Republicans* used the crack epidemic to build support for their plan to create a massive carceral state stuffed with millions of young black men while undermining the regulatory state and nudging agencies like FDA to take a lighter touch with industry. So now we have a largely white drug abuse epidemic and they want to advocate for compassionate treatment, but they can’t, really, because it conflicts with the Law N’ Order messaging they’ve been pumping out for half a century, so policy paralysis and Get Out of Jail Free cards for loved ones and friends’ loved ones** caught up in an industrial disaster of an addiction crisis arguably caused in large part by lax regulation.
*and plenty of Dems, especially of the Clintonian Third Way Very Serious Tough Guy persuasion
**I guess we don’t know that his girlfriend and her son are white but… Seems highly likely. And assuming that’s the case, of course it grates but it’s exactly what you’d expect.
By that token, I guess you’ve never had a child that was prosecuted for a crime where someone else got off because he/she know someone that knew someone.
If what Donovan did what he is accused of, it’s against the law and he’s no better than the criminals he prosecuted. You can excuse it all you want by trying to play a parent or the parent of a girlfriend card but it’s still wrong in the eyes of the law. There are standards and issues of conflict of interest and if he is wrong he is wrong, no matter what your emotional reasons are.
Of course nobody could blame a parent for helping out a child in trouble. But the story is similar to a “pro-life” Republican asking his mistress or daughter to get an abortion. Hypocrisy. Period. IOKIYAR. ok for me not for thee.
Bingo, but move beyond the precise issue and Republican hypocrisy and start talking about the real problem, Opioid addiction. This isn’t a war. It is a public health crisis.
Is asking for leniency the issue, or the granting of it by the authorities? Say you’re pulled over doing 90 in a 65 on the freeway. You’re the starting center for the local NBA team. The cop recognizes you. You develop a quick rapport and exchange a couple pleasantries. Then you look the cop in the eye and ask him to not write you a ticket. He let’s you go with a warning. Are you to be faulted for this?
If you’re using your position to gain something then yes you are to be faulted. If what Donovan did is illegal then it should not be overlooked. It could raise additional questions like who did he ask for favors, what was promised in exchange, did he put the people who were tasked to let his girlfriend’s son out in an uncomfortable position, did they feel like they had to or else, and so on. This is why it’s not a good idea to engage in this type of behavior.
The starting center of the local NBA team talking his way out of ticket with fan on the police force isn’t the right metaphor. This is more like a local city council member – who happens to be part owner of the team – intervening after the ticket was issued by calling up the police chief. (With the caveat, of course, that all this may simply be something that the scumbag Grimm made up in his dirty campaign to win the GOP nomination.)
I haven’t jumped on Donovan yet. My grandson spent a month in an ICU in an induced coma from overdosing and is still in a nursing home and could possibly spend the rest of his life there. Was The man dealing? That is who they need to go after. Was he supplyingin bulk? Another one who should be found. Police and the DEA pick off the low hanging fruit and the high lifers continue to float along. When was the last time they busted a large supplier in the US? Aren’t there any? Users need help no matter how vile you think they are. When you are hooked it is difficult to cold turkey. Help is usually needed. It is a hell of a lot more expensive in a nursing home for years than rehab for a couple months. Even several times hoping it sticks. I would have helped the man too for possession.
While of course this is ethically dubious and propagates privilege, this is the least of my concerns regarding elected Republicans.
Basically I think this personal matter would make him a better congressman in that he could see the real life implications of addiction and the opioid epidemic.
However, since he is in a winnable seat, we should do what we can to win.
Dozens of people across the U.S. have been charged in connection with an international conspiracy to launder tens of millions of dollars in drug money for Mexican cartels, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego unsealed 40 indictments against defendants accused in the scheme dating to 2015. Investigators seized more than $6 million in cash as well as weapons and large quantities of drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana, officials said.
Mexican-based brokers oversaw a network of “money movers” who transported drug proceeds throughout the U.S. in boxes and duffel bags and deposited the cash into so-called funnel bank accounts, according to prosecutors. From there the funds were wired to accounts for false companies in Mexico controlled by drug suppliers, including members of the Sinaloa cartel, they said.
Not to be contrarian, but …
According to the article, the young man received a desk appearance ticket, which means he was arrested, and released, and is required to appear for arraignment on the charge. The charge was not dropped, he just was not required to wait in jail for arraignment.
The charge against that he “used his positon illegally to request that officers issue a desk appearance ticket.” Maybe what he did was illegal. I don’t know. Did he improperly threaten the police with his power as a congressman? Or is it always improper for people in certain positions to use their influence in this manner? I don’t know. Who filed this complaint? Was it that paragon of honest virtue, Michael Grimm? I don’t know.
What I do know is when a family member has been arrested, you do everything you can, short of breaking the law yourself, to keep them out of jail. And this - What good is your reputation if it can’t help your family in times of trouble?
ETA: And this: Jailing addicts for being addicted helps nobody.
