cannabisnews.com: Real Commander Needed for The War on Drugs
Real Commander Needed for The War on Drugs
Posted by CN Staff on September 07, 2008 at 06:25:54 PT
By Neal Peirce, Syndicated Columnist
Source: Seattle Times
USA -- Will America's ill-starred "war on drugs" and its expanding prison culture make it into the presidential campaign? Standard wisdom says "no way."We may have the world's highest rate of incarceration — with only 5 percent of global population, 25 percent of prisoners worldwide. We may be throwing hundreds of thousands of nonviolent drug offenders, many barely of age, behind bars — one reason a stunning one out of every 100 Americans is now imprisoned. We may have created a huge "prison-industrial complex" of prison builders, contractors and swollen criminal justice bureaucracies.
Federal, state and local outlays for law enforcement and incarceration are costing, according to a Senate committee estimate, a stunning $200 billion annually, siphoning off funds from enterprises that actually build our future: universities, schools, health, infrastructure.We are reaping the whirlwind of "get tough" on crime statutes ranging from "three strikes you're in" to mandatory sentences to reincarcerating recent prisoners for minor parole violations. And every year we're seeing hundreds of thousands of convicts leave prison with scant chances of being employed, no right to vote, no access to public housing, high levels of addiction, illiteracy and mental illness. Overwhelmed by the odds against them, at least 50 percent are rearrested within two years.A serious set of problems, a shadow over our national future? No doubt. But do our politicians talk much about alternatives? No way — they typically find it too risky to be attacked as "soft on crime."But let's imagine — what if major party nominees Barack Obama and John McCain were pressed to state their positions on drugs and incarceration?I've combed through statements by both men. My early reading is that with McCain, there'd be a thin chance of reform, but under Obama, much brighter prospects.It is true that both men favored — Obama actually co-sponsored — the federal Second Chance Act, passed this year, which provides up to $360 million to support job training, mentors and counseling for inmates released from custody.But McCain has been routinely "hawkish" on drug policy, endorsing higher penalties for drug-selling, supporting the death penalty for drug kingpins, and opposing any softening of laws forbidding marijuana use, which he characterizes as a dangerous "gateway drug."Obama, by contrast, expresses serious concern that at 2 million-plus inmates, "we have by far the largest prison population, per capita, of any place on earth." He endorses full justice and imprisonment for dangerous criminals but a far more nuanced approach to drug cases in particular."Anybody who sees the devastating impact of the drug trade in the inner cities, or the methamphetamine trade in rural communities, knows that this is a huge problem," he recently told a Rolling Stone interviewer. "I believe in shifting the paradigm, shifting the model, so that we can focus on a more public-health approach."During the primary season Obama spoke with special concern about nonviolent drug offenders, many as young as 18 to 20: "The worst thing we can do is to lock them up for a long period of time, without any education if they're functionally illiterate, without any skills or training. They're now convicted felons" — perhaps 25 or 26 years old — "out on the streets and can't be hired by anybody."His conclusion: The more focus put on diversion programs, drug courts, treatment of substance abusers, and "encourage training and skills and literacy ... the more effective we are in reducing recidivism rates."Obama is clearly not yet willing to discuss lifting prohibitions on marijuana or other drugs. But he would seem open to lead the country in a serious debate about our drug and incarceration policies — a dramatic break from recent presidencies, both Republican and Democratic.Arguably, that's precisely the discussion the nation needs. America's prisoner total has tripled over the last two decades, with systems bursting at the seams — California, for example, at 175 percent of capacity, Alabama at 200 percent. Yet North Carolina anticipates 1,000 more prisoners a year; Pennsylvania, 1,500; Arizona, 2,200; Florida 3,000.Small wonder major prisoner re-entry and diversion facilities for less serious offenders are being set up in Kansas, Michigan, Georgia and other states. California this November votes on a landmark "nonviolent offender rehabilitation" initiative designed to divert thousands from the state's bloated $10-billion-a-year prison system.It's high time, says Georgia Corrections Commissioner Jim Donald, "to differentiate between those offenders we are 'afraid of' and those we are just 'mad at.' "Talk about a serious national issue on which we could use some presidential leadership — not dictating precise answers, but moving us to debate alternatives. It's been 20 years since drugs and prisons have even been mentioned in the televised presidential debates. Maybe not just Obama but McCain too could surprise us with some fresh ideas and promise of leadership as president. But we probably won't hear this unless reporters press the issue.Neal Peirce's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. Source: Seattle Times (WA)Author: Neal Peirce, Syndicated Columnist Published: Sunday, September 7, 2008Copyright: 2008 The Seattle Times CompanyContact: opinion seatimes.comWebsite: http://www.seattletimes.com/Related Articles:Obama May Be Targeted: He's Soft on Crimehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23934.shtmlObama Exhibits Honesty About Drug Usehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23672.shtml
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Comment #81 posted by FoM on September 10, 2008 at 06:39:14 PT
Paint with light
I'm a free thinker too. I go on and on in my thoughts about what is right and what is wrong. I went to Parochial school and had a couple really good open minded Nuns and one Priest that helped me to think outside the box. My school had no government involvement which gave them the freedom to put emphasis on things other then politics or government. I am no longer a practicing Catholic and I know some people really dislike the Catholic Church but I'm glad I learned what I learned from that experience. This was my school.http://www.cchsbc.pvt.k12.pa.us/history.htm
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Comment #80 posted by Paint with light on September 09, 2008 at 23:21:11 PT
Thanks FoM and Hope
Thanks for your comments and well wishes.By the light of day I regretted mentioning my health problem.There are a lot of people who post here, and a lot of others who just come to visit, that have to endure on a daily basis, and for years or decades at a time, much more than I had to endure for a weekend.To top that, they have to endure a prohibitionist state that denies them their only means of relief or treatment.Life is so unfair for them but they continue to battle on.All I can say is I apologize if I offended anyone and I promise to keep up the fight for their freedom as we all must.On the religious discussion.I am a freethinker.As such I believe everyone is free to think however they want to about the concept of God, salvation or any religious matters.Religion is like art to me. Everyone gets to pick their own definition.A lot of my work is inspirational in nature.I am glad of that.If I can in some small way help someone to get closer to their beliefs, whatever they are, then I am serving a positive purpose.I would never try to tell someone to believe like me, or that their beliefs are wrong, unless they tried to tell me they are right and I am wrong.Freedom is good for people and beliefs.As always, equal with alcohol is all ask.
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Comment #79 posted by FoM on September 09, 2008 at 21:03:55 PT
Hope
Yes he does. I finally talked to him about getting a computer. I told him the Internet will make his life better. He wants to buy a laptop now and he asked me to help him learn how to use it. He is possibly having a surgery to somehow make shoulder muscles help him use his hands better. I told him they have handicap based programs that he could use when he can no longer type. He is a good man. My niece is a good person too just very out of control.
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Comment #78 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 19:55:55 PT
He knows something, I think, about the value
of the days he has left in his flesh."He just fell down the steps and broke his foot and he just goes oh well."
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Comment #77 posted by FoM on September 09, 2008 at 19:14:55 PT
Hope
That's interesting. I have two very sick relatives. One has advanced Muscular Dystrophy and the other was just diagnosis with lung cancer. My nephew with MD takes life in stride. He just fell down the steps and broke his foot and he just goes oh well. My niece is angry but she has always been angry. She's worse now. She had a Brain and Pet Scan today and next week they will know if they will be able to operate or not. I don't think it's operable. Now she is crying non stop. I am waiting to see her until she has had chemo or whatever they are going to try so she won't have as much fight in her. That's sad. Our behavior will keep people close or drive them away. Our destiny is our choice. I love the both of them no matter what though.
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Comment #76 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 19:02:55 PT
comment 74 Afterburner
{ They speculate that positive emotions might alter the chemical balance of the body. Leading the research, Dr. Glenn Ostir told BBC News Online: “I believe that there is a connection between mind and body -- and that our thoughts and attitudes/emotions affect physical functioning and overall health.” }I know I've mentioned before what a frowner I am. When Granny was in the hospital before this time... several people... strangers mentioned my frowning and even asked me to stop frowning. My family members and friends say it pretty much constantly to me.I decided I might ought to work on it. I decided to tape that frown down and make it be still one day. Using dressing tape to impinge the frown... sort of outward botox or a similar application as the Frownies people can plaster on their wrinkles.I taped those suckers ... my mega frowning muscles down. I looked like a had a large bandage over one eye. At first my muscles rigored and spasmed under the tape, wanting desperately, apparently, to frown. I realized pretty quickly I had some fantastically powerfully body building type frown muscles going on. Really. I could feel the muscles and their over development once I'd taped them into a semblance of placidity. That frown, I came to believe fairly soon into the experiment, had become so consistent and present that I suspect it was actually affecting my thoughts, tending me to worry, more than I realized.I wore the bandage all day and I was aware of any tendency to frown by the end of the day and I was hugely relieved and felt better and more positive, somehow... because of not frowning.
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Comment #75 posted by FoM on September 09, 2008 at 18:45:53 PT
afterburner
I agree with the article. American King James VersionA merry heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones.
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Comment #74 posted by afterburner on September 09, 2008 at 18:33:44 PT
FoM & Hope
Interesting conversation on faith and guidance. Here are a couple of off-topic articles that seem to fit into the flow:ACTIVISM.
An icon shifts his gaze to the politics of everyday life.
Focusing on 'questions that don't enter into public dialogue'.
Sep 07, 2008 04:30 AM.
Be the first to comment on this article...
Murray Whyte,
Staff Reporter
http://www.thestar.com/News/Ideas/article/492136
{
In the long view of activist politics in America, San Francisco organizer Chris Carlsson has developed something of a paterfamilias reputation. A founder and editor of the esteemed publication Processed World, Carlsson is also among the founders of the globe-spanning Critical Mass bike ride, which clots downtown traffic once a month in cities all over the world, including Toronto.Carlsson reads from his new book, Nowtopia: How Pirate Programmers, Outlaw Bicyclists, and Vacant-lot Gardeners are Inventing the Future Today...
}Your Attitude Affects How Long You Will Live.
Sunday, September 07, 2008 by: Deanna Dean (see all articles by this author).
Key concepts: Wellness, Laughter and Humor
http://www.naturalnews.com/024092.html
{
They speculate that positive emotions might alter the chemical balance of the body. Leading the research, Dr. Glenn Ostir told BBC News Online: “I believe that there is a connection between mind and body -- and that our thoughts and attitudes/emotions affect physical functioning and overall health.”
}
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Comment #73 posted by FoM on September 09, 2008 at 18:09:41 PT
Hope
I agree. Everyone has difficult issues in their lives but it's really how we deal with them that matters when it's all said and done.
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Comment #72 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 18:01:41 PT
:0)
It's laugh or cry. It's good to be able to laugh.
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Comment #71 posted by FoM on September 09, 2008 at 17:36:37 PT
Hope
I say thank you thank you very much! LOL!
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Comment #70 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 17:32:08 PT
Lol! You're at your funniest when you
are so funnily self effacing."I guess that means I like living in La La Land but it works for me."Might as well be your own "La La Land" as somebody else's version, contrived by them for you. There's something very important about individual freedom. It's something that should be respected. There may have to be boundaries, but when they are too close in... they are no good.We have our niches.
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Comment #69 posted by FoM on September 09, 2008 at 17:18:36 PT
Hope
Nasty people are very hard for me to be around. I tune out very easily anymore. There are so many good people that make life more pleasant to associate with. People that see the good in the world around them instead of the bad things that affect us all. I guess that means I like living in La La Land but it works for me.
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Comment #68 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 17:15:15 PT
Aolbites comment made me think
of that last comment.We've been so blood heinous to each other down through the ages, if we fight against being heinous to one another, then we must be fighting something that's agitating people on a cellular basis of some kind. Maybe. Even.
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Comment #67 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 17:05:46 PT
People have been bloody nasty to each other
since the beginning of human kind, however it happened.Getting better. Seeking to be more civilized and better to one another has to be something good... Therefore.
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Comment #66 posted by FoM on September 09, 2008 at 16:33:24 PT
aolbites
We had a Sea World in Aurora, Ohio. It was part of the three they had back then. They had Shamu and all kinds of cool things. We went a number of times and it was always memorable.http://www.theswig.com/swoh.htm
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Comment #65 posted by aolbites on September 09, 2008 at 16:27:31 PT
say what?
sea world still exists, http://www.seaworld.com/ Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a Governor.
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Comment #64 posted by FoM on September 09, 2008 at 16:18:32 PT
Hope
Yup! If we focus on the good since I've read all good things come from God (please no one get angry) then we are in God's will I think.
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Comment #63 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 16:14:56 PT
Focus on the good things.
If you focus on the bad things, it will kill you and burden you to your grave for sure.
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Comment #62 posted by FoM on September 09, 2008 at 16:12:16 PT
Hope
Everything we do can become a good or a bad memory. If we focus on good things more often we will have more good memories as we all get older. Someday that really is all that we will have. They will be precious or sad memories. We make our own destiny in my opinion.
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Comment #61 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 15:56:23 PT
It does happen. I think.
It certainly happened to me, and I'm grateful for doing that. Working hard... and most especially for others, and especially my children.The times I'm not especially grateful for are the times I might have neglected to face the situations of my life as responsibly as I could. The knowing and hoping and praying I was doing the right thing and that I was doing something, however seemingly lame or minor it might seem to someone else, or even to myself, are the times that bring me joy in remembrance of. And when I wasn't doing the right thing... it seems to me that I got "shown", you might say, the right way. For me at least. Guidance, perhaps. Sometimes gentle and sometimes maybe not all that "gentle" in the scheme of things as I see them... but as He may see them. Maybe. I can't really fathom that. My mind's likely a bit measly for the task.I know what it means to get up every morning and go to work. Or every night, for that matter. I know how that's part of God's will for me and mine. So be strong and know the joy of a job well done if you have to work tonight or in the morning. It fits... I think. Joy and all.Somewhere, if that kind of thing matters to you, you can detect God's will being done in there somewhere, if you check. Remember all those prayers you thought weren't answered? And how grateful you are now that you didn't get what you wanted? Not always. But sometimes. We make mistakes. We stumble. We get back up again. We keep going and we keep trying to do it right, right up until we can't anymore. That's the only way... in any thing or any matter, I guess.
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Comment #60 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 15:39:37 PT
My domain.
It's cloudy and gloomy here. I think, just maybe, it might be God's will that I have a little fire. A candle. A slow fire in the chiminea, out in the fine sprinkling mist of the evening.That seems like that might be and probably will be a blessing. Therefore.... Blessed... Therefore.Or maybe it's God's will for someone to go to work now to toil in support of their children. That could easily be God's blessed will. It does happen. I think.
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Comment #59 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 15:35:44 PT
"I think praying for peace of mind is good."
Most definitely.Once, when I prayed for someone else... that didn't like me, a lot, apparently. Things got decidedly horrendous.One thing I know... it's "Good Will, from God towards men". If it's doesn't pass the peace, love, and mercy test... and freedom... it's not God's will... I figure.If He wants to make His Own Will happen, I trust that He can. Just ask. That's how I see it.But, checking out the spirits in your mind and your own thinking, you have to test the spirits... any spirits... whether they be of God. Know something about what you claim to believe. Think about it. Test the spirits. You'll know.If it doesn't pass the Love of God test... it's ... well... suspect in my eyes, shall we say.
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Comment #58 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 15:25:58 PT
I agree.
Getting by is good. Anything else is just surplus blessing. Probably.I was just surveying my domain. It looks a lot like I've just laid down and cried. A lot.Ah well. I probably have.:0(
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Comment #57 posted by FoM on September 09, 2008 at 15:23:31 PT
Hope
Jesus was a community organizer and following His example is a good thing.
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Comment #56 posted by FoM on September 09, 2008 at 15:20:45 PT
Hope
I think that praying for others is fine and good. I think praying for peace of mind is good. I don't think praying for material wealth is good.
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Comment #55 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 14:26:35 PT
What I said.
"I happen to believe it's very likely within God's Will that we try to end injustice and cruelty where we can."And, within that perceived Will of God that I'm looking at... that is a right thing. Logically, though, with my perception of God, the next step is not to start kicking asses, killing people, and blowing up stuff.
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Comment #54 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 14:22:37 PT
Comment 53
That's quite a question.It's a hard one.In my experience, "Humble yourself" is very good advice when one goes a seeking spiritually.That's probably step one.One of the greatest prayers of all time is "Your will be done."I don't have to "make" God's will be. I believe He, as I have come to perceive Him, is perfectly capable of doing so Himself. It's more like pray, and trust, "Walk this way"... i.e., humbly, justly, mercifully, considerate, kind, gentle... etc.. Remember His one commandment in the New Testament of Christ and His Salvation... "Love one another", and a good philosophy about God's will, I think, of course, is, "Let it be" and don't presume yourself to be the instrument of somehow forcing it. I happen to believe it's very likely within God's Will that we try to end injustice and cruelty where we can. If something doesn't jive with Love... I have a hard time believing a pronouncement... from anyone... about God's Will... in any matter. I've educated myself a bit where I could in spiritual matters. I don't think we should try to force God's will... however we see it. To presume to might be some sort of dangerous pride.I hope you can bear with us a bit, atheists and agnostics. Our discussion is certainly not meant to offend anyone of any belief. You can get all ruffled up about it... or you can consider it as interesting philosophy. It's really a wonderful philosophy of a way to live and an interesting point of view, I think. It's my ideas and shared ideas. I certainly don't want anyone to feel like we're ramming something down someone's throat. We really are just considering our beliefs and philosophies for life.I happen to believe that it's very much within God's will, as I perceive Him, that I pursue the end of cannabis prohibition because it has been a vile vehicle for persecution and greed and hatred more than anything. I might be wrong. Who knows? Sometimes I wonder myself. It's taking so long. But here I am. I'm not hurting anyone and I'm trying to help. I love. Let it be.
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Comment #53 posted by FoM on September 09, 2008 at 12:49:02 PT
Hope
It really is too much. How do we implement God's will when we really can't be sure what His will is?
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Comment #52 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 12:15:15 PT
Yikes!
Comment 22http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/515511.htmlNot even a quantifying "I believe". That's arrogant. I think we should all quantify such statements with "This is what I believe..."If you start telling me something you know about something as ephemeral as your knowledge of God's will... I would be suspicious and put off if you did not, at some point in the conversation or speech, make clear that this is, in fact, what you believe to be true. Dang. That's very arrogant... and I think... creepy.I hope I haven't been guilty of doing it. That's something a spiritual person should be conscious of. "I think...". "I believe...". All that's fine to share with me... but I'm very leery of such pronouncements when they are delivered as divine pronouncements.I hate it when I hear people say "It was God's will" about bad things that happen to people. That's just a way to blame God, I guess. The world is frothing alive with things being done that are not God's will for us... by any means. That's what I think.God's will, I believe, and I have reason to believe this, is probably more like "Love one another"... than "Get out there and kick ass." or "Violence helps". Or "Kill". Really creepy.
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Comment #51 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 08:54:23 PT
Paint with light
"Nothing like death to give you perspective." Too true.I'm sorry to hear you are having trouble with your health, but I'm so glad to hear you've got better than a fighting chance to whip it.I enjoy your photography. You are an artist, no doubt. Keep up the beautiful work.
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Comment #50 posted by FoM on September 09, 2008 at 06:20:13 PT
Paint with light
I'm sorry to read that you are having a health problem. I hope you get well soon.I believe that Obama should win. I know they don't poll people with cellphones and most young Obama supporters don't use a land line. I believe in the awakening wisdom of our younger people. They are our future.I have a real problem with Palin. She is about the opposite of what I like in a person. I don't want an evangelical in any form of power after 8 years with an evangelical. I am glad they don't jump over to the Democrats because that would turn many people off. The Republicans can keep all of them in my opinion.PS: I removed the extra post. I call it a hiccup.
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Comment #48 posted by Paint with light on September 08, 2008 at 23:44:05 PT
Not giving up
Obama seems way more willing than Kerry ever was to fire back at the rethuglican lies. I like the spirit the dems seem to finally be showing.What I saw of Rachel Madow's new program seems promising.Michael Moore is touring to register the "slacker" generation.Lots of people do not show up in polls.They don't call cell phones.It is a long way to November 4th.Palin can't hide forever.I am especially not ready to give up now.Last Friday a doctor gave me a health scare I had to deal with all weekend.I spent the weekend reviewing my life, putting things in order, and playing with "what ifs".Today I got a report that all that is needed is some minor surgery and I should be okay.Nothing like death to give you perspective.Carter got a bounce after the convention and lost.Gore got a bounce after the convention and lost.That is the reason they call it a bounce.The dems are using the term "they're lying" more freely than ever.I still feel the positive energy of change.Even if it is the apocalyptic catalyst of societal upheaval, things will eventually be different.I still believe that cannabis will be treated equal with alcohol someday.Betcha didn't see that coming.Hang in there FoM.
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Comment #47 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 20:53:18 PT
John Tyler
I didn't see the movie but what you said is how I see it too.Hope, I'm glad you liked Be The Rain.
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Comment #46 posted by John Tyler on September 08, 2008 at 20:45:44 PT
who know god's will?
Did anyone see “Kingdom of Heaven”? It was a crusader knight and castle movie. (I thought it was good, but commercially it flopped.) It had some interesting lines… whenever the religious people, on either side were about to commit some terrible atrocity, they would say, “it’s God’s will”. Afterward the viewer was left wondering why would any God be pleased by such evil and cruelty. I think of this when I hear people today say that this or that endeavor is God’s will.
I will add this for the religious folks who may stop by from time to time, and who look at things from that point of view, God’s creation is his revelation, … so don’t mess it up.
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Comment #45 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 19:04:57 PT
be the rain
I like it.
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Comment #44 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 18:04:26 PT
Dots
When we do this it creates that kinda dots.
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Comment #43 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 18:02:45 PT
Hope
Glad you liked it. It's true!
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Comment #42 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 18:00:47 PT
:0)
Feeling a little silly... but it's true.I'm not so good with dot to dot sometimes. It's my eyes, I think.
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Comment #41 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 17:59:41 PT
Comment 39
"Sometimes I'm right and sometimes I'm wrong but when I'm right it helps me to keep looking forward for a short cut around the problems. I believe in connecting the dots."I used to be right nearly all the time, when I was young. Now I hardly ever am. What dots?
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Comment #40 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 17:56:13 PT
It's never a good sign
when people are so "Oh well"... about global disaster and stuff.Oh well?
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Comment #39 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 17:54:40 PT
Hope
I look for warning signs that pop into my head to decide why I feel the way I do. Sometimes I'm right and sometimes I'm wrong but when I'm right it helps me to keep looking forward for a short cut around the problems. I believe in connecting the dots.
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Comment #38 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 17:53:42 PT
But it's true...
I know what you mean. I don't want them egging it on either.
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Comment #37 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 17:52:48 PT
You may have just started
End of the World jokes.
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Comment #36 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 17:51:54 PT
I'm still laughing.
That may be one of the funniest things I ever heard."I'm not worried about the end of the world but I don't want politicians egging it on."
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Comment #35 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 17:49:51 PT
For sure!
"I don't want politicians egging it on."
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Comment #34 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 17:48:44 PT
LOL!
Lol!For sure.
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Comment #33 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 17:23:47 PT
Hope
I know that if Obama is elected change won't come easily. I will be able to take a deep breath and feel like hope is alive again. I believe in winning but when the deck gets stacked against us I think regrouping becomes very important. I'm not worried about the end of the world but I don't want politicians egging it on. LOL!PS: I also don't want to live in a Theocracy.
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Comment #32 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 17:12:35 PT
Having hope is good.
Be hopeful and don't let the repubs shake it so badly. It could be close. We are a many cultured and natured nation. Things might shake out one way or the other... but then again... maybe it won't be close. Maybe more people are thinking about giving Obama a chance than McCain. Maybe it won't be close at all. It will certainly be interesting to see and participate in... and it might definitely save lives... one way or another... but we have to hope and be prepared to keep doing our best... even after the election.... regardless of who is the president.Our race won't be won instantly if Obama is elected. The finish line is still out of sight... either way.Don't worry about the end of the world... pray about it... but don't worry about it. You know better than that. You can't make it one day or another and neither can they.Can they cause grief? Of course? There's been those that do that always and I doubt they are all going to stop doing it anytime soon.We are going to keep raising hell about this tax paid for government issued grief called "The war on drugs"... especially as pertains to cannabis, until they stop issuing that grief... no matter what party is in power or who is the president.We are that small group of determined people that are going to stick with it until we see these injustices ended.
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Comment #31 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 16:51:21 PT
Hope
I believe if McCain wins and the Republicans stay in power change won't come for many years. At my age there is only so much energy left. This is the last chance for me. I really believe that. That's why I have followed Obama so closely. I have hope with him.
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Comment #30 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 16:45:30 PT
Hope
People can use God to convince others that God is really guiding what the person says and that just isn't always true. She doesn't want to protect the polar bears or beluga whales. The people that are cheering for them are scary and control types. I love the song Be The Rain. The video that is on the DVD really is moving. Alaska is beautiful. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Be The Rainhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfIBlaiLj2sBE THE RAINSave the planet for another day Attention shoppers Buy with a conscience and saveSave the planet for another day Save Alaska! Let the caribou stayDon't care what the governments say They're all bought and paid for anywaySave the planet for another day Hey Big Oil! What do you say?http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/greendale.htm
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Comment #29 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 16:39:03 PT
Besides
C-News is your "cross". You're going to let a politician make you put it down?
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Comment #28 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 16:32:34 PT
Sea World!
That's just so sad!But I understand it has to be a little bit easier, when you live in a place that you love and don't hanker to get away from it that much. Which is lucky... considering how dedicated you've been to this job.But really... daily for more than ten years. You ought to just unplug the puter for a month. You've been totally amazing. You have to finish this race.Faint not! But a rest wouldn't hurt and might help you feel better.You don't want to make us drag you across the finish line, do you? So... brighten up. Please. You know you'll finish the race or die trying. So... smile.
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Comment #27 posted by ekim on September 08, 2008 at 16:28:17 PT
good going afterburner
today in the Kal Gazette on the Opinion page Thomas Friedman has a must read piece on --There's only one 'green' candidate in the presidential race. it's not McCain.
www.mlive.com/kagazettehe ends with So, college students, don't let anyone tell you that on the issue of green, this election is not important. Its vitally important, and the alternatives could not be more black and white.
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Comment #26 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 16:25:01 PT
Palin's statements....
That's just her opinion... and I don't like it and I'm inclined to disagree with her about the War, for sure. Now, I don't know about the pipeline business... but I'm sure God is interested in it. Maybe.People seem excited about her. I'm not.
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 16:21:10 PT
Hope
A vacation imagine that. LOL! We wanted to go to Sea World and I checked and it's gone. It's been gone for years and we didn't know it. If McCain wins I will crawl under a rock and do a lot of sleeping! LOL!
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Comment #24 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 16:15:58 PT
lol!
"get away from us riff raff."
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Comment #23 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 16:13:43 PT
If the election doesn't go as you hope...
I think a two week vacation might be called for. You've never taken even a few days break from the work you do here.
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 16:12:34 PT
Hope
I am always concerned when God is brought into issues. I believe in the separation of church and state because I've lived and seen the dangers in the Pentecostal religions. Wishing for the end of the world is common in Pentecostal religions. Life is so bad for many of them that they want it over so they can be with God and get away from us riff raff.Excerpt: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told ministry students at her former church that the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a "task that is from God." In an address last June, the Republican vice presidential candidate also urged ministry students to pray for a plan to build a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in the state, calling it "God's will."http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/515511.html
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Comment #21 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 16:01:34 PT
Palin said what
was God's will? The end of the world?
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 15:56:41 PT
Hope
Life won't be over if McCain wins but as far as seeing anything good in the future for drug policy reform I don't. McCain is a war type person. Palin is an oil person. Mrs. McCain is a beer person. All of that mixed together with her religious beliefs means we are headed towards the end of the world as we know it because Palin said that was in God's will or something very close to that. We can make prophecy become real and that is dangerous to me.
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Comment #19 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 15:42:54 PT
I guess I mean it will be over for me.
No. It won't.We'll just be coming into the home stretch. Your race is not run.
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 13:11:44 PT
museman
Let me see if I can find the words to say how I look at the future. As third world countries become more modern they need the same things we do mostly fuel, land and the most important of all clean water. We are all connected. The world has grown very small. Technology has brought us closer and we know more now then ever. That's how I see it.For a human to live it must have a healthy beating heart. The common folks like most people are the heartbeat of our country. If the heart stops I don't want to think what would happen. These are exciting times full of hope and anticipation but if we don't move in the right direction this time I really worry about our very existence.
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Comment #17 posted by museman on September 08, 2008 at 12:37:27 PT
only four years
to get it together.We have had decades since significant knowlege has been available to us about what is really going on, but the american consumer mentality has supported, and driven the juggernaut of destruction right to the brink.That mentality is the base that continues to perpetuate the false values, and false authority of an unconstitutional (since the Civil War, and 'brought home' by Nixon, Reagan and the Bushes) government. That mentality is my enemy.When the state of your car, your house, and your TV reception take priority over life and its natural, organic aspects, and your almighty bank account is more worthy of attention, 'faith' (fear), trust and belief, than the many who suffer as a direct result of that rude and callous lifestyle, then you are carrying out the whims, desires, schemes, and doctrines of my enemy, and logicly I cannot see the benefit in continuing to pretend there is anything worthy or righteous in that kind of mentality and behavior, regardless of the levels of blind ignorance that is swallowed along with the beer in front of the TV.If the ignorance was a case of lack of available information, and the accompanying choices of higher ethical decisions were unavailable in the accessible mediums of the 21st century, then such ignorance would be justifiably excuseable.However, such is not the case. The real 'leaders' of the world -that no one sees in the public spotlight except for brief glimpses-, know full well what they are doing, and the destruction being visited upon the planet is countenanced and orchestrated as much as they can manage with the imbalance they have created in nature. The illusion we call 'society' and all its attending mental creations is deeply embedded with centuries of deliberate falsehoods, misdirections, and confusions -directly connected to religion and government.And the people, particularly within the last few decades, have had ample opportunity to view and embrace the truth.
As one who saw these things early in my youth, and witnessed firsthand the apathy, mocking rejection, and stubborn stiff-necked clinging to popular, mainstream values that have always been dictated and controlled by the enemy; "THEM" (and there has been plenty of definition, and evidence as to who "THEY" are), I bear witness to the actions of my own generation as a whole, who -as a whole- bought into the consumerism hook, line, and sinker, and those who didn't buy in willingly have been forced to capitulate by amerikas finest nazi institution called the "Justice System." (LoL)There is a war going on, and it started a long time ago. It hasn't ever ended, and it has been manifested in our reality on every level of experience.Consumers are draftees in the war against themselves.Americonsumers.In 2012 something wonderful is going to happen, but whether we arrive there in any condition besides desperation and barbarism is dependent on decisions that it unfortunately appears too few are willing to make. Particularly in America, where it really counts the most.Its a huge leap of true faith in something other than the myriad of false things we have been taught to believe in that we 'worship' and hold in highest esteem and priority.The government of this country was given its chance in my lifetime to come clean; emmissaries of Spirit have gone to Washington, the UN, and every influential offfice and aspect of this government has been supplied with information that any real 'government of the people' would have been alarmed, and acted upon long ago. But the truth is, they already knew this information and have stealthily and decievingly incorporated it into their plan of conquest and control of the entire planet in their pyramid of power and elitism.Many who read that last paragraph will laugh with unbelief and outright rejection and denial, just as I've already described.We have 4 years to catch up to a labor that should have been part of global consciousness effort since about 1947 -thats about how long our government has had vital information relating to the transition that is imminent.How much consciousness can be awakened in 4 years? Well the good news -I believe- is that the potential for peace and prosperity that will only come from a significant number of conscious humans who have embraced a greater reality than the nine-to-five, is great. A consciousness revolution/evolution is upon us. The question is, whos gonna get on that boat, and whos gonna try to sink it?
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 09:02:31 PT
museman
You are saying basically what I am feeling. I am very serious about this election. I don't think we will see in our lifetime a person like Obama again. This is it.
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Comment #15 posted by museman on September 08, 2008 at 08:56:41 PT
If Mcain wins
It won't be all bad; the rate of accelerating eco-destruction, left unchecked by republican policies supporting the exploitation of man and the earth, will bring about the downfall of America that much faster. If Mcain gets s/elected, the wars will escalate, and the streets of america will begin to resemble Iraq, and possibly the first real inssurrection/revolution since 1776 will occur.If Mcain gets elected, most of the people of the world will have lost forever any sense of the greatness of this nation and respect for it, which will lead to more war we cannot afford, and our bankrupcy will drive the poor further into desperation. The prisons will overflow, and probably one or two of them will be taken over by the innmates, resulting in much violence and loss of life.The pressures on the complacent will become too great to ignore, and go about 'business as usual' because the only real opportunity for anyone other than the rich will be wage-slavery with REAL-ID requirements, piss tests for everyone, and the homeless camps will begin to resemble the perimeter of Mexico City.The list of horrors is long, and sure to magnify, and continue at breakneck speed, forcing us to to confront a hard reality that could have been a lot softer. But hey, amerikans for amerikans eh?If Mcain wins, they stole it again. They are doctoring the polls now to make it look like the war monger is in the lead. The little ploy of the VP pick is just a smokescreen for the deception of the media.Oh, did I say it "wouldn't be all bad"? I guess I spoke too soon.
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Comment #14 posted by dongenero on September 08, 2008 at 08:36:41 PT
off-topic,long and political.......
Many Republicans are enamored with Sarah. Can't they just go surf internet porn. There are sites dedicated to "sexy librarian" dominatrix's....or so I'm told. We don't really need them in Government.Here is a great letter from a resident of Wasilla, Alaska http://community.adn.com/adn/node/130532
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 07:18:23 PT
dongenero
The longer I live the harder it gets for me to understand people in America. McCain is leading in the polls now. I was shocked and heartbroken when Kerry lost because as hard as I tried to reason it out I just couldn't understand how anyone voted for Bush or why they did. I don't want to get as upset as I did in 04 so if McCain wins I will accept that fact that our country is a country of people that I just can't relate too and quietly go on with life. I will fade into the woodwork and try to stay far away from anything related to the government or policy. I guess I mean it will be over for me.
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Comment #12 posted by dongenero on September 08, 2008 at 06:52:20 PT
Palin
Hey, what's the difference between Sarah Palin and George W Bush?Lipstick.
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Comment #11 posted by rchandar on September 07, 2008 at 19:52:07 PT:
One More...
...anyone remember Dan Quayle?
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Comment #10 posted by museman on September 07, 2008 at 19:47:18 PT
High Time
"It's high time, says Georgia Corrections Commissioner Jim Donald, "to differentiate between those offenders we are 'afraid of' and those we are just 'mad at.' "And after your power hungry demons and their slavering dogs finally back off, I suppose that you'll all be wanting forgiveness? Or maybe we should pursue justice in the same self-justified way as the example you have set for history and the world, and make you all do well deserved 'time'? After all there are some of us that are pretty 'MAD' at you!
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Comment #9 posted by rchandar on September 07, 2008 at 18:51:01 PT:
E_Johnson's comment
I was thinking about this factor when I was reading the polls today. Apparently Palin is supposed to sell to white, female voters because, of course, she is white and female.I'm not going to enter the debacle about Hillary Clinton; true, many people were disappointed and maybe they're using that disappointment in the election. But wait! Does Palin even have a view about ERA? So, I'm thinking: we would elect a woman to be VP, based almost entirely on the fact that she's a woman.But any stance on ERA? This is important because a lot of women voters would be shortchanging themselves in a basically McCain presidency which is relatively mum about "equal rights" being added to the Constitution.--rchandar
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Comment #8 posted by HempWorld on September 07, 2008 at 18:18:22 PT
Interview with Economist Milton Friedman now
on-line at MPP.org you can also view it at www.LegaliseIt.com and re-read his article in Newsweek from 1972 from below the Youtube video but I will post part of it here, as far as I can! ... Milton Friedman won a nobelprize and he told it like it is in 1972, and, remarkably he still had a great career because he was one of the best economists ever!Prohibition and Drugs
© Newsweek, May 1, 1972 Author: Milton Friedman Note: The writer is Nobel Laureate in economics, and a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
"The reign of tears is over. The slums will soon be only a memory. We will turn our prisons into factories and our jails into storehouses. Men will walk upright now, women will smile, and the children will laugh. Hell will be forever for rent." That is how Billy Sunday, the noted evangelist and leading crusader against Demon Rum, greeted the onset of Prohibition in early 1920. We know now how tragically his hopes were doomed. New prisons and jails had to be built to house the criminals spawned by converting the drinking of spirits into a crime against the state. Prohibition undermined respect for the law, corrupted the minions of the law, created a decadent moral climate-but did not stop the consumption of alcohol. Despite this tragic object lesson, we seem bent on repeating precisely the same mistake in the handling of drugs. ETHICS AND EXPEDIENCY On ethical grounds, do we have the right to use the machinery of government to prevent an individual from becoming an alcoholic or a drug addict? For children, almost everyone would answer at least a qualified yes. But for responsible adults, I, for one, Would answer no. Reason with the potential addict, yes. Tell him the consequences, yes. Pray for and with him, yes. I believe that we have no right to use force, directly or indirectly, to prevent a fellow man from committing suicide, let alone from drinking alcohol or taking drugs. I readily grant that the ethical issue is difficult and that men of goodwill may well disagree. Fortunately, we need not resolve the ethical issue to agree on policy. Prohibition is an attempted cure that makes matters worse-for both the addict and the rest of us. Hence, even if you regard present policy toward drugs as ethically justified, considerations of expediency make that policy most unwise. Consider first the addict. Legalizing drugs might increase the number of addicts, but it is not clear that it would. Forbidden fruit is attractive, particularly to the young. More important, many drug addicts are deliberately made by pushers, who give likely prospects their first few doses free. It pays the pusher to do so because, once hooked, the addict is a captive customer. If drugs were legally available, any possible profit from such inhumane activity would disappear, since the addict could buy from the cheapest source. Whatever happens to the number of addicts, the individual addict would clearly be far better off if drugs were legal. Today, drugs are incredibly expensive and highly uncertain in quality. Addicts are driven to associate with criminals to get the drugs, become criminals themselves to finance the habit, and risk constant danger of death and disease. Consider next the test of us. Here the situation is crystal clear. The harm to us from the addiction of others arises almost wholly from the fact that drugs are illegal. A recent committee of the American Bar Association estimated that addicts commit one-third to one-half of all street crime in the U.S. Legalize drugs, and street crime would drop dramatically. Moreover, addicts and pushers are not the only ones corrupted. Immense sums are at stake. It is inevitable that some relatively low-paid police and other government officials-and some high-paid ones as well-will succumb to the temptation to pick up easy money. LAW AND ORDER Legalizing drugs would simultaneously reduce the amount of crime and raise the quality of law enforcement. Can you conceive of any other measure that would accomplish so much to promote law and order? But, you may say, must we accept defeat? Why not simply end the drug traffic? That is where experience under Prohibition is most relevant. We cannot end the drug traffic. We may be able to cut off opium from Turkey but there are innumerable other places where the opium poppy grows. With French cooperation, we may be able to make Marseilles an unhealthy place to manufacture heroin but there are innumerable other places where the simple manufacturing operations involved can be carried out. So long as large sums of money are involved-and they are bound to be if drugs are illegal-it is literally hopeless to expect to end the traffic or even to reduce seriously its scope. In drugs, as in other areas, persuasion and example are likely to be far more effective than the use of force to shape others in our image.
Legalize It!
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Comment #7 posted by ekim on September 07, 2008 at 10:03:57 PT
has anyone from MI seen a MMJTee Shirt
listing the MI Coalition for Compassionate Care I tried to get a MMJ question to Sen Obama while he was in B.C. MI Last week but no luck.MI is a battle ground state we must unite and be ready to ask the hard questions to those who come and ask for our votes -- both for Pres and Vice Pres
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Comment #6 posted by afterburner on September 07, 2008 at 08:37:55 PT
Let's Make the Politicians Clean Up their Mess
U S AU S AU S A"non-violent prisoner diversion"U S AU S AU S AMedical cannabis IS an issue
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread24152.shtml#54
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Comment #5 posted by E_Johnson on September 07, 2008 at 08:17:09 PT
McCain is trying to play both sides now
Pailin is the Governor of a medical marijuana state. That makes her the chief law enforcement executive in the state. So she is directly involved by virtue of her office in a conspiracy to break federal marijuana laws.McCain should have her arrested, technically speaking, if he really believes the state policy she's being paid to enforce is criminal.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on September 07, 2008 at 08:12:45 PT
runruff
I watched most of the Republican Convention and they scared me big time. I couldn't find anything that made me feel more secure. I felt nothing put people cheering for more oil.
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Comment #3 posted by runruff on September 07, 2008 at 08:03:22 PT
Good grief!!!!!
......."and opposing any softening of laws forbidding marijuana use, which he characterizes as a dangerous "gateway drug."He's a beer baron for heaven sakes!!!!
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Comment #2 posted by runruff on September 07, 2008 at 07:57:54 PT
Alarm!
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/Half the people in this country are either gullible, stupid or voting for their investments! As you can see the crazy one is gaining.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 07, 2008 at 07:06:12 PT
About The Article
I believe this is a fair article. I do see hope under an Obama administration but nothing under McCain.
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