George S.
How many is enough?
You have described our problem well. Some experts say we should do nothing with wall street and the banks, some say nationalize the banking industry and some have advised to proceed just as we have begun to do. Like him or not, I applaud Obama for taking quick action. Truth is, no one knows just how to fix things, nor the best course that we should take to get it done, but at least Obama has taken the reins of the government and is trying something, unlike the previous administration, who's only action taken to help the economy seems to have been to keep giving the richest even more and larger tax breaks. They sold that to us by saying if large corporations have more money, they'll hire more workers. Well, THAT didn't work out as promised, did it? What they did with the money was hand out Millions in bonuses (each) to managers and buy a couple more Gulfstream jets for those managers and CEOs.
I think we should bring home the more than HALF MILLION troops we have overseas and mothball those military bases. That would save a couple trillion dollars.
Obama will greatly reduce the number of troops in Iraq, but it can't be done so quickly that we leave chaos behind. I want them out tomorrow, but we can't make a bad situation worse. Iraq has decided we must be out sometime in 2011 anyway.
I think we should bring home the more than HALF MILLION troops we have overseas and mothball those military bases. That would save a couple trillion dollars.
Obama will greatly reduce the number of troops in Iraq, but it can't be done so quickly that we leave chaos behind. I want them out tomorrow, but we can't make a bad situation worse. Iraq has decided we must be out sometime in 2011 anyway.
notturtle
Well-known
I think the slide from pot to crack is not about addiction in the sense it is often portrayed. I think the real issue lies much deeper in the society that has the problems. It is that issue which drives the slide not the use of pot in the first instance. The vast majority of people that use pot do not end up on crack.
I think it it interesting to note that the US, which in many cases has such a black and white position on drugs has the biggest of problems. Lets face it, weed is legal in Holland yet (to my knowledge and I could be wrong) the place is not full of crack addicts and society has not collapsed into the sea. I am not an advocate of drug use, but I am strongly opposed to the puritanical approach because it simply does not work. My point is that in countries where such things are highly illegal and carry stiff penalties, people still smoke pot as well as take harder drugs, so I don't see where it is helping much. I firmly believe in education, admitting to the causes of problems and tackling those. Banning everything, severe penalties and third party stereotyping does not help.
I confess to being utterly shocked by the extremely dilapidation and squalor in parts of some US cities. I knew they could be bad, but greeting an urban landscape that looked more akin to a post nuclear holocaust human survival scenario was not what I expected. Surely this would be a good place to start. i wonder how many effective employment/education/urban rehabilitation programs could be set up for the money spent on chasing down supply. A lot, I bet.
I am not sure that driving pot into the deepest underground lair helps much either. The same goes for alcohol. I encountered far more American teenagers with no idea the affect alcohol has one them than in Europe (and thats saying something considering the youth alcohol problems sweeping the UK). Every school seems to have a long list of horror stories of the road trips that went wrong thanks to alcohol. Two dimensional class lessons on 'thou shalt not drink until 21 because it is illegal and dangerous' does not work either. People do need experience in the real world application and not just lessons. When will people realise that the solution to so many problems is awareness + everything in moderation. Families and friends are so important. They set the standard and it is they who have the potential to really police people.
I will be honest and say I knew what too much alcohol felt like long before I was old enough to drive a car and I consider that a very good thing. I knew that wine could 'hit you' harder than beer and keep coming after you stopped drinking as it continued to be absorbed. Spirits are even worse. I knew about not driving the next morning after a night out. Kids that play with alcohol at the same time as being young drivers is a suicidal mix. I am curious as to the US laws regarding the comsuption of alcohol in the home for those under 21.
Another regional parallel: sexual puritanism does not work either. Young men and women grow up in Afghanistan neither understanding their bodies, nor their desire, or how to deal with either. Its a train smash. Same goes for alcohol.
Education. Start young. Parental supervision and the involvement of friends. Allow people to expereince things like alcohol well before they drive so they find their own common sense understanding before the two learning experiences coincide. Know what your kids are up to, but don't lock them away. Nothing is taboo. Everything can be discussed, but not by uninvested 'therapists' but people who care on a pesonal level and who the person knows care.
Not US bashing, just don't understand why when the US has such problems with drugs and crime, they frequently dismiss the approaches taken in countries with far fewer problems of this kind. I just don't get it.
I think it it interesting to note that the US, which in many cases has such a black and white position on drugs has the biggest of problems. Lets face it, weed is legal in Holland yet (to my knowledge and I could be wrong) the place is not full of crack addicts and society has not collapsed into the sea. I am not an advocate of drug use, but I am strongly opposed to the puritanical approach because it simply does not work. My point is that in countries where such things are highly illegal and carry stiff penalties, people still smoke pot as well as take harder drugs, so I don't see where it is helping much. I firmly believe in education, admitting to the causes of problems and tackling those. Banning everything, severe penalties and third party stereotyping does not help.
I confess to being utterly shocked by the extremely dilapidation and squalor in parts of some US cities. I knew they could be bad, but greeting an urban landscape that looked more akin to a post nuclear holocaust human survival scenario was not what I expected. Surely this would be a good place to start. i wonder how many effective employment/education/urban rehabilitation programs could be set up for the money spent on chasing down supply. A lot, I bet.
I am not sure that driving pot into the deepest underground lair helps much either. The same goes for alcohol. I encountered far more American teenagers with no idea the affect alcohol has one them than in Europe (and thats saying something considering the youth alcohol problems sweeping the UK). Every school seems to have a long list of horror stories of the road trips that went wrong thanks to alcohol. Two dimensional class lessons on 'thou shalt not drink until 21 because it is illegal and dangerous' does not work either. People do need experience in the real world application and not just lessons. When will people realise that the solution to so many problems is awareness + everything in moderation. Families and friends are so important. They set the standard and it is they who have the potential to really police people.
I will be honest and say I knew what too much alcohol felt like long before I was old enough to drive a car and I consider that a very good thing. I knew that wine could 'hit you' harder than beer and keep coming after you stopped drinking as it continued to be absorbed. Spirits are even worse. I knew about not driving the next morning after a night out. Kids that play with alcohol at the same time as being young drivers is a suicidal mix. I am curious as to the US laws regarding the comsuption of alcohol in the home for those under 21.
Another regional parallel: sexual puritanism does not work either. Young men and women grow up in Afghanistan neither understanding their bodies, nor their desire, or how to deal with either. Its a train smash. Same goes for alcohol.
Education. Start young. Parental supervision and the involvement of friends. Allow people to expereince things like alcohol well before they drive so they find their own common sense understanding before the two learning experiences coincide. Know what your kids are up to, but don't lock them away. Nothing is taboo. Everything can be discussed, but not by uninvested 'therapists' but people who care on a pesonal level and who the person knows care.
Not US bashing, just don't understand why when the US has such problems with drugs and crime, they frequently dismiss the approaches taken in countries with far fewer problems of this kind. I just don't get it.