|
March 02, 2006
Getting tough with the sudafedayeen, Part II
I'm feeling safer already. The Patriot Act has just passed overwhelmingly, which means that all patriotic Americans will now have to show ID in order to buy cold medicine: The U.S. Senate voted 89-10 to reauthorize the USA Patriot Act today and the bill includes provisions, co-authored by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, that will put certain cold medications behind the drugstore counter.Sigh. It's too little, too late, I'm afraid. But it's only fair to concede that this is Monday morning quarterback thinking. It's all too easy to look at today's sudafed problem with the wisdom we've gained since 9/11. We have learned so much! I'll never forget when those towers fell on 9/11. It was all because we let down our guard. In the pre-9/11 era of innocence, sold everywhere, right under our stuffed noses, were the precursors. Ruthless and savage killers with strange names. Like "pseudoephedrine." "Ephedrine." "Phenylpropanoline." Just thinking of it gives me goose bumps. How could we have been so insufferably naive? But will this bill be enough? I wonder. Not to, um, toot my own horn, but I was one of the first in the blogosphere to endorse this crackdown, and call for a Precursor Ingredient Czar: Easily available cold medicine is the direst threat we face, and it must be stopped by any means necessary.Again, while we're obviously safer now, can we really be sure that enough is being done?
MORE: My thanks to the Philadelphia Inquirer's blog, Blinq (aka Daniel Rubin) for linking this post! posted by Eric on 03.02.06 at 09:50 PM
Comments
Wait. Now I need a prescription to buy pseudoephedrine? Bloody hell. B. Durbin · March 3, 2006 01:11 AM Take away the cold pills and the meth cookers just turn to stealing tanks full of anhydrous ammonia, a fertlizer found in huge quantities in the farming areas. Heffalump · March 3, 2006 08:40 AM Reminds me when I went to buy supplies when I joined the school newspaper in 7th grade. They wouldn't let me buy rubber cement without a parent present. Cuz, you know, I might take up huffing rubber cement. Beck · March 3, 2006 09:21 AM |
|
March 2007
WORLD-WIDE CALENDAR
Search the Site
E-mail
Classics To Go
Archives
March 2007
February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 May 2002 See more archives here Old (Blogspot) archives
Recent Entries
War For Profit
How trying to prevent genocide becomes genocide I Have Not Yet Begun To Fight Wind Boom Isaiah Washington, victim Hippie Shirts A cunning exercise in liberation linguistics? Sometimes unprincipled demagogues are better than principled activists PETA agrees -- with me! The high pitched squeal of small carbon footprints
Links
Site Credits
|
|
I'm sponsoring a bill to keep spoons under lock and key: a major step in the fight against crack cocaine.