Crack Sentences

Well, this judge just put a lot of families in danger. Take a look:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/11/21/judge_skips_guidelines_releases_man_in_crack_case/

So, because she thinks that he was "honest", and black, he should be freed. Personally, I think race does not matter at all. A white guy or a black guy who each deal crack cocaine, in their own neighborhoods, should each get the maximum sentence. That act shows that they are going to be reckless where they live. If they act that way in their own home, then how do I know that they won't act worse in my home? Also, he had a prior record of assault with intent to kill and possession of a firearm. What more do you need to know?

The crux here is that cocaine and crack cocaine carry different sentences, at least in the federal system. The main argument is that crack cocaine sentences target blacks because blacks are the stereotypical dealers and users of this drug, while cocaine is punished less because it is bought and sold by whites. That is the only argument. However, a drug is a drug. In my opinion, the sentencing guidelines are all out of whack, but for another reason. Cocaine, including crack cocaine, carries harsh sentences, but it is a Schedule II drug. Marijuana, with it's lite sentences, is a Schedule I drug. Schedule I has has a high potential for abuse, has no medical use in the U.S., and has a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. Schedule II has a high potential for abuse, has a currently accepted medical use in the U.S. with severe restrictions, and abuse may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence. So then, the real question is why does marijuana possession, sale, etc, carry such lite sentence?

Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, the human scum that was given immunity that led to the conviction and imprisonment of U.S. Border Patrol Agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos, was arrested and was in Court on Friday after being indicted of federal drug smuggling charges related to the smuggling and intent to distribute 100 kilograms of marijuana between June and November 2005. By the way, he did this after U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton gave him immunity in order to have him testify against the two agents. What a disgrace Johnny Sutton is. He gave immunity to this drug dealer, and then knew that he was importing more drugs into this country, and then didn't bother to tell the jury about it. Now, jurors are coming forward saying that they never would have convicted if they new this. What a disgrace. More to follow, to be sure.

What's Obama Thinking?

So, for those of you that love to have more tax money taken out of your paycheck, you should vote Obama. He wants to raise, by $5,000 the amount of taxable income for Social Security purposes. Currently, only the first $97,500 of a person's annual income is taxed. The amount is scheduled to rise to $102,000 next year. He wants to raise it higher. So, for those of us that work hard and succeed in life, we are going to get even less. As a result of the government's mismanagement of Social Security over the last few decades, we get to get hit even more. Obama, right for America? Not if you like the money that you work hard for.

Read this:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071027/wl_mideast_afp/egyptreligionunrest_071027193058

Now, aren't we always told that these two sides live in peace and harmony? It's about time that the truth comes out.

Today, President Bush awarded the Medal of Honor to Lt. Michael Murphy, a Navy SEAL who died in combat in Afghanistan in June 2005. An excellent account of the battle that led to his death is described in the book Lone Survivor, by fellow SEAL Marcus Luttrell. Here is the U.S. Navy's official biography of Lt. Murphy:

http://www.navy.mil/moh/mpmurphy/bio.html

This is an excellent snapshot. However, he is worth much more than a snapshot. Please take the time to read Lone Survivor. Don't forget what this man did for you.

Commonweath Attorney's Race

It seems that we have another heated race in NOVA. The citizens of Fairfax County are going to the polls on Nov. 6 to decide who will occupy certain offices. Senate, Delegate, School Board, Commonweath's Attorney, and others are up for grabs. We need to make the right choices. One race that I am keeping my eye on is the run for Commonwealth's Attorney. Here, we have Patrick McDade against Ray Morrogh. At this point, the race is close. Morrogh is more or less the incumbent. He rose the post of CA late last month with the retirement of Bob Horan. McDade is the challenger, the fresh-faced Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney from Arlington County.

The key in this race is Morrogh's status as being entrenched in the CA's office for over 20 years versus McDade's fresh perspective. Do the voters like the way the CA Office has been handled, or are they ready for a change? Morrogh is touting his experience on several high-profile cases. McDade will tell you that Morrogh's office reduces felony charges to misdemeanors or completely drops the case 72% of the time. Where do we begin?

Morrogh has handled many high profile cases. Of course. He has been there for over 20 years. But let's not forget that they couldn't even get their case together in time to prosecute John Allen Muhammad, the DC sniper. How is this possible? With such a high-profile case, the CAO had help from all over the region, yet they couldn't get it done in time. What a shame. Morrogh's office also declined to prosecute the killer of Steve Cornejo, even though a civil jury awarded the young man's family $2 million in damages. It appears that Morrogh's office botched the investigation, even refusing to present the case to the grand jury themselves. They don't even feel that they have to provide an explanation for their actions. To me, a resident of Fairfax, this is appalling. Morrogh won't even talk aboiut the issue. Are these people trying to protect me or hurt me?

Contrast this with McDade, who will answer a question posed about this case. He promises to revisit the issue and to determine what charges can be pressed. Sure, he may not have all the experience in the world, but neither did Horan when he was elected. Horan retired at age 74 after 40 years in office, meaning he was first elected at age 34. That means that he had about as much experience as McDade. He's new to Fairfax, which means he has some perspectives that are not reminiscent of the good ol' boy network.

What say you...