Open Thread

“bullet” Bizarre column of the week comes from Kyle Klavetter, Staff Writer of The University of Tulsa Collegian. Pot Lacks Purpose

But must the first steps on the road to recovering freedoms from the fount of Constitutional federalism make legalizing marijuana a salient point? […]
America is a purposed nation. America serves God. The practical consequence arising from this belief is that means are not justified by ends. Rights do not exist in a vacuum. Progress measures success only after the method by which it is attained is subjected to the scrutiny of an independent moral code. […]
America prides itself on how many “right to’s” it can accumulate — right to self-expression, right to privacy, right to abortion, right to inhale mind-altering substances. The more “right to’s” there are, the better America supposedly is.
The problem lies in that these type of “rights” do not build up a foundation for the country. These “rights” aren’t meant to further a Godly end. Often these rights are beyond the judgments of good and evil. They are deemed “good” because they foster Man’s own ability to live as he pleases. Their ultimate purpose is the service of Man.
This is a dangerous credo, one that in its fullest meaning resounded ahead of Communist Russia as it marched to perdition in the past century.
Of course legalizing pot wouldn’t make America communist, but it would be one step toward a world where rights are justified not by their adherence to morality but because they further Man’s own ends. This political epistemology is antithetical to the American vision. […]
The legalization of pot would, at best, be self-gratification. This right would not serve the interests of God. The legalization of pot would tempt this country to stray from its moral heritage.

The whole piece is so ridiculous, it’s hardly worth commenting on, but feel free to have fun with it.
“bullet” Scott Morgan has Part II of Why Do Police Really Oppose Marijuana Legalization?
“bullet” A school in Illinois is learning that drug testing may not be the easy solution to all their problems…

“I had to have part of my leg shaved,” said senior Rob Smith. […]
Lauren Banaszak, a senior, thinks once the program’s random testing phase begins, some might take their chances with the roulette wheel. […]
Or find a different way to get high. […]
“I asked them if ( this kind of test ) would just make kids more resourceful about what substance they could get away with using,” Nall said. “The general consensus was yes, it would.” […]
After all, suggests Majkowski, “We can’t be taking urine samples every day to find out if they’ve been drinking.” […]
The $75,000 budgeted for the 2007-08 school year is “a lot of money,” Nall said. “I wonder if this is an easy way out. Could we have invested that in a worthwhile ( substance abuse ) education program instead?”

“bullet” “drcnet”
Update: Some very fine responses to Klavetter in comments.