[j.cam]

You say: “That's a different objection from your earlier one, where you falsely accused me of being judge, juror and executioner. Please get your hysterical outrages in order.”

You obviously have me confused with someone else who replied to you with the above.

You say: “As far as the unjustness of the law - if there even is a violation (I know little about Florida drug laws and less about Rush's case), it would be hypocritical to pretend it doesn't apply because of who the defendant is; we would both, I think, insist on the same treatment for a Kennedy.”

I clearly stated that if the law is bad, and if it is normally unenforced, it is wrong to enforce the law on Rush simply because of his politics, even if the law is on the books. That is called political persecution since the law is only being enforced because of the politics of the person. What part of that do you have trouble understanding? Would you like me to repeat it again? And you are wrong about my opinion on the Kennedys. It would be wrong to politically persecute a Kennedy simply because he is a liberal Democrat. If one of the Kennedys in California had uncle Teddy from Massachusetts over for dinner, it would be wrong to arrest that Californian Kennedy for harboring a weasel. Even though harboring weasels is illegal on the books in California, it is law that is never enforced, and it would be wrong to enforce that law on a Kennedy simply because he is a liberal Democrat with a weasel for an uncle.

You say: “If it is bad law, any prosecutions will be overturned anyway. And if it is bad law, it can be repealed. If it is NOT bad law, than those guilty of violating it - and I emphasize I'm not saying Rush did violate any laws - should suffer the consequences.”

Even if it is enforced against no one else??? Aren’t you being silly?

[Cacophonous]

I did confuse you with another poster and for that I apologize.

We are in a state, I think, of violent agreement. Regarding the Kennedys, I would want the same law applied to them as to Rush and to Joe Sixpack irrespective of other considerations. Obviously if it is being selectively applied, then the problem is not necessarily with the law but with the prosecutors. And yes, that does qualify as political persecution. But selective application of a law doesn't make it a bad law in and of itself.

As to the specifics of the law in Florida - and how it is (un)enforced - I am no expert. But nothing erodes trust faster than hypocrisy, so we have to make sure we don't give media enough ammo to start screaming "hypocrisy", and we know they will, given the smallest opening.

Personally, I think the prosecution will, within a few weeks, quietly drop the case. Rush is not stupid, and has a backbone, has an enormous popular following, and has the ability to hire top-drawer legal counsel. It's a no-win situation for the prosecution.

[VRWC_minion]

Your premise the law is not applied to anyone else is flawed

Jeb Bush's daughter charged with prescription fraud

By Deborah Sharp, USA TODAY

	Tallahassee police via Reuters
	Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter, Noelle Bush, after her arrest early Tuesday.

The daughter of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was arrested Tuesday in Tallahassee on charges of trying to fill a fake prescription for the popular tranquilizer Xanax.

Bush and his wife, Columba, issued a statement that they were "deeply saddened" by the incident involving their middle child and only daughter, Noelle, 24.

They asked the media and the public to respect their privacy "during this difficult time so that we can help our daughter."

A Walgreens pharmacist suspicious about a call-in prescription notified police at 1:15 a.m. when Noelle Bush showed up at the drugstore's drive-through in her white Volkswagen to pick it up.

She was charged with prescription fraud, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a $5,000 fine. Noelle Bush has no known criminal record and was released without having to post bond.

Experts say punishment for a first offense is usually drug treatment or probation.

Noelle Bush has been cited for about a dozen traffic violations and was involved in three automobile crashes since 1995, according to The Associated Press.

Xanax is legally prescribed for stress and anxiety. Noelle Bush reportedly told police that she was panicked about starting a new job on Tuesday.

Jeb Bush had said previously that one of his three children used illegal drugs during his first failed campaign for Florida governor in 1994. That episode prompted Jeb and Columba Bush to get involved in several drug-prevention groups, and Jeb Bush appointed a state drug czar after he was elected governor in 1998.

Police believe Noelle Bush called the pharmacy's voice mail system to issue herself the prescription, posing as a "Dr. Noelle Scidmore."

Police impounded the phone messages. The pharmacist told police that Bush called twice as Scidmore and twice as herself asking if the prescription was ready. The calls initially made him suspicious because the first call from "Scidmore" failed to specify the quantity of pills. The pharmacist called a colleague of the real Dr. Scidmore, who told him the doctor no longer practiced in Tallahassee. He "said it was a fake and to bust her," pharmacist Carlos Zimmerman told police.

In addition, the telephone number originally left as a call-back number turned out to be a second line at Noelle Bush's home, according to the police report.

She lives in Tallahassee, where she attended Florida State University last year but is not currently enrolled. She studied art and graduated from Tallahassee Community College in 2000.

The arrest echoed similar high-profile family struggles, from the recent marijuana abuse by England's Prince Harry to underage drinking by President Bush's twin daughters. In May, Jenna Bush was charged with using a fake ID to try to buy a margarita, and her sister Barbara was charged with underage drinking.

The twins performed community service, attended alcohol-awareness classes and paid $100 fines. The charges were dropped. A second drinking episode for Jenna Bush brought a $500 fine and a license suspension.

Illegal use of the sedative Xanax is popular among some young people, particularly in combination with the party drug Ecstasy. It can help prolong an Ecstasy high or soften the crash that often follows. The practice is known as "parachuting" among users, says Joe Kilmer, spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Miami.

"I wouldn't say it's a 'hot drug,' but it is a drug we see with some regularity on the club scene," Kilmer says.

A survey by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found illicit use of Xanax-like drugs is more popular among young people than other groups: Only 2% of the general population reported misusing such prescription drugs, but 4% of those ages 18-25 did.