TMR: NFL Teams Get Surprise Visit From DEA, Rand Paul on Bill Maher, Mayor Faces Backlash Over Bike Lanes
Here’s you Monday edition of The Morning Roar!NFL Teams Get Surprise Visit From DEAAgents of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) conducted surprise inspections for several NFL teams on Sunday. They focused on the medical and training staffs of NFL teams that were traveling. The goal of inspections is speculated to be with regard to potential violations by NFL teams of federal drug laws that regulate the handling and distribution of prescription painkillers.The inspections were largely believed to be administrative and were not conducted using search warrants. The DEA is likely investigating if doctors are giving players prescription drugs outside of the facilities where they are registered with the DEA to prescribe the controlled substances. This would be a violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act.ESPN reports:
"DEA agents are currently interviewing NFL team doctors in several locations as part of an ongoing investigation into potential violations of the Controlled Substances Act," DEA spokesperson Rusty Payne said Sunday."The Drug Enforcement Administration has a responsibility under the Controlled Substances Act to ensure that registrants who possess, prescribe and dispense controlled substances are following the law," Payne added.A federal law enforcement source said agents were particularly interested in questioning the visiting medical staffs of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the San Francisco 49ers, and spokesmen for the 49ers, Buccaneers and Seahawks all acknowledged that agents showed up to inspect their medical staffs after their teams' games Sunday."What we were told was they are random checks of team physicians as they travel to see if anyone is transporting controlled substances across state lines," 49ers spokesman Bob Lange said after the team's road win over the Giants. "The 49ers medical staff complied and the team departed the stadium as scheduled."
It has been speculated that the investigation was triggered by a federal lawsuit filed by former players. The lawsuit includes ten named plaintiffs, including Jim McMahon, Richard Dent, and Keith Van Horne. The number of plaintiffs will surely grow if the court certifies the case as a class action. The lawsuit alleges NFL teams illegally gave players strong narcotics and painkillers without explaining the long-term effects. The NFL has filed a motion to dismiss the case.Football is a violent game and injuries are a constant. Obviously, there is an incentive for both the player and the team, to get injured players back on the field as quickly as possible. The government will claim that their responsibility is to enforce regulations and by doing so protect each individual player. But the morality of government intervention should be questioned. Is it morally right for the government to stand between a doctor and patient? Libertarian principles teach us that only the individual should decide what substances they desire to put into their body.Rand Paul on Bill MaherRand Paul, the fast rising junior Senator from Kentucky, appeared on Bill Maher’s show on Friday night to discuss criminal justice reform, American foreign policy, climate change, and the drug war. Paul received loud applause after saying that he was in favor of ending the War on Drugs and that he does not support ground troops being sent back into Iraq.Maher has stated before the he generally likes Paul’s politics, but is reluctant to offer him support because he believes Senator Paul’s views on climate change do not align with Maher’s liberal views on the topic. Watch the video below as the great contortionist Rand Paul tries to appease both sides of the climate change debate.At this point in Rand’s career we shouldn’t be surprised that his policy prescription to address “climate change” does not include even a mention of the root cause of the issue, lack of respect for property rights. When answering the question Rand bounces around saying that he supports government regulations to address “climate change”, but he doesn’t want the government literally in your backyard turning over leaves. This may win him a national election, but does not advance the cause of liberty.This video is another example of why I’m not very enthused about a Rand Paul presidential run. I would argue that he doesn’t even “lean libertarian” anymore. This is music to the ears of establishment Republicans, but it is extremely disappointing to those of us that value a politician who uses their political office as a platform to educate the masses on libertarian principles and the immorality of government without consent.For more on Rand Paul, check out a recent episode of “Libertarians In Living Rooms Drinking Liquor” on the Lions of Liberty Podcast where we each speculated if we could support a Rand Paul Presidential run. Rand is always a controversial topic on the podcast and this time I think some of the opinions voiced may be surprising. Mayor Faces Backlash Over Bike LanesThe Mayor of Pittsburgh, Bill Peduto, is facing backlash for the installment of bike only lanes on busy city roads. Opponents of the bike lanes complain that the lanes are rarely used and snarl traffic by taking away useful pavement from cars. The Mayor has cleverly labeled the opposition, “bikelash.”The video can be seen on the CBS Pittsburgh website.The mayor notes in the segment that large corporations, notably Google and UPMC have asked the city for more bike only routes. Google claims that fifteen to twenty percent of their employees bike to work and UPMC says less than one percent travel to work via bike.The outrage is sure to intensify during the winter months when motorists observe miles of empty bike lanes as they sit in traffic, wishing those lanes could be used to expedite their commute.The “bikelash” experienced by Mayor Peduto is an example of Tragedy of the Commons, which Marc Clair discussed on an episode of the Lions of Liberty Podcast with Timothy Terrell. This is a problem that occurs with land deemed “public” property. There are conflicts over use of the land; but because the land is “public” and owned by “everyone” conflicts arise. Source: CBS PittsburghThe Morning Roar every weekday Monday-Friday right here at Lions of Liberty!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
