CONSERVATIVE HOLLYWOOD WEBSITE IN FREAKOUT MODE OVER STING AND GEORGE
SOROS SPEAKING OUT AGAINST THE DRUG WAR

Andrew Breitbart's popular right-wing website, Big Hollywood, just
published a blistering attack on the musician Sting, philanthropist
George Soros, and formally incarcerated activist Anthony Papa for
appearing in an anti-drug war video, a two-minute promo where people
share their feelings about the failed drug war and the reasons they
support the Drug Policy Alliance.

Sting states that he believes in the right to "sovereignty over one's
mind and body" and that "the war on drugs represents an extraordinary
violation of human rights." Montel expresses his view that, "Whether
you use drugs or not, you deserve to be treated with kindness and
dignity." Soros, meanwhile, explains that he supports the Drug Policy
Alliance because the organization "promotes harm reduction" and
"fosters debate on drug policy." Anthony Papa talks about his
experience spending 12 years in prison for a first time nonviolent
drug offense.

Author Kurt Schlichter rips into all and everyone and appears
disgusted that Sting or Soros or Montel would have the gall to think
that they have any insights into this issue.

He accuses Sting of wanting "drug dealing scumbags" to run free while
he "retreats behind his gates and armed guards."

He argues that Anthony Papa made out great by spending 12 years of his
life locked up for taking part in a small-time drug deal where he was
set to make $500. He says that Papa became an artist behind bars "on
the taxpayer's dime" and that "some Hollywood half-wit even scooped up
the rights to his inspiring story." Schlichter claims to speak for
"most of us" and asks, "Why only 12 years?"

He even mocks the video for claiming that the drug war is a war on
people of color, ignoring the fact that African-Americans are 13 times
more likely to end up incarcerated, even though they use and sell
drugs at rates similar to white people.

Schlichter's rant reminds me of Rush Limbaugh, who scoffed at the idea
that African-Americans are disproportionately arrested on drug
charges, and suggested that the solution was to arrest more white
people. But once Limbaugh was busted for sending his maid out to score
him OxyContin and it came out that he was addicted to pills, he
quickly changed his tune about the benefits of sending more white
people to jail. I imagine the same gross hypocrisy would be true for
Schlichter. If he or someone he loved got busted for using or selling
drugs, would he still ask "why only 12 years?"

Schlichter thinks he really nails it when he asks Sting to expand the
discussion and get the opinions of Michael Jackson, Health Ledger,
Brad Renfro, DJ AM, and Brittany Murphy. "Oh wait, they're all dead."
How ironic that Schlichter tries to pin these tragic overdose deaths
on drug war critics. It is under drug prohibition that we have record
numbers of overdose deaths, and it is advocates like the Drug Policy
Alliance who are offering real and proven solutions to prevent
overdose fatalities and save lives.

Last month, the Associated Press dropped a bomb on America's longest
running war. The headline said it all: "The US Drug War has Met None
of its Goals." The first sentence of the piece asks, "After 40 years,
the United States' War on Drugs has cost $1 trillion dollars and
hundreds of thousands of lives, and for what?"

Schlichter pretends to be the guy in tune with "the people" and that
the speakers in the video are living in a privileged bubble, but in
reality, it is he who is out of touch and on the wrong side of history.