In New Hampshire, when you call your state representative, you don’t speak to some staffer; you speak to the rep himself (or herself). If you e-mail your representative, he’s the one who writes the response. It’s very personal. And it’s very easy to keep a close watch on what these reps are doing.
Now we all know that politicians hold We the People in contempt, but it’s very rare that one admits it. Such an admission is political suicide. Indeed, it was with shock that I witnessed New Hampshire Rep. Delmar Burridge (D-Keene) commit political suicide in responding to a constituent’s e-mail.
Toby Iselin of Keene, who co-hosts a local television show, Keene Free Minds, wrote Rep. Burridge to encourage him to pass HB 92, a bill submitted this year that would decriminalize marijuana in the state, out of committee. The response he got back I can hardly describe. Read it for yourself.
Dear Toby:
My youngest brother Albert who I was very close to died from head injuries sustained when he wrecked his car in West Virginia. His wife walked away. He was a triple major in college; biology, philosophy, and psychology and was smoking a joint before the crash. It is all very vivid including the anguish my parents went through. This occurred in the 1970s and I still miss him. I began work as a juvenile probation officer in the poorest section in Philadelphia in 1969 and the above described experience pales to my on the job, eyeball to eyeball observation of family devastation I saw daily…..and these males were reefer users just like you….saying the same dumb stuff just like you and they were not smart college smart. I saw lots of blood and death. Trust me, these campers were not soon going to be setting the world on fire. Some did suffer severe burns.
Last night one of your buddies called me twice even asking me to be on his TV show. He was yelling and screaming and I hung up on him. You have to chill this guy out. I will say to you what I said to three different callers; I will vote no on this Bill and have lots of very chilling stories to relate to the other committee members so it goes my way.
Suggest you change all your friends, be the designated driver when you are old enough to drink since you don’t drink. I will sign the Bill that keeps tobacco out of the bars when it come up in the house so you don’t get second hand smoke.
I am copying two members of the Keene Police Department in case you want to change your ways and act legal and save your friends.
You are very passionate in your beliefs and would make a great snitch. It is thrilling to dime on your so called friends.
Be healthy and be well.
Delmar D. Burridge
DBurridge@ne.rr.com(603) 352-5363 or
(603) 542-7744
Toby explains: “I would just like to add that I never said that I don’t drink, and nowhere in the e-mail did I mention that I smoke marijuana. It seems that Representative Delmar Burridge is making assumptions without looking at any of the arguments or evidence.”
Arguments, evidence and reason mean nothing to someone acting purely from emotion. I have nothing but sympathy for Rep. Burridge’s loss, but I also recognize that he is acting from emotion, rather than reason, and that’s why we have a War on Drugs in the first place: because legislators are frequently unreasonable.
The state House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, of which Burridge is a member, will hear testimony from any member of the public this morning at 10:30 a.m. in room 204 of the Legislative Office Building in Concord.
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Doctor Barnett
Jan 17, 2007
How bizarre. Toby’s carefully worded e-mail, though, looks like a form letter from a political group’s generator. Perhaps Delmar’s insane reply is also a form letter, one first written in response to a petition that used the word “friends” a lot? His recklessness is extraordinary, using “reefers” without irony and accusing his constituent of saying “dumb stuff.” Throw ‘em to the Internets!
BelchSpeak
Jan 17, 2007
I thought that was a great letter from a very conscientious state representative. And hilarious too! Writing a letter to a government official admitting to smoking illegal substances is something only stoners are dumb enough to do. It was sweet that he CC’d the fuzz in Keene.
_NH
Jan 17, 2007
THIS IS NO ‘form’ letter. This is the kind of extremist Democrat party facist CRAP that has taken blue control in NH, thanks to some independent voters and political ignoramuses who cherrypicked issues and threw the republican ‘bums’ out, even though they are are the ones who best fought for our freedoms and less taxation for the last 84 years.
You want to see authoritarian totalitarians taking away your freedoms just keep voting for these Democrats.
The person who filed the bill by the way was a freedom loving libertarian-republican.
The NH Democrats employee all sorts of criminals, one of their top people is an ALLEGED CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ENTHUSIAST.
So now he not only sent you this damning letter, he turned him in to the police? Shocking.
_NH
Jan 17, 2007
PS – This line here is MOST troubling:
You are very passionate in your beliefs and would make a great snitch. It is thrilling to dime on your so called friends.
Matt
Jan 17, 2007
That’s it. I’m calling this guy tomorrow… to ask him to pass the same bill… I’ll even let him tip off my own town’s PD about my call. I’m sure he’d love to.
Verbos
Jan 17, 2007
Let’s look at this issue is a less emotional and more rational manner. What did alcohol prohibition do to America. It created huge and rich organized crime and the later legalization only created monopolies. We still to this day have the organized crime created. The real issue that needed to be addressed was and is personal responsibility. You can’t legislate personal responsibility but you can provide penalties for the irresponsible. How many bad driver have you seen on the road. They cause accident and death and often aren’t even involved in the actual collision. Not on drugs, they are just incompetent. Here is an example of how those with misguided agendas skew statistics. In Alaska around 1980 an annalist was collected by a federal agency that concluded that 90% of drivers on the road at any given time were legally under the influence. In addition these drunk drivers were involved in 20% of the accidents. I conclude that the figures were within reason. What they didn’t say is that the 10% of sober people were not only involved in 80% of the accidents but were actually hitting each other. Let’s get together. We need protection from those who are a threat to us, not ourselves. Creating huge income for organized crime while restricting personal freedom is not working.
Nigel Watt
Jan 17, 2007
Get this publicized all over Keene; get this asshole out of Concord.
Michael Hampton
Jan 17, 2007
Nigel, he’s national news now.
BelchSpeak
Jan 17, 2007
Heh. Vote him out? I see a chink in your plan. Stoners don’t vote on election day. They sit on the couch in the basement smoking bongs and playing Xbox.
paulie cannoli
Jan 17, 2007
Is he on liberty loop yet?
I put him up on blast on last free voice and made his email a link.
http://lastfreevoice.wordpress.com/2007/01/17/vote-this-ass-clown-out/
paulie cannoli
Jan 17, 2007
Got it on Liberty Loop now under “when politicians attack”
paulie cannoli
Jan 17, 2007
Belch, not everyone who is for legalization is a stoner, anymore than everyone who is against alcohol prohibition is a drunk.
Both types of prohibition are stupid and we’ll end one just like we ended the other.
There is simply no excuse for low-life politicians like this. I’m sure he was probably drunk as a skunk when he wrote it. If not, he has some severe mental problems.
BTW this is now also a thread at Free State Project Forum.
http://forum.freestateproject.org/index.php?topic=13103.0
paulie cannoli
Jan 17, 2007
Another letter to Burridge
http://freekeene.com/2007/01/17/another-email-to-representative-burridge/#more-35
Here’s one more
http://freekeene.com/2007/01/17/another-response-to-rep-burridge/
Kevin Fields
Jan 18, 2007
At least it appears sincere and honest — that’s a lot more than what you can say for a lot of politicans who sugar-coat everything and make no real stand.
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
I suppose you could say Adolph Hitler was honest?
BelchSpeak
Jan 18, 2007
Rep. Burridge did nothing wrong by forwarding that letter to the Keene cops. He had a constituent admit to him in official correspondence that he was breaking the law. Burridge had a duty to report this crime.
And to attempt to compare a local state representative to adolf hitler is about as laughable as saying that the US Constitution was printed on hemp. Pack another bowl potheads. Mellow out. Cartoons will come on and it will all be okay.
BelchSpeak
Jan 18, 2007
Canoli, You are over the line by calling for picketing at a Representative’s place of residence. Seems you are a bit unhinged.
Toby admitted to having hundreds of friends and family members who choose to “smoke instead of drink.”
So I guess he didnt admit to a crime, but snitched on all of his friends and family.
And I loved the Godwin’s Law link. I can’t believe I have never heard of this before, and I thought I was caught up on most of my netlore. Awesome, awesome. So this thread should just end now, right?
BelchSpeak
Jan 18, 2007
Mike, the constitution was printed on Sheepskin Vellum, like all important documents of that time. You can get this information from the source at the national archives. The lie that it was printed on hemp is widely cirulated by the NORML gang to pump up marijuana as a mythical plant with ties to the founding of this nation. Its kinda like the belief in Santa Claus. It makes you all fuzzy and cheery inside, but its not true. Either that’s the bong tokes talking to ya.
BelchSpeak
Jan 18, 2007
Canoli,
Do your own research at the archives. Maybe that will keep you off a politician’s lawn.
Potential Threat
Jan 18, 2007
Godwin’s Law strikes again.
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
Hey, Belch, where did the constituent admit to breaking the law? Please point it out. He asked the law be changed…not exactly the same thing.
By the way, the Constitution was in fact printed on hemp. Do some research before you talk out of your ass again.
And I’m not a pothead. I don’t even like the stuff, so I don’t use it. Fascists like Burridge bother me, though.
As for Hitler…hey, he had to start somewhere too.
I’ll post all the contact info for NH media next, to make it easier for concerned citizens all over the country to let them know they have an out of control politician.
I can see pickets at the legislature and his place of residence, letters to the editor to newspapers all over the country, and a lot more.
This is NOT going to go away.
This guy is a scumbag, he stepped over the line, and he deserves to be very widely exposed for his extreme rudeness to the people he is supposed to represent, and psychotic behavior, and he deserves to lose his job and have his name become a bad joke all over the country.
Michael Hampton
Jan 18, 2007
Where exactly in the e-mail did he say that he smoked marijuana? I went and looked again for it and couldn’t find any such thing.
What was the Constitution printed on anyway?
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
Having friends and family who smoke is breaking the law? No.
Neither is a non-specific reference “snitching”.
Picketing a politician isn’t crossing the line, it’s part of our job as citizens to hold them accountable.
I’m not the one who is unhinged…Burridge is. This will be much more widely publicized soon.
Please link the source at the national archives.
This thread’s just getting started.
Anonymous
Jan 18, 2007
You’re the one that made the claim.
Until you back it up, you’re talking out of your ass.
When/if you have evidence, I’ll examine it. Until then I’ll go with what I have read from hundreds of different sources.
I won’t be on the scumbag’s lawn, but I’ll do my part to make sure this gets plenty of attention both nationally and in his local area.
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
Oh whoops, that was me, in case you can’t tell.
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
Already got it on several email lists and bulletin boards, liberty loop and digg, plus emailed and phoned about it to friends in NH. Much more coming.
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
Burridge’s psychotic tirade of rudeness and thug-like intimidation against a constituent doing his civic responsibility “runs counter to the notion that petitioning the government for a redress of grievances is a basic constitutional (and human!) right that should not be interpreted as a confession to unlawfulness in a free society.”
http://reason.com/blog/2007/01/18/new-hampshires-thought-police
“Burridge evidently believes the police should take an interest in anyone who expresses support for drug policy reform. Talk about chilling.”
Additional ideas of what can be done about this slimeball include:
“Iselin should have replied, including the cc to the Keene cops, wishing Burridge well and saying that Burridge appears to have extensive personal and family involvement with illegal substances and perhaps Burridge would make a better snitch.”
“Sounds like it is time for Toby Iselin to bring a libel suit against Burridge.
That is the traditional remedy for this kind of thing.
The compensatory damages would probably only be $1, but I think some punitives would be appropriate on this.”
“and throw in a right to petition claim, too:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_petition”
You can contact Burridge at
Delmar D. Burridge
DBurridge@ne.rr.com
(603) 352-5363 or
(603) 542-7744
Another idea is to contact the House Ethics board in NH about this.
One of the other writers at Keene Free Minds…
“. I’ve also been trying to reach Executive Councilor Deb Pignatelli about Mr. Burridge’s conduct toward one of his constituents. Her office number is 603-888-5245″
James
Jan 18, 2007
There are some really outrageous morons on this thread!!! The guy never admitted to any crimes. Read the letter, ignorance gets you no respect!
I am a New Hampshire residents, business owner, and parent. I sent this to the rep via email today…
Dear Delmar:
As a lifelong resident of this fine state, I am beside myself while reading your comments to Toby, a man with genuine concerns of the current marijuana laws in New Hampshire. Please remember, the state motto is Live Free or Die, not Do What We Say You Can, Even Though We Don’t Have All The Facts.
Given the current rates of deaths attributed to alcohol, I am very surprised that you take this approach to Marijuana. Although I am sad to hear of the death of your brother, I can assure you that there is no evidence of people smoking some pot and driving to their doom. If someone dies after smoking pot, it is usually because they did something terribly wrong, and that could have been something that they could very well have done while not under the influence. I am surprised that in this day and age, stores can legally sell beer, wine, and cigarettes, with all of the documented issues attributed to those items. I am surprised that the State of New Hampshire has no qualms with selling booze, yet the least harmful of the bunch (alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana) is still looked at as some kind of demon.
For some great information on smoking while driving, please watch this video. Although not scientific, it reinforces what most people know. This piece was featured on the Speed Channel.
The laws need to be revised, and they need to be changed now. As a taxpayer, I am sickened with the knowledge that we make common citizens criminals for smoking a plant that grows naturally in this very state. I am disgusted knowing that my hard earned tax dollars pay to investigate, arrest, try and convict potheads. We could be making people pay child support (my wife’s ex boyfriend owes my family over $20,000), we could fund more domestic violence programs, we could feed the needy, give poor children clothes… But no, we waste money on a bunch of potheads. Potheads that, under the current laws, are criminals of the worst kind.
Please research and understand what you are talking about, before you make hasty decisions. It is obvious from your message to Toby that you really have no idea what you are talking about. As an elected official, it is your job to completely research the facts, not rule according to your perceptions and experiences.
I would rather see people have the choice of smoking marijuana. A better choice then alcohol, a drug that kills more people in a year then marijuana ever has. Think about it, people with the munchies, or people that kill with their cars while they have no idea what is happening, or if they make it home, abuse their families… You are so against marijuana, but what if your brother decided to drink a 12-pack, then crash? Would you be on a crusade against booze then?
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Catma
Jan 18, 2007
I can just see it now 100 years from now: “Teacher, why were they so ignorant back then? So it was ok to drink your drug, but they outlawed and imprisoned people that smoked marijuana which nobody ever really was harmed by? -”Yes Johnny, it was a strange time when people lacked “common sense.”
Cigarrettes- Proven to cause health problems/death
Alchohol- Proven to cause health problems/death
Weed- No Proof of either
This politician obviously was missed when the evolution came by
Joshhh
Jan 18, 2007
While we’re at it, let’s make coke,lsd and exstacy legal.
Joshhh
Jan 18, 2007
and public masterbation while we’re at it.
Joshhh
Jan 18, 2007
exactly! make it ALL legal…then the people who die from it will do just that. but, do not, DO NOT pretend (pretarded) you know all about ‘drugs’ even though you’ve never done them, and have only mass media provided malarky. you see, (as with pretard attitudes (hysterically ignorant) about everything ‘immoral’ (as if that’s a chiklet), not everyone who does drugs is destroyed by them. just like how not everyone who drinks alcohol is a skidrow bum. you drink too much water, you die!
in the libertarian world, personal responsibility is the EFFICIENT order provided by nature. do drugs, don’t do them, have sex, don’t have sex…stay out of my yard AND out of my pocket.
im sick of OBVIOUS idiots (they pretend to know god) getting next to ANY kind of power of MY life. (BTW i do drugs AND have a graduate degree in computer science)
keep your pissant god of the vicious dumbasses OUT of MY existence.
chuck
Jan 18, 2007
one current theme i see in these comments is people confusing ‘decriminalization’ with ‘legalizing.’
there is a huge difference.
‘decriminalization’ is the act of making small amounts of the drug to be considered ‘personal use’ and not ‘distribution.’ its the idea that, yes, there are much worse drugs than marijuana, and the worst part of marijuana is the dealer/pusher criminal aspect.
so with decriminalization, dealers will still be arrested, while a college kid with four joints will be fined and probably have the joints taken from him.
essentially, the whole point is to stop ruining peoples lives. thousands of people with otherwise clean criminal records have jailtime logged for being pulled over with a joint. this can cost someone a future job.
yes, marijuana can be bad. but, as someone else mentioned, a lot of it needs to be chalked up to personal responsibility. thats why they talk about ‘designated drivers’ and the such when it comes to drinking. because alcohol is a drug, and it requires responsible use.
this congressman’s concerns are real, albeit worded in a very biting, cruel, and non-professional way.
the drug issue is not an easy nut to crack. while we’ve seen what prohibition did to increase crime, we have no hard evidence that decriminalization, let alone legalization will help the issue. either could make the situation worse. we cant see the future.
we can only test the waters of the future with our best judgments. its up to the people to decide what judgment we should use as a rule of law.
sorry to make a fuzzy issue even fuzzier.
bob
Jan 18, 2007
what a douchebag. good way to show your character, asshole. i’d contact NORML and LEAP on this one.
KidPurple
Jan 18, 2007
right on Catma, I just don’t understand how people don’t understand that…..
its terrible that anyone dies in a car accident for any reason, even relatives of dirty representatives like this, but think about this: if his brother had been drunk and died in an accident how would that be different? do you want to outlaw alcohol then, or would you just say he shouldn’t have been driving?
is anyone saying it should be legal to drive under the influence of marijuana. i’ve never heard anyone ask for that. I’m all for legalization and I don’t personally smoke it myself.
Catma
Jan 18, 2007
Alcholic gets behind the wheel: He will probably speed/drive erraticly
Stonet gets behind the wheel: Might get pulled over for driving UNDER the speed limit or forgetting to go when the light turns green
dan
Jan 18, 2007
this is sad… yes, for the tragedy that happened to his family, but also as an example of a state representative. pretty surprising too – i’d expect this to come out of a place like texas, not new hampshire… whatever happened to “live free or die?”
andy
Jan 18, 2007
so umm … this car accident was caused by his brother’s joint to come tearing out of the ash tray and steer his vehicle into another object ? or was it the voices in his head ?
I know it couldn’t be possible that his brother was a horrid driver and/or not paying attention .
that’s not a drug’s fault, it’s irresponsible driver
chuck
Jan 18, 2007
Catma…
i wouldnt liken the idea of someone ‘going below the speed limit’ to be less dangerous than a drunk driver. freeways have posted minimum speeds for a reason. because its fairly dangerous to being going too slow in high speed traffic, which may cause a collision from the rear. and it wouldnt be the fault of the person going faster, because they were going the posted speed limit.
HOWEVER.
i would assume the slowed speed was more from paranoia than inability to read the speed dial. if someone who is stoned is driving, they are constantly looking behind them, worried a cop is about to pull behind them. they are very conscious about the speed limit because they are worried as hell. mild paranoia is definitely a side effect of the drug.
HOWEVER once again.
that may not be the case for everybody. as a regular smoker myself, i have to come into contact with all sorts of unsavory types id really rather not associate with. i do know a group of college educated, smart and witty casual smokers, and thats who i like to hang out with. but unfortunately, i will agree with the state rep. (in my earlier post i referred to him wrongly as a congresscritter. my bad.) and i dont mean i agree on all points. i just agree that a lot of stoners are really fucking stupid.
its not their fault! they were stupid before they were stoners most likely. its just like stupid drunks. they were stupid long before they were drunks. its the human condition which is at fault here, not the drugs!
hahaha.
ok, the drugs certainly help people be stupider.
once again, it comes down to personal responsibility. if you are not mature enough to use alcohol or marijuana responsibly, then you shouldnt be allowed to use either.(i know several people that are not allowed to drink by court order. good thing too, they really need that court order to stop them from doing stupid shit like pulling a gun on a cop [yes, my friend did do that while drunk.].)
chuck
Jan 18, 2007
Catma…
i wouldnt liken the idea of someone ‘going below the speed limit’ to be less dangerous than a drunk driver. freeways have posted minimum speeds for a reason. because its fairly dangerous to being going too slow in high speed traffic, which may cause a collision from the rear. and it wouldnt be the fault of the person going faster, because they were going the posted speed limit.
HOWEVER.
i would assume the slowed speed was more from paranoia than inability to read the speed dial. if someone who is stoned is driving, they are constantly looking behind them, worried a cop is about to pull behind them. they are very conscious about the speed limit because they are worried as hell. mild paranoia is definitely a side effect of the drug.
HOWEVER once again.
that may not be the case for everybody. as a regular smoker myself, i have to come into contact with all sorts of unsavory types id really rather not associate with. i do know a group of college educated, smart and witty casual smokers, and thats who i like to hang out with. but unfortunately, i will agree with the state rep. (in my earlier post i referred to him wrongly as a congresscritter. my bad.) and i dont mean i agree on all points. i just agree that a lot of stoners are really really stupid.
its not their fault! they were stupid before they were stoners most likely. its just like stupid drunks. they were stupid long before they were drunks. its the human condition which is at fault here, not the drugs!
hahaha.
ok, the drugs certainly help people be stupider.
once again, it comes down to personal responsibility. if you are not mature enough to use alcohol or marijuana responsibly, then you shouldnt be allowed to use either.(i know several people that are not allowed to drink by court order. good thing too, they really need that court order to stop them from doing stupid shit like pulling a gun on a cop [yes, my friend did do that while drunk.].)
chuck
Jan 18, 2007
dammit, stupid posting twice on accident. sorry folks.
How to test?
Jan 18, 2007
Here’s my question: If we make marijuana legal, how are we able to discern if somebody is high at the time?
In other words, since THC takes to long to leave someone’s system, operate heavy machinery and fuck up on the job, for example, there’s no way to know if they were high at the time (and therefore should be fired and/or prosecuted depending on how badly they messed up), or if they smoked a joint in the tub last night while listening to whale songs.
chuck
Jan 18, 2007
How to test?
good question sir.
of course, it seems difficult at first, but thats just with classic testing methods.
im sure there is a way to develop (if there hasnt been already) a way to test for the more common chemicals in marijuana in someones breath (similar to current breathalysers for alcohol.). since it is smoked, it seems that in itself would give you a chance to detect the common chemicals of burned marijuana since it goes straight to their lungs, and not all of it gets immediately breathed out.
Catma
Jan 18, 2007
Well, your right. The only solution will be for everyone to all hold hands creating a circle round the globe, and sing about how much we trust eachother, and while this happens the conciousness of the planet will be raised to a level higher than ever before and assholes like Rep. Burridge will spontaniously combust as he can’t handle the universal love!
….or I guess we could check for red eye? haha
Catma
Jan 18, 2007
James, That letter was outstanding! Very well written! let us know if you get anything back.
Robert
Jan 18, 2007
of course if they legalized and distributed weed the same way they do alcohol and tobacco, there would be no more dealers for weed. how many people do you see slangin’ jack or marlboros on the street corner?
one thing wrong with weed, it can be grown too easily. they couldnt tax it efficiently because it can be grown in ANYONES closet. tobacco on the other hand cannot be, must have proper climates and such. so the cultivation can be controlled. that is just one of the few many reasons, the main one being, its illegal.
read this, was on digg a few weeks ago.
http://www.mapinc.org/norml/v06/n1751/a06.htm
Robert
Jan 18, 2007
Yes James, please post a response to that. I would also like to see what the hairball has to say.
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
Chris Fox
By the way, Steve Kubby, who played an instrumental role in passing that initiative, is running for President as a Libertarian in 2008.
Kubby 2008 new website is up and running
http://kubby2008.com
We need help from volunteers to help form local groups
http://www.kubby2008.com
James
Jan 18, 2007
Thank you, and I will see what she says and let you all know!
Thank you!
fling93
Jan 18, 2007
Robert: one thing wrong with weed, it can be grown too easily. they couldnt tax it efficiently because it can be grown in ANYONES closet.
I would imagine that economies of scale would come into play if it were legalized. A large agribusiness can grow anything at a significantly lower cost than any individual can, regardless of the ease. Plus, legalization would eliminate the main advantage of growing your own (reducing risk of detection).
And the reason prohibition increases crime is pretty well understood. Prohibition creates black markets. Buyers and sellers in black markets cannot resolve disputes via the legal system and thus resort to violence. A better way to address the negative externalities of drug usage is, like with everything with externalities, via a Pigovian tax, as Gary Becker suggests.
CaptainAmerica
Jan 18, 2007
Hmm lets see here…
Belchspeak; I think the name says it all. What a mental midget. Could be he is a politician in slugs clothing.
Chris Fox
Jan 18, 2007
@Belchspeak
Your arrogance and hostility towards stoners is extremely frightening. You paint a stereotype and cling to it like a life raft. Why? Did you have a bad experience with marijuana? Or are you just a prick?
In the state of California the stoners that you so easily denigrate came together and launched a campaign for the legalization of marijuana for medicinal use. Not only did we originate a petition and get it turned into a bill, but that bill passed in a landslide with 81% of the state voting FOR it.
I am the vice president of a mortgage bank, and I am definitely pro-legalization. I don’t smoke very often as I get older, but I DO smoke from time to time still. I don’t spend my time in basements watching cartoons, and I’m most definitely at the voting booth come election time.
I guess I can sum this up simply. You’re an ignorant fool who clearly lives his life with outmoded stereotypes with little basis in fact.
Regarding the letter this representative sent…I’m fairly sure he’s not going to get re-elected.
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
Here are some other ideas to put in your letters. It was on the MassCann Myspace Blog.
=========================================
“The citizen is exercizing his first amendment rights to free speech and to petition the government for a redress of greivances–to wit: he asks his Representative to forward a Bill on marijuana decriminalization from the Committee he is serving on, to the General Assembly. The constituent is asking for an open debate on the Bill’s merits.
Normally a Representative, regardless of personal or political position on a given Bill, will respectfully acknowledge their constituents, and thank them for expressing their opinion. Anyone who respects democratic government must also respect a difference in opinon and advocacy.
Rep. Delmar D. Burridge doesn’t respect democracy. When his constituent requests that he consider forwarding the Bill before his committee, Burridge proceeds to make unsubstantiated accusations (1. that his constituent does not drink alcohol because he is under age; 2. his constituent uses marijuana; and, 3. his constituent should be brought to the attention of the local police because of an email sent to his Representative that asks his Rep. to forward a Bill that regards the decriminalization of marijuana to the General Assembly.
Delmar Burridge, through his actions, is actively pursuing a police state, where people are in danger of prosecution for merely speaking their minds, in a rational manner, against unjust policies. HE MUST BE STOPPED!
Stop this Jr. Nazi in his tracks. Flood his email with statements of truth, statements of freedom. Everyone should download and copy the Bill of Rights and send them to his email box. His address is listed in the content below.
SEND REP. BURRIDGE the BILL OF RIGHTS!!! RIGHT NOW!!!
They say the internet can kill fascists. Can it?
Swamp this fascist with our FREEDOM. Send Burridge the Bill of Rights, or ANYTHING that says “NO, you CANNOT suppress OUR FREEDOM with YOUR FEAR!”
Jordan
Jan 18, 2007
Does anybody it was actually the Representative who sent the email? It could just be a staffer’s joke (disgruntled ex-employee?).
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
Well, that’s what the two phone numbers are for.
Jonny
Jan 18, 2007
BelchSpeak, what makes you assume that all in favor of marijuana legalization are stoners? Attributing a belief in a right with an alleged exercise of that is flawed. I believe in gun ownership, but do not own a gun.
ex stoner
Jan 18, 2007
If anybody believes marijuana does not cause mental problems, especially with long term cronic use, is simply an idiot.
What the representative did was wrong, but to think that decriminalizing marijuana is the answer is also wrong.
J.P. Laehoss
Jan 18, 2007
Im a college student in Vermont and am about 20 min from keene.
I have to say that this doesn’t surprise me. The cops in Keene are notorious for being ball busters. I had one particular expiriance where my friends and i stepped out for a joint and were stoped by a plaincloths cop. He subsequently called for backup. 3 squad cars 2 of witch had K-9 units. Its rediculous. Legalize it so the beat cops can do something productive with our money instead of terrorizing taxpaying college kids for some harmeless fum .
Catma
Jan 18, 2007
J.P. Laehoss, your grandkids are gonna laugh when they hear that story. “What do you mean Grandpa? You could get put in jail just for smoking a joint!?- That’s crazy” hahaha
I believe all this with pot will look just as crazy as was the segretation of black people in this country. It seems nuts now, but back then it was “normal.”
J.P. Laehoss
Jan 18, 2007
P.S. Id love to see the side by side statistics of alcohol related deaths, brain and liver dammage VS marijuana realted deaths, and the alleged harm to the body.
Any hippie idiot who smokes daily will wee the reprecussions on down the road. Its common freaking sense. Any substance, jused over an extended piriod of time will affectyour body. The difference between pot and alcohol however becomes clear as you compair a chronic smoker and a chronic drinker. You dont see smokers laying on a park bench with a bong in their hands, but i know of more than one place in the world where winos are worse an infestation than rats. You cannot deny that there is some hipocracy in criminalizing one substance on the basis of its harm to the body while allowing the legal sale of a much more harmfull substance. Its like legalizing
machine guns and outlawing pocketknives.
greg
Jan 18, 2007
paulie – the US Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and the Articles of Confederation were all written on parchment, i.e. sheepskin.
http://www.archives.gov/preservation/formats/paper-vellum.html
(2nd sentence of the 2nd paragraph)
I recommend you stop reading conspiracy theories and adopting them as your own because you keep hearing other conspiracy theorist repeat it back to you. Classic “echo chamber” mentality. If you’re going to make a claim, validate it. At least do a 5 second Google search. Especially if you intend to every persuade someone. Once people see that you didn’t bother to validate something that basic, they’re going to chalk the rest of your points up as fanatic ranting, not well reasoned arguments.
I suppose you could respond by saying the evil government is conspiring against you and posting false information on archives.org … maybe a secret swap of the REAL Constitution’s hemp paper? … aliens replaced the hemp with parchment and then smoked the real one! …
Q
Jan 18, 2007
it seems this state rep has been “on the pot” lately, maybe it’s just contact…
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
ex-stoner, long term chronic use of alcohol causes mental problems – it’s called “wet brain,” alcoholic dementia, and delirium tremens. Nevertheless, alcohol prohibition was and is a bad idea.
As Kate writes at
http://cs.newhampshire.com/blogs/homeward_bound/archive/2007/01/15/Constituent-service.aspx
“Can you imagine — Not everyone that agrees with decriminalizing marijuana smokes. Many just don’t want their tax dollars wasted chasing and jailing pot heads. Just leave the pot heads alone and spend my tax dollars chasing murderers.
When will people remember that prohibition causes violence because it creates the underground market.
“Many social problems have been attributed to the Prohibition era. A profitable, often violent, black market for alcohol flourished. Racketeering happened when powerful gangs corrupted law enforcement agencies. Stronger liquor surged in popularity because its potency made it more profitable to smuggle. The cost of enforcing prohibition was high, and the lack of tax revenues on alcohol (some $500 million annually nationwide) affected government coffers. When repeal of prohibition occurred in 1933, following passage of the Twenty-first Amendment, organized crime lost nearly all of its black market alcohol profits in most states (states still had the right to enforce their own laws concerning alcohol consumption), due to competition with low-priced alcohol sales at legal liquor stores.”
do a wikipedia search on prohibition of alcohol to learn more.
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
response to ex-stoner does not want to post here, so it’s at
http://lastfreevoice.wordpress.com/2007/01/17/vote-this-ass-clown-out/#comment-555
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
Greg,
It’s been a while since I’ve researched this particular claim, but since you, unlike Belch, at least substantiate your claim, we’ll look into this further. First result…
“Early drafts of the US Declaration of Independence were written on paper manufactured from hemp. The finished product was put on vellum parchment — animal skin.”
That sounds reasonable, and probably would have been true of the Constitution as well. We’ll keep reading on this.
Anonymous
Jan 18, 2007
HERE IS HIS CONTACT INFO:
Delmar Burridge
603-352-5363 or 603-542-7744
dburridge@ne.rr.com dburridge@nhctc.edu
In a democracy YOUR opinion counts. Let him know!
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
“Betsy Ross made the first flag of the United States of America out of the finest, strongest fiber available, hemp fabric. “It is also said that the finest laces of the olden days were always made of hemp in preference to any other fiber.” -Herndon, p.154.
David Cohen
Jan 18, 2007
I sent him an email from my school email address. It wsas as follows:
Dear Rep. Burridge,
I just finished reading an article about a letter written to you on a blog (http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2007/01/17/how-not-to-be-a-state-representative/). I found this on a news website, where I am sure over 700 people have read this particular headline and followed it to that link.
Although your story is horrid and very sad, I believe the point you made is not completely against smoking marijuana; you proved the point that it does need to be used responsibly. Smoking marijuana while driving is just about as stupid as drinking and driving. If your brother had a beer in his hand would you be for the prohibition of alcohol? Seeing how most of the alcohol industry prides themselves on lining representitives pockets, I doubt that you would ever be for its prohibition.
Don’t think that I am cold-hearted or mean; I may come of brash at first but your irrational thought process stems from your emotional tie to your brother. I am not doubting your love for each other, however it was his fault for being so selfish as to drive impared with his wife in the car.
Please reply to my email; I would like to hear a legitimate response to my position
–
Thanks,
David Cohen
xxxxxxx@xxxxxx.edu
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
for anyone interested in writing letters to the editor or otherwise contacting media about this:
http://www.mondotimes.com/world/usa.html
Toby Iselin
Jan 18, 2007
This is the exact e-mail I got and sent. It was also the first time I ever made contact with Delmar Burridge. In a way I feel sorry for Burridge because he seems horribly tied up in an emotional arguement. It also seems that if Burridge was to admit to himself that he might be wrong his entire career and life’s work will be for not. It takes a brave person, such as Jack Cole and other members of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, to admit that the drug war is wrong. If anyone has any questions feel free to e-mail me.
Thanks,
Toby Iselin
toby@freekeene.com
http://freekeene.com
StationaryObserver
Jan 18, 2007
Belch = troll.
Representatives are just that, representatives. If the majority of people in NH want marijuana legalized in their state, it is the representatives job and responsibility to represent them and vote for the bill in favor of legalization.
It’s not the representatives job to decide what is best for the people, only to report their demands.
gg noobs.
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
More of Burridge’s wonderful views, from the Keene Sentinel.
FOR CHESHIRE COUNTY CANDIDATES: Where should the next county jail be built? Why?
Burridge: The next county jail should be built at the Keene dump. Only the sheep will complain that it is built in their backyard. We could build the jail down wind so the sheep do not complain so loudly. A second jail location should be considered at a Keene city location that is rated a brownfield: the old city department of public works. A third location is in Swanzey at the airport. No additional revenue is lost in Swanzey and the jail is built so that the roof line is on the same plane as the runways, saving heating costs. All three properties are government-owned, impose no loss of revenue, which if my tax bill is passed would not make any difference, improve the existing properties with the removal of toxins at a brownfield, have less of visual impact on citizens for two locations and the county can sell off all the land in Westmoreland and place the proceeds in a rainy day fund or reduce the size of the bond floated.
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
Stationary:
Belch has a website extensively lauding escalation in the middle east.
So, likely actual believes the belchery.
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
In case anyone wants to verify the authenticity of the email with a snail mail, follow up on my suggestion to picket Burridge at home, or for that matter surprise him with a pizza delivery,
Delmar D. Burridge
7 Starlight Drive
Keene, NH 03431
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
Capitol Address
Representative Delmar D. Burridge
107 North Main Street
State House
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: (603) 271-2548
Fax: (603) 271-6889
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
Burridge
Year First Elected: 2006
Vote Percent in Last Election: 10.3%
New Hampshire has multi-member districts.
Catma
Jan 18, 2007
This is fantastic! Do you guys think this is going to end up being the next BIG thing in the media? I hope so.
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
Burridge teaches criminal justice at New Hampshire Community Technical College, Claremont.
If he still has that job, I’m thinking probably he shouldn’t.
I don’t want him training future court officers, police, judges, prosecutors, etc, nor should such a deranged individual be entrusted with educating young people.
1-800-837-0658, ext 2290 is Burridge.
NHCTC 1 College Drive Claremont NH 03743
Phone: 603-542-7744
Toll-Free (from NH & VT): 800-837-0658
Fax: 603-543-1844
Email: claremont@nhctc.edu
Is the college.
You can explore NHCTC.edu to find appropriate links to express your concerns to deans, department heads, etc., regarding Burridge.
Of course if he no longer works there that would be moot, but we might as well make sure he doesn’t – and is never welcomed back.
paulie cannoli
Jan 18, 2007
“This is fantastic! Do you guys think this is going to end up being the next BIG thing in the media? I hope so.”
Don’t just hope – make it so.
You can use my handy media contact list from comment 65 and contact media all over the country, but especially NH.
Letters to the editor are great – they are one of the most read sections of any newspaper.
young writer
Jan 18, 2007
I like the exchange here something good will come out of this. If only there were more politicians that are as obvious cut throats as Burridge it’d be easier to spot them and de-fang them early.
I have to put in my 2 cents about the mary jane. There are all sorts of opinions I know, but really the stuff is a weed, makes you tired/happy/sleepy depending on time of day, blood suger and some genetic dispositions. The only tests conducted by the US government on pot and its effects on driving were conducted in the Netherlands and showed that pot could amplify some of the effects caused by drinking–that aside small lateral swaying, reduced speed and increased following distance. Sounds like someone who has anticipated having slower reactions doesn’t it? Which would pretty well contradict the idea that people smoking on the road are loose cannons. No more than the average smoker really, the danger of dropping one’s cigarette and joint have about the same consequences. I don’t know who yall’ have been smoking with but they aren’t ready to be behind the wheel if they can’t ground out and get with reality.
Second, ex-pot head, sorry to hear you feel that way, that it has made you stupid or some such. Its simply not true. Sorry. The sad state of affairs is the social scene around pot and not the pot itself, that most folks sit around and get stoned…and then stay sitting around. This is not innate to the substance or even everybody’s reaction but many people do take the feelings they experience as prohibiting them from doing things. I’m sorry to say that self-fulfilling prophecies are all too real especially in circumstances of laying responsibility and belief.
The real scary thing about this situation is it reflects exactly what a friend and I speculated about the money model of keeping drugs illegal. Basically we mention that there is a black market, and that its huge and pretty powerful, but no one really knows what it does on a whole. I suspect that the black market, or particular powerful traders, quite literally pay our politicians to keep drugs illegal. Further we likely have legit lobbyists funded by various law enforcement agencies saying they’d lose jobs if there was no War on Drugs. Follow the $$$, and the potential for $$$ for that matter. Because if the arguments were left to scientific evidence and rationality there would be no opposing argument for pot.
I personally tend to think we need to force politicians to revise laws and unwrite laws instead of exclusively writing laws. Why you might ask? Well the country is prone to hysteria and restricting the freedoms of future generations. In the 30′s during the depression and passing of the Marijuana Tax Act, what did we really know about pot? Nothing, except that immigrants brought it with them. The average people didn’t even know, and apparently still don’t, that Tonic of Indica, a medicine administered for baby’s teething, was legally in this country since its inception. Thomas Jefferson required that all farmers in his district grew Hemp for paper, rope, cloth, seeds and oil, to name a few of its uses. Anslinger made sure this country was scared about pot and apparently we’re a bunch of ninnies because we still have people yelling doom at it, over a glass of light malt liquor of course.
We have legislated behavior enough, loosen the reins a bit, let us breathe in the freedom this country claims to have granted us.
wew, if you actually read all that I commend you, had it get it off my chest though. I’m gonna start something right now, marijuana users are highly discriminated against in this country. Discriminated! There I said it. We fear the east coast like gay men fear the middle of the country, we don’t understand it, don’t like it and can’t stand to believe it. This should be over already, if people who occasionally drank got half this much flak the country would come to a halt while the streets were flooded with protest. (BTW: illegality is all based in the idea of ‘vices’ anyway, so much for separation of church and state! 80 years ago it must have looked different from the white Christians perspective to have Another Vice legal….but is that really what we think today?
Why do we let crusty laws that contradict the Bill of Rights and were written by people who didn’t know better about their subject, pot, stand? This is not the sign of rationality, this is the sign of the decay of individual rights, we need to turn this rot over and make it into mulch!
some iconoclast
(I’m perfectly aware that my last paragraph could apply to the Bill of Rights but that would be changing the Face of our country, we’ve already redacted most of the Bill in reality and it stands as a shell to honor the great idea we had and wasted. But to change the shell would actually wake people up and make them angry…)
Fuck The Government
Jan 18, 2007
Way to be a good representative. I bet he beats his meat in office. At least Bill Clinton got blowed in office…
young writer
Jan 18, 2007
I actually dug up some links for you guys, the driving one I have in PDF and found a copy on Erowid, but can’t seem to find the distribution site.
This study was done For the US Dept of Transportation (not by):
http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_driving4.shtml
This is another driving study conducted by and for the Netherlands: Also given their rate of pot use I think they have plenty, or even more, incentive to make sure the studies are rigorous.
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/misc/driving/s1p2.htm
Jefferson DRAFTED the Constitution on Hemp paper, 2nd paragraph, which was very common in the heyday, just to clarify most sites get it right and we read it wrong. Small difference but it is legit.
http://www.naihc.org/hemp_information/hemp_facts.html
paulie cannoli
Jan 19, 2007
NH media
http://www.mondonewspapers.com/usa/newhampshire.html
jim
Jan 19, 2007
I think this is a brilliant reply. The first part of the letter was excellent and I think he explained his reasons for not voting very well. The latter half was a bit extreme, but I think its quality and quite funny
paulie cannoli
Jan 19, 2007
Don’t forget TV stations
http://www.mondotimes.com/world/usa/tv.html?state=29
paulie cannoli
Jan 19, 2007
This list includes weeklies, campus papers, etc
http://newslink.org/nhnews.html
paulie cannoli
Jan 19, 2007
News/talk radio by state
http://newslink.org/rneradi.html
paulie cannoli
Jan 19, 2007
More media links, includes local blogs for many towns
http://newslink.org/
State Rep Serlin
Jan 19, 2007
_NH said:
“The person who filed the bill by the way was a freedom loving libertarian-republican.”
The Primary Sponsor of HB 92 is Rep Charles Weed, a DEMOCRAT from Keene. There are 2 Republican co-sponsors. There are also a number of Democrats who will support this bill…we’re not the threat that you, _NH, seem to think we are.
Margaret
Jan 20, 2007
When thinking about documents, recognize that in the 1700s, paper was closely related to cloth, not trees. Wood-pulp paper is a relatively recent (1800s) invention, as is paper-making machinery.
Up until the invention of the Fourdrinier machine and digesters that could economically make paper from wood chips, paper in Europe and the European Americas was made by hand from plant-fiber rags. The rags were whatever was available, including cotton, linen, and, yes, hemp. Once clothing became too worn to be repaired, it was converted into dustrags and, when even they were not longer usable, they were bundled, sold to ragmen, and turned into paper.
Ordinary copies of documents were reproduced by printing presses and were printed on paper, not skins. Skins (generally sheep for large, coarse documents, calf for small, fine ones) were reserved for the “official” copy or copies of the document. Such copies were carefully written out by hand, often by professional scribes.
So, while most (not all) of the copies of various documents in the Library of Congress are originals and on skin, all the copies sent round to the cities, towns, and villages to be read out and posted for public use were printed by printing presses on rag paper that almost certainly had hemp used in its making.
Ralph
Jan 20, 2007
My condolences for having a DINO state representative who really should be wearing a straight-jacket. Not only is he a pompous, condescending and ignorant shit, but he’s also a moron. The negative assumptions and illogical leaps Burridge makes about a constituent asking his consideration of a bill lawfully before the assembly he sits on, with nothing more to go, on is to say, simply disturbing.
You folks in New Hampster really need to vet your democrats more carefully. Good luck!
Jan 20, 2007
Anti-marijuana state rep learns something - Homeland Stupidity
Jan 22, 2007
Jason Fisher’s Weblog » Blog Archive » Marijuana
Jan 22, 2007
theFreshScent » Blog Archive » Debris: Monday, 1.22.07
Gary McGath
Jan 22, 2007
I’ve just written a blog item referring to this article, and am sending Burridge an email pointing him to the post and inviting him to “dime on” me as well.
http://mcgath.blogspot.com/2007/01/keene-representative-from-kgb.html
Bill
Jan 24, 2007
Issue 1: Rudeness
Well now this politician wasn’t very politically correct in the way he presented to the constituent and was certainly rude. The politician was wrong for behaving this way toward his constituent.
Issue 2: Decriminalizing Marijuana
Alcohol is legal, but drunk driving is illegal. Smoking marijuana should be just as legal as drinking alcohol, but I believe driving while intoxicated or under the influence will still cover driving after smoking marijuana, it is and should remain illegal, like other dangerous activities.
Issue 3: Politician contacting the police
I suppose anyone can report anything they wish to the police, and it is up to the police to determine if the report was legitimate or not. Filing a false report with the police is also ilegal. I suspect the politician was on the border of filing a false report in this case.
Issue 4: Other drugs
To decriminalize other drugs would have to be done on a case by case basis and would depend upon the overall dangers of that drug when slightly missused. I don’t remember ever reading about anyone overdosing on marijuan, but a small mistake with other drugs can be imediately deadly. So this has to be taken into acount as well. People can and do die from overdoses of alcohol as well.
That’s my 3.1412592658 cents
Bill
Phil E. Drifter
Mar 06, 2007
Just wanted to drop my 2 cents in here.
No, the Constitution was not written on hemp paper.
Yes, drafts of the Constitution were.
Cory
Jun 26, 2007
YAY MISTER EYEBALL.
YOU GOT OWNED@@@@@@@@@
AHAHA
UNNCE UNNCE UNNCE PARTY BOYYY!
I MISS YOU TOBY, COME BACK TO WEDOOKIE EARLYYYY.
And no, I have nothing better to be doing at the moment, It’s 1 A.M. and I can’t sleep for shit.
OK WELL WE KNOW YOU SMOKE THE GREEN SO YAAAAAY!
=D
Toby he saw through your scheme.
D=
BYE TOBY EYEBALL!
No Prohibitions!!!
Jan 23, 2008
Hey Burridge…You’re still on the “vote them out” list…
Delmar D. Burridge
7 Starlight Drive
Keene, NH 03431
Email: dburridge(at)ne.rr.com
Capitol Address
Representative Delmar D. Burridge
107 North Main Street
State House
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: (603) 271-2548
Fax: (603) 271-6889
Burridge teaches criminal justice at New Hampshire Community Technical College, Claremont.
If he still has that job, I’m thinking probably he shouldn’t.
I don’t want him training future court officers, police, judges, prosecutors, etc, nor should such a deranged individual be entrusted with educating young people.
1-800-837-0658, ext 2290 is Burridge.
NHCTC 1 College Drive Claremont NH 03743
Phone: 603-542-7744
Toll-Free (from NH & VT): 800-837-0658
Fax: 603-543-1844
Email: claremont@nhctc.edu
Jan 21, 2011
State rep just says no to common sense | Homeland Stupidity