Monday, August 21, 2006

My dirty little secret....

is that I am not a great believer in the so-called war on drugs. I don't think most of us realize how much this infringes on our freedoms. Do you think your property belongs to you? Just try carrying large amounts of cash somewhere. Check out this article:

Court rules 2003 money seizure correct despite no drugs found

CHUCK BROWN

Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. - Authorities were correct to assume nearly $125,000 they seized from a California man's car during a traffic stop may have been connected to narcotics trafficking, despite finding no drugs in the vehicle, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

The ruling from the three-judge panel overturned an earlier decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Thalken in Nebraska in the case of Emiliano Gomez Gonzolez. A state trooper stopped Gonzolez for speeding on Interstate 80 on May 28, 2003.

Gonzolez's lawyer, Donald Yates of San Diego, said they would appeal the ruling. He said the government is treating unfairly people who don't have credit or bank accounts and are forced to do business in cash.

Click on the title to read the entire article.

The gist is that the government cannot prove that the men did anything illegal, but the government gets to keep the money. And, by the way, a lot of our currency has traces of narcotics on it. Do you think the government will try any harder to help you keep your possessions? Did you know you could lose your house if your kids deal drugs out of it, even without your knowledge? What other freedoms do we give up because we want to keep people from getting illegal drugs?

---Katie

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