[phil_20686]

Gerben42, on 2011-September-25, 09:43, said:

So true. People are going to do these things anyway, better legalize them so they can be controlled. This should be the way for gambling too.

This seems like an example of the fallacy of composition. Legalisation certainly makes it safer for those people who would do it anyway, but it might make the problem worse if the result of legalisation is that more people do it. The second half is the argument for making things illegal. Even Amsterdam has a healthy catalogue of illegal drugs. It would be beyond absurd to legalise heroin, given that it really can hook you in a single outing. Legalising cannabis and alcohol makes much more sense. All drugs lie somewhere on this spectrum.

Tobacco is probably an example of the other side, it seems to have far more harmful effects than beneficial ones, and since its attraction is virtually purely social, making it illegal, as a social effect, would probably reduce the number of smokers by a large margin - even the partial ban on smoking in public places in teh UK seems to have haad a large beneficial effect.

[kenberg]

This business of illegality is intriguing. With the death of Steve Jobs I learned that he had taken LSD. I am of an age where I knew more than a few who did. Myself, I have never even smoked pot. Whatever its merits, I'm sure I can do without it and I am not interested in ingesting a substance that I purchase from a person who, by the very transaction, is a known law-breaker. I take the same attitude toward online poker. Who needs it?

Some years back there was a story about a guy who was arrested for fraud. He had claimed that he could help people duck taxes by shipping some of their money offshore. You would think it would occur to people that giving their money to someone who is advertising himself as a crook is not really a good idea, but apparently many gave him their money.

As to abortions, I was young at the time abortions were illegal. Since I was put up for adoption by my unwed nineteen year old biological mother, I suppose I might think twice about the effect of having abortion made legal. At least retroactively. But I think that it should be legal. It's really a completely different matter than online gambling or dropping acid. No woman thinks "Gee, I think I will have some fun today and get an abortion". It's a tough call for any woman and I favor staying out of her way as she makes this difficult decision.

[blackshoe]

I question your statistics, Phil. Or perhaps you're talking about something other than you appear to be. IAC, see http://en.wikipedia....Unsafe_abortion

[phil_20686]

blackshoe, on 2011-October-07, 13:56, said:

I question your statistics, Phil. Or perhaps you're talking about something other than you appear to be. IAC, see http://en.wikipedia....Unsafe_abortion

Here

http://en.wikipedia....of_legalization


Its a CDC number, so it should be reliable.

PS All statistics above were for the US obviously.

[luke warm]

kenberg, on 2011-October-07, 07:35, said:

As to abortions... I think that it should be legal.

would you be against individual states deciding this, and other (say weed) issues?

[kenberg]

luke warm, on 2011-October-07, 15:57, said:

would you be against individual states deciding this, and other (say weed) issues?

I suppose that all I am really saying is that I prefer that it be legal. How to resolve the issue when clearly others feel that it should be illegal is a tougher matter on which I have no seriously original views. From the point of view of online poker, my main point was that the abortion issue, and for that matter other family issues involving children, fetuses, religion, schooling, etc, should not be lumped in with what might be called freedom of pleasure issues. It's just really a whole different kettle of fish.

For the freedom of pleasure issues, I guess I see the question as "How much, if at all, should we interfere when someone seems to clearly be ripping someone else off if the ripee is a willing sucker?" If someone really wants to throw his money away, is it condescending to try to stop him? I suppose so. Actually I sort of regret jumping in here. I don't but lottery tickets. When we visited the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, etc we landed in Vegas for convenience and left with a rented car, all w/o visiting a casino. I just don't get the allure, and I guess I will back off in commenting.

[aguahombre]

luke warm, on 2011-October-07, 15:57, said:

would you be against individual states deciding this, and other (say weed) issues?

States are governments. Either you are for governments deciding the legality of things for you, or you are against it.

I don't care what a government where I don't reside does to you, and would prefer that the one where I reside doesn't decide certain things for me.

Unfortunately, Utah has some of the stupidest alcohol regulations on the planet; but, they didn't consult with me on the issue. I have the choice to live here and it creates more bureacratic jobs