{"article":{"id":12552,"heading":"Drugs raids are a waste of time","author":"stoned immaculate","created":"2001-11-01 13:41:52","modified":"2005-08-15 00:42:34","last_modified":"Mon, 15 Aug 2005 07:42:34","article":"","contact":"","link":"www.guardian.co.uk","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"Shouldn't they be out there catching terrorists.","numcomment":2,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/drugs_raid.txt","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2001\/11\/12552.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":12553,"heading":"Stop John Walters","article":"   STOP JOHN WALTERS FROM BECOMING 'DRUG CZAR'\r\n   His Drug Policies Are Out of Step With America\r\n \r\n ACTIONS TO TAKE\r\n \r\n-- If your Senators are on the Senate Judiciary Committee (see below), \r\n   call their offices and tell them to VOTE AGAINST JOHN WALTERS AS \r\n   DRUG CZAR. JOHN WALTERS IS TOO EXTREME. Please keep your calls short\r\n   so that others can get through. Every phone call counts and we need \r\n   to put pressure on Committee members right away.\r\n\r\n PLEASE CALL NOW, as the vote could be scheduled any day.\r\n\r\n-- Forward this e-mail to as many friends, family members, and co-workers\r\n   as possible. Ask them to read it and take action. \r\n \r\nBACKGROUND:\r\n \r\n   President Bush has nominated a Bill Bennett protege, John Walters, to\r\nbe our nation's next drug czar. Walters is an ardent drug warrior who \r\nsupports harsh sentences for non-violent drug offenders, opposes the \r\nmedical use of marijuana, opposes meaningful drug treatment programs, and\r\ndenies that racial disparities exist in the criminal justice system. \r\n\r\nThe Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on his nomination his nomination\r\nwithin a few days. We need you to call your Senators on the Judiciary \r\nCommittee and tell them to vote against Walters. Every call makes a\r\ndifference, make your voice heard!!!\r\n \r\nWHY WALTERS SHOULD NOT BE DRUG CZAR\r\n \r\n-- He opposes reforming mandatory minimums and eliminating the\r\n   crack\/powder cocaine sentencing disparity.\r\n-- Even former drug czar Barry McCaffrey has expressed concern about \r\n   Walters' priorities being heavily skewed against treatment and \r\n   prevention, saying that Walters is \"focused too much on interdiction\" \r\n   and \"needs to educate himself on prevention and treatment.\" \r\n-- Walters has not expressed support for reexamining racial disparities in\r\n   the criminal justice system.  He has very recently dismissed concerns \r\n   about the fairness of the system almost out of hand.  In his words, \r\n   \"What really drives the battle against law enforcement and punishment,\r\n   however, is not a commitment to treatment, but the widely held view\r\n   that (1) we are imprisoning too many people for merely possessing\r\n   illegal drugs, (2) drug and other criminal sentences are too long and\r\n   harsh, and (3) the criminal justice system is unjustly punishing\r\n\r\nSOME BRIEF TALKING POINTS\r\n\r\n-- A majority of Congressional Black Caucus \r\n   Members have declared Walters, \"unfit for a \r\n   position that requires sensitivity to racial \r\n   fairness.\"\r\n-- The President of the Betty Ford Center has \r\n   warned, \"Mrs. Ford and I are convinced that \r\n   Mr. Walters may not have the confidence in the \r\n   treatment and prevention strategies that we \r\n   believe are necessary for the creation and \r\n   implementation of a balanced and thoughtful \r\n   approach to U.S. drug policy.\" \r\n-- National Education Association, National \r\n   Urban League, other groups say, \"Mr. Walters \r\n   has advocated for policies that would result \r\n   in locking up more African American youth.\"\r\n-- Organizations opposing the confirmation of John \r\n   Walters, include AIDS Action, Latino Voters \r\n   League, National Black Police Association, \r\n   National Women's Health Network, Pesticide \r\n   Action Network, Rainbow\/PUSH Coalition, and \r\n   Witness for Peace. \r\n\r\n\r\n----------------------------------------------------------------------\r\nTuesday, October 30, 2001  -- A San Francisco Chronicle editorial\r\n    _______________________\r\n    \"A throwback drug czar\"\r\n\r\n    THE SENATE must soon decide whether U.S. policies on fighting \r\ndrug abuse will return to the failed, lock-'em-up focus of previous\r\nyears or continue their current trend toward emphasizing treatment \r\nand education.\r\n\r\n    In the next few days, the Judiciary Committee is expected to vote \r\nwhether to confirm John Walters, President Bush's nominee as director \r\nof the Office of National Drug Control Policy.\r\n\r\n    It is the last Cabinet position to come before Congress, but the vote\r\nhas been delayed in part by controversy over Walters' hard-line views.\r\n\r\n    The decision is expected to be close and will likely be decided by \r\nfour swing votes: Democrats Dianne Feinstein of California, Charles\r\nSchumer of New York and Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, plus Republican\r\nArlen Specter of Pennsylvania.\r\n\r\n    These senators have reason to consider voting for Walters, mainly to\r\ncontinue the post-September 11 congressional show of unity behind the\r\npresident. The position of drug czar is a crucial one, directing the\r\nfederal government's $19 billion in anti-drug programs and serving as a\r\nmoral leader in the just-say-no campaign focused on America's youth.\r\n\r\n    But the need to rally around the flag and fill an important job do \r\nnot compensate for Walters' many failings:\r\n\r\n    He wants to escalate U.S. military involvement in the Latin American \r\ndrug war at the expense of funding for domestic drug treatment and \r\neducation (which have repeatedly proved to be the most cost-effective \r\nway of reducing drug use).\r\n\r\n    He opposes reform of racially imbalanced sentencing guidelines, such \r\nas those that are 100 times stiffer for crack than for powder cocaine.\r\n\r\n    He says he will use federal authority to punish doctors in states \r\nsuch as California who prescribe medical marijuana.\r\n\r\n    In a Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this month, Walters \r\nunderwent a typical \"confirmation conversion,\" trying to curry favor \r\nwith his critics by recanting or downplaying some of his extreme \r\nviews. His track record is too long and too distasteful to be cleaned \r\nup that easily, however.\r\n\r\n    Confirmation of Walters would reverse the nation's trend toward \r\ngiving priority to drug treatment and education programs. These new \r\npolicies, which California boosted last year with approval of \r\nProposition 36, are the most effective, economical and humane ways of \r\nfighting the scourge of drug abuse.\r\n\r\n    The Senate should reject Walters as drug czar.\r\n----------------------------------------------------------------------\r\nCopyright 2001 SF Chronicle\r\n----------------------------------------------------------------------\r\n\r\nSENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE\r\n \r\nAlabama: Jeff Sessions (R) - tel: 202-224-4124\r\nArizona: Jon Kyl (R) - tel: 202-224-4521\r\nCalifornia: Dianne Feinstein (D) - tel: 202-224-3841\r\nDelaware: Joseph Biden (D) - tel: 202-224-5042\r\nKansas: Sam Brownback - tel: 202-224-6521\r\nKentucky: Mitch McConnell - tel: 202-224-2541\r\nIllinois: Richard Durbin - tel: 202-224-2152\r\nIowa: Charles Grassley (R) - tel: 202-224-3744\r\nMassachusetts: Edward Kennedy (D) - tel: 202-224-4543\r\nNew York: Charles Schumer (D) - tel: 202-224-6542\r\nNorth Carolina: John Edwards - tel: 202-224-3154\r\nOhio: Mike DeWine (R) - tel: 202-224-2315\r\nPennsylvania: Arlen Specter (R) - tel: 202-224-4254\r\nSouth Carolina: Strom Thurmond (R) - tel: 202-224-4944\r\nUtah: Orrin Hatch (R) - tel: 202-224-5251\r\nVermont: Patrick Leahy (D), Chairman - tel: 202-224-4242\r\nWashington: Maria Cantwell - tel: 202-224-3441\r\nWisconsin: Herb Kohl (D) - tel: 202-224-5653 \r\nWisconsin: Russell Feingold (D) - tel: 202-224-5323\r\n \r\n","author":"mc","parent_id":12552,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2001-11-01 17:21:08","modified":"2001-11-01 17:38:20","fileurl":""},{"id":12558,"heading":"States Rights, Human Rights, Rights vs Wrongs","article":"We vote - they don't listen.\r\n\r\nOur states make laws - they don't listen.\r\n\r\nWe protest - they don't listen.\r\n\r\nOur government has become a Demockery - and our people won't listen.","author":"FluxRostrum","parent_id":12552,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2001-11-01 21:41:40","modified":"2001-11-01 22:00:01","fileurl":""}]}