THE LINDESMITH CENTER - DRUG POLICY FOUNDATION http://www.drugpolicy.org ...on the web Action Alert: Monday, September 10, 2001 << Instructions for un/subscribing to this Listserv are at the end of this posting >> ================================================== HELP STOP THE WAR ON DRUGS BY: 1) FORWARDING THIS NEWSLETTER TO YOUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES. 2) JOIN THE MOVEMENT TO CHANGE OUR DRUG POLICIES. Find out how at: http://www.drugpolicy.org/membership ================================================== * JOHN WALTER'S NOMINATION HEARING TOMORROW* Last week we asked you to go to http://www.ccldp.org and fax your Senators about John Walters, Bush's proposed drug czar. That campaign has been a big success - over 1,500 faxes were sent to 94 Senators. Thanks for your support. You are making a difference! Now, we ask that you call your Senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee (see below) and tell them to VOTE AGAINST JOHN WALTERS AS DRUG CZAR. We need you to call BEFORE tomorrow at Tuesday, September 11, 11:00a.m. Eastern Time. ACTIONS TO TAKE -- If your Senators are on the Senate Judiciary Committee (see below), call their offices today and tell them to VOTE AGAINST JOHN WALTERS AS DRUG CZAR. Please keep your calls short so that others can get through. Every phone call counts and we need to put pressure on Committee members right away. PLEASE DON'T CALL AFTER TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 11:00A.M. Eastern Time. -- Forward this e-mail to as many friends, family members, and co-workers as possible. Ask them to read it and take action. -- Go to our web site, http://www.drugpolicy.org, on Wednesday to find out how the confirmation hearing went. We will keep you updated. SENATOR CONTACT INFORMATION: Senate Judiciary Committee Alabama: Jeff Sessions (R) - tel: 202-224-4124 Arizona: Jon Kyl (R) - tel: 202-224-4521 California: Dianne Feinstein (D) - tel: 202-224-3841 Delaware: Joseph Biden (D) - tel: 202-224-5042 Kansas: Sam Brownback - tel: 202-224-6521 Kentucky: Mitch McConnell - tel: 202-224-2541 Illinois: Richard Durbin - tel: 202-224-2152 Iowa: Charles Grassley (R) - tel: 202-224-3744 Massachusetts: Edward Kennedy (D) - tel: 202-224-4543 New York: Charles Schumer (D) - tel: 202-224-6542 North Carolina: John Edwards - tel: 202-224-3154 Ohio: Mike DeWine (R) - tel: 202-224-2315 Pennsylvania: Arlen Specter (R) - tel: 202-224-4254 South Carolina: Strom Thurmond (R) - tel: 202-224-4944 Utah: Orrin Hatch (R) - tel: 202-224-5251 Vermont: Patrick Leahy (D), Chairman - tel: 202-224-4242 Washington: Maria Cantwell - tel: 202-224-3441 Wisconsin: Herb Kohl (D) - tel: 202-224-5653 Wisconsin: Russell Feingold (D) - tel: 202-224-5323 BACKGROUND: President Bush has nominated a Bill Bennett protégé, John Walters, to be our nation's next drug czar. Walters is an ardent drug warrior who supports harsh sentences for non-violent drug offenders, opposes meaningful drug treatment programs, and denies that racial disparities exist in the criminal justice system. The Senate Judiciary Committee begins his confirmation hearing tomorrow. We need you to call your Senators on the Judiciary Committee today and tell them to vote against Walters. (The Senate Judiciary Committee won't vote on Walters for at least another week, but Senators need to hear your thoughts before Walters testifies tomorrow.) Every call makes a difference, make your voice heard!!! WHY WALTERS SHOULD NOT BE DRUG CZAR -- He opposes reforming mandatory minimums and eliminating the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity. -- Even former drug czar Barry McCaffrey has expressed concern about Walters' priorities being heavily skewed against treatment and prevention, saying that Walters is "focused too much on interdiction" and "needs to educate himself on prevention and treatment." -- Walters has not expressed support for reexamining racial disparities in the criminal justice system. He has very recently dismissed concerns about the fairness of the system almost out of hand. In his words, "What really drives the battle against law enforcement and punishment, however, is not a commitment to treatment, but the widely held view that (1) we are imprisoning too many people for merely possessing illegal drugs, (2) drug and other criminal sentences are too long and harsh, and (3) the criminal justice system is unjustly punishing young black men. These are among the great urban myths of our time." ######## You have received this message from The Lindesmith Center - Drug Policy Foundation ( http://www.drugpolicy.org ) because you are signed on to one of our Listservs. If you are interested in receiving messages on other topics, please visit: http://www.lindesmith.org/listserve.html If you do not want to receive further emails, send a message to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] and type "unsubscribe stopthewar" in the body of the message, (no quotes and not in the subject line). If you are subscribed to more than one Lindesmith- DPF list and wish to sign-off all of them, type "unsubscribe *" in the body of the message. Alternately, please contact Jeanette Irwin at: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To re-subscribe send a message to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] and type "subscribe stopthewar" in the body of the message. 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