Monthly Archives: November 2006

Hopes for the Dem Congress

Grits for Breakfast wonders whether the new Congress will consider John Conyers’ “No More Tulias” legislation. That bill would require corroboration for undercover testimony in drug stings using federal grant money, similar to Texas’ legislation that required corroboration for informants, … Continue reading

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Awareness

I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 30, 2006, as National Methamphetamine Awareness Day. I … Continue reading

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Hempfest at Illinois State University

Join us tomorrow (Thursday) at Illinois State University for the Winter Hempfest from 2 pm to 10 pm in the Prairie Room of the Bone Student Center. There will be prizes, opportunities for making hemp jewelry and tie-dye shirts, plus … Continue reading

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Open Thread

It seems all of Radley Balko’s fine work is opening the crack just a little bit in public awareness. While his excellent book Overkill didn’t get the splash many had hoped for when it was released, it has picked up … Continue reading

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Poppies show up UNODC head

Link “History teaches us that it will take a generation to render Afghanistan opium-free,” UNODC executive director Antonio Maria Costa said in a statement. Um, no. History teaches us that people who use the word “free” to describe some imagined … Continue reading

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Zero Tolerance = Zero Intelligence

This story helps point out some of the absolute insanity of what we’re doing… On Nov. 2, the 16-year-old senior at Southwest High School in Fort Worth consented to have her car searched in the campus parking lot after a … Continue reading

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Huge news in the Kathryn Johnston Case

At The Agitator Chief Pennington has suspended seven narcotics officers and asked the FBI to investigate. Apparently the confidential informant is saying he never purchased drugs at Kathryn Johnston’s address and was told by police to lie about it. Kathryn … Continue reading

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Simon Jenkins rant in the Sunday Times

The really tough way to control drugs is to license them by Simon Jenkins in the Times Online (UK) is a delightful ranting OpEd that skewers prohibitionists over and over for their failures, and faults politicians for lacking the guts … Continue reading

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Time – Brain Damage

OK, Time Magazine is entitled to their own list of the top 100 influential albums of all time. But can you possibly take a list like that seriously when it doesn’t include Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”? I … Continue reading

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Context for Kathryn Johnston

Radley has an outstanding (and horrifying — even though I’ve read about all those cases before, it still hurts) piece putting the Johnston story in perspective, with examples from other bad raids. People like Maye and Johnston are supposed to … Continue reading

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