Well, the suspense is over, the text messages have been sent, and now Joe Biden has been announced as Barak’s running mate. Whoo hoo. So is Joe just another great guy, ready to be the other half of “Yes we can”? Do we really care? “Yes we do”. Let’s take a look at Joe “RAVE UP” Biden.
If anybody can be held responsible for the modern drug war (well, second to Nixon), it is he. As chairman of the International Narcotics Control Caucus (now called the United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control), he wrote the laws that created the US Drug Czar. Wow, what a success that has been, especially if you only measure the number of people placed in prison on petty drug crimes. Quite a growth industry as the percentage of people in state and federal institutions for drug related offenses increased over 50% from 1995 – 2003.
Anybody familiar with the legislation he introduced and rammed thru both houses in 2002-3? The Rave Act, which was attached to the Amber Alert legislation, was a drug warriors dream. It had a brilliant name “Reducing Americans’ Vulnerability to Ecstasy” Act and acronym (maybe only second to the PATRIOT Act). And not only would folks doing Ecstasy in a club be thrown under the bus, but the club owners were liable for the actions of their patrons. No matter if the club owners acted in good faith or not, they could have their clubs taken and be charged with felonies. How lovely Joe, two birds with one stone. Did anyone see this as an attack on entertainment that the establishment didn’t like or understand? Anyone see this as another sad chapter in the war on people? Yeah, some did. and did. and did.
