Congressional Abdication

Great article on National Interest. org by Senator Jim Webb

We will miss him in the Senate

Congressional Abdication

The RP in Newsweek: Inside the Movement to Legalize Hemp

 By Jonathan Miller - The Recovering Politician.

The RP in Newsweek: Inside the Movement to Legalize Hemp

Marijuana Education/Legalization: 5 Senior Citizens Serving Life Without Parole for ...

 Another post about Five Senior, non-violent, marijuana only offenders serving sentences of Life without Parole for selling marijuana.  This is a travesty that should be corrected by a Presidential Commutation.

Marijuana Education/Legalization: 5 Senior Citizens Serving Life Without Parole for ...: 5 Senior Citizens Serving Life Without Parole for Pot Should five non-violent offenders die behind bars for a crime Americans incre...

Day 2 of the Hemp Parade Continues…

 Jonathan Miller - The Recovering Politician is in Washington lobbying for hemp legalization.  Thank you Jonathan. 

Day 2 of the Hemp Parade Continues…

 This is an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal about the Safety Valve Act of 2013 

Ending mandatory minimums is long overdue.  Families Against Mandatory Minimums  is the national activist group that has worked specifically to removing mandatory minimum sentencing.  They are supported by a long list of organizations fighting for civil liberties, ending the drug war, prison reform, and fiscal responsibility.  

It is heartening to see this thoughtful editorial by Douglas Berman and Harlan Protass in the Wall Street Journal.

We just lament that this is not the end of the road for those non-violent marijuana offenders who are serving sentences of Life without Parole in the federal system for selling marijuana. 

These inmates will get relief only from retroactive legislation or Presidential Commutation.  We hope this is a giant step forward.

 

Berman and Protass: A Saner Approach to Sentencing

'Mandatory minimum' laws need an overhaul. Congress is ready. Will the president make good on his promises?

By DOUGLAS A. BERMAN AND HARLAN PROTASS

There are few topics on which leading Democratic and Republican voices agree these days. But the recently introduced Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013—which would authorize federal judges to impose prison terms below statutory mandatory minimums in some cases—represents a new bipartisan effort at addressing America's overcrowded prisons and bloated budget. Passage of the act, though, will depend on President Obama and his Justice Department getting behind it.

Ron Paul: Boston Police Tactics 'should frighten us as much or more than the attack itself'

 I believe he's correct

Ron Paul: Boston Police Tactics 'should frighten us as much or more than the attack itself'