Use Back button
to return. Features
Are we winning drug ‘war?’
|
By
JIM STREET Ed
& Pub Last week in
this space, we touched on the drug problem as being at least one major key to
our immigration nightmare. We have been
waging a “war on drugs” since President Richard Nixon first proclaimed it as
such in 1971. But the nation’s efforts to make drug use illegal go back to
the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914, which was aimed at opiates. We’ve been “at
war” for 40 years but clearly, it is not working. There is as much drug use
today as ever. If not more. If a product
advertized, “It’s not working! Better buy some,” would you run out and buy
it? On this issue,
people on my side of the political discourse make the same mistake as those
on the other side do on things like guns. Just pass a law and they will go
away. Except it
doesn’t work. We should have learned that lesson with Prohibition. But we
didn’t. OPINION Drinking had
become a real problem early in the 20th Century and people figured if we
would just make booze illegal, people would sober up. But people
didn’t and the ensuing black market resulted in a vast increase in organized
crime. Make something illegal and it just goes underground and the price
naturally skyrockets. Suppliers now
have to charge more because of the higher risk in delivering the product. And
every time you “interdict” a supply line, simple laws of supply and demand
result in higher prices. The theory is
that the much higher price will make people decide not to use drugs. That works
with what some economists call an “elastic” demand. If the price of going to
the movies goes up, you may decide to rent a DVD or just play cards or
something. But it does
not work with an “inelastic” demand like drugs. If you need heart surgery or
a Pacemaker, for example, what it costs has little effect on your decision to
get it. That’s an inelastic demand. If you are
strung out on drugs, you will get your “fix,” no matter what it costs. If you
can’t afford it with what your job pays – presuming you still have a job –
you’ll steal it. The only meaningful
argument I have heard for strong drug laws is that the price might discourage
someone from starting drug use in the first place. OK. But after
40 years – or really 96 years – you’d think nobody would have started because
the cost was too steep. Think again. Our drug laws
have created a giant black market and this is a major reason for the extreme
violence across that little stream just south of here they call the Rio
Grande. I usually find
myself on the same side politically with commentators like Rush Limbaugh. But not
always. Rush noted
recently that Mexico had legalized drugs and wondered how there could still
be violence if legalizing drugs were the answer. Hello, Rush.
The reason for the drug violence is the humongous price people will pay for
drugs and that market is on this side of that Rio. Take the black
market profit out of the equation and see how much people are willing to kill
just for market share. Talk of
“legalizing” drugs brings the immediate retort that that would mean any ten-year-old
would be able to buy crack cocaine. No, a
ten-year-old can’t buy booze or cigarettes either. But they are legal
products. Perhaps “decriminalization” would be a better word. We spend
billions of dollars each year busting kids for a couple of joints. Then we
keep them locked up at the expense of even more billions. And our cops
spend much of their time trying to find drugs instead of catching the real
crooks. Yes, some
drugs do cause people do bad things. OK, arrest them if they commit a crime. But
if all they are doing is getting high at home, they are not hurting anyone
but themselves. Education is a
far better tool than busting people just for having drugs in their
possession. I remember 40
years ago, you would go to a noon meeting. There was an ash tray at every
place and a server would take drink orders. There would be a few wine or beer
drinkers but most would order hard liquor. At noon. Today, even at
an evening meeting, if alcohol is served at all, it is usually only wine and
beer. If you want to smoke, you have to go outside to do so. And booze and
tobacco have been completely legal all this time. Let our cops
protect us from real crimes and treat drug abuse as the medical problem it
is. That will
solve a host of problems. Including the violence
across the border. Two
languages best By
CARLOS I. URESTI State
Senator The old saying
about cooperation and problem solving — two heads are better than one —
continues to withstand the test of time. That same idea
is quickly becoming the foundation of another common wisdom. Two languages
are better than one. Because of
Texas' economic and cultural ties to Mexico and our rapidly changing
demographics, the linguistic diversity that has always existed in the Lone
Star State is becoming more common and more important — both socially and
economically. OPINION This new
reality is evident everywhere in Texas, particularly in the counties of
Senate District 19. We see it
every day in our schools, churches and work-places. It must be embraced and
encouraged and a great way to do that is through dual language education. Currently,
there are more than 20 dual language schools in the district and these
programs have already shown great success among minority children. The ability to
communicate in two languages gives students the opportunity to explore both
their native and adoptive cultures and the skills they need to be successful. The benefits
of dual language programs are forcing school districts across the state to
take a second look at traditional bilingual education where children are
instructed in their native language while transitioning into English. In these
programs, students tend to lose their native language. And when that happens,
more is lost than just the words. Dual language
programs teach academic content in both their native language and English. In many
programs, children who only speak English learn Spanish and children who
speak Spanish learn English. Both the
native speaker and the English speaker are in the same classroom. The dual
language emersion approach is clearly more beneficial to students in Texas,
which is already a so-called "minority-majority" state, and will
post a Hispanic majority in the near future. Dual language
programs validate native tongues, provide more confidence to native speakers
and make both Hispanics and Anglos more competitive in the job market. More and more,
educators are viewing dual language education as a way to close the
achievement gap between non-English speakers and their counterparts in public
schools. It provides
native Spanish speakers with the English language skills they need and
enriches the lives of native English speakers who want to learn a second
language. So for
students who hail from both cultures, dual language programs foster knowledge,
understanding and mutual respect and widen everyone's path to succeed. In the Texas
that is fast approaching, two languages will be much better than one. How
to deal with a cop killer Larry Gill is
a historian and is active in the Merkel museum, which is celebrating its
fifth anniversary this year. The museum has
had an active five years. It started out in a building that once was a
western wear store. It filled up
quickly because residents of Merkel anxiously donated articles of historic
interest. Two building expansions have increased the museum to more than
three times its original size. The displays
of vehicles, photographs, uniforms and other items are so well done the
museum looks like it has been there for decades. When Larry is
not doing museum work, he serves as a constable. Occasionally both his jobs
come together in some of his presentations to school kids. “I love to
dress up in some of the costumes and uniforms we have around here,” Larry
said. “Sometimes I dress up like Johnny Reb and tell some Civil War stories. “Since I’m a
peace officer, one of my favorite stories in the museum is about an incident
that occurred back in 1925 when a Merkel constable was killed,” he said.
“When I tell it, I wear my law enforcement clothes complete with gun,
gunbelt, hat, bandana and boots and try to re-enact the story. “The sheriff
from Big Spring came to Merkel and told the constable he needed some help,”
Larry said. “He said a man from Merkel had killed a man in Big Spring and the
killer was working on a farm south of Merkel. “The sheriff
and constable go out there to find the wanted man in a field grubbing tree
stumps,” he said. “As they walked toward the man, he reaches down and picks
up a rifle he had lying on the ground and shoots the constable in the
stomach. “He falls and
crawls over against a tree,” Larry said. “The sheriff starts running to keep
out of the line of fire and borrows a car from a neighboring farmer. “As he is
driving off, the man with the gun catches up to him and shoots him,” he said.
“Then he went back to the constable, took the pistol from the constable’s
holster and shot him in the head. “He then came
back to Merkel to tell his family goodbye and began running south,” Larry
said. “They caught him at Lohn. He was hiding in a boxcar. “There was a
huge posse. Thousands of people were looking for this guy,” he said. “The
posse was led by the Abilene police chief. “The assistant
chief walked up to the man in the boxcar and told him if he would surrender
he wouldn’t be hurt,” Larry recounted. “He shot the assistant chief in the
leg. “That was it,”
he said. “Some of the men had dynamite and they threw it under the boxcar. “They got his
body out of there, secured it with a rope on the running board of the Abilene
police chief’s car, then they drove all over the county showing this man off,
sending the message that you don’t kill law enforcement officers,” Larry
said. “That might not go over too much today but it seemed perfectly all
right in 1925.” The museum has
a photograph of the man tied to the running board of the Model A vehicle. The people in
Merkel didn’t want him buried in the local cemetery but he was taken out to
the cemetery at night and placed in an unmarked grave. Two
Goats and Three Lambs They are a
sight to see as they run behind his pickup following him. He can call to them
and they come running. Sometimes, he
even takes them for rides in the back of his pickup and they are happy to
ride in the back. Anyway, they do not jump out. They would not
be alive if he had not found them, brought them home and cared for them. He found them
in the pasture as newborns and too weak to get up or follow their mamas. He provided a
warm shelter, milk for them and lots of TLC and they survived. Those dogies
remind me of something in the Bible, which says we were like lost sheep and
with no hope but God loved us and sent someone to rescue us (John 3:16.) That was His
only begotten son Jesus Christ. Not everyone will allow Jesus to rescue them
or they will have nothing to do with Him and they are not of His flock (John
10:26 and 27.) Everyone is
important, even just one lost sheep (Matthew 18:12.) He looks and
wants to rescue lost sheep (Luke 15:6). He knows the sheep that He has
rescued and they know Him (John 10:3 to 5.) He gave His
life for us (John 10:14 and 15.) Have you allowed Him to rescue you? See you in
Church next Sunday. Brother J The Big Dipper Of the very
brightest stars, called first-magnitude stars, none is in the northern-most
night sky. Yet that part of the sky holds seven moderately bright stars that
form a pattern more familiar than any of the brightest stars. The Big
Dipper, probably the best-known pattern in the entire northern hemisphere, is
part of the constellation named Ursa Major, the Big Bear. The Little
Dipper, part of Ursa Minor or the Little Bear, is not so easy to identify as
four of its seven stars are faint. It does,
however, contain the North Star, also known as Polaris. Since it is
straight up from Earth's North Pole, Polaris never moves in our sky. It is
always due north and the same distance in degrees above the horizon as the
latitude from which it is being viewed. The two stars
forming the outer end of the Big Dipper's bowl are "pointer stars"
pointing toward Polaris. Polaris is
like the center of a 24-hour clock with all the other stars moving around it
like the clock's hands, although in a counterclockwise direction. And just as
stars circle Polaris, so do star patterns, including the Big Dipper. Depending on
the season and time of night, the Big Dipper might be above, below or east or
west of Polaris. There's a
legend that helps know where to look for the Big Dipper in the early evening.
In the fall,
the dipper is due north below Polaris, down near Earth filling its bowl with
water. In the winter
it is to the east, or right, of Polaris with its bowl tilted on its side and
its handle pointing downward. The water
doesn't spill out because, being winter, it's frozen. In the spring,
the Big Dipper is again due north but now above Polaris in an upside-down
position. The water, now
thawed, is pouring out of the dipper's bowl bringing us spring rains. By summer, the
dipper has swung around to the west, or left, of Polaris with its bowl again
tilted on its side and its handle pointing upward. It no longer
has any water to spill on Earth, accounting for our dry, hot summers. And the next
fall it again swings down near Earth to again fill its bowl with water and
begin the cycle anew. Right now in
the early evening, as spring is about to turn to summer, the Big Dipper is to
the upper left of Polaris. Sky
Calendar. Friday, June
4, the Moon is at third quarter. Sunday morning,
June 6, the crescent Moon is to the upper right of Jupiter low in the east
before dawn. Sunday
evening, June 6, Mars is just to the upper left of Leo's bright star Regulus
high in the west. Tuesday
morning, June 8, Jupiter passes less than a moonwidth from Uranus. Seeing
much fainter Uranus requires binoculars. Thursday
morning, June 10, the crescent Moon is above Mercury low in the east
northeast at dawn and the next morning to Mercury's left. Early
evenings, Thursday through Saturday, June 10 to 12, Venus and Gemini's bright
stars Pollux and Castor are aligned and equally spaced low in the west at
dusk. Saturday, June
12, the Moon is new. Early Monday
evening, June 14, the crescent Moon is below Venus low in the west. Wednesday
evening, June 16, the crescent Moon is below Mars and then to Mars' left the
next night. Friday
evening, June 18, the first quarter Moon is below Saturn.
The Sun, Moon
and planets rise in the east and set in the west due to Earth's west-to-east
rotation on its axis. Evenings,
"Evening star" Venus is prominent in the west northwest, Mars is
mid way up in the west and Saturn is high in the southwest. Mornings,
Jupiter rises two hours before the break of dawn with Mercury very low in the
east at dawn. Stargazer appears every other week, space
permitting. Paul Derrick is an amateur astronomer who lives in Waco. Contact
him at 918 N. 30th, Waco, TX 76707, (254) 753-6920 or paulderrickwaco@aol.com. See the Stargazer Web site at stargazerpaul.com. ‘Robin
Hood’ reviewed If you’re
looking for the romantic tale of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, Friar Tuck
and Little John with the wonderful Maid Marion, her soft yet remote
affections drawing at Robin’s emotions, don’t go see this movie. Legend is a
solidly formed series of myths that have emanated from the oral stories that
were repeated for hundreds of years by a specific ethnic or social group of
people. Robin Hood is
such a legend. It
started at the end of the Crusades and the fall of the Roman Empire in
the 1200s and 1300s. Robin was a
sole adventurer for 300 years, robbing the rich and giving to the poor. Friar Tuck,
Little John and Maid Marion entered into the story more than 300 years later
as writers continued to expand on the legend with enthusiastic literary
license. Enter Ridley
Scott, director of “Gladiator,” with screenwriter Brian Helgeland, deciding
to create a story of Robin Hood’s humble beginning before the legend. A
prequel, if you will. Robin Hood’s
legend is tampered with, where legend becomes further fictionalized and
passed off as authentic. This is a
movie that will dazzle with battles, blood and gore. Robin’s
character, played by Russell Crowe, is not the affable, likeable man played
by Errol Flynn in 1938 or Kevin Costner’s 1999 portrayal. This Robin
Hood is a serious, brooding, battle-weary veteran of the Crusades who wants
nothing more than rest and distance from battle. The story
really begins when a dying knight makes Robin promise to return his sword,
illicitly taken from his father, to go to war as a young man. Robin agrees
to this dying man’s request and thus the plot develops. Robin, a
yeoman archer well below knight status, and his men don the uniforms of
deceased knights and return to a hero’s welcome in England. In his quest
to return the sword, he meets Maid Marion Loxley, the dead knight’s widow,
and father-in-law Sir Walter Loxley, to whom the sword belongs. So, in this
story, Maid Marion, played by the forever anemic looking but stunning beauty
Cate Blanchette, is of lower nobility, unfortunately downgrading her from the
original legend. The story
continues and Robin is asked by the old Sir Walter Loxley, played by the very
capable Max von Sydow, to take his son’s place in the family as his son who
has returned from King Richard’s wars. Robin is
amused and Maid Marion scoffs at the idea but both acquiesce for the sake of
the family and the lands. The feudal
Lords of England have been taxed to their limit and a rebellion is stirring
only to be averted as the nation unites to repel an invasion by King Philip
of France. This brings
you to the final climax of the movie and you’ll have to go see it to find out
what happens. Two pleasures
for me, not to mention the fair Cate Blanchette, in this movie was Yes, I liked
the movie. Yes, I recommend it. Yes, go see it. Ed’s rating is three
out of four stars. ««« “Robin Hood”
came in at $37.1 million, which is a very respectable showing against a power
house like “Iron Man,” which takes the weekend with $53 million The next
highest movie was “Letters to Juliet” bringing in $13.9 million. “Letters” is a
very sweet chick flick that will do OK dollar wise, But “Iron Man” and “Robin
Hood” will dominate the money until “Prince of Persia” debuts on the 27th
with Jake Gyllenhaal. “Sex and the
City 2” also will come out that weekend but it will fizzle at the box office. ‘Clash of the Titans’ "Release the Kraken." Zeus (Liem Neeson) orders Hades
to punish the rebellion by men against the gods. Hades has an agenda of his own, go become leader of all the gods and reign hell on man. To the rescue comes Perseus, played by Sam Worthington, the heroic Jake Sully from “Avatar.” Perseus is the unknowing illegitimate son of Zeus. The action begins when
Perseus begins his quest to defeat the Kraken
and send Hades back to the depths of darkness. There are great action scenes that will have you white knuckling the
armrest of your theater seat. Sam Worthington as Perseus gives a visual feast of action scenes throughout the movie. Medusa, played
by an unknown, Natalie Vadianova, will strongly
repulse and captivate simultaneously with her head of undulating snakes. The computer graphics are superb and border on the quality we saw in
Avatar. A PG-13 with no nudity and no vulgar language, the plot may have
been weak but, then again, this is a mythological story. So far,
grossing in at $125-plus million, I'm sure we'll see more
mythology movies. Who knows what Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon or Aphrodite will be up to
next? If you like action movies, go ahead, see or rent this one. You won't
be disappointed. Ed's rating is three and a half stars. «««1/2 ‘Date
Night’ funny “Date Night”
is a very funny, if not hilarious, movie. Rated PG 13, I was a little
uncomfortable with the numerous sexual innuendos and double-entendres. There was no
nudity and negligible foul language, which, I'm supposing makes the
sexual dialog more acceptable. I can only say
I wouldn't take my 13-year-old daughter to this movie. I felt it should
be PG-17. Having said
that, as an adult, I enjoyed the movie. Phil and
Claire played by Steve Carell (The Office, The Forty Year Old Virgin) and
Tina Fey (Saturday Night Live, Sarah Palin impersonator) depict an ordinary
couple from the New Jersey "burbs" who become involved in a case of
mistaken identity. The premise is
formulaic but this movie makes it work. The mistaken identity results
from them stealing a restaurant reservation. The adventure
begins while they're enjoying their dinner, thinking they've been busted when
two thugs approach them and ask them to step outside. Well, that’s
not quite what happens. They end up being chased by mob thugs and corrupt
police. The ensuing
chase and evasion scenes become the hilarious mainstay of the movie. You will laugh
at the mishaps and turn-arounds that occur. There is an
obligatory car chase that has a new twist and will leave you holding your
stomach in uncontrollable, raucous laughter. The Hollywood
staple, Mark Walberg (Four Brothers), makes a surprise appearance as a by-
chance person who reluctantly assists them out of their potentially fatal
situation. I enjoyed the
Phil and Claire characters. Steve Carell and Tina Fey work well together and
played out the mayhem superbly. I'm
recommending this movie as a PG-17. I give it three and a half stars
out of four. Enjoy. «««1/2 Control
‘uncontrollable’ spending To the Editor, Our country is
facing economic ruin due to the uncontrolled, irresponsible spending by an
out of control Congress. One of the
biggest offenders is Ciro Rodriquez. For example, he voted in favor of
funding for the following government studies: Why young
adults use malt liquor and marijuana in combination, $389,357. The impact of
alcohol on "hookup" behavior of female college students, 219,000. A study
whether mice become disoriented when they consume alcohol $8,408. Developing a
program for machine-generated humor, $712,883. Studying
methamphetamine and the female rat sex drive, $28,000. Study the
division of labor in ant colonies, $950.000. These are just
a few egregious examples of the fraudulent and wasteful spending by Congress
that is contemptuous of the electorate. While we
struggle to pay our bills, this is how Congress wastes our tax dollars. At the same
time, Medicare is facing a 21.3 percent decrease in funding that will result
in lack of physicians who will accept Medicare and Tricare. This impacts the
elderly and the military. It is time to
replace Ciro with a congressman who doesn't view our tax dollars as monopoly
money and doesn't view the electorate as cash cows for the irresponsible
spending schemes that are destroying this nation. Donald Baker Lampasas Uncles
does card To the Editor, In response to
the story “Store ‘cards’ electronically, News Leader, June 6, page 5,
although Uncles of Sanderson does not “swipe” IDs, we are committed to
preventing the use of tobacco and alcohol by underage persons. We do “card”
persons who appear under age as stipulated by state law. Gennie
Merrifield Uncles of
Sanderson Set
record straight To the Editor, The Rob
McClellan Memorial Scholarship was started after Rob was killed on July 2,
1994. This
scholarship was started by the community and not by Reid, Jessie and Mike
McClellan as stated in the News Leader. We appreciate
it and hope it continues to keep Rob’s memory alive through helping some
student attend college. Reid, Jessie and Mike McClellan Sanderson |
|
|