Thursday, November 2, 2006

Ooh, look at this dangerous image Via the South Dakota for Medical Marijuana blog, comes this story RAPID CITY -- Two Steven High School seniors who wore t-shirts to school advocating the passage of Initiated Measure 4, the medical marijuana ballot issue, SAY their rights to political free speech were violated when the school principal confiscated the shirts, which were decorated with the image of a marijuana leaf. David Valenzuela, 17, and Chris Fuentes, 18, were told by a Stevens security guard to remove the shirts as they entered their first period class Oct. 20. Principal Katie Bray confiscated the shirts a short time later. Rapid City superintendent of schools Peter Wharton said Thursday the incident was a violation of school policy, not political rights. School policy forbids clothing that displays images of alcohol, drugs or tobacco products on school grounds. That policy is clearly communicated to all students, and it is not effected by what issues may or may not be on the ballot in an election year, Wharton said. "Unequivocally no. It had nothing to do with political speech," he said. Students are allowed to wear political t-shirts and other campaign-related items for candidates and issues, as long as they are appropriate, as determined by school administrators, Wharton said. This fall, numerous SHS students have worn t-shirts with an image of a human fetus and the message "Save a Life, Vote Yes on Referred Law 6." I've had some experience with this kind of ban when Illinois State University tried to prevent us from distributing flyers with a hemp leaf. It really disturbs me when school officials believe that they can ban an image regardless of context. It shows such a lack of... intelligence, and a lack of understanding of the constitutional principles that drive our country. It's one thing to ban messages that promote illegal activity. That is perfectly acceptable. But to ban any kind of message (text or image) that advocates political action, particularly while allowing other messages (text and image) promoting political action is content-based censorship and has no place in this country. And a school superintendent who dismisses such constitutional concerns in this way... "That's absurd," said Wharton. "I'm not even going to dignify that argument with a response." A ballot initiative does not change the enforcement or the interpretation of a school dress-code regulation, he said. ... should not be involved in educating the youth of this country. Peter Wharton should instead be going back to school to learn some of the basics of being an American. "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech . . . at the schoolhouse gates." -- U.S. Supreme Court, Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) 10:48:52 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Colombia declares war on Kate Moss This is pretty ridiculous. Colombia's new advertising campaign in Europe is apparently a variation on the ONDCP's Superbowl terrorism nonsense (smoke pot and you help terrorists kill people). The difference is they're personally blaming Kate Moss for people dying in Colombia. Here's one set of quotes from Colombia's Vice President Francisco Santos: "To me it's baffling that somebody who helps cause so much pain in Colombia is doing better than ever and winning more contracts than ever," he said. "And I never once heard her say 'I'm sorry'. When policemen, judges, journalists, common men and women are dying every day because of (drug-related violence), that hurts. "We need to tell Europeans that that line of coke they snort is tainted in blood." Let's see now. The DEA seized 1,098,523 kilograms of cocaine since 1986. That's 23,000 times Kate's body weight and still just a small amount compared to all of the cocaine on the market. Kate may be a pretty major coke-head, but she's not gonna make a dent in that. So Kate could quit. All the supermodels and celebrities could quit. And you'd still have violence in Colombia. But legalize and regulate? You end the black market profits, and the violence. The blood is on the hands of political leaders like Santos -- not in Kate's nose. 6:59:27 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Have you backed up your computer? I had a fairly major hard drive problem late night on Tuesday. I had to end up erasing and re-formatting. That could be a disaster, given the huge amounts of digital photography I do, and the fact that this blog software depends on the data stored on your computer to upload and maintain the site. Fortunately, I back up on a regular basis. I had a full hard drive clone from September, and my most recent data backup was on Monday. So I'm back in action and didn't even lose a post (all that happened was that Tuesday's post is now dated with today's date). It does give me the opportunity to remind people about my laptop fund. It's been updated to show the new version that Mac just rolled out -- more power and less expensive. I'm still looking for a February 1 purchase. A huge thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. Oh, and.... back up your computer. You never know. 6:43:46 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

No. Look at where I'm pointing! From the Daily Southtown Business Group Warns About Rising Prison Population A skyrocketing prison population, spiraling drug crime and juvenile crime rates come under fire in a major study of Chicago-area crime and criminal justice published today. Chicago Metropolis 2020, a business-backed think tank, warns most of the 40,000 prisoners released in Illinois this year are "ill-equipped" for life outside prison. "More than half will likely end up back in prison within three years if present trends continue," the group's 2006 Crime and Justice Index warns. A shortage of rehabilitation programs for inmates, the large distances between downstate prisons and prisoners' Chicago-area roots and a massive increase in parolees help account for the high reoffending rate, the report said. While reported crime in the state has fallen since the early 1990s, the prison population has continued to grow steadily since the early 1970s, the report said. And despite 70 percent of Americans believing the war on drugs is not working, most of the increase in prison numbers is made up of non-violent drug offenders, it said. I don't know how anyone with an IQ equal to or greater than a turnip could read that and not conclude that the drug war needs to end. It's like somebody is beating you over the head with the sledge hammer of truth. And yet... and yet.... Invariably this kind of information surfaces again and again, and politicians say "we need to be tough on drugs," and the DEA says "we're winning the war on drugs," and the academicians say "we need to find a way to make prohibition work," and many within the public look around in confusion and are completely unable to figure it out. Over the years, there has been such an incredible war of propaganda waged in this country that many people are simply unable to comprehend ending the drug war as an option. And so while you stand there pointing at the proof, all they can do is stare at your finger. As an example of this disconnect, check out a completely incomprehensible OpEd by Christopher Taylor at Kent State. Here's a college student who appears to want to understand. He has a sense that the drug war doesn't work, yet whenever he tries to go there, he can't. He knows that education is better, but he can't see how to educate without enforcement. It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. 6:38:34 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []