Alabama Gubernatorial Forum Recap

Lost in Montgomery has an excellent and entertaining recap of the first Alabama Gubernatorial Forum leading up to the 2010 election.

After reading it all I can say is the field of candidates is just sad.

Marc Emery Farewell Tour

Marc Emery and Loretta Nall

My mentor and very close friend Marc Emery is on a farewell tour of Canada before he turns himself in at the US/Canada border on September 19 and pleads guilty to trafficking marijuana. He is expected to spend at least five years in a US Federal prison.

For those of you unfamiliar with the case The Drug War Chronicle has a great piece on it today. Please read and leave your comments.

Marc never actually sold marijuana in the US and, for all practical purposes, never sold actual marijuana at all. He sold seeds. From Canada. And was arrested by our wonderful "Land of the Free" government, courtesy of your US tax dollars. Don't that make you proud to be an American? We have so few real problems and dangerous criminals here in the good ol' USofA that we can afford to expend our resources arresting citizens of other countries for selling seeds. It's political and Marc Emery will be a political prisoner.

With the millions of dollars Marc made selling seeds he funded the marijuana movement all across the globe. And that's why the DEA arrested him. For being an outspoken advocate for changes in the marijuana law and for pumping millions of dollars into agitating the government in a peaceful, non-violent way. DEA chief Karen Tandy admitted as much in the press release about Marc's arrest in 2005.

I am planning to organize a Free Marc Emery gathering on Sept. 19, possibly in Birmingham. I'll post more details about that as things come together. I'll also be writing more in the coming days on my relationship with Marc through the years, how much he means to the movement and to me and what we can all do to try and get the Canadian government to let him serve his time in a Canadian federal prison instead of a US federal prison.

Vote Roy Moore Or I'll Kick Your Ass With A Bible

Chuck Norris Endorses Roy Moore for Governor of Alabama

Norris endorsed Mike Huckabee for President in 2008. Huckabee didn't win. Let's hope that trend continues.

Troy King as Forrest Gump

Finally some action in the Attorney General race.


Luther Strange said: Attorney General Troy King should reimburse the state for any tax money spent on private lawyers to represent his office in a federal grand jury investigation.


Troy King responded: "My father always told me you never make yourself any bigger by tearing another man down."

Good grief TK this is politics...all y'all do is tear each other down in order to distract the public from the very real problems we have and to keep from having to address those problems.

This is going to be a fun race. I can't wait to see Troy get stomped! I see helium-filled sex pigs in Troy King's campaign trail future.

Loretta, You Leave Kay Ivey Alone You Mean Old Atheist !

Back a couple of years ago State Treasurer Kay Ivey and I had a small skirmish about the Separation of Church and State. My son was attending an event with other high school kids from across the state and Mrs. Ivey was one of the speakers. She touted her faith as important to her and gave it credit in her success in life.

I had no problem with that. Everyone in this country is free to express their religion. Unfortunately, Mrs. Ivey decided to go further than simple expression of her faith and ridicule non-believers referring to them as 'ooze that needed to crawl back under the rock it came from'.

And as you can probably guess that really pissed me off.

I wrote her office and demanded an apology. And I got a half-assed non-apology apology from Mrs. Ivey.

Now, every so often someone will post a comment on the original post and say things like the following...

Stop making such a big deal and being a baby. Those are here beliefs and she was just stating them. She doesn't owe your son anything. If you don't like her don't vote for her next election.. but stop bitching it's not a big deal.

And those comments leave me wondering what planet the person posting it might hail from. It's like they can't understand the difference between someone expressing their beliefs and someone attacking others for their beliefs or lack there of. There is a big difference. As I stated in the opening of this post, if Kay Ivey had stopped at expressing her faith that would have been fine. But when she ridiculed every kid in the audience who didn't share her faith, going so far as to call them 'ooze' she crossed a very serious line. And she admitted guilt because she "apologized".

These same people who post comments like that would go absolutely ape shit if an Atheist in a position of power and presiding over a captive audience of public school students had dared even express their lack of faith much less ridicule others for having a faith. Can you imagine the uproar? Alabamians would have the poor Atheist stoned to death in the public square.

Yet, they will defend with their last breath their right to ridicule others for not sharing their faith. They think they can run over everyone else because there are more of them. I'd like to remind them that might does not equal right and that my freedom to not believe in their imaginary sky wizard is the same freedom they exercise to believe in the sky wizard. Tinkering with or encouraging suppression of my freedom is doing the same thing to their own freedom.

What about that concept do these kinds of "Christians" not get? I mean it's a simple concept right? It's not rocket science.

Argentina Decriminalizes Marijuana

Argentina Court Ruling Allows for Personal Possession

This is the third Latin American country to see the light this year. Brazil was first, followed by Mexico and now Argentina.

They keep this up and they just may see white people streaming across the other way at the border. I doubt they would build walls to keep us out either.

Mexico Legalizes Personal Possession of Drugs

Mexico legalizes small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin


The maximum amount of marijuana for "personal use" under the new law is 5 grams—the equivalent of about four joints. The limit is a half gram for cocaine, the equivalent of about 4 "lines." For other drugs, the limits are 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams for methamphetamine and 0.015 milligrams for LSD.

Mexico has emphasized the need to differentiate drug addicts and casual users from the violent traffickers whose turf battles have contributed to the deaths of more than 11,000 people since President Felipe Calderon took office in late 2006.

Now if only Americans were as smart as Mexicans. Alas, I'm afraid we are not.

What Luck!

Yesterday I wanted to drop a class I didn't need and try to pick up one I needed. Most of the classes I needed were full before I registered, so I had to fill my schedule with other stuff in order to attend full time. The class I wanted to drop was a computer class taught in the evening...and I did not want to be in class until 8 pm. I wanted to either drop it and pick up English 101 or Psychology and, if that wasn't possible, I wanted to at least try and take the computer course online.

Well wonder of wonders...not only did I get to drop the computer class and pick up English 101, I found out the instructor is the same one I had for the Summer term. She wasn't supposed to be teaching a 101 this term but as luck would have it she is. She is a wonderful instructor and I am thrilled to be having her again.

Classes have gone well this week. I love the speech class. The instructor of that class is also very good. And he is an Agnostic to boot! Next Monday all students have to do a three minute introductory speech about who they are and what their background is. I'm really looking forward to that. I've always enjoyed public speaking.

Biology class is a different matter altogether. That stuff is challenging! It's like learning a whole new language and the complicated mechanisms of an incredibly complex machine all at the same time. And the instructor flies through it. I get the feeling this class will be one of rote memorization and hours and hours and hours spent with my nose in my notes. I also have to dissect a cat, which I am not really looking forward to. I love kitties. I have no interest in knowing what they look like on the inside though.

Audio: Loretta Nall on Cultural Baggage

For those of you who may have been unable to listen to me co-host Drug Truth Network's Cultural Baggage on Sunday evening here is the audio file .

Emails from a Canadian in Singapore

You'll all remember last week when it came to light that Georgia Rep. Tommy Benton (R-Jefferson) told a constituent that he would like to see marijuana users caned (like they do in Singapore) and marijuana businesspeople executed. Rep. Benton then forwarded his email conversation with his constituent to the local sheriff's office in an attempt to intimidate and frighten his constituent.

Yesterday I received two emails from a Canadain living in Singapore and teaching at an International School. I thought I'd share them with you. I have removed the name for privacy reasons.

Hi,

I currently teach at an international school in Singapore, the place your wacko politico Tommy Benton wants to emulate, and I can say that in the international high schools weed is certainly available, albeit not cheap (US$40/gram).

Singapore is hardly a model to borrow from, a society of docile, brainwashed drones who live in constant fear of speaking out against their government.

Tommy Benton is a war criminal, or at the very least he aspires to be
one, so on that note perhaps we should cane him first to set an example
to others who would chain the herb and hurt the people.

And here is the email our friend in Singapore sent to Rep. Tommy Benton.


As an international school teacher currently living in Singapore I can
say with certainty that at the high school level cannabis IS freely
available to students here, and while there is no significant "drug problem" per se,
that is a function of local culture, not of gov't policy, since cannabis
would not be in widespread use even were it legal here (the problems
here are general, widespread fear of speaking out on political
issues, and a living in a society of docile, brainwashed drones who are
amongst the most selfish, inconsiderate, unhappy people I have ever encountered in
my 11 years of overseas living)

Furthermore, their use of caning is a punishment that requires no justification from the gov't here since it is a fairly intolerant and cruel dictatorship, giving uncritical military and political support to the Burmese generals who educate their children here as well as deposit their billions in stolen $$$ into Singapore banks.

That said, criminal prohibition is a clear risk factor for youth, and leads to increased harm, as you will realize if you are intellectually capable of following the argument made in the attached document.

As a committed member of his local church it is clear that he has not actually read the bible much, as Genesis 1:23 unambiguously asserts that all plants
are given to us from our maker.

Death penalty and caning? Perhaps the rep. would consider being amongst
the first test cases...

As for passing along the names to police of any who oppose him, I would
suggest he refer to the final pages of the attached paper, which clearly
indicate that he is associated with and highly supportive of some very
deep and systemic professional teaching ethics violations, but reason
and ethics don't appear to matter much to a man who has already ignored
the very first book of the bible he claims to worship, do they...?

Tommy Benton is perhaps best at illustrating the bigotry and
intellectual sloppiness inherent in American society today, and if he
were to get a passport and see Singapore for himself he would see that
it ranks about 140th of 160 countries in terms of press freedom, a place
where, similar to his own values, the wet cane and the truncheon take
the place of reason and wisdom...

What a frightening farce you people are.


I am still working to get an action going in Georgia. Will post here when things are confirmed.

Back to School

The Fall term at Central Alabama Community College starts today and I am taking a full load. Actually, it is a bit more than a full load as I am taking 14 hours instead of the customary 12. This term I have the following courses.

Art Appreciation (ugh!)
Human Anatomy & Physiology
Micro Computer Applications (probably dropping that one because it is in the evening)
CPR
Fundamentals of Oral Communication

I plan to try and swap the art class for an English 101, and the Micro Computer class for another math or a psychology. I didn't get the classes I wanted and if I can't change my schedule it will be at least two more terms before I have all the prerequisites to get into nursing school. If I have to wait that long I'll probably go ahead and get an RN license as I will have enough credits.

Loretta Nall to Co-Host Drug Truth Network TONIGHT!

Tonight at 6:30 p.m. CST I will be co-hosting The Drug Truth Network Hour with fellow reformer and sensational host Dean Becker. Dean and I will be discussing the zero-tolerance principal Ricky Nichols whose estranged wife was recently arrested for providing sex, alcohol and marijuana to one of Principal Nichols students, the Alabama State House Drug Dealer Scandal and Georgia Rep. Tommy Benton (R- Jefferson) who recently advocated caning marijuana smokers, executing marijuana business people and turned a constituents email over to police all because he disagree with constituents position on marijuana and the drug war.

Tonight is also a pledge drive for The Drug Truth Network. Dean Becker does a remarkable job spreading the truth about the drug war. He often has hapless drug warriors on his show to skewer live on the air. In his home base of Houston he's convinced many law enforcement officials of the failure of the drug war and won them over to the right side of the fight. His show airs on tons of networks across the nation. Please tune in and pitch in a contribution to Drug Truth Network tonight at 6:30 p.m. CST.

Tune in via the internet at KPFT

Below is a note from Dean.

This Sunday, on the Drug Truth Network hour we will interview Loretta Nall, reformer extraordinaire, playing some Cultural Baggage songs (and Shotgun Lobotomy as well, my last two bands before getting into drug reform/hosting radio shows), lots of satirical PSA's and asking for your pledge of support.

We have nearly 70 radio stations, but none of them pay me a dime and the mothership of DTN needs your support.

KPFT, Houston is one of the 5 Pacifica affiliates (and from my perspective the one that best follows Lew Hills intent.

(No listener calls on the air this week, but we do need to hear from, Toll Free across N. America, call in to 1-877-9-420-420

Please listen in Sunday, August 16 at 6:30 to 7:30 PM central time and call in your pledge to 713-526-5738.

Basic membership in the Pacifica Foundation is $25 for students and seniors, $35 for those in between.

Thanks for your show of support over the years. (8 Years this coming October)

Sincerely

Dean Becker
Producer - Drug Truth Network
Speaker - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
713-849-6869
Drug Truth Network

Other Georgia Lawmakers/Children Who Have Smoked Pot

Vote for this on REDDIT

In light of yesterday's disturbing email exchange between Rep. Tommy Benton (GA 31st Dist.) and one of his constituents I thought it might be fun to see who all would be caned in Georgia should any such ridiculous law be passed.

Let's start at the top.


Newt Gingrich would be caned. (Truthfully I'd kinda like to see that)

“Smoking marijuana was a sign we were alive and in graduate school in that era."
Former US Representative Newt Gingrich admitting that he smoked marijuana when he was in college.
Source: Hilary Stout, Wall Street Journal; 8/8/96
Nov. 7, 1987: GOP Rep. Newt Gingrich admits he tried marijuana “once at a party.”
Source: ABCNews.com Political Nation, Dodging the Drug Question. David Phinney. Aug. 19, 2001. Online. Available:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/DailyNews/prez_questions990819.html. Accessed: 10/24/02.)



Rep. Paul Broun, and his son, Paul Collins Broun III would be caned .The elder Broun admitted smoking marijuana in the past and his son was busted for possession recently. Whoever sold them the marijuana would be executed. Let's hope we never find out who that was. Rep. Broun is a colleague of Rep. Tommy Benton, the fine Southern gentleman, who is calling for caning and executing peaceful marijuana consumers and marijuana business people.

Hey Georgia folks....what other elected officials kids have been busted for pot?

Georgia Lawmaker Wants to KILL Your Children

Vote for this on REDDIT



From the NORML Blog

Georgia Lawmaker Calls for Caning, Executing Marijuana Offenders

State Republican lawmaker Tommy Benton (31st House District) favors caning minor marijuana offenders and executing those who sell the drug, according to a recent correspondence sent by the representative to a constituent.

In a July 29, 2009 e-mail (which was voluntarily forwarded to the NORML
office), Rep. Benton wrote: Thanks for the email. We will have to agree to
disagree on this and whether or not money is wasted (by mandating the state
to prosecute minor marijuana offenders). I am opposed to the legalization of
marijuana. I think we should go to caning for people caught using and maybe
execute dealers. [emphasis NORML's] That would solve the problem as well.
That is what they do in Singapore and they don¹t have a drug problem.²

Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of up to 24 violent
lashes with a long rattan cane that has been soaked in water. The procedure
inflicts intense pain and deep, bloody lacerations that can take several
months to heal.

Rep. Benton followed up his remarks in a separate e-mail on August 11 (also
forwarded to NORML) in which he threatened to turn over the names of
citizens who disagreed with his political viewpoints to local law
enforcement.

He wrote: You and your cronies want it (marijuana) legalized so you can get
a hit anytime without having to worry about getting arrested. I have
forwarded your email to the Lowndes County sheriffs [sic] office so that
they can be on the lookout for you. [emphasis NORML's] Consider this my last
correspondence on the the [sic] subject to you or anyone else who shares
your similar conservative views.

Benton was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2005.

If you are reading from Georgia and you are PISSED about this jack-booted thug running his pie hole to advocate for violence and death for cannabis consumers then you need to email me TODAY! lorettanall@gmail.com

Those of you in Georgia cannot simply sit by and let him advocate violence, torture and murder of peaceful citizens for their association with or political views on a PLANT. He needs to be jerked down a notch or ten by the people who elected him to office. If I lived in GA I would be camped outside his office with pictures of kids who have been busted for marijuana, including the children of his fellow lawmakers in the Georgia House and Senate. Along with pictures of our founding fathers and many of our former Presidents and the current one. I would tell anyone and everyone within earshot that Rep. Tommy Benton wants those people tortured and scarred for life or he wants them executed. I'd also tell them that Rep. Tommy Benton also wants any of their children, family members and friends who have smoked or sold marijuana tortured or killed.

We do not live in a third world dictatorship ruled by crazy despots. I know living in the South can sometimes seem that way....but only if you let assholes like this get away with advocating excruciating beatings with a cane that leaves lifelong scarring and execution of you and your fellow citizens for your association with a benign and very beneficial plant that grows naturally on this earth.

When did our elected officials become so almighty powerful that they can outlaw NATURE? In doing so they have elevated themselves above the very God that most of them claim very loudly every time they open their mouths, to believe in?

This is what is wrong with America. Used to be that we American's didn't much like authority figures. We didn't like to be told what to do. We didn't care much for moral crusades and complete government control over every aspect of our daily lives. That is why we fought a war to claim our Independence. That's why we drank more during alcohol prohibition than we do today and eventually got that horrible law repealed. Because we are born free Americans, by God, and we will live like free Americans and die like free Americans.

But something has happened to us as a country. If a person like Tommy Benton can get elected, spout hatred and advocate using the force of government to scar and execute people and use his position to NARC on a constituent for that constituents political views of a PLANT then we have lost a really big part of what it means to be an American. And we need to get it back. Yesterday! This isn't the first time I've come across elected officials who seem to think Singapore and China have better laws than we do. One drug court judge in Alabama advocated chopping off drug users heads like Chairman Mao did in China. I say if they like the Communist Dictator form of government more than they like Democracy, with its pesky due process laws and all, then they are free to haul their sorry, communist loving asses over there and live right away. I'll even help them pack.

In earlier American years Mr. Benton would have been run out of town for such views....or worse. Today this kind of UNAMERICAN ideology is everywhere. It's tolerated and I dare say even encouraged.

Rep. Benton needs to hear from the marijuana community from all across America. His contact information is below. I plan to call him and see if he will answer a few questions about his comments. I'll blog them if he does.

If you are in Georgia and interested in organizing a demonstration outside Tommy Benton's office then please contact me. lorettanall@gmail.com
I can give you ideas on what to do and might even be able to attend. The media needs to get wind of this. If you have any media contacts in Georgia then please alert them to what Benton said. You should be calling, emailing, visiting his office in person, writing letters to the editors and really pushing this issue into the spotlight. He does not need to be re-elected and the campaign to kick his Communist loving ass out of office begins today. Seriously if you are in GA then I need to hear from you.

Tommy Benton's contact information

404.656.0177 (State House)
tommy.benton@house.ga.gov

177 Martin Street
Jefferson, Georgia 30549

706.335.5519 - Office
706.367.5891 - Home
tommy.benton@house.ga.gov

Ok...This made me cry

Lost dog saves man with Down Syndrome

Back to School and a Birthday

Both of my kids start back to school today. Alex left yesterday to return to Mobile for his senior year at ASMS. We miss him already.

Bell starts 7th grade today. She isn't looking forward to it. Never does. Neither did I when I was a kid.

My babies are almost grown. It's very hard to believe and even harder to accept. How did this all happen so fast?

On top of all that today is my 35th birthday.

Troy King Pig Money

Mobile Press-Register Editorial Cartoonist J.D. Crowe graces us with another pig toon involving our favorite Attorney General Troy King.

Troy King Pig Money

Ya know Trixie the pig is looking a little well.....used these days.

Thanks for the shout out JD! I swear I don't think I will ever be able to top the pig incident. I'll keep trying though.

We're paying Troy King's Legal Bills??

What's wrong with this picture?

Alabama AG Troy King OK'd to spend more on attorneys to help respond to federal subpoena

MONTGOMERY -- An Alabama legislative committee has given state Attorney General Troy King approval to spend up to $100,000 on private attorneys to help his office respond to a subpoena from a federal grand jury.

The Legislature's Contract Review Committee initially approved $40,000 for the Birmingham law firm of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings last month. It increased the amount to $100,000 on Thursday.

So, Troy Boy lands in some trouble with the Feds. No one will say what that trouble is. And the citizen's of Alabama are stuck with the bill for defending him?

When regular citizens get into trouble with the law they have to PAY THEIR OWN LEGAL BILLS. Why is that not the case in this situation? Is it really fair that King can screw up and have the citizens foot his legal bills for him? Hell, forget fair...that isn't even sane.

Please vote this....you know I am out of words to describe him....OUT OF OFFICE in 2010.

PS..Our partner in crime JD Crowe is hinting that he will grace us with another masterful Troy King/Pig toon in Sunday's Press-Register.

Make Marijuana Legal

Fellow letter writer and friend Don Siebold had the following letter published in the Anniston Star today.

Make Marijuana Legal

Re "Marijuana gold mine" (Speak Out, July 31):

Letter writer Loretta Nall made a credible argument for legalizing marijuana in Alabama.

For some time I've been a proponent for legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes for those people who could benefit from it when prescribed drugs won't help them at all or as much.

It's time for our legislators to take off their blinders and do something constructive for Alabama and its residents, especially those who could benefit from using marijuana to help relieve their pain and suffering without fear of being jailed and branded as criminals.

We learned long ago that the prohibition of alcohol didn't work, so its use was made legal. Why shouldn't we do the same thing with marijuana when it could benefit patients, whereas alcohol doesn't? It likely would be less expensive to use than alcohol is if it were legal to use it.

Don Seibold
Wetumpka
----------

Great job Don! I hope many others are following suit.

Oh The Delectable Irony!

vote for this on REDDIT

Hey Kids,

Remember Principal Ricky Nichols from Moulton High School? You know...the one who put a NARC in his small high school and caught a teen boy selling dime bags to his friends? Nichols even participated in the raid at the boys home. That boy was Webster Alexander and through my efforts and the efforts of magazines like Cannabis Culture, High Times, and Rolling Stone and local media coverage his sentence was reduced from 26 years in an Alabama state prison to one year in the local county jail.

After that former sheriff deputy, part time national guardsman, and sometimes high school principal Ricky Nichols went off to serve two tours in Iraq. When he came back he decided that high school kids smoking pot were terrorists and instituted Operation Bounty Hunter where he would pay students $100 to snitch on each other. He even had a scary poster made.


I mean this guy has a real hard on for kids who engage in a little youthful indiscretion and dabble with pot. So, its no surprise that I find it absolutely HILARIOUS that his estranged wife, who was a clerk at the high school where they worked, has just been arrested and charged with giving alcohol and marijuana to a 16 year old student she was knocking boots with.....in Ricky Nichols bed.

Oh it's absolutely delicious!

Lewdness Charges Against 81 year-old MeMaw Dropped

Mobile Press-Register

According to the Mobile Press-Register lewdness charges against 81 year-old Lula Mae Battle, which came about because her bladder gave out and she could only make it to the bushes have been dropped by the city prosecutor Larry Wettermark.

City prosecutors moved Wednesday to dismiss the public lewdness charge brought against 81-year-old Lula Mae Battle for urinating in Bienville Square.

Larry Wettermark, Mobile's city attorney, said that upon further examination of her case, "it made no sense to prosecute her."

Prosecutors filed the motion to dismiss the charge following public outcry over her arrest, which was first detailed in Saturday's Press-Register.

"Thank you, Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!" Battle cried out Wednesday after learning the news.

Battle, at her home near downtown Mobile, said she hadn't heard yet from her attorney.

In anticipation of her trial and potential fine, Battle said, she had been saving money and hadn't been able to pay her phone bill, so the service was cut off.

"I was trying to save," she said.

"I ain't never been in trouble before," she said. "All I do is pray and go to church."

Bless her little heart. And thank goodness there was enough public outcry to bring the city prosecutor to his senses. Prosecuting a little MeMaw for having a bad bladder is a stain I would rather not have on Alabama. We have enough stains that scream DUMBASS already. The cop who arrested her ought to be made to pay her damn phone bill. She is too old to be without a phone.

Hemp in Alabama

A very nice follow up to my 'Marijuana Gold Mine" letter which appeared in the Anniston Star a few days ago. Thank you Gail Evans.

Hemp in Alabama
by our readers
Re "Marijuana gold mine" (Speak Out, July 31):

Writer Loretta Nall's letter about legalization of marijuana sparked several thoughts. Legalization would make sense, given the failure of the hugely expensive war on drugs.

Alabama is facing an economic meltdown. We have factories closing, workers laid off, people knocking themselves out to find employment where there are few, if any, jobs. Rural areas are suffering the most.

Should Alabama legalize cultivation of cannabis hemp, which contains no THC, it would be a tremendous boost to the state's economy. This crop is inexpensive to grow and harvest, using no commercial fertilizers or pesticides harmful to the environment, and the Alabama climate would allow three crops per year.

The harvested hemp requires processing before it is made into clothing, sheets, towels, paper, etc. Re-opening some of the abandoned cotton mills to process the fiber would lead to jobs for those who need them and increased tax revenue for the state. The green leaves could be processed as biomass for alternative fuels. The seed of the plant could be pressed for a nutritious oil (already included in many cosmetics and body care products), and the seed cake, which is high in protein, could be used to feed humans and livestock.

Every time I drive by a closed factory or an abandoned farm, I think how it might be different if our farmers were allowed to grow cannabis hemp.

Gail Evans
Bay Minette

Jeff Co. Sheriff Mike Hale begs Gov. for National Guard Troops

This is UNREAL!

Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale has begged Governor Riley to either fork over the cash to fund his bloated department or send in National Guard troops to serve as deputies.


"If state funding of deputies' salaries is not an option, then I must call upon you to activate the National Guard..." Hale wrote in the letter to Riley.

Mike Hale is out of his mind. I'm no legal scholar...but I believe Posse Comitatus would prevent that. Jefferson County is still part of the United States right?

Hale is worried that he won't be able to arrest and imprison his portion of the 2.6% of Alabama marijuana consumers arrested annually because of these budget cuts. He doesn't need to arrest them and maybe not being able to arrest them will make him aware of that. With the murder rate in Jefferson County one of the highest in the nation you'd think he wouldn't have time to do the street sweeps where 50 street corner dealers are hauled in.

UPDATE: Brian from Flashpoint just sent the following....

Only applies to National Guard when under federal control. It does not apply when the NG is under control of the governor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act


Putting troops on the streets is a phenomenally bad idea. Many of these men and women are just back from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, they are suffering from PTSD and do not need to be put in charge of civilian law enforcement. They haven't been trained as Sheriff deputies. If this happens I will predict that things will go very, very badly.

School Update

I finished the summer quarter at CACC here in Alex City. I am proud to report that I got A's in both my English and Math classes. Next term, which starts on Aug. 17, I will be taking Art Appreciation (boo), Biology 201, Computer Information Science, First Aid/CPR and Speech.

I have not made it into the nursing program yet. By the time I registered all but one of the courses required for admission into the nursing program were full. I wound up having to take a bunch of stuff I have absolutely no interest in (art) but managed to get a full course load and therefore all of my Pell Grant money.

Charges against 81 year old MeMaw May Be Dropped

It appears that at least one person in Mobile has an inkling of gumption. The City Attorney Larry Wettermark said he has no interest in prosecuting MeMaw for an accident.

Troy King Twitters

For those of you who might be unaware, our illustrious Attorney General Troy King is Twittering these days. http://twitter.com/TKtheAG
And the boy has tweeted some doosies...

My favorite so far


A morning filled with justice. Murderers and drug dealers kept in prison. This is what being Attorney General is all about.8:46 AM Jul 20th from TwitterBerry

Them's strong words for someone who is rumored to be very fond of CRACK!

Twitter on Troy Boy...Twitter on!

PS...Troy you are following John McCain twice.

More Legalization Letters

My letter regarding legalizing marijuana was published in today's Mobile Press-Register. It is also now available on to The Gadsden Times website.

I am very happy to see so many papers running this letter. The more we wave that $130 million dollars under the noses of elected officials during this cash crisis the better our chances are of actually seeing progress on this issue. They can't afford to lock us up anymore and they can't afford to ignore the huge amount of money that would be available to Alabama if only they would get their heads out of their asses and stop parroting government propaganda about marijuana.

Please write a letter in response to all of the ones that have been printed thus far. It has to be more than just me pushing this issue. If you believe that marijuana should be legal then you should be speaking out and backing me up.

Legalizing Marijuana Makes Sense

My recent letter to the editor concerning Legalizing marijuana and the amount of tax revenue it would generate was published in Saturday's edition of the Alexander City Outlook.

It was also published in the Gadsden Times but hasn't been posted to the website as of this morning.

Rep. DuWayne Bridges Calls for House Member Drug Testing

According to the Gadsden Times Rep. DuWayne Bridges (R- Valley) has called on all members of the Alabama House of Representatives to submit to drug testing. Bridges says he will also voluntarily submit to a drug test.

Interestingly enough, Speaker of the House Seth Hammett says Bridges is only calling for drug testing because it is an election year. You'll remember that Rep. Hammett resigned as Speaker of the House and said he would not seek reelection in 2010 the day after Rep. Alvin Holmes brought all of this to light. I read somewhere that Rep. Hammett said he wasn't really sure if he wanted further investigation into this matter and he made a statement through his spokesperson to the Montgomery Advertiser, but declined to be interviewed himself. Does that make him guilty of something? No. But it sure makes him look suspicious.

Normally I am against drug testing. But, in this case I think I can make a rare exception. After all, if a kid who wants to be in the band has to pee in a cup to prove their worthiness then, by all means, the members of the House and Senate should be drug tested. They should have been the first ones in line long, long ago. They are the ones who pass laws that put other people in jail for using drugs. They are the ones with their hands in everyone's pocketbook. Why have we allowed them to sit in judgment of us for so long without demanding that they be drug tested?

If the members of the Alabama House are drug tested then a hair test needs to be used. A urine test is too easy to manipulate. A hair test is much more effective for determining drug use.

Having said all that I still say we need to legalize marijuana. Today is good. Not only would it generate a huge amount of tax revenue for the state of Alabama it would also get rid of the need for anyone, other than maybe airline pilots, to have to pee in a cup for anyone other than their physician.

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81 Year old MeMaw arrested for bad bladder

This is SICK and makes the Mobile Police look like uncaring buffoons...which they obviously are.

A little 81 year old MeMaw with a really bad bladder was at her bank near Bienville Square in Mobile when nature called. The bank didn't have a bathroom so MeMaw set out for the nearest ones...the Port-a-Potties on the other side of the park. She didn't make it and when her bladder let loose she jumped in the nearest bushes, which, unfortunately were attached to a police substation in the park. An idiot cadet saw MeMaw, called for back up and MeMaw was arrested, booked, mug shot taken and charged with public lewdness. Now she is going to trial.

Do cops not have any decency at all? Hell do they not have any brains at all? You don't arrest MeMaw with her bad bladder for peeing in the bushes.

You. Just. Don't. Do. That.

If you have even a shred of human decency you turn your head and act like you didn't see her...you know give her a little privacy. If she sees you then you should immediately remove your coat or jacket or shirt and use it to cover her so no one else sees her. You don't call for back up and have MeMaw arrested ya fuckin' moron!.

It's a shame MeMaw didn't turn that little punk-ass cadet over her knee and wear him out. And the punk-ass cadet is damn lucky it wasn't my MeMaw he caught peeing in the bushes. Cannie P. Sapp would have beat his ass with his own baton.

This MeMaw is taking her case to trial. Oh what I would give to be on that jury!!

GO MEMAW!!!

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