Andrew McCullough's Blog

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Deseret News article

March 24, 2008

Over the weekend the Deseret News published an article about my candidacy for Utah Attorney General. Please share it with your e-mail lists.

Here is the link. Thanks


http://deseretnews.com/article/1%2C5143%2C695263374%2C00.html

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

How dare they?

March 11, 2008

Published a short blog only a couple of days ago, but it is a big week for news. President Bush just vetoed a bill to ban waterboarding as torture. Senator McCain, who in the past has fought the President on torture issues, agreed with the President that the government should not tie the hands of the CIA in this way. Outrageous! There simply is no merit to the argument that we may need to waterborad someone in order to stop a ticking bomb from going off. That is just an excuse to violate our own constitution and the Geneva Conventions. Time to stop this nonsense and get new leadership. And John McCain is not qualified. He will stay in Iraq 100 years, if necessary, he says. And he supports Bush's efforts to pack the Federal Courts with those who are willing to ignore the Bill of Rights to give government more power. No more.

I cannot help but comment on the predicament of Governor Elliot Spitzer of New York, who was caught paying for high price hookers. One would think that high ranking politicians would know better, but it keeps happening. And the Republicans in the New York legislature are threatening impeachment! Why have they not moved to remove the Republican Senators from Louisiana ( whose name appeared last year on a list of call girl customers in Washington, DC) and Idaho (you all know what he did)? I previously called on Senator Craig to admit what and who he is, and join the Libertarian Party. I now call on Governor Spitzer to do the same. We do not care who they have sex with, or how they pay for it (unless they use government or stolen money). But the hypocricy is unberable. How dare these guys claim to be such examples of purity and virtue. And how dare the Republicans in the New York legislature claim that Spitzer is worse than their own, who remain unpunished! Let us legalize private relationships, and stop the con games.

And lastly, the State of Utah has agreed to pay the sum of $40,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a motorist who was tased by a UHP trooper, apparently for not being compliant enough when stopped for a speeding ticket. The incident was posted on YouTube, and created considerable discussion as to the propriety of the use of such force. It appeared to me that the troopper was out of control, and on the verge of hysteria. Others thought differently, of course. But, despite the payment to the motorist, the trooper was not disciplined in any way. I would suggest that he be given a desk job where he cannot threaten others, and that he be ordered to pay a portion of the settlement out of his own pocket. Otherwise, it will likely happen again. What a waste of taxpayer funds.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

The revolution is here!

March 9, 2008

Well, friends, I filed my candidacy on Friday for the Libertarian nomination for Utah Attorney General. No surprise to those who know me. Now, however, is the time to join the fight. Tell your friends. Get involved. Make a small contribution. Get your friends registered to vote.

End the war on drugs. Repeal the Patriot Act. Support free speech. Reduce the government's power to intrude on our private lives. There is so much to do.

I have a new Myspace page. Add me as your friend there. www.myspace.com/andy4utahag
Let's stick it to the man!

Watch this space. Lots more to come!

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Americans incarcerated

March 1, 2008

Over the last few days, the news media has widely reported that: "For the first time in U.S. history more than one in 100 American adults are behind bars" (Salt Lake Tribune, 2/28/08). According to BBC news, this is the highest percentage among world democracies. The cost is high, not only in what it takes to lock people up, but in broken families and lost production. Former Federal Judge Paul Cassell is quoted in the Tribune as saying the cost is not as high as it seems, as it is mitigated by lower crime rates. How many Americans would former Judge Cassell incarcerate to further lower the crime rate? If were all locked up, the crime rate would be close to zero, but who would pay for the jails?

The high rate of incarceration in this country comes from a number of things. Federal crimes in particular are punishable by incarceration for such long periods of time, that it has no rational connection with the crime charged. And then there is the war on drugs, which puts people in jail who have done nothing other than use or possess substances that the government thinks are bad for them. The government does not seem to think that prison is bad for them too. The jails and prisons are full. Shall we build more indefinitely, or will we wake up and reform our justice system to avoid incarceration which does not make sense?

The present Utah Attorney General, charged with coordinating the State's law enforcement, and I fundamentally disagree on the need to jail or imprison so many people. If you support him in the upcoming election, you will do so out of fear -- fear which I think does not bear a real connection to society's needs. If you support me, you will be doing so in the hope that more freedom will make society better. The choice, and the cost, is yours.
 
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