short notes:
will brady's ruminations
will brady's ruminations
2005-10-27
drug wars
UPDATE | Mike Smithson writes to explain that there's a growing group of law enforcement officials advocating for [get this] legalization of drugs rather than criminalization for users. His letter:
Hey Will,¶ 22:49 0 comments
great that you bring attention to this issue...last month when Chris Rock was on HBO, he said "It's not that the govt wants you to stop using drugs...they just want you to use THEIR drugs". Isn't that the truth!
Interestingly, there is now a new organization out there that is spreading the (gulp) idea of complete drug legalization across the land. And I happen to be a member. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition was founded by 5 cops in 2002 and now boasts a membership of 3600 cops, judges, prosecutors and others in the criminal justice system, as well as concerned citizens who call for this end to drug prohibition.
Our website is located at http://www.leap.cc.
You'll find bios of our speakers, events where we speak at like the Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, to retired folks, veterans and college students and we attend as exhibitors at all kinds of conferences...conferences like the National Sheriff's Association, National Org of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Intl Assoc of Women Police. Response is always great.
So, Will, keep chatting about this issue. Politicians are afraid of the issue though most of them whisper of it ending. It's a paper tiger, just like the Berlin Wall. It'll fall over as soon as everyone sees that there is very little support of it.
Mike Smithson
speakers bureau coordinator
LEAP: Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
speakers@leap.cc http://www.leap.cc
"First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I said nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat, so I did nothing. Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did little. Then when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up for me." German Protestant Pastor Martin Niemöller 1892-1984
drug wars
[from The Liberator] FBI: Marijuana Arrests Reach Shameful New Record. The War Against Marijuana is at all-time high. Police arrested an estimated 771,608 persons for marijuana violations in 2004, according to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Report, released October 17. That total is the highest ever recorded -- a shameful new record. And a closer look at this figure reveals some startling facts about the Drug War.
[from The Liberator] FBI: Marijuana Arrests Reach Shameful New Record. The War Against Marijuana is at all-time high. Police arrested an estimated 771,608 persons for marijuana violations in 2004, according to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Report, released October 17. That total is the highest ever recorded -- a shameful new record. And a closer look at this figure reveals some startling facts about the Drug War.• There is, on average, one marijuana arrest every 41 seconds.There will come a time when the zealotry and hubris of this decade shall be looked upon as a shameful chapter in American History. There shall be a day, and it won't be too far away, when many ardent supporters of that hubris will be looking about in disgust, shock, horror and shame, asking themselves, "How the fuck did we get to this point?" and "What do we now do to fix this mess?" The absurdity of the war against medical self-care [marijuana use being but one component] but a segment of that chapter. For now, documenting the statistics is the best we can do to combat these follies.
• Since 1993, marijuana arrests have more than doubled.
• The number of marijuana arrests far exceeded the total number of arrests in the U.S. for all violent crimes combined, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
• Marijuana arrests account for 44.2 percent of all drug arrests in the United States. (Clearly, the War on Drugs is first and foremost a war on casual marijuana use.)
• Of those arrested, 89 percent -- some 684,319 Americans -- were charged with possession only.
• The remaining 11 percent were charged with sale/manufacture," a category that includes all cultivation offenses -- even those where the marijuana was being grown for personal or medical use.
• Over 8 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges in the past decade -- a far greater number than the entire populations of Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming... combined.
• "It's important to remember that each of these statistics represents a human being, and in many cases, a preventable tragedy," said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "One of those marijuana arrests in 2004 was Jonathan Magbie, a quadriplegic medical marijuana patient who died in the Washington, D.C., city jail while serving a 10-day sentence for marijuana possession."
• "These numbers belie the myth that police do not target and arrest minor marijuana offenders," said Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of NORML. "This effort is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources that diverts law enforcement personnel away from focusing on serious and violent crime, including the war on terrorism."
FOR MORE INFO: Marijuana Policy Project, National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws, Marijuana and Health.
¶ 02:00 0 comments
transport woes + national leadership
• Breaking up Amtrak to save money in transportation costs. [from Talking Transportation]
Read the rest of the story ¶ 01:04 0 comments
When American forces burned villages in Vietnam, their excuse for those acts was “we had to destroy it to save it.” It seems the Bush administration is using the same tactic in rescuing Amtrak.
Weeks after their September meeting, it leaked out that the Bush-appointees to the Amtrak Board of Directors had secretly voted to spin-off the Northeast corridor, the railroad’s most heavily ridden and least subsidized (but still unprofitable) rail operation. The plan is that the line between Washington DC and Boston would be run by a consortium of eight states and Federal government.
If approved by the states, that would leave the rest of Amtrak’s national operation to wither and die, cut off from a subsidy of federal dollars and the revenue of the NE Corridor (NEC).
Here’s why their plan makes no sense.
1) Amtrak is a national railroad. To survive, all of its routes must continue as they feed passengers into each other, serving the entirenation. Transportation is a vital utility. We don’t allow a power company to only wire densely populated, profitable areas, so why cut off 42 other states from rail service?
2) We in Connecticut can’t afford to subsidize the Northeast Corridor. We can barely afford to run Metro-North let alone be burdened with the longest section of tracks between Washington and Boston.
3) Ours is the worst section of the NEC. We have the oldest overhead power wires, the worst bridges and some of the most congested tracks. Even in good condition, high speed tracks in the NEC cost $300,000+ per mile to maintain each year. If the Fed’s dump this infrastructure burden on us, how will we pay for it?
4) What will the Amtrak Board do if we don’t agree? Will they just run their trains through our state without stopping, make us the equivalent of “fly-over country”? What will that mean to the economies of Stamford, Bridgeport, New Haven, Old Saybrook, New London and Hartford… the cities now served by Amtrak? How will they be affected if Connecticut loses Amtrak service?
5) If the plan is improved, who’ll be in charge? How will the competing interests of states like Connecticut and New Jersey, both seeking access to scarce track-space in New York City, be decided?
6) For a clue to the risks of such a break-up scheme, look to Great Britain. A decade ago when they broke up their railroads into separate infrastructure (tracks, bridges and signals) and operating companies (trains), it was a disaster! Service got worse and safety deteriorated.
2005-10-26
the oceans
swimming the Blue Hole
swimming the Blue Hole
Three quarters of our home planet is underwater. George Bush notwithstanding, there are those who surmise [based on the dramatic weather changes observed since the early 1980s] that this percental shall increase in the years to come. Yet few of us have even an inkling of awareness about this vast planet we live upon. Wetass Chronicles has always been a great start point to counterbalance this ignorance. Cybersea tourism is how I have made use of that fine site. The video clip that opens up when clicking on the picture above is but a transitory peek at that underwater planet.
The vista is in the Red Sea, the locale the Blue Hole. As part of an effort to survey amd map that underwater planet the Dahab Project is but a small effort. As the century progresses, I suspect there shall be more such projects undertaken. Revel in the mystery.
The vista is in the Red Sea, the locale the Blue Hole. As part of an effort to survey amd map that underwater planet the Dahab Project is but a small effort. As the century progresses, I suspect there shall be more such projects undertaken. Revel in the mystery.
project dahab
¶ 23:47 0 comments
privacy rights
wire-taps and citizen surveillance. Colin Powell's son is at it again, this time using the FCC to allow the order of remote wiretaps placed on public library computers.
And for what? So a drone in the vast cellars of the FBI/CIA/NSA bunkers can remotely listen in on someone's publically conducted instant messaging session whenever they please? Really, the though that they might really be successful at catching terrorists talking in code from public library computers in real time is way beyond ludicrous. It's laughable! Makes it clear that the terror these snoops have is that someone has an independednt thought. And that, my friend strikes terror in my heart.
It seems to matter little that this amounts to a huge unfunded mandate that not only will cost public and university libraries billions to comply with, but also potentially restricts the public's access to information. But then, I'm skeptical that the fiscal cost [not to mention social ones] is of concern to the Powers that Be in the snoop world. Thankfully, the draconian measure is being challenged. We can expect more discussion on this front in the future. ¶ 09:01 0 comments
wire-taps and citizen surveillance. Colin Powell's son is at it again, this time using the FCC to allow the order of remote wiretaps placed on public library computers.And for what? So a drone in the vast cellars of the FBI/CIA/NSA bunkers can remotely listen in on someone's publically conducted instant messaging session whenever they please? Really, the though that they might really be successful at catching terrorists talking in code from public library computers in real time is way beyond ludicrous. It's laughable! Makes it clear that the terror these snoops have is that someone has an independednt thought. And that, my friend strikes terror in my heart.
It seems to matter little that this amounts to a huge unfunded mandate that not only will cost public and university libraries billions to comply with, but also potentially restricts the public's access to information. But then, I'm skeptical that the fiscal cost [not to mention social ones] is of concern to the Powers that Be in the snoop world. Thankfully, the draconian measure is being challenged. We can expect more discussion on this front in the future. ¶ 09:01 0 comments
blips + updates
• Right winger, anti-government loudmouth Paul Weyrich now worries about the disappearance of the State. A bit late in the game, for the anti-gommit shills, no wthat they are in power, to lament about the loss of power of government, even if it is more "state's rights" than federalist.
• Contrast the above with aTypical Joe, who reports about an interview with Eamonn Kelly, President & CEO, Global Business Network and his vision of a new global state evolving in the future.
• Bigots hiding behind the Cross Call2Action protests yoga class. Citing the First Amendment's separation of church and state, this group is actively seeking that individuals or groups with perspectives different from their own be banned from discussing them in public areas, like elementary schools. That's curious, as I recall, Call2Action was agressively pushing their own cultish agenda items at the North Carolina Legislature last May, as part of an organized rally against the rights of gay folks to have equal rights. Go figure.
The right to be intolerant of others. Good Pilgrims they. I suppose they forgot the other component of the First Amendment, Freedom of Speech.
• While on the subject of intolerance Orcinus has, in my opinion, one of the best written analysis of the Toledo Riots. Unlike the pious protestations of the Neo-Nazi group that planned a demonstration [that didn't sem to really occur] then incited the melee, Neiwart's piece provides more than adequate background on the motivations of the racist group's leader, former communist sympathizer, Bill White.
• While on the subject of Freedom of Speech, it'll be interesting to see how the Supreme Court rules on the ability of whistle-blowers to report wrongdoings without being punished themselves.
• That's it for now. Oh yeah, pix credit for the wrath of God goes to Radical Russ. ¶ 08:31 0 comments
• Contrast the above with aTypical Joe, who reports about an interview with Eamonn Kelly, President & CEO, Global Business Network and his vision of a new global state evolving in the future.
• Bigots hiding behind the Cross Call2Action protests yoga class. Citing the First Amendment's separation of church and state, this group is actively seeking that individuals or groups with perspectives different from their own be banned from discussing them in public areas, like elementary schools. That's curious, as I recall, Call2Action was agressively pushing their own cultish agenda items at the North Carolina Legislature last May, as part of an organized rally against the rights of gay folks to have equal rights. Go figure.The right to be intolerant of others. Good Pilgrims they. I suppose they forgot the other component of the First Amendment, Freedom of Speech.
• While on the subject of intolerance Orcinus has, in my opinion, one of the best written analysis of the Toledo Riots. Unlike the pious protestations of the Neo-Nazi group that planned a demonstration [that didn't sem to really occur] then incited the melee, Neiwart's piece provides more than adequate background on the motivations of the racist group's leader, former communist sympathizer, Bill White.
• While on the subject of Freedom of Speech, it'll be interesting to see how the Supreme Court rules on the ability of whistle-blowers to report wrongdoings without being punished themselves.
• That's it for now. Oh yeah, pix credit for the wrath of God goes to Radical Russ. ¶ 08:31 0 comments
civil rights history
Rosa Parks 1913-2005 | This is not another re-write about Rosa Parks' contribution to human rights history. There are plenty of those sites online. Rather, this is how her action affected me, as far as I see and remember it.
I was still a small kid when Rosa Parks got tired of riding in the back and sat down in the front of the bus where she ought to have belonged anyway. At the time, I really had no concept of what her actions meant. Most likely, I wasn't even aware of them at the time, anyway.
Hell, around the same year, where I lived there was a story going around of an African American family [the acceptable parlance of the time amongst white folks was "Negro"] was said to have gone on a tour of a house for sale. A few days later we heard that the house they merely looked at was torched. Not only was it torched, but supposedly so was the realtor's office who had shown them the house. My vague recollection at the time was, "Why would anybody want to burn a house down just because a Negro family looked at it?" Not surprising, but no one bothered to explain it to me.
I don't know if this ever really happened mind you, but someone told their wish as if it had occurred.
By the time I had learned the implications of this action, I'd already figured out that, in contrast with my father, I was pretty much "color blind." I went to an elementary school that was probably 30% Black and chose my childhood friends by
whether I enjoyed their company rather than according to skin color.
I went on to a junior high school [you know, what are called "middle schools' now] that was 85% Black, and where the supposed differences between the races became prominent when my father argued stridently to get me sent somewhere else; somewhere that was less "Black". It didn't happen, and I didn't rally want to transfer to another school. The impact of this was that it further alienated me from my father. I simply could not find an reason to lose my friends and also couldn't understand what the problem was for me to have African American friends.
In fact, the first time I ever recall engaging in social protest was around the same time, outside a Woolworth's 5 & dime store. One of my friends told me he was going to march in the picket line. The reason? Because in 1963 or '64 that chain store was still refusing to serve "the Negro" at the lunch counter. I stopped going there and stopped purchasing there, too. And, though I wasn't real upfront or active, it was the point in my life when I first joined a civil rights organization, the Congress of Racial Equality, CORE. In quiet opposition to my father Rosa Parks had, for me, become a hero. Someone to look up to, admire, and try to live up to her brave protest action.
And it was these actions, combined with my own growing recognition that I was somehow ~different~ from my peers [because I was gay] that shaped my own responses to injustice. Those lessons I learned by standing alongside other folks who are speaking out against social evils taught me how to stand up against restrictions and oppressions that also affected gay folk. And later, in 1968, while still a teenager, I was asked to picket for equal rights for homosexuals in 1968 in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, I gave it not a second thought but went and did it.
Lots of things have changed since those days, both for me personally, and for people customarily disriminated against and reviled by others.
Tell the truth, while progress has been made, in both the racial justice and gay rights arenas, I'm not really sure that all that much has improved. Certainly, there is much more interaction between people of color and white european stock, but are the opportunities significantly better?
The test of this question rests, I believe, not only in Middle America, but in all cultures, societies and nations on the planet. For only by eradicating prejudice across the globe, can we truly expect that others will treat one another equally and, perhaps even more importantly, equitably.
I never met Rosa Parks. But the single simple action she took that December day in 1955 resulted in me feeling like I knew her. And I feel that I am a better person for her courage.
You are remembered and loved Mrs. Parks. It is the only way I can say, "Thank You," however inadequate that may seem. Thank you Rosa Parks. ¶ 00:02 0 comments
Rosa Parks 1913-2005 | This is not another re-write about Rosa Parks' contribution to human rights history. There are plenty of those sites online. Rather, this is how her action affected me, as far as I see and remember it.I was still a small kid when Rosa Parks got tired of riding in the back and sat down in the front of the bus where she ought to have belonged anyway. At the time, I really had no concept of what her actions meant. Most likely, I wasn't even aware of them at the time, anyway.
Hell, around the same year, where I lived there was a story going around of an African American family [the acceptable parlance of the time amongst white folks was "Negro"] was said to have gone on a tour of a house for sale. A few days later we heard that the house they merely looked at was torched. Not only was it torched, but supposedly so was the realtor's office who had shown them the house. My vague recollection at the time was, "Why would anybody want to burn a house down just because a Negro family looked at it?" Not surprising, but no one bothered to explain it to me.
I don't know if this ever really happened mind you, but someone told their wish as if it had occurred.
By the time I had learned the implications of this action, I'd already figured out that, in contrast with my father, I was pretty much "color blind." I went to an elementary school that was probably 30% Black and chose my childhood friends by
whether I enjoyed their company rather than according to skin color.I went on to a junior high school [you know, what are called "middle schools' now] that was 85% Black, and where the supposed differences between the races became prominent when my father argued stridently to get me sent somewhere else; somewhere that was less "Black". It didn't happen, and I didn't rally want to transfer to another school. The impact of this was that it further alienated me from my father. I simply could not find an reason to lose my friends and also couldn't understand what the problem was for me to have African American friends.
In fact, the first time I ever recall engaging in social protest was around the same time, outside a Woolworth's 5 & dime store. One of my friends told me he was going to march in the picket line. The reason? Because in 1963 or '64 that chain store was still refusing to serve "the Negro" at the lunch counter. I stopped going there and stopped purchasing there, too. And, though I wasn't real upfront or active, it was the point in my life when I first joined a civil rights organization, the Congress of Racial Equality, CORE. In quiet opposition to my father Rosa Parks had, for me, become a hero. Someone to look up to, admire, and try to live up to her brave protest action.
And it was these actions, combined with my own growing recognition that I was somehow ~different~ from my peers [because I was gay] that shaped my own responses to injustice. Those lessons I learned by standing alongside other folks who are speaking out against social evils taught me how to stand up against restrictions and oppressions that also affected gay folk. And later, in 1968, while still a teenager, I was asked to picket for equal rights for homosexuals in 1968 in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, I gave it not a second thought but went and did it.
Lots of things have changed since those days, both for me personally, and for people customarily disriminated against and reviled by others.
Tell the truth, while progress has been made, in both the racial justice and gay rights arenas, I'm not really sure that all that much has improved. Certainly, there is much more interaction between people of color and white european stock, but are the opportunities significantly better?
The test of this question rests, I believe, not only in Middle America, but in all cultures, societies and nations on the planet. For only by eradicating prejudice across the globe, can we truly expect that others will treat one another equally and, perhaps even more importantly, equitably.
I never met Rosa Parks. But the single simple action she took that December day in 1955 resulted in me feeling like I knew her. And I feel that I am a better person for her courage.
You are remembered and loved Mrs. Parks. It is the only way I can say, "Thank You," however inadequate that may seem. Thank you Rosa Parks. ¶ 00:02 0 comments
2005-10-23
power outage
We lost power this morning, and cable stayed missing until maybe half an hour ago. Of course, the situation is and was not nearly as serious as the one shown in this picture, which comes from Mississippi after Katrina. During that debacle, it was pretty much well known who and what was responsible for power failures, etcetera.
In contrast, here, when we lose electricity, it's off for a period of time, and it comes back on. Nobody explains anything or provides info on the cause. If we happen to see an uprooted tree in the front yard, well, so much the better for explaining. Otherwise, it's anybody's guess. ¶ 23:39 0 comments
We lost power this morning, and cable stayed missing until maybe half an hour ago. Of course, the situation is and was not nearly as serious as the one shown in this picture, which comes from Mississippi after Katrina. During that debacle, it was pretty much well known who and what was responsible for power failures, etcetera.In contrast, here, when we lose electricity, it's off for a period of time, and it comes back on. Nobody explains anything or provides info on the cause. If we happen to see an uprooted tree in the front yard, well, so much the better for explaining. Otherwise, it's anybody's guess. ¶ 23:39 0 comments
