Transcript of Alex Rochester's Arrest Report

Arresting Officer W.E. Cooper
Assisting Officer Cory Ligon

I was patrolling the area around the park at approximately 12:56 a.m. I noticed a vehicle parked in the parking lot. The vehicle was running and had two white male occupants. I noticed the strong smell of marihuana coming from the vehicle. Both occupants were extremely hard to wake up. I asked the front seat occupant for identification. He told me his name was John Alexander Rochester. He handed me his passport for identification. While he was looking for his passport he pulled a pipe out of his pocket. I had Mr. Rochester step out of the vehicle. While still in the vehicle he also pulled out a large amount of cash. While I patted him down outside the vehicle I removed the pipe and asked Mr. Rochester where the drugs were. He pointed to the center console and said there. I found a large cocaine rock in a plastic baggie. Also when looking in and around the center console I found one vial of powder cocaine and a small baggie of marihuana. Mr. Rochester also had another baggie of rock cocaine in his pocket. I placed Mr. Rochester in hand cuffs and sat him down on the ground. I also found out that Mr. Rochester had two outstanding warrants.

I got _________ out of the vehicle. He was covered up with a black jacket. I asked who owned the jacket. Mr. _______ claimed the jacket. In the front pocket of the jacket I found a small baggie containing 26 blue pills identified as Xanax. Mr. _____ was placed in hand cuffs and sat on the ground. All those actions took place after midnight. The park closes at 10 p.m.

Upon search of the vehicle we found a gift bag containing a 1 gallon bag of marijuana and four smaller bags of marijuana. Also in the gift bag was a black plastic bag containing 11 clear plastic bags of pills. These pills were identified as Extacy. Approximately 1100 pills. Bishop Wrecker was called to the scene and transported the vehicle to the sheriff's impound lot at the jail.

I transported Mr. Rochester to the Ashland Police Department. Deputy Cory Ligon transported Mr. _____ to the Ashland Police Department. Upon arrival at the police department Mr. Rochester was notified of his rights and signed a waiver. Mr. Rochester told me that he had fronted the Xanax to Mr. _____. I said fronted? He said yes he would pay me for them later. He stated that he had bought the Extacy tablets two weeks ago and sold them for $10 a pill. He stated he had purchased 2500 pills. He stated that it was bought in Atlanta. I asked about the marijuana. He stated that it was bought in Atlanta the previous day. He said he sold it for $60 a quarter bag. He stated that he would give up the manufacturer and distributor in Atlanta if the feds would take considerable time off his sentence.

He had 8 Klonopin .5 in his possession. He stated that he bought them for $4 a pill and sold them for $6 or $7 a pill. He also had 4 nitroglycerin tablets. I asked him what they were for. He stated in case anyone overdosed on the cocaine.

Also we found 2 sets of digital scales, one shaker, one pack of JOB 1.5 rolling papers, two straws were also found. One pack of Swisher Sweet Cigarillos, several packets of flavored EZ Roll tubes. One partially smoked blunt was found in the ashtray. One bottle of Johnny Walker Red Label Blended Scotch Whiskey was also found in the vehicle. Mr. Rochester made his statement and was booked on several felony charges and two misdemeanor charges. Mr. Rochester had $1149 on his person at the time of his arrest. It was counted in front of Mr. Rochester and verified. All items placed in evidence.

Help Keep Marc Emery in Canada

In less than a month the Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson will sign the extradition order handing Marc Emery over to American authorities to serve a 5 year prison sentence for selling marijuana seeds....in Canada. There isn't much time to try and stop this egregious miscarriage of justice. Do your part.

1) Please call the Canadian Minister of Justice, Rob Nicholson, and (politely) tell him that you and thousands of other Americans are opposed to Marc Emery's extradition to the USA: 613-992-4621.

2) Contact the Canadian Minister of Public Safety, Peter Van Loan, and tell him that if Marc Emery applies for a prison transfer from the USA to Canada, that the Minister should approve it right away. Feel free to describe the conditions in US prisons.

Phone: (613) 991-2924
Fax: (613) 954-5186
Email: communications@ps.gc.ca
Mail: 269 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0P8
Canada
-


Another very important thing you can do is write Marc Emery directly while he is awaiting transfer to the US. Please don't write him sad, sobbing, depressing letters. Those do not help his morale. Write him letters telling him what things you are doing to carry on his important work in legalizing marijuana and ending the horrors of the drug war.

Here's Marc's address

Marc Emery
c/o Fraser Regional Prison
1451 Kingsway Avenue
Port Coquitlam, BC
V3C 1S2

AL Judge's Drug Dealing Son, Alex Rochester, Walks Free

Last year I brought my readers the story of John Alexander Rochester who is the son of hanging Judge John Rochester of Alabama's 41st Circuit Court.

To refresh everyone's memory young Mr. Alex Rochester was busted in the Ashland City Park on March 1, 2008 and charged with trafficking drugs. The drugs he was charged with trafficking are as follows; Cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, ecstacy, meth and xanax.

The last we heard Alex Rochester had been ferried away, under his mothers skirts, to a posh treatment center called The Arbor where he was to remain for a year. Young Rochester's MySpace page states that he is currently in college. His Facebook page doesn't contain much but you can see a picture of him there.

Yesterday I was able to come by John Alexander Rochester's case file and, I hate to tell you, but what I predicted would happen has happened. No surprise really. Regular working folks kids go to prison for years and years on charges like this. The Judge's son gets off scot free.

John Alexander Rochester was allowed to plea all of the trafficking charges down to simple possession charges and he received five years probation. He is walking around free. The arrest report states that he and his friend were passed out at the Ashland City Park at 12:56 a.m. The arresting officer smelled marijuana and conducted a search. While Alex Rochester was attempting to pull his passport out of his pocket a pipe fell out. After the massive amounts of drugs were found Alex Rochester stated according to the police report that "He had bought the drugs in Atlanta and that he would give up the name of the supplier if the fed's would take considerable time off his sentence." Alex Rochester already had two warrants out for his arrest at the time of this arrest. Apparently Daddy never taught him to keep his mouth shut when the cops show up because Alex Rochester squealed like a little pig.

Here is what the case file says about the amount of drugs he was arrested with. You better sit down.

1. Two baggies, envelope, one vial, crack cocaine, powder cocaine Total: 32 grams (1 ounce give or take)
2. 1 gallon bag containing marijuana
3. 5 sandwich baggies containing marijuana. 4 were corners of bags packaged for resale.
4. 1100 Extacy pills in 11 baggies
5. 2 straws, 2 rolled up dollar bills and two pipes.
6. 26 Xanax pills


I'd bet my right arm that NEVER in the history of Alabama has anyone caught with that amount of drugs been allowed to plea down trafficking charges (clearly he was trafficking) to simple possession. And remember...all of those charges carried an additional 3 year mandatory minimum because the arrest occurred withing three miles of a school, church, day care center and public housing facilities. Hell, it happened in the Ashland City Park where all the little children play on the mini-monster trucks and monkey bars. I also wonder how many people are in jail or prison because they bought drugs from Alex Rochester and got caught?

Anyone else would have had bonds in the millions of dollars, had their face plastered all over the front page of the newspaper and would be serving decades in an Alabama prison. In this case, because Alex Rochester's daddy is a judge, he is treated like the fortunate son, given a slap on the wrist and set free. The Clay Times Journal printed only the police blotter when he was arrested and there has to date been absolutely no additional coverage of this major story in the paper.

The court system and the media have failed the citizens of those counties and really all the citizens of the State of Alabama. We expect fairness in our judicial system. Clearly our system has been subverted and the rules thrown out the window because it was a judge's son caught red handed TRAFFICKING HUGE AMOUNTS OF DRUGS.

However, I have a plan to make sure the majority of the citizens of Clay County and Coosa County are made aware of what has happened. I won't say what that plan is because I want it to be a really nasty surprise for the Rochester family. Don't want to spoil the anticipation for them.

Do stay tuned and please DIGG THIS

Damn Them All

Yesterday my close friend and mentor Marc Emery was taken into custody in Vancouver, British Columbia to await extradition to the US for selling pot seeds over the internet from Canada.

Marc Emery is now a political prisoner. Marc has never harmed anyone. Not one 'victim' from seed sales has ever stepped forward and claimed harm from Marc's activities. I have never felt more disgust and outright hatred for my country or my government than I do at this moment. They've taken the freedom of a very good man who has done nothing but help people.

DAMN THEM ALL!

Government Cruelty Knows No Bounds

Montgomery Advertiser - Widowed Cancer Survivor Fights Federal Land Seizure

A widowed cancer survivor faces the prospect of being homeless unless she can fight off federal seizure of her house and land.

Mara Lynn Williams' husband, Royce, killed himself in May while awaiting a verdict in a federal drug case against him.

The U.S. attorney's office accused Royce Williams of growing marijuana on his Chilton County land with the intent to sell it. They now are attempting to seize his land -- about 40 acres -- and the house where Mara Lynn Williams still lives.

Mara Lynn Williams, 56, said she didn't know that her husband was growing marijuana, and she said federal authorities should not be trying to take the land, which has been in her husband's family for generations.

"It is not morally right. My husband has paid with his life. What else do they want?" Williams said.

Read the rest of this story

Mr. Williams was a chronic pain patient and had survived many surgeries. He was growing marijuana for his own personal use.

Uh Oh...Somebody Fucked Up!

Jefferson Co. Drug Raid Nets 5 Pounds of Pot

But....in the picture it clearly shows 6 one pound bags of pot. See...


The cops clearly forgot to photoshop the picture of evidence.

Ever wonder how cops, who make less that $30,000 a year, can afford to drive corvettes, have luxury boats and live in two-story houses in rich neighborhoods? Here's your answer.

Vote for SNOOT in the cutest dog contest

I've entered my dog Saul (Mr. Snoot) in the cutest dog contest which is a charity event for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Here is the picture I used.



Please go to THIS LINK and vote for Snoot to win week 8 of the Cutest Dog Competition

Free Marc Emery Rally Birmingham, Alabama

Yesterday on September 19, 2009 cannabis activists rallied in cities all over the world in support of The Prince of Pot Marc Emery who will be extradited to the US on September 28, 2009 to be sentenced to a minimum of 5 years in a US Federal prison for selling pot seeds from Canada.

Make sense to you? No? Well, it doesn't make sense to us either.

Marc Emery will be a political prisoner.

Here is video from yesterday's protest in Birmingham. The weather was horrid. Pouring rain and 9000% humidity. Many, many thanks to the dedicated activists who didn't let a little rain stop them from being heard. The two songs I used in this video have special meaning to Marc and me. Every time I used to visit him in Canada he would pick me up from the airport and he would play "We Are the Champions" on the way back to his place.

Rally Round the Flag Pole

Yesterday, September 17, was Constitution Day and all federally funded education institutions were required to hold a celebration of sorts to honor it. At Central Alabama Community College, where I attend classes, the day was marked by a rally around the flag pole.

In the SGA meeting the day before I had volunteered to deliver an address on what Constitution Day is. The following is the text of the 2 1/2 minute speech I gave while wearing my 4th Amendment shirt. It was video taped but the dean asked me not to share it due to privacy concerns of other students. I will try and separate the audio and make my own video to go with it.


Constitution Day

On September 17, 1787 the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met for the last time to sign the document they had created. The constitution provides the basic law of a body politic. The constitution defines the government, describes how it is organized and how the people who make it up are to be chosen and specifies what powers the government can and cannot exercise.

Additionally, the Constitution contains a group of special freedoms called the Bill of Rights. These special freedoms were enshrined in the Constitution by the founders of the country in order that they always form a back-bone of liberty for America's citizens.

Of course, it is important to remember that the bill of rights was never intended to be a list of all the rights we have. As pointed out in the 9th amendment, the Bill of Rights is a list of certain things the government is not allowed to do to you. Just because a right is not listed does not mean you don’t have that right.

Included are freedom of speech, assembly, press freedom, the right to bear arms, freedom from unlawful search and seizure, freedom from having military troops quartered in your home just to name few.

Can any of you name another right enshrined in the Bill of Rights?
* Fifth Amendment – due process, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, eminent domain.
* Sixth Amendment – Trial by jury and rights of the accused; Confrontation Clause, speedy trial, public trial, right to counsel
* Seventh Amendment – Civil trial by jury.
* Eighth Amendment – Prohibition of excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.
* Ninth Amendment – Protection of rights not specifically enumerated in the Bill of Rights.
* Tenth Amendment – Powers of States and people.

Many of the rights that make up the bill of rights are infringed upon or outright violated every day by the government, both local and federal. For example, every time a police officer uses the words of a confidential informant in a drug case the 6th Amendment is violated. Drug defendants are never given the right to face their accuser because in drug a case police can claim that a confidential informant told them something but, because the informant is confidential, they are never identified and never have to testify under oath thereby denying the accused the Constitutional right to face their accuser.

The right to peacefully assemble is violated every time a government official requires you to acquire a permit to have a gathering.

The right to own a gun has been infringed upon in Washington DC, New York City and Chicago. The DC case recently went to the Supreme Court and was overturned and the right to own a gun was reinstated for those living there.

In Jefferson and Shelby counties the Eighth Amendment has been violated in an ongoing manner for some time. In those counties people have been held in jail with no bond on misdemeanor charges. Some were held over six months with no hearing before the judge. Some were told that if they didn’t pay thousands of dollars they would not get a hearing before the judge. One woman who was jailed on unpaid traffic tickets went through a 14 month ordeal in and out of jail. She lost her home, her job and she and her young children had to move to a homeless shelter. Some of my lawyer friends have now filed class action lawsuits in those counties.

And, rather ironically, this ‘celebration’ we are having today is unconstitutional. Constitution Day: (n.) Observed on September 17, the day on which federally funded American educational institutions, themselves unconstitutional, are unconstitutionally required to teach about the Constitution.

However, I see this day as a teaching opportunity to enlighten young Americans about the Constitution, how to exercise the rights enshrined in it, and I strongly encourage all of you to become intimately familiar with this incredible document. Yes you have rights but if you don’t know what they are or how to exercise them then they are worth no more than the paper they are written on. I’ve brought pocket Constitutions for all of you. Please read them and keep them handy.

HAPPY CONSTITUTION DAY

The audience was stunned silent for a moment and then started clapping. A number of faculty and a few students complimented me on the speech. The SGA sponsor noted that I had done a lot of homework.

I have to say though, that the setting was bizarre. The attendees were mostly fortunate, comfortable white kids who have probably never had a hard day in their life, standing by the flag pole and worshiping the flag and the government and all of the wonderful freedoms we have, while in the background and all around us were state work release prisoners, all black, dressed in white prison clothes, raking leaves and planting flowers. It reminded me of the old South and made me uncomfortable. I wonder what the prisoners performing slave labor thought about all the freedom praise going on around them? I hope they took note of my part of the speech about the 6th Amendment and how it is violated in every drug case where a confidential informant is used to get a conviction. I assume some of them were in state custody on drug charges.

Anyway, it was an interesting day. I enjoyed speaking to my fellow students and faculty and am even happier some of the prisoners were able to hear what I had to say. I look forward to shaking things up even more as time goes by.

DIGG this!

SGA Update

Today was the first Student Government Association Meeting at central Alabama Community College. The entire group, with the exception of myself and my husband, appear to be members of the golf team and cheer leading squad. The SGA sponsor is the golf coach.

At this meeting nominations were made for officer positions. For some strange reason the President position is already filled even though no one got to vote on it. My speech teacher asked about that and someone in speech class said that the person was Vice President last year and automatically moved into the President slot. That's not very democratic if you ask me...but, oh well.

The Vice President position was still open so I nominated myself for that. I have one opponent who also nominated herself. I don't know how the elections take place. Either the SGA members vote on it or the entire student body votes on it. I have asked for clarification and hope to have some soon.

Tomorrow is Constitution Day and we were asked to volunteer for one of the following duties.

1) Lead the Pledge of Allegiance.....No thanks
2) Lead a prayer.....No Thanks
3) Sing God Bless America....No Thanks
4) Read aloud a description of what Constitution Day is....Now we're talking

When I volunteered to read the description the President suggested I read the one sent out with the original email announcing the celebration. The coach who sponsors it asked me, "Are you the lady who sent me the email about Constitution Day?"

"Yes, that was me...sorry if I came across as a bit harsh."

Coach: "No, don't apologize I was actually proud of you."

Then he announces to the president and the rest of the attendees that they need not worry about me because I am well versed on the subject, know exactly what I am talking about and that I could read whatever I wanted to describe Constitution Day.

That was pretty cool.

So, tomorrow at 12:35 I will be gathered around the flagpole with my fellow members of the SGA and I will educate them about what Constitution Day is. I also ordered 50 pocket Constitutions and tonight I plan to write on the inside of every front cover...


VOTE LORETTA NALL FOR VP of SGA

I hope I get elected. If I do the very first thing I will do is set up a book swap. We need a little free market competiton because the bookstore prices are OUTRAGEOUS!!! Plus they ripped me off for $223. I bought one book but then dropped the class and returned the book the next day. Instead of refunding my money the goobers charged me twice for the same book. Now I am having to fight with them to get it back.

I'll keep y'all posted on how the SGA elections work. The election is October 7th. Wish me luck!

The Constitution, The Pledge, and SGA

You know...I thought when I got to college the instructors would be folks who held college degrees and would be well read in things like the Constitution, the history of our country and so forth.

Sadly, I was mistaken.

A couple days ago I got this email from a Coach at CACC concerning celebrating Constitution Day on September 17.


Constitution Day...

okay, I've never heard of this day before either, but someone here at CACC has and
******** felt that it would be a good idea if we celebrated this day by visiting the CACC flagpole and saying the Pledge of Allegiance. The A/C SGA will sponsor this event and possibly we can have one of our new young members start us all on God Bless America.

Date: September 17th

Time: 12:30 pm

Location: In front of the Administration Building, surrounding the US Flag. For
those out of touch, it's the one with Red & White stripes, and in one corner a navy
blue background with 50 stars in white. It'll come back to you when you see it.

Thanks

Needless to say, after reading that I was very disappointed. I was sure that higher education had evolved past the point of having coaches conduct any kind of educational activities that involve history or government or social studies. In high school I expect to see a coach in one of those positions. I've never understood it as most coaches I've encountered teaching those subjects wouldn't have known what the Constitution said/meant even if it was tattooed on the back of their eyelids. In this case the coach admits he had never even heard of Constitution Day. My question is why in the hell is he leading the parade around the flag pole then? I can name at least two instructors who would have been far better suited to conduct a Constitution Day gathering than this guy.

I was also astounded that the recommended way to celebrate Constitution Day was to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge of Allegiance has absolutely nothing to do with the Constitution. It was written over 100 years later by a man named Francis Bellamy who was a Baptist minister, a Christian socialist, and the cousin of socialist utopian novelist Edward Bellamy. The original Pledge which read "I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all" was published in the September 8th issue of the popular children's magazine The Youth's Companion as part of the National Public-School Celebration of Columbus Day. The event was conceived by James B. Upham, a marketer for the magazine, in a campaign to sell American flags and American nationalism to public schools.

Even scarier than the plot to sell National Socialism (NAZI Party in Germany) to American public school children is the original salute that went with the pledge. from Wikipedia


Swearing of the pledge is accompanied by a salute. An early version of the salute, adopted in 1892, was known as the Bellamy salute. It ended with the arm outstretched and the palm upwards. It eventually evolved to palm downward. Because of the similarity between the Bellamy salute and the Nazi salute, President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted the hand-over-the-heart gesture as the salute to be rendered by civilians during the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem in the United States, instead of the Bellamy salute.

I'm one of those 'weird' people who thinks making children say the Pledge of Allegiance in school is wrong. It is complete government indoctrination. Making school children pledge allegiance to the government is just fundamentally wrong in so many ways. Children don't have a clue what government is or what it does and public schools certainly don't teach children the real role of government. In fact, public schools only teach what the government wants them to teach. And what does the government want them to teach? That the government is wonderful, all powerful and that no individual can exist without the government.

I'm also not down with a possible rendition of "God Bless America". I don't believe in the Christian god nor any other gods. And, for those that do believe, isn't asking God to bless America kind of selfish? It's like praying before a football game. What is being prayed for? Victory over the other team? You really think the same God that Christians believe created and controls the entire universe and everything in it has time or even interest in the outcome of a football game? Or that this country should be blessed over all the other countries in God's infinite creation?

But what really pissed me off was the coach's insulting remark at the end of the email...

Location: In front of the Administration Building, surrounding the US Flag. For those out of touch, it's the one with Red & White stripes, and in one corner a navy blue background with 50 stars in white. It'll come back to you when you see it.

WTF? How insulting can one be? Insinuating that those who might be interested in joining in a celebration of Constitution Day wouldn't know what the US flag looks like? The same flag that each and every one of those possible participants was made to pledge allegiance to for 12 years of their life in public school? Really?

This whole thing made my blood pressure go up. After I calmed down I sent the coach a reply email informing him of how fundamentally wrong he was about the Pledge of Allegiance and God Bless America being the proper way to celebrate Constitution Day. I proposed that a more proper way to celebrate it would be to have a program educating students about the Constitution, what it says, what it does, how to exercise the rights granted by it and so forth and also a discussion on how the government (both Democrats and Republicans) are destroying it each and every day. I also told him his quip about the flag was completely inappropriate and insulting. I also asked him how to go about joining the Student Government Association (SGA). He is apparently in charge of it. YIKES!

He wrote me back and acknowledged that I am better educated in this area than he is, that he hopes to see me at the flag pole and that the first SGA meeting is next Wednesday. During this meeting new members will be accepted and officers will be nominated. I plan to throw my hat into the ring for an officer position. Possibly the president of the SGA.

I also plan to attend the flag pole event. I'll be wearing my 4th Amendment t-shirt which reads...

Morning Joe on MSNBC

Joe Scarborough, who is the main anchor on MSNBC's Morning Joe, drives me ABSOLUTELY BATSHIT CRAZY!!!! I don't know how many of you watch this show early in the morning, but those of you that have watched it or do watch it will know exactly what I am talking about.

Why can't Joe shut up when it's Mika's turn to talk? He'll ask her a question and then talk over her while she is attempting to answer. She can be introducing the next segment or talking with a guest and there's Joe running his yap so you can't understand anything anyone is saying.

Sometimes Mika looks at him like she wants to whack him, and frankly I don't see how she refrains from it. If I were the co-anchor sitting in that chair beside Joe and he started blabbing when it was my turn to talk or while I was talking to a guest, I would stuff his damn tie down his throat. Or even better...rig his chair up to a shocking device and zap his rude ass whenever he cut me off.

I don't get show formats where things like this go on. News and talk shows on FOX are the worst for this kind of behavior. O'Reilly screams his guests down and cuts their mic's when he doesn't like what they have to say. When Hannity and Colmes were still doing a show together it was the same way. One would ask the guest a question and then both would proceed to answer the question over the guest who was trying to answer it. I know because I was on the show. I didn't participate in their little game though. They'd ask me a question, then they would holler at each other about the answer, and when they were done, I would answer it. I got hundreds of emails from viewers thanking me for not jumping in their verbal fray and waiting until they were done so viewers could hear what I was saying.

I guess my point is why have guests or co-hosts when you do not intend to let them participate? Another question would be why do so many people watch shows done in that format? I'm not a regular viewer of any morning news shows (except watching Tim Lennox anchor the CBS 8 Morning News ) which comes on it 2 minutes.

Class Action Lawsuit Aganist Shelby County

Late last week a story broke about a man named Terrance Datcher, who was arrested on March 18, 2009 by the Harpersville police, on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Datcher then spent the next six months in jail and was told by Shelby Co. officials that he had to pay $6,000 in fines before he would be allowed a hearing before the judge.

According to the Birmingham News "Judge Hub Harrington said Datcher's nearly six months in jail was longer than any sentence had he been convicted of the misdemeanors. Harrington said he will set a hearing to determine whether Datcher's civil rights were violated and whether to grant an injunction to keep Harpersville from holding indigent inmates for jail terms similar to Datcher's".

Sadly stories of indigent people being held for outrageous amounts of time in jail on misdemeanor charges are becoming all too common in Alabama. There have been at least two cases recently in Jefferson County and one in Mobile County. In the Mobile Co. incident the inmate was mentally ill and was beaten to death in an argument over the television. In one Jefferson Co. case the city of Birmingham has agreed to stop jailing indigent inmates on misdemeanor charges simply because they are unable to pay. There has been no verdict oin the Irondale case.

They never should have been holding indigent people on misdemeanor charges to begin with. Our Constitution prohibits that. Why is it that when we break the law we are jailed but when the people who jail us break the law and nothing happens to them? They don't set a very good example do they?

I heard from sources close to the case that Mr. Datcher is also mentally ill. I also know that a Class Action lawsuit is in the works against Shelby County because of Mr. Datcher's treatment. If you have ever been through Harpersville and your rights were violated please contact the law firm of Pino and Associates.

Harpersville is a very small town on the Shelby Co./Talladega Co. line on HWY 280. It is a speed trap like no other anywhere in Alabama. Harpersville also likes to set up traffic stops on 280 in the wee hours of the morning and harass unsuspecting motorists. I went through one in 2008 on my return trip from Vancouver, Canada. As far as I am aware that traffic stop was illegal because police cannot impede the flow of traffic on a major 4 lane highway. In other word they cannot set up license checks on 280 at any time. I escaped my encounter unscathed. Many others have not.

I've heard from more than one reputable source that if you get caught with marijuana in Harpersville they will drop the drug charge and charge you will possession of paraphernalia because the fine is higher.

Anyway, if you have been stopped going through Harpersville or anywhere else in Shelby Co. and you feel your right were violated then contact Pino and Associates and get in on this class action lawsuit. Likewise, if you know anyone who has experienced injustice in Shelby Co. have them contact Pino and Associates.

My First Egg!

Today one of my hens laid an egg! It is the first egg I have seen from any of my 10 hens. I am so excited! I have been waiting for months for them to start laying. Now they will be paying for their keep!


While I am posting pictures I thought I'd post one the baddest rooster on the yard.


He is only about 5 months old and he is HUGE. He is a Black Giant or Jersey Giant. They build their frame for six months and then put on weight. He'll be around 15 pounds when he is fully grown. He is absolutely stunning. When the sunlight hits him he is as green as a glass sprite bottle.

Georgia Drug Cops Murder Innocent Preacher

There is a horrific news story breaking out of Northwest Georgia. A young preacher who was not the target of a botched drug raid was shot while in his car trying to get away. The preacher had just dropped off a woman who was the target of the drug raid.

The preacher went into the store and used the ATM after dropping the woman off. He then went back outside and got in his car to leave when plain clothes cops jumped out of an SUV and opened fire on him. They shot him through the liver and he crashed his car and died. The cops told his 4 month pregnant wife that he died in an accident. They failed to mention they shot him and caused the wreck.

Here is the video.

My husband and I will be traveling to the preacher's church in Toccoa, Georgia on Sunday to talk with the members.

Troy King Jumps on "Keep Kids Home on Obama Speech Day" Bandwagon

I first heard about this "Keep Your Kids Home From School So They Won't Be Exposed To Obama" trend last night as I was flipping through the news. I think I heard that it was started by Glenn Beck.

Now Alabama Attorney General Troy King has jumped on this bizarre bandwagon. Troy isn't keeping his kids out of school though. He's told the school that he doesn't want his children to participate.

Troy King for Attorney General Obama is to address students across America on September 8th. Parents, be ready to unindoctrinate your kids when they get home!

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Troy King for Attorney General

I have to disagree with those who think we should keep our kids home. I do not believe my kids should have to lose a day of their education over this. Instead, parents should call the school, voice their displeasure, and insist that their kids not be made to participate. I did.

What the hell is wrong with these people? It reminds me of a story my husband told recently. He was at work and happened to overhear a conversation where a woman said, "If any of my kids ever come home a speakin' that Mexican shit I'll pop'em in tha mouth."

I don't get this anti-intellectual mentality. It's like people want to be against something purely for the sake of being against it. However they don't want to listen to or know anything about what they are against...don't want exposure to it...not even so that they can formulate a reason and articulate why they are against it.

This mentality reminds me of the scene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs when the dwarfs first find Snow White lying asleep across their beds, Grumpy gripes, "Angel, huh? She's female, an' all females is poison! They're full o' wicked wiles." When Bashful asks, "What're wicked wiles?" Grumpy admits, "I don't know, but I'm agin 'em."

If I'm against something I want to know all I can about it so as to be able to effectively argue against it. Don't you?

Now, I agree with parents rights to not have their children indoctrinated in public schools. For instance, I never allowed my children to participate in DARE...because that really is indoctrination. I knew what was taught in DARE, having been exposed to it in school and through my work in drug policy reform. And DARE is an ongoing class, complete with a trip to the local jail where children are locked in a cell and treated like criminals. Complete indoctrination. When you think about it all public education is indoctrination to some degree. I've been deprogramming my children from day one of their public school education. But a Presidents speech? I don't think that counts as indoctrination.

I can remember seeing Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan on TV in my first grade classroom. Presidents are on TV almost daily. They give news conferences, State of the Union speeches, interviews and so forth and so on. During elections their campaign ads air around the clock on every channel. They read books to kindergartners and try to be seen with children as often as possible. There's probably even been one or two on Sesame Street. It is nearly impossible to not be exposed to the President of the United States...unless you live in an underground cave and have no contact with the outside world.

Besides, if you're really that afraid of what President Obama might say, shouldn't YOU WATCH the speech and discuss all the reasons you disagree with its content with your children?

PS - Be sure to visit Troy King's Facebook Page and read all of the fascinating and sometimes downright frightening thoughts of our Attorney General. He even has a "Star light Star Bright" poem.

All A's

Yeah....that's me I'm talking about!

Yesterday I took my first big biology test. It covered the first four chapters and included the terminology of anatomy and physiology, cells, tissues and the integumentary system. It was 28 pages of notes and two labs. 150 questions. I studied my butt off and thought I would do well.

However, that test was HARD because of the way things were worded. After I took it I knew I had passed but wasn't sure I had gotten the A I so desperately wanted. I thought I would be lucky to have a C.

The grades have now been posted online in their entirety and I made a drumroll please............. 94 on the test, got all my points except one on the labs and homework and I currently have the highest average in the class, which is a 99!

I feel like doing back flips!!

I am doing very well in speech class. I have all of my points there and aced a quiz yesterday. I don't know the average but I know I have an A. Every day the instructor, who is an extremely liberal Democrat, and I have a discussion about politics. We're both junkies and we both enjoy batting the latest political news back and forth. He also likes to discuss very controversial topics with the whole class and I just adore that. Most of the people in class are just out of high school and have no life experience. I like to see them shocked and their beliefs challenged. Two of the best topics so far have been religion and homosexuality. During the discussion about homosexuality one little girl who just graduated high school was spouting off incredibly hateful and ignorant shit about gays. I mean serious self-righteous indignation bullshit. "Oh it's a sin, an abomination, a choice cause God wouldn't make anyone be born gay." She mentioned that she had a two year old child. I thought but didn't say..."Well fornication is a sin and having a bastard young'un is a sin...so where is your righteous indignation for yourself and your bastard child? Doesn't the bible say that all sins are equal and that no sin is worse than any other sin?" Anyway it is a fun class and I know some students leave fuming after nearly every class.

English 101 is awesome. On Tuesday we had to turn in three introductory paragraphs about the subject we picked to write on. I chose Troy King because he has provided such an abundance of material to write about in his 6 glorious years in office. After I read my first paragraph in class my instructor said "EXCELLENT!" She told us at the beginning of the term that she was going to keep us in a tight box until we learned the basics and would try and let us get out of that box some as the term progressed. After she read my paragraph she said I was already waaaaaay outside the box.

Last week my English instructor commented on how well laid out my arguments were for the article in the Talladega Daily Home The Marijuana Debate. I told her that I have been writing for a few years and that I would like to send her some of my stuff. She said she would love to read it. So, I sent her The Great Prison Panty Rebellion of Alabama. I was a little scared of what she might think....thought she might look at me funny in class. However, I had nothing to worry about. After she read it she told me in front of the whole class that she LOVED it and more importantly she said, "I've spent 38 years of my life trying to teach people to write like that." To me that is a HUGE compliment.

I am really enjoying the college experience. A weird thing is happening though. In every class someone asks me for help. Now, they don't know what my grades are. They know that I am involved in politics, promote drug policy reform and that I ran for Governor in 2006. It never fails that before English class someone will ask me to read their paper and make suggestions. Same thing in speech class and even in biology. I'm not sure what it is that draws people to me. Maybe they see me as an authority figure...which is really weird because I hate authority figures. Or maybe it is something else entirely. Whatever it is it's neat.

I am so very happy that I enrolled in college. Should have done it years ago.

Do What?

I read the following sentences in my local newspaper this morning in a story about the traffic blitz (fleecing of the public)going on right now.

“It’s a stepped up effort to educate and inform the traffic laws,” Capt. William Kennedy said. “I can tell that it does have an impact on their driving behavior.”


How does one go about educating and informing the traffic laws? Do traffic laws drive? Do they have driving behavior?

Sadly, police officers who lack even rudimentary communications skills are abundant in Alabama. But, hell, why do cops need communications skills when they can just point a gun at you and order you to obey their authoritah? Still, it would be very nice if they were coherent and could string together a proper sentence.