Hi Folks...

Ray, estimated Millionaires in US is Google-able...&...it's now on the Rise! "9.8 MILLION Millionaires in US in 2010..and 11.2 Million Millionaires in 2011/With an estimated 20.6 Mil Mil-aires by 2020."

Think the US spent $3.5 Billion last year for DEA Efforts to "Win" the Drug War. Just from an Economic Standpoint, it's for-sure "Vanishing Returns" for the Taxpayers' Dollars. There are still PLENTY of Illegal Drugs still for-sale, daily.

From a Legal Standpoint, that "Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness" clause means as long as you're harming No One Else Doing-So...Ya SHOULD be able to Do What Ya WANT here without Gov't Interference. Pure & Simple, yet it's sure gotten Complicated over the last Century...with Do-Gooders first focusing on Alcohol..(Dismal Failure)..and now just about anything ELSE that makes a user Euphoric.

Tobacco was America's First Cash Crop. Ever. Got the Colonies started and helped finance 'em. Still pays its fair share of taxes..(& Penalties for misleading Ads in earlier days.) Yeah, Ignorant People die every year from its Sinister Effects..but so do folks in car crashes. (Gonna take away Cars?) 'Course not...
There ARE safer ways to smoke than Cigarettes..Do So..& enjoy.

I'm in-favor of legalizing Pot and Cocaine. (Tho you CAN get MOST of the effects of Coke by just drinking 4-5 Cups of Coffee at a time...& save a LOT of money.) But Yeah, why not make it Available at your local Tax-Paying Liquor Store & end this Idiotic Period of our History where we had this Second Prohibition that ALSO didn't WORK worth a Hoot.

Tax it enough to warehouse the Addicts & Crazies from it, and let the REST of the US's Mostly Law-Abiding Citizens be MORE Law-Abiding. I'm not in-favor of going TOO-far in the Legalizing Sweep..(Tho I think LSD ought not to be Criminalized, too..)...but frankly the DUI Laws are in-place & plenty severe-enough to maintain Law & Order. (A first DUI in Florida'll run ya $10K & Up.)

High Fines and Draconian Sentences have YET to stop people from "Doing It" (Whatever Item Ya might wanna Mention). Should Taxpayers have to foot the Bill to Imprison & Apprehend these Boozers and Users...Or..should we let "Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness" actually MEAN Something?

As for the $675K fine (for downloads on 30 songs) that's again WAYYY-Overkill. Fine the Miscreant 5X the normal $1 Cost on the 30 Songs..$150..add in Court & Lawyer Fees for the Plaintiff, & there ya have Justice. Right now, ya have the Message-Out that Greedy Bastards with Big Lawyers can take ya to the Cleaner. (& that They're Too-Lazy to Prosecute ALL the Offenders, so they'll pick on a Few & Make Examples of 'Em.) (One was an Elderly Grannie, best I recollect. Fabulous PR for the Labels, heh!)

Last edited by "Tampa Stan" Good; 05/31/12 07:22 AM.