February 1, 2010 In The (induced) Ignorance of Power we discuss how the Drug War has been our domestic Vietnam. Vietnam was called the television war and the Drug War has been synonymous. Every night we see handcuffed prisoners paraded in front of the camera like trophies; pictures of the drugs seized; and paramilitary troops kicking in doors. It all makes great drama, but in 40 yrs. has had zero effect on drug use. (More)
January 25, 2010 Once again we interrupt our treatise on the Drug War for breaking news. In this case it is the election of a Republican senator from Massachusetts. Amazing! This could only come about as a referendum on what is occurring in Washington. (More)
January 20, 2010 As we have discussed for a number of weeks, our Drug War has not only failed, but made the situation inexorably worse. Those who cling to the Ignorance of Power refuse to admit this, but they are incapable of dealing with the real world. The reality of our Drug War is the largest prison population in the world and the greatest drug use. (More)
January 11, 2010 After the attempt on the flight over Detroit, President Obama announced that our intelligence community failed us. He called a meeting of our intelligence officials and told them this kind of performance was “unacceptable”, and he “would not tolerate it”. (More)
January 7, 2010 Once again we interrupt our treatise on the Drug War for breaking news. In this case the attempt on the Delta airliner over Detroit. (More)
December 28, 2009 This is the third in our series on the Drug War, as you cannot explain 40 yrs. of failed policy in a one page column. We have paramilitary armies and a clandestine air force operating on two foreign continents, multiple agencies with $billions in equipment “protecting” our borders, the same agencies creating their own navies, plus the Coast Guard “protecting” our shores, the largest prison population in the world, yet we have had zero effect on drug use! (More)
December 21, 2009 We are interrupting our series on the Drug War to respond to the breaking news on Iran. The Drug War has been a monumentally failed policy for 40 yrs and will undoubtedly remain so for another week. For the moment, however, Iran has presented us with a challenge, and as good citizens we need to understand it. (More)
December 14, 2009 While the press has been focused on Obama’s Peace Prize and the quagmire known as the War in Afghanistan, another war continues to rage closer to home; on our southern border. The legitimate government of Mexico is engaged in a war with the drug cartels and the outcome is not predictable. With thousands of troops massed along our border the government is putting on a show of force, but they are by no means in control. It is not anarchy and Mexico is not a failed state, but the drug cartels can do what they want; when they want. If they want to run a military blockade; they kill all the soldiers. If they want to take out an honest police chief; they do it. Daily assassinations between cartels occur, and often innocents are caught in the crossfire. Aside from drug violence, the police are so preoccupied, ordinary street thugs have been emboldened and kidnapping, extortion and carjacking have become an enormous threat to the honest population. (More)
December 7, 2009 Before we can discuss this subject we must admit the reality; the War on Drugs has failed. Actually “failed” is a gross understatement which we will elaborate on in a later column. But for the moment we must accept the legacy of the Drug War . . . the largest prison population in the world; and the highest rate of drug use. The Drug War has been fought for almost 40 yrs. and despite the enormous cost, we have had zero effect on drug use. And in addition to the financial cost, we must never forget the totally innocent victims who have been killed, wounded or humiliated by police officers raiding the wrong house. No small problem, an accounting can be viewed at Cato.org/raidmap. (More)
