Steve Gotzler
----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Perelman" <michael at ecst.csuchico.edu> To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org> Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2005 5:54 PM Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] turn in your brother or go to jail!
> McCarthy had a close associate by the same name. Was it a father?
>
> 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
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>> ___________________________________
>> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
> --
> Michael Perelman
> Economics Department
> California State University
> Chico, CA 95929
>
> Tel. 530-898-5321
> E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
>
>