Sketches of the Drug Czars in Vanity Fair
Mike Hogan says: "Ricardo Cortes, author of the pro-pot children’s book It’s Just a Plant, created an illustrated history of America’s Drug War for vanityfair.com. It tests the assumptions that have led the US to spend $50 billion a year on a military campaign against an unhealthy habit and questions whether Obama’s drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, has the will or the ability to follow up on his pledge to end the Drug War at long last."
In 1980, Ronald Reagan shifted responsibility for the anti-drug effort from the health department to the Department of Justice. “I would say that this is the most intense federal effort ever against drugs,” said Associate Attorney General Rudolph Giuliani, who oversaw the D.E.A. and the Bureau of Prisons and who orchestrated expansion of the F.B.I. into drug enforcement. Senator Joe Biden began advocating for a Cabinet-level position to coordinate federal agencies—a “drug czar.” So began the era of “zero tolerance.” Reagan’s presidency reversed his predecessors’ drug-control policies, and funding for law enforcement rose to three times that for abuse-prevention and treatment programs.
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Drawings of Drug Czars?
Some days just start off weird, and one is left staring out the window and wondering WTF?
Czar is a title of nobility, very much like Emperor. Obviously these "Drug Czars" aren't emperors, but still, it was a title of nobility. Now its being bestowed upon agents of the Executive Branch who act more like the Commissars of the former Soviet Union bypassing the normal chain of command and reporting directly to the Party Leader.
The Federal Government of The United States of America is BARRED under its Constitution from bestowing any title of nobility:
Article 1 Section 8
"No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States"
I am sure some will just say its a euphemism for these "Czar" offices and doesn't really violate the Constitution. But the WHOLE principal of a Drug Czar who interferes largely with Intrastate matters of commerce also wipes its arse with what Bush II called "a God damned piece of paper".
Thebes: I always wandered how the term "czar" was reconciled with that, y'know, law of the land. Constinution thingo, it's called.
Glad to see it's simply not reconciled, and it just is.
And because it's vaugely relevant, and part of a campaign that's built around IDUD (International Drug Users day - 1/11/09)
http://www.druguserpeaceinitiative.org/
Gil Kerlikowske has never expressed any intent concerning ending the Drug War. He has said that the DEA is not even thinking about "legalization."
the DEA Cartel, like all the Old Families, of course will commission paintings to commemorate their reign. Any capo di tutti capi is required to do this to maintain respect.