Pain Still Mandatory

Pain Still Mandatory After 109th Congress Votes Against Hinchey/Rohrabacher Amendment.

On June 28, 2006 the 109th U.S. Congress voted to allow the D.E.A. to continue raiding, arresting and prosecuting patients and caregivers for medical marijuana in the 11 states where such laws have been passed.

After spending about 5 hours watching these buffoons waste billions of taxpayer dollars I find myself longing for the power to make some elected officials spontaneously combust LIVE, on Color TV. Wouldn’t that be a cool power to have?

I’d start with the first one who got up and said “Marijuana has no medical value because it is a Schedule I drug like heroin, cocaine and meth, blah, blah, blah,”

Like this guy.


Rep Steve King – ( R ) Iowa- “I thank the chairman for yielding and the chance to address this issue. We heard from the other gentleman from Iowa, Mr. Latham, that the Food and Drug Administration has classified marijuana along with heroin, LSD, methamphetamine, hashish (as if hash is a different drug than pot) and a lot of other drugs as Schedule I drugs. That’s because they carry a high potential for dangerous abuse and so doctors in most states even prohibited them from being prescribed for medicinal purposes. That’s the standard that’s the national standard.”

Excuse me. Methamphetamine is a Schedule II drug meaning the D.E.A. has decided it has medicinal value. Please see
US DEA Schedule of Controlled Substances.

Methamphetamine in prescription form is sold under the name Desoxyn.
It is prescribed for severe Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, depression and obesity. So, according to the FDA it is perfectly ok to use meth if you are fat, sad or hyper but not ok to consume a natural plant if you are in the agonizing throes of cancer or AIDS.

Why a bunch of assholes with Federal badges and guns are deciding anything medical is still beyond my ability to grasp. Additionally, doctors are NOT the ones who wrote the Schedule of Controlled Substances and they are not the ones who prohibit anything from being prescribed. They are, in increasingly alarming numbers, being arrested and prosecuted for prescribing the very drugs the DEA has said it is legal to prescribe. Anyone care to take a stab at the circular logic behind that one?

It should also be MANDATORY that any Rep. voting on any bill about drugs, drug use, drug abuse and/or drug addiction/treatment at the very least KNOW what the schedule of controlled substances says. Christ, is that just too much to ask?

If they get it wrong like Rep. King did then their vote should not count because their reason for voting was not an EDUCATED one. After their vote is disqualified they get ZAPPED for being unjustifiably and willfully stupid and lazy.

Next up in the ZAP line is,


Rep. Tom Latham- ( R ) - Iowa – “Thank you Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong opposition to this bill. Let’s be clear marijuana is not harmless as some claim. It is a Schedule I drug under the controlled substances act meaning it has no accepted medical use in treatment and has a high potential for abuse. In fact, marijuana continues to be the most widely abused drug in the US. Those who anecdotally claim that marijuana has a medical benefit do not differentiate between THC and whole marijuana. Whole marijuana contains hundreds of chemicals many of which are harmful to ones health. An evaluation by several federal agencies concluded that no sound scientific studies supported marijuana’s medical use and smoking marijuana is not approved as legitimate medical use by the FDA. The bottom line is marijuana is an addictive substance that is linked to cancer and respiratory ailments and problems with the immune and reproductive system. And let me say that as a member of the speakers drug force, or drug task force or for drug free America, marijuana is the drug that will tell whether or not someone is going to get on meth, it is the precursor the gateway drug for heroin use, uh, as we continue to fight this battle on illegal drug use this is the drug that gets people started and anyone whose trying to send a message to our young people today should be embarrassed by having an amendment like this because this is telling people that this is ok, that its socially acceptable. That you can start here and it wont hurt you and, in fact, medically, scientifically, that is dead wrong. And the message we are sending to our children today is very strong whether we support legal use of marijuana as a precursor to methamphetamine to heroin this is the message we will be sending if we approve this. I strongly urge my colleagues to vote against this (pause) amendment.” (said with distaste and a shake of the head).

It is so easy to take apart what Rep. Latham said. For instance this comment,

“Whole marijuana contains hundreds of chemicals many of which are harmful to ones health. An evaluation by several federal agencies concluded that no sound scientific studies supported marijuana’s medical use and smoking marijuana is not approved as legitimate medical use by the FDA”

The first red flag is that federal agencies are notoriously famous for discounting studies that do not go along with what they want. They will commission a study and then throw it out when it does not say what they want and then they will proceed to waste more of our money commissioning more studies until they get the answer they desire. As for being approved by the FDA, well lets all remember that the FDA gave us VIOXX, which killed or injured 155,000 people and a host of other drugs stamped with their approval have done the same or worse. Marijuana has never killed or injured anyone anyone.

The second outright LIE is this, “The bottom line is marijuana is an addictive substance that is linked to cancer and respiratory ailments and problems with the immune and reproductive system.”

However according to the Washington Post; The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer.

The new findings "were against our expectations," said Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles, a pulmonologist who has studied marijuana for 30 years. "We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use," he said. "What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect."

Federal health and drug enforcement officials have widely used Tashkin's previous work on marijuana to make the case that the drug is dangerous. Tashkin said that while he still believes marijuana is potentially harmful, its cancer-causing effects appear to be of less concern than previously thought.

So, as we see here, Dr. Tashkin’s studies were sound and scientific when he was espousing beliefs that fit the prohibitionist way of thinking, but now that he has changed his tune his research is no longer sound or scientific. I think I’ll trust the judgement of a physician with a medical degree instead of some cornhuskers-turned-Congressmen from Iowa, thank you very much.

No offense to the good people of Iowa. I have no room to talk when it comes to ‘bumpkin Representatives’ in D.C., seeing as how my own

Senator Jeff Sessions once stated that he thought the Ku Klux Klan was ok until he learned some of them smoked pot. I was lucky that none of the Representatives from Alabama got up to speak in opposition. Thank God for small favors, eh?

Third. Is anyone really worried that some sick, little old lady cancer patient is going to suddenly run out and start snorting coke or smoking meth? From the arguments put forth on the House floor yesterday by those in opposition to this amendment you’d think that it was preordained by God Almighty that medical marijuana would lead to just that.

There were a couple more Reps who spoke in opposition but I won't nauseate you with the hurl-inducing details.

The best comment of the day came from Rep. Dave Obey from (D)-Wisconsin when he said,

“If I am terminally ill it isn’t the business of anybody on this floor how I handle the pain or the illness associated with that illness. With all due respect to all of you Butt Out! I didn’t enter this world with permission from the Department of Justice and I’m certainly not going to depart it by seeking their permission or any other authority.. The Congress has no business telling a patient how they can manage their pain or illness. I would trust any doctor in the nation before I would trust some of the Daffy Ducks in this institution to decide what I am supposed to do if I am terminally ill. The idea that we are somehow creating a gateway to drugs like meth is a JOKE. I detest meth. I’ve seen what it does. It is a plague on my district and especially in the Mid-West. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the management of pain and misery for people who are sick and dying. When is this congress going to recognize that individuals in their private lives have the right to manage their problems as they see fit without permission from the big guy in the White House and the big guy in the Justice Department or any of the Lilliputians on this Congressional floor? Wake up!”

A-fuckin-men!

My take on this is very much like Rep. Obey's.

I am sick of asking these bastards for permission. Asking them to grant
permission is also giving them to power to say NO...as they continue to do.

Not to diminish any of the hard work done by all of those groups and individuals who have lobbied, called, emailed and visited their congressional representative in person. I may be counted among their numbers..but it’s time for us to get off our knees and stop begging our slave masters for permission to ease our pain or, alter our consciousness for recreational purposes, for that matter. That is not theirs to decide.

Why aren't there more of us running for office at state and federal level?
There are MANY members of various organizations as well as individuals in the United States of America with enough political experience gained through drug policy reform work to step up and RUN.

I’m running for the highest office in the State of Alabama with much less experience than most of my drug policy reform colleagues and I am having a huge impact despite all of the obstacles placed in my way by those currently in power. Imagine what some of you could do in a state with less restrictive ballot access laws?

Others running for state and federal office in the 2006 mid-term elections with a drug policy reform plank in their platforms are,

Cliff Thornton for Governor of Connecticut

Kevin Zeese for U.S. Senate (MD)

Ben Masel for Senate in Wisconsin
$1 contributions can be sent to:
Masel for Senate
1214 East Mifflin Street
Madison, WI 53703

Roger Goodman for WA. State
Representative

To me this is the only way we will ever get what we want in the halls of our
government....we have to BE the GOVERNMENT...either that or just damn defy
them in mass numbers come hell or high water.

I know some of you will say. “Well, I am not a politician and I don’t know how to do what they do.”

Guess what? They don’t know what the hell they are doing. One thing I have learned in my very limited experience in politics is that it’s all make-believe. None of this is real. Anyone can do it. The people currently elected to public office are not special. They are not superhuman. They are not smarter than you. In many cases they are dumber than rocks and so far out of touch with their constituents that it is disgraceful. These people are not Gods and they do not belong on pedestals.

I am not saying that lobbying efforts should cease. I am saying that in addition to lobbying efforts by groups and individuals there should be a massive battle being waged on the election front. Our elected officials understand one thing and one thing only. FORCE! When we stand up and begin to FORCE them out of a job then we will begin to see the results we are striving to achieve.

To see how your representative voted please see the
Roll Call.

If your representative voted to keep pain mandatory then start organizing a campaign against their re-election. Consider running for office yourself. Stop begging. Get off your knees. Pick up your “I’m gonna kick your ass out of office club" and start swingin’ it.

If your representative voted to keep Uncle Sam and his Hell Hounds out of your garden and your medicine cabinet then send them some money and a thank you note. They deserve it.

Sorry if my militant message pisses anyone off....but damn.... my knees are
sore.

Your Compatriot in the Fight for Liberty,
Loretta Nall
Vote Nall Y'all...It's Just Common Sense

Other notable quotes from the day.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey – (D) NY-“This amendment has to do with two things. It has to do with compassion. Compassion for people that are very seriously ill or dying. And the ability of those states in which they live to provide means by which their suffering can be relieved. It also has to do with one other point and that is states rights. The ability of the states to determine how medical care will be regulated in those states. We have 11 states in this country Mr. Chairman who have determined that it is in the interest of the people in those states that they be allowed to use marijuana for medicinal purposes to alleviate the suffering of such things as AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, MS, those states are Alaska, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Hawaii, RI, Vermont & Washington. The federal government has decided that they are going to intervene and prevent those states from carrying out the laws which were passed in two cases by the state legislatures and in 9 cases by referendum by the people of those states. We will hear from the people who oppose this amendment that marijuana has something to do with a gateway drug in other words it introduces people to other drugs. This amendment has nothing whatsoever to do with that. This amendment has nothing to do with drug addiction, this amendment has nothing to do with the potential for drug addiction. This amendment simply has to do with the ability of states to relieve the suffering of their citizens without federal intervention and the right of states to pass laws regulating medical practice without federal intervention. It is a very simple amendment and it ought to be passed. Those people here who believe in small government should support it. Those people here who believe in the issue of states rights ought to support it. Those people here who believe that state governments and the people in those governments have the right to take care of their citizens and alleviate their suffering…those people in this house ought to support this amendment as well.”



Dana Rohrabacher - (D) California – “Thank you Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong support of the Hinchey/Rohrabacher amendment. Our amendment would prohibit any funds made available in this act to the Dept. of Justice from being used to prevent the implementation of legally passed state laws in those 11 states authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Our coalition of freedom minded Republicans and Democrats on this issue is based on compassion for those who are suffering, a commitment to personal liberty and a firm belief in the principles of federalism.”



“The use of marijuana to ease the pain of victims of a wide variety of medical conditions is well known and increasingly documented in the media and in medical journals. For many of these people medical science has not been able to relieve their pain.

Just recently a friend of mine and a friend of many years passed away. Lyn Nofziger. And many of you here probably know him. He was Ronald Reagan’s first Press Secretary. I went to see him after he got out of the hospital with his treatments for cancer. He had his good days and his bad days. I saw him about a week before he died, and I asked Lyn about it and he said, “Yes, sometimes it’s bad other times its not but I couldn’t get myself to eat and I had this pain no matter what they did for me.” And I said, “Did you ever try that medical marijuana that we have been talking about and debating about?” and he got a twinkle in his eye and he says, “Yes I did and it brought my appetite back and I slept like a baby.”

“Don’t tell me that we should have fed law enforcement people come in to a state where people have approved and if a doctor agrees and get in the way of Lyn Nofziger and any other people who are suffering and use federal money and federal resources that should be used should be going to fight crime in order to create that obstacle. That’s a travesty. Individuals who live in the 11 states affected by this amendment have been granted by their voter in these states the legal right to use marijuana to alleviate their pain if a doctor agrees. If the voters have so voted and the doctor agrees it is a travesty for the government to intercede, for the federal government to allocate our scarce resources to fighting this..getting in the way of someone using something to alleviate their suffering. This is something that should be left to the states as American tradition dictates. Sandra Day O’Connor stated it best when she stated that states should serve as a laboratory so that people can try certain new ideas out to see how they work. Well, this federal government shouldn’t get in the way of what is going on in these 11 states to see how this works. The most recent decision of the Supreme Court has thrown the ball into the hands of the US Congress. Justice John Paul Stevens made it clear. “The voices of voters may one day be heard in the halls of Congress on behalf of legalizing medical marijuana. 11 states have already acted.”











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Sir, May I have Permission to Get It Up, Sir?!

You know...I don't much care for Rush Limbaugh and his blatant hypocrisy toward all drug users except himself....but when it comes to having to ask permission to get an erection then I gotta draw the line. Not even Rush Limbaugh ought to have to ask permission to have an erection....can't imagine who'd want to share it with him (the very thought of it makes my skin crawl and my stomach heave violently)...but that is beside the point.

Limbaugh's latest drug run-in: Viagra
Police say commentator had drug without a prescription

Monday, June 26, 2006; Posted: 10:54 p.m. EDT (02:54 GMT)
Rush Limbaugh's lawyer said the Viagra was labeled with a doctor's name to protect Limbaugh's privacy.

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) -- Rush Limbaugh was detained for about 3 1/2 hours at Palm Beach International Airport after authorities said they found a bottle of Viagra in his possession without a prescription.

The 55-year-old radio commentator's luggage was examined by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after his private plane landed at the airport around 2 p.m. from the Dominican Republic, said Paul Miller, spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

Customs officials found in Limbaugh's luggage a prescription bottle labeled as Viagra, a prescription drug that treats erectile disfunction, Miller said.

"The problem was that on the bottle itself was not his name, but the name of two Florida doctors," Miller said.

The matter was turned over to the sheriff's office, whose investigators interviewed Limbaugh.

"He said he had the Viagra in his possession for his use and that he did obtain it from his doctors," Miller said.

Sheriff's investigators confiscated the drugs, and Limbaugh was released around 5:30 p.m. without being charged.

However, the sheriff's office plans to file a report with the state attorney's office.

"We believe there may be a second degree misdemeanor violation, which is possession of certain drugs without a prescription, because the bottle does not have his name on it," Miller said.

A doctor had prescribed the drug, but it was "labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes," Roy Black, Limbaugh's attorney, said in a statement.

Last month, Limbaugh reached a deal with prosecutors who had accused the conservative talk-show host of illegally deceiving multiple doctors to receive overlapping pain pill prescriptions. Under the deal, a single charge commonly referred to as "doctor shopping" would be dismissed after 18 months if he complies with terms that include submitting to random drug tests and continuing treatment for his acknowledged addiction to painkillers.
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BHAM Area Event Tonight...Y'all Come

B'ham Volunteers and friends of the Loretta Nall for Governor Campaign will be meeting on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 7PM at the LPA offices located at 2330 Highland Ave South in B'ham.
We will be stuffing envelopes, discussing strategy for the Nall campaign and discussing the Jefferson County Libertarian Party. Libations will be available!

For directions please call or .
email Mike Rster at 205-328-8683.
Please come out and join us beginning at 7 pm.

In Liberty,
Loretta Nall


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Presbyterian Church Votes to Support Legal Access to Medical Marijuana

Presbyterian Church (USA) Votes to Support Legal Access to Medical Marijuana

Church Joins Other Major Religious Denominations Urging Congress to

Stop the White House’s Persecution of Medical Marijuana Patients

CONTACT: Troy Dayton, IDPI associate director, 301-379-2857, troydayton@idpi.us

Sharon Youngs, Presbyterian Church (USA), 888-728-7228 x5750 syoungs@ctr.pcusa.org

(Birmingham, AL) – Yesterday, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) became the latest religious body to endorse legal access to medical marijuana for seriously ill patients. By consensus, the denomination passed a resolution “urging Federal legislation that allows for its use and that provides for the production and distribution of the plant for those purposes.”

This comes just days before a major medical marijuana vote in the U.S. Congress. In the next few days, Congress will vote on an amendment to prohibit the use of federal funds for arresting medical marijuana patients in those states that allow medical marijuana. Medical marijuana patients are already protected from arrest by state and local police in eleven states, including Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) joins the United Methodist Church, Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ, Union for Reform Judaism, Progressive National Baptist Convention, and the Unitarian Universalist Association in support of medical marijuana.

“Medical marijuana is an issue of mercy,” said Rev. Lynn Bledsoe, a Presbyterian minister from Alabama who works as a hospice chaplain. “As people of faith, we are called to stand up for humans who are suffering needlessly. It is unconscionable that seriously ill patients can be arrested for making an earnest attempt at healing by using medical marijuana with their doctors’ approval.”

“Legislators who give lip service to ‘moral values’ had better be consistent on the medical marijuana issue,” said Charles Thomas, executive director of the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative. “The Presbyterian Church (USA) joins six other major denominations explicitly supporting medical marijuana, while no denominations’ governing bodies have ever taken an official position against it.”

“Being seriously ill is stressful enough already without living in fear of arrest for taking doctor-recommended medicine,” said Rev. Jim McNeil, a representative of the Homestead Presbytery in Nebraska, the regional body that brought the resolution to the General Assembly. “It is the job of religious denominations to give voice to those who cannot speak up for themselves. We pray that Congress will have the compassion to stop this war on patients.”

The denominations’ full positions are available at http://www.idpi.us/dpr/GREAT2006-1.pdf
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Nall Launches Campaign Ads

These ads will begin airing on Friday, June 23, 2006 in the Montgomery market. They will run for three weeks. If you'd like to help me air them in other Alabama markets you may do so by clicking HERE

Drug Policy

Initiative & Referendum

Government Schools

Out Jesus

Iraqi Democracy



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New Campaign Goodies

You can get yours HERE!


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FBI: Prison guard opens fire on feds sent to arrest him

CNN) -- Three people were shot, two fatally, at a Tallahassee, Florida, federal detention center Wednesday as federal agents went to arrest six corrections officers, authorities said.

The six guards were being arrested in an investigation into allegations that guards were trading drugs for sex with female inmates, federal law enforcement sources said.

One of those being arrested opened fire, said Jeff Westcott, spokesman for the FBI's Jacksonville bureau.

Federal agents returned fire, killing the suspect, Westcott said. An agent with the Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General died in the shootout, he said. (Watch what may have prompted the gunfight -- 1:48)

A Bureau of Prisons official was wounded.

The victims' identities and details of the arrest warrants were not released.

The shooting occurred about 7:45 a.m. at a federal detention facility in Tallahassee. (See facility, map)

The Tallahassee facility holds mainly women, but includes an area holding men awaiting trial.

The facility was put on lockdown after the shooting, officials said.
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Two Good LTE's in the Montgomery Advertiser today

Primary System Leaves No Room for Moderates

Fight Police State as Well

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Florence officer charged in child porn investigation

FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) -- A Florence police captain has been formally charged in a child pornography investigation launched after "unlawful images" were uploaded from a police computer, authorities said.

Capt. Basil Kenny "Ken" Stanley, 49, has been charged by authorities with using office and home computers to send and receive images of "children engaging in explicit sexual conduct," the Times Daily in Florence reported in a story Tuesday.

Stanley, a veteran officer of more than 26 years, was scheduled for a detention hearing in Huntsville Wednesday.

Police Chief Rick Singleton said Stanley passed out twice after he was told about the allegations against him Monday. Stanley has been placed on administrative leave without pay.

The investigation began when the FBI notified Florence police on June 12 about "unlawful images" uploaded from a department computer.

Stanley was taken into FBI custody Monday.
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Cold Blooded MURDER for Smoking Pot and Advocating the Constitution

Way Beyond Stoned
Why were a couple of gay Republican potheads blown away by the FBI?

by Pablo Tanguay
Nashville Scene


On Monday, Sept. 3, 2001, at 5:25 p.m., FBI special agent Richard Salomon, from a distance of less than 10 yards and using a bureau-issued .308 sniper rifle, shot Tom Crosslin between the eyes, blowing the 46-year-old’s brains out the back of his head. The next day, at a little after 6:35 a.m., sergeant Daniel Lubelan, of the Michigan State Police, fired two shots from his .308 Remington sniper rifle. The first hit Crosslin’s lover, Rollie Rohm, near his heart. The second blew off his balls. By the time lieutenant Jerry Ellsworth jumped on Rohm’s back to handcuff him, the 28-year-old was dead, thus ending a five-day standoff between the owners of Rainbow Farm and the combined forces of local, state and federal law.

According to the FBI report, Crosslin, at the moment he was shot, had spotted the well-camouflaged Salomon and was raising his mini 14 Ruger in the agent’s direction, presumably to fire at him. The Michigan State Police report indicates that Rohm, just before he was fired on, had shouldered his Ruger and aimed it at the armored assault vehicle approaching him. The accounts in both reports are, five years later, still a matter of some dispute, particularly the one concerning Rohm, whom even law enforcement knew to be a peaceful, even hapless, stoner. A larger dispute, however, especially to residents of rural Cass County, in Michigan’s southwest corner, is what compelled the full, heavily armed force of the law to isolate Rainbow Farm, infiltrate the grounds with snipers, and then move in on Rohm with an assault vehicle.

That dispute aside, how did this dramatic, deadly standoff escape the attention of the national media when seemingly similar standoffs at Ruby Ridge and Waco received round the clock attention, and have since become part of America’s consciousness? It didn’t, at least at first. CNN, FOX, The Associated Press, Rolling Stone and a gaggle of local media were all over the story, but just as they were beginning to understand the conflict as more complicated than a couple of drugged-out gun nuts gone berserk, airplanes crashed into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. By the time the national media got back to covering anything else, Rainbow Farm, except to the people in Cass County, was a distant memory.

Enter Dean Kuipers, Los Angeles City Beat’s deputy editor, who grew up just a few miles from the location of the 35-acre farm. In his fascinating Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke, he writes, “The shootings in Vandalia smelled funny the moment I read about them on the cover of the Kalamazoo Gazette. The Sept. 9, 2001 Sunday subscription edition arrived at my house in California, and there was…the headline ‘It Just Doesn’t Make Sense.’ ”

By November, Kuipers was in Cass County interviewing everybody involved, trying to figure out how and why two gay Republican marijuana advocates, whose Rainbow Farm festivals hosted performances by the likes of Merle Haggard and Tommy Chong, were blown away. They weren’t dealing drugs, and their festivals were well-organized, peaceful affairs. People got stoned, as they tend to do at festivals, and they danced all night to bands on the post-Grateful Dead circuit. But Crosslin and Rohm forbade the sale of marijuana on their property—and even the possession of hard drugs. On Rainbow Farm’s website, and on a giant sign posted at the farm’s entrance, was the message, “Using or selling drugs of any kind is illegal. Anyone found with hard drugs on Rainbow Farm will be evicted.” A farm employee explains Crosslin’s motto: “If you’re not getting high enough on marijuana, then smoke better marijuana.” But surely the government didn’t whack two of its citizens for smoking pot.

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As Kuipers dug into the story, the real reasons for the raid began to unfold. The simplest was that the county prosecutor, Scott Teter, a religious conservative who had run for office on an anti-drug platform, had it in for the farm, which went against everything he believed. Crosslin, who’d had trouble with the law since he was a teenager, was an avowed pot smoker and advocate (actually sponsoring a ballot initiative to legalize the drug in Michigan). What seemed to rankle Teter further was that Crosslin and Rohm became pillars of the community: along with employing many of the county’s down-and-out residents, the pair also sponsored clean-up drives, bought Christmas gifts for needy families, and paid for hot lunches for many of Cass County’s poorest schoolchildren. Teter’s biggest beef, though, was what the farm represented: a kind of libertarian freedom the law-and-order prosecutor could never understand. Crosslin and Rohm called themselves Republicans precisely because they believed the government had no authority to regulate the private lives of citizens, especially lives acted out peacefully and on private property.

A haven for society’s castoffs, Rainbow Farm was a place where you got a job without being piss-tested, where you could hang out and smoke a joint in peace. As Kuipers writes, “It was a dream of disappearance and reinvention, and anyone who wanted to disappear and reinvent themselves and imagine a new world was welcome.” By the time the government finally came in with its guns (at Teter’s behest), Rainbow Farm was thriving. It had a store, a coffee shop, campgrounds, showers, a giant stage in a natural amphitheatre, and was playing host to some of the biggest marijuana-rights festivals in the country. Haggard, stepping down from his tour bus to take in the place, said, “I can’t believe they haven’t killed you boys yet.”

Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went up in Smoke

By Dean Kuipers
(Bloomsbury, 384 pp., $24.95) By the time Kuipers finished his investigation, Teter was just another cog in America’s out-of-control War on Drugs machine, and Crosslin and Rohm just another couple of outcasts forced into a desperate, violent confrontation to protect what they owned. Particularly noxious to Kuipers are the drug forfeiture laws, employed by Teter to seize their property. Originally designed to thwart big-time international drug dealers, the laws were altered in the ’90s to allow seized assets to go not into the General Fund, but directly to the seizers. All of a sudden, police departments and other law enforcement agencies were able to keep what they took. Need a new fleet of cruisers? Bust someone and sell his house. Need a helicopter? Bust someone and take her savings. A frenzy of forfeitures ensued, and it became commonplace for citizens to lose their businesses, property, homes and vehicles, as well as their bank accounts, for a simple possession charge. They didn’t even need to be found guilty.

If that sounds far-fetched, Kuipers provides reams of evidence and statistics, and several case studies. As for the grander purpose of these seizures, he quotes Stephen Gaskin, founder of The Farm in Summerville, Tenn., which has itself survived two civil forfeiture actions. Gaskin, a featured speaker at Rainbow Farm festivals, said: “When the crime is so minor, having marijuana, and the punishment is so unreasonable, taking people’s homes and years of their lives as well as a very real 20th century shunning, one is forced to look for deeper motives.” For Gaskin, the war on drugs is a front for ridding the country of liberals: “Committed liberal persons are undesirable and are to be banned, interdicted, harassed, discouraged, arrested and pee-tested. It is a blatant use of police power to frighten and intimidate millions of people.” Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm, no saints but no devils either, just human beings who liked their grass, refused to be intimidated and were blown away.

Kuipers writes with the zeal of an investigative reporter. His story stretches from the Crosslin family’s roots in Manchester, Tenn., through its move to Indiana, where Tom grew up and where he met Rohm, and finally to southern Michigan. To his credit, Kuipers doesn’t make the two heroes. He details, in fact, Crosslin’s violent streak, and Rohm comes off as more troubled-young-man than revolutionary. But then, Kuipers’ point is not to make martyrs of the men, but to demonstrate how a government with unchecked power can so easily marginalize and thereby stifle opposition. Look no further than the recent wiretapping scandals, evidence of secret prisons, and the ballot box fiascos of the last two presidential elections to understand Kuipers’ concern.

Still, the author comes down on the side of optimism. Throughout his time in the rural Midwest, he found an unlikely coalition outraged at government abuse: “It became clear that something had changed in the greasy blue-collar boonies that were central to my own identity. Plain old cannabis had transcended its middle-finger status to become an organizing principle for a real, honest-to-god movement that blurred all political and even religious lines.” In the same way that a variety of 1960s movements—civil rights, feminism, the drug culture—coalesced around Vietnam, “the hemp festivals at Rainbow Farm had become a catch-all for discontent,” he writes. “Somehow, in the nonsensical and false climate of red-vs.-blue politics, the potent symbol of all their disparate anger was weed.”

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Meet Me at MySpace

After much urging from friends and aquaintances to up a MySpace account I have finally taken the plunge.

Join me and my network of friends at MySpace!

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Flowers power prison reform

By John Davis
Montgomery Advertiser

Elmore Correctional Facility inmates are growing flowers that go to nursing homes, VA hospitals and the Family Sunshine Center in Montgomery.
-- Contributed / Alabama Department of Corrections

ELMORE -- A state corrections facility in Elmore County is participating in a rehabilitation program coordinated by volunteers that gives inmates an opportunity to sow seeds of hope throughout the community.

Inmates at the Elmore Correctional Facility are cultivating a new garden, and they plan to send the flowers to nursing homes and local agencies that provide services to the elderly. Volunteers and prison officials said the project is a reform tool that keeps inmates busy and helps build morale.

William Kizziah couldn't agree more.

"I've never really started something and carried it all the way through," said Kizziah, an inmate at the facility. He is one of several who work in the garden, which was blessed Thursday by Sam Shippen.

Shippen, who lives in Prattville, has worked with inmates for years through the prison ministry group Order of St. Dismas. The order has helped Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka start a prison garden and plans to spread the program to Staton Correctional Facility, which also is in Elmore County.

Shippen is making a statewide push for more community-based rehabilitation programs like his, which are free and have received high marks from prison staff members.

"The flower project simply gives them (inmates) something to keep them occupied so that they can give back to the community," said Willie Thomas, warden at Elmore Correctional Facility.

SunBridge at Merry Wood, a 124-bed nursing home, will be one of the first places to benefit from the beauty of the prison garden. Corrections officials plan to send bouquets of flowers to SunBridge residents.

"The garden you see outside ... is the first fruits of their labor," said Bob Scheffler of Prattville, a master gardener who donates time to help inmates learn how to cultivate.

Shippen said it's difficult to find volunteers like Scheffler, and more are needed in Alabama's prisons.


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Brother Doing Well

I am happy to report that my brother came through his quadruple bypass surgery yesterday without complications of any kind. He rested well through the night and when I saw his this morning he was whining and bitching because I wouldn't help sneak him a dip of Copenhagen.
So, by all indications he is back to absolute normal.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for me and my family.

Loretta
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Quadruple Bypass

Dear All,

My oldest brother John, who is 40, will be having a quadruple bypass today at the VA Hospital in Birmingham, AL. I am not a praying person myself and if you are like me then please keep my brother and my family in your thoughts.

If you are a praying person please offer one up for John and the rest of my family.

I will be tied up with family obligations for the next few days but still available by cell phone (256-625-9599) or via email should anyone need to reach me.

.

Hoover Kiwanis Club Recap

A couple of months ago I was invited to address the Hoover Metro Kiwanis Club today in Birmingham,AL.

Seeing as how the invitation came only a day or two after my run in with the Hoover law and the gentleman who invited me seemed a tad too excited, I was a little skeptical...paranoid....whatever you want to call it. But, I accepted the invitation and this morning at 7 a.m. I made good on it.

Since I had to be there at 7 a.m. I spent the night in Birmingham last night because it is over an hour drive from my home. I didn't sleep because I was nervous about speaking this morning. Generally, crowds of folks don't make me nervous....but this was a crowd of successful businessmen in one of the nicest neighborhoods in the entire state and I had myself worked into a tizzie thinking that these guys would tear me apart.

As it turns out I had nothing to be worried about.

I arrived about 15 minutes til 7 and went inside to the meeting, which was being held in the back dining room of The Golden Corral on Lorna Rd. I was greeted with a hearty "Good Morning" and led to the coffee. Mr. Lyda (extended invitation) came up and introduced himself and welcomed me to the meeting. I thanked him for the invitation and told him how skeptical I was when I first received it. He laughed and said he had read the story of the traffic stop in Hoover, but that I could rest easy because he was simply very interested in my platform and my story of how I got started in Alabama politics.

He introduced me to another gentleman and told me that he learned about me through him. His friend then explained that a friend of his in San Francisco had emailed asking if he knew me and about my run for Governor. At the time he had not heard of me so he looked me up, read the website and asked the other folks at Kiwanis if they would be interested in hearing what I had to say.

I made my way around the room speaking to everyone and then we all sat down to breakfast and some casual chat before the big speech. The gentleman who invited me suddenly smiled and asked me, "Is that story about you trying to visit your brother in prison really true?"

Me: "Every word."
His smile got bigger.

A few minutes later the meeting was called to order and the first few minutes were spent taking care of business stuff and then I was introduced.

I started out by thanking these gentlemen for inviting me and then I told them about how nervous I had been because of the timing of the invitation and the excitement of the gentleman who extended the invitation. I explained a little bit about the traffic stop and when I got to the part about the tag being held in place by Duck Tape the whole room just howled.

They wanted to know how I got into politics so I shared with them the helicopter/LTE stories, which also drew some hearty laughter.

I then told them that because of Alabama's overly restrictive ballot access laws, my name would not appear on the ballot in November. I talked a little about how third parties are prevented from ever becoming a major force or real choice for voters because we are forced to spend all of our meager resources trying to get the state to acknowledge our existance. I told them that it makes me very upset when I think about Alabama soldiers dying to ensure free and fair elections in Iraq, (where there were 75 political parties and 111 candidates in the last election) when apparently Iraqi's already have freer and fairer elections than Alabama does.

Then I went into drug policy and prison reform. I went over the numbers, the detrimental affect prohibition has on society, how an unregulated market means any kid can get whatever they want, how the laws create the crime and violence, how the spread of deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS, Hep C and things like death from overdose could be drastically reduced if drugs were in a regulated market.

For the prison part I again went over numbers and I told them the story of my brother Randy, the career alcoholic, being given the work release assignment of loading Budweiser trucks while in prison for alcohol related offenses. As always, that story draws the reaction of supressed laughter from those who hear it. You can actually see peoples faces freeze half way to laughing and in their inds you know they are thinking, ("Jesus that is a scream but I am not sure if I am suppossed to laugh!")
It is hilarious. I let them off the hook by acting out what I guessed Randy's reaction must have been when he was given that assignment.

That story serves as a very effective tool for demonstrating just how the prison system is designed to fail those who enter it and what a gargantuan waste of tax dollars it is.

I spoke about the public education system and tax credits for private and homeschool families as well as opting out of unfunded federal mandates like No Child Left Behind.

Next I spoke about the need to keep religion and government separate. This meeting had been opened with a lovely prayer by one of the members and I had some reservations about bringing up that particular topic. However, this group fully understood and appreciated the need for seperation.

I then covered lottery & casino gambling.

When I got to Alabama out of Iraq I stated that my position as a Libertarian is that only defense is legitimate. After all we do not have a Department of Offense or a Department of Pre-Emptive Strike...but a department of DEFENSE. I told them also about my trip to Colombia, South America and how that trip finally made me understand why 911 happened. I said I not only wanted to get Alabama out of Iraq but to hereafter retain sovreignity over them and only send them to war when it is in defense of our nation.

Next, I covered bio-diesel, non-compliance with the Patriot & REAL ID Acts and finally immigration.

I had thought that immigration would be a touchy subject. Hoover police have a very bad reputation for immigrant abuse and there's a very large number of undocumented immigrants in Hoover. I stated why I though mass deportation, imprisonment and militarization of a peaceful border were all really bad ideas and why naturalizing the ones already here and absorbing them into the tax base was the only logical solution. To stop the flow over the border I suggested that we start charging PENNEX one barrel of oil per illegal border crosser...and not entirely in jest...but mostly.

At that time I opened the floor for questions. The gentleman who invited me asked me to talk about trying to visit my brother in prison.

I looked out at the room and said, "I don't wear panties and I am sure that is probably more than you ever wanted to know about me but the story is that my mother and I were denied entry into prison to visit my borther because we weren't wearing any." I said they would have to read the story online because it was too long to tell.

Another gentleman said, "Of all of the things you have spoken about today the one that pisses me off the most is that you can't be on the ballot. And what you said about the soldiers in Iraq fighting for that very thing...wow. It makes me very upset that only two candidates from the same old parties with the same old song and dance will be the only printed choices. What I want to ask is do you think running for office is the best way to address the ballot access issue? Most people don't even know that you are being denied equal status and I think most people do want more choices. Is there another way?"

I told him that a couple of years ago the Libertarian Party introduced a bill to ease ballot access restrictions and that it went no where because it basically boils down to asking the enemy to let you into their house. They do not want competition, especially not competition like me. I also made it a point to name some specific legislators who were and are supportive of more reasonable ballot access laws. I told them that throughout the rest of my campaign I will be drawing attention to those laws in hopes of educating the public to support a bill that would eleminate them altogether or make them the same for everyone.

It was then time to close the meeting so I said my thank you's again and was greeted with a very enthusiastic round of applause. The gentleman who closed out the meeting thanked me for coming and encouraged the other members to stay around if they could and chat with me.

One gentleman came up to me and said, "I completely agree with you on the drug war and I believe many other people do as well. The problem is we are scared to say anything. I just wanted to say thank you to taking on these really tough issues and giving the rest of us a way to be able to change things."

Another said he agreed with home-schooling and the failure of the public education system.

Another gentleman walked over and commented on how he agreed with what I said about the prison system and how he has wanted for a long time to do something in that regard.

Two others walked over and said, "You've got our write-in vote and if you need campaign help here in Birmingham just let us know. We'll place signs..whatever you need."

And as I was writing this recap I received the following email from one attendee,

Loretta,

On behalf of all Hoover-Metro Kiwanis Club members in attendance at this
mornings meeting, THANK YOU for your willingness to address our club on the
most important issues in your campaign for governor. Your talk was
informative, very frank, and in my opinion from your heart! I appreciate
you taking time from your busy schedule to speak to us, and hopefully have a
good time too. I've got to say that I learned more from you in 30 minutes
on issues relative to this years race than all other candidates and their
radio/TV ads. It was refreshing to hear someone speak openly without a
hidden agenda.

Good luck in your race for governor.

Warmest Regards,


I am almost certain that is one of the nicest emails I have ever gotten.

So, who needs ballot access anyway?
If I can get this type of response from a group of Alabama businessmen then just about anything seems possible. I am in this race. I am staying in this race and if my luck holds out I will win this race, ballot access or not. My face was long for a day or two over not getting enough signatures....but this mornings event has washed away all traces of doubt that I will be able to have a positive effect on this election and on politics in general in Alabama.

I had a magnificent time in Hoover this morning. What a great group of people and such a fantastic way to start the day! On behalf of freedom loving individuals everywhere THANK YOU Hoover Metro Kiwanis for the invitation and the incredibly warm, enthusiastic response to my message of REAL CHANGE for Alabama.

ONWARD!

Nall Campaign Coverage on For the Record

Tim Lennox of Alabama Public Television's For the Record gave my campaign some coverage on Tuesday nights election results show. There is also a very good interview with Dick Clark who is chair of the Alabama Libertarian Party and a candidate for House District 79.

Good stuff!
WATCH IT HERE

Next Steps for the Nall Camp

Dear All,

Now that the primaries are over and I know without a doubt who my opponents will be in this election it is time to start campaigning in earnest.

First though, I want to address the question that will be asked of me ten thousand times in the coming days.

"Are you disappointed that you did not get ballot access and do you think the ballot access restrictions are unfair?"

Yes and Yes.

However, I knew when I entered this race that ballot access success was highly unlikely. Even if I had thousands of volunteers and tons of money that is NO GUARANTEE that the SoS office would have certified me to be on the ballot. One of the reasons I am running this race is to draw attention to the ballot access laws.

But, I did what I could with what volunteers and money I had and I am not disappointed in the number of signatures we collected. If Judge Myron Thompson had ruled fairly in our case we would have had until the run-off to turn in sigs. But he didn't.

Being that I am not much of a stickler for rules, dropping out of this race because I didn't meet the requirements set by the opposition would make me look as though I accept those rules as fair. I do not.
And, since I am a fighter and not a whiner, now is the time to start swinging hard.
It comes down to this. Alabamians who wish to vote for me can still do so by writing my name in on the ballot and I can still win the election. So, do not despair.

So, what is next for the Nall camp? Ads. Almost every dollar raised from here on out will go to television and radio ads and I have some doosies in mind...the likes of which the voters of Alabama have never seen before. I am not going to ask for more money right now. I have enough left over from ballot access to get the first ad started. I will release that ad to my supporters via email when it is done and if they like it then hopefully they will be willing to continue supporting me as a write-in candidate.

I am taking a couple of days off (yeah right) to reaquaint myself with my family. I want everyone to know how wonderful and supportive they have been and I want to thank them for their sacrifices, of which there have been many, to get me to this point. Terry, Alex & Bell...I love you more than life.

I am available via phone or email should anyone need me between now and Friday.

.

Nall, "I'm Not Dropping Out"

By PHILLIP RAWLS
Associated Press Writer
June 05. 2006 4:07PM

The colorful Libertarian Party nominee for governor, Loretta Nall, said Monday she will run as a write-in candidate after failing to get enough signatures to get her name on the general election ballot.

"I'm not dropping out," Nall said.

Tuesday is the deadline for third-party candidates to turn in voters' signatures to the secretary of state to get ballot access for Nov. 7. Nall needed 41,300 signatures to get on the general election ballot. She said she and her supporters collected between 10,000 and 15,000 signatures, which she plans to turn in Tuesday to make a point about Alabama having one of the nation's toughest ballot access laws for third parties.

"In almost any other state, that would have been enough to get ballot access," she said.

Nall, who founded the U.S. Marijuana Party after her misdemeanor arrest for marijuana in 2002, has already proven to be a colorful addition to the gubernatorial contest even without ballot access. Her Web site discussions about why she doesn't wear panties and her animated fundraising gimmick, "Stripping for Cash," have attracted about as much attention on the Internet as the mainstream candidates.

Nall said she plans to keep attracting attention by developing campaign ads that are a parody of the MTV show "Celebrity Death Match." Candidates will try to knock off each other with over-the-top campaign promises, like trying to prove who hates homosexuals the most, she said.

"I have the best time with these idiots," she said.
----------------------

Thanks Phil! :)

Google Loretta Nall

Blogs: Loretta Nall

News: Loretta Nall

Web: Loretta Nall

If you are trying to reach me...

Over the weekend, while I was in Montgomery visiting my comatose brother some lowlife piece of swine swiped my handbag.

My handbag contained all of my credit cards, a campaign checkbook, about $3000 worth of campaign related receipts and my new Palm Treo 650. I have been able to cancle all of the cards and the service to the phone but I am without a cell phone until Wednesday.

If any of you out there are trying to reach me you'll have to use email or the landline. 251-650-2271

I won't get on a rant about thieving bastards...all I gotta say is my phone has GPS tracker and we will find you.


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Ballot Access War...The Final Battle

Dear Supporters,

We are down to the wire on collecting enough signatures to have my name as the Libertarian Party candidate for Governor placed on the November ballot. On primary day, June 6, 2006 I have to submit 41,300 registered voter signatures to the Alabama Secretary of States office by no later than 5 p.m. in order to qualify.

I am going to take a few paragraphs here and bitch loudly about how unfair and unconstitutional this is to all of us. Whether you love me, hate me or have no particular strong feeling about me either way, you are being prevented from voicing your opinion at the polls with regard to my candidacy. The state thinks you are too stupid to make a reasonable choice for governor when there are more than two candidates, therefore they must prevent at all costs, any additional choices aside from Republocrat.

When you look at the choices you are likely to have come November 7, 2006, you'll see that there is virtually no difference between them.

* They all claim to love Jesus more than their opponent and they are dead set on making you love Jesus too.

* They all claim to hate homosexuals more than their opponent and they are dead set on making you hate homosexuals as much as they do.

* They all oppose Initiative & Referendum and a Constitutional Reform Convention. Some have even said that they do not trust the voters to make their own choices.

* They are all Federal Government Lovers and will bend us all over their pork barrels and shaft us mightily for a Government dollar.

* They are all against any sort of meaningful drug policy and prison reform. They are content to keep wasting money, creating crime and social chaos, locking up children for nothing more than a little youthful indiscretion and destroying family units while drug use continues to rise.

* They are content to turn our state into one of cops and inmates...simply choose which side of the gun you will be on....all on our dime. They steal our money and hold it hostage in order to force us to create laws that we would not otherwise choose for ourselves.

* They are all pro-Iraq War and are content to continue shipping our kids off to the meat grinder when we could eaisly produce the fuel we need in Alabama from renewable resources. Notice few if any of their own children are fighting this war.

* They are all content to allow Washington D.C. spy on you and violate every constitutional right and civil liberty granted by the Constitution without so much as a squeek of protest.

What makes me really angry is the fact that people like Larry (I hate Niggers, Jews, Fags, Christians and Mexicans) Darby, Joe (free vasectomies & tubaligations for all especially non-whites) Copeland and Harry (Hey, let's have public hangings of Mexicans) Lyons, all get AUTOMATIC access to the ballot because they decided to align with the Democrats (whether the Democrats wanted them or not).
(Gawd there are fruitcakes like this running and they say I'm stoned!)

I have to say here that the whole Larry Darby infiltration of the Democratic Party is an absolute scream. For the record, I do not endorse Larry Darby. I find his white supremacist/Holocaust denial/shoot illegal immigrants/reawaken white awareness views nothing less that repugnant and offensive. He and I both agree on drug policy and are both Atheist but the similarities end there. He is a very bad representative of both those noble causes IMHO.

Having said that I now want to stress that this is exactly what the Democrats deserve for being a willing party to enacting such restrictive ballot access laws. They keep everyone out except the people who claim to be like them and what they get is someone joining them who claims to be like them and then reveals their true intent when it is too late to do anything about it.
Ha!! You Bastards...that is EXACTLY what you deserve. I feel absolutely NO SYMPATHY!

See, if we had fair ballot access laws then people like Larry Darby, Joe Copeland and Harry Lyon could get on the ballot as say the "Hateful Cracker Bastards Party" and never have to infiltrate another party and embarass them to this degree.

This is poetic justice if ever there was though. This is their shit...perhaps they should be ashamed of what they have eaten. ( Note: The Republicans deserve it too but no one infiltrated their ranks this go round...maybe next time).

If you feel you are grown-up enough to cast your vote for Governor even when there are more than two choices on the ballot, then put on your big girl, anti-state panties and print, sign & mail this petition TODAY!! Get your friends, loved ones, co-workers and everyone else who is registered to vote to sign it as well. I have to have all petitions by mid-day June 6.

If you can't do that then MAKE A CONTRIBUTION to my ballot access drive. I'll be able to collect a great deal more signatures on primary day if I can pay petitioners to work the polls.

If you want my name on the ballot this is literally the last chance you have to see that it appears there. This is the Last Call for Ballot Access for Nall and it is now up to you Dear Freedom Lovers to get me there and here are your tools to do it.

Print, Sign & Mail this petition TODAY!!

or

MAKE A CONTRIBUTION to my ballot access drive.

With your help my name will appear on the November ballot. Let's make this a real election with NEW IDEAS from the only candidate who truly represents everyday Alabamians.

Your Compatriot in the Fight for Liberty,
Loretta Nall
Vote Nall Y'all...It's Just Common Sense



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Now...that's interesting

Survey: State GOP and Demos favor work permits over deportation
Montgomery Advertiser


BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Statewide surveys of Republicans and Democrats who plan to vote Tuesday show that about half in each party favor granting work permits to illegal immigrants, while about one-third favor deportation.

Larry Powell, a pollster who conducted the survey, said that Alabama voters in the two political parties are in "remarkable agreement" on the illegal immigrant issue, which has sparked debate in Montgomery and in Congress.

Powell, a communications studies professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, conducted the survey for The Birmingham News, FOX6 television in Birmingham and WAFF-TV in Huntsville.

Both the Democratic and Republican respondents were asked, "If you had to make a choice, would you favor deporting all illegal immigrants, or would you favor allowing them to obtain work permits and stay in America as long as they pass a security check?"

Granting work permits to illegal immigrants was favored by 50 percent of Republican respondents and 51 percent of Democrats. Deportation was favored by 36 percent of Republicans and 34 percent of Democratic respondents.

The surveys of 400 registered voters planning to vote in the GOP primary and 400 planning to vote in the Democratic primary were taken May 29-June 1. The surveys had a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.

Among subgroups, where the margin of error can be greater, the surveys overall found that 42 percent of whites favored deportation but only 20 percent of blacks favored deportation.

---
Now, I find this fascinating because according to this article from last month I am the only candidate who advocates absorbing the immigrants instead of deporting them and using the National Guard on the border with our peaceful neighbor. The Republocrats are out of touch with half of those in their own party it seems.

Vote Nall Y'all...It's Just Common Sense

Endorsements

For tomorrows Primary I have a few endorsements I would like to make.

Ed Packard gets my endorsement for Secretary of State. Ed is one of the guys who wears a white hat and he firmly believes in easing the ballot access restrictions to make our election process more open and easier to participate in.
Please vote for Ed Packard against Nancy Worley for the democratic candidate for Secretary of State of Alabama.

Sheriff David Warren in Macon County gets my endorsement because of his honesty in addressing drug war issues at the Candidate Forums on May 21, 2006. This gentleman spoke to voters about what is really happening and I believe he would be very receptive to some alternative to prison programs in Tuskegee, AL.

John Tyson gets my nod for Alabama Attorney General. I don't particularly like him or any of his hardcore "I've put 25,000 people in jail in my career" (as if that is something to be proud of) or his "Let's medicate school children" policies but he beats the hell out of "King Troy" and racist Larry Darby. My friends in the Democratic party tell me Tyson is likely to be more willing to work with decrim and and other solutions to our prison crisis.

I also endorse Rep. Laura Hall of Huntsville. She is a scrapper inthe state house and the Rep. who was ballsy enough to introduce and fight tooth and nail for The Compassionate Care Act.

I endorse Alvin Holmes for rep. in Montgomery. Alvin may not always be right but he sure keeps folks on their toes. I also enjoy his sense of humor and will always remember how he whipped up on Rep. Gerald Allen about the gay marriage ban on For the Record.

I endorse John Rogdgers in BHAM for state rep. Rep. Rodgers is a character who is firmly on our side on most issues.

I endorse Randy Hinshaw for state Rep. Mr. Hinshaw spoke at the Libertarian Party conventin in Montgomery this year (he's a Democrat) and he is very supportive of easing the ballot access restrictions.

I'm not in the primary race because I do not have an opponent in the Libertarian Party. However, if you wish to write my name in for fun in the Governor slot please feel free to do so.

That's all I have for now but may add more as the day goes on.






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Loretta Nall & Roberta Franklin

Just thought I'd share a recent photo of Roberta Franklin and me.
For those of wondering how Roberta is doing I can attest to the fact that she is doing just fine and sends her love to all of you.



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Vote NO on Amendment 1

I am asking all of my supporters who plan to vote in the primary, and I sincerely hope all of you plan to vote in the primary, to vote NO on Amendment 1.

I am so disgusted that this is even an issue. Why don't people understand that the authority to license implies the power to prohibit? We do not need the State’s permission to marry. It is an inherent human right.

Black’s Law Dictionary defines "license" as, "The permission by competent authority to do an act which without such permission, would be illegal." We need to ask ourselves- why should it be illegal to marry without the State’s permission?

If we give the state power to ban same sex marriage we also give it the right to one day ban or otherwise restrict heterosexual marriage. It works both ways see? Our freedoms are one in the same, regardless of how we choose to exercise them.

One day as a result of this ill-conceived, emotion based nonsense we might see a law banning blondes from marrying brunetts or redheads from marrying people with black hair, or fat people prohibited from marrying skinny people.

Yeah I know that sounds crazy but, keep in mind that anti-miscegenation laws were not completely repealed until November 2000, when Alabama (wouldn't you know it?!) became the last state to repeal its law. According to Salon.com:

...after a statewide vote in a special election, Alabama became the last state to overturn a law that was an ugly reminder of America's past, a ban on interracial marriage (sic). The one-time home of George Wallace and Martin Luther King Jr. had held onto the provision for 33 years after the Supreme Court declared anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional. Yet as the election revealed -- 40 percent of Alabamans voted to keep the ban -- many people still see the necessity for a law that prohibits blacks and whites from mixing blood.

This issue is nothing more than discrimination through legislation. It boils down to the legislature creating another class of "niggers" to step on and scapegoat for all of societies ills. I'll have none of it. Alabama desperately needs to move away from the politics of hate and into a climate of "mind your own damn business."

I don't want the government in my bedroom or in my personal life in any way and I will fight tooth and nail to keep them out of the bedrooms and personal lives of all consenting adults residing in the State of Alabama.

Tell the bureaucrats to mind their own business.
VOTE NO ON AMENDMENT 1!

Feature: Drug Reformers Take the Third Party Path in Bids for Statewide Office

Loretta Nall

6/2/06

Frustrated by the two major parties' indifference -- if not downright hostility -- toward ending the decades-old war on drugs, at least three prominent drug reform leaders have launched bids for statewide office as third party candidates. In Alabama, US Marijuana Party founder Loretta Nall is running for governor on the Libertarian Party ticket. In Connecticut, the state's most prominent drug reformer, Cliff Thornton of Efficacy is running for governor as a Green. And in Maryland, Common Sense for Drug Policy's Kevin Zeese is running a unity campaign under the banners of the Green, Libertarian and Populist parties.




While the odds of any of them actually winning their races are long, all three told DRCNet they are in it to win -- and to show the major parties they risk voter defections if they fail to address growing public disaffection with the drug war. And while none of them are so far being accorded the dignity of having their candidacies measured by major opinion polls, all hope to break that barrier between now and November.

Down in Alabama, Loretta Nall is adding pizzazz to a campaign already replete with notable characters -- one of the leading Democratic contenders, former Gov. Don Seigelman, will be in court on corruption charges on next week's primary day. Challenging Gov. Bob Riley for the Republican nomination is former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, who hopes to transform his stance against the Constitution and in favor of placing the 10 Commandments in courthouses into a path to the statehouse. Early polls show Riley defeating both Moore next week and either of the Democrats in November.

In Alabama, Nall will be facing off against the two major party candidates to be decided next week -- if she can get enough signatures to get on the ballot by primary day, June 6. "Right now, I'm focusing all my energy and money on getting signatures. It's going to be a nail biter," she said. "The Republicans and Democrats don't have to gather signatures, but third parties do, and if we get on the ballot and don't get 20%, the party loses its status and has to re-qualify with more signatures," she said.

For Nall, it all started with drug policy, and the issue remains central to her campaign.

"Drug policy is a huge part of my campaign and I don't back away from it. After all, I got my start from the cops kicking down my door," she said, referring to the minor pot bust that started her on down the path to activism. "I work it into all my speeches; it's the first thing I talk about in candidate forums. Because the drug war is so pervasive, I can connect it with all sorts of issues."

Nall is working other issues as well, running as a pro-immigration reform and anti-Patriot Act and Real ID Act candidate, but the media is fascinated with her drug policy stance, she said. "People want to know where I stand on issues like immigration and education, but the reporters always want to ask about drugs. The public knows where I am on drug policy."

Although running under the Libertarian banner, Nall doesn't quite fit the mold. "I'm a libertarian, but not a big L one. In fact, I find myself agreeing with liberal Democrats more than anybody. I would say I'm liberal socially and conservative fiscally," she said. "I want our Alabama National Guard troops out of Iraq, and that resonates -- if the rednecks down here are tired of whipping brown skinned peoples' asses [Iraqis], Washington needs to take notice," she said. "We also need to make biodiesel a big issue -- we can't afford this $2.50 a gallon for gas business. And we need education reform and Washington out of our classrooms."

In Connecticut, Cliff Thornton is facing off against Republican Gov. Jodi Rell and Democratic challenger Dannel Malloy, the mayor of Stamford. Things are off to a good start, he told DRCNet. "The campaign is going pretty well, although we don't have a lot of money in the coffers," said Thornton. "We've been getting great media attention and real good articles. Since I announced in January, we've had pretty close to an article a week somewhere in the state. The media likes what I'm saying."

The mainstream candidates aren't addressing key issues, Thornton said, and part of his role is to redirect the focus. "I want to get these people to talk about the issues," he said. "How many people are talking about the war in Iraq? How many people are talking about the war right here? How many people are talking about the race issue?"

For Thornton, who has made a career of calling for an end to prohibitionist drug policies, hammering at the issue makes perfect sense. "Drug policy is a big part of my campaign. That's what I'm known for. Cliff Thornton and drug policy do not separate. After all, drug policy is two degrees from everything. Transportation issues and full health care for all in Connecticut are not drug policy issues, but again we're talking about the money. Programs don't happen because we're spending money on the drug war."
So what does Thornton talk about? "I definitely talk about what we did in Hartford and the white paper that resulted," he said, referring to last fall's symposium bringing together Connecticut political and law enforcement leaders, public health experts, and drug law reformers and the progressive drug policy positions that resulted from that conference. "I also tell them that cannabis should be legalized, that we should have heroin maintenance, and that drug use should be de-stigmatized. This is a public health problem, not a law enforcement problem."

He also talks about crime. "We've had 16 shootings since last Wednesday," he noted. "They're saying they're not directly drug-related, but all these people are coming from drug-infested areas. You have to ask how many of these kids that did these shootings had parents in prison or in the drug trade. How many of them saw the cops continually harassing people?" he said. "The mayor and police chief are talking the same old talk, but you can't just keep doing the same old failed thing over and over again. We've been at the drug war for a century, and we just keep doing the same thing and getting the same results. How can we expect things to change if we just keep doing the same thing?"

Thornton is running as a Green, and beyond advancing the drug policy agenda, he also wants to make the Greens a viable alternative in Connecticut. "As drug policy reformers, we're way ahead of the local party people," Thornton said. "The Greens couldn't get the press to pay attention, but I know how to get the press." If only he could be as successful in fundraising, he said. "We're not so good at that; we've only got about $30,000."

Thornton acknowledged that his prospects for victory are slim, but said he expected to show well. "I want to garner between 10% and 25% of the vote in November. The key is to show that you can lead and win with drug policy reform," he said.

In Maryland, Zeese, a veteran of the 2004 Ralph Nader presidential campaign, is up against Democratic contenders Rep. Ben Cardin and former NAACP head Kweisi Mfume and Republican candidate Lt. Gov. Michael Steele in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Paul Sarbanes. Early polling shows Cardin leading Steele by 10 points, while Mfume versus Steele is currently a dead heat. In a close race, a Zeese candidacy could make the difference.

"I'm running on issues of peace, justice, democracy, and prosperity, and the drug issue comes in under justice," said Zeese. "I always mention it. I always mention that Maryland has the most racially unfair drug enforcement system. Of our drug prisoners, 90% are African-American. This is selective enforcement, and we also saw that when Maryland became one of the first states to be sued by black drivers for racial profiling," he said. "But this is an issue that really comes up only with African-American audiences. With white audiences, it's probably more a negative than a positive."

Except, perhaps, on college campuses. "Drug policy reform resonates well on campus," he said. "When I address an audience, I always ask what they want to talk about. Almost always, it's the Patriot Act, Iraq, the deficit, corporate power, but on college campuses, they want to talk about the war on drugs and they want to talk about weed."

For Zeese, the campaign is much broader than drug policy. "I focus a lot on the Iraq war, the divide between rich and poor, and the corruption of our political system," he said. "I talk about how people feel unrepresented, and I hit my common themes on justice issues, civil liberties, the Patriot Act, and the drug war, but the two big issues are war and peace and rich and poor."

Zeese rejected the notion that third party candidacies are "spoilers," and he chided the drug reform movement for not backing his campaign. "I'm always appalled by drug reformers who support Democrats who support the drug war," he said. "We complain about spineless Democrats and then we vote for them. It's really asinine for drug reformers to think the Democrats are going to be their saviors. You're voting for people who want to put your friends and families in jail. Can anyone point me to the Democratic Party's leadership on drug reform? The drug reform movement is showing its level of political maturity by not getting involved in this race," he said. "If you want to talk about spoilers, for the drug reform movement, the spoilers are the two main parties."

Zeese has no illusions about his prospects. "Winning would be a real long shot, but that's what it's about, and it's a lot like pushing boulders uphill. It's a constant battle to be taken seriously," he said, noting that he is beginning to get some mainstream press attention. "I would like to win this battle, but I think I would be successful if I can create a three-way race where I'm included in the polls and debates and my impact on the race is clear," he said. "If I do well, that will be a signal to the parties they are out of touch with the voters." .