End the War on Freedom

Albany (NY) Times Union - Wrong and dangerous - an editorial disagreeing with a New York Assemblyman that racial profiling would improve the effectiveness of searches in New York City's subways. I sent the following letter to the editor:

Suicide Searches

I agree with the TU's August 4 editorial that Assemblyman Dov Hikind is wrong and dangerous to suggest using racial profiling to determine who to search in New York City's subways. But I disagree with your reason.

We're talking about suicide bombers here. If a suicide bomber is stopped for a search, what do you suppose he'll do? Stand there while the bomb is discovered and he is arrested? I don't think so. He'll set it off right there, killing the cops doing the searches and the people in line. Mission accomplished.

Get used to it. Suicide bombers cannot be stopped. Not even turning America into a police state by shredding the last vestiges of the Fourth Amendment will work. Searches without a warrant aren't allowed in the America I learned about in Junior High School Civics, and there's been no Constitutional amendment since then to change that fact.

Fortunately, there aren't any suicide bombers in New York's subways. At least not yet. But even if there were, searching every man, woman, child, and seeing-eye dog that goes through the turnstiles wouldn't help. It's a feel-good knee-jerk non-solution to an imaginary problem.

Unless, of course, the real problem is that the "authorities" want more power.

# I created a Free Marc Emery page, and changed the banner at the top of the left-hand column to point to it. It has an outline of Marc's predicament and links to information resources and stories. A good central repository for information about the case.

# Dana Larsen at Cannabis Culture - Emery and Williams still in jail - bail for Marc Emery was set at $50,000, but not just cash. It's $10,000 in cash plus four $10,000 "surities" from homeowners living in British Columbia who know Mr. Emery personally. Ditto for Greg Williams, but the amounts are halved. So far they haven't found four such people who can show up simultaneously at the Vancouver Court House. They've been in jail for a week. If you can help, call the BC Marijuana Bookshop at 604-684-2803. I read a couple of posts on the Cannabis Culture discussion boards saying that they've got the surities and Marc and Greg will get out today, but I haven't seen it anywhere else yet. [cannabisculture]

# Michael Cust and Peter Jaworski at LewRockwell.com - Block the Extradition of a Hero for Liberty - Good review of Marc Emery's political activism career. A good time to read or re-read my 2001 essay, The Lie of Cannabis Prohibition. Remember folks, the narcs are the criminals here. Every one of them should get life or death for kidnapping.

Mr. Cust & Mr. Jaworski have started a Free Marc Emery blog. Jason Cherniak, one of that blog's contributors, has his own Marc Emery is a Political Prisoner blog. [loretta]

# Tim Peppin at the gateway - Marc Emery must not be extradited - good Canadian editorial on why it would be criminal to give Marc Emery to the apes in the U.S. [google]

What does trouble me about Mr Emery's arrest is that it was not initiated by Canadian law enforcement. The investigation and subsequent arrest of Mr Emery was a result of the attentions of the American Drug Enforcement Administration, an agency which is now requesting his extradition. If extradited, he will be tried on charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and marijuana seeds, and conspiracy to launder money. Given his unabashed involvement in the legalization movement and the simple existence of a seed distribution company bearing his name, a conviction would be assured. The maximum sentence, when convicted, is life imprisonment.

Now I understand that as a sovereign nation, the United States has the right to create and enforce any laws which it chooses, no matter how ludicrous. But Canada has the right--and the obligation--to protect its citizens from persecution deemed injust or excessive. Surely we must admit that in a country which no longer prosecutes the distribution of marijuana seeds, which in many areas willfully neglects to prosecute the traffic of marijuana, and which as a whole is considering its decriminalization, the extradition of a political activist to face some of the harshest prison sentences and conditions on the continent is inconsistent, to put it mildly.

# Patrick Maloney at The London Free Press - Emery faces biggest battle - good summary of the case and Mr. Emery's history. [google]

# Jack Herer - How Dangerous Is Marijuana Compared with Other Substances? - Marijuana has no lethal dose. Say that again. Marijuana has no lethal dose. Good statistics from the author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes.

# William S. Lind at LewRockwell.com - Modern War Symposium - Mr. Lind attended a symposium on modern war called by a retired USMC colonel. They were discussing how to prevent a fourth generation war in America. Their conclusion? A militia. Other than the idea of paying the militia members with stolen tax dollars, this idea is, of course, a great one. It's not new, however, being the method envisioned by America's Founders back in the eighteenth century. [clairefiles]

# Fred on Everything - Community-Based Policing: Round And Round And Back Again - why community-based policing doesn't work, except in communities where it's not necessary. [pournelle]

# Winchester Rifles & Shotguns - Model 94, Timber - chambered in the manly .450 Marlin caliber. 18" ported barrel, 4-round magazine. Fully-adjustable XS brand ghost ring rear sight. Drilled and tapped for scope mounts. Pachmayr® Decelerator® recoil pad. $610 retail. There's a review in the September 2005 issue of Shooting Times. I'm a Marlin man myself, but I'm tempted. [shooting]