ONE BIG PARTY

So how was your New Years? Did you scarf down half a turkey and pass out on
Christmas day? "L-Tryptophan", what a nice, natural downer it is. Did you
attend any big parties; did you align yourself with your buds?

The Republicans are having a party; an eternal party and we're all
invited. I've decided that despite my lack of "rightful" leanings and my
proclivity to forgo anything that smacks of partisanship I'm going to
become a Republican, with a capital R. To me it seems the Democrats say
they get it, and then act like Republicans if elected. The Libs, Greens and
others get it and though I am for 3rd, 4th and even a 20th political party
having success in the US, I think it will be easier to simply awaken,
embolden and redirect the party of Lincoln.

If Daniel faced down the lions in the Bible and lived to fight another day,
surely this can be done. These Republican leaders expect blind obedience
and ignorant acceptance whilst they fleece the nation and the world in the
name of "liberty". I will be the conscience they could never afford.

I begin with a reach to my Republican brothers in government administration
with this letter:

I seek a new agenda for our nation:

I want the US to stop funding Osama bin Laden's terrorists. We must reduce
crime in the US by 50% next year. Let us eliminate the reason for which
most violent street gangs exist. We must be brave and immediately destroy
the drug cartels. I seek the end of accidental drug overdose deaths. May
we please redirect hundreds of billions of our precious tax dollars away
from persecuting non-violent Americans to more worthwhile endeavors, like
arresting the criminals and terrorists that mean us harm.

Milton Friedman, the Nobel Laureate, in a letter to William Bennett, (the
one time drug czar), perhaps said it best:

"In Oliver Cromwell's eloquent words, "I beseech you, in the bowels of
Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken" about the course you and
President Bush urge us to adopt to fight drugs. The path you propose of
more police, of more jails, use of the military in foreign countries, harsh
penalties for drug users, and a whole panoply of repressive measures can
only make a bad situation worse. The drug war cannot be won by those
tactics without undermining the human liberty and individual freedom that
you and I cherish."

December 17th, 2004 marked 90 years of drug war; 90 years since the signing
of the Harrison Narcotics Act. A trillion US tax dollars have been poured
into the whirlpool of drug prohibition. What else have we wrought? Tens of
millions of our fellow citizens arrested, they and their families rejected,
thwarted from progress by government mandate, their future progress made
dependent on perfection. 1.6 million Americans are arrested each year for
controlled substances, for non-violent offenses yet drugs are cheaper,
purer and more available than ever before. A majority now sees this drug
war for what it truly is: "The largest fraud ever perpetrated on the people
of earth."

Some government hero's face may someday be sculpted on Mt. Rushmore,
recognized as the one who exposed the fraud of drug prohibition. There is a
new "silent majority" growing each day, which sees drug prohibition as a
real threat to our nation. For an example of how "To fool some of the
people all of the time.", one need look no further than the government
officials who so willingly serve the needs of drug traffickers.

Former CIA Director William Colby "died in a canoeing accident" a few
months after he stated: "The Latin American drug cartels have stretched
their tentacles much deeper into our lives than most people believe. It's
possible they are calling the shots at all levels of government."

Thus, having had my say and given Republican officials a wonderful agenda
that a vast majority of Americans would also endorse, I will feel better as
I set about exposing, all those in power, who continue to play their part
in supporting "insanity, criminality and death." - (Harry J. Anslinger, our
first drug czar).

I urge you to take the ideas of this column, prepare a one paragraph
letter, read it to your congressional and senate staffers when you call:
TOLL FREE: 1-800-839-5276. Find fax #, mailing or email addresses on the
net: www.senate.gov or www.house.gov.

Please listen to Cultural Baggage and 4:20 Drug War News on KPFT Radio,
90.1 FM, Houston, www.kpft.org. Visit www.DrugTruth.Net (20 Broadcast
Affiliates in the US and Canada.)