cannabisnews.com: Another Rogue Mailer










  Another Rogue Mailer

Posted by CN Staff on December 03, 2003 at 17:08:54 PT
By Marcus Warren 
Source: Daily Telegraph UK 

Norman Mailer's youngest son is stepping into the journalistic ring as the new editor of counter-culture magazine High Times. Just don't call him a tough guy, he tells Marcus Warren.Like father, like son. For certain members of the Mailer family, the age of 25 has proved an important threshold. Now 80, the clan's patriarch, Norman, was just 25 when his blockbuster, The Naked and the Dead, transformed him from nobody into superstar.
He was, in his own words, "shot out of a cannon" by the experience. The writer and intellectual bruiser soars across the firmament still, shining less brightly, perhaps, than in his hell-raising past, but still the Grand Old Man of American letters.The youngest of Norman's nine children, the fruit of the most recent of his six marriages - to novelist Norris Church Mailer - has now turned 25 as well. And at that fateful age, John Buffalo Mailer, or "the baby", as he describes himself, has also burst from nowhere into the higher reaches of New York's journalistic bohemia."Higher" is the operative word. His new office is on the 16th floor of a Park Avenue skyscraper with views of the Chrysler building through one window and the East River through the other. This is where he decides, among other things, the "look, feel and vibe" of that sacred text of pot-smokers and icon of American counter-culture, High Times. The magazine was founded five years before its new executive editor was even born: "I ain't the oldest cat on the block," he admits.Like his father, John Buffalo can talk the talk of Fifties hipsters. Another bond is the boxing ring. Famous for his pugilistic skills, Mailer Snr took his youngest boy, then aged three, to the gym to learn to duck, weave and jab. "I don't recommend people take digs at my father to my face," John Buffalo says, "but I am by no means trying to be a tough guy."In many other ways, in scale and significance, the two men's achievements in the first two decades and a half of their respective lives have been rather different. Norman fought against the Japanese in the Pacific and turned what he saw there into one of the great American novels. Young John Buffalo's main claims to fame so far have been more modest. He wrote a play that one critic snidely cited as proof that the lad had "inherited the family hubris". And last year, a gossip weekly named him as one of the sexiest men alive.But he is not about to compare himself too literally to his dad. "With good reason, I have a lot more modesty than my father did at this age," he says. "He came from modest roots and suddenly he was a huge literary lion. And that was back when writers were rock stars."Besides having more than his father to be humble about, there is another explanation for his level-headedness: having big Norman for a mentor. "He never had a coach like I do - meaning him. I'll be quite blunt about my father. He's my best friend."With a sigh, he parries the predictable question: would he be where he is today, running High Times, if his "best friend" were not one of America's best-known novelists and the magazine's publisher not a family friend? "If my father wasn't who my father is, I wouldn't be who I am," he says. "Does it help? Absolutely. But it hurts, too. It's a blessing and a burden. But the pros outweigh the cons."Whatever his father's role in John Buffalo's appointment, it would be wrong to assume that Daddy has fixed his son up with some undemanding sinecure. Editing the magazine will be no picnic. For, of late, High Times has fallen on hard times.Before John Buffalo's appointment, the magazine, once a leading light of the alternative press, had lost its way, obscured by clouds of pungent smoke and catering mainly for hardcore lovers of the weed and Sixties throwbacks. How seriously can you take a publication running full-page ads for "The Whizzinator", a cunning device, complete with dehydrated toxin-free urine, that is designed to outwit drugs tests? "The Whizzinator" still occupies a whole page in the current issue, the first produced under John Buffalo's editorship. But that and the magazine's title are almost all that remain of the old High Times, which has undergone what must be one of the most radical makeovers in American publishing history.Its new editor wants to free your mind, not only by encouraging you to puff on a joint, but through force of argument and with the help of intellectual shock tactics."Taking a toke can open your mind to a whole new way of seeing things," he says. "But if you read a good piece of writing, it should do the same. I'm here to bring in the hippest, hottest youth culture." The new High Times, he adds, is going to be pro-active and libertarian, not liberal. What is conspicuously lacking, however, is much copy about marijuana. The magazine is still smoking the stuff, but is it inhaling?Even John Buffalo's office betrays the schizoid character of the new regime. Inherited from his predecessors are a large map of Amsterdam and a photograph of a cannabis grower, emailed to the magazine by the Drug Enforcement Administration (presumably to remind them that they are being watched). The new editor has put up a photograph of his father and William Burroughs presiding over a rally against the Vietnam war. In today's High Times, marijuana's role is that of metaphor, its editor opines. But for what? "For our civil liberties," he says. Hence the magazine's new motto, "Celebrating Freedom", a sentiment surely so commonplace in today's America as to verge on cliché. John Buffalo likes to talk up outlaw politics, but dope is so mainstream nowadays that a cannabis leaf recently graced the cover of Forbes, favoured reading of the CEO classes. And when the Democratic presidential candidates were asked last month whether they had ever smoked the stuff, several said "yes" without batting an eyelid. Another, Senator Joe Lieberman, felt obliged to apologise for not experimenting with the weed.John Buffalo describes himself as a "Jewish cowboy" and makes no secret of his weakness for "Mary Jane". But she is not the only love in his life. "I certainly don't live to smoke," he says. "I don't think anyone should. I smoke to accentuate my life and to open my mind up to new ideas. I love marijuana, but it's a drug and you should treat it as such. "Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)Author: Marcus WarrenPublished: December 04, 2003Copyright: 2003 Telegraph Group LimitedContact: dtletters telegraph.co.ukWebsite: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ Related Articles & Web Site:High Times Magazinehttp://www.hightimes.com/Who's Smoking Now?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17800.shtmlInside Dope - Forbes Magazinehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17670.shtml 

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Comment #18 posted by Thornton Massie Tice on November 28, 2005 at 07:36:31 PT:
Roger Christie Please contact
Aloha Roger, I am now living in Astoria, Oregon and am publishing at themerryhempster.com. I want to ask you to do some writing for the site. I think that you'll fit right in. I also want to know how to obtain more stoneware hemp shirts like the one that you gave to me way back when I published the Kama`aina News on Maui. My phone number is (503)325-4579. I hope that you are doing well. Maria and I now have six children and are very blessed. Blessings to you and yours.Aloha nui loa,
Massie TicePS I am publishing Timothy Leary's last unpublished manuscript in series on themerryhempster.com for all to read. Fantastic book!
Thomas Jefferson's son
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Comment #16 posted by Shishaldin on December 04, 2003 at 10:47:30 PT

kucinich animation
I agree with FoM, that IS powerful! Run that spot in any market, and watch Dennis' poll numbers BLOW UP!I've got my DK for Prez bumper sticker, do you?
http://kucinich.us/store/store.phpPeace and Strength,
Shishaldin 
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on December 04, 2003 at 10:06:56 PT

goneposthole
You said I don't like drugs, just cannabis. I agree with you and cannabis is a plant not a man made pharmaceutical.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on December 04, 2003 at 10:03:56 PT

darwin
What a powerful statement!!!
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Comment #13 posted by E_Johnson on December 04, 2003 at 09:11:55 PT

I'm going to keep an open mind
High Times has been so tacky, poor production values, bad writing. I think it's a good idea to have a classy magazine that celebrates freedom of all kinds.That's what's been missing in this movement -- connection to other social movements and political communities and intellectual trains of thought. We need to start thinking about freedom again in America. That's a topic that the mainstream corporate media really fails at engaging effectively. 
This could turn out to be quite a good thing. The old High Times made it look like people who use marijuana never think about anything BUT marijuana.That's not the best way to build support for legalization among people who don't use marijuana.
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Comment #12 posted by The GCW on December 04, 2003 at 08:12:38 PT

Goneposthole, Roger Christy,
“… eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.” –Isaiah 55:2.The Green Collar Worker12:4:3Plants have seniority.Who can argue with a plant? Isaiah 65:18, "But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;…” (& I say: starting on the very 1st page)Isaiah 65:18, “…And her people for gladness.” (when I think of gladness, I think of cannabis. And, gladness” here makes Me think; people were made for cannabis, not the other way around. Cannabis was not made for man; man was made for cannabis. This realization helps put into perspective the power of communication plants have; that it requires very advanced man (of which We may just now be becoming) to communicate with plants. And the king of the plant kingdom is chief among them. Cannabis is trying to communicate with man, but man has not been able to do it, yet. Evolution includes the potential to communicate better, with plants, even on spiritual type levels. What ever communication properties of cannabis, they will expand not diminish.) 
4200000oGoneposthole, Roger Christy,Biblical Deja ‘vu, says this is not new. Goneposthole = “It's a lost cause. There is no hope for it.”I understand Your state, but We have Our only chance by including the spiritual realities which are in fact partly available right with in cannabis. There is no hope, with out the spirit of truth. We have to bring the spirit of truth into the picture. That is You and Me and people that still disagree.Roger Christy, Sparks fly. (& yeah, goneposthole)The only reason anyone is allowed to refer to cannabis as drug, is because We let them. Drug, is a dirty word, getting dirtier all the time.By extension, We must (consider) stop referring to cannabis as marijuana. (and I’m sure it has been considered… and people like The Marijuana Policy Project (for example) would be effected, but…)Those are two very valuable weapons (the allowed uncontested use of the words “drug” & marijuana” to describe cannabis) of the evil ones who want to deny Our Fathers creation of cannabis. Cannabis is PLANT. A plant. 100% pure plant.“Drug”, and the denotional slang: marijuana, are less. We should not be accepting cannabis for any less than what it is. You must subtract from cannabis to get drug. Making cannabis out to be drug, is an insult to Christ God Our Father, who created it on literally the very 1st page of the Bible.Progress would come to call cannabis what it was referred to in the past: kaneh bosm.If people thought of cannabis, not as “drug” but “kaneh bosm” it would even subconsciously elude to such equations of; good; healing; Godly; necessary; Holy; insight giving…“Kaneh bosm” and using that term, can not even remotely be used or elude to infer “the devil plant”. Kaneh bosm is clean. Kaneh bosm is cleaner than the men who wish to exterminate it. We have “cannabis”; and the term “drug” leads to motion in a different direction than the motion “kaneh bosm” leads to. I don’t know that We should refer to cannabis as kaneh bosm, but this helps understand the need to stop using the word “drug” to describe cannabis. “Drug” is politically & BIBLICALLY incorrect.And then on the one hand I think it doesn’t matter, because this war to exterminate cannabis has shot its wad. It’s over. Kaput. We just have to turn off the gas…But then, We must do every righteous thing, to end the harm Our prohibitionist brothers are inflicting.
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Comment #11 posted by Duzt on December 04, 2003 at 07:21:01 PT

High Times and the Cannabis Cup
Anybody involed with the Cup (except those of course with High Times or 420 tours) will tell you that High Times is super corrupt. They have allowed so much BS to go on at the Cup (coffeeshops fixing votes, buying hundreds of judges passes then voting for themseles, etc.) that the Cup, at least the cannabis part, is a total joke. They are a typical corporation that is about making money and nothing else. I still much prefer Cannabis Culture, a much better magazine in all respects.
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Comment #10 posted by goneposthole on December 04, 2003 at 07:16:03 PT

no room for spelling errors
typos on 'exits' and 'lunatics'. I get steamin' mad too. I don't like drugs, just cannabis. I loathe when cannabis is called a drug. It's a plant. I've seen many cannabis plants in my day, and not one looked like a drug of any kind.The good old days of 1960 or so. koyaanisqatsi
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Comment #9 posted by darwin on December 04, 2003 at 07:04:15 PT

Cool Kucinich animation
http://www.kucinich.us/dk.html 
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Comment #8 posted by goneposthole on December 04, 2003 at 06:42:16 PT

settle down, Jose
The system is hopelessly corrupt. The lunatis ARE in charge of the asylum. Not much left to do except to rush for the exists, which are all chained shut.Prohibition is the crime. A criminal government is what we have. It's a lost cause. There is no hope for it.
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Comment #7 posted by jose melendez on December 04, 2003 at 04:49:55 PT

rant
I posted this on the hightimes site:What's next, will High Times be accepting ONDCP ads like those that run every day on NPR that encourage parents to lie to their kids about pot? After all, they lied to their parents. 
 
 Screw this, we're busting corporate corruption, even if it means boycotting High Times. I see Wackenhut has given Arnold Schwarzenegger thousands of dollars, AND he has pardoned at least two killers. No word on when he will follow his own state's laws, and terminate the fraud of marijuana prohibition.  Maybe that because it's too profitable and creates easy jobs for drunks and pill popping cigarette smokers, eh? I'm also guessing no one in California will be cracking down on bars like Planet Hollywood, where people pay to get high on poison, then drive home drunk! I see my own Governor Bush pushed for and received an emergency $60 million dollar increase in prison bed funding to accept the EXPECTED INCREASE IN DRUG WAR OFFENDERS. I SEE MY VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY PUBLICLY DENY HE HAS ANY FINANCIAL TIES TO THE CORPORATIONS MAKING BILLIONS IN PROFITS ON NO-BID CONTRACTS WHILE YOUR COUSINS, NEPHEWS AND UNCLES DIE, AND OPIUM PROFITS SOAR.  THERE IS NO LONGER ANY QUESTION THAT THE $43 MILLION GIVEN AS "AID" TO THE TALIBAN MERE MONTHS BEFORE THEY SPENT LESS THAN $300,000 TO KNOCK DOWN TWO BUILDINGS IN NEW YORK INCREASED THE PROFITABILITY OF THE RESULTING STOCKPILES STORED AND SOLD BY THE MURDEROUS REGIME, WHICH DID IN FACT HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE IN THE SECRET ENERGY MEETINGS AT THE WHITE HOUSE.  Got corruption? How else do you explain why TOMMY CHONG IS IN PRISON, NOT OSAMA BIN LADEN, OR SADDAM HUSSEIN. Pop quiz: What country once financially supported the latter two free men? Hint: rhymes with 'divided plates' It's HIGH TIME AMERICANS applied EXISTING LAW AND PRESSED TREASON CHARGES AGAINST ANYONE WHO MAKES THEIR HOBBY OR LIVING BY EXXAGERATING THE DANGERS OF CANNABIS, ESPECIALLY SINCE THEY CONSISTENTLY EXEMPT THEMSELVES AND THEIR LARGEST FINANCIAL SUPPORTERS (the manufacturers of far more harmful products) FROM ANY SUCH DRACONIAN PENALTIES. Mailer claims pot is a drug, and ought to be treated as such. YEAH, RIGHT, YOU SPOILED RICH HYPOCRITICAL FRAUD! Have another Valium, Prozac and Percocet with that Heineken, and don't forget to sent the kids to school with a few extra Adderol, Concerta and Ritalin, so they can earn $3 to $5 per pill, and buy some Marlboros and Budweisers with that fake ID. Any other substance that REDUCED CANCEROUS TUMORS would be hailed, if it caused liver damage, made you vomit or itch. But no, according to drug czar, the laws against marijuana are based on science, not (as is evident in the Congressional testimony leading to those unconstitutional regulations) on social bias, misinformation and perjury. DEMAND THAT HIGH TIMES EXPOSE THE FRAUD OF GANJA PROHIBITION, OR BE SHUT DOWN, since drug war is treason, as defined in Article 3, Section III of the constitution.  There is no question that those who wage war against U.S. citizens over the one green seed bearing herb shown to ameliorate nausea, pain and stress, as well as containing antiomicrobial and anti-carcinogenic properties, do indeed aid and comfort individuals, groups and corporations who benefit from said unfair and unjust suppression. Even smoked marijuana (or opium, for that matter) is FAR SAFER THAN oxycontin, alcohol, tobacco or even ASPIRIN! As for voting, I've noticed one vote DOES count, so STAND UP against the cops and poll workers who DO stand in your way when you go to vote.  (I've noticed three times in a row BEFORE I cast my ballot at least two people acted as if I should not be there, AND ALL THREE TIMES IN VOLUSIA COUNTY A COP STOPPED ME "to make sure only the right people vote!" (Really, that's what one said!)  SO, make sure you REGISTER AND VOTE OUT THESE CRIMINALS, so we can get folks in office that actually enforce existing laws that address issues like the INCREASE in murder, youth access and substance abuse rates directly tied to prohibition, whether that be alcohol or 'illicit drugs'! Drug war IS crime. If Mailer refuses to publish that, then STOP BUYING HIGH TIMES! 
   
 HERE'S PROOF: 
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Comment #6 posted by Roger Christie on December 04, 2003 at 02:24:07 PT:

...it's a drug and you should treat it as such."
Excuse me? Sha-loha, Mr. Jewish Cowboy. Welcome to the wonderful world and cannabis publishing advocacy.You were just quoted as saying cannabis 'is a drug and should be treated as such'. Is that true? Are those really your words and feelings as you begin your new career as Editor of High Times Magazine?In your new and relatively influencial position, do you really think that cannabis is as dangerous as 'drugs' are? And if so, why are you now running the most famous pro-cannabis magazine in the world and who picked you for the post?Is cannabis as dangerous as cocaine or tobacco or alcohol or ritalin or 'ice' or prozac? What other drugs then DO you compare cannabis to? I would bet that your faithful readers would like to know exactly what you meant by that very telling remark.I, for one, am really intrigued by it and it makes me wonder...All the best, Roger   
 * The THC Ministry *
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Comment #5 posted by Nuevo Mexican on December 03, 2003 at 22:25:04 PT

Here's a great one on 'The Kush!'
Every day that goes by makes this man look better, when it comes to being clear cut on the issues. Democratic Hopeful Kucinich Promotes Candidacy As Chance To Get Out Of Iraq:http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--democrats-kucinic1202dec02,0,1337381.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on December 03, 2003 at 21:36:37 PT

Article About Dennis Kucinich
ekim, This is a snipped source article but I posted the link for you to read the whole article if you want. Here it is.***Kucinich Seeks Support HereLagging in polls, candidate focuses on anti-war messageDecember 03, 2003Copyright 2003 Houston ChronicleDemocratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich showcased his undiluted anti-war message Wednesday in a campaign romp through Houston. The Ohio congressman called the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq an illegal and misguided action and said American troops should withdraw immediately and be replaced with forces led by the United Nations. "It was wrong to go in there and it is wrong to stay in," he told the Houston Chronicle editorial board. He said the presence of U.S. military forces is destabilizing Iraq rather than calming it for self-rule. Later, in a spirited gathering of about 90 supporters and potential supporters at local Democratic Party headquarters, Kucinich said the U.S. was "bombing our brothers and sisters" when it killed Iraqi civilians. "I want to see the money come back to this country, instead of spending it on bombs, so we can have health care for all," he said. For local Democrats, the visit may have been a reminder that former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is not the only presidential contender making waves with opposition to President Bush's decision to attack Saddam Hussein's regime. Kucinich drew distinctions between himself and other Democratic candidates, saying he is the only one among them who voted in Congress against the war and against the U.S. Patriot Act, which gave new powers to law enforcement and intelligence agencies following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Kucinich opposed the legislation as an infringement on civil liberties. But Kucinich's appeal to anti-war and liberal voters has not been enough to place him at Dean's level in voter preference polls or fund raising. The latest poll for next month's Iowa caucuses shows Dean in the lead with 26 percent and Kucinich, the former mayor of Cleveland, among a pack of four candidates drawing no more than 2 percent. Kucinich told the newspaper's editorial board that he has to do better than expected in Iowa if he is to make a splash in the primaries that follow. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2268569
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on December 03, 2003 at 21:01:32 PT

ekim
I know what you are talking about and I did a search and couldn't find the light. I can't do any upgrades for CNews. That's a nice idea but I just can't. That's my problem. We will have to do with what we have but heck we are doing a good job just as CNews is now. Virgil that is good news!Here's a picture of Will Foster from the Rosenthal trial.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/edrone.jpgWill Foster, center, a family friend of the Rosenthals, comforts Justine Rosenthal, left, and Nick Rosenthal, right, the children of Ed Rosenthal, after their father was found guilty on federal charges of marijuana cultivation and conspiracy charges Friday, Jan. 31, 2003, outside a Federal courthouse in San Francisco. The jury concluded that Ed Rosenthal, the self-described ``Guru of Ganja,'' was growing more than 1,000 plants, conspiring to cultivate marijuana and maintaining a warehouse for a growing operation. He faces a maximum life term when sentenced June 4.
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Comment #2 posted by Virgil on December 03, 2003 at 20:46:49 PT

Big news from Russia
People will not get prison for possession in Russia. This is by a guy named Gnom at http://www.hempcity.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=290&highlight=We have it now !!! A little add to federal law - no prison for personal use MJ ! And the penalty for a BIG doze... penalty, no prison ! 
Its very small step, but its first step on the long road... i hope, we will see the light at the end of the tunnel... Now that is a big deal. Also, one guy at Hempcity spoke of how hard it will be to get better laws in France because of all the wine made there.
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Comment #1 posted by ekim on December 03, 2003 at 20:40:09 PT

Dennis in MI tomarrow ---with Peace Walkers
FoM have you ever saw the server that receives the incoming signals from us. If you could have the leaf on Cnews glow with bits being turned on and off with how many are on line and off when we ck out. I would like to see that leaf glow and try to guess which one i am. FoM and Dhank what was the OK City gentleman's name that got 93 years for grown and was given more cause he had a family. I am sorry I have forgotten his name. I say this only as I read that a lawmaker from OK is being so hateful as to take money from the mass transit. Lets have the debate people have a right to speak but how to do that. It is hard to have access to mass anything with out tons of money. The don't ask don't tell policy was 10 years old last weekend/ how does a law get put on hold while another gets complete control of a persons body no matter that no person is claiming injury. open and frank discussion like the success of Ann Arbors fine for pot has worked great for over 32 years. Where is the debate. The guys in WI have had there own success. To say other wise is to lie to the children. You can not stop information that directly refute a law that's un American. Where is the common ground it must be fair. When Universities are asken to study this plant and they are denied access to Cannabis that is un American we can make products and are dam good at it. We design machines and gadgets and automation and have toolmakers and draftsman first they need the farmer to grow the product. To stop this line of thinking by taking ones money and telling everyone that nomore information will be allowed must be looked at very closely. FoM was it Foster i can still see the burning candle on the web page GLOWING thanks Will. 
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