Andrew Sullivan: Ron Paul for Republican Nomination

Andrew Sullivan has just published an article on why Ron Paul deserves the Republican Nomination

I couldn't agree more.

Pictures from New Orleans

The Drug Policy Reform conference was wonderful from what I remember. Due to the unexpected death of Michael Phillips immediately afterwards most recollection of the conference has been wiped from my memory. I do have photos though that various attendees sent to me and that members of my group took while there. Here are a few of them.

Saying Goodbye to Michael Phillips

(L to R - Michael Phillips, Loretta Nall, Christie Reeder)

Michael Paul Phillips' funeral was held today in Millbrook, AL. As with any funeral, it was a very solemn occasion. I was happy to see that the church was packed with Michael's friends and loved ones. Christie Reeder, Ralph Hendrix and myself were in attendance for Alabamians for Compassionate Care.

The morning started out all wrong. I put my dog outside in his pen and put his kennel in the car. I had planned to take him with me because I wasn't sure how long I would be gone. When I went to get him out of his pen he refused to come. I had to leave him alone, outside and hope that he would not escape and eat a neighbor or get killed in the road. I don't think I can take any more burials of the things I love this week.

The family had agreed to let me deliver one of Michael's eulogy's. When I went to print it out I discovered my printer had no ink. I called my friend Christie who printed one and brought it with her. When I started reading over it about 20 minutes before the funeral started I realized that the printer had chopped off words and deleted entire sentences from paragraphs. I didn't know what I was going to do. Michael's family lives right around the corner so I decided to call them and see if they could print it for me. I had already sent it to them for approval. His sister-in-law said they had already printed it out and that the family loved it. Michael's Uncle Ron brought me a copy to the church.

Michael's Uncle Ron was the first to speak. He and Michael were the same age and had grown up more as brother's than as Uncle and nephew. Ron spoke about the good times growing up and shared treasured family memories with us. He told a great story about when he and Michael were baptized. He said they went home immediately afterwards and burned all of their rock-n-roll tapes.....except their favorite ones. Michael's favorite band at that time was KISS. The Ron sang a beautiful rendition of "I'll Fly Away." It's always that song and "Precious Memories" that tear me apart at funerals.

Next I spoke. His family had requested that I not mention medical marijuana specifically because not everyone knew about that part of Michael's life and it might cause other complications that no one should have to deal with on a day like today. Michael had given me an olive green safari hat in New Orleans that looks just like the light tan one I wear everywhere. Just out of the blue came in my room one morning and said, "I brought you this hat." As I took the podium I donned the hat and explained why I was wearing it. At the end of the service a small boy came up to me and said, "Michael used to wear that hat all the time."

Here is the eulogy that I delivered for our friend Michael.

Good morning. My name is Loretta Nall and I have a few words I would like to say about Michael Paul Phillips. I'd like to start by thanking his family for graciously granting me a few minutes of this most precious and private time. They are very brave because most people would have serious reservations about turning me loose with a microphone at a funeral. But they know I loved Michael and that I am deeply scarred by his passing and that this is the very last thing that I will ever be able to do for him. So thank you Ms. Jackie and Mr. Bobby for trusting me once again with Michael.

I met Michael after he saw me on the Keith Olbermann show during the 2006 election. He called me up and told me he was a patient and that he wanted to be involved in passing a law that would make his life and the lives of people like him more tolerable.

I worked with Michael for a little over a year on some political issues that he was interested in. I guess you could say I was his patient advocate. He was born with an inoperable brain tumor that caused multiple seizures on a daily basis. He had taken every seizure medication known to humankind, and a few that were not, to no avail. He survived 4 different and unsuccessful brain surgeries that resulted in major injury to his brain causing him to have problems communicating, understanding and slowing his motor skills and coordination. As a result of that he was never able to be independent. He was never able to live on his own for very long, was never able to get his drivers license, never married and never had any children. He had also been mostly ostracized from society because the world is a cruel place especially for those with disabilities. I was fortunate to be counted among the friends that Michael had along with the small group of people who work with me here in Alabama.

I began taking Michael to our patient advocate meetings around the state and coaching him on how to stand before the heartless power structure in the Alabama State House and tell his story. His proudest moment came when he and his mother testified this year before the house judiciary committee and he got his name and story in the Mobile Press-Register and the Montgomery Advertiser. He was chomping at the bit to be able to testify again in 2008 and would call me multiple times a week to see when we were going back. He had found happiness and strength in speaking out and standing up for himself. I think for the first time in his life he had found his voice and even if he could not do the little things that so many of us take for granted in life, speaking out was the one thing he could do for himself and people like him. And he took to it with a vengance. It was a beautiful thing to witness him discovering his inner strength and it was nothing less than a blessing for me to be able to be a part of that.

A few months ago the organization that I work for offered scholarships to attend a conference in New Orleans about the issues Michael and I worked on together. I was able to secure one for him to attend. To say that Michael was excited would be a vast understatement. He called me or emailed me at least twice a day about the trip for a good month before we left. His child-like enthusiasim was a beautiful thing to behold. He told me this would be his first trip away from home since he graduated high school. That was 20 years ago. Michael had a lot of fun on this trip. He was fearful sure, but he was excited and he knew he was part of a group of people who cared about him and loved him and accepted him and understood what his life had been like. I want to paint a brief picture of Michael's last days with us.

On the way to New Orleans Michael had complete control of the stereo system. He brought his large CD collection of the same kind of music that I love and we cranked it up and sang most of the 300 miles to our destination. During the times the radio was off he talked about is mom and dad and said he would miss them during the trip. He talked about his little nephew and how much he enjoyed it when he would come into his room and ask Uncle Michael to print him out some coloring sheets and they would color together. He told us that he had asked for a dog for Christmas. He discussed his medical history with Ms. Terry Gillard and Ms. Dawn Palmer who were riding with us. There is a class action suit against one of the manufacturers of a drug he had recently stopped taking and he wondered if he might be able to get in on that. I told him we would research it when we got back. He said he better start losing weight and taking better care of himself because he wanted to look good as a millionaire.

At the conference Michael got to meet other people who had seizures, mulitple sclerosis, who were in wheelchairs....people like him who could really relate to what his life had been like. My experience with Michael was that he was mostly a very shy person but at this conference surrounded by people who could relate he came out of his shell and made many friends. He got to meet some people that were very important to him and he felt very proud of himself and you could see his confidence growing and taking root. He got to tell his story to people who got it. He got to walk down Bourbon Street which is something everyone should see before they die. He got to eat raw oysters every day. He took notes during the sessions we attended, struck up conversations with the strangers sitting anywhere near him, exchanged contact information with other patients who were destined to become his friends and had begun making plans for how he would implement all that he had learned once he got back home. No one was more shocked than I was to find that he had passed without warning in the night. Michael passed the way most of us hope to exit this world. Asleep and never the wiser and although he was away from home and his loved ones he was nontheless surrounded by people who love and cared about him.

What I want to leave you with today is a message of compassion. Michael was a grown man with all the brains, drive and passion of any normal person lucky enough to be born without brain tumors. Because of his lifelong struggle to survive, his numerous surgeries, and the toll his seizures took on his brain function and his physical body he lacked the communication skills to express himself and it took him a little longer sometimes to understand things, which was very frustrating for him. Not being able to do the small things we take for granted like drive to the store, live in your own place, have a job, take a trip or even have a dog of his own made Michael a man who had to live as a child...never having the opportunity to grow up.

I am so glad that Micahel's path crossed mine for he taught me many lessons about patience, which is something I am notoriously lacking. He taught me to look underneath what you can see on the outside of people and find their core, because while our differences may be many on the physical level our similarities, if we take the time to look for them are always many, many more.

Before I end this today I want all of you to take a moment and think about someone you know who may have problems similar to Michael's. Do you know someone who is disabled? Unable to drive? Lacking human companionship because they can't get out and make friends? Someone who is in need of a little extra understanding and compassion? Someone who is often not included because it is inconvenient for us to take them along? Michael did not ask to be born with inoperable brain tumors but for much of his life he was treated by society as if he had. Could you do a little more to help people like Michael feel loved and included? Could you offer to lighten the load on the family members who care for people like Michael? While I know they do not want his life to be seen as a burden to them there is no denying that caring for a terminally ill person takes a very big toll. I could do more and I will do more. I am going to take the very important lessons that Michael Phillips taught me and incorporate them in to my daily life by reaching out more to people that we as a society often isolate whether we mean to or not. Will you do the same?

Michael Phillips I am so blessed to have known you and your passing has left a huge hole in my life. I will miss your phone calls, funny emails and your innocence. I will continue the fight for the common beliefs that you and I shared because I know that is what you would want. While we will miss you we know that you are in a place that does not require drivers license, you have your own house with a dog and there are no such evil and monsterous things as inoperable brain tumors. Thank you for showing us the true meaning of courage and bravery. On behalf of Christie and Mitch O'Brien, Dawn Palmer, Terry Gillard, Ralph Hendrix, Gabriel Sayegh and all of the new friends you made in New Orleans Peace Out Buddy! We'll miss you.

His family had also requested that I read the lyrics to "Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum

When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that's the best
When I lay me down to die
Goin' up to the spirit in the sky
Goin' up to the spirit in the sky
That's where I'm gonna go when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that's the best

Prepare yourself you know it's a must
Gotta have a friend in Jesus
So you know that when you die
He's gonna recommend you
To the spirit in the sky
Gonna recommend you
To the spirit in the sky
That's where you're gonna go when you die
When you die and they lay you to rest
You're gonna go to the place that's the best

Never been a sinner I never sinned
I got a friend in Jesus
So you know that when I die
He's gonna set me up with
The spirit in the sky
Oh set me up with the spirit in the sky
That's where I'm gonna go when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
I'm gonna go to the place that's the best
Go to the place that's the best

Afterwards I went over to Ms. Jackie and Mr. Bobby, got down on my knees in front of them and laid my head in their laps. They gave me comfort and I hope I provided comfort to them. Michael's family had brought a small CD player and played "The Best Day" by George Strait. I suspect that was a request from Michaels father who took his death very, very hard.

We loaded up my old station wagon
With a tent, a Coleman and sleepin' bags.
Some fishin' poles, a cooler of Cokes,
Three days before we had to be back.

When you're seven you're in seventh heaven
When you're goin' campin' in the wild outdoors.
As we turned off on that old dirt road
He looked at me and swore...

Dad, this could be the best day of my life.
I've been dreamin' day and night about the fun we'll have.
Just me and you doin' what I've always wanted to.
I'm the luckiest boy alive,
This is the best day of my life.

His fifteenth birthday rolled around,
Classic cars were his thing.
When I pulled in the drive with that old Vette
I thought that boy would go insane.

When you're in your teens
Your dreams revolve around four spinnin' wheels.
We worked nights on end 'till it was new again,
And as he sat behind the wheel he said,

Dad, this could be the best day of my life.
I've been dreamin' day and night about the fun we've had.
Just me and you doin' what I've always wanted to.
I'm the luckiest boy alive
This is the best day of my life.

Standin' in a little room back of the church with our tuxes on,
Lookin' at him I say, I can't believe, son that you've grown.
He said,

Dad, this could be the best day of my life.
I've been dreamin' day and night of bein' like you.
Now it's me and her,
Watchin' you and mom I've learned,
I'm the luckiest man alive,
This is the best day of my life.

I'm the luckiest man alive,
This is the best day of my life.


I mentioned in an earlier post that one of Michael's favorite bands was Metallica. While we were riding to Birmingham last week to pick up the rest of our group he played "Sanitarium" and said it was his favorite song ever. Understanding something about Michael's life and listening to that song with him while riding down the road I totally understood how that was his most favorite song ever. Read the lyrics and see if you don't agree.

Welcome to where time stands still
No one leaves and no one will
Moon is full, never seems to change
Just labeled mentally deranged
Dream the same thing every night
I see our freedom in my sight
No locked doors, no windows barred
No things to make my brain seem scarred

Sleep, my friend, and you will see
That dream is my reality
They keep me locked up in this cage
Can't they see it's why my brain says “rage”

Sanitarium, leave me be
Sanitarium, just leave me alone

Build my fear of what's out there
Cannot breathe the open air
Whisper things into my brain
Assuring me that I'm insane
They think our heads are in their hands
But violent use brings violent plans
Keep him tied, it makes him well
He's getting better, can't you tell?


No more can they keep us in
Listen, damn it, we will win
They see it right, they see it well
But they think this saves us from our hell

Sanitarium, leave me be
Sanitarium, just leave me alone
Sanitarium

Just leave me alone

Fear of living on
Natives getting restless now
Mutiny in the air
Got some death to do
Mirror stares back hard
kill is such a friendly word
seems the only way
for reaching out again

I got seperated from the funeral procession and was unable to locate and follow them to graveside services. I plan to visit Michael's grave when I have had some time to digest and accept all that has happened. Right now I am just too raw and drained. As I was driving home the radio station played "Paradise City" by Guns-N-Roses. That was one of the songs Michael and I sang at top volume on the way to New Orleans. He said we must look like the characters in "Wayne's World" when they were driving down the road and jamming to "Bohemian Rhapsody". I'm actually still hoarse from it. I cranked the stereo up all the way coming home, think I might have blown a speaker in the rental car and thought how perfect it was that song should come on at that moment.

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green
And the girls are pretty
Take me home (Oh, won't you please take me home)

Just an urchin livin' under the street
I'm a hard case that's tough to beat
I'm your charity case
So by me somethin' to eat
I'll pay you at another time
Take it to the end of the line

Rags to riches
Or so they say
You gotta
Keep pushin' for the fortune and fame
You know it's, it's all a gamble
When it's just a game
You treat it like a capitol crime
Everybody' doin' their time

Strapped in the chair of the city's gas chamber
Why I'm here, I can't quite remember
The surgoen general say's it's hazardous to breathe
I'd have another cigarette
But I can't see
Tell me that you're gonna belive

Capitain America's been torn apart
Now he's a court jester
With a broken heart
He said turn me around
And take me back to the start
I must be losing my mind
"Are you blind?!"
I've seen it all a mllion times

I want to go
I want to know
Oh, won't you please take me home

I want to see
Oh, look at me
Oh, won't you please take me home

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green
And the girls are pretty
Take me home (Oh, won't you please take me home)

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green
And the girls are pretty
Oh, won't you please take me home

Take me down
Oh yeah
Beat me down
Oh, won't you please take me home

I want to see
Oh, look at me
Oh, won't you please take me home

I want to see
Boy, I'm gonna be mean
Oh, oh take me home

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green
And the girls are pretty
Oh, won't you please take me home

I want to go
I want to know
Oh, won't you please take me hooooooome
Baby


When I got home I had a note in my inbox from Michael's brother Scott.

"loretta i think that is perfect and that you are wonderful! scott"

It was response to my question of whether the eulogy was acceptable to Michael's family. I am glad they liked it and I hope that I did Michael proud. It was an honor to tell the part of his story that I know and send him on his way with love from his friends. I want to thank the Phillips family for showing me so much warmth and kindness, for allowing me to be a part of Michael's ceremony and for allowing me to be a part of his life. I'll always share a bond with them now. Ms. Jackie and Mr. Bobby asked me to please let them know when the medical marijuana bill starts working its way through the legislature again because they plan to stand and speak for Michael and others like him whose lives could be made better by safe access to a simple plant. Michael will be very proud.

Michael's family is still in need of financial help to cover the cost of transporting his body from Louisiana to Alabama and covering the cost of his funeral. If you haven't already please take a moment and send them something now.
To mail a contribution please send a check or money order payable to Bobby or Jackie Phillips to

Bobby & Jackie Phillips
3802 Martha Lane
Millbrook, AL 36054

Or use the paypal button below to make a contribution online. These contributions will go to my account as the Phillips' family does not have one. I will then distribute any monies to them.

Photos of Michael in New Orleans

Today is Michael Paul Phillips' funeral. I attended his viewing last night in Millbrook. It was very difficult to see him in his casket. His family put together a slide show of of him using photos we took in New Orleans. In the background they had Michael's cd's playing the music he loved. On the corner of a cork board they had a ball cap he had covered with drug policy reform pins that he got at the conference. He would have been very proud to know how well his family represented what he liked in life.

I thought I'd share these photos of Michael with all of you.

Michael Paul Phillips Obituary

Brookside Funeral Home

PHILLIPS, Michael Paul, age 38, a resident of Millbrook, AL died December 8, 2007 in his sleep after an extended illness. He was a graduate of Stanhope Elmore High School and had attended AUM. He is survived by his parents, Robert E. Phillips, Jr. (Bobby) and Jacqueline Arlene (White) Phillips; brother, Patrick Scott (Haley) Phillips; nephew, Wade; niece, Addison. He was the grandson of Dorothy Louise Phillips and the late Robert E. Phillips, Sr., Geraldine and Ron Pasley. He had numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 13, 2007, 10 AM from Brookwood Baptist Church with Rev. George Monfee officating, euology by Loretta Nall and Ron Pasley. Interment to follow service in Good Hope Baptist Church Cemetery, Eclectic, AL. Pallbearers will be John Lisk, Ryan McElvey, Jim Weldon, Jarrett Watson, Tommy Fikes, Hal Wilson, Travis Broderway and Ehson Kochi. Family will receive friends on Wednesday, December 12, 2007, 6 to 8 PM. at Brookside Funeral Home, Millbrook, AL. Brookside Funeral Home of Millbrook, AL Directing

Funeral Arrangements for Michael Paul Phillips

The viewing for Michael Phillips will be on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Brookside Funeral Home.
3360 Brookside Dr
Millbrook, AL 36054
(334) 285-7442
Get directions

Funeral services are set for Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007 at 10 a.m. at Brookside Baptist Church in Millbrook, AL.

Tragedy Strikes...The Death of a Friend

(Michael is pictured far right holding up his shirt.)

Dear All,

I write this post with a very heavy heart. On Sunday morning as my Alabama group was preparing to leave New Orleans for Alabama we discovered one of our members had died in the night.
Michael Paul Phillips of Millbrook, Al passed away on Sunday December 09, 2007. He was 38 years-old.

I had worked with Michael for a little over a year on the medical marijuana issue. He was born with an inoperable brain tumor that caused multiple seizures on a daily basis. He had taken every seizure medication known to humankind, and a few that were not, to no avail. Medical marijuana was the only thing on earth that reduced the number and severity of his seizures. He survived 4 different and unsuccessful brain surgeries that resulted in major injury to his brain causing him to have problems communicating, understanding and slowing his motor skills and coordination. As a result of that he was never able to be independent. He never lived on his own for more than a few months, was never able to get his drivers license, never married and never had any children. He had also been ostracized from society and had no friends other than myself and the small group of people who work with me here in Alabama.

I met Michael after he saw me on the Keith Olbermann show during the 2006 election. He called me up and told me he was a medical marijuana patient and that he wanted to be involved in passing the law so that he could stop being a criminal and living in fear of the police kicking in his parents door and seizing their property on top of his already nearly impossible life.

I began taking Michael to our Compassionate Care meetings around the state and coaching him on how to stand before the heartless fucking power structure in the Alabama State House and tell his story. His proudest moment came when he and his mother testified and he got his name and story in the Mobile Press-Register and the Montgomery Advertiser.

Michael was very excited about being able to testify again in 2008 and would call me multiple times a week to see if I knew when we were going back before the legislature. Michael, because of his disability, never had any friends to hang out with, to take him places or to make him feel like he was a part of a group who gave a fuck about him. I am so fortunate and blessed to have been able to proivide him with a circle of friends who also have some disabilities that could relate to how hard his life had been. He was always very excited when we were having a meeting because it meant that he got to get out of the house and be around people he could understand and who did not judge him or ostracize him or make him feel that he was different or burdensome in any way.

Thanks to the generous efforts of the DPA Michael was granted a scholarship to attend the International Drug Policy reform conference in NOLA. I think he called me twice a day for a month leading up to the conference. This was his first trip away from home in 20 years. His last was when he graduated high school and his parents took him to the beach...needless to say he was very excited. His child-like enthusiasim was wonderful to behold. Michael had a great time at the conference. He met other patients, struck up conversations on his own which was very rare for him, took notes during the sessions, had a ball walking down Bourbon St. watching what must have been a total freak show to him and eating raw oysters every day that he was there.

I last saw him after the closing session where he participated in a huge smoke-out in my room. He was having a blast. He had never been around so many people who asked what his story was or who were so willing to talk to him and include him. He left with four other group members and they all returned to their hotel for the evening. Everyone was tired and didn't want to go out. The plan was for everyone to meet up in the Holiday Inn lobby at 9 am for the trip back to Alabama. When I called around 830 to make sure everyone was up and almost ready I learned that no one could find Michael. They had searched high and low, been to his room and pounded on the door, called his room....and nothing. I asked the lady at the front desk to open the door so I could check on him. She said that she could not do that until after 11 am. I told her that this was a medical emergency and she called housekeeping to go by and peek in. About 25 minutes later housekeeping called back and said he was in his bed sleeping. I knew at that moment that he was probably dead.

I went to his room and banged on his door for a long time and called his name. Nothing. I asked again for the door to be opened so I could enter and was told not until 11. I then said if they didn't open the door I would kick the fucker off the hinges. They opened the door.

I walked over to his bed and laid my hand on his back. He was already long dead and cold. It appeared that he mercifully died in his sleep and he was laying on his side with one knee bent. Whatever took him did it quickly and painlessly and thankfully he never knew that the end of his life had come.

Having to call his parents and deliver that awful news ranks as one of the absolute worst moments of my life. They are devastated. His mother said, "Oh please don't leave my baby down there by hisself." I lost a child in 2000 and the strangest and most illogical things happen to your mind when that happens. You want to know if your baby is cold? Are the people with him people that can show him dignity? Is he alone? You want to hold and touch and caress them and the thought that they are alone is about more than you can bear. It does not matter that it is just a body and that the life force has departed. You want your baby.

However I had others with me who had to get back to work and to their families. We did stay until Monday and learned that it would be Tuesday before the funeral home here in Alabama could get his body back. There was some question as to whether they could get the body back at all due to Louisiana having very stringent laws regarding corpses. The funeral director told his mother this and the family got her to agree to let me come home ahead of the hearse. Leaving Michael was very hard. One of his fears before going on this trip is that he would get seperated from the group and be lost and alone. I'll always feel very badly about having to leave him. I know how his mama feels. It's an awful place to be in your mind.

I went to Michael's parents house last night to return his belongings that I was allowed to bring back and to mourn with them. I was terrified, just terrified, that they would be angry with me and blame me. I know that when my son died I certainly wanted something or someone to blame. It is a natural part of the grieving process I think. I was prepared for it...but it didn't come. Michael's parents were loving and warm. They thanked me for being one of the only friends that he ever had and for making him a part of something that had a great deal of meaning for him, for taking him places, for helping him find medicine and for taking him before the powers that be in Alabama so that his voice, which had been silenced and oppressed for the majority of his life, would be heard by important people. They thanked me for giving the last year of his life a meaning and substance that it had never had before.

Michael's body is now back in Alabama and funeral arrangements will be announced later today. While speaking with his family last night I learned that they had neither life nor burial insurance on Michael and that the added cost of transporting the body back from New Orleans was going to be enormous. Michael's father is unable to work due to having advanced COPD. His mother has worked all her life at a sewing plant. I would like to ask all of my readers to make a donation to help cover the cost for his family.

Please PayPal donations to me atvoodoodol_74@yahoo.com or if you prefer to mail them please send a check or money order payable to Bobby or Jackie Phillips to me at

4633 Pearson Chapel Rd
Alexander City AL 35010

If any of you would like to send flowers please send them to

3360 Brookside Dr
Millbrook, AL 36054
(334) 285-7442

If you are in Alabama and would like to attend Michael's funeral please email me offlist for more details. I will be delivering part of Michael's eulogy.

Please keep Michael Phillips and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Loretta Nall

Alabamians for Compassionate Care

Another Toon

J.D. Crowe strikes again!

I am in New Orleans at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference and so a little late in getting this posted. Another superb strike JD. Thanks much for the kind words. Everyone at the conference have become big fans of yours. Many, many people have come up to me requesting to see the cartoon. I have shown them all three.

Today I heard the UN Drug Czar speak. It was fascinating to see our enemy come into the lions den. He was brave. We were respectful. Trying to find common ground is never a bad thing and I was very pleased to finally see our opposition take the floor in our midst to see if common ground couldn't be found. Thank you Mr. Costa.

Heads Up!

Our good friend and master cartoonist J.D. Crowe has up a toon teaser for today's editorial cartoon from the Mobile Press-Register. It will have to do with sex toy Troy...if you guess what it will be exactly then you win a prize. Y'all head over to JD's place and give'er a go!

I am on my way to New Orleans until Sunday for the International Drug Policy Reform Conference. If you need me I am available via email or cell phone.

Y'all hold the fort down til I get back....and no Troy this does not mean you will have a few blessed days of peace and quiet. Thanks to the internet I can make your life miserable from virtually anywhere on earth.

Son's Move to Louisiana Prison Baffels Family

Last week I posted about a family in Elmore Co. that I met while campaigning for Governor and their son, who is prison for life for a DUI that involved the death of a child in another car.

I called all of my media contacts and passed along the information because the DOC has said just recently that all inmates would be returned by the end of this year. I wrote Sebastian Kitchen at the Mobile Press-Register because he just wrote a story about all the prisoners coming back. Today the Press-Register published this article about Caleb Kindrick and the undue hardship on his loving and supportive family.

Son's Move to Louisiana Prison Baffels Family

Thanks once again to the Mobile Press-Register and Sebastian Kitchen for their continued coverage of important issues.

We Made Wonkette!

Fighting for our Rights in Alabama

Only the Government Can Fuck You!

See, y'all, that is what this push to keep sex toy sales within the state of Alabama illegal is really all about. Only the state of Alabama has the right to fuck you!Therefore they are eliminating competition.

I want to stress again to my readers that underneath all the fun we are having, the jokes we are cracking, the sex toys we are sending to the Alabama Attorney General, the superb media write-ups and editorial cartoons all of this has inspired...underneath all of that this is a VERY SERIOUS ISSUE!

Troy King and people like him in positions of great power are used to using an issue like this one to sneak in new laws and regulations that may not be obvious right now. They use issues like this one because people have been taught to be ashamed of the sexual nature of their being, especially here in the deep South. When they bring up an issue like sex toys they do it because they know very few if any people will stand up and say anything in defense because the do not want their co-workers or fellow church goers to think they might own a sex toy. That's too embarassing! Therefore, they never stand up and say anything and people like Troy King and Dan Ireland shove these pieces of legislation through and we all get SCREWED!

With all of the vulgarity and the shocking nature of a topic that most people do not really want to discuss publicly most people never even realize that the real issue is how much government regulation of our private lives will we allow and NOT whether or not they support sex toys. If the government can pass a law regulating what you may or may not insert into your bodily orifices in the privacy of your own home, how and where you have to purchase any such items and so forth then just exactly what is left that is PERSONAL and PRIVATE? When the government passes laws like this they are saying, "We own your ass" literally.

When you sit back and do nothing to prevent stuff like this you are consenting to being owned. No government anywhere on earth owns me or any part of me. Sure the sex toys topic makes us blush and giggle and act too embarassed to stand up because we see it as vulgar and obscene. But in my book the only things vulgar and obscene in this whole debate are the lawmakers inserting themselves into our bedrooms and the people who do nothing to stop them.

Now that's embarassing.

Ban on Sex Toys Targeted

The Mobile Press-Register is reporting that Rep. John Rogers (D-BHAM)has prefiled a bill for the 2008 session to repeal the ban on sex toys.

Rogers tries again to revoke ban
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
By BRIAN LYMAN
Capital Bureau

MONTGOMERY -- A Birmingham legislator has filed a bill that would revoke the state's 10-year ban on the sale of sex toys, a prohibition that has drawn national attention and led to lengthy court battles.

It's the second attempt by state Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, to strike the 1998 prohibition on the sale of such devices.

"A shower head could be considered a sex toy," he said. "It's just bringing the state into the 20th century."

I'll be calling John today and seeing what kind of advocacy he and I can cook up for this bill. I already know it involves a live pig...so stay tuned. And bless John Rogers for being brave and taking the initiative on this one. Back in 2003 he stood on the House floor and waved a big ol' dildo around when asking for a repeal of this bill.

Dan Ireland, executive director of the Alabama Citizens' Action Program, a Baptist group, said it would oppose any effort to overturn the law.

"Laws are made to protect the public," he said. "Sometimes you have to protect the public against themselves."

Ireland said the ban is a "good law" that has bolstered public safety.

"Sexual matters are not to become a nuisance to people and the community," he said. "We have enough problems with sexual-oriented crimes without enticing or promoting it."


Protect the public from itself? How are sex toys dangerous to the public (notwithstanding Baptist preacher Gary Aldridge)? So, selling sex toys promotes sex crimes? When is the last time you heard of someone being sexually assaulted by a dildo? Maybe Dan Ireland in all his Baptist Glory is out to avenge Rev. Gary Aldridge's Death by DILDO. You know...I may not be religious today, but I was raised in church and I do know what the bible says. I do not recall ever coming across a verse that says "Thou shalt have no other dildo's before me." It just ain't there. It's people like Dan Ireland and Troy King who pretend sex is BAD and touching yourself is BAD and everything to do with being a human being is BAD that leads to way the good Rev. Aldridge checked out.

Attorney General Troy King's office has suggested that the vagueness in the bill should be addressed by the Legislature. A message left with spokesman Chris Bence Monday afternoon was not returned.

Where is Troy anyway? All I have heard out of him before I busted his ass in the media was "sex toy ban, sex toy ban, sex toy ban" and now that he has been challenged in the most public and humiliating of ways the chicken is no where to be found. What a pansy. If he didn't want to fight then he shouldn't have thrown the first rock!


Randy Brinson, chairman of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, did not have any comment. "It seems we have better things to deal with than that, but I need to study it more," he said.

Finally! A Christian with some sense. Mr. Brinson you may be the saving grace of your folks yet!

Loretta Nall, the 2006 Libertarian gubernatorial nominee, recently began a "Sex Toys for Troy King" drive in protest of the law, which she called a waste of time and an invasion of privacy.

She called Rogers' bill "absolutely superb" and hoped her drive would help it pass.

"If anything, it will make the Legislature and Troy King aware that we want repeal," she said. "My gut feeling is we won't see a lot of people pushing to make it tougher."

But...we will see some and two of them will be Dan Ireland and Troy King. Today Dan Ireland gets a sex toy. I am torn between getting him a Blow Up Sheep or something a little more ummmm personal. I'm thinking the more personal one cuz nothing says "Take your religion and shove it up your ass" quite like one of those would.

So, readers, should I send a blow up sheep or the more personal toy? Vote in the comments. The winner will be announced at the end of the day.

I can already tell that the 2008 legislative session is going to be a very busy and fun one for your's truly.

Monday Morning Rambling's

Over the weekend I took my son to Mobile for Open House at Alabama School of Mathematics & Science. Wow!! What a place!! If you have never been let me just tell you that it is an old Cathedral converted into an ultra-modern and high tech learning environment. Just as an example they teach five foreign languages. Spanish, German, French, Greek & Latin. Sixty percent of their faculty have Phd's and their staff is one assembled from an international pool. A really astounding place and the kids all looked so happy to be there. Basically, I don't care who I might have to bribe....I want my son in that school for his junior and senior years.

While in Mobile I called up J.D. Crowe, editorial cartoonist for the Mobile Press-Register and invited him out for a beer and a handshake for the two fabulous cartoons that he penned just recently:
Sex Toys for Troy and turkey baster.

JD and I met up at Hero's on Dauphin Street where he was kind enough to present me with the original Sex Toys toon with a dedication. I am most proud of the toon and plan to frame it in gold and hang it where I can see it upon leaving and returning home. JD is a very cool dude in my book and I enjoyed the hour or so we had to laugh and cut up over our elected officials. Thanks JD...we must do it again when we have more time.

Yesterday I met with most of the rest of my activist group. We are all going to New Orleans later this week to the International Drug Policy Reform Conference and I wanted to make sure everyone had all of their ducks in a row. I had two large laminated posters of the sex toy cartoon made and I had them with me to show my friends. One of them said, "Hey, we ought to go by Love Stuff and give them one of the posters." She called them up to make sure they were open and we headed that way. A couple members of our group expressed doubt that they would be open on Sunday in Alabama. However, while it is illegal in most places in Alabama to sell alcohol on Sunday there are no such prohibitions of adult novelty items.

The ladies at the store were thrilled by the poster and asked me to sign it for them. Here's a pic.


We took other photos as well but they are really not appropriate for posting. Yes..it's true....even I have limits when it comes to what I will put on my blog. My kids read this every day and they are not ready to see mom clowning around in an adult novelty store.

I did find out that Love Stuff has a website where you can order online. I looked for one when I started my sex toy drive but was unable to locate it. For the record their web address is http://www.lovestuffusa.net and they have an inflatable pig just like the one I sent Troy. So, if you have not yet mailed your gift to our wonderful and most deserving Attorney General let me encourage you to visit the Love Stuff link and send Troy some Holiday JOY!

My Kid is a GENIUS!

A little later today my 15 year-old son and I will be heading to Mobile. Alex (my son) is a prospective student at The Alabama School of Math & Science for his junior and senior years and tomorrow is Open House.

While any parent would be proud of their kid in this situation I have to say that I am prouder than most....mainly because his major academic success is such a slap in the face to the propagnada spewing prohibitionists, government officials and law enforcement entities who would have you believe that any child of an admitted marijuana consumer who lives in a trailer and possesses only a GED should have at least two heads, make F-'s on everything they do, stay in trouble with the law and be generally non-benificial to society.

My daughter is also brilliant and very artistically gifted. She has her sights set on the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham when she enters the 7th grade.

Here's proof positive that parents who smoke pot can also be responsible in rearing children, be involved in their school work and have kids that are in the running to be Valedictorian, are recipients of National Merit scholarships, are Beta club members...the list goes on and on.

So a huge "RASPBERRY" nanner nanner nanner to all those who espouse the idea that pot smokers can't raise healthy, happy, well adjusted and productive kids.

Sex Toys for Troy King Makes Rolling Stone!

Ok, so it isn't actually the COVER of the Rolling Stone...but I did manage to land Troy King on the Desk of National Affairs.

I got an email yesterday from a journalist who freelances for many different magazines including Rolling Stone and DAME Magazine asking if I would be interested in doing a piece for both magazines on the Sex Toys for Troy King story. I don't need to tell anyone that I eagerly accepted.

I went to Montgomery this morning for the interview which went very well. The piece will be out in about a month and will appear in Rolling Stone National Affairs section. That was Hunter S. Thompson's corner of RS and today I really wish he was still alive. He would appreciate this gesture like no one else. I know what the spin is going to be and I won't ruin it for y'all...just get ready to laugh some more.

As I got back into Alex City I had to make a stop by my favorite service station. I was all business-suited up...which is far different from my activist t-shirt and khaki's look everyone around here is used to seeing me in. The girl at the register asked me what the special occasion was and I told her about the interview and the toy drive. Bruce, who owns the store, walked away from us towards the back and came out holding this...



He said, "Why I'd have to get rid of my girl if they passed a tougher law....and that would be terrible because she never complains."

The RS piece will be just a few paragraphs, while the DAME piece will be about 1000 words and will have a photo layout as well. Not sure when that one is coming out or if it will be online, in print or both. The first print edition of this particular magazine has not yet gone to press.

Cover of the Rolling Stone

I'll explain later.