Glenn Nielsen Weblog

A growing number of Missouri communities are installing Red Light Cameras. These cameras automatically ticket the vehicle owner if their car is photographed entering the intersection when the stop light is red.

Municipalities justify these by claiming they reduce accidents. But the data shows that it may reduce T-Bone accidents in the intersection but increase rear end accidents. In the end, city's like these cameras because they bring in millions of dollars. In some cases the time the yellow caution light is displayed has been reduced in intersections with red light cameras. This increases the number of automated tickets and the revenue generated for the city.

Besides being ineffective from a safety standpoint and just another way for cities to extort money from you, they are the first step down the road towards government surveillance of its citizens.

State Senator Jim Lembke (R) of St. Louis has sponsored Senate Bill 211 which would ban the use of Red Light Camera's in Missouri.

Link to SB 211:

http://www.senate.mo.gov/09info/bts_web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=588955

A hearing is scheduled before the Senate Transportation Committee for Wed. February 18th at 8AM in Senate Hearing Room 1 on the 1st floor of the Capitol Building.

Please join me at the State Capitol Wed. February 18th to speak in support of SB 211.

Glenn Nielsen
State Chair
Missouri Libertarian Party
http://lpmo.org

Missouri LP State Chair Glenn Nielsen spoke to the Missouri State House REAL ID and Privacy Committee in support of HCR 13 and HB 361, both sponsored by State Representative Jim Guest (R) of St. Joseph.

HCR 13 Claims sovereignty for the states under the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution for all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government under the Constitution.

HB 361 Specifies that an applicant for a driver's license, nondriver's license, or instruction permit cannot have his or her privacy rights violated when obtaining or renewing a driver's license. This bill opts out Missouri from complying with the Federal Government REAL ID.

Here is a video of State Chair Glenn Nielsen speaking in support of HCR 13

In the last month Missouri LP State Chair Glenn Nielsen has made a number of media appearances.

• Interview on the Columbia, MO KOPN 89.5FM Sex, Drugs and Civil Liberties show hosted by Dan Viets Dec. 30th. Listen to the podcast.
• Participated with a Democrat and Republic on the Political Roundtable show hosted by Gary Nolan on The Eagle 93.9FM in Columbia Jan. 15th. No podcast available for this appearance.
• Two minute video commentary on the Jan 18th edition of Missouri Viewpoints hosted by libertarian Mike Ferguson. Watch the video commentary. This is the first of many video commentaries for Missouri Viewpoints in the coming year. This commentary talks about free markets and the US auto bailout.
• Interview on the Libertarian Dime podcast. Listen to the podcast.

Libertarians are defending your second amendment right to keep and bear arms. Here are some recent examples where libertarians have done so:

Heller vs District of Columbia United State Supreme Court case.

Dick Heller, the plaintiff in the recent U.S. Supreme Court case which found that the second amendment was an individual right is a libertarian and petitioned to get on the ballot as the Libertarian candidate for the D.C. representative to Congress.

Libertarian Presidential Nominee Bob Barr

The Libertarian Party Presidential Nominee Bob Bar has served as a member of the NRA board and has an A+ rating. John McCain only has a C rating and Barack Obama has an F.

Bob Barr is the attorney representing a Georgia gun shop in a libel suit against New York City and their gun grabbing Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Missouri Libertarians

Here in Missouri, libertarian Doug Burlison was elected to the Springfield City Council in 2007, he was the one who found and then raised the alarm about the Springfield state legislative priority to allow local government to ban conceal carry in city parks.

Doug Burlison, Greene County Libertarians and Missouri Carry are working together to strip that provision from Springfield's list of priorities for the state legislature.

Libertarians have been working hard to defend your second amendment rights.

Please reward our hard work by voting for one or more Libertarians on the ballot Tuesday November 4th.

Missouri libertarians have opposed smoking bans in communities all across Missouri. In some cases, helping to prevent a smoking ban from being enacted.

Here is my response to a recent e-mail received by the Missouri Libertarian Party regarding our opposition to smoking bans:

Thank you for your long and heartfelt e-mail regarding rights and second hand smoke.

There is no doubt that smoking increases the risk of lung cancer and heart disease for smokers. Second hand smoke is annoying to many people and may pose a health risk.

A fundamental libertarian principle is defending individual liberties. Libertarians believe you should be free to live your life as long as you do not harm another person, their property or defraud them.

Discussion of rights can be a tricky thing. Often advocacy groups for government social redistribution programs claim there is a right to housing, a right to health care or a right to a job.

Nothing can be a natural right if it imposes an obligation on another or takes away their rights.

For example, a right to government health care would impose on others to pay for it with the fruits of their labor. To collect those taxes government uses force or the threat of force, threatening to take away your rights if you don't pay.

Libertarians are also strong defenders of property rights.

The issue of smoking bans comes down to an issue of property rights.

A smoker has no right to smoke on someone elses property unless they have the permission of the property owner.

Neither does a non smoker have a right to force a private property owner to prohibit smoking on their private property.

Another problem is the use of the term "public". Sometimes this term is used when referring to property owned by government. Other times it is used when describing a private business which is open to the public.

For true public buildings owned by government such as court houses, schools, etc. They have every right to ban smoking.

For private businesses to which the public is invited government has no business forcing the property owner to prohibit smoking. When they do so they are infringing on the rights of the property owner to set policies on how their property is used, as long as their use does not infringe on neighboring property owners. Individuals can choose based on the smoking policy of a private business owner whether they want to patronize that business. They can vote with their dollars. No one is dragging non smokers off the street and forcing them into a smoky bar.

Libertarians are also strong advocates of a truly free market. Libertarians understand that the free market generally results in the optimal mix of solutions to a problem.

Only forty years ago about half of all adults smoked. That number is now down to around 20%. As the number of smokers has dropped the demand for smoke free venues has increased. Business owners, in their own self interest have been slowly changing their smoking policies to meet that demand. For example, in Columbia Missouri 52% of restaurants were smoke free in 2003. By 2006 63% of restaurants were smoke free. The free market was adjusting to the demand for smoke free restaurants, giving you the non smoker more choices for smoke free venues.

Libertarians oppose using the heavy hand of government to infringe on the property rights of private business owners when the free market is working to provide the optimal mix of smoking/non-smoking venues.

If you want to be free to exercise the natural rights, individual liberties and freedoms you cherish; you must be willing to grant others their freedom. Even if you don't agree with the choices they might make in their life.

Yours in liberty,

Glenn Nielsen
State Chair
Missouri Libertarian Party

Here is the original e-mail with the name of the sender removed:

Hello, Glenn,

A few days ago I received in the mail an over sized blue post card that told me you, Glenn Nielsen, were inviting me to rediscover the Party of Principle. The first paragraph demonstrated to me that at least one of your principles does not match mine. I would have a problem supporting any organization or group that promote the trampling of the rights of individuals. And you do it in the first paragraph! You brag that Libertarians in St. Louis County helped stop a smoking ban twice. For a party that espouses the rights and freedoms of the individual, this action is unconscionable.

Smoking is the only commonly practiced habit people have that immediately affects everyone in their vicinity. If I go somewhere and others drink alcoholic beverages and I do not, I can get behind the wheel of a car and not fear having to pass a breath test. But if I go to a public place where smoking is permitted, I leave smelling like a three-pack-a-day smoker. The evidence in support of the adverse effects of second-hand smoke on the health of non-smokers continues to mount. And consider the adverse effects on the developing body of a small child if one or both parents smoke. Should be referred to as environmental child abuse! Fortunately, more and more restaurants are voluntarily going smoke-free. There is little that is more disgusting than to request non-smoking in a restaurant, be seated next to the dividing line and have their poor ventilation waft the stench from the smoking section past my nose. It is an appetite killer!

If you observe smokers in public places, many times when they are not taking a drag, they tend to hold the cigarette so its smoke does not go past their nose. Of the smoke generated by a cigarette, probably less than 20% is actually inhaled by the smoker. And a large part of that which is inhaled is exhaled. The rest is shared by the unwilling.

I contend there is no right to smoke. Any activity one person practices that infringes on the rights of another is not a right. If there is a right to smoke there is also a right not to smoke. And smokers infringe that right as soon as they light up! As the old saying goes: Your rights end where my nose begins. This is literally so in the case of smoking. The people have voted on this issue when you consider that less than 25% of adults are smokers.

I feel very strongly about this issue. My father was a smoker and his lungs were a mess when his remains were autopsied. My step-son started smoking at 14. He died at 37 of lung cancer. Smoking is like playing Russian roulette. In this case, however, it may take 20-40 years before you learn if there is a bullet in the chamber.

To misquote a French philosopher: I will agree to defend your right to smoke as soon as you agree to keep your smoke within six inches of your body. On the other hand, as a humor newspaper in South St. Louis printed some years ago: Have a cigarette after your meal and get that yucky food taste out of your mouth.

For most of the past year I have been looking at the Libertarian Party as a viable alternative to the two other parties. I supported Barry Goldwater in 1984 and have for the most part supported Republican candidates. However, I have voted for some Democrats if I thought they were the better of the two. Last year I took the Four Question test after learning about it on the Neal Boortz radio program. That is when I began looking more closely at the Libertarian Party.

An almost Libertarian

KCUR 89.3FM, an NPR station in Kansas City published a story today of the 2008 Heartland Libertarian Conference almost 5 minutes in length. Several members of the Missouri Libertarian Party attending the conference were interviewed.

You can read or listen to the story here.

The Libertarian Dime is a new podcast dedicated to showing a modern version of libertarianism as applied to politics, religion, science, and culture.

The show is hosted by Shane Brady and Jonathan Farr. Shane, a libertarian, recently moved to Missouri from Kansas and Jonathan is a libertarian living in New Mexico.

My interview starts 10-15 minutes into the podcast and lasts over an hour covering a wide range of topics.

Give it a listen here.

I along with the Constitution Party State Chair were invited to speak at the Southern Missouri Paul-a-thon January 25th in Mountain View, MO. The southern Missouri Ron Paul Meetup groups did a great job organizing this event which drew over 200 people.

It was invigorating to be in a room full of everyday people who care so deeply for freedom, liberty and the principles our nation was founded on.

Below is the video from my speech in two parts. Thanks to Movie Guy Nick and his friend for taping this event and getting the videos posted on You Tube

My introduction and the first few lines of my speech are missing from the first video.

Embedded below is my Missouri Viewpoints interview released Sunday January 13th, 2008. Libertarian Mike Ferguson performs the interviews for the political affairs online show and David White does a great job video taping and producing the videos for YouTube.

This interview even got a mention in the Jo Mannies St. Louis Post Dispatch Blog

Glenn Nielsen, Chair of the Missouri Libertarian Party

I didn't have a vacation this summer from my day job or from my position as State Chair of the Missouri Libertarian Party.

What I did do (outside of my day job) was continue all my libertarian activism locally in Boone County, work on statewide issues and travel the state attending libertarian and other events.

I write this to acknowledge the hard work of libertarians across the state and to encourage others to get more involved. These are just the activities I participated in. There were many more libertarian events and booths across the state during the summer. Thanks to all those who helped organize and staff those events even if they aren't listed below. There is a calendar on the Missouri LP website where you can keep up on current events. If you are planning an event please submit it to our calendar so that visitors to the Missouri LP website can find out about it.

May 21st, 2007 - Spoke at Columbia City Council Meeting

I attended the May 21st, 2007 Columbia City Council Meeting to speak out against using eminent domain to acquire private property for expansion of a failing airport. The three property owners under threat of eminent domain spoke at the Columbia City Council meeting in opposition to taking their land and questioning whether they would receive just compensation. I waited until they had an opportunity to speak, then spoke in their defense. I was the only other person to speak. As I walked back to my seat I could see they appreciated my standing up for them. Later out in the hall I spoke with them and gave them my Missouri LP business card.

June 9th, 2007 - Boone County LP Booth at Mid-Missouri Pride Fest

The Boone County LP staffed an Operation Politically Homeless (OPH) booth at the Mid-Missouri Pride Fest held in Columbia's Stephens Lake Park. We staffed the booth all day giving the World's Smallest Political Quiz and gathering signatures for the Missouri Citizens for Property Rights petitions to amend the Missouri Constitution to prevent government from taking your home or business for private development. This was the third year in a row the BCLP had a booth at this event. Thanks to John Schultz, Boone County LP Chair, for organizing this event and helping staff it.

July 21st, 2007 - St Louis Area Libertarian Picnic

The St. Louis Are Libertarian Party Meetup held a picnic July 21st, 2007 at the Watson Trails Park in Sunset Hills, MO. Sunset Hills, MO is known recently as the place where over a hundred home owners were threatened with taking of their homes by eminent domain. I wrote about this here, Eminent Domain Abuse - Sunset Hills, MO - A story of hollow homes and lives left in limbo, and later about how Sunset Hills, MO City Government Voted Out for Eminent Domain Abuse. It was nice to meet and socialize with over 40 libertarians at the picnic. Pictures can be found here. Thanks to Michael, the meetup organizer, for putting this event together.

July 23rd-29th, 2007 - Boone County LP Boone County Fair Booth

The Boone County LP for the first time ever paid for and staffed a booth at the Boone County fair. We gave the World's Smallest Political Quiz to hundreds of people and once again gathered more signatures for the MO-CPR Eminent Domain petitions. One evening while manning the booth I had a young man approach the booth, state he just moved to Columbia from Tennessee, that he was a libertarian and he was planning on running for City Council. He found out about our booth at the fair from the on the Missouri LP website. If your local LP organization is planning an event please make sure you submit the event to the Missouri LP Calendar. Thanks to Boone County LP Chair John Schultz for organizing this booth and to the Boone County Libertarians who contributed to make it happen. The Boone County LP almost spent enough money that a campaign finance report had to be filed.

July 30th - Columbia Police Citizen Review Board Meeting

Pressure is being put on the City of Columbia to form a Police Citizen Review Board. I attended a meeting at the Columbia Public Library where a representative of the Department of Justice gave an overview of how Citizen Review Boards can work. Prior to the meeting I was interviewed by the local ABC/FOX affiliate and had one short quote aired on the 10PM news. The TV reporter recognized me from when she interviewed me the day of the final hearing on the Columbia Smoking Ban. I have become very interested in recent years in police abuse and violations of our 4th Amendment rights. Radley Balko, former policy analyst for CATO where he authored Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America, now a Senior Editor for Reason has a great blog documenting police abuse at The Agitator.

August 4th, 2007 - Property Rights Conference in Cabool

I left Columbia at 6AM for the two and a half hour drive down to Cabool Missouri for the Property Rights Conference hosted by the Ozarks Chapter of the Property Rights Congress. John Williams, Texas County LP Chair, invited me down to attend this gathering of over 150 people who defend property rights in southern rural Missouri.

Ron Calzone, Chairman of Missouri Citizens for Property Rights, presented the first session on his effort to amend the Missouri Constitution to prevent eminent domain from being used for private development. Jane Carpenter of Ozark Missouri closed his session with an emotional appeal regarding her fight to keep her home when it was threatened with condemnation by the Ozark city government.

The big issue at the conference was the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). I met several State Representatives and a State Senator. Senator Claire McCaskill even sent a member of her staff. I met both Bob Parker and Doreen Hannes who have had articles published on the Missouri LP NAIS issue page.

August 4th - Met with Tony Messenger, Keith Rodgers and Phil Horras in Springfield

I left the Property Rights Conference after lunch so I could drive over an hour to Springfield for a late afternoon lunch at the Springfield Brewery. There I met up with Tony Messenger, the editor of the Springfield News Leader editorial page, Keith Rodgers, Greene County LP Chair and Phil Horras, 2000 Missouri LP Lieutenant Governor candidate.

I got to know Tony Messenger when he was a columnist for the Columbia Daily Tribune and drive time host on KFRU radio. Tony was a great ally in our fight to stop the smoking ban in Columbia and is very open to hearing from libertarians on issues.

It was a nice lunch with good food, refreshments and interesting discussions about politics and sports.

August 4th - Greene County LP meeting - Doug Burlison Award

I left the Springfield Brewery at 5:30PM to drive over to the Greene County LP meeting. There I met up with Ron Calzone of MO-CPR for the second time that day. He was there to encourage libertarians in Springfield to help petition for eminent domain reform.

During the meeting I presented Doug Burlison, former GCLP Chair and recently elected to the Springfield City Council, with a Missouri LP Champion of Freedom award. Doug was selected for this award prior to winning his seat on the city council for all the hard work he did which lead to his winning election. Most notably, he led the petition effort in Springfield to force a state audit of the Springfield City finances.

After 400 miles on the road and 19 hours I finally made it home. What a busy day!

August 7th, 2007 - Jefferson City Election Day Petitioning for MO-CPR

Once again I teamed up with Ron Calzone of MO-CPR and John Schultz, Boone County LP Chair to petition all day at Jefferson City polling places during the August 7th election.

August 8th, 2007 - Contacted by National CBS Early Show for interview

The National CBS Early Show was hosted in Kansas City Friday August 10th. They like to have a short segment on local issues and had picked smoking bans. On August 8th they contacted the Boone Liberty Coalition to see if we had someone who could be a guest on their show to speak on why we opposed the Columbia smoking ban.

I ended up being the BLC member who could make the interview. I was very excited and nervous. Excited that all the hard work the Boone Liberty Coalition did had risen to the level where we were noticed by a national tv show. Nervous because I would be on national TV.

The day before the interview I finally spoke with staff from the show and did a short phone interview. In the end I wasn't selected to be on the show. They decided to only have a government health employee from Kansas City on.

That was disappointing but just being asked was a validation of all the hard work the BLC did over almost two years fighting the Columbia smoking ban. Thanks to all the hard work of the Boone Liberty Coalition, especially John Dupuy, John Schultz and Greg Rennier.

August 9th-19th, 2007 - Missouri LP Booth at Missouri State Fair

The Missouri LP had a booth at the Missouri State Fair. At the booth we have libertarian literature and give the World's Smallest Political Quiz. Many libertarians staffing the booth also gathered signatures for the MO-CPR eminent domain petition.

I staffed the booth for three six hour shifts and heard many positive comments about our work to get eminent domain reform on the ballot. State Representative Belinda Harris (D) from Jefferson County stopped by the booth and brought others with her to sign the petition. She introduced the same language for the petition in the 2007 State Legislative Session. We had a nice conversation about eminent domain and other issues of good government.

Thanks to all those who helped staff our State Fair booth. Special thanks to Randy Langkraehr, Missouri LP Treasurer, for coordinating the State Fair booth for the fourth year in a row.

August 24th, 2007 - St. Charles County LP Ten Year Anniversary Dinner

I attended a dinner celebrating the St. Charles County LP ten year anniversary. It was nice relaxing over dinner and meeting some St. Charles area libertarians for the first time. Thanks to Bob Sullentrup, St. Charles County LP Chair and National Libertarian Party Secretary for organizing this event. Here is a picture from the dinner.

September 8th, 2007 - Bob Barr BBQ in St. Louis

The Libertarian Coalition for Responsibility hosted a Bob Barr-B-Q and fund raiser at Greensfelder Park. Bob Barr, former member of the US House from Georgia and now a member of the Libertarian Party National Committee, was the keynote speaker. Shane Corey, Libertarian Party National Committee Executive Director was in attendance. Michael Ferguson, winner of the Libertarian Coalition for Responsibility 2007 Leadership award also spoke. Several dozen people attended on a rainy day to help raise funds for libertarian candidates. Thanks to Bob Sullentrup for organizing the event. Here are some pictures from the event.

In addition there were monthly meetings of my local Boone County LP, Missouri LP Executive Committee and Missouri LP Strategic Planning Committee meetings.

What a busy summer!

Clayton Missouri property owners have won an appeal to prevent their property from being taken for the Centene Corporation commercial development.

This case is similar to the Kelo vs New London Development Corporation US Supreme Court case which upheld the right of municipalities to take private property for commercial development. Those in the majority claimed this was a states rights issue. The Missouri State Legislature passed eminent domain reform in 2006 but it did nothing to prevent taking of property for commercial development.

The case will now go to the Missouri Supreme Court.

Now we will see if the Missouri Supreme Court does a better job than our elected representatives.

Here are links to several stories about the Clayton eminent domain court decision:

• http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2007/04/23/daily22.html
• http://www.showmedaily.org/2007/04/centen_corp_hea.html
• http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/1F3818449BE60640862572C800131CDD?OpenDocument

Here is a National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Missouri State Legislature action alert for May 1st 8:30AM. Thanks to Doreen Hannes for getting this out.

• What? NAIS in Missouri
• Where? Jefferson City Capitol Building
• When? May 1st, Tuesday at 8:30am
• Why? Because Chairman Quinn will not allow SB428 out of committee as it passed the Senate 29-2.....If you care at all, now is the time to take action.

On Tuesday morning, May 1st we absolutely must be in Jefferson City to hit every reps office with a simple, solid message regarding NAIS. That message is:

"We need No NAIS in the state of Missouri. No "voluntary", no mandatory and definitely no "State" NAIS. Bring Senate Bill 428 to the floor as it passed the Senate 29-2 and let the people be represented."

Here is the plan...We will meet in the basement Hearing Room area at 8:30 am and will have a brief meeting and split up the offices of the reps between those who show up. Then we will meet with every rep possible face toface and let them see that we are serious about this and do not want anything to do with it. Your rep is only one of those who makes laws that affect you. Every representative is your representative.

We must let them see that people are concerned enough about this to show up. Every single person represents many times themselves. Please show up. You can't have anything better to do than to fight for your own ability to feed yourselves. Remember less than 2% of the national population is involved in agriculture and this will take care of all but corporate ag, which will then quickly go south of the border in search of cheap labor.

I look forward to seeing all of you there on Tuesday.

God bless,

Doreen Hannes

Missouri along with 31 other states is moving towards passing legislation to opt out of implementing national identification mandated by the federal government by the REAL ID act of 2005.

Representative Jim Guest, Missouri 5th District, is leading the effort in Missouri and is encouraging legislators in other states to do the same.

Representative Guest sponsored HCR 20 which prohibits the state from participating in any national identification system using driver's license records as required in the federal REAL ID Act of 2005. The bill passed in the Missouri House by a vote of 146-4 on March 15th and is now under consideration by the Missouri Senate.

Here is an interview with Representative Guest on The Eagle, 93.9FM in Columbia about REAL ID.

Representative Guest will be participating (remotely) May 1st from 12 noon - 4:00PM CST in a town hall meeting organized by the Department of Homeland Security and the California Department of Motor Vehicles to address questions about the REAL ID. The town hall meeting will be held in Freeborn Hall on the University of California, Davis campus.

Here is a message from Representative Guest regarding this meeting:

Silencing The Peoples Voice

While the local attention is on legislation here in the State Capitol in Jefferson City a major all-out-effort is taking place in California to stop the states efforts to stop the Real ID Act. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is holding a televised Town Hall meeting in California to promote their Real ID Act or the National ID Card. The Real ID Act would require all Americans to carry a National ID Card and your personal data would be shared with all other states. This will be an expansion of identity theft.

Their last attempt to derail our effort to stop the Real ID Act was unsuccessful when DHS sent two individuals to testify against the bill. This time, to avoid their debate with me, they have chosen California realizing we are still in session and I couldnt attend in person. I was not notified of the Town Hall meeting by DHS, however many groups around the country contacted my office urging me to voice my opinion and refute DHS.

It is scary that the Federal Government would go to such lengths to stop Americans from having their voices heard. It is time for the American people to contact their federal officials and protest this action. This is the link to get involved with asking questions.

Homeland Security Real ID Town Hall website.

Legislators Against Real ID website.

Patricia Durr-Pojar has a gash beneath her right eye, with stitches and a bandage over it.

Her son, Curtis Pojar, has bruises on his back and a contusion under his left eye. Durr-Pojar spent Thursday and Friday nights in a local emergency room — first, to have the cut under her eye treated, for a CT scan of her head and X-rays on her knees. The next night she went back to get a knee splint and crutches.

"I've had lots of knee surgery, and they slammed me down so hard on my knees," she said.

"They" are members of COMET — the Combined Ozark Multi-Jurisdictional Enforcement Team — who broke into her home Thursday night to execute a search warrant for a reported meth lab.

They found none after breaking windows, doors and screens and knocking Durr-Pojar and Pojar to the floor and handcuffing both of them.

Read the Article from the News Leader.

This is an example of how local police forces have become militarized and use excessive force while performing a no-knock-raid.

I recently ran across the great work Radley Balko of the CATO Institute had done documenting the abuse of military tactics by local SWAT teams.

The War On Drugs has been a dismal failure:

• The war on drugs has done little to reduce drug usage.
• It along with the War On Terror have been the excuses used to further infringe on our civil liberties.
• The harm to society from crime due to the black market in drugs causes more damage than the tragedy of individuals who abuse drugs.
• It leads to corruption of some police.
• We have the highest percentage of our citizens in prison of any western nation.
• Law abiding citizens have been harmed and sometimes killed during these SWAT raids.
• Laws for fighting the drug war allow police to seize property without due process of law.

This insane war on drugs must be stopped and those who end up causing harm to society from their abuse of drugs treated humanely with drug treatment while making restitution for any harm they may have caused.

From the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

On Tuesday, in what amounted to a sweeping condemnation of city officials' handling of the Sunset Manor redevelopment project, more than half of Sunset Hills' leadership was voted out of office.

Next Tuesday, Mayor Jim Hobbs will step down, along with Aldermen John Tipton, John Smith, Robert Brockhaus and A. Ron Kaemmerer. Taking their places will be Mayor-elect John Hunzeker and Aldermen-elect Franklin Hardy, Thomas Hrastich, Lynn Flowers and Frank Gregory.

The challengers ran on a platform that focused on eminent domain abuse and targeted the failed plan for a $184 million shopping center in Sunset Manor.