blog of bile » drugs

How the US government poisoned 10k people during Prohibition

bile — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:24:39 +0000

http://www.slate.com/id/2245188

It was Christmas Eve 1926, the streets aglitter with snow and lights, when the man afraid of Santa Claus stumbled into the emergency room at New York City’s Bellevue Hospital. He was flushed, gasping with fear: Santa Claus, he kept telling the nurses, was just behind him, wielding a baseball bat.

Before hospital staff realized how sick he was—the alcohol-induced hallucination was just a symptom—the man died. So did another holiday partygoer. And another. As dusk fell on Christmas, the hospital staff tallied up more than 60 people made desperately ill by alcohol and eight dead from it. Within the next two days, yet another 23 people died in the city from celebrating the season.

Doctors were accustomed to alcohol poisoning by then, the routine of life in the Prohibition era. The bootlegged whiskies and so-called gins often made people sick. The liquor produced in hidden stills frequently came tainted with metals and other impurities. But this outbreak was bizarrely different. The deaths, as investigators would shortly realize, came courtesy of the U.S. government.

Frustrated that people continued to consume so much alcohol even after it was banned, federal officials had decided to try a different kind of enforcement. They ordered the poisoning of industrial alcohols manufactured in the United States, products regularly stolen by bootleggers and resold as drinkable spirits. The idea was to scare people into giving up illicit drinking. Instead, by the time Prohibition ended in 1933, the federal poisoning program, by some estimates, had killed at least 10,000 people.

Today the US government continues to kill tens of thousands less directly through the so called war on drugs. From raids to bad black market heroin those in power systematically place those people in danger who they swore an oath to protect.

Drug raids now include Wii Bowling?

bile — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:21:55 +0000

http://www2.tbo.com/…

With guns drawn and flashlights cutting through darkened rooms, Polk County undercover drug investigators stormed the home of convicted drug dealer Michael Difalco near Lakeland in March.

As investigators searched the home for drugs, some drug task force members found other ways to occupy their time. Within 20 minutes of entering Difalco’s house, some of the investigators found a Wii video bowling game and began bowling frame after frame.

While some detectives hauled out evidence such as flat screen televisions and shotguns, others threw strikes, gutter balls and worked on picking up spares.

A Polk County sheriff’s detective cataloging evidence repeatedly put down her work and picked up a Wii remote to bowl. When she hit two strikes in a row, she raised her arms above her head, jumping and kicking.

While a female detective lifted a nearby couch looking for evidence, another sheriff’s detective focused on pin action.

But detectives with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Auburndale, Lakeland and Winter Haven police departments did not know that a wireless security camera connected to a computer inside Difalco’s home was recording their activity.

The recording obtained by News Channel 8 showed several members of the county’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force entering the house shortly after 8 a.m. According to the search warrant, their mission was to search for drugs, stolen property and the fruits of any illegal drug activity.

Now there are questions on how the impromptu bowling tournament might affect the case against Difalco.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd denies it will have any effect.

“That absolutely is not true; that doesn’t invalidate the search at all,” Judd said. “Now the defendant would like for it to invalidate the search, but unfortunately for him, it won’t.”

Judd, who watched the video during an interview last week, called the situation an embarrassment.

“I’m not pleased that they played that Wii bowling game,” Judd said. The sheriff’s office oversees the drug task force. Judd said he initiated an internal administrative investigation of the incident.

“That is not appropriate conduct at a search warrant,” he said. “But I am less pleased with the supervision that didn’t walk in and say, turn that off. That’s what supervision should have done.”

Task force members played the video game at various times during the day, for a total of a little over an hour of playing time. The competition proved to be quite competitive at times. A task force supervisor from the Lakeland Police Department, gun at his side, pumped his fist after picking up a strike on the first ball he threw. The video showed he continued bowling frame after frame, competing with another undercover detective.

The only reason this has gotten any coverage is because of the game playing. That corruption is only the symptom of the larger problem of the war on drugs and the police state it’s helped facilitate. Get rid of the drug war and you get rid of a large portion of the corrupt cops.

Suspicionless DHS Drug Checkpoints Inside America

bile — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:35:23 +0000

Putting to bed the lie that internal Border Patrol checkpoints are immigration checkpoints, this video clearly shows that the Department of Homeland Security routinely uses so-called immigration checkpoints as a pretext to look for contraband including drugs, guns and currency.

In this video, I’m initially greeted by the stopping Border Patrol agent by name. The agent never asks my immigration status. Additionally, other Border Patrol agents on the South side of the checkpoint yell out my name as well.

While I’m being detained at primary by an agent who knows who I am along with my immigration status, a Customs & Border Protection K9 team is going to work on the passenger side of my vehicle sniffing for illegal contraband. The K9 handler isn’t a Border Patrol agent. Rather, he’s a Customs and Border Protection agent normally assigned to Ports of Entry where dogs are trained to search for drugs, guns and currency either entering or leaving the country at the actual border.

Why was this Customs unit being used at a so-called immigration checkpoint over 40 miles North of the border?

To make the legal issues clear, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled Border Patrol checkpoints inside the country must be limited in scope to brief immigration queries with any further detention or searching requiring consent or probable cause. Since there was obviously no question regarding my immigration status in the video, the sole purpose for the detention was clearly contraband interdiction.

This removes any ambiguity regarding the primary purpose of the stop and detention.

One possible explanation as to why a CBP K9 team was being utilized at an internal immigration checkpoint well inside the country along a road that never intersects the border, instead of a port of entry, is an expansion of the program discussed in this blog entry: https://www.checkpointusa.org/blog/in…

For more information regarding suspicionless checkpoints in America, see: https://www.checkpointusa.org

Drug and gun FUD in North New Jersey

bile — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:07:35 +0000

http://www.northjersey.com/…

A traffic stop of a vehicle with tinted windows led to the alleged discovery of cocaine and firearms and the arrest of a Bronx man.

On Aug. 12, at approximately 10:26 p.m., Daniel Santana, 25, from the Bronx, was stopped at the intersection of Martha Washington Way and Bruce Reynolds Boulevard.

Fort Lee Police Officer Timothy Cullen pulled over the white 2006 Chevy Impala because the car had blacked out tinted windows, said Capt. Joseph Zevits from the Fort Lee Police Department.

Upon further investigation, Cullen noticed a Philly Blunt, commonly used for inhaling marijuana, on the front seat area of the vehicle. Santana denied smoking marijuana and told Officer Cullen to check the car if he wanted.

Officer Cullen “called his bluff” and found a hidden compartment in the front dashboard of the vehicle with a kilo of cocaine, which could be worth up to $200,000 on the street.

“He may have been going to New York City, but we couldn’t say for sure,” said Zevits. “There was no intention to sell in Fort Lee that we were aware of.”

Also found was a semi-automatic Glock Model 17 handgun, fully loaded, with a high capacity magazine containing more than 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition. The serial numbers on the gun were scratched off.

The alleged perpetrator was also driving with a suspended driver’s license. He did not resist arrest.

Santana was charged with distribution of one kilo of cocaine, possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon while in possession of cocaine, defaced firearm, possession of a large capacity magazine, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstructed window view and driving with a suspended drivers license.

Bail was set by Judge Matthew Fierro at $250,000 without a 10 percent option.

Not that this is an uncommon story but it occurred not far from where I live.

So this Daniel Santana isn’t very bright. Tinted windows where it’s illegal. A Philly blunt on the seat. And then allowing the cops to search the car. The Officer Cullen probably could have justified searching the car on the Philly blunt alone but regardless you *never* give cops permission to search your belongings. It can only turn out worse for you.

Note the scare tactics used in the article regarding the gun. “Semi-automatic.” Well of course it’s a semi-automatic. It’s a Glock Model 17. That’s sortof the point of a pistol over a revolver. Through FUD the media has made a term which describes the most common handguns known to people through TV and movies something scary. Most people don’t even know the difference between automatic and semi nor do they know the laws regarding them. And then the article goes on to say it had a fully loaded, high capacity mag containing more than 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition. That’s completely arbitrary. You can get a 17 round clip for the Glock 17 which fits flush in the gun. Just like the 19 and it’s 15 round clip. Fifteen is just some arbitrary number the State of New Jersey came up with. In NY “high capacity” is 10. We aren’t talking about the 33 round mag here that sticks out of the gun by several inches.

Fact of the matter is this guy, while you may disagree with his apparent choice of employment, was not harming or threatening anyone. His need to conceal the identity of the weapon and to have the weapon in the first place is due to the prohibition on drugs. Theory and history shows that the side effects of prohibition is worse then the problems which stem naturally from the thing prohibited. This young man will likely end up in prison somewhere and as a result of the awful prison industrial complex and judicial system he will come out of prison a far bigger threat to society then even the FUD makes him out to be now. I find it rather unlikely the there weren’t any real crimes with real victims that Cullen could have been dealing with or investigating.

Daniel Santana should be allowed to trade cocaine to whomever wishes to do so, possess any size magazine for his weapon of choice, scratch out any damn serial number on anything he owns and smoke as much marijuana that he can handle so long as he doesn’t aggress against other person. To do otherwise is an aggressive and illegitimate act in what is supposedly free society. The truth is there isn’t liberty here… you are owned by the State.

Support Barney’s Cannabis Bills

bosco — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:07:40 +0000

Oh Barney. I try so hard to hate you, but every once and again you do something like this:

Today, Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to eliminate all federal penalties for marijuana possession. This came only one week after he also introduced a bill to protect medical marijuana patients.

Would you please take one minute to ask your U.S. representative to support these two bills? MPP’s easy online action center makes it simple — just enter your name and contact info, and we’ll do the rest.

The Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2009 would eliminate the threat of federal arrest and prison for the possession of up to 3.5 ounces of marijuana and the not-for-profit transfer of an ounce of marijuana — nationwide.

What’s more, last week Congressman Frank introduced the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, which would allow states to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest and jail without federal interference, as well as allow pharmacies to dispense marijuana to patients with a doctor’s recommendation. You can take action on this bill here.

MPP has worked closely with Congressman Frank’s staff in past months, helping to craft both pieces of legislation and build political support for the proposals on Capitol Hill.

Now members of Congress need to hear from their constituents who want to see it passed — that means you! It takes only a minute or two to use MPP’s online action system to send a quick note to your member of the House, so would you please send your letter right now?

Eliminate threat of federal arrest and prison for marijuana possession

Protect medical marijuana patients nationwide

News blurb courtesy of the MPP. Help us out, take action now!

Sam Dodson’s response to Seninel columnst Michael Schuman’s criticism of the Free State Project

bile — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:18:49 +0000

http://freekeene.com/…

I’m writing in response to Keene Sentinel columnist Michael Schuman’s story titled “Will the Free Staters Please Sit Down?” I must admit, a couple of years ago, before coming to understand the message of liberty, I would have agreed with Schuman’s opinions.

Schuman’s views are consistent with what many would describe as main stream America. Unfortunately many of his ideas are based in ignorance and misunderstanding that stems from a lack of critical thinking. Like most of us, Schuman probably attended government indoctrination centers where school children are taught to stand on their X, respect authority, and do as you’re told without question.

Take a look at the pledge of allegiance. How many other countries have one? How many of you know it was written by Fancis Bellamy, a National Socialist (Nazi) flag salesman, to “instill a strong belief in the state.” Dont believe me? Look it up on the internet. You’re likely to find the same picture I did of school children doing a Roman salute – the same one Hitler’s army used – before that was changed after WWII.

Schuman’s description of a classical libertarian is severely flawed and his examples display an ignorance of private property vs. individual rights.

The article begins by describing libertarians as “a Republican who wants to smoke pot and watch porn.” What does it mean to be a Republican – or a Democrat – these days? The only difference I can discern between the two parties is how they want to take more of your money to grow government. The red/blue game is simply a distraction to keep the masses complacent while government works to extract more of your wealth to exert greater control over your life.

Classical libertarians on the other hand believe it’s wrong to initiate force or violence on others to provide a product or service. Sure government seems fair and even “necessary,” but what happens if you don’t pay their taxes?

While we’re at it, have you ever wondered how two main viewpoints (or parties) manage to represent hundreds of millions of people? How is it countries like Sweden and Switzerland have hundreds of political parties with members elected to Parliament? Could it be that campaign finance “reform” is a tool used by the two major parties to retain power while setting the bar high enough to prevent new entrants from gaining a foothold?

Many of you are probably libertarians without realizing it. Find out for yourself by taking the World’s Shortest Political Quiz at www.TheAdvocates.org/quiz.

Schuman continued with a concert example concerning a woman who remained standing despite everyone around her sitting to enjoy the concert. Libertarians believe in social ostracism, which Schuman did when he had someone ask her to tak a seat.

Schuman’s failure was likely caused by a lack of numbers. Would the result have been the same if twenty people were shouting “sit down!” instead of one person asking? The additional pressure might have changed her mind; I’ve seen it work.

Failing to get his way, Schuman then went to get the authorities (the usher), just as government trains us to snitch on our neighbors, rather than seeking to understand and resolve differences.

In the story, the woman refused to sit, saying she had a right to stand, and the usher decided there was nothing he could do. This is where Schuman concludes libertarians are selfish based on his limited understanding of rights.

If I’m invited to a friend’s house (private property) and he has a “no shoes inside” policy, do I have a “right” to wear shoes in his house? If I don’t like the policy, I won’t go over to his house, or I’ll see if I can bring a pair of slippers to wear inside.

In Schuman’s example, libertarians may advocate: petitioning the venue for a standingin/seated section; a boycott of the venue; opening your own venue, where you set the rules; requesting a refund from the venue’s management. What would Schuman’s solution involve? Perhaps he suggests a “no standing” law commanding the guns of government to punish the woman with arrest, taxpayers with enforcement costs, and the private property owner by trampling his rights and ability to provide innovative solutions to changing customer demands.

Libertarians believe in the power of a true free market to solve problems, and we understand the unintended consequences that arise from using force – government – to solve problems.

Schuman continues by comparing the Free State Project to a Christian Fundamentalist group moving to South Carolina. He left out the Mormons who moved to Salt Lake City. I’m left wondering about the political fathers and the 13% of American colonists who supported them in throwing off British rule. Would that make Mr. Schuman one of the loyalists, the 30% of the population happy with British rule? Many of them were run off to Canada.

While Schuman seemed to understand at least one aspect of the trillion dollar failure that is the war on drugs, he doesn’t seem to understand the concept of a victimless crime.

In his initial attempt to discredit this idea he repeats his earlier flawed concept with the smoking issue. Again the issue is private property. Are you a victim of second hand smoke if you voluntarily decide to patronize an establishment that allows smoking on its private property? Customers and employees are free to ostracize, patronize, or increase choice and diversity in the marketplace through competition.

Schuman then set his sights on gun control. He references what he describes as almost daily shooting sprees around the nation. What he fails to mention, and what most don’t understand is this: the most deadly cities in America – New York, D.C., LA, Chicago – also have the most restrictive gun laws. States with the least restrictive gun laws like New Hampshire and Vermont also enjoy some of the lowest crime rates. The facts show gun laws reduce safety.

In what seems like a direct attempt to discredit the messenger, Schuman implies the Free State Project is an extreme organization. In his article, he describes the New Hampshire Free Press – a local paper which publishes stories on topics including the 9/11 Truth Movement and the John Birch Society – as “one of the project’s media outlets.”

As a fellow journalist, I would expect Schuman to do some basic fact checking and investigation. Spending 5 minutes reading the FAQ section at FreeStateProject.org, and he would have understood that the Free State Project exists solely to encourage liberty activists to move to New Hampshire and get active for liberty. The FSP does not endorse any political parties, not any candidates, nor any legislation. It certainly doesn’t have any media outlets!

Here’s how the FSP works: people hear about the message of liberty and eventually the FSP; they move to New Hampshire; they learn about the various things activists are doing and they decide what they want to support. The FSP is not involved past moving.

Some liberty activists see something they want to change – like the government abrogating freedom of the press – while others come up with new ideas – like volunteering at the Community Kitchen, the monthly canned food drive, or Keene Freedom Fest, to name a few. These activists come up with a plan and the people who think it’s a good idea support it. The best ideas garner the most support. If someone is unhappy with the way things are going they splinter off and start their own group. It’s happened several times, and the liberty movement grows stronger and more diverse with each split.

It’s something a command and control, top-down organization could never accomplish. It’s also the way a true free market – most libertarians advocate – would operate. No leaders; no structure; only individuals standing for and supporting what they believe.

That brings us to Schuman’s last example, my unlawful indefinite detainment without trial for filming on public property. To begin with my last name is Dodson, not Miller, and Schuman acknowledges my identity is no secret. Had he done the slightest bit of investigation he would know that I have identified myself, with a fingerprint, as demanded by their laws. Had he reviewed the publicly available court filings, he would know the court/prosecutor team has presented no laws to the contrary. He would also know that over the last month and a half the courts have ignored most of our requests including 3 separate motions to schedule a trial.

Is that what this country was founded upon, arresting journalists critical of the state and holding them indefinitely without trial?

Schuman then points out that taxpayers have been forced to pay thousands of dollars for my detainment and asks, is this a victimless crime? Absolutely not, along with me, taxpayers are victims of an out of control judge, protected by a lifetime appointment, who’s willing to throw away as much of your money as he wants to challenge the slightest threat to his authority. This has little to do with my identity and everything to do with control.

Schuman attempts to close his story by drawing an analogy between my situation and a Peanuts comic strip in which Snoopy is described as doing something “Pretty stupid!” Gandhi said it best, “First they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” While Schuman and others may be laghing, the New Hampshire bureaucrats have started fighting.

Unfortunately, they’re fighting an idea; an idea that, thanks to press coverage on the internet, The Keene Sentinel, the Boston Globe, Fox News, and Break the Matrix, has now spread over a quarter million people, a handful of which are now planning their move to New Hampshire. Laugh all you want, and I hope you don’t mind if I join you.

SamIAm

Transcript of Xaq Fixx’s interview with Lee Doren, new Crasher-in-Chief

bile — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:28:09 +0000

https://docs.google.com/View?id=dhbvr2gz_18gk9wt8gt

Note: the below was created from OCRing screencaps of a Flash based chatroom. Excuse the mistakes.

Xaq Fixx 3:39 pm
Alright… Question 1:
Political Identified Profile field, when will it return

Lee Doren
As soon as I get confirmation to add it back—it was my intention to add at asap Friday, but then it was unclear what my authority was to do so
The only reason why it was removed was so I could add something else asap
Like an open-ended political affiliation

Michael Lowry
like an “Other” option?

Lee Doren
That’s a possibility

Xaq Fixx
Okay. Next question: What are Lee’s views on pluralism and polycentrism?

Lee Doren
Define both

Leo_the_Magnificent
pluralism is the acknowledgment of a diversity of political systems
And polycentrism is there is more than one “center.”
It was my question.

Lee Doren
Well, lm a constitutional Republican. I believe that is the only system compatible with individualism

Mike Gogulski
(Xaq, please add me as friend so I can pm you)

Lee Doren
I understand that others may differ with me
nevertheless

Leo_the_Magnificent
What about for an organization such as this?

Pete Eyre
Lee, this is Pete, when i was CiC i asked folks for their input. the first that i received was to add a new political identification (christian anarchist) which i did
this site is all about the community. bottom-up

Michael Lowry
brb guys.

Pete Eyre
the CiC cannot have all the knowledge

Xaq Fixx
what about the Intel section? What’s going on with that?

Daniel Patrick
Pete, we’re moderating questions through Xaq right now

Lee Doren
Yeah, lm sensitive to everyone’s concerns

Xaq Fixx
clarification: Why was the Intel Section removed? When Will it return? What changes can we expect?

Liberty Tiger
Frankly, if you’re a constitutional Republican perhaps you’d do better at the Campaign for Liberty, lm pretty sure that the Constitution’s authority is imaginary and its protections have b usurped a long time ago.

Lee Doren
We will progress slowly improve that section…l want everyone’s input
It was removed partially because there were contests up there, and if anyone said they did the contest and 1 had no prize.—I had to come up with a prize that I didn’t even know about

Xaq Fixx
why did Gogulski’s account disappear for days and then it was re-instated?

Allison Gibbs
hey! don’t throw us in with that!

Liberty Tiger
sorry, Allison. no offense

Allison Gibbs
lol

Lee Doren
If I can remember, Gogulski I think renounced his US citizenship and declared it as the new manifesto.. in hindsight I should have waited, which is why I stopped everything Friday night which prevented an explanation

Daniel Patrick
You have to be a US Citizen to use Bureaucrash?

Luis
lm not

fonz85
Where are your papers?

Lee Doren
No, but renunciation I thought at the time was implicitly going to make it impossible for people to be politically active

Daniel Patrick
oops, sorry I’ll filter that through Xaq
lol

Liberty Tiger
I think C4L is the place for inside the system activism. I considered BC to be more radical, for activism challenging arbitrary authority.

Xaq Fixx
Moderators Question f Follow up: Is the political solution the only acceptable form of change (e.g. the civil disobedience of Thoreau, Gandhi, King and others?)

Neal ‘Jiutai’ Conner
So lets just start the Great Purge of “non-politically active” members!

Xaq Fixx
-Please hold on the commentary for now, lets try to keep this a Q&A

Daniel Patrick
Everyone (including me), we’re trying to filter questions through Xaq who’s acting as moderator

Neal ‘Jiutai’ Conner 3:51 pm
Sure

Lee Doren 3:51 pm
…we need to start at first base….and the govern
ment is bigger than it ever has been
Our Country is bankrupt
They are going to micromanage energy
everyone will be poorer as a result
I think using the political system is the best way to stop all those things

Xaq Fixx
With clarification and Explanation: Do You support the Non-Aggression principal? Is it ever okay to initiate force or fraud against a fellow human?

Lee Doren
This takes a longer explanation so please be patient

Leo_the_Magnificent
I hate to say this, but it is simply a yes or no answer, imho. Sorry Xaq.

fonz85
nukes?

Lee Doren
If someone is running at you with a bat, can you shoot that person before he hits you over the head if in your best judgment he was going to hit you…I say yes.

Leo_the_Magnificent
That doesn’t violate the NAP.

Lee Doren 3:54 pm
My version of self-defense is broader than many of you
Well, what if someone is running at you with “Nukes”.-that is where I differ with many of you
I didn’t support the Iraq War
but…..

Xaq Fixx
There seems to be some confusion: Non-Aggression principal applies only to the initiation of force, it is different than pacifism…

Lee Doren
But I have a problem with telling people to rise up and throw off their oppressors, with our support, only to abandon them to slaughter later

Xaq Fixx
someone running at you with a bat has violated the NAP, you shooting them has not.

Lee Doren
So once we were there…I figured we had to support the people we promised, whether the promise shouldn’t have been given
But Xaq….

Leo_the_Magnificent
“we?”

fonz85
lord

Leo_the_Magnificent 3:56 pm
I didn’t promise them anything….

Luis
oh boy

Alex Habibi
its a collectivist thing, Leo

Lee Doren
I thought we should have taken out the N. Korean missile silo to prevent future escalation, to where we are now

Daniel Patrick
-Please hold on the commentary for now, lets try to keep this a Q&A

Lee Doren
You would have found that to be aggression

Mike Gogulski 3:56 pm
@Lee: I renounced my US citizenship in 2008. The manifesto I posted was written in 1980, and had nothing to do with that.

Xaq Fixx 3:57 pm
Next Question: Why do you slam leftists and Democrats and avoid criticizing Republicans? What’s with the nationalism?

Lee Doren 3:57 pm
If you can find a Republican that has any control over the situation, I’d love to find out
I’m pro-the United States
I love my Country
You may associate that with Nationalism
But, I believe I won the lottery on where to be born

Xaq Fixx 3:59 pm
This may require clarification from the orioginal asker: why did he delete the forum, EVERY member has the right to post on the forum, so his “not sure of my limits” thing won’t save him there.

Lee Doren 4:00 pm
I assumed wrong…
I really am not sure what needs to be clarified
NQ

Xaq Fixx 4:02 pm
how much research did you do into BC before taking the gig
lets try that again: How much research and how familiar with BC were you before accpeting the CiC position?

Lee Doren 4:02 pm
Quite a bit…the origin, the membership…I listened to your podcasts, watched the YouTube videos just about everything
I wasn’t naive before I accepted
I even saw the protest where people protested against a drug company and you folks were the counter-protest
I looked at the contraband
nq

Xaq Fixx 4:04 pm
how can you believe in a libertarian noninterventionist govt when you have been molding this website to fit your own beliefs

Lee Doren 4:04 pm
I never added anything in support of non-interventionism
I’m sorry
I mean against non-interventionism
Other people posted prior videos of mine that some felt were “neocon”
nq

Xaq Fixx 4:05 pm
What level of input/control over BC’s direction will the current supporters/activists have?

Lee Doren 4:05 pm
Quite a bit

Leo_the_Magnificent 4:05 pm
In comparision to what?
(sorry)

Lee Doren 4:06 pm
It will be the same as it was
My confusion, which was cleared up today is that even my addition of stuff needs to be approved

Daniel Patrick 4:06 pm
Who approves it?

Lee Doren 3:06 pm
My bosses

Xaq Fixx 3:07 pm
Moderators perogative: What are your bosses poisitons on the statesless society?

Lee Doren 3:07 pm
I took my stuff down earlier because I didn’t relize that

Xaq Fixx 3:07 pm
i.e. will they support the removal of voluntaryist content?

Lee Doren 3:08 pm
No
They are very supportive of open content
total open content
very supportive of open debate
nq

Xaq Fixx
Next Question: Are you a registered Republican?

Lee Doren
I might be…and lm not trying to play you for a fool….
I was registered independent
I may have registered Republican before the Primaries
But, I found out that IL didn’t required a Party ID to vote Republican
so I don’t remember if I ever registered or not

Chad Swarthout
(fyi for some: Illinois lets you pick ballot on election day)

Xaq Fixx
You state, “I do support Israel” in http://rightwingnews.com/mt331 /2009/05/answering_questions_and_new_de.php?comments=show#comments ? Is that support unconditional?
What are your views on well-documented Israeli state war crimes, the enclosure of the Gaza strip, and so on?
sorry, that was a longer multi-part one

Lee Doren 4:11 pm
it is not unconditional
nq

Xaq Fixx
Are members of Bureaucrash required to be subject to a nation state then? If they refuse to submit will they also be banned? 4:12 pm
This is a follow up to Mike G’s ban

Lee Doren
No, but I thought at the time that members who encouraged the renunciation of the United States would make it impossible to have a grassroots movement

Xaq Fixx
How does your stance on immigration square with Bureaucrash’s “Immi-Great” initiative? In reference to this story: http://copiousdissent.blogspot.com/2007/06/todays-illegal-alien-crime.html

Lee Doren 4:14 pm
I never wrote that
My friend who used to be on my blog was Red wolverine
But…
My personal stance is that we need to support removing welfare programs before we can have open everyone in immigration
And laws that hospitals must take in everyone
Hospitals are shutting down all over the country

Xaq Fixx
Where should activists go if they want to fight the very political system you support?

Daniel Patrick
sorry….http://bureaucrashsocial.ning.com/chat/index/popOutWindow

Lee Doren
Tea Parties, blogs, YouTube, school boards, town hall meetings

Daniel Patrick
oops

Lee Doren
local governments work best
colleges

Pete Eyre
what about self-government?

Lee Doren
lm for self-government via Federalism

Leo_the_Magnificent
Uh?

Lee Doren
I think if you want a voluntary society, limit the federal government use the state government to remove as many rules and restrictions as possible
nq

Leo_the_Magnificent 4:18 pm
What about the individual?

Pete Eyre
lee – what makes the arbitrary political boundaries that define states any more relevant or legitimate than nation-state boundaries?

Lee Doren
I don’t find them arbitrary…people died to have those boundaries

fonz85 4:20 pm
how can a tax be fair?

Xaq Fixx
Did CEI explicitly gave him carte blanche to completely refocus the direction and focus of BC regardless of the desire of the overwhelming majority of its members?

Daniel Patrick
People die for Jesus and Allah too, but that’s pretty arbitrary

Xaq Fixx
Pete – Fonz, please send the questions my way

Mike Gogulski
(again, to all, please channel your questions to Xaq Fixx, to keep this orderly, and keep commentary to a minimum for the moment)

Lee Doren
no…not at all.

Jason Talley
Another reason to dislike borders, people die for them

Michael Lowry
hey, I like jesus!
sorry

Daniel Patrick 4:21 pm
sorry!

XXXXX

Lee Doren 4:34 pm
nq

Xaq Fixx
how did the commerce clause protect anyone before 1934? The income tax was put in place long before that, and so was the fed.

Lee Doren
Because the Supreme Court declared almost everything that Congress passed unconstitutional
the Income tax has nothing to do with the commerce clause
After FDR threatened to pack the court the commerce clause changed
nq

Xaq Fixx
Why don’t you support the gold standard (sound money) and abolishing the Fed?

Lee Doren 4:36 pm
I read Money Mischief by Milton Friedman
The gold Standard resolves many problems but the public needs to understand that there are several different gold standards
and bimetallic standards
and tradeoffs
I think just saying, “Hey, lets abolish the Fed and go with gold” requires a….”And then what?” answer

XXX

Xaq Fixx 4:40 pm
Do you support the Nuking of innocent individuals in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Would you support nuking individuals in the future?

Lee Doren
Yes, and this requires a very long explanation

fonz85
rethink this

Lee Doren
no, you’ll see

Daniel Patrick

Laur
I have time, explain.

Lee Doren 4:42 pm
When we invaded several of the W. Pacific islands, we realized that we were dealing with a death cult…the Japanese soldiers were on suicide missions
In order to end the war we had to defeat Japan
Japan was training their 9-year-olds and women on the mainland to fight with bamboo sticks to the death if we invaded
Even after Stalin attacked Japan, Japan didn’t surrender
We were planning X-day—to invade all of Japan
That meant in order for us to win the War, would have to have killed every man woman and child we saw

XXX

Xaq Fixx 4:49 pm
Do you support marriage between consenting individuals? What role should the state have in marriage?

Lee Doren
In theory lm for the States not getting involved in Marriage

Michael Lowry
Request for clarification, in theory?

Jason Talley
but in practice?

Lee Doren
We need to accept that means that Atheists are not longer going to be able to get married
And just say that this is all contractual then

Matt
Sorry to interject, but who deals with the contracts then? The government, or the private sector?

Lee Doren
Nevertheless, I do accept, even though it is not my view that States have a right to define marriage as male female, while providing the dignity of Same Sex couples to have civil unions

Lee Doren
the Private sector

Daniel Patrick
haha, why wouldn’t atheists be able to get married?

Lee Doren 4:52 pm
Because there would be no “marriage” as it has been understood fonz85

Lee Doren 4:45 pm
So we dropped the first bomb—and they still didn’t surrender

fonz85
So we are all military then?

Lee Doren 4:45 pm
We dropped the 2nd and they did

fonz85 4:45 pm
So china would be justified in nuking us

Lee Doren
That saved millions and millions of Japanese lives

Michael Lowry
@all moderating through Xaq

Lee Doren
It was total Japaneses War where we literally invade and kill every man woman and child or drop two nukes
Surrender was the third option
I choice the Nukes
nq

Xaq Fixx
Do you agree with Michelle Malkin that putting Japanese Americans in concentration camps was a good thing?

Lee Doren 4:47 pm
No, but here point was that because of the suicidal culture at the time, and the knowledge of spies, we couldn’t have allowed them all on the defensive XXX mainland to sabotage our military
nq

Xaq Fixx 4:47 pm
Will you attend Porc Fest?

Lee Doren
Depends on the dates, I have to move to Wash, and figure out how to be sworn into the Wash. D.C. bar
nq

Daniel Patrick
June 24-29?

Xaq Fixx
Do you ever listen to Free Talk Live? (FTL Listeners is the biggest Bureaucrash group)

Lee Doren
no to daniel then…
No, but lm a huge Talk radio fan

Xaq Fixx
Do you support marriage between consenting individuals? What role should the state have in marriage?

Lee Doren
In theory I’m for the States not getting involved in Marriage

Michael Lowry
Request for clarification, in theory?

Jason Talley
but in practice?

Matt 4:50 pm
:)

Lee Doren
We need to accept that means that Atheists are not longer going to be able to get married
And just say that this is all contractual then

Matt 4:52 pm
Sorry to interject, but who deals with the contracts then? The government, or the private sector?

Lee Doren 4:52 pm
Nevertheless, I do accept, even though it is not my view that States have a right to define marriage as male female, while providing the dignity of Same Sex couples to have civil unions
the Private sector

Daniel Patrick
haha, why wouldn’t atheists be able to get married?

Lee Doren
Because there would be no “marriage” as it has been understood

fonz85
universalist

Lee Doren
it would be a contract simply

fonz85 4:53 pm
etc.

Lee Doren 4:53 pm
nq

Xaq Fixx 4:53 pm
Can any illicit narcotic be used responsibly?

Lee Doren
I’m for legalization of all drugs, but I don’t endorse any of their use
I take the same position as William F. Buckley and Milton Friedman
nq

Michael Lowry
what about decriminalization as opposed to legalization?

Xaq Fixx
Do you fear that endorsing Bureaucrash on your youtube Channel would cause any of your subscribers to get angry due to content on Bureaucrash that they disagree with?

Lee Doren
Portugal has done well with decrim…

Lee Doren
Well, if we work out a solution where everyone knows that it is unmoderated and there is no endorsement by Bureaucrash then no
Originally I did because of the Renunciation of the US, 9/11 truth—etc
1 have anarchist fans that love my stuff on YouTube

Michael Lowry
“suppressed laughter”

Lee Doren 4:56 pm
they hate me when 1 talk GO Political stuff
It is a running joke
They tell me to stick to econ topics
I tell them once a month I’ll give a foreign policy position and they can hate me for a day
nq

Xaq Fixx 4:57 pm
What about getting the government out of all drugs business – FDA as well as illicit substances?

Lee Doren
Totally agree
nq

Xaq Fixx
Does the second amendment support the individual ownership of ALL weapons, and should it?

Creg Newburn
Of course not, and no, it shouldn’t.

Mike Gogulski
(to all recently joining, moderated discussion, please send questions to Xaq Fixx privately)

Lee Doren
I draw a line, but I’m against the assault weapons ban
I’m not for pocket nukes

Michael Lowry
Where is the line?

Lee Doren 5:00 pm
What is an arm?
I guess that’s the line
I don’t think people would think of nukes as an arm
nq

Xaq Fixx
Did you support the Bush administrations indefinite detention of “enemy combatants”, and do you see any difference between Indefinite detention and the obama administrations newly announced prolonged detention. And Do you view these policies as a dir

Justo Montoya
jason
awesome eminent domain video

Lee Doren
My view is that there isn’t a good solution right now…

Justo Montoya
the you tube video doesn’t show the link at the end

Jason Talley
(thanks… private message me)

Lee Doren
In WWII, we just summarily executed people

Mike Gogulski
(To all recently joining: moderated discussion with Lee Doren, please send questions to Xaq Fixx privately)

Lee Doren 5:02 pm
Geneva Conventions don’t apply to people w/out uniforms
Here we didn’t summarily executed suicidal lunatics and took them home with us — and now we don’t know what to do with them
If we put them in our courts, then they get Maranda rights

Greg Newburn 5:03 pm
(Miranda)

Lee Doren
which they didn’t get clearly
yeah, I’m typing fast
So are we going pay for their lawyers, because they have no money?

Creg Newburn
(yes)

Lee Doren
Where are we going to put them?

Daniel Patrick
Actually, we don’t know what those people are or if they’re guilty of anything

Creg Newburn
(prison, if convicted)

Daniel Patrick
They haven’t had trials

Xaq Fixx
And Do you view these policies as a direct attack on the american people?

Michael Lowry 5:04 pm
@all, still moderated discussion…

Xaq Fixx
rest of the previous question

Creg Newburn
(sorry)

Lee Doren
No, because the Constitution has never been applied to enemies on the battlefield in a time of war.. but we wanted to have it both ways
We didn’t want to kill them
But, now we don’t want to try them

Xaq Fixx
Are you aware that Americans are being held indefinitely in the United States? do you support indefinite detention of Americans?
Lee Doren
NO
Like the Iraq War, there isn’t a good solution

Michael Lowry
brb

Xaq Fixx
@all. I have to leave at 5:30, we can end this then, or start up again at 8PM EST (If Lee is willing).

Lee Doren 5:07 pm
I’d have to say that there should be some form of Tribunal for Due process but I’m not going to pay for their lawyers etc.
I have dinner soon
Look. all I ask is thiss……

fonz85
resign

Lee Doren
lol

Lee Doren
I work quickly…it is my nature
This isn’t my Pet Project
lm not turning it into a Republican Website
I am keeping all of your material—.and even getting approval before I add my own content
I am sensitive to the concerns that people have because many of you don’t know me
I am sensitive to the concerns that my views differ with many of yours

Matt
Lee, do you think we would still have our “rights” even if the Constitution did not exist?

Justo Montoya
lee how can you effectively be a chief of an organization that is so different ideologically from you?

Lee Doren
But, from now on I am proceeding slowly to not scare anyone

fonz85 5:09 pm
like the govt

Lee Doren 5:09 pm
Because l’ve done grassroots activism

Justo Montoya
ok

Lee Doren
From the Left—.of which I currently have no affiliation and do not agree with currently
I trained the staff of people to be active in their community
I have don’t the real in the neighborhoods stuff
done”
I’ve been in the streets

fonz85
Community organizer? sounds familiar

Lee Doren
I’ve built organizations

Luis
hahaha

Justo Montoya
that’s good

Xaq Fixx
Alright, we have 20 minutes and 8 more questions… 1 think we can get thourgh them

Mike Gogulski 5:11 pm
(@all this is still a moderated discussion)

Lee Doren 5:11 pm
nq

Xaq Fixx
Please don’t send me anymore—

Luis
death penalty, for or against?

Xaq Fixx
What kind of activism, outside training activist, have you done?

Lee Doren
I worked for Clean Water Action 5:11 pm
I worked as a Canvasser and trained their staff
I went door to door visiting 1000s of people to get legislation passed
and to contribute funding

fonz85
for clean water?

Lee Doren
I was then asked to cross train to another org to train their staff
They worked on several things

Luis 5:13 pm
death penalty, for or against?

Lee Doren 5:13 pm
I also built a fraternity from scratch at Michigan

Justo Montoya 5:13 pm
cool

Lee Doren
to where it was the largest on campus in 3 years
I was VP there by my Sophomore year

Xaq Fixx
Luis, please hold off on the questions

Lee Doren
nq

Xaq Fixx
5 favorite books?

Justo Montoya
that’s an impressive resume lee

Lee Doren
Thomas Sowell’s Basic Econ, 3rd Edition
Thomas Sowell’s Applied Economics
Capitalism and Freedom by MF
this is tough for the last two

Greg Newburn 5:15 pm
Hannity, “Deliver Us From Evil”?
(sorry).

Lee Doren 5:15 pm
No, but Mark Levin’s Liberty and Tyranny was great

Greg Newburn
oh boy.

Matt
(oh god)

Xaq Fixx
@all, be kind

Lee Doren
I like the Constitution in Exile by Napolitano

Xaq Fixx
Why does there need to be a statement of non-endorsement of views by Bureaucrash now, when there hasn’t been in the past? Why the change?

Greg Newburn
That was only 4!

Lee Doren
i know it was four…lm having a hard time deciding

Xaq Fixx
sorry

Lee Doren
lll leave it at 4 for now
You’re trying to do rapid fire

Xaq Fixx
“I was told there would be no math”

Lee Doren 5:17 pm
lol
The reason is because there are people who agree with you that come here, assume an endorsement and leave
You don’t even get a chance to say hello
They see something and don’t realize this is an open forum
they see support for XYZ
nq

Michael Lowry 5:18 pm
why not put a disclaimer on HTWW then, instead of sanitizing?

Xaq Fixx
If the Constitution didn’t exist, would we still have rights?

Lee Doren
Because I support everything I say
Yes, but if you can figure a better way for the government to protect them, ld like to hear it
nq

Xaq Fixx
Do you support or oppose the Death penalty, as carried out by the state?

Lee Doren
This is where 1 differ from most even mainstream libertarians

Michael Lowry 5:20 pm
…

Lee Doren 5:20 pm
People who commit murder end up killing prison guards, non-violent prisoners, escape and kill more people…! cannot accept that murderers are allowed to live

Greg Newburn
lol

Lee Doren
I think 100% of you would disagree

Luis
yesh

Matt
Well 99.9% would disagree with the state’s existence, so yes

Lee Doren
Okay, well, at least you know I said that knowing I would be in the minority
nq

Mike Gogulski
(@all PLEASE hold off for the next 10 minutes. Xaq will finish the moderated portion of this)

Xaq Fixx 5:21 pm
Final Question/s: Do you believe you’ll be an effective manager of an organization where you have already made such a bad impression and where there is unprecedented opposition to you being hired?
Do you think its still possible to succeed in your work with Bureaucrash, given the strong and rapid community opposition? If so, how do we get from here to there?
(there should not be a smiley there)

Lee Doren 5:22 pm
This is what I do best…
People were going to be upset no matter who took the position

Michael Lowry 5:22 pm
“suppressed laughter returns violently”

Luis
no

Lee Doren
You wanted someone you knew is what I meant
What I can offer is the ability to train and build a grassroots movement

Chase
I hate to intrude but Lee, I think your condescension bothered us terribly

Michael Lowry
No, we wanted someone who actually represented most of us.

Mike Gogulski
Guys please let LEE finish answering.

Lee Doren
I made 4 comments in 48 hrs…I think you really need to turn the tables and see who was not welcomed before anything happened

Mike Gogulski
(and girls)

Lee Doren 5:24 pm
okay so…
I can build a grassroots movement
l’ve done it
l’ve trained people
If you want to know how to make your goals heard, I can do that
I can introduce you to a larger audience where you have the opportunity to persuade them
My issues, if you met me in person is that I work very quickly on everything I do
That is how I have been successful in the past

Pete Eyre
know the definition of hubris?

Lee Doren
But, for this instance…I have to work slowly at first

Matt
Grassroots movement that supports—. what?

Lee Doren
Yes Pete
Liberty

kcalvelli
What?

Michael Lowry
Rothbard: “Government is essentially the negation of liberty”

Daniel Patrick 5:27 pm
Hubris (/hju : bns/)’ is a term used in modern English to indicate overweening pride, superciliousness, or arrogance, often resulting in fatal retribution or nemesis.

Lee Doren
Yes, I agree with that statement

Michael Lowry
so then how can you advance liberty and support government?

Matt
Ludwig von Mises: ‘The issue is always the same: the government or the market. There is no third solution.”

Lee Doren
Because look around you
We’re bankrupt

Michael Lowry
I look around me and I see agorism
BECAUSE OF GOVT.
Government is the problem, not the solution.

Matt
So get rid of it entirely?

Lee Doren 5:28 pm
The government is at an all-time power control in this country
and we need to get to first place first

Xaq Fixx 5:28 pm
Thank You All, and good night

Matt
If I have cancer, I want all of it gone, not part of it.

Lee Doren
first base*

Michael Lowry 5:28 pm
Thanks xaq.

kcalvelli
Night Xaq!

Chase
night Xaq! You were wonderful! Thanks

jester
See ya Xaq

Pete Eyre
peace bro

Luis
cya xaq

Michael Lowry
@matt, ever hear of surgery? works for a lot of cancers, removes a whole tumor.

Greg Newburn 5:29 pm
Matt, Mises wasn’t an anarchist.

Lee Doren
My point is this

Daniel Patrick 5:29 pm
Even when I was a mainstream Libertarian, I was open to the idea of the being no government. I was just skeptical. You think that ONLY a government can protect rights. And in

Star Telegram covers raising police state

bile — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 02:34:18 +0000

http://www.star-telegram.com/…

A $226,000 armored vehicle for the North Richland Hills Police Department SWAT team arrived a few days ago to replace one the agency got in 1990.

To many people that vehicle — and others like it used by police departments across the country — will go unnoticed. The public seems to largely accept the use of military-type equipment, technology and tactics as not only appropriate but also necessary to fight crime and make communities more safe and secure.

Armored vehicles are used by law enforcement agencies in Fort Worth, Arlington and Bedford and at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, just to name a few. Some police departments have assault rifles, noise-flash devices and grenade launchers. Arlington even sought federal money for a drone aircraft.

But some criminal-justice experts are troubled by law enforcement agencies’ growing use of military-style equipment. Rather than employ such equipment only in extreme situations, the critics say, their use is becoming commonplace, leading police to use unnecessary force and intimidating residents. For example, some cite an episode last year in which police used a battering ram to raid a Duncanville swingers club when no one answered a knock.

“We have been witnesses to a little-noticed but nonetheless momentous historical change — the traditional distinctions between military/police, war/law and internal/external security are rapidly blurring,” said criminal justice professor Peter Kraska, of Eastern Kentucky University, in one on his studies on the militarization of police departments.

Local police officials note that growing populations, rising crime rates and more-lethal weapons available to criminals have forced officers to keep up. They also say they rely on training to make sure equipment is used appropriately.

“For years, there’s always been a parallel between law enforcement and the military,” said Bedford Police Chief David Flory, former director of training for the Texas Tactical Peace Officers Association. “Of course, the big difference is the rules of engagement. The military in Afghanistan or Iraq is dealing with warfare. We as officers have the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Penal Code that we must follow.”

Growing use nationwide

Law enforcement agencies’ use of military equipment began in Los Angeles during the race riots in the 1960s. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration supplied police with more military equipment for the war on drugs.

In 1994, the Defense Department authorized the transfer of military equipment and technology to state and local police.

Local police officials said two events later in the 1990s forced law enforcement agencies to bolster their equipment.

In the North Hollywood bank shootout in 1997, officers didn’t have the firepower to match two heavily armed bank robbers dressed as commandos.

Police officials also said that the massacre at Columbine High School in 1999, as well as other school shootings, proved that such violence could happen in smaller suburban cities. The two teenage shooters at Columbine were armed with military-style weapons and had made bombs.

After 9-11, more military-style equipment became available to local and state police from Homeland Security funds. North Richland Hills paid for its new armored vehicle through a state Homeland Security grant.

In recent months, more equipment has been purchased with federal stimulus funds. According to StimulusWatch.org, Arlington at one point requested $1.6 million in stimulus money for a mobile command unit, explosive entry program, armored vehicle and support vehicle, plus the unmanned drone for surveillance and security that StimulusWatch lists at $625,000.

Law enforcement experts estimate that more than 17,000 local and state police forces are equipped with such military equipment as Black Hawk helicopters, machine guns, grenade launchers, battering rams, chemical sprays, body armor, night vision and rappelling gear.

But the military influence goes beyond that, to every aspect of law enforcement: Uniforms, insignias, language and command structures are essentially products of the military.

Advertisements in law enforcement magazines even tout the military background.

In the May issue of Police Magazine, an ad for a gas mask proclaims, “No other law enforcement gas mask has this military pedigree.” It also says the mask has the “latest U.S. military technology.”

Not without controversy

Debate on the use of military-style equipment by police has gone on for decades.

Several police officials said that the sophisticated military-style equipment is needed to protect the area’s growing communities. Several Tarrant cities have nearly doubled in the past couple of decades.

And while major-crime rates fell across Texas and in most large Tarrant County cities last year, there were more major crimes than in 1980, state statistics show.

The number of Texas officers assaulted last year increased by 17.9 percent from 2007.

Still, some criminal-justice experts say that too often SWAT teams with military-style equipment and tactics are deployed for routine duties, such as serving warrants.

“In the past, SWAT teams and their military-type equipment were used in extreme circumstances and that was rare,” Eastern Kentucky’s Kraska said in a recent interview with the Star-Telegram. “Now, it’s much more.”

Kraska said that nationwide, SWAT teams were dispatched about 3,000 times each year in the 1980s.

Last year, that happened about 55,000 times, he said.

“The legitimate argument is that these armored vehicles and SWAT teams should be used in extreme, dangerous situations,” Kraska said. “But that’s it.”

Former Kansas state trooper Greg Evensen, who has written articles on the militarization of police departments, has also criticized the trend. “What ever happened to local ‘peace officers’?” Evensen wrote in 2006. “You remember. The cop everyone knew, liked and respected because of his courage, devotion to duty and the citizens of his/her community.”

Several criminal-justice professors have said the trend will likely continue for several years, even though the military-style equipment could be expensive to maintain.

Flory, Bedford’s police chief, said the equipment must be used wisely.

Bedford used its armored vehicle and SWAT team a week ago when a woman held police at bay from her apartment for more than two hours. The standoff ended when the woman shot herself.

“The funding and the technology is what police departments are looking for to curb crime rates,” Flory said. “It makes good sense to use what’s available.”

North Richland Hills’ new armored vehicle will be put to various public-safety uses and can be deployed to nearby communities, emergency management coordinator Sean Hughes said.

The vehicle, made by Lenco, has steel armor that can repel multiple attacks from assault weapons and multi-hit ballistic glass. The ceilings and floor are blast-fragmentation-resistant. Some Lenco vehicles have gun ports and roof hatches with rotating turrets.

“In my opinion, it’s a multifaceted public-safety vehicle,” Hughes said. “It will be used by police, but it has detection equipment that could be used by the Fire Department.”

But the military/police issue apparently remains a delicate one in the city; police officials declined to have the new armored vehicle photographed.

Increasingly distrubing.

Will the Free Staters please sit down?, by Seninel columnst Michael Schuman

bile — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:33:27 +0000

http://sentinelsource.com/…

Iused to say that a libertarian is just a Republican who wants to smoke pot and watch porn. That was before I attended a Bob Dylan concert in Laconia some years ago. Shortly after the concert began, a young woman two rows in front of me stood up. She continued to stand throughout the concert. Never mind that everyone around her was seated.

I asked the man sitting in front of me to ask the woman to kindly sit because she was blocking people’s views. She continued to stand. I asked an usher to ask her to sit. He spoke to her and walked away, the offending woman still standing. I called the usher over and he told me the woman said she will stand if she wants to because it is her right; there was nothing the usher could do about it.

Apparently this phenomenon is fairly common, because around that time it was lampooned on “Saturday Night Live.” At that concert, she was one of perhaps 10 scattered audience members standing. When I regularly attended concerts in the 1960s and ’70s the audience would either collectively stand or sit. That’s when I realized my original assessment of libertarians was wrong, since even the staunchest Republican I know would have the courtesy to sit down.

Libertarians say they espouse the rights of the individual, which always seemed to me to be just a political way of saying me first, second and third and the hell with everyone else.

Now we have the Free State Project in New Hampshire. When the movement was founded in 2001, the organizers did not know where they wanted to settle. So they did the democratic thing: They voted. Other states considered included Wyoming, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, the Dakotas and Vermont. Largely because of New Hampshire‘s Yankee individualist culture, we won. Lucky us.

Interestingly, a Christian fundamentalist group called Christian Exodus has promoted a mass migration of fellow fundamentalists to South Carolina to escape, according to their Web site, the “moral degeneration of American culture.” The Christian Exodus people claim they used the Free State Project as a model. They have chosen to move to and influence of the politics of South Carolina. Lucky South Carolina.

When the Free Staters began coming here a few years ago, they were more or less a curiosity, like a cat walking on its hind legs. I figured I’d give them a chance; maybe they’ll synchronize the traffic lights on West Street.

Free Staters say they are similar to but not identical to libertarians, but I can’t tell the difference. Both favor limited government regulation, especially of guns and mind-altering substances. There is some legitimacy to these viewpoints. The war on drugs has not worked, and the decriminalization of marijuana would permit police to spend more time catching more dangerous persons. And with so many guns in circulation, it makes sense that citizens have the right to keep guns in their homes for self-protection.

Yet, the Free Staters support limited government to the point that that their concept of victimless acts is questionable. Who decided what act is victimless? Is smoking cigarettes in a crowded restaurant a victimless act? I don’t believe it is.

As for firearms, gun rights advocates say gun control laws hurt law abiding citizens. Flash back to this past spring, when every headline seemed to read, “Another day, another shooting spree.” It seems that all these shooters were law abiding citizens until they began murdering people.

Can’t there be a common sense approach to such issues? If someone is blocking your view, can’t he or she just sit down?

Indeed, in some areas, the Free State Project appears to celebrate extremism. The New Hampshire Free Press, one of the project’s media outlets, quotes Barry Goldwater’s famous statement about extremism not being a vice. The project has promoted regional appearances by both a speaker from the 9-11 truth movement as well as John Birch Society President John F. McManus, described on its Web site as “one of our country’s most influential Patriots (sic).”

Here in the Monadnock Region, Free Stater Sam Miller sits in the county jail because he refuses to give his name, even though his name is the worst kept secret in the Monadnock Region. Miller’s action stems from his refusal to turn off his video camera in the Keene District Court lobby on April 13. Keene District Court Judge Edward J. Burke refuses to schedule a date for Miller’s trial until Miller gives police his name. According to The Keene Sentinel, the cost to keep Miller in jail has reached thousands of dollars. So wasting taxpayers’ money is victimless?

A classic Peanuts comic strip from the early 1960s, and rerun in the Sentinel a few weeks ago, depicts Snoopy standing upside down on his doghouse. Charlie Brown explains to Lucy that Snoopy is protesting the way humans are ruining the world for animals. He adds that Snoopy is going to continue to stand on his head until those wrongs have been righted. Charlie Brown asks Lucy what she thinks. “Pretty stupid!” she replies. Snoopy is then seen sprawled on his doghouse thinking, “That’s what I thought all along, but I didn’t want to say anything!”

Sentinel columnist Michael Schuman lives in Keene.

First and only comment at the time of this posting is:

A Libertarian wrote on May 31, 2009 2:28 PM:

” I am a registered Libertarian…… I am not a Free Stater! I detest what some of the Free Staters do to attract attention. I have made remarks to the Libertarian Party and told them that if they do not separate themselves from the Free Staters that they would most likely lose members, including me. So, please do not put all Libertarians on the same lists as the Free Staters. “

I wasn’t aware that the New Hampshire Free Press was a Free State Project media outlet. I was under the impression that it was run by Russell and Kat Kanning.

And just so everyone knows “Seninel” and “columnst” are spelled wrong in the original title.

Critique: Government runs nation’s only legal pot garden

bosco — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:59:37 +0000

bile recently pointed me to a CNN article called “Government runs nation’s only legal pot garden” which details a government run facility for growing marijuana, the security it uses and some of the controversy that surrounds the subject. What follows are my comments on the article.

Like a cask in a wine cellar, this barrel of marijuana is marked with the year of vintage. It is one of many in the room. ElSohly, the director of the lab, guesses that it holds 10 to 15 kilos, or about 22 to 33 pounds, of impeccably clean “product.”

If you look at the picture they have a wine barrel filled with ground cannabis bud. While the “impeccably clean” product certainly is devoid of stems and seeds I don’t see why they would store it this way. Cannabis continues to cure when stored with the bud intact. I can understand why they would grind it up to test it, but to store it that way doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Ultimately the cannabinoids created during curing are going to be slightly different since there method of storage isn’t typical.

How much would this be worth on the street?

“A lot,” he answers.

He’s not being evasive. It’s just that the value of the marijuana, like the gold at Fort Knox, fluctuates wildly. And like the government gold, it is not for sale. So the question is academic and of little concern.

Eh, $25k? I imagine it would be hard to unload 33lbs so you’d take a knock for selling it in bulk. You’d expect a cannabis researcher to know something about the price, even if it does fluctuate. Also isn’t this guy technically an academic?

Of course, marijuana inside the fence has added value as a scientific tool. Researchers know the genetic makeup of the plants, and that is essential if you’re studying the impact of a drug that, with 14.8 million users, is the most widely used illicit drug in the country.

Preserving or hybridizing cannabis genotypes would be damn near impossible if the facility weren’t cordoned off. The best seed banks in the world are equally concerned with preserving the distinct makeup of their crosses.

Although street marijuana in the early 1980s had an average strength of 4 percent tetrahydrocannabinol — the drug’s primary psychoactive ingredient — the average was 10.1 percent last year, the government announced.

That’s because it’s illegal and if you’re going to transport something you want the most bang per pound. That’s also why people prefer to move hash over long distances. If cannabis were legal you’d see a huge amount of marketplace variety including low potency strains. Personally I prefer lower potency. Also, nothing says people use the same amounts of different types of cannabis. A more potent strain may be used more sparingly. To quote MC Chris (an excellent academic source) “I’ve got a one hitter named Margo Kidder and I only need to hit that shit once!”

…inexperienced or young marijuana users may be more prone to overdose, federal officials say. And users hoping to achieve a state of euphoria may experience dysphoria, a state of anxiety and irritability, and perhaps other ill effects.

I’m not surprised that “federal officials” like to use the term overdose when talking about cannabis. Overdose to most people means death, or possibly a hospital visit. These “federal officials” claim an overdose on cannabis is paranoia. It’s true, you may bug out and cannabis may not be for you or you may not want to smoke so much next time. It certainly isn’t going to kill you though. Also I suspect that part of the problem is that many new cannabis users aren’t “paranoid”, they’re “correct”. When you use cannabis people really are out to get you, they’re called the cops.

Other lab workers “manicure” the drug, removing seeds and stems, and put the clean drug in small beakers. A solution is added, and the liquid is gasified and analyzed by four machines.

Ultimately, a computer screen displays the chemical composition of the samples.

I bet you it’s a GC/MS (gas chromatography/mass spectrometer) setup. If growers had more access to facilities like this, there’d more more than just anecdotal evidence as to a strain’s cannabinoid content. Granted there are other methods, but GC/MS would be best.

“I want to ask what your Christmas parties are like,” he is told.

He deadpans: “No smoking.”

And we end on a corny joke. So the author of this article went to the government’s infamous Mississippi lab a didn’t even as about the G-13 myths? That kinda bums me out. All in all it was an interesting piece that leaned a little too heavily on people’s ignorance regarding cannabis. I kind of feel like the government got more good press out of this than any pro-cannabis cause did. If you’re looking to counteract some of the propaganda, here’s a full length movie on Hulu about the subject.