Ts ts...why are Batman Joneses always so angry? Anyone whose moniker initials say "BJ" should be a little cooler...if you can dish it out, you'll have to be able to deal with it if you get some back...but looks like someone took his ball and went home . Come on, BJ, don't be a sore loser .
Jackie, I went ahead and read your last one. I'll try and avoid it in the future because, while I'm happy to debate politics or whatever, I'm not into personal flame wars. You've been a dick in general throughout this thread, but you crossed the line when you called me a liar. When I said I wasn't you said you weren't "hateful and frustrated" enough to respond. When I said you were being a dick to call me a liar and not back it up you asked if I was drunk. You called me a liar and avoided several chances to clear it up. You're a dick. I won't miss you.
Okay, so you are not a liar. Now go re-read the thread and ask yourself who really acted like a dick .
Well, since I have already been called a dick, might as well live up to that billing . The Batman Jones Rules of Escalating an Argument on the Internet 1) Try to play the "intellectual" by making condescending remarks 2) When those you addressed respond, pick a fight - and try to build "alliances" with other people (aka the "Kindergarten" rule) 3) When you realize you are intellectually inferior, get personal and start calling those you are arguing with names 4) If they don't stoop down to your level, get even angrier and call them more names. 5) Try to get support from those who you think are in your "camp" (kinda like calling for older brothers when you would get into a schoolyard fight...) and tell the ones you are arguing with "But we are more than you!" 6) Tell the one you are arguing with they are now your "enemy" and call them more names. 7) Threaten them to put them on your ignore list (now they should really be getting scared, what a threat! ) 8) After already having said "Bye", don't put them on your ignore list, keep reading their posts (kinda like the little kid that gets into an argument with the neighbor's kid and threatens to take his ball and go home but never does...) 9) Call them more names and hope they will finally get as angry as you are and will stoop down to your level. 10) When they don't, get frustrated, turn off your computer and go to bed angry, trying to tell yourself "Yeah, I really 'won' this argument on an Internet message board. People there will now think I'm cool". Well, this one's for you - with apologies to all the politically correct people out there...if it offends anyone other than BJ and his little buddy, I'll take it off immediately. P.S.: Peace
Is this an example of High Horsedom? T_J is a hoot. It is my observation that mostly those who politically disagree with T_J consider him a "laughingstock." There are a few others... notably Refman who has virtually dropped out of D&D. T_J does seem to manage to continue to have fun here while many of you who oppose him are probably investigating natural ways to keep your blood pressure under control.
First of all, the 700,000 number was just for possession, not for trafficking. Second of all, none of those people deserved to be arrested in the first place. The laws against mar1juana (and other drugs) are unjust, counterproductive, terribly expensive, and absolutely useless. That is what we are debating here. There are millions out there who believe that smoking pot does not waste your mind. Want some examples? Keep in mind that the following list includes Nobel Laureates, former and current members of government worldwide, judges worldwide, and many celebrities. If you want to get up on your high horse, try to remember that there are a lot of people FAR smarter than you who have looked at the facts and agree that our drug laws do not work. The Beatles (along with darned near every other musical group in existance, so lets just call this one Rock and Rollers) Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, A Few Good Men, The American President) Walter Cronkite Woody Harrelson Domingo Cavallo, Congressman Graciela Fernandez Meijide, Member of Congress Irma Fidela Parentella,Member of Congress Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Nobel Laureate (Peace, 1980) Dick Adams, National Parliament Lyn Allison, Senator, National Parliament Ald. Pru Bonham, Deputy Lord Mayor, Hobart Kate Carnell, Chief Minister, Australian Capital Territory Barney Cooney, Senator from Victoria Harry Jenkins, House of Representatives, National Parliament Michael Kirby, AC CMG, President, International Commission of Jurists Michael Moore, Minister for Health and Community Care, ACT Richard Smallwood, Fmr. President, Royal Australasian College of Physicians Vincent Decroly, Member of Parliament, Brussels Patrick Moriau, Member of Parliament, Mayor of Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont Ilya Prigogine , Emeritus professor physical chemistry, Free University of Brussels; Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1977) Antonio Aranibar Quiroga, Fmr. Foreign Minister Edgar Camacho Omiste, Fmr. Ambassador to the OAS Roger Cortez-Hurtado, Fmr. Member of Congress Juan del Granado, Member of Congress Alfonso Ferrufino Valderrama, Fmr. Vice-President of the Bolivian House of Representatives Lidya Gueiler Tejada, Fmr. President of Bolivia Roberto Moscoso Valderrama, Member of Congress Ricardo Paz Ballivian, Fmr. Member of Congress Carlos Julio Quiroga Blanco, Member of Congress Guillermo Richter A., Fmr. Senator Gonzalo Ruiz, Member of Congress Manuel Suarez Avila, Member of Congress Felix Vasquez Mamani, Member of Congress Chris Axworthy, Member of Parliament, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Sharon Carstairs, Senator, Fmr. Chair, Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Senate of Canada Libby Davies, Member of Parliament, Vancouver-East Bev Desjarlais, Member of Parliament, Manitoba Yvon Godin, Member of Parliament, Bathhurst, NB Rick Laliberte, Member of Parliament, Churchill River, Beauval, Saskatchewan Wendy Lill, Member of Parliament, Dartmouth Peter Mancini, Member or Parliament Alexa McDonough, Member of Parliament, Federal Leader of New Democratic Party, Ottawa, Canada Lorne Nystrom, Member of Parliament, N.D.P., Qu'Appelle, Regina, Saskatchewan John C. Polanyi, Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1986) Svend Robinson, Member of Parliament, New Democratic Party of Canada, Burnaby-Douglas Gordon S. Earle, Member of Parliament, Halifax, Nova Scotia Peter Stoffer, Member of Parliament - New Democratic Party of Canada Judy Wasylycia-Leis, Member of Parliament, Winnipeg Belisario Betancur, Fmr. President Augusto Ramirez Ocampo, Fmr. Foreign Minister Oscar Arias, Fmr. President of Costa Rica; Nobel Laureate (Peace, 1987) Hans Henrik Brydensholt, High Court Judge Bjørn Elmquist, Fmr. Member of Parliament Erik Merlung, District Attorney, Copenhagen Erling Olsen, Fmr. Minister of Justice Villy Søvndal, Member of Parliament Washington Herrera, Fmr. Presidential Minister Inkeri Anttila, Fmr. Minister of Justice K.J Laang, Fmr. General Director of the Prison Service Michèle Barzach, Fmr. Minister of Health Georges Berthoin, International Honarary Chairman of the European Movement, Paris France Catherine Lalumiere, Member of the European Parliament Jacky Mamou, President, Médecins de Monde Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Member, European Parliament Peter Frerichs, Vice President, Frankfurt Police Leutheuser-Schnarrenberger, Fmr. German Federal Minister of Justice Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, Fmr. German Federal Minister of Justice Hartmut Schneider, District Court Judge, Lübeck Dierk-Henning Schnitzler, Police President, City of Bonn Franglinos Papadellis, Fmr. Minister of Health, Member of Parliament George Papandreou, Alternate Foreign Minister of Greece Michaelis Papayannakis, Member European Parliament Ramiro De Leon Carpio, Fmr. President of Guatemala Yossi Beilin, Fmr. Minister, Member of Knesset, Tel Aviv Haim Cohn, Fmr. Deputy President of the Israel Supreme Court, Professor of Penal Philosophy Menachem Horovitz, Fmr. Director of Correctional Services Monica Bettoni-Brandani, Undersecretary of State for Health Emma Bonino, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs Francesco Carella, President Health Commission of the Senate Dario Fo, Nobel Laureate (Literature, 1997) Luigi Manconi, Senator, President of the Green Party, Rome Giuliano Pisapia, President, Justice Commission, Italian Parliament, Rome Ersilia Salvato, Vice-President, Senate, Rome Grazia Zuffa, President, Forum Droghe;Fmr. Member of Parliament, Florence Renée Wagner, Member of Parliament, Luxemburg Maria del Carmen Bolado del Real, Senator Carlos Heredia Zubieta, Member of Congress Gilberto Lopez y Rivas, Member of Congress Jesus Silva Herzog, Fmr. Mexican Ambassador to the United States Andreas van Agt, Fmr. Prime Minister of the Netherlands;Fmr. Minister of Justice Hedy d'Ancona, Fmr. Dutch Minister of Welfare, Health, and Culture; Member of the European Parliament Jan F. Glastra van Loon, Professor, Senator, Fmr. State Secretary of Justice Sylvia van 't Hul, Public Prosecutor, Rotterdam Free le Poole, Member of the First Chamber of Parliament (Senate) E.H. Schuyer, Senator; Chairman of Democrats (D66), Senate Jan G. van der Tas, Fmr. Netherlands Ambassador to Germany J.M. vander Vaart, Judge, District Court of Amsterdam Tim Barnett, Member of Parliament, New Zealand Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, Fmr. President of Nicaragua Miguel d'Escoto Brockman, Fmr. Foreign Minister Jo Benkow, Fmr. President of Parliament Gunnar Garbo, Ambassador;Fmr. Member of Parliament Javier Alva Orlandini, Member of Congress Rolando Ames, Fmr. Senator Arturo Castillo Chirinos, Member of Congress Antero Flores Araoz Esparza, Member of Congress Lourdes Flores Nano, Member of Congress Ernesto Gamarra Olivares, Member of Congress Diego Garcia-Sayan, Executive Director, Andean Commission of Jurists Alfonso Grados Bertorini, Member of Congress, Peru Manuel Lajo Lazo, Member of Congress Javier Perez de Cuellar, Fmr. Secretary General of the United Nations Alejandro Santa Maria, Member of Congress Annel Townsend Diez Canseco, Member of Congress Allan Wagner, Fmr. Minister of Foreign Affairs Marek Balicki, Psychiatrist, Fmr. Deputy, Ministry of Health Mikolaj Kozakiewicz, Fmr. Speaker of Parliament (1989-1991); Vice-President of IPPF Marek Nowicki, President, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights Helen Suzman, Fmr. Opposition Member of Parliament, Johannesburg PerfectoAndrés Ibañez, Judge; Presidente de la Secc. 15. Audiencia provincial de Madrid Heriberto Asencio Castillan, Judge. Audiencia provincial de Sevilla Emilio Berlanga Ribelles, Judge. Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Cataluña Ricardo Bodas Martin, Judge. Juzgado de lo Social n° 30 de Madrid Ascension Sole Puig, Judge.Juzgado de lo Social n° 28 de Barcelona Luis Yañez-Barnuevo, Member of Parliament Claes Örtendahl, Fmr. Director General, Board of Health and Welfare, Sweden Ingegmar Rexed, Judge, Svea Court of Appeal, Stockholm Peter Albrecht, Judge, Court of Bâle-Ville Christian Brunier, Member of Parliament, Geneva Jacqueline Cogne, Member of Parliament, Geneva Herve Dessimoz, Congressman, Geneva Parliament Dr. Dominique Hausser, Member of Parliament, Geneva Albert Rodrik, Member of Parliament, Geneva Francoise Schenk-Gottret, Member of Parliament, Geneva Morton Abramowitz, International Crisis Group;Fmr. Assistant Secretary of State;Fmr. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Dr. Jeremiah A Barondess, President, New York Academy of Medicine Nicolaus Bloembergen, Nobel Laureate (Physics, 1981) Willie Brown, Mayor of San Francisco Alan Cranston, Fmr. U.S. Senator Walter Cronkite, Author, Broadcast Journalist John Curtin, Federal Judge, Buffalo, NY Lloyd N. Cutler, Lawyer, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering;Fmr. Counsel to the President, 1979-1981, 1994 Joycelyn Elders, Fmr. U.S. Surgeon General Val L. Fitch, Nobel Laureate (Physics, 1980) Milton Friedman, Nobel Laureate (Economics) Terrence Hallinan, District Attorney of San Francisco Morton H. Halperin, Fmr. Department of Defense and National Security Council Official Susan Hammer, Mayor of San Jose John Kane, Federal Judge, Denver, CO Nicholas Katzenbach, Fmr. Attorney General Whitman Knapp, Senior District Judge, Southern District of New York Robert E. Lucas, Jr., Nobel Laureate (Economics, 1995) Kweisi Mfume, President and CEO of the NAACP Claiborne Pell, Fmr. U.S. Senator Elliot Richardson, Fmr. US Attorney General Kurt Schmoke, Mayor of Baltimore George Shultz, Fmr. Secretary of State Richard E. Smalley, Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1996) George Soros, Chairman, Open Society Institute Robert Sweet, Federal Judge, New York, NY Paul Volcker, Fmr. Chairman, Federal Reserve Board Justin N.E. Amissah, Judge, London Edward Ellison, Operational Head of Scotland Yard Drug Squad Paul Flynn, Member of Parliament, House of Commons Dr. Brian Iddon, Member of Parliament, London Austin Mitchell, Member of Parliament, UK Lord Rae, MD, House of Lords Anthony Tibber, Judge, London Carole Tongue, Member of European Parliament Simon Alberto Consalvi, Fmr. Minister of Foreign Affairs Diego Arria, Ambassador
Obviously you've done your research. You seem to be quite the expert on dope. I don't care what list of people "smarter than me" that you produce. You left Snoop Dogg off of your list, btw. I bet there is a much, much longer list of people whose lives have been ruined by drugs.
Your disparaging remark illustrates the madness of the people who are so convinced despite all of the evidence that prohibition is the appropriate way to deal with the issue of drug use and abuse in our society. Once they have exhausted the talking points that have been drilled into all of us since Nancy Reagan started saying "Just Say No," they just shoot off some insult about someone who is outspoken about mar1juana and throw out a tired cliche. FAOS, WHEN DRUGS WERE AVAILABLE IN APOTHECARY JARS IN THE GENERAL STORE, VIRTUALLY NOBODY DIED OR OVERDOSED BECAUSE EVERYBODY KNEW HOW MUCH WAS SAFE!!! There are many, many people who have had their lives negatively impacted by drug abuse, but what I am saying is that another strategy would be more effective at reducing availability to kids as well as dealing with and reducing abusive usage. All I ask is that you keep an open mind and read the literature. Please. All of our kids futures are at stake and all I ask is that you read a bit.
andymoon, by the way, I agree with you that in principle, I tend to prefer more liberal drug laws (having grown up near the Dutch border ). I am just not sure to what extent, but I appreciate the info you post and I do understand you are passionate about the subject.
Two so far who are whining about it...even if one or two more should show up, that's not that much, really... The only bandwidth problem would result from the excessive length of your posts .
Obvious, meet SJC. The length of my posts was, I thought clearly, one of your many complaints to which I was refering in the previous post. And whining? Hardly. You have, and I'm being as literal as I can here, posted on at least 50 occassions in the past lecturing me on how to think, post, etc. I will agree that few sounded like whining, though, usually your specialty is smug condescension with adolescent sacrasm. For a while you were telling me ( and others) how it was all in my head, how you had nothing against me, were just trying to help,etc. That turned out to be as honest and accurate as your self-assessment in here, but at least you've stopped pretending. So when I see you ask someone else where he gets off telling others how to post...sorry, it was akin to T_J's reporting other posters for being insulting. Remarkable, but then some people just don;t see things that apply to themselves, and conclude it's always everyone else's problem. I think T_J, at least, might be joking when he does this... Andy, sorry to derail a great thread.
I have nothing against you. I just think you are a nice dork who makes up stuff (like implying he is a professor, etc.) and is unable to express his thoughts in an organized and brief enough fashion to be understandable . However, in fact, I even agree with many of your political statements here and the flipside of criticizing your longish posts is that I should also mention that it is sometimes a positive contrast vs. those who only always look for the simplest solution.
Beg pardon? I'm not buying the "nothing against you" line anymore, and I doubt others will either, but what is this supposed to mean? You think I make up what I do for a living? Ok...and what else? Not that I care what you think all that much, but it helps resolve curiosity on certain swipes of old.
I think you are not a professor (yet), but continuously imply that you are. Am I wrong, and you are a professor?
You are wrong. Although, and this isn't in your defense, but in the interest of total honesty ( as close as I can come without being too particular, given my situation) my position is extraordinary, to a degree, and moreover my recent health concerns have put that position on less than solid ground. But that doesn't alter the fact that I have been what I said, and the complications would neither make that untrue, nor have been anything to which you could have been privvy.
