From Black to White, the changing face of Drug Addiction and Punishment

Now, that white opioid users have surplanted black people as the face of Addiction, America has begun to experience a change of heart when it comes to Draconian Drug Laws and Sentences.

Before moving on to the body of this post let me note, I am all in favor of decriminalization of a minor drug like cannabis and a pivot on harder drugs towards medical treatment as opposed to punishment. But, it's incontravertable that society's pivot towards treating Opiate Use as a medical illiness instead of as a criminal act is because the weight of the Criminal Laws are now wrecking white people's lives and not just those in black or brown communities.

All of sudden, white people have begun to experience the horrors the 50 years of Republican War on Drugs has wreaked upon minorities. Harsh Punishment used to be reserved for those people. Now, whites get to see their children's futures ruined over minor non-violent drug possession charges.

As an aside, this is why I don't believe in heightening the contradictions, i.e. allowing Donald Trump to assume the Presidency in order to bring about the perfect left candidate. White Working Class People, the base of the Republican Party, were abso-fucking-lutely fine with harsh laws as long as the long-haired hippies were getting the truncheons and blacks were being incarcerated/ruined for drugs.

Now, that those same rules are applied to them? Well, it's time to re-evaluate the War on Drugs!!!

For the last 5 decades, the Republicon Party at the behest of their Plutocratic Owners, have been dismantling the Progressive Gains of the 20th century, the so-called American Dream. At first they started with black and brown Americans because they knew Whites were enjoying the benefits of Liberal Democratic Society and wouldn't say much.

Unlike, the contention the Democratic Party abandoned the white working class 50 years ago, the Democratic Party decided to make good (as best they could) to the promises made to African-Americans and other marginalized segments of society.

Whites who had nearly been the sole benefactors of New Deal Government Programs became irritated, especially as the Republican Party made sure that any gains for minorities would be taken directly from the pockets of the working class, that other people were being aided by those programs.

Nixon, a master politician, understood this back in 1968 and took advantage to win the Presidency,

“The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”

Ronald Reagan identified the Government, the one now helping poor blacks, as the problem. Of course, while he demonized welfare queens and steak-eatin' young bucks he was busily dismantling the manufacturing base of America. For blacks in the 1980's the loss of economic opportunity in large cities, was thus replaced with Gangs and Drug-based Capitalism.

The continued Republicon assault on the American Worker and Industry and the transition to a finance-based Capitalism as opposed to manufacturing of the 20th century has reached working class whites.

George W(orst POTUS Ever) Bush attempted to delay the full impact of Republicon Capitalism on American Society by trying to swindle Social Security and dumping a massive influx of capital into the hands of the Vultures on Wall Street, but was defeated. If he had been successful perhaps the Republican Recession of 2007 would have been averted for another decade or perhaps just a few years.

In either case, Bush/Cheney would have been a safe enough distance to proclaim it wasn't demonstrably their fault.

Thus, whites who had already seen their good-paying Union jobs and benefits disappear thanks to right-wing Vulture Capitalism saw their home equity and meager retirement savings vanish into Mitt Romney's Cayman Island Bank Accounts and into 50,000 millionaires secret UBS Swiss Bank Accounts.

So, while we've also witnessed the greatest decline in standard of living and life expectancy for working class white people we've seen those same white people turn to the only thriving industry left in America, Drug Dealing.

Sandra Bland died for the "crime" of being Uppity. A Police Officer's View.

First off, there is literally no death of any black person at the hands of the Police which Faux News and Conservatives will not justify and defend.

Nothing will make them deviate from their playbook of, minimizing the LEOs actions, demanding the black person prostrate themselves completely and then slandering the victim after their death.

An arrest is not a conviction. Of course, Conservatives believe every black person is a born criminal. Thus, begins to ex post facto justification for Bland's death via the murdering of her character. It's the right-wing way.

Bland's toxicology report showed cannabinoids in her blood. Weed Smoking is only acceptable if you're white. The same with gun ownership.

There's a massive amount of wrong with this whole escapade. Even the release of the dashcam video which Ava DuVernay, the director of Selma, legitimately called doctored, was so fraught with "glitches" the Texas Department of Public Safety is turned it over to the FBI for authentication that no editing has been done and any apparent errors are problems with uploading. Texas DPS has also released 3 hours (out of 72) of Bland's incarceration but, there is no camera inside the cell and big gaps in video coverage down the hallway to the cell. So, whatever happened inside Bland's cell is never going to be known.

Now, I know exactly what Deputy Brian Encinia was doing when he zoomed up on Bland's vehicle, i.e. checking her license plate status to see if the driver is Suspended or has a Warrant. Nothing showed up on his squad car computer screen but, when she makes a minor traffic violation, failure to signal lane change, he's got his Probable Cause, to pull her over and run a name check and also get a better look inside the interior of the vehicle.

Well, he's got nothing. So he writes the moving violation and returns to Bland's window. And that's when he sees his opening.

When an officer or deputy escalates aggression it's either because he's weak and unsure of himself or he's trying to torque the person up in order to get a reaction ," a" rise out if that person. Deputy Brian Encinia starts in on Bland, seemingly asking innocuous questions, Sandra Bland answers the questions in too flippant a tone for Deputy Encinia and he rapidly descends into Eric Cartman level 'Respect My Authoritah'.

Conservatives of course begin the character assassination of Bland at this point. Calling her arrogant, demanding she obey* the orders of the Deputy, and blaming his verbal aggression on her. With indefensible incidents such as this, Conservatives focus on one aspect, Encinia's right to order her out from the car, instead of the totality of the circumstances.

Now, while Encinia can legally her out of the vehicle, she's not under arrest at that point as the Deputy asserts, but is being temporarily lawfully detained. But, once this "arrogant" black woman talked back to him Encinia apparently lost his composure, threatened "I will light you up", called for backing units, and the situation was totally out of control. A good Police Officer must be able to ratchet down during encounters. Encinia was apparently too weak or too stupid to do this.

Because prior to getting her out of the vehicle, there's nothing there. No DUI, No warrants known to him at the time, no major moving violations, no contraband in the vehicle. Just a black woman who didn't know her place.

Resisting/Obstructing are the catch-alls Police Departments use to charge a person whom they most likely should not have arrested. Much of what's wrong here stems from the decision to put the Resisting/Battery to a Peace Officer charge on Bland to cover for Encinia's mistakes.

I don't know what Waller County Texas lockup procedures are but, Bland should have been released on an IBond after she couldn't come up with the money. They had her car. They had already positively identified her. No felony had been committed. So, why wasn't she bonded out? Because as a further demonstration to her that if you don't prostrate yourself before the law, you are going to spend a whole weekend in lockup, to teach that uppity n-slur some manners.

Usually temporary holding cells contain no items like plastic bags no trash can liners and her food** would not be delivered in one. I never let the arrestee have plastic dinnerware, a straw or even the plastic lid on the drink. Also it's Standard Operating Procedure that even arrestee without self-admitted suicidal thoughts are made to give up shoe laces, belts and even drawstrings on hoodies.

Additionally, during processing prior to being placed into a Holding Cell, it is SOP to ask if the arrestee if they have ever harmed them-self or attempted suicide. And if Deputies knew she had a history of suicidal thoughts, as the processing form shows, then they are obligated and responsible for her well-being. If that means taking her to the Hospital for close non-stop observation and an evaluation by a Doctor, too bad they made the arrest.

The Waller County Sheriff Department didn't do this, most likely, because the Deputies believed she was feigning Incarceratius, in order to get out of lockup.

So, Sandra Bland is dead. The Texas Authorities are in overdrive to prove she committed suicide, but even if she did (which sadly I'm not ready to concede) her death nonetheless is still on Waller County Sheriff because they decided to hold a potentially suicidal person for 3 days for the Unforgivable Crime of being Black in America.

* - Conservatives have for years gotten away with this hypocritical dichotomy of fear-monging about distrusting government so much so that they've purchased 100 million guns and deployed themselves to Counter Jade Helm yet they unequivocally accept every Government Official declaration concerning the suspicious deaths of black people by authorities. It could not be any clearer that Conservatives support and desire the murder of black people by Police.

** - much was made of Dylann Roof, the white conservative domestic terrorist getting fed Burger King after he was under arrest. This is non-controversial. My Department provides McDonald's for every meal for someone held in our temporary detention cells.

There's more than corn in Indiana, there's also the Right-to-Discriminate and be a Christian Bigot (Updated)

Are there any queers in the theater tonight?
Get them up against the wall!
There's one in the spotlight, he don't look right to me,
Get him up against the wall! - In the Flesh , Pink Floyd, The Wall (1979). Adopted by the Indiana Republicans as marching orders.

Republicans are going to force you to become christians. Not "Papists" mind you, because as Sarah Palin elucidated, Pope Francis sounds "too liberal" and the Republicans in Congress cancelled a Ceremonial Bill honoring the Pontiff because his Papal pronouncements too closely aligned with President Obama.

Now, we've listened to Phil Robertson fantasize about a horrific torture/murder spree he'd like to unleash on atheists which included raping little girls, beheading women and cutting dicks off now we have the Indiana Republicans and Republican Governor Mike Pence ramming through a Religious Discrimination Bill.

98 of the 103 Republicans in the Indiana State Legislature voted to allow Christian Bigots to discriminate against you because they feel like it. Like all illegal shameful laws passed, Governor Pence could not do this in the light of day but, had to slink into a secret room to affix his signature to the euphemistically titled Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

We've seen the Hobby Lobby Scotus decision empower business owners to dictate what you can and can not do with your healthcare, opening the floodgates for religious bigots to be able to tell you that you can not use your salary, your pay, or your benefits as you see fit.

This isn't about restoring the free exercise of religion or what a person does in the privacy of their own home or the practices of their church but, another step towards allowing businesses to discriminate.

The unfortunate truth is if you wish to operate a company in America you need to accept each and every customer regardless of whether you agree or disagree with their personal beliefs. You recall all the onerous regulations stifling business according to republicans? The Civil Rights Act of 1968 which outlawed Discrimination is what Republicans and Conservatives find onerous.

And what the Republicans are doing through the passage of these Unconstitutional and Illegal Laws is to build a case brick by bigoted brick to eliminate The Civil Rights Act.

As more laws are passed its getting closer and closer to the day when the political system which comes wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross triumphantly lays claim to the United States.

Update:
Fortunately, there has been a strong push back on Twitter/Facebook and On-line. Unfortunately, what the Clicktavists don't understand is Republicans Do. Not. Care. because they know most people don't vote and even if one Republican (Mike Pence, for instance) loses his position in Government a whole cadre of Republican stand ready to use the Awesome Power of Government to enforce their Bigotry.

Update 2:
So, a Right-Winger in Arizona pushed for mandatory church attendence across the Nation. Big Deal, you might think, until you realize the Right-Winger is an elected State Congresswoman who is willing to use the Power of Government to force you to attend a church.

Then again you might shrug and dismiss it as some local po-dunk backwater Teabagger with little power until Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and 2016 Presidential Aspirant has called for a Big christian Tent Revival to regain America's lost morality.

Illinois State Rep Joseph M. Lyons is super-mad his Rape Wand Bill isn't being fast tracked

Joe Lyons who proposed Illinois HB 4085 is demanding 5 Illinois Representatives withdraw their amendments and co-sponsor his Rape Wand Bill.

The Bill made it through the Illinois Agricultural Committee 11-2, but since then it has been saddled with 5 Amendments. Joe Lyons addressed the Illinois House and said of the amendments, “That’s what you call, ladies and gentlemen, a hostile amendment to kill a bill.” Lyons asked the lawmakers to withdraw their amendments and simply debate the bill in the full House.

Lyons' bill is euphemistically called the UltraSound Opportunity Act, which gives Doctors the glorius "Opportunity" to shove a transvaginal probe all up inside the dirty, dirty, ladyparts of sluts, errr abortion seekers.

Lyons, is a Democrat but he's also a devout Catholic, having attended DePaul University for his Bachleror's and Master's Degrees. However, the co-sponsors of his bill included 13 Republicans and only 4 Democrats and of the 19 only 3 are women.

This just goes beyond disgusting. Republicans joined by these zealous Democratic religious fanatics are imposing the power of Government onto Americans. Sadly, it appears the Doctors are going to have to bear the burden of resisting unjust laws because if there's one truism of conservatives it's that they love the power of Big Government when that power is used to oppress people and violate Americans' civil rights.

Fortunately, there very well may be a resistance by Physicans into being made the Tools of Right-Wing Oppressors. From the blog Whatever by John Scalzi comes this guest post by an Anonymous Doctor;

Fellow physicians, once again we are being used as tools to screw people over. This time, it’s the politicians who want to use us to implement their morally reprehensible legislation. They want to use our ultrasound machines to invade women’s bodies, and they want our hands to be at the controls. Coerced and invaded women, you have a problem with that? Blame us evil doctors. We are such deliciously silent scapegoats.

It is our responsibility, as always, to protect our patients from things that would harm them. Therefore, as physicians, it is our duty to refuse to perform a medical procedure that is not medically indicated. Any medical procedure. Whatever the pseudo-justification.
It’s time for a little old-fashioned civil disobedience.

This brave Doctor may be willing to do what the pseudo-Oathkeepers only claimed to aspire to, which is resist an unjust law which seeks to humiliate, shame, degrade, punish and reduce women to the status of second-class citizens devoid even of the basic right to control their own bodies.

Related:
Illinois Representatives think Women are Farm Animals [Disaffected and it Feels So Good]

Grand Dragon Glenn Beck Racist Demagogue and False Profit

Update 08/28:
As expected the False Profit Glenn Beck invoked god over and over to justify his inflammatory methods. Onward christian fascists! Take back American from the non-god chosen, the UnAmericans! And the attendees all know who that is... Mark Benjamin, an attendee from Salon counted 27 africian-Americans in the estimated crowd of 87,000.

"It's like the Damn Planet of the Apes!" ~ Glenn Beck critiques the Obama Administration.

The name Glenn Beck brings forth the terms hysterical fabrication, egregious stupidity, insidious ignorance, untrammeled bigotry, complete disregard for the truth and "literal demonization" of his enemies. But his 828 Rally on the site and anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech" and recent behavior deserves mention.

Beck has called his Rally Restoring Honor and Reclaiming the Civil Rights Movement. And from whom does Beck need to take back the civil rights movement? And at what point does Glenn Beck feel America Lost Honor? Why from Martin Luther King Jr. when he spoke in Washington DC.

Glenn Beck is a vile racist. Glenn's fans and supporters are racist bigots and christian white fascists; the Conservative Tearrorists. Beck has spent everyday since President Obama was elected whipping up their 'white fear'. His whole show is predicated on playing on the racist ignorance of christian fascists. He invites the ignorant bigot Sarah Palin who tweets a racist should "reload" and continue calling black persons the n-word epithet. He wants his racist followers to take back America from black persons and minorities.

This is whom the 828 Rally is for... That is for whom Glenn Beck speaks...

But, Glenn's not responsible for his actions! A higher power is guiding Beck, god is personally working through Glenn Beck and ensuring the weather for his Rally will be clear and easy. Invoking god or claiming 'he' is speaking or working though you is prima facie evidence of dishonesty and ulterior motives.

Delusions of Grandeur doesn't even begin to describe this level of Megalomania...


That there are Americans, who after hearing someone claim that god is speaking to them, would weigh that claim as positive evidence for the truthfulness of the speaker is sad and disturbing.

Additional:
Beck also found time to throw an additional I Stand With You Flag to his christian white fascists by blaming Charles Darwin for Adolf Hitler, the Nazis and the Holocaust. Admittedly, this is an old card, in the Creationist hand.

Beck's latest attacks on Charles Darwin are doubly ridiculous inasmuch as Beck is personally responsible for inciting Conservative Tearrosits to violence.

Glenn Beck would have fit in with the Klansmen of the 19th century. Beck is a racist, Darwin was not. Charles Darwin, besides being one of the greatest scientist of all time, was above the ignorant racism of his era he was one of those rare persons who could be outside the zeitgeist of his time.