What I find amusing is that the amount of bars increased during prohibition as did violence. The thing the law was trying to curb. The article states that 1n 1927, during prohibition there were over 30k bars, twice the number before prohibition, the taxpayers were spending 100’s of millions annually enforcing the liquor laws instead of collecting millions in taxes towards social programs and city services. I guess prohibition goes into the same pile of BS as every other law that tries to impose a small groups moral and social standards onto the masses, they figure out it’s a bit hard to enforce. Since the large breweries were forced to close, ordinary people made bank on home brew and moonshine… unfortunately bathtub brew, if messed up can cause side effects other than drunkenness or a risk of DUI. There were many cases of people going blind, paralysis and death due to home made liquor recipes.

Enforcement of 1920s’ Prohibition was a formidable task. Bootleggers and rum runners were plentiful. Criminal elements organized because of the large profits in bootlegging. Much of the population had contempt for law enforcement during 1920s’ Prohibition. Chicago’s Al Capone and his organization were considered glamorous figures; supposedly, half the city’s police were on their payroll.

The social reform movement that led to prohibition created more social problems than before. Police corruption, murder, bribery, street gangs and organized crime all flourished in new found profits and doubled the amount of now illegal bars than there was before legally. Corruption was one of the things proponents claimed prohibition would abolish…hmmm.

The first half of the 20th century saw periods of prohibition of alcoholic beverages in several countries, The US, the most famous for liquor and prohibition was not the only country practicing the liquor law.

• 1900 to 1948 in Prince Edward Island, and for shorter periods in other locations in Canada
• 1914 to 1925 in Russia and the Soviet Union
• 1915 to 1922 in Iceland (though beer was still prohibited until 1989)
• 1916 to 1927 in Norway (wine and beer also included in 1917)
• 1919 in Hungary (in the Hungarian Soviet Republic, March 21 to August 1; called szesztilalom)
• 1919 to 1932 in Finland (called kieltolaki)
• 1920 to 1933 in the United States

Digitalhistory - liquor law -At midnight, January 16, 1920, the United States went dry; breweries, distilleries, and saloons were forced to close their doors.

Led by the Anti-Saloon League and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, the dry forces had triumphed by linking Prohibition to a variety of Progressive era social causes. Proponents of Prohibition included many women reformers who were concerned about alcohol’s link to wife beating and child abuse and industrialists, such as Henry Ford, who were concerned about the impact of drinking on labor productivity. Advocates of Prohibition argued that outlawing drinking would eliminate corruption, end machine politics, and help Americanize immigrants.

Even before the 18th Amendment was ratified, about 65 percent of the country had already banned alcohol. In 1916, seven states adopted anti-liquor laws, bringing the number of states to 19 that prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. America’s entry into World War I made Prohibition seem patriotic since many breweries were owned by German Americans. Wayne Wheeler, lobbyist for the Anti-Saloon League, urged the federal government to investigate “a number of breweries around the country which are owned in part by alien enemies.” In December 1917, Congress passed the 18th Amendment. A month later, President Woodrow Wilson instituted partial prohibition to conserve grain for the war effort. Beer was limited to 2.75 percent alcohol content and production was held to 70 percent of the previous year’s production. In September, the president issued a ban on the wartime production of beer.

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well, thats the question and there seems to be no answer in sight. I am sure everyone remembers the story of the LAPD officers who murdered, cheated and stole.. and got caught some years back. Rampart Division, and yes, a few of them did get caught but only after one of them gave em up trying to save his own ass. The charges against them were many, murder, grand theft, obstruction of justice, falsifying records and police reports (almost like an episode of “The Shield”) but most got off, with a few getting a bit of jail time. These men sent 100’s of innocent people to prison, murdered countless others and did it all to steal the dope and the money for their own profits but never got really punished. This was not some accidental misconduct, this was planned and a conspiracy followed to cover for them.

Had anyone else done something so heinous for profit they would have never seen the light of day again or maybe gotten the death penalty, but because these wicked excuses for humanity were cops, most got paid leave until the official firing. So, the law really does not seem to apply to them. We see this over and over and unfortunately for every 1 corrupt cop caught, 100 others got away with it.

This fool below was too busy playing macho man to realize the camera was on, and in this case, because no one was killed, the tape did not miraculously disappear as it happens with many allegations of police brutality and misconduct. The suspect in the room was there for a DUI.

Now, if I was to electrocute someone on purpose for no good reason, I doubt, I would get a paid vacation for my trouble as this officer did. His punishment was paid leave… go figure.

Cop flips on kids for skating downtown in Hot Springs Arkansas. Jarad Graham, Drew Irwin, Skylar Nalls, Matt McCormack, Robbie Brindley, & Casey Canterbury get arrested.

I love to bring you these stories, let me guess…..the cop jumped him because he was “disorderly”, refusing to dive to the concrete when the officer ordered him to. WTF America, when are we going to stop and smell the roses that the Government, and specifically the Policing forces of the US are fucked. Who on Earth can justify the way the cop grabs the other “child” after he cant catch the other kid. They are brutal, out of hand, and truly believe they are untouchable. THE POLICE! We are not an anti-government site, nor have any public persuasion to one party or another. But we call bullshit when we see it. Take a look for yourself, and we encourage you to fallow up on the numbers below to complain about police brutality.

T

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Jefferson eyes bong-sale ban Wednesday, March 19, 2008

We’ve included this informational video for those of you who need to learn about the horrors of Marijuana, and how to spot illegal paraphernalia.

JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP — Local bong sales could go up in smoke beginning with a council discussion tonight.

The council agenda includes a sample drug-paraphernalia ordinance outlawing a long list of “all equipment, products and materials of any kind” that could be used for “introducing into the human body a controlled dangerous substance.”

The law echoes state statute. However, while the state law limits having the paraphernalia in the context of possession or distribution of drugs, the Jefferson ordinance to be discussed could outlaw the sale of anything in the township that could be construed as paraphernalia in the township without a connection to having or selling controlled substances.

Jefferson police Lt. Eric Wilsusen said Jefferson police are looking to limit the sale of potential drug tools and apparatus in two particular Route 15 gas stations. The Getty and Exxon stations recently sold what could be used as drug paraphernalia, particularly implements such as glass pipes and other filtration systems that could be used to smoke marijuana.

Getty voluntarily removed the targeted merchandise from the store, but the counter of the Exxon store still is covered with multiple pipes and other paraphernalia that could be used to smoke marijuana.

Wilsusen said the ordinance suggested by the police to the council is an attempt to avoid a drug problem, or even “nip it in the bud,” by banning the items for sale within the community.

“Obviously, this concerns us,” Wilsusen said. “I guess you can claim if you’re selling these things that people are smoking tobacco out of them, but we all know what it’s used for.”

Mayor Russell Felter and Township Attorney Lawrence Cohen could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Wilsusen said the Jefferson council is using an East Rutherford ordinance passed in 1984 as a template for the Jefferson law.

East Rutherford police say the law has gone unchallenged and apparently has worked as it was intended. Deputy Chief Larry Minda said he considers their ordinance a success over the last two decades, especially considering the development that has sprung up with the sports complex in the borough.

“It actually works well … the foresight was there,” Minda said.

East Rutherford also has ordinances limiting the sale of spray paint to combat graffiti, and cracking down on public cigarette smoking by juveniles, Minda said. Like those, the local drug paraphernalia law sets the atmosphere for the town and curbs problems before they happen, he said.

“I think it serves as an example and a barometer … and it’s worked out very well,” Minda said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey’s spokeswoman said she had not heard of the East Rutherford or Jefferson ordinances covering the sale of drug paraphernalia. Executive Director Deborah Jacobs said state law already addresses the issues clearly.

“I haven’t heard from other municipalities passing ordinances like this,” she said. “I would assume it’s because state law covers this.”

Current legal precedents indicate that pipes and other smoking devices sold at the Exxon and other places are legal, if their potential use for controlled substances is not advertised or otherwise specifically known by the seller. This was partially determined in such cases as the 1980 U.S. District Court decision Knoedler vs. Township of Roxbury. In the case, the owner of a shop called Nature’s Head successfully defended his rights to sell potentially unlawful drug paraphernalia.

However, the judges’ opinion also said the spirit of the ordinance was well-founded, but it simply outlawed too many items that might have legal uses, such as various pipes that could also be used for tobacco.

“The ordinance is aimed at a legitimate target, the sale of paraphernalia utilized in connection with illegal drugs, but its impact is too broad,” wrote Judge H. Lee Sarokin. “It is a cannon where an arrow is more appropriate.”

Still, that kind of determination does not seem realistic to many people, said Wilsusen.

“The last I checked, there aren’t too many people hand-rolling their cigarettes anymore … let alone smoking tobacco out of 5-foot bongs,” Wilsusen said.

However, the situation could resolve itself before council even gets to vote on a potential ordinance.

The unnamed manager of the Jefferson Exxon said he wants to avoid the stigma of carrying items that might run afoul of the law and said he likely will send them back with the wholesaler later this week.

Now this my friends, is some funny shite! It’s sad that the US Government goes unchecked for so long that we end up making animations about how they are screwing the American Public, for entertainment. Here, screw me, then I’ll make a funny movie about it so you can get a laugh!

Some Silly Laws in good old California as told to by a fairly smart dude! Let’s take a little trip down taxpayer lane and see what our good hard earned cash is spent on by the government. Basicaly as I see it, they make up new laws so that they have plenty of justification for paying themselves $200,000 a year. No new law making, no jobs for lawmakers! Due you really think that there are laws that just “slipped the mind” of lawmakers over the past 200 years. NO, THEY KEEP SPENDING OUR MONEY, TO HAVE JOBS!