Freedom Lawyers of America

Fw: New Book About The Drug War--Recommended Reading

sheldon waxman — 2004-08-26T11:20:26Z

"Bad Trip--How The War Against Drugs Is Destroying America," by Joel Miller.

It has all the old libertarian arguments but brings it up to date--current. As of 2004. Well-written. I just finished it.

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, J.D. http://www.thelawyer.info
IC Specialist http://www.independentcontractor.info
NewPulp Literary Productions-- http://www.newpulp.net
The Sam Cohen Case Adventure Series

Isn't that too bad

sheldon waxman — 2004-08-24T21:51:33Z

U.S. border guards demoralized
----------
GovExec.com
   "A majority of border and customs officials surveyed earlier this
   month by the American Federation of Government Employees said they
   are demoralized and not getting the full support they need to
   protect the country ..." (8/23/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/538545862.html

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, J.D. http://www.thelawyer.info
IC Specialist http://www.independentcontractor.info
NewPulp Literary Productions-- http://www.newpulp.net
The Sam Cohen Case Adventure Series

Prostitutes accept food coupons as paymentA...

sheldon waxman — 2004-08-24T11:16:16Z

Prostitutes accept food coupons as payment
Ananova

"Prostitutes in a Romanian town have decided to accept food coupons as payment.The girls from Deva said they use half of the coupons to buy food and sell the other half under its value to get some money. One of the girls, Elena told Curierul newspaper: "I have been doing this job here for about two years and lately our clients are very few. So we had this idea: maybe men will be happier to come to us if they don't have to give us money which may be monitored by wives." Food coupons are given by many of the Romanian employers as supplement to their monthly retribution." (08/22/04)

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1072187.html?menu=

-----

Child soldiers square up to US tanks
Telegraph [UK]

"Struggling to lift a Kalashnikov, a 12-year-old with the Mahdi army militia said he could do anything in battle except fly a helicopter. 'Last night I fired a rocket-propelled grenade against a tank,' he said. 'The Americans are weak. They fight for money and status and squeal like pigs when they die. But we will kill the unbelievers because faith is the most powerful weapon.' ... There are many more child soldiers in the narrow alleyways of the old city that surrounds the 11th-century Imam Ali shrine, its golden dome marking the mausoleum of Shia Islam's martyred founder and son-in-law of the prophet Mohammed." (08/23/04)

http://tinyurl.com/42lvu

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, J.D. http://www.thelawyer.info
IC Specialist http://www.independentcontractor.info
NewPulp Literary Productions-- http://www.newpulp.net
The Sam Cohen Case Adventure Series

Jewish Haiku

sheldon waxman — 2004-08-18T16:36:33Z

J E W I S H H A I K U

After the warm rain

the sweet smell of camellias.

Did you wipe your feet?

*****

Her lips near my ear,

Aunt Sadie whispers the name

of her friend's disease.

****

Today I am a man.

Tomorrow I will return

to the seventh grade.

*****

Lacking fins or tail

the gefilte fish swims with

great difficulty.

*****

Like a bonsai tree,

your terrible posture

at my dinner table.

*****

Beyond Valium,

the peace of knowing one's child

is an internist.

*****

Sorry I'm not home

to take your call. At the tone

please state your bad news.

*****

Is one Nobel Prize

so much to ask from a child

after all I've done?

*****

Today, mild shvitzing.

Tomorrow, so hot you'll plotz.

Five-day forecast: feh

*****

(for Passover)

Left the door open

for the Prophet Elijah.

Now our cat is gone.

*****

Harsh Scrabble discord--

someone has placed "putzhead" on

a triple word score.

Testing the warm milk

on her wrist, she sighs softly.

But her son is forty.

Lovely butterfly--

not long ago your name was

Caterpillarstein.

A cat steals into

the night just like my former

partner, that gonif.

My nature journal --

today, I saw some trees and birds.

I should know the names?

The sparrow brings home

too many worms for her young.

"Force yourself," she chirps.

Jewish triathlon:

gin rummy, then contract bridge,

followed by a nap.

The shivah visit:

so sorry about your loss.

Now back to my problems.

Our youngest daughter,

our most precious jewel.

Hence the name, Tiffany.

Ma, please! There is no

need to put that dinner roll

in your pocketbook.

Concert of car horns

as we debate the question

of when to change lanes.

My handsome son

wonderful new bride to be

She is a slut

Yenta. Shmeer. Gevalt.

Shlemiel. Shlimazl. Meshuganah

Oy! To be fluent!

Important Stuff

sheldon waxman — 2004-08-18T11:45:11Z

Study: Gun ban didn't reduce violence
    Washington Times

"The federal assault-weapons ban, scheduled to expire in September, is
not responsible for the nation's steady decline in gun-related
violence and its renewal likely will achieve little, according to an
independent study commissioned by the National Institute of Justice
(NIJ). 'It is thus premature to make definitive assessments of the
ban's impact on gun violence. Should it be renewed, the ban's effects
on gun violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small
for reliable measurement,' said the report .... NIJ is the Justice
Department's research, development and evaluation agency -- assigned
the job of providing objective, independent, evidence-based
information to the department through independent studies and other
data collection activities." (08/17/04)

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040816-114754-1427r.htm

-----

Barbecues to tempt hunger strikers
    Ananova [UK]

"Israel is threatening to barbecue meat outside the cells of
hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners to break their spirit. Some
1,700 Palestinian inmates are on hunger strike for better prison
conditions and more family visits, reports The Daily Star in Lebanon.
But the Israeli Prisons Service is refusing to meet the conditions
and is threatening action to break the strikers' spirit.'Among the
various methods we plan to employ is holding barbecues outside the
walls of the affected prisons,' an Israeli Prisons Service spokesman
said." (08/17/04)

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1062713.html

-----

Louisiana: Loads of legislation
    The Times-Picayune

"Louisianians will awake today facing as many as 520 new laws
governing their lives, most of them tinkering with existing statues
but some major new initiatives. Among the news laws to go on the
books are a statewide ban on open containers of alcohol for all
occupants in vehicles, a mandate that all motorcycle riders wear
safety helmets, and the threat of jail time for parents who
intentionally withhold child support. ... And those who use guns to
commit crimes within 1,000 feet of a parade route could get two years
added to any sentence meted out for the crime itself." (08/15/04)

http://tinyurl.com/4mm53

-----

Court backs beer-lover's license suspension
    Fox News

"A judge ruled the state can suspend the driver's license of a man who
lost his driving privileges after his doctor reported to police that
he drank a six-pack of beer a day. But the judge also said Keith
Emerich may obtain restricted driving privileges as long as he uses a
device that tests his blood-alcohol content before starting his car.
Emerich, 44, a printing company employee, was notified in April he
would lose his license, about two months after he disclosed his
drinking habit to doctors treating him for an irregular heartbeat."
(08/17/04)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,129232,00.html

-----

Medical marijuana advocates ready to sue in MN
    Marijuana Policy Project

"The Marijuana Policy Project announced [Tuesday] that it will sue the
city of Minneapolis if its City Council votes to bar a medical
marijuana initiative from the November ballot. 'The reasons given by
the Charter Commission and members of the council's Intergovernmental
Relations Committee for keeping this proposal off the ballot are
transparently phony,' said Neal Levine, a former Minneapolis resident
who now serves as director of state policies for the Washington,
D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project. 'We are fully prepared to go to
court, and to spend whatever it takes to prevent the city's voters
from being disenfranchised.' Citizens Organized for Harm Reduction
turned in more than 12,000 signatures in support of the initiative
charter amendment, under which Minneapolis would authorize medical
marijuana distribution centers to serve patients using marijuana with
their physician's recommendation 'to the extent permitted by state
and federal law.'" (08/17/04)

http://www.mpp.org/releases/nr081704.html

Massachusetts: Court rules on use of confessions
    Boston Globe

"The state's highest court ruled yesterday that judges should begin
instructing juries in criminal trials to be skeptical when police
fail to tape-record confessions or statements made by defendants in
custody. In a 4-to-3 decision with broad implications for police
investigations, the Supreme Judicial Court said that if defendants
request it, judges must tell juries that the high court wants
statements to be recorded 'whenever practicable' and that the absence
of recordings is evidence to be weighed 'with great care and
caution.' Alaska and Minnesota are the only states where high courts
have ordered police to tape interrogations to prove that confessions
were voluntary." (08/17/04)

http://tinyurl.com/6uhel

Children of criminals to be "targeted" and "tracked"
    Independent [UK]

"Children of criminals are to be 'targeted' and 'tracked' from an
early age by the Government to prevent them following their parents
into a life of crime, as part of a campaign to tackle the next
generation of offenders. In an offensive on youth crime, a programme
to prevent 125,000 children whose fathers are in prison from joining
them in jail, is being planned by the Home Office." (08/16/04)

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=551894

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, J.D. http://www.thelawyer.info
IC Specialist http://www.independentcontractor.info
NewPulp Literary Productions-- http://www.newpulp.net
The Sam Cohen Case Adventure Series

sheldon waxman — 2004-08-13T11:44:23Z

Woman jailed for smoking around kids
Biloxi Sun Herald

"A woman was sentenced Thursday to 10 days in jail for defying a court
order not to smoke around her children. Tamara Silvius was banned
last year from smoking around the youths, now ages 8 and 10, as part
of a custody arrangement with her ex-husband." (08/13/04)

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/nation/9387884.htm

Scrap the tax code? Bush floats a national sales tax
Christian Science Monitor

"George W. Bush is known for liking bold, sometimes even risky,
initiatives -- ideas like sending a man to Mars, or revamping the US
immigration system, or overthrowing the dictator of Iraq. But is the
president really ready to take on the American tax system? A comment
Tuesday at a town-hall meeting in Florida has reignited the
long-simmering debate in conservative circles over whether Washington
should rethink the way it levies taxes. When a supporter asked
President Bush about scrapping the current tax code and replacing it
with a national sales tax, he replied favorably: 'I'm not exactly
sure how big the national sales tax is going to have to be, but it's
the kind of interesting idea that we ought to explore seriously.'
Since then, White House spokesmen have not ruled out the idea."
(08/12/04)

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0813/p03s01-uspo.html

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, J.D. http://www.thelawyer.info
IC Specialist http://www.independentcontractor.info
NewPulp Literary Productions-- http://www.newpulp.net
The Sam Cohen Case Adventure Series

Zechariah come true

sheldon waxman — 2004-08-12T11:59:18Z

Iran tests missile capable of hitting Israel
Reuters

"Iran says it has carried out a successful field test of the latest
version of its Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile, which defence
experts say can reach Israel or U.S. bases in the Gulf. Defence
Minister Ali Shamkhani said last week Iran was working to improve the
range and accuracy of the Shahab-3 in response to Israel's moves to
boost its anti-missile capability." (08/12/04)

http://tinyurl.com/56wtx

-----

South Korea to move capital 100 miles south
Guardian [UK]

"The South Korean government confirmed yesterday that it is to create
a new capital in what will be one of Asia's biggest ever construction
projects. Under the Â£26bn scheme, a site in the sleepy region of
Gongju-Yongi 100 miles south of Seoul will replace it as the seat of
parliament and government by 2020. Despite sharp divisions among the
public and the mixed results of similarly ambitious projects by other
states, president Roh Moo-hyun insists relocation is necessary to
ease chronic overcrowding in Seoul, redistribute the state's wealth,
and lessen the danger of a bombardment by North Korea." (08/12/04)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/article/0,2763,1281205,00.html

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, J.D. http://www.thelawyer.info
IC Specialist http://www.independentcontractor.info
NewPulp Literary Productions-- http://www.newpulp.net
The Sam Cohen Case Adventure Series

sheldon waxman — 2004-08-09T20:24:50Z

Survey shows Americans have faith in juries
----------
Reuters
   "Most Americans say that if they were charged with a crime they
   would want jurors rather than a judge to decide their fate,
   according to a jury service attitude survey ..." (8/8/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/599404941.html

Fifteen percent of U.S. adults have a 'personality disorder'
----------
Detroit Free Press
   "Personality disorders are much more common in the United
   States than researchers had thought, affecting nearly
   one in seven adult Americans, a new survey finds." (8/7/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/600875289.html

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, J.D. http://www.thelawyer.info
IC Specialist http://www.independentcontractor.info
NewPulp Literary Productions-- http://www.newpulp.net
The Sam Cohen Case Adventure Series

Hah, hah It creates visions

sheldon waxman — 2004-08-06T11:57:30Z

Romania: Older topless women deterring tourists, say police
Ananova [UK]

"Police in Romania want a ban on women over 60 going topless on a
stretch of beach because they claim it's 'ugly' and likely to deter
tourists. Police in Constanta county, which is home to one of the
Black Sea's top stretches of beach, say they've had scores of
complaints about topless older women. Police chief Victor Popescu
said: 'Going topless has its age limit and old women going topless
should understand this.'"
(08/05/04)

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1046115.html

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, J.D. http://thelawyer.info
IC Specialist http://www.independentcontractor.info
NewPulp Literary Productions-- http://www.newpulp.net
The Sam Cohen Case Adventure Series
"Black Messiah Murders" and "Piranhas on the Loose"

sheldon waxman — 2004-08-04T11:50:23Z

Medical use of marijuana nears a win
Detroit Free Press

"Detroit is poised to become a harbinger for the Midwest as voters
choose whether to allow residents to use and possess marijuana for
medical purposes. The measure does not affect state and federal law.
With 40 percent of precincts reporting late Tuesday, 62 percent of
voters approved the measure. Thirty-eight percent opposed it."
(08/03/04)

http://tinyurl.com/6x8ek

Gun arrests rally rights advocates
Washington Times

"The erroneous arrest of two college students who were legally
carrying guns in holsters in Fairfax County has galvanized Virginia's
pro-gun lobby and gun-control activists. The Virginia Citizens
Defense League, a pro-gun group, said it has drawn more than $600 in
unsolicited donations, including $5 from a Marine lieutenant serving
in Iraq, in response to the June 14 arrest. 'The incident at
Starbucks sent off fireworks everywhere,' said Philip Van Cleave,
president of Virginia Citizens Defense League. 'That changed
everything. The police went way over the edge, and that woke up a
whole lot of people.'" (08/03/04)

http://washingtontimes.com/metro/20040802-104659-4396r.htm

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman,
Writer/Lawyer/Lecturer/Independent Contractor Specialist
NewPulp Literary Productions--The Sam Cohen Case Adventure Series
"Black Messiah Murders" and "Piranhas on the Loose"
http://thelawyer.info/

I want to hear from some politician what he is NOT going to do for us

sheldon waxman — 2004-07-30T12:32:00Z

Bush using drugs to control depression, erratic behavior
    Capitol Hill Blue

"Although the exact drugs Bush takes to control his depression and
behavior are not known, White House sources say they are 'powerful
medications' designed to bring his erratic actions under control.
While Col. Tubb regularly releases a synopsis of the President's
annual physical, details of the President's health and any drugs or
treatment he may receive are not public record and are guarded
zealously by the secretive cadre of aides that surround the
President. Veteran White House watchers say the ability to control
information about Bush's health, either physical or mental, is
similar to Ronald Reagan's second term when aides managed to conceal
the President's increasing memory lapses that signaled the onslaught
of Alzheimer's Disease." (07/28/04)

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4921.shtml

Beijing threatens war with Taiwan
    BBC News [UK]

"A senior Chinese official has warned that Beijing may attack Taiwan
by 2008 if President Chen Shui-bian pursues his plans for
constitutional change. Mr Chen has insisted the planned amendments
are only concerned with local issues, but Beijing suspects he has a
pro-independence agenda. ... China sees Taiwan as a renegade province
which it has threatened to reunite by force if Taiwan declared
independence." (07/30/04)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3938617.stm

-----

5) Hot second: Libertarians the new political center?
    PRWeb

"If the presidential election was held today, only three of one
hundred Americans would vote for Libertarian candidate Michael
Badnarik. But he's the second choice of more than four in 10.
According to a nationwide survey of 1,000 Americans conducted last
week by Rasmussen, Democratic challenger John Kerry (D-MA) leads
incumbent president George W. Bush by a slim margin of 46-43% --
within the 3% margin of error. However, when polled on their second
choice, 43% chose Badnarik rather than their first choice's main
rival." (07/30/04)

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/7/prweb145242.htm

-----

6) Police arrest three, restore calm near FleetCenter
    Boston Herald

"Peaceful protest on Canal Street turned ugly with demonstrators
setting a fire and going toe-to-toe with billy club-toting cops in
the the first serious violence of the Democratic National Convention.
... The violence broke out when a rally of about 500 people wound
through downtown and stopped at the iron gates guarding the DNC
delegate entrance outside the Fleet Center on Canal Street. Police
allowed the group to gather in the street, rather than forcing them
into the protest pen. One group from the Save Our Civil Liberties
Campaign tied themselves to a bike rack while another group set a
small fire. The fights started after police moved in on a man
carrying a backpack allegedly containing a paper mache Molotov
cocktail. Pushing, shoving and panic ensued as protesters, cops and
bystanders ran amok. Sporadic scuffles broke out, including one that
started when a demonstrator took a police officer's hat." (07/29/04)

http://news.bostonherald.com/dncConvention/view.bg?articleid=37796

-----

7) Webmaster jailed under PATRIOT Act, released to halfway house
    San Francisco Bay View

"Political prisoner Sherman Austin, who made headlines last year after
being targeted as one of the first casualties of the infamous USA
PATRIOT Act, was released from the Federal Corrections Institute in
Tucson and left Arizona July 12 to return to Los Angeles. The
nightmare doesn't end there for Sherman, though. He is being remanded
to the custody of a halfway house where he will serve the remainder
of his sentence until August 2004. Starting now and continuing
through the next three years, Sherman will be serving an additional
sentence of federal probation, under which he will not be allowed to
use a cell phone, computer or other digital device unless designated
by the government. In addition, Sherman has been forbidden any
contact with 'anarchist groups,' who, the federal government
maintains, 'advocate violence as a means of disrupting order and
achieving social, economic and political change.'" (07/29/04)

http://www.sfbayview.com/072804/shermanaustin072804.shtml

Woman arrested for eating candy bar
    Fox News

"A government scientist finishing a candy bar on her way into a subway
station where eating is prohibited was arrested, handcuffed and
detained for three hours by transit police. Stephanie Willett said
she was eating a PayDay candy bar on an escalator descending into a
station July 16 when an officer warned her to finish it before
entering the station. Both Willett and police agree that she nodded
and put the last bit into her mouth before throwing the wrapper into
a trash can. Willett, a 45-year-old Environmental Protection Agency
scientist, told radio station WTOP that the officer then followed her
into the station, one of several in downtown Washington. 'Don't you
have some other crimes you have to take care of?' Willett said she
told the officer. Washington has been under heightened security
because of the continuing threat of terrorism. And last week, police
declared a citywide crime emergency over rising juvenile crime."
(07/29/04)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,127406,00.html

sheldon waxman — 2004-07-26T16:28:37Z

Bush admin blocks lawsuits of FDA-approved drugs
----------
Oakland Tribune
   "The Bush administration has been going to court to block
   lawsuits by consumers who say they have been injured by
   prescription drugs and medical devices. The
   administration contends that consumers cannot recover
   damages for such injuries if the products have been
   approved by the Food and Drug Administration." (7/25/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/433171779.html

U.S. military trying to outbribe Iraqi 'separatists'
----------
Billings Gazette
   "Cash has become the U.S. military's first line of defense
   in some parts of Iraq, where U.S. soldiers are
   distributing money to encourage goodwill and to counter
   their enemies' offers of money to unemployed Iraqis
   willing to attack Americans ..." (7/26/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/451934600.html

Over 3 percent of American adults in criminal justice system
----------
Arizona Daily Star
   "The number of Americans under the control of the criminal
   justice system grew by 130,700 last year to reach a new
   high of nearly 6.9 million, according to a Justice
   Department report ....The total includes people in jail
   and prison as well as those on probation and parole.
   This is about 3.2 percent of the adult population in the
   United States ..." (7/26/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/439252765.html

Yo

sheldon waxman — 2004-07-24T00:15:32Z

U.S. fedgov bureaucracy expanding
----------
GovExec.com
   "The federal bureaucracy has expanded over the past six
   years, according to research published ... by a
   Brookings Institution scholar. .... [He said,] 'There
   have never been more layers at the top of government,
   nor more occupants at each layer.'" (7/22/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/902526810.html

Texas inmate files suit over lethal injection composition
----------
Houston Chronicle
   "A death row inmate has filed a lawsuit accusing Texas of
   using chemicals in its lethal injections that violate
   the constitutional ban on causing unusual pain and
   suffering. .... The lawsuit says ... pancuronium bromide
   paralyzes the inmate and prevents him from showing the
   agony caused by potassium chloride." (7/22/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/869822240.html

Is there some kind of change going on here

sheldon waxman — 2004-07-23T12:05:18Z

Gun owners emboldened by new laws
Burke Connection

"The first-of-its-kind gun show in Northern Virginia is one of several
instances of muscle flexing by gun rights activists recently. In the
past few weeks, several members of the Virginia Citizens Defense
League, a pro-gun organization, have been openly carrying their
weapons in restaurants and Starbucks, which, in some cases, has led
other diners to call the police. ... Snyder's experience and a
similar one at a Starbucks store seem to have mobilized gun owners,
said Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense
League. 'The incident that happened at Starbucks probably alerted a
whole lot of people to the concept of open carry,' he said. 'Some gun
owners looked at that incident and said, 'You know, I need to
exercise this right.''" (07/22/04)

http://tinyurl.com/42rwv

more news--hooray for canada

sheldon waxman — 2004-07-22T18:51:44Z

Pentagon 'needs' over $12 billion to make it through September
----------
Boston.com
   "The Pentagon will need an additional $12.3 billion through
   September to pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and
   its worldwide effort against terrorism, congressional
   auditors estimate. That is triple what Gen. Richard
   Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, projected
   in April he would need to make it through September." (7/22/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/17550060.html

Canadian PM: we will decriminalize marijuana
----------
Canada.com
   "The federal government is committed to marijuana
   decriminalization and will reintroduce legislation to make it
   happen, Prime Minister Paul Martin said in his first statement on
   the issue since winning re-election." (7/21/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/48854774.html

House of cards
----------
Reason
by Michael Young
   "That said, the idea of domestic Saudi reform is laughable.
   The Saudi royal family will never transform itself into
   something more enlightened -- not, for example, when so
   much state funding goes to paying lavish salaries to the
   kingdom's estimated 7,000-8,000 princes and princesses." (7/21/04)

http://www.free-market.net/rd/952510917.html

The mystery of central banking
----------
Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Robert P. Murphy
   "In order to keep voters happy, the central bank habitually
   pushes rates lower than they ought to be, which causes
   the familiar boom period in which stock prices soar and
   unemployment falls. But this artificial expansion is
   unsustainable, and inevitably leads to a bust period, in
   which many of the production processes must be curtailed
   or abandoned altogether ..." (7/21/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/17930092.html