So Larry Franklin just wanted to stop the war

Congressional Quarterly has a fascinating interview with Larry Franklin, the former Pentagon analyst who was the only one who ended up getting a sentence in the Israeli spy scandal. Franklin, you may remember, was charged with passing classified information to two AIPAC (American Israel Political Action Committee) officials, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, who were presumably expected to pass it along to Israel. Franklin got 13 years (later reduced to probation. The Rosen/Weissman trial was expected to be a sensation, but the charges were later dropped.

Franklin, his life pretty much ruined (he was mopping floors at a Roy Rogers restaurant), says he was trying to discourage the U.S. from invading Iraq. As an Iran specialist, he had access to information suggesting Iran was planning to disrupt things and kill Americans if the invasion went forward. Money quote:

"But back in 2003, with the invasion of Iraq only weeks away, he was desperate to persuade the White House to put on the brakes.

"So when Steven J. Rosen, an official with the American-Israel Public affairs Committee (AIPAC), told Franklin that he was friendly with Elliott Abrams, head of the Middle East desk in the White House National Security Council, Franklin said he "jumped at the chance" to get the information to him.

"As it turned out, however, the FBI had an open investigation of Israeli espionage in Washington, going back to the 1990s."

Franklin says he didn't realize at the time that the information he passed on was classified. I'm not sure if I credit this story or not. As much of a warhawk as Elliott Abrams was, it doesn't seem likely that having information about Iran's intentions would be likely to cause him to urge the Bushies to put on the brakes -- let alone the likelihood that the White House would have listened even if a war whooper like Abrams suddenly began urging caution. But maybe Larry Franklin didn't know this or knew a different side of Abrams.

But maybe this is the real story.

Government creates suffering

As usual, Lew Rockwell has an almost uncanny ability -- all right, intellect backed by sound philosophy backed by wide experience -- to put his finger on problems and detect contradiction. In this piece he notes two NYT pieces today -- one noting that Obama wants to mandate that employers provide health care and another noting that California's unemployment may rise to 15 or 20 percent unless an unlikely burst of common sense breaks out in Sacramento. Related? Sure. Placing mandates on employers makes it more expensive to hire people, so unemployment will rise. California has beaucoup mandates and the legislature is always busy dreaming up more, even during a financial meltdown.

Smoke pot yourself to discourage your kids?

Several of my Facebook friends linked to this article suggesting, with I don't know just how much tongue in cheek, that parents should smoke pot because it's the best way to discourage their kids, who will see, as the writer claims she saw as a kid, how pointless it is and how little mystery or attractiveness is involved. Maybe. Didn't work out that way with my kids.

Progress on marijuana book

My last day of vacation wasn't completely unproductive, as I had implied. I actually made a fair amount of progress on the outline for my marijuana legalization book, and I might even have the sample chapter done by the end of this weekend. Nag me about it.

Sonia and the Senate play the game

I had to watch a good deal of the Sotomayor confirmation process today to write tomorrow's Register editorial, and was struck by the fact that this elaborate charade is even more phony than Supreme Court approval hearings usually are. Everybody knows that she benefited from a double standard on the "wise Latina woman" comment -- culturally-approved minorities can almost do no wrong -- and everybody knows she will be confirmed. She's replacing a "liberal" so she won't shift the balance of the court.

It's amazing to me that some conservative forces are so bent on putting a a full-court press of opposition. Strikes me as a waste of resources. Does "the base" really demand a campaign claiming she's the most radical nominee ever? She is probably slightly more radical than her judicial record would suggest, and she hardly strikes one as intellectually distinguished, but she may be the least ideologically-committed of those Obama considered seriously, and because of her background as a prosecutor will probably be fairly"conservative' (which means awful from my perspective) in criminal justice matters. The GOP senators were more restrained, as is politically wise. Jon Kyl and Lindsey Graham pressed her fairly effectively on the speeches while paying enough respect so as not to alienate too many Hispanics . The other GOP senators, considering that this is the most significant TV time GOP figures will get this year, were generally pathetic.

They could have made a fairly serious case for constitutional judging, but presenting the notion that the rule of law in our system produces predictable results untainted by ethnic or ideological predilecetions (which are far more significant than ethnic is simply absurd in the face of all the 5-4 decisions the court routinely hands down. A significant educational moment wasted. Maybe tomorrow will be better, but I doubt it.

Palin's resignation about money?

One of the advantages of being on vacation has been the I wasn't required to offer some sort of thumbsucking bit of guesswork on Sarah Palin's resignation as g9overnor of Alaska. Somebody at the Register (probably Greenhut but I don't know) had to, but I think the best comment (commending Charlie Cook, who noted Palin can attend more events and bank more money as an ex-governor) came from The American Conservative magazine's editor, Daniel McCarthy.

What can you say on cable news?

It's almost enough to make me crawl back into my non-news cocoon. There's a big flap over a guest on MSNBC using the world "blowjob" (about the unlamented ex, Bill Clinton). Apparently "oral sex,"which somehow sounds dirtier to me, is OK, but "blowjob" is beyond the pale? Who decides these things? Well at least it got her 0n twitter and going viral.

Medical marijuana disappointment in N.H.,

This is my last day of vacation, and I have done almost nothing productive, which was my plan. Yesterday was lovely, with Muazzam and Nancy Gill coming over for BBQ and good talk, but today is lazy. At 100+ yardwork can be only of the non-strenuous variety. I haven't even watched the Sotomayor hearings.

I have found time to catch up on some medical marijuana developments. The least encouraging news is that New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch -- a Democrat, no less -- has vetoed a medical marijuana bill. At least some media outlets are encouraging a veto override, which seems possible if those who voted for it stick together. The resistance on the part of conventional politicians to medical marijuana is curious and goes way beyond rationality; one must believe in dire consequences that have occurred in no other jurisdiction and go against overwhelming public opinion. The psychological ramifications of making the war on drugs a Holy War will likely be with us for some time to come.

Audit the Fed!!

Here's the Register's editorial heartily endorsing Ron Paul's bill, HR 1207, to audit the Federal Reserve System. Since the Fed was a major contributor to the recent financial meltdown and is slated to acquire even more power under Pres. Obama's -- and Ben Bernanke's -- plan for federal financial regulatory overhaul, perhaps it's not surprising that the proposal has received so much support, sometimes from unexpected quarters. I suspect they'll never have committee hearings or move the bill to the floor -- and I'm not sure whether an audit would uncover enough sexy corruption, as compared to massive power misuse -- but its very presence on the docket is a healthy sign.

A narrowly-conceived Supremes term

Here's the piece I did for the Register on the just-completed Supreme Court term. Obne could argue that it continues to be Justice Kennedy's court in that he's the swing vote and he was in the majority 92% of the time. But one could also argue that Chief Justice Roberts, who has long argued that he wants the court to be less divided and generally narrow in its rulings -- avoiding constitutionallly-based edicts when possible, being a court of "conservative minimalism" -- has begun to put his stamp on the court in earnest. Even the Ricci decision, which will no doubt be much discussed this week, what with hearings on the nomination of Sotomayor, is narrower than it might have been. The case of the Hillary movie, which just might lead to a substantial overturning of the McCain-Fenigold campaign finance deform abortion, scheduled for September. mioght be an exception to this pattern of cautious decisions.

Not quite over in Iran, I guess

It looks as if those who predicted that Iran would not be quite the same after the massive post-election protests, even in the wake of the government crackdown, were onto something. Looks like fairly large protests and marches in the face of pretty severe crackdown stuff. Still not sure if it's a real revolution or even a revolutionary precursor -- look for security forces to start siding with the protesters as a sign the regime is really on shaky ground, though whether such moves would be reported given how restricted foreign media are is a good question. Whatever happens in the short term, however, the mullahs' regime is on notice that a significant number of Iranians simply consider it illegitimate and are ready for it to expire. Love to see governments feeling vulnerable.

A thorough homebody

Anybody miss me on the net? I'm on a vacation week -- fortunately not a furlough, thins are tough enough in the newspaper business. We were planning to go to Las Vegas for FreedomFest but pain and a necessary trip to the dentist screwed up those plans. So Jen and I have mostly been puttering round outside -- moving pots and plants, rearranging deck chairs, keeping the pool clear and spending time in it, transplanting a few flowers, building a couple of things. The yard is certainly nicer for it, but it's taken all the daylight hours and I haven't even felt like logging on at night until now. Either it's a very good vacation or I'm losing a teeny bit of my obsession with the news -- one newscast a day seems to suffice.

Richard Cowan to lead medical marijuana defense outfit

Well, As soon as I get back to the 0ffice and my address book, I'll have to give him a call. My old friend Richard Cowan, former NORML national director, and publisher of MarijuanaNews.com has agreed to head something called the Dispensary Defense Group, whose mission is to defend medical marijuana dispensaries -- mostly from unfriendly gestures by law enforcement, I'd warrant. Considering all the cities placing "temporary" moratoria on dispensaries and/or harassing them, there probably can't be too much effective defense. I don't know whether Dick's group will be working with Americans for Safe Access, which has already taken it upon itself to provide legal defense for dispensaries and their operators and secured a number of legal victories. The DDG is sponsored by Weedmaps, an online guide to dispensaries, and at least one dispensary and an evaluation group. I'll have to call. Dick will have information that will be useful for my book, and it's been a long time since we talked. I'm sure we'll have things to catch up on.

Beginning the Iraqi pullout

U.S. combat troops have pulled out of Iraqi cities (some trainers remain), the first step toward what is scheduled to be a complete U.S. military withdrawal. The Register thinks it's been a lot more pain than gain, and hopes the people are more skeptical the next time some yahoo in government wants to start a war of choice.

Medical marijuana update

In New Hampshire a medical marijuana bill has passed and is waiting for a signature from Gov. Lynch. The pressure not to sign apparently still comes from law enforcement, as this editorial in favor of the governor signing points out. I try to give people credit for actually believing what they say and not i9ntentionally lying, but this Portsmouth police chief is peddling pure claptrap. I hope he follows the evidence in a criminal case better than he did here. Too bad the editorialist was apparently not familiar with the report from the National Institute of Medicine, which said there was simply no scientific evidence for the "gateway theory" of people starting with marijuana and going on to "harder" drugs because of biochemistry or composition of drugs -- but that the theory that using marijuana sometimes leads to harder drugs because it is illegal and using it brings one in contact with a criminal subculture in which other drugs are available and pushed has some validity.

In Montrose CO, a patient living in Section 8 subsidized housing was tossed out for using marijuana, and he plans to sue. I suspect this suit will not be successful because Section 8 is a federal program and federal law is still complete prohibition, despite logic and common sense. Need to get my book written more quickly.

In Michigan, which passed a medical marijuana law last November, the program is experiencing some growing pains. More than 2,500 patient ID cards have been issued. but there's no safe, reliable source for legal medicinal-quality marijuana. In addition, some cops claim to be confused (oh how confused they can be when they're foot-dragging) about whether a patient with a doctor's recommendation byt no state ID card is in violation of the law. Obviously some cops would rather bust patients still than implement the new law. With good will such kinks can be worked out, but if California is any example, some people with the power to arrest are not overly endowed with good will.

Meanwhile in California, proprietors of dispensaries in Oakland are offering to increase the amount of taxes they pay during the state's fiscal crisis. It will hardly close the $25-billion-plus state budget gap, but it might help. Of course in South Lake Tahoe city attorneys are threatening to close three dispensaries that have opened in the past year. Do these officials have a death wish? Every level of government is facing budget problems, and these guys want to close down a source of revenue? And they believe they're the ones with right on their side. We still have a lot of work to do.

Freelance fireworks -- Yes!

Once again this Fourth of July I am inordinately proud of the little town of Lake Elsinore, where Jen and I have lived for the last 25 years. From out back yard on the Fourth, we can see not only the fireworks display from the stadium (though no show this year, but the fireworks from Canyon Lake and Perris. What is most thrilling, however -- perhaps it doesn't take much to impress me -- are the fireworks from freelancers at about a dozen points around the edge of the lake. Whoever these people are, they don't just get a few bottle rockets. Many of them have near-professional fireworks -- rocket to the sky, boom n bloom. And they shoot them of for more than an hour -- with the occasional shot up until midnite. All quite illegal, of course, and we hear sirens as well as explosions, presumably from the cops in a vain (I hope) effort the find and arrest these miscreants. To me, they're symbols of independence.