“Apparently, Cruelty is The THING!”
When I think about a major problem that has plagued us, my silly old mind searches for solutions. I think about specific and EFFECTIVE actions we could take to solve the problem and perhaps save some lives.
Part 1 – Let’s think about drug deaths in America. I asked Google AI for some answers:
AI Overview
”People also ask:
What is the leading cause of overdose deaths in the United States?
Fentanyl continues to be the primary cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States. Sep 4, 2025”
Fentanyl comes from laboratories, as it is a synthetic opioid.
There are two main types: pharmaceutical fentanyl, manufactured by licensed drug companies for medical use, and illicitly manufactured fentanyl, produced in clandestine labs for the illegal drug market.
Illicitly manufactured fentanyl
The production and trafficking of illegal fentanyl is a multi-step international process involving precursor chemicals and criminal organizations.
1. Sourcing of precursor chemicals
China: Currently, China is the primary global source of precursor chemicals used to produce illicit fentanyl. While China banned the production of finished fentanyl in 2019, companies there still manufacture and export the necessary precursor ingredients to other countries, mainly Mexico.
India: India has also emerged as a source for both precursor chemicals and finished fentanyl powder, though to a lesser extent than China.
2. Manufacturing and trafficking
Mexico: Since China’s 2019 ban, Mexican cartels, such as the Sinaloa Cartel, have become the primary producers of illicit fentanyl for the U.S. market.
Clandestine labs: Mexican cartels acquire precursor chemicals from countries like China and manufacture the finished fentanyl in clandestine laboratories in Mexico.
Smuggling: The finished fentanyl, either as a powder or pressed into counterfeit pills, is then smuggled into the United States, predominantly across the U.S.-Mexico border.
3. Shift in production location
Before 2019, the majority of finished fentanyl was manufactured in China and shipped directly to the U.S. via mail.
After China restricted the manufacture of all fentanyl-related substances, production largely shifted to Mexico. Criminal organizations adapted by continuing to import precursors from China to produce the final product closer to the U.S.”
Part 2 – So. The source of manufacture is Mexico. And the path it uses is across our border with Mexico. How does that happen?
AI Overview
“The majority of illicit fentanyl is smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border through legal ports of entry, most often in passenger vehicles driven by U.S. citizens. Mexican transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) use established trafficking networks to produce and transport the drug into the United States.
Trafficking at ports of entry
Mexican cartels use several tactics to exploit the high volume of daily cross-border traffic at official checkpoints:
Concealed in vehicles: The vast majority of fentanyl seizures occur at ports of entry, where it is hidden in secret compartments, gas tanks, engine cavities, tires, and other areas of passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The large number of vehicles crossing the border makes it impossible to thoroughly inspect every one.
U.S. citizen couriers: TCOs prefer to use U.S. citizens as couriers because they attract less scrutiny from border agents than undocumented migrants.
Co-mingled with legitimate goods: Fentanyl is often hidden within ordinary cargo on commercial trucks, trains, or buses to evade detection.”
To recap: The drug that is killing the most Americans is brought here by Americans crossing through legal ports of entry.
Part 3 – Our “stable genius” president has directed our military to assassinate unknown people in small boats. No one knows their names. No evidence has been provided that they were transporting drugs. They were in a boat in the wrong place at the wrong time.
There is a strong possibility that those little boats were carrying cocaine. I’m not a law enforcement expert. But wouldn’t it have been productive to stop the boats, board them to inspect their cargo? Brag about the seizure?
If drugs were found, wouldn’t it serve justice to secure the men and interview them? Who provided the drugs? Who are their bosses? Where do they live? Where were the drugs made? Who was to receive them in America? What cities were they destined for? Get facts to help break up the cartels?
No arrest. No trial. No time served. No information gained. No progress in the larger “war on drugs”. Just execution. This is more than immoral callous cruelty. It is jaw dropping stupidity. By American Law and the universally accepted standards of modern civilization – it is illegal.
I wonder what it feels like to be the pilot who is told to pull the trigger to kill several human beings based on suspicion. Does that person feel righteous or ashamed? Does that person sleep at night without visualizing the scene right after the rocket hits the boat? The incinerated and blown apart chunks of flesh and bone that were a breathing person just a few minutes ago. Body parts floating – fish food. One press of a button. People with families. Lives – poof?
Do they realize that they could be prosecuted for a war crime? Do they suffer from PTSD? Or do they just head to the bar for shots and beers – bragging about their kill?
Part 4
I asked AI what was in the bi-partisan “border bill” that was generated in the Senate in 2024. The bill that was killed in the House of Representatives by a phone call from Trump to House Leader Johnson. “We don’t want to give Biden a victory…”
Under proposals and legislation advanced by the Biden administration, “better drug screening” at the border would be achieved through the use of advanced technology and increased personnel. The aim is to combat the trafficking of illicit substances, particularly fentanyl, while expediting the screening of legitimate travelers and goods.
Key measures related to better drug screening include:
Technology and infrastructure: Plans call for authorizing funding to deploy high-throughput scanning technologies at all ports of entry. This would allow officials to scan 100% of commercial and passenger vehicles and freight rail traffic, improving the ability to detect narcotics. As of June 2024, the administration had already added 40 drug detection machines, with a bipartisan border agreement proposing funding for 100 more.
Targeting “de minimis” shipments: A legislative proposal from the Biden administration focuses on closing a loophole that allows drug traffickers to use small, low-value “de minimis” shipments to smuggle fentanyl across the border. It would grant Customs and Border Protection (CBP) the authority to demand more information on these packages and impose penalties on violators.
Increased staffing: Both early legislative proposals and a bipartisan border agreement from 2024 included plans to hire more CBP personnel, such as Border Patrol Agents and CBP Officers.
Disrupting criminal networks: Initiatives aim to strengthen the ability to prosecute individuals involved in narcotics smuggling and expand anti-gang task forces in Central America. The administration has also cooperated with Mexico to extradite high-profile fentanyl traffickers.
Part 5
Duterte led a campaign of executing suspected drug dealers. Just shot them in the street. Sometimes in front of their families.
AI Overview
“Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in March 2025 and is currently in custody at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, facing charges of crimes against humanity related to the Philippines’ war on drugs. He was indicted for his alleged role in dozens of murders during his time as both mayor of Davao City and president. His request to be released from detention was recently denied, as ICC judges cited his potential flight risk and ability to obstruct justice.
Arrest and custody:
Duterte was arrested in Manila on March 11, 2025, and flown to the Netherlands the same night, where he has been held at an ICC detention center. He is the first Asian head of state to be charged by the ICC.
Charges:
The charges stem from alleged crimes against humanity, specifically the crime of murder, linked to the war on drugs. Prosecutors allege he was criminally responsible for numerous deaths, both as mayor and as president.
Legal proceedings:
Duterte is in a pre-trial phase, with the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor seeking to have the charges confirmed against him before a full trial can proceed.
Release denied:
Judges at the ICC denied his request for release in October 2025. They determined that he posed a flight risk and could intimidate witnesses if he were not detained.
Health concerns:
While his legal team has argued for his release based on poor health, the ICC has not commented on his specific condition.”
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