The Daily Sound.com

http://www.thedailysound.com/news/061411--RANDY-ALCORN-ROT

RIGHT ON TARGET: America has become a nothing more than a police state

By RANDY ALCORN -- JUNE 14, 2011


Since President Nixon declared war on drugs 37 years ago there has been a steady slaughter of innocent citizens due to mistaken drug raids conducted by heavily armed gangs of police amped up on their own adrenaline. The latest is the case of a 26 year-old ex-Marine, Jose Guerena, who had served two tours of duty in Iraq. He was shot to death in his Tucson home last month during a drug raid by a police swat team.



The ex-marine had reacted to the home invasion as many would—to protect his family he reached for his gun. The police shot him multiple times as his wife and two-year-old son hid in a closet. He was left to bleed to death, as police refused to call paramedics until an hour after the shooting. His gun was found to be set on safety. He had not fired a round. No illegal drugs were found in his house. As of this writing, the Pima County police have yet to provide an explanation for this “legal” homicide.



And, now thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling, police can conduct such home invasions without the need of a search warrant. Yes, now if the drug-Gestapo smells or believes it smells marijuana emanating from your home it can bust down your door—after politely knocking—and ransack your house looking for banned drugs. Don’t resist. Not only might police pump you full of lead, but also many states have now made it a crime for citizens to resist police home invasions, even when the police have the wrong address.



In a twisted irony, the same Supreme Court that condones the erosion of civil rights to conduct the war on drugs, now rules it unconstitutionally cruel to overcrowd prisons, even though the overcrowding is due to the war on drugs.



So much real crime, such as burglary, robbery, and murder, is a product of the prohibition on drugs. Limited law enforcement resources should be focused on protecting the public from real crime, rather than generating it by criminalizing victimless personal choices like drug use.



Recently, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, led by an array of eminent world leaders, condemned the global war on drugs as a costly failure, and called upon the U.S. and other nations to end it.



And, if all drugs were legal, what would happen? Would our nation incur more harm and expense than it does now by foolishly pursuing the failed policy of prohibition? Would millions of people rush out and become addicts? Those who want to use banned drugs can get them easily enough already. Many more who need or want analgesics get the legal variety through their doctors. As a society we might be better off having those who self-medicate with alcohol switch to THC. I’ve never seen a belligerent stoner, but I have seen plenty of belligerent drunks.



Have more of us been hurt by people who sell drugs, or by people who wrecked our economy by selling bogus mortgages? Why aren’t swat teams busting down the doors of Wall Street bankers and ransacking their homes to find evidence of wrongdoing? And, if the law, no matter how questionable, must be honored, why don’t we honor our immigration laws with the same enthusiastic dedication that we enforce our drug laws?



A federal district court has recently ruled that last year’s health care reform act passed by Congress and signed into law by president Obama is unconstitutional because it forces citizens to purchase health insurance, and as such is undue interference by government in personal choice—a usurpation of personal freedom. That is a good argument, and one that applies equally as well to personal choice regarding drug use. Freedom of choice should be restricted only to the extent such choice does real harm to others, and not because government does not like the choice.



The war on drugs continues because of two reasons; power and money. The drug warriors on both sides have a vested interest in keeping drugs illegal. And, as with any war, it is the civilians who are caught in the crossfire.



But, what is most depressing about the war on drugs, and now the war on terror, is that we are turning our police into thugs and becoming just another police state. America has always been the fortress of freedom and now it too is effectively a police state. There is nowhere left to go to escape authoritarian oppression.



Just because the drug Gestapo hasn’t invaded your castle yet doesn’t mean there is no police state. The very fact that they can now legally and with impunity invade your privacy, invade your home, kill anything that moves, and confiscate your property, all without due process of law, or a process that is so flimsy as to be virtually useless, in effect makes this nation a police state.













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Well said : 6/14/2011

Why lockup so many non-criminals and pay for their room and board in prison (welfare) when they were doing just fine living on their own?



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Neo-Confederism : 6/14/2011

This trend in eroding public constitutional rights - whetherit be contradictions against the US Constitution, Bill of Rifhts, or even the Social Security Act is posturing war against Americans that no military infrastructure can win.
It becomes increasingly dangerous to be a cop merely by association and become target practice for maverick revolutionaries - where Courts even, lose the credibility to arbitrate one way or another.
It used to be regarded a noble profession to be a cop in this country. Perhaps not anymore. Examples like the above in Tucson ultimately compromise safety for cops, but also District Attorneys and commissioners no amount of surveillance or covert intellegence can compensate for the ditsy application of tax dollars to everybody's detriment.

Start rolling back the taxes entirely.


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Incredible : 6/14/2011

I am amazed that this article was published. What an incredibly one sided slant this has. What about the thousands of people who are victims of drivers under the influence of drugs that are hurt each year. What about all of the senseless drug violence which plague any major city in the US. What about the millions and probably billions of dollars that we spend each year to medically treat addicts each year? Or the millions of families that are destroyed by drug use. Or the millions of drug babies born each year with malformations. If these are not reasons enough to combat this great evil, then i dont know what is. While i agree that Jose Guerena wan an unfortunate victim in this case there is no doubt in my mind that it was a mistake that led to his death. The officers responsible will have to answer for what they did, and their department will undoubtedly pay millions of dollars in settlements (not that justifies his death)



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Don't Push Their Buttons : 6/14/2011

Randy, the Central Scrutinizer wishes to talk to you about a little problem with your attitude. Step this and keep your eyes on the ground.
Yes, we are steadily heading for a serious police state.
Keep up the good work! Thanks.

TYC


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Thanks Randy : 6/14/2011

I'm glad some people are finally starting to catch on. This isn't freedom.

Justin Tevis


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Legalize It : 6/14/2011

The War on Drugs failed Billions of dollars ago! This money could have been used for outreach programs to clean up the bad end of drug abuse by providing free HIV testing, free rehab, and clean needles. Harmless drugs like marijuana could be legalized to help boost our damaged economy. Cannabis can provide hemp for countless natural recourses and the tax revenue from sales alone would pull every state in our country out of the red! Vote Teapot, PASS IT, and legalize it. Voice you opinion with the movement and check out my pro-cannabis art at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/01/vote-teapot-2011.html

Brandt Hardin


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Tell your Congressional Representatives - : 6/14/2011

It is time to "Change the Schedule of Cannabis, Cannabis Laws, and Drug Czar Laws"
Read and Sign the petition at
http://www.change.org/petitions/change-the-schedule-of-cannabis-cannabis-laws-and-drug-czar-laws
After you sign the petition, email your friendlies, share on facebook, or twitter from the petition page. If you have a website grab the widget so your vistitors can sign it without leaving your website.
Though the petition is a babystep to ending the war on cannabis, with each step the baby gets further down the road. Since the start (May11th) of the petition, 3 new Bills were introduced in the House. While the DPA worked with the Legislators to draw up the Bills, this petition gave them the timing to introduce the Bills. Help get them passed by signing the petition. Each signature sends an email to the Congressional Representatives of the signer. Let Congress know It is time to end the war!

Seabourne


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By law, the drug czar must oppose any attempt to legalize the use (in any form) : 6/14/2011

It is difficult to understand and believe Congress enacted a law requiring a government official to lie and to ignore science and medical studies. This renders the Office unreliable and a fraud. Though 68 - 84 % of this nation, depending on the poll, wants to legalize the medicinal use of cannabis, and science and medical studies have proven the therapeutic benefits and medicinal value of cannabis, we have been forced to live with outdated draconian laws. It is time to change this.
Part of the problem in making any changes to the drug policy of this nation is :
According to Title VII Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998 :
Responsibilities: The Director "Drug Czar"
(12) shall ensure that no Federal funds appropriated to the Office of National Drug Control Policy shall be expended for any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812) and take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form) that--
(A) is listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812); and
(B) has not been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration;
On April 2, 2003, Congressman Ron Paul wrote a letter to the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) asking for an investigation into ONDCP lobbying activities and their dissemination of "misleading information" (a polite euphemism for "lying").
The GAO responded :
"Finally, apart from considerations of whether any particular law has been violated, you have asked whether the Deputy Director's letter disseminated misleading information in connection with statements relating to the debate over legalization of marijuana. [...]
ONDCP is specifically charged with the responsibility for "taking such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of certain controlled substances such as marijuana" - a responsibility which logically could include the making of advocacy statements in opposition to legalization efforts. The Deputy Director's statements about marijuana are thus within the statutory role assigned to ONDCP. Given this role, we do not see a need to examine the accuracy of the Deputy Director's individual statements in detail."
By law, the drug czar must oppose any attempt to legalize the use (in any form). Despite the science, medical studies and evidence of medical cannabis safety and effectiveness, despite the fact that the federal government supplies it to patients, despite the fact the Department of Health and Human Services holds patents on cannabinoids for the therapeutic benefits, US Patent 663057 titled "Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants" which is assigned to The United States of America, as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services) the drug czar is required by law to lie about it. Again, this renders the Office unreliable and a fraud.


Seabourne


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@ incredible : 6/14/2011

You are incredibly ignorant. I assume you want alcohol prohibited since it causes problems for a small number of users??

Joshua B


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Answer for what they did?? : 6/14/2011

I'm amazed anyone would have a problem with this article being published, "Incredible." This should somehow remain hidden from the public (?) You're not with their union, are you?
It's mind blowing to learn about the level of State mandated waivers and immunities government employees enjoy - that do anything other than keep their individule malfeasances accountible.
LA Sheriff is finally being investigated by the FBI for needless and excessive force against inmates in jail facilities.
The 'sky is falling' mentality imposing artificial sense of panic and indispensability for police is commonly used to leverage more tax dollars. against the private sector.
A grand scheme, perhaps, to compete economically against the private sector within the market to obtain an FHA, that new car, or what have you.
Too often these bureaucrats are criminally lazy .. too afraid to do their jobs while too afraid to give it up.
Invariably, these freeloaders administrating the criminal justice system are living off the tax base and apparently couldn't sustain in private enterprise or generate revenues into the GNP.
In today's era, the police agency, as an institutional francise, is archaic and out of touch with modern technologies.
Cops are under trained -and all they can do under the state agency union ambition is demand more money and telemarket fundraisers with their local policeman's ball. Many of them complain to be paying taxes.. they just don't do math: all they are is tax - and pay into their piggybanks with every transaction they make.
Already, the police department impose unlawful collection practices against social security beneficiaries representing the elderly and disabled.
Further civil strife is imminent as long as these practices are considered permissable, if not beneficial - while kids commonly learn combat techniques from virtual instruction with current gameboy gadgets sold at Toys R US.
If you apply brains God gave geese, your goose is cooked.


Taxed enough already.


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not the first or last time : 6/14/2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbwSwvUaRqc&feature=player_embedded

sb local


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Randy You Are The Man : 6/14/2011

One Sided? Dunk or Drugged Driving is about poor decisions, I know alcoholics that never drive and college kids that never drink but one time and get a DUI. The drunk driving fatalities in the year of 2007 was; 12,998 deaths respectively(http://www.buzzle.com/articles/drunk-driving-statistics.html ). In 2007, a total of 2,423,712 deaths were registered in the United States( www.cdc.gov/NCHS/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_19.pdf ). So 12,998 / 2,423,712 = 0.00536% of all fatalities in 2007 where caused by alcohol. A half of 1% of America was affected by drunk driving granted anyone affected by a fatality is bad. Deaths Caused by Speeding in 2007 totaled 13,040 (http://www.iihs.org/research/fatality_facts_2007/general.html) statistically it is more dangerous to speed than to drink and drive(you shouldnt do either). Drug violence is caused by prohibition, imagine if you had to go to a doctor and a pharmacist instead of a drug dealer that has guns to protect them selves because they cant call the cops and no courts to dispute arguments. Addiction centers are mostly court order and are a source of revenue for the state besides the information that AA groups operate on was created in the 1940's and has had very little updates. Most addicts suffer from a chemical imbalance before they even start using the drug. As for the drug babies if a doctor was in charge of distribution of drugs they could check to make sure woman where not pregnant. In England in the 1990's doctors gave heroin to addicted patience, 1 gram on the streets of England was worth $100 dollars but English government made heroin was only $10 gram. The program failed because of the global stance on the war on drugs but that is one heck of a financial blow to the black market. The risk isnt worth it if you get a low return. A plus to legalizing drugs would be that the money would stay in the U.S. instead of South America(Cocaine) and the middle east and Asia(Heroin). The only one that would stand to lose in this deal besides the cartels would be law enforcement. They seize Billions of dollars in money and assets, plus law enforcement would lose probable cause to pull over minorities and intrude your privacy. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

Your independent views are the reason i go to the Daily Sound for my Local News


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victimless crime : 6/14/2011

Anyone that thinks druggies do not have victims was never raised in a house in which alchohol or other substances were abused should follow the lives of those children in those homes. You might be surprised to see how a loveless chemical family alters peoples lives for generations.

scott


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Really? : 6/14/2011

"And, if all drugs were legal, what would happen? " Well, people would drive under the influence and kill many more innocent folks. That's one simple answer to a stupid question.

MP