Yesterday a medical doctor friend told me that these days you have to show ID and sign for laboratory glassware. You may perhaps even be asked why you need it.
When I was a kid, you picked up an Edmunds Scientific or other catalog, used the money you earned mowing lawns and bought your gadgets and glassware by mail order – unless you were lucky enough to live in the same city in which case you went to their outlet and came straight home with it on the same day. No questions were asked. Lab glassware was just part of being a future scientist in a nation of free people.
Why has this changed? The Drug War. It is yet another culturally disastrous bit of police state monitoring enabled by fear mongering about meth labs. Well, to put it simply, I do not care. The people responsible for these sorts of regulation are much more socially damaging in their efforts because they undercut our liberty, our ability to act as free and autonomous citizens. It is my right to buy something ‘because I feel like it’ and to use it for ‘whatever the hell pleases me’ just because I am an American. I need no other reason.
I have no sympathy for the drug warriors. I want them unemployed. As to the people who think up these un-american regulations…
“Hangin’s too good for ’em.”
Libertarians know all about the drug war depredations and so it has become blase’. Hardly mentioned in a LOT of libertarian circles. We must keep at it until it ends.
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Perhaps we (I can’t really help from across the pond) should all go buy a piece of lab glassware, and list ‘because I want to’ as the reason for purchase. Overwhelm their little system. Alinsky works both ways, gents.
And this:
Citizens Opposing Prohibition
This is the first I’ve heard that the Police State is monitoring laboratory glassware sales, but I’m not really surprised by it. They might prevent (or, more likely, merely slightly hinder) the activities of a few meth labs, but they will ruin an entire generation of budding scientists. This from a government which (allegedly) wants to see more STEM degrees being awarded by our universities. In 20 years they will be bemoaning the shortage of doctors and medical researchers, but they will never acknowledge the causal relationship to absurd and shortsighted policies such as this one.
The drug war is poisoning almost every aspect of our society, from militarized police to draconian currency controls to embarrassing incarceration rates. It must end.
Oh great, now high schools get to be broken into as the meth cookers look for lab-ware. Do these idiots not know of the law of unintended consequences? Do they even have the brain-power to even know it exists.
Also, this mook named Martin O’Malley (former mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland) announced he was running for president as a Democrat. All that you need to know about this scum-sucker is in this article. This David Simon, a liberal Democrat (creator of “Homicide” and “The Wire”), interviewed about him.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/04/29/david-simon-on-baltimore-s-anguish
There will be 8 States (or more) with cannabis on the ballot in 2016. What is amazing is the number of Prohibitionists in the running given that environment. In 9 months we should have a fair idea of who the Republicans have settled on.
I’m not encouraged by the current leaders of the pack. Or should that be leaders of the PAC.
I agree hanging is too good for them.
How about welding their privates into a vise, handing them a pen knife, then setting the building on fire and standing by the open door laughing. When they come crawling and screaming to the door, slam it shut.
As a thought experiment. Couldn’t be any worse than what they’ve done to society and freedom.
Anyone have a link to the enabling legislation for this?
“Yesterday a medical doctor friend told me that these days you have to show ID and sign for laboratory glassware”
It occurred to me recently, that the whole ‘show id’ when entering a Pub or Club, on the face of it to make sure those chronologically challenged individuals don’t get into such establishments.
But it has a second purpose too. It conditions whole generations to unquestioning acceptance of demands to identify themselves to proxies of the state.
Perry – I believe that it’s done on a state by state basis. I’m not aware of any federal legislation on the matter.
APL – Precisely. This is why I always refuse to show ID when buying beer or wine in a supermarket.
What is totally ironic in this matter is that the Prog-Marxists are working against the power of he State and our so called Conservatives are working hard to maintain it. There are of course exceptions on both sides. Paul and O’Malley. But those are not he only ones. Just the most prominent – now.
And BTW now you know why I’m obsessed about Prohibition. It touches nearly everything.
For Prog-Marxists any position is only a tactic. In Venezuela they require ID to buy anything in a suprrmarket.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/01/venezuela-food-shortage-id-cards
Dale,
I’ve entertained the idea of running a meth lab, but…I have to sign for a beaker? Curses! Foiled again! (I’m joking of course, federal spies, at-ease boys. Go back to pretending to be an empty bread truck.)
It’s mind boggling how statists have a learning block when it comes to understanding that CRIMINALS ARE DEFINED AS THOSE WHO IGNORE LAWS and who work around laws and regulations. Ergo, making more laws and rules are simply more rules and laws for them to ignore…BY DEFINITION! And the work arounds are not merely annoying hindrances, but PROFITABLE AVENUES for specialists. (Think of people who provide fake ID’s for example). The more legal restrictions (that only the law abiding follow), the more legislators create a monopoly for black markets. Laws cannot eliminate markets, they can only eliminate LEGAL markets, and thus create a monopoly for black markets. Al Capone and Caesar Chavez give a hardy “thanks boys”.
Yes, these thick statists are the folks that tend to think that an “appropriate” defense against an armed assailant is a phone with a 911 speed-dial and police with warp-drive capability…apparently. I’ve experienced progs first hand, and you might be surprised to learn, (or not so much surprised), that they tend to be so phobic of guns that they don’t even trust themselves to touch one, much less hold one, because they’ve bought the idea (that they WANT to believe) that an armed responsible citizen capable of credibly defending himself or herself “poses a threat to the community” and that one is actually safer WITHOUT a gun in the home, even if one is trained in gun ownership handling, storage and general responsibility, and irrespective of where one lives and how dangerous your neighborhood is in general. It’s all insanity which fails the logical capability of the average unbiased 8yr old.
This insane mindset is a common thread among the statists, that (a) morality = being forced to behave “acceptably” to the “majority of the community” (whether forced by god, king, “community” or state), rather than being innately compassionate and empathetic towards the innocent, and having respect for individual rights and freedoms; that (b) laws/”rules” stop criminal behavior, (a decidedly stupid idea); that (c) force, even the ability to thwart illegal, unjust and uncivil force against one’s person should be monopolized by the state, even if such an idea is obviously impractical and logically flawed and PROVED ineffective, (d) that idealistic “feel-good” ends justify unjustifiable means. That the ends prove unachievable under their current methodology never causes them to skip a beat either. (e) that the world is zero sum (when it almost never is), and therefore “fair share”, the obligation for businessmen to “give back to the community”, “wealth redistribution” (when it’s not distributed to begin with), arbitrary taxation theft, and laws designed to social engineer are all legitimate concepts…in their minds.
How are we to effectively break this spell that has enchanted the minds of the Progs? That’s the $64,000 dollar question.
Thailover
Laird,
The first I became aware of this “controling” of lab glassware was by watching the fictional TV show Breaking Bad, where the show’s protagonist anti-hero needed to steal a large spherical glass beaker to start his meth making enterprise. You would have thought that he was smuggling a gold brick out of fort knox.
Sorry, I should have elaborated. The main character was a chemestry teacher and stealing a beaker from the highschool chemestry lab.
David,
It’s comforting to think that those hard working providers of fake ID’s and east indian produced anabolic steroids have another specialty to fall back on if times get difficult…the providing of lab-ware ordered from India to sell to meth cookers. They give a collective “thanks guys” salute to the drug war idiots and our American neo-marxist idiot in chief.
Of course, the idiot statist know who’s to blame, the FREE unregulated internet! (it’s enough to make a cat laugh).
How are we to effectively break this spell that has enchanted the minds of the Progs? That’s the $64,000 dollar question.
Thailover
It is pretty easy in the US these days. The Prog-Marxists are fighting Prohibition. It is, as has been mentioned, a tactical fight. But they do hate Prohibition.
So I remind them:
Every tax, every regulation comes with it an army of bureaucrats and behind that an army (with guns) of enforcers.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
and some of them are beginning to hate government and love a little liberty. I may not be winning them. But I AM weakening them. The libertarian argument is no longer dismissed out of hand at the places I have worked.
You know who are more obstinate? Socons. They have neither tactical nor strategic sense. But that has always been true. They were the last supporters of Alcohol Prohibition.
And now the Prog-Ms have destroyed marriage with no fault divorce and paternity doesn’t matter and the Progs have the Cons totally distracted with LGBT antics. A side show really to the main event. And the Prog-Ms said they wanted to destroy marriage to reduce resistance to their plan. But the Cons can’t help but participatin in the side show. Idiots.
“Caesar Chavez (rolls eyes), make that Pablo Escobar. Fuck, my brain is getting old, lol.
MSimon said,
“The libertarian argument is no longer dismissed out of hand at the places I have worked.”
That’s great news.
I too think that feminists have destroyed marriage in ‘the western world’, but I have no more problem with no fault divorce than I do with no fault marriage. I don’t think the state should be involved in one’s personal oath to another person anyway unless one wishes to sue the other over a breach of contract. But we should dismiss the false idea that divorce is harmless to children, emotionally and psychologically, and if mom wants to go “discover herself”, she’s probably being a selfish bitch rather than a feminist hero. Of course, sometimes pros and cons should be considered, and divorce is better than a spouse being chronically beaten up in front of kids, but that goes without saying. Yep, wedge issues always dominate the chatter, whether LGBT issues, “climate change”, the “war on women” or abortion. Politics is absurd.
“Socons”
I grew up in middle Tennessee, so here “Jesus is Lord and Master” and questioning that is similar to questioning any pro-attrocity claim about the holocaust in certain european countries, virtually illegal, lol. So yeah, ‘not a fan of Conservatives. You’re right, they have no tactical nor strategic sense, because everything is as matter of “faith”, i.e. it’s true because I’m convinced of it! LOL.
Thailover
May 31, 2015 at 10:47 pm
Personal promises are one thing. Contracts are another. I won’t go into all the details here but there are good reasons grounded in human nature to make marriage an enforceable contract. Especially in the case of couples with children.
The Jews – with no State power until recently – have been doing marriage contracts for about 2,000 years. Ketubah.
No fault divorce allows the female to take the money and run. This is bad for child bearing. Civilizations that don’t reproduce die. And if America (the anglosphere) doesn’t reproduce there goes the libertarian idea.
Well, we’re going to do one better on you North-polers! I’ve heard reports that Tasmania, an Australian State, is thinking of prohibiting ALL tobacco products. No more cigarettes, cigars, or pipes! Who wants to become the new Al Capone? Australia awaits you!
No, hanging is not too good for the drug warriors. After all, it wasn’t too good for the Nazi war criminals at Nuremburg.
(Godwining fully intended and justified. The jackboot fits, and the drug warriors should be made to wear it.)
It’s true that Tasmania is to the south of mainland Australia, but small boats can still reach it, it has plenty of beaches, and it does not have a Navy, not have I ever heard of a border patrol service, so smugglers should have an easy time. Set up a network of ‘Smoke-easies’ now, and a Big-Rewards-Is-Business-Etiquette fund for gifts to the cops, and you can start rolling in the money! (I don’t have a boat, but you can send me a 10% commission, if you like. Please.)
Is there anyone in Tazmania except for little black devils? (Too bad there aren’t any Progs around to insist that the previous comment is racist. I guess we should dye the little snarling furballs a different color, lol).
That’s interesting, M. Simon.
Could you make it more specific?
How we laughed back in the 70s when we were told you needed a license for a typewriter in the USSR. We’re not laughing now.
Good post.
Yes, but, MSimon, now you and I should utter some resounding cheers, since Illinois has become a concealed-carry, “shall issue” state (if the paper I read was right) and not only that, but we now have medical mj — if the Feds will let us alone and not go harassing people who use it as grown in a few plants on their own windowsills or in their own back yards and never let it leave their property, nor share it with nor sell it to others, as is proven by their doctors’ prescriptions.
Right. Somebody tell Angel Raich to move to Rockford.
But it is a big step in the right direction.
Today, I had to show my drivers license to buy a goddamned small bottle of over the counter cough syrup. You can’t make meth out of fucking Robitussin. I was using an automated self-checkout machine and a guy had to come over and type my drivers license number into the damned machine. His unsolicited explanation was that “someone must have abused cough syrup”. My response, “you can abuse water, drink 5 gallons and you’ll die”. From him….silence. Fucking nanny state bullshit.
Maybe you CAN make meth from cough syrup! Perhaps Federal Authorities have found out how, and want to protect you from experimenting, because they care.
Q. Why are lawyers and politicians buried 12 foot deep?
A. Because, deep down, they’re not so bad.
Alisa
June 1, 2015 at 10:00 am
This is kind of a heavy socon site but they have the basic details
http://www.gillistriplett.com/rel101/articles/destruction.html
When the Bolsheviki came into power in 1917 they regarded the family, like every other “bourgeois” institution, with fierce hatred, and set out with a will to destroy it. “To clear the family out of the accumulated dust of the ages we had to give it a good shakeup, and we did,” declared Madame Smidovich, a leading Communist and active participant in the recent discussion.
So one of the first decrees of the Soviet Government abolished the term “illegitimate children.” This was done simply by equalizing the legal status of all children, whether born in wedlock or out of it, and now the Soviet Government boasts that Russia is the only country where there are no illegitimate children. The father of a child is forced to contribute to its support, usually paying the mother a third of his salary…
At the same time a law was passed which made divorce a matter of a few minutes, to be obtained at the request of either partner in a marriage. Chaos was the result. Men took to changing wives with the same zest which they displayed in the consumption of the recently restored forty-per-cent vodka.
===========================
I think marriage in Russia has been tightened up some since then. But Communists have always considered family an obstacle to their plan.
===========================
And you know why they want to end cannabis Prohibition in Illinois? Not because it is wrong, but because it is no longer affordable. Police retirees need the money more. Too funny, eh?
Abolish the family !!!
Thus Messrs. Marx & Engel squeak breathlessly, in their Manifesto of the Communist Party, in Chapter 2, “Proletarians and Communists.”
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch02.htm
NickSSG,
*Ee-e-ew-w-w!*
Thank you M. Simon and Julie. I was aware of the general thinking, but was looking for some concrete documentation, and the above is very helpful.
🙂
Glad you liked it, Julie. Do you have better jokes?
😉
NickSSG, nothing I’ve seen lately, anyhow. I loved yours — very witty. LOL
(You did, I hope, understand my comment as signifying amusement, entertainment, and praise of your double-entendre. Same as the response de rigueur to a good pun. 😉 )
*Webster’s 1913 on-line informs us:
I feel for the French. :>))
Bette middler once joked about her world-famous quadruple entendre!! I can’t reach those heights, but I do hope to be known as a great wit. And my friends keep telling me that I’m halfway there! (Do you know where I can get better friends?)
With all this PC going around, I wonder how long before all joking is outlawed, since someone will be offended?
Q. Why, despite political correctness, will Australians always be able to make jokes about New Zealanders?
A. Because they’re all so dumb, they’ll never get the joke!
But, Nick — I don’t think they’re so dumb. I know of some who seem to speak often, at some length. I’ve heard them on UT. *puzzled expression* I’d be careful, if I were you….
😉
Nicholas (Self-Sovereignty) Gray
June 3, 2015 at 3:43 am
From time to time I have been called a wit. If we are half friends we can be equal. Very PC.
On second thought you be my full friend and I’ll be your half friend. PC is quite difficult. Especially the math.
Julie near Chicago,
It’s interesting to me how easily we condemn the Marxists for their extreme collectivist views (and justifiably so), but no one condemns Plato and his horrific proposed Republic, which is the worst version of Marxist communism humanly imaginable. I suspect it’s because, since neo-Platonism has had a large influence on early Christianity, Christians tend to have a love affair with Plato (and a bit of animosity towards Aristotle). That is, if they have the slightest clue at all in this context.
Cheers,
Thailover
“That is, if they have the slightest clue at all in this context.”
That’s probably the answer; most people haven’t read Plato and have no idea what he was about. For that matter, few have ever read Sir Thomas More’s “Utopia” (it’s available on Project Gutenberg). It would be difficult to imagine a more foul place in which to live.
We condemn Marxism because it has been tried, and used that name.
Laird, I disagree. I think that the real world of Thomas Moore’s time would have been even more hellish- which is why he wrote Utopia. Many philosophers gain their fame simply by looking at their own societies, and casting the opposite as being much better. Marx looked at Germany, and reshaped it politically to extol communism, in opposition to what he thought of as capitalism. If you want to write a political book that will sell, oppose something from your current society, and claim that Paradise will be reached if everyone followed you!
Thailover, I dunno. The haunts I haunt tend to consider Plato as right down there best buds with the guy with the horns and the tail.
As for Christians, yes, a lot of neo-Platonism, but also don’t forget the Aristotelian strain that comes in with the Thomists.
I’m not sure that Christians are all so collectivist as non-Christians tend to make them out to be. Some are, of course, but self-reliance and self-responsibility and independence generally have been very important to Americans, who’ve been mostly Christians in some sense or other, since the founding.
Which leads me to point out that the Christians I know are all Americans. (So are the non-Christians *g*, except for some of the people I “meet” on the Internet.) So I have no idea what are the beliefs or understandings or general outlook of Greek Orthodox, let alone the Malekites or the Copts or the Chinese Christians.
If it’s casting aspersions on long-dead philosophers that you want, look up Aristotle on Slavery. His own words would condemn him today!
An interesting and anonymised mass surveillance, London tops Europe’s cocaine in sewage league, nosing ahead of Amsterdam, although the city of mice in windmills crosses the line ahead of London at weekends. Meanwhile in Jvaskyla, Finland, cocaine levels are less than 0.03% of London’s levels. I dare say that the Finns make up the difference in hooch, but will survive any coming maelstrom far better than the snorting metropolises of the West.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33009682?SThisFB&fb_ref=Default
Mr Ed June 4, 2015 at 1:58 pm
I wouldn’t be so sure of that. Alcohol kills brain cells and causes FAS during pregnancy. The stuff is poison.
Julie near Chicago, your 5:25 post,
All good points. Christians are all collectivists in as much as they revere the sky monarchy of the king of kings who, after all, owns humanity, but then again, I see a daily non-representative set of Christians day in and day out here in middle Tennessee, so I should take that in consideration I suppose. They tend to be very evangelical around here. I suppose most Christians consider the royalty in the sky much as modern Brits think of British royalty, once suffocating and paternalistic but now more of a cultural commonality. I’m just very thankful that most Christians don’t read and follow the bible! If they did, they would despise wealth (“mammon”) categorically, have turned a new cheek for Hitler to pounce on, and abandoned their families to wander around spreading the gospel.
(Apologies to any potentially offended believers out there; that’s not my intent).
Cheers,
Thailover