#bush

The accession of not one but three illegal drug users in a row to the US presidency constitutes an existential challenge to the prohibitionist regime. The fact that some of the most successful people of our time, be it in business, finances, politics, entertainment or the arts, are current or former substance users is a fundamental refutation of its premises and a stinging rebuttal of its rationale. A criminal law that is broken at least once by 50% of the adult population and that is broken on a regular basis by 20% of the same adult population is a broken law, a fatally flawed law. How can a democratic government justify a law that is consistently broken by a substantial minority of the population? What we are witnessing here is a massive case of civil disobedience not seen since alcohol prohibition in the 1930 in the US. On what basis can a democratic system justify the stigmatization and discrimination of a strong minority of as much as 20% of its population? ↗

— Jeffrey Dhywood

#bill-clinton #drug-policy-reform #g-w-bush #prohibitionism #war-on-drugs

President Bush says he is concerned about the Iraqi people, but if Iraqi people are dying in numbers, then American policy will be challenged very strongly. ↗

— Peter Arnett

#american #american policy #bush #challenged #concerned

Blackthorne, beside the gates, was still turmoiled by his boundless joy at her reprieve and he remembered how his own will had been stretched that night of his near-seppuku, when he had had to get up as a man and walk home as a man unsupported, and became samurai. And he watched her, despising the need for this courage, yet understanding it, even honoring it. ↗

— James Clavell

#samurai #samurai-bushido-seppuku #strength-of-mind #courage

There's a certain amount of sympathy here for the Bush administration's problem, which is they would like to get rid of Saddam Hussein and they would like to have the Kurds autonomous. ↗

— Les Aspin

#amount #autonomous #bush #certain #get

The Jungle Bush Beaters didn't last too long as a group, but we had a pretty good time while we did. ↗

— Levon Helm

#did #good #good time #group #had

Delivering the speech was a surreal experience. The delegates sat silent, almost frozen in place. It was like speaking to a wax museum. ↗

— George W. Bush

#george-w-bush #experience

And the whole Bush family, from Texas, should be boiled in poisoned oil. ↗

— Hunter S. Thompson

#politics #family

The best fighter is never angry. ↗

— Lao Tzu

#anger-management #ataraxy #bushido #inner-peace #martial-arts

The only difference between Obama and Bush is that Obama is killing more people. He’s about double the numbers now. Can you imagine if McCain had won and did precisely what Obama has done, with every speech and every political maneuver overseas? There’d be riots in the streets about the people we’re killing. And yet because it’s Obama, and he’s better looking and better at reading the teleprompter, we let him get away with it. ↗

— Penn Jillette

#obama #politics #imagination

I'll never forget when we played Shepherd's Bush in London. We played 'I Run To You', and we put the mic out for the last chorus, and you could hear them singing the chorus with the beautiful accent that they have. ↗

— Hillary Scott

#beautiful #bush #chorus #could #forget