tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post8918421414406658809..comments2024-01-16T03:42:46.705-05:00Comments on The Downward Spiral: The War on Drugs Sinks To A New LowBill Hickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17551954408189665078noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-54346305294464519282012-05-03T16:33:50.926-04:002012-05-03T16:33:50.926-04:00America is NOT like Syria or Iran when it comes to...America is NOT like Syria or Iran when it comes to these things. When this happens here there's outrage, investigation, lawsuits, and apologies from the offending institute (or at least there's a better chance of it happening). Syria or Iran? Forget it, you have to charge down tanks and be shot at by real bullets, not by rubber ones. Abu Ghraib was an embarresment for the US and there was public condemnation and investigation into the torture. While the US is on the road to a dictatorship and complete oppression, we're not there yet. The fact we can voice our outrage, file lawsuits that actually have a chance of winning, and the government having to sometimes apologize makes a difference. This is all that I was alluding to. <br /><br />"Hell is empty, the devils live here." William Shakespeare.Megadoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06507132110939297753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-34163244423947215922012-05-03T12:37:26.214-04:002012-05-03T12:37:26.214-04:00How wonderful! So at least we're not at the sa...How wonderful! So at least we're not at the same level as brutal authoritarian regimes like Syria, huh? Wow that makes me feel better. <br /><br />This is what American exceptionalism has become today; making excuses for the outright failure and incompetence of government, law enforcement, and corporate officials. I hear it all the time, especially from Republican folks who still delude themselves about this country. "Things are bad here in the US but how about dem brown people! Yeah I don't have health insurance but I at least I don't have to wait in line like they do in Belarus."<br /><br />As the decline if the United States hastens, I expect to see the same kinds of actions we are seeing in Syria today, carried out by our government as it struggles to deal with massive social unrest.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-59676032548280313352012-05-03T11:49:33.341-04:002012-05-03T11:49:33.341-04:00Indeed - that the injured party might win a lawsui...Indeed - that the injured party might win a lawsuit hardly seems compensation for almost dying...starskeptichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02661141833059602897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-67623946909035359532012-05-03T11:18:57.140-04:002012-05-03T11:18:57.140-04:00True enough...True enough...starskeptichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02661141833059602897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-55927524295734259212012-05-03T11:12:19.985-04:002012-05-03T11:12:19.985-04:00Those are all the same questions I was asking, pam...Those are all the same questions I was asking, pamela. Americans are conditioned to think that law enforcement officers are well trained professionals, but this scandal really calls that into question. Incompetence of this magnitude is almost as bad as if it was done intentionally.Bill Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17551954408189665078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-46897352567178211902012-05-03T11:05:03.495-04:002012-05-03T11:05:03.495-04:00Bill, the more i hear, the sicker I get.
It's ...Bill, the more i hear, the sicker I get.<br />It's possible that starskeptic is right and this was just a giant clusterfuck, but, what does that say about a system that is so over burdened, so stupidly complex, that this could ever happen.<br />why the hell didn't someone check on him when he was crying out for help? He could hear other people, you know they had to hear him.<br />how did the people bringing food to prisoners "skip" his cell without wondering why?<br />It's just too monstrous to think about, and I think it's getting a lot of air time because of the urine drinking as much as him being middle class etc.<br />That urine drinking bit really caught my eye when scanning the headlines. That's for sure.pamelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17070334354138888054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-60986715271154080252012-05-03T10:46:59.563-04:002012-05-03T10:46:59.563-04:00How low has the US sunk when the argument is, well...How low has the US sunk when the argument is, well at least it's better than Iran or Syria. Talk about damning with faint praise.irishwildeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13653892284914268881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-41028679432970037962012-05-03T10:36:32.633-04:002012-05-03T10:36:32.633-04:00Perhaps we should all start carrying cards around ...Perhaps we should all start carrying cards around that inform the authourities of two things. <br /><br />ONE; Upon arresting or detaining me, you are completely responsible for my care, feeding and well being. <br />TWO On my arrest or detention please call xxx-xxx-xxxx and advise my lawyer of my arrest/detention so he can start the paperwork.<br /><br />Have a nice day.SabreKaihttp://www.sabredancing.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-50903782137890861882012-05-03T10:27:20.705-04:002012-05-03T10:27:20.705-04:00You're probably right about that. Although si...You're probably right about that. Although sinister AND incompetent is a pretty scary combination.Bill Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17551954408189665078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-1162380453333896352012-05-03T10:17:21.869-04:002012-05-03T10:17:21.869-04:00Not that this couldn't have been on purpose - ...Not that this couldn't have been on purpose - I just think that you might be assuming more competence than is warranted; I mean his paperwork probably said he'd been released - those screams and kicks "had" to be coming from someone they'd already accounted for. Thus, no problem exists (until a body is found).starskeptichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02661141833059602897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-65699774266462012952012-05-03T10:09:46.235-04:002012-05-03T10:09:46.235-04:00Well at least they did apologize, and I'm sure...Well at least they did apologize, and I'm sure he'll win that lawsuit which is more than I imagine would happen in some Iranian prison. <br /><br />No, this is America, he'll probably go buy a luxurious mansion and a 6 car garage filled with various sportsters following his cut of 20 million. I don't see that happening in the land of the browns. Assad's thugs would've just rip his throat out and left it at his family's doorstep.Megadoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06507132110939297753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-72055156593277667692012-05-03T08:52:50.194-04:002012-05-03T08:52:50.194-04:00God what a horrible story. I suspect like you that...God what a horrible story. I suspect like you that this kid just got air time due to his middle class station in life. It does remind me of Levine's piece about the Occupy Protest arrests in LA (and don't you remember- they were framed by the MSM as "going very well.")<br /><br />What amazes me is that so many people can read this stuff and still not comprehend that none of us are safe in this atmosphere- they will still view it as a cautionary tale against drugs, not against our nation's collective unbridled insanity. <br /><br />Kind of how they view culpability for the people who get swept off to Guantanamo just for being in certain areas. Almost like "sure, these are terrible events, but they wouldn't happen to these people if they weren't in those sketchy places." Even this kid's attorney framed it this way with the "wrong place, wrong time". No. There's never a time when someone should face death and torture after a minor offence. But to consider that is to have to look at the entire framework; I guess it's easier to view these things as aberrations, not part of an authoritarian system working the way they always do.Jim Laheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12440909311757922295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-74862366465411001212012-05-03T08:15:54.483-04:002012-05-03T08:15:54.483-04:00Bill, what really strikes me about this story is n...Bill, what really strikes me about this story is not how sinister these people are but how they are so stunningly incompetent.irishwildeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13653892284914268881noreply@blogger.com