cannabisnews.com: Rainbow Farm Author Packs Cass District Library





Rainbow Farm Author Packs Cass District Library
Posted by CN Staff on April 16, 2007 at 08:51:47 PT
By John Eby, Dowagiac Daily News
Source: Dowagiac Daily News 
Cassopolis, MI -- On Labor Day weekend 2001, a week before it would be obscured by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, an American civil liberties battle brewed in a small, blue-collar town in his native southwest Michigan unbeknownst to Dean Kuipers in California.Kuipers grew up in Mattawan and remembers coming to Dowagiac in high school for football scrimmages.
From Kalamazoo College he went straight to New York and music journalism. Kuipers subscribed to the Sunday Kalamazoo Gazette to keep connected with home.And when he opened his Sept. 9, 2001, Gazette and began reading the Rainbow Farm account, he was "shocked. I kept scratching my head," although he found the two central figures "fascinating. I wanted to go back and look at who those guys were," so he did. For four years."Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke," published in June 2006 by Bloomsbury ($24.95, 304 pages), attempts to tell the stories of marijuana activists Tom Crosslin and Rolland Rohm, shot and killed by the FBI and state police during a standoff at their 34-acre Newberg Township campground.Crosslin acquired the former Maple Leaf Farm in 1993 and rechristened it based on seeing three rainbows that wet April.John Sinclair, former MC5 manager and founder of the radical White Panther Party in Detroit, spoke there several times and thought the name referred to the Rainbow People's Party. Nor did it refer to the Rainbow Family, the hippie activists who followed the Grateful Dead, Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition or the gay rights movement."The name of Tom's farm wasn't tied to any of these," Kuipers said."Neither were they strongly disavowed. Tom didn't care what you thought the place was about, just so long as you remembered it was his place.""This wasn't really a struggle about pot or Tom would still be alive," said Kuipers, who knew forfeiture was an aspect he needed to write about."Forfeiture is a series of statutes that say if someone commits a crime, you can seize property. Federal agents found it was a terrific tool for combatting organized crime and bigtime drug cartels. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan declared his own war on drugs. He made it possible for all law enforcement agencies to keep the proceeds. Police always need money to buy equipment. It just exploded in the early '90s. Prosecutor (Scott) Teter didn't do anything illegal. He was just trying to use every tool" at his disposal. "The best way he had was forfeiture because he could get rid of the place that for him was a big problem. That was the one thing Tom couldn't stand. Tom got more and more upset he couldn't make money off the festivals with the roadblocks and injunctions thrown at him. At the end they were costing him something like $150,000.""There's this incredible arc from the way Rainbow Farm started out to how it ended," Kuipers, 43, told the Daily News in a phone interview last year from Los Angeles CityBeat on Wilshire Boulevard, where he is deputy editor."The whole end part, there's such a disconnect from what happened the rest of the time," he said April 15. "They promoted peace and freedom. He undid all that by burning the place to the ground and shooting at the news helicopter when it flew over. Plus, he spread fear trying to create some kind of way to keep people off his property. Law enforcement didn't know" that reports of a .50-caliber machine gun and mines were "fake. He didn't really have an enormous cache of weapons or mines. Law enforcement needed to see what was going on out there, so they put people in the woods."More strange is what happened to Rollie because he had made arrangements to come out and see that his son, Robert, was safe. From what we understand, Rollie burned the house down, even as Robert was on the road on his way out there, although this is a matter of great contention because tear-gas canisters were found in the road afterward. I saw one."He got the dog's leash untangled as he ran from the burning house and grabbed his assault rifle while police watched. The orders to the two snipers in the tree line were to kill him if agents were threatened by him in any way. As they came around the house in an armored vehicle, they were talking to him through a microphone and they were afraid Rollie couldn't understand what they were saying, so they had a couple of guys pop out of the top. They hit him because their guys were exposed."Sunday afternoon Kuipers filled Cass District Library for a book signing as part of the 20-book 2007 Michigan Notable Books Author Tour.There has been some "sniffing around," but so far no movie deal. "We'll see," he said.Saturday night he was in Lansing with Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who was attorney general when events transpired.He lobbied her for an interview for the paperback edition while she tried to explain Rainbow Farm to First Gentleman Daniel Mulhern and former Gov. William Milliken.Kuipers had never been to Rainbow Farm until November 2001, when it "struck me as a reporter as something I'd never, ever seen before. The house burned and fell into the basement. There was no debris. It had been vacuumed and powerwashed. The rubble had all been taken. The house must have been meticulously cleaned because it smelled like sassafras and clean dirt. No burned smell and not a stick of black. Maybe they were just doing a super-thorough investigation, but it was so bizarre.""Bizarre" was also the word he used to describe Rohm's autopsy."His testicles were missing from the first medical examination. Why? I have no idea what that would mean or indicate, but it sparked in his family huge conspiratorial ideas."National interest remains strong, he said."The pot movement is huge and well-organized. NORML (the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws), it was problematic for them at first because of the guns. Tom really went off the program the last week. Nobody from the drug community could tolerate anybody having guns. It's kind of taken on a life on the Web. A lot of people know the story now. For better or worse, (Rainbow Farm) probably would have had the stature of Waco or Ruby Ridge countrywide except for 9/11. CNN was out here and the standoff was getting picked up all over the country, but a lot of those people hadn't done the big wrap-up story yet. Rolling Stone had a guy out here, a novelist from Chicago, and he actually talked to Tom. He was going to do a big story in Rolling Stone until 9/11 happened.""There were protest encampments alongside the road and people holding signs," he said. "You don't ever get protesters for a story that starts with drug criminals. That just doesn't happen, so I knew more was going on here. That story put the hook in me. I'm not some kind of pro-pot crusader. I'm not pro the gay agenda or pro-militia. For me it was a way to explore my old Michigan community. I remembered it growing up as being diverse and tolerant. This was a story about neighbors. I grew up with a guy next door who was pastor of a church and the guy on the other side was a Buddhist, with a black guy living across the street. They were all completely different, but we liked them as neighbors."It was also a story about a classic American utopian. Tom was trying to build a place for himself and all of his friends and anybody else who wanted to come and talk politics or about the environment or what it means as a role model to be a gay or bisexual man in a rural community. That was very unusual in itself. Dreamers are people who make things happen. Before this big conflagration took the place down, Rainbow Farm festivals were listed in the South Bend Tribune summer guide.""Most important for me, although I understand why it would be a disturbing element" to residents, was that "Rainbow Farm was a place young people went for answers. Tom and Rollie had this alternative lifestyle, alternative message and alternative politics that were very in the open and available. I've talked to a lot of young people who went there because they didn't have any place to go. Not because they wanted to take drugs, but because they were gay, bisexual or 'bicurious.' Ironically, there was no smokng in the coffee shop, but you could put something on the jukebox and sit around, drink coffee and talk about solar power or other alternatives. Kids that I talked to, that was the misunderstood part of what the place was all about. That's a really important dialogue that should still be going on somehow."Asked for the "most surprising aspect" of Rainbow Farm, Kuipers said, "This is like the story that just keeps on giving for a writer. Tom was an incredibly weird person in both bad and good ways. He started his own biker gang in Elkhart, but he seemed conflicted about it. I don't want to turn him into a mythical figure, but he had a strange sense of justice. He had a little bit of a rap sheet and had been involved in some armed robberies. The first one ever was a guy who managed a car wash in Elkhart and shorted him on his check. Tom got a gun and went to the place where he worked, took the money he was owed out of the till and went home. He was wronged and did what he needed to do" to reverse the injustice he perceived."You couldn't ask for a better neighbor," offered a man who lived by Rainbow Farm to a smattering of applause.Crosslin warned the neighbor to leave as events were set in motion."Burning Rainbow Farm" is the third book published by Kuipers, including "I'm a Bullet" (2000) and "Ray Gun Out of Control" (1997), about a music magazine he ran.Source: Dowagiac Daily News (MI)Author: John Eby, Dowagiac Daily NewsPublished: Monday, April 16, 2007Copyright: 2007 Dowagiac Daily NewsContact: john.eby leaderpub.comWebsite: http://www.dowagiacnews.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Tom and Rollie Memorial Pagehttp://freedomtoexhale.com/rb.htmAshes At The End of Rainbow Farmhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21924.shtmlBook Focus on 2001 Rainbow Farm Shootinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21865.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #66 posted by museman on April 21, 2007 at 13:52:29 PT
whig
One must live their life. It doesn't seem to matter what one does, as much as how they do it. Consistent patterns of destructive thought and behavior leave trails of human misery behind them, and many many (if not all) of us get caught in those patterns. "Living a life" is not something you can go to university to learn. It is not even something your parents can do for you. When one has lived life sufficiently, this becomes aparent. I do not know that that awareness comes at a specific age, or maybe not at all to some. (And I am not implying anything..whig)I do know that so much a part of what we are is directly related to, and fundamentally created upon the belief in the substance of Free Will. We have choices in nearly every movement, and every word or sound we utter. We choose whether or not we are going to agree, and whether that agreement is with our heart, or some 'surface-real' contractual arrangement that we are forced to make for the sake of survival.I choose not to agree with patterns of belief and behavior that are consistently and deliberately destructive, even if the 'believer' is not aware. The fact that so much of the worlds survival is currently entertwined with the global control of resource by the followers of the Capitalistic Religion is one that we are all forced to accept, but surely, surely one who truly seeks truth, and the freedom that acompanies it, dare not surrender his faith and belief to that error? The alternatives are slowly making their way into the consciousness, and one day a balance will be struck, because freedom is the issue, and one who respects freedom must give it away without condition -but one - to the rest of the world. That condition is Love.No matter what path you walk, if you truly, all the way, deep down, believe in it, then that is the path you must walk. I believe and have the faith that what one truly believes will lead them to the same watering hole that we are all thirsting for. "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Truth)for they shall be filled."
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #65 posted by museman on April 21, 2007 at 13:22:52 PT
whig
"Society condemned you, and so you condemn society."The 'condemnation' originates, and resides within a societal sub consciousness, I merely report it."I think we should stop condemning one another and start learning how to live in peace."That is just the reason why everyone should go to a Rainbow Gathering. It is a living example. If you look closely at your own community you will find rainbow all over the place. The 'gathering' is just that, a gathering, albeit there is nothing like it simply because of it's main feature -which is freedom.Who 'lives' in a church? The congregation just visits."Cannabis prohibition will be lifted, in effect it is happening right now, we will pass the peace pipe around and end war. If you agree and assent, it will be so."Brother, I've been 'passing the Peace Pipe' for decades, and I not only agreed but my voice is amongst the first recognition as to it's sacredness. My discourse with the Great Spirit revealed that to me when only a handful of us -even amongst the so-called enlightened 'revolutionaries' of my own generation- were brave enough to state it irregardless of the resulting mockery and denial from our own peers.However, my 'Peace Pipe' made by hand from Minnisota Pipestone, Northwest Cedar, and Madrone root, smoked only in a Sacred Manner, was stolen from me by one Sheriff Al King in the mid-nineties, and supposedly destroyed.But, other than that, of course.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #64 posted by whig on April 21, 2007 at 12:58:07 PT
museman
My wife and I live in a mostly ordinary reality. She is a student getting her Ph.D. We are likely to start a family sometime. We want to know that we can live here and support ourselves without having to learn how to live off the land, something neither of us are physically very well suited for.I think the rainbow idea is a wonderful one, for those who live in that context. I think you should be free to live in that fashion, and not be oppressed. I think that it would be wonderful to come visit you there. I do not think I would be prepared to live there right now, and I don't think you can expect most people to do so.Society condemned you, and so you condemn society. I think we should stop condemning one another and start learning how to live in peace. Cannabis prohibition will be lifted, in effect it is happening right now, we will pass the peace pipe around and end war. If you agree and assent, it will be so.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #63 posted by museman on April 21, 2007 at 12:14:04 PT
Had Enough
I thought about your suggestion for several days - to email the author of this threads article. i suppose it would be a simple enough thing. However, consider this;I am not a journalist. Though as a philosopher, a poet, and a writer of thoughts, I intend, and work to uphold my own word to certain standards of truth, I have no 'legal' compunction to provide actual 'proof' or 'documented' verification of my 'facts' and my 'insinuated facts.' A journalist, on the other hand - I know this from my own brief dabble in my youth - is deliberatley constrained to get the who's, how's, where's, and why's in correct and verifiable context. Anything else is opinion, or 'Yellow.'I do not get paid a salary, commission, or even most times due respect for my attempt to uphold my own standards of truth. In just a few moments of googling one can find most of what I just wrote about, all it takes is interest. I don't mind telling stories to folks, specially folks here on CNews, but there is an old Rainbow saying that goes;"If you see something that you feel needs doing, do it."Which also means, "Don't delegate your authority, your will, or your deed, to someone else."feel free to email him a link to this thread, if you wish.Thanks, Had Enough, for your good vibes.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #62 posted by museman on April 21, 2007 at 11:54:41 PT
important correction to last post
"It has been standard practice for ***35*** years to 'leave the land in as good or better shape than we found it.'..35, not 25.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #61 posted by museman on April 21, 2007 at 11:48:54 PT
As asked for..#60
The Rainbow Family of Living Light began as a vision, shared by seven friends at the first Woodstock. The idea being to have a similar type of gathering, free, and not particularly focused on the 'concert' aspect.In 1970 and 1971 (1970 being relatively small and unknown) were the dates of the "vortex gathering" held just outside of Salem in Oregon. The then Gov. Tom Mcall was hugely 
supportive, and law enforcement - ready as usual to bust heads -was told to back off. The 1971 gathering was enough of a success for the orginal visionaries to continue. The orginal seven, the Vortex, and Tom Mcall are a very very big reason why cannabis became decriminalized, starting first in Oregon, and directly relating to the result of the Vortex.The first 'official' "Rainbow Gathering" was held the following year in Granby Colorado. It was called "The International Gathering of The Tribes."Every year since there has been a 'national' gathering in various states, and in the early '80's they began to happen in Europe as well.The common association that is made to 'rainbows' -like 'hippies' 'followers of the Grateful Dead', 'drug cults' and various other unflattering nomenclatures and social categories, though maybe apllicable on some limted levels, is indicative of ignorance on the part of the 
observer, because very very few who have actually had the experience come away without having a veil or two lifted from their eyes - and no one with that experience could possibly lump 'The Rainbow Gathering' into any category other than 'The Rainbow Gathering.' While it is true that among the main supporters of the Gathering in the early days, was 'The Hog Farm' - a loose 'organization' of counterculturists from the San -fransisco Bay Area - whose main claim to fame was/is one of the founding members -Wavy Gravy - that was just one of many hundreds of 'families' and 'tribes' that came together every year. A few others like the "Krishnas" and several Protestant groups have been in attendance, and participating as support for over 30 years. Though there were a signifcant number of regular gathering attendees who also 'followed' the Grateful Dead, but they like so many other 'tribes' of the 'Rainbow Nation' are just one group, now 'defunct' since Gerry's demise, but still in attendance as 'Rainbow.'Sometime in the '80's the 'Gathering Of The Tribes' became the 'peace gathering.' About that same time a group of the 'regulars' coined the term "Rainbow Family of Living Light." It has also been referred to as The Rainbow Healing Gathering.What makes the Rainbow Gathering so great and wonderful - there is nothing like it, is pure and simply freedom. The Gathering shows just how good and great humanity can be without the corrupted systems of politics, banking, and most importantly 'law enforcement.' Imagine a city of thousands, coming together in just a few days, sharing the land, the space, the food, the company, the talents, and the Spirit, without the need of cops, 
lawyers, or credit cards. Thousands of people gathered together to pray for world peace. Thousands of people taking personal responsibility for their lives in the only FREE space left in the world - the Rainbow Gathering.In the 35 'official' years since it started, there have been only 3 deaths at a Rainbow gathering. 2 were accidents, one was a suicide. The only injuries of any import to come from a Gathering were inflicted by either government agencies, or local thugs who thought they were supported by the status quo. There were 2 murders just recently solved after 20+ years. In 1980 some local 'good 'ol boys' in the unprovable service of the US Gov.- most likely CIA, murdered two young girls in the general (West Va.) locality, and the Gov. tried to pin it on the Rainbows. There is a phenomenon called 'Shanti Sena' which basicly means something like 'the peoples watch' which is explained to you when you first come to a gathering. "Everyone is Shanti Sena." In the first 2 decades there was what was referred to as 'Rap 107' which was a crash course in proper 'Rainbow Etiquette' - like "Don't sh_t near the water." "Recycle."The first actual recycling done on any scale was done at the Rainbow Gathering. The whole idea of seperating various recyclable materials from 'trash' is now being promoted by 
companies with investment capital, but the Rainbows did it just because they knew it was right. It has been standard practice for 25 years to 'leave the land in as good or better shape than we found it.' Never in all that time has a former gathering site - an impact of thousands of people over a month period- been accused of neglect.After each gathering, a clean up crew -of volunteers (often members of A-Camp) scour the area -for miles- for any trash. The trails, and camping areas are dug up and reseeded with local flora. Respect is an active word in the rainbow. Say the Earth is 'just dirt' at a Rainbow Gathering, and the laughter will echo across vast distances.Not since the multitude followed Yashua 2000 years ago has there been anything like it.Just like any other human endeavor, the Rainbow is not without it's own forms of corruption and shortfalls, but the sheer freedom of it limits 'power tripping' to some obvious characters who more often than not learn the errors of their ways, and decide to become 'one with' instead of remaining in ignorance. Because of it's open and free nature, all kinds of people are attracted. Just the idea of a 'free meal' draws in a lot of what society would call 'the dregs.'The dillemna of alcoholism - a direct result of cannabis prohibition - over the years created a need to 'deal with' the brothers and sisters who have succumbed to it. Rather than ban them outright, they were given their own 'camp' called 'A Camp.' Traditionally this has been the 'parking lot'. They were given responsibility, rather than ostracism, and it worked well until recent years when the number of alcoholics (Again diretly because alcohol is 
cheaper, more readily available, legal, and more addictive, than cannabis.) has risen to a few hundred, instead of a few 10s. There is some lively discussion about this going on in the AGR (alt-groups-rainbow)as well as other rainbow forums and groups.The people are fed. In the early days the recycling also took the form of what was affectionately called 'dumpster diving'. Tons of food that was going to waste (it is 
interesting to note that because of this modern survival technique, that Rainbow pushed for all it was worth, trash -compactors became standard equipment in most restaurants, and the incredible depositories of wasted food behind grocery stores now almost all have locks and threats of imprisonment attached.) Food was brought in and donated. There is what is called still 'the Magic Hat' which is passed around during every meal, and people can put whatever they think will help, into it. The way people get fed at a Rainbow Gathering evokes an image of Yashua feeding the masses with loaves and fishes.So what do people Do at a Rainbow Gathering?The abundance of talent in the form of music, art, and living theatre is of a quality and vibration to make all of hollywood's greatest productions look drab and shabby - and it's all free. It's called sharing. The greatest Spiritual Minds of the past and present century have passed through the Rainbow Gathering, and some still make appearance. Discussions are often about the highest aspects of Spirituality, and the ideas of 'Seeking the Vision' 'Touching the Sacred' and 'Love of Truth' are common themes, not subjects of mockery and 
ridicule.One cannot go to a Rainbow Gathering without some kind of epiphany. Everyone should go at least once. But if you go, go without expectation. If you go open, without agenda you are guaranteed to get the experience of your life. If you go thinking you know what's up you are bound to get confused, and hopefully then illuminated to some degree, but no one passes through un-affected.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #60 posted by Had Enough on April 18, 2007 at 05:29:04 PT
museman
That was quite a post you gave us. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing that.I think it would really be cool if you could get hold of John Eby, Dowagiac Daily News (author of this article) and enlighten him on the Rainbow Family. Maybe he will listen find it interesting too, and then, just maybe, someone will start writing positive things about the Family. You never know until you try. Use your gift of communication.You put in plenty of effort and time with your post, and many thanks for that, but don’t stop there.The journey of our lives will continue on, let’s make that journey worthwhile.Our dues are never fully paid it seems. I will look forward to hearing more about the Family as you seem fit to tell us about it on your own terms, when you feel it is the time.Thanks again museman.Peace. What a concept.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #59 posted by whig on April 18, 2007 at 02:28:54 PT
museman
I'm sorry you had to do any jail time at all, or that any of us suffer. All of us suffer, though, in some way. Without it, we wouldn't recognize the truth, we wouldn't have compassion.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #58 posted by museman on April 17, 2007 at 20:47:13 PT
whig
I stand corrected.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #57 posted by FoM on April 17, 2007 at 17:36:50 PT
mayan
I agree that a nuclear bomb could be dropped on one of the big hot zone cities. There is so much hate because of Bush and Cheney it wouldn't surprise me at all. I was shocked on 9/11 but I wouldn't be shocked now.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #56 posted by mayan on April 17, 2007 at 17:23:46 PT
Drop In The Bucket
Over 600,000 dead in Iraq since we illegally invaded. Sorry, but I find it hard to shed a tear for anyone who dies anymore. Humans are humans and I don't care what country they are from. We are all deserving of respect and compassion.Dick Cheney just said that a nuclear bomb detonating in a U.S. city is now a very real possibility. Considering that he is one of the 9/11 masterminds, I'd say those who died at Virginia Tech might soon be considered just a drop in the ocean.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #55 posted by whig on April 17, 2007 at 16:12:42 PT
museman
I wasn't asking for more substantiation, I was only pointing out that by crediting it, people can check it out.I know how much you hate being corrected and I dislike being thought of as overly picky -- but the word I think you mean to use is "corroborate" not "collaborate." To collaborate is to cooperate, to corroborate is to verify.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #54 posted by museman on April 17, 2007 at 15:40:35 PT
whig
The Rainbow Farm is now an organic farm. I know that Garrick gave up interest in it a few years after events, some described, some not, that kind of 'killed the dream' if you understand.Garrick is now a 'rockman', a trader in stones, and has a small rock shop in Santa Fe. I spoke to him briefly at this last Gathering in Colorado. He would certainly collaborate everything about the farm and history, and then some -if you can corner him into it. Garrick is an unsusual man, a born leader who shuns leadership, but somehow manages to do it anyway, and well. He was not there during the whole bust ordeal, but he would verify that much at least.Google "Rainbow Farm Drain Oregon" see what you get. Not much but there are some clues.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #53 posted by museman on April 17, 2007 at 15:25:42 PT
whig
I'd actually not thought of the story as a 'testament', but a story that was meant to describe the very real alternative that everyone has in such a situation, an example of the choice of 'faith' and it's very real result, and the choice of 'fear' and it's also very real result. Relating to 'Rainbow' and 'Rainbow Farm.'If I were to give a 'testament', the story of my next encounter over the sacred herb and prohibtionists that happened 12 years later is even more starkly revealing of the nature of the thuggery and downright inhumanity of zealous prohibitionists and their eager dogs.However, that record should have been expunged from the system -by the very nature of my final agreement which was,
12 days in jail, 72 hours community service, no fine, no probation, and they dropped the charges after a year.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #52 posted by museman on April 17, 2007 at 15:12:19 PT
whig
I got a letter from Jerry not quite a month ago. He is doing as well as can be expected, but he isn't having any fun. He has been teaching Yoga, and trying to make the best of a bad situation.He hopes to be set free August 17th.As far as verification of the story is concerned, there are existing records which would verify the basic facts. However, since I didn't request a court recorder, mine, and the judges actual words are probably not available, though I dare say if the judge reads the post -and he is most likely still around, he will remember, and if asked collaborate. My sentence of 'ten days, no fine, no probation' is definitely on record for the charge of two felony counts as mentioned, though I doubt if it is accessible to the public.I cannot remember either judges name, or I would have stated them. I do remember Virgil Knight, and you can google that for a small memorial that his cop friends made online.My quotes, though lacking precise wording in some part are nonetheless true renditions of the content, intent, and meaning. Some parts like the judge complimenting my articulation, and his address to the DA are exact.Other than that I have nothing more to offer to that question.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #51 posted by whig on April 17, 2007 at 14:45:46 PT
museman
It seems to me that your testimony stands in part on people being capable of checking it out for truthfulness. A clever propagandist could write a convincing story, after all. We must distinguish ourselves from the deceivers by making statements that invite and withstand scrutiny.If someone could obtain from Jerry a similar testimony, that would also be helpful in our cause, but might not be helpful in his own while he is incarcerated, so I would not presume to expect him to be able to say anything. I did not receive any reply from him when I wrote. I really hope he is okay, despite his circumstances.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #50 posted by museman on April 17, 2007 at 14:36:47 PT
whig
I suppose the cat is out. Feel free to correct the many errors in syntax and spelling I missed.
How about;The Law vs Common SenseorOne Small Victory
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #49 posted by whig on April 17, 2007 at 14:19:15 PT
I would title it...
Pleading the first, or guilty under duress, by _
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #48 posted by whig on April 17, 2007 at 14:15:27 PT
museman
May I repost your story elsewhere, and shall I credit it to your real name? It was massively powerful testimony.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #47 posted by museman on April 17, 2007 at 13:39:47 PT
Had Enough #3
The first 'Rainbow Farm' (as far as I know, though I am sure there were others with similar names as time progressed) originally belonged to the Beck family.Some folks might recognize the names of Julian Beck, and Judith Malina. Julian was the author, director and promoter of "The Living Theatre" which was quite controversial. Julian spent some time in prison for it. They were the first nuclear protesters in history -they chained themselves to a nuclear submarine. These two were the parents of Garrick Beck.Garrick, along with six other folks essentially had a visionary experience at Woodstock, and those seven were the 'founders' of "The International Gathering of The Tribes" which became known as "The Rainbow Gathering."(another story I will tell in a seperate post)Garrick inherited the farm from his grandmother, and in the spirit of the times, attempted to set up a commune. The first attempt was a disaster - a rugged militant, albeit 'alternative' group of survivalists took over the farm, and with threat of violence and at gun point, Garrick was literally forced off his own land.Garricks solution was to appeal to the alternative community, who all got together, bought some land in Washington state, and gave it to these folks. That was the beginning of wisdom for Garrick, and though nothing like it ever happened again, Garrick worried about it for years. My friendship with Garrick started with a conversation about that event.When I met the Rainbow in 1978 -which is the another part of the story- I had occasion to visit the farm and council with Garrick. I and a good friend had somehow found ourselves in the lead of a group of people. We were all trying to figure out how to 'make the rainbow last', and keep that feeling that only one who has experienced the Rainbow can underrstand, alive. We went to Garrick for advice, and he told us that story, as well as couple of others. I have loved that brother ever since.The farm at that time was a hustling bustling hive of activity. Many hundreds of hippy pilgrims would show up weekly seeking more of what they had found at the gathering. Some stayed and helped with the main focus, which was food production -it was a working farm, while many were turned away for the simple fact that there was not enough space. I arrived in the middle of controversy, having been invited by one faction -they knowing full well that our presence would exacerbate the situation. The whole experience was a debacle. My nice MASH tent burned up. My first son was born during a Hepatitis epidemic amongst the alternative communities, and because he was a little jaundiced every one freaked and thought we'd 'brought it in.' Whe we left -because the one who invited us left - we were asked to pick up a small lodge (TeePee) that was in the woodshed. Turns out that the lodge didn't belong to the person who asked us to get it, so essentially we 'stole' (in all innocence I assure you) the lodge.We didn't make it back to the farm for another 2 years, until the West Virginia Gathering, when I met Garrick for the second time, and he gave me his personal invitation to comwe live at the farm.The farm had a distinct hierarchy; the peasants and the overseers -just like so many other communes of the day. Actually modelled after Steve Gaskins farm in Tennessee. That hiearchy, as you might imagine did not sit well with me, and I challenged it from the very beginning.That challenge was answered in the form of a council (everything was done by consensus council) which was called to 'deal with' me and my 'subversive attitude.'I was called lazy, inadequate, a 'number 4 person' and numerous other insulting and degrading adjectives. It looked like my time at the farm was at an end, but Garrick passed the feather to me, and asked me what I thought. I made a statement that in retrospect seems a bit ego-centered, and arrogant, though for the most part I still believe it to be true; "If you take all the labor, of sowing, and harvesting all the food that was grown on the farm since the whole effort began, and compare it to just one of my songs, it doesn't measure up."Well I didn't expect to last the night after that statement, so I was astounded when Garrick agreed with me. The ones who had tried to throw me and my family out, ended up leaving, and we were given their house 'The Dome' to live in. I delivered two of my children in that dome.The farm, and the "Rainbow Family of Living Light" (of which there is to this day still some debate as to what the hell that actually means) were, though distinctly related, as Garrick used to put it "Two completely different situations."The farm had rules, and deadlines -you can't put off irrigating the field just because you didn't feel like it that day, whereas the Rainbow Gathering, and the Rainbow Family were essentially free - in many many ways.As I said before, many hundreds of pilgrims would come there seeking answers to the magical things they had experienced at the Gatherings. Ma Carla (as we called her) was the 'front gate.' She was cold, and to the point. It was her job to inform people that they had to leave. It was mine to 'soften the blow.' My title and job on the farm -given by Garrick was "The Keeper of the Vibe." For several years it was wonderful. We all worked and played together, prayed together, and did magical things every full moon under the 'pyramid' (a huge pole construction that was never finished.)One of the rules on the farm was 'no growing (herb) on the property. After a few years we got lax. One cold morning before dawn in August 1983 I was awakened by a sister who stuck her head in my door and informed me that "The cops are busting the farm!"Though we had no contingency plan, everyone knew what to do. The sisters led the kids into the woods to hide, and the brothers attempted to remove the 'evidence.'I had already sent a friend who was staying with me into the woods with a huge bundle of bud, when the armed rednecks came over the hill.The posse that Sheriff Virgil Knight had gathered for this bust (just before the DEA and Reagans little war) was a collection of local loggers who hated us with a passion. They were armed with shotguns. To this day I can see so clearly the twitching of those fingers on their triggers, and am so glad that the folks on that farm were predisposed to non-violent resistence.There was only one gun on the property - a 30/30 which was ocasionally used by it's owner to hunt deer.At the moment of confrontation on 'my little hill' and at the sight of those twitching fingers, I threw myself on the ground and spoke quite loudly; "How long Oh God are we going to have to suffer for these oppression?" "How long?" (the fingers twitched even more at that).Then I got up up and truly confronted them being very careful to cross no lines that could be construed as 'insulting' or 'resisting arrest'.This is what I told them; "One day, you and I are going to be standing before the REAL judge, and on that day it will be my duty to testify to the crime that is being committed against my family and my friends." And that day will come.There were no shots fired though there were about a dozen armed idiots waiting for the excuse. They got 60+ plants from 8 different grows, though at one point our more radical neighbors stole the whole bundle out of the back of the cops truck and led them a merry chase through the woods. One of my sons stood bravely in the parking lot telling the cops in no uncertain terms just what he thought. Seeing a 3 year old standing up to those twerps was both scary and powerful. We hustled him inside the main house afraid for his safety.We weren't arrested, but told to report for booking, to be released on our own cognizance. I made a mistake, and put my wife down as my next of kin, whereby three days later they came and arrested her.That was the end of paradise folks. One of the residents (who actually was mostly responsible-through irresponsibility- for the bust) got a bit twisted and started up that old peasant-overseer thing again. There were things done which should remain private, but suffice to say that war had come to Rainbow Farm. There came a point where I realized that if we stayed on the farm that someone was liable to get hurt in the battles that seemed to be happening on a daily basis, and that I would certainly have been one of the ones responsible, because the conflict centered around myself and that other brother.Because I had to leave, I 'copped a plea' to have the charges against my wife dropped, and accepted two felony charges for 'posession' and 'manufacture' of a 'controlled substance.'The story might end there, but to illustrate the further difference between acting in faith, and acting in fear, I continue.After the 1984 Rainbow Gathering in California, we found ourselves camped on the beach in No. California. I knew that I had to go back up to Oregon to be sentenced, so I began to sweat it. I got hives, I couldn't sleep, and I seriously considered just going across the border to Mexico. So I prayed. I prayed a lot. One night, just a day before I was due to hitch-hike back to Oregon to get to my sentencing, my prayer was answered. Sometimes, contrary to stupid beliefs that one cannot converse with God without some kind of specuial dispensation or 'qualification of the church' The Supreme Father in Heaven answered me, by (as is usually the case) asking me the question. "Where is your faith? Do you believe that I have given you all these wonderful spiritual experiences and understandings just to have you languish in a jail cell somewhere?"I was uplifted by that, and the next day went north to confront my accusers one last time, fully expecting to walk out a free man. When I arrived I called my lawyer, and he informed me that I had missed my date, and that there was a warrant out for my arrest. He told me not to worry, but 'lay low' for the weekend, so I did. I went to the Rainbow Farm, and experienced a making of peace and some healing with the faction that had caused me to leave.When I got to the court the next monday, my lawyer was waiting for me at the courtroom doors. He said, "Oh! I forgot to tell you that the DA has ecomended you for a year in the penitentiary." Too late to run. So I went in to deal.Well, come to find out, that the very night that God had answered my prayer, the judge who had presided (a 'good 'ol boy' from way back) had a stroke and was removed from the bench. A younger circuit jusdge was called in from Portland to sentence me.The DA blathered about how because I was 'indigent' and 'had no income' as well as currently being out of state, that the only way they could possibly get any 'justice' was to put me behind bars. The judge heard the DA, and asked me if there was anything I had to say before he passed sentence."I sure do sir!" I said, whereupon I gave a lengthy dissertation on the evils of cannabis prohibition, and my adamant, unshakeable belief in my God-Given Right to partake of an herb which is referred to in Sacred Scripture.While I was speaking, my lawyer whispered in my ear, "Tell him about your kids." So without skipping a beat I said,
"...and furthermore Your Honor, I have tried with diligence to instill a sense of right and wrong in my children, and to teach them to uphold the principles of 'law and order' (though my concept of that phrase has different meaning than the system) and there is just no way that they are going to believe that this oppression of me, them, and my friends is in any way resembling 'justice,' 'fairness' or even common sense, if you put me in prison for growing 12 plants."The judge then took off his glasses, looked squarely at the DA, and said,"You don't seriously expect me to send this man to prison for a year do you?"The DA, who had by that time gone from several shades of blushing pink to deathly white, stammered, "Uh...no..uh, I can suspend all but 30 days.""Not good enough!" the judge stated. He then adressed me.
"Mr. Hubbard, you are the most articulate person I have heard yet in this courtroom. If it had been my case I would have let you walk a long time ago." He explained that though he believed that cannabis should remain a controlled substance, he agreed that the prohibition laws were draconian, and certainly not fitting to the 'crime.'He further explained that because I had come to this point having pled guilty, that his hands were effectively tied to the law, and he had to "sentence me to something."He was silent for a moment, then said he was going to check on something in his chambers. He came back a few minutes later with an apology that the best he could come up with -for two felonies - (possession and manufacture of a controlled substance) was ten days in jail, no fine, no probation. He told me to take all the time I needed to get my affairs in order, but I was ready, so I went in that day.I spent a week in jail holding what I have come to refer to as an 'Academy of High Converse' with the inmates. The jailers could not wait to kick me out, and like they do to so many, tried to release me at midnight, knowing full well I had nowhere to go. I refused, saying "What are you going to do, put me in jail?" We all got a good laugh out of that. On the morning I left the jail, every single inmate (in my cell) stood in line to shake my hand to the witnessed disgust of the jailers.So that was how that battle was won. No one was shot, and only one did any time (the one who got us busted).The score; 8 free rainbows, one dead sheriff -by his own kharma (see "The Ballad of Virgil Knight"), and a brain dead judge (an 'Act of God).The story of the Rainbow Family is an other tale, one I will be glad to tell, but this post was begun last night. I was almost finished when I inadvertantly shut off my computer , losing everything. Twice today I have tried to post, but got errors which wiped out my text. It has taken me over 2 hours to compose thanks to that - because I began to save in a seperate text file, I managed.I must take a long break now, but if you still want to hear the story of the Rainbow Family, I will be glad to do so...later.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #46 posted by Toker00 on April 17, 2007 at 13:30:00 PT
I'm not pushing guns or cannabis on anyone.
I understand you perfectly well, Brother Green. But we may come to an agreement on this. I don't even own a usable gun, either. But as a matter of deterrence and as a matter of protection from this very situation, I still say they are a necessary evil. That means I don't advocate that anyone but those who need a gun carry one, which in a school situation, IMHO, would be the Staff, or those volunteers or appointees of the institution. Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Tsunamis, Earthquake, Wild Fires, Maniacal Killers. All, unfortunately, Natural occurrences on this planet. Not to mention Robbers, Bullies, Psychos, Alcohol Crazed, Drug Addled Persons of OFFENSE. We must have a defense against these things. Don't ever touch a gun if you don't want to. Those who do, do it for one reason or the other. Either OFFENSIVELY or DEFENSIVELY. Cannabists are no different than any other social group when it comes to defending against the ABOVE. Your choice, though, Brother. I choose to not have an operative weapon in my house. Only had one for a while as a naive young man. I don't even hunt. But I do see them as a manner of DEFENSE, if you need it. No offense taken or intended. And, you are absolutely right about the added years to the Pot sentence. So, I say, No Guns for anyone except those who protect us and protect themselves, if they feel a need for it. Sorry, but if I can't intimidate my attacker with a loud voice and a fast hand, the I'll accept the consequences of a faster louder bullet. But our children nor anyone who enters an institution of learning should have some manner of protection from the above mentioned unfortunate, too often occurring, evils.Toke.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #45 posted by FoM on April 17, 2007 at 11:16:33 PT
Whig
Another good one. We have been wanting a surround system system and after all the money we had to pay yesterday to Uncle Sam we bought a Sony 5 DVD 1000 Watt system. I am watching and listening to Old Friends Simon and Garfunkels tour from a few years ago. We were sitting on the sofa and I was feeling puffs of air every now and then. This is amazing. The bass vibrates the walls! Music the best healer of all for me.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #44 posted by whig on April 17, 2007 at 10:59:38 PT
For my parents' generation
Beatles - clip from the Love soundtrackhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw41VqE0UjA
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #43 posted by whig on April 17, 2007 at 10:58:16 PT
FoM
Yes, the more cops, the more paranoia, the more crime, the more cops, the more paranoia, the more crime, and then war, and then more...until we stop.Time to stop.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #42 posted by FoM on April 17, 2007 at 10:50:50 PT
whig
I think the more we feel we need to confront the government the more paranoid we can become and then it starts to feed off itself and then they get more cops to police those who are acting paranoid and the cycle continues. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #41 posted by whig on April 17, 2007 at 10:44:13 PT
FoM
For a long time we haven't had honest government, I think that made a lot of people mad and there was an undercurrent that armed revolution might be necessary. It was mostly unspoken, but there it was and still is in some places.But something happened. The American people decided we wanted peace.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #40 posted by FoM on April 17, 2007 at 10:40:52 PT
whig
I look at everything from a different perspective then probably most people. When I think of free for all guns I think of what is going on in Iraq. I sure don't think they have any gun laws. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #39 posted by whig on April 17, 2007 at 10:36:37 PT
"unorganized militia"
I remember this was a big deal back in the nineties.Please follow state and federal laws pertaining to firearms registration and use. This is the "well organization" you were asking for. For some reason, the legal basis of the laws were not well established in your minds.Should the regulations be better? Of course. But unregulated firearms lead to chaos, and those who will not submit to regulation are in violation of the militia clause of the second amendment.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #38 posted by whig on April 17, 2007 at 10:28:13 PT
FoM
State militia laws provide for enrollment in the guard services. I am not an expert on the specifics. It is possible that the militia can be drafted. That is in fact the legal basis of the draft.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #37 posted by FoM on April 17, 2007 at 10:17:29 PT
whig
I really am not up on anything about guns or militias but I thought that's what The National Guard or Army Reserves were. As I said this has never been a concern of mine so I know very little.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #36 posted by whig on April 17, 2007 at 10:02:27 PT
Firearms
Are to be used subject to general regulations of the militia.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #35 posted by whig on April 17, 2007 at 10:01:18 PT
Regulations
Militia unfit for duty are relieved.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #34 posted by whig on April 17, 2007 at 10:00:20 PT
Second amendment
Provides for a well organized militia. Who is the militia? All citizens bearing arms.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #33 posted by FoM on April 17, 2007 at 09:56:43 PT
BGreen
Thank you. Since Reagan that is how it is. I think it's called a Rico Law or something but I am not up on this so I could be wrong. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #32 posted by BGreen on April 17, 2007 at 09:50:04 PT
Sorry, Toker00, WE SHOULDN'T ALL HAVE GUNS!
Those of us who choose cannabis as our medicine, sacrament or even recreation will be charged as violent criminals if the unholy alliance of law enforcement and the courts get a hold of us.We're looking at no more than 15 years in prison if we get caught with JUST the nearly harmless cannabis, but they'll lock us up for life for just HAVING a gun along with our cannabis, even if we never brandish or use it, even for our own protection.A gun MIGHT save our life, sometime in our life, but nobody I personally know has EVER had to use a gun for protection.Cannabis DOES save lives on a daily basis, and being deprived of our God-given medicine DOES KILL, just as if a bullet snatches our life away.However, in my own opinion, we PAY THE STUPID COPS TO PROTECT US AND THE WORTHLESS ASSHOLES FAIL US EVERY SINGLE DAY!WORTHLESS MURDEROUS STUPID COPS!The Reverend Bud Green
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #31 posted by Hope on April 17, 2007 at 07:43:31 PT
Bare and Bear
I know, Toker. I see it both ways. I think "bare" arms is the old word for "bear"...but both are used in places that should know...so one is as good as the other, I guess.I agree about the right of anyone to protect themselves from someone like this guy, Toker. Virginia has a right to carry a concealed weapon law, as I understand it...but the school forbade them. Here in Texas we have right to carry laws, but so many buildings and businesses have a big sign up forbidding it on their property. I think a crazed person would choose to invade one of those places that forbids licensed carriers....because it says right at the front door on a big sign, that no one but the perpertrator will be armed. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #30 posted by Hope on April 17, 2007 at 07:31:09 PT
The man 
was South Korean. This is going to cause a lot more agitation about student visas, too, probably.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #29 posted by Toker00 on April 17, 2007 at 02:50:37 PT
One reason the killer got away with killing so
many.They banned the instructors from carrying guns. They BANNED the instructors from carrying guns. There will no doubt be a rehash about gun laws in Virginia. The shooter could have been stopped in the beginning. NEVER give up your guns. Never. If there ever was a necessary evil in this country, it is the RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS. Or, BARE them. Which ever is correct. Toke.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #28 posted by Christen-Mitchell on April 16, 2007 at 21:59:03 PT:
Tragedy & Let Me See Your Papers
I've said for years how the toughest thing for the youth of today is that they have no heroes. No one to look up to. Life could seem fairly shallow with the lack of integrity and noble purpose that our once great nation's present leaders (cough) display. Our society continues to decay.This latest school shooting of the week will be used by our great dictator, uh, decider to further tighten the totalitarian noose around the necks of the citizens of UnAmerica. For our own protection and good.A year from now we will see the absolute beginning of the end with National ID Cards, without which you may not fly, drive or bank. Checkpoints throughout the country will swoop you off to detention camps. This law has passed. It will happen. Chip implants will follow. Life help us all.We are too few in number. The Free Press no longer exists and now 'they' are hinting at wiping the internet clean and starting again. Check out Arron Russo's Video "Freedom to Fascism" for the ugly reality of the ID cards and RFID's. I link to it at the bottom of my 1st page below or google it up.Pretty much until this century I thought the DrugWar and incarceration rates were about the worst thing in this country. Now it appears that the horrid injustice was just practice.I apologize for my longwindedness and gloomyness. It is all very sobering, but even still.... Every Day Is A Gift. I only wish our schools taught these four words, if nothing else. Enjoy.
Hemptopia
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #27 posted by Hope on April 16, 2007 at 21:56:24 PT
"most people"
Most boys is what I meant. After they'd reached, of course, a certain age of expected responsibe behavior, anyway. Twelve or thirteen years old maybe. Something has changed. Maybe. Maybe things like this have always happened and we just didn't hear about them. I don't know.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #26 posted by Hope on April 16, 2007 at 21:51:51 PT
Probably on a univeristy campus
there would be so many points of entry into so many buildings that they might not be able to cover them all with metal detecting machines and someone to man them.I think most schools that have just a few main entrances probably have them. Well, probably not in country schools.When I was in school, boys used to drive trucks to school with rifles in their gun racks and most people and some girls carried pocket knives. No one ever got shot or stabbed or even vaguely threatened. It's strange.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #25 posted by FoM on April 16, 2007 at 21:48:45 PT
One More Comment
I must call it a day. I hope I don't have a nightmare. Talk with you tomorrow. We'll find out more about the shooter tomorrow I'm sure.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #24 posted by FoM on April 16, 2007 at 21:44:43 PT
Snapping Out
Some people just snap out and then bad things can happen. I thought all colleges and high schools had scanners for guns. If schools don't have a metal detector why don't they?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #23 posted by Hope on April 16, 2007 at 21:38:40 PT
Forgive me...
and I'm not trying to be funny or disrespectful. For all we know at this point, small penis syndrome may have been the cause of this.Makes as much sense as anything else.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #22 posted by Hope on April 16, 2007 at 21:35:11 PT
It's a painful memory for
Texans who were alive then, and probably a lot of other people.I remember reading a lot about the guy that did the Texas shootings. But I don't recall that there was any kind of understandable explanation other than a man that had been on some kind of edge for a long time, cracked and exploded into a madman and killer.No reason. Just take lives. How can they have possibly come to the conclusion, whatever it was, that sent them killing everyone and anyone in sight. Killers among us. It concerns me, very much, of course. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #21 posted by FoM on April 16, 2007 at 21:32:42 PT
Hope
Sometimes it seems that people that do really bad things are quiet and don't bother anyone. If anyone could read another person's mind many bad things would be stopped but we don't have the ability to know the future so it is impossible really.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #20 posted by Hope on April 16, 2007 at 21:29:17 PT
Sometimes I can understand to a certain
degree some crimes of passion. Those things usually have a great deal to do with betrayal of a particular person. They are not right...but I can see how some kinds of passion can make you do things that you might not normally do. Sort of. Something I cannot even figure out where to start to fathom is someone developing the idea, the kind of hatred, that just makes them want to go out and take the life of anyone and everyone they see. I simply cannot begin to imagine what that might be about, except extreme insanity and wild hatred and despair.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #19 posted by FoM on April 16, 2007 at 21:26:25 PT
Hope
They mentioned that on the news today and it made me remember it but it is vague. I wasn't watching much tv back then.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #18 posted by Hope on April 16, 2007 at 21:23:19 PT
Killers 
I thought about the University of Texas Clock Tower murders today. That was an awful day. I think it was the University of Texas. It was in Austin, as I remember. A sniper shot people from the clock tower.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #17 posted by FoM on April 16, 2007 at 21:22:23 PT
Thanks
Thank you for commenting about today. This is hard. Killing is hard to handle. So many sad people grieving for their lost loved one. What is causing the pressure that can set someone off to do something like this? The world is getting crazy. Didn't anyone see this person as he was starting to unravel? 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #16 posted by Hope on April 16, 2007 at 21:14:53 PT
Virginia murders
A tragedy. A terrible tragedy. I certainly don't feel that I can say any more than that until we know what the madman was thinking. And even then... how can we stop people killing each other? I wish I had the answer. Love is likely the answer...but more people seem to lean to the "killing" than the idea of true brotherly "love".There are mean, unreasonable, angry, crazy, wicked people in the world. How can we protect ourselves from them? Obviously, and sadly and horribly, sometimes we can't.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #15 posted by BGreen on April 16, 2007 at 21:11:22 PT
Virginia Tech Shootings :(
I've been thinking about this a lot today, but probably not the way most are.I was just thinking about how tame this all was compared to the carnage WE are causing every single day, year after year, in all of our invasions of sovereign nations.I was also wondering just how this murderous administration is going to use this conveniently timely diversion (sure booted Gonzales out of the headlines, didn't it?) to further remove us from any freedoms the bastards haven't already snatched away.If this shooter that destroyed the lives of so many innocent people would have been a soldier who wasted 32 innocent Iraqi's, today's murderer would have been considered a hero.That is America today.That is wrong.I'm appalled and ashamed.The Reverend Bud Green
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by FoM on April 16, 2007 at 20:23:51 PT
Here Are Some Comments About The Murders Today
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post_group/ObamaHQ/CZTB#comments
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by ekim on April 16, 2007 at 19:50:24 PT
dont know FoM ---- thanks for lighting this candle
Fighting Prohibition Online 
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n480/a07.html?397
Anyone interested in changing public policy is smart to employ major media such as newspaper, radio and television as a vital component in key strategies, just as most of the significant political movements of years past have done. Changing any policy requires the attention and support of mainstream journalists, reporters, and public commentators. In a drug war based on misinformation and lies generated by government propaganda, science and reason are powerful tools for changing public perception. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by FoM on April 16, 2007 at 19:27:22 PT
Just a Comment
I'm surprised no one mentioned what happened today at Virginia Tech. I feel so bad for the families and classmates and all those who lost a friend or child or a teacher. How could one person have a gun that could kill that many people and walk into a college and do what he did? I really dislike guns but I do know that laws wouldn't have stopped what set him off. I wonder if he was on any drugs? Who was he? Why did he do it? That's all for now.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by mayan on April 16, 2007 at 18:21:52 PT
Sinking Ship
Secretary of State Rice may face subpoena threat Wednesday: 
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Secretary_of_State_Rice_to_face_0416.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by Toker00 on April 16, 2007 at 17:35:33 PT
Question: OT
Is anyone familiar with the drug Pantoprazole, common name: Protonix. It is suppose to cause a false positive for THC. How dangerous is this drug? It's for acid reflux. Some people are talking about using it to screen their cannabis use. You have to inform your employer and tiss pesters if you take it.Opinions? Thanks in advance.Toke.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by mayan on April 16, 2007 at 17:05:55 PT
We Still Remember
For better or worse, (Rainbow Farm) probably would have had the stature of Waco or Ruby Ridge countrywide except for 9/11.And the rest is history. THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...A Crossroads: Time For The Big Voices To Shout:
http://www.stoplying.ca/articles/07/apr/041407crossroads.phpAudio of the San Diego Citizen's Grand Jury:
http://911blogger.com/node/7886David Arquette, a truther? Confirmed:
http://911blogger.com/node/7902Daniel Sunjata Proudly Wears Infowars 9/11 Inside Job T-Shirt at Award Ceremony: 
http://infowars.com/articles/sept11/sunjata_wears_infowars_911_shirt.htmRosie Prepares To Strike Back For 9/11 Truth:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/april2007/160407strikeback.htm
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by FoM on April 16, 2007 at 13:50:44 PT
Max Flowers
I'm not drinking much anymore. No diet coke and I try to drink more grape juice. Hard habits are hard to break. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by Max Flowers on April 16, 2007 at 13:14:07 PT
FoM
Good thing you stopped drinking diet sodas (I hope you have, anyway). Check this out, now whole other countries are recognizing that aspartame is toxic. I wonder how long it will take before the US has to acknowledge this (or if it even will):(from http://www.icex.es/icex/cda/controller/page/0,2956,35582_13637_16030_298341,00.html
 
& http://www.mityc.es/es-ES/index.htm )4-7-7Philippines Forbids Import
And Use Of Aspartame!A law promulgated by the Philippine Congress has forbidden the importing and use, in the country, of aspartame, a sweetener that is between 180 to 200 times more potent than sugar, as well as banning distribution of four makes of saccharine, the most important brand names in the country known as: Equal, NutraSweet, Equal-Measure y Spoonful.[*] According to the said Law aspartame gives rise to a total of 75% of the negative effects reflected in consumers and other users according to the north American administration of food and alimentation, among others, brain tumours, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and diabetes among others. The ban affects all use of this product in any type of consumable and infringement will carry penalties that go from 9,000 euros to 90,000 euros.
 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by Hope on April 16, 2007 at 12:55:00 PT
This is too hard.
I'm horrified. Still.Finally, I did manage to get it read. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by FoM on April 16, 2007 at 12:27:31 PT
News Article from MarketWatch.com
Monday's Personal Finance Stories April 16, 2007It would be tempting to characterize the debate over the medical use of marijuana as a battle between the forces of stone-faced, gray-suited DEA agents and glassy-eyed, tie-dyed ex-hippies. But there is no such "Cheech and Chong" comedy when it comes to the folks whose pain is relieved only by smoking cannabis, and whose work is to document the medicinal benefits or drawbacks to the drug.Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/yo2q7g
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by FoM on April 16, 2007 at 11:29:27 PT
This Was Nice To See
http://www.barackobama.com/
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by Had Enough on April 16, 2007 at 10:25:16 PT
Not Enough Info
museman #2“"Nor did it refer to the Rainbow Family, the hippie activists who followed the Grateful Dead,"”Thanks for focusing in on that point. Apparently this guy hasn’t got all the information he needs.Maybe you could E-mail him and share with him your knowledge of the Rainbow Family.“The fact that there had been a 'Rainbow Farm' that went through virtually the same thing on a cold morning in August 1983, doesn't seem to relate.”Would you care to tell us more about this?I believe I’ve seen you mention that in the past.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by museman on April 16, 2007 at 10:00:41 PT
clarification
"Nor did it refer to the Rainbow Family, the hippie activists who followed the Grateful Dead,"Connotative, insulting, and essentially incorrect. The fact that there had been a 'Rainbow Farm' that went through virtually the same thing on a cold morning in August 1983, doesn't seem to relate. Maybe because we didn't shoot at the cops, and some of us had more faith in the magic of the Spirit - which is how we 'won.'A great many folks who attended the Rainbow Gatherings from 1971 up to Gerry's death did also go to Grateful Dead concerts, but there were/are just as many or more who didn't. I for one.This Rainbow Farm story is tragic, it's true, but why is it that the 'bad news' about related issues and themes - particularly using the terms 'hippies' and 'Rainbow' are the only things that get into the mainstream?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 16, 2007 at 09:23:10 PT
What a Terrible Memory
Tom and Rollie being shot and killed on those fateful days will never be forgotten by me.This is off topic but what is causing the shootings that happened today at Virginia Tech?http://www.cnn.com/
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment