Adumbration

I have occasionally submitted material to The Seattle Times.  The subject to this was the headline of the article to which I responded (those headline editors are so cute).  No record of being published at the time.

The quotation used by Peyton Whitely in your article about Hempfest was inaccurate to state that the political interest shown at the fair was "mostly Democrat".  I worked 6 hours conducting an "Operation Politically Homeless" survey and found that the majority of respondents were libertarian.

This surprising result was found upon posing 10 questions of people regarding their views on subjects of personal and economic liberty, including questions about the drug war, regulations on sex, immigration, trade, taxes, freedom of the press, the military draft, foreign aid, and business and farm subsidies.  The more people respond in favor of individual liberty in the subjects covered by these questions, the more they fit in the libertarian portion of the political spectrum.  The results were tracked throughout the day, and I was happy to see so many libertarian stars as I left for home.

Contrary to my expectations, Hempfest participants reflected all walks of life, young and old.  Even so, at a festival such as this, it was no wonder to find people agreeing that the drug war is a complete failure and should be abolished.  However, it was also inspiring to see such a large number of people extending their confidence in the benefits of freedom to the other areas of our lives, areas in which government interference causes far more harm than good.

The drug war is a travesty of justice, which has proven completely ineffectual in reducing either the supply or demand for drugs in the country.  It is time to recognize this and work to end the prohibition, which, like that of alcohol in the 1930's, has only given us more gangs, crime, death, and corruption.  If you desire a sane solution to the drug problem, including those problems caused by the prohibition, then vote Libertarian this fall, because you won't get satisfaction from any of the other political parties.

Only Libertarians, including 66 challengers in races across the state, such as Presidential candidate Harry Browne, gubernatorial candidate Steve LaPage, and congressional candidate Joel Grus, will free us from the war on drugs.  Only Libertarians will put the drug gangs out of business, pardon non-violent drug offenders, stop drug war corruption, and devote police resources to violent criminals.

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I got only a little sun burned, and had a lot of fun talking to people, although I was a little hoarse and tired from standing all day.  Hempfest, by the way, is apparently the single largest such gathering in the United States, whose purpose is to promote the normalization of marijuana laws.  It took place down at Myrtle Edwards park on the waterfront downtown.  They were expecting between 40-90,000 people through the day.