We protect children from alcohol. Not entirely successfully, but the notion that they need protecting from it is not entirely wrong, I think.

There are few in europe, or from europe who agree who agree. Becuase alcoholic drinks are not much special in europe, there is little of the US misuse.

Prohibition in any form does not prevent use of a commidity. All Prohibition does is change the risk/reward ratio of dealing in the commodity.

Drugs, alcohol, licences, anything.

I am from Europe, and I disagree. All European nations protect children from alcohol. You are confusing southern Europeans’ lack of a booze culture with their being totally relaxed about children’s drinking.

I agree with the rest of your comment, but it doesn’t really speak to what I said, because protection and prohibition are not the same thing. “All Prohibition does is change the risk/reward ratio of dealing in the commodity.” That clearly is not all it does. I can buy alcohol from a shop down the road. I can only buy weed if my supplier is not currently in jail.

Want to fight crime? Attack poverty. And the conditions that lead to poorness.

One of the arguments the Right has used for a very long time is that the Left is immoral and irresponsible because they favor less prison time and simply letting people behave badly. It’s part of their argument against Liberalism.

They also say they protect the individual liberty of Americans by fighting for smaller government, less taxes and less regulation (Nanny government).

There’s a major contradiction in calling for less Nanny government and for more prison time with the prison guards acting as nannies. I suppose anything that sounds rough and tough appeals to them unless it’s justice for white collar criminals.

But, I think a Progressive take on this issue isn’t to simply call for less prison time or decriminalizing certain activities, it’s to aim for eradication of the conditions which lead to the worst kinds of behavior.

In other words, I agree with OKK and John Edwards that we should fight Poverty, do more to limit gun availability and teach kids about the harmful effects of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other dangerous drugs (even prescription drugs).

The peculiar thing (at least so far as the political rhetoric arguments go) about this is that Progressives want more commerce, not less. We just want it to benefit everbody and not just .05% of the population.

And, for people with a drug problem there’s no doubt we would like to offer assistance — a hand up, not a hand-out. Similarly, we’d like to help anyone who is having a very tough time, whether from drug addiction, homelessness, ill health without health care or otherwise. Liberals also support that and Conservatives say they’re against it, but in the long run will come to support it fully (just as they do most things Liberals or Progressives have instituted, like setting national park lands aside, Social Security, equal rights, Clean Air & Water, financial markets regulation, gov. promotion of business, anti-monopoly practices, etc.).

BTW, when did Hillary become a Modern Progressive? Was it right after she called for an anti-flag burning law?

I wonder how Barack Obama feels about decriminalizing coke use.

For that matter, I wonder if Hillary inhaled after Bill tried, but couldn’t (due to allergies).

There’s clearly a difference between traditional Liberalism and progressivism and I see absolutely no evidence of anything Hillary has proposed or supported which is indicative of Progressivism. Feel free to correct me on that if I’m wrong.

BigMitch @ 137

I’ve done way too much “research.” What would you like to know?

I would like to know where are the munchies?

BM great example for those young boys

Loo Hoo. @ 151

Any word on how Cheney is doing?

I heard that they put his pacemaker battery in backwards – and that he’s now growing younger…

That is too frightening to take in.

The prisons would provide inmates for a few dollars an hour (presumably enough to pay the cost of incarceration). The inmates would get a few dollars a day (enough to buy candy bars and cigarettes). And agribusiness would have a reliable cheap and _legal_ source of labor.

I can’t believe nobody has seen the potential of this system before. It’s kind of a replacement for slavery when you think about it without all the angst of human rights concerns.

The numbers in the prison population can even be controlled to some extent through new laws and sentencing guidelines. Need more cheap labor? Lock em up for longer!

The best part? The biggest chunk of prisoners are young, poor, Black/Hispanic men. Exactly the part of the population you would want to enslave. And nobody cares about them!!

Brilliant really.

indeed, crime pays.

peas!

A very thoughtful post. Thanks. This is a subject near and dear to me, as my youngest son is currently in jail. I wish I could say that I felt positive about his future, but, as you say, it’s very hard to get a good job once you have a record. I’m in HR, so I know how many companies do background checks. When he gets out, he’s got a steep road ahead of him, and I don’t feel very hopeful.

He has received little psychological help while incarcerated. They stopped giving him his bipolar meds, I’m sure to save money. But, being that he doesn’t want to accept that he’s bipolar, I’m sure he was more than happy to go along with that. Just like in middle and high school, he doesn’t like being singled out and sent for his meds. I guess that’s a guy thing.

On a related topic – I read an article a week or two ago about some long-term research that showed a correlation with crime rates and levels of lead. The researchers looked at several cities throughout the world, not just the US, and found a correlation between high lead levels and crime, and between declining crime when there had been lead remediation (replacing windows in old buildings, etc.). It was interesting. High lead levels corresponded with increases in crimes that involved lack of impulse control, inability to stop yourself from doing dumb things.

That recent article about marijuana and psychosis I thought had been funded by big pharma. I discounted it.

And my Mom is actually quite cheerful about the whole thing. In some ways I think she’s waiting for my Dad to reconcile himself. Sometimes it’s scary, but it’s also very touching to watch them try to do their very best for each other.

There are few in europe, or from europe who agree who agree. Becuase alcoholic drinks are not much special in europe, there is little of the US misuse.

Prohibition in any form does not prevent use of a commidity. All Prohibition does is change the risk/reward ratio of dealing in the commodity.

Drugs, alcohol, licences, anything.