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~M and PFPF web master discuss peace plan strategy
Correspondence from Sept. - Oct. 2000
[We had been corresponding about the futility of the war and what can be done about it. ~M is a new subscriber to PFPF News.]
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 16:55:39 -0500
To: nori
From: "~ M"
My take on the whole Sad mess. The government knows this, once people realize the truth about Marijuana that it is less harmful than most legal government approved drugs. (I.e. alcohol,anti-depressants, valium and other "legal" mind altering drugs from the governments own "drug pushers" the FDA and liquor stores.) they will realize the truth about government (that they do not need to save any one from themselves as a parent would do, or meddle in peoples "private lives" as they now do under the cover of the mislabeled drug war.) The reason this is frightening to anti-drug crusaders and the government is when people are enlightened of these facts, both entities will no longer have a "strangle hold" on people's lives as they do now with their lies and anti-drug rhetoric. The next step would be losing control and quite a bit of money and support from the people they are supposed to protect instead of bully. Not a good thought for them. I think one thing that will help is for enough people to write or email a substantial number of people in power telling them to stop the "war." if enough people do this they will have to A) take notice and positive action, or B) try more doomed-to-fail tactics such as putting more money into the "drug war" thereby ignoring the will of a vast majority of people. The last thing I can think of is Plant a Seed "free the weed" not only a catchy slogan, but also a practical idea. Plant it in a lot of places. enjoy ~ M
Subject: Re: I have already begun to think good thoughts and affirm these same thoughts thanks to your Org.
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 16:12:40 -0800
From: nori
To: "~ M"
References: 1
I agree with plant a seed, free the weed. I've seen pot growing in the strangest places. Writing letters to the gov is also a good idea. Especially if the letter is well-written. Also important: write to the media. When you read an article about the War, try to get a letter to the ed. published. Check out our activists' workshop.
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 15:27:38 -0500
From: "~ M"
To: nori
I think your activist workshop is good, however you could do what NORML.org has done and that is to write letters for people. . . .
Also link to this www.mcwilliams.com his infamous book "Ain't Nobody's business if you do" resides on that site free of charge. Plus you can find and DOWNLOAD Todd McCormick's book "How to Grow Medical Marijuana." Be certain it is distributed as widely as possible and tell others to do the same. Tell me what you think about these ideas.
enjoy ~ M
Subject: Re:
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 20:17:39 -0800
From: nori
To: "~ M"
Here's another one. How about if we clip out news articles and letters to the editor we agree with, write a note like, "Dear Rep. [my rep.], This drug war is getting worse all the time. Please do something to end it. Sincerely, Mary J. Citizen [your name here]." Just keep your Rep's address on hand and send him something every time it comes out. If one person in each congressional district started doing it, we could educate our Reps about what's going on out here. All for 33 cents a week, or whatever you send.
Subject: nifty.
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 17:12:55 -0500
From: "~ M"
To: nori
That actually is a really good idea.{who did you steal it from?} :) Another thing I think will help tremendously and I just might do it myself, is to order as many copies of the Willy Nelson PSA as possible. The one that was played in New Mexico asking people to stop arresting responsible marijuana smokers -- it actually received a lot of attention. www.norml.org/about/nelson.shtml (or http://flow.mediavac.com/ramgen/norml/norml3.rm) Listen to it at the above links, then have it played on as many radio stations as possible. Also think of some guerrilla war tactics to end the war. food for thought. enjoy ~ M
Editorial:
Drug Peace Possible
Many people are puzzled when we talk about peace in the war on drugs. Like, if the war ended tomorrow, the "enemy" (drugs) would win and everyone in the civilized world would suddenly become addicted to heroin and cocaine.
Actually, drug peace is possible. The war itself is unnatural. It's the legacy of politicians who want to appear "hard on crime" to be elected. Instead of doing good work to earn votes, they beat up on pot smokers and addicts in a Hitler-esque attempt to blame society's problems on a minority group.
Drug peace begins when people start to see drug addiction as a medical, health care issue, rather than a military-criminal problem. We urge elected officials and all Americans to treat drug addiction as a medical issue.
End the war: Drug Peace Now.
3rd Party?
Visit this website to find your most compatible political party: 3rd Party Central. We were shocked to see that we have so much in common with the Greens. From now on we will support all Green candidates who have a chance to win at the local or state level. In the coming national election, however, we will vote for the lesser of two evils. That other guy is scary! How will you vote? Answer the political (sorry, poll is now off line).
Find out what it's like in L.A. this week during the Democratic National Convention. Link here for a letter from a friend who ventured into downtown.
Link here to read more about the purpose and roots of Pray for Peace News.
Identity for Hippy Culture
Steven Hager's recent High Times article about the counterculture (Sept. 2000, p. 86-90) brings up some interesting points that we believe could bear some further elaboration. In his article he identifies a "culture" that "is respectful toward all life" . . . that believes "life is about balance" . . . and a "continuation of a peace-culture tradition that has existed for thousands of years." He further explains - and quite rightly so, we believe - that "many members of the culture don't even understand what they belong to." This is an important point. The lack of identity is something that has made us especially easy to exploit in the drug war. (And as we all realize by now, the drug war guns point directly at us.)
Steven adds some details on the matter of the drug war that we support to a certain extent (these are much deeper issues than we can even imagine, but here goes): he describes a "predatory culture" whose preferred sacrament is alcohol. This all may sound racist, except that for the most part this duality is played out within the white race. There are peaceniks and warhawks in all races, but the duality is most pronounced among the whites, where some of us decided to drop out and disassociate ourselves from our imperialist and narcissistic ancestors. Of course, we carry those genes, but some white people also got the peace gene, and becoming a hippy in the Sixties was one way our generation chose to express it (for more about that see our article on hippies).
Steven states emphatically that the sacrament of choice for us is pot, and we agree. Even if many of us quit smoking it along the way, we once smoked it and see every reason why it should be legal by now. The High Times position adds more definition to the ACLU's highly successful ad campaign promoting "Marijuana or Martini." (See back issues for PFPF's coverage of this campaign.) Thanks to all our hard work, we are now comfortable enough to light up a joint in any social situation where the others are drinking alcohol (we wish!) Personally, I dislike alcohol and grow extremely jealous when everyone but me gets to take part in their sacrament of celebration.
Pray for Peace News has long advocated a cultural identity for peace people, but what to call it, how to define it? Our identity is so diverse, and not centered around any one thing. Plus, it cuts through all racial, economic, political, gender, and religious boundaries. High Times calls it the counter-culture, peace-culture tradition. Guy Mount of the New American Church Association called it "Earth People." There are different movements within the "tradition that has existed for thousands of years" that define it, and within the movements, cultural saints and heroes who symbolize the teachings we share in common.
This year High Times started a Countercultural Hall of Fame to recognize leaders among the peace people. The first to be honored are Bob Marley, Louis Armstrong, Mezz Mezzrow, Neal Cassady, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs (and in November) Ina May Gaskin. To find out more, link to High Times. Also, please post your thoughts about cultural identity to our guestbook to help start a culture-peace dialogue in a drug-war world.
Honoring Peter McWilliams
Words of deepest praise from Peter McWilliam's friend, Steve Hassan
It is with great sadness that I learned this morning of the death of my friend, Peter McWilliams. Peter was a brilliant, funny, creative man who made many, many contributions to this world.
He was a former cult member of several groups, and when he realized the truth about mind control, he was a tireless activist to educate the public as well as help those still trapped in John-Roger's MSIA cult (I wonder if Arianna Huffington ever left?).
When he became ill with cancer and AIDS, he became and advocate for the use of medical marijuana. I am so sad that our government's drug policies are so out of step with the American people's view on this subject. I want to thank those of you who took the time to write to the Judge overseeing his case to ask for leniency.
I can only hope that the future will bring more clear mindedness to the way we choose to live our lives. Thanks, Peter for your many contributions. Unfortunately, his book "LIFE 102: What to Do When your Guru Sues You" is out of print, but there might be a copy on the web somewhere, much to the disdain of John-Roger. [link to the writings of Peter McWilliams through Amazon
Editorial
Just Say "Om" to School Prayer
Realistically, if the Court allows any prayer in school, they should allow at least a basic Om. It's sacred to a rainbow of Americans, including Buddhist, Taoist, Hindu, Pagan, hippie, and many others.
Pray for Peace News says: chant Om to bring spirit back to the alma mater.
Note: While we're waiting for religious tolerance to develop enough so that everyone's prayers can be allowed, PFPF supports clear separation of church and state.
Marijuana Found at Royal Palace
June 10, 2000
c. The Associated Press
Excerpt:
LONDON (AP) - Police raided the kitchen of Buckingham Palace and found a small amount of marijuana, Scotland Yard said Saturday. No arrests were made.
An Opinion
New Year's Eve 2000
The Los Angeles Times, the respected old newspaper that was just sold to a big conglomerate, criticized Our Fair City in an editorial in the March 19, 2000 Opinion section, saying, "The 21st century began as an embarrassment for Los Angeles. All day we watched as, time zone by time zone, the other great cities of the world celebrated with a raucous pride in themselves, pride not possible unless citizens felt a share in both their city's identity and its claim to glory." We agree, lighting the Hollywood sign to celebrate the new millennium was probably a mistake. We supported the idea at first, but even by the middle of the year we started to have our doubts. First of all, there's no way to "go to" the Hollywood sign. It's just a sign on a hill behind some private homes. You can see it from all over Hollywood, but who wants to stand on a street corner and look at the side of a hill? It was cold by L.A. standards (temperature dropped below 50 degrees F.) and we were all safely at home -- many of us with the flu.
Los Angeles has many cultural resources, such as Dodger's Stadium, the Getty Museum, Griffith Park, downtown's City Hall, and many other landmarks. If we could go back and do it over, undoubtedly staging a music and fireworks event at one of these public places would have been a better choice. The City did set up some cultural things, but few of us were smart enough or motivated enough to find them, which is why we (for the most part) ended up watching TV all day and night. The lit-up Hollywood sign looked the same on TV here as it did everywhere.
The L.A. Times goes on to chastise us: "New Year's Eve 1999 revealed us to ourselves as an encampment of loners posing as a city, where most feel stuck in the traffic jam of everyone else's ambitions." Spare me the purple prose, fellas. The people of L.A. are doing just fine. Sure we may sometimes feel stuck in the traffic jam of others' ambitions, but for the most part we are just normal people who live in an oversized, over-stuffed city. The place is so big, it's more like having a hundred cities pushed together. Most of us just stick around our own community. For example, if I live in West Hollywood, I may drive to Hollywood or West L.A., but would avoid going out beyond that if at all possible. If I have a relative or friend in Granada Hills, Inglewood or Monterey Park, they're just as far away as if they live in a different city. A person living in Salem, Oregon, may rarely drive to Portland or Eugene. Who would expect them to, just to have lunch or do an errand? But somehow, people think you live in the "same city" even if it takes more than an hour to get there. We see the people we see on our daily rat race -- co-workers, clients, roommates, neighbors -- and many of us live comfortable, fulfilling lives.
The L.A. Times writer goes on with his theory of alienation: "We watch 100 different channels, we go all over the world on the Net, we listen to dozens of niche radio stations, read dozens more niche magazines and our neighborhoods are segregated by income and race and ethnicity." Yes, L.A.'s neighborhoods are diverse, just as the city is diverse, and many of us welcome diversity. However, the editorial goes on to suggest that the only thing holding the city together is the L.A. Times. Give me a break. Just more propaganda against the city. Well, there is one thing that the L.A. Times does for the city. Rather than "hold it together" they help it be diverse by their many bureaus and local editions. If I live in L.A., my home delivery comes with the "Metro" section. If I have home delivery in Glendale, it comes with the "Glendale" section. This is a really great asset and we hope that Tribune, Inc., keeps the same number of bureaus and reporters.
There's a lot of propaganda against L.A., and yes, some of us would go back and change what we did New Year's Eve, if we could. But celebrating the Hollywood sign on TV was okay. Obviously it will probably not be repeated again. But it was better than watching re-runs of Times Square.
The good news was that at least our TVs were working -- making that all-day Dec. 31, 1999 - Jan. 1, 2000 show possible. That's the part I will always remember.
Have You Hugged a Developer Today?
Tired of seeing developers turn beautiful open space into ugly look-alike housing developments? Well, the U.S. Congress is currently considering legislation that would empower developers like never before. Right now developers can be stopped at the local level, if concerned citizens attend city council meetings, but this bill would give them the right to take their case to federal court if they are turned down.
Rather than make it easier for developers, we need laws that strengthen residents' rights to decide the fate of their own communities.
PFPF News opposes H.R. 2372 and we invite our readership to look up the bill and write to your congress person to voice your opinion.
Look up the bill (enter "HR 2372" in search box): link here
Visit the PF Activists Workshop: link here
A Life Well-Lived
Terence McKenna Psychedelic Pioneer
PFPF notes the passing of Terence McKenna, who succumbed to brain cancer April 3, 2000 at a friend's home in San Rafael, California. He was 53.
The Los Angeles Times described McKenna as a "student of shamanism, virtual reality and the botany of the Amazon," and explained that McKenna "believed human civilizations developed after early hunter-gatherers accidentally ingested psychedelic drugs."
The psychedelics movement benefitted from McKenna's studied defense of the drugs in his books, including "Food of the Gods," "The Invisible Landscape," "True Hallucinations" and "Psilocybin: The Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide," co-authored with his brother Dennis.
Here is another good article about Terence McKenna at Wired Magazine
www.wirednews.com
Marijuana Patch
Kudos to the American Cancer Society for going ahead with plans to develop a marijuana patch, thus placing patients' comfort above politics. Read more about the patch at their website: http://www2.cancer.org/ezineCFML/dsp_storyIndex.cfm?fn=/003_02072000_0.html
Opinion:
Quit Making Hollywood a Straw Man
Congress and the media point their finger at Hollywood for the violence in Littleton, Colorado, but Hollywood is innocent. It's just a neighborhood in the greater City and County of Los Angeles.
If people want to deal with the problem of violence in children's media, they would do well to name the specific directors and movies they feel are the worst offenders. Once a problem has been defined, it's easier to do something about it. As it stands now however, everyone's afraid or unable to name any specific names. It's lazy and pointless to lump all violent media together under the heading "Hollywood." It's ironic too, since most of what people refer to as "Hollywood" is actually located in Burbank, Santa Monica or somewhere out of state.
Please stop cursing "Hollywood" for the acts of a select group of individuals (who may or may not actually live or work here). It's similar to the problem with Washington, D.C., which takes all the psychic flack for everything that's wrong with the federal government. Washington is a beautiful city of monuments and museums, along with some neglected neighborhoods. However, at times it's a very political and frightening place because of all the hate focused there. Note how the citizens of D.C. lost their right to vote on the issue of medical marijuana. A bad accumulation of psychic interference from aliens, or something.
One positive thought can counteract hundreds of negative thoughts. Link to Hollywood affirmations.
Pray for Peace News calls for peace and harmony between Hollywood, North Hollywood, West Hollywood and East Hollywood, as well as Planet Hollywood, Hollywood, Florida, and all other Hollywoods around the world. Peace begins at home! Be generous - share the name freely and be happy. All peace and freedom to the Hollywoods of the world.
Is There a Culture War?
When the impeachment trial in Washington ended, everyone talked about whether there is a culture war. Here are a few excerpts:
L.A. Times columnist Robert Scheer
Those who argue that Clinton's philandering represents one side of a cultural war apparently are unaware that extramarital liaisons were a well-established feature of life in this country, extending to the presidency, long before Clinton.
Right-Wing Blames 60's For Various Social Evils, by Molly Ivins
The latest wrinkle in right-wing spin is to claim that this is not a political phenom at all but rather the final battle in some culture war that I didn't know was going on. . . . Perhaps what I object to most is the use of war as a metaphor for political differences. That way lies folly and worse. Call it a spirited discussion, a disagreement or an all-out slinging match, but don't call it a war. That's how you get murdered abortion doctors and bombed buildings in Oklahoma.
L.A. Times letter to the editor:
The culture war fought out between the president and the Republicans was not the counterculture of the 60s versus family values. It was about who is an American. The United States was created by those who were white, Christian and male. As we move to the close of the 20th century, to think, feel and believe as an American one doesn't necessarily have to be white, Christian or male. God bless America. -Lev Mailer
Paul Weyrich, head of the Free Congress Foundation in Washington:
The culture we are living in becomes an ever-wider sewer. In truth, I think we are caught up in a cultural collapse of historic proportions, a collapse so great that it simply overwhelms politics.
L.A. Times letter to the editor
Why do people keep blaming the 60s counterculture for Bill Clinton's sexual misconduct? Powerful cigar-wielding men committing secret adulteries with big-haired, big-busted young women in their offices is pure 40s and 50s stuff: Read Cheever, Updike and O'Hara. The whole point of the sexual revolution was openness, honesty and equality.
And playful nonviolence: The effort to associate hippies with a Southern attorney general allegedly raping a woman brutally in a hotel suite only proves how desperate the reactionaries are to discredit a movement which--for all its flaws--has brought America more real democracy, artistic variety and intellectual freedom; nearer equality among races and genders; healthier air, water, food and consumer products; more tolerance for personal differences and more resistance to arbitrary authority; and (except among House Republicans and their fan club) far less invasion of privacy, hatemongering and sexual hypocrisy. --Robert Watson
Anonymous comment quoted in L.A. Times
I hate Clinton. I hate everything about the man. I hate him for dodging the draft, for not inhaling, for treating women the way he does and for just being so damned insufferable. He's a product of the 60s and he has no sense of morality.
PF's Opinion: Culture War is 'All in the Family' Reruns
Channel surfing for something other than the Monica Show this winter, we found a story that's a perfect metaphor for the so-called culture war: All in the Family. Suddenly it all made sense: Archie, Edith, Mike and Gloria's petty arguments still resonate. But a living room argument is only an argument. We agree with Molly Ivan: "don't call it a w**."
Affirmation to cancel out the 'culture war': We participate in a peaceful social discourse, free from any connotations of war. Ours is a country of neighbors with a common dream of equality, freedom and prosperity.
End the War on Drugs
