During the last Democratic Presidential Nomination debate at Howard University, Mike Gravel was the only candidate to call for the cessation of the drug war. The drug war reaches into our society and that of other countries with largely unseen tendrils; of corruption, of lost taxes and abandoned ideals of freedom; of people abandoned in prison for the simple growth of a plant.

I do not condone drug use, but it is easy to see for anyone who looks at the situation that the problems of illegality are larger than the actual problems of addiction and abuse. The problem is that making drugs illegal, just as making alcohol illegal in the twenties, does absolutely nothing to alleviate the social problems of addiction and abuse - it simply turns an industry which would otherwise be taxed and regulated over to the hands of predatory criminals. Following is a letter I wrote to the PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer, for Mike Gravel's statements received absolutely zero coverage with any news agency - absolutely none, except for blogs and tiny independent people.

Simply put, it is a travesty and a disgrace.


Dear Newshour;

I depend upon the Newshour, and other PBS
programs (both radio and TV) coverage to give me a more in depth,
straight coverage on events which are occurring in our nation and
world.

I did not expect the for profit media to give any coverage to Mike Gravel's ideas about the cessation of the drug war - he rightly called it a scourge upon our land, and it is one
that spills over to other countries, most notably Afghanistan, Mexico,
and any other drug producing nation.

The 'drug war' is just as effective as alcohol prohibition was - it corrupts politicians and
police, it strengthens illegal gangs which control money and territory
by bribery and violence, and it is responsible for the impossible
position of putting Americans and others into prison for doing nothing
more than growing a plant.

I can understand that you do not bring this travesty up as a matter of course; but I hear nothing but deafening silence even from you when the perfect opportunity presents
itself.

To be honest, your lackadaisical approach to this problem is like a knife in my gut. I feel betrayed by your indifference, and your cowardice in ignoring this issue. Who is pushing
your buttons? My god, not even one mention, on the radio or on the
Newshour - I kept expecting someone to say something, since Gravel's
idea about abolishing the drug war was pretty much the only idea which
stood out from the pack.

Of course, no one even said he was crazy or wrong - because he is not, and
to say that would have been to mention the true third rail of American
politics - the drug war. Instead, there is a deafening silence. People are rotting in
prison right now over the growth of plants.

Does not one single person in your organization realize the seriousness of this situation?
I don't advocate that anyone use drugs, but most of the illegal drugs
have been around for well over a hundred years,and people will not stop
using them ever. Contrary to popular opinion, the vast majority of those people use them
responsibly. The closest the others could come was calling for an
equality between crack and powder cocaine, but this was not mentioned
either because it would have demanded comment on Gravel's positions.

I was so happy to hear someone actually say it aloud in a democratic
debate - that the drug war must end - and yet, if you did not watch the
debate, you would never know that the comments were made.

You have disgraced yourself and your duty to this nation, and that sickens
me. Shame on you, shame on you for destroying my trust in you. I don't
know what else to say - as I sit here, the idea that our nation is
truly and completely corrupt on every institutional level is slowly
sinking in. I pray that in the coming months you will prove me wrong,
but sad to say, I no longer expect it.

Kudos to Mike Gravel for being brave enough to say what others dare not even repeat - but I am sorry to say that your performance has left me feeling nothing but
sickness and despair.

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The Alternative Minimum Tax gap and what to do about it.

Allan Sloan (http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/315/index.html#sloan)
was on NOW recently, and asked this question: "what would you replace
the AMT with?" in reference to doing away with this tax. The problem is
it generates to much revenue, and will generate more as the years roll
by. The answer to the solution is, however, staring us right in the
face.






Gangs are becoming a more and more deadly problem - just a few
weeks ago, two officers here in Charlotte NC were gunned down in some
type of gang related revenge or trial by ritual. And we are attracting,
now, a lot of the big national gangs; they come to the growing urban
centers of NC because they know that sales are on the rise.






Gangs in modern America are for the most part drug retailers. In almost
all cases, especially the larger nationwide gangs, drug distribution is
the whole business at hand. Other crimes are taken by individual
members of the organizations for various reasons, but as organizational
structures they serve one purpose, which gives them enough cash to
thrive and recruit new members.







We spend a huge amount of time and resources fighting the drug war, which by any measure is as it always was, an utter failure.






I know that it is a hard idea, but the tax gap could be set right
through the legalization of all major illegal drugs, put into
classifications (like beer and alcohol), and distributed through
existing or new avenues. In NC, you cannot buy hard liquor except
through what are called ABC stores, which are heavily regulated by the
state.






The savings in fighting the drug war, along with the huge tax
revenues that would be generated, should go a long way towards evening
things out. It would also have positive effects in the reduction of
gangs and therefore gang violence, and a legal economic opportunity to
those countries including Mexico which reside to our south, and which
have been adversely affected by our drug war.






That is also, of course, one of the drivers of why the people to
the south of us want to come here so badly. Corruption kills economic
growth, and Mexico and every other drug producing nation on earth,
including Afghanistan, has huge problems with corruption, and with the
gangs and paramilitary groups that make money and can stay in business
for only one reason - drugs are illegal, and it is that illegality
which forces the distribution into the hands of criminal gangs.







It would not be an easy battle, but sooner or later it will be a necessary battle - it is one that should be fought now.

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