cannabisnews.com: Glossing Over Mistreatment in The Magbie Case










  Glossing Over Mistreatment in The Magbie Case

Posted by CN Staff on April 07, 2006 at 19:49:18 PT
By Colbert I. King 
Source: Washington Post  

Washington, D.C. -- Jonathan Magbie was a 27-year-old man who was paralyzed from the neck down as a result of a childhood accident. Although he had never been convicted of a criminal offense and although he required private nursing care for as much as 20 hours a day, Magbie was given a 10-day sentence in the D.C. jail in September 2004 by D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith E. Retchin for possession of a marijuana cigarette. He died in city custody four days later. His story has been the subject of several previous columns.
Earlier this week Edward D. Reiskin, deputy mayor for public safety and justice, provided D.C. Council members David Catania (I-At Large) and Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairmen, respectively, of the council's Health and Judiciary committees, with the findings from the D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC) investigation into the care provided Magbie from Sept. 20 to Sept. 24, 2004.Actually, to call the Corrections Department's report an "investigation" is like describing a BB gun as an AK-47. The eight-page document produced by the department's Office of Internal Affairs attempts to explain away a more extensive and highly critical investigation into Magbie's death that D.C. Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby conducted last October. Willoughby's report and the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and two lawyers on behalf of Magbie's mother, Mary R. Scott, are more credible. They provide real insight into Magbie's neglectful treatment by the criminal justice system.Now to the Department of Corrections "investigation." The findings were dutifully and uncritically transmitted to the council by Reiskin, who, incidentally, complained to lawmakers that "the investigation was hindered by legal advice provided to [the contractor medical staff] by its counsel not to release any information to DOC regarding this issue due to pending litigation."That clampdown on salient information did not, however, stop Corrections from arriving on the scene after Willoughby completed his extensive investigation and producing an Internal Affairs document that exonerates or at least gives a virtuous appearance to many of the actions by staff and employees at the corrections facility where Magbie was confined. But even Corrections couldn't cover all the participants with whitewash.In some cases, Corrections' critical findings were accompanied by recommended disciplinary actions that have all the harshness of a beating with a wet noodle.Internal Affairs Found:* There were instances in which Magbie's medical care was not documented. But the nurses culpable in the acts of omission couldn't be identified because the medical contractor, paid by the Corrections Department with D.C. tax dollars, wouldn't give access to the contractor's employees.* The associate medical director of the jail where Magbie was confined knew about Magbie's vulnerable medical condition and that he needed acute care immediately, but failed to notify higher-ups. The associate medical director, the report noted, resigned last October. Undeterred, Corrections bravely directed the medical contractor to "place a letter of reprimand in the doctor's Official Personnel File" and to determine "any other appropriate disciplinary action to be pursued against the doctor."* Correctional and medical staff provided written memos to the Corrections Department director stating that they never saw Magbie's cell door locked while he was in the unit. (It should have remained unlocked, because there was no way that Magbie, a quadriplegic, could reach the emergency button.) Corrections discovered information that contradicted the staff-written memos: Magbie's cell door had in fact been locked, in violation of doctor's orders. For their lying, Corrections fearlessly instructed the warden, disciplinary action was to be taken against the two officers and a disciplinary letter placed in the personnel file of each.* A physician in the Corrections facility housing Magbie told the inspector general that he was unaware of Magbie's return from Greater Southeast Community Hospital, where he had been taken as an emergency patient during his first night in jail. It turns out, the Corrections report noted, that the physician did see Magbie upon his return. That physician, thundered the Corrections report, "will no longer be permitted on DOC premises . . . this action is to take place posthaste."As for the Corrections Department's decision to keep the ventilator-dependent Magbie confined for four days to the Correctional Treatment Facility, where no ventilator or appropriate medical care was available? The "investigation," done by Corrections staff and passed along by Reiskin, gave the rest of the nurses, physicians and staff a pass.Judge Retchin? She was cleared by the Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure.Say this much for ol' D.C., it takes care of its own.If justice is to be had in this case, it won't be found in D.C. agencies. Better to look to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. That's where the Jonathan Magbie lawsuit is filed.Note: Non related portion removed.Source: Washington Post (DC)Author: Colbert I. KingPublished: Saturday, April 8, 2006; Page A23Copyright: 2006 Washington Post Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Related Articles: A Searing Portrait of Abusehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21336.shtml'Top-Floor' Treatment in D.C.http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21153.shtmlACLU and Local Attorneys File Lawsuit http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21129.shtml

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Comment #115 posted by FoM on April 13, 2006 at 12:55:36 PT
Paul
Thank you. I couldn't find it either.
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Comment #114 posted by paulpeterson on April 13, 2006 at 12:37:46 PT
FoM
Re: decriminalization and medical marijuana ordinance proposed for BV County, Iowa.FoM: I checked the web site and apparently they have not (yet?) placed the article on-line. The Sheriff was there last Tuesday and received a copy for his evaluation.I have set up another meeting with the supervisors for 4/25 at 10:30. In other matters, I was arrested 1/21/06 for "interfering" with police action by stating it was inhumane that police would not let a boy put on a coat during a DUI search. The kid was in short sleeves and shorts without a coat in weather agreed to be low 20's.I just got the police report from that incident and it has obtuse lies on the part of two police officers, which I can rebut by two competent witnesses.I tendered the police report to the magistrate for his evaluation in concert with his decision on my motion to dismiss on constitutional grounds ie: my conduct was protected first amendment freedom of speech.The officers lied about which guy cuffed me and about the conversation that led to the arrest.I have basically told them all that the public's perception of police honesty REQUIRES that we get this case dismissed without the officers committing perjury on the stand. If the case does go to trial and the police are contradicted, the judge stands a risk of "disregarding perjury" meaning his own tit is in the wringer.The Sheriff agreed with me that I need to go to the state agency "Dept. of Criminal Investigation". Nice try, but they will only investigate if ASKED BY THE POLICE to do so. That means it is time to get the city lawyer and county lawyer involved to the extent where they are proven to be HIDING LIES in the police department. Then we take them to the state ethics board for aiding and abetting perjury.I expect that if they don't handcuff me and rule me insane again to discredit me, someone will want this case gone pronto. That means that I may just get some political wind out of that matter to blow into the sails of progress.Today the rep from the supervisor board told me the chairman would be contacting me to discuss my proposals. That means I am finally getting to discuss this thing "behind closed doors" where everything happens in this life in the first place.To anyone that is listening here, the message is this: Whenever you see bad police action, there is an opportunity to build a mighty shield-police will always lie to protect themselves from unpleasant situations, or so it seems. Assuming you have witnesses (which I only hoped would come forward) then you have a cause worthy of press and publicity. This gig has given me some 25 editorials so far in the local rag. Since the Sheriff knows I can get press now, he doesn't want his own reputation sullied by the local police action-therefore I have gotten him to break ranks, if only for a moment.The ordinance I have proposed gives the Sheriff control of the program and direct receipt to his office of funds, which he can use for "evaluations & treatment" for "aggravated" cases (other drugs, drunk driving, etc.). The police and sheriff people retain "discretion" to use state law if appropriate. Therefore I am enlisting his office tacitly to support me.Wish me luck. I will check on it in a few days to see if they have posted the article on-line (not yet).Thank you for all your efforts to keep the information highway open and moving at light speed for the benefit of us activists that are starting brush fires all over the nation (no real fire, just metaphor, of course).Checking out. PAUL PETERSON
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Comment #113 posted by FoM on April 12, 2006 at 12:03:18 PT
Paul
I looked but once again I couldn't find an article. Please post a link if you can and that would help me alot. Thanks.
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Comment #112 posted by paulpeterson on April 12, 2006 at 09:28:54 PT
FoM
Fom: Check out the Storm Lake Pilot Tribune yesterday (4/11). I got an article in about my county-wide "ordinance" to decriminalize the county and also to give a medical exemption for 1 ounce. I threw in a provision to allow an exemptee to grow up to 8 mature plants (up to 5 feet) and once plant higher. A caregiver can be designated as well.Fines would be $100 for first offense and would go to pay for evaluations on serious "aggravated" cases and to establish a "drug school".On other fronts, I finally got the police report on my 1/21/06 incident involving a hispanic boy with no coat, short sleeves and shorts in 20 degree weather being berated by an OWI check. I stated to police "it is inhumane you won't let that boy put on a coat". I was arrested for interfering, etc., but the report has obvious falsities on its face, with two witnesses to support the contradictions.As I already have a motion to dismiss on constitutional bases pending, I sent the police report to the judge with coomments about the perjuries that are forthcoming if the case goes to court. I suggested that for the public's best respect for police to be salvaged, we need to avoid any publicity (and get this case out of court).By the way, the entire police report PROVES my only comments to police were about the constitutionality of their treatment of the Hispanic boy (age 24).I have already asked the Sheriff to investigate (no thank you). I told him I would try to get the state involved. They won't get involved though, unless the local police request their help-not likely since they have already schooshed their own investigation of the matter. By the way, the Sheriff was asked by the county people to evaluate my ordinance language.Hope you like the article. Bye for now. PAUL PETERSON
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Comment #111 posted by whig on April 11, 2006 at 18:33:25 PT
Max
Aren't those enzymes the very things that the medical industry is trying to decrease and/or inhibit? Protease inhibitors? Do you think they're just trying to kill off "undesirables"? It was always part of the Nazi program.
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Comment #110 posted by Toker00 on April 11, 2006 at 18:29:43 PT
I seem to remember
taking papaya (Mexican fruit?) tablets once, long ago, to aid digestion. Is that an enzyme? They are good. I like yogurt, but one at a time as well, Max.Yeah, gw, the chicken got me the first time in an enchalada, twenty years ago. There's one thing about chicken. YOU GOTTA COOK IT!! lol.Good for you on the relief, whig.God bless Jerry. God bless us all. Thanks FoM, for the NEWS. Ok. Recuperated and ready to go. Bring on the PROHIBIANS!! Truth and Justice this day forward!!Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #109 posted by Max Flowers on April 11, 2006 at 16:14:04 PT
whig
I take various brands of broad-spectrum type enzymes, meaning ones that have all the main types included: protease, cellulase, lipase, amylase, etc. I try different brands. Some are a little better than others, but all seem to work. I even use this one brand sometimes that has ox bile extract! Those can really break down the meat proteins. Strange though, since oxen eat grasses, right?By probiotics I mean supplements that have acidophilus and bifidus species combined. Capsules. Yogurt has some acidophilus, but in my experience not enough to make a difference like the supplement ones seem to. And you can take lots of them at a time if you feel the need, whereas you wouldn't want to pound five servings of yogurt to get more probiotic bacteria. At least I woudn't. There is also straight acidophilus culture that you can buy and eat, but I've never gone that route (and probably won't).
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Comment #108 posted by global_warming on April 11, 2006 at 16:00:28 PT
105 doorway
we can never return, maybe it is not worth returning, for in some little understood relativistic expansion, time and space, hover before the Light that shines from within, the observer has a special place, in this universe, he is the 'witness.Try a little steam for those nasal problems, the Asian Indians have a little pot of saline water they pour into the nostrils to flush all that congestion, listening to Sigfrieds Death March..from the Ring of Wagner,
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Comment #107 posted by global_warming on April 11, 2006 at 15:47:23 PT
in the meantime
that crippled boy named Magbie is dead, for having a cigarette of marijuana, also know as the Blessed Leaf Cannabis, that boy with no hands, and the judges, lawyers, cops, have magically walked away, with clean hands, how do these people sleep at 'night?The time is coming, when sleep will not cure their addiction and disgrace, for these people will seek medical attention, for what started out as a rash, has spread to consume their entire flesh, neither priest or shaman, can lead them to salvation, for their blasphemy, they inherit the fruits of their labors, ever reminding and adding that last capstone as they are engulfed by the earth, to be forgotten, in this eternal universe, a mere piece of silver has little value.
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Comment #106 posted by whig on April 11, 2006 at 15:46:09 PT
Headache
Going, going, going....My sinuses continue to flow and empty, even now, a week and a half in, and there is still pressure which comes and goes, and it is not clear yet, but getting better each day.I'm sure now that capsaicin does work, if you keep at it for long enough, but two and a half years of congestion does not clear out quickly at all.
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Comment #105 posted by whig on April 11, 2006 at 15:42:23 PT
g w
Consider that the closer we may come to death the closer we also will come to the revelation of all that our life meant. Alas, it is a doorway through which we cannot step all the way through and back again, but a glimpse may occasionally be caught at the threshhold, and it can be life-transforming if we survive it.
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Comment #104 posted by global_warming on April 11, 2006 at 15:29:44 PT
re:94
had fp just once, hope I never visit that place again, it was very abdominally painful, could not heave or dump, awful pain, sweats and no sleep, could only take some broth the next day.I dumped that old gal who cooked that chicken dinner for me, she could not cook.It is interesting that revelation and illumination at times can come with sickness and disease, it is that difference that allows one to see the world from a slightly different angle.Good that you are feeling better,
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Comment #103 posted by whig on April 11, 2006 at 09:45:55 PT
Max
What digestive enzymes do you take, and as for probiotics do you mean yogurt?
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Comment #102 posted by Max Flowers on April 11, 2006 at 09:33:35 PT
Toker
Sounds like you got bona fide food poisoning then. The regimen I suggested will still be helpful anyway. Everyone, in my opinion, should do that regimen after 25 years old unless they are a yogi vegan raw foodist or something. The enzymes make sure all food is broken down as much as possible, the probiotics restore the balance of beneficial gut bacteria to prevent "putrefaction" (yuck), and the fiber... well, you all know what the fiber does. It's a three-pronged attack on the three biggest parts of a very common problem. When I was a teenager I used to see these ads in the TV Guide (way before their time, in a sense) that said "Death begins in the colon". I laughed at it then... little did I know I would come to understand what they meant all too well, and that colon matters would have little humor anymore! 
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Comment #101 posted by FoM on April 11, 2006 at 07:25:53 PT

Toker00
I'm glad you are feeling better. My husband and I got food poisoning at a church picnic one time. Other people from the picnic got really sick too. We figured it was the macaroni salad. I always wanted to go on a cruise ship but so many people get sick on cruise ships anymore that we won't even consider it.PS: Heart of Gold will be released on June 13th. I am really looking forward to this movie. Heart of Gold: http://tinyurl.com/lg4sn
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Comment #100 posted by Toker00 on April 11, 2006 at 03:34:38 PT

The 100th Post.
Now where's that Monkey?Toke.
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Comment #99 posted by Toker00 on April 11, 2006 at 03:33:36 PT

Thanks FoM
I feel great this morning. Normalcy has returned. Resurrection. Dear Father, please guide Jerry's words through the heart of the beast that holds him. Let them cut both ways and instill peace and love in that black hole.Toke.
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Comment #98 posted by Toker00 on April 11, 2006 at 03:22:08 PT

Hey Max.
I'm gonna bookmark your post. It is very unusual that I get FP. Twice in twenty years. If what you suggest is a preventative, I will use it. I hope it never comes around again, not even after twenty MORE years. Thanks so much. My wife and I both got it, her not so bad, thank goodness. We are now being very, very careful about what and where we eat.BGreen, I am so thankful that there are enough spiritual people here that I don't sound so weird. I don't call my spiritualism Christianity, and you all seem to understand that. Even though I usually only refer to the Christian Bible in my references. There is a story there, in all the Good Books, and a mystery, too. I don't believe anyone can physically handle knowing everything about our existence or why we exist. It's like our coming together here, and many people everywhere, will collectively spread Truth through the world, until that magic number 100th Monkey gets it. This truth must go forward. We cannot hold it back. Though many of us suffer rejection when we try to present Non believers with the truth, we and all would suffer longer and greater if we say nothing. Let his Kingdom come.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #97 posted by Max Flowers on April 11, 2006 at 00:12:12 PT

Hey Toker00
Sorry to hear you had the ol' FP. I've been there too, buddy. Big time.I've wrangled with GI issues for many years, and I know what worked for me and probably works for others. You see, I used to get what I thought was food poisoning quite often. I'm talking a couple times a year, sometimes more. I knew in the back of mind though that it was unlikely that my luck was that bad. In addition to being a walking magnet for FP, I had IBS and gastroesophageal reflux (chronic heartburn).Let me ask you something... do you do any of these three things, or none?: 1) take digestive enzymes w/every meal, 2) take probiotics, 3) take fiberYou might have what I had, and cured myself of (with no help from any doctors I might add). It was an immune-compromised state from my digestive enzymes having tapped out in my mid-twenties, a common but little-known problem. That caused chronic partially failed digestion, leading to a toxic lower GI system and eventually a battered immune system. Then, when I encountered a low level of bacteria in a restaurant meal that a heathy person's immune system would handle with no problem, it would make me really sick. Anyway I used the combination of those three things above, and it fixed all the problems. Still do them all daily. I don't know if you have the same condition I did, but I thought I'd throw it out there in case you do. I hope this helps you and/or someone else out there. I found it a valuable (life-saving?) cure for what can be a very mysterious problem.
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Comment #96 posted by FoM on April 10, 2006 at 20:24:13 PT

Toker00 
I hope you will be feeling better soon. Food poisoning is really bad.
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Comment #95 posted by BGreen on April 10, 2006 at 20:12:24 PT

Toker00
I not only understood post 69, but I read it aloud to Mrs. Green as an example of others here at CNews that share a similar Spiritual awakening and understanding to the one we've experienced.I think the food poisoning opened up a clear vision pathway for you to see the Truth, somewhat like the spiritual journey of a shaman or tribesman.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #94 posted by Toker00 on April 10, 2006 at 17:42:08 PT

Sorry gw. Didn't mean to scare.
Have you ever had food poisoning? Recuperating from that is horrendous. I was so dillusional and disoriented when I make that last post. I was caught up in the spirit of truth, but too messed up to make much sense. I have had FP twice in my life, both times I wanted to die. The Chinese variety, I find, is not quite as bad as the Mexican variety. I had the Chinese variety this time. Terrible, terrible stuff, no matter what it's nationality. I owe my life to my wife. Thank you God, for my wife, Marie. I feel like I am recovering from a two week drunk, and as you know I don't drink but very rarely, and then only one or two, and nothing for the last year. FP would give alcohol poisoning a run for it's money,I believe.Sorry to share that, but thanks for "listening". Be careful where you eat.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #93 posted by global_warming on April 10, 2006 at 16:40:41 PT

how much longer?
This Eternity seems so forever.
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Comment #92 posted by global_warming on April 10, 2006 at 16:06:11 PT

re:69
My hairs are standing up,"I believe that. Just remember, many more dreadful things must happen before God calls his mountains in."Thanks
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Comment #91 posted by whig on April 10, 2006 at 16:01:53 PT

How much longer?
Not long now, but it continues to feel like an eternity.
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Comment #90 posted by global_warming on April 10, 2006 at 15:58:43 PT

re: 89 Truth and Honor
How much longer?
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Comment #89 posted by JSM on April 10, 2006 at 13:59:10 PT

JUSTICE
We have been persecuted, prosecuted, incarcerated, demonized, reviled, hated, murdered, our property stolen, our families destroyed along with our children taken away. We have seen the sick and dying denied what all know could bring peace and comfort. Despite all of this and more we are still the most peaceful and loving people in this country. How much longer?
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Comment #88 posted by FoM on April 10, 2006 at 12:52:41 PT

Truth
Very wise words. It's good to see you.
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Comment #87 posted by Truth on April 10, 2006 at 12:39:37 PT

Peace
"And it is all about the Truth, so we just keep saying it, singing it, passing it around, but most of all we must learn how to LIVE it."I concur.
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Comment #86 posted by whig on April 10, 2006 at 12:26:38 PT

museman
As I understand it the military generals are threatening to quit over the idea of starting a nuclear war with Iran. G. Wicked Bush is losing his support from within, now. I said sometime around the end of 2005 that this year, I thought 2006 was going to be the year of revelation, and it is sure working out that way. All is being revealed.
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Comment #85 posted by museman on April 10, 2006 at 12:15:16 PT

whig
" and you shouldn't take this as criticism."No reason I should. We'll 'catch up' as our moments better coincide. It'll happen. Lets just hope our orangutan pres doesn't launch his 'pre-emptive' nuke on Iran.
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Comment #84 posted by whig on April 10, 2006 at 11:56:21 PT

museman
I'm really glad you've been posting again lately, and I'm sorry I've been out of touch. I have a difficult time corresponding by e-mail (I almost never check e-mail) and it's hard conversing with someone that isn't likely to respond for a long time.I know you're doing things that are important to you, and you shouldn't take this as criticism. You should do what you think you should. I'm kind of in a limbo-sense right now waiting to move to California and looking forward to meeting new people and friends from CNews in person, and meantime trying to plan the move and figure out how we're getting our stuff cross-country and have insurance and how we're going to pay for it all, and support ourselves out there. So, I guess I'm just saying I've been distracted too.We'll catch up sometime, soon, I hope.
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Comment #83 posted by museman on April 10, 2006 at 11:40:26 PT

the source of the dis-ease
The current state of affairs concerning our 'government', it's overwhelmingly obvious corruption, and it's unbelievable aquisition of power that remains, even in the light of the most vocal and strong political opinion and opposition, should be no surprise.Here's a short list of (some) events that I know of that I have seen in my half century of living in America.Vietnam - claimed to be about 'protecting the world from communism.' Anyone still believe that line of BS?The systematic infiltration of every 'underground' organization to come out of the '60's, including;the SLA, the Minutemen, Greenpeace, Earth First!, the Rainbow Family- to name a few. These infiltrations included the instigation of illegal and 'monkey-wrench' violence and destruction of property, by covert implants i.e. 'agents.'The 'Iran Contra' debacle (the principle players got away absolutely clean.) Ruby Ridge, David Koresh (Waco), Oklahoma City bombing, and skipping a few other 'terrorist' acts; 9/11, Iraq.Nothing new here. While we (Americans) were pretending to have freedom in our 40 hour a week time slots, paying the taxes to support such things as CIA prisons in other countries, funding every adversary America has deigned to attack, and the systematic rape of our own constitution (as well as the natural world), these monsters have set up, and just about insured Armageddon in our time.Though I have tried to restrain and hold back any support whatsoever, taxes, redundant and wasteful use of resources, still I find myself an unwilling contributer every time I have to gas up, or go to the 'supermarket' that destroyed all the local family farms. The ability of the Bush regime to hold onto it's power in the face of such testimony as has been given is just a marvel to me. It means to me that either our collective American mind is overwhelmingly stupid, or the old saying 'you can't fight city hall' has got everyone afraid to stand up to the various bullies from the local constabulary, to the white house. I think it is the second.Solutions? The only ones I know of are too hard for the average American to act on, because they require sacrifice of the materialistic ideals that define Mainstream American society.I am frightened my friends, for the future, for my children, and their children. But I won't bow down, won't silence my voice for fear of a bullet or two or more. The ignorant may mock the truth, and those of us who bear it may suffer the disdain of the weak-minded, but in the end the truth will still be standing while all the rest is dust and ashes. I really intend (God willing) to be standing there with it.And it is all about the Truth, so we just keep saying it, singing it, passing it around, but most of all we must learn how to LIVE it.peace
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Comment #82 posted by FoM on April 10, 2006 at 11:38:37 PT

whig 
I really meant for my comment to make us think and be a little funny. Good people are not in a particular party they are just good people. 
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Comment #81 posted by whig on April 10, 2006 at 11:28:05 PT

FoM/Dongenero
I respect all people of good intention, and I do not judge people for choosing a different path than I would. Unfortunately the unstated assumption that the politicians in the Democratic Party are people of good intention seems to me mostly wrong. That is not to say anything in favor of the Republican Party, which is debased beyond recovery at this point. Nor is it to say that there are no well-intentioned politicians who manage, somehow, to be successful without becoming corrupted in the process. But they are certainly a minority.I think in the Democratic Party the exceptional case is one like Senator Russ Feingold, and even in the Republican Party there is Representative Ron Paul. Among the Greens there is a higher proportion of principled folks, and however misguided the same may be said of the Libertarians. But this, I think, is mainly due to the sense that these parties are at least presently unviable for electing candidates, thus those whose primary motivation is their own power and money or that of some financing special interest, are not attracted to these parties.At the present time it is certainly better that the Republicans lose power everywhere. But I do not forget that when Democrats were in power, they did not exercise it in a way to respect our right to cannabis either, they did not propose to end the war on drugs, they did not free the political prisoners, nor did they fail to feather their nests and participate in every kind of corruption.
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Comment #80 posted by FoM on April 10, 2006 at 11:12:09 PT

dongenero
Thank you. Maybe because it is the week of Easter and I was raised a Catholic that I think more of Jesus this time of year. I thought if Jesus walked on the earth today to teach like he taught when He was here I bet he would have a lot of democrats stopping and listening to what He had to say. That is suppose to be funny but also serious.
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Comment #79 posted by dongenero on April 10, 2006 at 11:02:15 PT

Jesus on greed
Jesus did speak considerably about the evils of greed. This would seem to conflict with a primary Republican "value"....the almighty dollar,"I've got mine" mentality.For all the moralizing the Conservatives carry on regarding marijuana or gay marriage or countless other trivial matters, they really seem to miss the point of what Jesus was saying.FoM, I believe you are absolutely right. Jesus was a liberal! Reconcile that with your twisted belief system you neocon hypocrites.
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Comment #78 posted by FoM on April 10, 2006 at 09:28:45 PT

Whig
You know what I am? I am a person who cares for people. I am not any party either. I lean towards the Greens and Democrats because human issues seem more important to them then the Republicans and those who lean more towards a conservative type government. I am very conservative when it comes to wasting money on invading foreign countries. I don't mind money being spent on better schools etc. People issues.
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Comment #77 posted by whig on April 10, 2006 at 09:05:57 PT

Also
I'm an anarchist. Not a Democrat. Not a Green. Just FWIW.
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Comment #76 posted by whig on April 10, 2006 at 09:05:30 PT

FoM
I think it depends on what you consider art. There's plenty of fascist art too. And I don't think you find a lot of concern for human rights in most heavy metal or country music. We choose or create the art that fills our own spiritual needs.
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Comment #75 posted by FoM on April 10, 2006 at 08:58:17 PT

A Small Correction
I said most in the Arts are Democrats. That might not be so because many aren't Americans. I should say they lean in the direction of the Democrats and Greens. There I feel better.
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Comment #74 posted by FoM on April 10, 2006 at 08:20:33 PT

whig 
I know something that I guess I really deep down inside didn't realize before. Let's see if this makes sense.I asked my sister who is a republican why do they call us liberal, pinko, commies? She didn't know. It seems those in the Arts have a connection to human rights. The Republicans have a connection to making more money. Capitalism seems to be what is important to them. Most people in Arts and music appear to be Democrats not Republicans. Music is disliked I believe because good music has a message so we are pushed into a corner and put down. I didn't want to be put in a box but they put us in a box and we are starting to stand up and say enough is enough. I asked my sister is she thought Jesus was a Commie. She didn't like the question but my point is if caring for those that are oppressed is a commie then what is the answer?
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Comment #73 posted by whig on April 10, 2006 at 08:14:44 PT

South Africa
Sorry, I said South America, it was a think-o.
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Comment #72 posted by whig on April 10, 2006 at 08:11:43 PT

FoM
Thanks, I know Peter Gabriel co-founded Witness and he was also very involved in Amnesty International for many years. He put more attention on apartheid in South America than anyone, as well, and did a song called Biko that is so amazingly powerful, I think it did a lot to change how people looked at what was going on, and made people pay attention.That's really the idea of Witness, too, get real videographic documentation of the abuses that are happening around the world so that the eyes of the world are watching and demanding it stop. We could really use something like this in our own movement, everyone who is charged with possession could have videos made about themselves and distributed everywhere, like Marc Emery has, and it's probably the main thing that protects him from being silently disappeared to the "tender mercies" of the United States. Because most people don't really get a feel for something unless they see and hear real people, words on a page or on a screen can never substitute.
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Comment #71 posted by FoM on April 10, 2006 at 06:57:18 PT

Whig - Peter Gabriel
I know you are a Peter Gabriel fan. He was just on CNN and talked about his project and this is the link they gave. I thought you might appreciate this.http://www.witness.org/
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Comment #70 posted by OverwhelmSam on April 10, 2006 at 04:50:22 PT

Immigration Marches & Sinking Christian Coalition
The Hispanic community marched in force Sunday vowing to register to vote and make their voices heard. The response from Congress was extreme nerviousness about immigration legislation. Could be the Hispanic community might do what we have been unable to do, unwittingly unseat marijuana prohibitionists in the name of immigration reform.And the Christian Coalition formed specifically to have influence, access and power at all levels of the federal government is deeply in debt and their numbers are shrinking. In their zeal to punish sinners they have lost the supporters that helped them get to the top.Things, they are a changing. The 2006 elections should be quite entertaining. I've got my voter registration card, and I'm not afraid to use it. I think I'll ask my representative if he intends to continue to vote on putting marijuana consumers in jail just before the election. See if I can get a letter from him so I have something in writing. No answer, no vote.
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Comment #69 posted by Toker00 on April 10, 2006 at 04:27:15 PT

Great thread.
You have to remember, the battle is not between man and God, or man and Lucifer, but rather Lucifer/his angels and God/his angels. Humanity is the collateral damage. We were given a choice in the beginning, and we are given that same choice, daily, to reach out to God/Truth, or fall to the temptations of Lucifer. Not in the little decisions we make everyday, but the spiritual decisions we make. Do we continue to fight this overwhelming thing called the War on Drugs, or do we succumb and begin thinking, "Maybe they're right. Cannabis is not acceptable." This is saying, God, we don't want your gift. But we don't do that, do we? That is a SPIRITUAL decision. although I drank alcohol for years, and swore I would never stop, I made a SPIRITUAL decision to give up alcohol and embrace cannabis. I am alive. Need I say more? I have dedicated myself to Truth. What is truth? God. In order to stop war, all nations must decide simultaneously to begin beating their spears into plowshares. This is nowhere on the horizon, but world famine may change this. All we have is a two thousand year old promise that Truth will prevail over Lies. That God will prevail over Lucifer. That we will benefit greatly when this happens, but only if we choose Truth over Lies, right NOW.Those in power in this world are there because they chose to follow lies and deception, to get there. Lucifer has taught these people every trick of deception there is. THAT IS WHY THEY ARE SO POWERFUL. They are weak as men, but by following the deceptions of Satan, they are given much power. We have to believe by following God, we will be given even greater power than these deceivers. I believe that. Just remember, many more dreadful things must happen before God calls his mountains in. Be strong in Truth. WE WILL SURVIVE!Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!  
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Comment #68 posted by lombar on April 09, 2006 at 22:09:57 PT

A diamond in the rough.
This video connects some dots for why the resistance to the endo of the war on drugs is so fierce. About $500 B per year they claim are going thru the US economy yearly. To stop the drug war may crash the US economy.
THE TRUTH & LIES OF 9/11
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Comment #67 posted by gloovins on April 09, 2006 at 22:04:33 PT

A post fm observer when Magpie just had passed...
wretched judges, cruel congressesQ: How and Why Did Jonathan Magbie Die?Answer. D.C. Voters supported medical use of marijuana, for adults just like Jonathan Magbie. But politicans in the US congress, knowing that they doeth God service, thought better. How smug they must be now, thinking to themselves, "I served God by fighting drugs." But in reality all they have done is to leave a trail of misery and of dead Jonathan Magbies behind them.How in in the world does the Post miss all that? Short memory? Maybe the Washington Post was out of town in 98, 99, and 2002 and missed the MMJ news? Maybe they are just slow to connect the dots. After all, with the really important work that occupies the Post, they might not have time to dig out information about medical marijuana in D.C., and to put it some kind of context for readers.Oh that's right; I forget - the Post is busy trying to lose you in the bureaucratic shuffle. Which shell is the pea under, now? He was kicking when official A saw him; he was blue when jailkeeper C got back from break. "Keep your eye on the birdie! Watch, the Post is faster than the eye! Now you see him, now you don't!" (Whatever you do, PLEASE don't remind the Post about Initiative 59, and the Post's shameful treatment of the subject of medical marijuana. Shhhh!)But reminding is what cnews is all about, so a little trip down memory lane is in order, I think.In D.C in 1998, a whopping 69% of people voted in favor of Initiative 59, a modest medical marijuana proposal that would have kept people like Jonathan out of jail for medical pot. Then, "Congress attached an amendment to the D.C. appropriations bill that would prevent the District from enacting any law that would legalize or reduce the penalties for possessing marijuana." (Love and kisses to the US Congress: we can see how much you care for democracy and representation!) Congress forbade the world to even KNOW what DC had voted for a year or so. It wasn't till courts forced the voting results to be announced that in 1999 that the world learned what D.C. voted in 98...D.C. Medical Marijuana Initiative 59 - Landslide Win (1999) http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2973.shtmlD.C. Voters Supported Medical Use of Marijuana 1999 http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2954.shtmletc.''Sen. George V. Voinovich, the Senate's watchdog for Washington, D.C., affairs, said yesterday he would try to block a new Washington city law allowing the medical use of marijuana.'' 1999 http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3152.shtml``Efforts to legalize marijuana for medical purposes in the District were blocked yesterday when a federal appeals court overturned, without explanation, an earlier court ruling that had cleared the way for the issue to be put before D.C. voters. ... "It is too bad that a three-judge panel was able to thwart the will of tens of thousands of D.C. voters," said Steve Fox, a spokesman for the group. "It is sadder still that this ruling will cause the suffering of seriously ill patients in the city to continue." 2002 http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14185.shtmlYes, The suffering of seriously ill patients in the city is to continue ... especially when officious ignorant (yet proud know-it-all) judges like Judy Wretchin continue to "send a message" -- by jailing adults for using a plant.We get the message, Judge: you're as cruel and wicked and will go along with torturing and killing potheads like the SS went after Jews. Jonathan Magbie is another example.Thanks, Judge. Thanks for sending your "messages." 
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Comment #66 posted by afterburner on April 09, 2006 at 22:03:00 PT

Stop Torturing the Sick and Dying
Marijuana Patients comment on Conservative pot plans
Newshawks with Pot-TV
http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-4202.html
04 Apr 2006 Description:
In response to the Conservative Prime Minister's address to the Canadian 
Professional Police Association's Annual Legislative Conference, and 
their common calls for US-style drug war tactics as part of their 
published political agenda, National Capital Reformers, who advocate for 
sensible regulation of the drug market, will present alternatives to the 
CPPA recommendations. Licensed Medical Marijuana Patients Russell Barth and Christine Lowe 
will share their experiences of how the current prohibition scheme 
hinders their access to safe, clean medicinal cannabis, and how a 
"crackdown" on marijuana grow-ops will put their lives in danger. "Please help!" Fifth Element
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Comment #65 posted by Hope on April 09, 2006 at 21:48:12 PT

Boballen1313
Comment 59 and 64 are right on and beautiful.
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Comment #64 posted by boballen1313 on April 09, 2006 at 20:40:35 PT:

Just passed my growgear to some good mates
Damn tough times when a bloke gives up his grow. Its not been the high nor the glory, that i have continued chasing a God given blessing. I dont persist with daily ingestions of the sacred for the thrill of revelation. I merely ingest our God given gift in the spirit of all creatures... WITH THANKS AND ALL GLORY TO GOD TO THE HEALING OF OUR BODIES AND MINDS! So to my mates, may god bless your endeavours with much peace and happiness. May you spread our life to others freely and without prejudice. PEACE!
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Comment #63 posted by Hope on April 09, 2006 at 20:10:28 PT

Lol! Too funky!
"...first senior citizen discount at the local hydro shop."
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Comment #62 posted by whig on April 09, 2006 at 19:47:24 PT

lombar
Things are safer up North. Pray for us, please.http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002673.htm
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Comment #61 posted by FoM on April 09, 2006 at 15:25:14 PT

Goneposthole
Absolutely Nothing!
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Comment #60 posted by goneposthole on April 09, 2006 at 14:54:18 PT

war, what's it good for?
When you wage war, it is done by attacking economic, political, and military seats of power.Seats of power like the the Twin Towers, The White House, and the Pentagon.Two of the three were hit and hard. The third was spared, but was targetted.If you are going to do that kind of thing, you have got to know what you are doing. You have been minding your p's and q's.The evidence was hauled away and disposed of as quickly as possible. I wonder why?What's more important? Who. Who did it is some important information.With the way that the US government has been treating its citizens for the past forty years or so, no wonder it is under attack.The current crop of 'Republicans' can be proud and happy for what America has become. The flag on the jig has been popped up for some time now.The symptoms of ruin and decay are evident by how the average American citizen has been treated by its own government. It all looks like sunshine and lollipops, but there is something rotten underneath it all.By the end of the Vietnam War, there were over 340 thousand deserters."Don't let it bring you down. It's only castles burning." Neil Old (lol)
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Comment #59 posted by boballen1313 on April 09, 2006 at 14:07:19 PT:

Smoking the herb, 40 years after
I got my first senior citizen discount at the local hydro shop...so a few thoughts after puffing for over forty years.
Most the folks i know that indulge in the herb have been doing so for almost half a century. We been looking over our shoulders, its a given our phones are tapped, our rights under the law have been diluted, our property has been confiscated (stolen), our children have been left without one parent or two for political crime of the herb, our voting rights suspended, our stays in prison extended, our friendships are all tested, and our standing among the aggressive money hungry comes in a long second.We dont bash our wives, nor do we seek world domination, we love our animals and dont use them for taking out our rage at the end of a brutal day of chasing the goddamn dollar, we dress for comfort more often than style, we want to know our next door neighbour and offer a helping hand, we love the earth and her blessings, we care not to dominate nor lie, we are attached to our universe and our god, we make love, we love our children and prepare them for a world of lies and deceit, we have been at war a long time...We have been under attack so long that its hard to notice any difference now that the politicians have been caught tapping our phones, sending folks to Gitmo without any rights, the shredding of the constitution, mandatory minimums. Its just a normal bloody day for us tokers. 
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Comment #58 posted by lombar on April 09, 2006 at 13:40:48 PT

Perfect Example..whig
A perfect example of the blatant double standard. The children of the powerful get away with atrocities while the children of the poor get long prison terms. I found the following link in the comments, the caption is my own creation... it seemed appropriate, I will be finding a place for it on my page eventually...
JNAC - Jesus for a New American Century. 
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Comment #57 posted by global_warming on April 09, 2006 at 13:17:40 PT

re: if only
'we had, something 'real,some everlastingpromise
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Comment #56 posted by FoM on April 09, 2006 at 13:16:24 PT

Work Ethic
Exactly
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Comment #55 posted by whig on April 09, 2006 at 13:14:10 PT

OT: More depravity
http://tinyurl.com/obphv
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Comment #54 posted by global_warming on April 09, 2006 at 13:13:00 PT

re:It's beyond reason.
and sanity,
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Comment #53 posted by Hope on April 09, 2006 at 13:11:28 PT

"Died in custody"?
A "Cigarette"?
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Comment #52 posted by Hope on April 09, 2006 at 13:10:13 PT

Magbie
Sadly, there have been many who have "died in custody"....because of the prohibition of that "marijuana cigarette", that we live under."Died in custody"...."cigarette".It's beyond reason.
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Comment #51 posted by Hope on April 09, 2006 at 13:05:32 PT

Every time I glance at this article
I see "cigarette" and "died in custody".
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Comment #50 posted by Hope on April 09, 2006 at 13:04:39 PT

Work Ethic
What we were supposed to have was a good one. You work. You earn. The more you work the more you earn, the more needs, conveniences, comforts, and little joys, can be afforded.But wait...what we actually are forced to live under is something different from the "Work Ethic" we believed in. If you really want the best result from the hours and expenses of working...look closely...there is smoke and there are mirrors and it could be meant to be confusing.Look closely at what is....not what you think it is, or wish it to be, or even assume it is.
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Comment #49 posted by global_warming on April 09, 2006 at 13:03:20 PT

Hey Texas
You are coming alongBlacknessIgnoranceGreedMark's my placein infinite illuinmtion,illumination, if you have eyes
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Comment #48 posted by Hope on April 09, 2006 at 12:55:30 PT

comment 39 Lombar
That census thing is horrifying. Oh, Canada."Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." If it's a "prophecy" it sure hasn't come through or true yet. I hope it's not just a "hope". Your conclusions are stunning and apt.
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Comment #47 posted by global_warming on April 09, 2006 at 12:51:02 PT

re: mortality
mortality is a thingthat baskes in the o pen 
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Comment #46 posted by FoM on April 09, 2006 at 12:50:35 PT

Hope
I'm glad you got what I meant. We have trucking friends that make double the amount of money that my husband makes but oh at tax time do they pay. Some truckers won't do a legal weight load. They say there isn't enough money so they double load but then they get caught and get sometimes a $5,000 fine. The repairs on their trucks are very big because something is always breaking. People really need to look at the bottom line and people in business for themselves generally try to do that.
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Comment #45 posted by global_warming on April 09, 2006 at 12:36:49 PT

change
what is 'change?a good 'look at your 'mortality,
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Comment #44 posted by global_warming on April 09, 2006 at 12:27:14 PT

re; bleeding hearts
there are too many human beings in prisonscan you make a change?
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Comment #43 posted by lombar on April 09, 2006 at 12:16:47 PT

You can call me a "Bleeding Heart". 
...cos' at least I have one that is not a shrivelled black thing encased in ice and steel.It's a poor tactic of the loser of the debate to use ad-hominems. SInce they cannot address your points because it is beyond their comprehension (or outside their agenda) they attack with 'bleeding heart liberal' or 'you been smoking too much stuff' or 'you are insane'... the object is to divert attention from their own weakness.
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Comment #42 posted by FoM on April 09, 2006 at 12:15:33 PT

Hope
I don't have any children or grandchildren so when it comes to school issues I don't pay a lot of attention. I don't feel I have a right to be in an area where I don't know what to think. That aside maybe there needs to be a specific organization of mostly women (mothers and grandmothers) formed to help redirect this bad way of controlling drugs in schools. No one wants kids doing drugs in school. The problem isn't that we disagree with prohibitionist but that we look at the long term effect of the way the drug war is causing way more harm to young people then any drug experiment could possibly cause.
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Comment #41 posted by global_warming on April 09, 2006 at 12:13:53 PT

in the meantime
our' path, has a full load,Cannabis and business,Money and Power,Bereft of soul or placeWe' can vote or write our epitaphs,for have 'we not chosen?Have 'we not breathed our place,Under that 'Night CanopyThat 'watches over 'us,'We can brother and sister,till the next 'full moon,-Forever" is a terrible' prospect,if you ask,my opinion,those 'dea" people,should start deliveringgood green grassthat is aka 'good weedright to my door.
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Comment #40 posted by Hope on April 09, 2006 at 12:13:23 PT

Comment 36
Right on, FoM.To my dismay, I learned when I was in business that a raise could send an employee home with less money.Look closely at all that stuff. The appearance of more money coming in, is, sometimes, in fact....less money to keep for personal needs and uses.
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Comment #39 posted by lombar on April 09, 2006 at 12:08:46 PT

Oh what a tangled web we weave..
I like a few of the Psalms like that one, 23, but I think my all time favorite passage in the Old Testament isIsaiah 24 He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore. And you know what? It will take GOD on a throne on Earth to make that happen given the bloodthirsty history we share... I do not think the big countries would willingly put down their weapons so... how else could the above prophecy/hope come to pass?If people refuse to send their children to die for the wealthy then the state just takes them anyway.Does anyone else question the notion that the UN, an organisation that supposedly is dedicated to peace and ending war should support a global war on drugs? Another puff of smoke to hide the mirrors.I guess why this this really surfacing right now for me is that we Canadians have to do a census here soon and the company that is going to do it is... Lockheed-Martin! A US arms manufacturer is about to have all our census data because of free trade which only a minority of the people voted for in the first place. Our government has handed a huge contract to a foreign company that involves a great deal of personal information on every person in this country to a company that makes its money by making weapons of war.... morally unnacceptable! We are to trust the word or merchants of death that they will maintain our privacy???
 
I am seriously tempted to send the shredded thing to my MP and just refuse to fill it out. I wonder what the penalties are for this civil disobedience?
Count Me Out
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Comment #38 posted by Hope on April 09, 2006 at 12:04:09 PT

Sam's article....comment 15
I keep trying to get through this story. The pictures of the young men, bound in shackles, and highlights of the story are throwing fuel on the fire of my outrage and I'm weeping. Weeping. You can call me a "Bleeding Heart". You can call me a "Professional Bleeding Weeping Heart". But at least I'm not a professional liar and deceiver and trouble maker.I keep thinking "Destroyer of Youth"...and I'm not thinking about any drug. I'm thinking of the government.The cops didn't save anyone from anything. That's their excuse, but most of us saw their kinds of tactics and behavior for the lie it is long ago.The narc ought to be puking and crying constantly from the distaste and the wrong of what she has done. If I were the judge, I'd want to put the authorities who were complicit in this in cages and set the young men free again to try to live and build their lives.Counseling MIGHT be of some help to the young men, as people. Good counseling helps most people from time to time. No one is being helped by what is happening to these young men except all those prohibitionists who now have more money and will get still more money because of what they have instigated. What the young men are being put through breeds hatred, needlessly, and lots of it. Life is hard and those who make it that much harder should be ashamed.
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Comment #37 posted by global_warming on April 09, 2006 at 11:23:49 PT

re: money
The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name's sake. Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff--they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD as long as I live. 
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Comment #36 posted by FoM on April 09, 2006 at 11:13:28 PT

global_warming 
Money what a necessary evil. We have been without any income for a long time when my husband was hit by a semi truck. We didn't have any money. Now we have enough money to not be worried. We can pay our taxes this week and grumble about it but at least we have a couple thousand dollars set back to send if we find out we owe them when we do our taxes this week. I feel rich and yet we are not rich. When my husband makes too much money we have to pay more taxes. So instead of working like a fool like some drivers do he stays off the road and makes less money. Money is needed but the line between real need and love of money can blur very easily.
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Comment #35 posted by lombar on April 09, 2006 at 11:13:08 PT

They did something like that already.
When the olympic committee was making its final decision, there was a big police crackdown downtown. This was within a few blocks of the BCMP headquarters. The police started busting people and continued their crackdown until just after the decision was announced. I was down there last week, I think they are in permanent crackdown mode since the election. The tories will spend that surplus and have us in the red in no time.They want Marc because he bought a table at a conference a few years ago and publically humiliated.. John Walters. That is the real motivation. I bet Walters was SO ANGRY that he wanted to put Marc on the rack. No racks but kingpins are eligible for the death penalty.. and they are screwing two other people as well, close friends to torment Marc even more no doubt. If pot-tv was not down I would find the link and give it to you. Emery et al sent Walters packing without even completing his presentation. After that it became personal. They have a cell picked out right beside Charles Manson given the way the DEA talks about him. More lies from the masters of deception.Any government policies that depend upon deception generates murder and war, cannot be virtuous. The makers of the laws cannot be above the law, they have to set an example and be as virtuous as possible. A child can see that is not even close to true, the whole system is undermined and lawlessness is encouraged... after all, most people believe the leaders are the biggest liars of all so what does that say about those who tolerate them? Laws are made that intrude into areas of the peoples business that the state has no right to be in, furthered by deception, born in hate, and perpetuating cycles of violence globally.. People need leaders they look up to but the system itself is the problem... nobody is ever 'responsible' for the ill deeds. The governments need citizen oversight committees or something to bring them back to heel. We also need to eliminate the power money wields over so-called democracy. The international banking system is likely the 'beast' that needs be chained ... followed by religous fanatisism. Two things that need to be controlled far more than intoxicants... but no.. meth is destroying communities thats why we have to crack down on pot....watch the bouncing white ball. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!
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Comment #34 posted by global_warming on April 09, 2006 at 11:04:21 PT

re:big people make way much more money
It is about 'moneyThat unforgiven golden calf,Beckons and holds
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Comment #33 posted by FoM on April 09, 2006 at 11:00:06 PT

lombar 
I know what you are saying. We have a global economy and soon many people will not be able to keep up with inflation. Instead of helping countries to bring their wages up to our pay scales we will lower our worth as far as employment goes until we reach an equal level around the world. That's the one world government way of thinking.The big people make way much more money that way.
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Comment #32 posted by lombar on April 09, 2006 at 10:48:39 PT

I should add..
I should add that hearing the tories, the conservatives, bleat about being 'tough on crime' it seems that the actual statistics do not bear out their assertions. Basically crimes of violence are down, drugs and frauds are up. It's a thinly veiled attack on the cannabis culture as the *actions* of the cops have been in the last few weeks. So now they are trying the same 'tough on crime' BS that has made american into the prison country it is today and for what? So rich people with too much already can profit off the misery of others by way of forced labor and prison. It is sickening.Its not enough to put the workers in North America in comptetition with workers in Asian sweatshops making next to nothing, the only we we can compete is by marginalising large numbers of citizens forcing them to take the crap wages because they HAVE NO CHOICE. Crap wages or take their chances in the black market.. Right wing policies only serve the short term interest of a select few, the rest of us are in perpetual servitude to the 'rule of law'. The ecosphere is doomed, the USA is going bankrupt, and war continues to maim and kill. The rich get away with their crimes.
The Crime Hype
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Comment #31 posted by global_warming on April 09, 2006 at 10:40:24 PT

Money, Country and God
It was the people who grasped the moment,that dirty hand that received the diseasedpayment, it was that momentthat has been lockedrecorded in the ledgers
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Comment #30 posted by FoM on April 09, 2006 at 10:32:38 PT

lombar
I have a distant non emotional reason why they want Marc Emery. You have the Olympics coming up and there is so much money for your country that will come from many people visiting during that time from other countries. They wouldn't want people to come to Canada for the Olympics and say oh lets skip the figure skating and check out that area in BC where I hear you actually can smoke pot. Let's check it out! Maybe if it is a good experience OUR COUNTRY might get more liberal on laws about marijuana. See why he must be stopped? It's the MONEY! 
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Comment #29 posted by lombar on April 09, 2006 at 10:21:53 PT

Having been alive for 40 years...
I can honestly say it is no surprise to me that the government is lying about 911, they have been lying about drugs for 8 decades... It gets me angry that no matter how many people we reach there are 10 more that can't even grasp the argument and get stuck on 'you shouldn't do drugs'. 20 more that STILL believe that the government serves the people...Perhaps it's a matter of patience. I hate repeating myself...I was in a dark and angry mood yesterday... its the sisyphus syndrome. I know the ball I keep pushing up the hill is going to roll down on me again.... No matter how hard people try, the states are intransigent when it comes to drugs, cannabis in particular. I feel as though we in Canada are set back 30 years in the cannabis movement. The cops rule the debate with misinformation... I am sick of the BS..
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Comment #28 posted by global_warming on April 09, 2006 at 10:17:22 PT

maybe
Madison and Fifth Avenue, might have some new styles in Burkas, for the American Women?As long as men and women are polarized in this 'freedom movement, Cannabis and a lot of other important 'things will be taken from 'us, aka 'we the people.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_women_in_the_United_States
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Comment #27 posted by FoM on April 09, 2006 at 10:00:42 PT

global_warming 
Thank you for the post and link. I have been in a deep thinking, serious and angry mood today. I also am very sad. I am not angry with anyone but I am angry about what the Bush Administration has done to us. We watched F/9-11 again last night on Showtime. I have seen this movie a number of times and each time I learn something new that I didn't catch before. I got to thinking about women in Burkas. I thought why do they wear them? I thought how do they feel having to wear them even if they don't mind wearing them? I thought do they talk privately to other women about burkas? Burkas became the same thing as freedom when I was thinking about it. I hope this makes sense. What I am getting at is this. We have slowly been pushed back in the corner. We don't get much tv news time anymore. The way the world is now have we decided even though we don't like cannabis laws do we just wear a burka and assimilate? When a society losses freedom it is done slowly and methodical. We must understand how big this issue is even if cannabis is really not a big issue anymore.
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Comment #26 posted by global_warming on April 09, 2006 at 09:46:50 PT

"slow times"
Why is Marijuana Illegal?Many people assume that marijuana was made illegal through some kind of process involving scientific, medical, and government hearings; that it was to protect the citizens from what was determined to be a dangerous drug.The actual story shows a much different picture. Those who voted on the legal fate of this plant never had the facts, but were dependent on information supplied by those who had a specific agenda to deceive lawmakers. You'll see below that the very first federal vote to prohibit marijuana was based entirely on a documented lie on the floor of the Senate.You'll also see that the history of marijuana's criminalization is filled with:  * Racism
  * Fear
  * Protection of Corporate Profits
  * Yellow Journalism
  * Ignorant, Incompetent, and/or Corrupt Legislators
  * Personal Career Advancement and Greed
Why is Marijuana Illegal?
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Comment #25 posted by global_warming on April 09, 2006 at 09:20:07 PT

re: comments 18 and 19
THE ARCHITECTS OF WAR: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
WAR MONGERS
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on April 09, 2006 at 08:51:56 PT

Dankhank
It's nice and sunny here but it still is cold and windy. Soon it will be warm and we will start the work on the house and that will make me happy. I get very bored just looking for news. I don't get tired when there is news to post. I don't like to just sit around and wait. I'm a doer type person.
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Comment #23 posted by Dankhank on April 09, 2006 at 08:30:59 PT

News 
Nice day, today ...Let's all get outside and enjoy it today ...Peace to all ...
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on April 09, 2006 at 08:11:33 PT

Just a Note
I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. There isn't any news again. Maybe soon things will break loose. I sure hope so. 
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Comment #21 posted by afterburner on April 08, 2006 at 23:55:57 PT

RE Comment #13 posted by lombar 
CN AB: With US In Decline, Canada Must Step Up Pot Economy
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n424/a07.html
Thu, 06 Apr 2006
Vue Weekly 

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Comment #20 posted by mayan on April 08, 2006 at 18:23:04 PT

Misc.
Sorry if this has already been posted...Medical marijuana hits stock market:
http://www.guerrillanews.com/headlines/8445/Medical_marijuana_hits_stock_marketThanks for those links, Max! Here is another one I just found...Was Major 9/11 Evidence Planted In Order To Mislead The Public? - Part II: 
http://www.explosive911analysis.com/Major%20Evidence%20Part%202.htmlHere's another good read which also mentions 9/11 government complicity among other crimes the neo-cons have committed...Impeachment without Blowjobs:
http://observer.bard.edu/articles/opinions/229
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Comment #19 posted by Max Flowers on April 08, 2006 at 14:53:47 PT

(OT 9/11) I just found another outstanding essay
http://nomoregames.net/index.php?page=911&subpage1=we_have_holesSeriously, this one is very well written, way above the average quality for pieces of this type.And within it, a link to a real scary page, another mind-blower: http://thewebfairy.com/911/slideshow/noplane2/This second one only takes a few seconds to absorb, as it's video. Sent another huge chill down my spine, for the second time today. Real scary because it shows pretty compelling visual evidence that one main piece of footage we've all seen of the second plane impact is probably CGI-altered---faked, in other words. You watch it in super slow motion and it shows you right with your own eyes that in the final second or so of footage (when you watch it in real time, that is), right before the plane crashes into the building, the smoke coming from the other tower's fire is not moving at all, despite the steady breeze that everyone knows was present that day.By the way, the Jonathan Magbie killing was just as dismaying to me as 9/11 was. It was just another expression of the same kind of evil.
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Comment #18 posted by lombar on April 08, 2006 at 12:58:25 PT

Sam
I was paging through some of the comments and it seems there is one voice of reason, mocking the drug war to highlight the absurdity... I came to this:"$3,500 in drugs, $350 dollars in the kid's wallet, drug tools on the bed stand.Time spent on investigation: THREE MONTHSMoney spent on investigation:  PRICELESS!For everything else, there's my tax money.
---"That is a great one! This guy is outnumbered heavily. It really is a disgusting example of the lengths to which the police-state will go to try and interdict drugs. Send in a blonde, no doubt hot, with a sob story and a need for some friendly relief, to bait teenage boys. So I wonder at the mentality of someone who could routinely try to gain peoples confidence and then betray them. Dante did not reserve a circle in hell for drug users did he? There is a place for betrayers though... not that I ascribe anything to that other than interest. All Dante had to do to enter 'Hell' was go to the town square and watch the local equivelent of justice. However, the act of betrayal itself... I suppose we are supposed to be grateful that someone would risk their soul to keep kids from trying some drugs. Boy, I am impressed but if you just Ask for Forgiveness(tm) and swear eternal fealty to the war against cognitive freedom, civil rights, the constitution, people of color, sick and dying people, poor people, and common sense, all will be forgiven and a life of comfort awaits... The 'preists' of the modern religion use their 'secular' state to punish the sinners. The inquisition is reduced to peeing in a cup on demand to test our moral purity. Primarily aimed at detecting cannabis metabolites it specifically discriminates because non-psycoactive by-products are no measure of intoxication. In the USA, 'heretics' are 'excommunicated' from societal benefits. Still burning heretics... just not as blatant anymore, no smell of burning flesh in the town squares. It just happens in 'Correctional Facilities' outside the publics awareness.
 
The Divine Comedy
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Comment #17 posted by Max Flowers on April 08, 2006 at 12:28:31 PT

(OT 9/11) mayan, and all who are interested
Check this one out: http://911foreknowledge.com/staged.htmIt's really blowing my mind. It's about the Naudet brothers film, which is the only film of the first plane's impact, and the huge number of suspicious "coincidences" that "allowed" the guy filming (Jules Naudet) to be in the perfect place, time, position and etc. to film it.That doesn't sound too impressive when I say it, but I urge all to read the article, which breaks it down very logically. When you look at it from this larger perspective, using critical thinking instead of just accepting it wholesale without any analysis, it's chilling.
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Comment #16 posted by observer on April 08, 2006 at 12:25:45 PT

''Judge'' Judy Retchin: Her Name, an Epithet 

http://www.google.com/search?q=Judith+E.+Retchin
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Comment #15 posted by Sam Adams on April 08, 2006 at 11:25:11 PT

bad bust
Oh no, another 1984-ish high school bust - cute blond sent to entrap teens-http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/04/08/officer_posing_as_high_schooler_leads_drug_sting/
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Comment #14 posted by Toker00 on April 08, 2006 at 10:27:24 PT

Correctional Treatment Facility
Correctional Treatment. Slavery, Torture, Rape Facility. Sorry folks, but this is NOT a Medical Facility. The word Medical is not in it's name. They give you correctional treatment that turns you from an otherwise law abiding citizen, into a CONVICT. Prison is not rehabilitation as it is intended, but Corporatized Slavery, like the lobbyists paid for in Washington. Like the politicians promise more of. Like Jesus Christ condemned. There is no compassion is prison. There is no forgiveness in prison. There is no humanity in prison, but the guards accept the paychecks that are suppose to pay for the REHABILITATION of HUMAN BEINGS. American citizens are being robbed daily of what they work so hard for all their lives. Tax money that is supposed to be spent for the betterment of our nation, is being siphoned to create the most corrupt government on the face of the earth and the history of mankind. All in the name of a PAYCHECK. ALL IN THE NAME OF THE WAR ON OUR RIGHTS.When these hatefilled people finaly realize the damage they have caused us, not only as individuals, but as a NATION, I hope they are so ashamed, they quit their Law Enforcement jobs, and become Hemp Farmers. The only form of restitution we should ask from them is to help us grow our hemp economy and take the power from those who can't handle it, and never should have had it, and give it back to the People. Actually we are going to take it back anyway. It would just be much easier on EVERYONE if they would do the right thing, and STAND DOWN from the Drug War.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! 
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Comment #13 posted by lombar on April 08, 2006 at 10:11:12 PT

The US government has zero credibility.
So does the Canadian Government now that they are goose-stepping right along with the US drug war narco-nazis. Using hydro as spies for the police, scrapping any change to the cannabis laws, harrassing exemptees and stealing their stuff after screwing their applications for exemption...using helicopters against high school students.. lying or being ignorant about cannabis to preserve profits. Nothing good comes from prohibition, nothing at all. 
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Comment #12 posted by OverwhelmSam on April 08, 2006 at 09:45:02 PT

goneposthole
That's okay, Red Rider summed up current events in this song:Lunatic Fringe I know you're out there, You're in hiding and you hold your meetings
 
I can hear you coming, know what you're after, We're wise to you this time, we won't let you kill the laughter Whoa-oh, whoa-oh, whoa-oh Lunatic FringeIn the twilight's last gleaming This is open season But you won't get too far 'Cause ya gotta blame someone For your own confusion We're all on guard this time Against your final solution Whoa-oh, whoa-oh, whoa-oh Whoa-oh, whoa-oh, whoa-oh Lunatic FringeYou're not gonna win this time We can hear the footsteps Out along the walkway Lunatic FringeWe all know you're out there Can you feel the resistance, Can you feel the rage?Lunatic Fringe ~Red Rider
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Comment #11 posted by goneposthole on April 08, 2006 at 09:34:32 PT

The True Savagery of the Drug War
If you watch Fox News, you maybe saw the story of the escaped convict that fled a Louisiana State Prison.The man killed a trucker, attempted to murder another man at the same scene, but didn't succeed. He thought he had killed the other man, but wasn't observant enough. He did empty his weapon on him, wounded him in the head, and stood over his victim while he reloaded his gun. The victim played dead, otherwise the convicted murderer would have killed him.He didn't want any survivors who could testify against him.Now, as Paul Harvey always says, is the rest of the story:The convicted murderer is a former Air Force OSI officer, i.e. a military drug agent. He also worked for a local police department setting up stings to arrest marijuana users.The ammunition used to kill the trucker and the attempted murder of the other victim was all police issue ammunition.The 'long arm of the law' is corrupt, through and through.The savagery of the drug war knows no bounds. It is legalized murder, and nothing will ever convince me otherwise.The US government is the most corrupt government ever to exist on the face of the earth.If you want justice here in murka, don't hold your breath.You won't get any. Justice is done.Recall the words that were once written about the US government here at C-News:'There ain't no fixin' it and there ain't no savin' it'- greenfoxThe US government has zero credibility.Have a nice day and smoke your cannabis.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on April 08, 2006 at 09:06:15 PT

Off Topic
Cuba Claims Drug War Victory, Without US Help: http://tinyurl.com/qfgc7
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Comment #9 posted by Hope on April 08, 2006 at 07:41:14 PT

Jonathan Magbie
My "poor baby", too. More helpless than a baby. I'm so sorry. I'm holding my breath for fear of sorrow ahead because of WoD.
It seems it's about the time of year when some of the worst stuff happens. Somebody else is probably doomed to die because of this prohibition. Wrong house dynamic entry?Oh God! Why won't they stop it? they do no one any good and only line their pockets at the terrible expense of others.More death, more sorrow, more destruction at the hands of government.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on April 08, 2006 at 07:36:37 PT

Jonathan
I will always grieve for what was done to you.
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on April 08, 2006 at 07:35:28 PT

Weather
Still here. Cloudy today...but not storming.Got a precious baby today. Oh I wish we could leave her a good world. Better than what it is now, at least.Freedom, Liberty and the Ability to protect herself against those who would harm her.War...what a ghastly thing to leave to a child.

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Comment #6 posted by FoM on April 08, 2006 at 06:42:15 PT

Weather
I too hope that everyone is dodging these nasty storms down south. Last year was such a bad year for violent weather. It seems like the season is setting up for another bad year.
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Comment #5 posted by Toker00 on April 08, 2006 at 06:09:52 PT

Hope
Are you ok? The weather has been really bad. I hope you are ok. Along with everyone else in Tornado Alley.Toke.
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Comment #4 posted by mayan on April 08, 2006 at 05:45:05 PT

Mind Boggling
To this day it still totally boggles my mind that they actually put Magbie in jail! They caged a quadriplegic for possessing plant material!!! What in the hell is wrong with people? On an unrelated note, Thank You Harry Taylor!!!
http://www.thankyouharrytaylor.org/wordpress/THE WAY OUT...9/11 - Bank Buys Broker for CONCEALED DEMOLITION:
http://www.911eyewitness.com/truth/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=39MOUSSAOUI TRIAL TESTIMONY CONFIRMS FBI COVERUP IN VENICE:
http://www.madcowprod.com/Briefing: why Moussaoui confession doesn't add up:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C11069-2107742%2C00.htmlWTC Planehugger Therapy - Top 30 FAQ:
http://www.911closeup.com/nico/FAQ_planehuggers.html911podcasts.com presents Loose Change Second Edition: 
http://www.911podcasts.com/display.php?vid=16
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Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on April 08, 2006 at 03:46:25 PT:

The DrugWar, in micrososm
It mainly attacks minorities (Mr. Magbie was Black if you're not familiar with the case) AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED TO (see http://www.drugwar.com/blackfiends.shtm and http://www.drugwar.com/whitehope.shtm ). It attacks the most demonstrably harmless (in this case, a *QUADRAPLEGIC*, For God's sake!) and the least able to defend themselves, physically or legally, while overlooking the 'kingpin' targets it says it's after. It delivers those it doesn't kill immediately from blind viciousness into the hands of those who still have that potential via callous negligence, as demonstrated by Mr. Magbie's expiring while under their less than stellar 'care'. And of course, 'no one's to blame'; responsibility for this tragedy is atomized to the point that no one is held accountable for this madness. AND HIS MURDER WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR TAX DOLLARS! Making every taxpayer an unwilling and all too often unwitting accessory to the crime, as this happend in *our* name with our resources being used to his literal end!The Drugwar, in a nutshell. 
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Comment #2 posted by ekim on April 07, 2006 at 20:16:14 PT

Author: Colbert I. King--Thank you for all you do
As for the Corrections Department's decision to keep the ventilator-dependent Magbie confined for four days to the Correctional Treatment Facility, where no ventilator or appropriate medical care was available? 
http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #1 posted by OverwhelmSam on April 07, 2006 at 19:59:28 PT

Good!
I just can't believe the level of hate in Americans. Sue them over and over and over and over again until they fire enough personnel and bleed enough money to somehow one day learn compassion for their brothers and sisters. 
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