I was recently scrolling the opinion pages of the Tomah Journal online, and buried behind all of the really interesting stuff, I came across another letter to the editor from Natalie Carlisle, the Drug Free Communities coordinator and member of the Monroe County Safe Community Coalition's Marijuana Workgroup. I have no desire to take things personally on matters of public policy. However, before the city of Tomah elected me to serve as District 4 Tomah City Alderman, Ms. Carlisle and her coalition mentioned my previous column calling for reform of Tomah's municipal code in regard to the penalties for possession of marijuana within the city limits. Therefore, in the interest of perpetuating a necessary conversation and equality of information, I do feel it necessary to highlight some of the worn out, tired propaganda and misinformation that is used to try to justify the continued violation of human rights in the form of arrests for a substance that is widely understood to be less dangerous than alcohol. [continues 801 words]
The table is set. With mid-term elections now only a faded memory, incumbents and newly seated state legislators can get down to business keeping promises made on the campaign trail. Lower our taxes. Create more jobs. Fix public school funding. Set term limits. Yeah, right. We'll see in a few years when another wave of change is demanded because voters cry that taxes and unemployment are too high and job creation is too low. Cynicism runs deep in regards to any hope I hold for real change. In my view two things will signify change in Wisconsin's economy. [continues 629 words]
Here's a question to those who gathered in Sparta last week to criticize Gov. Jim Doyle's public safety budget: Why does the United States, with just 5 percent of the world's population, house 25 percent of the world's prisoners? Led by Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, several public officials blasted Doyle's budget, which calls for the early release of non-violent prisoners and cutting back on supervision and parole. They levelled the criticism despite a huge state budget deficit and a corrections budget already grown at a staggering pace. Consider that: [continues 292 words]
I'm writing about your thoughtful editorial: "Supreme Court protects megaphone." (7-9-07). Obviously, our so-called conservative Supreme Court justices felt high school students should not have freedom of speech when they talk or write about our sacred war on drugs. "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" brings into question one of America's most sacred institutions: our war on drugs. Without our sacred war on drugs, America would not be the most incarcerated nation in the history of human civilization. And we would need far fewer law-enforcement personnel, far fewer prison and jail guards, and no prison or jail builders. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
"Speech with which this court agrees must be afforded the highest level of protection." That exact phrase wasn't used in either free speech ruling handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court last month, but it summarizes the majority opinions. On the same day, the court upheld the business transactions that amplify speech but ratified censorship of free speech itself. The two cases -- Morse v. Frederick and Federal Elections Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life -- exposed a court that appears more eager to defend political constituencies than a coherent view of the First Amendment. [continues 326 words]
Government by gimmick fails again. This time, it's drug-free school zones. Research released last week by the Justice Policy Institute showed that drug-free school zones have virtually no impact on youth drug abuse. Drug-free school zones were created by Congress in 1988, and Wisconsin passed a companion law in 1989. The laws enhanced penalties for drug offenses committed within 1,000 feet of a school, public park, youth center, swimming pool, etc. The laws are silly. The very fact that drugs are illegal makes every square inch of American soil a "drug-free" zone. Drug crimes that occur within these zones rarely involve people under 18. In Massachusetts, for example, less than 1 percent of offenses in drug-free zones involve juveniles, but the law, in effect, considers a drug deal done in Milwaukee more heinous than one conducted in a Monroe County farm field. [continues 198 words]
