cannabisnews.com: Measure R Proponents Contest Vote Recount





Measure R Proponents Contest Vote Recount
Posted by CN Staff on January 03, 2005 at 10:14:47 PT
By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor
Source: Berkeley Daily Planet 
Proponents of Berkeley’s medical marijuana Measure R have filed a state lawsuit contesting the recount of the proposition.The lawsuit charges that as a result of Registrar of Voters decisions surrounding the counting of computer votes, “voting in Alameda has devolved into an unverifiable, indeterminate, and secretive ritual.”
The lawsuit was filed by fax in California Superior Court in Oakland on Friday afternoon on behalf of Americans For Safe Access (AFSA)—a Berkeley based national medical marijuana advocate organization—and three named Berkeley voter plaintiffs: Donald Tolbert, James Blair, and Michael Goodbar. The defendants are County of Alameda and Brad Clark, the county registrar of voters.Americans For Safe Access—one of the Measure R support organizations during last fall’s campaign—has taken a lead role in the Measure R fight now that the Yes On R Committee has begun gearing down its activities following the Nov. 2 vote.The measure had proposed eliminating limits on the amounts of medical marijuana that could be possessed by patients or caregivers in the city of Berkeley. In addition, it would have allowed any of the three existing dispensaries to move anywhere within the city’s retail zones.Santa Monica election rights attorney Greg Luke—who is representing the plaintiffs—said by telephone that the lawsuit was filed primarily to gain access to audit and backup records from the Nov. 2 voting contained in Diebold touchscreen voting machines. Luke said that without those records, it is impossible to tell whether or not the machines were tampered with, or whether the final tally represents an accurate count. Luke said that Measure R proponents had asked for those records from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters office as part of the recount procedure, but were refused.Representatives of the Alameda County Registrar of Voters office could not be reached late Friday to comment on the lawsuit.Proponents of Measure R requested a recount after the measure lost by 191 votes—25,167 to 24,976—in the Nov. 2 election.The lawsuit was filed even before final results of the recount were released. However AFSA spokesperson Debbie Goldsberry said that while preliminary results of the recount show that Measure R yes vote had “narrowed the gap slightly, we don’t expect that there will be enough to overturn the results.”But the manual recount—held over a two week period in a secure basement location in the Alameda County Courthouse—only involved the 28,700 paper ballots cast by Berkeley voters on Nov. 2. Another 31,500 ballots were cast by computer touchscreens. For those votes, the recount merely involved the Registrar of Voters computer giving back the same tally it gave on election night.And that, says Luke, is the problem.“The computer voting machines have three records by which the vote count is verified,” Luke said. “Without those, you do not have an accurate idea of what went on in the election.”One of these records, Luke said, is called “redundant data,” the vote tally that remains in each computer voting machine while a duplicate copy of the tally is put on a storage device, to be transmitted to the main county computer for its official vote tally. Comparing the tally in the storage device transmitted to the main computer with the tally on the voting machine would determine if the vote totals were inadvertently changed in transfer, or tampered with.A second series of records that the Measure R proponents requested were Diebold’s audit logs, a record of every transaction that occurred from the time the voting machines were prepared for the election to the time the votes were transmitted and tallied. A third record is a chain of custody records, showing who had access to the computers and the vote totals.Luke said that providing access to these records is consistent with California law on recounts.He said that the lawsuit did not ask for access to the source code that runs the Diebold voting computers, information which Diebold has refused to release on the grounds that it is proprietary information.Measure R proponent Goldsberry said that attempts by AFSA monitors to observe the machine recount met with some resistance. On Friday, she said, observers were told that they could not be in the room with the computers while the recount was occurring, but had to observe through a window from another room. Goldsberry said that after a protest, the observers were allowed inside the room.“There didn’t seem to be any standard as to how our observers were handled or where they were allowed to be, even during the manual recount,” Goldsberry said. “It seemed to vary, without reason, depending on which Registrar of Voters manager that was in charge at that moment. One of the problems seemed to be that this was the first time in a while that someone has requested a recount, and the Registrar’s office just didn’t seem to know how to handle it.”Goldsberry said that the recount of the paper ballots showed problems with the Nov. 2 tally.Goldsberry said that in 60 of Berkeley’s 88 precincts, the registrar’s office could not produce ballots for all of voters who signed up to vote in the Nov. 2 election. In most cases she said that the discrepancy was only one to four ballots but in one precinct, the count was off by 20. She said that a portion of the time during the recount was spent trying—unsuccessfully—to locate the missing ballots.On Wednesday morning, a reporter observed between eight and 10 Alameda County election workers sifting through thousands of absentee ballots.They were surrounded by hundreds of boxes of such ballots—400 boxes, according to Goldsbery—which filled metal cabinets, tables, dollies, and wall space in the basement counting area. Because the ballots were not sorted by city but were stored in batches of 500 in the order in which they were originally counted immediately following election day, workers had to flip through every absentee ballot cast in Alameda County.It was a tedious process. At one point a worker sang out, “I found one,” and another worker answered, wryly, “You’re pretty lucky; isn’t that your second one in less than two hours?”Luke, however, said that the lawsuit will not involve the recount of the paper ballots.Source: Berkeley Daily Planet (US CA)Author: J. Douglas Allen-TaylorPublished: Monday, January 3, 2005Copyright: 2005 The Berkeley Daily PlanetContact: opinion berkeleydailyplanet.net Website: http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Americans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/Marijuana Measure Still Has A Chancehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19871.shtmlMarijuana Limit Increase May Go To Votershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18755.shtml
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Comment #39 posted by Hope on January 11, 2005 at 16:41:23 PT
danimalman
Sorry you guys didn't get what you wanted this time. But, we are in this for the long haul, obviously, and losses are nothing but lessons along the way. No one of us says, "Well, we lost, so I guess that's it." We tend our wounds and start gearing up for the next round. That's the way we do it. There is no "giving up" option involved. 
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Comment #38 posted by FoM on January 11, 2005 at 08:44:00 PT
danimalman 
It really is important what you are doing and I hope it works out for you. I believe California is the most important state because you all have been the trail blazers for the rest of us. When you do good we might reap the benefits and when it doesn't go well we can learn from you too. 
CNews is my web site and I pick and post the news. Luckily we have a great group of people and moderating isn't a big issue anymore. Please keep us informed about how it's going.
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Comment #37 posted by danimalman on January 11, 2005 at 00:39:15 PT
Thanks Hope & FoM
Thanks for the welcome and the heads up. I figure FoM is ForumModerator?Measure R was about 3 things. One was to reverse a 10 plant limit ruling by the city council to unlimited plant limit.Another was because the city had blocked an attempted relocation of one of the medical dispensaries. So Measure R proposed complete freedom to relocate for a dispensary. We lost mostly because of this proposal thanks to NIMBY. If we wouldn't have included this we would have won easily.The third was a mandate to the city to distribute medically in the event that the feds shut down the dispensaries.We have a one-party electoral system here in Alameda County, Democrat.
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Comment #36 posted by Hope on January 08, 2005 at 12:45:31 PT
more body fluids
for the sake of business and the economy
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Comment #35 posted by Hope on January 08, 2005 at 12:42:39 PT
Well...it's an "upward trend" 
for Purple Heart medal manufacturers.
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Comment #34 posted by FoM on January 08, 2005 at 12:40:16 PT
Hope
That's OK. We are still watching Greendale but I read the article about the Army earlier but not the other one. I wonder if the draft will be back this spring or will it be later on this year. I guess a lot depends on what happens over there in the coming month or two. The troops won't be able to take much more. They'll need replacements.
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Comment #33 posted by Hope on January 08, 2005 at 12:33:38 PT
Sorry, FoM
I brought you bad news while you were trying to get away from it. I wasn't thinking...just posting...and surfing and posting.Sorry
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Comment #32 posted by Hope on January 08, 2005 at 12:31:23 PT
The draft is being eased in the door.
This is the second article I've noticed in the last few days that make me think that.http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/nation/10598436.htm
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Comment #31 posted by Hope on January 08, 2005 at 12:25:23 PT
interesting
http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2005/01/08twostudiesoffer.html
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Comment #30 posted by FoM on January 08, 2005 at 09:49:04 PT
Hope
Thank you. I think CNews is such a cool place because of the people and sharing how they feel. I only found one article and needed to turn off the news because it was getting me down. I put in the Making of Greendale DVD and it is helping my mood. I forgot how much I enjoy Neil Young. 
The Making of Greendale
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Comment #29 posted by Hope on January 08, 2005 at 08:43:56 PT
CNews
It's a good place to find information, understanding,courage and perseverance and others who might have similar beliefs...or to understand what you didn't understand before. It's also a good place, if you are registered to post, to rant, and beat your head against the wall that we are up against.It could be a new kind of "Jericho".
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Comment #28 posted by Hope on January 08, 2005 at 08:40:07 PT
danimalman 
I would be interested in comments on Measure R by people who were working on it or people who voted on it.A lot of CannabisNews commentary is sort of conversation and sharing thoughts and ideas...and even questioning them. I am so glad to see a new possible poster among us...you...and I hope you will feel free to intiate commentary. Don't wait too long for someone else to say something...comment...start the ball rolling.I, personally, especially enjoy the conversational aspect that CNews can have. It's encouraging and refreshing.
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Comment #27 posted by FoM on January 07, 2005 at 18:15:33 PT
danimalman 
I wanted to say one more thing. If my post seemed short it is because I am sick with a sinus infection and my head doesn't feel very good. I wish you luck in your endeavors. Go Berkeley! There I feel better.
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Comment #26 posted by Hope on January 07, 2005 at 13:54:16 PT
Diebold 
another powerful word that has become sickening in light of voting problems in recent years. The people of the United States are being cheated of their voting rights, I fear. What can be done? Demanding verification, like you guys wanting verification of the Measure R vote.As in another version or "remember the Alamo..", we are forced to remember the gal who hid thousands of signatures in a box in her desk drawer...that were not revealed until after her death some time later. Cheats. They are able to delude themselves into believing that they are right and are some how correcting what they perceive as an "error" or "misunderstanding" or "ignorance" or "stupidity" of the electorate. They lie and deceive, because they think it's "best" or "right", ludicrously. Maybe they really can't see the truth, because they have become such great friends with lies.How can lies and darkness possibly be "better"?Danimal, you and your collegues are to be congratulated for being on the lookout for the kind of creepy people that pull stunts like that. Keep up the good work and more power to you.
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Comment #25 posted by Hope on January 07, 2005 at 13:35:49 PT
that sounds like a very big "bite"
"The measure had proposed eliminating limits on the amounts of medical marijuana that could be possessed by patients or caregivers in the city of Berkeley. In addition, it would have allowed any of the three existing dispensaries to move anywhere within the city’s retail zones."I think words like "eliminating limits" and "anywhere" happen to be words that can strike fear in some peoples imagination. They are powerful enough to leap out at some people.
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Comment #24 posted by Hope on January 07, 2005 at 13:06:54 PT
semi-off topic...
"Michael Goodbar"...great name!
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Comment #23 posted by Hope on January 07, 2005 at 13:04:57 PT
On topic
“voting in Alameda has devolved into an unverifiable, indeterminate, and secretive ritual.” That's true, I would imagine, nation wide.
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Comment #22 posted by Hope on January 07, 2005 at 12:56:31 PT
Maybe
I didn't have time to actually look at it before. Since someone called me...I was zeroed in on it.
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Comment #21 posted by Hope on January 07, 2005 at 12:54:41 PT
It's mostly
about his book...but lots of talk and amazing speeches.
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Comment #20 posted by Hope on January 07, 2005 at 12:52:04 PT
Maybe
these guests had been outcuts or something...whatever they call it. His sweater looks familiar but I haven't heard these people say these things before.I haven't seen it from the beginning but I was called and told to tune in to it.It's amazing!
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Comment #19 posted by Hope on January 07, 2005 at 12:49:46 PT
Montel
I haven't seen it...it's dated 2004...but it's new to me and I've seen a few.
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Comment #18 posted by Hope on January 07, 2005 at 12:48:13 PT
Montel
makes it possible to say the "M-word" in any office, at any dinner table, at any party, or any meeting...nearly.
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on January 07, 2005 at 12:44:59 PT
Hope
I looked but it isn't on my channels. Is it the first show Montel did? I checked out his web site and it seems like one I've seen. Is it a new one?
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Comment #16 posted by Hope on January 07, 2005 at 12:40:51 PT
Amazing Montel!
Now!
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Comment #15 posted by Hope on January 07, 2005 at 12:40:11 PT
HEADS UP
Montel now if you can!
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on January 07, 2005 at 12:14:54 PT
Hope
You didn't upset me. I try really hard to post articles that are news worthy. Sometimes people aren't interested in talking about the issue but it's important to know. That's what I meant to say but words don't always say what we mean.
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Comment #13 posted by Hope on January 07, 2005 at 12:06:33 PT
danimalman
Welcome.
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Comment #12 posted by Hope on January 07, 2005 at 12:04:12 PT
FoM...something I find myself doing 
"If the news is interesting to people they talk about the article but if not other topics are discussed."It's not at all that the news is "not interesting"...I think. I'm often guilty of looking at the comments before I even read the entire article. Sometimes I have no comment to a very interesting article. I just don't know what to say. I know danimalman after working hard on a project would like to see our comments. I confess to not having thoroughly read this article and being distracted by the commentary. We are like a community and sometimes we talk about other things...but every article is interesting that FoM chooses...I think you maybe didn't quite realize how that sounded. Oh dang...Holiday hangover...everybody eventually misunderstanding or being hurt over something someone said, and someone always with their foot in their mouth...usually me.Anyway, FoM, I think you didn't mean that or I didn't understand that. All the articles you post are interesting. I know you won't get mad at me for saying this...and anyone ready to leap to FoM's defense...I'm not criticizing...I don't think...and she knows that. I think.And danimalman, next trip I make back here...which will be as soon as possible, I will carefully read this article and comment on it. Sorry to disappoint or confuse you. 
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on January 07, 2005 at 10:10:19 PT
danimalman 
CNews is a community of people that talk about many issues not just news. If the news is interesting to people they talk about the article but if not other topics are discussed. I hope this explains how we are here.
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Comment #10 posted by danimalman on January 07, 2005 at 10:00:21 PT:
Off topic?
Which one of these posts has anything to do with Measure R?I'm new here and may not be clear about how things are done, but if y'all wanted to post articles, I thought that was what the home page was for.-A Measure R volunteer
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on January 03, 2005 at 23:47:06 PT
Off Topic: The Associated Press
Tourist Die-Hards Linger in Sri LankaChristopher Torchia, Associated PressTuesday, January 04, 2005 HIKKADUWA, Sri Lanka - Marijuana smoke wafted through the Blue Fox restaurant on a seaside strip of low-budget hotels and surf shops, a reminder that a few foreign tourists were still around after all the devastation wrought by the tsunami a week ago."There are those die-hards who never left Hikkaduwa," said Suraj Perera, manager of the Coral Gardens hotel in this southern town, the cradle of Sri Lankan beach tourism in the 1960s. "They're getting their fair share of the sun."One of them was Evert Jan Van Hoek, a 35-year-old Dutchman with a stud in his tongue and a ring in his lip who, with the help of a few other European travelers, has organized a mini-relief effort. Van Hoek said he uses the Blue Fox, a hodge-podge of chairs and tables with a balcony overlooking the town's main street, as his "office," sending e-mails about the plight of Sri Lanka to his friends in his hometown of The Hague.
 Complete Article: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/world/10560656.htm
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Comment #8 posted by afterburner on January 03, 2005 at 21:48:11 PT
More Kubby News
Is Cannabis Legal in Canada? Michele Kubby Writes Chief Justice of BC Supreme Court Seeking A Hearing After Being Stalled for 5 Months. More Challenges Loom. 
Posted by Richard Cowan on 2005-01-03 16:20:00 
Source: 
 
"It should be quite clear that the Ontario Court ruling did not reinstate cannabis prohibition, because HC never met their minimum requirements. These are some of the arguments in Michele Kubby’s petition to the BC Supreme Court. 
 
Read Full Story..." http://www.marijuananews.com/news.php3?sid=786
 
 Philippe Lucas’ Analysis of the Consequences of Health Canada’s Failure to Obey the Ontario Court’s Ruling On Medical Cannabis. Is Cannabis Legal in Canada? 
Posted by Richard Cowan on 2005-01-03 16:20:00 
Source: 
 
"Health Canada has clearly exercised more discretion than the Ontario Court had anticipated, and have violated both the spirit and literal intention of the Hitzig decision and order. 
 
Read Full Story..." http://www.marijuananews.com/news.php3?sid=785
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on January 03, 2005 at 20:46:48 PT
Max
Somebody get Max that brown shirt he surely admires. Excellent candidate for the brown shirt, black shorts, and little dagger and swastika. Kid's got the right stuff...for a brownshirt.If not a brown shirt...certainly he would qualify as a self righteous busy body type.
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Comment #6 posted by afterburner on January 03, 2005 at 20:14:54 PT
RE Max
Mostly I agree with FoM, but BGreen and dongenaro make a good case. "I will use the wheels of justice and our courts to remove as many offenders as I can from our schools and from our streets. The only way we can hope for change is if we are strong enough as individuals to fight for the decency of our nation. If we sit back and allow this to continue, how can we ever – how can anyone ever – have faith in justice again?" asks Max. So, locking up more people than any other nation on earth EVER, with little discernable deterrent and much social damage, is not enough for you, Max? What kind of decency, what kind of nation, what kind of justice will we have left if we all follow your example and narc out our friends and relatives? Maybe this so-called moderate(?) centrist Democrat favors the former USSR's or China's approach to human rights. He's not alone in his attitudes:
Comments about "Narc out your friends"
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Comment #5 posted by dongenero on January 03, 2005 at 19:32:40 PT
go to bed Max
C'mon...this BS is just the histrionics of a dumbass 17 year old brat trying to push buttons. He doesn't know jack about this. He doesn't know anything more than any other 17 year old.Pandering for dramatic effect.Max! to your room!
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on January 03, 2005 at 18:40:57 PT
My Comment
How can anyone so very young hate so much when he hasn't even begun to experience life yet alone figure life out? 
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Comment #3 posted by BGreen on January 03, 2005 at 18:26:49 PT
Useless Information From A Twit Named Max
None of your buddies ever drank himself or herself into unconsciousness, eh, little Max?None of your buddies ever hacked glue or took mommy or daddies' little pills from the medicine cabinet?Looking for a job in politics are you Max?You don't know crap, you little baby, and you especially don't give a crap about those who are suffering adults instead of stupid little ignorant kids.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on January 03, 2005 at 17:22:08 PT
The War On Drugs
 By Max Burns Jan. 3, 2005 The ability of people to ignore the crimes that are being committed around them is nothing short of amazing. It sickens me to watch my peers purchase drugs for use at parties, to hear 14 year old girls talking about how they got stoned and went home with a man they don’t know, to see people I care about torn from side to side by marijuana. I have been driven to physical illness over the idea that people – members of my own family, even – are so complacent in the face of this crisis. I write using the anger that is boiling in the pit of my stomach. I will not stand for this anymore. Children, minors, engaging so freely in marijuana use while adults, people who can stop it, do nothing. I heard it best when it was stated bluntly, “It’s their life, let them do what they want, involving yourself in it will only lead to trouble.” I could not believe this. I was utterly stunned and amazed, pushed to the very brim of self control. How can we expect things to change when the people who should be acting are not? This is not about someone’s right to live life as they see fit, it is about someone committing a crime and not being punished because people who could greatly help clean things up simply do not see it as being worth their time. They do not see these parties, their ranks filled with underage drinkers and budding drug addicts, as places where they need to concern themselves. “Teenagers make stupid choices,” someone told me the other day. Well, I have never engaged in this kind of stupidity. I was insulted by that comment. The time has come to stop all of this apathy and take a stand. I was told that, if I turned someone in for selling, transporting and using cocaine, that it would not be in my best interest, and that they would tie up litigation. I could not believe what I was hearing: a crime is not worthy of being punished? Is there no one who is willing to take a stand for what is just and right and be willing to fight for that? Is there nothing more important than the lives America’s youth? When one is fighting a battle against a crime that so many see as being a personal flaw, a mistake, something that one outgrows, it is always hard. As a young child I had always wondered why drug use was so prevalent, why nothing seemed to stop it: this is why. This is why. The people no longer wish to help the community – it is about what is best for them over all, the individual ruling over the public good. Any high school student knows at least one or two drug users, and if not can count themselves as very lucky. It is far more common for a high school student to know several drug users and even an occasional dealer than it is for that student’s parents to even acknowledge that drugs exist. It seems to be that willful ignorance of reality that shields parents from having to accept that this is an epidemic, a crisis of amazing breadth and depth. It is no longer a personal problem. It is a violation of the law. I was raised to believe that justice is necessary for those who have committed a wrong. To hear from my own parents that it would not be of any benefit to anyone to drag before the courts this laundry list of offenders: dealers, users and transporters alike, makes me ill. What kind of morality is there to stand for – what kind of order is there to keep – if people back down from the most basic actions of a concerned citizenry? With or without support, at whatever risk to myself, I will step up this fight. I will use the wheels of justice and our courts to remove as many offenders as I can from our schools and from our streets. The only way we can hope for change is if we are strong enough as individuals to fight for the decency of our nation. If we sit back and allow this to continue, how can we ever – how can anyone ever – have faith in justice again? About the author: Max Burns is a 17-year-old Democrat with moderate, centrist ideals. He blames John Kerry's 2004 loss on John Kerry, and is authoring a pamphlet on how to refine the Democratic Party for Victory in 2008 and beyond. For more information, check out The New Democrat. Copyright: Useless-Knowledge.com 2002-2004http://www.useless-knowledge.com/1234/jan/article048.html
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Comment #1 posted by Sukoi on January 03, 2005 at 14:57:07 PT
A Couple Articles
AG rejects request to revisit opinion on petitionshttp://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-gov/2005/jan/03/518071627.htmlState to tax illegal drugshttp://www.starhq.com/html/localnews/0105/010205StateTax.htm
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