Posted June 19th, 2011 by hiwayhowie
ILLEGAL DRUGS BENEFIT DEA
Dear Editor:
As a retired detective I thank you for the excellent op-ed on drug prohibition/war on drugs ( “Who thinks Aspen’s just like Pakistan? The DEA, of course,” Andy Stone, June 8, 2011, The Aspen Times ).
Yes, the DEA is mostly concerned about losing their paycheck. They know better than anyone that police efforts are equal to a mosquito on the butt of an elephant.
Most street cops privately agree that we should treat marijuana like beer. Their command officers, however, know that without prohibition, our profession will lose about $12 billion in good overtime and job security. Thus, they blackmail politicians to keep the money rolling in by threatening them with loss of political support.
It is a sad picture indeed.
Howard Wooldridge
Posted June 16th, 2011 by hiwayhowie
COPs on the Hill
Your Voice in the United States Congress
Start the day right: On Monday like all days, I started in Longworth café reading the paper & waiting for 10 AM. Jeff, the chief of staff for Congressman Ron Paul saw me and came over to chat. As he left, he told me not to be a stranger at his office. That chat plus seven (7) presentations made for a good day.
Up before the birds: On Tuesday I was up at 0420 dark to drive into DC to make a presentation to 25 Rotarians. It was my first Rotary in four (4) years and it felt good to connect with regular folks. Though I was a bit rusty,* six members gave a ‘happy dollar’ saying they appreciated the good speaker of the morning.
Ending prohibition still only being whispered: On Wednesday at the Capitol the group Right on Crime made a 90 minute presentation to about 150 of us. Led by noted* conservative David Keane (now head of the NRA – National Rifle Assoc), the distinguished panel talked about ways to reduce crime and prison populations.
After the seminar I grabbed the chance to speak to the former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. He admitted that my question had merit ( I had asked him at the seminar if the group was aware that 70% of felony crime touches drug prohibition) and he agreed with my numbers. But he mumbled something about the country was not ready for such a discussion. Sigh & see me shaking my head.
*rusty = aus der Ubung
*noted = berühmt
COPs 2nd year stats to date:
153 presentations to Congressional staffers: 16 this week
TV appearances: 11 (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, cable)
Newspaper stories: 7 dailes, 3 weeklies
Radio appearances: 8 ( this week)
Published LTE: 15 ( one this week)
Other media (bloggers, cable TV, minor publications, etc): 12 ( this week)
9 (Member of Congress) contacts:
5 other VIP (MD state Senator & Rep):
Consider being a member of COP at $30.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. Your support keeps the COP voice loud and strong in the halls of the United States Congress. We agree that Modern Prohibition/War on Drugs is the most destructive, dysfunctional and immoral policy since slavery & Jim Crow. Go to: www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org and click on Donate/Join – by credit card or send a check to:
COP
POB 772
Buckeystown, MD 21717
Posted June 9th, 2011 by hiwayhowie
COPs on the Hill
Your Voice in the United States Congress
Thrown off the horse? Get back on! Recall that my last full day in the House before vacation, I struck out in some 54 offices, except one. It was absolutely discouraging.. Was I or my message losing its touch? Going door to door is a tough path, but it had always yielded close to my max of seven (7) presentations per work day. (note: doing more than seven = my brain could not remember what I had said to an aide= sounding foolish)
My first day back scored 6 presentations, all excellent and I took a shot of Crown Royal tonight to celebrate.
Rubbing elbows with VIPs: Two years of attending Grover Norquist’s brunch continues to pay dividends. This week I asked a member of the Republican National Committee to help me with messaging for the LULAC conference (League of United Latin American Citizens) later this month in Cincinnati. We chatted in Spanish for five minutes. He agreed with the messages I had going in: 1) Drugs are too dangerous to leave in the hands of criminals. 2) To protect teens, they should not have the job option to sell drugs. 3) Kids will have better educational opportunities and scholarships, when we don’t waste money on MJ. 4) Arrest more bad guys who hurt children by not wasting time on adults using MJ…..He liked those four and gave me this one: Too many Latinos lose their right to vote, due to a drug conviction.
Not only did I receive a new nugget* and positive feedback, the chat probably reminded him that this topic needs to be addressed. NOTE: I have been a bit surprised that the four Latinos from whom I have asked for messaging help, none have mentioned the horror of Mexican deaths.
Will it make any difference?: This week the Global Commission on Drug Policy published a 24 page report of their findings. The executive summary starts out: “The global war on drugs has failed…..” Heavy hitters were on the commission including Paul Volcker (ex Federal Reserve Chairman), George Schultz (ex Secretary of State under Reagan), John Whitehead (ex Dep. Secretary of State under Reagan), ex-presidents of three countries –plus-the current president of Greece & more. Will such voices make current politicians move off the dime?* Previous panels like this have had little to zero impact. Full report: http://globalcommissionondrugs.org/Report
*nugget = gute Idee
*move off the dime = eine neue Politk einführen
COPs 2nd year stats to date:
137 presentations to Congressional staffers: 6 this week
TV appearances: 11 (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, cable)
Newspaper stories: 7 dailes, 3 weeklies
Radio appearances: 8 ( this week)
Published LTE: 14 (this week)
Other media (bloggers, cable TV, minor publications, etc): 12 ( this week)
(Member of Congress) contacts: this week
5 other VIP (MD state Senator & Rep):
Consider being a member of COP at $30.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. Your support keeps the COP voice loud and strong in the halls of the United States Congress. We agree that Modern Prohibition/War on Drugs is the most destructive, dysfunctional and immoral policy since slavery & Jim Crow. Go to: www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org and click on Donate/Join – by credit card or send a check to:
COP
POB 772
Buckeystown, MD 21717
Posted May 9th, 2011 by hiwayhowie
COPs on the Hill
Your Voice in the United States Congress
How does one talk to an armed citizen?: This weekend I attended (first time) a three day conference of the NRA – National Rifle Association. Conservatives are roughly two to one against the COP position. Ergo, go to where folks need to be educated and or pushed to question their current position.
As I have been a small-time shooter since the age of 9, I believed – incorrectly – I would feel right at home. Who knew 20 odd companies made assault rifles, beside a couple of dozen pistol makers? We could have started and won a war with just the guns in the conventional hall. The COPs t-shirt attracted many stares and about 30-40 people per day asking me why. Of the estimated 70,000 attendees about 5 to 9,000 read the shirt. I also was on the local FM talk radio station for the afternoon (due to a relationship between the radio host with a COPs member) + 3 other print media interviews. I was pleased with the impact of the effort. I am seriously considering having a booth next year.
The first half of the first day I answered the ‘why’ question with the standard answer of ‘protect our children better by not wasting time on Willie Nelson and college kids.’ It worked as always but I felt a need to speak the NRA language better…voilá. My follow-up question was: ‘We all believe passionately that adult citizens should not only be allowed to own a gun but that we should be allowed to carry deadly force wherever we go. Since we trust ourselves with a gun, why do we not allow the same citizen to own a bit of green plant in their house?’ Poof….the unassailable* analogy. That question won over the few that were undecided that I spoke with. Women especially liked the ‘protect our children better’ line…thanks Karen (my better ¾).
Good police work? On the last day a Pittsburgh police sergeant in uniform asked me why. We had the usual 3-4 minute good chat with him already agreeing with the COP position. When I offered him my card, he declined, saying he already knew who I was and had been to the COPs’ website. Yikes! or know about the person you are about to talk to!
The next conference is in late June –LULAC – League of United Latino American Citizens – I will try to come up with a Latino line of argument before I arrive. Know one? in Spanish? Mejorar la protección de los niños en vez de malgastar tiempo con hierba!”= protect our kids better by not wasting time on MJ.
*unassailable –unangreifbar
COPs 2nd year stats to date:
TV appearances: 11 (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, cable)
Newspaper stories: 7 dailes, 3 weeklies
Radio appearances: 8 (one this week)
Published LTE: 14 (one this week)
Other media (bloggers, cable TV, minor publications, etc): 12 (3 this week)
127 presentations to Congressional staffers:
8 (Member of Congress) contacts:
5 other VIP (MD state Senator & Rep):
Consider being a member of COPs at $30.00 or more per year. All contributions are tax-deductible. Your support keeps the COPs voice loud and strong in the halls of the United States Congress. We agree that Modern Prohibition/War on Drugs is the most destructive, dysfunctional and immoral policy since slavery & Jim Crow. Go to: www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org and click on Donate/Join – by credit card or send a check to:
COP
POB 772
Buckeystown, MD 21717
Posted May 8th, 2011 by hiwayhowie
PURSUIT OF DRUG USERS WASTES POLICE RESOURCES
Speaking as a retired detective, I don’t care whether drug courts are effective. My problem is that either way, you will have my profession wasting precious police time chasing the Charlie Sheens and Willie Nelsons of Georgia. As the Thin Blue Line gets thinner, and pedophiles are thick in the chat rooms trying to meet teens in real life, chasing drug users is simply insane.
Who still believes that the government can fix stupid? Families should look after loved ones with a drug issue.
Howard Wooldridge, Albany
