The Long Reach of America’s “Limited” Government
Schizoid Republicans — the gift that keeps on giving. Out of one side of their mouths they shout “Freedom!” and “limited government.” Out of the other side, they’re constantly screaming for a huge government crackdown on everything imaginable.
They want government to be small enough to drown in Grover Norquist’s bathtub; and this same bathtub-size government needs to be big enough to monitor everybody’s private life 24/7/365.
Conservatives’ newest urgent problem: American citizens who do something in a foreign country that’s legal in that country but illegal in the U.S. How can we sleep at nights, knowing that somebody somewhere is getting away with something that should be against the law? Fortunately, Rep. Lamar Smith (R—Inbred) has the solution to this Earth-shattering problem. He’s introduced the Drug Trafficking Safe Harbor Elimination Act of 2011.
According to the linked article, this bill “would make it a federal crime for U.S. residents to discuss or plan activities on foreign soil that, if carried out in the U.S., would violate the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) — even if the planned activities are legal in the countries where they’re carried out.”
Examples include: smoking (or buying/selling/distributing) marijuana in a place where pot has been decriminalized (e.g. Amsterdam); taking part in a needle exchange program in a foreign country; or even purchasing an over-the-counter medicine in a foreign country if that same medicine requires a prescription in the United States.
A civil liberties attorney said:
“I don’t see any interest other than to a desire to impose our moral and cultural preferences on the rest of the world.”
You mean like American Exceptionalism and all that. Yeah! America is unique in all the world — a Beacon of Freedom. And America’s Freedom will be forced down the throats of all the rest of you Podunk countries. Got a problem with that???
Lamar Smith is hereby invited to take a long walk off a short plank.
Labels: American Exceptionalism, Controlled Substances Act, Drug Trafficking Safe Harbor Elimination Act, Lamar Smith, marijuana Amsterdam U.S.
posted by Tom Harper @ 12:32 PM
11 Comments:
Of all the stupid shit to be wasting their time on what with all the problems we have, this one takes the cake. Talk about the intrusion of government into our private lives. Republicans should be ashamed of themselves!
Indeed they have no shame.
Well,
They think our "problems" are their benefits (low to no taxes on the wealthy, huge deficits, lack of personal freedom to use our bodies how we please), and thus have no interest in addressing these issues.
The only issues that interest them are how to limit our freedoms even more.
And they're working on that night and day.
Refer to Homeland Security and new laws constantly coming out of state legislatures inspired by the C(k)ocks.
A name we should adopt en masse whenever we address these people publicly.
Might get the point across to these socially terror-stricken mental midgets.
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For people who like to wear tinfoil hats and bleat about how awful a "one-world government" would be, they sure seem to want to have one, with us in charge. These Republicans want us to impose our will on every other country on the globe.
It would be nice if the proposal included holding American Countries up to the same standards when they go overseas, instead they follow the local rules, discriminate and bribe
Erik
These are the same idjits yakking about Sharia and international law and how it can never be used here. I think I am going to just kill myself now before more of my head explodes. Not really.. instead I will go commit a federal crime right here in my own living room. Hey it's almost noon, so I can light up.
Jerry: Incredible, no? With all the serious problems we have, and some asswipe is worried about trivia like this. Unreal.
Anonymous: Nope, no shame whatsoever.
Suzan: They're working around the clock to find ways to supply more prisoners for those lucrative private prisons.
Snave: That's the exact irony I was thinking of too. The same people who are terrified of UN thugs swooping in and enslaving America, are probably thrilled at the prospect of America sticking its tentacles into other countries.
Erik: Good old bribery and discrimination -- where would we be without them :)
Jess: Like the saying goes, the sun's over the yardarm somewhere. Light one up.
Snave- Keeping others from imposing their will is quite the opposite... We will not impose anything as long as you don't. It's that simple.
And what about the Obummer Admin suing Gibson guitars, TWICE, because of an "Indian" law about where their wood comes from.
Put this on top of suing Boeing because they want to move to a cheaper state, (businesses go out of business because their competitors can produce a better and/or cheaper product) and closing very successful GM dealerships because they were Republican owned or saving Goldman Sachs because it was Democrat owned. Don't you guys read the news?
Oh you mean like banking in offshore accounts to avoid high taxes?
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