POLICE STATE / MILITARY - LOOKING GLASS NEWS | |
Spy vs. Spy |
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by Bill Piper AlterNet Entered into the database on Sunday, May 22nd, 2005 @ 01:50:15 MST |
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Sensenbrenner, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman, has introduced
legislation that would essentially draft every American into the war on drugs.
H.R. 1528, cynically named "Safe Access to Drug Treatment and Child Protection
Act," would compel people to spy on their family members and neighbors,
and even go undercover and wear a wire if needed. If a person resisted, he or
she would face mandatory incarceration. Here's how the "spy" section of the legislation works: If you "witness"
certain drug offenses taking place or "learn" about them, you must
report the offenses to law enforcement within 24 hours and provide "full
assistance in the investigation, apprehension and prosecution" of the people
involved. Failure to do so would be a crime punishable by a mandatory minimum
two-year prison sentence, and a maximum sentence of 10 years. Here are some examples of offenses you would have to report to police within
24 hours: In each of these cases you would have to report the relative to the police
within 24 hours. Taking time to talk to your relative about treatment instead
of calling the police immediately could land you in jail. In addition to turning family member against family member, the legislation
could also put many Americans in danger by forcing them to go undercover to
gain evidence against strangers. Even if the language that forces every American to become a de facto law enforcement
agent is taken out, the bill would still impose draconian sentences on college
students, mothers, people in drug treatment and others with substance abuse
problems. If enacted, this bill will destroy lives, break up families, and waste
millions of taxpayer dollars. Despite growing opposition to mandatory minimum sentences from civil rights
groups to U.S. Supreme Court Justices, the bill eliminates federal judges' ability
to give sentences below the minimum recommended by federal sentencing guidelines.
This creates a mandatory minimum sentence for all federal offenses, drug-related
or not. H.R. 1528 also establishes new draconian penalties for a variety of non-violent
drug offenses, including: These sentences would put non-violent drug offenders behind bars for as long
as rapists, and they include none of the drug treatment touted in the bill's
name. At a time when everyone from the conservative American Enterprise Institute
to the liberal Sentencing Project is slamming the war on drugs as an abject
failure, Sensenbrenner is trying to escalate it, and to force all Americans
to become its foot soldiers. Instead of enacting new mandatory minimums, federal
policymakers should look toward the states. A growing number have reformed their
drug sentencing laws, including Arizona, California, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland,
New Mexico, New York and Texas, and they have proved it is possible to both
save money and improve public safety. Simply put, there is no way H.R. 1528 can be fixed. The only policy proposal
in recent years that comes close to being as totalitarian as this bill is Operations
TIPS, the Ashcroft initiative that would have encouraged -- but not required
-- citizens to spy on one another. Congress rightfully rejected that initiative
and they should do the same with H.R. 1528. Big Brother has no business here
in America. Bill Piper is director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. |