Letter Never Sent

Found while reading Cypherwar.com via the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. The Federal Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has ruled that law enforcement has the authority to forcibly drug defendants who have not been convicted of any crimes. How scary is that? Get arrested and shot up with lithium by government goons even if you haven’t done anything.

WASHINGTON — Defendants can be forcibly drugged even though they haven’t been convicted of any charges and pose no danger to themselves or others.

That’s the ruling issued yesterday by the Federal Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in the case of United States v. Charles Thomas Sell. (see www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/02/03/011862P.pdf) The 2 – 1 split decision establishes government power to forcibly medicate a person with mind altering drugs even before trial.

“It’s a shocking, inhumane decision. Now, all the government needs are allegations and a cooperative psychiatrist to forcibly drug any citizen,” said Andrew Schlafly, General Counsel for the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). That group filed an amicus brief opposing the government drugging.

“It’s unprecedented to allow prosecutors to drug peaceful defendants presumed to be innocent. Government cannot force citizens to pledge allegiance to the flag, but now can forcibly medicate them with mind-altering drugs,” said Mr. Schlafly.

Dr. Sell, a St. Louis dentist, has been imprisoned for more than 4 years, including one- and-one-half years in solitary confinementafter being charged with Medicaid fraud. He has never been brought to trial.

While acknowledging that “the evidence does not support a finding that Sell posed a danger to himself or others” the majority opinion still found that “charges of fraud” alone are “serious” enough to justify forced medication. Further, the Court held that there are no limits on the quantity or type of drugs.

“There’s no good reason why Dr. Sell has been held so long without trial, and this decision will most likely prolong his imprisonment with no end in sight,” said Mr. Schlafly. The dissenting judge pointed out that even if Dr. Sell were to be found guilty, his sentence would be no more than 41 months — one year less than he’s already served.

A similar case is pending before the same court to allow the State to forcibly medicate a convicted murderer for execution.

“It’s appalling that the court will drug a man presumed to be innocent, even if it’s illegal to do the same thing to a convicted killer.” Mr. Schlafly said that AAPS will seek to overturn the ruling.

I watched Donnie Darko this evening. I thought it was really good. I hadn’t heard of it much before I watched it so I didn’t know quite what to expect. It’s nice to be surprised by a movie you’ve heard very very little about.

Graham Greene’s short story, The Destructors, plays a small part in the plot. You can read it in its entirety here.

I’ve not read much Graham Greene. In high school we read a book about a priest, but I don’t recall it having much of an effect on me. Though at the time I probably didn’t get a lot out of it due to my youth. I should try reading some of his stuff.

The New York Times had an article today about the number of supposed dead Al Quaeda and Taliban. The military suggests they killed 800 or so ‘terrorists’. Of course, with government death toll assessments you must follow a few rules:

1. If the government wants a higher death toll (ie. WTC casualties, pulped terrorists) perform the following calculation: Take their estimated number and divide by 3 then subtract 150 from that.
2. If they want lower numbers multiply their estimate by ten.

From the Times article:

At the start of the week, the Pentagon estimate listed the confirmed number of dead Arab, Chechen and other fighters for Al Qaeda at 517. Another 250 were believed to have been killed, but the deaths were listed as unconfirmed. By today, the total estimate had risen above 800, according to one official.

“Those numbers are all extremely fuzzy,” said one senior military officer.

Continue reading →

It’s the new COINTELPRO. The ACLU is shedding light on the Denver Police Department for keeping secret logs and files on local activists and protest groups. Who do the police really work for? I think this sheds light on the harsh reality that police are not there to ‘protect and to serve’. This is a very troubling article. I’m willing to bet this is practiced by police departments across the country.

The Bush administration has reiterated its offer to grease the palms of reluctant allies. It needs countries to support their plans for worldwide dominion through the ‘war against terror’. Since most people outside of the United States do not support this war the government has been out making the rounds trying to buy support.

The payoffs are termed assistance and aid. I’m glad to see my hard earned money is at work enslaving the world. Bush doing his best Big Brother impression added:

Today he offered only a paragraph of solace to the victims’ families, saying that “each day brings new pain, each day requires new courage,” yet “your grace and strength have been an example to our nation.” Americans, he added, “will not forget the lives that were taken, and the justice their death requires.”

Then he quickly moved on to describe the second phase of the war against terrorism, which he defined as “a sustained campaign to deny sanctuary to terrorists who would threaten our citizens from anywhere in the world.” In Afghanistan, he said, “hundreds of trained killers are now dead” as a battle in the Shah-i- Kot Mountains continues.


(Aren’t American military personnel trained killers too?)


“And we’re winning,” Mr. Bush said. “Yet it will not be the last battle in Afghanistan, and there will be other battles beyond that nation.”