Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Save Steve Kubby

Our friend and comatriot in the fight for Liberty Steve Kubby is fighting for his life in the Placer County, California jail.

He is being denied medial marijuana, which is legal in California, to treat his rare adrenal cancer.

Please visit Kubby.com and help out in any way that you are able. Let's not let Steve become another Peter McWilliams.

Monday, January 30, 2006

This is BEAUTIFUL!!!

DRUG-POLICY OFFICIAL FAILS TO SWAY SENATE

COMMITTEE SENDS MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL FORWARD

The Bush administration got involved in New Mexico's medical marijuana issue Friday, sending a top drug-policy administrator to testify against SB158.

But David W. Murray, a special assistant to national drug czar John Walters, had little or no effect on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which gave the measure a do-pass with bipartisan support.

And some senators said Murray's presentation was heavy-handed .

Murray told the committee that marijuana is an addictive substance with very serious health consequences , has no proven medical value and can lead to "serious mental illness ," depression and suicide.

He likened medical-marijuana proponents to "medicine shows, traveling charlatans and snake-oil salesmen" selling phony "tinctures, magical herbs and remedies." Murray said medical marijuana is an issue that has been brought forth not by the medical profession but by advocates of drug legalization.

"They use emotion, they use suffering patients, they use anecdote," he said. And in a statement that some committee members criticized, Murray added: "I regard much of that as cynical and manipulative."

Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen , took him to task for those words, pointing out that sponsors of crime legislation often bring victims of crimes to testify without being called "cynical and manipulative ."

"I don't know how you do it back East," Sanchez told Murray, "But this is the people's house. Everybody has a right to be here just as much as you do. When you said this to us, you showed us where you were really at. I don't think you should go to a state and say such things about their people."

Some of Murray's toughest criticism came from Republicans on the Judiciary Committee.

Noting his argument that marijuana has no medicinal value, Sen. Clint Harden, R-Clovis , said, "We are not talking about the healing power of marijuana. The purpose of this is to reduce pain."

Murray noted that the federal Food and Drug Administration has not approved marijuana for medical treatment. The FDA, not politicians, should make some determinations, he said.

Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell , disputed statements by Murray and some state law-enforcement representatives that medical marijuana will increase use of the drug. He compared the bill to the concealed-carry law, which lets people apply for permits to carry hidden guns. Some opponents said that law would give criminals the right to carry concealed weapons.

"But robbers are already doing that," Adair said. Likewise, those who smoke marijuana illegally are doing so without a medical-marijuana law, he said.

Sen. John Grubesic, D-Santa Fe, told Murray he had a hard time accepting the claim that medical marijuana is "the huge bogey man you want it to be."

But Sen. Bill Payne, R-Albuquerque , said the bill boils down to a state challenge of the federal Controlled Substances Act and "whether or not the government has the right to control drugs."

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque , responded that all it does is tell a small number of medical patients that the state will not prosecute them for using marijuana.

The measure goes on to the Senate floor, where a spokesman for the Senate said it could be heard as early as Tuesday. Last year, a similar bill that the Senate passed died in the House.

SB158 would let patients with debilitating medical conditions, including cancer and AIDS, use marijuana to treat pain and nausea caused by serious diseases and in some cases the side effects of treatment for those diseases.

The state Department of Health would administer a program under which doctors would be allowed to recommend marijuana for their patients. The marijuana used in the program would be grown in a secure facility by the state or a private agency contracting with the state.

Official presents first-time offender plan

Official presents first-time offender plan

By Marty Roney
and Mike Linn
Montgomery Advertiser


WETUMPKA -- An increasing caseload has a local prosecutor looking for ways to give some people who run afoul of the law a second chance.

District Attorney Randall Houston represents the 19th Judicial Circuit, which includes Autauga, Chilton and Elmore counties. He's seeking legislation to establish a pre-trial diversion program for first-time, nonviolent offenders.

"As the counties in the circuit grow, we are seeing more and more cases involving people who basically just made a stupid decision," said Houston, who is known for his hard-nosed approach to justice and sometimes inflammatory comments about crime and criminals. "They are in their mid-20s to late 40s, have good jobs and families and have never been in trouble before. For whatever reason, they decide to try marijuana and get caught. They deserve to face some type of consequences, but I don't think you should destroy someone's life in a situation like that."

Under the proposed program, a person would plead guilty and participate in a six- to nine-month counseling program and pay any and all restitution and court costs. If they complete the program, the charge won't go on their record. The person would be responsible for paying the $200 to $300 cost of the program.

"I don't want the taxpayers footing the bill for this. I want the person who did the crime paying the cost," Houston said. "If they don't complete the program, they go back before a judge and we start all over again. A felony follows you forever. There are ways to get your record expunged, but an FBI number doesn't go away. Under this program, a person who gets a little sideways can still go to college, keep their job, vote or even go to law school."

READ MORE

Hell, sounds like Randall Houston was in attendance at my speech last week in his town along with the mayor and it looks as though some of what I said is rubbing off on them.

I personally don't feel diversion programs are needed for people who smoke pot....but this is a small step in the right direction and much better than prison.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Alabama Judge Promotes Drug Court

Hooray for Judge Pete Johnson!!

I have been following his work in Alabama since I became involved in the drug policy reform battle. This guy actually QUIT the Sentencing Commission because according to him they weren't doing anything that would make an actual difference. He even suggested making pot possession a non-jailable offense.

His email is included at the end of this article. If you are an Alabamian and you agree this is better than prison please write Judge Johnson and express your thanks for his work.

He deserves it.


Drug courts an alternative to reduce prison overcrowding
Sunday, January 29, 2006
PETE JOHNSON

We have a severe prison overcrowding problem in Alabama. The Alabama Sentencing Commission reports that 2,974 defendants sentenced for drug possession and possession of marijuana were serving time in Alabama prisons as of Dec. 30, 2005.

The Sentencing Commission urges that the Legislature pass sentencing guidelines based on Virginia's sentencing guidelines. The Governor's Task Force on Prison Overcrowding is calling for alternatives to prison for nonviolent offenders. A better alternative is to set up drug courts in every county.

In Alabama, we lock up people who are sick so we do not have room to lock up people who have hurt us. Every time a judge sends someone to prison, someone else gets out. We ought to give nonviolent offenders with drug problems a chance to change their lives before we lock them up.

There is an identifiable cycle of drug use and crime. In 1995, when I had been a district judge in Jefferson County for 11 years, I became concerned because I was seeing the same defendants coming through my court over and over, often on drug-related charges. We decided we should try to break the drug use and crime cycle. The police chiefs, the sheriff and the district attorney agreed to support the creation of a drug court, so in January 1996, we started one.

I have special experience in this area, having been a judge since 1984 and a lawyer in private practice and a deputy district attorney in Birmingham for more than nine years before that. Locking up drug addicts to punish them does not change them. They just keep coming back into the justice system. When we started drug court, we didn't know if we would be successful. I remember saying, "If we can get just one person to get off drugs, go to work and stay drug free, then we will all win."

Well, we have won more than 2,000 times to date.

Drug possession cases and forged prescriptions are eligible for drug court. Drug sales and drug trafficking cases are not eligible. To be eligible for drug court, a defendant must have no prior sale, distribution or trafficking cases. The defendant must have no history of violence, must have no pending cases and must not be on probation anywhere. A defendant must have no prior firearms convictions, and there cannot be any firearms connected with the arrest in the drug court case.

Drug court offers treatment and accountability rather than jail or probation. We require the offender to plead guilty, come back for regular reviews, submit to random drug tests, pay fees and court costs, perform 100 hours of volunteer service and remain drug and alcohol free for one year.

Nine years ago, Joseph was our first drug court graduate. Joseph had been addicted for 30 years. I met with Joseph last week to see how he was doing. Joseph has been drug free for 10 years and has continued to test drug free.

Here is what Joseph said to me: "Knowing someone cared enough not to send me to prison was an encouragement. Drug court gave me hope. Drug court gave me the option to become productive. I used drugs to live and lived to use drugs before drug court. Drug court provided me with the connections I needed to get drug free and stay drug free. Drug court helped me discover who I am. It led me to deal with my feelings, teaching me to live with life on life's terms. And drug court let me know if I didn't change, they offered me jail. Now I surrender to life on life's terms every morning. Drug court is where takers become givers. Drug court to me is a blessing."

We have the authority to handle drug cases in every county in drug court. On Dec. 5 of last year, I wrote every judge in the 49 counties in Alabama without a drug court and offered to help them start their own. I hope the Legislature will require every county in Alabama to start a drug court. Those citizens who have an addiction deserve a chance. If they don't change their lives, then they will be sentenced to prison. But if we can change them and make them live drug free, we all win.

Pete Johnson is a Jefferson County district judge.

E-mail: judgejohnson-0601@brooknet.com.

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Weekly Digest

thehim has updates over at Blog Reload and his always excellent and comprehensive Drug War Roundup over at Daily Kos.

Check'em out!

I hate this BITCH!



LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) -- Conservative commentator Ann Coulter, speaking at a traditionally black college, joked that Justice John Paul Stevens should be poisoned.

Coulter had told the Philander Smith College audience Thursday that more conservative justices were needed on the Supreme Court to change the current law on abortion.

Stevens is one of the court's most liberal members.

"We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens' creme brulee," Coulter said. "That's just a joke, for you in the media."


Now, this is the second time that I am aware of that Coulter has called for the murder of another person.

I wonder if she has had a visit from the FBI yet? I mean, someone stating that the judge in the Jonathan Magbie case ought to be shot on a message board where I am an admin got me a visit from the F.B.I. and that judge was not a Supreme court Justice.

If I dared to even think what Coulter spoke the cops would be at my door in seconds.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Feedback from Alabama and Across the US on VFW Speech

The amount of overwhelmingly positive feedback I have received from across Alabama and other parts of the US and world in response to my first candidate stump speech has been incredible and I thought I would share some of it with you.

From Alabama

Superb speech Loretta. In fact I think it is the best speech I've heard from someone running for office in this state in my lifetime. Please get a copy of this speech to all the newspapers and also to Tim Lennox in Montgomery.

I wish I could have been there to listen.


You did a great job and I was glad I came. Thanks for a copy of the speech to pass on.


(From the Vice Commander of the VFW Post)
I really enjoyed your being here last night - you're quite a gal! I just love your straight-forwardness and uninhibited manner. I'd like to share some drinks with you sometime when you are in this area - bourbon IS my drink of choice.

I agree with you completely regarding your position on Drug Policy Reform, and I have nothing against anyone who 'smokes' - I've tried three or four times and I always get a rip-snortin' headache followed by an urge to eat everything around.

In fact, I agree with almost every postion that you've taken - the war in Iraq being the only one upon which I differ with you, and I like to try and present an alternative view for your consideration on that issue. I have taken the liberty of attaching a paper that I wrote addressing this subject that I have sent to the President at the White House, Dick Cheney, and Condolizza Rice.


Loretta, fantastic speech!

I hope you have a real shot at becoming governor, if not, at least hopefully you can influence the debates a bit!

How about state senator if governor doesnt work out?


I am a musician working in and around Muscle Shoals on through to Huntsville. I love your platform, and will be giving you my support. I will help in any way I can.


I'm more liberal than Libertarian, but I must say, much of what you say makes sense. I disagree on some tax policies and home schooling, as well as others. I took the liberty of copying the text of your speech into Word Perfect so I can study it further. One thing hit home, though. I live in a place in Alabama where I can pee off the back porch and not worry about the neighbors(LOL). Best wishes and here's to your future in Alabama politics. It's gonna be a fun ride:)........


HEY GIRL,
I KNOW I HAVEN'T WROTE IN A WHILE BUT, I'M STILLING KEEPING UP WITH YOU. ALL MY BOYS AND SOME OF THEIR FRIENDS WATCHED THE VIDEO AND THEY WERE VERY IMPRESSED. ALL OF MY BOYS AND THEIR FRIENDS ARE OF VOTING AGE. MY SON THAT IS 23 WORKS AT THE BIRMINGHAM RACE COURSE HE SAID WE NEED TO GET SOME FLYERS OUT THERE. WITH THE MCGREGOR AND HALE SHIT MY SON SAID IF HALE'S SIDE WINS THE CASE AGAINST MCGRGEOR THERE WILL BE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT OF A JOB. THEY HAD JUST HIRED A SHIT LOAD OF PEOPLE. DO YOU THINK MCGREGOR WOULD BE WILLING TO SUPPORT YOU SOME HOW? JUST A SUGGESTION. LOVED THE VIDEO. MAN.......YOU WERE TALKING FAST. PEACE


From Florida (man...this is a really good one)
Occasionally I surf the net for non major party candidacies that advocate political reform, most especially electoral reform; looking at candidates the way the Center for Voting and Democracy would. I watched all of your VFW speech. Ballot access, check. Initiative and referendum, check. Reading of bills voted on, Check. Term limits, whatever.

Are you inclined to favor what a represented constituentcy could be, optional and voluntary as opposed to arbitrary and inv! olutary, except for those who relocate intentionally to live in a particular district?

The basic concept of more proportionality in representation of all voters, what Alabama voters win big here? A representative democratic republic that mimics a direct democracy through high quality political representation that is delegated representatives in one legislative house and regular trustee representation in the other. What British Columbia, now California maybe, did with the random chosen citizens assembly on electoral reform, does that have an Alabama version?

Your candidacy is an attractive one, better than the options I’m looking at in Florida. You’re wise to spend large amounts of time on what you offer christians, ethics-wise, libertarians, freedom-wise, and conservatives, states’ rights-wise. With fiscal conservatism too, you can reject the left v right dialogue as getting in Alabama’s way.

The self-humanizing bent of your campaign is an asset: The missing panties, the disheveled house, your references to inmates as largely “us”, underscores the need to convert political obliviates (non voters) into voters. Yours is a special brand of populism, an unconscious appeal to class without the redistribution communism baggage.

You might want to convert the hands-to-the-hair gestics to the neutral-but-message-conforming conventional politician hand gesticulations that further the appearance of a commanding wonkish leader, hands that steady the ship of state as demonstrated in a State of the State address. At the the end of an address, throw in a few hand-to-the-hair to conclude with, a subtle reminder of yourself, your humaness, your gender.

I hope you can get on the ballot somehow, get a lot of votes.


From Arizona

Hi Loretta,

your speech at the VFW was amesome! I think you have
a pretty good chance to win, at least I hope you do!
It's time for some positive change in your state, and
you're the one to bring about that change. I am on SSI
disability so that means I live far below the poverty
level.. so money is extremely tight for me, but I
could send $5 or so.. I'm afraid that is all I can
spare, but I do want to contribute to you, because I
believe in you, and your heart is in the right place.


From Vancouver BC

Hi Loretta,

wow, did you pull that off like a house afire... loved the ending. you took
on what at first appeared as a tough audience who seemed way more relaxed
once you got into and past the pot issue. people are sure nervous about pot.
You know your stuff. I was impressed.

just thought I should say that out loud.


From Around the Bama Bloggerhood

Alabama Elections

Anonymous said...

I wonder if Nall and mayor Russo are pot smokin buddies???
7:21:35 AM

Loretta Nall said...

Dear anonymous,

I have not smoked pot with Mayor Russo.

It is a shame that some people in this state are so short-sighted that they can't even see past the end of their own nose....much less comprehend the complexities of the drug war and what it has done to our society.

It's ok though...you'll figure it out....probably not in time to be a REAL American and do anything about it....but hey...we can't all be true patriots.

In Liberty,
Loretta Nall
7:33:26 AM

Anonymous said...

you know this russo guy is connected to roy moore thru dean young. young ran his political operations and was a go between like nick bailey was for siegelman. Moore and young used to sell crosses and trinkets on the internet and no telling what else. Rich Hobson should come clean too.
9:26:50 AM

Dan said...

To be honest, I usually only vote for a third part when I just CAN'T STAND either candidate of the two major parties. This governor's race is beginning to pan out that way. Loretta Nall seems to be the only one talking about anything that's actually important.
10:47:29 AM
Jen said...

Nall has a blog? Cool!

I'm all for less government involvement in personal liberties, but I think that a certain ammount is needed. I don't know if I'm a huge fan of the Libertarian party... I'd be interested in talking to her or her campaign office, though.
10:58:33 AM

Loretta Nall said...

I am available to answer any questions you may have about my campaign.

Email works best for me because I always have my laptop but am not always by a phone.

My email address is cnall1_AT_charter_DOT_net

Thank you for your interest.

Loretta
2:40:15 PM

Anonymous said...

hey loretta,good going,, loved ur article,, u make so much sense,,one thing u might mention on the drug war is how many cops are going to prison because of it, that might open some eyes
7:10:00 PM


AL.com

463.1. Scary
by colfax05, 1/25/06 18:29 ET
Re: Video of Loretta Nall's speech at VFW by InLiberty, 1/25/06

Roy Moore could've given this same speech.


Now that is an interesting comment and I am not sure how to take it. There are actually a lot of similarities between myself and Roy Moore. Both of us are somewhat populist and outside the main stream of politics. Moore is often referred to as a master orator...although when I watched him at the VFW I was not impressed. I was expecting some of that old tyme "hellfire and brimstone" speaking...but he was rather laid back and not particularly exciting...at least not to me.

RedNeckin'

President of the U.S. Marijuana Party, is running for Governor of Alabama and has video of her speech to the Wetumpka, Alabama VFW.

For those of you who are new to redneckin, I interviewed her last October.

Other's that have posted on Loretta Nall's candidacy

posted at 13:37:07 on 01/24/06 by chuck - Category: Alabama Elections
Comments
Redoubt wrote:
Just read her speech to the vets in Wetumka. I can't say that I agree with her every position... however, the same can easily be said regarding most of the other potential candidates.

She probably don't stand a snowball's chance in hell but I'll give her a standing ovation for her courage and honesty... and who knows, maybe a vote.
01/24/06 18:05:03


The Alabama Moderate

Also, I recently became aware (hat tip to Alabama Elections) that we have a third party (Libertarian) candidate involved in the Alabama governor's race. Loretta Nall's blog is found here. I also happen to have a link in my blogroll, although I haven't had a chance to read through it. In the meantime, let me know what you think. I plan on calling her campaign office along with the other candidates to see where she stands on the issues I'm concerned with.

By the way, I'm still putting together a list of the questions that I want to ask each candidate, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to let me know. I'm going to post the responses here. Hopefully, I'll have a sample list posted here before the end of the week. I'll also list the candidates whom I intend to call. Because of my limited time, I won't be able to call candidates for the legislature. There are just too many. My main concerns at this time include I&R, Constitutional Reform, Budgeting, and Tax Reform.


Cannabis Culture Forums

You'll just have to click the link on that one because the comments are too numerous to post here.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Call NOW To Preserve Patriot Act Reform

Dear Friends,

The President’s illegal spying on innocent Americans has given many people a whole new perspective on the Patriot Act.

Today, Americans all across the country concerned about the Bush Administration’s flagrant abuse of power are speaking with one voice and calling their Members of Congress with a clear message: the Patriot Act reauthorization bill must include safeguards to protect our freedoms.

We are at a critical time in the Patriot Act debate. A temporary Patriot Act extension is scheduled to expire on February 3rd. The Bush administration has presented Americans with two all or nothing choices: keep a conference report that contains no common sense reforms to protect civil liberties, or let the Patriot Act expire. This is a false choice.

Congress can and must pass a Patriot Act reauthorization bill that contains real reforms to protect our civil liberties. Help us flood Congress with calls right now.

Call your senators and representative now! Tell them to oppose any Patriot Act reauthorization bill that does not include real reforms.

Last month, thanks in no small part to your extraordinary efforts, a bipartisan group of senators stopped the deeply flawed Patriot Act reauthorization bill dead in its tracks. This forced Congress to approve a temporary five-week extension of the Patriot Act, which expires on February 3rd.

We can’t let this crucial debate be overshadowed by other business as the temporary extension rapidly approaches. Tell your senators to stand up and resist this deeply flawed reauthorization bill, and push for real reforms. Tell your representative it is vital that the House support the original Senate conference report.

Members of Congress need to be reminded of what we stand to lose if they pass the current Patriot Act reauthorization bill.

Call your members right now and tell them to stay strong and oppose Patriot Act reauthorization that does not include real civil liberties protections or read more.

You can also call the congressional switchboard at
202-224-3121.

Sincerely,

Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director
American Civil Liberties Union

Read What Others Are Saying About Loretta Nall

Zac over at Alabama Elections was kind enough to post a link to my speech at the VFW.

There are some interesting and exciting comments being left.
Check them Out

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Video of Loretta Nall's Speech VFW Candidate Forum



Video of Loretta Nall Speech at VFW Candidate Forum (58:43 Windows Media Video)

Invocation:

Good evening everyone good evening and thank you for being here with me tonight in beautiful Wetumpka, Alabama so that we might exercise our right to participate in the political process.

What good are rights after all if you don't exercise them?

I know that I for one am grateful for the right to engage and participate in the political process and to openly discuss what I think are much needed changes to our state government without having to worry that someone is going to blow us up.

It isn't everywhere in the world that you can do such a thing.

Let's hear it for our veterans that brave band of brothers, who have fought for that right and who have so graciously given their time, resources and effort so that we might gather here at the VFW Post this evening and talk a little Alabama politics.

I am a native Alabamian. I was born in historic Talladega, Alabama, home of the fastest racetrack in the world, and I later moved next-door to Ashland in Clay County, which is also the home of Governor Riley.
In my humble opinion, Ashland is one of the most beautiful places in the entire state.

I have traveled a great deal over the course of my lifetime. My husband was stationed in Germany in the early 1990's and our young son and I joined him there. While Europe is nice to visit I wouldn't want to live there again. It's just a little too far from home.

Later we were stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX and while Texas is a lovely state with many people who reminded me of the good folks back home and, it is closer to Alabama than Germany is, it was still too far away. So when my husband's tour of service ended in 1996 we packed up our family and struck out for the house.

In the last few years I have traversed the US, Canada and I even spent 10 days in the war-torn jungles of Colombia, South America studying US foreign policy.
There are some beautiful places in this world but there is no place on earth more beautiful to me than Alabama.

From her rolling Appalachian foothills to her beautiful waters of the Mobile Bay she offers everything you could want in a place to raise a family.

If you like the fast pace of a city life there is Huntsville with her Space and Rocket center, Birmingham with its with world-class universities and medical institutes, the historic capitol of Montgomery, richly steeped in southern tradition and political history, and the beautiful sparkling gem of Mobile and her bustling seaports on the Gulf of Mexico.

Or, if you are like me and prefer to live in a place where you can pee off the back porch without your neighbor spotting you then Alabama offers that in abundance. She is home to the greatest small towns in America.

Towns where we still know everybody we see walking down the sidewalk or we know someone they are related to. Towns where everyone throws up their hand in greeting when they pass each other driving down the road, unless of course it's college football season and your cars are decked in opposing fan gear.

No other place I have ever traveled to offers that and it is one of the things I love most about Alabama. There is no place like my native home.

Alabama has seen her share of troubled times. From the civil war to the civil rights movement and her sacrifice and strength cannot be questioned.

She and her great citizens have always met challenges head-on, overcome them and become a better place and people for it. I am confident that this trend will continue as we address the challenges that are facing us today.

In order to effectively meet challenges we must know what they are so lets talk about some of the most important ones facing Alabama today.

The problems Alabama faces today can be summed up in three words.

Republicans and Democrats.

I call them the "twins" because there is virtually no difference between them anymore. Anyone trying to squeeze into the space that separates the twins is likely to be crushed to death.

Under Republicans and Democrats government has grown to enormous proportions. This has resulted in the increasing intrusion into the most personal details of our private lives and the creeping erosion of our constitutional rights and civil liberties.

INITIATIVE and REFERENDUM

The best way to deal with this problem is to put the power to govern back into the hands of the people and the best way to do that is by having something called Initiative and Referendum.

Throughout this election season you'll hear things like "stopping the power of special interests" and "term limits" presented as solutions to the problem of an out of control government.

However, those things aren't really the problem.

The real problem is the politicians who have created a treasure chest for the special interests to fight over.

Some of my opponents will say term limits are the answer. But I disagree with that. The reason I disagree with term limits is because I believe that VOTERS should be the only ones to decide who they send to Montgomery, Alabama.

Term limits are a way of further restricting who you can vote for and, from my very personal experience in Alabama politics that is already restricted plenty, thank you kindly.

In order to reform the legislature and put the power of government back into the hands of the people where it belongs I support something called Initiative and Referendum for Alabama.

In the simplest terms, Initiative and Referendum is a process that makes government one that is more of, by, and for, the people because it allows those who own and finance government – the voters – to legislate on their own behalf when the legislature won’t.

The I&R process would apply to both general law and constitutional amendments.

No legislation proposed under the process is subject to amendment by the legislature, nor veto by the governor, and would be placed on the ballot as a referendum by the Secretary of State for the people to vote up or down regardless of what the legislature does.

The process may be used for a new statute, to amend an existing statute, or to repeal an existing statute in whole or in part.

When we have initiative and Referendum available to us in Alabama the power to reform our state will lay solely in our hands, which is where it should have rested all along.
With Initiative and referendum, we will take away from the government the power to bestow favors or hurt people and the special interest lobbyists will disappear.

EDUCATION

Another area where Alabama is facing some major challenges is our public education system.

One of the worst decisions ever made in this country was to entrust the education of our children to the government.

Isn't your child's education too important to let politicians and bureaucrats control it?

Let me share a personal story with you about an experience I have had with the public school system.

Back in 2002 my 5-year-old daughter Bell started kindergarten. About three weeks in I get a note from her teacher stating that Bell and another 5-year-old got into a scuffle over who was going to be line leader.

The teacher requested that I come in for a parent/teacher/principal/student conference. I thought it an odd request to assemble all of us over one line leader scuffle between 5-year-olds. I mean there probably isn't a kindergarten class in all of America where this hasn't happened right?

I went to the conference. The principal never showed up. The teacher and I decided to go ahead without him. Then this teacher, who has known my daughter for all of three short weeks, proceeds to tell me that in order to control my child she wants me to lift the corporal punishment ban I have imposed on the school with regard to my children.

I told her that beating my child into submission was not an option.
Then the teacher suggested I take my baby to the doctor and have her put on prescription medication so that she would be easier to control.

I was SHOCKED !!

I told the teacher that it is funny to me that schools preach to our kids about not resorting to drugs and violence to resolve their problems, there are even cops paid to teach the DARE program, and yet drugs and violence are the very first things the school resorts to when a problem arises with a child.

No wonder our kids are so confused.

The teacher was less than happy with my refusal to cooperate with beating or drugging my child in order to force her to conform to their statist indoctrination.

About a month later this same teacher conspired in the witch-hunt to have me arrested for speaking my mind on the pages of the Birmingham News with regard to drug policy reform.

She fabricated statements allegedly made by my daughter, passed these statements along to the School Resource Officer, allowed multiple police interrogations of my 5-year-old without counsel or an unbiased third party present.

She went outside the school and told one of her personal friends that I was starving my kids to death and filed a malicious complaint with DHR to that effect. She even had a box of what she called "Bell's Special Snacks" sitting under her desk that only Bell could eat from.

As it turns out, my daughter is a very gifted child, and after an IQ test revealed this, she was placed in a gifted program. She was also given the responsibility of helping classmates who were having academic trouble. She is now in third grade and goes to a higher grade for reading.

My son Alex is also gifted and was awarded The Presidents Outstanding Academic Achievement Award in 2004 signed by President Bush.
I don't like Bush but that signature on my sons Award is something I am extremely proud of. My son was also awarded the National English Merit Award in 2005 and has received many other awards over the years. He is in the 8th grade.

It's scary to think that because of a lazy teacher and but for an involved parent my daughter could have been placed on chemical lobotomy drugs and had her developing brain forever altered.

It's even scarier to think how many of the millions of kids on psychotropic and anti-psychotic drugs today got on those drugs because of lazy teachers and uninvolved parents.

Wonder how many of those kids were gifted?

The public school system does not like it when parents are involved in the education of their children.

They want our kids to pee in cups and submit to warrantless, suspicion-less searches by some thug cop in Jackboots with a German police dog.

They want to dope our kids up with pharma-drugs in order to dumb them down to counter-balance their poor teaching skills and federally mandated hogwash programs like No Child Left Behind which seeks to make close the gap in learning ability by pushing the top students down instead of bringing the bottom students up.

They want our kids to fear them and all their power and to accept without question their claim of total authority.

When parents are involved in the education of their children it becomes much harder for the school/state to brainwash, manipulate and coerce kids into being more loyal to the state than the family.

What ever happened to teaching readin, writin and rith-ma-tic? That's all we pay them to do. Yet they are so much more concerned with teaching social doctrine that many of our kids can't even read.

Some of my opponents want to deal with the problems of public education by implementing government vouchers. While that may sound good on the surface closer inspection would reveal vouchers as just a way for the government to control private schools making them virtually identical to government schools. So vouchers are not the answer.

My other opponents want to throw more money at the public school system.
Somehow they never have picked up on the fact that money and a new government program (most often in response to a previous government program of theirs that failed) will not solve every problem. In fact, government causes almost all the problems to begin with.

We have been throwing money at our public school system for years and we are still in the bottom 5 out of the 50 states every year when it comes to education.

Money isn't working. Repeated failure is NOT justification for continued or increased funding. Do NOT give these people more money to poison our kids with their alien political beliefs and Orwellian social experimentation programs.

So, instead of Gov. Riley's proposal of giving $500,000,000 of our tax dollars back to a school system that has repeatedly and continually failed our children, I propose we give parents back that money so that they might send their kids to private school if they so choose. The teachers don't need a raise. They need to teach our kids to read. Especially one that comes from one time monies but will require another source of funding once that money is gone.

As Governor of Alabama I will support tax credits for Alabama families who send their children to a private school or teach them in a home-school setting.
For our public schools I will advocate that we opt out of the federal government mandated No Child Left Behind. The federal government only gives us 6% of our education budget and they have NO RIGHT to control what or how we teach our children.

Taxation -

Speaking of taxes and that BILLION DOLLAR surplus we suddenly have .. If I recall correctly Governor Riley tried to increase our taxes by almost exactly that much with Amendment 1.

That's funny ain't it? Very funny indeed.

You know if Riley had gotten his tax raise, the economy would have been stifled and we would likely be facing a proration budget scenario this year.

The fact that we suddenly have the amount of money the proposed tax increase would have raised tells me one thing and one thing only.
We didn't need to raise taxes to meet our budgetary demands ...we needed to make our government be responsible with the massive amount of money they already get from our labors.

Federal state and local taxes take 48% of the national income. That means if you and your spouse work, one of you is working to pay the government taxes and one of you is working to take care of your family.

Is that fair?

Shouldn't you be able to keep the money you make? Aren't you better aware of how your family could use that money than some fat cat in Montgomery, Alabama or Washington DC?

As your Governor I will fight to keep more money in your pocket.

If elected I will support the repeal of sales tax on food and the order mandating yearly reappraisals of property.

It's almost like you can never really own property. You "buy" it but then you have to pay rent on it to the state every single year.

Immigration -

Another issue of concern facing Alabama today is illegal immigration.
Libertarians are accused of wanting 'open borders'. But this is incorrect; the borders are already open. And there is nothing the democrats or republicans can do that will succeed in closing them. People who want to get in will find a way to do so. What we have to do is eliminate the incentives that attract the wrong kind of people to Alabama.

You know a free and prosperous society has no fear of anyone entering it. But a welfare state is scared to death of every poor person who tries to get in and every rich person who tries to get out.

An important reason for the heavy influx of illegal immigrants is the Welcome Wagon waiting at the border - offering free education, free welfare, free healthcare and a free lunch. They also seem to be offering up a lot of our jobs.
So lets cut that out by imposing hefty fines on businesses that employ illegal immigrants. If there are no jobs then there will be no illegal immigrants draining our social services and then we will see a dramatic drop in the influx of illegal aliens.

I want to make clear here that I am not anti-immigration. America is a proud nation of immigrants. My ancestors came over from Ireland. I welcome all people from all parts of the world to the great state of Alabama so long as they are here legally and are willing to work for a better life.

Religion and Government

Let's change gears here and get into some of the more controversial issues popping up in this election season.

First, I want to talk about religion and government.
While the other candidates in this year's election will spend their time trying to out-Jesus each other my campaign will offer no such shenanigans.

That's because I understand and respect the basic principal that religion is a private family matter and that in and of itself is one of our country's greatest strengths.

I understand that if politics and religion are mixed that pretty soon someone will come to power that that will force me to worship in a way that I find alien or force me to worship if I choose not to or prevent me from worshipping if I want to.

The other candidates in this election seem to have forgotten these principals. They are using religious and spiritual beliefs as a political football and that is a disgrace to the very sanctity of religion. I don't think Jesus would be very proud of any of them.

I call on the Christians of Alabama to vote for me this election because I am the only candidate who will take away the power of the government to inflict one person's values on another. This will not only make Christians safe from those with alien values it will also reassure others that Christians won't impose their values by force.

Gambling -

Speaking of the imposition of values by force let's talk about gambling.
I believe that restricting the way private citizens choose to spend their money based on the moral convictions of politicians is not the American way. Nor is it the Alabama way.

I can think of a great many other people who are infinitely more qualified to be moral role models than politicians. Politicians are in fact some of the very worst kinds of role models to have and they should never be trusted with the power to tell us what is moral and what is not.

Alabama is missing out on tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue because our citizens are forced to travel to other states if they wish to engage in casino gambling or buy a lottery ticket.

At the same time our politicians, in all of their infinite wisdom, take large contributions from the special gambling interests in those surrounding states in exchange for keeping lottery and casino gambling out of Alabama and thereby keeping Alabama poor.

Governor Riley and the Christian Coalition benefited by getting large contributions, which it turns out are connected to the now disgraced Jack Abramoff, and you did not benefit at all. You got asked to pay more taxes instead.

How bout them apples y'all?

Legal lottery and casino gambling does not mean that those who are opposed to such activities will suddenly be forced to engage in them. It will simply mean that they will no longer be allowed to prevent others from doing so or from profiting from doing so by pointing their morality guns at them.

Alabama must learn that sin and crime are two different things. Preventing and punishing sin is not the business of the state.

Drug policy -

Now, I know a lot of you have been wondering when I will get to what is the most controversial plank in my platform and that is drug policy reform.
You'll have likely noticed that when I am covered in the news all you ever really hear is that I am a marijuana advocate or a legalization advocate. You don't hear about any of the other things I support or changes I think Alabama should make.

But that's OK.

It's OK because it's a topic that catches people's attention and some of them will look deeper.

It's OK because it helps the media sell papers, which expands my coverage.

It's OK because it is an issue that needs attention like no other we face in this state today.

It's OK because it is the one issue that makes me stand out among my opponents. They are too afraid to touch this issue. But I am not.

I want to talk about it. I want you to talk about it. Then I want us to change it.

Drug policy is another area where sin has been confused with crime and moral imposition by force has given rise to the persecution of millions of non-violent Americans who choose to smoke a joint as opposed to drink a beer after a long days work .....of which almost half the earnings are going to support the government.

We already give them almost half our paycheck....is it too much to ask that our money not be used to wage war against us and that we be left in peace to relax in whatever manner we choose so long as no one is hurting anyone else?

Marijuana should be legal. There is simply no logical reason for it's illegality.

Alabama punishes her citizens more harshly for simply possessing some plant material for personal use than do most other states.

The second simple possession for personal use is a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison under state law.

Five-hundred people were sentenced to prison in Alabama on that charge in 2005. It costs the Alabama taxpayers 5 million dollars a year just to house these non-violent and likely otherwise productive citizens who are able bodied and would be able to provide for themselves outside the confines of prison.

This has filled our prison system to bursting with people like you and me.
People Like Douglas Lamar Gray. Mr. Gray's story goes something like the lyrics from Bruce Springsteens "Born in the USA"

Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in his hands
Sent him off to Vietnam
To go and kill the yellow man

As a young man growing up in North Alabama, Doug Gray had a few run-ins with the local law...which is not an uncommon thing. None of these run-ins were serious enough to warrant a prison sentence.

He got sent off to Vietnam where he lost a leg in service to his country.

He came home. He stayed out of trouble for a good thirteen years.

He owned a business called Gray's Roofing and Remodeling Service.

He had a home, a wife, and a two-year-old son.

Fourteen years ago Douglas Lamar Gray bought a pound of marijuana in a room at the Econo Lodge in Decatur, Alabama. He planned to keep a few ounces for himself and sell the rest to some friends. Most people in prison for trafficking in Alabama fit that description.

The man who sold him the drug was a felon just released from prison, with more than thirty convictions on his record.

He was also an informant employed by the Morgan County Drug Task Force.
The local sheriff's department, as part of a sting, had supplied the pound of marijuana.

After paying the informant $900 for the pot Douglas Lamar Gray was arrested and charged with "trafficking."

He was tried and convicted under Alabama's Habitual Offender Law, fined $25,000, sentenced to life in prison without parole, sent to the maximum-security penitentiary in Springville, Alabama - an aging, overcrowded prison filled with murderers and other violent inmates. He remains there to this day.

This man risked his life to answer the call of his country. He lost his leg. And this is how he is treated. This is how we repay a Vietnam Veteran for his service to his country. We tell him a leg is not enough sacrifice. We want your whole body and your whole family and your whole life and everything you have worked for.

I don't believe for one minute that the vets in this room tonight risked life and limb in service to their country so that their government in turn would treat them worse than a common mongrel dog.

Now let's compare what happened to Douglas Lamar Gray to what happened to two very prominent politicians kids.

In 1998 Senator Richard Shelby's son Claude was caught smuggling 13.8 grams of hash from Heathrow in London to Hartsfield in Atlanta. He was fined $500 and allowed to go free.

Senator Shelby who has throughout his political career advocated years long prison sentences for non-violent drug offenders said he felt sad for his son but supported him fully. I guess he meant other peoples kids can go to jail for life...just not his son.

If you or I had been caught smuggling 13.8 grams of hash from London to Atlanta we would have been charged with international drug smuggling and we would likely still be in jail today.

And Noelle Bush, Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter and President Bush's niece, was caught a few years ago forging prescriptions for xanax, which is a felony. She was placed in rehab where she then stole medications from the nurses cart and after she came back from 3 days in jail for that infraction a 2 gram crack rock was found in her shoe. For all of these felonies Ms. Bush spent a total of 13 days in jail.

Gov. Bush said "It's a private family matter" and I agree that it is a private family matter but that apparently only applies if your family is rich, powerful and connected.

Claude Shelby and Noelle Bush never fought in Vietnam or anywhere else in service to their country. Yet they walk free while Douglas Lamar Gray and tens of thousands of other regular American citizens are rotting away in a prison cell for the same crimes.

I am ASHAMED and OUTRAGED that we would allow our government to wage war on it's own citizens. And that is what we have today under the guise of "drug war".

When these political POW's are released from prison, the ones that are lucky enough to get released, they are barred from gainful employment, they are barred from receiving federal student financial aid for higher education, food stamps and public housing. Drug convictions are the only convictions with these extra judicially imposed obstacles.

If you bar people from eating, working, getting an education to better themselves and an affordable place to live what happens? They go back to jail and you continue to pay for it.

If I don't care if my neighbor smokes a joint in the privacy of his own home, and I find that most people don't care, then why am I forced to pay for my neighbor's imprisonment?

I SHOULDN'T BE. You SHOULDN'T BE!

If I am elected governor one of the first things I will do is fight to stop the police state from taking the private behavior of otherwise law-abiding citizens and turning it a statewide disaster.

I will do that by proposing we set up a system similar to alcohol and tobacco to regulate the sale of marijuana to adults' age 21 and older.

Marijuana is Alabama's largest cash crop and our state could benefit from this huge untapped financial resource in many ways.

The state could collect tax revenue from those sales that I could directed towards start-up funds for community corrections and drug treatment facilities for those suffering from alcohol and actual hard drug addiction. People who use marijuana responsibly do not belong in court ordered treatment taking up space that is needed to help recovering meth addicts and those addicted to other hard drugs.

DRUG WAR IN GENERAL

Let's talk about those other hard drugs and whether or not the war on them has worked any better than it did on alcohol or marijuana or coffee, or tobacco....all of which have been illegal at some point in human history.

Our elected officials call it the "War on Drugs" but that goes against the very definition of war.

You cannot have a war on drugs...they are inanimate objects.
What it is is a war on people. Poor people. Minorities. People like you and me. People like Douglas Lamar Gray. A war on people with cancer, AIDS, PTSD, depression, glaucoma, arthritis and a host of other ailments and illnesses

The Drug War is Government Mandated Massive Focused Violence against American citizens.

It's a civil war that turns children against parents and brother against brother.

It's armored SWAT teams kicking in people's doors at three in the morning and pointing guns at their heads and the heads of their children.

It's helicopter raids, just like in a war zone.

It's secret cops in our schools trying to trick our children into selling them a dime bag, it's automatic assault weapons, flash-bang grenades and battering rams. It has taken millions of Americans and turned them into Political Prisoners of War.

It's also unconstitutional. The US Constitution had to be amended to prohibit alcohol and re-amended to repeal that prohibition. There have never been any such constitutional amendments dealing with drug use.

And just like alcohol prohibition, drug prohibition does not prevent drug use. Never has. Never will.

The only thing the drug war successfully does is maximize and magnify all the possible harms associated with drug use.

It causes the very crime it claims to protect us from. When is the last time you saw violent gangs from Budweiser and Coors shooting it out over shelf space on the beer aisle at Wal-Mart?

Back in 1972 when President Richard Nixon declared the War on Drugs more people died that year from tumbles down the stairs or slips in the bathtub than from drugs.

And every year since 1972 drug use, especially among children, drug-related disease, drug-related crime, drug-related deaths, drug availability and drug purity have skyrocketed while drug prices have gone plummeted.

The drug war has also served as a backdoor, which the federal government has used to centralize its power, federalize the local police and erode our constitutional rights and civil liberties.

The drug war was the prelude to the Patriot Act and the REAL ID Act.

Americans became accustomed, by watching TV shows like COPS, to seeing other Americans being stripped of their rights and liberties so long as it had to do with "drugs" and now all Americans are being stripped of their rights and liberties so long as it has to do with "terror".

Here in Alabama the federally mandated drug war is costing us tens of millions of dollars a year in law enforcement resources, court costs and incarceration costs.

I do not believe the negative societal costs can ever be fully measured or known.

The drug war is anti-family and it goes against the very Christian values so many Alabamians are quick to claim but slow to exhibit in their actions. Jesus would not lock up the addicted.

Understandably, many people fear that ending the Drug War would result in tens of thousands of addicts, children trying drugs, massive crime, disease and death. But in reality that is what we have now.

It's time to end the war on drugs in Alabama.

It's time to stop maximizing the harms associated with drug use, to stop compounding the misery and humiliation associated with drug addiction by imprisoning moms, dads and especially kids and further destroying the chances of keeping families together.

It's time to return such a private matter to the alter of the family where it belongs.

That is what states rights are for. Let's exercise them.

PRISON REFORM -

You can't talk about drugs without eventually coming to the topic of prison so let's spend a few minutes extolling the virtues of the Alabama DOC.
It's called the department of corrections and that is a misnomer if I have ever heard one.

Aside from the huge number of pot smokers in prison we have now moved on to imprisoning alcoholics.

Back when I was a kid, and that is not very long ago, things were much different.

I grew up on a farm in rural Alabama with my mother, sister and grandmother.

Life was simple then.

At that time the drug war had not yet blighted rural Alabama. The only "drugs" I held any knowledge of were "beer & liquor" and both were held in very low regard by the matriarchs in my family.

Drankin' was a "sin" and "sin" was the last thing the young Loretta Nall wished to encounter because "sin" always led to a switching, and let me tell you, my grandmother was incredibly skilled with a keen hickory switch.

The only thing I knew about "addiction", alcoholism in this case, was the talk I would occasionally hear around the Sunday dinner table about the town drunk who, about once a month, would get up in front of the entire church and confess to getting drunk the night before and being sorry for it now. The congregation would hug him when he was done and he was always accepted back into the fold.

It was a time when neighbors helped neighbors. If your neighbors were hungry you helped feed them. If the neighbor's kids needed clothes you gave them what your kids had outgrown. And if your neighbor had a substance abuse problem you let him talk about it on Sunday morning and told him you still loved him when he was done.

But times have changed and not for the better.
Let me tell you a story about my brother and his experience being "corrected" in the Alabama DOC.

My brother Randy is a career alcoholic. He had his first drink of alcohol when he was 9 years old. Since then he has been known to drink mouthwash, after-shave and rubbing alcohol strained through loaf bread. It is the worst case of alcohol addiction I have ever seen.

He has been in and out of rehab clinics, AA, halfway houses, state run mental health programs, jail and in 1996 he entered the Alabama prison system for the first time.

His crime was alcohol related. All of his crimes are alcohol related.

Randy was allowed to enter the work release program at Kilby prison because his crime was non-violent and he was considered low risk.

One would think that work release would be designed to help a person learn a job skill for when they are released. After all, we want to do everything we can to help them not return to prison.

We want to keep them away from the things that landed them in prison, not place them directly in the line of temptation when we are supposed to be "correcting" them and punishing them.

For instance, we would reasonably expect the prison system not to place a child molester on work release at a daycare center or a bank robber in a teller window or a wife beater in a women's shelter.

But for some reason the Dept. of Corrections placed my alcohol-addicted brother in a work release program where his job was to load 18-wheelers with cases of Budweiser.
His resolve was weak and before the end of the day he had walked off work release with a case of beer under each arm. He got piss drunk and turned himself in when he ran out of beer.

No I am not kidding.

We have alcoholics, people as harmless as Otis the town drunk from Andy Griffith, housed in prison with violent murderers and rapists at the cost of $1000 a month when we could place a breath-lock on their automobiles for $30 a month or we could implement a specialized license that only allows them to drive during certain parts of the day and only to and from work.

Aside from the huge number of people like Randy and Otis housed in our prison system we also have people in prison for petty theft.

Why should we have to pay $12,000 a year to house someone in prison who stole a $50 VCR? Stealing is wrong and should be punished, but the thief is the one who should be punished not the Alabama taxpayer.

We have deadbeat parents in Alabama's prison system. They won't pay for their children.

We are being made to not only pay for the care of their children but also the cost for their care in the prison system. That punishes us. TWICE.

They weren't forced to pay $1,000 a month in child support but we are forced to pay that to house them in prison. Surely we can come up with a more creative and productive way to handle this problem.

If I am elected Governor I will fight for the release of all non-violent marijuana offenders from prison, the expungement of their records and the repeal of laws that landed them in prison and the ones that effectively bar them from successful re-entry to society.

That action alone would be enough to solve the over-crowding crisis and would go a long way from preventing its reoccurrence.

I'll also propose that the money, which would have been spent to house non-violent marijuana offenders, is instead directed back to communities so that they can start community corrections programs that deal with petty theft, drunk driving, fraudulent check writers and dead beat parents and also use as start up funds for treatment centers that keep family members suffering from hard drug and alcohol addiction close to home where they can get the love and support they need to recover.

Enough sentencing commissions and tasks forces on prison overcrowding. The solution is simple and we all know what it is, but the politicians in power are gutless cowards who we can no longer place our hope in to get this job done.

As Governor I will correct the Department of Corrections in Alabama.

Non-compliance with the Patriot and REAL ID Acts,

The Patriot and REAL ID Acts are the two most offensive documents to ever be passed into law in the United States of America.

Under these Acts Uncle Sam not only wants you: he also wants your email, your phone calls, your personal mail, your physician and pharmacy records, your library records, your bank records, the contents of your bladder and the bladders of your children.
We are told that we must trade our liberty for security in order to help "fight the war on terror."

Our elected officials say the terrorists hate us for our freedom. Apparently our elected officials have decided to remedy that situation by taking away all of our freedoms so the terrorists won't hate us anymore.

The willingness of our elected officials both here at home and in Washington, D.C. to participate in the obliteration of our constitutional rights and civil liberties is disgusting and revealing. I will not sacrifice Alabama citizens to any such system--and you can write that down.

As governor of Alabama, I will refuse to comply with the Patriot and REAL ID acts and I will veto any new legislation that infringes on the privacy of the citizens of the state of Alabama.

As our state motto says, "WE DARE DEFEND OUR RIGHTS!!"

The Iraq War and Alabama sovereignty over the State Militia

As governor of Alabama I would have no real power to influence the Iraq war policy, but I feel that you have the right to know exactly how I feel on that issue and on the concept of war in general.

As a Libertarian I'm not a pacifist. I believe that only defense is legitimate.

I like to believe that no one wants or likes war. Under the current US administration
I am having something of a hard time holding onto that belief.

Having said that, I support our troops but I do not support the Iraq war.

In the beginning and in the aftermath of 9/11 I did support it. I, like millions of other Americans, believed our president when he said there were WMD's and that Iraq was somehow tied to the terrorist attacks that befell our nation. I understood our mission there to be the removal of Saddam Hussein from power.

That mission was accomplished in three days and our brave troops did one hell of a job. They should have been applauded, commended and given the highest amount of respect for carrying out their objective. And then they should have been brought home to their families.

But, they are still there and no one seems to be able to say with any degree of certainty just exactly what they are fighting for or how long this war will last or how many more will have to die.

Alabama did not choose to send her sons and daughters off to fight this illegal war. That choice was made for us.

That choice has cost the lives of 43 Alabama soldiers. 24 of that 43 were under the age of 30 and 17 of those were 25 years old or younger.

These are just kids, our kids, only a few years out of high school. Many of them likely signed up for the GI bill because they came from impoverished families and had few options for acquiring a college degree. They had their whole life ahead of them.

Now they are dead.

I support the immediate withdrawal of all our troops from Iraq. As Governor of Alabama I will call for the immediate withdrawal of our National Guard troops and I believe Alabama should hereafter retain sovereignty over her state militia.

BIO-DIESEL

If I told you that there was a way we could Decrease Our Dependency on Foreign Oil, Boost the Agriculture Industry in Alabama, preserve our pristine hunting and fishing areas, which bring 2 BILLION tourism dollars into Alabama every year and Keep More Alabama Money in Alabama instead of sending it to the federal government would you believe me?

Bio-diesel. It's fuel from the fields. And we can do it here.

Farmers in South Alabama are already doing that very thing by producing bio-diesel from their soybean crops and using a ten percent solution to run their combines. This same soy bio-diesel can be used in automobiles at a ten percent per tank of gas without any engine modifications.

It could end the outrageousness of paying up to three dollars a gallon for gasoline and enable you to keep more of what you earn.

Bio-diesel could revitalize the impoverished Black Belt of Alabama and put hundreds if not thousands of people to work.

As Governor of Alabama I will encourage research, growth and development in this area. It is another step along the road to keeping Alabama proud, independent, self-sufficient and free.

Ballot access reform-

The last topic I want to touch on tonight is Ballot Access Reform.
Alabama has the most restrictive ballot access laws in the nation. In order to fully participate in the political process as an independent or third party candidate it basically requires a minimum of $100,000 to collect the 41,000 plus signatures needed for ballot access.

That basically means only rich people can run for office.

That doesn't make a lot of sense to me since, I know for a fact, most Alabamians are not rich people. Why do we elect people to represent us who are not like us and cannot relate to the reality of our daily lives?

Why do we allow them to decide who is a candidate and who is not? That is one of our rights as citizens....to decide who we will elect.

Alabama is in no danger of becoming immobilized by having too many political parties. Our current system trends toward two dominant parties. But unless the system makes it possible for a third party to replace one of the two old parties there is no incentive for the old parties to be responsive to what the people want.

To keep the pressure on the two dominant parties to be responsive to the will of the people we must do away with restrictive ballot access laws, do away with government subsidies to favored candidates and do away with debates that exclude the only candidates who are offering a new choice.

Anyone who truly believes in Democracy and in the ability of Alabamians to make their own choices when electing their governing body would never seek to limit the number of choices available to Alabama voters.

Iraq had 75 political parties and 111 candidates in their most recent elections. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when you have Alabama soldiers dying for the sake of ensuring fair elections in Iraq when apparently Iraqi's already have a better understanding of what fair elections are than some Alabama politicians do.

We need to repeal Alabama's restrictive ballot access laws so that new ideas and progressive change can begin to take hold in Alabama.

Closing-

It's difficult to say how much the growth of government in Alabama should be attributed to the natural tendency of government to expand, or to Alabama lawmakers simply imitating the actions of Washington DC, or to Alabama government being controlled by federally imposed mandates.

The attitude we see coming out of Washington is basically 'it's My way or the Highway" or more accurately "It's my Way or You don't get no damn Highway".

The sad thing is that it's our own money they are taking and then holding hostage in order to force us to change our laws in ways we would not have chosen for ourselves.

The twin parties have become so hopelessly corrupted by power and the perks of governing that our only hope is a third party still too young, healthy, and principled to be infected by their dishonesty and political extortion.

So my fellow Alabamians this election you have a real choice for change. Do not re-elect republicans and democrats. They are known quantities. They are yellow cowards who have repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to march in lock step with the feds in Washington DC without so much as a backward glance at those who they supposedly represent.

They've had their chance many times over to do what is right and make things better for the people of the Great State of Alabama. And they have repeatedly failed.

But I am confident that you and I will not fail as we face today's challenges because

I believe in my fellow Alabamians.

We are proud, we are strong and we are free.

And we damn sure intend to keep it that way.

So this election

"Just Say Nall to Republicans and Democrats"

"Just Say Nall to a Government Controlled Education System"

"Just Say Nall to the Drug War"

"Just Say Nall To the Patriot and Real ID Acts"

"Just Say Nall to the Iraq War"

"Just Say Nall to High Gas Prices"

"Just Say Nall To Unfair Ballot Access Laws"

Vote Nall Y'all

It's Just Common Sense

Nall to Participate in Gubernatorial Candidate Forums



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Loretta Nall for Governor Campaign
Phone: 251-650-2271
Cell: 334-415-9174
Email Address: cnall1@charter.net
Web site address: www.nallforgovernor.com

Alabama Gubernatorial Candidate, Loretta Nall, To Participate in the Smith-Leonard VFW Candidate Forums in Wetumpka, AL on January 23, 2006

Alexander City, AL,-- Jan 07, 2006 —Alabama gubernatorial candidate, Loretta Nall, will participate in the candidate forums being sponsored by the Smith-Leonard VFW Post in Wetumpka, AL.
This event will take place on January 23, 2006 at VFW Post 4572 located at 100 Otter Track Rd. in Wetumpka beginning at 7:00 p.m.

The format for this forum consists of, an introduction of the Guest Candidate by
The Master of Ceremonies, candidate speech of up to 45 minutes and a 30-minute question-and-response period during which members of the audience and a five-member media panel will alternately query the candidate.

Mrs. Nall, who casts herself as a Libertarian-leaning populist, is seeking the Libertarian Party nomination for Governor in 2006. During the forum she will discuss her election platform, which she says reflects traditional Alabama values.

Some of the topics Nall plans to address include drug policy and prison reform,tax credits for private & home school families, non-compliance with the Patriot and REAL ID Acts, religion in government, fair taxes, gambling, ballot access reform, ballot initiative and referendum and bio-diesel.

She extends a warm invitation to all media and supporters, as well as any detractors, to attend and engage in a lively discussion of the issues.

For more information please call the Nall for Governor Campaign at 251-650-2271 or 334-415-9174 or send an email to cnall1@charter.net

This information provided by the Nall for Governor campaign

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Thursday, January 19, 2006

Election Buzz Heating Up (hehe..they said "buzz")

The South Alabamian

Hehehehe...They said "buzz" and went on to talk about my campaign. Funny how things work out sometimes ain't it?



Governor, other races

On the state level, offices on the ballot in 2006 include the governor’s. Gov. Bob Riley has announced he will seek re-election as a Republican. Republican challengers include Roy Moore, former Alabama Chief Justice who was removed from office for failure to comply with a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument that he had placed in the state judicial building.

Lieutenant Gov. Lucy Baxley is running for the Democratic nomination. Former Gov. Don Siegelman has indicated that he is a candidate for his old post but his recent re-indictment by a federal grand jury may force him to change his plans.

Drug policy and prison reform advocate Loretta Nall has announced that she will seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination for governor. Nall is well-known for her strong stance advocating the legalization of marijuana and is the founder of 35 chapters of the U.S. Marijuana Party.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs



Finally got some campaign signs made. If you have made a contribution then some of it went for these bad boys!
If you'd like one then contact me and I'll make arrangenemts to see that you get one.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Good to Be King

To opine, or not to opineThe Birmingham News
Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Alabama's chief election officer is in a quandary - a big quandary. Secretary of State Nancy Worley needs to know which convicted felons are eligible to vote and which aren't. So she asked the state's top lawyer, Attorney General Troy King, for a list of the crimes that result in lost voting rights.

Before King's office answered, three Alabamians convicted of either drunken driving or drug possession sued over their denied voting rights.

Now, King says he can't answer Worley's question.

It's understandable the attorney general's office doesn't generally issue advisory opinions on matters that are subjects of a lawsuit. After all, advisory opinions from the attorney general are just that - advisory - and don't carry the force of a court ruling. Why wade into a controversy with an opinion when courts may soon issue a definitive answer?

But King's action in this case, or lack of it, raises questions. Just ask Worley. "I guess I find it very disturbing that the attorney general's office has taken eight months to respond," she said.

Consider the history here.

King's office issued an opinion on felon voting rights to the state Board of Pardons and Paroles last March; it said only felonies involving "moral turpitude" disqualify a convict from voting.

That's why Worley asked for more detailed advice in the first place. We'll grant King's defense: There are more than 250 felonies, and the review took time. But eight months?

Recall, King's office once received a question on Friday and had an answer the following Tuesday, not because the subject matter was so urgent but because the politics were right. (That question came from a lawmaker with ties to special interests targeting a wayward environmental commissioner.)

Then again, King's office has a history of punting, too. When asked about the controversial issue of annual property tax reappraisals, King refused to answer, saying the issue was moot even though it really wasn't - and certainly no more so than some of the other issues on which King had issued opinions.

We're not lawyers, of course. But it seems reasonable to ask why King can't at least provide Worley and voting registrars across the state a list of crimes where the answer about voting rights is clear.

Prison reform bills clear House logjam

montgomery Advertiser
By Mike Linn

Related Links
Rundown of Bills

The Alabama House on Tuesday passed eight bills in Gov. Bob Riley's prison reform package, despite criticism from some black members that the legislation would actually increase prison overcrowding and unfairly targets the poor.

The legislation, which faces Senate action before becoming law, would triple the maximum fines for those convicted of felonies and some misdemeanors, narrow large sentencing gaps that allow for inconsistent sentences and force judges to use a person's out-of-state driving under the influence convictions and driving record to enhance sentencing.

Rep. Marcel Black, D-Tuscumbia, who sponsored many of the bills, said the legislation approved Tuesday alone can't solve the state's prison overcrowding problem.

"Like any major problem, very few if any are solved immediately," he said after the House adjourned. "This is a step down that road."

Black said one of the bills, which passed 94-0, would help ease overcrowding because it would provide judges with more strict and consistent sentencing guidelines from court to court.

But many of the bills recommended by the Alabama Sentencing Commission would actually increase prison overcrowding, members of the Legislative Black Caucus argued.

"Not a single one of these bills address alternative sentencing, prison overcrowding and rehabilitation," Rep. James Buskey, D-Mobile, said. "We haven't even scratched the surface."

Moreover, increasing fines unfairly targets the poor, said Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery. "Of all the problems in Alabama, you all chose to raise court fines to pay Alabama judges. You know who is going to pay these fines: blacks and poor whites."

Holmes postponed the bill, forcing Black to amend it to exclude increased fines for violations and Class C misdemeanors.

Holmes also criticized the DUI bill, saying some states convict suspects for DUI with lower blood alcohol levels than are permissible in Alabama. He also said Alabama has one of the toughest DUI laws in the country.

Despite the critics, Black said the bills would help overcrowding. He said the House has yet to vote on a bill that would allow more nonviolent offenders to serve sentences in work release programs, which would free up prison beds for violent offenders.

As I stated last week these bills will do nothing to ease prison overcrowding in Alabama. Rep. Holmes and Rep. Buskey are absolutely correct in their opinions of this bill. This is nothing more than the legislature trying to look busy and pretending to do good things in an election year.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Alabama Legislative Session Day 2

On Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2005 at 9:00 A.M. the Alabama House Judiciary Committee met to review legislation related to sentencing reform.

The following proposals were discussed and passed.

HB115 - Sentencing Commission, voluntary sentencing standards for certain felony offenses adopted by commission, approval by Legislature, truth-in-sentencing standards, presentation to Legislature, time extended, Sec. 12-25-34 am'd.

This bill gives judges more sentencing options and will suppossedly make sentences for the same crime more uniform across the state. Since it is voluntary I have my doubts as to whether or not it will bring about the much needed changes to our current system. It does nothing to address the prison overcrowding crisis Alabama is facing.

This bill is a product of the Alabama Sentencing Commission, which I have a lot of respect for. Hopefully this bill will do what it is suppossed to do. I know that in the past the Sentencing Commission has presented some very good bills to the legislature only to have them fail in committee. This bill was likely the best that they could hope to get through the judiciary committee and to the house floor for a vote.

HB118 -Criminal Code, fines for felonies, misdemeanors, violations, Secs. 13A-5-11, 13A-5-12 am'd.

This bill raised the maximum amount of fines in all classes of felony and misdemeanor cases. I'm talking about big raises too. For instance, the fine for a Class A Felony jumped from $20,000 to $60,000.

These raises were suppossedly needed because in the original bill establishing fine amounts no one adjusted for inflation. One committee member proposed that from now on the committee should meet every four years to adjust for inflation because raising fines by that large of an amount all at once did not seem right.

These increases in fines had nothing to do with inflation and everything to do with preventing people who have served their sentences from having their rights restored and from being pardoned, as all fines and court costs must be paid before one can apply for those things to be done.

Next it was on to,

HB119 - Trafficking in illegal drugs, certain fines established and certain fines increased, any mixture of methylenedioxy methamphetamine, Ecstasy, (MDMA), trafficking offense, penalties, Sec.13A-12-231 am'd.

Now this was a doosie to watch and was comprised of two parts.

The bill proposed that a fine of $600,000 be imposed on convicted drug traffickers serving life in prison without parole.

The first thought that popped into my mind was,

"The people I know who have been convicted of 'trafficking' do not have that kind of money....where will they get it?"

And almost immediately Representative Laura Hall gave voice to my thought. She told Randy Hillman, who is Executive Director of The Alabama District Attorney's Association that all of the people she knew serving time in jail for trafficking in drugs were not the kind of people who had large amounts of cash and if they are serving life without parole what is the point of fining them that amount of money?

RANDY HILLMAN

Hall: Where would the money come from?

Hillman: From the criminal. It is a way for us to seize money that we might not be able to get through asset forfiture.

Hall: How would it be collected if there is no money or assets?

Hillman: It wouldn't be levied if there are no money or assets to seize.

Hall: What happens to the money that is collected?

Hillman: It goes into the General Fund.

Hillman told the committee that in his 15 years of being a prosecutor in Alabama only about 5 cases qualified for imposition of this fine. He swore that it would only be used against "king pins".

Rep. Hall asked for data.
Hillman had none.

Rep. Carol Robinson asked how the determination of a 'king pin" is made.

Hillman said, "We just know."

Boy I tell you what...that there was a real hard-core, professional, scientific, legal answer. I thought my head would explode trying to understand the vast complexities of that explanation.

The second part of the bill dealt with imposing a fine of $600,000 for trafficking in hydromorphone and also increasing the penalties for Ecstacy.

When the Ecstacy portion was being debated it was discovered that the chemical listed in the bill which was suppossed to be 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine was actually listed as 5-methoxy-3-4 and some other large words I can neither spell nor pronounce.

The director of the Alabama Department of Forensic Science, Taylor Noggle, took the floor and pointed out that what was listed in the bill was not actually a controlled substance and in his many years at the ADFS Labs he had never encountered such a chemical.

Then Mr. Brilliant himself, Randy Hillman, spoke up in a dazed and somewhat disappointed voice and said, "Well if it isn't a controlled substance then we can't prosecute."

Someone on the committee asked the reps from the Sentencing Commission where they got the information to place that particular chemical in the bill. The rep said that she was told to add that chemical by the department of forensic sciences.
The department of forensic sciences said they had never encountered such a chemical and it wasn't illegal anyway and didn't think the information had come from them.

The bill was amended to reflect the correct chemical name for Ecstacy and was then given a favorable report.

Was I laughing while this unbelievable and outrageous scene was unfolding?
Yes, of course I was. Quietly though.

I also wondered how many people are in jail in Alabama for chemicals that are not against the law.

And of course it struck me, as it always does when I visit the legislature here, just how dumb and careless a lot of these people are with everyone elses life and liberty.

My legislators might have just outlawed something as mundane as say, chewing gum or soap bubbles thinking it was MDMA had someone not been paying very close attention.

Gawd these people are dangerous!!

I keep wondering how they managed to get elected to public office and does their ignorance reflect worse on them or the voters who put them there?

Not that there aren't good people in the legislature who have a firm grip on what is going on. There are some. Just not enough, and unforunately, not the majority.

A few other bills were debated. One had to do with sharing information about people convicted of a DUI in another state and the other was related to pre and post-sentencing reports.
When those were debated and given favorable reports it concluded the sentencing reform portion of the committee meeting.

Next up was a bill to "protect the unborn" in cases of domestic violence. If you ask me, this is a backdoor to outlawing abortion. The bill states that it has nothing to do with abortion....but I am not buying it.

I know how Alabama, right-wing politicians and the Christian Coalition work.

What amazes me about both groups is that they scream louder than anyone about protecting the rights of the un-born, saving the un-born and so on yet, they are the first ones in line to yell about about having to provide welfare and public assistance when those un-borns are born to people who do not have the means to take care of them. Their most common smarmy and unoriginal retort is,

"Well people that can't afford to take care of kids should not have kids."

And if that isn't the height of hypocrisy then I do not know what is.

I left when Atty. General Troy King arrived. He is a perfect example of one of the above referenced HYPOCRITES.

He preaches about family values and being a christian, yet he personally prosecuted Roberta Franklin over $232 dollars worth of food stamps that were over-issued by the Department of Human Resources.

He has asked for 15 years in Roberta's case knowing all the while that if she is imprisoned,Pooh, a precious nine-year-old girl whom Roberta has had custody of and cared for since she was three weeks old, will be placed in the care of the state.

How bout them family values folks?

I left. I simply could not stand to be in the same room with AG King. I know my limits. It was time to go.

And that's all the legislative work I had planned for this week folks. Next week will likely find me marching through the halls of the Alabama State House once again gathering information that you need to know.

Until then....y'all be safe, stay away from that illegal chemical that isn't actually illegal, don't go having any abortions but don't have babies you cannot afford to take care of either.

Loretta Nall
Jan. 12, 2006