RUSH: You know the old saw, “defining deviancy down”? When we decide as a society that certain aberrant, perverted behavior can no longer be punished, controlled, whatever, we just declare failure and say that it’s now normal. It’s defining deviancy down. A perfect example of it here from Fresno, California: “A new proposal being floated as part of the City of Fresno’s budget discussions would set into motion a program that would pay stipends to gang members to” not fire their weapons.

“After two days of budget hearings on Fresno Mayor Lee Brand’s proposals for fiscal year 2020, now the Fresno City Council has its turn to pitch funding proposals. The proposal, floated by Councilmember Miguel Arias, would fund $75,000 for ‘the administrative element’ of a local version of the Advance Peace initiative. In Arias’ budget motion, he notes that an additional $225,000 would be committed in next year’s budget funded by ‘cannabis activity.'”

So they’re gonna tax marijuana growth and sales in order to pay gang members not to fire their weapons. Since they can’t find a way to catch them, prosecute them, put them in jail, they’re gonna pay them to essentially obey the law. It used to be we just dangled some sort of goodies or payments to kids to get their homework done. But now we’re paying criminals not to be criminals, to make a city safer and doing it with the sale and taxation of cannabis products, Fresno, California.