ILLEGAL DRUGS AN ISSUE IN GUBERNATORIAL RACE

In my last column, I wrote about the governor's race which is up for
a vote Nov. 7.

My column today will share a few more developments regarding this
upcoming election. I am still suggesting that voters go to the polls
and cast their ballot for Republican Gov. Rick Perry. I do think it
is important to vote for Perry, and by so doing send a message that
conservative family values are what we as Texans want for those in
positions of decision-making that affects our lives. I think that my
suggesting support of Perry will offend very few in Moore County, due
to the current situation showing that the county is heavily
Republican. For governor, there is one Republican choice, and that is
Perry. Polls show that Perry should win, yet it is best to go vote
and not rely on polls.

Running against him are Democrat Chris Bell, two Independent
candidates--Carole Strayhorn and Richard Friedman-- and a Libertarian
candidate.

In my last column, I mentioned that Friedman wishes country western
singer Willie Nelson to be in charge of energy if Friedman should
happen to be elected. I think this is meant both as a joke and also
as Friedman's real choice. Nelson, in the Aug. 7 issue of Time
magazine, commented that he is actively involved in marijuana use. In
my last column I wrote about my puzzlement as to how Nelson can get
by with mentions of his active marijuana use within the United States
without his being closely watched and arrested. I also speculated
that if Nelson is so casually mentioning his illegal drug habit,
maybe he is traveling out of the country to smoke marijuana. The
answer to that is "No.". I am delighted to report that between my
last column and this column, Nelson was given a citation for
possession of marijuana and narcotic mushrooms. That ends speculation
about where Nelson is indulging his illegal habit: he was given the
citation in Louisiana after his tour bus was stopped. The newspaper
account gave Nelson's age as 73 years old.

Among Nelson's actual Time comments: "I guess if it (marijuana) were
harder to find on the illegal market, there would be more people out
there voting to make it legal. But you can grow a little here or have
a little there from a friend, and the next thing you know, you don't
care whether it's legal or not."

With a Louisiana trooper issuing him a citation, I wonder if he now
cares that marijuana is not legal? I won't even guess, having no idea
how many times he's been charged with possession. However, he's still
running around loose, so I venture a guess he has not been cited too
many times or he'd be in prison.

Also occurring since my last column was my own research through 30
days of records within the sheriff's office files. Of the 15 people
arrested on drug-related charges in Moore County during a 30-day
period ending Sept. 10, five were 18 years old and one was 19. I find
this very sad for the young people who were arrested. I very much do
not support decriminalization of drugs.

What I find sad is that 18-year-olds in Moore County are on the edge
of ruining their lives over drugs. My hope is that adults near
at-risk teenagers will become more assertive in guiding teens away
from these bad choices.

How that relates to the gubernatorial race is this: we do not need a
candidate for governor advocating illegal drug use, which is what
Friedman is doing by selecting Nelson as someone to be "in charge of energy."

I cannot imagine why the Texas gubernatorial race attracts this odd
type of candidacy, which actually just seems self-destructive on
Friedman's part. I recommend that all go to the polls and vote against this.

On a more upbeat note, the New York Times on Sept. 21 published what
seemed a balanced and objective assessment of the five Texas
candidates for governor.

The Times' opinion predicted a win for Perry, and referred to Perry's
"unusual cast of rivals". The editorial referred to Bell as "former
Representative Bell, who lost his seat after the 2003 redistricting."
Strayhorn is characterized as someone who "switched from being a
Democrat to a Republican and then, rather than challenge Mr. Perry in
the March primary, to an independent." The Times writer, Ralph
Blumenthal, refers to Friedman as a "gadfly country singer and
humorist" who produces "barbed witticisms". Blumenthal did not bother
with the Libertarian, omitting any comment except that he is a sales
and software consultant.

Border Security Bill Wins House Approval

As Moore County is experiencing the impact of illegal immigration
(some very reliable local estimates have estimated that the
population of Cactus consists of approximately 60 percent illegal
residents) the following information may be of interest.

The United States House of Representatives has just passed
legislation addressing border security. The legislation addresses
deporting gang members, imprisoning tunnelers and empowering local
police to arrest illegal immigrants. The Houston Chronicle carried
the story on Sept. 21. The three House bills would:

Impose prison terms of up to 20 years for those who knowingly
construct or finance an unauthorized tunnel under a U. S. border.
Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner said that 50
tunnels, used to smuggle narcotics and illegal immigrants, have been
discovered along the Mexican border since 1990, with 36 tunnels found
in the last five years.

Allow the Department of Homeland Security to hold illegal immigrants
detained for crimes or as threats to national security beyond the
current limit of six months, and set up expedited procedures for
deporting these people.

Reaffirm the authority of state and local law enforcement to arrest,
detain and transfer to federal custody illegal immigrants. It would
ask the Justice Department to increase the number of attorneys
prosecuting immigrant smuggling cases. It also would close loopholes
that have led to "catch and release" policies in which illegal
immigrants, mainly non-Mexicans, are released because they cannot be
immediately deported.

The news on immigration reform is that the House also passed
legislation last December that concentrated on enforcement of laws
banning employment of undocumented workers. The Senate in May passed
a broader bill that included provisions for a guest worker program.
So far, there is no progress in efforts to reconcile the two bills.
The three border security bills the House addressed currently were in
large part already included in the bill passed last December.

Signing off 'till next time!