The war on marijuana is going up in smoke, and it's about time. There is no bigger waste of money and resources in all law enforcement. Failure is too polite a description for the long campaign to eliminate the pot trade in the United States. A colossal flop is what it is. After four decades and billions spent, marijuana is easier to get, and more potent, than ever. More than 40 percent of all Americans over 12 have tried it, and at least 30 million people smoke it each year. The most recent national drug survey found that 18.1 million Americans had used it during the previous month. [continues 551 words]
After two decades of being "tough on crime" by "locking them up and throwing away the key" - to recall two of the effective political slogans of the past - the bill has come due. Many states have become incapable or unwilling to pay the cost of housing record numbers of inmates. Twenty-five states have already passed laws easing or eliminating the minimum sentencing requirements that were politically popular in the 1980s and 1990s. They are also considering early parole for nonviolent, nondangerous offenders to ease overcrowding and the cost of warehousing so many convicts. [continues 638 words]
Three Strikes And You're Broke After two decades of being "tough on crime" by "locking them up and throwing away the key" the bill has come due. Many states have become incapable or unwilling to pay the cost of housing record numbers of inmates. Twenty-five states have passed laws easing or eliminating the minimum sentencing requirements that were politically popular in the 1980s and '90s. They are also considering early parole for nonviolent, non-dangerous offenders to ease overcrowding and the cost of warehousing so many convicts. [continues 580 words]
After two decades of being "tough on crime" by "locking them up and throwing away the key" -- to recall two of the effective political slogans of the past -- the bill has come due. Many states have become incapable or unwilling to pay the cost of housing record numbers of inmates. Twenty-five states have already passed laws easing or eliminating the minimum sentencing requirements that were politically popular in the 1980s and '90s. They are also considering early parole for nonviolent, non-dangerous offenders to ease overcrowding and the cost of warehousing so many convicts. Joseph Lehman, secretary of the state of Washington Department of Corrections, told The New York Times that the people behind liberalizing the tough laws "are not all advocates of a liberal philosophy." Indeed, they are not. I am one of them. [continues 589 words]
President Bush's proposal to reduce taxes has been criticized as unfair by liberal Democrats who think the bulk of the tax breaks will go to the rich. Those same Democrats have not raised the fairness issue in the same way when it comes to the last-minute pardons and commutations by former President Clinton. How do people in prison feel about the fairness issue? Should we care? Dale Hill writes from the federal prison facility in Goldsboro, N.C. Hill says, and his attorney confirms, that he is serving a 14-year sentence for a low-level, nonviolent drug offense. It was his first offense, but in a tough-on-crime environment, he is paying a big price. Unlike many inmates, Hill admits his guilt. [continues 610 words]
The Bush administration has wisely decided to withhold submitting its bill to aid faith-based programs until it can revise the legislation to make it more acceptable to conservative religious leaders. The administration had expected opposition from liberal groups, but not the level of resistance coming from conservative religious leaders and organizations who fear that inviting the government in will mean eventual government control of their message. Historians have debated whether the Roman Emperor Constantine was seriously converted to Christianity in the Third Century, or if he merely found that faith expedient in the pursuit of his military objectives. He may have believed the Christians could be persuaded to serve in his army if they were freed from the catacombs and their faith declared not only legitimate but also the official state religion. [continues 606 words]
President Bush's proposal to reduce taxes has been criticized as unfair by liberal Democrats who think that the bulk of the tax breaks will go to the rich. Those same Democrats have not raised the fairness issue in the same way when it comes to the last-minute pardons and commutations by former President Clinton. How do people in prison feel about the fairness issue? Should we care? Dale Hill writes from the federal prison facility in Goldsboro, N.C. Hill says, and his attorney confirms, that he is serving a 14-year sentence for a "low-level, non-violent drug offense." It was his first offense, but in a tough-on-crime environment, he is paying a big price. Unlike many inmates, Hill admits his guilt. [continues 639 words]
George W. Bush's real problem is not the cocaine he may or may not have tried somewhere in the distant past. His problem is that he doesn't have the kind of people around him who follow their leader and lie to anyone about anything in order to get their guy elected and keep him in office. The national press -- many of whom experimented with drugs in their "youth" - -- refused to hold the Clinton administration accountable when many of its staffers failed to qualify for security clearances. The buzz was that they probably would have had to admit drug use in their very recent past. Instead of telling the truth, they got around it by accepting "temporary passes," allowing them access to government secrets when they had not passed the mandatory FBI background checks. [continues 546 words]
GEORGE W. Bush's real problem is not the cocaine he may or may not have tried somewhere in the distant past. His problem is that he doesn't have the kind of people around him to handle his equivalent of "bimbo eruptions." He needs a cadre of ethically challenged minions such as President Clinton had and has, who follow their leader and lie to anyone about anything in order to get their guy elected and keep him in office. This president has so lowered the moral, ethical and legal bar that it is hard to see how anyone can get under it. The national press -- many of whom experimented with drugs in their "youth" -- refused to hold the Clinton administration accountable when many of its staffers failed to qualify for security clearances. The buzz was that they probably would have had to admit drug use in their very recent past. Instead of telling the truth, they got around it by accepting "temporary passes," allowing them access to government secrets when they had not passed the mandatory FBI background checks. According to the Media Research Center, at least two networks -- NBC and ABC -- lagged far behind other news outlets when Juanita Broaddrick first charged that Bill Clinton raped her when he was Arkansas attorney general. But they are all over the Bush cocaine story, even though no one has made any charge of drug abuse by the governor. [continues 467 words]
Perhaps nothing is more amusing or more pathetic than adults determined to force adolescents to do their bidding. The defeat of the tobacco bill in Congress and pledges by the Clinton administration to continue to search for ways to "save our children" from the ravages of tobacco smoke and addiction to nicotine will be about as effective as Prohibition. Today, the crusaders are named Bill Clinton, C. Everett Koop and John McCain. More than 90 years ago, there were Chicago's Lucy Page Gaston and her Anti-Cigarette League of America. It was Gaston who invented the term "coffin nails." [continues 437 words]
