I just watched a 2009 indie called American Violet. If The Hunger Games (as Brian said in the comments on that film) might have been made by “a right-wing splinter group,” this one could have come from an ACLU production company. But we’re talking about the good side of the ACLU here. Do you remember the phony drug-war busts in Tulia and Hearne, Texas, a decade or so ago? Mass roundups of innocent blacks based on phony evidence? Cases that eventually fell apart en masse under national scrutiny? Well, American Violet is a fictionalized version of the case that eventually…
Category: War on Some Drugs
Average cost of living $150,000/year? I freaking don’t believe it. Not sure I believe this, either. But it makes me all the more grateful for that freezer full of grass-fed beef. (H/T PT.) Now, this I definitely believe: Having power makes you stupid. Something actually good about Rick Santorum. I try not to lift too much from Radley Balko, since I figure a lot of the same people read his blog and mine, but this was too good: Why you can’t smoke pot. (Because there’s sooooooo much money and lobbying for the drug warriors.) “10 Rules for a Literary Feud.”…
Recreational cannabis soon to see widespread legalization? Let’s hope Time magazine isn’t as wrong on this as it often is on so many other things. “We the People” is rapidly losing its appeal around the world. No surprise. (Tip o’ hat to MtK.) Can’t you just picture Obama in a Joe Arpaio jail? Chortle. (And thanks, JS.) Poetic justice. Obama vs the Catholic church. And vice versa. If you had any doubt that copyright overreach had sunk to absurd lows, you can become a true believer now. Another state legislature takes on the NDAA. (How much would you like to…
Meant to put this up Saturday morning as a weekend read. It’s a bit long, though a good one even for those of us who already know too much about the prison-state: “The Caging of America.”
What happens when a corporation gets just a bit too uppity in its definition of IP. I suppose as times get harder, we can expect more of this sort of thing. Shudder. But if it can be made harder on the forces of tyranny … (Some notes on guerrilla warfare) “Complex Systems, Dysfunctional Industries, and Catastrophic Collapse.” Preparedness. Basic. Fascinating. They haven’t found the suspect, two decades later. But they’ve found his seventeenth century ancestor. Yeah. Right. According to this I’m supposed to go to either Switzerland … or the U.S. How about you? Good going. Excellent calm way to…
Freedom vs terrorism. Jim B. left this link in yesterday’s comments: There is a fund for the recently widowed teenage mother who shot that intruder last week. And for those who laughed at yesterday’s National Apricot Day, may you find your own food jones here. (Scroll down.) The anti-SOPA app: Oh, what a potential tool for boycotters of all kinds. Alas, I must admit that my own little community (which I’m dead-solid certain would never be in line to have a cannabis dispensary until the devil throws snowballs at Charles Schumer) is among the benighted many preemptively banning the heck…
Pretty good WSJ article on the Institute for Justice. And speaking of justice (or the lack thereof), how about facing 20 years in prison for feeding whales? A businessman’s top five lessons for hard times. Thomas Jefferson and his bible. A little citywide sanity in the war on drugs. But enough good news. Here are a few of the new ways your privacy can be invaded this year. Could be worse, though. You could live in the UK. Or New York. Or you could lead a dog’s life. (H/T PT) (Tip o’ hat to MJR who has become a link-locating…
So my friend and I showed up at the courthouse yesterday, properly (or rather improperly) disarmed. She even left her nail file in the car, just in case, and I carried a purse (I never carry a purse) that was so light I felt naked. No flashlight, no pepper spray, no multi-tool, no spring-assisted pocket knife, no hardware whatsoever. The courthouse, in a bigger county than this one, was a “real” courthouse — swarming with lawyers and built to impress 19th century citizens. Domes and grand staircases and mosaic floors and all that. In the courtroom, the ceiling soared to…
Life in prison for cutting off beards? Ridiculous law gets more ridiculous by the minute. And not only in Feddieland. (Money quote is in the final paragraph.) Terrorist entrapments are getting pretty desperate, too. But get the gummint out of the way and people still do amazingly cool things. Speaking of dogs, here’s another awwwww moment. The tidbit about the crucifix chain is what’s interesting here. Hm. Might hit the pawnshops and second-hand stores for that little bit of preparedness. What George Orwell can teach us about police brutality. Polar Pure water treatment and the drug war. I agree with…
A good man died last week. Al Woodbridge. Although he was only one of many abused by the ATF in the 90s (and by federal kangaroo courts), he was one of the toughest. H/T to JJ. I really like the way James Altucher thinks. This guy, on the other hand is edging toward the real answer but is still way sidetracked. Will he ever get the Real Clue, do you think? (But Occupy Wall Street is seriously interesting, isn’t it?) Common sense and enlightenment raise their battered heads once again in the world of mind-altering drugs. A good article on…