Documents Detail Allegations of Lies on Drug Arrest; Lawyer Says Account Is Overblown Dallas police said Monday that they are investigating everyone involved in the decisions surrounding the actions of two officers accused of lying about the arrest of a man for drug possession and the circumstances leading to a raid on a pot den. Police spokesman Lt. Paul Stokes released a news statement saying that "the Dallas Police Department is continuing the administrative investigation into the actions of all personnel involved" after the Friday firings of Jon Llewellyn, 30, and Randolph Dillon, 44, who are charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, and aggravated perjury. Both are third-degree felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. [continues 749 words]
Accusations of Lying, Tampering Recall Similar Events a Decade Ago In an episode reminiscent of the city's embarrassing 2001 fake-drug scandal, two Dallas police officers were arrested Friday on accusations that they lied in court and tampered with evidence in drug cases. The officers' arrests, and the circumstances that caused them, have raised questions about whether Police Chief David Brown's top commanders dragged their feet for about a year after concerns arose about the two officers' truthfulness. In a brief telephone interview late Friday, Brown categorically rejected any assertions that his department was slow to react. He declined to elaborate. [continues 1293 words]
U.S. Troops, Pilots Routinely Deployed to Chase, Capture Traffickers The crew members aboard the USS Underwood could see through their night goggles what was happening on the fleeing boat: Someone was dumping bales. When the Navy guided-missile frigate later dropped anchor in Panamanian waters on that sunny August morning, Ensign Clarissa Carpio, a 23-year-old from San Francisco, climbed into the inflatable dinghy with four unarmed sailors and two Coast Guard officers like herself, carrying light submachine guns. It was her first deployment, but Carpio was ready for combat. [continues 1297 words]
The point is being made by both sides of the political spectrum: Prisons and jails are needlessly stuffed with low-level drug offenders. Just this month in Austin, the state's muscular Texas Association of Business joined the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation in advocating for less expensive and more effective approaches than incarceration for small amounts of illicit drugs. On the other side of the political spectrum, a new report from the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition clarified how much these prison-for-possession cases are costing taxpayers: $700,000 a day, just for those sent to state lockups in 2011. [continues 519 words]
Colorado's Tight Rein on Pot Will Be Emulated, Enhanced in Washington State DENVER - Inside the industrial-scale marijuana farms that dot Denver's lowrise warehouse districts, it is perpetual summer - 78 degrees, moderate humidity and fields of shoulder-high plants with fat, sticky buds swaying in the breeze. Photos by Alan Berner/seattle Times In a former bus barn near Denver, marijuana plants are constantly on camera, part of an intense seed-to-sale scrutiny of Colorado's medical-marijuana industry. Measures include investigating entrepreneurs' finances for links to organized crime and monitoring the black market. [continues 634 words]
As drug warriors go, 69-year-old Suzanne Wills has been one of the most steadfast - just not on the side you might expect. And at long last, she's seeing major success. As of last week, marijuana is legal in Colorado. Washington state is next. She cheerfully predicts that other states will follow suit. "I'm optimistic," said the grandmother of seven, who lives in Far East Dallas. "The reform movement is really well organized now. We understand what works. And we have a lot of people with us." [continues 608 words]
The recent successful efforts to legalize recreational marijuana use in Colorado and Washington have placed an imprimatur of increased societal acceptance on the use of the drug, particularly among young people. I question if legalization advocates appreciate the incredible temptations that children's impressionable minds already face from the many vices that threaten to derail their social and educational development. We are facing the real possibility of more state-based legalization efforts, coupled with free-market, competitive forces bent on increasing supply and demand. It has long been anticipated that broad-based legalization would lead to mass marketing by major tobacco companies, which have the expertise, financial incentives and infrastructure to do so. These companies recognize they stand to make billions in profits from legalization, and getting users hooked at an early age assures a likely lifetime of consumption. [continues 547 words]
Among the results of last month's elections was a startling cultural development: two states, Colorado and Washington, became the first to legalize the sale of marijuana for any purpose to adults over 21. This coincides with national polls that show increasing support for marijuana legalization. Yet on this issue, conservatives and liberals alike have balked at defending individual rights and states' rights. Since 1996, when California allowed the medicinal use of marijuana, 17 more states and the District of Columbia have followed suit. A Washington Post-ABC News poll three years ago found overwhelming support for legalizing medical marijuana use: 81 percent were in favor. More recent CBS News and Quinnipiac polls have shown Americans almost evenly split on legalizing recreational sale of marijuana to adults, with supporters ahead by 3 to 4 percentage points. In 1969, only 16 percent favored legalization. [continues 497 words]
Student's Addiction Came Early; Escape Almost Elusive In a cramped bathroom stall at Edward Cary Middle School, Mariela and her crew passed around a binder and a school badge to divide the lines of powder. Jeff Lautenberger/staff Photographer Mariela, who has shared her experiences on television, has replaced drugs with education. She is pursuing an associate of applied science degree at Eastfield College in Mesquite in hopes of becoming a substance abuse counselor. She expects to graduate in May. [continues 3263 words]
Mass Incarceration Has Gone Too Far and Helped Little, Critics Say TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Stephanie George and Judge Roger Vinson had quite different opinions about the lockbox seized by police from her home in Pensacola, Fla. She insisted she had no idea that a former boyfriend had hidden it in her attic. Vinson considered the lockbox, containing a half-kilogram of cocaine, to be evidence of her guilt. But the defendant and the judge fully agreed about the fairness of the sentence he imposed in federal court. [continues 1812 words]
A state trooper criticized for conducting body cavity searches of two Irving women during a traffic stop has been placed on paid suspension. The two women have filed a federal lawsuit against trooper Kelley Helleson and another trooper, as well as the head of the state Department of Public Safety. The lawsuit accuses Helleson of using her fingers to conduct cavity searches - using the same latex gloves - on both women in July on State Highway 161. The women were searched for illegal drugs after the other trooper stopped them for throwing cigarette butts out of their car. No drugs were found. The Dallas County district attorney's public integrity division is investigating the case, which will go before a grand jury in January. Helleson will remain suspended during the investigation, DPS spokesman Tom Vinger said. [end]
Marijuana Destroys Lives, Says Angelia Megahan The progressive folks of Colorado and Washington recently sowed the weed issue into the forefront of our collective consciousness. The case for the decriminalization of THC certainly grows. Yet I remain a holdout, even though the arguments, as put forth in the Dallas Morning News, are compelling - albeit nothing new. Ten years ago, a woman told me that marijuana usage was "no big deal." I, a prosecutor at the time, waxed on about how it leads to a dead end. She laughed. A melodic guttural laugh complete with a beautiful smile dimmed only by pain that lay languishing in her eyes. [continues 529 words]
Colorado, Washington Must Hash Out What to Do If Off-Hours Tokes Affect On-Job Drug Tests DENVER (AP) - Pot may be legal, but workers may want to check with their boss before they grab the pipe or a joint during off hours. Businesses in Washington state, where the drug is legal, and Colorado, where it will be by January, are trying to figure out how to deal with employees who use it on their own time and then fail a drug test. [continues 356 words]
SEATTLE - More than 100 hard-core tokers gathered under the Space Needle at the stroke of midnight to light one up in celebration of Washington state's new marijuana law, which made it legal on Thursday for those 21 and older to possess an ounce or less of pot. Voters in Washington and Colorado approved the nation's first recreational marijuana laws in November. The Colorado law doesn't take effect until January. The Washington initiative allows for pot possession, but it's still illegal to buy, sell or grow marijuana. [continues 114 words]
Re: Meeting Of The Presidents - Drug strategy should be part of conversation I applaud the editorial board for confronting the destructive results of the drug war and calling for "more realistic marijuana policies." It is far past time. I am mystified by how "decriminalizing consumption" might "remove mega-profits from illicit trade." Decriminalization would save tax dollars because police would be handing out tickets for marijuana possession instead of making arrests. There would be further savings for the courts and the jails. Decriminalization would make us all safer because police would have more time to pursue serious crime. The production, distribution and sale of drugs would still be in the hands of criminals. The megaprofits would not be removed. Only legalization and regulation could do that. Suzanne Wills, Drug Policy Forum of Texas, Dallas [end]
Finally, politicians with fortitude have opened a discourse on the subject of marijuana. With nothing to lose, two old lame ducks - odd couple Barney Frank and Ron Paul - broached the subject of federally legalized pot after evidence that the drug war has proven to be unwinnable after 40-plus years of trying. Like alcohol and tobacco, pot is evidently here to stay. But, is it enough simply to legalize? Why not grow marijuana under strict license to take out a large chunk of drug cartels' profits? The cost of implementing the drug war may be partially saved along with a true "cash crop" of pot for farmers to sell and the feds, states and cities to tax - and even to export. This idea, whose time has come, is not without complexities and concerns, but obviously alternatives to prohibition need serious consideration. Bob Dewberry, North Dallas [end]
The voters of Colorado and Washington state have made it clear the federal government can no longer get away with confusing the drug war's collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition is a failure. The United States has double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legal. [continues 70 words]
Texas legislators should follow the recommendations of the Texas Coordinating Council for Veterans Services and significantly expand Veterans Treatment Courts throughout the state. Texas has already saved $2 billion through aggressive criminal justice reform, including the expansion of drug courts. Now is the time to further these cost-effective programs while coming to the aid of the men and women who have sacrificed for our country. Veterans Treatment Courts operate similar to drug courts, but are reserved for veterans suffering from substance abuse, mental illness or trauma. They actually save money because in most cases the VA covers the treatment. [continues 53 words]
2nd 911 Call From Complex Judged to Be Same Case Matthew Sanchez had been popping Xanax pills for hours and was fading fast. When he finally collapsed to the floor of his Far North Dallas apartment during the early morning hours of Nov. 16, a friend dialed 911 for him and disappeared. At the time of the call, Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedics were already working an emergency at the same apartment complex that had been phoned in only 11 minutes earlier. Emergency responders thought the calls were the same because of miscommunication so they did not respond to Sanchez's apartment while saving the first caller. [continues 1225 words]
Re: "Young pawns in the drug war -- Police are enlisting youthful offenders for work that's risky, unregulated and sometimes deadly, says Sarah Stillman," Sunday Points. Thank you, Sarah Stillman and The Dallas Morning News, for publishing this commentary on current insane, violence-promoting drug-war tactics. It is morally bankrupt to punish nonviolent adults for making a safer health choice, cannabis or marijuana, compared to other medicinal or social drugs. Young nonviolent informants' deaths and other triggered violence from drug prohibition across the nation are an outrage that can no longer be tolerated. [continues 91 words]
Drug Strategy Should Be Part of Conversation When voters in Colorado and Washington recently legalized the recreational use of marijuana, their actions left Mexico President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto wondering whether tracking down pot growers in Mexico is a futile strategy. It's an understandable question for Pena Nieto to ask directly when he visits President Barack Obama at the White House today in a traditional postelection meeting of leaders. At the prodding of the United States, Mexico spends billions of dollars annually to fight violent and wealthy paramilitary drug trafficking organizations. Yet the U.S., which also lays out billions of dollars to curb marijuana and other drug use, remains the main destination of marijuana produced in Mexico. [continues 354 words]
Re: =93Drug test plan is unlawful =AD It would violate rights of applicants for jobless aid, welfare, says Kurt Schwarz,=94 Wednesday Viewpoints. I find it offensive in the extreme that Schwarz dares to drag veterans and senior citizens into his argument on drug testing for unemployment and welfare applicants. My husband is a 20-year Marine Corps veteran. He earned his pension =AD he is not asking for a government handout =AD a very large distinction. Also, let me assure you that my husband was drug tested each and every year that he served, several times a year, in fact. I don't remember the ACLU complaining about that. [continues 83 words]
Police are enlisting youthful offenders for work that's risky, unregulated and sometimes deadly, says Sarah Stillman On the evening of May 7, 2008, a 23-year-old woman named Rachel Hoffman got into her silver Volvo sedan, put on calming jam-band music, and headed north to a public park in Tallahassee, Fla. A recent graduate of Florida State, she was dressed to blend into a crowd: jeans, T-shirt, black Reef flip-flops. On the passenger seat beside her was a handbag that contained $13,000 in marked bills. [continues 2492 words]
Violence Overshadows Neighbor's Economic Growth, Other Assets More Americans have a negative opinion of Mexico than of Russia, and drug violence is the main reason, according to a U.S. national poll. The poll, conducted by Texas-based Vianovo consultants and GSD&M advertising, found that 50 percent of Americans see Mexico unfavorably. In comparison, Russia, a longtime U.S. adversary, is viewed negatively by 39 percent. In addition, the poll found that only 17 percent of Americans view Mexico's economy as modern, and 7 in 10 say Mexico is unsafe for travel. [continues 590 words]
Re: "Pot is no laughing matter - Our children are being targeted by drug dealers, says Lisa M. Virgoe," Saturday Viewpoints. "Whether or not you think the 'war on drugs' is working, wrongheaded or a spectacular failure is immaterial." Such a statement could only be made by someone who really does not care or who is totally unaware of the damage being done. Our laws should reflect the truth. The truth is that marijuana is much less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. Of these three "recreational drugs," how many people die from each one every day? [continues 102 words]
A man who changed my life died recently. Tim and my wife were both bound to wheelchairs when we met. It was so easy to become angry at a hard life. He taught us that despite suffering, we could choose gratitude and happiness. His example changed our way of thinking. When his multiple sclerosis prevented him from serving the poor at his church in Dallas, he continued to minister to people like me in his home. He became known for his medical marijuana advocacy, as he found it helped him. The essence in everything he touched was about compassion, gratitude and grace. He was one of the most faithful men I have ever met. He always greeted you with a smile and the most jolly hello. You couldn't leave his presence without feeling better about yourself. Stephen Betzen, south Oak Cliff, director of the Texas Coalition for Compassionate Care [end]
Sober Democracy Prevails in 2 More States, Philadelphia Inquirer Says After his state became one of two where marijuana legalization was approved by voters Nov. 6, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper warned that "federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug, so don't break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly." Hickenlooper's allusion to marijuana induced munchies was amusing, but it had a sly, sinister subtext - namely, that the measure was brought about by nothing more than a ragtag army of stoners who just want the government to let them get high. Would Hickenlooper, a Democrat who opposed the initiative, have us believe that more than half of Colorado's electorate consists of inveterate potheads in the mold of Cheech and Chong? [continues 162 words]
Re: Talking Points quote by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Sunday Points. The legalization of marijuana makes absolutely no sense. Everyone knows that marijuana causes people to do stupid and dangerous things, so why would we make it easy for people to get a hold of it? It is like we are asking for more accidents to happen. The government says there is going to be a limit to how high you can be while driving, but we have all seen how well that works with alcohol. Some people keep pointing out that cellphone use while driving causes more accidents, but that in no way justifies using drugs. The fact still remains that people who are driving while under the influence have a good chance of causing an accident; it does not matter that cellphones cause more accidents. [continues 78 words]
According to the Sunday story "Israel invests in medical cannabis industry - Government encouraging farming, pharmaceutical distribution of marijuana," the medical marijuana industry in Israel is expanding, investing in research and technology and is supported by the government. It produces a product that "is cost-effective and dramatically reduces patients' needs for other pain medications, such as morphine, that can produce unwanted side effects." In contrast, another Sunday article, "Extortion, influence fuel drug cartel's rise - Despite government effort, Knights Templar have infiltrated society," describes the familiar story in Mexico where gangs distribute drugs illegally. [continues 105 words]
Re: "Building police trust, protection - Brown wants more outreach, guidance for officers after shootings," Thursday news story. Your neighborhood has drug dealers operating openly out of one of its houses. A drug dealer is shot and killed by the police while fleeing from arrest and fighting with the arresting officer. Your neighborhood blames the police for this death and is on the verge of rioting because of false information that is widespread. In reaction to this incident, the police chief enacts additional restrictions on his police offers in dealing with those who flee from the police and requires additional training for his officers relative to enforcing the law. [continues 59 words]
Re: "Why should police change?" by Don Skaggs, Friday Letters. Skaggs' moral premise that the criminalization of personal drug use is a legitimate use of police powers is in fact totally contrary to the well-settled philosophical mandate of social contract theory. A monopoly of force should never be used to enforce legislated morality that infringes on individual liberty of conscience where no compelling state interest could possibly sustain a morally defensible counterargument. The War on Drugs has been used to virtually void the Constitutional protections of the Fourth Amendment. The fact that thousands of police officers themselves have formed an organization called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition should tell Skaggs that instead of condoning abusive drug laws, he should be deeply concerned as an American patriot about out-of-control government tyranny that lacks the ability to self-correct when its public policies are clearly destructive. Drug addiction should have been a public health issue from day one and never a criminal justice issue. Not a single person should have had to ever die for a misguided war on drugs, cop or dealer. John Williamson, Plano [end]
Feds' Sweep Includes N.M. Track, Balch Springs Property Federal agents raided a property in Balch Springs on Tuesday as part of a multistate investigation into money laundering operations carried out by Mexico's notorious Zeta drug cartel, including funneling millions of dollars into breeding and racing horses, according to a U.S. law enforcement official and a federal indictment unsealed in Austin. The investigation underscores the reach of the Zetas in North Texas, including some connections previously reported in The Dallas Morning News. The Zeta gang, once the paramilitary wing of the Gulf cartel, is now among one of the most violent groups in Mexico, with a growing presence in Central America and several U.S. communities, particularly in Texas. [continues 876 words]
The suicide rate among veterans is an American tragedy. It's unconscionable not to use every treatment that may help these young people cope with their physical and mental pain. Drs. D. Mark Anderson, Daniel Rees and Joseph Sabia conducted a study titled "Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide." They found that "... the legalization of medical marijuana is associated with a 5 percent decrease in the total suicide rate, an 11 percent decrease ... [among] 20- to 29-year-old males and a 9 percent decrease ... [among] 30- to 39-year-old males." [continues 137 words]
Re: "Man forgotten in cell gets DEA apology -- His lawyers seek $20M after he spent 4 days with no food or water," Thursday news story. When the story first broke about Daniel Chong, a 24-year-old engineering student at the University of California, San Diego, my first reaction was, "This couldn't be." Chong was detained on April 21 when agents raided the home of a drug dealer. And yes, 18,000 ecstasy pills, along with other drugs and guns, were found. And yes, Chong was there. [continues 108 words]
Re: "Obama isn't loony to oppose drug legalization - Strategies that strike a middle ground are best" by Kevin Sabet, Monday Viewpoints. Don't be fooled by Sabet's vision of a kinder, gentler drug war. The vast majority of illicit drug users are marijuana smokers, many of whom have turned their lives around by putting down the bottle and picking up the marijuana pipe. These former alcoholics no longer wake up with debilitating hangovers. They are no longer at risk of drinking themselves to death. Because they have chosen a safer alternative to alcohol, they now lead productive lives. [continues 68 words]
Strategies That Strike a Middle Ground Are Best, Say Kevin Sabet "I personally, and my administration's position, is that [drug] legalization is not the answer." Which U.S. president uttered these words about our nation's drug policy? Was it Woodrow Wilson, a progressive leader who urged the country to unite against drugs? Perhaps it was FDR, who signed the first federal law banning marijuana? Or maybe it was the guy who everyone thinks started the war on drugs (he didn't), Richard Nixon? [continues 578 words]
Latin American Leaders Prod U.S. on Drug Policy The recent Summit of the Americas, if remembered at all, will go down as the place where Secret Service agents and U.S. soldiers overindulged in legal alcohol and legal prostitution. Not an inconsequential scandal, obviously, but it's unfortunate that off-the-field distractions overshadowed what could have been far more substantive issues. One was the perceptible shift among Latin American leaders to persuade President Barack Obama to rethink, at the very least, his nation's increasingly failed war on drugs. [continues 554 words]
President Makes a Specious Case Against Legalization, Says Leonard Pitts If President Barack Obama had a son, he would look like Trayvon Martin. So the president famously said. And the president's son would thereby find himself at significantly greater risk of running afoul of the so-called War on Drugs than, say, a son of George W. Bush. Depending on what state he lived in, a Trayvon Obama might be 57 times more likely than a Trayvon Bush to be imprisoned on drug charges. [continues 567 words]
Re: "Legal drugs as bargain? - It's not unreasonable to consider modified policy" by George Will, Thursday Viewpoints. George Will rightly points out how our drug prohibition laws create opportunities for violent gangs and cartels to make billions of dollars in tax-free profits by filling the seemingly insatiable demand for drugs. But Will is wrong to assume that legalization would cause a sharp rise in drug problems. As a former U.S. border agent who participated in many anti-drug operations, Ib [continues 122 words]
SAN CRISTOBAL, Mexico - The United States needs to consider legalizing all illegal drugs or risk having the continent become an expanding war zone, argues former President Vicente Fox, insisting that governments are not in the business of legislating morality. As President Barack Obama and other regional leaders prepared to gather over the weekend in Cartagena, Colombia, for the annual Summit of the Americas, Fox called the war on drugs a failure and said that the U.S. and its partners must look beyond criminalizing drug use and employing military tactics to fight traffickers. [continues 683 words]
Re: "Seeds of a big bust -- Small pot deal led to series of undercover buys, arrests," Sunday news story. Your front page of pictures of TCU students has convinced me. Too many of our laws, particularly those in regard to drug use, are too often unnecessarily making criminals out of too many of our young people. If we cannot persuade our legislators the best way to win the war on drugs is to legalize marijuana, then as jurors, when we vote "not guilty," we can vote "not guilty" and disable a foolish law that is costing America way too many lives and way too much money. [continues 99 words]
We innocents, constantly alert to the depredations of hoodlum gangs, are grateful for your publication of the rogues' gallery of hardened criminals on the front page of your Feb. 19 issue. Now we can recognize these miscreants on sight and hasten to protect our children from looming evil. Seriously, your gleeful celebration of the arrests of TCU students for marijuana offenses was worthy of a major FBI roundup of Mafioso capos and professional assassins instead of an easy and risk-free bust of college students dealing in the "devil's weed." But then, it does make great copy, and the cops can chalk up another journalistically hyped victory over the underworld. Ronald Wade Rockwall [end]
Let's Treat Alcohol As the Danger It Is and Make It Pay Its Way With Higher Taxes "Crack is wack." I heard many people repeat that phrase last week as they appraised the waste of Whitney Houston's later years and flashed back to her 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer, when she uttered those immortal words. Sawyer wanted to know what Houston was on. Everyone wanted to know what Houston was on, and news reports after her death took unconfirmed inventory of the pills in her hotel suite, wondering if they represented the extent of her indulgences. [continues 576 words]
TCU's Zero Tolerance Hurts Students A six-month investigation of drug trafficking at TCU ended last week with 22 arrests. Considering the prevalence of drugs throughout society, one wonders whether any campus, community or profession could withstand the hot light of such scrutiny and emerge unscathed. The Fort Worth story also chips away at the spectacular myth that white students must drive to the seamy side of town to buy their drugs from thuggish black or brown drug dealers. Although this stereotype is regularly reinforced by the media, the truth is that all races use illegal drugs at similar rates. In fact, young white males are somewhat more likely to sell and use drugs than their counterparts. [continues 295 words]
Drug testing is useless except as a money making scheme. Peter Bensinger, former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and former drug czars Robert L. Dupont and Carlton Turner shamelessly promoted drug testing as the solution to drug problems while they held office. Bensinger, Dupont & Associates is now the world's largest drug testing company. This group formed by these big drug warriors is reaping a fortune on the drug testing laws they wrote. The only beneficiaries of drug testing are the makers of the tests. Tests are notoriously unreliable, often giving false positives. Performance and productivity are the best tests for employers to insure workplace safety and increase their bottom line. Colleen McCool, Stephenville [end]
Businessman, Now in U.S. Custody, Accused of Playing Middleman A Mexican businessman is in U.S. custody, accused of money laundering and serving as a liaison between drug cartels and powerful politicians, including a former governor who allegedly received millions of dollars in exchange for protecting the criminals, according to a 14-page court filing in Texas. Four confidential informants told the Drug Enforcement Administration that Antonio Pena-arguelles was paid millions by leaders of the Gulf cartel and the Zetas to help influence politicians, including Tomas Yarrington, the former governor of Tamaulipas state, which borders Texas. [continues 592 words]
Re: "Drug test needed to get benefits - Unemployed should always be ready to return to work, says Bill Hammond," Tuesday Viewpoints. As a small-business owner who has had the privilege to have an outstanding group of employees, I am outraged at the idea of adding insult to injury to workers who have lost their jobs by forcing them to submit to drug testing to get unemployment benefits. Whatever happened to the Fourth Amendment and probable cause? The actions proposed in Hammond's column are an insult to working people everywhere. While I am not familiar with the Texas Association of Business or Hammond's position with them, I assure you he does not speak for me or any other Texas employers who appreciate and respect their employees. Paul Pedigo, Dallas [end]
Unemployed Should Always Be Ready to Return to Work, Employers are the folks who pay for 100 percent of unemployment insurance costs, and most agree that when someone loses a job, through no fault of his or her own, there should be a safety net. While providing that safety net is a covenant that employers make with employees, there is also a covenant made by people who get those unemployment benefits. Those people should be ready and available for work when it is offered. Someone who is on drugs is neither ready nor available. [continues 485 words]
Some Supreme Court decisions hit like bombs, taking casualties and creating vibrations for years. Citizens United was one; the expected ruling this year on the Obama administration's health care reform should be another. Others creep past on cat's paws, content to curl up and wait for someone to come by and rub their belly. Last week's U.S. vs. Jones decision is a creeper. While billed as the most important Fourth Amendment test in a decade, it mostly came and went fairly quietly, with legal analysts left to sort out what happened and what it meant. [continues 535 words]
As part of legislation to extend federal unemployment insurance benefits through 2012, Congress is considering a very bad policy idea: encouraging states to drug test every applicant for unemployment insurance and deny compensation to any who fail. It's such a bad idea that it has twice failed to make it through the Texas House, which is as conservative a legislative body as they come. The whole thing is really a ploy. The proponents of drug testing are trying to undermine public support for unemployment benefits by associating these applicants with drug users. They want the public to think about unemployment insurance like it does welfare, blaming the unemployed - rather than the economy - for their plight. [continues 515 words]
