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It's really sad that *this* is the issue where I get to say, "I told you so." This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about with the "drug war", and every other way our liberty is eroded. These things are all related. Why does that seem so difficult for people to understand? We are now in another ludicrous situation where we are not allowed to voluntarily spend OUR OWN MONEY as we see fit! At what point will people finally become uncomfortable?
I think the issue with some of the things you've listed, including gambling, is undestanding what the net effect is on society. Nothing occurs in a vaccume, everythign we do affects others. This is potentially true of gambling, drugs, whatever. I don't really have enough information on any of these subjects to know the answers, but I can see where the government might need to step in. However if it does it should be on the basis of protecting society from individual choices, and not an attempt to save individuals themselves. It is a fine line to cross to do this, I agree, and certainly the burden of proof regarding the effects gambling has on society have not been met. That may be true of all of the items you listed.
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.