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  • Moving beyond prohibition

    Three months ago, I became president of Guatemala. And contrary to the good fortunes enjoyed by [Drug Lord “Chapo”] Guzman, I found that the justice and security systems were not what they had been 20 years earlier. Which led me to ask myself these questions: isn’t it true that we have been fighting the war on drugs these past two decades? Then, how on earth is drug consumption higher and production greater and why is trafficking so widespread?
    …
    Moving beyond prohibition can lead us into tricky territory. To suggest liberalisation – allowing consumption, production and trafficking of drugs without any restriction whatsoever – would be, in my opinion, profoundly irresponsible. Even more, it is an absurd proposition. If we accept regulations for alcohol and tobacco, why should we allow drugs to be consumed and produced without any restrictions?

    Our proposal, as the Guatemalan government, is to abandon any ideological position (whether prohibition or liberalisation) and to foster a global intergovernmental dialogue based on a realistic approach – drug regulation.

    Otto Perez Molina is president of Guatemala. Read his whole article at the Guardian.

    Wouldn’t it be nice if ourpresident could show such leadership?

    [thanks to S.M. down under]

  • Not only in Baltimore

    Despite what some citizens of Baltimore think, kids zooming around on dirt bikes and 4-wheeled ATVs are nota natural rite of spring. But it turns out it’s not just Baltimore. It’s also all the rage in Philadelphia. And police are handcuffed to do anything about it. So it goes on. I’m quoted in this article by Dana DiFilippo.

  • “Only in Baltimore”?

    That’s not true. But this kind of thing does seem to happen all too often in Mob City.

    Justin Fenton writes in the Sun:

    At first, the video of a man being beaten and stripped in downtown Baltimore appeared to be just another tantalizing shock clip for the Internet. But in recent days, thanks to social media users as far away as California, it could prove instrumental in solving the case.

    Police have made no arrests in last month’s attack, but they said tips were flooding in about the identity of the man shown punching a disoriented victim before others ripped off his clothes, took his belongings and humiliated him on the sidewalk outside a city courthouse.

    In this case the victim is white and drunk. The attackers are all (best I can tell) African American.

  • Protesting Black-on-Black Violence

    I’ve written (sarcastically) how nice it is that in the wake of the killing of Trayvon Martin, some conservatives are suddenly very concerned about black-on-black violence. The actual voiced argument goes that blacks (and liberals) only care about black-on-black violence when it comes at the hands of a white person. Of course that’s not true. Just because you refuse to hear something doesn’t mean other people aren’t shouting.

    I wanted to do a post listing some of the protests over the years. Because there really are a countless number of them. But I was too lazy to actually do the grunt work. Luckily, over on his blog, Ta-Nehisi Coates did it for me. It’s worth a look.

    And if you’ve never heard of anyof these protests, might I suggest you ask yourself, “why not?” Perhaps you want to blame the media. Or perhaps you don’t care. That’s your right, I suppose. But it’s not your right to say other peopledon’t care just because you’re ignorant.

  • Bad Cuts

    Shame on NBC for selectively editing the 911 call Zimmerman made.

  • No Excuse for Shooting

    Can we please stop using being teased and bullied, no matter how bad, as an excuse to kill yourself or others? I can’t help but wonder if there’s a link between the criminalization of bullying, a culture (on the left andthe right) that embraces victimhood (not to mention guns), and mass shootings.

    If you are going to kill, can’t you at least kill just the bullier?

  • California Prison Release

    Off to bumpy start, says the LA Times:

    Many of the ex-criminals are not showing up for counseling appointments, some care centers are not being paid and county bureaucrats are scrambling to correct foul-ups that have caused delays.
    …
    In the six months since, about a quarter of the probationers have been arrested for allegedly committing new crimes, which is below the previous state average for probationers.

    It’s kind of sad that one-quarter rearrested within six months is better than average. If any of you could figure out how to lower the recidivism rate, you’d be a hero. I have one answer: WPA-style make-work programs.

  • Australian foreign minister call for drug decriminalization

    From the Telegraph:

    Bob Carr, Australia’s foreign minister, whose brother died after a heroin overdose, has urged the decriminalisation of low-level drug use, after a report concluded the war on the scourge was lost.

    His comments were at odds with Julia Gillard, the Australian prime minister, who said tough policing was the answer while the government’s chief law officer expressed a measure of scepticism about the new report.

    So now we’ve got prominent leaders from Australia, the Netherlands, Mexico, Portugal, Greece, Colombia, and Brazil, not to mention the great states of New Mexico and New Jersey and UN secretary general.

    Wouldn’t it be great if our federal leaders could do the same. Republicans could call off the federal war on drugs (I’m all for letting states and localities make their own laws) on the grounds of Federalism. What could be more Tea Party conservative than that?

    [thanks to J.B.]

  • Motorcycle Cop: 1922

    Motorcycle Cop: 1922

    Courtesy of Shorpy.

    [This one is for you, Smokey]

  • Now that’s a playground!

    Now that’s a playground!

    I was looking on google earth and couldn’t help but notice a plane sitting in the middle of a playground in the Bushwick homes. “Cool,” I thought, “Must be fun for the kiddies. I like how it’s painting all kind of trippy colors. I gotta check it out, esse.”
    Then I went to street view and, of course, it wasn’t there. Because, you know, turns out it’s just an actual plane flying.