WAR AND HEMP

In 1942, it was war that made the nation see the folly of hemp suppression. The US revived the industry, growing and processing hemp once again. Most was grown in the Midwest, then sent to cordage companies to process. The Plymouth Cordage Co. in Massachusetts was in receipt of most of this. As it was a matter of national security, the ropeworks were guarded by the military.

Now, if you tried to grow hemp, you might be raided by the military, close as the country is to allowing the relaxation of posse comitatus. George Washington could end up dead, a bullet in his head, a news bulletin telling us that 'insurgents' were shot in...New York.

Here we are at war; or, not at war, if one believes the Commander-in-Chief; Bart Simpson's family seems not to, so let's say then that we are at war. Mi S'voyenniy; Nous faisons la guerre; Estamos luchando; Wir machen die Krieg. However we say it, we are at war.

But with what? We've had war on Nazis, cold war on Communists, war on poverty, war on the poor, war on whatever. Then we announce that war is over; and that's when the killing begins.

And, of course, there's the war on hemp. This was announced in 1937 after Momma's boy William Randolph Hearst deluged America with his lies about Latins and African Americans. Which turned into a campaign for hemp when there was war on the Axis of Evil, which back then was Nazis and the Imperialist Japanese. Hemp helped the Allies then, but are the Allies so smart as they were then?

As the price of petrol rises, and we contaminate ourselves with pesticides, we need desperately to create local sources for energy and put our foot down on pollution. But we are hijacked, and the plane is heading for disaster. Where are the ex-Marines to rush the cockpit? Where are the Falcons taking off in defence of their country? Where are the firefighting aircraft to spray PKP on the towering infernos? Nowhere in sight. It's like the stupid standdown that occured on 9/11, it's like that pet goat story that had priority over running the country.

Americans are asking where their country is; the answer is, it has been hijacked.

For anyone who wants it back, it is time to roll. Call up your Congressman, call up your Senator, call up your local journalist. Or are they too busy selling America to the oil companies, taking bribes from the pharma cartel, and giving out subsidies to absolutely idiotic projects? Well they may be, which means you can either give up or change tactics; make war - war on fools. Want your country back? Then you better win this one. 'Cause if the fools win, you get poisoned, you lose the rights to count your votes, you get sent to prison for minor things, you get your taxes spent in Iraq where friends of your Senator are now quite likely laughing at how much they have embezzled...

Of course, if you win, there is a lot to be happy about. Millions of acres of arable land, amazing rivers and lakes in which to fish, large national parks, sturdy infrastructure, a working economy, etc. Worth defending?