by Highline | Jun 12, 2010 |
“Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love…Our aim must never be to defeat or humiliate the white man, but to win his friendship and understanding.”
Dr. Martin Luther King — 1958
Modern day modification:
“Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love…Our aim must never be to defeat or humiliate people who believe using state sanctioned violence is appropriate, but to win his or her friendship and understanding… and to show them that the initiation of violence is never appropriate to solve problems.”
… just a thought I had while reading his amazing words of wisdom.
by Highline | Jun 11, 2010 |
A second state in the United States has passed a law giving immunity from criminal prosecution to someone who is having a drug overdose or someone who reports a drug overdose by calling 911 for help. Here in New Hampshire someone overdosing from drugs will not be so lucky. Call for help and you’re risking imprisonment.
The State of Washington passed SB 5516, something that would be worthwhile to push for here in New Hampshire. This type of limited immunity does nothing to address the problems of addiction, crime associated with addiction, and crime associated with the black market supply of drugs. It is a good step in the direction of harm-reduction, though.
For a fraction of the cost of enforcement and imprisonment, treatment centers could be opened for opiate-addicted individuals. People could be given the drugs they need to survive with a plan to get them off of their addictions. They no longer would be out terrorizing neighborhoods with burglaries or worse to support their habits. They could get drug free. Black market drug dealers would wither when they no longer could count on returning customers. This would make it harder for people to start using in the first place. People not being addicted to hard drugs is a good thing.
Why don’t people in government realize this? The tough on crime approach to drug policing doesn’t work. It never will. Every drug arrest and drug investigation is a complete waste of time. If it were not a waste of time wouldn’t the non-stop stories of drug arrests have come to an end after 40+ years of doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over again?
The drug war does nothing positive and it does a tremendous amount of negative.
by Highline | Jun 11, 2010 |
Can you make an argument that police officers were individually doing the right thing when they were enforcing laws relative to segregation? Were they individually responsible for their actions notwithstanding the fact that they were enforcing the law?
Please reply in the comment section on this post.
by Highline | Jun 11, 2010 |
1. On one night in Stratham, NH nine innocent people have been victimized by having their cars broken into and their belongings stolen. The last investigation I was part of having to do with precisely this type of behavior was a drug addict who needed money for heroin.
Guaranteed that these people were victims of drug prohibition as well.
2. A man who was convicted of killing a small child in Rochester, NH has hired a private investigator to attempt to clear his name. He vehemently maintains his innocence and was convicted on a purely circumstantial case.
3. A “prominent” physician is out arguing in Portsmouth, NH that people should support a “single-payer” health care system because it would improve the state of health care for all.
For a man who obviously has a great deal of intelligence, it is sad to think that he does not realize the violence that he is supporting while making this argument. It is also sad that he does not realize the conundrum in his logic:
If I have a *right* to health care… that would mean I have a *right* to his labor, or perhaps the labor of someone else to pay for it. Wouldn’t that make that person my slave?
I wish everyone could have health care in this country… I’m just not willing to support violence to achieve it. I hope you wont support violence to achieve it either.
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by Highline | Jun 10, 2010 |
1. An attorney with political connections in Concord, NH is caging a man like an animal for 18-months for participating in the black market sale of plants. Since the dawn of time people have wanted to alter their state of consciousness. People do it every day with alcohol. People do it every day with marijuana. By any measure of rational science marijuana is proven time and time again to be safer to us vs. alcohol.
“Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man(,)” according to DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Francis Young.
Why must we continue to toss people in a cage for voluntarily agreeing to exchange money for this plant? Wait, I know why. Good grief.
This man is not accused of hurting anyone. Accordingly, he should not be hurt by the state.
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