This is an issue that affects all of us. We spend billions of dollars enforcing marijuana laws, and distract good cops from enforcing real crimes. Almost a million people are arrested for marijuana possession each year. Many of them end up with permanent criminal records and are barred forever from receiving federal student aid. People don’t just have their lives ruined; some have even died as a result of marijuana law enforcement (e.g. shot to death in paramilitary style raids - yes, it happens.)

The criminalization of marijuana was pure foolishness driven by racism, hysteria and corporate special interests.

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Pending a thirty-day comment period during which I’m confident fewer than ten people will make a sound, Federal law enforcement agencies will now collect DNA of arrestees via a cheek swab. Since we slept through the legislation getting passed, I doubt the ACLU’s efforts will wake anyone. But innocent people - have no fear! If you’re not convicted, you can “ask” them to destroy the sample. Yeah.

ABC is reporting that the “National Security Principals Committee” held dozens of meetings in the White House specifically planning who and how to torture. The principals conspiring to commit these war crimes included the vice president, then-CIA director George Tenet, Attorney General John Ashcroft, National Security Advisor Condi Rice, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and then-Secretary of State Colin Powell. According to ABC, Ashcroft at one point asked, “why are we talking about this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly.”

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“… We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government…”

[so old it's cool again.]

You’ll remember my post about jury nullification in the drug war. The TIME article sparked some fascinating conversation among some lawyers, prosecutors and others over at Mark Bennett’s blog.

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Some great emergency tips, with visuals.

Len Hart over at The Existential Cowboy has a thorough and thoughtful piece on this.

The unraveling of the financial fauxconomy appears to be accelerating. After lying earlier in the week about their liquidity problems, Bear Stearns is on the brink of collapse. Today’s emergency bailout - hastily orchestrated in the wee hours of Friday morning - was the first such move by the US Federal Reserve since the Great Depression. The Fed is authorized to take such action only under “unusual and exigent circumstances,” and the threat of a full market seizure certainly qualifies.

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Miklaszewski has a good piece on the shakeup.

Jim Rogers on what he’d do in Bernanke’s shoes: “I would abolish the Federal Reserve and I would resign.”

OK - got a few phone calls and e-mails from y’all so I guess I need to say something about this. The primary thing I find disturbing about the news surrounding Governor Spitzer is his hypocrisy. He has prosecuted these operations in the past - apparently with great fanfare and pride. I have not followed his career very closely, but people who have worked with him tell me he is a good, competent guy, if sometimes a bit socially and professionally clumsy. Read the rest of this entry »

The lead writers for HBO’s show The Wire wrote a great piece in TIME this week railing against the War on Drugs. Their suggested approach: jury nullification. They say,

“If asked to serve on a jury deliberating a violation of state or federal drug laws, we will vote to acquit, regardless of the evidence presented. Save for a prosecution in which acts of violence or intended violence are alleged, we will — to borrow Justice Harry Blackmun’s manifesto against the death penalty — no longer tinker with the machinery of the drug war. No longer can we collaborate with a government that uses nonviolent drug offenses to fill prisons with its poorest, most damaged and most desperate citizens.

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Cool little piece at Forbes by Congressman Paul on what we’re facing with the dollar.

Err, and what does this kind of pressure do to the rich history of contract law?  Not to mention what it does to the idea of individual responsibility?  Then again, personal responsibility isn’t very “in” these days.

Teacher fired for modifying oath to “non-violently” support the constitution.  I guess we need to keep that possibility open with our teachers.

David Boaz at Cato talks about Obama’s libertarian appeal.

Seven Steps to Revolution.

The Senate, by its vote tonight, is conspiring to cover up crimes committed by the Bush Administration. This vote kills pending suits that would enable the judicial system to review criminal acts and orders given by the Bush Administration. Senator Clinton was in the neighborhood, but couldn’t be bothered to show up for this critical vote. Obama voted against immunity - which would have allowed these suits to go forward, rather than short-circuit the judicial process.

There is a remaining sliver of hope; that is, the House bill does not contain immunity provisions. Bush said today that there is “no reason” why the House can’t go along and that “right now, terrorists are plotting [attacks] that will make September 11th pale in comparison.” I say there is a reason, sir - it’s the fucking Constitution. Another great reason is to call your bluff on the fearmongering - which is really just a facade being used to protect your cabal from accountability.

People, there’s something you can do. Continue Chris Dodd’s fight for accountability - while his Amendment failed, we can still tell the House to stand by the RESTORE Act. There is a tool on the Dodd site there where you can contact your Rep and also petition - do this ASAP (tonight, if you can.)

Good stuff.

Hayden wants to “make it very clear” that we only waterboarded three people.  Oh, then in that case it’s not torture.

Refreshing - especially since the last time he said he wanted to make something clear, he was fucking up the Fourth Amendment.