another take on the Michael Phelps event...

So Radley Balko from reason-online wrote this piece. I put two snippets below from his article. Click on the title of this post to go to the original article and read the entire post; it's funny, and he makes some excellent points. Radley himself, is an interesting character; you can click on his name in the article and read about his many accomplishments and career, including his time as a policy analyst for the Cato Institute specializing in civil liberties issues. sj

What Michael Phelps Should Have Said

Smoking pot shouldn't be a crime. Or the public's business.
Radley Balko | February 2, 2009

Dear America,
I take it back. I don’t apologize.

Because you know what? It’s none of your goddamned business. I work my ass off 10 months a year. It’s that hard work that gave you all those gooey feelings of patriotism last summer. If during my brief window of down time I want to relax, enjoy myself, and partake of a substance that’s a hell of a lot less bad for me than alcohol, tobacco, or, frankly, most of the prescription drugs most of you are taking, well, you can spare me the lecture.

...and then this, at the end of the piece:

Go ahead and tear me down if you like. But let’s see you rationalize in your next lame ONDCP commercial how the greatest motherfucking swimmer the world has ever seen...is also a proud pot smoker.

Yours,
Michael Phelps

click on the title of this post to go to the original article