Liberal Democrat

Liberal Democrat
Individual Freedom For Everyone

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The Young Turks: Ana Kasparian & Cenk Uygur: '1 in 4 Americans Have Criminal Record'

Source:The Young Turks- under arrest in America.

"Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur discuss statistics from the National Employment Law Center showing that 1 in 4 adults in the United States has a criminal record.  The ACLU argues that employers are discriminating against employees on this bases because a disproportionate number of those with records are African American (and non-violent drug offenders)." 


I agree for the most part with Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur here. (Maybe it does snow in San Diego in August) The so-called war on drugs (thanks, President Nixon) is the main culprit to why we have so many people in prison in America, which is supposed to be the greatest liberal democracy in the world. And I believe America is, but our criminal justice system or lack or a quality criminal justice system, makes us seem like less than the great liberal democracy that we actually are. 

Arresting drug addicts and then sending to prison for simply possessing and using illegal narcotics, or being addicted to them, is never a good idea and is always a costly idea. You send those folks to drug rehab and later halfway houses, at their complete expense and put the illegal narcotics dealers in prison instead. 

We should also stop arresting adults for simply possessing or using marijuana or gambling their own money or selling their sex, as we could literally end the war on freedom in America and not have so many people in prison, simply for what they to themselves, not what they do to others.