Posted on 10/16/2003 10:48:07 AM PDT by noprob
The entire nation owes radio broadcaster Rush Limbaugh a debt of gratitude, Libertarians say, because his ordeal has exposed every drug warrior in America as a rank hypocrite.
"One thing we don't hear from American politicians very often is silence," said Joe Seehusen, Libertarian Party executive director. "By refusing to criticize Rush Limbaugh, every drug warrior has just been exposed as a shameless, despicable hypocrite.
"And that's good news, because the next time they do speak up, there'll be no reason for anyone to listen."
The revelation that Limbaugh had become addicted to painkillers -- drugs he is accused of procuring illegally from his Palm Beach housekeeper -- has caused a media sensation ever since the megastar's shocking, on-air confession last week.
As the Limbaugh saga continues, here's an important question for Americans to ask, Libertarians say: Why are all the drug warriors suddenly so silent?
"Republican and Democratic politicians have written laws that have condemned more than 400,000 Americans to prison for committing the same 'crime' as Rush Limbaugh," Seehusen pointed out. "If this pill-popping pontificator deserves a get-out-of-jail-free card, these drug warriors had better explain why."
Given their longstanding support for the Drug War, it's fair to ask:
Why haven't President George Bush or his tough-on-crime attorney general, John Ashcroft, uttered a word criticizing Limbaugh's law-breaking?
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 federal 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 better off if Limbaugh were prosecuted, locked in a steel cage and forced to abandon his wife, his friends, and his career?
The answer is obvious, Seehusen said: "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."
But there's an even more disturbing possibility, Seehusen said: that the people who are prosecuting the Drug War don't even believe in its central premise -- which is that public safety requires that drug users be jailed.
"The Bushes and Ashcrofts and McCaffreys of the world may believe, correctly, that individuals fighting a drug addiction deserve medical, not criminal treatment," he said. "That would explain why they're not demanding that Limbaugh be jailed.
"But if that's the case, these politicians have spent decades tearing apart American families for their own political gain. And that's an unforgivable crime."
And I do believe you are sincere.
I have never defended a Kennedy or any lawyer!!!!!
Take care and good night. It's been an enlightening day and I'm sure they will be back at it early in the morning. They like to start each day with at least three or four dope threads. They're kind of fun to read after the morning paper and a couple cups of coffee.
Supporting terrorists again hey?
Unfortunately, so have I, and I consider myself to be a "small 'l'" libertarian! Mark
Yes - it is amazing how obsessed with drugs they are. I nearly joined the party - until I actually encountered LP members.
My position is that the WOD is a fiasco.
It is economically wrong, socially wrong and morally wrong.
The best way to repeal a bad law is to enforce it ruthlessly.
It is also the fairest way to enforce it.
As long as "The Right People" get multiple chances when they break a law, it will stay on the books, no matter how bad it is, but once you start sending "The Right People" to prison on the first offence, the law is on a short trip to repeal.
So9
Do you know what your kids call that drug? "Hillbilly heroin"
Did you know it can cause hearing loss?
Drugs are drugs are drugs... Cigarettes and alcohol included..
I guess I'm addicted to drugs too. I take them every day. And I deal with the side effects: Moody-ness, depression, weight gain, fluid retention, osteoporossis. If I were to stop taking my pills every day, I would die. This isn't overstating things. The drug I take is prednisone, and I've been taking it since the mid-1980's.
According to your logic, I'm no different than crack-addicts on the street. Or maybe, since it's related to steroids, then I'm as bad as body builders who "dope up."
"Hillbilly Heroin" is oxycontin that's been crushed, defeating the time release feature of the drug. This is why it's so dangerous. Abusers get a huge rush, a sometimes fatal dose of the drug, which was designed to be released over a 12 hour period. When taken properly, you don't get a "rush" or euphoria from oxycontin. If you've ever listened to Rush, there's no way he could work at the level he does and be "impaired." The reason that I'm familiar with oxycontin (and with hydrocodone) is that I took them both (very rarely... I was more afraid of dealing with the possibility of addiction than of dealing with the pain) to treat the pain from a bad case of shingles. Until I had shingles, I thought I knew what "real" pain was, including having a lumbar disk extrude into my spinal canal, and having a torsion of the testicle. I was wrong!
I'm against the WOD... And that includes things like my prednisone.
Mark
Not to mention the one who was a Druid and spit on a host who was interviewing him, and another one who ran off to Canada to defend his principles.
And keep coming back :)
Not if there is a confession.
Fact:
In response to OxyContin's escalating diversion and abuse, DEA has established a comprehensive National Action Plan, which focuses on investigations targeting key diversion points (e.g., forged and fraudulent prescriptions, pharmacy theft, doctor shoppers, and unscrupulous medical professionals) and in-depth investigations of OxyContin's manufacturer and distributors to determine compliance with regulatory requirements designed to prevent diversion. The National Action Plan also includes cooperative efforts among DEA, other government agencies and the medical community, to send the message that OxyContin is a highly abusable and addictive substance. One of the National Action Plan's tenets involved DEA working with the Food and Drug Administration in their efforts to have OxyContin's manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, revise the package insert. As a result, Purdue Pharma added cautionary language on the drug's abuse and diversion potential to the package insert in July of 2001. The medical community has also received additional information on the proper use of OxyContin. In addition, Purdue Pharma, OxyContin's manufacturer, announced recently that it is reformulating the drug to reduce its intravenous abuse potential, but this reformulation will do little to curb the widespread abuse of orally consumed tablets. http://216.239.37.104/search?q=cache:gvymsM9C3YEJ:www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/rm/2002/9235.htm+oxycontin+arrest+statistics&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 We have not dispatched Special Forces to Wilmington, Delaware to thwart the pharmaceutical manufacturers.
But we have deployed the National Guard in WV:
NATIONAL GUARD ANTI-DRUG EFFORT'S ARRESTS, SEIZURES UP
The West Virginia National Guard Counterdrug Progam has recorded 154 arrests and $5.7 million in seized drugs during the first half of this fiscal year -- numbers that appear to be growing from previous years.
The National Guard was involved in 255 arrests during the entire 2000 fiscal year and 137 arrests during the 1999 fiscal year. The program seized approximately $778,215 worth of illegal drugs over the last fiscal year and $1,003 during the 1999 fiscal year.
Adj. Gen. Allen Tackett said strong anti-drug programs are essential.
"When I look at the statistics of how many young people are involved in drugs today, I know we need good drug demand interdiction," Tackett said. "I don't think we'll ever completely demolish drugs in this state, but we can make it difficult for young people to get them."
The current statistics were fueled by $10 million in federal money that will allow the National Guard to employ 55 full-time soldiers and purchase a support aircraft.
A "significant increase in prescription drug use" has also contributed, said Lt. Col. James Hoyer, deputy coordinator of the 6-year-old program.
Abuse of the prescription painkiller OxyContin has become a serious problem in parts of West Virginia, law enforcement officials have said. Twenty West Virginia deaths last year had ties to oxycodone, the sole ingredient in OxyContin, according to autopsy reports and an investigation by the state medical examiner's office.
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