Anslinger Being Tough?
Harry Anslinger was a United States government official who served as the first commissioner of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Federal Bureau of Narcotics. He was a supporter of prohibition and the criminalization of drugs, and played a pivotal role in cannabis prohibition. [1]
Excerpt from the book:
Many people assume what we call the War on Drugs began in 1971 during the Nixon Administration. Some believe “the War” began during Prohibition due to the relentless efforts of a racist and moralist federal agent named Harry Anslinger. [2]
Continuing later in the book:
Anslinger was a bureaucratic empire-builder and he saw marijuana as the leverage needed to expand the size and power of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. He railed against the use of reefer, weed, or pot by blacks, particularly black entertainers. Anslinger hated jazz with its free-wheeling lack of rigid structure and he equated it with what he viewed as black depravity. Black bandleader Cab Calloway had a 1933 hit song called Reefer Man featured in the movie International House. Anslinger must have been furious. [2]
References:
- Wikipedia, Harry Jacob Anslinger
- Prisoner of War: The Story of White Boy Rick and The War on Drugs by Vince Wade – Page 20, 39
The Paperback and eBook are Now Available
- How to Avoid Torturing Yourself Later in Life – by Dr. Ross Rreck
It’s not uncommon to hear people making excuses about why they didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that life sent their way. You’ll hear them say things like, “I could have done this or that….” Then come the excuses: “…but at the time my kids were little,” or “but we had just bought a new house,” or “but it seemed like too big of a risk” Unfortunately, many of these people continue this pattern of making excuses right into their old age. Then all they have to reflect on during their “golden years” are regrets about all those opportunities they let pass by and now it is too late to take advantage of them. As John Greenleaf Whittier put it, “Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, what might have been?” On the other hand, those who took advantage of the opportunities that life threw at them have many fond and exciting memories to look back on. So, if you don’t want to torture yourself later in life with, “What might have been,” go for it while you still have the chance!
References:
- Getting Involved
And then there are the rest of us who have to be cornered, trapped into chores…. Art Fettig’s Monday Morning Memo
Originally published on October 3, 2011
In This Issue
o Getting Involved
o Say Something Good
o Points To Ponder
o A Little Humor
o Quote of the WeekGetting Involved
Did you ever notice how some people seem to be involved in just about anything that needs doing? Whether it is at work or church or the schools their children attend, they just have a habit of saying “yes”.
And then there are the rest of us who have to be cornered, trapped in chores and we somehow fail to have the right spirit for such things. Here is a poem that I found in my file. I had this habit of writing special poems for the people in an audience. I was speaking for a group of doers, and I tried to capture their spirit. You know something I learned watching them? Doers, givers, those who busy up their lives making this a better world seem to be the healthiest, happiest people in the world. Avoiding all that brings unhappiness and makes a person plum unhealthy. Thing about it…And GET ER DONE!
Involvement
© Art FettigThe problems of the world are resolved
By people who bother getting involved.
If you want to be happy then take off your coat.
Pitch in! Get busy! Start rocking the boat!
Get involved! Dive in, the water’s just fine.
Total involvements more heady than wine.
Sound off! Go on! Say what you’re thinking!
Write it down! Shout it! Start those eyes a blinking!
Wake up! Do something! Greet life with a smile!
This getting involved is what makes life worthwhile.Say Something Good
Sunday we attended the 253rd Old Bluff Church Reunion on Cape Fear River in Cumberland County, NC and we had dinner on the grounds. The service was inspiring and the bagpiper, Rev. Arnold Pope served up a sermon that was worthy of a massive cathedral anywhere in the world. I learned what “dinner on the grounds” means in old Cumberland County. It means long covered tables just loaded with the best Southern cookin’ you ever reloaded your plate with. Bar B Q, of course and southern fried chicken but oh, what fixins. Corn and field peas, okra, butter beans and a small army of casseroles, plus roast beef, ham and corned beef, slaws and potato salads and oh yes, chicken pastry, three renderings. There was a variety of corn breads and country biscuits and something called liver mush which many of us avoided. They had red hot dogs too and I watched a teen age boy walk all around those tables and place just one red hot dog on his plate and then later when he rounded those tables again he placed two red hot dogs on his plate. You figure that one out.
And oh those deserts. There was a heavenly chocolate cake and this nice lady stood by and watched me take a big slice and she explained that she makes it every year for the homecoming. I sampled two chocolate pies, a tiny slice of apple pie, pecan pie and passed up pumpkin pie, the banana pudding and other cakes but finished up with a delicious berry pie containing both black and blue berries. It was scrumptious. There were so many other tasty items I overlooked that a person could go back for thirds and fourths if he had a mind to. Inside the church they had these two big potbellied stoves for winter and those little hand fans in the pews donated by the local undertaker and there was a slave gallery in the church, built so the slaves could attend services.
Gimme that old time religion with dinner on the grounds. May God bless America and bring our troops home safely.
Points to Ponder
Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive! Howard Thurman
A Little Humor
A juggler, driving to his next performance, is stopped by the police. “What are these matches and lighter fluid doing in your car?” asks the cop. “I’m a juggler and I juggle flaming torches in my act.” “Oh yeah?” says the doubtful cop. “Let’s see you do it.” The juggler gets out and starts juggling the blazing torches masterfully. A couple driving by slows down to watch. “Wow,” says the driver to his wife. “I’m glad I quit drinking. Look at the test they’re giving now!”
Quote of the Week
Minds are like parachutes; they only function when opened. Lord Thomas Robert Dewar
- Your Mighty Pen (or e-mail)
We hope you’ve been in regular communication with your congressional representatives to let them know your view that the national budget, like your own, reflects moral values. Just a reminder, in case you’ve let your ink run dry:
The Super Committee charged with finding $1.2 to $1.5 trillion in additional budget savings over the next ten years has Arizona’s Senator Kyl as one of its members. Rev. David Beckman, president of Bread for the World, recently noted that “Everything we have achieved for poor and hungry people in the last 35 years is under severe threat of budget cuts”, programs such as SNAP (food stamps), nutrition assistance (such as Women, Infants and Children), and international development. Several of the budget proposals aim two-thirds of the cuts at programs benefitting hungry and poor people, resulting in the efforts of more than sixty denominations and church organizations to sign on to form a “Circle of Protection” around funding for time-tested, cost-effective programs that address the causes of hunger. They urge our elected officials to develop a responsible deficit-reduction plan which would address the true drivers of debt without cutting needed services or threatening the fragile economic recovery.
Senator Kyl and others who have taken a “cuts only” approach need to be reminded that, as Christians, we believe the moral measure of the budget is how the poorest and most vulnerable people fare. In Arizona, for example, the state lost 69,200 construction jobs and 21,600 manufacturing jobs since August 2008, while one in every four children under the age of five is living in poverty. Yet individuals earning $200,000 or more (2.2% of our residents) claimed 85% of the capital gains tax breaks, reducing their tax liability by $2.8 billion. And special tax breaks on dividend earnings decreased the taxes paid by the wealthiest state residents by more than $900 million.
As Christians, we look at every budget proposal from the bottom up–how it treats those Jesus called, “the least of these.” When you contact Senator Kyl, you might want to let him know that you want him to represent us and stop refusing to include tax breaks for the wealthiest and most profitable corporations.
For more specifics and sample letters, click on the www.bread.org.
- Baby Formula: Stop The Hoarding
Fear Among Parents is Causing Hoarding
‘”I’m concerned that the public has reached the ‘panic buying’ stage,” the foster mom tells PEOPLE. “Hoarding formula will only make the situation last longer — although I understand the very real fear of having a baby that you’re unable to feed.” Earlier this month, Dr. Bridget Young, a pediatrician specializing in infant nutrition, spoke to PEOPLE and urged parents to leave specialty formulas for those children who truly need them, including babies with allergies or severe digestion issues.” 1
“Hoarding is exacerbating a nationwide shortage – the result of supply disruptions and a massive safety recall that have swept many leading brands of formula off store shelves. Nationwide, about 40% of large retail stores are out of stock, according to Datasembly, an analytics firm that collects data from 11,000 locations. Hoarding has forced retailers like CVS, Target and Walmart to limit purchases, according to The Associated Press.” 2
- People, Vanessa Etienne, May 20, 2022 – Foster Mom Down to 2 Weeks Worth of Formula, Fears Parents Are ‘Hoarding’ amid Nationwide Shortage – A foster mom speaks to PEOPLE about the dwindling options she has to feed her 6-month-old baby as the nationwide formula shortage worsens
- The Journal Star, Leslie Renken, May 19, 2022 – Don’t hoard baby formula, warn Peoria officials. Here are tips to survive the shortage
- Greg Abbott, “It Could Have Been Worse.”
Stupid things republican Governor’s like Greg Abbott say.
“Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a press conference on Wednesday that the Uvalde school massacre “could’ve been worse.” Speaking about the events of the shooting, Abbott lauded law enforcement officers, saying that without their intervention, the tragedy would likely have had worse consequences.” 3
The lies just continue to flow. The disrespect Greg Abbott shows is appalling.
- Ted Cruz, That’s On Your Hands
Thank you! Somebody has the courage to stand up to hate inspired by Ted Cruz.
Someone heckled Ted Cruz while he was eating at a restaurant last night
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) May 28, 2022
“19 children died! That’s on your hands! Ted Cruz, that’s on your hands!” pic.twitter.com/PaeiQYqfBoA gunman can confront me with an AR-15 in a store but no one can confront a sitting US senator … who wont do anything to curb gun violence … at a diner. Got it.
— Mags' Tweets (@magstweets8) May 28, 2022 - Florida May Pass a Law Outlawing Curly Hair!
“Senior Class President Zander Moricz was tapped with giving a commencement speech at Pine View School in Osprey, Fla., but was given a restriction not normally attached to such an event. An openly gay activist who is the youngest plaintiff in a lawsuit against a new state law that restricts what teachers can say in classes about gender and sexual orientation, the teenager said publicly that he had been warned by his principal not to mention his activism or say the word “gay.” If he did, Moricz said on social media, his microphone would be cut off.” 4
florida high school class president zander moricz was told by his school that they would cut his microphone if he said “gay” in his grad speech, so he replaced gay with “having curly hair.” i am in awe pic.twitter.com/OqLbar5bwq
— matt (@mattxiv) May 24, 20222 weeks ago, I told you that my graduation speech was being censored and that I needed your help. 48 hours later, 10,000 Say Gay stickers were claimed across Florida. Today, I give the speech. #AdvocateGraduate pic.twitter.com/iSVgADxEPX
— zander moricz (@zandermoricz) May 22, 2022- The Washington Post, Valerie Strauss, May 24, 2022 – Told not to say ‘gay’ in graduation speech, he made his point anyway – He said ‘curly hair’ instead
- Right-wing Christian Lawmakers are to Blame
“Yet it is right-wing Christian lawmakers who are to blame for letting the violence continue, along with the right-wing pastors and televangelists who prop them up. Taking God’s name in vain doesn’t look like screaming “goddammit” when a child dies. It looks like Mitch McConnell, Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and their allies continually twisting the Gospel and abusing God’s name to seize power while hypocritically raking in the NRA cash and blocking new gun safety laws. Their “pro-life” hands drip with blood.” 5
- Faithful America, May 27, 2022 – This is a long email about the state of Faithful America’s organizing against pro-gun Christian nationalists.
- Texas Ranks LAST in Mental Health Services
During a press conference in Uvalde County, Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott said the state needed to focus on mental health and not restricting gun ownership to prevent future mass shootings like the one that happened at Robb Elementary School. He was jeered by former congressman Beto O’Rourke, who blamed Abbott for the slaying. “This is on you,” said O’Rourke, who is running for governor. 6
Mental Health America’s annual report is out, and it ranks Texas as the worst state in the U.S. for access to mental health care. With the pandemic putting a strain on many Texans’ mental health, people didn’t know what to do. 7
- PolitiFact, May 26, 2022 – Texas is “50th in the nation in mental health care access.”
- KVUE.com, October 22, 2021 – New report ranks Texas last in access to mental health care
NAMI executive director Greg Hansch said two-thirds of Texas’ counties don’t have a single psychiatrist.
- Parents Arrested, Tased, Pepper Sprayed at Uvalde, Texas, School Shooting
Instead of dealing with the shooter, parents end up being the target of the police.
A Uvalde mother says she was handcuffed while urging law enforcement officials to enter Robb Elementary School during Tuesday’s shooting, according to the Wall Street Journal. 8
A mom of two children at Uvalde was put in handcuffs after urging police and law enforcement to enter the school.
— Megan Menchaca (@meganmmenchaca) May 26, 2022
Once freed from her cuffs, she jumped the school fence, ran inside and sprinted out with her kids.
New from @WSJ: https://t.co/SYdgysw0gF pic.twitter.com/ZCadllw9aTAfter the confrontation ended with Ramos dead, school buses began to arrive to transport students from the school, according to Ms. Gomez. She said she saw police use a Taser on a local father who approached the bus to collect his child.https://t.co/HgwAz3Awx6 via @WSJ
— Catherine Lucey (@catherine_lucey) May 26, 2022After the confrontation ended with Ramos dead, school buses began to arrive to transport students from the school, according to Ms. Gomez. She said she saw police use a Taser on a local father who approached the bus to collect his child.https://t.co/HgwAz3Awx6 via @WSJ
— Catherine Lucey (@catherine_lucey) May 26, 2022- The Daily Beast, May 26, 2022 – Uvalde Mom: I Was Handcuffed While Begging Cops to Storm School
