On Sat, May 21, 2005 at 05:46:29PM -0400, Steven Gotzler wrote:
> Sensenbrenner had a pretty close call last election. The next one will be a
> rematch. He is not polling all that well, and his district is getting more
> Democratic because of demographic shift in the South end of the district.
> He is probably planning playing the tough on crime card for his election in
> order to get out the white suburbanites.
>
> Steve Gotzler
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Doug Henwood" <dhenwood at panix.com>
> To: "lbo-talk" <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org>
> Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2005 10:28 AM
> Subject: [lbo-talk] turn in your brother or go to jail!
>
>
> > <http://www.alternet.org/story/22048>
> >
> > Spy vs. Spy
> > By Bill Piper, AlterNet. Posted May 18, 2005.
> >
> > Proposed legislation would compel people to spy on their family members
> > and neighbors, forcing all Americans to become foot soldiers in the war on
> > drugs.
> >
> > Neighbors spying on neighbors? Mothers forced to turn in their sons or
> > daughters? These are images straight out of George Orwell's 1984, or a
> > remote totalitarian state. We don't associate them with the land of the
> > free and the home of the brave, but that doesn't mean they couldn't happen
> > here. A senior congressman, James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), is working
> > quietly but efficiently to turn the entire United States population into
> > informants--by force.
> >
> > Sensenbrenner, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman, has introduced
> > legislation that would essentially draft every American into the war on
> > drugs. H.R. 1528, cynically named "Safe Access to Drug Treatment and Child
> > Protection Act," would compel people to spy on their family members and
> > neighbors, and even go undercover and wear a wire if needed. If a person
> > resisted, he or she would face mandatory incarceration.
> >
> > Here's how the "spy" section of the legislation works: If you "witness"
> > certain drug offenses taking place or "learn" about them, you must report
> > the offenses to law enforcement within 24 hours and provide "full
> > assistance in the investigation, apprehension and prosecution" of the
> > people involved. Failure to do so would be a crime punishable by a
> > mandatory minimum two-year prison sentence, and a maximum sentence of 10
> > years.
> >
> > Here are some examples of offenses you would have to report to police
> > within 24 hours:
> >
> > * You find out that your brother, who has children, recently bought a
> > small amount of marijuana to share with his wife; * You discover that your
> > son gave his college roommate a marijuana joint; * You learn that your
> > daughter asked her boyfriend to find her some drugs, even though they're
> > both in treatment.
> >
> > In each of these cases you would have to report the relative to the police
> > within 24 hours. Taking time to talk to your relative about treatment
> > instead of calling the police immediately could land you in jail.
> >
> > In addition to turning family member against family member, the
> > legislation could also put many Americans in danger by forcing them to go
> > undercover to gain evidence against strangers.
> >
> > Even if the language that forces every American to become a de facto law
> > enforcement agent is taken out, the bill would still impose draconian
> > sentences on college students, mothers, people in drug treatment and
> > others with substance abuse problems. If enacted, this bill will destroy
> > lives, break up families, and waste millions of taxpayer dollars.
> >
> > Despite growing opposition to mandatory minimum sentences from civil
> > rights groups to U.S. Supreme Court Justices, the bill eliminates federal
> > judges' ability to give sentences below the minimum recommended by federal
> > sentencing guidelines. This creates a mandatory minimum sentence for all
> > federal offenses, drug-related or not.
> >
> > H.R. 1528 also establishes new draconian penalties for a variety of
> > non-violent drug offenses, including:
> >
> > * Five years for anyone who passes a marijuana joint at a party to someone
> > who, at some point in his or her life, has been in drug treatment;
> > * Ten years for mothers with substance abuse problems who commit certain
> > drug offenses at home (even if their children are not at home at the
> > time);
> > * Five years for any person with substance abuse problems who begs a
> > friend in drug treatment to find them some drugs.
> >
> > These sentences would put non-violent drug offenders behind bars for as
> > long as rapists, and they include none of the drug treatment touted in the
> > bill's name.
> >
> > At a time when everyone from the conservative American Enterprise
> > Institute to the liberal Sentencing Project is slamming the war on drugs
> > as an abject failure, Sensenbrenner is trying to escalate it, and to force
> > all Americans to become its foot soldiers. Instead of enacting new
> > mandatory minimums, federal policymakers should look toward the states. A
> > growing number have reformed their drug sentencing laws, including
> > Arizona, California, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, New York and
> > Texas, and they have proved it is possible to both save money and improve
> > public safety.
> >
> > Simply put, there is no way H.R. 1528 can be fixed. The only policy
> > proposal in recent years that comes close to being as totalitarian as this
> > bill is Operations TIPS, the Ashcroft initiative that would have
> > encouraged -- but not required -- citizens to spy on one another. Congress
> > rightfully rejected that initiative and they should do the same with H.R.
> > 1528. Big Brother has no business here in America.
> >
> > Bill Piper is director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance.
> > ___________________________________
> > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> >
> >
> >
>
>
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-- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu