I See An America

I read the news today, oh boy, about a lucky man who got away with it. I'm talking about Michael Phelps of course, who's photo with a marijuana pipe has landed him in some hot water. Interesting to note as well that the penalty for the pipe is more than double that of the suspected contents in the pipe. To me, this brings up several issues.

Follow up:

Starting with Clinton, we have had a President who smoked, but didn't inhale, GW Bush who admitted to partying in college and then pardoned dozens of marijuana and coke dealers in his last days in office, and a current President who smoked and inhaled. Of course, there was also JFK who smoked among other things.

Which brings us to the public stance of Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott who says he will do his best to bring charges against Michael Phelps. Dude, it's a photograph. I bet it would take me five minutes to Photoshop a photo of Sheriff Lott holding a pipe, in fact, I would bet that there are dozens of photos around showing him in possession of dope that he seized. I would think our taxpayer dollars could be much better used in fighting real crime, than this obvious public relations gimmick. At least Michael Phelps sponsors have stood by them, which shows some progress in public and corporate thinking.

I just don't see the point behind all this--marijuana being as benign a substance as you can find. It's just a plant when all is said and done...not even a real drug. I would worry more about the invasion of privacy that seems to be taken for granted these days. What right did someone have to take the photo in the first place, much less public display it. We hear stories of Google maps teamss invading private property in order to serve the public need to know. When I retire, I'm going to build a big ass fence around my property and hang signs every ten feet that trespassers will be shot and pity the poor sucker who takes me up on it.