Ninth District Dumps DEA

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Wed, 11 Feb 2004 13:00:00 GMT

Heard on PYX 106:

"Massachusetts is about to become the first state to allow gays and lesbians to marry. Now here's the part I don't understand. Why would a gay guy want to marry a lesbian?" -- Uncle Vito

From samizdata:

"I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts." -- Will Rogers

# Doug Bandow at TownHall.com - The Duty to Die - the article from which the quote I posted yesterday was taken. Wow! [odell]

Our betters have been telling us how to live our lives for so long that it is only the next logical step for them to tell us when to die. We have grown so used to meekly accepting their edicts, even on what words we can and cannot use -- "swamp" has virtually disappeared from the English language, replaced by "wetlands," as "bums" has been replaced by "the homeless, "sex" by "gender" -- that it seems only fitting that they should now tell us when to die.

# Adam Eidinger at Vote Hemp - Federal Court Rejects DEA Ban on Hemp Food - Very good news! Back in 2001, the Dung Eating Assholes banned foods containing any detectable amount of THC. Last week, the Ninth District Court struck down that ban. [claire]

During the final oral arguments held in San Francisco on September 17, 2003, the HIA argued that the DEA's "Final Rule" banning nutritious hemp foods misinterprets the CSA. The judges were completely unconvinced by DEA attorney Daniel Dormont's arguments that Congress did not exempt hemp seed from the CSA even if the seed contains insignificant amounts of naturally-occurring THC. According to the hearing transcript available here.

Dormont was read back the section of the CSA dealing with the hemp seed exemption on three occasions by Judge Alex Kozinski. By the third reading, a frustrated Kozinski stated "I tried to say it once before. What this tells me is Congress knew full well that stalks and seeds and fiber could be carriers of some level of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). They were aware of that. Nevertheless, it said unless you do the extracting part they are not marihuana under the definition. That is what it says to me." Near the end of the DEA's arguments, Judge Kozinski asked Dormont, "Can you tell me how you are going to save the [poppy seed] bagel?" The question drew laughter from the packed courtroom, but is a serious issue considering that the irrational logic behind the DEA's attempted hemp food ban could easily be applied to poppy seed bagels.

From the text of the decision (71K PDF), some potentially bad news:

[8] Although we have determined that non-psychoactive hemp is not banned under Schedule I, we need not determine in this proceeding whether under the current statute it could be listed if the agency were to undertake appropriate rulemaking. We hold only that the DEA did not follow the requisite proceedings for scheduling under 21 U.S.C. §§ 811(a) and 812(b). The Final Rules therefore may not be enforced with respect to THC that is found within the parts of Cannabis plants that are excluded from the CSA's definition of "marijuana" or that is not synthetic.

# Colorado HB04-1281's summarized history page says that the House Committee on State, Veterans, & Military postponed it indefinitely. This is the bill I reported on last Tuesday that would have established Vermont carry in Colorado. Sounds like L. Neil Smith was right. It'll never see the light of day.

# Zero Intelligence has been "fighting school board ~~tyranny~~ inanity since 2004." The site was founded and is owned by and contributed to by Jim Peacock, a "father of three boys, living in Atlanta." I scrunched the banner below a little to fit. The full-sized version, at the web site, is clearer. From What is Zero Intelligence about?:

Zero Intelligence is a play on "Zero Tolerance", the knee jerk reactionary policies that plague our school systems. The implementation of a zero tolerance policy is the equivalent of giving up on common sense, reasonability and intellect. All infractions are grouped into types with uniform punishments regardless of the individual facts of the incident. Posession of Advil is treated as if it were equivalent to pushing crack. An honor student with the wrong type of pencil sharpener is punished the same as a known delinquent with a switchblade would be. Improper use of an inhaler leads to arrest as assault with a weapon. It is easy to see why we call these "Zero Intelligence Policies".

The most frightening part of the above paragraph is that all of the examples cited are real. They are not hyperbole or fiction for effect. They all actually happened in various school systems in the United States. These and countless other incidents show just how badly zero tolerance policies fail our children.

# Outreach.com - The Passion of the Christ - at least part of the Christian community sees Mel Gibson's new movie as profoundly spiritual. I received a link to this in email from D. James Kennedy's The Center for Reclaiming America. Don't know why I'm on their mailing list. The Passion of the Christ opens on February 25 at a theater near you. I intend to attend a matinee on the first weekend.

# Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - Ruger Model 77 Compact with Trijicon AccuPoint 3x9 Scope - in .260 Remington. Good rifle for hunting deer. [gunblast]

The Ruger M77 Compact / Trijicon AccuPoint combo is shorter, lighter, and flatter-shooting than Jeff's favorite .30-30 lever guns, and is an excellent all-around hunting combination.

# GeekWithA.45 - And now for something completely Geekish... - some practical advice about writing good code. [geekwitha.45]

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Government doesn't work. Never did. Never will. Can't. But there are lots of good people. Love them.

-- Bill St. Clair

The Atlanta Declaration

Every man, woman, and responsible child has an unalienable individual, civil, Constitutional, and human right to obtain, own, and carry, openly or concealed, any weapon -- rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything -- any time, any place, without asking anyone's permission.

-- L. Neil Smith

Reread that pesky first clause of the Second Amendment. It doesn't say what any of us thought it said. What it says is that infringing the right of the people to keep and bear arms is treason. What else do you call an act that endangers "the security of a free state"? And if it's treason, then it's punishable by death. I suggest due process, speedy trials, and public hangings.

-- L. Neil Smith

A Penalty Clause for the Bill of Rights

Any official, appointed or elected, at any level of government, who attempts, through legislative act or other means, to nullify, evade, or avoid the provisions of the first ten amendments to this Constitution, or of the Thirteenth Amendment, shall be summarily removed from office, and, upon conviction, deprived of all pay and benefits including pension, and sentenced to imprisonment for life.

-- L. Neil Smith

Based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, and some of its own empirical work, the panel couldn't identify a single gun control regulation that reduced violent crime, suicide or accidents.

-- John Lott, commenting on the National Academy of Sciences report on gun control laws.

Who is a libertarian?

Zero Aggression Principle ("Zap")

"A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, or to advocate or delegate its initiation. Those who act consistently with this principle are libertarians, whether they realize it or not. Those who fail to act consistently with it are not libertarians, regardless of what they may claim."

-- L. Neil Smith

(Formerly called the "Non-Aggression Principle", or "NAP")

Why Did It Have to be... Guns?

Make no mistake: all politicians -- even those ostensibly on the side of guns and gun ownership -- hate the issue and anyone, like me, who insists on bringing it up. They hate it because it's an X-ray machine. It's a Vulcan mind-meld. It's the ultimate test to which any politician -- or political philosophy -- can be put.

If a politician isn't perfectly comfortable with the idea of his average constituent, any man, woman, or responsible child, walking into a hardware store and paying cash -- for any rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything -- without producing ID or signing one scrap of paper, he isn't your friend no matter what he tells you.

If he isn't genuinely enthusiastic about his average constituent stuffing that weapon into a purse or pocket or tucking it under a coat and walking home without asking anybody's permission, he's a four-flusher, no matter what he claims.

What his attitude -- toward your ownership and use of weapons -- conveys is his real attitude about you. And if he doesn't trust you, then why in the name of John Moses Browning should you trust him?

-- L. Neil Smith

Concise

"Tell me," I was once asked, "What do you think about gun control? Give me the short answer." To which I replied, "If you try to take our firearms we will kill you."

-- Mike Vanderboegh

Also from The Atlanta Declaration:

... like going to the bathroom, breathing, eating, sleeping, or making love, it turns out that self-defense is a bodily function one cannot safely or effectively delegate to a second party.

-- L. Neil Smith

This does not mean that "Marijuana should be available by prescription." It means that morphine sulfate should be available in five pound bags at the supermarket for a couple of bucks, like sugar... but probably in a different aisle, to avoid confusion.

-- Vin Suprynowicz

If you refuse to pay unjust taxes, your property will be confiscated. If you attempt to defend your property, you will be arrested. If you resist arrest, you will be clubbed. If you defend yourself against clubbing, you will be shot dead. These procedures are known as the Rule of Law.

-- Edward Abbey

The state can only survive as long as a majority is programmed to believe that theft isn't wrong if it's called taxation or asset forfeiture or eminent domain, that assault and kidnapping isn't wrong if it's called arrest, that mass murder isn't wrong if it's called war.

-- Bill St. Clair