Larry Kudlow Shows His Compassionate Conservative Side
By Heather Saturday Nov 29, 2008 7:00am
On Washington Journal, Larry Kudow is asked about the unfairness of a the caller's seventeen year old grandson being sent to prison for a year for buying marijuana when those like Rush Limbaugh got off Scott free for their drug possessions and Kudlow's response is to send the kid to AA. Kudlow had some other less than friendly callers that morning as well. The entire interview for anyone with the stomach for it can be found here.
Hopefully the important issue the caller was trying to get to before being cut off by C-SPAN is one that our incoming administration will treat a bit differently as noted in this recent Washington Post article.
A recent report by the Government Accountability Office, commissioned by Sen. Joe Biden, has come to an unsurprising conclusion: After more than $6 billion spent, the controversial drug control operation known as Plan Colombia has failed by large margins to meet its targets.
The goal had been to cut cocaine production in Colombia by 50 percent from 2000 to 2006 through eradication of coca crops and training of anti-narcotics police and military personnel. In fact, cocaine production in Colombia rose 4 percent during that period, the GAO found. With increases in Peru and Bolivia, production of cocaine in South America increased by 12 percent during that period. In 1999 it cost $142 to buy a gram of cocaine on the street in the United States, according to inflation-adjusted figures from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. By 2006 the price had fallen to $94 per gram.
President-elect Barack Obama won his historic victory by promising pragmatic, results-oriented solutions aimed at the common good. The recent report demonstrates that Plan Colombia does not fit those criteria.
Follow this link to read the rest of the article: Wasting Drug War Resources.
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Ashcroft thought it was much more important to shut down his bong business than to track al Qaeda.
If Asscrotch and crew brought down Bin Laden then it would have eliminated Bushco's boogieman, and you can't keep the public scared if you don't have a boogieman. So instead of going into the region where Bin Laden and his criminal gang was hiding, Bush had his criminal gang take us to Iraq and find other ways to spend their efforts here at home. So that's what brough Tommy down, the unwillingness to lose the Great American Boogieman of the 21st century.
Even in the Obama Administration. Pretending to be at war with the drug industry has resulted in major CIA revenue and control of people. They won't give that up.
To put it simply, Larry Kudlow ain't nothin' but a hand job, and a bad one at that!
He's stealing my air!
Has yet to come into being? What the blazes are you talking about?
I'm right there with you chicano, I'm sick of people prejudging Obama's administration. I watched for 8 LONG LONG years of Bush given do-overs time and time again, his first year in office didn't count because he got a do-over on 9/11, then he couldn't be held accountible for the torture he ordered and the blacksite prisons we send presumbably innocent people too, and again Bush get's a do-over, then they steal him the 2004 election and again he gets a do-over.
Can we please let Obama be swarn in before we judge what he is going to do after he is swarn in? and even then, maybe give him 8 months or a year to see what he can get done?
People started 2nd guessing two days after the election. It is going to take years to fix this Bush mess, and Obama isn't in office yet, but everything is his fault, ever selection is bad for everyone, he's no good for anything.
I am amazed some people voted for him based on many comments.
I don't mind people going toe-to-toe with Obama over selections with facts (like the guy who dropped his name from consideration), but to bitch and moan about nearly EVERY selection simply makes no sense to me. What are these people going to do when Obama has to make those tough decisions (not the tough decisions Bush made to get us to where we are, but the tough decisions to rescue the country)? His feet will be held to the fire from day one - from the left.
As far as ConcernedCanuck goes, he is a concern troll and nothing more.
You really are filled to the brim with the stupid.
Rampant ignorance with a side order of hatred of America.
you have FAR more to worry about now that your reichwing masters are freaking out about getting kicked out of power to be replaced by a coalition government...
obama's not even in office and he's already doing more to stabilize their country than that brainless chimp who pretends to be a man...
...now... i started reading these posts to see if people are finally waking up to the reality that billions are being pissed away to prop up an underground economy that only makes murdering criminals rich while destroying people's lives by demonizing them as convicts for doing something to their own bodies which is ultimately no more destructive than what limpballs does to his...
...how about those pharm parties, eh...?.... isn't it "great" to see that kids are learning to stay away from that evil weed in favour of raiding their parents' medicine cabinets to mix and match potentially lethal combinations of chemicals like in a russian roulette game...... mmmmm.... that reminds me of that movie, deer hunter.... now, that's the ticket... get it over with quickly by using a bullet i say... why wait to see if you're gonna go blind or if your liver's gonna fail...?...
maybe it's just time to look at another of fdr's initiatives in his new deal.... like he did with alcohol.... make the shiite legal and regulate the shiite and tax the shiite out of it and voila, instant billions brought above ground to help stimulate the economy.... instant millions saved by not paying for wasted police efforts... let them focus on catching real criminals for a change... instant billions generated in new cottage industries springing up everywhere to employ people...
hmmmm... now why is it again that some drugs are illegal and the ones they advertise every day on tv with a honking big list of scary side effects are not...?...
Finally, someone else is talking about this. This topic was one of my first concerns immediately after Obama was elected. Having worked on the south side of Chicago and knowing first hand of the repercussions of our ridiculous drug policies in this country, I would hope that he sees the "war on drugs" as one of the most bloated, money-hungry, and disastrous policies that this country has to stop. But, knowing Obama and his now infamous pragmatism, I really don't see him doing anything revolutionary. Liberals, and some not so liberal, have been talking about this for years and are very aware of how much of a strain on our police department and the national debt this fiasco has been. I'm not holding my breath. After the whole FISA thing, I'm prepared to see the spineless dems let the WoD stay where it is, for fear of being perceived soft on crime. Meanwhile inner-city kids will continue to be incarcerated for minor posession and will go on to learn to hate the police and a society that unfairly targets them.
It's not a war on drugs, it's a war on the users of drugs. Especially if they're non-white and less than middle class. So idiots like fatboy newt and his moron buddies can point to the numbers of incarcerated joint smokers and pretend all those billions of dollars aren't being wasted putting away bored teenagers with a sack of weed in their pocket.
I often wonder if those "enforcement" agents get wood when they throw a half dead medical marijuana user in a cell. That must make them so proud.
So what was the big plan to 'reduce' the growth of drug crops other countries? More bribes I guess.
The whole 'war on drugs' is a joke and they know it. Might as well give one of them a bucket and tell him to empty the ocean since they're working on impossible tasks.
Prohibition of all substances has historically been a matter of users and sellers. It always falls into one of two categories:
1) If the majority of users were the poor rather than the rich, it was illegal (e.g. gin was illegal in England, but wine was legal).
2) If the substance were profitable both for the government and corporations (e.g. cigarette companies targeting the poor).
billions of dollars go to hundreds of people under the table, especially with so much 'privatized'. repug intelligence companies are hired, "privatized" repug companies get contracts to perform services. repug lobbyist for private 'prison management' companies get huge income along with their companies.
"follow the money"! it has always shown what the real motivation is.
The recent indictment of Cheney for mismanaging a private prison co. in TX, and Gonzales for keeping investigation into their activities from happening, was presented by our Faithful Media as the activities of a kook. Funny thing, a grand jury approved the indictment. Will anything result? We can hope.
on rehab programs that don't shove you out the door after 30 days and by giving young people alternatives to drugs. Billions of wasted dollars that could have gone to teen centers and rehab for all not just the rich. I've been in and around drugs all my life and have seen the sorry excuses for rehab they have here in California. I've seen people go to jail for minor drug charges and come out full blown criminals. Maybe they should let a rehabilitated junkie design the drug policy. No one knows better than someone who's lived it.
Recently, a high military official had to resign when it was found he had been killing civilians to raise the body count, showing success in his war against those opponent types. This is the kind of 'partner' the U.S. joins at its own risk.
about control? If they were truly serious about a War On Drugs, trafficking and production in Afghanistan should have dropped significantly. Everyone says it's actually increased. Sooooo....what war on drugs?
No one cares what you think or finds you remotely interesting.
Well, AA is a hell of a lot better than jail for buying pot, I must say.
But I'm one of the many Americans who thinks that criminalized pot-use for pleasure or pain-relief is ridiculous, and there are certainly worse uses of other drugs, Rush Limbaugh's scott-free use being a prime example.
I also think that rehab should be offered for any drug that people want to wean themselves from or who are found to have illegally possessed it, not just illegal drugs.
The gross unfairness of the application of the law is just not tolerable.
The goal of the criminal justice system ought to be rehabilitation, not increased punishment and retribution. Of course, leave it to Neocons to frame this debate in paramilitary terms and invent a backward form of "justice" that accomplishes the opposite of their intention. These are the same geniuses that appeal primarily to old, authoritarian white men, so no surprise there. "Justice" to them equals more repression and punishment. Since it didn't work for the Soviets, why should it work here?
I don't see Obama tackling this too soon as there are so many other pressing items the Neocons screwed up that need to be addressed first. But in the name of mercy and compassion I hope they do address it eventually.
for sanity in the drug laws.
Notice that Obama did not deny his drug use. Notice that Bubba said he didn't inhale, said a nob-job was not sex and argued about what "the" meant. The drunk bush was definitely out of his league on this issue except for pushing more draconian sentences in Texas.
I think this administration can be pushed to address this very big waste of human and capital resources in the name of piety (imposed by hypocritcal Authoritarian White Men!)
This is way OT but I hope the site monitors will forgive me.
I've been out of the loop for a few days so I didn't get a chance to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and a blessed Holiday season. It's right around this time of year when this old Buddhist starts feeling all warm and squishy and remembery about the whole Xmas scene.
Anyway, I'm just sittin' around waiting for the satellite TV guy to come, (yep, I'm finally leaping into the game so I can watch Olberman and Stewart whenever I want to now) so I hope you all had a good one.
Satellite TV will suck the Buddhism right out of you. Try smoking!
Hopefully, you got Dish. If so, you have to check out the channels from 9400 up, especially Link and FSTV (Free Speech TV). That is where you get Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman, one of the true last journalists in America, INN World Report (the talent sucks but the content is very good), and a couple of university channels. Outstanding television.
But when will Obama really address the serious drug problem ... Icecream!
Yes - ice cream. Millions of American's are zoning out and eating ice cream for pleasure. Pushers sell it from trucks and target children.
We all know that it leads to the hard stuff. Practically 99% of all hard drug users used ice cream at least once before moving on to the 'hard stuff'.
Dems area just showing how weak they are on crime by not passing stiff 20 year manditory sentences for first time ice cream users.
Hehe. When you said "it leads to the hard stuff" I was sure you meant hot fudge.
It's that unidentifiable dipping stuff which hardens into...something. I don't know what that stuff is, but I have never seen chocolate which hardens into some shell like substance. It has to be some type of subversive plot. Marxist substance! That's what it is!!
And Dave Wolf, ice cream leads to the hard stuff which leads to obesity. It is the drug of choice among the kiddies. :-)
while finishing off an ice cream drum stick...."Are you talking to ME?"
has to be trashed and reworked first.
They (those who seem to lead the discussions and make policy) and others here seem to talk apples and oranges. Marijuana is not a narcotic. Cocaine is not a narcotic but highly addictive. Same goes for nicotine. The opiates are narcotics and highly addictive.
Coffee my favorite is not a narcotic but fairly addictive (and I won't give it up, especially black!)
...the obvious solution would be to legalize the hemp plant and make it the basis of a new 'green' economy. Fiber, oil, medicine, food -- all the traditional uses make this humble life form the solution to so many things...
If only more people would get high enough to see the sense in all this, the world would be a much more pragmatic place. Toward that effort, I will continue to do my utmost to spread the gospel of the other Golden Rule: smoke 'em if ya got 'em.
...the obvious solution would be to legalize the hemp plant...
Not as long as DuPont, Dow and others are pouring buckages into keeping Hemp as illegal as possible.
If Obama can get the feds off, many states are heading in the right direction. Its legal here in California, but several counties have chosen to recognize the fed law.
As far as Dupont, etc, I agree, but if Obama can't gain some traction on this issue, he (or any president elect) will be hard-pressed to make any other changes happen, since the corporate body has their hands in everything now.
I am not going to hold my breath on this. We need an elder generation (who grew up to Reefer Madness) to die off before it's even remotely possible. We will be lucky if we can manage to get lighter sentences for pot smokers (one of the single dumbest things related to this idiotic war on drugz - the original War On in the franchise).
Someone posted something about Obama's law guy (whose name completely escapes me right now) and it did not look hopeful for any kind of drug reform.
The following states have enacted laws and resolutions authorizing hemp research or laws authorizing commercial hemp cultivation since Hawaii led the way in 1996:
Arkansas, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia
http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3395
The process seems slow (some of the research results found through NORML links is very interesting) but at least some states are moving in a more postive direction.
There are different rules and different standards for the wealthy and well-connected, and even more so if one is conservative/Republican. The so-called "War on Drugs" is a huge farce. It's gotten no where except to provide draconian punishment for the least offenders, like that 17 year old grandson of the caller.
They get to keep the proceeds of the busts they make.
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
http://www.leap.cc
(wow... i really like this edit feature.. i can fix my thpos.. dam!)
that kids go to jail for a bit of pot while the entire world economy can be screwed by a few sociopaths on Wall Street and nothing happens. It's also kind of a shame that the President can ignore the laws and Pelosi can ignore her responsibilities and both can get away with it. In the scheme of things, Pelosi is far more corrupt for her support of Bush's criminal activity than is Bush for doing what comes naturally.
NO LARRY, SEND RUSH LIMBAUGH TO PRISON. THE SAME PLACE YOU SHOULD HAVE GONE TO FOR YOUR DRUG CRIMES MR.HARDLINE......HYPOCRITE
In fact it got him fired from his job as Chief Economist at Bear Stearns. Talk about hypocrisy!
What are the odds?
To prevent it from falling into the lungs of others.
MMMMmmmm. Eradication.
Same geniuses that think increased punishment and repression is "justice" and tax cuts equal "prosperity." Funny how neither of those theories actually work in real life, but reality seems to be an elusive concept for these authoritarian clods.
Up here in Humboldt California, many of the large growers that are busted are NOT PROSECUTED! Instead, their property, land, home, cars, everything of significant value is taken by the authorities. many of the growers don't go near jail.
The police never have to prove their case in court.
If the grower protest the confiscation of their property, they risk going to court and being convicted of cultivation.
You'd be surprised how far outside of the law our country has become.
Drug Addiction Should Be Handled and Treated As An Addiction.
Surprisingly, Kudlow touched on it by accident (ignorance?)
If, in the history on mankind there had never been any knowledge of
tobacco, alcohol or marijuana, and suddenly Today, all 3 were 'discovered' but only One could be granted public use, it would easily be marijuana. It has serious medicinal and therapeutic uses without nearly the addictive or destructive properties of the other two.
At this point, it may be possible that 'The System' makes more money from the enforcement, prosecution and litigation of the ridiculous pot laws than it could from any regulated industry it could provide.
I actually saw this interview. Kudlow's demeanor was nasty, sanctimonious and holier than thou throughout. He regularly
berated callers. He came off as one of those sorts who congratulates
himself as being smarter than everyone else while scorning those who are not as smart as he. There was not an ounce of love, charity, or common human decency in his affect.
It was really as if some modern Scrooge were being interviewed. I kept expecting him to threaten to plunge stakes of holly through his questioners hearts.
What a horrible, joyless, depressed and depressing man.
There was not an ounce of love, charity, or common human decency in his affect.
What you are saying is that he is a typical compassionate conservative Republican asshole?
Too bad the caller sounds like a retard.
....people like that caller. That condescending stack of shit Kudlow should have simply answered the man's question purely on its merit.
Many of us have went to college with superior dickheads like Larry.
.."like a retard." I hear kids in my 7th grade class use that expression and I chastise them as well.
At least he (the caller) had the balls to call in a program like that. When is the last time you took your time to express yourself on something other than a blog?
If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
Grow up!
Let's let the banks borrow money from our unborn children at low interest rates so the banks can then turn around and lend it back to us at high interest rates. Yea, sounds like a great plan -- full of fairness and fiscal soundness. /sarcasm off
We have heard from these capitalists that the justification of interest rates is that the capitalists take on risk. Their investments have a degree of risk, so they must charge interest in order to hedge those losses. Well, without the risk, what moral justification remains for usury?
desire to legislate some sort of morality more than to "keep the public safe" from the perils of whatever particular substance is the evil-du jour.
As someone who has done more time in county lock-ups over the years for minor possession charges, let me say (for the benefit of those who have never done time) that the system set up to nab "occasional users" is one that is ultimately in place to funnel money into "law enforcement" and now the cottage rehabilitation industry.
So much time, money, and energy put into attempting to "cure" the individual, ostensibly of his/her "moral" deficiency--drugs per se are still considered worse than alcohol by most Americans since they are illegal--and we all realize government knows best...Basically, the average Joe who gets caught up in this rehab/probation cycle spends in inordinate about of his life jumping through hoops, pissing in cups, trying to keep a job to pay fo the cost of "treatment," just to keep from doing a months or years in jail for small amounts of substances that, really, are no more dangerous (though their illegality makes crimes committed to obtain them more severe) than alcohol.
I would take smoking pot over getting hammered and puking my guts out any day of the week. I drink rarely (and get high even more rarely), I never do anything in excess (well, eating aside...I love cooking and eating really good food), which is where any problems come in.
That said, if someone were to smoke a massive amount of pot, they would eat and sleep themselves into tomorrow. Drinking can kill you (alcohol poisoning), but I have never heard of anyone smoking themself to death.
was at the opposite end of the spectrum. I was a functional addict for twenty+ years. And, actually, spending several years on probation for my crimes (and the weekly pissing in cups--so demoralizing...) required me to quit my limited weed use as well. (First Commandment of Probation: "Thou shall not break ANY law, lest you be in violation (Which often resulted in six-month automatic lock-up.) Now, interviewing and drug testing for new jobs (for what they're worth...) keep me off. Thank goodness, I guess, that Tanqueray doesn't stay in my system more than 36 hours...
It existed solely because pot is illegal. You are not required to pass alcohol piss tests (but for certain things like train engineers and airline pilots, I think), where I think alcohol is a much deadlier thing to be addicted to.
How different is it to smoke a joint when someone comes home from a stressful day rather than drinking a martini? Personally, if I am that wound up, I would rather take a Valium. Instant relaxation in a few minutes...and I think the more wound up someone is, the faster they seem to work.
radar" (before getting on the probation train) gave me a healthy distrust (not hatred) of government, particularly law enforcement, that served me pretty well for many years.
However, so much of the newer laws and enforcement of them is a result of insurance companies dictating policy to private companies (All employees must submit to whatever drug-testing procedures mandated by the insurer to keep policies enforced, etc.) So business owners, especially medium- and larger-sized ones, have pretty much adopted the "one size fucks all"/"zero tolerance" crap we have today. And law enforcement, happy to get easy arrests, is more than willing to cooperate.
I will not work for a company which does drug tests. Not that I have anything to worry about in passing one, but I strongly resent the intrusion to what people do on their own time. When they make alcohol illegal and test for that, as well, perhaps I might consider it.
I walked away from one company that wanted to hire me because they did that (along with I thought the woman who interviewed and wanted to hire me was a vapid, bordering on nasty person). I could tell I wouldn't like to work for her. Because it was a consulting gig, I wouldn't have had to work closely with her, so, while I didn't like her, I could have handled it because she would have rarely been in my life. But the drug test sealed the deal. And I told them so.
Look at my work history, call my references, which include directors and vice-presidents, look at my work product (writing samples, which I display in spades), but don't invade my privacy. That is a slippery slope I refuse to traverse.
and you are right on! A waste of time and money as noted above!
me to go on my little rant. You said what I did more concisely. But I felt my vent saved me a trip to AA or the bar today...
Kudlow continues to prove EVERYDAY that the folks with the strange white coats in tow need to come by whatever studio he's in and pick him up.
This is the same man who said he wanted to be the head of the Federal Reserve...he's the guy who truly believes that unchecked capitalism (as defined by him) would have gotten the country OUT of the financial mess we're in today and continues to rant against any 'outside' interference from the Government to assist in righting the economic ship...
This man is a certifiable lunatic!!
Seems to me, as any Google search will show, Mr. Kudlow has had his own serious addiction to cocaine. $$$$$ is EVERYTHING when it comes to drugs. Not just to obtain them, but to get out of trouble when caught. Wonder if Larry went to "AA" for HIS 'blow' problem. (BTW, it's "NA", Mr. Smartass). Now, he just blows.
Legalizing marijuana would solve a lot of problems.
1) Fewer people in prison means less financial burden on the courts and states.
2) Marijuana is a depressant that does not cause people to engage in criminal behaviour; "smoking and driving" is a myth.
3) Even if marijuana were a "gateway drug" (which it isn't), why would people switch from something cheap and legal to something expensive and illegal?
For the record, I hate marijuna both for the smell (horse dung) and for the sort of people who use it. It does not, however, turn people into criminals unless we're talking about the shoplifting of twinkies.
And I love the smell of good pot. The earthy smell has always been one of the things I like, even if I never light it up.
Why do they call it 'skunk weed' when it smells soooo good?
Skunk weed is the shit that Joe the Plumber grows in his closet. Good weed smells like the earth...with a deep, rich, almost soil scented aroma.
And it's just a coincidence that after countless Billion$ spent, the Afghani opium trade - which had been all but eliminated by the Taliban - is now setting records.
"War On Drugs" = $$$ to maintain control of the flow of drugs and to use those drugs to control the population. It's a racket.
pretty underwhelmed. Not that I'm advocating more money there, but six billion seems like chump change to piss away these days. But then again, maybe it's supposed to be (fatten US contractors, but still allow plenty of cocaine into the US, all the time stating that we are doing something) this way...
"and then one day this feller from Washington drove by and spied us...and turned white as a sheet...
...and he burned and he dug...
...and he bunred and he dug...
and he killed all our cute little weeds.
And then he drove away....
We just sat and waved....sittin there on that sack o seeds"
Jim Stafford
Jim Stafford - Wildwood Weed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_u-VFdd8_k
Wow, when did that war start? Oh well.. Love your quote Patriot Actor. This Larry Culo is an opportunistic asshole. His callousness is only outdone by his heartlessness. Does anybody love you Larry Culo? I can't imagine why they do; maybe you did something nice once, hmm? Maybe not.
Is there a Bigots Anonymous Larry Kudlow can join?
You can't fix stupid!
Is just another greedy uncaring selfish bastard.
I never watch his show promoting the ponzi scheme that is wall street.
Put your money in the stockmarket and watch it dissapear!
Wasting drug war resources?
The war on drugs is a waste of resources.
The only sensible choice is to end the terrorist war on drugs waged against the poorest, most marginalized, and diseased members of society.
The amount of taxpayer money it takes to rehabilitate a drug addicted person costs a fraction of what it takes to feed, clothe, and house him in our brutal prisons, to which he would very likely return as a worse criminal due to the destructive ways these prisons change their inhabitants.
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