Saturday, August 9, 2014

Now Is The Time For Justice For Jacob In Texas

With so much out of whack in the outer world on this Second Saturday of August, I decided to stay out of the outer world, for the most part, today.

Among that which is bugging me--- we've got Russia behaving bad in the Ukraine. Islamic extremists behaving bad in way too many places. America now trying to bomb the bad behavior out of the worst of the Islamic extremists, as if that ever works in the long run.

And then we have reactionary American's bad behavior reacting way too wacky over way too much to things like the unfortunate influx of a lot of kids at America's southern border.

And also in Texas we have the strange case of Jacob Lavoro. A 19 year old kid currently being persecuted and prosecuted by Texas for doing something perfectly legal in progressive, enlightened parts of America.

From the Jacob Lavoro Defense Fund website...

My son, Jacob, is a 19 year old young man who is currently in the Williamson County jail. He has never been in trouble with the law before, and has always been a great kid who we love very much. We have not been able to post bail, given the extremely high amount, nor have we been able to retain an attorney as of yet. We are appealing to you for whatever support you can give toward his defense. Thank you so much for whatever help you can offer. God Bless.

The Jacob Lavoro Case has now become yet one more instance where bad government behavior in Texas has become a national and international embarrassment.

Just go to the Jacob Lavoro Defense Fund website and read some of the comments to get a good idea of how badly Texas is embarrassing itself this time. Well, not all Texas is embarrassing itself, there are a lot of Texans appalled at the pot persecution of Jacob Lavoro.

You can go to the Justice for Jacob Lavoro Facebook page to read more national and international reaction.

What appalls me is this is a 19 year old kid. He made some marijuana brownies. For what? I don't know. A party? To sell? Again I don't know. I also don't know how it was Jacob Lavoro came to be arrested and jailed due to his brownies.

I don't need to know.

Why?

Because I know it is wrong to criminalize such a thing and persecute a young man or anyone in this manner over such a minor thing.

Way back in the last century I remember being at an event in the Independent Republic of Fremont in Seattle with Big Ed, Wally and Wanda.

Wanda and I were wandering about looking at exhibits when we heard a guy hawking hash brownies for a buck. He was doing the hawking a short distance from a Seattle policeman.

I said to Wanda wanna get a brownie. Wanda said okay. So we got two, purchased under the watchful eye of the enlightened law. We had no worry that either we or the brownie seller were about to be arrested.

Wanda and I ate the brownies. All I remember about them is they were tasty and we did not get potted from them. Though I do remember some giggling erupting randomly a short time later.

Way back then, in the last century, Seattle already had a tolerance policy regarding marijuana consumption.

And now, in Washington, and Colorado, it is legal to grow, sell, buy and use marijuana, within some guidelines which are still sorting themselves out. In many other progressive areas of America a tolerance policy towards marijuana is in play. Many progressive areas of America have legalized medicinal marijuana.

And then we have chronically backwards Texas, along with the other areas of the chronically backwards South.

Wasting money prosecuting a 19 year old kid because he made some marijuana brownies. A kid whose family does not have the resources to fight the persecuting prosecution.

It is not just the 19 year old kid who is being put through a Kafkaesque Texas hell. Jacob's parents, relatives, friends are all victims of this instance of a lack of common sense in Texas, a lack I see way too much of and am appalled by way too often in Texas.

And there you have my contribution to the Jacob Lavoro defense......

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