cannabisnews.com: Friedman Calls for Decriminalization of Marijuana





Friedman Calls for Decriminalization of Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on September 13, 2006 at 19:46:29 PT
By Janet Elliot and Peggy Fikac
Source: Houston Chronicle
Austin -- Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman today called for the decriminalization of marijuana to avoid further clogging state prisons with nonviolent offenders.He also said he would favor a review of people already imprisoned on marijuana charges to "rehab them, try to get them back into society."
"We've got to clear some of the room out of the prisons so we can put the bad guys in there, like the pedophiles and the politicians," said Friedman, a humorist and author.Friedman said he doesn't yet have specifics on how decriminalization would work, including what amount of marijuana a person could possess without being charged. He did say that he doesn't favor making marijuana legally available for purchase."I'm not talking about like Amsterdam," he said."I agree with (U.S. Sen.) John McCain that we've lost the drug war," Friedman said. "Drugs are more available, they're cheaper."It's clear to me, if you've lost the war on drugs then you've got to go some other direction. You can't keep banging your head against the wall."Friedman's comments on marijuana came one week after he created a controversy in Houston when he said the musicians and artists who fled Hurricane Katrina had returned to New Orleans but the "crackheads and thugs" remained behind. He later added that many evacuees who remain in Houston are good citizens. The candidate said today that crack cocaine "is a different deal" from marijuana."Marijuana is a very different situation. It's not like crack and (other) drugs that create violence," he said. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4185281.htmlNewshawk: Taylor121 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)Author: Janet Elliot and Peggy FikacPublished: September 13, 2006Copyright: 2006 Houston Chronicle Website: http://www.chron.com/Contact: viewpoints chron.comKinky Friedmanhttp://www.kinkyfriedman.com/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #53 posted by whig on September 20, 2006 at 01:49:38 PT
Pushback
Here is a government drug propaganda site that is apparently connected with ONDCP. Since comments are blocked on the videos themselves, I had to settle for letting them know what I did by posting to them here:http://pushingback.com/blogs/pushing_back/archive/2006/09/19/745.aspxThis is what I wrote:Title: Responding to propagandaName: whigYour URL: http://cannablog.wordpress.com/Comments: It is nice to be able to refer to these videos and respond with some comments of our own. Here's one example: Propaganda: Transformation (linked to the post on cannablog)
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Comment #52 posted by whig on September 20, 2006 at 00:57:40 PT
OT: ONDCP propaganda project
Here's my first installment:http://cannablog.wordpress.com/2006/09/20/propaganda-transformation/
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Comment #51 posted by Hope on September 19, 2006 at 22:28:55 PT
Thanks, Whig.
I'm not, by any means, any sort of expert or even very knowledgeable, at all, about wild mushrooms. I'd like to be brave enough to enjoy them.... but I always doubt myself when it comes to the wild ones, and I take that as a sign to pretty much leave them be...other than looking at them and wondering and wishing I really knew which were safe to use.
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Comment #50 posted by whig on September 19, 2006 at 22:05:43 PT
Erowid's correction
Amanita muscaria is variety of mushroom that grows widely almost everywhere in the northern hemisphere. It is listed as poisonous in most mycology sources and it's use is not common because it's effects can be somewhat unpleasant, though it has been used traditionally by a number of cultures. There are conflicting reports on whether there has ever been an A. muscaria caused fatality. Be careful! It may be poisonous at high doses or to sensitive individuals.I just wanted to set that straight. I don't have any experience of Amanitas personally and I'm not endorsing anything.
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Comment #49 posted by whig on September 19, 2006 at 22:01:54 PT
Hope
It's confusing to a lot of people, I know, because some mushrooms are poison, and some are food. Nobody would call a Portabello "mildly toxic" but if you eat a Galerina you could be in a world of hurt, followed by death.The real confusion is between the Amanitas and the Psilocybian mushrooms, because both are eaten by people for psychoactive effect. Amanitas are toxic, really and truly, and a slight overdose could make you very sick, a larger one can kill you.Psilocybian mushrooms have not one record of a fatal overdose in the medical literature. You might get a real bad trip, but then again that's possible with any psychedelic and even cannabis. You could have some negative physical sensations too, including nausea, and the usual caveats about mental effects to those prone to unstable behavior apply.
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Comment #48 posted by Hope on September 19, 2006 at 21:48:40 PT
Ok, Whig.
I don't know anything about mushrooms except that some can be poison and some people like more than the taste of some of them and other people get their panties in a wad over them liking them.They're not toxic. Sorry.
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Comment #47 posted by FoM on September 19, 2006 at 21:45:19 PT
Hope
Thank you. I have always appreciated Willie's political views. He cares about people and people issues like Farm-Aid. 
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Comment #46 posted by whig on September 19, 2006 at 21:45:05 PT
Hope
Those mushrooms are not toxic. Don't say that, it isn't true, any more than it is true to call cannabis toxic.
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Comment #45 posted by Hope on September 19, 2006 at 21:39:31 PT
They have a way of saying it 
where it makes Kinky or Willie look foolish...and the older or non-knowing people just asorb it like the little propaganda sponges they are. They swallow that it's "buffoonery" of some sort...hook, line, and sinker.
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Comment #44 posted by Hope on September 19, 2006 at 21:37:20 PT
Around here...
Dallas and Fort Worth...the news stations have a way of saying things like Kinky's wanting to decriminalize or legalize marijuana like it's a big bit of buffoonery or something. They don't treat it respectfully....at all.
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Comment #43 posted by Hope on September 19, 2006 at 21:27:35 PT
Everyone loves Willie
but people that disagree with his smoking marijuana really never made a big deal out of it.
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Comment #42 posted by FoM on September 19, 2006 at 21:17:45 PT
Hope
Do most people you talk to like Willie's political views?
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Comment #41 posted by Hope on September 19, 2006 at 21:16:21 PT
Kinky will definitely have some new 
talking points and will be able to point out a fine example of what can happen to people by pointing at what is happening to Willie and crew. It's not really a laughing or sniggering matter, as far as I'm concerned. It bothers me a lot. Some more!
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Comment #40 posted by Hope on September 19, 2006 at 21:13:05 PT
People likely would be putting Kinky down
even more than they are, if Willie hadn't gotten cited and is in the danger he is in.
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Comment #39 posted by Hope on September 19, 2006 at 21:11:07 PT
Some people seem to be kind of sniggering...
about Kinky coming out for legalization and Willie getting busted.The opportunities I've had, that's what I've answered their sniggering with...."Do you want to seen Willie go to jail for a relatively powerful, non poisonous herb and mildly toxic wild mushrooms that are for personal use and not for "poisoning" anyone or anything? Is that what you think would be right? It's not right that anyone should go to jail for having or using those substances but it's done all the time because of unjust laws. Do you really want to see this elderly entertainer, who has pretty much entertained us wonderfully for most of our lives, who has been so good to farmers and everyone...do you really think that he should be put in a cell in a jail for having that herb and those mushrooms. Herbs and vegetables?" They usually stop sniggering, at least.You asked, "How many Texans want to see Willie Nelson in jail?"No one has said they think he should after I delivered the question, above, to them. There have been some people saying on talk shows and stuff, saying rather hatefully, "They would have hauled me in...why not him?" or "They would have thrown me under the jail...why not him?"I can understand that attitude...but I still don't want him or anyone else put in a jail cell for it.
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Comment #38 posted by whig on September 19, 2006 at 20:58:00 PT
Hope
Could this help Kinky Friedman? I don't know Texas politics but is it possible that people are favorable enough to Willie Nelson that this could actually make Kinky's position more acceptable? How many Texans want to see Willie Nelson in jail?
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Comment #37 posted by Hope on September 19, 2006 at 20:51:44 PT
It's looking kind of like that "third rail" i
alive and dangerous. It may have hurt Kinky with some people. This is the first I've heard much out of Chris Bell at all. He's been very quiet.Willie's arrest may be a part of hurting Kinky, too.
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Comment #36 posted by ekim on September 19, 2006 at 19:51:39 PT
"Drugs are illegal for a reason," said Bell's
Democrat Chris Bell also is not in favor of legalizing marijuana."Drugs are illegal for a reason," said Bell's campaign manager, Jason Stanford. "The last thing we need is to give kids the message that drugs are OK. They pose a serious problem to our communities."is it true tht Willie was in TX for KinkyThe citation comes only two days on the heels of Willie Nelson's appeal to have marijuana decriminalized while on a political trip in Texas on behalf of Kinky Friedman, a candidate in the Texas race for governor. If convicted, Willie Nelson could face time behind bars, as revealed to Reuters by the police, "Nelson faces possible jail time of up to six months and an unspecified fine."
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Comment #35 posted by FoM on September 17, 2006 at 16:02:51 PT
Off Topic: WoodStock Radio
I'm listening to it now since there isn't anything interesting that I've found on TV. Right now the music is good. 
WoodStock Radio
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Comment #34 posted by FoM on September 17, 2006 at 14:46:06 PT
I Really Like Obama
Obama Watchers Worry: Could He Be Too Popular?***By Kevin McDermottSeptember 17, 2006SPRINGFIELD, ILL. -- For a politician, is there such a thing as too much popularity?If there's any cloud over U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's seemingly charmed political life, it may be that one.With national political pundits now using words such as "messiah" in connection with the Chicago Democrat - and one former campaign opponent calling on him to run for president - some say he could ultimately be rising so fast and high in the American consciousness that he may end up with nowhere to go but down."It's a cliche, but it's true: The higher you go, the harder you fall," warned pollster Del Ali of Research 2000, which conducted a poll for the Post-Dispatch last month that showed Obama with an unheard-of 70 percent approval rating among Illinoisans.One rule of thumb in politics is to keep expectations low so that any mistake the politician makes looks smaller while any accomplishment looks bigger. For Obama, sitting on a runaway train of gushing publicity, that kind of "expectation control" has become impossible."One of the obvious dangers is that no one's perfect," said Mike Lawrence, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University and a longtime Illinois political aide. "His mistakes could become magnified if the expectations are unreasonable."Obama's staff is aware of that danger."I think, honestly, expectations became basically uncontrollable about 10 minutes after he finished his speech at the (2004 Democratic National) Convention," said Robert Gibbs, Obama's communications director. "I've had people say, 'You guys should really tamp things down,' but it's hard to do."Newsweek hasn't helped. An essay published in the magazine last week described the reception that Obama received on his recent trip to Africa as "befitting a messiah.""It is not too early to pronounce Barack Obama a political phenomenon unlike any previously seen on the American scene," the essay declares. It then, nonetheless, goes on to offer a previously seen example: John F. Kennedy.Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/s3gxoLooking for a Leader by Neil Young:Maybe it's Obama but he says that he's too young.
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Comment #33 posted by FoM on September 17, 2006 at 10:49:37 PT
Just One More Comment
It is a beautiful day here today. I am listening to Rust Radio and thinking and doing a little work around the house. Soon we will be gearing up for the November election. I saw George Soros on Wolfe Blitzer today and Mr. Soros is hoping that more Democrats get elected this November and he made so much sense to me. If we can flip control this fall maybe just maybe with the Democrats in control (if it happens) Cannabis laws will be changed. I believe in looking a little ahead and I try to put the puzzle together and as I am putting the puzzle together that is what I see happening hopefully. Cannabis laws won't ever be changed under right wing political control. After about 8 years of doing CNews that has become my conclusion. 
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Comment #32 posted by FoM on September 17, 2006 at 10:28:45 PT
Hope
You are absolutely correct. I've always wondered that too. The laws must be changed on a Federal level. I don't know why that hasn't happened by now.
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Comment #31 posted by Hope on September 17, 2006 at 10:21:34 PT
Decrim
How is any state going to decriminalize when it means the loss of their Federal Highway Fund? The Feds have got the States by the neck...or the pocketbook. 
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Comment #30 posted by whig on September 17, 2006 at 09:38:06 PT
sorry
That double pasted.
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Comment #29 posted by whig on September 17, 2006 at 09:37:20 PT
James Bovard (a libertarian) writes:
Those who invoke the Big Picture often have a vested interest in discouraging
people from looking at grisly details. The Big Picture becomes the enabler
of the Big Lie. The studied avoidance of the details of government policy
makes it far easier for politicians to manipulate and deceive the public. The
Big Picture allows governments to do as they please, confident that few people
will pay attention to the details. And even when hundreds of thousands of
people are killed, the government need only redefine the issue.The Big Picture ensures that people learn little or nothing from the past
and ignore the problems of the present. The Big Picture is the higher truth --
and everything else is mere ephemera. Big Picture Myopia empowers those
whose schemes and ambitions would be thwarted if people understood their
plans. Attention Deficit Democracy creates a vacuous atmosphere in which
Big Picture advocates can dominate political discussions regardless of the illogic
or imbecility of their doctrines.Those who invoke the Big Picture often have a vested interest in discouraging
people from looking at grisly details. The Big Picture becomes the enabler
of the Big Lie. The studied avoidance of the details of government policy
makes it far easier for politicians to manipulate and deceive the public. The
Big Picture allows governments to do as they please, confident that few people
will pay attention to the details. And even when hundreds of thousands of
people are killed, the government need only redefine the issue.
The Big Picture ensures that people learn little or nothing from the past
and ignore the problems of the present. The Big Picture is the higher truth—
and everything else is mere ephemera. Big Picture Myopia empowers those
whose schemes and ambitions would be thwarted if people understood their
plans. Attention Deficit Democracy creates a vacuous atmosphere in which
Big Picture advocates can dominate political discussions regardless of the illogic
or imbecility of their doctrines.
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Comment #28 posted by whig on September 17, 2006 at 09:20:00 PT
Had Enough
You should follow the links I posted. It puts what I said in context, and you will see that I use humor sometimes in ways that you might take as seriousness.The "it's not a truck..." comment comes from Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK). He is an idiot.I don't think I ever intended to offend anyone who drives a truck.Laugh at yourself sometimes. I mean it. I laugh at myself frequently. It's one way to keep yourself from becoming like those oh-so-serious politicians.I'm a pothead. I toke for peace. If you think that sounds trivial or unworthy of the "sacrifices" you think I should make to live in my own country, then I don't know what to say.Go vote, and pretend that the electronic machines are no more corruptible than any other sort of voter fraud that has taken place in the past. Now that your vote won't even be counted, you can take some confidence in knowing that you will have a Republican government forever if nobody questions the count.
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Comment #27 posted by FoM on September 17, 2006 at 08:36:50 PT
Had Enough 
I do check out the threads. Sometimes I miss them but I do try to look. Everyone is special that reads and posts here. There is no one more special then another to me. My husband was polled on the phone by a Republican that wants us to vote for Ney's pick and not a Democrat and she went on smearing the Democrat. My husband came undone. He said I am a Democrat and let her have it with why he felt the way he does. Afterburner and I were in the kitchen and could hear him on the phone. Stick did a great job. I can't be a Libertarian because I don't believe how they do. I believe in social issues like the Democrats do. Republicans like to go to war it seems to me. I want peace on earth and goodwill to all of mankind and angry political parties turn me off and I retreat from it all. My life is my life and I try to make it work everyday and in a content way. 
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Comment #26 posted by Had Enough on September 17, 2006 at 08:04:17 PT
Intertube, inner tube, trucks
Yes whig, I’m afraid you did miss something. The Big Picture, Big Time, Larger than life.But, I’m glad you were wise enough to ask.What is important to me is freedom, Democracy can help deliver that. Voting is only one avenue of keeping it. It is very important to vote, it’s not hard to pull a lever, punch a card, or even push “that button” but that action helps to secure freedom, and many people sacrificed for that. Is it perfect? By no means, it is. It will be improved upon as time goes on, as it always has. Voter fraud has been a fact ever since mankind started voting. Electronic voting certainly has flaws, which should not be a surprise for you to find out data in computers (voting machines) can and will be manipulated. Before that, it was ballot box stuffing. And I’ll bet when mankind was voting with rocks dropped in a leather bag, some people dropped more than one rock in that bag. Think so?This system we have here is not yours or mine, nor anybody else’s, it is “our” system that has evolved by those looking to make a better way, not only for themselves, but also for those who come after. If it is so terrible, why do we have to put up a fence to keep people out, while a lot of other countries put a fence up to keep their people in? Now is every fault that happens, the systems fault? Think. Instead I see despicable people with saddened intents manipulating our system, economy, laws, etc. And it costs us in more ways than just monetary penalties. Consider all the runnruffs out there. It is up to us to keep a handle on things, and remove these people from power and/or strip them of unjust and outdated laws. You can’t talk these people out of their power; they have to be voted out. And even then they will still have some ear, somewhere, available to them. Should we throw it all out because of these people?Now since many people know voter fraud exists, again, do you think we should just throw the whole thing out the door, and literally revert back to living in caves and trees? Should we throw out the system, have no laws, or enforcement, and let the weak be preyed on by the strong? Should we go to a society that allows a strong man to kill a weak man for the purpose to take his food to eat, take his domain for shelter, and use his wife and offspring for slaves. Humans do mean things to other Humans, I’m sure you have noticed.Or maybe you prefer communisms kissing cousin, socialism. Do you prefer your government dictating to you how you will contribute to society, and receive a check from them only if you “play ball”, or would you rather choose that for yourself. Many, many, have suffered and sacrificed for you to have that choice. Please choose wisely. For some reason I can’t vision you happily exited and packing your bags for a permanent move to China, Cuba, Sudan, Russia… I think you get my point. Intertube, inner tube, trucks. Don’t you think that is a little rude and condescending? I see some hate surfacing in the form of stereotyping. I must really scare you, being a libertarian that drives a truck. Lots of people drive trucks. Stick has a truck you can haul half a dozen or more of the size trucks I drive. Does he scare you too?
And there never have been a Blackman, or any other men for that matter, found dragged behind that truck, and there never will. However some people do ride in the passenger seat from time to time.Well by voting Libertarian and driving a truck, go ahead, put me in that box of those scary people you refer to. Now if someone would just give me a joint, I could really, really frighten that Monster Frankenstein, all the way to hell.FoM has a special place in her heart for you, don’t abuse that. She is special. And out of courtesy for her and others that might be watching, we should let this end. Even though this thread is pretty far down the list she probably is still checking in. I’m sure that when she sees a new post here she cringes and has that feeling of walking on eggshells, and hopes that it does not turn ugly. She doesn’t need that. Let’s respect that.Roger and out.
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Comment #25 posted by whig on September 16, 2006 at 17:06:08 PT
Had Enough
Voting is important to you. I see that.You should take a look at this:http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2006/09/nothing-we-do-matters-if-we-dont-have.htmlElectronic voting machines are what destroy democracy, if nothing else. Do you see what is happening here? We have had a lack of democracy due to a monopoly of the media for years, and now we are finally becoming capable of speaking directly to one another over these "intertubes" that Ted Stevens is talking about (it's not a truck)...http://blog.wired.com/27BStroke6/?entry_id=1512499Now they are going to deprive your vote of any meaning whatsoever. They have already done it. It is already there. You have to fix that.Tell me if you think I'm missing something, because it's not true that George Bush was elected President of the United States.And nothing else matters, if voting is your thing.
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Comment #24 posted by Had Enough on September 16, 2006 at 14:57:39 PT
Roger and Out
My reference to sacrifice is directed at others who came before us that allow us the ability to go vote, and enjoy the freedoms that can come with it. People lost life and limb for that.Now Whig I never had that impression of you that you described in that post. I sense something else there, though. I don't think you are a bad guy, but that issue is not for here, on this forum. About the question of if you lived in one the states that Loretta Nall, or Mr. Friedman were running for office, about voting for them, a simple yes or no would have been sufficient. I will presume your answer is, No.If so…Go stand in front of a mirror, fire up a “legal joint” that you can now “legally” enjoy, exhale that smoke into the image you see, and say “ I will not vote to help end the atrocities of this insane cannabis war”. Then think about it.Roger and Out, for now.
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Comment #23 posted by whig on September 16, 2006 at 13:52:02 PT
Had Enough
On regard of sacrifice, you have no idea what I do. And you think VOTING is some sacrifice? VOTING is a big hard thing to do? I've spent my life talking and writing and standing up when I thought it was necessary. Then you say it isn't enough. I am somehow unworthy of respect because I don't act like some little civics lesson school boy and participate in your system like a good citizen.Meantime people keep their mouths shut, do nothing at all to change a damn thing, go in and do their little duty by pulling a lever and you think they are heroes.Hey, it's your own system of what you think is right and good. I have my own, thanks.
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Comment #22 posted by whig on September 16, 2006 at 13:46:54 PT
Had Enough
I don't think you are understanding that I don't vote.I don't vote.If you want to know why, I tell you.Then you yell at me for encouraging people not to vote.Make up your mind.
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Comment #21 posted by whig on September 16, 2006 at 13:45:39 PT
Had Enough
I'm not encouraging you not to vote. Go vote if that is what you think you should do.I will say that if you were a Republican I would encourage you not to vote.I am doing a lot of writing on my blog trying to talk to Republicans some of whom I know and who are reading it. I am telling them not to vote.Do you want me to go back and tell them otherwise?
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Comment #20 posted by Had Enough on September 16, 2006 at 13:07:00 PT
Whig
If you lived in Texas, would you NOT VOTE for Mr. Friedman?I certainly would vote for him. I would also hit the bricks and support his campaign and get as many people I could, to register and vote for him. I would put in as much effort as possible, and achievable for me to do. Now just my efforts would have a small impact, but with all the other Had_Enough’s, that are out there the “combined efforts” would have impact.You were asked before if you lived in Alabama, would you NOT VOTE for Loretta Nall. I saw no response unless I missed it.
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Comment #19 posted by Had Enough on September 16, 2006 at 12:10:12 PT
Whig #18
That bay area did not get that way by people NOT VOTING.Some of those people making change for “YOU” were VOTED into office.Respect these people who came before, that sacrificed for us.Encouraging people to not vote is self-defeating!!!
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Comment #18 posted by whig on September 15, 2006 at 15:44:13 PT
Sinsemilla Jones
Thanks, though I think you may be sarcastic.The truth is we need to just keep doing what we're doing, because from where I'm sitting right now I can see it actually working. So for all that you may not believe, we're building a cannabis-friendly society and government from the ground up in the Bay Area. It's taken 30+ years so far, but look at the progress. I can go to any number of places and present a card and obtain medical marijuana of whatever strain works best for me. The one constraint is you have to get a doctor's recommendation to do that, and I'm not saying it is perfect but it has a lot of advantages if you go that route.
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Comment #17 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on September 15, 2006 at 13:10:30 PT
whig
Good luck with that.
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Comment #16 posted by whig on September 15, 2006 at 08:24:01 PT
Sinsemilla Jones
That's the debate, I guess. Should I participate in the struggle for the gun? I don't, because I think an alternative solution is to talk to the gunman's supporters and those who he is threatening, and try to end this without violence.
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Comment #15 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on September 15, 2006 at 02:35:27 PT
But someone IS going to get the gun!
When a brave, honest, gentle person tries to get the gun away from the thugs that have been shooting it at us all these years, I think they deserve our help.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on September 14, 2006 at 11:18:00 PT
Whig
I wanted to comment on what you are saying to Hope. I understand exactly how you feel. I didn't bother because I felt no politician will care about issues that are important to me because they only care for themselves and are good at stretching the truth and that is being said kindly. If I could do it all over again I would probably do it the same way. I will vote now because I can't take anymore of this system. I don't know if it will help or hurt but I just must do something even if it is wrong.
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Comment #13 posted by whig on September 14, 2006 at 10:54:53 PT
Hope
No, I really don't want to vote. I think of it like a gun, a weapon, that I really don't want to use. I understand the self-defense aspect and maybe I can think through my position more as far as citizen initiatives and direct democracy, but I won't give a loaded gun to a politician who says "trust me."I can't be responsible for what he or she does with it.Especially when I'd have to be an idiot to think they aren't going to use it to make war on innocent people. Anyone who isn't for ending cannabis prohibition, for instance, is going to be pointing the gun right back at me and my family and my close friends. And if I try to give the gun to someone else then I am still saying it's okay to give the gun to one of these people and if so then I've just given legitimacy to the guy who winds up holding it even if it's not the one I preferred.
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on September 14, 2006 at 09:20:43 PT
Kinky
I read last night on a republican forum that some don't like Kinky because they say he is a liberal. I heard others say that whoever is running as a Republican (I don't remember who though) is so bad that it might throw it to the Democrats. To me that would work either way if it was my state. I am voting for all Democrats because I can't stand any more Republicans and I sure don't want Blackwell as my state's governor. I don't think much of Strickland but he is better then Blackwell.
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on September 14, 2006 at 09:08:06 PT
:o) Whig, you really don't want to vote!
"It's kind of like if someone told me that I could push this button and maybe it would help me get something I wanted but maybe it would blow me and my whole family up. I ain't pushing that button."
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on September 14, 2006 at 08:52:59 PT
Whig
"What if Kinky ends up splitting the vote with the Democrat so the Republican gets reelected?"Well then...I guess it'd just be the same old same old, some more.But dammit! We will have tried.
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Comment #9 posted by whig on September 14, 2006 at 00:43:35 PT
Question
I guess I just don't understand why Kinky Friedman didn't run as a Democrat? Did he think he wouldn't be acceptable to their party or did he think he'd have a better chance as an independent?If he can't get a majority of Democrats to vote for him in the general election he can't win anyhow, unless the Republicans defect in droves from their incumbent, which seems unlikely.There are so many reasons I don't like to do politics. It's so messy and unpredictable and the consequences of screwing up and making the wrong decision are insane. It's kind of like if someone told me that I could push this button and maybe it would help me get something I wanted but maybe it would blow me and my whole family up. I ain't pushing that button.
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Comment #8 posted by whig on September 14, 2006 at 00:36:40 PT
Kinky
I blogged it here:http://cannablog.wordpress.com/2006/09/14/briefly-noted-2/I don't have a lot of comment, though. I just thought I'd put the word out to people, as there are a few hundred every day reading what I post and only a small percentage seem to be from CNews.I can't get worked up about voting for anyone, honestly. It would be good if Kinky wins because the people of Texas have decided to stop cannabis prohibition, but it seems kind of an abstraction to me in so many ways. What if Kinky ends up splitting the vote with the Democrat so the Republican gets reelected?I don't really have a lot of opinion on how to vote strategically, and to vote without considering the impact of your vote seems counterproductive. I know a lot of Libertarians talk about "sending a message" with their vote but I don't believe this. I think you send a message by sending actual messages like we're doing here and like I do on Cannablog.I don't vote.
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Comment #7 posted by John Tyler on September 13, 2006 at 20:07:10 PT
Vote Kinky
If I lived in Texas I would vote for this guy. He's got good sense.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 13, 2006 at 20:05:20 PT
JR Bob Dobbs
Now it's Go Willie! I like it!
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on September 13, 2006 at 19:53:28 PT
Taylor121
You're welcome. Everytime I see Mr. Friedman on the TV News I listen closely to what he is saying. I like him. He could really do wonders for all of you I think.
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Comment #4 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on September 13, 2006 at 19:51:17 PT
Governor Kinkster has a nice ring to it
If he continued to incarcerate marijuana offenders, he'd have to find someone else to be in charge of his energy policy!
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/19/ap/politics/mainD8JJ73K00.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by Taylor121 on September 13, 2006 at 19:50:41 PT
Thanks for the post fom
I hope we have some victories this November in Colorado, Nevada, California, South Dakota, and even Texas!
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Comment #2 posted by Taylor121 on September 13, 2006 at 19:50:07 PT
Texans, get behind this man
We got a real shot of shaking up Texas politics. Perry is dead in the water on any type of reform. Kinky is pro reform, and he is vocal about it. We couldn't ask for more. The decrim bill we have been working on for the past few years has a good shot if we elect this man. Will you help make it happen? Register to vote, donate, and do whatever you can to spread the word.http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/getinvolved/
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 13, 2006 at 19:47:09 PT
Go Kinky!
This would be a great first step.
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