Category: Strange

McCain Campaign Advisor Endorses and Votes for Obama

Posted on by TL

A strange thing happened on the road to the White House last week…

Conservative legal scholar, Reagan Solicitor, prominent Republican and John McCain campaign adviser General Charles Fried, endorsed and voted for Barack Obama.

From the New Republic:

This week, Fried announced that he has voted for Obama-Biden by absentee ballot. In his letter to Trevor Potter, the General Counsel to the McCain-Palin campaign, he asked that his name be removed from the several campaign-related committees on which he serves. In that letter, he said that chief among the reasons for his decision “is the choice of Sarah Palin at a time of deep national crisis.”

Fried further clarified his reasons for his move to Obama-Biden:

I admire Senator McCain and was glad to help in his campaign, and to be listed as doing so; but when I concluded that I must vote for Obama for the reason stated in my letter, I felt it wrong to appear to be recommending to others a vote that I was not prepared to cast myself. So it was more of an erasure than a public affirmation–although obviously my vote meant that I thought that Obama was preferable to McCain-Palin. I do not consider abstention a proper option.

Fried is listed in a May 6, 2008 press release on John McCain’s web site as a member of the McCain campaign’s steering committee.  As late as September 15, 2008, McCain’s campaign had Fried listed as a member of McCain’s Honest and Open Election Committee.

Thanks to our friends at Drinking Liberally in New Milford for the nod on this one.

In other campaign news, salmon fisherman Seth Kantner apologized on behalf of the people of Alaska for inflicting the diva on the lower 48:

I’m an Alaskan — born in an igloo, enjoy whale muktuk, all that — and in case you aren’t sick of our state by now, I’ll start off with an apology for one of our residents: Sarah Palin.

We Alaskans are not generally so magazine-pretty like her, nor are we so confrontational and vapid. Most of us don’t have those peachy cheeks — we have sunburn, windburn and frostbite. Our fingernails are dirty from actually gutting moose, not yakking about it. Our hands are chapped from picking thousands of salmon out of nets, not holding one up for the camera.

Mr. Kantner brushes off Palin’s claim that being mayor gave her the administrative experience to serve as President of the United States:

Tougher in Alaska? Not necessarily. Here most anyone can be dogcatcher, city planner, governor, with little or no experience. That’s one beauty of our state — although, often the only thing keeping it all working is the lubrication provided by obscene amounts of money.

Sitting on this worn-to-the-hide bearskin chair of mine, scribbling, I pause to glance at a month-old newspaper before I stuff it in the stove. Lo! — there’s yet another photo of Gov. Palin; she’s sitting in a glass office in Anchorage, with a bearskin, too, draped across the back of her expensive couch. Sarah’s wearing heels. The bear’s wearing a fake head with a plastic snarl. In the foreground on a glass table crouches something with pincers — a taxidermied king crab!

I’ll have to show this photo to my Eskimo friends I grew up with. We simply never contemplated such wanton unAlaskanness. Why not eat the damn thing? We ate this bear I’m sitting on, including the paws and jaw and fat — some of which we ate raw; some got rendered for piecrusts.

It’s worth reading the whole piece.

Eight days and counting, er, my friends.

Woman Fabricated Story About Political Attack

Posted on by TL

Want to know how to get John McCain and Sarah Palin on the phone?

On Wednesday, Ashley Todd, a 20-year-old college student of College Station, Texas, said she was using an ATM at in Pittsburgh just before 9 p.m. Wednesday when a man approached her and put a knife to her throat.  Todd was in Pittsburgh campaigning for John McCain.

The report gets uglier:

Police spokeswoman Diane Richard said Todd told them the robber took $60, then became angry when he saw a McCain bumper sticker on the victim’s car. The attacker then punched and kicked the victim, before using a dull knife to scratch the letter “B” into her face, Richard said.

“She further stated that the male actor approached her from the back again and hit her in the back of her head with an object, she doesn’t know what the object was, causing her to fall to the ground where he continued to punch her and kick her and threaten to ‘teach her a lesson’ for being a McCain supporter,” Richard said.

The story made the national morning shows Thursday.  By midmorning, Pittsburgh Police said they were suspicious, and by Friday mid-afternoon, police said Todd had made the whole thing up.

From KDKA (America’s first radio station) in Pittsburgh:

Police say a campaign volunteer confessed to making up a story that a mugger attacked her and cut the letter B in her face after seeing her McCain bumper sticker.

At a news conference this afternoon, officials said they believe that Ashley Todd’s injuries were self-inflicted.

Todd, 20, of Texas, is now facing charges for filing a false report to police.

Todd initially told police that she was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield and that the suspect became enraged and started beating her after seeing her GOP sticker on her car.

Police investigating the alleged attack, however, began to notice some inconsistencies in her story and administered a polygraph test.

There was more to the story.  According to police, Todd also alleged that she was sexually assaulted by this man.  While holding her on the ground, he fondled her:

Police spokeswoman, Diane Richard explained,

“She further stated that the male approached her from the back again and hit her in the back of her head with an object, she doesn’t know what the object was, causing her to fall to the ground where he continued to punch her and kick her and threaten to ‘teach her a lesson’ for being a McCain supporter,” Richard said.

“She also indicated she was sexually assaulted as well. She indicated that when he had her on the ground he put his hand up her blouse and started fondling her. But other than that, she says she doesn’t remember anything else. So we’re adding a sexual assault to this as well.”

A Pittsburgh police commander told KDKA Investigator Marty Griffin that Todd confessed to making up the story.

Talk about your blame-it-on-the-black-man 15 minutes of fame.

Here’s what I don’t get.  Set aside that we now know that Ms. Todd made the whole thing up, possibly mutilitating herself for effect.  Forget for a moment that this is a disturbed young woman who will someday, hopefully, look back on this with rue and wonder, “What the hell was I thinking?”

I simply don’t understand the personal response of two alleged adults from the McCain campaign:

On Thursday, The Obama-Biden campaign released a statement, commenting on the attack. The statement said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the young woman for her to make a speedy recovery, and we hope that the person who perpetrated this crime is swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.”

The McCain-Palin campaign also released a statement saying, “The McCain campaign is aware of the incident involving one of its volunteers. Out of respect, the campaign won’t be commenting. The campaign also confirms that Senator McCain and Governor Palin have both spoken to the woman.”

McCain and Palin both spoke to her?  What did they say to Ashley the Liar?

Is that all it takes to get Senator John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin on the phone?  Didn’t the candidates think for a minute that this might be a complete fabrication?  Did the candidates investigate this situation at all?

They should have called conservative blogger Michelle Malkin first.  While I disagree with Malkin’s blanket reprimand to those of us on the left …

And those of you on the left who are now so interested in debunking despicable hate crimes might show a little more skepticism yourselves next time when similar narratives hit the news pages involving politically correct hoaxers who share your politics.

… I agree with her call for a critical eye and restraint when reports like these surface:

Final lesson: Trust your instincts. Use your brains. Stop jumping every time Drudge hypes something in Armageddon-sized font.

Amen to that!

My final thoughts are for Ms. Todd.

Go home to Texas after you’ve answered the charges you now face in Pittsburgh.  Get out of the spotlight.  Stay away from the media.  Get help if you need it.  Someday, hopefully, you’ll find that those of us on the left can be pretty forgiving.  You’re actually going to need a real job some day soon, and your future employer, who might even be an African American man, will need to look past this.

But, really, what were you thinking?

Racists for Obama

Posted on by TL

As a native of Pennsylvania, I’m not surprised when I read things like this, but I am a bit disheartened.  Pittsburgh is still very, very segregated.  Walk into Eat’n Park on Clairton Boulevard just north of Century III Mall and you’ll hardly ever see a person of color.

It’s just that white, still.

So when I read things like this, just a little further south in Washington, PA, it saddens me still.  I’d love to see these people grow up.

From FiveThirtyEight.com:

So a canvasser goes to a woman’s door in Washington, Pennsylvania. Knocks. Woman answers. Knocker asks who she’s planning to vote for. She isn’t sure, has to ask her husband who she’s voting for. Husband is off in another room watching some game. Canvasser hears him yell back, “We’re votin’ for the n***er!”

Woman turns back to canvasser, and says brightly and matter of factly: “We’re voting for the n***er.”

There you have it.

Ouch! Dodgers Sweep Cubs Away

Posted on by TL

I respect Cubs fans, but I don’t get them at all.  I’m convinced Wrigley will fall to the ground some day.  The 500 level is a death trap.

Well, we won’t have to worry about baseball at Wrigley for a few more months now.  The Dodgers swept the Cubbies, and that’s all there is to it.

According to the Tribune, the Cubs only led for 2½ innings for the entire series, leading 2-0 in Game 1 from the bottom of the second to the top of the fifth.

That’s more than a complete collapse.

What is it about this team that they can’t muster any energy at all for the playoffs?  Who’s paying them to lose so remarkably?

I’ll put my “It’s Gonna Happen” sign away for another year.

It’s not gonna happen, Cubs fans.

When Illinois Dems Joined the Mile High Club

Posted on by TL

Speaker Michael Madigan hugs Gov. Rod Blagojevich

The image of Governor Blagojevich and Speaker Madigan hugging at the Democratic National Convention was one for the books.  I’ve been reflecting on the Democratic love-fest for over a week now, not quite sure how to respond.  What does any of that mean?  What really happened?  Who started singing Kumbaya first?

According to news reports, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. started things off with an apology to Rep. Bobby Rush.  Carol Marin tells the story:

On Wednesday morning at the breakfast meeting of the Illinois delegation, Rep. Bobby Rush rose to say a few words. Recovering from the aftershocks of radical cancer surgery, he is physically a shadow of his former self. But, like the good Baptist preacher he also is, Rush rose to the occasion, telling delegates the parable of the eagle and the storm.

“I am that eagle,” he declared.

Thanking those who had been supportive, Rush also noted “some who were not there, but that’s all right.”

He gave a nod to forgiveness, but didn’t name names.

Next up was Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. It isn’t clear that Rush was talking about Jackson, but there is no question they’ve been on a rocky road.

Jackson Jr. began his prepared remarks about unity, talking about burying the truckloads of hatchets that weigh down these Democrats.

And then it happened.

Jackson folded his speech in half. Stuck it in his breast pocket. And turned directly to Rush saying, “Bobby, if there is anything that I’ve ever done to offend you, I’m leaving it at this convention. You are my friend . . .”

For a second, every one of us was stunned.

Rush made his way to Jackson, Jackson jumped down from the dais and they hugged.

It was real. And touching.

Marin, arguably the sharpest political journalist in Chicago, said it was real.  If she saw authenticity, then that’s what happened.

Then Jackson apologized to Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed and State Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson.  If these were also sincere, then kudos to Jesse.

Then Daley ran to Jesse.  According to Marin:

“Who else out here has been mad at me I haven’t figured out yet?” Jackson asked.

Mayor Daley jumped up and hugged Jackson. And Jackson was stunned. Tears sprang into his eyes.

And that, too, was real.

Finally, Gov. Blagojevich and House Speaker Madigan embraced, evidence that hell did indeed freeze over.  I’ll take Carol’s word that what she saw was real.

According to Rich Miller, some aides who apparently did not share in the love tried to downplay the loving:

“It’s all theater,” confided one top Blagojevich aide later in the day. A Madigan lieutenant pointed out that Madigan was the one who walked over to Blagojevich at Jackson’s urging and had to practically pry the governor out of his seat. No happy talk could be found.

But could it be that the aides de camp hadn’t gotten the message? That very evening, Madigan and Blagojevich continued their detente by sitting next to each other at the Democratic convention.

Miller posits any photographs of Illinois pols hugging Gov. Blagojevich would be tremendous cannon fodder for Republicans in upcoming elections.  No one wants to be seen with Blagojevich, whose popularity continues to plummet.

So what really happened at the Mile-High City?  Will the love-fest have any impact on policy in Illinois?  Will Gov. Blagojevich finally develop the capacity to treat lawmakers with civility?  Will Halvorson and Jackson exchange Christmas cards come December?  Will Daley and Jackson finally go out for a cold one?

I give Jackson credit.  Some movement toward reconciliation between he and Bobby Rush is welcome indeed.  Rush is an icon in Illinois and national politics, and Jackson is incredibly astute.

For too long, Illinois Democrats have wrangled over nonsense — egos colliding at the expense of the electorate.  If they don’t learn how to play together real soon, then Republicans deserve another crack at leadership.

That would be a shame.  Illinois needs to stay on a progressive track, and that won’t happen under Republican leadership.  Democrats need to dialog with Republican opposition and stop creating their own internal opposition factions.  This is more of a struggle with an obstructionist governor.

Rush and Jackson should meet again publicly, showing the rest of the Illinois Democratic Mile High Club that it was all for real.

The first time took guts.  The next steps will demonstrate character.

Republican Congressman Calls Obama ‘Uppity’

Posted on by TL

Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland used the term “uppity” to describe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Thursday.

While discussing Sarah Palin’s speech with reporters outside the House chamber, Westmorland was asked to compare Palin with Michelle Obama.

That’s when he let loose with the racially-charged epithet.

From USA Today:

“Honestly, I’ve never paid that much attention to Michelle Obama,” Westmoreland said. “Just what little I’ve seen of her and Senator [Barack] Obama, is that they’re a member of an elitist class…that thinks that they’re uppity.”

The 58-year-old, Atlanta-born congressman declined to elaborate further, though he did repeat one part of his comment when asked to clarify.

“Uppity, you said?” he was asked.

“Yeah, uppity,” Westmoreland replied.

Westmorland is white.

Later, Westmorland’s press secretary Brian Robinson tried to clarify, insisting that the congressman was trying to say Barack is “elite.”  Westmoreland apparently instructed his staff to check the dictionary to be sure he properly understood the meaning of the word.

Vanessa Beasley, who teaches political rhetoric at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, said “uppity” is a word that hits the ear of African-Americans in a negative way — evoking images of the pre-civil rights era, when powerful whites sometimes punished blacks who spoke up for themselves.

“It has very clear roots in the history of slavery in the South,” Beasley said. “The term ‘uppity’ has such a specific, contextual historic meaning. It is more evocative of a particular moment in history and particular set of fears that exist today within certain parts of the electorate.

“The racial politics that it reanimates are very worrisome.”

I would bet a bale of cotton the congressman from Georgia knew exactly what he was saying.

Welcome to the Republican Party, 2008.  Amazingly, it’s a lot like the Republican Party of 1958.

With Palin Near, Will McCain Approve the ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’ Words?

Posted on by TL

How highly does John McCain esteem women?  It’s a fair question now that Sarah “Quayle” Palin is on the ticket.  Johnny M. might even say, “That’s an excellent question.”

The answer is as simple as “A-B-C.”

“A” stands for adultery, or possibly polygamy, depending on how you interpret the facts, and don’t care that the “A” comes near the end of polygamy.  McCain has made several statements that contradict the facts on record regarding his divorce from first wife Carol and marriage to beer heiress Cindy Hensley.

From the LATimes:

In his 2002 memoir, “Worth the Fighting For,” McCain wrote that he had separated from Carol before he began dating Hensley.

“I spent as much time with Cindy in Washington and Arizona as our jobs would allow,” McCain wrote. “I was separated from Carol, but our divorce would not become final until February of 1980.”

An examination of court documents tells a different story. McCain did not sue his wife for divorce until Feb. 19, 1980, and he wrote in his court petition that he and his wife had “cohabited” until Jan. 7 of that year — or for the first nine months of his relationship with Hensley.

Although McCain suggested in his autobiography that months passed between his divorce and remarriage, the divorce was granted April 2, 1980, and he wed Hensley in a private ceremony five weeks later. McCain obtained an Arizona marriage license on March 6, 1980, while still legally married to his first wife.

Just for fun, let’s go back to November 2007.  Johnny McCain had fallen all over himself apologizing for his mother when she slammed Mormons on Hardball with Chris Matthews:

Matthews: “…You don’t think Romney’s done much heavy lifting for America then?”

R. McCain: “No, I don’t. I think being Senator – uh a Congressman, uh, a Senator – whatever it was, a Governor for four years. And as far as the Salt Lake City thing, he’s a Mormon and the Mormons of Salt Lake City caused that scandal and to clean that up, I – it’s, it’s not even again, it’s not a subject.”

J. McCain: “The views of my mother are not necessarily the views of mine.”

(nervous laughter from Sen. McCain and Matthews)

R. McCain: “Well that’s my opinion and you asked me.”

Yup. Mommy ripped a big one on national TV, and Johnny M. had to disavow that one.

But Johnny wasn’t nearly as concerned when one of his supporters called Hillary Clinton the B-word:

At a campaign event in South Carolina, a McCain backer stood up to ask the senator, “How do we beat the bitch?”

In response, McCain said, “We have our differences with our Democratic rivals, but I believe in treating people with respect. It’s why I don’t refer to women as ‘bitches,’ even when I disagree with them. I’m sure all of us believe we can debate the serious issues of the day without name-calling and degrading language.”

No, no, I’m just kidding. He actually responded, “That’s an excellent question.”

What about the “C” word?  The Real McCain by Cliff Schecter reports an angry exchange between McCain and his wife in full view of aides and reporters during a 1992 campaign stop:

Three reporters from Arizona, on the condition of anonymity, also let me in on another incident involving McCain’s intemperateness. In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and consultant Wes Gullett. At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain’s hair and said, “You’re getting a little thin up there.” McCain’s face reddened, and he responded, “At least I don’t plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt.” McCain’s excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected president of the United States, McCain would have many long days.

Yes, many long days indeed. And this time with a woman at his side.

‘Calling Dr. Bombay!’ St. James Emergency Docs Outsource Billing

Posted on by TL

I just hung up the phone with India.

I received a phone call regarding a bill I received for emergency room services in February at St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights.  When I returned the call, I was greeted by a kind person with a slight accent.  I couldn’t quite place the accent, but didn’t think it would be much of a barrier.

Was I ever wrong.

I read my account number to the person answering the phone.  She asked me for my name, and asked if I had been treated by an emergency room physician.

At this point, I grew suspicious. Any other time I call to pay a bill, after I read my account number, the person finally tells me my name, indicating that they have the correct account.

I asked this professional to tell me the name she had on the account.  She read me a woman’s name.  She asked me if I had was treated by an emergency room physician.  I told her she should be telling me that information, and the name she read to me was not mine, nor did it belong to anyone at my residence.

She asked me again if I had been treated in an emergency room.  I told her, yes, in February.  She again asked me my name.

I asked to speak with a supervisor.  I was told I was speaking with the Emergency Room Physicians billing service, and would I please tell her my name.  I asked her if she was in the United States.  Who is the doctor who sent the bill?

“No, sir.  We are in India.”  And no name for the doctor.

I told her I was unaware of any physician who billed from India.  Could I speak with a supervisor, please?  She asked me my name again, and finally provided me with the name of the attending physician.

At this point, I assured her I was very suspicious of the call, and told her I was going to call the police.  I was suspicious that she was possibly someone phishing for my credit card information. My call was then passed to a supervisor who asked for an account number.  The supervisor told me the name on the account — this time it was my name — and verified for me the name of the attending physician.  I did not recognize the name of the doctor, but, since this was all about a trip to the emergency room, I did not expect that I would remember his name.

I hung up the phone and called St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights directly after trying unsuccessfully to find a number for the doctor online.  After speaking with two business offices and being told my accounts were up to date and paid, I was referred to another number that handled billing for the emergency room physicians’ accounts.

That number belonged to my new friends in India.

Look, I’m all for a global economy, but this is downright absurd.  I get it that sometimes I have to talk to India to get tech support for my PC, but now I have to talk to India to talk about my hospital bill?

Give me a break.

Did Drew Peterson Sleep With Your Wife Too?

Posted on by TL

Drew Peterson claims he had an affair with Paula Stark, wife of Len Wawczak, according to a TV reporter who contacted Stark. The Bolingbrook couple said this week that for seven months they wore a wire on Peterson, their neighbor and former friend.

At first, Stark and Wawczak laughed about it, saying it wasn’t true.  That was until their son Len Jr. called and told them Peterson was giving him “dirty looks” at a Bolingbrook barber shop.  The couple got in their van so Wawczak could confront Peterson.

From the Sun-Times:

What followed was another sordid chapter in the Peterson saga, an expletive-filled, Jerry Springeresque parking lot dust-up — witnessed by reporters — that resulted in Wawczak, 41, shoving Peterson in the back and getting arrested on a battery charge.

“I wanted to let Drew know he’s not going to mess with my family,” Wawczak said after his wife posted his $100 bond. “The next time, I will knock his ass out.

“It was the best 100 bucks I’ve ever spent. I’d do it again.”

In this country, we’re all innocent until proven guilty.  We are still responsible for our actions, even if they aren’t necessarily illegal.  Which is why I’m confounded as to why Peterson would claim he had an affair with Stark.

The clash of the Titans in a barbershop parking lot, egged on by the gathering crowd, was downright silly:

Wawczak, intent on confronting Peterson about the dirty looks, found a spot between some cars to lie in wait. When Peterson emerged, Wawczak popped out and pounced.

“Hey, m—–f—–,” he called out. “You ain’t nothing but a murderer. I’ll beat the f— out of you. Say something!”

“Hit me,” Peterson said calmly, putting his hands behind his back. “I’m going down.”

“You ain’t nothing but a punk, Drew!”

“Someone call the cops,” Peterson told a growing crowd of gawkers. One began videotaping.

“Take the cool sunglasses off,” Wawczak said, trying to knock them off Peterson, who dodged him.

“I ain’t Stacy, bitch,” Wawczak taunted. “You sissy.”

“I don’t have to deal with this boy,” Peterson said and walked away. Wawczak then pushed Peterson in the back.

Peterson, who later said his back hurt, brushed it off and got into Stacy Peterson’s car. Wawczak walked away, saying, “I proved my point. You’re nothing but a bitch.”

Peterson made a cell phone call and emerged from the car. The crowd yelled for Wawczak to return.

“Knock his ass out,” someone shouted.

“I got 50 bucks of his bond right now,” said another.

Peterson and Wawczak then stood across a car from each other, and Wawczak confronted him about Peterson’s purported claims about his wife.

“Say right now you f—– my old lady! I’ll come around right now and drop you like you want,” Wawczak said.

Peterson denied saying it — as eight police cars arrived.

“I ain’t Stacy, bitch! You sissy!”  Is this some ruckus in Boystown gone awry?

I don’t know if Drew Peterson gave Len Jr. the Evil Eye.  I don’t know if Drew Peterson claimed he slept with Paula Stark, slept with Paula Stark, or whether this alleged “TV reporter” was just making trouble.  Wawczak and Stark did nothing for their own credibility, and Peterson’s not looking any better.  The Village of Bolingbrook lauds itself as “a place to grow….”

Well, grow up guys.

Teen Gets 8 Years Over Pot: Legalize It

Posted on by TL

I haven’t written much about drugs in our society, but I’m using a story in the Sun-Times to start putting down some thoughts.  I’d appreciate any reader feedback on this one especially.

Remember, this happened in Texas.  No, I do not in any way condone what this 18-year-old man did.  However, it shows we’re not far from Nancy Reagan’s infamous War on Drugs.

A teenager shown on a video coaxing his 2- and 4-year-old nephews into smoking marijuana was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison.

Demetris McCoy, 18, pleaded guilty to two charges of injury to a child/causing bodily injury and agreed to testify against his co-defendant, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported online Thursday.

Does this merit eight years in prison?  In light of the following, perhaps it does:

Drug tests showed the youngsters had marijuana and cocaine in their bodies. When the video was made, the children’s mother was sleeping in another room, police have said. She was not arrested.

Somehow these little ones came across cocaine, and that scares me.  Yes, this 18-year-old in Texas was wrong.  My question is, would he have done this today at all if Nancy Reagan had taken us down a different path twenty-eight years ago?

I wonder where we would be today if, instead of declaring a War on Drugs in 1980, Nancy Reagan had declared war on a legal system that punishes drug offenders instead of treating them for the medical problem they have.

That’s right.  We’re treating drugs punitively.  “Three strikes and your out” works great in baseball, but this simplistic mantra has become our de facto manner of treating drug use.  Why not treat drug abuse as a medical problem?

I know this may seem like a stretch, but indulge me a bit.

What if we declared a War on the Common Cold?  Wouldn’t we all feel like we were doing something positive?  What if we locked anyone up who had a cold?  Wouldn’t that solve the problem of this nefarious virus that we can’t kill, but must tolerate until it decides to go away?

No, that would be silly.

There was a time in human history, however, when that was precisely our response to illness.  We didn’t know any better, perhaps.  But today, we do.

I know what I’m saying sounds absurd, but if we had begun to shift our thinking in 1980, followed a new paradigm when it comes to drugs, I wonder where we would be now.  What if, instead of arresting alleged offenders, sending them to jail for a few days or prison for a few years, we had begun to treat drug abuse as a medical issue?  Would we have more than one in 100 adults in the United States in jail or prison today?

With more than 2.3 million people behind bars, the United States leads the world in both the number and percentage of residents it incarcerates, leaving far-more-populous China a distant second, according to a study by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States.

Our final solution in the War Against Drugs was to incarcerate.

How did that work out?

We need to seriously consider the legalization of marijuana.

No, sorry, I don’t smoke it.  I’m not interested in smoking it, but I’m convinced we’re solving little to nothing about the proliferation of drugs in our society by throwing kids in jail, seizing automobiles, requiring community service, and building more prisons.

Am I suggesting that drugs should be a free-for-all, available on every corner?

No.  We already have that.

The problem is, it’s so damn easy to write another law or pass another ordinance.  In fact, it requires no thought at all to throw a kid in prison, treat him or her like a wild animal in a cage, and wonder why we’re not winning the “War Against Drugs.”

We’re not winning because “war” is the wrong paradigm.

We need to completely rethink our response to the problem of drugs in our society, and we all have to rethink this together.