In a message dated 2/21/99 9:05:58 PM, Expert53 wrote:
>
>For obvious reasons, no one in mainstream media will publish this piece. If
you
>agree that it needs to be read, please pass it on as far and wide as you can.
>
>DRUG WAR LACKS HONESTY AND INTEGRITY IN ITS LEADERSHIP
>
>by
>
>Michael Levine
>212-209-297
>
> Once again I cannot believe the latest drug war "news" that mainstream media
has
>swallowed without a comment. But in this case the reason why is painfully
obvious.
> The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, our nation's lead
agency
>in the war on drugs, Tom Constantine, issued an edict via USA Today
(2/18/99)
> attacking " the nation" (whatever he means by that) as not having "either
the
>will nor the resources to win a drug war."
> Well, Sheesh Tom, aren't you looking over your shoulder at what the rest of
the
>drug war generals are doing with our resources against our will?
> It was only last November when Newt Gingrich and President Clinton raised
each
>other's "bipartisan" hands in "victory" over their awarding $2 billion in
taxpayer
>funds to every mass media communications corporation on the big board for
already
>proven useless and even contra-productive anti-drug ads. I did not have to be
a
>court qualified expert on Drug Trafficking for my mental rip-off alert siren
to
>sound so loud that cars in front of me were pulling off the road.
> Brand Week, the leading advertising trade magazine, called the whole anti-
drug
>ad campaign "suspect."
> In my own book Fight Back, (Dell Publications, October, 1991), recommended
reading
>by the Clinton Administration for Communities with Drug Problems, I cited
research
>indicating that the federal government already knows that these ad campaigns
are
>useless and even contra productive.
> The Bainbridge Washington school district anti-drug campaign was just one of
several
>examples I chose to prove the point. It was a model for the Bush-Bennett
"victorious"
>anti-drug campaign of 1988-90 that leaned heavily on a three year intensive
media
>ad campaign, (identical in content to the current $2 billion campaign) that
was
>found, by the experts, to be contra-productive; that is the blatant
hypocrisy
>of the ads seemed to cause kids to rebel and take the very drugs they were
being
>browbeaten not to take.
> This sentiment was echoed by educators all over the land.
> For example, Robert Ryan, then, an administrator in the California
Department
>of Education stated in a Wall Street Journal article titled "Even a School
That
>Is a Leader in The Drug War, Grades Itself a Failure," 11/10/90, by Joseph
Pereira,
> that "We've thrown $45 million over the last three years into drug education
in
>our schools. But as of yet I don't think we can say what helps and what
doesn't."
> And now, in spite of this kind of experience all over the country, our
"leaders"
>are spending $2 billion in one year?
> As Mr. Constantine pointed out in the USA Today article, the Drug
Enforcement
>Administration, our nation's lead agency in the war on drugs only has a
budget
>of $1.4 billion. Wouldn't it be ironic that DEA had to go to Disney or Dream
Works,
>(President Clinton's future employer) for more enforcement money?
> Hey, I've seen weirder things happen when I was on the job.
> How ridiculously high has this corporate welfare with our hard-earned
dollars
>gone? To put this $2 billion dollar expenditure in context, consider the
following:
> In a recent AP release (October 17) entitled "Ad Spending Continues To
Climb"
>it was pointed out that advertising spending was up 9.7% from last year.
The
>largest advertiser listed was General Motors, spending an approximate $1.1
billion
>on print, TV and radio ads. But AP left out one even bigger spender—The
Partnership
>for a Drug Free America.
> The real difficult part for me to accept, being a career law enforcement
officer
>who lost both a son and a brother to drugs, came when some of my old
colleagues—
>frustrated experts in the Drug Enforcement Administration who speak to me on
conditions
>of anonymity because I am cheaper and more reliable than a psychiatrist— told
me
>that the $2 billion doled out to mainstream media could have bought every
single
>coca leaf grown in South America this year and saved us about $14 billion in
enforcement
>expenditures, and untold lives.
> And not one of our drug war generals even questions the efficacy of this
mountain
>of our money moving directly into the coffers of giant corporations without
one
>dollar going into the drug ravaged communities that need it the most?
> And why is that not a single representative of mainstream media will publish
a
>complaint like this one? Simple folks: They're getting the money.
> No Mr. Constantine, when you say that "the nation" lacks will and resources
to
>fight your drug war, what you really mean is that we lack honesty and
integrity
>in both our leadership and the so-called Fourth Estate.
> Our "watch dog" media has turned out to be more of a pig.
>
>
>Sincerely
>
>Michael Levine
>212-209-2970
>
>THE EXPERT WITNESS RADIO SHOW
> WBAI New York City (99.5 FM-Tuesdays 7-8pm))
>KPFK Los Angeles (90.7 FM)
>(Los Angeles: Roy Tuckman's "Something's Happening Show, rebroadcasts all
Expert
>Witness Shows on Thursdays at 1:am)
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 212-209-2800 (voice mail #2970)
>
>Host: Michael Levine, 25 Year veteran federal agent and author of NY Times
bestseller
>"DEEP COVER" - (just optioned for movie) "THE BIG WHITE LIE" -The fact-based
thriller
>(now in paperback) THE TRIANGLE OF DEATH ("Compelling authenticity..." N.Y.
Times
>)
>
>
>HYPERLINKS
>http://www.radio4all.org/expert - which includes many of the shows, taped and
archived,
>books, photos and opinion articles. Shows may be downloaded free of charge.
>
>http://www.shineon.org/levine/index.html - which includes the ability to
order
>tapes of the old shows, at cost, $8 per show.
>
>FIGHT BACK ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM:
>http://idt.net/~dorisaw
For obvious reasons, no one in mainstream media will publish this piece. If
you agree that it needs to be read, please pass it on as far and wide as you
can.
DRUG WAR LACKS HONESTY AND INTEGRITY IN ITS LEADERSHIP
by
Michael Levine
212-209-297
Once again I cannot believe the latest drug war "news" that mainstream media
has swallowed without a comment. But in this case the reason why is painfully
obvious.
The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, our nation's lead
agency in the war on drugs, Tom Constantine, issued an edict via USA Today
(2/18/99) attacking " the nation" (whatever he means by that) as not having
"either the will nor the resources to win a drug war."
Well, Sheesh Tom, aren't you looking over your shoulder at what the rest of
the drug war generals are doing with our resources against our will?
It was only last November when Newt Gingrich and President Clinton raised
each other's "bipartisan" hands in "victory" over their awarding $2 billion in
taxpayer funds to every mass media communications corporation on the big board
for already proven useless and even contra-productive anti-drug ads. I did not
have to be a court qualified expert on Drug Trafficking for my mental rip-off
alert siren to sound so loud that cars in front of me were pulling off the
road.
Brand Week, the leading advertising trade magazine, called the whole anti-
drug ad campaign "suspect."
In my own book Fight Back, (Dell Publications, October, 1991), recommended
reading by the Clinton Administration for Communities with Drug Problems, I
cited research indicating that the federal government already knows that these
ad campaigns are useless and even contra productive.
The Bainbridge Washington school district anti-drug campaign was just one of
several examples I chose to prove the point. It was a model for the Bush-
Bennett "victorious" anti-drug campaign of 1988-90 that leaned heavily on a
three year intensive media ad campaign, (identical in content to the current
$2 billion campaign) that was found, by the experts, to be contra-productive;
that is the blatant hypocrisy of the ads seemed to cause kids to rebel and
take the very drugs they were being browbeaten not to take.
This sentiment was echoed by educators all over the land.
For example, Robert Ryan, then, an administrator in the California Department
of Education stated in a Wall Street Journal article titled "Even a School
That Is a Leader in The Drug War, Grades Itself a Failure," 11/10/90, by
Joseph Pereira, that "We've thrown $45 million over the last three years into
drug education in our schools. But as of yet I don't think we can say what
helps and what doesn't."
And now, in spite of this kind of experience all over the country, our
"leaders" are spending $2 billion in one year?
As Mr. Constantine pointed out in the USA Today article, the Drug Enforcement
Administration, our nation's lead agency in the war on drugs only has a budget
of $1.4 billion. Wouldn't it be ironic that DEA had to go to Disney or Dream
Works, (President Clinton's future employer) for more enforcement money?
Hey, I've seen weirder things happen when I was on the job.
How ridiculously high has this corporate welfare with our hard-earned dollars
gone? To put this $2 billion dollar expenditure in context, consider the
following:
In a recent AP release (October 17) entitled "Ad Spending Continues To Climb"
it was pointed out that advertising spending was up 9.7% from last year. The
largest advertiser listed was General Motors, spending an approximate $1.1
billion on print, TV and radio ads. But AP left out one even bigger
spender—The Partnership for a Drug Free America.
The real difficult part for me to accept, being a career law enforcement
officer who lost both a son and a brother to drugs, came when some of my old
colleagues— frustrated experts in the Drug Enforcement Administration who
speak to me on conditions of anonymity because I am cheaper and more reliable
than a psychiatrist— told me that the $2 billion doled out to mainstream media
could have bought every single coca leaf grown in South America this year and
saved us about $14 billion in enforcement expenditures, and untold lives.
And not one of our drug war generals even questions the efficacy of this
mountain of our money moving directly into the coffers of giant corporations
without one dollar going into the drug ravaged communities that need it the
most?
And why is that not a single representative of mainstream media will publish
a complaint like this one? Simple folks: They're getting the money.
No Mr. Constantine, when you say that "the nation" lacks will and resources
to fight your drug war, what you really mean is that we lack honesty and
integrity in both our leadership and the so-called Fourth Estate.
Our "watch dog" media has turned out to be more of a pig.
Sincerely
Michael Levine
212-209-2970
THE EXPERT WITNESS RADIO SHOW
WBAI New York City (99.5 FM-Tuesdays 7-8pm))
KPFK Los Angeles (90.7 FM)
(Los Angeles: Roy Tuckman's "Something's Happening Show, rebroadcasts all
Expert Witness Shows on Thursdays at 1:am)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
212-209-2800 (voice mail #2970)
Host: Michael Levine, 25 Year veteran federal agent and author of NY Times
bestseller "DEEP COVER" - (just optioned for movie) "THE BIG WHITE LIE" -The
fact-based thriller (now in paperback) THE TRIANGLE OF DEATH ("Compelling
authenticity..." N.Y. Times )
HYPERLINKS
http://www.radio4all.org/expert - which includes many of the shows, taped and
archived, books, photos and opinion articles. Shows may be downloaded free of
charge.
http://www.shineon.org/levine/index.html - which includes the ability to
order tapes of the old shows, at cost, $8 per show.
FIGHT BACK ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM:
http://idt.net/~dorisaw
