February 17, 2017
Cartoon: Baby Donald’s Decision
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August 17, 2014
War On Drugs, The Rise Of Police Militarization
In my many recent blog posts on the police initiated war zone in Ferguson, Missouri, I’ve mentioned the increasing militarization of police forces around the country, especially in the aftermath of 9/11. I have also talked about MRAPs (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles on multiple occasions. What I did not do in any of these articles was trace back to where this all started. And it should come as no shock that America’s war on drugs plays a crucial role in police department militarization.
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September 23, 2013
Prison-Industrial Complex Watch: Amnesty For Non-Violent Drug Offenders?
Last month Attorney General Eric Holder declared “too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long, and for no truly good law enforcement reason.” For many, this was a welcome, although limited change of policy. To get around existing mandatory minimum laws, Holder instructed federal prosecutors to use discretion for non-violent drug offenders. By not listing the quantities of drugs, prosecutors can’t avoid the trigger mechanisms in mandatory minimum sentencing rules. This is definitely a good first step, but we need all mandatory minimum laws repealed. We should not remove the ability of a judge and jury to rule on the merits of each case.
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September 19, 2013
Prison-Industrial Complex Watch: End Mandatory Minimum Sentences For Non-Violent Drug Offenses
It’s time for Americans to pay attention to what we are doing to so many non-violent drug offenders. We put them in jail, take away their right to vote when they get out, in many cases for minor offenses, that probably shouldn’t be illegal in the first place. Americans need to see the forest for the trees when it comes to U.S. drug laws. Why is it so hard to change failed policy?
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September 13, 2013
Since This Morning, Alcohol Has Killed Thousands. Marijuana? Zero
Most Americans now believe marijuana should be legal. Most have realized the war on drugs, especially when it comes to pot, has been an abysmal failure. And most people know alcohol is a much more potent and deadly drug than weed. Alcohol is responsible for thousands of deaths per day, and countless hardships, yet it remains legal. And it should remain legal, because we know prohibition doesn’t work.
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August 12, 2013
Attorney General Eric Holder Announces Major Curtailment Of ‘Mandatory Minimum’ Sentences For Non-Violent Drug Offenses
In episode 4 of Left Call Radio, I spoke about America’s “prison-industrial complex” and how mandatory minimum sentences take discretion away form judges and juries. Mandatory minimum sentences do not make us safer. What these unnecessary and harsh sentences do is ruin the lives of people who commit low-level, non-violent drug offenses, while the rest of us can revel in our own righteous indignation. — Hey, I wouldn’t have committed that crime. So what do I care?
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July 28, 2013
07-28-2013 Left Call Radio 04 – Prison Industrial Complex, Conservative Convenience, Smooth Health Care Evasion, Infrastructure Now!
Episode 04: Prison industrial complex | Conservative bubble convenience | Republicans’ “smooth evasion” on health care, government | It’s the infrastructure stupid
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January 13, 2013
Dead Guy Ale and Breaking Bad
So I’m sitting at home watching season four of Breaking Bad (I’m a latecomer to the series, so I’m catching up) and I’m drinking a Rogue Dead Guy Ale and I think to myself — Why is it that we accept alcohol but not other drugs? And make no mistake, alcohol is a drug.
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September 7, 2012
Reminder: Obama Doesn’t Support Marijuana Legalization and Kal Penn is not Kumar
I’d like to remind my friends on the left that we put people in boxes too. We are sometimes guilty of exclusionary thinking just as people on the right are. I think we are on the correct side of important issues like marriage equality, civil rights, women’s rights and so on, but that doesn’t mean we own moral superiority in every aspect of life, and it doesn’t mean we are right about everything or that we can always decipher someone’s motives.
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June 14, 2012
Marijuana could be Barack Obama’s secret weapon in this election
With support for legalisation polling at a record 50%, it may be time for the president to reassess his position on drugs policy
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