Issues on which I disagree with the right

[Ray From Cleveland]

You can't change your racial appearance, but you can dress to look poor and homeless sometime, in order to see how people treat you entirely differently.

I doubt that unless you're causing trouble. I don't treat the poor any different than I treat anybody else unless they're bothering me. Why would I?

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

If the US is so bad, why is everyone in the world trying to come here.

Sure, and the people that talk about how great other countries are never leave, not even for a few months.

If I thought there was a country that did things better than the US I would move there. But I think the US is the greatest country in the world and would never dream of leaving. We have our faults like anybody else, but this capitalist system and protection against an intrusive government are things very few around the world have the pleasure of experiencing. That's why they come here.

 

[Rigby5]

That's because alcohol is a social beverage. Drugs are just drugs. Most people have no desire for them outside of medical use.

What is legal and illegal in this country is decided by our representatives that we vote for. As for alcohol, once legal again we had more and more people using it. The same would happen with legalized drugs. Black market? Colorado has a terrible time with it. The drug sellers simply sell their pot tax free to beat out government prices.

No on both counts.

Most drugs are social, like pot, LSD, THC, etc.
Our society has strong social inhibitions and stress, and drugs help people relax back down to more normal.

And no, alcohol use was higher when illegal because there were more people pushing it, and there was a fairly universal resentment against those who made it illegal.

And it is absolutely FALSE that the legislators get to arbitrarily decide what is legal or not.
As a democratic republic, the legislators are ONLY supposed to be able to defend the inherent rights of individuals.
So then legislators could only make drugs illegal if they cause the rights of others to be violated, which is NOT the case.
So criminalizing drugs is inherently totalitarian and illegal.

As for black market, I do not have CO experience, but almost all states are in the process of legalization.
It appears to be working fine to everyone else.

 

[Rigby5]

All you people that talk about how great other countries are never leave. I find that amazing. Socialism is an attempt to make everybody equal; to take over industry and give it to the people. That never works because there would be no motivation for anybody to make new products or erect new companies.

Wrong.
All socialism requires are laws to prevent abuses by capitalists, like child labor, monopolies, union busting, etc.
The definition of socialism is:
{...
socialism
[ˈsōSHəˌlizəm]

NOUN

1. a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.
   ...}
   

 

[Rigby5]

Drugs killed my kid brother and harmed my whole family. Now get lost.

And that happened BECAUSE drugs were illegal.
If legalized, then he would not have overdosed and could have gotten medical treatment.

 

[Rigby5]

I doubt that unless you're causing trouble. I don't treat the poor any different than I treat anybody else unless they're bothering me. Why would I?

You are not the wealthy who do not want the appearance of the poor harming their property values, and the police are happy to comply with the wealthy in abusing the poor because it is a revenue source for the police.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

You are not the wealthy who do not want the appearance of the poor harming their property values, and the police are happy to comply with the wealthy in abusing the poor because it is a revenue source for the police.

That's pure BS. You need to talk to some real police officers.

Cops don't like arresting people. They only do it because it's part of the job. Behind the scenes they have to fill out reports and paperwork. They have to attend court when the suspect has his case heard in case the judge has questions only the officer can answer. It's something they avoid doing. And what is a poor person doing in an affluent area anyway if not causing trouble?

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

And that happened BECAUSE drugs were illegal.
If legalized, then he would not have overdosed and could have gotten medical treatment.

More BS. Why couldn't he get medical treatment with drugs being illegal? Like my cousin, they tried therapy several times, each time a failure. Legalizing drugs doesn't change that.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

Wrong.
All socialism requires are laws to prevent abuses by capitalists, like child labor, monopolies, union busting, etc.
The definition of socialism is:
{...
socialism
[ˈsōSHəˌlizəm]

NOUN

1. a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.
   ...}

Exactly. And how can that be done without removing the owners of companies? And if it could be done, what's the motive for creating new products, new jobs?

We are not a Socialist country yet, but we also have laws in regards to child labor and monopolies. We had unions, but they got so greedy they wiped themselves out of the workforce.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

No on both counts.

Most drugs are social, like pot, LSD, THC, etc.
Our society has strong social inhibitions and stress, and drugs help people relax back down to more normal.

And no, alcohol use was higher when illegal because there were more people pushing it, and there was a fairly universal resentment against those who made it illegal.

And it is absolutely FALSE that the legislators get to arbitrarily decide what is legal or not.
As a democratic republic, the legislators are ONLY supposed to be able to defend the inherent rights of individuals.
So then legislators could only make drugs illegal if they cause the rights of others to be violated, which is NOT the case.
So criminalizing drugs is inherently totalitarian and illegal.

As for black market, I do not have CO experience, but almost all states are in the process of legalization.
It appears to be working fine to everyone else.

It didn't wipe out the drug pushers now did it? They are still doing business as usual. Same would hold true if we legalized all drugs. Years ago when the mafia was large in this town, they pushed the lottery claiming it would destroy mob gambling. After it was passed the mob offered a higher payout and used the numbers the state pulled.

Americans are drinking more now than when Prohibition became the law of the land

Americans are drinking more now than they were in 1920, when Prohibition was enacted. It’s been rising for two decades, and it’s not clear when it will fall.

www.latimes.com

 

[Orangecat]

Socialism could be voluntary in participation and funding if you never had much effect on others.
For example, a person living in a rural location who did not employ others or make enough to pay taxes, would likely be free to do whatever they wanted, under socialism.
Socialism is mostly about ensuring basics like education, health care, pensions, defense, etc.
Socialism is most important when the poor majority are strongly under the control of the wealthy elite, like in a company owned town.

Is it voluntary or do you have to force reluctant people into it?
People don't need to be forced to comply with good ideas.
If you can't convince people that it's benefits outweigh it's burdens, perhaps it's not such a great plan after all. Not everyone agrees with your views.

 

[Orangecat]

If a system is totalitarian, you know automatically it can not possibly be socialism, which is cooperative, collective, and communal.

You say "cooperation" as if you have a choice.
If a system needs to force people to participate, I oppose it.
All the flowery prose in the world won't change my mind.
It takes a village....with a cage around it.
No thanks.

 

[Orangecat]

Wrong.
Anything totalitarian obviously is for the wealthy, capitalist, elite.

Totalitarianism is a form of government and political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high degree of control and regulation over public and private life
Sounds like that mandatory participation socialism you keep crowing about, tbh.

 

[koshergrl]

libertarians shouldn't believe in public education at all.

Your view of foreign policy is also clearly flawed. Although the middle east isn't important hemming in China certainly is

Welll...they shouldn't believe in government controlled public education.