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#1
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opinion piece printed in Orange County Register
Sunday, November 9, 2003
The gross hypocrisy of the drug warriors By Joseph Seehusen Rush Limbaugh's ordeal has exposed every drug warrior in America as a rank hypocrite, and for that the entire nation owes him a debt of gratitude. One thing we don't hear from American politicians very often is silence, especially where the drug war is concerned. Yet when the story broke that Limbaugh was being investigated on suspicion of illegally procuring enough Oxy-Contin pain medication "to kill a horse," as his housekeeper described it, we heard hardly a peep from the usual tough-on-crime crowd in Washington, D.C. Given their longstanding support for the drug war, it's fair to ask: Why haven't President Bush or his law-and-order attorney general, John Ashcroft, uttered a word criticizing Limbaugh's lawbreaking? Why aren't drug czar John P. Walters or his predecessor, Barry McCaffrey, lambasting Limbaugh as a menace to society and a threat to "our children"? Why aren't DEA agents storming Limbaugh's $30 million Florida mansion in a frantic search for criminal evidence? Why haven't federal, state and local police agencies seized the celebrity's homes and luxury cars under asset-forfeiture laws? Finally, why aren't bloviating blabbermouths like William Bennett publicly explaining how America would be more virtuous if Limbaugh were prosecuted, locked in a steel cage and forced to abandon his wife, his friends and his career? The answer is obvious: America's drug warriors are shameless hypocrites who believe in one standard of justice for ordinary Americans and another for themselves, their families and their political allies. That alone should completely discredit them. Last time I checked, the Florida legal code that imposes a five- year prison term for illegally procuring prescription drugs contains no exceptions for popular, politically connected talk show hosts. And the distinction being made by apologists for Limbaugh between prescription drugs and "illegal" drugs is spurious: Procuring Valium, Percocet or Oxy-Contin from a street-corner pusher is just as illegal as buying cocaine or heroin. If a legal prescription drug isn't prescribed for you, then it's not legal. So if this pill-popping pontificator deserves a get-out-of-jail- free card, these drug warriors had better explain why. The fact is that 400,000 nonviolent Americans have been imprisoned for committing the same "crime" as Limbaugh: buying, selling or ingesting a substance without government approval. The central premise of the drug war is that addicts like Limbaugh pose a threat to society because they will cheat, steal and even kill to get their next fix. Never mind that neither Limbaugh nor the vast majority of those already in jail ever did any of these things. Most were living fairly normal lives until the government dragged them off to prison, destroying their lives, families and careers in the process. But there may be an even more disturbing reason, aside from mere hypocrisy, why the drug warriors are silent about Limbaugh. Perhaps the Bushes and Ashcrofts and McCaffreys of the world believe, correctly, that individuals fighting a drug addiction deserve medical, not criminal, treatment. If that's the case, there's a simple way to redeem themselves and salvage some good from the Limbaugh case: Get the government out of the business of deciding who can take what medication, period. As long as politicians have the power to decide which drugs are necessary and/or legal, those laws will be made -- and enforced -- arbitrarily. If a pain-wracked radio talk show host wants to take OxyContin, that should be his decision, not the government's. Ditto with a victim of AIDS or cancer who needs medical marijuana. Deep down, even the drug warriors know that Rush Limbaugh would be better off in a drug treatment center than in a prison cell. It's about time they gave every other American with a drug problem the Rush Limbaugh treatment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Libertarian Party http://www.lp.org/ 2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100 voice: 202-333-0008 Washington DC 20037 fax: 202-333-0072 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- For subscription changes, please use the WWW form at: http://www.lp.org/action/email.html |
#2
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= = = Jon
= = = wrote in message ... Sunday, November 9, 2003 Opinions on Drugs and Treatment Do Vary... But Here Is A Simple Fact [.] RUSH IS BACK ! ~ RHF .. .. |
#3
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The fact that his minions still worship him points out the absolute
stupidity of the entire phenomenom. It is a mindless personality cult built on a foundation of oversimplicity. He is a buffoon. His adherents are lobotomized Zombies. On 17 Nov 2003 01:57:20 -0800, (RHF) wrote: = = = Jon = = = wrote in message ... Sunday, November 9, 2003 Opinions on Drugs and Treatment Do Vary... But Here Is A Simple Fact [.] RUSH IS BACK ! ~ RHF . . |
#4
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Rusty Limburger as oxy-moron! How prescient!
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#5
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"David" wrote in message ... The fact that his minions still worship him points out the absolute stupidity of the entire phenomenom. It is a mindless personality cult built on a foundation of oversimplicity. He is a buffoon. His adherents are lobotomized Zombies. Perhaps. But, of course, there's nothing overly simplistic about your "analysis. The fact that people who have barely, if ever, listened to him all parrot the same raving "critiques" (see above) illustrates that not all of the lobotomized zombies are on Rush's side of the aisle. |
#6
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If you are infering that I have never listened to the pompous fop, you
are mistaken. I used to enjoy him prior to his becoming a mouthpiece for RNC press releases and talking points. But I think his slavish obsession with the Clintons put me off forever. On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 23:33:03 -0500, "T. Early" wrote: "David" wrote in message .. . The fact that his minions still worship him points out the absolute stupidity of the entire phenomenom. It is a mindless personality cult built on a foundation of oversimplicity. He is a buffoon. His adherents are lobotomized Zombies. Perhaps. But, of course, there's nothing overly simplistic about your "analysis. The fact that people who have barely, if ever, listened to him all parrot the same raving "critiques" (see above) illustrates that not all of the lobotomized zombies are on Rush's side of the aisle. |
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