My First Nut Mail Original Post From: xxxx xxxxxxx Date: Mon Aug 25, 2003 9:39:10 AM US/Central To: tips@DrugWarRant.com Subject: Fair and Balanced? Sure, if the facts don't have to be facts. On Friday, Texas Governor Rick Perry pardoned 35 people who had been convicted due to an atrocious abuse of drug war tactics, a corrupt undercover deputy, and prosecutorial misconduct, which resulted in the 1999 arrest of 10% of this small town's black population on drug charges without evidence. (quoted from your page) Almost 50 residents of the Panhandle town of about 5,000 were arrested in early morning raids on July 23, 1999. (from the Austin American-Statesman, linked ON YOUR PAGE) Christ, try FACTS next time, will you please? - xxxx xxxxxxx Civil Process Server xxxx, I'm not sure quite where your objection is. Please read the paragraph carefully. I did not claim that 10% of the town was arrested. I said that 10% of the town's black population was arrested. The population of Tulia is around 5,000. The black population within Tulia is 400. Of the people who were arrested, it appears that at least 39 were black (some reports show it higher), which is approximately 10% of the black population. By the way, 38 ended up convicted (35 or 36 of those were black, depending on reports). The pardons cover 35 of those convicted -- several were not pardoned because of other charges. If you have some other concern regarding the facts I presented, please let me know. I'll be happy to make any corrections. However, I think the facts I stated in that post are correct. Thanks for your interest. - Pete Extremely unclear. I admit your statements were technically correct but are phrased in such a way as to be as inflammatory as possible. Typical liberal blame the police attitude. Not at all surprising. <shrug> - xxxx xxxxxxx Civil Process Server xxxx, I'm sorry you feel that way. In fact, I am very supportive of police in general, particularly those who have seen how the drug war is hurting all of us. See my piece on Cops Against the Drug War (http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/2003/08/13.html#a23) and my inclusion of law enforcement officers as victims of the drug war on my Drug War Victims page (http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/08/17/drugWarVictims.html). What I am most opposed to is the government's policies on the drug war. Whether it was the atrocities committed under Clinton/Reno/McCaffrey or those now under Bush/Ashcroft/Walters. I consider myself primarily libertarian. I don't like what either side does, but right now, it's the Republicans who are controlling the drug policy -- in ways that do not fit the historical conservative viewpoint of individual responsibility, state's rights, fiscal responsibility, or limited government. And so, I will come after them. And I intend to be inflammatory. This is a blog called Drug War Rant, after all. I want to get people riled up. Why else would I do this? - Pete Oh, I'm sorry! You've managed to get yourself placed in the "auto-reply because your email isn't worth bothering to read" category. Keep sending, though. The filter reports are pretty funny. - xxxx xxxxxxx Civil Process Server ###