Cannabis News Stop the Drug War!
  Mayor Wants Death Penalty for Drug Dealers
Posted by CN Staff on February 25, 2007 at 08:06:43 PT
By Sue Allen, The Times Argus Editor 
Source: Rutland Herald 

justice Barre, VT -- Mayor Thomas Lauzon on Saturday said he hoped the Legislature would consider imposing the death penalty on convicted crack and heroin dealers, and to legalize marijuana.

Failing that, the mayor said, he would call for a public forum in Barre to kick off a statewide discussion about the growing drug problem in Vermont and steps – including the death penalty and legalization — to control the situation.

"I'm sure everyone will distance themselves from me," Lauzon said Saturday night of his death-penalty call. "But if anyone tells you we're winning the war on drugs, they're lying."

Lauzon was quoted in The Times Argus' Saturday edition saying, "People who are dealing crack and dealing heroin have zero social value and should be put to death."

Saturday night he reiterated that belief.

"What social value do they have? They are dealing crack and heroin to young people, knowing full well what the effects will be," the mayor said. "What purpose do they serve in society other than to destroy lives, to destroy families?"

He went on to say that by legalizing marijuana, fees on the production and sale could be used for drug prevention and treatment efforts to get at the core problem – drug usage in Vermont.

Lauzon acknowledged that his views would be controversial, but he said the state needs to confront the fact that Vermont is losing the war on drugs.

Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he understood Lauzon's frustration with the growing drug problem. But Sears stopped short of supporting the mayor's call for the death penalty or the legalization of marijuana.

"I think the man is very frustrated, and I understand his frustration," Sears said. "The problem in my view is we've ignored this problem until it's out of hand."

Sears said legalizing a drug would put Vermont at odds with federal law, creating more problems than it solved.

"Secondly, if we were to have a discussion about the death penalty — and that's a big if — I think it would be about a different population," the senator added.

Jason Gibbs, spokesman for Gov. James Douglas, said he had not discussed the issue of imposing the death penalty on crack and heroin dealers with the governor.

But, he added, Douglas would oppose legalization of marijuana. "He's not unalterably opposed to the death penalty, but he doesn't have any plans to introduce it.

There are some circumstances he would support a death penalty, but I'm not sure this is among them," Gibbs said. "Marijuana is a gateway drug for some folks, so he would not support legalization." Gibbs was referring to the view of some that marijuana is a "gateway drug" because it is the first step toward more serious drug usage and addictions.

"The governor certainly has no appreciation or respect for anyone who seeks to poison another individual for profit," Gibbs added.

He said Douglas does support a registry for those convicted of dealing hard-core drugs, such as crack and heroin. "That's a measure he would certainly support."

Lauzon said he had spoken with some lawmakers about the possibility of introducing legislation to legalize marijuana and impose the death penalty on serious dealers.

Their response was somewhat cool, he said. "They listen politely. I would like to have a statewide conversation. The conversation I'd like to start with is 'How are we doing?' Are we happy with our progress in the war on drugs? What are we doing in Vermont with regard to the war on drugs?" Lauzon said. "Maybe we start in Barre."

Although the call for a drug-related death penalty is unusual, this is not the first time during this legislative session that a call for legalization of marijuana has been publicly discussed.

Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand put forward the idea in a recent opinion piece in The Times Argus and Rutland Herald, calling for the decriminalization and regulation of marijuana use. Sand's proposal drew criticism from Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Kerry Sleeper. The focus on Vermont's rising drug problem has intensified in recent weeks, however, with federal, state and local law enforcement on Tuesday joining forces to crack down on a rash of armed robberies, home invasions and personal assaults they believe are linked to illegal drug activity in the state.

Lauzon said he would call for a public forum on the subject in late April.

He acknowledged that his call for the death penalty sounded harsh, but said he had attended the funeral of a young person who died as a result of a drug overdose.

"When you go to a service and look at the parents of a young man … who just lost a son … it's not good. It's not good," he said. These dealers are murderers, he added. "If you put a gun to someone's head, it's murder. How is this so different?"

Source: Rutland Herald (VT)
Author: Sue Allen, The Times Argus Editor
Published: February 25, 2007
Copyright: 2007 Rutland Herald
Contact: letters@rutlandherald.com
Website: http://www.rutlandherald.com

Related Articles:

Sand Deflects Douglas' Criticism Over MJ Stance
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22653.shtml

Prosecutor Says Drug War Isn't Working
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22638.shtml

Time Has Come To Reform our Drug Policies
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22494.shtml


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Comment #63 posted by FoM on February 27, 2007 at 19:33:23 PT
Dankhank
We have good insulation and caulked the windows and made the house tight. We could have solar panels but again we can't afford them. We all should try to do the best we can with the resources we have and that's the best anyone of us can do. I've seen the pollution from steel plants. I have seen the smog roll across the road in Gary, Indiana and I would need to hold my breath as long as I could while going thru the town. It made me think of the people who live there and breath that all the time. Industrial pollution is what is hurting us.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #62 posted by Dankhank on February 27, 2007 at 19:08:31 PT
going green
there are many ways to go green at whatever speed you can.

starting with things like insulation, siding and greener lighting as you know, and we are doing much the same.

each of our two cars gets 24+ mpg on the highway 16 or 18 in town. When we replace them we will improve mpg. Might even look for a diesel and start haunting the fried food places for fuel.

I agree, corporations have been pouring poison into our ecosphere for hundreds of years.

They are the worst.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #61 posted by FoM on February 27, 2007 at 15:47:49 PT
Dankhank
Al Gore has a really nice home. I thought if we have money we can have a nice home. Isn't that how capitalism works? We helped by changing our lights and buying green siding and interior doors. We have talked about wind power but it costs money that we don't have. It will take time to totally change the way people think. We didn't get in this mess overnight and we won't get out of this mess overnight either. It's really more about factory pollution then our homes.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #60 posted by Dankhank on February 27, 2007 at 15:40:33 PT
Gore
has a big house ...

he purchases offsets ... something that is being offered to corporations as an incentive to "go green."

he never said be like me ...

he's been retrofitting his house and will continue to ...

what's the prob?

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #59 posted by FoM on February 27, 2007 at 08:25:52 PT
goneposthole
Maybe you should look at this too.

Gore Responds To Drudge’s Latest Hysterics

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/26/gore-responds-to-drudge/

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #58 posted by ekim on February 27, 2007 at 07:04:12 PT
hey E
have you tried Dean Kipers of the City Beat.

maybe hightimes could run a chapter or two then see how its recieved.

is there anything left of Peter McWilliams book company.

how about the comic books any one have info on them

Jack just redid his book -- maybe he has info to help u

good luck

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #57 posted by FoM on February 27, 2007 at 06:38:45 PT
goneposthole
I looked at the article and as soon as I saw Drudge and Fox mentioned I discarded what was said. Do they promote the good qualities of the Republicans in articles? Do they rail against Republicans for bad things? That is what I call slash and burn politics. It's just dirty. It's like how a jealous person acts in my opinion.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #56 posted by FoM on February 27, 2007 at 06:21:08 PT
E_Johnson
You've been busy. I hope you find a publisher for your work. Good luck to you.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #55 posted by goneposthole on February 27, 2007 at 04:12:52 PT
Al Gore, Mr. Environ-mentalist
Oh, he's a hypocrite alright... big time.

His electricity and natural gas bills total thirty thousand dollars per year.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/GlobalWarming/story?id=2906888&page=1

Another 'do as I say, not as I do' hypocrite just like all of the rest of the do gooder crowd of thankless politicians who take everything for granted and you suffer because of it.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #54 posted by E_Johnson on February 26, 2007 at 21:54:27 PT
Literate intervention coming right up
Weeelllll now that you mention it, I have about 200 pages of the next great cannabis novel in my computer.

Anyone know of a cannabis-friendly publisher?

I wouldn't compare myself to Kerouac. More like Tolstoy meets Bulgakov.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #53 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on February 26, 2007 at 14:50:21 PT
rchandler - Yeah.
A movie, book, personality that can shine through the blinders and capture the imagination of a nation would be nice.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #52 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on February 26, 2007 at 14:31:47 PT
FoM - We will win.
But it might take an Oscar ceremony featuring Jack Herer, Ed Rosenthal, or just the mighty Cannabis, itself.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #51 posted by rchandar on February 26, 2007 at 13:40:19 PT:

Sinsemillia Jones
So what we need is another William S. Burroughs, another Allen Ginsberg, and another Jack Kerouac. We are suffering from a lack of some kind of literate intervention.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #50 posted by FoM on February 26, 2007 at 13:14:26 PT
Sinsemilla Jones
We all need to expand our minds. That means Al Gore or anyone who could influence positive change. Once upon a time I felt that our country was our country. I don't feel that anymore but I feel a hunger for change because this hasn't worked. Change is hard. Change can even be sad but change sometimes is necessary. We have the Internet now and it has gained respect and blogs and forums are read. If we keep it going we will win.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #49 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on February 26, 2007 at 13:06:59 PT
What's frustrating.....
Al Gore seems concerned and knowledgable about the War on the Environment, but is oblivious to how the War on Cannabis is a part of it.

Lou Dobbs seems concerned and knowledgable about the War on the Middle Class, but is oblivious to how the War on Cannabis is a part of it.

Everyone seems concerned about racism, farmers going bankrupt, and the high cost of health care, but most are oblivious to how the War on Cannabis is a part of all those problems.

What we need is a War on Blinders, a War on Tunnel Vision, a War on Psychological Barriers to the Truth.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #48 posted by FoM on February 26, 2007 at 12:29:54 PT
E_Johnson
If I could ask Al Gore one question I would ask this.

Mr. Gore I know that you have worked with Melissa Etheridge closely. She is a powerful medical marijuana advocate since she used medical marijuana during her cancer therapy. My question is should Melissa Etheridge been allowed to use medical marijuana or should she have been arrested and fined or jailed for violating our Federal laws on marijuana?

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #47 posted by FoM on February 26, 2007 at 12:05:49 PT
E_Johnson
That would be a great idea? I don't know how though.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #46 posted by E_Johnson on February 26, 2007 at 12:04:06 PT
FoM I wonder if it would be possible....
Could our movement negotiate some kind of apology from Al Gore?

Given that he and Melissa Etheridge are now so closly involved in fighting global warming together.

It would be very healing if something like that could happen.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #45 posted by FoM on February 26, 2007 at 12:00:10 PT
E_Johnson
I believe Al Gore has a lot to make right too. That's why I am following Senator Obama so closely. He is speaking tonight in Cleveland and it will be a live stream. I know he will be asked about how he feels about medical marijuana at some point in the future. If he makes a good comment I'll put Obama Banners everywhere. Time will tell.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #44 posted by E_Johnson on February 26, 2007 at 11:48:54 PT
Al Gore and Melissa Etheridge, what a combination
He campaigned around the country in 2000 claiming that there was absolutely no evidence for the medical benefits of marijuana.

She went on nationwide TV to tell America that medical marijuana helped save her life from breast cancer.

I wonder if there was any awkwardness between them, or if he apologized, or what.

FoM I understand the power of forgiveness, but I think people should apologize and admit when they've been wrong, before they are forgiven.

Al Gore has a lot to apologize for to our community.

He lied during the campaign. He knew darn well that there was scientific evidence for medical marijuana, because the IOM report that Clinton ordered came out while he was still VP.

Clinton promised that that IOM report was going to settle the issue with science.

Gore's campaign statements amounted to a betrayal of a lot of things:

He betrayed science, he betrayed honesty, he betrayed people suffering in pain, he betrayed life, and he betrayed his own Christian religion and, in that context, he betrayed Jesus Christ and God to boot.

He needs a lot of forgiveness, but I can't see that he's even asked for a little.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #43 posted by FoM on February 26, 2007 at 09:23:42 PT
goneposthole
I really try to be fair. I don't mind debate but I mind fighting. Fighting drives me up the wall. Fighting only gets people angry and doesn't serve any constructive purpose. I also have learned that I can't please everyone no matter how much I wish I could and I know I must be true to myself. We all must be true to ourselves or we become a pawn in a game.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #42 posted by Sam Adams on February 26, 2007 at 09:19:58 PT
suggestion
"The governor certainly has no appreciation or respect for anyone who seeks to poison another individual for profit," Gibbs added.

Since the governor and mayor are both captains in the government that taxes and issues permits for liquor and tobacco sales, making them partners in drug dealing, perhaps they should punish themselves first, to set a good example.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #41 posted by goneposthole on February 26, 2007 at 09:09:56 PT
The beauty of cannabisnews
You can come here and not be condemned for stating your opinion.

Don't get me wrong, I like Al Gore. I did vote for him in 2000. I just wish he would be more upfront with the truth of his stock holdings and what not. As long as he is in the public eye, his business is everybody's business.

Hypocrisy is hypocrisy. There is no such thing as an honest dollar anymore.

Too many want Al Gore to be an exemplary of the ideal. He is human just like everybody else.

Thinkprogress was a great web site when it was in its infancy. It has turned into an insult slugfest with so-called liberals beating up on so-called conservatives. The place stinks to high heaven. Not because I was banned there, nor were my words harsh and insincere, it is because they see fit to redact comments that don't coincide with their views. A very stalinistic place. They are hypocrites of the highest order over there.

With cannabisnews, it is always just what it should be. FoM is more than fair. It may not be what some would agree it should be, but FoM wants it to be what it is. If you cross the line, you are in the wrong, not cannabisnews.

So sorry to be so brutally frank.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #40 posted by goneposthole on February 26, 2007 at 08:36:26 PT
Gore's Ox-cidental convienence
"Gore recommended that the Elk Hills be sold as part of his 1995 "Reinventing Government" National Performance Review program. Gore-confidant (and former campaign manager) Tony Cohelo served on the board of directors of the private company hired to assess the sale's environmental consequences. The sale was a windfall for Oxy. Within weeks of the announced purchase Occidental stock rose ten percent.

That was good news for Gore. Despite controversy over Dick Cheney's plans to keep stock options if elected, most Americans don't know that we already have a vice president with oil company stocks. Before the Elk Hills sale, Al Gore controlled between $250,000-$500,000 of Occidental stock (he is executor of a trust that he says goes only to his mother, but will revert to him upon her death). After the sale, Gore began disclosing between $500,000 and $1 million of his significantly more valuable stock.

Nowhere is Al Gore's environmental hypocrisy more glaring than when it comes to his relationship with Occidental. While on the one hand talking tough about his "big oil" opponents and waxing poetic about indigenous peoples in his 1992 book "Earth in the Balance," the Elk Hills sale and other deals show that money has always been more important to Al Gore than ideals."

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=468

Oh well

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #39 posted by FoM on February 26, 2007 at 08:19:54 PT
Al Gore
I guess I am a person who looks at the moment since the past is the past and the future isn't ours to know. I think of Al Gore and how he is now and that's all. I have never met a person who doesn't have some regrets with decisions they have made in their life so I try not to concentrate on those things. I do know that I am hopeful because our country finally has some good Democrats that want to change the direction of our country and that makes me happy.

A politican can be rich or poor and that doesn't matter to me. What matters is their substance as a future leader.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #38 posted by JoeCitizen on February 26, 2007 at 08:10:51 PT
Where's your evidence?
Goneposthole,

I don't like your criticism of Al Gore. I've come to truly respect the man. I think he suffered the "slings and arrows" of outrageous Republican attacks in 2000. They made him out to be a crazy liar, and the press went along with it.

For example, he never said he invented the internet. He said he was instrumental in its creation, which is 100% true. If you look at just about every vote that transformed the old military DARPANET structure into the modern Internet as we know it, Al Gore's name is all over them. He was practically visionary in his understanding of how important it could be, and HAS BECOME.

If you like being able to access this page, and read what FOM puts up here, you can thank Al Gore for that. Absent of him, we'd all be still consuming the MSM's stream of garbage and lies, or picking up bits and pieces belatedly from underground newspapers and pamphlets. The cannabis movement would be as fragmented and uninformed as it was 15 years ago.

If you have any actual evidence of unethical business behavior by Al Gore, please post that. I followed the one link you put up (I have firm opinions, but I try to be open-minded and read different viewpoints), but it was just an e-mail saying exactly what you said in your message. Is there a source for all this?

Lastly, my poor heart just BLEEDS for those big oil companies. They get BILLIONS in subsidies from the Federal Govt. in direct payments, and that doesn't count the free ride they get in terms of their real expenses and costs to us. They don't pay the actual costs of getting the oil here - the defense of that oil is paid by US Taxpayers when our warships guard that oil. They don't pay for any of the environmental costs that the production (refining) or consumption (burning gas/diesel) put on our society, which is billions of dollars more in cancers and lung disease from pollutants. Even when it's plainly obvious that they made a big mess - EXXON Valdez ring a bell? - they scream and shout and fight every step of the way before they will pay out a penny.

Not proven, but assumed by many, is that they had a direct hand (via VP Cheney's energy task force) in setting our energy policy. Of course, they made sure that we have to keep consuming petroleum products, can't have us switching to anything renewable or environmentally sustainable. No profit in it for them if we do that.

Oh the poor, poor head of Exxon. How will he ever get by with just the $400 MILLION dollars they paid him last year?

I was kinda neutral about Al Gore until last year, when I saw An Inconvenient Truth. Midway through watching it, I thought (as many have thought), "Oh my God, we could have had this intelligent, thoughtful man as our President, and not that strutting moron who has wrecked our country!."

As I said, I try to be open-minded. Put up your evidence, I'll look at it, and think about it. But I'm sure not convinced by your argument so far.

JC



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #37 posted by dongenero on February 26, 2007 at 07:37:08 PT
oil companies
I feel sorry for the oil companies barely getting by with their meager profits. Some say record profits, I say meager.

Thankfully they have good friends in the White House to help them with some giveaways. Maybe we should all take up a collection for Exxon! What do you say?

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #36 posted by goneposthole on February 26, 2007 at 06:21:58 PT
The inconvienent truth
Al Gore talks about !!OBSCENE!! oil company profits of 8%, while himself getting a 1000% percent profit from his own investments!! The guy has banked over 100 million through his "friendship" network of business associates, yet has the gall to blast oil companies for managing to eek out an 8% profit margin. Al Gore is the definition of hypocrite.

http://www-gatago.com/cgi-bin/det.pl?type=article&object=16799567

NM, thinkprogress is one of the most heavily censored web sites on the net. It is a totally unreliable as a source.

Cannabisnews seldom redacts any content. It is one of the most reliable web sites, if not the most reliable web site on the net for complete, unedited content.

If there was ever a defender of the faith, a keeper of the gate, it is FoM.

http://www.quantcast.com/cannabisnews.com



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #35 posted by ekim on February 25, 2007 at 21:46:58 PT
Al lets dance
OK Al you called us out to fight for the planet-- lets go--\ Mr Nader said it last time -- you have to earn the vote of the people-- so Dennis Kucinich gets it.--Ron Paul gets it. --- Bill Richardson gets it, we will see if Obama gets it. . Please Al help Jack Herer present the defence for saving Cannabis. Have the Director of I.C.T.work with Jack. Show how we have allowed this to happen and we will take the responsibility of ending this cruel unjust rule that has spread across the planet.www.jackherer.com New jobs for the young and the old -- renewable energy-- food and oil to help keep us healthy.

- just wait untill the list is done every one will be amazed and have hope.

ON WASHINGTON JOURNAL On Monday's Program. . . Three presidential candidates join us to discuss their '08 campaigns. First, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), then Mike Gravel and later James Gilmore. Also, Lori Grange, Pew Charitable Trusts - State Policy Initiatives, Senior Officer talks about Pew's recent study on prison costs. MON. ON C-SPAN AT 7AM ET WASHINGTON JOURNALhttp://www.c-span.org/

abc7.com link: Kucinich in L.A., Receives Peace Award Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, Saturday received the first-ever Champion for Peace Award in Hollywood from a group of families of military members opposed to U.S. involvement in the Iraq War. http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=5066176

Dennis please come to East Lansing and speak with Howard

IF anyone knows a place to have a LEAP speaker Howard is the man. He will be in East Lansing April 11-13 Please contact Mike Smithson

http://www.polkcountydemocrat.com/articles/2007/02/20/news/01drugs.txt

comment at drugwarrant.com good write up on Perer Christ.

Yeah, I saw that one, too. Peter signed up more than 145 new members on his FL tour and had 6 or 7 interviews over two wks. Very successful effort. BTW, Howard Wooldridge is coming to East Lansing April 11-13. info to follow...will be speaking at MSU mostly, but some local clubs,

Mike Smithson Speakers Bureau Coordinator Law Enforcement Against Prohibition http://www.leap.cc speakers@leap.cc 131 Flint Path, Syracuse, NY 13219 Cell: 315-243-5844 fax: 315-488-3630 Blog: http://blog.myspace.com/leapspeakers

Lou Dobbs on Mon will have on Rep.Ron Paul on the show. 6pm CNN Dir TV 202



[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #34 posted by FoM on February 25, 2007 at 21:37:08 PT
More on The Academy Awards
Gore Wins Hollywood in a Landslide

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/gore-wins-hollywood-in-a-landslide/

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #33 posted by FoM on February 25, 2007 at 21:10:18 PT
nuevo mexican
They did that on purpose. I think Al Gore will run but he doesn't need to get in now is what I think.

You're welcome!

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #32 posted by FoM on February 25, 2007 at 21:08:19 PT
A Funny Note About The Oscars
Ellen DeGeneres is the host of the Oscars and she just did a skit and she was vacuuming and found rolling papers. She said someone lost their rolling papers and threw it towards the band. That was good since The Academy Awards are viewed by so many people around the world.

Also Melissa Etheridge won for best song for I Need To Wake Up

Melissa Etheridge: I Need To Wake Up: http://www.melissaetheridge.com/

An Inconvenient Truth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O97kS25uNzA



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #31 posted by nuevo mexican on February 25, 2007 at 20:47:19 PT
Did you see that! Gore went to announce that he...
was running for President and the band cut in?

Did he mean for that to happen, or was he cut off?

Melissa Etheridge, and every speaker involved with 'An Inconvenient Truth' has heaped praise on Al Gore!

Thanks for posting the link to 'An Inconvenient Truth!' FOM!

You're the best!

Check it out!

Orchestra drowns out Gore's 'announcement' at Oscars http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/Orchestra_drowns_out_Gores_announcement_at_0225.html

More: Al Gore’s big announcement:

the Oscars have gone green. Find out more HERE and watch Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio make the announcement at tonight’s Academy Awards:

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/25/al-gores-big-announcement/

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #30 posted by FoM on February 25, 2007 at 18:41:25 PT
Toker00
I am feeling better and thank you for asking. I don't drink diet coke anymore. I am being careful and avoiding stress as best as I can and that helps. The Oscars are a great diversion from how bad things are. I do know how bad it could get. When an angry dog gets corner it is very dangerous. That's how it feels to me now.

PS: James Taylor, Randy Newman and Melissa Etheridge did a great job.

Al Gore was funny too.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #29 posted by Toker00 on February 25, 2007 at 18:21:00 PT
rchandar
It is NOT a good system. What you are going through being unemployed is one of the worst parts of this system. I'm not a professor, but I have, on layman terms, studied this crazy society closely. People don't smile much in public. Many look angry. People in public project things, too. I provoke a lot of the responses I get from people by wearing political T-shirts and such. I let one guy go ahead of me at the grocers and he never looked at me, never smiled or said thanks, was impatient with the check out clerk and zoomed out when he was done. He looked healthy and trim and well dressed. His purchases were health food, no junk. Why was he so anxious? Why didn't he take the time to acknowledge a kindness? The only thing I had on different from anyone else in the store that day was my pony-tail. How can that cause so much hate in someone? I agree, rchandar! What the hell have we DONE to deserve the hatred of Millions?

I pull for the Left, because the Right is Wrong!

THE HIPPIES WERE RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Toke.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #28 posted by Toker00 on February 25, 2007 at 18:08:15 PT
rchandar.
Wow. Naked lunch. I read that about thirty years ago when I was at Univ. of So. Mississippi at Hattiesburg. There was also a book about drug use written by the author during heroin use, and when straight. Very interesting to me at the time, but dang if I can recall the Title of the book. And another book about drugs that had something to do about life and a pack of camel cigarettes and purple baboon asses or some such truck, but I barely can remember bits and pieces of it. Ring a bell for you? And then of course, One Flew over the coocoos nest.

The unemployed part of your post caught my concern. Hopefully there is a job in the very near future for you. There is someone near you, willing to help you. Keep the faith, whatever that is for you. Friend.

Toke.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #27 posted by Toker00 on February 25, 2007 at 17:55:10 PT
Good post nuevo.
Looks like the local Houston protest will have to do for me. I wanted so badly to go to Washington but I just can't. Sh*T! Oops. Sorry.

I have found a beautiful place to make an overpass drop. There is even a tall chain link fence to clip the banner to and easy drop off pick up spots. Getting anxious.

Cheney is beating his chest again. His WAR chest, that is. He's looking to shoot a Nation in the Face. Duck, China!

THE PEOPLE UNITED, WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED! NO NEW WORLD ORDER, EVER!

FoM, I hope you are feeling better, because things are about to get hectic, I fear, in the Newsroom. God bless you and keep you strong, healthy and as happy as reality allows!

Toke.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #26 posted by FoM on February 25, 2007 at 17:52:39 PT
Dankhank
Children of Men really sounds good.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #25 posted by rchandar on February 25, 2007 at 17:52:12 PT:

Burroughs, Annexia, Nova and Other Things
Hello--

Well, webmaster, looks like you goaded me once again into posting something.

Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch in 1959. That's fourty-eight years ago. The work maps his understanding of drugs, what they do, what knowledges they suggest, what physiological/psychological dangers they portend.

I am an unemployed professor. And I've studied this, just like some of you have. When I hear the hysterical and aggressive disparagements of my neighbors, the businesses I patronize, I honestly think they're crazy. What crime did we commit? Are we stealing, or attacking people in public? Did we rape somebody and bludgeon them to death? I just, honestly, cannot see it. I can't see why marijuana is illegal TODAY.

And no one, NO ONE, that I know or talk to, can explain it to me. Could someone please explain to me why, just because a man dreams and flirts with ideas in his (or her) head, "deserves" to go to jail, a place where he can be murdered or raped? I'm sorry. At 37, I don't get it. I don't understand how this modern society with all of its things, its vocalized perspective on human rights, it's promises of freedom and prosperity, could possibly think that this system is a "good" system.

I am lost. I hope you will be a friend.



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Comment #24 posted by Dankhank on February 25, 2007 at 17:35:54 PT
movies
"Children of Men" and "Babel" are each a political statement as well as entertainment.

spouse and I saw "Babel" in the theatre, and I got a copy of "Children of Men" from the ozone ...

http://imdb.com/title/tt0206634/combined Children of men

http://imdb.com/title/tt0449467/combined Babel

Babel is a hard one, children is fantastic



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Comment #23 posted by FoM on February 25, 2007 at 17:27:14 PT
Dankhank
The song and movie have been nominated. Al Gore asked Melissa to do the sound track for An Inconvenient Truth. She used medical marijuana during her cancer treatment and told the world she did and she knows and worked with Al Gore. That's a good sign I think.

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Comment #22 posted by Dankhank on February 25, 2007 at 17:23:29 PT
good luck ...
in Flint ...

hope people will recognize a need ...

peace to all who fight ...

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Comment #21 posted by Dankhank on February 25, 2007 at 17:21:44 PT
just listened
Melissa is in fine voice. good song ...\\forgot that "Truth" would be in the running

guess I will check it out ...

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Comment #20 posted by Dankhank on February 25, 2007 at 17:16:44 PT
or ...
Babel.

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Comment #19 posted by FoM on February 25, 2007 at 17:12:29 PT
fight_4_freedom
Good luck on Tuesday! I don't have a reader anymore. This computer is old and tempermental and the Adobe Reader crashed my computer a couple times so I uninstalled it. Once again good luck to you!

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Comment #18 posted by FoM on February 25, 2007 at 17:07:38 PT
Dankhank
I don't know what Children of Men is but I only know of Al Gore's movie and I haven't seen it yet either. I don't watch movies very often after owning a video store. That burn out syndrome. I want to see what they have to say that is political tonight. Maybe they won't say anything but that's why I'm watching and I want to hear the music. I just love music.

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Comment #17 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 25, 2007 at 17:07:26 PT:

Ad in today's Flint Journal.....Way to go guys!
http://norml.net/attached/FlintXCCCXNewspaperX1X.D.pdf

Hopefully that link works for you all. The Flint Coalition for Compassionate Care has done an excellent job throughout this entire campaign. I applaud everyone who was involved.

Now let's all hope and pray the results turn out in our favor on tuesday.

Educate, Regulate, Medicate!

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Comment #16 posted by Dankhank on February 25, 2007 at 17:01:51 PT
oscar
usually skip the show, might have to watch this one, or I could wait for the music to show up on youtube.

I like all three artists you mentioned, though ...

I'm rooting for Children of Men ...



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Comment #15 posted by goneposthole on February 25, 2007 at 15:29:21 PT
Party like it's 1999
http://www.maybelogic.com/gunsanddopeparty/

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Comment #14 posted by goneposthole on February 25, 2007 at 15:23:42 PT
What it has evolved to be...
What it all is now...

"With depreciation in the purchasing power of currency and inflation in the sadism of public officials since that era, the minimum penalties for attempted evasion of some future gold and silver seizure might easily rise to $250,000 in fines and 25 years in prison. Detection, too, would likely exhibit barbaric tactics rarely witnessed in the 1930s, but now becoming commonplace with America's increasingly para-militarized "law enforcement": namely, SWAT teams rampaging from house to house under color of search warrants the "probable cause" underlying which would be as gossamer thin as the compunctions the ninja-clothed gunmen would feel about shooting down anyone who might offer the least semblance of resistance, real or imagined."

http://www.newswithviews.com/Vieira/edwin35.htm

The 'government' will become so ruthless, there will be a 'contraband du jour.' Today, it is cannabis.

The US government is now the 'pig through the python.'

It might be wise to join Robert Anton Wilson's 'Guns and Dope' Party. God rest his soul

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Comment #13 posted by FoM on February 25, 2007 at 15:19:45 PT
Dankhank
Just one more comment. James Taylor and Randy Newman will be singing a song called Our Town.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUxACOJiz2c

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Comment #12 posted by FoM on February 25, 2007 at 14:58:53 PT
Dankhank
I read that Randy Newman was performing at the Oscars tonight and I wonder if he will sing this song. I never heard it before.

A Few Words in Defense of Our Country: http://www.randynewman.com/

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Comment #11 posted by FoM on February 25, 2007 at 14:19:27 PT
Dankhank
I'm not in a hurry either. It's a long way until elections. I like Kucinich too. I like most of the Democrats in power now. They sure are working to stop this war. I appreciate their effort. I know nothing might be able to stop this administrations direction but I will keep hoping.

How about Obama and Gore? I believe that Gore wouldn't want to be a VP after 8 years with Clinton. That would turn anyone off. Gore and Obama would be good too.

I am so anxious for the http://www.oscar.com/ tonight. Melissa Etheridge is singing and so is James Taylor. It should be a freer time tonight.

An Inconvenient Truth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O97kS25uNzA

Melissa Etheridge: I Need To Wake Up: http://www.melissaetheridge.com/

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Comment #10 posted by Dankhank on February 25, 2007 at 13:40:25 PT
handicap ...
I don't know either, but I would expect him to carry his concern for the environment into his presidency.

I would want him to as I would want any to.

Gore/Obama sounds good to me ... but I am not in any hurry ...

Right now I want Kuchinich to start kicking some ass with the DEA and the ONDCP.



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Comment #9 posted by FoM on February 25, 2007 at 12:30:41 PT
Dankhank
I haven't checked the Daily Kos yet today and I am always afraid to mention what I am hoping for since people seem to like conservatives (law and order) more then liberals (live and let live) . I am very impressed with Obama but if Gore decides to run I am not sure what to think. I think Al Gore has moved to the left since 2000 and that is good. You can't help when you run with the hollywood crowd not be told how they feel about issues.

One thing about Al Gore I have thought about. He is doing such a good job at what he is doing would it handicap him if he was president? I don't know.

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Comment #8 posted by Dankhank on February 25, 2007 at 12:17:15 PT
a secret ...
Not sure why so secret, but this is at DailyKos ...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/24/112215/451

I believe Gore is the best of a bad bunch, and Ron Paul seems to be the best of a bad bunch, too.

Everyone who has an opportunity to ask a Democratic candidate a question so go and ask at least one good one. There are many.



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Comment #7 posted by nuevo mexican on February 25, 2007 at 10:18:18 PT
Heads up C-Newsers! Let's stop Iran Attack!
and bring the troops home from Iraq at the same time!

Lap-toppling bush is just part of it, though it seems to be playing a big part:

The call has gone out to take action to thwart bushes Iran attack (predicated by a false-flag attack on the U.S., and the Media whipping up the masses in a 'yeah, that's it! moment, and bush has his 'legacy')!

Vaporize, medicate, mellow out, make peace within, then consider making March 17th, 18th and 19th, days to attend the March on Washington and the Pentagon, as well as local demos nationwide.

RSVP • March on the Pentagon Saturday, March 17th 2007 noon On March 17, 2007, the 4th anniversary of the start of the criminal invasion of Iraq, tens of thousands of people from around the country will descend on the Pentagon in a mass demonstration to demand: U.S. Out of Iraq Now! 2007 is the 40th anniversary of the historic 1967 anti-war march to the Pentagon during the Vietnam War. The message of the 1967 march was "From Protest to Resistance," and marked a turning point in the development of a countrywide mass movement.

Los Angeles, California RSVP • Mass Anti-War Protest in Los Angeles Saturday, March 17th 2007 Noon On March 17, the 4th anniversary of the start of the criminal invasion of Iraq, tens of thousands of people from around Southern California will come to Los Angeles for a mass demonstration to demand: U.S. Out of Iraq Now! The LA march will be coordinated with a march on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

U.S. developing contingency plan to bomb Iran: report http://rawstory.com/showarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FnewsOne%2FidUSN2422219220070225

Link of the week: http://www.impeach07.org/

More rallies, start one in your town, if you can't make the big ones!

United for Peace rallies:No War on Iran! No Nukes! The Time to Stop a War With Iran Is NOW! Listing 4th Anniversary of Iraq War Event(s) http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3240

Blog the blogs, comment here, forward your links and get the word out with YouTube!

Everywhere (Online), --- RSVP • One Million Blogs for Peace Tuesday, March 20th 2007 One Million Blogs for Peace is an attempt to sign up 1,000,000 blogs in opposition to the Iraq War during the war's fifth year. During the next 30 days, you have the opportunity to sign up your blog as an "Inblogural" (inaugural blog) as part of this movement.

One Million Blogs for Peace is located at: http://bluepyramid.org/peace and http://blogsforpeace.org

We have all of the tools, we know how to use them, bush is an idiot and it is agreed upon world-wide, so what are we waiting for?

Look at what C-Newsers have accomplished in the last 9 years! Cannabis Peace! Now, Cannabis Consciousness is Mainstream, and with Cannabis, there WILL BE PEACE!

The only medication that works for PTSD victims of the Viet Nam War that works is Cannabis, it is FAST, EFFECTIVE, w/NO SIDE EFFECTS other than euphoria, and puts all man-made medication on the Planet Earth to shame!!!! Ask any Vet who uses Cannabis! Heads up to the media, TAKE A POLL!

Question: Ask a Viet Nam Vet, who uses Cannabis for medication, does it work for you, and is it better than other medication, or do you find medication works better with Cannabis used in conjunction with?

Cannabis and Peace are at One with each other, in my opinion, and that is from my personal experience: the subject of bringing the troops home is bushes intentional distraction from his plan to bomb Iran, and the Media is buying it hook, line and sinker, if anyone hasn't noticed!

Blogs to read: Dailykos, Crooks and Liars, and Americablog!

American anti-war activist calls for unity to prevent any U.S. attack on Iran ISTANBUL, Turkey: Cindy Sheehan, who earned the moniker "peace mom" for her anti-war activism in the United States after her son was killed fighting in Iraq, appealed for a grass-roots campaign around the world to prevent any American attack on Iran.

"The possibility of attacking Iran grows every day," Sheehan said Friday during a visit to Turkey. "I think we need to join together to stop that, to stop the impending invasion of Iran."

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9272

Thousands take part in British anti-war demos: The Stop The War coalition, who organized the demo along with CND and the British Muslim Initiative, estimated up to 100,000 people were taking part in the London event. But the Metropolitan Police said their latest figures put the number at 2,000-3,000.

(look at how afraid the police and the state are of NUMBERS!) We have the power, let's use it, or it will be used against us). http://www.24dash.com/centralgovernment/17037.htm

The government has outdone Big Brother: I caught PBS's NOW program last Friday by chance, and I'm glad I did. They have resources not available to this lowly blogger. What PBS discovered will chill your bones. Yes, data on innocent Americans is being intercepted and stored. Additionally, more whistle blowers have come forward to establish the existence of another secret spy room on AT&T's network, built post 9-11.

http://texaskaos.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2644

Al Gore rescues Katrina victims, refuses interviews, a must read! Award nominee Vice-President Al Gore chartered a rescue plane in early Sept. 2005 and flew to New Orleans to medEvac 100s of patients from Charity Hospital and bring them to Tennessee. Gore declined interviews while he was shuttling the evacuees that Saturday and for a 2nd return flight he made on Sunday, but the doctors who flew with him talked about the experience.

Gore had to work around a sequential blockade by FEMA, which naturally denied his team permissions, repeatedly. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/24/112215/451

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #6 posted by observer on February 25, 2007 at 10:07:58 PT
bloodthirsty rulers
Mayor Thomas Lauzon on Saturday said he hoped the Legislature would consider imposing the death penalty on convicted crack and heroin dealers

Desiring to kill "dealers" is blood lust. Desiring to kill "dealers" is blood thirsty. If a man takes another life by violence, that is murder, recognized as murder since the dawn of civilization. But if a man gathers a plant from the field to consume it, that is not the same as murder, I don't care how "evil" you say that plant must be.

and to legalize marijuana.

To cease jailing people for using a plant is only common sense.

Jailing people for using plants, that is the fundamental evil. Last time I checked, such presumptuous rulers were not God. They didn't create the heavens and the earth and plants and animals, nor did these rulers create me.

Our bodies do not belong to these lying and presumptuous rulers, though they by force may and do often destroy us, like the trash they constantly tell us we are. Because we use plants of which they do not approve. Because we use the cannabis plant.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #5 posted by E_Johnson on February 25, 2007 at 09:45:47 PT
People don't see the problem scientifically
If you look at the drug trade from an evolutionary point of view, then you can model it like an evolutionary fitness landscape where drug dealers evolve according to their fitness to survive the environmental pressures placed upon them.

Because they compete with one another, drug dealers do. The only thing we really do with our laws is adjust the terms of their competition.

The more high level drug dealers we arrest, for example, the more advancement opportunities we open up for their competitors. So what we do really is accelerate the rate at which the competitors of the ones we arrest can succeed at acquiring more money and power.

And that actually makes the species of drug dealers evolve faster. It speeds up their evolution.

Killing the ones we catch adjusts the terms of the competition because it raises the stakes for getting caught. So the drug dealers will work harder to avoid being caught.

Obviously we're only going to catch the ones who aren't ruthless or violent enough to evade us.

So in the end we're just evolving drug dealers to become more ruthless and violent.

The DEA is like a pride of lions that culls the slowest gazelles from the herd, in the end causing the species of gazelles to evolve to run faster.

But people in that profession don't understand the role they play in making drug dealers evolve to become more violent and ruthless, just like the lions don't understand the role they play in making gazelles evolve to be able to run faster.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #4 posted by dongenero on February 25, 2007 at 08:47:46 PT
Mayor Lauzon
Well, I appreciate his speaking the truth about losing the war on drugs and I appreciate his position on legalizing cannabis but.....I have to question the mental stability of this man with his flippant attitude toward killing other human beings.

Perhaps if he were to use cannabis it would calm him down and give him a more reasonable and creative way of looking at things.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #3 posted by The GCW on February 25, 2007 at 08:32:41 PT
Idiot
I think N.Y tried that many years ago.

Once drug dealers knew they were getting the death penalty and being chased, the penalty for killing a chasing cop was no worse, so they killed the cops.

They had to stop that...

So the death penalty didn't work.

They would get better results if they gave the death penalty to the one who wants it.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #2 posted by FoM on February 25, 2007 at 08:20:35 PT
Related Article from The Associated Press
Barre Mayor Wants Death Penalty for Drug Dealers

http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2007/02/25/barre_mayor_wants_death_penalty_for_drug_dealers/

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on February 25, 2007 at 08:20:06 PT
Where to begin?
Vioxx claimed 64,000 lives. If I were the executive officers of Merck corporation, I would not venture near Barre, Vermont.

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