tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-458987134480834355.post1660485089683014471..comments2024-03-28T02:24:00.927-04:00Comments on America Via Erica: A Satire: Government Product RestrictionsErica Goldsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180224676418721027noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-458987134480834355.post-71188460718215224532012-01-09T03:51:47.310-05:002012-01-09T03:51:47.310-05:00Want to sell your WOW Gold and runescape stock to ...Want to sell your <a href="http://www.zyy.com/" rel="nofollow"><strong>WOW Gold</strong></a> and runescape stock to us? You are making the right choice. If you have much free WOW gold while you aslo need RUNESCAPE GOLD or Maplestory mesos/ NX, so you can <a href="http://www.zyy.com/SellToUs/SellToUs.html" rel="nofollow"><strong>Sell WOW Gold</strong></a> to us , because we have and also need much more <a href="http://www.zyy.com/" rel="nofollow"><strong>cheap wow gold</strong></a>,RUNESCAPE GOLD or Maplestory mesos/ NX at the same time, so we can exchange with each other.teracheapgoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13322901194541110610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-458987134480834355.post-3180368625468070362010-12-27T14:34:46.909-05:002010-12-27T14:34:46.909-05:00The legal drinking age, which is effectively just ...The legal drinking age, which is effectively just the "legal buying age" is just one boundary, just one reminder about the serious side of alcohol. Kids learning the hard way is another boundary to alcohol abuse, and parental "control"( or "discipline") is yet another, provided of course that the kid is brought up in a stable home. And yes, health education is another boundary. But kids under 21 think they are immortal and beyond most health risks, So the latter 2 examples are not as relevant as we might think. eg:<br /><br />"Studies of zero tolerance laws indicate they reduce crashes among drivers younger than 21. A study of 12 states that passed zero tolerance laws reported a 20 percent reduction in the proportion of fatal crashes that were single-vehicle nighttime events (crashes likely to involve alcohol impairment) among drivers ages 15-20."<br />(source:http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/underage.html)<br /><br />There are many astounding statistics just like that, and they aren't hard to come by.<br /><br />Yes, Prohibition of alcohol WILL cause a black market to arise (like underground businesses that specialize in delivering alcohol to kids' parties etc) but why throw the baby out with the bath-water?<br /><br />I think that everyone should express disapproval for the idea of kids abusing alcohol, and I see the "legal drinking age law" as nothing but a nominal affirmation of that idea which happens to be BY government. <br /><br />Theory and Practice are two different kettle of fish. In Theory, it might be plausible to suggest that cops would explode into Johny's house without a search warrant, and rummage through his room for bottles of whiskey that he's stashed away under his bed, but a quick reality check reminds us that, indeed, this is nothing more than a flirtation with paranoia.<br /><br />And its also quite clear, that any mother who lets their 12 year old smoke methamphetamines, or drink whiskey till he's piss-drunk (without giving him a darn good hiding or at least denying him his long-awaited christmas present) has got rocks for brains, or is probably smoking rocks.dimitrinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-458987134480834355.post-41685140439265887312010-12-27T14:25:52.700-05:002010-12-27T14:25:52.700-05:00I don't mean to sound too critical, but its ha...I don't mean to sound too critical, but its hardly a clear-cut or water-tight allegory, and I would go as far as to say that its even a bit of a petty argument.<br /><br />Firstly,I think that any decent school would ban the consumption of alcohol on school grounds. I'm sure you will agree. But if we are to favour this, then why should we challenge the idea that government should simply, as an expression of disdain for the idea of children or adolescents drinking, place some restrictions on drinking. <br /><br />I think there's a movement among some of the independent thinkers (and don't get me wrong independent thinking is a very good thing) to say "oh look, the government's trying to control us" ( which is true in many cases, like body-scanners, the fed etc), and because its "GOVERNMENT CONTROL" it must be evil, and "they have no right to control us".<br /><br />In fact, its not like people under the age of 21 aren't allowed to drink. They aren't allowed to PURCHASE alcohol, and the penalties for people under the age of 21 driving under the influence of alcohol, are very harsh. But there's nothing stopping citizens under the age of 21 from asking someone of legal alcohol-buying age, to procure some booze for them. The "legal-drinking age" is therefore nothing but a nominal and, complimentary boundry, a statement of warning, by government to kids and adolescents about the need to drink alcohol sensibly, ie its not just about recreation, its about responsibility too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-458987134480834355.post-28794911496687489092010-11-14T17:30:53.204-05:002010-11-14T17:30:53.204-05:00Hey Phil,
How do we protect against a young child...Hey Phil,<br /><br />How do we protect against a young child from being an alcoholic? Parenting.<br /><br />Like you said most children don't buy anything themselves until about 14 (but I'll be even more generous and say they can at 12). Is this too young for them to understand the dangers of alcohol? I don't think so. I was taught in 3rd grade about the dangers of smoking, so I'm sure this can be done with drinking as well.<br /><br />Hope that answers your question,<br />EricaErica Goldsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18180224676418721027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-458987134480834355.post-51265570892348527322010-11-13T17:28:35.611-05:002010-11-13T17:28:35.611-05:00Now plans are being made to have Four Loko and sim...Now plans are being made to have Four Loko and similar alcoholic energy drinks banned. Most kids were taught that prohibition ended in the 1930's but try to set up a still in your backyard. If you want to make jello shots with Everclear, well you won't be able to buy a bottle of that grain alcohol in a few states legally. Great post!Kevin Ⓐ McSaoirsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05440601536552678674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-458987134480834355.post-35321086198266092562010-11-09T01:14:35.780-05:002010-11-09T01:14:35.780-05:00This is a difficult issue for a libertarian to rat...This is a difficult issue for a libertarian to rationalize in his/her mind. At what age can one truly consent and make rational choices? Surely we would agree that a 5 year old can't make these choices but can a 14 year old? A 16 year old? It's a difficult question to answer. <br /><br />That being said, the 21 year old drinking age is an utter joke. Our society allows us to consent to nearly all other behaviors at 18, why not alcohol? <br /><br />The flawed arguments against eliminating a drinking age altogether are that (a) children cannot consent to dangerous behavior (which is a ridiculous argument because we all know children don't buy anything on their own until they reach about 14 years old) and that (b) children wouldn't understand the implications of drunk driving and thus would endanger others by driving drunk. This is a better argument but it is still flawed. First off, nobody is driving until they are 16 so we don't have to worry about 13, 14 or 15 year old kids running off the road drunk. Second, perhaps if children experience intoxication when they are young they will realize what it does to reflexes, judgment, etc. (as you alluded to in your post).<br /><br />However, there is one good argument that I find hard to overcome and am curious to know your response. Being that alcohol is addictive, how do we protect against a young child becoming an alcoholic because they experimented with alcohol before they could truly understand the dangers?<br /><br />Perhaps this dilemma would dictate we have a drinking age of 18? Or is there another solution?Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08147158961076788618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-458987134480834355.post-58903199216008727002010-11-04T21:33:01.573-04:002010-11-04T21:33:01.573-04:00You made good points with the parable, but I think...You made good points with the parable, but I think another likely outcome would be if Proviso was bought out by the pharmaceutical and candy lobbies (or a former/potential drug company board member) and started pushing a new drug that supposedly cancels out the harmful effects of high fructose corn syrup. This drug would of course not be properly tested and would lead to a variety of harmful side effects.<br />Anyway, also good points about prohibition laws. It's a shame that California's prop 19 was defeated.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com