Mitch Hedberg Would Have Been 41 Today

Mitch Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 29, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his surreal humor and unconventional comedic delivery. His routines featured elocutive but often short, sometimes one-line, observational comedy, mixed with absurd and paraprosdokian elements as well as non sequiturs. Hedberg's comedy and on-stage persona gained him a cult following.

Quotes From Mitch Hedberg

I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too.

You know, I'm sick of following my dreams, man. I'm just going to ask where they're going and hook up with 'em later.

Is a hippopotomus really a hippopotomus or just a really cool opotomus?

See, this CD is in stores. The only way I could get my last CD into a store was to take one in there and leave it. "Sir, you forgot this!" "No, I did not. That is for sale. Please alphabetize it."

I order the club sandwich all the time, but I'm not even a member, man. I don't know how I get away with it.

I sit at my hotel at night, I think of something that's funny, then I go get a pen and I write it down. Or if the pen's too far away, I have to convince myself that what I thought of ain't funny.

I had a neighbor, and whenever he would knock on my wall I knew he wanted me to turn my music down, and that made me angry because I like loud music, so when he knocked on the wall I'd mess with his head. I'd say: "Go around! I cannot open the wall. I don't know if you have a doorknob on the other side, but over here there's nothing. It's just flat."

I don't have a girlfriend. I just know a girl who would get really mad if she heard me say that.

Because of acid, I now know that butter is way better than margarine. I saw through the bullshit.

I went camping once, and got into an argument with a girlfriend in the tent. This is a really bad place to get in an argument, because I walked out and attempted to "slam the flap." How are you supposed to express your anger in this type of situation? Zipper it up really quick? *Zipper Noise* ! Fuck you

People used to think I was high on stage, because people associate long hair with drug use. I wish long hair was associated with something other than drug use. Like an extreme longing for cake. Then strangers would see a long haired guy and say, "That guy eats cake. He is on bunt cake." Mothers would say to their daughters, "Don't bring the cake eater over here anymore! He smells like flour. Did you see how excited he got when he heard your birthday was fast approaching?"

Last time I called shot gun we had rented a limo, so I fucked up...

I like baked potatoes, man. I don’t have a microwave oven. It takes forever to cook a baked potato in a conventional oven. Sometimes I’ll just throw one in there, even if I don’t want one. By the time it’s done, who knows.

Mitch Hedberg on Wikipedia

Mitch Hedberg on Wikiquotes

Senator Claims Marijuana Makes Man Wear Same Trench Coat For 20 Years!

Shrub Monkeys drawing by Kt Shy

Marijuana decriminalization in Washington state may be an impossible dream this year, despite the fact that it was just passed out of state Senate committee with a "do pass" recommendation.

After some pretty amazing remarks (for different reasons) on both sides of the debate, the Washington State Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-3 to pass out Senate Bill 5615.

SB 5615 reclassifies adult possession of no more than 40 grams of marijuana from a misdemeanor crime carrying mandatory jail time to a civil infraction imposing a $100 penalty that can be paid by mail.

Democratic State Senator James Hargrove [office phone number (360) 786-7646] and Republican State Senator Pam "Doesn't Smoke A" Roach [office phone number (360) 786-7660] both managed to make complete asses of themselves with their ignorant tirades against the bill.

Rather than objecting to marijuana decrim on any rational basis, this dynamic duo of dimwits chose to resuscitate long-discredited Reefer Madness myths as valid reasons for the bill not to move forward.


Hates trench coats and massages: Sen. Jim Hargrove
Jim Hargrove, after emphasizing he's a college graduate, said that he saw one of his former fraternity brothers who smoked pot back in the day and -- apparently because of marijuana -- the poor pothead was still wearing the same trench coat he had 20 years ago.

(Side note to Senator Hargrove: If it's not too much trouble, can you put me in touch with your pot-smoking buddy? If the marijuana he smokes is so good it makes you wear a trench coat for 20 years --imagine the savings on clothes! -- I'd really like to try some of that shit. alapoet@comcast.net. Thanks, man.)

What's worse, this dirty dope-smoker had the same hairstyle he had back then, and was actually taking classes at (shudder) Evergreen College. We've all heard of that bastion of "higher" education, now haven't we? Buncha damn hippies and commie pinko liberals, that's what they are, yessir. What's more, he even practiced some massage therapy -- yet another vaguely disreputable profession, we are given to believe.

I guess because Hargrove disapproves of his friend's dress, hairstyle, and lifestyle, we are supposed to keep arresting and jailing marijuana smokers, mmmkay?

Voters of Washington's 24th District, PLEASE vote this clueless clown out of office next opportunity you get, before he embarrasses you all again and does more damage. The bad news is you're stuck with this idiot until the 2012 elections.

And voters of the 28th District should be pleased to find that your State Senator Mike Carrell [office phone number (360) 786-7654] doesn't mind wasting lots of your tax dollars on enforcing futile marijuana laws.

According to the ACLU of Washington, there were more than 11,000 arrests for misdemeanor marijuana possession in 2007 in the Evergreen state. The courts entered 3,600 convictions and imposed more than 16,000 days in jail. Police time, court time and jail time consumed approximately $7.6 million of YOUR tax money.

But Mike Carrell said it's not about your money; it's about the crucial importance of arresting marijuana smokers. So I guess you shouldn't mind at all, eh? Gotta get them potheads.

Carrell also, while admitting he's never been to Amsterdam, "helpfully" shared that "one of the greatest dangers" of visiting there is "walking on needles, and other things" because Holland's liberal drug policies have contributed to the "unraveling of their society."

Whoa, Mike; that would would come as a big surprise to the orderly Dutch, to find out their entire society has unraveled. Presumably they are too stoned to notice they're walking around on needles... Sigh.


Hates science: Sen. Pam "Doesn 't Smoke A" Roach
(Side Note to Pam: You shouldn't have taken down the link to that first picture on your State Senate site, darlin'. It was a lot more flattering, i.e., unlike you. Oops, did I say that out loud?)
And then there's the always-entertaining Senator Pam Roach (yes, she of the dreaded "financial disclosure irregularities"). Pam flatly stated, based undoubtedly on her vast knowledge, that marijuana "is a gateway drug." Never mind the science! Pam said so. I guess that settles it.

Hey, Mrs. Roach: It's not too late. Take a hit from the clue bong, baby. Study after study over a 30-year period has discredited the gateway theory of marijuana. You've had plenty of time to learn this. Either get your facts straight, or shut the hell up and get out of the way.

Roach also claimed that driving under the influence of marijuana is a big problem, once again displaying a contempt for actual science that seems to be endemic among the willfully ignorant. (Marijuana does NOT appear to appear to play a significant role in vehicle crashes.)

Five Good Senators

To thank the members of the committee who voted to pass (prime sponsor Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, my new hero Committee Chair Sen. Adam Kline, Committee Vice Chair Sen. Debbie Regala, and the eloquent, intelligent and articulate Sen. Rodney Tom, all Democrats; and Republican Sen. Bob McCaslin, who bravely crossed party lines to make this a bipartisan effort), visit:

http://www.leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/JUD/membersstaff.htm

Senators Kohl-Welles, Kline, Regala, Tom and McCaslin are real leaders, and deserve the continuing support and votes of the marijuana community.

Kohl-Welles in particular shined as she told why marijuana decriminalization really is a public safety issue: It burdens law enforcement and criminal justice resources to arrest and prosecute marijuana users caught with small amounts of the herb, while having absolutely no impact on use or availability of marijuana. Kohl-Welles rightly pointed out that the deprioritization of marijuana enforcement frees up police to pursue serious crimes.

Here's the video recording of the hearing (February 18 executive session) from www.TVW.org:


You can scroll forward to the discussion of SB 5615 by clicking on the progress bar at the bottom of the window. The discussion begins at 1:36:05.

I encourage all of you to watch and listen. It's a great opportunity to be able to hear our elected representatives engage in an open, public discussion and debate of our state's marijuana laws and the broader "war on drugs."

SB 5615 now goes before the Senate Rules Committee, which must take action to put the bill on the floor of the Senate for full vote. Senate Rules Committee members:

http://www.leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/RULE/members.htm

The companion bill, House Bill 1177, was referred to the House Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness, where it has yet to be scheduled for a public hearing. The bill is being held up in committee by pot-phobic asshat ex-cop State Rep. Chris Hurst (D-Enumclaw), chair of the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee. So it basically all comes down to this one guy.


Asshat ex-cop Chris Hurst ain't givin' up on the marijuana war
(Side Note to Chris: Dude. How hard did you think it'd be for me to link to another picture, after you disconnected the first one? Asshat.)
http://www.leg.wa.gov/HOUSE/hurst

Next Wednesday, February 25, is the deadline for bills to be passed out of committee. Asshat Hurst flatly declares no hearing will be held.

He argues it would be irresponsible to move a piece of legislation forward before the federal government removes marijuana as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. Hurst claims he actually supports such a change, but says Washington state should not act ahead of the federal government. (Um, Chris? Isn't that what a leader does? Get out ahead? Otherwise, you're just a follower, a tool, and a political coward.)

Doing so, he argues, could lull citizens into harm's way with zero-tolerance federal authorities, such as the Coast Guard, DEA or border agents. Officer, er, Senator Hurst is apparently oblivious to the fact that a dozen other states -- including even Mississippi, for Christ's sake -- have decriminalized marijuana, and no such thing has happened.

If you'd like to call Hurst's office and let him know what you think about that:

Telephone (360) 786-7866

Or if you're one of his constituents, you can send him a message online:

Email Rep. Chris Hurst

In addition, if you are a resident of Washington, you can use this online form provided by the Washington ACLU to contact your state legislators:

Take Action: Marijuana Reclassification Bill

A Smile Across The Years... Cherokee, N.C., 1977

In 1977, I visited Cherokee, N.C., with my Dad and Mom.

On the ride up, I (a very politically conscious 17-year-old) cautioned my Dad in a very P.C. lecture not to say "How" to any of the Native Americans. He assured me he wouldn't. So imagine my shock when, the first day in Cherokee, this dude walked up to me, held up his hand and bellowed "How!"

I was mortified. Moments later, my dad snapped this picture -- I'm surprised he was able to take the photo, he was laughing so hard. Turns out he'd bribed the guy to embarrass me...

(Dig my cool jeans and Jethro Tull t-shirt... I still have that unerrant fashion sense today, folks.)

Sicko Cat Abuser Uploaded Video To YouTube

Kenny Glenn - Sicko cat abuser
(upped YouTube video Sunday, February 15)

Location: Lawton OK

School: http://www.lhswolverines.org/

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/kenny_glenn

Sandra and Mark Glenn, and their sons Kenny and Weston.

Weston Glenn operated the camera for the video.





THIS. SHIT. MUST. STOP.





Postscript, Monday, Feb. 16: Dusty the Cat is injured but alive and is under the care of a veterinarian. Kenny's MySpace page appears to have been hacked and taken over by those horrified by Kenny's cruelty. And local law enforcement in Lawton, Oklahoma, are investigating Kenny's crime.

Television station KSWO in Lawton, Okla., covers the story:

http://www.kswo.com/Global/story.asp?S=9850040

Happy 70th Birthday To Ray Manzarek Of The Doors

Happy 70th birthday to keyboardist Ray Manzarek of The Doors!

Washington's Marijuana Decrim Bill: State Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing

This Washington Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Senate SB 5615, to decriminalize the possession of 40 grams or less of marijuana, took place Tuesday, February 10, 2008, in Olympia.

The marijuana discussion begins around 1 hour, 32 minutes, 36 seconds into the video presentation (it is easy to skip to this part by moving and clicking appropriately on the progress bar).

Shankar Narayan of the Washington ACLU was there to eloquently and effectively go to bat for decrim, as was former State Representative Toby Nixon, bill sponsor Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, John Cary of the King County Bar Association, and Jeremy Miller of the Olympia Hemp, Love, and Freedom Foundation.

After the informative and intelligent contributions of others, Seth Dawkins took the hearing off on a surreal and bizarre tangent as he wove a breathless mix of half-truths, botched studies, woeful inaccuracies, and outright lies in his irrational opposition to marijuana decriminalization.

Washington's Marijuana Decrim Bill: Why It's Good, What's The Hold-Up, And What To Do

The Washington state legislature is looking at a bill which would decriminalize adult marijuana possession in the Evergreen State.

There are many, many reasons that reducing the penalties for marijuana is a good thing. But the biggest and best is:

You don't get put in a cage for pot.

Anyone who underestimates the value of not being in a cage hasn't spent much time in one.

Under current law, possessing as little as one joint is punishable by up to 90 days in jail. In Washington last year, 11,553 people were arrested on marijuana possession charges.

As reported by Dominic Holden in The Stranger, sponsors and advocates behind the bill intend to emphasize the bill’s savings. Representative Brendan Williams (D-22, Olympia), one of the bill's co-sponsors, said he plans to “frame it in terms of the tradeoff in the budget discussion … and set a square alternative."

Williams says conservative legislators could be attracted to the cost-saving argument for decriminalization more than ever. “Do you choose to provide health care for x number of children or fund criminalizing marijuana possession?” he asked. For example, Williams cites a cost analysis of pot busts taken from Washington State Institute for Public Policy data that shows, based on the number of arrests in 2007, Washington would save $7.5 million by passing the law.

No Republicans have co-sponsored either the House or the Senate versions of the marijuana decrim bill.


Chart: The Stranger

Alison Holcomb, director of the ACLU of Washington’s Drug Policy Project, said public opinion is on the bill’s side. A recent poll shows 81 percent of Washington voters believe pot laws aren’t working. “I think that the bill is an improvement Washington voters are ready to see,” she says. Massachusetts voters passed a nearly identical measure in November by a 30-point margin—and the lack of pot-induced hysteria in Massachusetts may provide evidence that the hackneyed reefer-madness claims about marijuana reforms are unfounded.


Alison Holcomb of the ACLU
"Thirteen other states have already [decriminalized marijuana]"—including Massachusetts, where a measure similar to the one in the Washington State legislature passed a public vote in November by a 30-point margin—"and we haven't seen any of those other states struggle with [the] problem" of federal prosecution, Holcomb said.

California has made possession of marijuana a civil infraction, and, like Washington, it also sits on an international border and has a coastline patrolled by federal agents.

The Facts

SB 5615 would change pot possession of 40 grams or less from a misdemeanor to a $100 civil infraction. The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on SB 5615 Tuesday, February 10 at 10 a.m. in Hearing Room 1 of the J.A. Cherberg Building on the Capitol campus in Olympia, WA.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5615&year=2009

This is a companion bill to HB 1177:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1177&year=2009



Rep. Chris Hurst doesn't want marijuana -- and he doesn't want you to have it, either
The House version of the bill, HB 1177, is being held up in the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee by the committee chairman, this asshat, Rep. Chris Hurst:

http://www.leg.wa.gov/HOUSE/hurst

Reality Catcher suggests you call his office and let him know what you think about that. (For best results, I further suggest you don't call Rep. Hurst or his assistants "asshats." Do as I say, not as I do.)

Telephone (360) 786-7866

Or if you're one of his constituents, you can send him a message online:

Email Rep. Chris Hurst

In addition, if you are a resident of Washington, you can use this online form provided by the Washington ACLU to contact your state legislators:

Take Action: Marijuana Reclassification Bill

Maybe *This* Is How The War On Marijuana Ends

A rural Illinois jury has found one of their peers innocent in a marijuana case that would have sent him to prison. Loren Swift (pictured below) was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and he faced a mandatory minimum of six years behind bars.

According to Dan Churney at MyWebTimes, several jurors were seen shaking Swift's hand after the verdict, a couple of them were talking and laughing with Swift and his lawyer, and one juror slapped Swift on the back.

The 59-year-old was arrested after officers from a state "drug task force" found 25 pounds of pot and 50 pounds of growing plants in his home in 2007. The Vietnam veteran walks with a cane, has bad knees and feet and says he uses marijuana to relieve body pain, as well as to help cope with post traumatic stress.

This jury exercised their right of jury nullification. Judges and prosecutors never tell you this, but when you serve on a jury, it's not just the defendant on trial. It's the law as well. If you don't like the law and think applying it in this particular case would be unjust, then you don't have to find the defendant guilty, even if the evidence clearly indicates guilt.

In jury nullification, a jury in a criminal case effectively nullifies a law by acquitting a defendant regardless of the weight of evidence against him or her. There is intense pressure within the legal system to keep this power under wraps. But the fact of the matter is that when laws are deemed unjust, there is the right of the jury not to convict.

Jury nullification is crucially important because until our national politicians show some backbone on the issue of marijuana law reform, it's one of the only ways to avoid imposing hideously cruel "mandatory minimum" penalties on marijuana users who don't deserve to go to prison.

Prosecuting and jailing people for marijuana wastes valuable resources, including court and police time and tax dollars. Hundreds of thousands of otherwise productive, law-abiding people have been deprived of their freedom, their families, their homes and their jobs. Let's save the jails for real criminals, not pot smokers.

The American public is very near the tipping point where a majority no longer believes the official line coming from Drug Warrior politicians and their friends at the ONDCP, gung-ho narcotics officers protecting their profitable turf, and sensationalistic, scare-mongering news stories used to boost ratings. They are starting to see through the widening cracks in the wall of denial when it comes to marijuana's salutary medical effects on a host of illnesses and its palliative effects for the terminally ill and permanently disabled.

People are coming to realize that not only have they been sold a lie when it comes to marijuana -- they've been sold a particularly cruel lie, a self-perpetuating falsehood of epic proportions that has controlled U.S. public policy towards the weed for 70 years now. The extreme cruelty of the lies told about marijuana by drug warriors is in the effects this culture of fear and intolerance has in the real world -- effects like long prison sentences for gentle people who are productive and caring members of society.

Because citizens are coming to this long-delayed realization, we are going to be seeing more and more cases like this where juries have chosen not to punish people for pot. As this consciousness permeates all levels of society, it is going to get harder and harder for prosecutors to get guilty verdicts in marijuana cases -- and that's a good thing.

Maybe this is how the war on marijuana ends... Not with a bang, but a whimper, as cousin T.S. would say.




What You Can Do

• If you ever serve on a jury where the defendant is accused of a marijuana crime, don't forget about jury nullification. Tell the other jurors you don't have to convict, even if all the evidence points to guilt, if you don't agree with the application of the law in this instance. And if you can't swing your peers to your way of thinking, at least you can cause the jury to return a hung verdict.

• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Drug Policy

• Change The Climate: Time to Tell the Truth About Marijuana

• Drug Policy Alliance: Alternatives to Prohibition and the Drug War

• Marijuana Policy Project

• National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)

"Jurors should acquit, even against the judge's instruction... if exercising their judgement with discretion and honesty they have a clear conviction the charge of the court is wrong." ~ Alexander Hamilton, 1804

"It is not only the juror's right, but his duty to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgement and conscience, though in direct opposition to the instruction of the court." ~ John Adams, 1771

Stop The Medical Marijuana Raids

Lest anyone forget their undying hatred of and scorn for medical marijuana patients, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), currently still staffed by officials from the Bush Administration, has acted quickly and cynically to undermine and disregard statements made by President Barack Obama.

On January 22, the DEA raided a medical marijuana dispensary in California for the first time since President Obama took office. During Obama's campaign, he pledged to put an end to this cruel and capricious practice, saying, "I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users. It's not a good use of our resources." Medical marijuana has been legal in California since 1996. Since then, a dozen other states have passed similar laws.

"We are hopeful that these are the last remnants of the Bush regime, and that President Obama will quickly develop a more compassionate policy toward our most vulnerable citizens," said Caren Woodson of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a medical marijuana advocacy group.

National media outlets including the San Francisco Examiner have called on the President to end the raids. "Admittedly, he's been on the job just a few days, but now-President Obama's administration has just overseen its first medical marijuana raid. It's time for him to live up to his promise and call off the dogs," wrote J.D. Tuccille of the Examiner.

The DEA conducted this raid knowing full well that President Obama has repeatedly pledged to end federal threats, arrests, and prosecutions of patients and their providers in medical cannabis states. "For DEA to act with such brazen arrogance and in direct conflict with the new President’s pledge to end federal raids is deeply concerning," ASA said in a statement. "With only weeks left in office, it is clear that top DEA officials are using this transitional period to exploit the differences in policy between the old and new administration."

To their eternal shame, state and local cops, in direct contravention of California law, aided federal agents in the raid. How must Californians feel about voting to allow sick people to use marijuana free from police harassment, only to have their state, county, and city law enforcement helping to serve a federal warrant? Don’t you just love the idea that your California tax dollars paid for this raid?

This shameful raid is only the most recent in a string of nearly 100 raids on medical marijuana dispensaries operating legally under California state law. The medical marijuana community and others must move swiftly to bring an end to these senseless, harmful and outdated medical marijuana raids, as Obama vowed in the campaign.

Obama could get off to an excellent start by appointing new leadership in the DEA and making it unmistakably clear to the Department of Justice that under the Obama administration, this practice is no longer acceptable.

Last year, the American College of Physicians endorsed the use of medical marijuana, which, along with pointing out strong scientific support for marijuana's medical efficacy, noted that "a clear discord exists between the scientific community and federal legal and regulatory agencies over the medicinal value of marijuana."

It is time to bring our government back in line with the scientific community by ending these medical marijuana raids. No one should suffer criminal penalties simply for using the medicine that works best for them. The harmful and outdated policy of pursuing, persecuting and prosecuting medical marijuana patients must end.

The sick and dying have enough to worry about with their medical issues, without having the additional worry of gung-ho federal agents kicking in their doors, stealing their medicine, and seizing their homes, children, and bank accounts.

What You Can Do

• Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) has an online action form to contact President Obama and ask him to quickly appoint new leadership to the DEA, so they get the message loud and clear.

• The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has published suggested verbiage online for a call to the White House at (202) 456-1111. http://stash.norml.org/president-obama-stop-funding-dea-raids-on-medical-marijuana/

• Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) also has an excellent online form through which you can send a message to the President: http://www.ssdp.org/stoptheraids

• Americans for Safe Access is asking everyone to call President Obama and urge that he issue an immediate suspension to all federal funds used to investigate, intimidate, arrest, and prosecute individuals who use or provide medical cannabis in accordance with their state laws.

Call the White House at (202) 456-1111 and say:

"Hi, my name is _____________. On Jan. 22, the Drug Enforcement Agency has raided a medical cannabis dispensary in Tahoe, California. The dispensary was raided by DEA despite numerous statements by President Obama saying he would end federal interference with state medical cannabis laws. I'm very concerned about outgoing DEA officials undermining these state laws and aggressively threatening innocent Americans. I'm also concerned about DEA taking action that is an affront to President Obama's position. I am pleading with President Obama to issue an immediate suspension of all federal efforts to investigate, intimidate, arrest, or prosecute individuals who use or provide medical cannabis in accordance with their state laws. Medical marijuana patients are ready for change, too! Please help us."

"This is the single most important action you have been asked to take this year," ASA says on its site. "We need President Obama's support. Once you’ve made this phone call, please forward this message to friends and family. Then visit WhiteHouse.gov to copy and paste the above message."

This May Be Your Last Chance To Speak Out Against Domestic Surveillance - Get FISA Right!

American society is at one of those defining moments, one of those once-in-a-generation turning points which will help to show who we are as a people and as a nation.

Are we going to be a total surveillance society? Do we let ourselves be taken into an age of fear, mistrust, and paranoia, forever feeling that we are being watched and that everyone is a spy?

Or do we hold our heads up, unafraid, and as Americans declare that enough is enough?

Don't miss your chance to speak out against domestic surveillance and the FISA and PATRIOT Acts. Voting at the Change.org site ends at 2 p.m. Pacific time on Thursday, Jan. 15.

Jon Pincus' idea, "Get FISA Right, repeal the PATRIOT Act, and restore our civil liberties" is currently at number 8 in Change.org's Ideas for Change competition with more than 7100 votes. The Top 10 ideas will be presented to the Obama Administration on Inauguration Day and will be supported by a national lobbying campaign run by Change.org, MySpace, and some non-profit partners as well — clearly, it could be a big deal.

"FISA and the PATRIOT Act strike at the core of our Fourth and First Amendment Rights and institutionalize a surveillance society -- and FISA's telecom immunity clause mocks the rule of law by not holding telecom companies accountable for any illegal actions," says strategist/activist/writer Jon Pincus. "Beginning the new Administration and Congress by focusing on these issues sends one of the clearest signals possible that that the new government is committed to ending the abuses of the last eight years and restoring our civil liberties."

Pincus and his group, Get FISA Right, are asking that President Obama, In the first 100 days of his Administration:

• Stay immunity lawsuits until after the Inspectors' General report in July (Electronic Frontier Foundation's What Obama Can and Should Do To Stop Telecom Immunity discusses this)

• Comply with FISA and other legislation (including the warrant requirements) and clarify that he will not assert "Article II" power

• Defer bulk surveillance of Americans, even though it has been authorized by the FISA Amendment Act.

Back on June 29 of last year, Reality Catcher called on then-Senator Obama to stand against telecom immunity and to Get FISA Right. Now the President-Elect has one of those rare second chances in American politics -- the chance to truly get it right this time, and to show that he cares about the civil liberties enshrined in our great Constitution.

Many of Obama's supporters, myself included, were quite disappointed when he failed to uphold his promise to filibuster any bill that contained telecom immunity, and instead reversed course and ultimately voted for passage of the FISA Amendments Act (FAA). But, as Obama himself said when defending his support for the FAA:

"This was not an easy call for me. I know that the FISA bill that passed the House is far from perfect. I wouldn't have drafted the legislation like this, and it does not resolve all of the concerns that we have about President Bush's abuse of executive power. It grants retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that may have violated the law by cooperating with the Bush Administration's program of warrantless wiretapping. This potentially weakens the deterrent effect of the law and removes an important tool for the American people to demand accountability for past abuses. That's why I support striking Title II from the bill, and will work with Chris Dodd, Jeff Bingaman and others in an effort to remove this provision in the Senate."

Unfortunately, those efforts to amend the FAA by stripping immunity out of the bill or delaying its implementation failed, despite Obama's support. But now, as President, Obama will have the power to make things right. Now he can prove that he meant what he said when he opposed telecom immunity, that he stands behind the votes he made against immunity, and that his claims of a "change" when it comes to reversing the Bush Administration's authoritarian excesses are more than empty rhetoric.

"That means no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens... That is not who we are. And it is not what is necessary to defeat the terrorists. The FISA court works. The separation of powers works. Our Constitution works. We will again set an example for the world that the law is not subject to the whims of stubborn rulers, and that justice is not arbitrary. This Administration acts like violating civil liberties is the way to enhance our security. It is not. There are no short-cuts to protecting America..."

~ Senator Barack Obama, August 1, 2007

http://www.barackobama.com/2007/08/01/remarks_of_senator_obama_the_w_1.php

Anti-Pot Crusader Brad Owen Uses Lieutenant Governor's Office (And Taxpayer Money) To Spread Lies

Washington Lt. Gov. Brad Owen wants to put the hammer down on medical marijuana patients

Brad Owen exemplifies the kind of opportunistic, jingoistic career politician which represents the worst our system has to offer. Of the two kinds of politicians -- those who build hopes and those who feed fears -- Owen unfortunately falls in the latter category.

Brad Owen is lieutenant governor of a state which legalized medical marijuana nearly 11 years ago, but he has never respected the will of Washington's voters in that regard. He has repeatedly denied even that such a thing as medical marijuana exists, and has shown nothing but contempt and spite for the marijuana patients and providers in the Evergreen state.

His venomous contempt for medical marijuana in Washington -- which is supposed to have been a settled issue in this state for 11 years -- fairly drips from the words of a bulletin of misinformation and outright lies printed -- at taxpayers' expense, of course -- by his office:

"Marijuana as a medicine is the Trojan horse of the new millennium. The claim that marijuana can be used as medicine is proving to be one of the worst scams drug legalizers have perpetrated on the American people."

Owen has used the lieutenant governor's office as a bully pulpit to preach his science-denying, cynical creed of intolerance and repression when it comes to marijuana and its many medical uses. He has wasted the tax dollars of Washington's good citizens in printing and disseminating hysterical, fear-mongering lies regarding the medical use of pot.


Owen has toured the state musically traumatizing young and old with his horrid little anti-pot "rock band," twisting music into an ugly tool of right-wing propaganda and spreading lies smeared with the maleficent stink of his narrow ambition. He has tried to turn the citizens of our fair state one upon the other by using something as benign as cannabis as a wedge between those who know of its salutary medical effects and those who still harbor a superstitious fear of the herb.

His old-school Nixonian brand of marijuana intolerance has branded him as a rear-guard reactionary in the culture wars which unfortunately surround the marijuana issue, and in so doing he has incurred the wrath and scorn of Washington's weed community.

Brad Owen, since you are lieutenant governor of Washington, why don't you respect its laws? Why don't you respect the will of the people as expressed through passage of our medical marijuana law in 1998? Are you going to stop lying about medical marijuana?

Or will you continue telling the same old hateful lies? Will you continue victimizing patients who seek nothing more than relief from their terminal or debilitating conditions? Will the sick and dying, already facing quite enough stress, have to worry about your overzealous law enforcement thugs kicking in their doors for using a herb which was legalized for medical use in this state more than a decade ago?

Radical Obama Acting Like He Won The Election

The GOP's formidable strategy for how to oppose Barack Obama
According to the Washington Post, right-wingers are angry with Obama for...not being right-wing. It seems they're upset that Obama isn't appointing the same people John McCain would have appointed if he had won. As the Post put it, "conservatives fear that some of these Obama transition advisers are too far left on the political spectrum and are a sign of radical policies to come."

What are the signs of "radicalism" that Obama is showing? He's filling regulatory positions with people who want regulate industry -- instead of the industry-stooge-hack-lobbyists who have filled the positions during the Bush years.

And in the area of civil rights, it's even worse -- Obama has people on his transition advisory team who are, get this, gay and, gulp, non-white.

To conservative tool Roger Clegg, this is "disturbing." Roger is also "has some fears about a return to racial quotas." Why? Because Obama had the radical gall to put the president of the NAACP on his civil rights advisory team.

So all those emails from our grandparents were right -- Obama really is a radical hellbent on destroy America with gays, blacks, and extremists who believe corporations should follow some rules.

But back to the matter at hand--conservatives who are in stunned disbelief that Obama isn't following the usual rules of an election whereby right-wing hacks get to have all the administration jobs even if they don't win the election. How are they to deal with Obama's brazen and outrageous decision to implement the policies the public voted for?

Here's our suggestion for how right-wingers can cope with the unfairness of Obama's appointments...



http://www.236.com/news/2009/01/02/conservative_complains_that_ob_10947.php

Reality Catcher's 10 Best Catches Of 2008

That's how I roll
A year passes like nothing, and not just for the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.

One year ago when I started this blog (galvanized by my anger at, embarrassment for, and mingled amusement and distaste around Alabama Attorney General Troy King), I never imagined that Reality Catcher would get 90,000 hits in its first year on the Web. Neither did I imagine making the front page of Digg four times and narrowly missing (mostly due to Digg's "Bury" button, which in practice serves to dumb down content by suppressing controversial stuff) a dozen other times.

I'm sure there are much better ways to pick the year's highlights than by number of Diggs, but that would involve lots of subjectivity and hard thinking, so I'm going with the Diggs. This also means that almost all the posts featured will come from June onward, because after joining Digg in April, it took me a couple months to learn how to properly promote a story (the lone exception was posted in March, but submitted by another Digg user in August).

During the course of the year, I've taken on the Attorneys General of two states, the privileged rich, the U.S. Drug war, the DEA, Sarah Palin, John McCain, Barack Obama, the Patriot Act, FISA, the police state, the King County Prosecutor's office, the Seattle Police Department, Dino Rossi, and the Washington Department of Corrections.

If that doesn't sound like your idea of fun, well then, you don't know me very well. :-)

So, going by number of votes on Digg, here they are:

Reality Catcher's 10 Best Catches of 2008


Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna
10. Attorney General Rob McKenna Is Not Cool Oct. 7 (226 diggs)

After being informed in April by my probation officer that, despite being a legal medical marijuana patient under the laws of Washington, I wasn't permitted by the Department of Corrections to use my legal, physician-recommended medicine, I was mad. I use pot legally to control the nausea, body aches, and headaches associated with my Hepatitis C.

After further learning that said policy came straight down from the office of Attorney General Rob McKenna, I had a focus for my anger. (That's what feeling nausea non-stop will do to you.) I wrote my first McKenna piece, "Washington Atty. Gen. Rob McKenna Likes Playing Doctor," on April 22. Republican apologists (within the medical marijuana movement!) told me McKenna was "just doing his job," which, as I pointed out on April 26, is patently wrong, because McKenna's job is to enforce Washington state law, not the federal dictates of his GOP overseers in the Bush administration.

On Oct. 7, I returned one more time to the McKenna controversy, and the resulting piece was re-published by OpEdNews.com, where it got 226 diggs to come in at 10th place for the year.


9. The Wide Divide: You Are Being Ripped Off June 16 (299 diggs)

My preeminent class-warfare post of the year, "The Wide Divide," was inspired by seeing a chart (reproduced with the piece) published by the New York Times which showed the difference between average worker pay and CEO compensation.

The diggs for this one are divided between the Reality Catcher post itself (134) and the OpEdNews reprint (165), for a total of 299 and ninth place. Both articles were eventually buried on Digg.com after garnering lots of interest, presumably because they pissed off our rich overseers.

The reaction to this one was extraordinary. Groups ranging from British libertarians (who told me I'm a socialist) to American liberal Christians (who weren't crazy about my cussing) to American libertarian site Freedom's Phoenix reprinted the piece, and all found a few things to agree with or at least use as jumping off points for discussion.


8. Travel Pro Steves To Challenge Futile U.S. Drug War March 22 (306 diggs)

In late 2007, I attended the Seattle taping of the Rick Steves-hosted, ACLU-sponsored informercial, "Marijuana: It's Time For A Conversation" at the KOMO studios. When the finished product aired on cable TV (ironically, the cowardly douchebags at KOMO itself refused to air it, after having promised they would), I recorded and uploaded it to Google video and, in three parts, to YouTube (no, the ACLU doesn't mind, and in fact, they've thanked me).

The complete 30-minute video on Google has received almost 37,000 views, and the three parts on YouTube combine for another 19,000, totaling 56,000 views and resulting, according to the Washington ACLU, in countless hits for their site.

I never intended for this one to be submitted to Digg, since I accompanied the Google video not with my own writing, but with a Seattle Post-Intelligencer story by reporter Joel Connelly about the show. But on August 12, another Digger submitted my blog post, which managed to get 306 diggs.


7. Sarah Palin: Dick Cheney In A Dress Aug. 29 (591 diggs)

Timing can be everything on the Internet. And as one of the first Sarah Palin hatchet jobs on the Web, this one got lots of attention.

Although it never went front page, it did rack up 591 diggs and was widely linked and reproduced around the Web. The "Cheney in a dress" meme caught on (yes, I was the first to say it) and ended up being repeated on nationwide TV by The View's Joy Behar -- alas, without attribution.

As soon as John McCain announced his choice for a vice-presidential running mate, I knew I was going to write this piece. The only thing that surprised me was how easy it was to show what a ridiculous choice he had made.


6. Privacy's Twilight: The Rise of the Total Surveillance Society July 10 (606 diggs)

"Privacy's Twilight," inspired by the Bush administration and the Patriot Act, along with the failure of Congress to hold the telecoms culpable for illegally spying on their own customers at Bush's request, got 408 diggs on Reality Catcher and another 198 on OpEd News.

The outlook is bleak: "Every day, we are one step closer to the Total Surveillance Society. Every day, we lose a little more of that part of being human that claims the right to be left alone, that knows freedom from the prying eyes of the corporate state, that has the boldness to claim some inner sanctum where the all-seeing eyes of technology cannot penetrate."

But the piece pointed out that privacy does have its champions, including the EFF and the ACLU, and noted: "A surveillance society can work in both directions. The wide proliferation of camcorders, cell phones, and recording devices of various kinds gives we the people a way to at least record, if not prevent, the misdeeds of our corporate and governmental overseers."


Errand boys of the police state prepare to bust heads in Minneapolis
5. Arresting The Messengers: The Bush Administration's Assault On Journalism Sept. 3 (672 diggs)

Written during the brutal police crackdown surrounding the Republican Convention in Minneapolis/St. Paul, this piece got more diggs, at 672, than any other non-front page story in this roundup.

The story, however, got "buried" on Digg, which prevented it from going front page and getting exposure to an even larger audience; once a story receives a certain number of "buries" (the exact algorithm is a closely guarded Digg secret), it won't go front page no matter how many diggs it gets.

Here's hoping that the incoming Obama administration will find a more productive way to deal with journalists (and protesters) than with billy clubs and pepper spray.


Mobile Press Register political cartoonist J.D. Crowe's take on Troy King's sex toy phobia
4. Alabama's Nut Job Attorney General Wants To Ban Sex Toys And Sing With Dead People June 27 (856 diggs)

It's true that you never forget your first time. My third hatchet job on Alabama Atty. Gen. Troy King (admittedly an easy target) was the very first time one of my blog posts went all the way to Digg's front page, and what an unforgettable thrill of validation that was!

I knew I was going to write this piece ever since Atty. Gen. King's spokesman Chris Bence mouthed off that "the West Coast is a good fit for Elliott. Outside the state is the best place for him."

If that didn't merit a good proper trip to the woodshed, I don't know what would. So yeah, Troy got a good ol' Alabama ass-whuppin.' Hell, rumor is he may have enjoyed it. (Do your own research.)


Illustration: NORML
3. Prediction: Medical Marijuana Will Be Legal Coast To Coast By 2021 Dec. 22 (1110 diggs)

Ever since Michigan overwhelmingly passed their medical marijuana law on Nov. 4, I knew I was going to write this piece. It just got put off a few weeks, because (against the advice of Atty. Gen. Troy King and his minions), I spent the month of November visiting family in Alabama, with limited Internet access.

Once I did get back to Washington and got around to writing it, the excitement I felt at the possibility of coast-to-coast medical legalization of my favorite weed definitely infused the post.

I came up with the year 2021 (which several activists told me was far too pessimistic, and others told me was impossibly optimistic) by allowing for half-a-dozen more election cycles (12 years), taking into the account that a steadily increasing majority of American voters favor medical pot.


Martin Martinez at Lifevine's office after the Seattle Police Department searched the premises, knocked a wall down, and unlawfully took 12 ounces of legal medical marijuana. Photo by Courtney Blethen of the Seattle Times
2. 'Just Doing Our Job. Sorry About Your Wall And Your Marijuana.' July 20 (1369 diggs)

I wrote this one after the Seattle Police Department raided the offices of my friend Martin Martinez and his patient advocacy group Lifevine in Seattle, seizing 12 ounces of what was supposed to be legal medical marijuana, seizing his patient records, and knocking down his wall. (Are you starting to get the idea that I do my best writing when I'm pissed off? Whatever works.)

My outrage that Washington's medical marijuana law was ignored -- a full 10 years after it was passed by the voters -- was channeled into creating this piece, which I understand created a few headaches for the King County Prosecutor's Office and the Seattle Police Department.

Martinez's attorney got the SPD to return Martinez's records -- supposedly without having read or copied them -- but the cops deliberately dragged their feet about returning Martin's medicine, until federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents swooped in and confiscated it right out of the evidence locker.


1. An Open Letter To Senator Obama: Please Vote NO On Telecom Immunity - Get FISA Right June 29 (2276 diggs)

My open letter to President-Elect Obama, back when he was just the Democratic nominee, struck a chord with idealistic Diggers and others who were scandalized by retroactive immunity provisions of the FISA act which basically let the telecom companies off the hook for illegally spying on ordinary Americans at Bush's request. This story generated more than 20,000 hits to the site, more than any other post all year.

Of course, Obama's "move toward the middle" meant that he abandoned his earlier position to oppose any bill which included telecom immunity, and presumably to prevent an attack from the Republican Right during the presidential campaign, he voted for the deeply flawed bill, immunity and all.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has given a glimmer of hope by saying that "FISA will be revisited" after Obama takes office. We'll see.

.......

Here's to a progressive 2009... Happy New Year!

Prediction: Medical Marijuana Will Be Legal Coast To Coast By 2021

Photo: chron.ron

Medical marijuana is an idea whose time has come.

The recent overwhelming victory for legalizing medicinal pot in Michigan (63 percent in favor!) is the latest eloquent testimonial to that fact.

What this shows is that the American public is completely ready to accept medical marijuana into the mainstream where it belongs. Most people no longer buy the threadbare, alarmist nonsense being peddled out of D.C. by the Office for National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP); more and more families know at least one patient who has experienced the palliative properties of pot. The hysteria and moral bankruptcy of the Reefer Madness crowd has been exposed for what it is -- superstition and silliness, the irrational fear of a non-toxic herb.

The victory in Michigan was so complete that every single county in the state voted to legalize medical marijuana.

With the victory in Michigan, well more than a quarter of the population of the United States now lives in states (there are now 13 of them) where medical marijuana is legal.

Michigan reinforces the now-obvious fact that a well-written law, backed with a well-crafted and well-financed campaign (thank you, MPP!) can not only get medical marijuana legalized on a state-by-state basis, but can do so with the overwhelming, super-majority support of voters.

Of the 11 states plus the District of Columbia that have put cannabis medicine to a vote since 1996, 10 states plus D.C. passed medical marijuana, with only South Dakota defeating the measure with 48% support. The other measures passed with votes from 54% to 69%. (1996: CA 56%, AZ 65%; 1998 OR 55%, WA 59%, AK 58%, DC 69%; 1999 ME 61%; 2000 CO 54%, NV 65%; 2004 MT 62%; 2006 SD 48%; 2008 MI 63%. Arizona’s and DC’s laws are inoperable, though, since Arizona relies on federal prescriptions and the District of Columbia was blocked from implementing the law by the Barr Amendment, authored and pushed through by conservative Georgia Republican Congressman Bob Barr, who in 2008 tried to reinvent himself as a Libertarian presidential candidate.)

In Rhode Island, medical marijuana was legalized through the legislative process rather than through a voter initiative. In 2006, the Rhode Island House overrode a veto by Gov. Don Carcieri, 59-13, allowing people with illnesses such as cancer and AIDS to grow up to 12 marijuana plants or buy 2.5 ounces of marijuana to relieve their symptoms. Those who do are required to register with the state and get an identification card.

According to Bruce Mirken, director of communications at the Marijuana Policy Project, the medical marijuana laws of Hawaii, Vermont and New Mexico were also passed through their state legislatures. MPP's detailed compendium of state medical marijuana laws is very useful: http://www.mpp.org/legislation/state-by-state-medical-marijuana-laws.html


Illustration: NORML

According to a 2004 poll conducted by AARP, 72 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, "Adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if a physician recommends it."

The task now before us in the medical marijuana community is to get well-written initiatives on the ballot in the 37 states that do not currently allow legal pot use by qualifying patients. At this point, it's only a matter of having the will and the financial means to do so.

Reality Catcher predicts this will happen over the next dozen years; the process will pick up even more momentum as it acquires an air of righteous inevitability. By 2021, patients from coast to coast in the United States will at last be able to legally choose and use the medicine that is most effective in providing relief from their pain and nausea.

Yes, even back in my home state of Alabama, a change is gonna come. One of my personal ambitions is to smoke one of the first legal joints in the Heart of Dixie with Loretta Nall and Christie O'Brien and the rest of those wonderful and brave folks at Alabamians for Compassionate Care.

Only after a majority of the states have medical marijuana laws of their own will the federal government finally come around; it seems there's a serious shortage of backbone in D.C. when it comes to progressive drug laws. But sanity and compassion is eventually going to happen on the federal level, too. (One hopes at least that the incoming President holds true to his pledge to end federal raids on patients and providers in states which have legalized medical marijuana.)

Think of it -- the sheer madness of arresting and jailing sick people and those kind and brave enough to provide them with their medicine will end. The long nightmare will finally be over. The sick and the dying won't have to worry about having the doors kicked in and their homes raided by gung-ho law enforcement agents who've watched a few too many episodes of Cops.

Change is coming to America.

Resources For Michigan Medical Marijuana Patients

Michigan Dept. of Health - Medical Marihuana Program

Michigan Medical Marijuana Association

Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care

The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation - Michigan (THCF Medical Clinics)

Marijuana Policy Project: Michigan Medical Marijuana Law Now In Effect