US Marijuana Party

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Isaac Singletary

Drug Cops murder yet another innocent elderly person

Google blog search: Isaac Singletary

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Drug Legalization: How to Radically Lower the Number of Murders in New Orleans

by Walter Block
lewrockwell.com
01/27/07


[... The drug war is an utter and abysmal failure. And necessarily so. Every time a successful interdiction occurs, drug prices and profits rise, and this only strengthens the drug gangs. They are impregnable to such tactics. ...]

Friday, January 26, 2007

Choppers go cheap in US army sale

BBC News, UK
01/26/07


[... Local sheriffs around the US seeking a few armoured fighting vehicles or a couple of attack helicopters are turning to the military for a bargain.

Thousands of police forces in the US have recently grabbed some 380,000 pieces of discounted military kit.

Some snapped up night vision goggles, while others asked for combat fatigues to help hunt drug dealers.

About 16,000 US departments obtained equipment during 2005, worth some $124m (£63m), the Associated Press found. ...]

Who’s In Love With Mary Jane?

by Wilton D. Alston
lewrockwell.com
01/26/07


[... Maybe I’m just dense, but I cannot figure out why this fight against marijuana in general, much less medical marijuana specifically, makes sense, regardless of marijuana’s safety or lack thereof. Smoking is allowed, yet cigarettes – or more accurately, cigarette-related illnesses – supposedly kill many people. Mood alteration is allowed, as evidenced by not only the ready availability of every conceivable type of alcohol, but also the massive marketing of anti-depressants, sleep aids, and the like. Neither smoking nor mood alteration are unlawful.

But somehow smoking a plant that (reportedly) provides both is worthy of being shot by some guy dressed for being dropped out of a chopper over Afghanistan. What logic qualifies the state to decide for me about marijuana while simultaneously letting me decide for myself about malt liquor and Marlboro? ...]

Thursday, January 25, 2007

State of the Union 2007

President Bush Delivers State of the Union Address
United States Capitol
Washington, D.C.

Selected Quotes:
-
"And in all we do, we must remember that the best health care decisions are made not by government and insurance companies, but by patients and their doctors."

- George just made the case for medical marijuana and against the Drug War in general. -

-
" A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them. It would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time."

- Sounds like Bush is drawing Blackwater even deeper into the fold. Blackwater fields a mercenary army in Iraq and also trains our local police. -





- From the Drug War to the Iraq War, Blackwater is on the job. -

'There is no war on terror'

Clare Dyer, legal editor
Wednesday January 24, 2007
The Guardian U.K.


The director of public prosecutions, Sir Ken Macdonald - "On the streets of London, there is no such thing as a 'war on terror', just as there can be no such thing as a 'war on drugs'".

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Ron Paul for President

Brian Doherty interviews Ron Paul
Reason Magazine
January 22, 2007

Paul for President?
The maverick libertarian Republican talks on war, immigration, and presidential ambition.

Monday, January 22, 2007


Bush AntiChrist
I made this before the 2004 election.
I told you so.
-Terry

Only Impeachment Can Prevent More War

by Paul Craig Roberts
lewrockwell.com
01/22/07


[... Civil libertarians who have observed the Bush Regime’s concentration of dictatorial powers in the presidency expect that war with Iran, especially if fearful nuclear weapons are used, will be accompanied by Bush’s declaration of a state of emergency. The Bush Regime will use the state of emergency to grab more arbitrary and dictatorial powers in the name of protecting "national security interests" and American citizens from "terrorism."

As the Regime’s crimes against the US Constitution and humanity will be monstrous, dissent will be throttled in ways that will make Americans afraid to speak, or even to think, the truth. By stifling dissent, the Bush Regime will escape accountability for launching wars on the basis of blatant lies. It will complete its destruction of the civil liberties that protect free speech, dissent, and Americans from arbitrary arrest and indefinite detention without charges or access to attorneys. ...]

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Testimony of Claudia Jensen,M.D. for the House Committee on Government Reform, Subcomittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources

Marijuana and Medicine: The Need for a Science Based Approach

April 1, 2004

(view as html)

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Teens & Driving

My son Alex will be 15 this year and he is already excited about getting his learners permit. Needless to say, I am less than excited to think about him out on the roads. I remember when I took drivers ed. in 10th grade. I wrecked the car. Not bad...but bad enough that my instructor jammed his knee slamming the extra brake in his floorboard.

One of the things that scared me the most when I was just learning to drive, and one of the things I still hate to this day are 18-wheelers on the interstate....especially in the rain. They are so dangerous and getting sandwiched between two of them is the worst.

I was looking at my insurance policy online at Geico and I noticed that they have added to their online library of safe teen driving tips. The brochure includes valuable information for teens on how to safely share the highway with large trucks. I found it to be very helpful and I will be using it when Alex starts to drive. If you have a teen and need auto coverage please take the time to get a cheap car insurance quote at Geico and also download their informative brochures on teens and driving

NEWSFLASH! Kucinich to Chair CMTE over ONDCP!!

Stop the Drug War is reporting that Rep. Dennis Kucinich has been named chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee, giving him jurisdiction over the Drug Czar's office.

This is WILDLY GOOD NEWS for Drug Policy Reformers like myself and the millions of Americans who have been adversely affected by the US war on drugs.

Back in 2004 I traveled to Austin, TX to attend a Kucinich for President fundraiser. While there I got to attend a concert bash with Willie Nelson, Bonnie Rait, the Doobie Brothers, Michelle Shocked and members of the Dave Matthews band. I was also able to ask a question about marijuana legalization at a press conference.


Congressman Kucinich & Willie Nelson

You can watch that video HERE. I also worked as a drug policy advisor to Congressman Kucinich's presidential campaign in 2004.


Loretta Nall & Congressman Dennis Kucinich speaking at a fundraising event in 2004

I predict huge changes in the very near future for the drug czars office. It is astounding to see the complete shift of power in this case. You could not get any worse drug warrior than Mark Souder and you cannot get a better drug policy reformer than Dennis Kucinich.

OH!! I am so EXCITED!!!!

Loretta Nall's 2006 Year in Review

Dear Friends, Supporters, Readers and Fans,

2006 has drawn to a close and, as always, it is time to reflect on the year gone by, examine progress and look at the plans for the upcoming year.

I want to thank each and every one of you for the support you gave to me and my family during my recent campaign for Governor of Alabama. I would never have made it as far as I did without you and your wonderful emails, letters, phone calls, in person declarations of support and your money. You provided me with constant inspiration for this very hard and often trying work.

Politics is nasty business. Blood sport. My political issues of choice are not your average candidates issues of choice and my style is not that of the everyday politican, especially in a place like Alabama.

Normally, candidates like me are ignored by the media during campaigns even when we have ballot access and when the media does decide to cover third party candidates they do not generally do so in a positive light. But this time, even without ballot access, the media followed through with me to the end. Granted, not all of my media coverage was positive...but it wasn't negative either. It was more a matter of tone and seriousness than negative coverage. Without you out there writing letters to newspapers, posting about my campaign on your blogs, calling TV and talk radio stations and asking for fair coverage of your candidate, the media would likely not have paid much attention.

I want to take a look back at some of the major things that happened, what we gained with my candidacy and where we go from here.

Not ever having run for office before I didn't know what to expect. I am just an average person with no prior political experience. I didn't have and knew I couldn't raise anywhere near the amounts of money my opponents had. I worried in the beginning that I might fail in my effort to see it through to the end. How nasty would it get? Will I be able to handle it with wit and grace? Will it be worth it in the end? I remember thinking, "Oh man, what have I done?", after hitting the send button on my first news release announcing my run for Governor and quickly and enthusiastically embracing the next realization of "Well, it's done now...put me in coach, I'm ready to play."

So many different things happened during the campaign that I didn't really expect to happen. I guess the most surprising thing is that people from across the political spectrum paid attention. Their reasons for doing so are probably as diverse as they themselves are. Maybe people cared about the issues and wanted to help. Maybe they despised the issues and wanted to impede progress. Maybe they were simply fascinated that a woman in Alabama had the courage to address issues like REAL drug policy reform, prison reform, equal rights for the LGBT community, getting out of the Iraq war, getting the federal government out of public education and any other controversial issues that I covered in my campaign. Maybe some tuned in for the humor alone.I am sure some were laughing with me and some were laughing at me, but the important thing is that they were laughing and laughter is good.

I got invites to speak from the VFW to the Rotary Club, from the PTA convention to the African American Mayors Conference, from the Kiwanis Club to the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.

As of now, two months after the election, there is still no conclusive ending to the story. Some of the votes cast for me were not counted while others were, so we will never have an accurate vote count. Sure, I didn't win the Governors seat...but I never expected to and I don't believe that any of the people voting for me thought that I would win....at least not this go round. This wasn't meant to be an ending though as it is only the beginning of my political career.

Here is what I gained by running for Governor of Alabama.

1. A large network of Alabama citizens motivated enough to go to the polls and physically write my name in on the ballot. Many of these same people will now be helping me on the Compassionate Care Act, the push for less restrictive ballot access laws (this has been a particularly hot issue in all of Alabama's major newspapers just recently) and my possible 2008 campaign against Congressman Mike Rogers of Alabama's third district.

2. I also gained the respect of the Alabama media and met many new people in the national media. The huge role that the Alabama media and, near the end the national media, played in my campaign would be very hard to put a dollar figure on.

3. I was respected by those who heard me speak even if they disagreed with what I had to say.

4. I gained name recognition for my future political expoloits.

5. I tried to un-demonize the average pot smoker to the average non-pot smoking citizen. I put a human face on someone who smokes pot and lives a normal life. I tried to help people understand that people who smoke pot aren't a threat to anyone, we are not out to rob you, steal from you, pollute your children or otherwise cause harm to the fabric of society.

I tried to help people understand that me smoking a joint in the privacy of my own home is not a problem until the police kick in my door, terrorize my family, haul me through the courts and to jail and put it all on the taxpayers tab. I tried to show that pot smokers are not hard core drug addicts, that 99.98 percent of us never go on to become heroin or crack addicts, despite what the federal and local governments tell you. I tried to show that we are basically regular people who live next door to you, work with you, maybe go to church with you, maybe even your own flesh and blood, and that you should not fear us. The truth is everyone knows someone who smokes pot whether they know it or not.

6. The most important thing is that I ran and that I brought issues like drug policy reform to the front and center of politics in Alabama. My message was delivered to millions of Alabamians through every available media outlet. I planted seeds in peoples' minds all across the state and I am certian some of them will sprout and grow into thriving community activists and future elected officials and that will help move the state of Alabama forward.

Here is a month by month recap of the campaign beginning in October of 2005.

Oct. 2005

Marijuana Advocate Joins Governor's Race

Nall Enters Alabama Governors Race

Don Markwell Show

Nall and Libertarians in Joint Venture

Tuscaloosa News LTE

Tuscaloosa News LTE Response

Marijuana Head Seeks Governors Office

Local Hopes Run Will Influence Candidates

The Kevin Elkins Show

Get to Know your 2006 Candidates

November 2005

Montgomery Advertiser Editorial Recommending Decrim

Decatur Daily Editorial on Treatment instead of incarceration

Birmingham News Editorial on Treatment instead of incarceration

The Times Daily Editorial on Prison Overcrowding and Treatment instead of Incarceration

Guest on 90.7 FM

December 2005

Was a very slow month. No media or events for the entire month.

Janurary 2006

For the Record

Election Buzz Heating Up

First Campaign Stump Speech at the Wetumpka VFW

Feedback from the first speech

Feburuary 2006

Pot Bust Lights Fire Under State Candidate

March 2006

Nall to Address National African-American Mayors Association

Video of Address at National African-American Mayors Association

The Great Boob Flap Begins

My Reponse to the Men Who Started the Boob Discussion

Meet the Twins Letter Printed in Montgomery Independent

A Life of Its Own

Colorful Contenders in Governors Race

April 2006

More of These Boobs and Less of These Boobs

Nall Still Running, Maintains Innocence

For the Record Nomination COverage

WAKA Channel 8 Nomination Coverage

Woman Heads Libertarian Ticket

Nall on Channel 8 TalkBack Video

Libertarians Make it Official

Nall More Excited Than the Lt. Governor about Campaign

Video of Nall's Addresses State PTA Convention

Huntsville Times Coverage: Candidates Share ideas on Schools, Criminals, Taxes

Nall A Guest on Atlanta's 96 Rock

Ten Commandments Judge Trails in Race for Governor

May 2006

Alabama Gubernatorial Hopeful Flashes for Cash

Nall on Free Talk Live

Boobs, Panties & Coourage; How Honest Elections Could Change Alabama

Nall on Alan Colmes Show

Nall on Joe & The Poor Boy

Nall Makes Top 10 at Technorati

Nall on WRMN and Freedomworks Radio

Birmingham FreePress

Columbia Journalism Review Coverage

Loretta Nall on Cultural Baggage

Nall Opposes National Guard Troops on Mexican Border

More or Less

MSNBC Coverage of FLash for Cash Campaign

Nall on WRJM Wiregrass Radio

Kim Hendrix Interviews Loretta Nall & Joe Copeland

Tuskegee Sheriff's Candidates, "Nall Right on Drug Policy"

June 2006

Drug Policy Reformers Take Third Party Path in Bids for State Office

Ballot Access War...The Final Battle

Nall. "I'm Not Dropping Out"

Nall on For the Record Primary Election Night Coverage

Hoover Metro Kiwanis Club Recap

More Supporter LTE's

Nall Launches Campaign Radio Ads

July 2006

Lower than Dogs

Women's Rights & Jericho Horns

Nall Looks to Ride Colorful Campaign

August 2006

Nall Speaks at Birmingham Peace Rally

For the Record on Womens Rights

Nall on Head On Radio with Bob Kincaid

Loretta Nall on WAUD Auburn

Drug Policy Discussion on For the Record

September 2006

Candidate Due Spot in Debate

State Law Creates Roadblock to Ballot Access

Montgomery Advertiser Editorial: Ballot Access Far Too Limited

Nall Polled in Survey

Nall Heads Back to COurt

Not Being in Jail is Cool

October 2006

Unfair Rules Block Good Candidates

My First Vote

Nall Registers Ex-Felons to Vote...Addresses NAACP State Convention

Nall Addresses Birmingham Sunrise ROtary Club

Candidates Get Face Time

USA Today: "Vote Nall Y'all...She's Smokin'!

Alabama Gubernatorial Hopeful Campaigns on Cleavage

Feedback on the Twins

National Media Storm Begins

The Slippery Nipple

Nall on Fox & Friends

Loretta Nall #1 on Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Candidate Talks Issues, Not Good Looks

Nall on NBC 13 News (no video uploaded for this one yet)

Political Levity a Good Thing

Nall Endorsed by Talk Left

WAKA and WVTM Coverage

Nall's Campaign Ads Named "Most Honest" by Brandweek magazine

Nall Answers Debate Questions

NOW Takes Stand on State Issues

November 2006

Bob Ingram You are Still invited to my Inaugural Ball

Birmingham Black & White Publishers Notebook

The Race for Montgomery Heats Up

Fun Alternative News Interviews

Nall Best Qualified Candidate

Nall on Good Morning America

Nall CBS Radio Interview

Nall on For the Record

Back to the Grind

Mobile Sees Spike in Write-in Voting

Voters Deserve Right to Write-In

Some Preliminary Vote Totals

Elections Officials Complain About Having to Count Write-in Votes

Put Your Big Girl Panties on and Deal With It!

Citizens Respond to Call for Ban on Write-in Voting

Don't Limit Access to Get on Ballot

Shouldn't charge fee for Write-ins

Ballot Access laws are the Real problem

Ballot Access in Alabama

Ballot Rules Too Restrictive

Alabama Voters Need More Choices

Write-in Votes Often Good for Chuckle

Well folks, there you have the majority of the last 15 months of my life in print, audio and video.

Nothing about the campaign was negative nor does any of it leave a bad taste in my mouth. Quite the opposite actually. The overall experience was incredibly positive. Despite being a write-in candidate I enjoyed widespread media coverage in print, radio and TV long before the unintended 'boobs' bruhaha near the end of he campaign. I've come to the conclusion that every politician is intimately familar with the principles of addiction . It doesn't necessairily have to be a 'substance' that one is addicted to. I can't wait to run again.

Despite what the numbers say, I won. No, not the governors seat...but I think we all knew that was the longest of long shots and no one was surprised by that outcome. I am not convinced we will ever know the actual number of votes I received, what with the poll workers deciding which votes to count and which votes to simply discard, but even that is a victory. By spotlighting the fact that apparently not everyone's vote counts I have brought it to the attention of voters who are very unhappy about it. That unhappiness is fertile breeding ground for political action and political action breeds political change. My campaign also has brought light to the larger and more critical issue of Alabama's horrible ballot access laws and has given me a base of people, which I can and will organize to carry out the political actions that breed political change. Look for a bill addressing ballot access laws in the upcoming legislative session as well as a bill on medical marijuana.

In closing and trying to sum up all of the things that I feel and that happened during this campaign I have this to say, when I was a kid I always wanted to be a rock star and running for Governor in Alabama was what I imagine being a rock star is like. For 15 months I got to be a thorn in the ass of the prohibitionist establishment in the most oppressive state in the nation and I got the media to cover it all the way down the line. I had an absolute ball. How often in ones life does the opportunity to thoroughly mock the establishment, and in Alabama no less, on such a grand public scale, knock on the door? Not often.

I'll see you at the State House during the upcoming legislative session and around Alabama as I prepare to educate the public, the media and elected officials about the issue of medical marijuana in Alabama.

I owe a very special thanks to some very special individuals who helped me in some way during the campaign.

Members of the Media

Tim Lennox at For the Record. Throughout the campaign Tim Lennox was ethical enough in his journalism to include my activities despite my not having ballot access. He inserted me into many roundtable discussions and newscasts, exchanged emails with me and had me on the show near the end of the election. FTR is my favorite news show in Alabama and having Tim be so helpful was priceless.

Phil Rawls and Robb Carr at the Associated Press. Phil was always fair, enjoyed my sense of humor and captured it well in his articles, and did not leave me out of his experienced political coverage even though he very well could have. Phil also offered me tips he had collected from his many years covering politics in Alabama. It was always sage advice. I can't thank him enough. He did the first and last major articles on my campaign and his last one launched me into the international spotlight. Robb Carr took great photos of me throughout the campaign for various AP articles and was just delightful to be around. I'll miss them between now and the next run for office. They added to the fun factor for this election.

Monica Allen, Stephanie Hicks, Chris Bailey, Jabari Pruitt and the whole gang at WAKA Channel 8 in Montgomery. Channel 8 provided more in-depth coverage of my campaign than any other major network channel in the state. I always had an absolute ball everytime I would go in to be a guest on TalkBack Live and everyone at Channel 8 treated me like an old friend.

Editor Bob Martin at the Montgomery Independent and Bob Ingram, the syndicated political columnist, for noticing that I have boobies and proceeding to alert everyone else to that fact. Without their help I probably never would have been covered in the national and international media. With their help I was second only to the Governator (Arnold S. in Cali)in national media coverage of gubernatorial campaigns. Also, I would never have made as much money as I did on the "More Boobs" merchandise. So thanks y'all for making me a star even though I am almost certain that was not your intent.

To the bloggerhood

Many thanks are owed to the Alabama Bloggerhood

BlueGal and Dr. IQ were absolutely indispensable in getting the bloggerhood buzzing with the boob story. At one time there were 109,000 posts about me in one day on blogs across the globe. I would also like to thank the following bloggers for their coverage, endorsements and support....in no particular order

Bitter Old Punk
Gun-Toting Liberal
AlaBlawg
Birmingham Blues
Captain Bama
Politics in Alabama
Between the Links
Alabama Moderate
LibertySphere
Aardvarks Plumbline

The Alabama Libertarian Party

Without the help and encouragement of the LPA over the course of the last four years I might never have made the plunge. A special thanks to Mike Rster and his beautiful wife Mia, Sarah Wires, Mark Bodenhausen, Dick Clark, John Sophecleus, Mark Thornton, Jim Greenleaf, Paul Frankel and Steve and Deborah Gordon. I love you all.

And finally thanks again to all of my supporters, fans and friends. I hope that my candidacy made you proud and inspired you to run for office yourself or, at the very least, to become more involved in politics. Remember, politics is the art of controlling your environment and if you want to have some say in the laws by which you will be governed then you have to participate in their creation and passage.

Onward!
Loretta Nall

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

High Altitude Pigs on the Wing



Fire Reveals Police State Blimp
Posted by Lew Rockwell at January 17, 2007 04:14 PM

More spying by bloated government gasbags, this time airborne ones.

Gold

I have been looking into investing in some gold coins in order to have money worth something when the world falls down and the dollar collapses. I have been reading a lot of Lew Rockwell's advice on gold. Here are a few paragraphs from his latest article. Read the rest here.

As with all matters of investment, everything is clear in hindsight. Had you bought gold mutual funds earlier this year, they might have appreciated more than 100 percent. Gold has risen $60 since March 2001 to the latest spot price of $326.

Why wasn’t it obvious? The Fed has been inflating the dollar as never before, driving interest rates down to absurdly low levels, even as the federal government has been pushing a mercantile trade policy, and New York City, the hub of the world economy, continues to be threatened by terrorism. The government is failing to prevent more successful attacks by not backing down from foreign policy disasters and by not allowing planes to arm themselves.

These are all conditions that make gold particularly attractive.


Gold is sold in either coins or ingots. The coins have a currency value or they are defined as ingots. Ingots are generally gold ingots of pure bullion cast in a convenient size and shape. If you are interested in protecting your finances against coming assault pay a visit to Monex and see what they have to offer.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Why does Bush want to Nuke these Iranian Babes?



THE INTRIGUE OF IRAN
Ancient Persian wonders, modern Western cities and surprisingly warm welcomes await intrepid U.S. visitors
San Francisco Chronicle, CA - Jan 14, 2007

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Escalation in the Middle East

Ron Paul
01/15/07

Sunday, January 07, 2007

War on drugs comparable to Iraq invasion

Kirk Muse
Letter to the Editor
Daily News Journal, TN
Jan 6, 2007


I'm writing about D. David Darcy's thoughtful letter: "Nation's war against drugs has never worked" (12-30-06).

Our so-called drug war and our war and occupation of Iraq are very similar. Both were started with lies and false pretenses.

The war in Iraq is over. We won. What we have now is an occupation of Iraq. Occupations cannot be won.

Who is going to surrender and sign the peace treaty?

The so-called war on drugs cannot be won. Who is going to surrender and sign the peace treaty? The war on drugs is an occupation, a career, an industry and huge bureaucracy. The goal of the drug war is not to win, but rather to continue and expand.

The only way to end the drug war is to legalize the products that are now prohibited and sell them in legal, licensed and regulated business establishments.

Those benefiting from our drug prohibition policies don't want this to happen, and they will do everything in their power to make sure it doesn't happen.

Pot-growing woman, 60, reports to prison

Adam Martin
Examiner.com
01/06/07


SAN FRANCISCO - Amid a shower of tossed daisies, a flurry of hugs and lots of tears, a 60-year-old woman who was investigated by San Francisco police for growing medical marijuana in 2002 turned herself in to federal marshals this week.

At the time of Landa’s arrest, San Francisco had recently declared itself a symbolic “sanctuary” for medical marijuana users, growers and distributers. Proposition 215, passed by state voters in 1996, permits the growing and using of medical marijuana with a doctor’s prescription.

Steroids case imperils privacy

Appeals court goes astray

[...Judge Sidney Thomas, in a vigorous 68-page dissent, began by quoting one of the lower court judges he would have affirmed: "What happened to the Fourth Amendment? Was it repealed somehow?"...]

Editorial
Rocky Mountain News, CO
01/07/07

Medical pot laws don't blow smoke

TEN years ago, California voters were first in the nation to legalize the medical use of marijuana. We managed the Proposition 215 campaign, and later had similar success in six other states.

When Proposition 215 appeared on the California ballot, political leaders and pundits of all stripes urged voters to oppose it. They made some dramatic predictions about what would happen if it passed. Let's go back and see how right, or wrong, they were.

BILL ZIMMERMAN and DAVE FRATELLO
Guest Columnists
Los Angeles Daily News, CA
01/07/07

Militia Leader Put Government On Notice Years Ago

Fincher arrested in November on charges of illegal weapons

Ron Wood
Springdale Morning News, AR
01/06/07

Study: Teen drug use down

Survey shows illicit drug use declined 23 percent

Lisa Singleton-Rickman
Times Daily, AL
01/07/07

Marijuana has medicinal values LSJ didn't report

[...The LSJ's front page article, "Experts: Medical marijuana best as pill" (Dec. 29) was almost entirely wrong....]

Kathy Kennedy
Op/Ed
Lansing State Journal, MI
01/07/07

More security firms getting police powers

Some see benefits to public safety, but others are wary

Amy Goldstein
Washington Post
San Francisco Chronicle
01/07/07

Saturday, January 06, 2007

A Lynching...

Riverbend
Baghdad
12/31/06


An Iraqi girl reports on the hanging of Hussein

Officer hurt in fatal shootout with elderly woman to retire


AP
Macon Telegraph, GA
01/06/07


ATLANTA - One of the officers wounded in a November drug raid that left an elderly woman dead is retiring from the police department, his attorney said.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Inmate charged with killing cellmate could face death penalty

KVOA.com, AZ
01/02/07


MESA, Ariz. -- A state prison inmate already serving a life term has been formally accused of killing his cellmate, a nonviolent drug offender who was placed with the convicted murderer only a few hours before he was stabbed and beaten to death.

Inmate Michael Gaston could face the death penalty if convicted of the charges, filed more than three months after the Sept. 7 death of 45-year-old William Harris in the state prison in Florence. Prosecutors have yet to decide if they'll seek the death penalty.

Gaston made his first appearance in Pinal County Superior Court on Dec. 21, but did not enter a plea, according to court records.

The incident raised questions about the state prison system's inmate classification system, which is designed to prevent non-violent prisoners from being housed with those known to be violent. The system became a hot topic nearly three years ago following a three-week standoff at Lewis Prison in Buckeye, one of the longest prisoner revolts in the nation's history.

Harris was serving a three-year sentence for drug charges. Gaston arrived at the prison in April after he was convicted of killing a friend in the desert near Wickenburg over a disputed car loan.

A legislative committee questioned Department of Corrections Director Dora Schriro about the incident last month, and Gov. Janet Napolitano asked her for a report on the incident that was due Monday at the latest.

Schriro defended the inmate classification system and told the committee it was not responsible for Harris' death.

Mexican deploys troops to fight Tijuana drug gangs

AP
CNN
POSTED: 8:09 a.m. EST, January 3, 2007


• New movement part of president's expanded war on drugs
• 300 killed in drug-related crimes in Tijuana last year
• Tijuana key point for shipping cocaine, meth into U.S.
• Mayor says city not being militarized

---------------------------------------------------
Yep, they messed up the headline

Marijuana, too boring to be bad

The war of drugs is like the war on terrorism: expensive, neverending, largely symbolic and mostly ineffective.

Kymberly Levesque
Arizona Republic
01/02/07