RAVE-ING MADNESS

I'm home sick today and as it happens, they are refinishing the floors in the upstairs apartment so I can't sleep or just lie there and watch mindless TV. I'm huddled in front of the computer practicing cyber-activism instead. The RAVE Act is a serious assault on our civil liberties under the banner of the WOD. It's coming up for a vote. I urge all of you to contact your own representatives.

Stop the Madness,
LA Stone

To the Editor:

While your attention is occupied by the new reality show – Operation Iraqi Freedom – your elected representatives are considering legislation that will further erode our civil liberties here at home. Your right to enjoy live music, dance, sing and run a business is under attack.

In the House of Representatives, HR 718 (the RAVE Act) and Section 305 of HR 834 (the CLEAN-UP Act) will make it possible for promoters of music events and venue owners to be prosecuted for the drug use of patrons. Under the RAVE Act club owners could also have their legally obtained assets seized for the same reason.

In the Senate, S 226 (the Illicit Drugs Anti-Proliferation Act) also enacts these penalties and expands them to include landlords, hotel managers and even private property owners. You could be sentenced to 20 years in jail under this statute if someone is caught using drugs at your dinner party.

I urge you to contact Congressman Richard Neal, Congressman John Olver, Senator Edward Kennedy and Senator John Kerry and ask them to oppose this ill-conceived legislation.