and straighten him out. He needs to arm the airliner pilots as a first step to securing our skies again. This is more important than all the other half-baked security measures currently undertaken by the federal government. This is where airline security should start.

If President Bush disagrees, let him set the example by getting rid of all the guns on Air Force One.

Louann and Robert Carnahan - CHIP Program Problems - one family's problems with a contractor and a government-funded Community Housing Improvement Program. [Billy B.]

C. D. Tavares at Project: Safe Skies via L. Neil Smith - Congratulations on escaping the frying pan... - glorious letter to H&R Block about their caving to the anti-gunners. [safeskies]

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