[Hoot Gibson]

Yeah, I'm all about giving violent offenders what for. I worry about this kind of thing because as a parent, one can nurture, teach and care for God's most precious gifts, one's children, up through the time they begin to socialize with other kids/teens. There inlies the confluence which brings on terror. They get out in a car with so-called friends whose parents really don't care that much what their kids get into, and anything from a car wreck to an introduction to drugs 101 can happen. As things stand now, possession of drugs is something they must break the law to accomplish. I'd rather keep it that way, than to be assured that most kids will be packing.

I taught my children, as best I could, how to identify and and avoid making destructive choices. Still, as I know you are aware, it's asking a lot for them to be wise enough to navigate such dangerous waters, even with the benefit of council.

I will concede that legalizing drugs would, at least initially, lead to more teenagers dying directly as a result. My belief is that many of those who would die would simply die a few years later or become serious criminals if they had survived their teenage years. Seeing friends and acquaintances die from drug abuse and attending their funerals is a pretty powerful argument against drug use. You mentioned kids of parents who really don't care for their children properly. Those kids die in disproportionate numbers now because of neglect and that would not change if drugs were legal.

I confess that I do not believe that the GOP would ever agree to legalizing drug use because of the religious right, even if it would be in this country's best long term interests. Politicians in this country are too quick to exploit tragedies for the changes that I suggest to work. Each time that a tragic traffic accident occurred involving drug use, some self-serving politicians would immediately try to exploit people's emotions, just as they try to do now with gun regulations following each instance of a mass murder.

Unfortunately, I believe that this country is like a plane locked on a steep descent and all people seem to be willing to do is clean the windows and upgrade the sound system. Like Harry said, the Republican leadership seems resigned to turning the party into the Democratic Lite Party. Both will destroy the country and the only difference will be the time of the crash.