Eric Holder Continues to Infuriate The "Law And Order" Authoritarians?

[Ajidica]

Could you go into more detail?

I'm not entirely sure what you are looking for. I feel that pot should be legalized (although not particularly strongly about it) as repeated studies have shown that it is no more detrimental to health than alcohol and put simply, I cannot think of a compelling public good served by making it illegal.
As far as cocaine goes, I don't care one way or the other and would leave any decisions regarding possible legalization in the hands of those who are far better informed about the issue than I am.
With regards to drugs like heroin or meth, my distinct opposition to them comes from the damage they do to society. If you were able to live completely isolated from society than I couldn't care less what you pump into your body. However, the effects of using hard drugs aren't confined solely to the user but rather are felt throughout the community.

Do you believe in enforcing morality?

Yes? We have laws against murder, rape, child abuse, and theft because we as a society believe those actions to be immoral and worthy of punishment.

EDIT: @VRWCA: Did you see my response post on page three, or did it fall off the bottom of the page?

 

[bhsup]

And where does the plastic in your mug come from? Poor third world countries under oppressive rule of sordid little dictators and unethical multinationals. Let us not pretend that most items we use were made without a whole host of rather nasty issues.

During prohibition the people involved in making and distributing alcohol on an industrial scale would not have made the list of "the 100 nicest guys in America", yet today with legal alcohol we don't have that issue. Setting up a legal framework for production and distribution ruins the illegal dealers and producers as they simply cannot compete price wise and incentive wise.
(Plus, I wouldn't get too haughty about South American drug lords given our rather unfortunate relation with them, drug-funded paramilitary groups, and rebels in South America.)

EDIT: @VRWCA: Did you see my response post on page three, or did it fall off the bottom of the page?

Thanks for heads up.

Uh, the plastic in my coffee mug? Probably BP or Royal Dutch Shell or Total or some other Euro oil mammoth. They may suck at deep sea drilling, but I don't think they make it corporate policy to off judges and cops... That said, I do get what your saying, but I just cannot equate Nike with Pablo Escobar. Also see my response to Forma for some relevant remarks.

 

[Lord Baal]

Thanks for heads up.

Uh, the plastic in my coffee mug? Probably BP or Royal Dutch Shell or Total or some other Euro oil mammoth. They may suck at deep sea drilling, but I don't think they make it corporate policy to off judges and cops... That said, I do get what your saying, but I just cannot equate Nike with Pablo Escobar. Also see my response to Forma for some relevant remarks.

I believe Shell has been implicated in a few political assassinations in Nigeria, actually. They've never had to answer any questions about it though, since they're rich, and it's Africa.

 

[Ajidica]

Plus the sheer number of articles about spills and environmental damage by Shell in Nigeria indicates that they aren't particularly worried about collateral damage to the environment and the people who live there.

 

[Berzerker]

I did... "Also, btw, neither you nor I really know what we would have done because we wouldn't be the same people."

No you didn't, you got mad for some reason. Now I know what I'd do in that situation, what would you do? Based on your argument you'd be turning people in under the fugitive slave act because the law is the law, right? If you say no, then your argument about drugs is BS because you dont believe in obeying the law because its the law. So which is it?

Come on Berzerker, you're better than this. That's a really low thing to say. They aren't anywhere near the same situations.

Why is it low? Its just a question about how committed he is to obeying the law. My question shows he doesn't believe the law trumps everything else so he's picking and choosing which laws he likes and the laws he doesn't like.

 

[Lord Baal]

Here's a source on Shell's interference in Nigeria, by the way, since I know someone is bound to ask me for one eventually. As you'll see if you read it, or any of a dozen articles like it, Shell carefully avoids actually shouldering any blame for these issues, but simply throws its chequebook at anyone in Nigeria that actually kicks up a stink. When they can't have them killed, of course.

I don't doubt other oil and resources companies do similar things in Africa. Nestle, for example, uses child slave labour in at least the Ivory Coast, possibly elsewhere in West Africa. There's even Apple's treatment of its workers in China to consider. Most of the things we use everyday were created using more than a bit of nastiness.

I happen to be typing this on an iPad while drinking a cup of delicious Nestle hot chocolate in a plastic mug which happens to have the Shell logo on it (I had a cousin who worked at a Shell petrol station once). I'm not innocent, by any means. Which is why I don't believe "buying drugs is bad because it gives money to bad people" is an acceptable argument to not buy drugs. Not unless one is also going to boycott, Shell, Nestle, Apple and who knows how many other corporations and their products.

 

[Berzerker]

edited

toning it down