Free Republic

DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ― North Dallas resident Micah Harleaux has nothing but fond memories of his best friend who was killed in a drunken driving accident. "Carl was an extremely funny individual, he had a biting sense of humor," Harleaux said. "He was full of life." Carl Lotspeich was killed nearly a year ago when a drunken driver slammed into the 25-year-old's car on the Dallas Tollway. The driver, who also died, was heading the wrong way. "There are advancements in automobiles like seat belts and air bags to protect not only the driver but also those...

If the idea is to create a drug-free America, then we can safely say that after hundreds of billions of dollars spent, millions of arrests, and decades of escalating police and military efforts, the war on drugs is a complete failure. The reason is clear if you think about it. The attempt to use government force and central planning -- violence and socialism, essentially -- to effectively mold society by preventing people on an individual basis from growing, producing, transferring, and ingesting drugs of their choice, is a ridiculous fantasy and always has been. There will forever be ways to...

America's experiment with banning alcohol created problems that persist to this day. BY THOMAS FLEMING On Dec. 5, 1933, Americans liberated themselves from a legal nightmare called Prohibition by repealing the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. Today most people think Prohibition was fueled by puritanical Protestants who believed drinking alcohol was a sin. But the vocal minority who made Prohibition law believed they were marching in the footsteps of the abolitionists who sponsored a civil war to end another moral evil—slavery. At least as important was the belief that Prohibition would produce health and wealth. Yale economist Irving Fisher, the...

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) ― Grain alcohol would not be available for sale in Maryland, under a proposal from a western Maryland lawmaker. State legislators will hold a hearing Friday on the bill, which would prohibit the sale of beverages with an alcohol content of 95 percent or more. Sen. George Edwards said he introduced the legislation at the request of Frostburg State University leaders. He said he backs the bill for safety reasons, because "when you get to 190 proof, you're almost pure alcohol and it don't take much of that to do somebody in." State legislative staffers say at...

The little-told story of how the U.S. government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition with deadly consequences. It was Christmas Eve 1926, the streets aglitter with snow and lights, when the man afraid of Santa Claus stumbled into the emergency room at New York City's Bellevue Hospital. He was flushed, gasping with fear: Santa Claus, he kept telling the nurses, was just behind him, wielding a baseball bat. Before hospital staff realized how sick he was—the alcohol-induced hallucination was just a symptom—the man died. So did another holiday partygoer. And another. As dusk fell on Christmas, the hospital staff tallied up more...

I can't help but wonder how drug-war proponents explain the violence in Mexico that has killed some 6,000 people in the last year and 16,000 after Mexican President Calderon, with the full encouragement of U.S. officials, deployed 50,000 Mexican troops and federal police three years ago to wage war against the drug dealers. Taking a cue from the war on terrorism, I think some drug-war proponents might argue the following: "The violence in Mexico, including the killing of scores of federal police officers, has nothing to do with the illegality of drugs. It's all because the drug trade attracts a...

At around the turn of the century, before or just after World War I, the progressive amendments were passed. Not since the post Civil War era was there ever such a speedy passage of amendments to the Constitution or since. In a period of about 10 years or so, we saw four radical amendments passed and ratified into the Constitution. They are amendments 16, 17, 18, and 19. The era in which they were passed was one of optimism among the American Left and many of the influential leaders. New areas of science were opening up as well as new...

The Atlantic Foreign Affairs December 2009 In the almost three years since President Felipe Calderón launched a war on drug cartels, border towns in Mexico have turned into halls of mirrors where no one knows who is on which side or what chance remark could get you murdered. Some 14,000 people have been killed in that time, the worst carnage since the Mexican Revolution, and part of the country is effectively under martial law. Is this evidence of a creeping coup by the military? A war between drug cartels? Between the president and his opposition? Or just collateral damage from...

There is little to salvage from last week’s mass murder at Fort Hood, Texas, but there are some stark realizations this heartbreaking horror exposes. One is the wishful but mistaken notion that such incidents can be prevented by laws prohibiting or strictly restricting access to firearms. The Second Amendment not with standing, U.S. military bases prohibit unauthorized personnel from carrying firearms on base. Access to military weapons is carefully restricted and weapons are secured in armories. Never the less, even within the well regulated conditions of a military base, a man was able to acquire and conceal two powerful personal...

Call it a culture clash, trans-Atlantic style. The British think Americans are puritanical and somewhat batty. Americans find the British morally lax and too willing to bend the rules. It all started at a high school in Maine when a student consumed half a bottle of Fentimans Victorian Lemonade, then looked at the label and discovered it contained small amounts of alcohol, listed as less than 0.5 percent. By contrast, a typical American beer usually contains about 5 percent alcohol. Not wanting to get in trouble, he showed it to school administrators, who called police. Police referred the matter to...

Heavily armed officers in helmets, bulletproof vests and, oddly enough, Bermuda shorts stormed his store, handcuffed him, disabled security cameras and seized his drugs before taking him to jail. When he asked why his shop was invaded, an officer responded, "We're closing them all down." Those words could prove prescient after Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said last week he wants to shutter clinics that sell pot for profit. Cooley's plan is the latest salvo in a prolonged conflict in California over whether medical marijuana is truly having its intended effect or is being abused by the larger...

Belgrade police charged Serbian President Boris Tadic for allegedly violating anti-hooligan laws by opening a bottle of champagne to celebrate Serbia's World Cup qualification, they said today. Tadic and a number of other officials uncorked the champagne in a VIP lounge at Red Star Belgrade stadium last Saturday after Serbia's victory over Romania qualified them for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Police filed charges to a magistrate in Belgrade against Tadic, Serbia's Football Association chief Tomislav Karadzic, Sports Minister Snezana Markovic-Samardzic and other officials for "violating the law preventing violence and indecent behaviour at sports matches," the statement...

text of the Twenty-first Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Section 1. : The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed. Section 2. : The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited. Section 3. : This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the...

DENVER -- Admitting that it may be "political suicide" former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo said its time to consider legalizing drugs. He spoke Wednesday to the Lincoln Club of Colorado, a Republican group that's been active in the state for 90 years. It's the first time Tancredo has spoken on the drug issue. He ran for president in 2008 on an anti-illegal immigration platform that has brought him passionate support and criticism. Tancredo noted that he has never used drugs, but said the war has failed. "I am convinced that what we are doing is not working," he said.

The ordinance bans the sale of about 40 beers and malt liquors that are often sold in 40-ounce quantities. Included is Bull Ice, Keystone Ice and King Cobra Malt, which typically sell for $2 to $3 for a 40-ounce container. Banned wines Gino's Premium Blend and MD 20/20, which sell for about $3 per bottle.

I believe that non-violent drug offenders in this country should be decriminalized and released from jails and prisons immediately. Along with my mentor, the late William F. Buckley, Jr., I believe that the so-called 'war on drugs' has been a failure and has actually fueled the crime associated with drug war lords in countries to our south.

Last year the Dry Soda brand of very lightly sweetened fizzy drinks came out with a new flavor, "juniper berry," which it advertised as "the perfect 'non-alcoholic gin and tonic.'" Juniper, of course, is the distinctive, piney flavoring that distinguishes gin. And so might a juniper soda appeal to gin lovers? The definitive response came from drinks blogger Camper English: "The problem with non-alcoholic drinks is their complete lack of alcohol," he wrote at his site, Alcademics.com. "To me, this product sounds like it will pair magnificently with leftover vodka to make a gin-free G&T." In other words, what's the...

TO the anger of the wine industry and disbelief of lovers of a good drop worldwide, the French Government has told its people to stop drinking wine. The French Health Ministry has made alcohol one of the chief villains in a drive against cancer. "The consumption of alcohol, and especially wine, is discouraged," say guidelines drawn from the findings of the National Cancer Institute. A single glass of wine a day will raise the chance of contracting cancer by up to 168 per cent, claims the ministry's brochure. Forget those 1980s findings that antioxidants in wine were good for health,...

A proposal to scan the driver licenses of bar patrons and keep it on file in a state law enforcement database is a good start, says Senate President Michael Waddoups, but he wants to see the program go further. Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, says he wants to see the database idea start with private clubs, but extend to restaurants that serve diners beer and liquor.

A proposed new ordinance that would allow Iowa City police to breath-test wait staff and entertainers at bars and restaurants could put bar owners at risk for fines and lost liquor licenses.... In the proposal, an employee could be fined the $500 maximum for having a blood-alcohol concentration of .02 or higher. "It's probably going to pass," Councilor Mike O'Donnell said. "The thought is that if you're not intoxicated, you can be more accurate when checking IDs and keeping people safe in the bar."