Up in Smoke |
Posted by CN Staff on March 28, 2007 at 14:08:33 PT By Tory Newmyer and Kate Ackley, Roll Call Staff Source: Roll Call Washington, DC -- Former Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) was a major buzz kill when he was in Congress. Termed "the worst drug warrior" on Capitol Hill by the Libertarian Party, he led the charge among conservative Republicans against the drug legalization movement. Advocates for medical marijuana once blocked the door to his Congressional office in protest, and when he lost a primary race in 2001, the executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project called it "glorious news." So you might think you've smoked something to hear the latest: Barr just signed up to work for the marijuana lobby. "You reach the point where you realize the federal government has become so big and so intrusive that it really forces you to take a look at a range of issues in a new light," Barr said in an interview. As of this month, Barr has signed a contract to lobby for the Marijuana Policy Project. That's the same group that once sued the government over the "Barr Amendment," a law that forbids D.C. residents from legalizing pot for medicinal purposes. Now, Barr said, he may be working to overturn it. The turn is the latest in Barr’s dramatic political evolution since leaving Congress. In the wake of disagreements with the GOP over privacy and spending issues, he quit the party and officially became a Libertarian in 2006. He has since built a platform as a political commentator, ringing the alarm about what he calls the "curtailment of personal liberties," and he founded an Atlanta-based lobbying and consulting firm called Liberty Strategies. Nobody seems more surprised about the new arrangement than the folks at the project. Aaron Houston, the group's top lobbyist, said Joe Seehusen, a former Libertarian Party director who once worked at the group, made the introduction. "He said, 'I've got a friend you should talk to, and you won't believe who it is,'" Houston said. "Obviously we're happy to have him with us, and we hope he'll set an example for some of his conservative colleagues." So far, Barr is working with the group to pare back spending on an anti-drug advertising campaign he said "is not a wise use of federal money," and to forbid federal agents from conducting raids to enforce state drug laws. Newshawk: Hope Related Article & Web Site Marijuana Policy Project Bob Barr Flip-Flops on Pot CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
Comment #18 posted by FoM on March 28, 2007 at 20:14:16 PT |
I think like you do. I decided long ago when Bob Barr treated Cheryl and Jim that way that I had no respect for him. How we treat people matters to me. It's says a lot about a person character. Character matters. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #17 posted by Celaya on March 28, 2007 at 20:07:04 PT |
Sorry if I'm too incredulous here. I think equating Barr to police officers does a great disservice to police officers. We know, especially because of LEAP, that many police don't believe in the drug war, but must wait for retirement or a change of carreer before they can let it be known. Barr was a major drug war cheerleader. It's people like him that have turned the great institution of law enforcement into Inquisition henchmen. Credibility? To who? Other prohibitionists? That's about it, if even then. Prohibitionists aren't interested in abandoning their ideology. Credibility is something that HONORABLE people have. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #16 posted by freewillks on March 28, 2007 at 20:01:51 PT |
I think his actions have political motive, not a change in heart. And yes sukoi, Barr is a nice feather in the reform hat. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #15 posted by Sukoi on March 28, 2007 at 18:59:53 PT |
I posted this in another thread but I hope that you can understand where I'm coming from:Many people hold Barr in contempt for his past actions and rightly so but keep in mind that he is not alone. A perfect example of that is the good people at LEAP. These people were once our sworn enemies and now they speak out on our behalf (with credibility beyond reproach). They help us and we help them; we are now allies with the same goal. As much as I hate what he has done, I welcome Mr. Barr, just as I would welcome Howard Wooldridge or Jack Cole were they not already on our side. I think that Mr. Barr is an absolutely wonderful person to have on our side BECAUSE of the dreadful things that he has done in the past as like those with LEAP, that makes his credibility beyond reproach.
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Comment #14 posted by mayan on March 28, 2007 at 18:23:48 PT |
I have a hard time believing that such a rabid prohibitionist like Bob Barr can just have a sudden change of heart like this. Maybe he knows that the sh*t is about to hit the fan in this country and he doesn't want angry mobs chasing him down the street. Make no mistake about it, the sh*t will soon hit the fan... Iran planning to stop using U.S. dollar to price oil, central bank governor says: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/28/business/AS-FIN-Malaysia-Iran-Oil-Dollars.php Remember what happened when Iraq made a similar announcement? When the next 9/11 happens, all of our progress of the last 11 years will have been in vain. The stage is now set. The next inside job will likely be so catastrophic that even 9/11 Truthers will have a hard time believing that the government could be capable of such murder and destruction. That's the mind-set that they are counting on us to have. They are going to turn back the clock to the 1950's and eliminate those who threaten the globalist agenda once and for all!!! Easter Surprise: Attack on Iran, New 9/11… or Worse: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/03/28/150/ Richardson: 'Nuclear 9-11' Is Possible: http://prisonplanet.com/articles/march2007/280307nuclear911.htm Bill Maher Discusses Bush's 9/11 Non-Reaction On Olbermann (video): http://prisonplanet.com/articles/march2007/280307maher.htm 911: Can You Handle The Truth? http://www.lwilliamlosapio.com/?p=177 STRANGER THAN FICTION: AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION OF 9-11 AND THE WAR ON TERRORISM: http://www.apfn.org/apfn/WTC_STF.htm "MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT" 9/11 WAS AN "INSIDE JOB": http://www.voxfux.com/archives/00000076.htm [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #13 posted by FoM on March 28, 2007 at 17:49:35 PT |
http://www.pbs.org/boomercentury/ 'Boomers' Still Inventing Themselves By Linell Smith, The Baltimore Sun March 28, 2007 PBS is inviting you to meet the baby boomers - or perhaps reconsider them. Like the generation it depicts, the documentary "The Baby Boom Century: 1946-2046," which airs at 9 tonight, is unpredictable, multi-layered, inspiring and often overwhelming - a testament to the heft of 78 million aging Americans. Born from 1946-1964, boomers have lived through stunning social transformations while contributing to many of them. The two-hour film shows how the children of the 1950s, molded by the parenting philosophy of Dr. Benjamin Spock and the early days of television, morphed into the young adults of the 1960s - a time enlivened by pop culture but shadowed by the Vietnam War and the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. By the '70s and '80s, the boomers were busy redefining America's notions of work and family. Throw in civil rights, the birth control pill, feminism, Roe v. Wade, President Nixon's resignation, personal computers, AIDS, gay rights, minivans, the Internet, the Persian Gulf war, Sept. 11, Botox, Viagra and long-term care insurance - and you grasp the complexity of forces still shaping this group. Now imagine constructing a narrative from such stuff. Gerontologist and psychologist Ken Dychtwald, who is an authority on the generation, rose to the challenge. He enlisted the help of award-winning filmmakers and a variety of commentators to create the first film of such scope to consider both the boomers and their long-term future. "One of the challenges was finding a way to present something different about a generation that has been covered so often," says Dychtwald, 56. "The media still brands the boomers as the youth generation, but I'm convinced that the more interesting decades will be the ones after 50. It's who we're starting to become - not who we used to be - that's so fascinating." Commentators, many of whom are boomers, include "Emotional Intelligence" psychologist Dan Goleman, futurist Alvin Toffler, human genome scientist J. Craig Venter, Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, aging expert Fernando Torres-Gil, civil rights pioneer Julian Bond, filmmaker Oliver Stone, "Daily Show" comedian Lewis Black, feminist playwright Eve Ensler and White House Press Secretary and Cincinnati native Tony Snow. Interspersing their observations with archival footage and present-day interviews, "The Boomer Century" also explores people who are reinventing themselves in middle age, a time Dychtwald calls "middlescence." He says boomers remain anti-authoritarian, idealistic, open to change and self-empowered. "They still have that strange combination of intelligence, of questioning authority and of deep-rooted distrust of the status quo that has caused the generation to be enormously innovative, from music and fashion to relationships, work and technology." Dychtwald spends a lot of time poking holes in popular misconceptions. While his film points out that as much as a third of the boomer generation may never have enough money for retirement, it also shows boomers deserve more credit for their good works. Such perspective might erode what he calls the country's youth obsession and "gerontophobia." Instead, the future could see older Americans taking courses, re-inventing careers, moving back into cities and building intergenerational families from their networks of friends. It also could bring an unparalleled opportunity to create a "living legacy" through volunteering. "Boomer men and women have the greatest concentration of education, skills and work experience of any generation in history," Dychtwald says. "I believe there are tens of millions in this generation who can become an elder corps, an army of high-energy, contributing men and women. Copyright: 2007 The Cincinnati Post http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070328/LIFE/703280343/1005 [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #12 posted by Toker00 on March 28, 2007 at 17:35:09 PT |
Way - to - go! If only they would air it. Good job! Toke. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #11 posted by Sukoi on March 28, 2007 at 17:14:24 PT |
I just sent this but I doubt that it will be read on the air: Lou, Why is it that you keep saying things like "problems with alcohol AND drugs" or "addicted to alcohol AND drugs"? You DO realize that alcohol IS a "drug" don't you? In fact, it's actually far more of a "drug" than cannabis as cannabis is a natural PLANT and alcohol is a MANMADE "DRUG". Also, please get off of this "abuse" thing that you keep harping on; USE and ABUSE are two completely different things; would you say that a beer after work is "alcohol abuse"? If not, then you certainly shouldn't say that smoking a joint after work is "drug abuse". Get your facts straight and quit being a government parrot. "Drug USE" is not the problem and "drug ABUSE" is not the actual problem; the actual problem is the PROHIBITION of "drugs" which causes 95% of the problems that are "considered" to be "caused" by drugs. You really ought to do your audience a service and have a LEAP speaker (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, www.leap.cc) on your show for more than five seconds to explain the issue and the ONLY solution. Sukoi [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #10 posted by E_Johnson on March 28, 2007 at 17:09:09 PT |
Why would it be any healthier to swallow a medicine than it would be to smoke it? The stomach isn't designed to digest pills. It's meant to digest food and extract nutrients so that we can live. And swallowing pills happens to interfere with that process. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #9 posted by E_Johnson on March 28, 2007 at 17:06:04 PT |
"Miller said legal drugs are administered by pill, injection, spray or under the tongue -- not by smoking them, which is unhealthy." Right -- now show me the stomach lining of someone who takes apsirin. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #8 posted by Taylor121 on March 28, 2007 at 16:08:56 PT |
From what I remember, the last time New Hampshire voted on medical marijuana it only had like 120 votes or so. I think this is a huge upswing so I think it's progress for new year for sure. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #7 posted by Hope on March 28, 2007 at 15:51:52 PT |
Nary a peep there about this, that I could see. I'm so sad for New Hampshire patients and everyone that testified. What a bunch of miscreants those are who voted against it. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #6 posted by FoM on March 28, 2007 at 15:41:46 PT |
Thank you for the sad news. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 28, 2007 at 15:40:22 PT |
We tried to watch it but we turned on Tucker. I can't watch Lou Dobbs very long anymore. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #4 posted by Hope on March 28, 2007 at 15:40:08 PT |
That's so very sad. It's certainly been up and down today, hasn't it? [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #3 posted by Taylor121 on March 28, 2007 at 15:37:31 PT |
CONCORD, N.H. -- The House voted narrowly Wednesday to reject legalizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes. The House voted 186-177 to kill a bill that would have allowed the illegal drug's use for treatment of debilitating medical conditions. Supporters argued that marijuana is the only drug that helps people with some illnesses. Lancaster Democrat Evelyn Merrick, a cancer survivor, said her treatment often was worse than the disease. "How many others must we allow to suffer needlessly?" she said. Westmoreland Democrat William Chase, who treated cancer patients as a surgeon, said effective therapy is elusive. But opponents said the bill had too many problems, especially on controlling who could grow marijuana. "We have ample therapeutic equivalents legally available," said Durham Democrat Joseph Miller, a retired doctor. Miller said legal drugs are administered by pill, injection, spray or under the tongue -- not by smoking them, which is unhealthy. Hinsdale Democrat William Butynski said the bill would allow people and their caregivers to grow marijuana. "There is no such thing as medical marijuana," he said. http://www.wmur.com/news/11422802/detail.html [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #2 posted by Dankhank on March 28, 2007 at 15:35:53 PT |
is blathering about the drug war and kids this hour ... really sick ... He found a kid who says" I got into the drug world basically with marijuana and then got addicted to LSD and did it for four years ... wow ... the strangest things .... [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 28, 2007 at 14:31:19 PT |
Tonight this will air on our PBS channel and I thought some might want to check it out too. “The Boomer Century: 1946-2046” is a two-hour documentary that looks to the baby boomers’ past for clues to how this generation of 78 million Americans will shape the future. Hosted by gerontologist and psychologist Dr. Ken Dychtwald, the program focuses on the boomers’ formative years to reveal the personality traits of a generation that has since rewritten the rules for work, marriage and parenthood, and is now redefining retirement and aging. The final question the program poses, is what kind of future will the baby boomers lead and leave for succeeding generations? Produced by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Joel Westbrook and Neil Steinberg and written by two-time Academy Award winner Mark Harris, the program “attempts to show viewers what really makes this generation tick and how its unique personality will help determine how boomers will shape society over the coming decades,” says Dychtwald. In addition to stock footage, staged sets and a fast-paced format, the program incorporates candid and insightful interviews with renowned boomers, academics and authors including Oliver Stone, Rob Reiner, Julian Bond, Erica Jong, Eve Ensler, Lester Thurow and Alvin Toffler. http://www.pbs.org/boomercentury/ [ Post Comment ] |
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