[Superman]

Yes it is, indeed, inconvenient for the Monkey Administration that things are going very badly in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it is further unfortunate that Howdy Doody has completely dropped the ball on virtually every domestic issue. Hey, let's pretend that it's all a big conspiracy between the several large and hundreds of small media organizations.

Bryan, I'm going to disagree with you in a moment but first... I do agree that medical records should have some confidentiality, on the other hand public figures are public figures. Rush is not exactly and "accidental" public figure. If he's going to make millions spewing dissent and division and criticism and namecalling and lies, then he's going to come under some scrutiny. "Does the name-caller commit the same sins as those he thrashes for commercial gain?" is a legitimate question. Each morning, Rush teaches lemmings the phrases to use that day in political discussion. This arguably does little to objectify or substantiate our national political dialogue, so I say Rush has painted a target on himself.

Okay, the War on Drugs focuses on the pushers and traffikers. Let's take a look at what a victory looks like in that "war." We assasinate a drug lord, or arrest him or whatever. This creates a power vacuum in Colombia or wherever. So, there's a blood bath to determine the successor. In the meantime, the desired effect is achieved...there is a temporary reduction in supply. Any economists out there? What happens when demand stays constant and supply decreases? What happens to price?

Okay so the blood bath is finished and a new kingpin rises to the top. Supply is restored. Price is higher. And gentlemen, this is a "victory" in the War on Drugs. And some of you should be applauding. This is creative opportunism at its best. This is a situation where government spends money to keep prices high and limit the entry of competitors, while allowing demand to stay level or rise. Gosh, it's almost as if the interests of this very very lucrative industry are reflected in polioticians' decisions. Oh, but how could that be? How could it be that politicians would focus on money and power?

Some would argue that, as long as you've got millions of Americans with money who want to use drugs, then there will be an industry to supply that lucrative demand. Some would say that the only way to effectively shrink the recreational drug industry is to deal with the demand side. Some would say this is more of a health problem than a crime problem. Some would reject the argument that this fight should not be on the "supply" side.