Reclassifying weed….second reason to support a Trump policy

 Reclassifying weed….second reason to support a Trump policy

In 5 years I’ve only supported one Trump initiative. That was his so far failed effort to end the deranged US/NATO proxy war to weaken, isolate Russia simply destroying Ukraine.

But I’m fully on board his latest Executive Order to reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III. Schedule I is rightly reserved to for truly addictive drugs with high abuse potential and no medical benefits such as heroin. Schedule III puts cannabis in the class of drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical dependence (but high potential for psychological dependence) with accepted medical uses.

But the slow moving federal government delayed reclassification of cannabis for 55 years under 10 presidents till Trump grabbed his Executive Order pen and wiped away that insanity.

Benefits will be immediate and substantial. It will reduce the tax burden on cannabis businesses, up to a billion annually. It will attract more investors, allow use of credit cards for transactions and increase medical research into the health benefits of THC.

Back in 2023 both the DEA and HHS recommended cannabis be reclassified to its now more appropriate Schedule III classification. But poor Joe Biden whiffed on a chance to improve society while shoring up political support.

Trump’s wise move proves once again that even the most destructive of presidents, degrading democracy at home and killing hundreds of thousands in foreign wars, including genocide, can occasionally do something worthwhile that benefits society.

House greenlights Venezuelan invasion and continued mass murder in the Caribbean

 House greenlights Venezuelan invasion and continued mass murder in the Caribbean

 

It was ignored by mainstream media, but the House Wednesday gave the A-OK for Trump to invade Venezuela. They killed a bill to block Trump from launching his crazed war to rid Venezuela of its socialist president so Trump can steal its oil and other US coveted resources

 

The vote was close, 213-211, to quash the War Powers Resolution forbidding Trump’s war without Congressional approval as required by the Constitution. The partisan vote had just 4 defectors among the 424 voting. Democrats voted for peace 208 to 1. Republicans voted to allow Trump’s  unconstitutional, illegal, criminal war 212 to 3.

 

The Democratic vote was largely partisan, not peace. If Trump is for it, Dems are against it. Since Biden provoked the US proxy war on Russia destroying Ukraine and enabled the Israeli genocide in Gaza, there has been barely a peep from Democrats opposing either.

The Venezuelan invasion vote followed last week’s War Powers Vote to allow Trump to continue committing mass murder in the Caribbean obliterating small unarmed boats as a prelude for the upcoming invasion. The vote mirrored the Venezuelan invasion vote with all but 2 Republicans ghoulishly supporting small boat bombings while all but 3 Democrats voting to end them.

 

Congress abdicated its Congressional and constitutional duty to decide when to attack beginning 75 years ago in 1950 when they let Truman go to war in Korea. Truman put a fig leaf on the war, calling it a 'police action.' A couple of million dead Koreans and 36,000 dead Americans in that police action have done noting to make Congress take back its war making powers. The 1973 War Powers Act was designed to reign in war crazed presidents from waging illegal wars. Alas, in 52 years it never has…and likely never will.  

Parole possibility for minors sentenced to life, another progressive gain for Illinois

Parole possibility for minors sentenced to life, another progressive gain for Illinois

Life without possibility of parole makes no sense. Never has, never will.

Two years ago an Illinois law went into effect that recognizes that truth…at least involving killers under 21 at the time of their crime. It allows those sentenced to natural life to seek parole after serving 40 years.                                                                      

That new law was on display this week with the life sentence given 21 year old Steven Montano, who was 18 when he murdered Chicago police officer Vasquez Lasso responding to a 911 call in 2023. 

The rationale for the law is based on evolving science that children and teens’ brains are not fully developed enough to comprehend the gravity of their actions.

We can go back a century to 1924 when a notorious Chicago murder case presented a stunning example validating the rationale behind the minor parole possibility law.

Nathan Leopold, 18, a University of Chicago senior, along with friend, 19 year old Richard Loeb, murdered Leopold’s cousin in their twisted quest to commit the perfect crime. Both were sentenced to life plus 99 years, presuming they’d never leave prison. Loeb was murdered in prison 12 years later. 

But Leopold's exemplary conduct won him parole after serving just 34 years. Only 52, he relocated to Puerto Rico where he became an X-Ray technician in a church hospital. He went on to earn a master's degree, taught at the University of Puerto Rico, became a researcher in social services in Puerto Rico's health department, did research in leprosy, urban renewal and housing, and traveled extensively to research a book he published on Puerto Rican bird life. He married a widow in 1961 who was with him till his death at 66 in 1971.

 Nathan Leopold's case argued strongly not only for abolishing capital punishment, but also for abolishing life without parole for offenders who can demonstrate both their rehabilitation and their readiness to rejoin society at some point. Nobody lost when Nathan Leopold was paroled after 34 years. No potential murderer thinks that 34 years imprisonment is a fair trade to kill someone. As much as Nathan Leopold gained from his freedom, society gained even more. 

Montano will be 61 when he becomes eligible for parole in 2065. Just that possibility, however slight, might inspire Montano to dedicate his next 40 years in prison to become a better, productive person who may earn his freedom while still young enough to continue that personal trajectory outside the gates. 

                                                                    

Illinois once again deserves credit for a decent, humane improvement to our justice system. Next term the legislature should expand the law to apply to everyone sentenced to or serving life without possibility of parole. It does not deter crime. It does not serve the public interest.

 

Life without parole simply keeps aging, infirm, harmless convicts caged in a taxpayer funded nursing home.

Walt Zlotow   Glen Ellyn IL 

substack.com/@waltzlotow

Trump vows “severe retaliation” for 3 dead Americans in Syria whose deaths he enabled

 Trump vows “severe retaliation” for 3 dead Americans in Syria whose deaths he enabled

 

America has defiled Syria since the 2011 civil war we entered to support Islamic jihadists seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad. We called the jihadists getting our weapons to depose Assad ‘moderates’ who could be controlled. These folks aligned with the 911 attackers were now cool to work with because they supported our real agenda…depose Assad to please Israel.

 

We stationed soldiers in Syria to capture Assad’s oil fields, choking off his main source of wealth. It took 13 years but our jihadist buddies finally toppled Assad a year ago. Then we embraced al-Qaeda terrorist Mohammad al-Julani who morphed into Ahmed al Sharaa when his HTS terrorist rebels toppled Assad. HTS quickly installed Sharaa as new Syrian strongman. Sharaa swapped his al-Qaeda fatigues for a western business suit to visit the White House and his new fan Donald Trump. For someone who toiled for years to kill Americans, a lifetime trip to Guantanamo was more appropriate.

 

But US support of the violent new Syrian government killing Alawites, Christians and others associated with Assad, did not protect the thousand US military and civilian personnel with a target on their back for continuing their senseless occupation having nothing to do with US national security interests. Two US soldiers and a civilian US interpreter were ambushed and killed in Palmyra, central Syria on Saturday.

 

Trump vows revenge but has no clue, never will, who did the foul deed. Suspects include anti-American Syrian government forces, Iranian militias, ISIS, Turkish backed forces opposed to our Kurdish support, possibly even Russian mercenaries.

 

Our troops needlessly in harm war are not wanted by Syrian’s new jihadist government, not authorized by Congress, violating Syrian sovereignty and violating international law by stealing Syria’s oil treasure. Every US death, every US injury of military and civilian personnel having no business defiling Syrian sovereignty is on Trump while in office. 

 

Trump’s imminent bombing of designated scapegoats is sure to backfire. Besides anti-US government forces, there are numerous armed factions surrounding US positions likely to respond in kind. The attack may have been deliberately planned to provoke further violence against US retaliation.

 

Trump’s wisest response would be to extract all remaining US forces from Syria. Fourteen years of US meddling that helped kill hundreds of thousands, turning Syria into a failed state, is fourteen years too many.

 

Chances of Trump being that wise? Zero.

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL 

substack.com/@waltzlotow