Cannabis News Media Awareness Project
  Drug Czar Gives Warning
Posted by CN Staff on July 13, 2007 at 06:22:43 PT
By Dylan Darling 
Source: Record Searchlight  

ONDCP California -- The nation's top anti-drug official said people need to overcome their "reefer blindness" and see that illicit marijuana gardens are a terrorist threat to the public's health and safety, as well as to the environment.

John P. Walters, President Bush's drug czar, said the people who plant and tend the gardens are terrorists who wouldn't hesitate to help other terrorists get into the country with the aim of causing mass casualties. Walters made the comments at a Thursday press conference that provided an update on the "Operation Alesia" marijuana-eradication effort.

"Don't buy drugs. They fund violence and terror," he said.

After touring gardens raided this week in Shasta County, Walters said the officers who are destroying the gardens are performing hard, dangerous work in rough terrain. He said growers have been known to have weapons, including assault rifles.

"These people are armed; they're dangerous," he said. He called them "violent criminal terrorists."

Walters, whose official title is director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said too many people write off marijuana as harmless. "We have kind of a reefer blindness,' " he said.

No arrests have been made so far in the four days of raids, the opening leg of what Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko has promised will be at least two straight weeks of daily raids.

He said suspects have been hard to find because their familiarity with their terrain makes it easy for them to flee quickly.

Although crews doing the raids are using Black Hawk and other helicopters to drop in on some of the gardens, Bosenko said they don't want to give the growers any warning of a raid.

"We try to move in under stealth," he said.

As of Thursday morning, Operation Alesia raids had resulted in the yanking of 68,237 young marijuana plants from public lands in Shasta County. Raids already have been conducted in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, as well as on land managed by the U.S. Forest Service north of Lake Shasta and other public land near Manton.

The operation is being led by the sheriff's office and has involved 17 agencies, including the California National Guard and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It's believed to be the largest campaign of its kind in the state, Bosenko said.

The operation is named after the last major battle between the Roman Empire and the Gauls in 52 B.C. That battle was won by the Romans.

With the blitz of marijuana gardens around Shasta County, Bosenko said officials hope to not only get rid of the pot, but also win back the land for the public that owns it.

"These organizations are destroying our lands and wildlife," he said.

Bernie Weingardt, regional forester for the Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Region, said the 28,000 acres believed to house illegal marijuana grows on national forest land throughout the state would cost more than $300 million to revive.

"These lands must be cleaned and restored," he said.

His estimate is based on a National Park Service study that found it costs $11,000 per acre to pull the plants, clear irrigation systems, reshape any terracing and replant native vegetation, said Mike Odle, Forest Service spokesman.

While Walters didn't give specific goals for Operation Alesia, he said anti-drug agencies aim to cripple the organized crime groups that he said are behind the marijuana cultivation.

"This business we intend to put into recession, depression and put its leaders into jail," Walters said.

Note: Federal official calls marijuana growers dangerous terrorists.

Source: Redding Record Searchlight (CA)
Author: Dylan Darling
Published: July 13, 2007
Copyright: 2007 Record Searchlight
Contact: letters@redding.com
Website: http://www.redding.com/

Related Articles:

Shasta County Pot Eradication Operation Begins
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23173.shtml

White House Drug Czar Highlights MJ Cultivation
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23166.shtml


Home    Comment    Email    Register    Recent Comments    Help

 
Comment #120 posted by NikoKun on August 05, 2007 at 12:27:45 PT
terror...
Nevermind that our government are the creators of terror... Has nothing to do with terrorists, has nothing to do with drugs...

Our government creates the terror in order to gain more control over us.

Just stop being afraid of these tactics... laugh in their faces whenever they bring up "terror" or terrorists or whatnot...

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #119 posted by FoM on July 19, 2007 at 11:55:10 PT
Hope
Yes that is really how I feel too. Some people just are in their own world and can't see the forrest for the trees. If we spend too much time with them in a debate we can start to become like them. That is why I won't even read a republican forum. I believe in using my time wisely. I am not going to change my mind about what is important to me so why even debate?

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #118 posted by Hope on July 19, 2007 at 11:26:43 PT
Another "Amen, Sister!"
back at you! That's exactly how I feel about it.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #117 posted by FoM on July 19, 2007 at 11:22:48 PT
Hope
Amen Sister! Don't cast your pearls before swine. Once I find out how a person stands on issues that are important to me and they are in their own world and don't get it I won't talk to them anymore. I turn and walk away and get that dust off my feet.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #116 posted by Hope on July 19, 2007 at 11:22:33 PT
Oh yes...
and of course when you stop sharing your "pearls"...many of them will go "fishing" for them...to try to get you to offer them so they can trample them.

Just don't do it.

Hold your "treasures", which your thoughts and beliefs are, near your heart and protect them from scoundrels.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #115 posted by Hope on July 19, 2007 at 11:18:35 PT
Comment 113
Indeed.

And, Rchandar... if your "ambassadorship" to our cause is not working there...if you are constantly being ridiculed for our campaign...don't speak of it to them.

It's "Pearls before swine."

Don't waste your "pearls" on them.

Really. Don't do it.

Don't share what you think with them, if they are acting like that.

It won't do you or them or our cause any good.

Sometimes the best "ambassadorship" for cannabis law reform, is being quiet, not pushing our ideas down other people's throats, and letting our lives speak for us.

Speak once of how you feel about cannabis and the fact that prohibition of the substance causes far more harm than the substance ever could and how you feel about policy reform.

Drop it if they aren't interested. For the sake of your message. Don't act resentful and don't mention it again.

It doesn't mean they won or anything like that. It means you don't give them the opportunity to slander you or your ideas.

Just don't do it.

It won't help us at all and they trample your "pearls" and tarnish your hopes and just generally make you feel bad.

Don't give them the opportunity. Don't put your "pearls" and beliefs out there for them to trample...and they can't.

Many people are searching for someone to put down, make fun of, or humiliate. It makes them feel better about themselves. Give them as few chances as possible to aim their wickedness at you.

Speak once to anyone...ONCE only. If it's rebuffed, so be it. It's their loss. Agree with them and walk away.

That's how I try to handle a situation when I see my offered "pearls" are being trampled. Give them not even one more "pearl". Avoid arguing. It does no good. Don't share your thoughts with people who have ridiculed your ideas.

I'm surrounded by political people. I know better than to try to change their attitudes or ideas with any words I might can muster.

Know when to be silent. Don't play their game. It is a game, for them, whether or not they even know it or not...and the game is to "get you"...as in "Gotcha".

Don't play.

Don't put your toe out for them to stomp on.

Be confident in your beliefs. But don't be surprised if others aren't interested or even nasty about it. Just be the best man you can and let that shine. You don't have to say anything. Just be...and they can see and know and their "crap" is just "crap"...step over it. Walk around it.

Don't let people like that have such a powerful effect on your emotions. They can actually hurt you without touching you, by stirring up bitterness and anger in you. Don't let them do it. That's the only way they can actually "win" over you.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #114 posted by FoM on July 19, 2007 at 08:19:33 PT
Asbestos Found in Dust from NYC Eruption
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070719/ap_on_re_us/manhattan_explosion

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #113 posted by FoM on July 19, 2007 at 08:05:51 PT
rchandar
You are welcome and we say what we do because we love you.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #112 posted by FoM on July 19, 2007 at 08:04:07 PT
Hope
I agree with you about living in the country. I have way more control over my life in God's Country. We have friends and we see them from time to time and always enjoy their company. I want to feel free. I want to go outside and look at the stars and hear the birds singing and it makes me feel peaceful. The air is clean and the sky is blue. The explosion in New York yesterday would have made me pack up and leave right away. I would be so upset to live where they say the air is likely ok. Asbestos isn't ok ever. They only don't want people to leave so they tell them sweet little lies and then the people suffer with serious lung problems. Don't lie to me or I have your number is how I look at it all. They lie all the time.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #111 posted by rchandar on July 19, 2007 at 08:02:22 PT:

FoM, Hope
Thanks guys. Christ almighty, MJ forever.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #110 posted by FoM on July 19, 2007 at 07:53:52 PT
rchandar
I am sorry about your father. That must be very hard. I know family obligations can keep people living in an area that they don't like but someday plan on getting out of Miami. That is a much better solution then quitting life. Back in the 70s we decided to be pioneers and we packed up the little we owned rented a U-haul and moved 400 miles away to start all over again. We only had $400 to our name and we did it. We didn't know if we would regret our move and I cried alot and missed our friends but in time the tears stopped and we started building our new life. I said that to say this. It isn't over until a person quits.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #109 posted by Hope on July 19, 2007 at 07:40:54 PT
Rchandar
That's so hard to hear! Your neighbors sound awful.

Can you move?

That's so terrible.

Don't die.

"Life is hard, but you can do it."

FoM is right about sincerely praying for them. It can make an extraordinary difference. I've seen it happen.

I would hate to live in a city. In the country, I feel I can control a little of who and what is around me.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #108 posted by rchandar on July 19, 2007 at 07:37:37 PT:

rchandar@msn.com
Allow me to explain. Miami is famous for its sexual libation; I never participated in it because I'm an Indian and we're morally conservative with sex. Not that we don't have it, or that it's good; no one ever recognizes me as "a man". Apparently, a "man" is someone who beats people up, has kids (which I can't; my wife is infertile, but I love her), who has sex three times a day, who is loaded with money. A "man" is someone who has a big muscular body, which I do not; I try to be proud of what I am; weightlifting never grew me, so I stopped a long time ago.

Listen. That door downstairs, no one ever comes in. No one. We are a pariah people here simply because of MJ. But I don't want to give up fighting for this issue because it's injustice and I've been to court and done probation time; I resented it. Simple rule of fact is that the people who you give money to should show respect; they don't; they're a@#holes. Nothing you can do about it. They ply you and ply you with ? and then yank out the rug when it's all over. And I'm a professor.

But to young people--encouraged, of course, by the cops, by elders with less humanity, to all the people with and without less education, my name has become "masturbator," "faggot," "pussy," and recently "wanker". It isn't just the mob that's doing it to me, clearly it's also the "solid citizens". Can't get a job. Right now I'm sitting across from a thuggish guy whose only talent was that he got a teenage girl pregnant, decided that because he had to change everyone else does. Every day they plaster me with demands to give up this fight. Every miserable day. Then he goes out and slanders me in public, so that other people won't say anything good either.

Not a day goes by in my life when anyone, including my wife, is my friend. No hugs. I made the mistake of being nice to my students--hell, I passed them, and they're getting their degrees solely because of me. Think they care? No, of course not, a sign of weakness, apparently. I live a quarantined life here, fear, hurt, suffering, sadness. Today I will not eat because I don't like people with less knowledge taking my money and insulting me all over again. I have some pride in myself.

I hate Miami; it's a miserable town with no accountability, no values that count for s#$t, and it never ends for me. Miami has also denied me status and respect repeatedly, all my life. Was it so much that I wanted to provide for my wife, to be a good husband? Is it right that she has to go to work knowing that I may never provide or father a child, that I'm a failure? My father is crying; he has lung cancer and it isn't going well. Couldn't people just mind their business, stop picking through the trash to see if there was saliva on pieces of toilet paper? This is a grisly, hopeless place.

Well, f#$k my attitude, I guess. Suicide is painless.

I do hope that you care.

rchandar

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #107 posted by FoM on July 19, 2007 at 07:27:07 PT
rchandar
Death is final. Why give anyone the pleasure of your death? Get angry, get indignant but don't get depressed. Also the bible says pray for those who despitely use you. That's works for me.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #106 posted by rchandar on July 19, 2007 at 07:22:00 PT:

FoM
It's total. Total. It's all Drug War. Someone in Republican, Catholic, Cuban-controlled Miami doesn't like me because my body is small, I'm loyal to my wife, and I post on this website and try to support MJ legalization. That's bad for business in mafia-controlled Miami. It's total. Today I probably won't eat either; I'm sick of giving money to people who call me "pussy," "faggot," "masturbator," "ignorant," who say "fuck your attitude" when something escapes their immediate grasp. I'm sick of everything; I just want to die.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #105 posted by FoM on July 19, 2007 at 07:07:15 PT
rchandar
I don't like hearing that people are doing bad things to you. Why?

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #104 posted by rchandar on July 19, 2007 at 07:04:16 PT:

FoM
Thanks, FoM. It means a lot since down here, a lot of people are doing bad things to me and basically there's very little I can actually do about it.

rchandar

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #103 posted by FoM on July 18, 2007 at 10:35:12 PT
rchandar
Very good.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #102 posted by whig on July 18, 2007 at 10:31:02 PT
Hope
Good for you.

If you really want to smoke something legal, try a little turmeric.

http://www.ageless.co.za/herb-turmeric.htm

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #101 posted by rchandar on July 18, 2007 at 09:39:45 PT:

My Protest
There are a couple of things in our drug policy I would like to protest, notwithstanding the really good stuff, including stories, that came out of this post.

As a taxpaying citizen, I particularly resent our government's assignment of a "drug czar." "Czar"--tyranny, authoritarianism, repression. Even a drug policy which aims at reducing drug use should not be so unbelievably image-blind to even use the word.

Second of all, I fail to see what the "drug czar" does that the other organizations--police, DEA, Customs, Attorney General--cannot do. We don't like any of 'em; still, at least they are elected or supposedly qualified officials rendered not by appointment, but by some form of election.

In other words, it's a meaningless post, meant to produce an environment counter to any discussion. Anyone who looks up the history of the DEA, for example, will find many studies, statements by senior officials, etc. to move away from prohibition. Not to say that the DEA isn't a great evil that terrorizes the public; they do. But in the context of public policy, there is at least some lateral discussion. "Drug Czar" presumes none, and that--not the spread of drugs--is what is unhealthy.

All that being said, there is a very thin facade of truth to the current Drug War in California. True, the Michoacan are dangerous and may misuse public land. True, many people who buy MMJ are not patients, and some become dealers. But I cannot ignore the very real factor of this new leg of the WOD--Bush's ancillaries are using these two developments to pad their dossiers of high-profile arrests, creating a patronage system which is responsible to no one. If Bush were to delegate authority properly, then there would be some room for discussion, some sense that the people were deciding policy, not the oligarchy around the "drug czar." Unfortunately, they have given themselves outright authority which defies precedent and consent.

--rchandar

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #100 posted by Hope on July 18, 2007 at 08:38:08 PT
Greenfox
You really helped me, and are still helping me, by relating that terrible story of withdrawal, yesterday.

Yesterday was the first day I went totally without tobacco. I've been cutting back now, for awhile.

Your story was just what I needed, first thing... of the first day. It truly helped me.

When I get to feeling a bit frantic or sorry for myself, I remember that story.

It helps to know that this change of habit really isn't so bad.

Your posting of the story proved to be very timely for me, almost serendipitously so.

Thank you.

Quitting tobacco is nothing compared to what some people are suffering through.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #99 posted by FoM on July 17, 2007 at 08:35:46 PT
greenfox
I understand. I have said it many times that I was addicted to legal prescription drugs for a number of years and when I went into De-tox on my own it was a living hell. I don't have any desire to ever go back to any drug that has an addiction potential. I don't ever want to have a monkey on my back again.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #98 posted by greenfox on July 17, 2007 at 08:17:32 PT
..yep
"The artwork over at your site is stunning, as well."

Thank u from the bottom of this foxy-hippie's heart.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #97 posted by greenfox on July 17, 2007 at 08:16:16 PT
Yeah FOM that was my point
"I'm not sure I understand the point you are trying to make. It's a song right? I know how bad hard drugs are whether they are legal or illegal. Cannabis isn't like them at all. Withdrawal is terrible for hard drugs. Cannabis doesn't make a person climb the wall if and when a person stops using it. "

Yeah basically that was it. I was looking at this article with the standard "pot is baaad, mmm-kay?" speech and I just wanted to add my own personal $00.02 on what REAL drugs do.... not pot. :P

-gf

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #96 posted by Hope on July 17, 2007 at 07:38:06 PT
Greenfox
I'm so relieved to see that you are ok.

Amazing story and lyrics.

I thought it was something that happened to you, at first.

Lyrics or story...whew...they are terrible, down and dirty and should be vividly enlightening to anyone even thinking of getting involved with the drugs mentioned.

The artwork over at your site is stunning, as well.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #95 posted by FoM on July 17, 2007 at 06:18:54 PT
greenfox
I'm not sure I understand the point you are trying to make. It's a song right? I know how bad hard drugs are whether they are legal or illegal. Cannabis isn't like them at all. Withdrawal is terrible for hard drugs. Cannabis doesn't make a person climb the wall if and when a person stops using it.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #94 posted by greenfox on July 17, 2007 at 05:04:49 PT
CRAP
Man I didn't edit the profanity out of that last lyric post.

Sorry.

-gf/doug

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #93 posted by greenfox on July 17, 2007 at 05:02:10 PT:

to drive it home
this song (song? rap? uh...) says it better than I ever could.

I un-proudly present Lil Whyte's "Oxycontin":

[Lil Whyte] Go on and slip me two Xanax bars, I'm ready to get fool 5th o' crown to wash it down, I'm downtown snappin' rolls Ain't no shame up in my game, in fact I'm mentally deranged Oxycontin in my system, man I'm feelin' kinda strange Watch me choke about this dope, blueberry from Texas You wanna get up in rotation that's too bad 'cause I'm stressin' Right now it's 1:30 a.m., 11 Percocets just entered me 15 min from this second I'll be crawlin' on my knees Laughin' at the crowd of all the clowns that be surroundin' me Take another Lortab to calm me down and let me see Body be relaxed, muscles be loose and you have stopped the pain No more bitchin' 'bout your day at work and drivin' in the rain Put up with the fussin' and discussion I plant in yo brain Hypnotizin' minds like all the rest but I come through the vein Take a chill pill and slow me down to get back in the game Gotta be up on yo P's and Q's to even feel it mane

[Chorus X2] Oxycontin, Xanax bars, Percocets, and Lortabs Valiums, Morhpine Patches, Ecstasy, and it's all up for grab Whatcha want, whatcha need, hit me up I gotcha mane whatcha want, whatcha need, hit me up I gotcha mane

[Lord Imfamous] Scarecrow, Scarecrow what's that ya poppin'? A powerful pill they call Oxycontin But it'so tiny, yeah it got you draggin' Haven't you heard big things come in small packages I prefer the orange ones with the black OC Take two and you cannot move from outcha seat Some people melt 'em down in a needle and shoot 'em up But I pop 'em with Seroquel like glue, I am stuck

[Crunchy Blac] See I'ma pill popper, so I'ma keep poppin' em Gimme 20 Xanax and I'ma start droppin' em They ain't no stoppin' him, when they in my system Mane I really miss 'em, can you help me get 'em I heard you have Clidina, on that fuckin' pill shed Gimme some fuckn Ec' - gimme some Percocets I need me some four bar, so I can break down 'Cause a nigga like me 'finna take it to funky town

[Chorus X2] Oxycontin, Xanax Bars, Percocets and Lortabs Valiums, Morphine Patches, Ecstacy and it's all up for grab Whatcha want, what'cha need, hit me up I gotcha mane Whatcha want, what'cha need, hit me up I gotcha mane

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #92 posted by greenfox on July 17, 2007 at 04:56:07 PT:

BOX OF RAIN PART II
All the while, the mental cravings and psychological depression is growing to crippling levels. So you will sleep for an hour or two, only to be woken up by violent nightmares (I don’t mean nightmares like “someone is out to get me,” I mean nightmares like “everything and everyone I have ever known has died in the most horrible, macrocosmically-inflated death scenario and now I’m left to have my flesh ripped from my body with a fishing hook, one small piece at a time,” type of nightmares,) and of course let’s not forget the physical symptoms are growing, too! So you snap awake after experiencing horrible dream death only to find that you are, unfortunately, still alive. Your legs hurt. Your arms hurt worse. You have uncontrollable nausea that won’t go away, even after puking up blood and bile. Oh, I almost forgot a fun little “side symptom” that completely slipped my mind- you bleed sweat. No, hear me- you bleed sweat. Every single piece of clothing you are wearing is now drenched in smelly bodily fluids. If you didn’t know better, (you do,) you’d think you were thrown into a swimming pool of piss while being rained on simultaneously. Your bed is also drenched. Nothing you wear or nothing you touch, rest on, or sleep on is dry. Bed changing and undressing and redressing happens constantly, perpetually, without end. After all, it’s the only way to experience any form of comfort in this hell. (You never imagine being “dry” is a blessing until you can’t stay “dry” for five minutes- so in a way, this experience reminds you not to take the “little things” for granted!) Wow, is it over yet? Hell no, we’re not even on day three. Let’s move on. Day three is, for the most part, “the worst day” out of the entire experience. This is when every symptom reaches its peak. You can’t eat, (you’ll throw it all up,) you can’t sleep, (the nightmares and horrible twitching and sweating,) you can’t walk, (everything hurts,) you can’t sit down, (too restless,) you can’t think straight (the depression is crippling plus you can’t keep any nutrients down in your stomach,) and lastly you can’t do a damn thing about any of it. There is no “cure” except more opiates. And for the person genuinely trying to “quit”, this is probably the worst part- knowing that a tiny little pill or microscopic amounts of a little brown powder can take it all away and make you feel “normal” again. The thought is both depressing and sickening. By the end of the third day, you can handle water again. This alone is cause for celebration! Real food- no chance! Not for at least another week. Now, this is a very horrifying thought. You start to think “things’- things like, “well, I know I can’t die from withdraw, but I can definitely die of starvation and dehydration!” The worst part is you are terrified to act on these thoughts because it’s bad enough to experience this hell in your house let alone a hospital where the “doctors” and “nurses” frown upon your “junkie ass” to say the very, very least. The few experiences with “regular” hospitals (not talking addiction clinics here- they at least are paid, by you, to have a fraction of a soul,) have taught me that you’re better off without medical attention unless you are really dying, (which, for a “new” junkie, this is very difficult to differentiate from the symptoms). By the 4th and 5th day the physical symptoms are finally starting to subside. By day eight or nine you are eating applesauce and so happy that you want to cry and laugh at the same time. By day fourteen you are eating real food again.

"I don't know who put it there,"

Now, to end this long rant, the question has surely come up in your uneducated mind: if one were to go through all the above described hell, why would anyone dare to ever use an opiate again? Well, very good question. And for that question I have an equally good answer. You will use again because, despite all the lessons learned from the physical withdraw, you still aren’t the same at the end of it- you just aren’t “normal”. Yes, the physical symptoms are quite finite and can be mapped accordingly. However, the mental symptoms persist for months.

The everyday becomes mundane.

Conversations are boring at best, annoying at worst.

Friends seem like enemies.

Family seems like strangers.

Everything is melancholy; no joy, no drive, no purpose.

Oh, and the sleep thing- that doesn’t go away for a couple months, either. Even in a state of fully recovered sobriety, you still won’t get more than six hours a night (and that’s a very good night).

"Believe it if you need it or leave it if you dare,

And it's just a box of rain, or a ribbon for your hair..."

So months go by, and still, no joy. And finally, you come across your old friend again, and, well- the rest is history. The first time you take an opiate after not taking it for months, you are thrown back into euphoria- you are alive again! Amazing! And of course the fear of withdraw is there, but you also know you can’t get physically addicted from one experience. So, in the beginning, you take it slow. Finally, you’re right back where you started. The hell, complete with its ups and downs, has come full circle.

OK, to finish it all, the above page and a half explains why one doesn’t “just quit”- so if you know an opiate addict, please try your best to understand and not be insulting by suggesting “why don’t you just quit?” because at best you’ll get laughed at, at worst you’ll get slapped. Or, to try and restate my earlier words, “'Just quit?' yeah, right”.

"Such a long, long time to be gone and a short time to be there.."

Wow, that was a rant! Let’s get back to my story.

After a while, (you know, a good ten years or so,) I got very tired of the life. So now I’m maintained on Suboxone, a double-edged sword to say the least.

It takes away the pain and the craving, and even gets you "high", but you are still addicted- just legally, this time. It's very small comfort.

I wander through my days, popping them like the little orange candies that they are, meekly eking out a very fragile and scarred existence. It’s not that I don’t want to be normal again, I do. However, like all things, I understand the greater truth. Better for me to eat a pill each day with a monthly cost of thirty dollars (I have good insurance; some people can’t even afford this stuff,) than to try to get by each day spending close to a hundred dollars a day. Wow, what a world, what a world. So what? How does it all relate? Well, that's easy! Easier than you would ever think.... so easy, I can sum it all up with one simple line from the aforementioned song...

“A Box of rain will ease the pain…”

Wow. Truer words never spoken.



[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #91 posted by greenfox on July 17, 2007 at 04:55:30 PT:

A little story for you all
OK I wasn't serious about hanging myself. I just get angry.

Let me tell you all a little story (this comes straight from my website- you can read about it..)

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT REAL DRUGs, REAL ADDICTION...

this one is called: BOX OF RAIN- CONFESSIONS OF A DEAD HEAD SUBOXONE EATER:

It all started at a very young age. It was directly after my high school graduation. I was enjoying the newfound luxury and freedom of having been a fresh graduate from high school. I was at my friend's house, and my friends disappeared behind the garage. I was already slightly inebriated from the beer, stumbling around drunk and looking for more adventure. When I'd noticed my friends a disappeared, what else to do except to find them. I snuck behind the garage and looked for my friends-there they were, crouched over something shiny and glowing and smiling with a devil’s grin. Obviously curious, I asked them what they were doing. My one friend Mike looked up from his crouching position and answered almost haphazardly, “you know exactly what we're doing- wanna join?” I know that anybody reading this won't believe what I'm about to say I'm going to say it anyways: for the life of me, I honestly thought they were smoking tobacco. It did not seem like a big deal, and even though the pipe they were using was very strange looking, I still thought it was pipe tobacco. Needless to say, after a few hits off of the pipe, I came to the abrupt realization that it was not pipe tobacco, but rather marijuana that was being smoked. The effects were pleasant to say the least, but it was very difficult for me to differentiate the effects of the alcohol and the cannabis plant. The only thing I remember of that night was stumbling home in a semi drunken euphoric state, completely amazed with my experience.

"Look out of any window Any morning, any evening, any day Maybe the sun is shining Birds are winging, no rain is falling from a heavy sky..."

The next day, I woke up feeling relaxed and refreshed. There was a certain afterglow to the experience, not uncommon from the feeling of a hangover, but perhaps without all the negative affects associated with the consumption of alcohol. It wasn't long before I had a deep-seeded desire to try this wonderful plant again. It is actually quite interesting to know that my next-door neighbor had smoked marijuana for many years, and I knew it for years. Ironically, I had always looked down on her for doing so because I considered it a weakness of character. However, after my recent experience, I was interested to try and to visit her side of existence-even if just for a little while. The second time I had smoked cannabis was the first time I was able to really feel the effects, considering that I had no other substances in my body at the time to negate anything that I was feeling. The effects were wonderful! It was a feeling of contentment and relaxation that I'd never before experienced in my life, and I can say, in hindsight, that I was instantly hooked. In fact, I knew that this strange and wonderful plant had some sort of psychological draw to me, and it scared me. Even at age 18, I was very aware of drugs and the depth of addiction potential, and it frightened me away from many experiences early in my life-which is probably for the best. I had been smoking cannabis off and on for about a month, and I came to the realization that perhaps I was developing a psychological addiction to it. I actually managed to quit on my own for fear of actual physical addiction, even though at this time in my life I had no idea what that word meant. It was an awful foreshadowing of the future, because, little did I know, I would soon know all too well, what real physical addiction was. "Walk out of any doorway Feel your way like the day before Maybe you'll find direction Around some corner where it's been waiting to meet you"

Let's move ahead about seven years. This was the time when I was getting out of one relationship and moving into another. I had met a wonderful girl named Jenny, or so I thought she was wonderful at the time. Shortly after this relationship began, she had been diagnosed with an intestinal disease, which I knew little about. It was not very long at all before the doctors she was seeing for this condition decided to prescribe her a pain killer known as OxyContin. I will never ever forget the first time I was offered one of these strange small pink pills. When she was started on this medication, she was actually started on an extremely low dosage. At a mere 20 mg, the drug was active in very small amounts. The very first time I consumed one of these strange little pink pills, the only real memory I have of the experience was being thrown into a nauseated state of euphoria. I spent a good part of that day in between trips to the bathroom, but strangely enough, each time I had vomited I did not feel sick or upset to stomach! It was, indeed, a very strange experience-an experience which, out of curiosity and developing physical, physiological, and psychological addiction that I would soon become quite dependent on her prescription. The relationship would meander down for several years, becoming more and more tumultuous with each turn. At the very end of it, and after a very harsh break up on her part, I was left in the state of physical addiction that I'd never before known in my entire life! I was now left in this state of dependency, but the only difference was I no longer had access to her relatively legal and free prescription each month. It was at this time that I was attending school in Kent, Ohio, and it was also at this time that I was turned on to the most addictive drug experience of my entire life-heroin.

"Look into any eyes You find by you; you can see clear to another day Maybe been seen before Through other eyes on other days while going home"

Through the haze of what started as pain pill addiction, I actually remember what happened quite well. I was approached by an African-American gentleman who saw me crouched over and shivering in the corner of one of my friends' house and approached me to take advantage of my situation. Being a dealer, I am quite convinced he knew all too well the physical signs of addiction and withdraw and was able to pinpoint them when he saw the these signs in another human being. I had never met this person before in my life, yet he approached me like a longtime friend. He stated that he had something that could make me better, and offered to give it to me. I told them I had absolutely no money. He smiled, and said that it did not matter. He then preceded to hand me two bindles, or 20 packages, of heroin. I reluctantly took this strange gift, and noticed that attached to this gift was a phone number. This was a phone number that I would come to learn by heart.

"Walk into splintered sunlight Inch your way through dead dreams to another land Maybe you're tired and broken Your tongue is twisted with words half spoken and thoughts unclear..."

Now let's fast forward another two years. Over this time, I had graduated up from insufflating the heroin (snorting it) to intravenous use (injecting it). It's interesting to note that I've always had a fear of needles, but that's a fear you overcome very quickly when exposed to that level of pleasure. This was an addiction that had stayed with me for many, many years, and I tried to quit it on my own with little success. Sometimes I would manage to overcome the physical addiction long enough, but only to be drawn back into it through the effects of the depressive psychological addiction. It’s interesting to note that despite the hours, (nay, months,) of hellish withdraw I have felt on and off the horse, I really have few regrets about it. Obviously, I am not happy about the time and money I’ve squandered and wasted on this drug, and more so the time I put into acquiring it at felonious risk to me. I was very, very lucky to never get caught with a drug that is the felony of felonies of all drugs. Or, if you will, the "king" of all felonies. By another approach, perhaps it would have been luckier for me to have actually been caught and forced into rehabilitation.

I want to make one point clear: it wasn’t just Oxycontin and heroin that were my abused opiates: it was any opiate I could get my hands on. I know every pharmaceutical opiate by heart, and I’ve used forms of opiates that nobody has even heard of (how many people are familiar with making poppy-bulb milkshakes or acquiring Fentenyl patches and eating the alcohol-laced goo inside to cop a buzz?) Not many, to be sure. It’s not really that I had a need to experiment, but more a need to not be dope sick.

"Just a box of rain, wind and water Believe it if you need it, if you don't just pass it on Sun and shower, wind and rain In and out the window like a moth before a flame" For the non-user, it is very important to explain “dope sickness” so that you can understand. I’ve told a few select people about this, and the most common response is “why don’t you just quit?” Yeah right. Allow me to digress for a moment and explain what is involved in “just quitting”: The first six to ten hours are fine. There is perhaps a little restlessness, but few if any physical symptoms. After about the twelfth hour, a certain uneasiness sets in. When you are experiencing it (especially for the first time,) you can’t quite put your finger on it. It’s almost like you ate something that didn’t agree with you. Needless to say, one becomes very accustomed to “knowing” these symptoms after experiencing them a few thousand times, and predicting the inevitable downfall which is to follow. By the twenty-four hour mark, something truly awful is happening inside you. The first symptoms are mild compared to what is to follow, but still very noticeable compared to straight sobriety. They usually manifest themselves first as yawning and uncontrollable crying. Now let’s be clear: this isn’t crying as in “I’m sad and I’m crying”- emotions have nothing to do with it. This is more like “I have Ebola in my eye sockets and I can’t stop them from bleeding rivers of tears”. This goes on indefinitely. After a while, the yawning can be so violent as to dislocate the jaw. Although this almost happened to me once, (I felt my jaw pop out of and back into place,) I was “lucky” enough to not require hospitalization for this particular symptom. I know I’m putting in a lot of side notes to my story, but I feel it’s important- they say that withdraw from opiates cannot kill you. Coming off alcohol, on the other hand, can be deadly. Now, keep in mind, this fact is very little comfort if you are experiencing opiate withdraws. Moving on, we are now well into the second day. The symptoms of crying and yawning suddenly seem laughable compared to what you are experiencing now. Every bone in your body hurts. It’s like having cancer, but without the cancer. The arms and legs flail wildly, unable to keep still because of the pain and restlessness. And the worst part is every time you try to “shake the pain free”; when your limbs come to rest again it hurts even worse. You can’t sit still for any period of time, so you pace. Then the pacing begins to hurt- bad- so you try to rest again. It’s a perpetual cycle of misery that is unending. And if no “relief” is in sight, you can only count the days, trying to convince yourself that this hell will “only” last a week or two. That is very little comfort when you are actually counting minutes, not days. Let’s move on to the second night. This is the first real night of withdraws. The symptoms described above are mild compared to what is soon to follow. That night, you will experience absolutely no sleep. No, I take that back- you will sleep a little bit- perhaps an hour or two at a time. However, as bad as the waking symptoms are, the “asleep” symptoms are worse. For you see, the physical withdraw is only part of it. "And it's just a box of rain,"



[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #90 posted by FoM on July 16, 2007 at 09:08:33 PT
Off Topic
Radioactive Water 'Leaked' from Japan Nuclear Plant After Earthquake

July 16, 2007

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2007/07/16/afx3917177.html

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #89 posted by afterburner on July 16, 2007 at 08:38:52 PT
Rob Kampia Said It Best
"John Walters[, the Drug Czar] is a national joke."

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #88 posted by FoM on July 16, 2007 at 07:29:30 PT
rchandar
I believe that the Democrats must keep moving to the left. I don't want a middle of the road Democrat like Clinton because it's easy to take on the disposition of the Republicans and that is very contrary to how I feel about our future.

If we don't really swing towards the left nothing will change in my opinion. We need a definite line drawn in the sand between our two major parties.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #87 posted by rchandar on July 16, 2007 at 06:43:02 PT:

FoM
They have to rethink and retool themselves, as a party of change. They didn't do that with Kerry--pretty much, the philosophy of the Democrats in the past has been to tap mainstream votes and present a centrist image which reassures Americans that their "core values" are not out of sink with the world and are not in any way disintegrating.

But I say, they HAVE to change and aggressively put forth a liberal agenda which would be classic Democrat. The reason I say this is because the world is changing; America is changing. Not really about the economy so much; it's the fact of America's changing ethnic makeup and the potential environmental catastrophes that are taking shape. Three weeks before the election, Kerry went hunting in Ohio. That kinda stuff has got to go, or the Democrats are not helping anybody.

The worst thing that happened when Nixon won the election in 1968 was that "change" became a forbidden platform. Broadly speaking, since then America has "rested on her laurels," completely. The world is changing; other countries are catching up, the immediate threats to global stability are greater, the capacity to receive true information is much greater. The Dems cannot rely on the unionized past, but must become the emissaries of peace and tolerance in a changing world.

America is 30% minorites today. Compare that with 11% in 1968. We are changing the face of American democracy, and demand a new outlook that reflects that change. Should we remain mired in the nobilities of the past, we are done. Chapter closed.

--rchandar

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #86 posted by freewillks on July 16, 2007 at 06:14:01 PT
Grandma's flowers\ public threat?
Quick someone tell all the gardners that grow plants indoors that they are terrorist. Thank God for Johny P., I would have never known just how bad it is to have plants in your home. I hope the government passes a law that would remove any and all plants from schools and public places. Also, could I sue the greenhouse that sold me my fern, They did not disclose that growing plants indoors is an act of terorism.

How did Grandma live to be 100 with all her plants in the house? I even used to help her bring plants in during the winter to keep them alive inside her home.

All jokes aside. This is going to far when you start blurring the lines of the war on teror and the war on drugs. the only one spreading terror is Johny P and his band of thugs.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #85 posted by johnnyb on July 15, 2007 at 07:52:07 PT:

John Waters is a self-serving liar.
John Waters is anything but credible - his every statement is for one purpose, the preservation of his position. This same idiot also stated in a press conference a couple years ago that "Marijuana is the single worst addictive epidemic to ever hit the United States" .. anything but knowledgeable information - we all know there are drugs that actually ARE addictive and some of them, devastating. Stop listening to this liar.

This guy never outgrew the 60s era of lies and propaganda and he thinks the people are too stupid to ever figure out that they lied.

There are hundreds and hundreds of studies from reputable research sources which debunk nearly EVERY myth about ill affects perpetrated by marijuana use - yet this idiot Waters is never brought to task for intentionally misleading the people.

Now he is resorting to crap like "terrorism" and environment, but the fact is their war on marijuana is the attack on the environment - spraying deadly poisons on villages and fields in south america in an attempt to make an entire species of of plant extinct.

The FACT is the that there is only ONE reason that ANY drug money goes to terrorists - because terrorists are the only ones controlling the market. Again, thank this idiotic drug war and morons like John Waters for that. As for domestic "pot crops", this money does NOT generally go anywhere but to an otherwise probably law abiding citizens.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #84 posted by FoM on July 15, 2007 at 05:36:57 PT
Celaya
It is easy to feel that the democrats won't help but they really can't get Bush to sign anything they try to pass. If more Republicans get voted out and more Democrats get voted in things will change. Senator Clinton is the only Democrat running that I don't want to win. She was a Republican and she still acts like one. I could handle any of the other candidates though. I am not into third parties and would be happy just to get rid of the republicans that have been wrecking our country since Bush got in power.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #83 posted by Celaya on July 14, 2007 at 21:29:42 PT
Change?
Unless a miracle happens and someone real like Kucinich or Gravel gets the nod, the Democrats don't present much of an alternative. Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton show most Democrats belong to the same class of predators as Republicans. The change we voted for in the last election certainly hasn't materialized.

Looks like trouble right here in River City.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #82 posted by FoM on July 14, 2007 at 19:35:28 PT
RevRayGreen
They mention Decorum. Well I have seen people say f#$@&k you and sound quite sophiscated while doing it! LOL!

I had to laugh.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #81 posted by RevRayGreen on July 14, 2007 at 19:13:07 PT
FoM, to answer your question.......
"Something must change or what does anyone really have to look forward to if it stays the way it is?"

nothing.......only hope for a new tomorrow, and the day the majority of baby booming palm-greased conservatives are voted O-U-T OUT.

have you read this story from Cincinnati ? kinda OT but T.

" Hamilton County Municipal Court judge told an angry defendant “F--- you,” an almost unheard of breach of courtroom etiquette.

Judge Ted Berry was responding to the same phrase that was uttered at him by Ivan Boykins, a defendant Berry had just sentenced to spend 30 days in jail after Boykins complained that he didn’t want probation because it would prevent him smoking marijuana.

The American Bar Association’s Model Code of Judicial Conduct does not specifically outline what a judge can and cannot say to a defendant."



[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #80 posted by FoM on July 14, 2007 at 18:49:58 PT
rchandar
I look forward to the 08 elections. Something must change or what does anyone really have to look forward to if it stays the way it is? There would practically be just one party then. I think I'd start building a bomb shelter. No I wouldn't do that but it wouldn't be pretty. We need to seriously contemplate what 4 more years of the republicans in power would do to us. If more Democrats get in power it would be easier to get important things done I think.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #79 posted by rchandar on July 14, 2007 at 16:44:43 PT:

Celaya
468 days to Election Day, 2008.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #78 posted by rchandar on July 14, 2007 at 16:42:29 PT:

Vaclav Havel
Hello--

I first read this book back in 1991, in a class on "Modern Ideologies" in college. The Iron Curtain had come down two years before.

If you haven't read it, I do encourage you to. If you don't know, Havel was Czechoslovakia's premier dissident during the Soviet Era, and the first ruler of the Czech Republic. I'm encouraging you because Havel really understood the problem of democracy, gave it a very good and inclusive interpretation and study. We in the US could learn a lot from how Havel understands this issue.

And no surprise, possession of small amounts of MJ is still legal in the Czech Republic.

--rchandar

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #77 posted by Hope on July 14, 2007 at 15:35:50 PT
The letter Herbdoc was warning us about
is here:

http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #76 posted by Celaya on July 14, 2007 at 14:41:01 PT
This was inevitable
Bush said, "You're either with us or against us," and it was clear to me then that anyone who would stand against their tyranny would be labled a terrorist. Of course, no one stands against them more than marijuana reformers.

The war on marijuana consumers was the set-up for the "war on terror." If marijuana prohibition hadn't softened the public up for accepting the crushing of our liberty, the wholesale trashing we are seeing now could not have taken place. The persecution of marijuana consumers still serves as the great domestic front of fascism.

Peace? No one loves peace more than this old hippie, but peace can never exist in a place with no justice.

V For Vendetta was a great movie.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #75 posted by Hope on July 14, 2007 at 13:57:53 PT
Whig
Thank you for doing me the grace of believing me. I'm a terrible searcher on this website.

Thanks.

Ah. I do love Grace. Every speckle and dab of it that exists.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #74 posted by Hope on July 14, 2007 at 13:56:21 PT
Grace
Thank you, Whig.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #73 posted by whig on July 14, 2007 at 13:53:56 PT
Richard Zuckerman
I'm sorry for questioning you again, I did not recall you had apologized but I accept that you have done so. And no, I don't have any fancy titles. :)

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #72 posted by Hope on July 14, 2007 at 11:59:33 PT
"peaceful about your situation "
Actually, of course, I can't feel peaceful about your situation or anyone's else until we end this persecution and prohibition.

Even then. Those of us who appreciate peace will have to be vigilant. Always.

Greenfox, I just want to know that you weren't really seriously considering hanging yourself.

Don't run out on us now.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #71 posted by Hope on July 14, 2007 at 11:55:16 PT
Greenfox
You wish us "Peace". I can't feel peaceful about your situation until you let me know you are really ok?

Seriously.

Are you alright?



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #70 posted by Max Flowers on July 14, 2007 at 10:05:52 PT
Wayne
Why isn't anyone in the media standing up and saying how ridiculous this man sounds??

Assuming that you're talking about mainstream major media, you should know by now that that isn't their role (anymore). Their role these days is to put out propaganda that supports the corporate agenda, and the corporate agenda dovetails with the big government agenda.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #69 posted by Had Enough on July 14, 2007 at 09:48:48 PT
In John Walters Own Backyard

Giant Marijuana Farm Found 200 Yards From DEA Office

DALLAS -- Drug Enforcement Administration officials discovered a large number of marijuana plants growing in a wooded area near the Trinity River in Dallas Thursday afternoon.

The secret pot farm was practically right under their noses. In fact, if you could walk in a straight line from the riverbank through the marshy underbrush and tangled wilderness, you'd walk just 200 yards before you hit the DEA's office building.

more…

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=3753641&version=3&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

I thought this was interesting. He goes around the world with his spew wanting to demonize and wipe cannabis off the face of the earth. Spends tax payer money by the tons, and right outside the DEA office building 200 yards away, 300 plants are growing.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #68 posted by Hope on July 14, 2007 at 09:06:21 PT
Herbdoc...
I'm so sorry that you can't be with your wife. It's a miracle that you're still alive.

Sure, they want the medical patients out of it. Our medical users are fighting for their very lives.

Sure they want them out of it...they're fighting all this like their lives depend on it... because they do.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #67 posted by rchandar on July 14, 2007 at 08:08:59 PT:

Orwell Speaks
Orwell: Well, I'm dead, so that kinda makes it hard for me to actually say anything. But it looks like the nightmare that I saw happening in my time in the Communist world is happening to the "free world" today. Looks like doublespeak has become public policy for all you Bushies, and it may not help to borrow too much wisdom from my Winston Smith character.

But I hope you all will know that knowledge and humanity are not separate concepts; from the beginnings of the annals of time, they are inseparably linked. Many governments throughout history were powerful and tyrannical, none such as the monolith that you all throw your stones at today. It is important to communicate your dissent, to be active in fighting injustice, and to know how much to believe and how much to throw into the sink.

A new tyranny is fostering the rise of millions of monster-humans. Be aware.

"Orwell"--anyways, my take on what Orwell might say.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #66 posted by rchandar on July 14, 2007 at 08:02:50 PT:

Orwell
Orwell, where are you when we needed you most?

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #65 posted by rchandar on July 14, 2007 at 07:35:45 PT:

Wayne
Yes, it is indeed very interesting how our media, usually verbose in exposing the inconsistencies and failings of our leaders, fall noticeably silent and become completely pliable when it comes to issues concerning drugs.

Notice, it's very quiet now. Not a sliver of doubt, right?

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #64 posted by Wayne on July 14, 2007 at 07:03:46 PT
what a f***ing idiot
Why isn't anyone in the media standing up and saying how ridiculous this man sounds??

If you really think that drugs should still be our nattion's #1 priority, in light of global warming, REAL terrorism, or health care and poverty, then you're priorities are SERIOUSLY out of whack.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #63 posted by rchandar on July 14, 2007 at 06:34:26 PT:

LaGuardia
Well, that's true and that's not true. Yes, the Indonesia example is correct; still I would say that it's unlikely that terrorists have any identifiable "policy" concerning cannabis; they may be for or against it, may proselytize angry citizens for or against it, but views? No, I doubt it. Whatever serves them for the interests of acquiring power is okay with them; al-Qaeda styled terrorists in Morocco, for example, are usually linked to the cannabis plantations and the money that comes from smuggling. The Taliban kept drugs legal, then instituted capital punishment against them. So I don't think we can nail down any real "viewpoint" because the terrorists usually have no acting public policy save the overthrow of governments.

The notion of "drug traffickers are terrorists" miffs me, though, it is not acceptable and completely usurps democratic context. It is meant to encourage a culture of defamation, spying, and totalitarian thinking. Any rational-minded American could not really accept it, and Walters is bitter that most Americans recognize that dope smoking involves their neighbor, their son, their best friend--and fortunately, most of them don't want to send all of them to the gas chambers, whatever their disagreements are.

--rchandar

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #62 posted by rchandar on July 14, 2007 at 06:24:05 PT:

LaGuardia
The "drug dealers are terrorists" statement was coined by Bush during the 2001 prep for Afghanistan's invasion; it's basically a sweeping statement allowing the general American public purely federalized morals as the essential characteristic of one's goodness and allegiance to government-approved pastimes such as family, apple pie, baseball, and video pornography. In other words, a "good citizen" is passive and becomes active only in support of the government's specially nihilistic view. For our part, one of the primary reasons that Democrats have been viewed as "wimps" for the past 6 years has to do with their desperate attempt to oppose government policy while not being branded this easily as terrorists. So I would caution any of you Dems to understand that their big politicians have really been affected by this hopelessly Sovietized type of statement.

Folks. There's a book out there, read it. It's by Vaclav Havel, called "Living In Truth." Propagandism has a history in the United States, but never before Bush did it command or demand this kind of absolute allegiance to governmental policy. When one has to champion something he/she knows is wrong, put posters on the wall and rehearse slogans as discussion, and threaten or harm otherwise innocent citizens who are doing them no harm, the logic and rhetoric is dangerously close to what was the case in the Soviet Union under Communism. The new laws, including "Amber Alert", are Sovietization: even shelter a drug user, and you could go to jail for 2 years. (In the Soviet Union, it was 3).

No, my friends, the WORST aspect of this regime is its propensity to strip drugs users of any legal protections including the belief that they can live their lives out peacefully. The vast majority of Americans are completely blind to this reality simply because drugs are illegal.

The "dealers are terrorists" statement will not hold; it is impossible for it to hold and NORML's Keith Stroup said so when it was coined. If any of you have watched Mafia films like "Scarface" or "The Godfather", then you know that the government has absolutely no evidence to back what appears to be a very unique trend in drug trafficking. Remember, the films show that mafia dons are influential in the government, the United Nations, etc etc. When the government is desperate to enforce its views, there is the danger that perspective will be permanently lost among the masses; Orwell's discussion of how language and words can be criminalized and doctored to reflect government platforms is a classic example and we should be aware of it. Essentially, the government's plan is to give the public no lateral ground to discuss this issue; that's DANGEROUS, that's UN-DEMOCRATIC, that's TOTALITARIAN.

Always share this awareness with others; they may not be able to say that they agree with you or even see the point of what you're saying, but they will still consider you to be a thinking human being, will maintain their relationships with you, will agree with a majority of your ideas. The legal precedent of Bush's statement is of course atrocious, an atrocity; remember in sum what is happening to our "democracy."

--rchandar

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #61 posted by herbdoc215 on July 13, 2007 at 21:43:34 PT
hope......she's in Ky with her kids...
and I can't live there as it's not safe for me there...at all, I tried for a year in Ky and she's tired of Cali...so we've been in same situation as the last 8 years...I can't think of one person whose been swept up in the life-crushing tornado called the "US Gov't" yet who got out with their relationship intact, the gov't isn't happy until they've wrung the last bit of happiness and lite from your soul before they turn you loose...Volgon bastards!

It's not an easy 'game' at all when you gotta have a medicine(s) everyday that costs hundreds of dollars after the gov't illegally stole my pension and medical benefits and numerous business's of mine as well as my passports and Drivers Lic. (since I'd been gone over 5 years I had to start all over again ;) plus fines!

At least I'm one of the few Americans left who can say "I told you so" about all thats going on now as all this crazy BS going on now and since is the VERY reason I went to Canada before even 9/11! Peace, Steve

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #60 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 21:24:21 PT
"I can play too! "
And a hideous "game" it is, indeed. As, of course, you know better than most.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #59 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 21:18:25 PT
That's good...
And Mrs. Herbdoc?

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #58 posted by herbdoc215 on July 13, 2007 at 21:09:12 PT
Hope, I'm ok...just trying to put pieces back
together of my life that the cops left me. Been trying to get my VA and medical benefits back the gov't swiped from me...been living like a rolling stone since I was black-bagged from Vancouver and really haven't had a chance to get my 'sea-legs' back. Things are really moving fast here now, been living down here near LA lately...waiting, watching, being a good boy until now when my troubles are all over so I can play too! How are you doing, and is it as hot in Texas this year as it is here? It's going to be nice to be able to communicate with y'all again! Living in the desert is so neat now after being in HumCo and BC for last 10 years straight. I'm working on making our creme from hash again for the clubs and trying to learn how to have fun again and smile? Thanks again... Peace, Steve

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #57 posted by MikeEEEEE on July 13, 2007 at 20:28:30 PT
greenfox
Something to consider: the nazi's did their most damage in the last two years of the war. The bushies are in the process of imploding. The only thing they seem to have left is, and are experts at, is the fear card.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #56 posted by RevRayGreen on July 13, 2007 at 20:21:14 PT
Check the latest
from the front lines..........then the article comments :)

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #55 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 20:18:44 PT
And Whig...
He did apologize for that. I remember. He said he was a very sorry that he did it, it was wrong, and that it was a grave error in judgment on his part.

Something like that.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #54 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 20:15:02 PT
Greenfox!
Don't you dare!

Any of that.

It's just a bit of shell shock man. Get hold of yourself.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #53 posted by MikeEEEEE on July 13, 2007 at 20:03:12 PT
mayan
I know, and a lot of us know, these guys are up to something. And based on their history, they're up to no-good.

The propaganda outlets carry fear every day. Seems the spin-masters are preparing the sheepie for a different conflict, and will probably put a different spin on it.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #52 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 20:01:24 PT
Steve
How are you?

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #51 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 18:13:30 PT
A Little Good News for Canada
Judge Rules Canada's Pot Possession Laws Unconstitutional

***

July 13, 2007

A Toronto judge has ruled that Canada's pot possession laws are unconstitutional after a man argued the country's medicinal marijuana regulations are flawed.

Complete Article: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2007/07/13/pot-toronto.html

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #50 posted by mayan on July 13, 2007 at 17:34:45 PT
MikeEEEEE
Yeah, the timing is kind of suspect,isn't it? All of this talk by our intel agencies about a "terror attack" being inevitable and now this unusually harsh rhetoric. These neo-con fascists are up to something because they are feeling their house of cards starting to wobble.

RED ALERT!!! - RED ALERT!!!

Ron Paul: U.S. In "Great Danger" Of Staged Terror - Congressman & presidential candidate warns of economic collapse precipitated by bombing of Iran http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/july2007/130707greatdanger.htm

Sheehan: Distinct Chance Of Staged Attack, Martial Law: http://www.blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=3746

SPREAD THE WORD!!!

THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...

9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB - OUR NATION IS IN PERIL: http://www.911sharethetruth.com/



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #49 posted by RevRayGreen on July 13, 2007 at 17:28:22 PT
Yeah, all those
terrorists from Mexico and any country south of the border, these days north, will keep importing it, just like they have since the 60's.

if I was out in Cali growing outdoors, might have to go into operation shutdown for a while, come back when the smoke clears and salvage what is there.

who would actually buy into his statements ?

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #48 posted by ekim on July 13, 2007 at 17:08:26 PT
Larry King Now
show on medical coverage

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #47 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 16:04:40 PT
Off Topic: The Moody Blues
On DirecTV on Ovation Channel 274 the Moody Blues are on in concert. I thought some might need to take their mind off of this depressing article. Enjoy!

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #46 posted by LaGuardia on July 13, 2007 at 15:03:34 PT
Terrorists!
The whole terrorist spin is what really bothers me. It is totally absurd to claim that marijuana growers are terrorists; there is no evidence to support this claim and there is evidence to the contrary. There may be organized crime syndicates, but terrorists, come on? And if terrorists really do profit from marijuana cultivation, could there be a better reason to tax and regulate it so as to cut off a stream of terrorists funding?

Islamic terrorists abhor marijuana. In Indonesia a couple of weeks ago, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic terrorist group protested an Indonesian government report suggesting that cannabis be decriminalized. They offered to hunt down marijuana users and put them to death for the government. I think that there was an article about this issue on this site and on norml.org

ONDCP and DEA are really graping at straws. Hopefully no one is taking them seriously. These sort of crazy claims could help us in the end because they undercut the credibility of ONDCP and DEA, at least to the people with half a brain.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #45 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 14:55:35 PT
herbdoc215
I know I don't understand much of why things go the way they go but I really am not involved so I just scratch me head and wonder. This administration has been like none I have ever lived under. It's all so tragic.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #44 posted by herbdoc215 on July 13, 2007 at 14:04:32 PT
FoM, thanks.. it's good to be able to speak freely
Again...you won't see an article on this until the 'movementarians'(whose salaries depend upon donations) figure out a way to spin this for maximum donation value goodness, "wouldn't want panic the unwashed now would we" is the attitude I keep getting from them....so being me I thought I'd at least give my family here a heads up so those whom need to see to safety issues are given a chance before the &^%$ hit's the fan next week! I'm sure the feds are not going to like what 'blows-back' from this last gasp, but they know this is their last chance to smash and grab so they are giving us are own little version of "force surge" while they allow really nasty people to flourish....the neo-cons couldn't be more politically tone death if they tried nor inept! This would all be funny if it wasn't so tragic, this has to be the most incompetent administration in history! It looks to me like it's just a matter of time before everybody sees these smatchets(mean,nasty,small minded people;) for just what they are! Peace, Steve

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #43 posted by observer on July 13, 2007 at 13:48:08 PT
analysis
[1] California -- The nation's top anti-drug official said people need to overcome their "reefer blindness" and see that illicit marijuana gardens are a terrorist threat to the public's health and safety, as well as to the environment .
(Sentence 1) re: "
terrorist" - Drug war propaganda insinuates drugs are evil, because they are linked with hated groups. (Hated Groups (propaganda theme 1) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme1.htm#1 ) re: "reefer blindness" - Drugs, the prohibitionist explains, are a wicked bane on modern man. Why if not for the noble drug war (i.e. jailing drug users), exclaims the propagandist, then people will run amok, and violence, death, psychosis, and plague shall cover the land. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 )
[3] Walters, President Bush's drug czar, said the people who plant and tend the gardens are terrorists who wouldn't hesitate to help other terrorists get into the country with the aim of causing mass casualties .
(Sentence 3) re: "
terrorists" - The rhetoric of prohibition tries to link drugs with marginalized people. (Hated Groups (propaganda theme 1) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme1.htm#1 )
[6] They fund violence and terror," he said .
(Sentence 6) re: "
terror" - Drug users are "those people" -- they are linked with groups that everyone agrees are bad. (Hated Groups (propaganda theme 1) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme1.htm#1 ) re: "violence" - Prohibition propaganda rarely misses an opportunity to link crime, violence, and insanity with "drugs". The propagandist insinuates that prohibited drugs cause evil, and if it weren't for "drugs" bad things would not exist. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 )
[10] He called them "violent criminal terrorists."
(Sentence 10) re: "
terrorists" - The rhetoric of prohibition will try to use labeling and guilt by association to link drugs and drug users with hated groups. (Hated Groups (propaganda theme 1) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme1.htm#1 ) re: "violent", "criminal" - It is prohibition, claim prohibitionists, that saves people from drug crazed, whacked out, high flying drug users. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 )
[12] "We have kind of a reefer blindness,' " he said .
(Sentence 12) re: "
reefer blindness" - The rhetoric of prohibition asserts that insanity, crime, and violence are caused by drugs, or are controlled by prohibition. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 )
[23] The operation is named after the last major battle between the Roman Empire and the Gauls in 52 B.C .
(Sentence 23) re: "
battle" - Prohibitionists demonize the use of drugs and claim the use of drugs is "epidemic." Images of "war" are used by the prohibition propagandist to help whip up emotions. (Demonize, War (propaganda theme 6) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme6.htm#6 )
[24] That battle was won by the Romans .
(Sentence 24) re: "
battle" - Unless the drug "war" is fought, claims the rhetoric of prohibition, an evil "epidemic" of drugs would be unleashed upon an unwitting public. (Demonize, War (propaganda theme 6) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme6.htm#6 )
[30] While Walters didn't give specific goals for Operation Alesia, he said anti-drug agencies aim to cripple the organized crime groups that he said are behind the marijuana cultivation .
(Sentence 30) re: "
crime" - Prohibitionist propaganda claims that horrible dangers are caused by "drugs." (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 )
[32] Note: Federal official calls marijuana growers dangerous terrorists .
(Sentence 32) re: "
terrorists" - Prohibition propaganda often uses crude forms of name-calling to link a targeted drug with groups the majority dislikes. (Hated Groups (propaganda theme 1) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme1.htm#1 )

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #42 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 13:44:58 PT
herbdoc215
It's really good to see you. I know all about the DEA threatening to seize owners properties. I keep looking for an article but I haven't found one yet. I feel very sorry for people in CA right now.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #41 posted by user123 on July 13, 2007 at 13:32:13 PT:

Always snapping their Necks!
"No arrests have been made so far in the four days of raids,..........He said suspects have been hard to find because their familiarity with their terrain makes it easy for them to flee quickly." Before he went on the raids, didn't he claim the Mexican Mafia was bring people up here to tend to the gardens? Then how can they be familiar with the terrain? Also...."These lands must be cleaned and restored," he said. Yep, cuz if there's one thing this administration is known for, it's protecting the environment and restoring anything that's destroyed. Someone should go back to these sites in 6 months or 6 years and check. It doesn't matter cuz they won't restore squat!

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #40 posted by goblet on July 13, 2007 at 13:26:57 PT:

re DEA letter
just in time for the Hinchey-Rohrabacher vote next week ...

Can you post a scan of that letter anywhere?

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #39 posted by MikeEEEEE on July 13, 2007 at 13:22:29 PT
Desperate measures...
require forfeiture.

They're really desperate.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #38 posted by herbdoc215 on July 13, 2007 at 13:13:22 PT
In the prayer this can reach those in danger!
Here is an actual copy of the letter from feds to landlords.... This will NOT have to desired effect the pigs want, they are showing me how utterly close we are to victory here in Cali! If the "movementarians" are going to sit around yet again proving to me that their only worry is their budgets then patients like me who are actual stakeholders in the outcome of this crap are given a chance to defend ourselves and also to start working seriously to counteract this bs before it all gets swept back into the streets and gutters where so many cannot/refuse to follow. ACCESS is EVERYTHING, without it all this is just an exercise in rhetoric! This is a broadcast of the emergency cannabis network, in the event you can effect rescue operations, please do so safely! When this last wheeze is gone from the wicked witch then all of oz shall be free! This is the beginning of the end of medical cannabis prohibition! Peace, Steve

Letter from DEA, LA Field Division, 255 E. Temple St, 17th Fl, LA 90012 (213) 621-6700

The DEA has determined you own, or have under your management or control, a building located at [ADDRESS]. The DEA has determined there is a marijuana dispensary, [NAME], operating on the property. This is a violation of federal law. Federal law 21 U.S.C. Sec. 56 (a) states:

"It shall be unlawful to knowingly and intentionally rent, lease or make available for use, with or without compensation, a building, room, or enclosure for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, storing, distributing, or using a controlled substance."

Federal law takes precedence over State law. It is not a defense to this crime or to the seizure of the property that the facility operating on the property is providing "medical marijuana" under California law including the provisions of California Prop. 215. Violation of this law is a felony crime, and carries with it a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

In addition, federal law allows for the seizure of assets, including real property, which have been used in conjunction with the distribution of controlled substances. Specifically, 21 U.S.C. 881 (a) (7) states:

"The following shall be subject to forfeiture to the United States and no property right shall exist in them: All real property, including any right, title and interest (including any leasehold interest) in the whole of any lot or tract of land which is used in any manner or part, or to facilitate the commission of, a violation of this sub-chapter."

This letter shall serve as notice that, after a thorough investigation, the DEA has determined there is a marijuana dispensary operating on the above described property. By this notice, you have been made aware of the purposes for which the property is being used. You are further advised that violations of federal laws relating to marijuana may result in criminal prosecution, imprisonment, fines and forfeiture of assets.

For further information, please contact Acting Group Supervisor Deanne Reuter at (213) 621-6789. Sincerely, Timothy J. Landrum, Special Agent in Charge.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #37 posted by NikoKun on July 13, 2007 at 13:08:53 PT
Unquestioned?
When the DEA says these kinds of things, isn't anyone around there to question it? I mean how stupid can you get...

"These organizations are destroying our lands and wildlife," How? You mean by planting natural Plants that are good for the soil?

"These lands must be cleaned and restored," What? O_o how were they "unclean"? And how is destroying a natural plant "cleaning" them and saving wildlife?... These DEA monsters go around pulling up plants and setting flame-throwers on them... I know! lets clean up the dirty ditches on the side roads, by planting natural wild plants... like Cannabis.

A few other gems: "Don't buy drugs. They fund violence and terror," "These people are armed; they're dangerous," "violent criminal terrorists."

Yet again they show how wonderful their common sense is... They seem to have no knowledgeable understanding of cause and effect... I'll tell you what's funding Terrorism, the black market! And how does the black market get money? by selling things that are illegal... So what happens if those things are made legal? funding gone. -_- problem solved. Drugs aren't funding terrorism, the DEA is, by outlawing harmless things. THEY are causing the very problems that they attribute to Marijuana... Make it legal, and get rid of the DEA, and those problems all go away.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #36 posted by herbdoc215 on July 13, 2007 at 12:25:43 PT
I should have blew more hash smoke in his face?
John Walters is a truly evil man, I've stared into his eyes....he knows he's wrong. A little more hash smoke in BC may have shown Walters that he is the 'boogyman' not us! There is a great big federal effort against us here in Cali now. Everybody beware as there is MUCH more going on now than is being reported...I'm afraid for many friends whom are only trying to help others, that these task force raids will be in more counties than Shasta, tuesday seems to be a 'suprise' for us but they never realize we have more local support than they do! I'm just waiting to see what DA's co-operate and we're going after those politically! The feds are even trying to mess with all the clubs down here in LA (it's being kept quiet still over 'movementarian' politics, but landlords of all the clubs in LA have received letters saying if they don't evict the clubs then feds will confiscate properties) sooo this is going to be there last hooy-ra and will have plenty of blow-back as there are no armies of mexican growers in NorCal and never were, It's all just more racist bs from pigs who love playing with there toys and stealing weed from people like me. ps. everybody near these raids needs to go look around after pigs leave as we always catch them stashing weed to pick up at nite! Peace, Steve

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #35 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 10:47:15 PT
potpal
I just looked on my local PBS channel and it won't be aired anymore in the near future it seems. I hope Standing Silent Nation is put on a DVD for sale because watching tv in the middle of the night was impossible for me.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #34 posted by potpal on July 13, 2007 at 10:29:25 PT
pass it around
Sorry, the previous link I included doesn't get turned into a usable link, but if you cut and paste it...or...go here...

http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2007/standing/special.html



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #33 posted by potpal on July 13, 2007 at 10:24:19 PT
farmland security?
mms://wm.z1.mii-streaming.net/media/pbs/windows/general/windows/pov/pov2007/standing/standing_victory_lo.wmv?v1st=B9FAF0EE9B0CE60F

Got to get back to the garden.

Cannabis prohibition is the crime.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #32 posted by DjLoTi on July 13, 2007 at 10:21:14 PT
Oh shi , we're terrorists now?
O man... that's a bad, bad thing...

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #31 posted by Richard Zuckerman on July 13, 2007 at 10:14:28 PT:

NEXT WEEK'S VOTE ON THE HINCHEY VOTE AND AL QUAIDA
Yesterday, I stood on a street corner and asked motorists to contact Congress about next week's vote on Congressman Maurice Hinchey's Bill which would cut down funding the United States Department of Justice to stop arrests of medical "Marijuana", at a detour where many cars had to stop at a traffic light with their windows open. The day before, I had two other individuals contact Congress to support the Hinchey Bill. I am talking to people about it. I'm not simply keeping my opinion to myself. I'm not wasting my time chastising other like Whig wastes his time asking me if I have apologized for threatening a judge; If he read our last exchange of ideas, he would have correctly read that I have, indeed, apologized for threatening a judge. What does Whig do which puts him above others? Is he a public school "teacher"? Is he a minister of one of the phoney religions being preached and believed?

If the Drug Czar is so concerned about terrorism, he should read the article in the Thursday, July 12, 2007, 6:37 P.M. EDT, entitled "Intel: al-Qaida Stepping Up Infiltration Efforts", claiming Al-Qaida is "stepping up its efforts to sneak terror operatives into the United States and has acquired most of the capabilities it needs to strike here, according to a new U.S. intelligence assessment, The Associated Press has learned."

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #30 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 09:55:19 PT
greenfox
It's good to see you. I don't think I will take your advice and hang myself though. It's bad but not that bad.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #29 posted by greenfox on July 13, 2007 at 09:53:05 PT
Its been a while since I've posted, but...
ARE YOU ALL F***ing insane?!?!?

Please. This is ridiculous.... whatever.

Im so sick of this propaganda GARBAGE. It seriously needs to stop.

Notice the small play on "reefer madness" to "reefer blindness" even though it IS madness?!?!

I'm so *** **** angry I can't even ******* type. I quit.

Seriously.

We will have prohibition FOREVER.

Welcome to Nazi ger..er.. amerikkka.

WELCOME.

ENJOY IT.

THEREs literally *****NOTHING****** you can do about it except maybe hang yourself.

Oh well.

peace.

-gf

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #28 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 09:41:16 PT
Hope
LOL!

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #27 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 09:41:14 PT
Omar Sharif?
Oh my.

:0)



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #26 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 09:32:02 PT
Omar Sharif?
Ooooooh.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #25 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 09:31:08 PT
BEFORE
Stick. I mean.

:0)

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #24 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 09:30:07 PT
No! No!
"Stick looks like Bob Barr".

FoM's husband for Stick looks like Bob Barr!

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #23 posted by museman on July 13, 2007 at 08:39:10 PT
Had Enough
Roman architecture. Roman Senate. Roman religion. Roman centurians (cops). Roman 'New World Order.' Roman intrigue. Roman 'superior' aristocracy. Roman (Nazi, Babylon,) Eagle. ROMAN REPUBLIC.

Caesar, and his cronies wear suits and ties, instead of a laurel - otherwise there is absolutely no difference.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #22 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 08:38:04 PT
nuevo mexican
I look like a 59 year old woman that is 5' 2 " and weighs 110 lbs. I have very long hair and that's about it for me.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #21 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 08:36:13 PT
museman
I understand.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #20 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 08:30:21 PT
nuevo mexican
First of all I have been worried about you and it's good to see you. Now No No No No Stick doesn't look like Bob Barr. I was married in my young and stupid years for 7 years to the father of my son and he is a republican, capitalist extraordinaire. He hated everything! LOL! Except money.

When I met Stick he reminded me of Omar Sharif. I loved Dr. Zhivago! LOL!

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #19 posted by Had Enough on July 13, 2007 at 08:28:17 PT
Beam me up Scottie…

the Romans are still the Ruling the Land…

and the place is on fire…

The operation is named after the last major battle between the Roman Empire and the Gauls in 52 B.C. That battle was won by the Romans.

That’s all I needed to see…

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #18 posted by museman on July 13, 2007 at 08:27:12 PT
FoM#17
I was referring to their promises to deal with Bush, and their wimping out on us.

Sorry, I just feel sarcastic today.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #17 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 08:24:15 PT
museman
I don't understand what you mean about the democrats. What did they say?

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #16 posted by nuevo mexican on July 13, 2007 at 08:23:48 PT
Big News! Medical Cannabis vote results......
Hello FOM and all!

Thanks to Americans for Safe Access for this good news!

I hope it's okay to post copy from the article, C-Newsers have something to celebrate, that has ramifications for past elections, and future ones!

Off topic: (Now we know Stick looks like Bob Barr, which is a hoot, I know alot of Bob Barr look alikes, and they're nice guys usually, so who would you compare yourself to FOM?

Not that it matters, but it is fun to have a mental image of him after all these years!

Back to the headline!

Here is the confirmation of what we've suspected for years when it comes to Cannabis and elections, that the results have been altered, rigged, lost, mis-counted etc.

I believe we would be way ahead of where we are if our votes had really been counted over the years, remember the glitch in Nevada's' election a few years ago, and it goes on and on....

Now we have proof, and Diebold is to blame!

Let's get active on this one folks, we can use this example to look at past election results that we suspected were altered, miscounted, discarded, etc.

This is huge for us, Cannabis, and will help get rid of Diebold voting machines.

Let's take this ALL THE WAY to it's logical conclusion, this could help end Electronic Voting machines, and expose the rigged results when it comes to elections that involve voting on Cannabis, and it's illegal status.

Which is illegal in itself, isn't it?

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4811

Judge to Nullify Election Results of 2004 Alameda County Ballot Measure, According to Tentative Ruling County Had Refused to Allow Public Examination of Electronic Votes and Audit Logs on Diebold Voting Systems After 'Numerous Machine Malfunctions' in Medical Marijuana Election...

In Breaking News late this afternoon, we find yet another reason why Direct Recording Electronic (DRE, usually touch-screen) voting systems are incompatible with democracy: When an election held on them is contested, the machines themselves --- which are said to hold the ballots internally --- cannot be used in another election until the contest is settled.

Late news this afternoon, sent to The BRAD BLOG moments ago, reveals that a judge in an Alameda County, California election contest is set to rule that a contested ballot measure election from 2004 must now be reheld since the county destroyed data from the election when they sent the Diebold DRE voting systems back to the company in Plano, Texas.

All but 4% of election data, records and audit logs was overwritten in subsequent contests, according to the following release from Americans For Safe Access (ASA) who were the plaintiffs in the contest.

In 2004, Alameda was the same county where it was found that Diebold had installed uncertified hardware and software in the county's voting system. The illegal action by the company eventually led to the decertification of certain Diebold systems in California.

The judge's unprecedented decision to re-hold an election after plaintiffs were denied their right to a proper recount after the county's failure to preserve election records on the Diebold touch-screen systems could have reverberations around the country.

The ASA release explains the astounding details and background in this tale, along with the judge's tentative findings in full... PRESS RELEASE: For Immediate Release, June 12, 2007

Tentative Ruling Finds that County Officials Destroyed Voting Records from Election Conducted on Diebold Electronic Voting Machines

Election Results May Be Nullified and County Ordered to Conduct Re-Vote on Ballot Measure at Next General Election; Hearing on the Tentative Ruling Tomorrow

OAKLAND, CA – Superior Court Judge Winifred Y. Smith issued a tentative ruling that the Alameda County Registrar of Voters and Alameda County "have engaged in a pattern of withholding relevant evidence and failure to preserve evidence" necessary to conduct a recount of a hotly contested Berkeley ballot measure. As a result, the Court has signaled its intention to void the election and order the County to place Measure R back on the ballot for a re-vote at the next general election.

Judge Smith will issue a final ruling after the Court hears oral arguments tomorrow (Friday, July 13, at 9:30 a.m. at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse, Department 114, 661 Washington Street, Oakland).

"Judge Smith's tentative ruling confirms our contention that Alameda County violated its duty to preserve the critical voting machine data that was the focus of this recount lawsuit and election contest," said Gregory Luke of Strumwasser & Woocher LLP, attorney for the plaintiffs who sought the recount of the vote on Measure R.

NEWS ADVISORY

What: Americans for Safe Access vs. County of Alameda et al. When: Friday, July 13, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. Where: Wiley Manuel Courthouse, Department 114, 661 Washington Street, Oakland

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #15 posted by museman on July 13, 2007 at 08:17:14 PT
what the rest of the (non-political) world thinks
"Don't buy those [Americans], They fund violence and terror,"

"These people are armed; they're dangerous," he said. He called them "violent criminal terrorists."

"[They] try to move in under stealth,"

"These organizations are destroying our lands and wildlife,"

"These lands must be cleaned and restored,"

and what the current running democrats said before they were elected;

"This business we intend to put into recession, depression and put its leaders into jail,"

And the truest statement of all;

"We have kind of a reefer blindness,' "

Just goes to show, that if you can't uphold the truth, pay somebody to recreate it in your own image, it's a lucrative business these days.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #14 posted by MikeEEEEE on July 13, 2007 at 08:09:47 PT
post # 8
Isn’t it a coincidence that there is saber rattling about Iran, after bush sent another aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf, for a total of 3 aircraft carriers?

These guys are fear mongers. The best tricks are the old tricks.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #13 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 07:52:26 PT
Potpal....comment 11
Thanks! I'll just tuck that into my "ammunition" pocket.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #12 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 07:45:58 PT
Cheerleaders?
Or a band of apes throwing poop everywhere and screaming and jumping and making those ape terror faces at us all.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #11 posted by potpal on July 13, 2007 at 07:44:18 PT
Stumbled on this...
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=4990

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #10 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 07:43:37 PT
Potpal...
Hinchey's next week, too.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #9 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 07:42:47 PT
Fear is crippling... Mr. Walters.
I want to shake it off ... not wrap it around me like it's something positive.

Fear and pride can keep you from seeing what your next step should be.

Shut up with the "FEAR" and let me see where my next step is, without you trying to cripple me with every word that comes out of your terrorist owned mouths.

Besides a stage hypnotist...Walters reminds me of an old medicine man...running around shaking his rattles and getting up in my face with a scary mask and just being a general nuisance, all so he can find a way to "control" me.

Tell me the facts, if you know any....and stop with the "terrorizing" tactics.

I can see them in some sort of lurid little cheerleader outfits...pom-poms and all...Cheerleaders for fear! "Come on now! Be afraid!" Cartwheels! "Yay! Fear! Everybody tremble now! Tremble for the home team!"

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #8 posted by potpal on July 13, 2007 at 07:40:45 PT
one other thing
Isn't it obvious that this dog and pony show takes place along with the exaggerated warnings and hysterical terror alerts the same week as the House Judiciary DEA oversight hearings?

Another bushheaded war.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #7 posted by BGreen on July 13, 2007 at 07:33:57 PT
Straw-man argument with no sources quoted
In other words, unsubstantiated claims about a hypothetical scenario without any proof of validity or plausibility.

In three words, 'a fabricated lie.'

What is plausible is that when you take people's hard-earned property away from them for being a gardener, they're going to plant their gardens on land that can't be taken away.

Duh, johnny pee. You're a waste of sperm and a poster child for condom use.

The Reverend Bud Green (AKA Brother Bud)

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #6 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 07:29:40 PT
A Comment
Quote: "This business we intend to put into recession, depression and put its leaders into jail," Walters said.

This reminds me of the movie the Godfather. If you don't listen we will wreck your business and life.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #5 posted by FoM on July 13, 2007 at 07:25:26 PT
Hope
Fear is one of the best control mechanism that are used to keep us in line. We are dumb and they are smart and we must always listen. You can make people listen when they are constantly in a state of fear. They do it well.

PS: The whole world could blow up but fear of it happening is all that is needed for some people to put them in a box. It really is a sad thing to me.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #4 posted by potpal on July 13, 2007 at 07:20:50 PT
drug bi-czar
This man is one sick cookie. Reefer blindness alright, like he and the boneheads he represents are completely blind to all things cannabis.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #3 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 07:13:23 PT
I'm sick of people wanting
me to be terrified! I'm getting mad.

If I was big enough, and strong enough, I'd pick the next terrifier I meet, up, by both shoulders, and try to shake some sense back into him.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #2 posted by Hope on July 13, 2007 at 07:07:14 PT
Relegalize...Regulate...Mr. Walters....
and you won't have to be so "terrified"....and you can stop trying to "put a spell" on us.

Your "spell" is all soggy and wore out...it won't work.

I can imagine a frustrated state, I mean "stage", hypnotist that can't hypnotize anyone!

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #1 posted by ripit on July 13, 2007 at 06:47:18 PT:

threat?
just exactly what is the threat to my health or the enrivronment?

[ Post Comment ]

  Post Comment
Name:        Password:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comment:   [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]

Link URL:
Link Title:


Return to Main Menu


So everyone may enjoy this service and to keep it running, here are some guidelines: NO spamming, NO commercial advertising, NO flamming, NO illegal activity, and NO sexually explicit materials. Lastly, we reserve the right to remove any message for any reason!

This web page and related elements are for informative purposes only and thus the use of any of this information is at your risk! We do not own nor are responsible for visitor comments. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 and The Berne Convention on Literary and Artistic Works, Article 10, news clippings on this site are made available without profit for research and educational purposes. Any trademarks, trade names, service marks, or service names used on this site are the property of their respective owners. Page updated on July 13, 2007 at 06:22:43