DID RON PAUL CAMPAIGN BLUNDER ON GARY JOHNSON COMMENT?

Posted on May 18, 2012 by LarryB

Ron Paul supports liberty, but not Gary Johnson- photo by Larry Blucher

Libertarians have been fortunate enough this year to have two candidates still campaigning for president- Ron Paul, a libertarian who feels his best chance is running as a Republican, and Gary Johnson, who after being shut out of televised debates as a Republican has become the nominee of the Libertarian Party. However, a recent comment by the Paul campaign may force libertarian-minded voters to choose between the two sooner than they would have preferred.

Paul campaign strategist Jesse Benton was quoted as saying it is “still up for grabs” whether or not Paul will support Republican Mitt Romney for president, but “no chance” he will endorse Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.

Are Paul supporters loyal enough to vote for Romney if Paul endorses him?- photo by Larry Blucher

It is a risky comment considering Paul supporters feel Romney is just as bad of a choice as Barack Obama. Die-hard supporters are clinging to the hope that Paul’s delegate strategy still makes him a threat to win the Republican nomination, or at the least to make major noise at the Tampa convention.

But, if at that convention, Romney agrees to add some of Paul’s positions to his plank, would the Paul base cast their votes for Romney? Reason editor Brian Doherty thinks many of Paul’s supporters would follow his lead. Doherty said on PBS News Hour, “I think what they want in the end is the same, which is to prove to the Republican Party and the world at large that their set of ideas has real pull in the Republican Party.”

What they want and what they get from the Republican Party are likely two different things entirely. Would they ever be able to support Romney, after what the Paul camp claims are dirty tactics used by the RNC in its effort to block Paul from gaining delegates?

Gary Johnson photo courtesy of Robotclaw666

The Johnson camp took the high road in its response to Benton’s statement. Ron Nielson, Johnson’s senior advisor, told Reason.com, “Continuing and growing the Ron Paul revolution is not about endorsements.  It is about making sure civil liberties, non-intervention and a real commitment to smaller government are in the national conversation, and they will not be if the conversation is only between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.  While Governor Johnson would obviously like to have Congressman Paul’s endorsement, we have not asked for it, nor do we expect it.”

Benton’s comment leads some to believe Ron is protecting his son, Rand, who has been rumored to be preparing for a 2016 presidential run. Ben Jacobs wrote in The Daily Beast, “if Ron Paul backs proudly pro-pot Gary Johnson, it will make Rand Paul seem disloyal to the GOP by implication and raise yet another red flag about libertarianism among social conservatives in the Republican Party.”

Rand Paul has also raised red flags among staunch libertarians, who point out that the senator may lean libertarian, but is actually less of a true libertarian than Gary Johnson. With the possible exception of the difference of age and their differences on foreign aid, there is less separating Ron Paul from Gary Johnson than Ron from his son.

Now that a Gary Johnson/Ron Paul ticket that makes libertarians drool is just a dream,it has become an either/or. Do you keep sending your contributions to Paul’s money bombs, even though he may wind up telling you to support Romney, or do you send your cash to Johnson, who offers a solid alternative to the two establishment parties, but may not be able to have his voice heard in the televised debates?

Johnson is getting his message out with a new television ad.

To be fair, since Paul is still a candidate, no one expected him to endorse Johnson at this point. But, Johnson’s ad sure sounds a lot like Ron Paul’s own message of liberty, something Paul may not be able to influence the Republican Party to preach.

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LITTLE VOICE QUESTIONS OBAMA’S DRONE WAR

Posted on May 9, 2012 by LarryB

Obama, Commander of the Drone War- caricature courtesy of DonkeyHotey

From the deafening silence on President Obama’s Drone War, comes a little voice with powerful words that may threaten the powerful and embarrass the indifferent. Obama’s supporters have been indifferent; reluctant to criticize or disagree with any of his policies, including his attempt to delay his promised withdraw from Iraq and his extension of the never-ending occupation of Afghanistan. A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll even showed that 70 percent of Americans are okay with Obama’s broken promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. That includes more than half of self-identified liberal Democrats who were previously very vocal in their demands for President Bush to close it.

That same poll showed 83 percent of Americans supporting Obama’s drone attacks, including 77 percent of liberals. The Democrats were once the anti-war party, but have now become the support-anything-Obama-does party. They seem to have no problem with a tactic that kills a few nameless enemies broadly labeled as terrorists, while making many more enemies murdering innocent women and children.

There have been few dissenting voices. Michael Hastings wrote an excellent article in Rolling Stone describing how drone pilots are like video gamers and are detached from the reality of innocent people being killed. Hastings wrote, “The military slang for a man killed by a drone strike is ‘bug splat…’”

Ron Paul has opposed Obama's drone war- Photo by Larry Blucher

Glenn Greenwald has written extensively in Salon condemning Obama’s drone attacks (here are links to three recent articles- Drone Victim’s Defender Speaks, Obama Escalates in Yemen, and America’s Drone Sickness). But, for the most part, the mainstream media has played cheerleader to Obama’s foreign policy and steered clear of criticizing his drone war. Even Mitt Romney, the leading contender to his throne, is on the same page with Obama’s drone attacks. It’s a different story when it comes to presidential contender Ron Paul. The Texas congressman has been very outspoken against the drone war, but the mainstream media has largely denied Paul a platform from which to voice his opposition.

Our country was founded on dissent, so it was a stirring sight to see one American citizen show enough guts to speak out in Washington recently. As Obama’s counter-terrorism czar, John Brennan, gave a bland propaganda speech admitting to and defending the drone campaign, he was interrupted. Activist Medea Benjamin stood up and delivered a strong counter-argument. Benjamin, a small woman in her late fifties, was dragged from the room by a big burly security guard, but continued her rant until the door was closed behind her.

Benjamin had delivered her message loud and clear. She asked Brennan to, “speak out about the innocents killed by the United States in our drone strikes? What about the hundreds of innocent people we are killing with drone strikes in the Philippines, in Yemen, in Somalia?” She also questioned the deaths of 16-year-olds Tariq Aziz and Abdulrahman Al-Awlaki, both victims of drone strikes. Her parting words as she was hauled out of the room were, “You are making us less safe by killing so many innocent people. Shame on you, John Brennan.” The video shows Brennan’s response. He acted as if the interruption never occurred, and continued to read his prepared speech.

Benjamin wrote on Mondoweiss.net, “I was handcuffed and taken to the basement of the building, where I was questioned about my background and motives. To their credit, it seems the Wilson Center thought it would not be good to have someone arrested for exercising their right to free speech, so I was released.”

There are some rumblings that others are preparing to speak out against Obama’s drone wars. Sometimes a little voice resonates, and prompts a big response that can’t be ignored. Our founding fathers would be proud.

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OBAMA WAGS THE DOG

Posted on May 3, 2012 by LarryB

A QUESTIONABLE COMMENTARY

With my best friend Brandy, who gave me much joy and happiness for many years

President Barack Obama joked about eating dogs at the White House Correspondents Dinner. The audience howled. As a dog lover, I did not find it the least bit amusing, and I have a fairly sick sense of humor.

Let me preface this video, before being accused of being a partisan hack, by saying I think Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was a moron for putting his family dog in a crate on the roof of his car for a 12-hour drive.

Comedian in Chief and dog eater- Courtesy of DonkeyHotey

That was stupid; not nearly in the same category as dog-torturer/killer (and still beloved football star) Michael Vick, but still bad. In retrospect it no longer seems odd that Obama took time from his presidential schedule to praise the Philadelphia Eagles for signing Vick when he got out of jail.

This commentary is not about how politicians and football players treat their dogs. This questions just how much Obama apologists will accept from their Comedian in Chief.

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MARCO RUBIO FINED; WILL GOP CARE?

Posted on April 29, 2012 by LarryB

Caricature of Marco Rubio- courtesy of DonkeyHotey

Marco Rubio, hailed as the GOP’s rising star and widely considered a leading candidate to be Mitt Romney’s running mate, has been fined for taking improper campaign donations. Politico first reported that the Federal Election Commission fined Rubio, “$8,000 for accepting more than $210,000 in improper contributions during his 2010 run for the Senate.”

Politico’s John Bresnahan writes, “Even after an internal audit, the Rubio campaign failed to identify more than $83,000 in improper or incorrectly characterized contributions, according to a March 19 agreement between the campaign and the FEC. An FEC review showed that the improper donations came from more than 100 individuals, and in two cases, the campaign accepted corporate contributions, which are illegal. Marco Rubio for Senate also accepted nearly $26,000 for the primary race even after the primary election was already over.”

An $8-thousand fine seems like nothing more than a slap on the wrist when you consider his Florida Senate campaign totaled more the $21 million. Given the sad state of our political system and the low expectations for the actions of our elected officials, one must

Is Bilderberg Group Supporting Rubio? -Photo by Larry Blucher

wonder if the GOP will even care. After all, Rubio is their Wonder Boy. His extreme hawkish outlook makes him the golden child of the neo-cons. It also has made him a favorite of the secretive Bilderbergs, a group some claim is powerful enough to exert influence on U.S. presidential elections.

Republicans largely forgave Rubio’s previous transgressions. The Miami Herald reports on its Blog, “When Marco Rubio served in the Florida House, he failed to disclose a generous home loan from a bank in 2006. More than a year later, Rubio double-billed taxpayers and the Republican Party of Florida for about $3,000 in flights that he later sorted out. And after he was elected to the U.S. Senate, his official online biography incorrectly said his parents fled Castro’s Cuba.”

Ironically, one of his harshest critics has been Andrea Saul, the national press secretary for Mitt Romney’s campaign. An ABC News article by Jonathan Karl offers up these previous gems from Saul about Rubio- “Rubio has proved he is just another typical politician who uses his public office for personal gain and only comes clean once caught,” and “This Marco Rubio is a wheeling and dealing Miami lobbyist and politician, always trying to scam the system for his personal benefit.”

The Snitker Paradox- Photo by Larry Blucher

This story makes for an interesting footnote to my documentary, “The Snitker Paradox, The Media’s Muzzling of Alexander Snitker,” which details the obstacles thrown in the path of the Libertarian candidate in the 2010 Florida Senate race. It explores the stranglehold the two major parties have on our political system and the mainstream media’s role in supporting the two-party status quo, which benefited the eventual winner of that race, Marco Rubio.

Now that Rubio’s financial cheating has come to light, it is further salt in the wound to anyone who was angered over Snitker’s mistreatment during that election (view the documentary below). In our political system, it appears cheating pays. Will it prompt voters to ask if they elected the best candidate?

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WILL OBAMA KEEP US IN AFGHANISTAN UNTIL 2024?

Posted on April 24, 2012 by LarryB

Florida National Cemetery- Photo by Larry Blucher

A new agreement by the Obama administration with the Afghan government could mean that if you have a child who is currently six years or older, there is possibility they could be sent to Afghanistan in 2024 to fight and to die.

The Washington Post reports, “A new strategic partnership that commits the U.S. to defend Afghanistan militarily for 10 years after most foreign forces leave in 2014 is intended to signal that the U.S. will not tolerate a resurgent al-Qaida or attacks launched by militants from neighboring Pakistan.”

The Obama administration prefaced this agreement with some recent propaganda to counter reports that our troops chased al-Qaida out of Afghanistan long ago. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was trotted out to claim, “they’re still a real threat…we’ve got to continues to put pressure on them…”

Next up was U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who stirred fears by claiming in an interview with The Daily Telegraph that al-Qaida is planning another 9/11 attack, “Al-Qaeda is still present in Afghanistan. If the West decides that 10 years in Afghanistan is too long then they will be back, and the next time it will not be New York or Washington, it will be another big Western city.”

Looking at Never Ending War in Afghanistan- Photo courtesy of DonkeyHotey

The Pakistan Daily Times says the agreement, “does not address specific troop levels or the size or location of bases, though it does say that the US has no plans to keep permanent military bases in Afghanistan. Many Afghans worry that the US wants permanent bases, a set up that would make it more of an occupying force than an ally.”

Despite how rosy a picture the government attempts to paint of our relationship with the Afghans, many experts and analysts outside of the U.S. claim most Afghans support the Taliban more than America, and see U.S. troops as occupiers.

GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul has made that argument for years, and would safely bring home our troops as soon as possible. However, the mainstream media has scoffed at Paul’s plan and largely applauded the actions of Obama.

Obama's New Deal with Afghanistan- Courtesy of DonkeyHotey

Despite more than 6-thousand Americans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, those who opposed these wars during the Bush administration have remained silent. At the same time Obama claimed he would begin bringing troops home from Afghanistan in July of 2011, he announced he would send 30,000 more troops there. There was nearly no dissent heard at home. Many still feel Obama deserves his Nobel Peace Prize, even though as he coldly stated about our troops in Afghanistan while accepting the honor, “Some will kill. Some will be killed.”

Writing about the Afghanistan agreement in Huffington Post, Deepak Chopra said, “Without a universal draft of the sort that created a vocal antiwar faction in the Vietnam era, it’s up to the center-left to pronounce the truth: America should scale down its military on all fronts. We should become more peaceful in deed rather than just in speech.” Chopra admits, “Afghanistan has turned the Democrats into a war party, “ but quickly forgives them by claiming it was, “mostly against their will and certainly against the inclinations of President Obama, who is obviously of a new generation that has no taste for continuous conflict.”

Against the inclinations of Obama? He is extending this “continuous conflict” for which he has “no taste.” How is it that his supporters were so anti-war prior to his election, are now more than willing to support his foreign policy? Justin Raimondo, in a column written on Antiwar.com entitled “Is America a Free Country, answers that question, “I’ll tell you why: because the American left is dead, killed off by their support of a candidate who personified their turn to identity politics. The left’s undying allegiance to the President and his policies has sealed their rejection of the old-fashioned liberal anti-imperialist pro-civil libertarian stance… With the left co-opted, and the right pushing for an even more draconian crackdown on what is left of our constitutionally-protected rights, we are left with only Ron Paul holding up a copy of the Constitution and demanding its restoration.”

Ron Paul Wants to Bring U.S. Troops Home- Photo by Larry Blucher

As Congressman Paul said during a GOP debate in Tampa last year, “The purpose of al-Qaeda was to attack us, invite us over there, where they can target us. And they have been doing it. They have more attacks against us and the American interests per month than occurred in all the years before 9/11, but we’re there occupying their land. And if we think that we can do that and not have retaliation, we’re kidding ourselves. We have to be honest with ourselves. What would we do if another country, say, China, did to us what we do to all those countries over there?”

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BIG THINGS FOR RON PAUL, LITTLE FANFARE FROM MEDIA

Posted on April 18, 2012 by LarryB

Ron Paul delivering message of liberty- Photo by Larry Blucher

This question is an old one- if a tree falls in the woods, does it make a noise? If Congressman Ron Paul does something big, does that make a noise? Not if the mainstream media has anything to do with it.

A new Rasmussen poll showed Paul beating Obama in a hypothetical presidential election, 44 to 43 percent, while Romney was tied with Obama. The mainstream media ignored it.

Strong showings in Colorado, Missouri, and Minnesota recently added more delegates to Paul’s tally. That number appears to be much higher than the mainstream media is reporting. In the process, the Texas congressman managed to pull many former Rick Santorum supporters toward his campaign…and away from Mitt Romney. The mainstream media ignored that, too. It also continued to ignore the huge crowds that Paul was drawing for his speaking engagements.

Arguably the best news concerning Ron Paul recently was Colonel (ret) Douglas Macgregor’s interview with The Daily Bell’s Anthony Wile. Had Macgregor, whose leadership in Desert Storm is highly praised, been talking positively about Obama, the mainstream media would have been all over this. If it had anything to do with Romney (or even Ted Nugent or Ozzie Guillen) it would have been a hot topic. But, it was a pro-Ron Paul story, and the mainstream media looked the other way. The interview is well worth reading in its entirety (this is a link to the piece in The Daily Bell).

The high cost of U.S. foreign policy- Photo by Larry Blucher

In it, Macgregor says, “…the differences between Governor Romney and President Obama are marginal at best.” He praises Ron Paul’s foreign policy, and says, “Iraq and Afghanistan are disasters and anyone who asserts otherwise is misinformed. If you think we were successful in any way in Iraq, then why did our columns of troops leave at 2:00 in the morning in the dead of night, along a road that was more secured than any penitentiary in the United States?”

It is not just Paul’s foreign policy that endears him to Macgregor, who states, “What appeals to me about Ron Paul can be summed up by one of his performances during the debates. He was asked a question by someone, after they had criticized Romney, Gingrich and Santorum for lobbying activities that characterized them to a greater or lesser extent as having behaved or acted like lobbyists. When they got to Ron Paul they asked him about lobbyists and he said, ‘You know, I don’t know any lobbyists. I won’t meet with them.’ The fact that Ron Paul knew no lobbyists and wouldn’t meet with them is a measure of the man’s integrity. And frankly, a demonstration to the extent that he is not corrupt.”

Macgregor was on Freedom Watch with Judge Andrew Napolitano in January, explaining why Ron Paul has the best plan of any candidate for defending our country.

Obama and Romney appear to be pushing us toward a war with Iran. Obama’s sanctions on Iran are yet another example of our government preaching do as I say not as I do. As Paul Craig Roberts writes on lewrockwell.com, “US government officials routinely criticize other governments for being undemocratic and for violating human rights. Yet, no other country except Israel sends bombs, missiles, and drones into sovereign countries to murder civilian populations. The torture prisons of Abu Gahraib, Guantanamo, and CIA secret rendition sites are the contributions of the Bush/Obama regimes to human rights.”

Ron Paul t-shirt- Photo by Larry Blucher

Foreign wars are not the only area of concern for Americans on which Paul is scoring points on Obama. Paul would open the door for ending the increasingly unpopular prohibition of marijuana. Obama, meanwhile, is stepping up his failed, racist, ridiculously expensive war on drugs. He is sounding more and more like Nancy Reagan on drugs (yes, that was intended to be ambiguous).

The Libertarian-leaning Paul would protect our civil liberties and defend whistle blowers. Obama has possibly managed the inconceivable, allowing more government spying on its citizens than did George W. Bush. He has attacked whistle blowers more aggressively than any previous president. He’s waging yet another war, this one on millionaires, demanding they pay higher taxes, while ignoring the root of the problem- the tax code. Paul takes a different approach on income tax. He wants to reduce or eliminate it. Oh, that gets the attention of the mainstream media. They’ll make noise about that and call him crazy for such an outlandish idea. But, as Macgregor says, “In the next two to three years everything that Ron Paul has warned against will come to fruition. I think that Ron Paul’s great contribution at that point will be to act as a beacon of light in this very dark period of our nation’s history.”

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OBAMA PRESSURED TO DEBATE HIS WAR ON CANNABIS

Posted on April 14, 2012 by LarryB

Obama on cannabis poster- Photo courtesy of mardi_grass_2010

With polls showing growing support for the re-legalization of marijuana, President Obama has stubbornly refused to budge on the issue. He has dodged or made light of questions about marijuana. He has been especially tough on medical marijuana, despite protests from citizens.

Loren Fox writes on chicagotribune.com, “Since October 2009, Americans for Safe Access, a group committed to legalizing medical marijuana, estimates the Justice Department has carried out 170 raids on dispensaries and cultivation facilities in nine states,” and has been much more aggressive than the Bush administration.

In a column on sfgate.com entitled “Obama, the happy drug warrior,” Debra Saunders asks, “So why is Obama the drug war’s new Rambo?” She says Congressman Ron Paul, who wants to end the government’s war on drugs, told The Chronicle editorial board, “I think they’re out of touch.”

Now Obama is facing new pressure to speak out publicly about his opposition to ending pot prohibition. At a summit this weekend in Columbia, several Latin American leaders hoped to push Obama to take a different approach to his war on cannabis.

Obama told Univision news anchor Enrique Acevedo he is open to a debate on the decriminalization of marijuana, but said, “I don’t think legalization of drugs is going to be the answer.”

A major irony is that Obama admits to having smoked pot, and even inhaling. Had young Barack been busted for possession, he would not be president today. As Jacob Sullum wrote in Reason, “A misdemeanor marijuana conviction could have been a life-changing event for Obama, interrupting his education, impairing his job prospects, and derailing his political career before it began. It would not have been fair, but it would have spared us the sorry spectacle of a president who champions a policy he once called ‘an utter failure’ and who literally laughs at supporters whose objections to that doomed, disastrous crusade he once claimed to share.”

It become especially tough to defend the expense of pot prohibition, given the poor state of the economy. David Sirota writes in Salon “…at the same time the administration is decrying budget deficits, the White House is pushing for a big increase in drug war funding, specifically preserving funding formulas that send far more money to the war’s militaristic endeavors (interdiction, law enforcement activities, etc.) than to more humane harm-reduction and treatment programs.”

Prohibition Doesn't Work T-Shirt- Photo by Larry Blucher

Former Obama supporters have been turned off by his marijuana war. Erik Kain writes in Forbes, “The Obama administration’s refusal to live up to its promises and its inexplicable decision to push medical marijuana back into the violent black market is yet another blotch on the administration’s already abysmal record on prohibition. No matter how badly I want to support Barack Obama, no matter how much worse I think his presidential opponents are, I can’t help but think he’s sticking a hot poker in our eyes and laughing at those of us who could be his most ardent supporters.”

Obama’s militant stance is costing him supporters, while the list of those who support re-legalization is growing. When Pat Robertson joined that list, it should have served as a wake up call. Now that Latin American leaders are also calling for re-legalization, will Obama continue to hit the snooze button?

UPDATE: It appears the answer to that question is he will continue to hit the snooze button. AP just posted a video from the Summit of the Americas showing Obama “just saying no” to re-legalization.

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WILL OBAMA BULLY TACTICS COST HIM PRO-CANNABIS VOTES?

Posted on April 8, 2012 by LarryB

Oaksterdam University- Photo courtesy of Cannabis Culture

President Barack Obama’s bullying tactics in his war on marijuana has resulted in a knock-down punch. His drug warriors raided Oaksterdam University last week and briefly detained its founder, Richard Lee.  According to Mike Hughes, writing in High Times, “the influential marijuana activist…will give up his marijuana-related businesses in the wake of federal raids that targeted his home, the university, and his dispensary last Monday.”

It was a dangerous political move for Obama, given the increasing support for re-legalization. More people are becoming aware of how the war on marijuana has been built on lies, and polls now show roughly half of all Americans are calling for cannabis to be re-legalized, with even more in favor of legalizing medical marijuana.

Yes, We Can-nabis!- Photo courtesy of mardi_grass_2010

Although many supporters of re-legalizing marijuana voted for Obama, they may be having second thoughts given his track record on the issue. It’s not just his war on cannabis that has him in hot water with his former supporters, but Rob Kampia, writing in Huffington Post, recently rated him the worst president ever on medical marijuana.

Ron Paul is the only Republican candidate who might be able to exploit Obama’s position, as he is the only one who has called for an end to the government’s expensive and failed war. The war on marijuana is being waged by both major parties.

Johnny Green writes in The Weed Blog on thepuffingtonhost.com, “From all the e-mails I get, comments we receive on TWB, and what I read on the blogosphere, it sounds like the disdain for President Obama extends to most of the medical marijuana communities nationwide, and rightfully so.” Green points out that doesn’t automatically translate into votes for Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum, both of whom he gave an F- grade on his Marijuana Policy Report Card.

Like Obama and Santorum, Gingrich has admitted to smoking dope. Which makes his call for the death penalty for drug smugglers even more hypocritical.

But, will cannabis re-legalization supporters go as far as casting a vote for a third party candidate? Gary Johnson, who is the front-runner to be the Libertarian presidential candidate, has been very outspoken in favor ending prohibition. He called out Obama recently in Huffington Post, demanding he “get to the truth” on marijuana prohibition. If Johnson was given an opportunity to a public debate with the president on the government’s drug policy, Obama would likely have his hands full:

Just how many votes will his war on marijuana cost Obama? It could be substantial. Activist Richard Lee has gotten off the mat. Shortly after the raid that led him to declare he will give up ownership of Oaksterdam, he put a petition online at Change.org that says, “Tell President Obama and the DEA: Enough is enough. Keep your campaign promise and stop the raids on the medical cannabis industry.” In less than a week, the petition had nearly 20,000 signatures.

 

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OAKLAND SHOOTING PUTS MARIJUANA WAR IN PERSPECTIVE

Posted on April 3, 2012 by LarryB

What is wrong with this picture? At Oikos University in Oakland, a gunman killed at least seven people Monday. Several others were injured. Meanwhile, across town, law enforcement officials were out in full force for a raid on a marijuana industry training school.

Oaksterdam University- Photo courtesy of Cannabis Culture

The DEA, U.S. Marshals, IRS, and Oakland police were all involved in shutting down Oaksterdam University. Is that the best use of our law enforcement resources?

A large crowd of protestors arrived at the scene, booing the actions of Obama’s drug warriors as they removed boxes of documents and pot plants. Police arrested at least one protestor. The school’s founder, Richard Lee, a cannabis activist who has tried to legitimize the marijuana business, was detained briefly at his home.

Rebecca Kaplan, an Oakland City Council member, was quoted on latimes.com, saying, “It certainly raises the concern that people may be targeted for their political speech.”

This recent story by reason.tv gives a good behind the scenes look at Oaksterdam:

The raid is no surprise considering the track record of the Obama administration in dealing with marijuana. Gavin Aronsen wrote in a Mother Jones article, “The president campaigned on the promise that he’d stop federal raids on medical marijuana operations that were in compliance with state laws, a vow that Attorney General Eric Holder repeated after the election. But then the Obama administration raided more than 100 dispensaries in its first three years and is now poised to outpace the Bush administration’s crackdown record.”

Tim Dickinson wrote a scathing article in Rolling Stone on Obama’s about-face on medical marijuana. He says the Obama administration has executed a “multi­agency crackdown on medical cannabis that goes far beyond anything undertaken by George W. Bush. The feds are busting growers who operate in full compliance with state laws, vowing to seize the property of anyone who dares to even rent to legal pot dispensaries, and threatening to imprison state employees responsible for regulating medical marijuana”

U.S. Marshalls and the IRS also were involved in the Oaksterdam raid. “Arlette Lee, an IRS spokeswoman, was quoted in Huffington Post saying agents were serving a federal search warrant but said she could not otherwise comment on the purpose of the raid. “What we are doing here today is under seal,” Lee said.

That also follows a pattern of lack of transparency by the Obama administration. This is the same Obama, who in 2004, said “our war on drugs has been an utter failure,” and called for marijuana to be decriminalized.

So why then utilize so much manpower and taxpayer money targeting non-violent marijuana users, when it could be used battling violent crimes? One reason is influential prison lobbyists have bought off many politicians. That powerful industry benefits financially from cannabis being kept illegal so it can continue to incarcerate the largest number of non-violent people in the world. In a piece he did for cnn.com, reporter Fareed Zakaria said, “We have 760 prisoners per 100,000 people. Most European countries have one-seventh that number (per capita, so it’s adjusted for population). In the past two decades, the money that states spend on prisons has risen at six times the rate of spending on higher education.”

NORML tee-shirt- Photo by Larry Blucher

There is also the pharmaceutical industry pressuring lawmakers. Russ Belville, NORML Outreach Coordinator wrote on norml.org, “…this is a full-court press by the Obama Administration to squelch the voices of legalization, retard the propagation of truth about marijuana, and stall our growing political momentum long enough for the campaign donors in Big Pharma to get cannabinoid pharmaceuticals through the FDA approval process.”

Regardless of who is blocking the re-legalization of marijuana, supporters of Obama’s war on marijuana had better be prepared to justify having so many law enforcement officers involved in a raid on a marijuana university while across town a gunman was killing people on a school campus.

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HOW MANY MORE LIVES WILL OBAMA SACRIFICE IN AFGHANISTAN?

Posted on March 30, 2012 by LarryB

Photo courtesy of Donkey Hotey

A New York Times/CBS poll poll says 69 percent of Americans believe the United States should not be at war in Afghanistan. A Pew Research poll shows 57 percent of Americans say U.S. troops should be removed from Afghanistan as soon as possible.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta indicates he doesn’t care what Americans think. He used the same tired excuse, citing lives already lost, that delayed our exit from Iraq. Panetta was quoted in The Washington Post saying, “…our commitment must be to insure that those lives have not been lost in vain.”

How many more lives of young Americans is he willing to sacrifice for that principle? In the wake of the recent massacre by at least one U.S. soldier that left 17 Afghans dead, the threat of retaliation is real. Can we possibly hope to overcome the damage by paying the victims $50,000 each; the magical solution of the Obama administration?

Australian reporter Yalda Hakim was the first western journalist to visit the site of the crime. Her heart-wrenching story includes interviews with some of the children who survived that horrible night:

How has this administration treated previous civilian massacres? In the case of a missile strike in Yemen that left 41 civilians dead, including women and 22 children, the Obama administration won’t confirm or deny that it even happened.

But, this one could not be denied. The Obama administration has decided the best route is to leave our troops in harm’s way even though Osama bin Laden has long been dead. Instead, it will pay off the victims and hope they will forgive and forget. If your children had been massacred by a foreign occupier, how would you use $50,000?

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