Let's Help This Family

UPDATE: We have raised $500 so far. THANK YOU to everyone who has so generously given to this cause on such short notice. Please keep the donations coming and provide an awesome Christmas for these kids who have such a hard life.



I read this heart wrenching story in the Montgomery Advertiser this morning about kids in Alabama going hungry.
Many Alabama Children Don't Get Enough to Eat

Please take a moment to read it. The comments from two of the readers are beyond comprehension to me. I've been hungry (though you'd never know it to look at me now) and it is the most miserable feeling, especially for a child. I have contacted the reporter and the Friendship Mission to help this family out. I want to ask all of you who are able to make a small contribution to provide for a nice Christmas dinner and a few toys for these little kids.

Elijah is a brave little soul who walks 30 minutes twice a day through very dangerous areas in order to eat and bring food home to his siblings. No child should have to do that and while we can't change his situation so that he is never hungry again we can help by providing what his mother cannot for one day of the year.

I've started this off with a $100 contribution.

If you'd like to help me feed this family and get some toys for those babies please paypal a contribution to voodoodol_74@yahoo.com

And again...

And today my letter was printed in the Mobile Press-Register.

In the BHAM News

My letter to the editor about taxing marijuana to fund education was printed in the Birmingham News today.

A Little Christmas Cheer

My awesome daughter, Bell Nall, played in her first band concert last night before a large audience at Horseshoe Bend School. In my totally unbiased opinion she carried the entire concert. She is the only saxophone player and can be clearly heard throughout the entire performance. And yes, those are my combat boots she's wearing. She's got a lot of 'rebel' in her...not unlike her mama.

I hope you all enjoy this bit of Christmas music. I cried watching her play on stage and as I was producing this video this morning. She worked very hard, practicing every day for months. We are extremely proud of her.

And, yes, that's me going "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" like some Budweiser fueled redneck NASCAR fan. My hands were full with the video camera so that's all I could do.

Part 1



Part 2

Why deny people chance for relief?

My great friend and fellow political activist, Don Seibold, had this most excellent letter published in today's Montgomery Advertiser.

Regarding Frank Winkler's letter headlined "Legalization clearly unhealthy": I've never partaken of marijuana in any form. I've suffered chronic pain for more than half my life.


If marijuana for treatment of pain were legalized and prescribed by my doctor, I'd try it to see if it relieves or diminishes my pain that nothing else has relieved. I don't think government should be able to say what a person can or cannot do in order to relieve pain.

Our Declaration of Independence says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

So what right does government have to deny anyone's right to treat pain in whatever way provides the most relief?

None.

I've contacted my state senator (Larry Dixon) and representative (Barry Mask) asking them where they stand regarding the proposed medical marijuana bill for Alabamians. I think I deserve to hear from both of them since I am one of their constituents who helps pay their salaries as legislators.

Don Seibold
Wetumpka

Thanks for this excellent letter Don. I cannot over-stress the importance of hearing from people who have never used marijuana in any form.

Let Pot Smokers Fund Education

I sent a letter out a few days ago in wake of the education funding cuts announced by Governor Riley. Today it was published in the Tuscaloosa News

Let pot smokers fund education

Published: Friday, December 19, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 10:49 p.m.

Dear Editor: What a shame that Alabama students will be the first to suffer the effects of the economic downturn when Alabama already has some of the lowest per-pupil spending in the nation. According to the most recent data that I can find, Alabama on average spends a little more than $8,000 per student per year. Yet we spend a minimum of $13,000 per year to lock up a non-violent citizen for smoking pot.

Instead of making responsible adult cannabis consumers a burden on state taxpayers by forcing taxpayers to pay for incarceration, why not regulate and tax marijuana like we do with alcohol and tobacco and use the taxes collected to make our education system better? After all, we use the taxes from the sale of alcohol to fund DHR. There's a whole base of cannabis consumers in Alabama who would be more than happy to be taxed in exchange for a safe, regulated market.

Not only could we use the money raised in taxes for public education, we could also use it for drug prevention education and to fund treatment for those addicted to harder drugs. It would be a superb deal all the way around.

It's time to tap into the multi-billion dollar marijuana market in this country and start reaping the many benefits available as opposed to filling our prisons with people who don't belong there at the expense of our children's education.

Tax us, please!

Loretta Nall

Alexander City

Pictorial of Oldest Cannabis Stash Ever Found

A few days ago I posted about my friend Dr. Ethan Russo's find of a 2700 year old burial site of a shaman that contained a large amount of marijuana. Now, The Discovery Channel has an excellent pictorial of the tomb and the cannabis found inside. My favorite picture is the 9th one that still shows excellent color even though it has been buried for a millennium.

Happy Birthday Bell!

My one and only darling daughter is 12 today! Happy Birthday baby girl! I love you.

Mom

Take Our Money PLEASE!

Gov. Riley Declares 9% Spending Cut to Public Education

MONTGOMERY -- Gov. Bob Riley, citing the severity of the economic downturn, declared proration today in state education spending and announced a hiring freeze in non-education state agencies.

The revenue shortfall would have caused across-the-board cuts of 12.5 percent. But Riley said he is taking $218 million, or half of the $437 million available in a state rainy day fund, to reduce the cuts to 9 percent.

What's amazing and really very backward is that Alabama has some of the lowest per pupil spending in the nation. According to the most recent data that I can find located at this link Alabama per-pupil education spending Alabama on average spends a little over $8,000 per student. Yet we spend $13,000 to lock up a non-violent citizen for smoking pot.

Instead of making responsible adult cannabis consumers a burden on state tax payers by forcing taxpayers to pay for incarceration why not regulate and tax marijuana like we do with alcohol and tobacco and use the taxes collected to make our education system better? There's a whole base of cannabis consumers in Alabama who would be more than happy to be taxed in exchange for a safe, regulated market.

Not only could we use the money raised in taxes for public education we could also use it for drug prevention education and to fund treatment for those addicted to harder drugs. It would be a superb deal all the way around.

TAKE OUR MONEY PLEASE!

Dr. Ethan Nadelmann for Drug Czar..Sign the Petition

Pass this on to everyone you know.

Sign the Dr. Ethan Nadelmann for Drug Czar Petition

To: President-elect Barack Obama

We the undersigned request the appointment of Ethan Nadelmann to direct the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (“Drug Czar”) of the United States of America.

For more than 20 years, Mr. Nadelmann has advocated in The United States and abroad for an open discussion of national drug control policy. His grasp of international law, the history of prohibition and current global drug control regimes is unparalleled. Through his books, dozens of published articles, academic lectures and papers, Mr. Nadelmann has demonstrated a detailed grasp of the evolving network of global prohibitions and international enforcement treaties. His exemplary research skills and resulting accomplishments have provided him a unique understanding of the history, development and contemporary practices of U.S. drug control policy and its relationship to the health of the citizens of The United States.

Mr. Nadelmann’s command of the best available peer-reviewed scientific research would best serve The United States at the Drug Czar position, responsible for setting national goals on education, drug abuse prevention and law enforcement. He is eminently qualified to conceive of a national drug control policy that vastly improves on the current model, which has changed little over the last 35 years, in order to better safeguard the health of our children and the general U.S. population, reduce crime rates and recidivism, abate drug-related violence, conspiratorial activity and address head on a vast source of clandestine financial support for international terrorism.

Mr. Nadelmann has directed the non-partisan, nonprofit advocacy group the Drug Policy Alliance for more than 15 years, which boasts the support of Nobel laureates, prominent U.S. government representatives from both political parties, economists, scientists, and members of law enforcement.

It is our belief that his rigorous approach to identifying common-sense solutions, combined with his unique ability to inspire diverse audiences from both sides of the aisle, makes Mr. Nadelmann uniquely qualified for the position of Drug Czar in an administration whose stated goals are to repeal the harshest drug sentences, remove federal bans on funding syringe-exchange programs to reduce AIDS, give medical marijuana a fair chance to prove itself, and support treatment alternatives for low-level drug offenders.

Sign the Dr. Ethan Nadelmann for Drug Czar Petition

Bell Nall Wins Horseshoe Bend Spelling Bee

My lovely, beautiful, darling, smart daughter, Bell Nall, won the spelling bee at her school last week. Below is the newspaper article and the photo I took of her with her trophy. She will represent her school at the county spelling bee coming up in Jan.

Great job Bell!! You make me very proud to be your mom!!

My Dog Rocks!

Got a new video camera for Christmas but started using it early. Thought I'd share some new pics of my pooch with my readers. Enjoy!

Biden gets a Puppy

Biden beats Obama in Puppy Race....CNN

(CNN) – While the country is fixated on what kind of dog President-elect Barack Obama’s family will get when they move into the White House, his Vice President-elect Joe Biden quietly picked out a puppy of his own last week.

Biden’s wife, Jill, promised the future VP a dog if he and Obama got elected. Biden found the as-yet-unnamed pup, a three-month old male German Shepherd, in a breeder’s kennel in southeastern Pennsylvania, the area’s Daily Local News reports.

Biden has excellent taste in dogs. I speak from experiece.

Bush Ducks Shoes in Iraq

That guy was a good shot..and Bush has quick reflexes.

Drug War Double Standard

Over the course of the last few weeks there have been three letters printed in the Montgomery Advertiser regarding medical marijuana.

State should join marijuana list (my letter)

Medical Purpose Well Justified (Sarah Wires)

Legalization clearly unhealthy (Frank Winkler)

In responses posted to each letter on the Montgomery Advertiser site 'renegade6', a poster, calls for the execution of terminally ill patients, other medical users and recreational users of marijuana.

What makes this fascinating is that renegade6 claims in the posts on the last letter that he is a police officer. I don't believe that to be true, although his attitude fits. If he is a cop then his call for execution of anyone for using marijuana is horrifying.

First, its bullshit that a cop can call for the outright execution of a citizen for ingesting a benign plant. If we ingesters of said plant were to call for the execution of drug cops then we would all be arrested and probably the recipient of a serious beating at the hands of police. But, this guy can call for the execution of peaceful citizens and nothing happens to him. If this is a real war then how come only one side (government aggressor) is allowed to fight and the other side (peaceful pot smokers) is criminalized if they fight back? Nay...criminalized for even thinking (conspiracy) of fighting back?

Second, you can't help but wonder, if this guy is a real cop, then how many people has he shot or brutalized over marijuana in his career? The fact that he has a badge and a gun and has been sanctioned by the government would give him countless opportunities to violate the rights of citizens. You know cops police themselves so any shooting was 'justified' as accidental, or 'suspect was threatening my safety' or the ever present and entirely over-used 'suspect tried to run over me with his car' explanations. All after an 'intense and unbiased investigation', of course. [/sarcasm]

Can it really be a war if only one side is allowed to do the shooting?

EDIT: A Google search reveals that Frank Winkler (letter author) is affiliated with SAYNO Inc. Here is the link. His name appears near the bottom of the page.


http://www.mh.alabama.gov/downloads/SA/SASDPreventionDirectory.pdf

I haven't found a link for the organization SAYNO Inc. In fact, I've never heard of them before today.

Chances are Mr. Winkler gets federal funding from the government and clearly has a vested interest in keeping marijuana illegal. He'd be out of work if we ended prohibition. Interesting that he didn't put his organization affiliation on this letter.

Marijuana Question Tops List at Obama's Change.gov

On Thursday of last week the Obama transition team website Change.gov began taking questions from the public about what things needed changing the most in this country. I am very proud to announce that out of the top 10 questions the following question was #1.

Currently in the lead:
"Will you consider legalizing marijuana so that the government can regulate it, tax it, put age limits on it, and create millions of new jobs and create a billion dollar industry right here in the U.S.?"
S. Man, Denton

And this question came in at #7.

13 states have compassionate use programs for medial Marijuana, yet the federal gov't continues to prosecute sick and dying people. Isn't it time for the federal gov't to step out of the way and let doctors and families decide what is appropriate?"
Greg, Minnesota

Here is the list of questions.

From the website:

Thursday, December 11, 2008 05:50pm EST / Posted by Dan McSwain

Since its launch yesterday, the Open for Questions tool has processed over 600,000 votes from more than 10,000 people on more than 7,300 questions. Voting will come to a close Friday, December 12th, at 12:00 a.m. EST, so that we can prepare answers to some of the most popular questions.

I am eagerly anticipating the answers to both of these questions. Great job everyone who participated and made these questions a big part of the top ten. Way to get the right attention focused on both of these important issues.

A Request

Yesterday a reader asked me to add a 'Followers' button to this blog. I have now added it to the top of the right sidebar. If you are a regular reader and feel so inclined...click it.

From Mixed Media...LMAO

Spann Angers the Snow Gods - Again

And since we are on the subject of snow I'd like to share a hilarious comment I found here the other day.

Posted by Chiggerticky on 12/10/08 at 5:36PM

Indeed! There's a little-known religious sect that began in Mulga that preaches that by eliminating all bread and milk from grocers' shelves, you can entreat God to withhold the snow. I was wary, but I've seen it happen so many times---James Spann et. al. stoke up the fervor on TV and readio; everyone rushes to the stores to buy out bread and milk; then the snow never shows. It's hard to argue with such a consistent pattern. Those faithful, who call themselves "BreadMilkian SnowStoppers" have shown me results.

Ancient Cannabis Stash Unearthed in China

CNN

(CNN) -- An ancient race that lived 2,700 years ago in the Gobi Desert may have been among the first to use cannabis for medical or religious purposes.
Researchers believe an ancient Gushi shaman may have consumed or burned pot for medical or religious purposes.

Nearly two pounds of the plant was found stashed in the tomb of a Gushi shaman. It was high in the chemical compounds that provide its psychoactive properties.

"It had evidence of the chemical attributes of cannabis used as a drug," said Dr. Ethan Russo, an author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Botany. "It could have been for pain control. It could have been for other medicinal properties. It could have been used as an aid to divination."

The Gushi people were a Caucasian race with light hair and blue eyes who likely migrated thousands of years ago from the steppes of Russia to what is now China. A nomadic people, they were accomplished horsemen and archers.

Chinese archaeologists excavating a network of 2,500 tombs near the town of Turpan in the Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region unearthed the shaman's grave, which contained the cannabis, along with a trove of artifacts such as bridles, archery equipment and a rare harp.

The shaman is thought to have been about 45 years old when he died. Many of the bodies recovered in the area were found in an incredibly well-preserved, almost mummified condition. The shaman, however, was a skeleton.

"The deceased was laid out on the bottom of this tomb on a little bier," Russo said. "This individual seemed to be very high status because of the variety and quality of the grave goods, including the equestrian equipment, the archery equipment and the large amount of cannabis."

Russo said no pipe for smoking the cannabis was found in the shaman's tomb. Researchers think he might have eaten the cannabis or possibly put it on a burning fire to create fumes.

They don't think it was used to make hemp clothing or rope, as some other early cultures did. Genetic analysis of the plant suggests it was cultivated rather than gathered from the wild.

This find is not the first or the oldest example of ancient people using cannabis, but it may be the best studied.

"There may have been older finds of cannabis, but not with this level of scientific investigation attached to them," Russo said.

(Note: Dr. Ethan Russo is a friend of mine from Montana who is always after me to get started writing my book)

Hey..I'm in a Willie Nelson Video!

Back in Jan. 2004 I traveled to Austin, TX to cover a Willie Nelson concert and to interview Democratic Presidential hopeful Congressman Dennis Kucinich. I had front row, center stage seats and unbeknownst to me I ended up in this video captured by another member of the audience. When Willie finishes singing look for the blonde in a white shirt front row center. There is a better shot of me near when Kucinich takes the stage.

Kewl!

As an added treat you'll get to hear Willie sing an original song for the very first time.

Ya know...

The Golden Rule works real well....until you run into a masochist.

Let Not Mankind Bogart Love

Sung as only Willie Nelson can sing it.



They cut out the first part where Willie and Stephen are chatting and Willie tells Stephen, "Man I'm so high you're hallucinating.

Tell Obama We Want to Change Marijuana Laws!

Currently on the Change.gov website the following is the #12 question. Let's put it in the top 10 and maybe even make it #1.

"Will you consider legalizing marijuana so that the government can regulate it, tax it, put age limits on it, and create millions of new jobs and create a billion dollar industry right here in the U.S.?"

Go to http://change.gov/page/content/openforquestions , register, and proceed to the 2nd page. Hit the checkmark to vote it to the top 10.

Talk about a 'Bullshit' law!

Just got this hysterical email from my sister and thought I would share.

hi how are you doing?im ok considering the day i had yesterday- i wrecked my cruiser- get this i hit a cow it was walking across the road and i hit it- it was about 5pm yesterday afternoon after i hit it the damn thing got up and walked off- im ok just a bundle of nerves .
listen to this tho- alabama has a free range law the owners of the cow dont have to pay for squat and get this too my airbags did not deploy either
im hoping my ins co will give me a loaner car - i guess i scared the shit out of the cow- it shit all over my car
i was on my way to take a cpr class
the radiator of my car is pushed back in my motor, im pretty sure the ins co will total it out they ought to i probably done$ 10,000 damage to it i hope they total it i will be afraid to drive it now, c. , d. and myself have all wrecked it. will keep you up to date on everything. love you

Let's Blow Up Hwy. 280

I took my daughter to the Alabama School of Fine Arts Open House yesterday afternoon. It started at 3:30 and ended at 4:30 which meant that we had to drive 280 home during rush hour.

It took me over an hour after getting on 280 from the Red Mountain Expressway to get to the big hill just past Inverness where the red lights end.

Go two feet and stop. Go two feet and stop. Sit four cars back from an obvious green light and cuss because no one is moving. Go two feet and stop.

Good God it is MADDENING!! I don't see how people do it everyday. I'd never be able to pull it off every day. I say we just blow the whole damn highway up. Or maybe Obama will take on the elevated bypass as part of his government jobs highway program.

Ya Grill, Ya Ya Ya Grill

Monday morning I broke one of my bi-cuspids completely in half. I had a root canal done on that tooth two years ago. I called my dentist, who made an emergency appointment for me to come in and have it looked at. I couldn't close my teeth together because that made the broken half of the tooth gouge the roof of my mouth. It was a very strange feeling.

After the dentist pulled the broken part out she told me I needed to have that tooth crowned and left to get me an estimate of the cost. I have dental insurance, which didn't help me at all on Monday. It doesn't cover emergency visits or tooth extractions, so that visit alone cost over $100. It pays 50% on most things and I have a $1000 a year limit.

She came back in the room with a sheet of paper and told me that having that tooth crowned would cost me $800!

I said through my Novocaine numbed mouth, "Damn Joni, for that much bling I could get a big enough grill to look like a Cadillac Escalade! $800 for one crown? That's outrageous!"




Needless to say I won't be getting that tooth crowned anytime soon unless a large bag of money falls from the sky and lands on me. Luckily the broken tooth isn't visible when I smile or talk so I will just live with it for the time being.

Why is dental work so expensive?

Dogs are Awesome!

Puppies Save Three-year-old

A three year old little boy wandered away from his babysitter and spent a night alone in the woods in Virginia. It was 17 degrees. The family and rescuers credit two cute little mongrel puppies for his survival. Apparently they followed him from home and snuggled up to him and kept him warm. Dogs are just awesome.

Yesterday I watched 'DogTown' for the first time and was moved to tears at the condition of tons of toy dogs that were rescued from a puppy mill. They had lived in small cages in their own urine and feces for their entire lives. Never been on the grass or allowed to run around with other puppies. Their fur was matted so badly they had to be shaved and they were completely feral. Had to be muzzled or they would attack. By the end of the show they were much improved.

I'll never understand how humans can be so cruel to our animal companions. They make the world a more interesting place to live. I love my dog like he is one of the kids and cannot imagine ever harming him in any deliberate way.

Long Live Doggies!

Small Town Rip Off

The Birmingham News is running a very good story in today's paper about state auditors uncovering missing money in small town municipal courts.

From what I gather the court clerks, who take the money citizens have to pay in fines and court costs, keep about half of it for themselves. When they are caught they simply have to pay back the money. No charges are filed for this thieving from public coffers.

This results in citizen's being fined twice and paying twice. In some cases they go to jail. When the clerk steals the money they obviously do not record that a fine or a ticket has been paid. This has affected my family personally.

Back in 1996 my husband got out of the Army and we moved back home to Ashland. On his way to work one morning he got a speeding ticket. When the cop ran his license he pulled up an 'unpaid ticket' from Anniston that happened in 1990 right after we were married. It was for an expired tag. The cop runs my husband in and I had to walk up to the jail with a four-year-old and a new infant in tow, in the frezing cold, being chased by a very unfreindly German Shepherd and post bail.

A new court date was set in Anniston. We knew we had paid trhe ticket because the Army does a background check on everyone enlisting and they would not have accepted my husband into the military without the ticket being paid. Since it had been 6 years and we had lived in a foreign country and West Texas we no longer had the receipt. So, we had to pay it again.

I know many people this has happened to. I always tell people to store the receipts from any fines or tickets paid in a safe deposit box at the bank.

According to the story this is also happening in circuit courts in Alabama and they plan further investigation. That's good news. I only wish that criminal charges were filed against these damn theives who steal from us twice and in some cases put innocent people in jail. If a regular citizen were to rob someone and falsely imprison them they would be in jail for a long time and rightfully so. Why are public officials above the law?

Booze or Drugs, Prohibition Makes No Sense

Yesterday was the 75th Anniversary of the Repeal of Alcohol Prohibition. The Birmingham News ran the following article in celebration of that day. The article wasn't available online but one of my readers found it at Real Clear Politics. I encourage all of my readers and fellow reformers in Alabama to write the Birmingham News a response and thank them for running this column.

December 04, 2008
Booze or Drugs, Prohibition Makes No Sense
By Froma Harrop

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- America ended Prohibition 75 years ago this week. The ban on the sale of alcohol unleashed a crime wave, as gangsters fought over the illicit booze trade. It sure didn't stop drinking. People turned to speakeasies and bathtub gin for their daily cocktail.

Prohibition -- and the violence, corruption and health hazards that followed -- lives on in its modern version, the so-called War on Drugs. Former law-enforcement officers gathered in Washington to draw the parallels. Their group, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), has called for nothing less than the legalization of drugs.

And before you say, "We can't do that," hear the officers out. They have an answer for every objection.

Doesn't the War on Drugs take narcotics off the street, raising their price beyond most Americans' means?

Obviously not. The retail price of cocaine is now about half what it was in 1990. When the value of something goes up, more people go into the business.

In some Dallas junior high schools, kids can buy two hits of "cheese" -- a mix of Tylenol PM and heroin -- for $5, Terry Nelson, a former U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer, told me. Lunch costs more.

Wouldn't legalizing drugs create new users? Not necessarily. LEAP wants drugs to be regulated like alcohol and cigarettes. Regulations are why it's harder to buy alcohol or cigarettes in many schoolyards than drugs. By regulating the purity and strength of drugs, they become less deadly.

Isn't drug addiction a scourge that tears families apart? Yes, it is, and so are arrests and incarceration and criminal records for kids caught smoking pot behind the bleachers. There are 2.1 million people in federal, state and local prisons, 1.7 million of them for non-violent drug offenses.

Removing the stigma of drug use lets addicts come out into the open for treatment. We have treatments for alcoholism, but we don't ban alcohol.

LEAP's members want to legalize drugs because they're tired of being shot at in a war they can't win. They're tired of making new business for dealers every time they arrest a competitor. They're are tired of busting people in the streets of America's cities over an ounce of cocaine, while the Andean region produces over 1,000 tons of it a year. They're tired of enriching terrorists.

"In 2009, the violence of al-Qaida will be financed by drug profits," said Eric Sterling, head of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, which joined the call for legalization. As counsel to the House Judiciary Committee in the 1980s, Sterling helped write the anti-drug laws he now opposes.

Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron estimates that legalizing drugs would save federal, state and local governments $44 billion in enforcement costs. Governments could collect another $33 billion in revenues were they to tax drugs as heavily as alcohol and tobacco.

No one here likes drugs or advocates putting heroin on store shelves alongside ibuprofen and dental floss. Each state or county could set its own rules on who could buy which drugs and where and taxes levied -- as they now do with alcohol.

What about taking gradual steps -- say, starting with marijuana. And couldn't we first try decriminalization -- leaving users alone but still arresting dealers? Those were my questions.

The LEAP people want the laws gone, period. "We're whole hog on it," Nelson said. Keeping the sale of drugs illegal, he said, "doesn't take the cartels out of it."

Ending this "war" won't be easy. Too many police, drug agents, bureaucrats, lawyers, judges, prison guards and sprayers of poppy fields have a stake in it. But Prohibition was repealed once. Perhaps it can happen again.

fharrop@projo.com

Medical Purpose Well Justified

My friend Sarah Wires had a letter about medical marijuana published in today's Montgomery Advertiser. Great Job Sarah!! Comments can be left on the Montgomery Advertiser site at the link above.

Medical purpose well justified
December 5, 2008

In response to "State should join marijuana list" by Loretta Nail, executive director of Alabama for Compassionate Care: Thank you for printing the letter and keeping this subject before the public.


For patients who are chronically and/or terminally ill, marijuana can mean the difference in a normal life for the time they have left and being asleep on the couch or in bed from other legal medicine that might relieve the symptoms but leaves one unable to truly function, live, be normal.

Alcohol is legal, cigarettes are legal, etc., for people to enjoy recreationally, at their own risk, and we know the health reports regarding both of those substances. However, patients, our fellow citizens that are ill, some of whom are dying, are having to beg for the right to use marijuana that was placed here naturally for their use.

Why is that? Why will people listen to and believe reports about everything else, but the same scientific studies regarding marijuana are not believed? Why are the ill being placed in our courts for trying to treat themselves? When did we lose the right to treat ourselves?

It is important that the citizens of Alabama not only help those in our state who need this medicine of choice by legalizing it medically, but at the same time help to strengthen the fight against the existing, unjust federal laws by joining the brave ranks of the other states.
Sarah Wires
Dora

Response to Medical Marijuana Letter

Stan White of Colorado had a letter published today in the Tuscaloosa News in response to my recent letter on medical marijuana.

Marijuana was created by God


Published: Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, December 1, 2008 at 9:56 p.m.

Dear Editor: Regarding Loretta Nall's request ('Make medical marijuana legal,' letters, Nov. 21): Colorado legalized medical cannabis (kaneh bosm/marijuana) use and it has worked properly, protecting sick citizens from confrontation with government.

One reason to permit sick humans to use the relatively safe God-given plant cannabis that doesn't get mentioned is because it's Biblically correct since Christ God Our Father, the Ecologician indicates he created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page.

Further, the only biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it is to be accepted with thankfulness (see 1 Timothy 4:1-5). And 'But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?' (See 1 John 3:17). Jesus Christ risked jail to heal the sick.


Stan White

Dillon, Colo.

State Law TRUMPS Fed Law on Medical Marijuana

US Supreme Court Rules State Medical Marijuana Laws Not Preempted by Federal Law

-------------------------------------------------------------------
*PRESS RELEASE
Americans for Safe Access
For Immediate Release: *December 1, 2008

*U.S. Supreme Court: State Medical Marijuana Laws Not Preempted by Federal
Law */medical marijuana case appealed by the City of Garden Grove was denied
review today/

*Washington, DC* -- The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a landmark
decision today in which California state courts found that its medical
marijuana law was not preempted by federal law. The state appellate court
decision from November 28, 2007, ruled that "it is not the job of the local
police to enforce the federal drug laws." The case, involving Felix Kha, a
medical marijuana patient from Garden Grove, was the result of a wrongful
seizure of medical marijuana by local police in June 2005.
Medical marijuana advocates hailed today's decision as a huge victory in
clarifying law enforcement's obligation to uphold state law. Advocates
assert that better adherence to state medical marijuana laws by local police
will result in fewer needless arrests and seizures. In turn, this will allow
for better implementation of medical marijuana laws not only in California,
but in all states that have adopted such laws.

"It's now settled that state law enforcement officers cannot arrest medical
marijuana patients or seize their medicine simply because they prefer the
contrary federal law," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel with Americans for
Safe Access (ASA), the medical marijuana advocacy organization that
represented the defendant Felix Kha in a case that the City of Garden Grove
appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Perhaps, in the future local government
will think twice about expending significant time and resources to defy a
law that is overwhelmingly supported by the people of our state."

California medical marijuana patient Felix Kha was pulled over by the Garden
Grove Police Department and cited for possession of marijuana, despite Kha
showing the officers proper documentation. The charge against Kha was
subsequently dismissed, with the Superior Court of Orange County issuing an
order to return Kha's wrongfully seized 8 grams of medical marijuana. The
police, backed by the City of Garden Grove, refused to return Kha's medicine
and the city appealed. Before the 41-page decision was issued a year ago by
California's Fourth District Court of Appeal, the California Attorney
General filed a "friend of the court" brief on behalf of Kha's right to
possess his medicine. The California Supreme Court then denied review in
March.

"The source of local law enforcement's resistance to upholding state law is
an outdated, harmful federal policy with regard to medical marijuana," said
ASA spokesperson Kris Hermes. "This should send a message to the federal
government that it's time to establish a compassionate policy more
consistent with the 13 states that have adopted medical marijuana laws."

Further information:
Today's U.S. Supreme Court Order denying review:
http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/Kha_USSC.pdf
Decision by the California Fourth Appellate District Court:
http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/GardenGroveDecision.pdf
Felix Kha's return of property case:
http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/article.php?id=4412

URGENT!!! SIGN ON NOW!!!

Friends and Allies:

As you may know, there have been several media stories saying that President-elect Obama might nominate Rep. Ramstad (R-MN/3rd) to be our nation's next "Drug Czar". While Rep. Ramstad has been good on "parity" legislation (and is in recovery himself), he has been an opponent of methadone in the past. He also has a long record of opposing syringe exchange programs, medical marijuana, and other public health issues. He has no record of support for sentencing reform or eliminating racial disparities in the criminal justice system. We're circulating a sign-on letter to President-elect Obama expressing these concerns. Please consider signing on. You can e-mail bpiper@drugpolicy.org to sign on. Please indicate whether the organization you represent is signing on or if you're just signing on in your personal capacity. Either way please provide your name, title, and organization affiliation. The deadline for signing on is 10am EST on Wednesday, December 3rd. (Sorry for the short turn around time).






December 1, 2008



Dear President-Elect Obama,



We are both heartened by your electoral victory and excited by the many opportunities for fresh thinking on the intersections between illicit drug use, punitive sentencing policies and the transmission of HIV/AIDS. You showed strong leadership on the campaign trail by pledging to lift the federal funding ban on syringe exchange programs, end the excessive federal law enforcement raids aimed at medical marijuana patients, and eliminate the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity. We are concerned, however, about media reports that you may choose Rep. James Ramstad (R-MN/3rd) to be your director of national drug control policy or "drug czar".



While we applaud Representative Ramstad for his courageous and steady support for expanding drug treatment access and improving addiction awareness, and honor his own personal and very public triumph over addiction, we have strong reservations about his candidacy for the drug czar position. In his twenty-eight years in the U.S. House, Representative Ramstad has consistently opposed policies that seek to reduce drug-related harm and create common ground on polarizing issues.



Representative Ramstad voted in 1998 in favor of making permanent the federal funding ban on syringe exchange, voted in 2000 to prohibit the District of Columbia from spending its own locally raised funds on syringe exchange programs and voted in 2007 against lifting the same DC ban, despite decades of research showing that syringe exchange programs reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS without increase drug use. Rep. Ramstad has also consistently opposed congressional efforts to stop the arrest of HIV/AIDS, cancer and other patients who use medical marijuana to ease their pain and suffering in states where it is legal.



Unlike you and Vice President-elect Biden, Rep. Ramstad has also failed to cosponsor any legislation eliminating the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, despite the fact that there were four different crack/powder reform bills before the U.S. House in the 110th Congress. A number of recent studies have found that long prison sentences are one factor driving disproportionate rates of HIV/AIDS infections in communities of color. A primary task of the next drug czar should be to deal with this and other issues related to overincarceration.



We urge you to nominate for drug czar someone with a public health background, who is committed to reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and other infectious diseases, open to systematic drug policy reform, and able to show strong leadership on the issues you believe in. Thank you for your consideration and attention to our concerns, and congratulations again on your historic victory.



Sincerely,





ORGANIZATIONAL ENDORSERS



ACTUP-New York (New York, NY)

Advocates for Youth (Washington, DC)

AIDS Action Baltimore (Baltimore, MD)

AIDS Foundation of Chicago (Chicago, IL)

AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland (Cleveland, OH)

AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (Boston, MA)

Brothers and Sisters in Action (Rialto, CA)

CAEAR Coalition (Washington, DC)

California Communities United Institute

Chicago Recovery Alliance (Chicago, IL)

Citizens Alliance for VD Awareness (Mount Prospect, IL)

Citizens AIDS Project (Mount Prospect, IL)

Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP)(New York, NY)

East Bay AIDS Center (Oakland, CA)

Exponents (New York, NY)

Harm Reduction Coalition (New York, NY)

Health GAP (Global Access Project) (NY)

HIV Education and Prevention Project of Alameda County (Oakland, CA)

HIVictorious, Inc. (Madison, Wisconsin)

Housing Works (New York, NY)

International Community of Women Living with HIV and AIDS (ICW) (United Kingdom)

Justice Policy Institute (JPI) (Washington, DC)

L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center (Los Angeles, CA)

Latino Commission on AIDS (New York, NY)

National AIDS Fund (Washington, DC)

National Black Police Association (Washington, DC)

New Age Services Corporation (Chicago, IL)

National Council of Jewish Women (Washington, DC)

Pediatric AIDS Chicago Prevention Initiative (Chicago, IL)

Philadelphia FIGHT (Philadelphia, PA)

SAVE Inc. (Kansas City, MO)

Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) (Washington, DC)

Treatment Action Group (New York, NY)

Visual AIDS (New York, NY)





INDIVIDUAL ENDORSERS



G. Alan Marlatt, Ph.D.

Professor and Director

Addictive Behaviors Research Center, University of Washington

Seattle, WA



Tiia Harrison

AIVL Project Education Officer

AIVL

Australia



Luis M. Lozano,
Executive Director
The Beacon House Association of San Pedro
San Pedro, CA



George Kerr
Co-Chair, DC Fights Back

Project Director, Start at Westminster

Washington, DC



Carol Bergman

Policy Director

Global AIDS Alliance

Washington, DC



Tamara Oyola-Santiago, MA, MPH

Director

Harm Reduction Place

New York, NY



Patt Denning, PhD

Director of Clinical Services and Training

Harm Reduction Therapy Center

San Francisco,C CA



William Martin

Senior Fellow for Drug Policy

James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Rice University

Houston, TX



Sanho Tree

Director

Drug Policy Project

Institute for Policy Studies

Washington, DC



Mark Peterson

Director

Michigan Positive Action Coalition (MI-POZ)

Detroit, MI



Lynn M. Paltrow
Executive Director
National Advocates for Pregnant Women
New York, NY



Victoria Culkin, MA

HIV Prevention Evaluation Coordinator

New Mexico Department of Health

Santa Fe, NM



Andrew Tatarsky, PhD

Founding executive board member

Division on Addictions, New York State Psychological Association

New York, NY







Monique Howard, MPH, EdD

Executive Director

New Jersey Women and AIDS Network (NJWAN)

New Brunswick, NJ



Professor Nick Crofts

Senior Research Fellow

Nossal Institute for Global Health

University of Melbourne

Australia



Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch

Director, Global Drug Policy Program

Open Society Institute

New York, NY



Yvette Gonzales

CRCS Case Manager

Positive Health Project, Inc.

New York, NY



Nancy Cheak-Zamora, Ph.D.
Research Manager
Saint Louis University
School of Public Health
Saint Louis, MO



Lynne R. Appel

Executive Director

Southern California Alcohol and Drug Programs, Inc.

Downey, CA



Ed Walsh LMSW, CASAC

Program Supervisor MMIDU

St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan

New York, NY



Scott Burris
Professor of Law
Temple University Beasley School of Law
Philadelphia, PA



Yadira Perez

Director

Turning Research into Prevention

New York, NY



Nancy Freeman, Psy.D.

Clinical Psychologist-Psychoanalyst

Member of New York State Psychological Association and American Psychological

Association

Graduate of William Alanson White Institute



Frederick L. Altice, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Director of Clinical and Community Research
Yale University School of Medicine
Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program
New Haven, CT

Back Injuries SUCKETH!

The day before Thanksgiving I was outside playing with my dog. He pulled hard on his leash when I wasn't expecting it, my knees locked and I slipped a disc in my lumbar spine. I knew when I felt it happen that it was, at some point, going to require a trip to the doctor. That point came about two hours later.

I told the Dr. what happened and that I would probably need an x-ray. He said the x-ray tech was off that day and I would have to go to the hospital to get one. He gave me some samples of a time release muscle relaxer and wrote me a script for ten 50 mg Demerol (which shockingly didn't help my pain at all) and orders to take to the hospital for the x-ray. He also gave me a shot of steroids and a shot of Toradol. Both of those usually work really well when I have a flare up in my back. But not this time. Unfortunately he forgot to write his suspected diagnosis on the order and since his office closed at 12 the hospital couldn't reach him to fix the order and I had to wait til Friday when his office opened again to correct it.

At 930 Friday morning I went back to his office to get the order corrected and told them I needed some more pain medicine. So he gave me 10 more demerol. I went to the hospital and got the x-rays which the doctor will see today. I thought I would be ok thru the rest of the weekend. I was wrong.

Saturday I toughed it out even though I could feel the swelling getting worse and getting up and down was near impossible. I ate the pain pills which didn't seem to help all that much. I know that it's serious pain when Demerol won't fix it. That theoretically should have knocked me into next week.

On Sunday I lost my ability to get up and down without substantial assistance altogether and my ability to walk was starting to be affected. It was taking me 10 minutes to move from the living room to the bedroom. I couldn't lift my right leg at all...just had to kind of slide it along. This was some serious hurt.

I decided to go to the ER because I was too scared to wait til Monday. Not being able to walk and being able to feel the swollen disc in my back scared me badly. I took my pain medicine that I had left to the ER so they could see that I had been taking them as prescribed. I told the Dr. about the set of x-rays I had done on Friday. He looked at them and told me I needed an MRI.

My blood pressure was really high when I got to the ER. It was 191/134. My BP usually runs 120/80 and has for years. The ER Dr. prescribed another shot of steroids, a shot of muscle relaxer and a whopping shot of morphine. As I sat on the edge of the bed and waited for my meds I started feeling very dizzy and sick. I broke out in a cold sticky sweat and thought I was going to throw up and pass out. My blood pressure cuff came on and checked my BP again and it had dropped to 55/34. The nurse came running in asking if I was ok. She had to help me lay back and then got a cool rag for my head. My back was screaming and I couldn't have any of the shots until my BP got back up to something resembling normal. That took about 45 minutes.

When my BP had reached an acceptable level she gave me my shots. Before she gave me the morphine she made sure I had someone with me that could drive me home. I had her go and fetch my husband from the lobby. She gave me all three shots and then started teasing me about the morphine making me loopy. Except that it didn't make me loopy. A big shot of that stuff should have had me on Jupiter in a matter of minutes. But I hardly felt it at all. And it didn't do much of anything for my back.

This morning my back feels a little better. I can tell some of the swelling is down because I can walk, albeit very slowly. However, if I move the wrong way it feels like my spine is going to snap in two. I'll be back at the doctors office this morning to set up an MRI.

I think back pain is one of the worst pains you can have. Your back is the center of the universe when it hurts like that.

So, what exactly are they trying to say?

I saw this ad for the first time a few weeks ago. I still can't figure out what point the ONDCP is trying to get across.



Is the point supposed to be smoking pot makes you want to have intimate relations with horses? I've been smoking pot since I was 12 and I gotta tell ya...I've never felt the urge to run into a pasture and do anything with a horse (or any other animal for that matter).

Is the point supposed to be that smoking pot makes you want to pull a horses tail? Gee, I've never had that urge either.

If I'd ever had either urge I would have stopped smoking pot.

Whatever happened to the innocent 'you'll wind up a couch potato in your mom's basement if you smoke pot' ONDCP ads? Or hell, the fried egg commercials representing your brain on drugs? Those, while wrong, were at least amusing and contained no overt references to beastiality. This one with the horse is disturbing.

Happy Thanksgiving

I've got the stove fired up and the dressing cooking. Last night I cooked home made macaroni and cheese and will be cooking a green bean casserole a little later on this morning. Then me and my brood will pack it up and add it to what awaits us at the big gatering with relatives later.

I hope y'all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Oh Please NOOOOOOOOO!

King relies on small-town values as he mulls a gubernatorial run

Will we never be rid of this clown?

King said that he ultimately will turn to his faith and his family to decide on a possible gubernatorial campaign.

The real question is, What kind of first lady will J.W. Godwin make?


Or, will Trixie the pig be the first lady?


Maybe we'll get really lucky and there will be a cat fight between J.W. and Trixie. I'd pay to see that.

Here's the money quote though...

Ferrin Cox, publisher of the Elba Clipper, has known King since childhood and said the community had an enormous affect on him. Cox remembers King as a "clean-cut kid" who got in trouble occasionally but was always honest.

"If Troy tells me it's fixing to rain, I'm going to get my umbrella," Cox said.

Though the two remain friends, Cox said, he has disagreed with some of King's actions as attorney general and would likely have differences with a Gov. King.

"I think he would do as he's done as attorney general: He would offend other people," Cox said. "He would put his high moral standards and beliefs above what is politically correct

."

That means he will ignore the will of the people and do exactly what he pleases. Sounds a lot like George W. Bush to me and I think Alabamian's have had their fill of that particular kind of politics.

High moral standards?

Muhahahahahaha.

Medical Marijuana IN BHAM News today

My most recent medical marijuana letter was published in the Birmingham News and the Montgomery Advertiser today.

Make Medical Marijuana Legal

The legislature comes back into session in Jan. and I have already begun my letter writing campaign to newspapers across the state. Here is one that the Tuscaloosa News published today.

Make medical marijuana legal


Published: Friday, November 21, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 8:52 p.m.

Dear Editor: Michigan voters this month approved a measure that will protect patients who use marijuana on the recommendation of a licensed physician. Michigan thus became the 13th state in the U.S. to remove penalties for the use of medical marijuana. Nearly 25 percent of all Americans live in a medical-marijuana state. Marijuana is a safe, effective and inexpensive therapeutic agent that eventually will be legal for patients throughout the country to use.

The Alabama Compassionate Care Act has been tied up in legislative committees for four years, despite polls that show 76 percent voter approval. This bill would allow patients to use marijuana when a licensed physician recommends it. Alabama patients would be issued state ID cards so law-enforcement personnel could easily see they are legal medical-marijuana users. The American College of Physicians, the American Nurses Association, the American Public Health Association, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and many other professional health-care organizations have endorsed medical marijuana.

Sadly, Alabama still arrests and prosecutes patients for using medical marijuana. How long will it take Alabama to give her sick and dying citizens the same rights that other Americans have? Are Alabama patients less deserving of relief than the citizens of the 13 states where medical marijuana is legal?

Please contact your representative in Montgomery and ask them to support the Compassionate Care Act in the 2009 legislative session.


Loretta Nall

Executive director,

Alabamians for Compassionate Care

Alexander City

When the Drug War Comes Home to Roost

My sister-in-law was sentenced today in Judge John Rochester's court in Ashland. I was halfway there when my transmission went haywire and did not make it to the sentencing. My brother did though.

He called me a few minutes ago and said that she was sentenced to 5 years but that the sentence was suspended so that she will go to treatment for six months and then be on probation afterwards.

You know, it's amazing. Ever since Judge Rochester's son was caught trafficking drugs at the Ashland City Park he has done a 180 on every drug defendant I know who has come before him. This is the fourth person that I know personally who was up on serious drug charges who got the same sentence. Treatment and 5 years probation. One of those was a trafficking charge where the defendant was on tape selling to an undercover officer. And he was black to boot! It wasn't the first offense for any of them. In two of the cases the defendant had a record close to a mile long, so to speak.

It's really funny how quickly a hanging judge will change his fucking tune when the laws he has so religiously enforced for years and years come back to bite him in the ass after it is discovered that his own son is nothing more than a common drug trafficker. No better or worse than the hundreds of poor Clay County people he has sentenced to be tortured in an Alabama prison cell over the years.

What I'd really like to know is if he actually fully understands the folly of the drug war now that it has come home to roost or if he is just putting on airs so that he doesn't look like a hypocrite?

I'm no mechanic...but I'm not blind either

I know very little about cars. I mean, I know how to put in gas, washer fluid, brake fluid, coolant, power steering fluid and I could change a tire if I had to I guess. Other than that I'll have to pay somebody cash for their automobile knowledge.

Earlier this morning when I was taking my husband to work the transmission in my car slipped a little. I didn't think much of it. I had the oil changed and fluids topped off yesterday. Later on when I was heading to Clay County for my sister-in-laws sentencing the transmission slipped again and I decided to make a U-turn for the nearest service station for a bottle of transmission fluid.

I get the fluid, lift the hood and proceed to search for the transmission fluid reservoir.

Brake fluid reservoir. Check.
Power steering fluid reservoir. Check.
Washer fluid reservoir. Check.
Engine oil reservoir. Check.
Coolant reservoir. Check.
Transmission fluid reservoir......does not exist.

I stood there for a few minutes searching around under the hood for the place to check the transmission fluid and add some, trying not to feel like a car illiterate female (which is exactly what I am) and hoping I wouldn't have to go back inside and flaunt it. Finally, I had to swallow my pride and go back in the store and ask for the help of a couple of male counterparts. They gave me that condescending 'you stupid car illiterate female...poor thing' look. Then they came out and spent ten minutes looking under the hood of my car for the transmission fluid reservoir and they couldn't find it either. Sure made me feel much less dumb when a couple of redneck grease monkeys couldn't find it.

We finally gave up and I had to drive the car home.....very slowly. I'll be taking it in to the mechanic later today. But, before I do I want to ask my readers if they know where the transmission fluid reservoir is located on a 1998 Mercury Tracer. I've searched online for diagrams and can't find one. My owners manual was lost long ago. I don't know anyone else who drives the same kind of car to ask. I know the damn thing has a transmission and therefore transmission fluid must be used and there has to be a place to add it....but apparently it is invisible on my car.

REMINDER: Medical Marijuana Meeting Tonight!

Alabamians for Compassionate Care will be holding our monthly meeting on November 20 (TONIGHT!)from 6 to 8 pm at the Libertarian Party HQ building located at 2330 Highland Ave. South. This Highland Ave. is on Southside BHAM and not in Leeds or Irondale. I will have this meeting catered so come hungry. Please bring your friends/family members if they are interested.

What...You Didn't Get the Memo?

My sister-in-laws jury trial was slated for today so I made the customary trip up to Ashland this morning to be with her in court. Turns out she won't come up for trial until tomorrow due to there being about 10 cases for jury trial this go round.

A cautionary word to any of my readers, who, god forbid, might ever get in trouble in Clay County, Alabama. GET A LAWYER FROM ANYWHERE BUT CLAY COUNTY! Even some kid fresh out of law school would be better than anything you might possibly hope to find in Ashland or Lineville Alabama. It's a great place. A beautiful place. It's my home....but without a doubt it has the worst judicial system and lawyers probably anywhere on earth. Your chances of getting a fair trial and competent legal representation would be much better in say....Saudi Arabia or China.

Case and point.

In 2006 the Alabama Legislature in conjunction with the Alabama Sentencing Commission, and the Alabama Department of Corrections implemented these things called Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines in an effort to ease prison overcrowding and make sentences for the same crimes more uniform across the state. The bill which made this law is SB231 and was sponsored by Senator Roger Smitherman. And, yes, they are voluntary but judges and prosecutors are strongly encouraged to implement them and the majority do. When judges depart from the guidelines they are asked to provide an explanation in writing to the Alabama Sentencing Commission.

One of the main things these guidelines did was change the marijuana sentencing laws. Before it passed this is how things worked in Alabama. If you were arrested with a little pot for personal use the first time it was a misdemeanor. If you were ever arrested again...even for a seed or a roach it was an automatic felony punishable by up to ten years in prison. Now a person has to be arrested four times for marijuana possession and accumulate points against them (just like with drivers license) before jail is even considered.

So, when this passed in 2006 you can bet every lawyer in the state as well as the judges got the memo. Except, of course, my sister-in-laws attorney, one John Keith Warren of Ashland, AL.

I asked my brother a couple of weeks ago to call the lawyer and ask why my SIL was being charged with first degree marijuana possession when this was only her second time being charged with possession and she only had four grams. I wrote down the Senate bill number and printed out some news articles about the sentencing guidelines as well as some things from the Alabama Sentencing Commission for him to show the lawyer. When I picked my brother up this morning I asked him what the lawyer said about the guidelines and he said....get this, make sure you're sitting down....

The million watt light bulb of a lawyer told my brother, "Those guidelines don't apply in Alabama."

What a complete fucking ignoramus, douche bag. I've got dog turds in my yard that are brighter than this guy and could defend my sister-in-law better. If the Alabama sentencing guidelines don't apply IN ALABAMA just where exactly the fuck do they apply? Mississippi? Hong Kong maybe?

These are the ALABAMA Sentencing Guidelines, after all. Passed by the Alabama Legislature, signed by Alabama Governor Bob Riley, supported by the Alabama Sentencing commission and the Alabama Bar Association and implemented voluntarily by the majority of Alabama Judges. But according to lawyer douche bag they don't apply in Alabama.

I didn't get a chance to talk to 'His Brilliance' today. I'm sure it would have been about as effective as trying to talk some sense into a bull elephant seal. However, since this was in Clay County I did get to have a couple of staring matches with Judge John Rochester and District Attorney Freddy Thompson. I won both, which is kind of surprising, since I haven't had to stare anyone down since the fourth grade. I thought I was rusty. Guess not.

Tune in tomorrow for round two. Hopefully I will come home and report that I have a new bull elephant seal skin coat.

Compassionate Care Meeting Nov. 20

Alabamians for Compassionate Care will be holding our monthly meeting on November 20 from 6 to 8 pm at the Libertarian Party HQ building located at 2330 Highland Ave. South. This Highland Ave. is on Southside BHAM and not in Leeds or Irondale. I will have this meeting catered so come hungry. Please bring your friends/family members if they are interested.

Veteran's Day. What Happened to the Iraq War?

Watching the news on this Veteran's Day here in America I saw a video that moved me to tears. Please watch.



Why are America's fallen men and women not given the same welcome home? Why aren't we allowed to see them come off the planes? Why is the Iraq War suddenly not on the radar anymore? We hardly ever hear it mentioned. It's almost like the government wants us to forget that it is happening. Why do we never see footage of the actual war happening in Iraq like what America experienced during Vietnam? If we could see some of that goddamn horror maybe Americans would have acted sooner to bring it to an end.

I've never supported the Iraq War. We never had reason to go there. They did not attack us. Saddam Hussein was no threat to us. However, I do and have from the beginning supported the troops. This war was illegal from the start and now the powers that be want to pretend there aren't dead coming back by the score and that is a fucking disgrace! They want us to forget the war and pretend that there are no dead sons and daughters. It is complete DISHONOR to those who answered the call, be it legal or otherwise, to pretend they don't exist and to give them no welcome home at all when they are repatriated.

What has happened to my country?

Why is it always in Alabama?

Alabama-LSU Football Dispute Leaves Two Dead

An Escambia County couple died Saturday after an argument
over the Alabama/LSU football game ended in shotgun blasts,
according to Conecuh County authorities.

District Attorney Tommy Chapman identified the people killed
as Dennis and Donna Smith of Appleton Road near Brewton.

The shooting allegedly occurred about 7 p.m. at the home of
Michael Williams near the Owassa community in Conecuh
County, Chapman said.


Williams was arrested, Chapman said, and charged with two
counts of murder.

Dispatchers at the Conecuh County Sheriff's Office
declined to comment about the case.

Investigators said witnesses told them that Dennis Smith, an
LSU fan, called Williams, a fan of the Crimson Tide, after
the game Saturday evening and an argument ensued.

Officers said Donna Smith was a relative of Michael
Williams' girlfriend.

Soon, the Smiths arrived at Williams' home and the men
wound up in a physical altercation, officers said.

Smith retrieved a pistol from his vehicle, and threatened
Williams, who armed himself with a shotgun and fired two
blasts, striking and killing Dennis Smith, officers said.

Donna Smith then threatened Williams, who shot and killed
the woman, they said.

Investigators said alcohol was believed to have been a
factor in the killings, and the investigation was ongoing
late Sunday.

Alcohol involved? Naw...you gotta be kiddin me man!

I like football as much as any Alabama citizen and I'll fess up to trying to put one of my brothers out of the car a few miles from home during an Auburn- Alabama game some years ago...but I totally don't get murders over football games.