This is my first diary. I plan to put up essays in the future, but I decided to use humor to start.
Try to imagine the song Cocaine (played by Eric Clapton, written by J. J. Cale) with an alternative set of words, composed by me. Eric Clapton said that his song is often mistaken for a pro-drug song, when it is in fact an anti-drug song. Perhaps McCain people will make the same mistake.
The Drug Enforcement Administration was created by President Richard Nixon through an Executive Order [on] July [1,] 1973 in order to establish a single unified command to combat "an all-out global war on the drug menace." At its outset, the DEA had 1,470 Special Agents and a budget of less than $75 million. Furthermore, in 1974, the DEA had 43 foreign offices in 31 countries. Today, the DEA has 5,235 Special Agents, a budget of more than $2.3 billion and 86 foreign offices in 62 countries.
So the DEA turns thirty-five this week. That deserves a special celebration. Let's bust out our handy-dandy calculator and the official government stats. Time to play Rate the DEA!
Today the DEA has twice the offices in twice the countries with four times the manpower than when it started thirty-five years ago. In 1973, the DEA had $0.075 billion to work with; today you have $2.3 billion. That's an increase of 3,067%, or a dramatic thirty-fold increase. Just what have the American People received for this $31.4 billion dollar, thirty-five year investment?
OK do not get me wrong I am all for doing whatever you want to do to keep life entertaining. I am bringing this up not as wrist slapper but as education. The link below is an article from the New York Times, and it is about the deaths caused by drugs in Miami in 2007. Long story short:
One of the more telling revelations about Bush from that weasel McClellan's book:
'You know, the truth is I honestly don't remember whether I tried it or not. We had some pretty wild parties back in the day, and I just don't remember.'
We haven't even seen the good parts of the McClellan Book yet. This newest revelation is much juicier and goes deeper, to the core of a man who is completely politically delusional. Someone who believes what they want to believe.
McClellan tracks Bush's penchant for self-deception back to an overheard incident on the campaign trail in 1999 when the then-governor was dogged by reports of possible cocaine use in his younger days.
"'The media won't let go of these ridiculous cocaine rumors,' I heard Bush say. 'You know, the truth is I honestly don't remember whether I tried it or not. We had some pretty wild parties back in the day, and I just don't remember.'"
More on how this all ties to John McCain's own Political self-delusion below.
Republican Mike Erickson, candidate for the nomination in Oregon's 5th District, has come under heavy fire lately from primary opponent Kevin Mannix, with rumors afloat that Erickson used to hold wild cocaine parties on his boat.
Well, Erickson flatly denies these scurrilous allegations; he's not only never used cocaine, but
"I've never used cocaine. I wouldn't know what it looks like," Erickson said, adding that he has never used illegal drugs or tobacco.
He doesn't know what cocaine looks like? He's never seen Beverly Hills Cop? He's never cooked with baking soda?
I had to snort at that one.
Call me a skeptic, but Erickson's denial just doesn't pass the smell test.
It would have been a bit more plausible if he just denied knowledge of the coke parties. Something like "If there's been cocaine use here, well, it's been happening right under my own nose."
Anybody else got a clever pun? A not-so-clever one?
In all seriousness, this is one of the most ridiculous statements we've seen yet this cycle. Either Erickson is a bald-faced liar, or a first-class moran. It's his choice as to which he'd rather be.
And please submit all coke-related Erickson jokes below!
A US Senator identified only as "Hermione R. Climatus" wants to be thought of as the kind of person you'd like to do lines with, so she is reported seeking advice from this guy we'll just call "W" for obvious reasons. Middle class parents around the country are pleased and think that Sen. Climatus has been a perfect role model this week, doing boilermakers in a bar. There is general agreement among the nattering pundits that this is exactly what America needs from its president.
As we look into the possibility of 28 years of uninterrupted Bush- Clinton dynasties, you'll notice these aren't an accidental twist of fate, they are rooted not just in a shared ideology but also in self-preservation from accountability for high crimes, particularly those related to the sham "drug war" dating back to the 80s. As we'll soon see, the Clinton and Bush case was quid pro quo defined, and continues to be. The recent news of a CIA torture jet crashing with four tons of cocaine in Mexico was a sobering reminder that the drug war as we know it benefited both the Clinton and Bush dynasties, all the while bringing the United States incarceration rate to the point we have 25% of the world's prisoners while being only 5% of the global population; this according to Kara Gotsch of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Yesterday Obama gave a brilliant speech laying out the issues of race in America, starting a discussion that is long overdo. There's another discussion that is similarly overdo, and is somewhat related to the hardships faced by African Americans.
Drugs, and the draconian punishments given to people for using them. College students who take some ecstasy lose their financial aid and are forced to drop out. Urban kids caught with some cocaine are put in jail for years. Parents who smoke a little pot lose their kids and jobs. Mandatory sentences have filled our country's jails with poor, undereducated people -- mostly men and minorities -- and then release them with a criminal record for small offenses.
Yet George Bush, a two-term President of the United States, has two driving while intoxicated convictions and is widely thought to have done copious amounts of cocaine in the 1980s. What if he were George Bush, an African American from Newark, NJ?
Friday brought an extraordinary public letter at the behest of William Rees Mogg, the Editor.
Text below the fold. Under the circumstances....
The Times is on its knees, begging its government to spare a life.
Amy was doing really well. Healthy. Clean. Typical smart-ass cockney.
BEFORE:
Then, evening of the 17th, Hell broke loose.
Her husband, Blake, is in grave legal trouble. Amy went over the edge.
Darn near a suicide attempt.
The medical fear is that Amy suffered micro-stroke injuries from crack cocaine.
Please, do not judge her.
AFTER:
Her father, Mitchell, tried to have her committed, seaking full medical treatment.
He was turned down.
A week later, rehab, but only voluntary treatment.
English law is decades behind the curve for dealing with drug poisoning.
The Times of London, now, speaks out, reflecting Jesus: "Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me."
So, how should we treat our junkies ?
I usually have either CSPIN or a cable news channel on in the background of my office (NO, not Faux. That really isn't news, anyway). So, when I see BET's Bob Johnson's truly below the belt, uncalled-for, campaign approved, bullshit attack on Barack Obama, this being the third person from her campaign to pull this shit on Obama, I begin to see a pattern.
And it ain't pretty.
Obama isn't even my first choice, and knowing intimately the percolator that is Illinois politics, I am sure that he can defend himself more than adequately.
Four, count them, FOUR separate Clinton spokespinners appeared either on CSpin, MSNBC, or CNN to do what can only be labeled a bullshit-filled hatchet job. They managed to deny what Johnson was referring to, without denying it.
As long as we're looking at things this way (see Yup, Ron Paul is still racist), we might as well be honest and remind everyone that all the mainstream Democratic candidates are racist. After all, they not only do not disavow, but they actively support the institution that is arguably the most racist since slavery.
It is unfortunate that it took the Supreme Court to do what the Congress should have done a long time ago and that is to allow Federal judges to consider the disparity between powder cocaine and crack when sentencing offenders. Rather than showing leadership and courage, the Congress even with a Democratic majority refused to act on the huge disparity in sentencing for crack versus powder cocaine for fear of appearing soft on crime. Once again political expediency outweighed moral conviction and the Congress failed to act. I don’t know about you but the Democratic majority was long on promises and has been short on delivery.
We blame drug users for getting addicted -- and then abandon them.
Simple approach. It holds sway over far too many governments.
Odd thing, society ends up powerless against drug-related threats.
Criminal subcultures are generated, which support antisocials.
Crime multiplies.
Which bring us to Amy Winehouse.
Press photos ID'd the notorious Johnny Headlock.
Admitted killing Mark Blanco in 2006 by throwing the Oxford graduate off a 30-foot balcony.
"Headlock" is infamous for publicizing the rape drug Boost. Still running free.
But Wino's a junkie. No protection.
Drug poisoned: incoherent, delusional. Consistent with Boost.
Could have died.
Could happen to anybody's kid.
Details below and they suck....
As most political junkies and even a few normal people know by now, Clinton's (former) campaign official Billy Shaheen warned that Obama would be vulnerable in a general election because he'd used cocaine. More than that, he racistly raised the prospect that Obama had sold drugs.
What happened next was a predictable as nightfall.
But I have a separate point to make that hasn't yet been made 10,000 times today: Obama's past electoral history proves Shaheen is wrong in his concern that the Republicans will jump on it.
I must admit that I've tried it a few times. Four to be exact. I first used the narcotic at a party when I was 17. A friend had acquired some from her older sister, and asked me to try it first. A pretty girl wanted to do blow with me. How could I resist? I started with a very small line, just to be safe, snorting the line through a rolled-up dollar bill. I felt nothing, and tried a little more. Still nothing. My friend tried it and didnt get high either. We figured that it must have been some bad shit, and her sister confirmed it later. So although I don't think I actually did coke, I intended to do it. So I consider that my first time with the drug.
The second time was a lot different. I was at my brother's bachelor party and someone brought a bunch of blow with him. This time, I got extremely high. I felt like my eyes were popping out of my head. And I gotta admit, I had an awesome night, staying out until 4:00. I had superhuman strength that night.
