# America is having some technical difficulties... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 13, 2002, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433 "2002-12-13T04:35:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/21 "2002-12-13T13:22:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Troy McClure SF \* > \*\*Well, then a good chunk of GD in the past year has been pretty meaningless. \*\* ``` :eek: ``` _“And just because poverty doesn’t vanish doesn’t mean it’s the antipoverty programs that aren’t working.”_ And just because drugs don’t vanish doesn’t mean the anti-drug enforcement effort isn’t working. Wait a minute… ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/22 "2002-12-13T13:35:58Z")
Well, that’s right, **Jack**. It’s not the drug interdiction efforts and draconian property forfeiture laws that are keeping drugs on the market; it’s other economic and societal forces. And that’s about the limit of congruency between the drug “problem” and poverty. It’s universally agreed that poverty is a _bad thing_, to be prevented where possible. There’s absolutely no concensus in this country that currently illicit drugs are evil or that the users of those drugs should be regarded as criminals. **Lib** ’s point _may_ be that governmental aid programs aren’t addressing real causes _and therefore those governmental efforts should be redirected_, but if so he hasn’t exactly made the point. (And I don’t think that’s exactly what he’s saying, either.) ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/23 "2002-12-13T15:13:54Z")
The people who produced the Flash animation didn’t have their dissent reduced. ---
**Author:** ![Mort\_Furd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mort\_Furd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mort_Furd)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/24 "2002-12-13T15:26:49Z")
I _love it_ when people complain about while dissenting voices being silenced in the U.S. What is that damned flash animation, anyway, if not dissent? Putzes. ---
**Author:** ![Mort\_Furd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mort\_Furd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mort_Furd)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/25 "2002-12-13T15:29:27Z")
Well, hell. Let’s try that again. I _love it_ when people complain about dissenting voices being silenced in the U.S. What is that damned flash animation, anyway, if not dissent?:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/26 "2002-12-13T15:58:53Z")
Chalk up a mighty whoosh for our **xeno**. It’s a common tactic to suggest that any program or effort to combat a specific problem that’s existed for a long time without ending or substantially reducing the problem must be a failure. On the left, this criticism often is applied to law enforcement, incarceration and the death penalty, since they haven’t “solved” the crime problem. So there’s a certain irony in seeing antipoverty programs which have a similar record of “failure” defended. We should always ask ourselves how much worse the situation might be without the program that’s under attack. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/27 "2002-12-13T16:19:57Z")
Okaaaay. How much worse would the situation be without the War on Drugs artificially inflating prices and arresting people for nonviolent crimes? ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/28 "2002-12-13T16:31:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tristan \* > \*\*I’d also like to see where they get the “shooting _first?_” line from. \*\* The whole first strike with nuclear weapons thing? That’d be my guess. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/29 "2002-12-13T16:53:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CRorex \* > \*\*The whole first strike with nuclear weapons thing? > > That’d be my guess. \*\* When did that happen? Why does everybody think that a nuke-on-Baghdad is a fait accompli? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/30 "2002-12-13T17:01:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by E-Sabbath \* > \*\*Okaaaay. How much worse would the situation be without the War on Drugs artificially inflating prices and arresting people for nonviolent crimes? \*\* Oh, I quite agree. With a free flow of cheap heroin, crack cocaine, crank etc. there’d be no drug problem at all in this country. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/31 "2002-12-13T17:10:55Z")
Nice link, **Stoid**. Thanks for posting it. I’m passing it round, and everyone here likes it so far. For everyone whining about it… it’s a parody, people: short, sweet, and to the point. Don’t get _too_ serious about it now, OK? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/32 "2002-12-13T17:29:05Z")
That’s not what I asked, Jackmanii. I asked, how much worse would it be, then posited the two most obvious negative consequences of the drug war. So, we would have cheap drugs, though still illegal, presumably. So then what? ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/33 "2002-12-13T17:36:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Libertarian \* > **AFDC still assists [millions of families](http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa/cfc_fy96.htm).** Possibly a nitpick…possibly not: AFDC doesn’t exist anymore. Try [TANF](http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/) (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/34 "2002-12-13T17:45:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jackmannii \* > \*\*Oh, I quite agree. With a free flow of cheap heroin, crack cocaine, crank etc. there’d be no drug problem at all in this country. :rolleyes: \*\* Yeah, there’d be morons shooting up _every day_, sometimes _more often_, and _dying from it_. People would _OVERDOSE_, for God’s sake! OVERDOSE on DRUGS! ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/35 "2002-12-13T17:49:08Z")
… Cheap shot time! Morons overdosing every day… I fail to see the problem. (No, not really.) So, you’re suggesting with cheaper and more available drugs, there will be a greater potential for abuse in quantity. It’s a good thought, but what percentage of the drug-using population couldn’t afford to overdose now that might, given the opportunity? I’m not seeing a great change here. What concerns me would be more in the line of more and different people using, like unto the 80s with the dentists and everyone using coke. ---
**Author:** ![l1I235](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@l1I235](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/l1I235)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/36 "2002-12-13T17:53:09Z")
Nooo!! Dagg! I just wrote out a long thought out response…the hamsters ate it! Weep me a river. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![l1I235](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@l1I235](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/l1I235)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/37 "2002-12-13T17:57:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > \*\ ***mademoiselle** just taught me a [new word](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=confute). > \*\* Always happy to help **friedo**. (Ha! and you all thought I was making it up!😉 ) I don’t have time now, but perhaps I’ll come back and re-write my response. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/38 "2002-12-13T18:00:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by E-Sabbath \* > \*\*What concerns me would be more in the line of more and different people using, like unto the 80s with the dentists and everyone using coke. \*\* Yeah, like when opium was legal. _Everyone_ was a _GODDAMNED JUNKE_ and _nobody_ did _anything_ until Devil Poppy was controlled. Yeah, when Sears sold laudanum, _everyone_ was a _junk-fiend_ and people would routinely engage in _homicide_ and _prostitution_ to feed their rampant habit. People would try to sell the _Brooklyn Bridge_ to other _drugged-up miscreants_, even though the bridge was the rightful property of the _Glorious Republic_. ---
**Author:** ![Denis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5e9695/32.png) [@Denis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Denis)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/39 "2002-12-13T18:22:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*Yeah, like when opium was legal. _Everyone_ was a _GODDAMNED JUNKE_ and _nobody_ did _anything_ until Devil Poppy was controlled. > > Yeah, when Sears sold laudanum, _everyone_ was a _junk-fiend_ and people would routinely engage in _homicide_ and _prostitution_ to feed their rampant habit. > > People would try to sell the _Brooklyn Bridge_ to other _drugged-up miscreants_, even though the bridge was the rightful property of the _Glorious Republic_. \*\* Yes, yes! And we all _know_ that pot smokers are all lazy, shiftless wastrels! I mean, the DEA says so! They’re criminal, y’know? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/america-is-having-some-technical-difficulties/142433/40 "2002-12-13T18:23:33Z")
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