Winning Hearts & Minds

One More Life Ruined By The Drug War

"Let’s recap what Gerson did not do. He didn’t murder, rob, burglarize, steal, or initiate any other type of force against other people. That is, he didn’t do anything to violate anyone else’s rights. If he were an alcoholic, there wouldn’t a problem. The hive masters say that while alcoholism is harmful, they’re not going to punish people for it. The reason is because mainstream Americans, including plenty of lawyers and judges, love their booze. The punishment of Marc Gerson illustrates the complete horror story that the drug war has become. Gerson no more belongs in jail than, say, President Obama, who himself has admitted to ingesting illicit drugs." Continue reading →

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Must-read letter to the President

"Dear Mr. President: I am writing to you as a wife and mother of two young daughters, whose 34-year old husband, Matthew Davies, faces 10 years or more in federal prison for providing medical marijuana to sick people in California, even though he complied with state law concerning medicinal cannabis. My questions to you are simple: What has my husband done that would justify the federal government forcing my young daughters to grow up without a father? How can your Administration ignore the will of the California people and prosecute this good, law-abiding man for doing exactly what state law permits?" Continue reading →

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Police Intervention Always Makes Things Worse — Continued

"Last April, a Brooklyn landlady named Karen Brim was mopping the floors in her apartment building when three police officers suddenly materialized in pursuit of several local teenagers. The officers claimed that the teens were trespassers. Brim said that they were guests and were welcome on her property. The police, however, were not. The officers responded by throwing the 42-year-old woman to the floor, shattering her leg. She was taken to a local hospital where she was shackled to a bed and held under armed guard for seventeen days. Brim, who was the victim, was charged with five offenses." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Intervention Always Makes Things Worse — Continued

New York police running criminal checks on domestic abuse victims

"New York City police have been ordered to run criminal background checks on domestic abuse victims, The New York Post reported on Friday. According to a March 5 memo obtained by the newspaper, Chief of Detectives Phil Pulaski has directed detectives to run background checks on both the accuser and the alleged perpetrator in domestic violence cases. If victims are found to have outstanding warrants, police are ordered to arrest them. The new policy is already drawing criticism from victims’ advocates." Continue reading →

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‘Where is the evidence my son was a terrorist?’

"The parents of a British-born man killed by a US drone strike after being stripped of his UK citizenship have spoken out for the first time – to say they will never forgive the British Government for his death. Mohamed Sakr was born and brought up in London before he was targeted and killed in February 2012 in Somalia. Now his Egyptian-born parents Gamal and Eman Sakr, who have lived in Britain for 35 years, have accused ministers of betraying this country's democratic values. The couple said they believe their son was left vulnerable to the attack after the Government stripped him of his British citizenship months before he was killed." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Where is the evidence my son was a terrorist?’

Veteran Faces Jail Time For Using Marijuana As Treatment For PTSD

"Former U.S. Navy Corpsman Jeremy Usher came home in 2003 from Iraq and Afghanistan to sleepless nights and panic attacks, with vivid flashbacks of combat, horrifying nightmares, anxiety and depression, all amid memory loss and a severe stutter. He's doing well in counseling and school, he says, but he faces jail time for using marijuana medicinally while on probation to manage his PTSD and traumatic brain injury. Jeremy finds himself in legal limbo. Medicinal marijuana is the one treatment that's helped him with his PTSD, but he violates his probation when he uses it, which puts him at risk of going back to jail." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVeteran Faces Jail Time For Using Marijuana As Treatment For PTSD

The Case Against Government Bans on Feeding the Homeless

"Cities like New York City, Philadelphia, and Houston have banned residents from sharing food with the homeless and less fortunate. In Chicago, for example, at least one politician, Ald. James Cappleman, recently tried to banish a Salvation Army food truck from feeding the homeless in his neighborhood. I called such laws 'unconstitutional, discriminatory, and wrongheaded' in a column I wrote over the summer. They remain so. But since I wrote that widely read column in June, I’ve noticed a welcome pattern emerging. These unjust laws are under attack." Continue reading →

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Nigel Farage: Eurozone completely incompatible with nation-state democracy

"There has been a major political event since we last met and no one has mentioned it. Italy had an election. And 55% of the electorate voted for Eurosceptic political parties, indeed Mr Grillo's movement managed to get 26%. It is quite tough in European politics these days to tell who the comedians are. And what is absolutely clear is that Eurozone membership is completely incompatible with nation-state democracy. You can do what you like to take away the powers of national parliaments but people will go on voting, and there is a trend developing right across Europe; the Eurosceptic parties are going to get stronger and stronger." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNigel Farage: Eurozone completely incompatible with nation-state democracy

Popularity of French President Francois Hollande in Steep Decline

"Since taking office 10 months ago, Hollande has experienced the fastest drop in popularity ever seen in French presidential politics. In June of last year, those who said they had confidence in him numbered between 51 and 63 percent, depending on the polling institute. That number is now 30 to 37 percent, nearing the lowest approval rating of any French president on record: Nicolas Sarkozy in May 2011, at 20 percent. Hollande is struggling to find convicing counterarguments as unemployment has risen to 11 percent, economic data looks more dismal by the week, industrial output is taking a nosedive and a recovery is nowhere to be seen." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPopularity of French President Francois Hollande in Steep Decline