Texas Department of Public Safety data show that the fastest-growing group of concealed handgun owners in the state has been, for at least five years, black women.
“For women, part of the tension around this topic is that women with guns are marginalized in a feminist culture that promotes unarmed resistance and ‘clean’ fighting techniques . . . . White Southern men, on the other hand, were the most likely to congratulate me on this life decision and follow up with advice on the best kind of firearm to buy.”
I recall once reading the safety recommendations for women to avoid being raped. Wear intimidating clothing, travel in groups and maintain an assertive/aggressive attitude, weapons were not discouraged. Since black males are in the greatest risk group for becoming victims of violence, perhaps they should follow the very same recommendations.
Two or three states are going for full legalization in November and med pot (favored by 70 to 80%) is on the ballot in several more. Chicago decrimmed 15 grams (about 1/2 oz). A small nearby town in Illinois (we are a large town) just decrimmed 2.5 grams about 1/10th oz.
Let me add something we learned from alcohol prohibition:
When you make vice a crime, crime becomes merely a vice.
Which is to say you get a breakdown of morality.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.
Two or three states are going for full legalization in November and med pot (favored by 70 to 80%) is on the ballot in several more. Chicago decrimmed 15 grams (about 1/2 oz). A small nearby town in Illinois (we are a large town) just decrimmed 2.5 grams about 1/10th oz.
Let me add something we learned from alcohol prohibition:
When you make vice a crime, crime becomes merely a vice.
Which is to say you get a breakdown of morality.
The biggest thing(or one of the biggest) that will kill the war on drugs IMHO has got to be forfeiture of assets. It's one thing to jail the poor mostly minorities, the public doesn't care too much about that. But taking people's money that will get their attention...especially with declining government budgets for law enforcement. This creates pressure on cops to start helping themselves to broader and broader categories of people who fit the profile of a drug user/dealer. Arrests, trials, and of course incarceration cost money, but F of A(with no arrest or trial) generates revenue for the gov. With declining revenues from taxes and exploding pension/healthcare costs for gov workers, it will create an irresistible temptation for them to find more and more kinds of folks(& more affluent) to fit their "profile". Greed will inevitably lead to overreach which will cause a backlash from the public. Again this should help the Libertarian cause
Drug warriors Pelosi and Biden, friends with the Genovese and Gambinos respectively.
There is an axiom(don't know by whom) about new ideas in Science (plate tectonics, relativity, quantum mechanics, hopefully SENS) not being accepted because those old scientists who were hopelessly prejudiced against them are persuaded by reason and evidence. They just grow old and eventually die, and our replaced by newer scientists for whom the new ideas aren't so new. Likewise with the war on drugs, give it another 20yrs or so and the old Reagan era war-on-drugs die-hards will be dead and buried, and the current crop of libertarian 20-somethings will be middle aged and in positions of leadership.
Drug warriors Pelosi and Biden, friends with the Genovese and Gambinos respectively.
There is an axiom(don't know by whom) about new ideas in Science (plate tectonics, relativity, quantum mechanics, hopefully SENS) not being accepted because those old scientists who were hopelessly prejudiced against them are persuaded by reason and evidence. They just grow old and eventually die, and our replaced by newer scientists for whom the new ideas aren't so new. Likewise with the war on drugs, give it another 20yrs or so and the old Reagan era war-on-drugs die-hards will be dead and buried, and the current crop of libertarian 20-somethings will be middle aged and in positions of leadership.
"A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." - Max Planck
====
It might not take 20 years.
Legalization is on the ballot in 3 states for November. Oregon, Colorado, Washington. Two years ago it failed in California. I expect California to try again in two years.
They are starting out with old Jews in Florida. The Reforms came out for med pot in 2004. Irv Rosenfeld who the government gives 300 pot cigarettes a month to keep his cancer at bay is part of the team doing presentations. Nice Jewish boy.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.
choff wrote:I recall once reading the safety recommendations for women to avoid being raped. Wear intimidating clothing, travel in groups and maintain an assertive/aggressive attitude, weapons were not discouraged. Since black males are in the greatest risk group for becoming victims of violence, perhaps they should follow the very same recommendations.
For someone who likes to live in an open, friendly atmosphere such recommendations always sound rather sad. There's something very wrong about letting fear take over your life.
choff wrote:I recall once reading the safety recommendations for women to avoid being raped. Wear intimidating clothing, travel in groups and maintain an assertive/aggressive attitude, weapons were not discouraged. Since black males are in the greatest risk group for becoming victims of violence, perhaps they should follow the very same recommendations.
For someone who likes to live in an open, friendly atmosphere such recommendations always sound rather sad. There's something very wrong about letting fear take over your life.
Not everyone can afford or is able to live with nice people. That is my chief difference with Ron Paul. He thinks international relations are a gentlemans club. I think it is competing outlaw motorcycle gangs. With the gangs making coalitions.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.
MSimon wrote:Not everyone can afford or is able to live with nice people. That is my chief difference with Ron Paul. He thinks international relations are a gentlemans club. I think it is competing outlaw motorcycle gangs. With the gangs making coalitions.
What about actual Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson's positions?:
Johnson believes it "is important to have a strong defense both at home and abroad,"[19] and that the "military should remain the most potent force for good on Earth,"[20] but believes the greatest threat to national security at present is that "we're bankrupt."[7] He would include a 43% cut to the military's budget in his proposed balanced budget[7] by concentrating on defense, rather than offense.[7] He has stated: “When you talk about a 43 percent reduction in military spending, that’s going back to 2003 funding levels, not the end of the world".[21] He advocates making "better use of military alliances which allow greater sharing of the human and financial burdens at less cost of protecting national interests."[20]
Johnson says the United States "should resort to military action as the last option and only as provided in the Constitution."[20] He believes the continuing American military presence in Europe, in Japan and in South Korea should be reduced by at least 43%, and that the United States should end its military involvements in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya immediately.[7] He would propose cuts to the military's uniformed and civilian personnel, research and development, intelligence, and nuclear weapons,[7][22] all of which would be "carefully considered" rather than "across the board."[23] He supports reducing America's nuclear arsenal, asking, "Do we really need to blow up the world 23 times over, or would eight times be sufficient?"[23] Because Johnson has talked about humanitarian interventions, many libertarians have questioned if he is as committed to noninterventionism as congressman Ron Paul, who is running for president as a Republican.[6]
Johnson said in the April 2012 Daily Caller interview that he favors withdrawing or reducing American forces in Europe and the Far East, but not necessarily the Middle East. He also said he stood by comments to the Weekly Standard the he might support waging war for humanitarian reasons, saying he would not "sit idly by and watch something like the Holocaust go down." He also stated that while he thought drone attacks create more enemies than they kill, he would not necessarily stop the drone attacks against Pakistan or Yemen, leaving all options on the table.[21]
Sorry...but I am liking this dude more and more, perhaps more in line with my thinking than the better known Ron Paul.
Dealing with a rational adversary, the capacity to bloody their nose is a powerful deterrent and defense. Dealing with an irrational adversary, removing their means of offense can be the best defense.
hanelyp wrote:Dealing with a rational adversary, the capacity to bloody their nose is a powerful deterrent and defense. Dealing with an irrational adversary, removing their means of offense can be the best defense.
Yes I grudingly support the drone strikes, more effective than thinking we can invade and occupy country after country, to say nothing of the expense of years/decades of occupation. It is a shame Johnson isn't doing better in the poles, he won't likey be included in the upcoming presidential debates unless he manages to get to the magic number of 15% in the poles.
choff wrote:I recall once reading the safety recommendations for women to avoid being raped. Wear intimidating clothing, travel in groups and maintain an assertive/aggressive attitude, weapons were not discouraged. Since black males are in the greatest risk group for becoming victims of violence, perhaps they should follow the very same recommendations.
Johnson opposes gun control initiatives.[7] He does not believe in limiting the types or sizes of guns that private citizens can own.[7] He believes the Second Amendment is "clear," and gives citizens an individual right.[7]
Drug warriors Pelosi and Biden, friends with the Genovese and Gambinos respectively.
There is an axiom(don't know by whom) about new ideas in Science (plate tectonics, relativity, quantum mechanics, hopefully SENS) not being accepted because those old scientists who were hopelessly prejudiced against them are persuaded by reason and evidence. They just grow old and eventually die, and our replaced by newer scientists for whom the new ideas aren't so new. Likewise with the war on drugs, give it another 20yrs or so and the old Reagan era war-on-drugs die-hards will be dead and buried, and the current crop of libertarian 20-somethings will be middle aged and in positions of leadership.
"A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." - Max Planck
====
It might not take 20 years.
Hopefully your right MSimon but personally I think will just have to wait for them to die off:
Diogenes wrote:The war on drugs is 98% successful, but it has never been permitted to achieve the other 2%. People just won't stomach what it would take to actually eliminate drug abuse.
Diogenes wrote: Let me go on record as saying I believe it is our Duty to prop up murderous Psychopaths when it is in the best interests of the United States.
Deeply ingrained nut-baggery like this will only be eliminated by father time.
