Sentenced nearly two decades ago to three life prison sentences for his peripheral role in a crack cocaine deal, Clarence Aaron became a poster child for the inequities and harshness of drug war policing and sentencing policies. His case has garnered attention in media outlets from PBS to Fox News, and he was featured in the 1999 PBS documentary "Snitching."
Aaron, then a linebacker at Southern University in Baton Rouge, introduced the brother of a drug supplier to a cocaine deale... (more)
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Jail the people who threw him in jail.
Depriving someone of their life, liberty, and property over a non-crime is a crime. - Chris, InfoLib
Far too many cops now act like the worst sort of gang-banging thugs and psychopaths. They threaten to rape their victims and sodomize them with weapons bought by citizens, ostensibly to protect the public. Like alpha dogs off the leash, they roam the streets barking commands and filthy insults as they demand obedience from a public they resent.
Recently an example of this disgusting behavior was caught on a cell phone and sent to the New York Post. The NYPD cop responsible, Sgt. L... (more)
Frank Roder of Winfield Park, New Jersey took his son to a nearby river to feed the ducks. The SUV came to a stop on a steep embankment, and Roder's impatient 5-year-old son jumped out and started sprinting toward a ledge that was about 35 feet above the river.
Roder immediately leaped out of the SUV and chased down his son just a few feet from the edge. ... (more)
An Islamist who believes that the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States were an American conspiracy is the front-runner in Egypt’s presidential race, a new poll shows.
Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh, formerly a leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, led the field of 13 candidates with 32 percent of the vote in a survey released Monday by the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
Mr. Abolfotoh expressed his views on the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World T... (more)
Although reports today suggest that the TSA is looking to move away from physical pat downs, owing to public backlash, TSA head John Pistole admitted recently that screeners are being trained to pay specific attention to the crotches of travelers moving through airport security.
In comments to Bloomberg News columnist Jeffrey Goldberg... (more)
Let's say that Rajat Gupta, former director at Goldman Sachs on trial for insider trading, is toss in the slammer for passing on information four years ago. Let's say that he really did receive — and then let slip — a tip that Goldman would soon be getting a nice cash infusion from Berkshire Hathaway, and that information was used by others to generate a nice profit.
Where exactly is the justice in locking the guy up? I see none. What precisely are investors going to g... (more)
San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies will begin talking to Apple Valley third-graders this fall to get an early jump on keeping youth out of gangs.
Authorities said the program was prompted by a trend of children as young as five years old getting involved in gangs. They attribute that to a lack of family structure and, in some cases, hereditary gang membership where a child's father or brother are involved in gang activity.
Penn Jullette let it rip on what a hypocrite Barack "I've Done a Little Blow" Obama is for his anti-drug policies. Penn points out if Obama's drug laws were applied to himself, he would have landed in prison rather than the White House.
... (more)
Peter Thiel, the billionaire founder of PayPal, says college is a bubble which will soon pop and he says many college administrators are the e... (more)
Now that hysteria over my original Brazil column has died down, let me add some comments and reflections about it and what gave rise to the reactions.
To review, I had written a piece praising the many glorious features of Brazil and especially the way in which civilization has managed to thrive by virtue of certain freedoms that we do not have in the U.S.: the freedom to pass on estates in whole to children and... (more)
An audio recording of an exchange between a teacher and a student at North Rowan High School in North Carolina serves as a reminder that the school system is becoming a training ground for teaching kids to be subservient to the state while indoctrinating them into thinking that the First Amendment doesn’t exist.
You might have the impression that everyone has switched from beer to red wine, or that everyone has switched from Budweiser to microbrews, homebrew, and high-gravity beers. However, do not count out the good old American cocktail. It is true that beer has lost market share and wine has gained market share, but by far the biggest winner in recent years has been spirits (whiskey, gin, vodka, etc.), particularly high-priced products. (pdf)
She used part of her disability payment and her tax return. Joel Greer's wife also chipped in, as did his brother and two sisters. On Feb. 29, a judge set Greer's bail at $7,500, and his mother called the Brown Cou... (more)
France's new president, François Hollande, has vowed to continue France's expensive addiction to repressive drug policies. Tom Blickman reports for the Transnational Institute:
Hollande's choice as Minister of the Interior, Manuel Valls, is a declared opponent to any reform on cannabis. During the election campaign, Hollande already opposed the proposal
Because Banning Propaganda “Ties the Hands of America’s Diplomatic Officials, Military, and Others by Inhibiting Our Ability to Effectively Communicate In a Credible Way” Michael Hastings reports:
An amendment that would legalize the use of propaganda on American audiences is being inserted into the latest defense authorization bill....
