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Ricky Williams - poster boy for the marijuana debate?

Well Vig said it first but I lifted the title of this post from Bill O'Reilly's column on Ricky Williams. Bill O' approaches the issue in his usual semi-hysterical manner and starts right out of the gate by misquoting Williams. Ricky said he smoked regularly, not constantly. There's a big difference.

Bill goes on to make a long-winded wacky analysis blaming the increase in reported use of the plant on the Vietnam war protests, rock and roll musicians and a complacent press. He further deems hip-hop to have seduced the minority populations into succumbing to the herb. It would be laughable except so many people believe his tripe.

Putting aside his suspect statistics however, which even if accurate are meaningless out of context, Bill O' outdoes himself in arrogance and deceit when he gets here.

The bigger picture is that marijuana use is now largely accepted by American society even in the case of young people. This is a disaster for kids. Awash in drugs and alcohol, we are now a culture where children are exposed to intoxicating agents practically from the time they reach the age of reason (7 years). And any child who becomes involved with mind altering substances loses their childhood instantly. They are never the same.

I'm not saying there are no instances of children this young using marijuana, however, the far greater problem is the forced medication of children that age who are deemed to have "behavioral disorders" when they refuse to conform. Ritalin is the main drug being abused in every public elementary school in the country. He is right about one thing though. These children are never the same.

And then there's this hypocrisy.

Think about all the good Williams could have done with the money he was earning. Life in the National Football League is no easy venture, but athletic ability is a gift that should not be discarded lightly.

One has to ask how Bill O' (self-anointed man of the people) is spending his millions? You punch "Bill O'Reilly donates" into google and you get one hit where he donated anything but vitriolic commentary and that was in response to a challenge by a call-in viewer who made a generous donation on-air that he then offered to match. Hardly qualifies Mr O' for philanthropist of the year.

And what's with this holier-than-thou prattle?

Ricky Williams should be the poster boy for the marijuana debate. The man obviously is seeking emotional comfort, and the price of that comfort is somewhere around $15 million dollars. You can't get much higher than that.

O'Reilly should give up amateur sociology and mind his own business. Poor old Bill is obviously seeking credibility as a social critic by shamelessly exploiting current events for his own profit with total disregard for the truth or the public good. And you can't get much lower than that.