- After the first 11 interviews with my brother Police
Officer and Detective Howard Wooldridge of Lansing, Michigan (retired)
concerning the "War on Drugs", more and more Americans understand
the underpinnings of how the U.S. government protracts a national taxpayer
fraud. How big a fraud? Taxpayers forked over $1 trillion in 38 years paying
for the impotent "War on Drugs." Results? America suffers more
drugs, major drug networks, cheaper drugs and more potent drugs!
-
- "The civil government in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico has
collapsed. In El Paso's sister city of 1.5 million-murders, mutilation,
torture, kidnappings and extortions are committed with impunity. Beyond
the cost in human lives and safety, it also threatens to imperil the economic
renaissance in this region and the over $2 billion spent by Mexican nationals
in our local economy. And there is the very real national security threat,
that this brutality and lawlessness could extend throughout Mexico and
lead to a flood of refugees who would overwhelm our border, our city and
our country and make today's undocumented immigration problem seem insignificant
by comparison." Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey
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- "These are not the random thoughts of some blogger,"
said El Paso city councilman Beto O'Rourke.
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- "Citizens in El Paso hear the gunfire from the across
the Rio Grande," said Officer Howard Wooldridge. "Mr. O'Rourke
has called for a national discussion on legalizing drugs in order to make
the Mexican Cartels disappear. He knows what <http://www.leap.cc>www.leap.cc knows
and every student of history; namely absent prohibition, the Mexican Drug
Cartels will quickly wither and die, same as the Al Capone type organizations
died 75 years ago. Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana and all other cities and states
in Mexico could return to normal.
-
- "As Councilman O'Rourke wrote those words, he proved
to be a man of action also. He drafted a resolution asking for a national,
open discussion on the legalization of drugs as a method to destroy the
Mexican Cartels. The El Paso City Council agreed with him and passed it
8-0. However, the mayor vetoed at the last minute. The stage was set for
a brouhaha which eventually rumbled through the corridors of the United
States Congress. El Paso Congressman Reyes wrote the council and urged
them to sustain the mayor's veto. Otherwise, he wrote the city's portion
of the upcoming stimulus package could be reduced. The council vote rumbled
through power brokers in Austin enough to cause the five El Paso area legislators
to write a letter to the council which also threatened the loss of funds.
As our brave soldiers fight and die for our freedoms in Iraq and Afghanistan,
the freedom of speech was destroyed as the council caved in and voted only
4-4 for override. Thus we see the power of the money interests in DC and
Austin who profit from the War on Drugs. Can you spell Private Prisons
Inc. who love mandatory minimums?
-
- "The six northern Mexican states bordering the US
are in a state of semi or near complete collapse. The local police are
paralyzed with fear to handle routine police matters like assault, rape,
theft, robbery. As the drug gangs and the Zetas battle each other and the
Federales, commerce suffers. American businesses now often require money
upfront to sell something, rather than extending even short term credit.
Experts are professing the real possibility of true economic & drug
war refugees which would require US taxpayers to help them.
-
- "Two years ago Mexican President Calderon decided
to tackle the 'narcotraficantes' of the Mexican Drug Cartels. Today the
heads of police officers and federal soldiers roll down the streets of
cities all over central and northern Mexico. Since Calderon started this
effort in 2007, some 8,000 Mexicans have been murdered. The Cartels put
up one billboard that taunts and threatens the police and another offering
them a lucrative job, if they join the Cartels. This is the reality of
law enforcement in Mexico: plato o ploma - silver or lead. The average
American cannot imagine what it would be like to live in such an environment:
no rule of law, no police protection, no sense of security or hope that
it will end, profound despair. And for what?
-
- "Our country has been having gunfights and dead
bodies by the thousands since the mid '80s. Our drug dealers shoot and
kill each other as needed to get rid of the competition. The Department
of Justice recently announced that the Mexican drug gangs in America are
the greatest new threat to our society. Tens of thousands of American citizens
have been killed but the press barely mentions that it is the drug trade
which causes the violence."
-
- Abraham Lincoln said it best, "Prohibition will
work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance
within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts
to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things
that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles
upon which our government was founded."
-
- Officer Wooldridge continued, "True conservatives
in this country - also known as Libertarians - have long supported a drug
policy based on six principles. One - Individual Liberty. Two - Personal
Responsibility. Three - Property Rights. Four - Limited Government. Five
- Cost Effective Government and Six - States' Rights.
-
- "Unfortunately, tens of millions of people who call
themselves conservatives nonetheless support the nanny-state liberal policy
of drug war/drug prohibition. They want the police to break down the doors
of those citizens who choose marijuana instead of whiskey, cocaine instead
of Prozac or heroin instead of Valium. These 'conservatives' are either
unwilling or unable to realize they are liberals on drug policy, as they
support prohibition as a drug control strategy.
-
- "Modern prohibition costs the US economy about $200
billion in lost taxes, lost productivity and law enforcement costs. Despite
the need to borrow some $3 billion per DAY from China, the politicians
here in DC insist on giving Mexico $400 million a year to 'win' the battle
with the Drug Cartels.
- "$400 million is pocket change to the Cartels. That
is why they have won the struggle with the Federales. Is anyone else shaking
their head about this waste of money? Does no one in our federal government
care about the suffering of the Mexican people?
-
- "Tell your member of Congress to support hearings
on whether the war on drugs is an effective drug control strategy. Urge
your local city or county government to pass a resolution, asking for a
national conversation on drug prohibition. Ask yourself what have been
the benefits, the positive outcomes for our country during the 38 year
Drug War? Join LEAP on line without cost and add your voice at:<http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com>www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com
-
-
- The mission of LEAP is Today, my brother Howard
Wooldridge heads up a task force in Washington, DC to educate and enlighten
congressmen at the highest levels. He works for a better future for all
Americans. He can be reached at: Education Specialist, Law Enforcement
Against Prohibition, <http://www.leap.cc/>www.leap.cc ,
Washington, DC. He speaks at colleges, political clubs, Rotary, Kiwanis
and Lions Clubs across America. LEAP speakers in 36 states address this
issue to citizens around the country to bring an end to the Drug War. Check
out the web site and join. Book a speaker in your state! Wooldridge also
presents at political conferences in Washington. <mailto:wooldridge@leap.cc>wooldridge@leap.cc to
reduce the multitude of unintended harmful consequences resulting from
fighting the war on drugs and to lessen the incidence of death, disease,
crime, and addiction by ultimately ending drug prohibition.
-
- "Envision a world where crime is cut in half, terrorists
don't make money selling drugs and kids are not employed in the drug trade,"
Wooldridge said. "Envision a world where the police focus on DUI,
child predators and terrorists. Imagine a world where if you have a drug
problem, you see a doctor not a judge. All are possible, when we find the
courage to end our Prohibition."
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- To take action: First and foremost, join <http://www.numbersusa.com/>www.numbersusa.com and
become one of nearly a million Americans making impact with pre-written
faxes and phone calls to change immigration policies toward a stable future.
Bi-partisan and highly effective.
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