The Long War

I try not to bleed the subject of ending cannabis prohibition with the overall “war on drugs.” That is because cannabis is unique, and so is every other thing which is prohibited, and each needs to be considered on its own properties, beneficial or otherwise. I speak about the medical benefits of cannabis, these are derived from its specific effects in the body. I speak about the religious use, and the historical connection of cannabis to the stories of Old and New Testaments, and other religious texts. I could not substitute a different herb or, worse, a synthetic or semi-synthetic chemical and make the same arguments. They are entirely different, each individual.

Having said that I want to talk about the larger “war on drugs” for a moment, because what is going on right now in Afghanistan is the transformation of the “mission” — from tracking down al Qaeda and stabilizing the puppet government — to stamping out opium production.

So there’s your war on drugs, and your next twenty years of armed military conflict in central Asia.

Iran, too, and Iraq, all will be tied eventually into this larger “war on drugs.” The terrorists will be forgotten, except when one pops up from time to time and commits some act to remind us to be scared. The terrorists are the people running your government right now. They are terrorists because they foment fear, they tell you to be afraid, to think that you must sacrifice all of your freedom to be protected.

Unless you end cannabis prohibition, this will happen.

Brendan O’Neill has more.

Hat-tip to Matt Bargainer.

Music is what I’ve got

Tori Amos – Crucify.

Too disgusted to write

Go read Glenn Greenwald in Salon today. More on his blog.

Don’t let history repeat

I don’t know how to get through to some people who think that the Bush administration is engaged in anything less than a grab for absolute power, or that this is some kind of temporary “state of war” which will eventually result in anything other than concentration camps.

I realize that my writing tends to be more confrontational in some ways than is comfortable for some readers. This is partly intentional; I would not whisper soothing words to people who are inflicting pain through intent or negligence. I need you to stop ignoring what is going on. (Those who inflict pain by intention are beyond my words, if they never read them it will be of no concern to me.) But if you are reading this, understand that I do not hate. I want you to understand some things and stop being confused by lies that others have told you. The only way you can tell the difference between them is by testing the fruit. This is why I show you some pictures.

Please continue on with me, and I will show you more.

For now, read Lawrence Velvel and be prepared to see what is going on right now.

There is no political solution

When democracy has failed, and the only political choice for survival seems to be separation, even that will not suffice to end this conflict. We would perceive the injustices done to our loved ones as injustices done to ourselves, and would want to protect them. Nor would they give up seeking to dominate us, lest we forget what they are doing in Iraq. War is not beneath them, it is their main industry.

There is never a winner in this war. It just goes back and forth endlessly between those who take up their swords.

Struggle is pointless if you are going to harm yourself and gain nothing. But it is possible to end the war, and beat the swords into plowshares. Establish a good and just government for yourselves which does not do violence but which protects us all from want.

And if you want to continue practicing democracy in the hopes that it will result in something better, in the faith that your vote will be counted, then do so, and vote for no Republicans or anyone who supports torture. Support everyone you can who is trying to make things better.

But whatever else you do, make sure you speak out, or write, or communicate in some way.

What comes next?

This is part of an ongoing essay that will try to find a way through our current political crisis to a peaceful resolution. I don’t offer final answers, just suggestions, so please feel free to comment.

Does democracy work? It’s a fair question, though rarely addressed. In America we take it as an article of faith more than anything, that democracy is the best form of government there is (“except for all the others,” perhaps, attributed to Winston Churchill). But really, does it work? Can deep moral problems be resolved by a majority vote? Can a democratic leader govern a divided population?

When I say divided here, I do not mean in the manner of a disagreement over policy, funding, or even administrative competence. I mean a deep division over purpose and mission.

Can we have a simultaneously secular and religious state?

The answer that seems right to me is: not within a single institution. It will be one or the other, and the dream that the religious and secular people will reconcile if only a majority has decided the matter, can never be realized. What this means is you cannot have a mutually satisfactory union with one another. There must be a separation: of church and state, yes, but also of church state and free government.

Until this is realized, however, there will be an internecine war between the two parties. Each will try to win a majority of the vote, but if that is not obtainable, to destroy the vote, because to lose is unacceptable for either side if they are going to be forced to finance the other’s establishment and so pay for their own perceived subjugation.

What has happened is the Republicans, representing the pharisee religious state, went to war first.

Knowing they cannot hold a majority to rule, they have wrecked the vote.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. documented the 2004 election disaster in the “swing” state of Ohio. Now he has looked ahead to what you can expect in 2006.

Please read Brad Friedman for more.

Related articles: How to hack an election, As church, so state, Was George Bush ever elected president?

House approves strip search bill

News release from the Drug Policy Alliance:

WASHINGTON – September 21 – A bill approved by the U.S. House yesterday would require school districts around the country to establish policies making it easier for teachers and school officials to conduct wide scale searches of students. These searches could take the form of pat-downs, bag searches, or strip searches depending on how administrators interpret the law.

The Student Teacher Safety Act of 2006 (HR 5295) would require any school receiving federal funding–essentially every public school–to adopt policies allowing teachers and school officials to conduct random, warrantless searches of every student, at any time, on the flimsiest of pretexts. Saying they suspect that one student might have drugs could give officials the authority to search every student in the building.

DPA supporters and others who opposed this outrageous bill called their members of Congress this week to express their disapproval. However, House leaders circumvented the usual legislative procedure to bring the bill to a quick vote. It did not pass through the committee process, but went straight to the House floor. There, it was passed by a simple voice vote, so constituents cannot even find out how their Representative voted.

The bill moves next to the Senate, but it is unlikely to be considered there this session.

Bill Piper, DPA’s director of national affairs, said, “It looks like this bill was rushed to the House floor to help out the sponsor, Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY/4th), who is in a tight re-election race. This vote lets him say he’s getting things done in Washington. But I would be surprised to see a similar push in the Senate.”

HR 5295 is opposed in its current form by several groups, including the Drug Policy Alliance, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the ACLU, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Parent Teacher Association, the American Association of School Administrators, and the National School Boards Association.

DPA will be watching the bill so that if and when it does come up again, this wide array of opponents can mobilize to stop it.

Related post: Congress Considering Strip Searching Students