Monday, November 23, 2009

Government sponsored vice -- -- is nice!

It seems a sure bet that our government’s expansion into what were historically areas controlled by organized crime will continue .

In Oregon we have come a long way from prohibition to state-controlled liquor sales. Presumably this has led to less liquor related accidents and crime.

Over the past decade the state has taken control of social gambling. Their control is so strict they have even managed to move the time-honored tradition of betting in football pools in taverns to their own boards. Among friends you stood chance of recovering your ticket price when the winner of the pool bought the traditional bell ringing round. How dare the state take that away from us? They never buy a round.

It seems a foregone conclusion that at least some states will wrest control of the pot business from the cartels, and in particular in Oregon and California, within another election cycle or two. We the people are finally catching on!

Progressive and forward thinking among Europeans has led to control of the hard drug business. Drug addicts can go to the neighborhood pharmacy for a fix. Consequently they have no drug crimes being committed to support drug habits. No gangsters on street corners peddling dope. No thefts, robberies or home invasions required. For a government policy, how smart is that?

Those same enlightened countries have also taken over control of the prostitution business. Sex is for sale but regulated by the state so purveyors are guaranteed disease-free and safe. You go to a sidewalk smorgasbord to make your selection. No prostitutes are hanging out on street corners in high crime areas. There is no gang involvement and, most importantly for society, there are no sex crimes committed
in those countries where sex is readily available.

How incredibly brilliant is that? No rapes! No drug crimes! No gang influence!

No huge taxpayer cost is necessary to support a monstrous prison system; AKA as gladiator schools and schools offering advanced degrees in major crimes.

The sooner governments control all vice the sooner everyone will be able to purchase what they want or need at a reasonable price. Non violent crimes will be taxed, not prosecuted, and the cost of administering these new government programs will be born by the consumers of those services. The rest of us can enjoy the perks
that come with overflowing government coffers which will come from taxing cash flows normally going straight to criminal enterprises.

We in this country are not blessed with the experienced brain trust Europeans took centuries to acquire… but we are getting there.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Times Perspective

To a 20-year-old looking forward 20 years seems

like looking into eternity.



To a 60-year-old looking back 20 years seems

like looking back a few weeks, months at most.



To a 20-year-old the time till your 21st birthday

is forever. Time passes so slowly you can count

the seconds.



By the time you reach 60 time is moving so fast

the days are a blur. You wonder what became

of last week or last month.



At 20 we have ants in our pants and can't stay

still for more than a minute. At 60 we sit down

to read a good book after breakfast and the next

time we look up it's lunchtime.



If we could only have that longtime perspective

during our youth and realize that 20 years down

the road is far shorter than it appears. Long time

is just a trick of time's perspective.



Looking backward through time's perspective is

similar to looking at things in your car's rear view

mirror... Things appear closer than they really are.



Looking forward in time we get tunnel vision and

things seem much further away than they really are.



Somewhere in time we hope our perspective

balances out. Eventually our internal clock slows

down enough that things behind us in life are no

longer stretched out of proportion; and the future

isn't compressed to the point where you think you

can just jump ahead in line in no time.



You mellow out.

You get to relax for a while.

Hopefully/Maybe.