subject: SOLVE IMMIGRATION AND WAR ON DRUGS FOREVER [print this page] SOLVE IMMIGRATION AND WAR ON DRUGS FOREVER
SOLVE IMMIGRATION AND WAR ON DRUGS FOREVER
By Michael Douglas Carlin
We sit around and complain about the corruption in Mexico. Right now we have a chance to do something about it. The mid-term elections will soon be over and the country will shift from campaigning to actually getting something done again. Then a few people will throw their hats in the ring and begin the two year campaign to unseat President Obama. There will be a small window to apply pressure on Congress and the President to help Mexico in their war on drugs which was motivated by the United States in the first place.
Calderon has been true to his promise: the blood that has spilled in this war from the 30,000 dead testifies to his efforts. The truth is that he has his hands full and we are enabling his enemies, the drug dealers, by allowing drugs to flow easily into the United States and allowing cash and guns to flow back into Mexico. Calderon will leave office in two years and there is a chance that Mexico could revert back to old habits. We only have this two years to help Calderon and Mexico win this war on drugs or we could face much more serious corruption if a pro-drug President comes into power. In 1956, Radio Free Europe broadcast to Hungary that if they rose up military help from the West would arrive to help them in their revolt. The revolt happened and the assistance didn't. Radio Free Europe is run by the United States Congress.
This is just a single example of the United States saying one thing and then doing something completely opposite. The fact is that when money comes into the United States from drug activities it infiltrates our banking system and banks make money. Arms sold into Mexico benefit our gun industry. Drugs sold on the streets of America also have so many benefits to businesses in America that not everybody that says they are signed on to the War on Drugs really is signed on. It is time for us to have a unified voice from all political parties about this issue.
I have been the publisher and Editor of the Century City News (www.centurycitynews.com) for seven years, and I took on the additional responsibilities of Steps For Recovery (www.steps4recovery.org) two years ago. Sitting at the cross roads of business and addiction has given me a unique perspective. The single issue of the War on Drugs coincides with the Immigration Debate. Here is a possible lasting solution for both problems.
Steps For Recovery is a publication that matches needs with resources. I have filing cabinets full of thank you letters for hooking up addicts with treatment. I believe that Steps provides a valuable service and would like to see the Steps publication in 60 or 70 cities across America. That is a great first step in the War on Drugs. Steps provides information on addiction and where addicts can get help. Treatment is the single solution for addiction. Treatment exists in various forms but treatment is the only documented method to get an addict into recovery. There are incredible treatment programs that are offered by treatment professionals, drug and alcohol counselors, health care providers and non-profit organizations. Putting Steps For Recovery in 70 cities will match existing resources with needs leading to more treatment so that recovering addicts that can lead productive lives.
The second step would be an Executive Order by the President sealing the border: stopping illegal immigrants, stopping drugs, and stopping counterfeit goods from entering the United States as well as stopping guns, cash, and other supplies from illegally entering Mexico. There is a great 1988 Rand Study about sealing the border and the resources that were available to accomplish this based upon 1988 technology. The study argues that drugs would still find their way into the country and I don't dispute that but it would be made much more difficult and supply being restricted would push price through the roof causing less addiction. The additional benefit is that immigrants would not be coming into our country illegally.
The third step in the War on Drugs would be a Public Service campaign to target kids. The studies have shown this to be ineffective but I don't think we have had a consistent campaign that lasted from generation to generation. We all remember Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" and the egg being fried "This is your brain on drugs" commercials. The studies say they were ineffective but I can't tell you the number of people I have met throughout my life that have told me they decided not to take drugs because of these two efforts. The studies showed that drug usage rose but how much more would it have risen without these campaigns. Our campaigns will be even harder hitting. One PSA is targeted to take sex off of the table for drug and alcohol users. The message is straight up "drugged or drunk sex is rape." Men or women thinking they can get someone loaded and take advantage of them will be seen as rapists in the future. Taking this off of the table will lead to less addiction.
I have reserved the namewww.tellthechildren.org for the purpose of posting a million stories of addiction. I am going to invite addicts and recovering addicts to post their video blog of what they want to tell the children. The majority of those stories are going to be horrific tales of drug use and the vicious spiral that leads drug users on their path to their own personal "rock bottoms." This site is proposed to be built from donations. We have not yet received funding for this but I am confident that someone will understand the mission and write the check.
The goal of both campaigns is to get people who would start using drugs or alcohol from never beginning on that path. This is another hard hitting step in the War on Drugs.
Companies hire illegal aliens and there are between seven and twenty million here to work for these companies. What should we do? I don't agree with rounding them up and loading them into train cars to send them back. We invited them with offers of opportunity. They came and are here now. We need to cull from them the Al Qaeda cells and anyone else that would harm America. That entails documenting who is here first and foremost. So we provide them with a path to amnesty that is tied to how quickly they surface. If they surface within the first month of a six month window then they are on a two year path. If they surface within the sixth month they are on a seven year path. If they don't surface within six months they are assumed to be criminals that would do America harm and we are going to find them, incarcerate them, try them and either deport them or sentence them. On that two to seven year path the illegal immigrants will make their own case for amnesty and ultimate citizenship based upon documentation, language courses and civics courses taken by the illegal immigrant. Additionally, the companies that hire illegal aliens are also on a path to get their companies into full compliance with the law.
Now we come to Mexico who for the first time is becoming a true partner to America in this War on Drugs. We need to reward them for waging this war. Think about a 50 mile zone within Mexico that we call the "Honor Zone." America helps Mexico establish the rule of law within that zone so that it becomes a safe place for Americans and Mexicans to conduct business. We invite companies to move their manufacturing from Asia to take advantage of cheap labor at our doorstep and to reduce the energy it takes to ship goods into America. Companies that are phasing out their use of illegal aliens might choose to move their operations to the North of Mexico to hire Mexican Nationals legally. The Honor Zone would act as a buffer in the War on Terror. Our government agencies like the EPA, FDA among others would operate there freely to ensure that goods coming to America are safe. All shippers would be certified and spot checked on a random basis. A single bad shipment of counterfeit goods, drugs or cash could void certification. Legitimate shippers will not risk losing certification to send illicit goods through the border. With a 50 or 60 mile zone farming would also be a business that could operate in the Honor Zone.
Right now is the time to ask ourselves if we are serious about the War on Drugs or solving Immigration. If we are serious about this we need to act. These may not be the ultimate steps taken but I invite all of you to work with me to develop this plan further. My name is Michael Douglas Carlin, author of the book, "A Prescription For Peace," and publisher and editor of both the Century City News (www.centurycitynews.com) and Steps For Recovery (www.steps4recovery.org) newspapers. Dr. Laurie Roth has already signed on as a partner to get this plan heard and we discuss it every Thursday from 3 to 4 pm on her radio show(therothshow.com). I look forward to receiving your comments and continuing the conversation. You can reach me atcenturycitynews.com@gmail.com. I will post further thoughts on the Century City News website as well aswhynotplan.info.
