Dave,

> First of all there is no evidence that Lockyer knew of
> the raid in advance.

Agreed, so far there appears to be a rift between state/county/local and the feds. However, these are also extremely secretive and very military-minded organizations with a common cause. They cooperate all the time, and off duty there are countless inter-agency friendships, so some informal cooperation in this case remains plausible.

> Second, how can you expect Lockyer to do his job as you
> described it - but not expect the Feds to do their jobs
> too? Answer - you can't. They were doing their jobs
> according to the prevailing laws and that's all you can
> expect those feds to do - Ever.

I don't want anyone to "do their job" when that job involves doing something downright evil. I dont want mafia legbreakers to just "do their job". I don't want professional child pornographers to just "do their job". I don't want armed paramilitary thugs from Washington who are assigned to assault harmless gardeners to "do their job".

> I don't want the Feds to make judgements about what laws
> to enforce - that leads to racist enforcement and loads
> of other problems.

Agreed in part. While blind obediance to a mere employer keeps the door closed to selective enforcement, when a nation suffers as we do from a near total lack of accountability on the part of the enforcing agents and their agencies, blind obedience to bad laws becomes crime without punishment.

If agents and agencies cannot be punished for their crimes - and yesterday's raid was definitely a crime.. trespassing, assault, kidnapping, destruction of property, theft, brandishing of weapons.. then they get out of control and have no deterrent against committing such crimes.

There is no justice in America anymore. What happens next, the feds drop the charges and everyone says "See? It's okay now"? WAMM's entire 2002 crop for almost 300 people was just destroyed, in classic punish-first-press-charges-later fashion.

Will WAMM be compensated for their lost property, so they can buy 130 new ready-to-harvest plants? Will a false arrest lawsuit earn them compensation for an unjust invasion? Ha! The courts sold us out long ago on this issue. With luck, WAMM will only suffer the loss of the plants and the trauma of the raid.

But if their case goes anything like most do these days, next they'll find the DEA trying to outright steal their land and home by filing a civil asset forfeiture suit in federal court against *the property itself*, and the Corrals having to spend time, energy, and money defending the property in civil court (where the feds have a much lower standard of proof to meet.)

In times such as these, personal direct responsibility for one's own actions goes beyond a moral imperative - it becomes a practical necessity. A responsible law enforcement community, sworn to protect and serve the public peace, would refuse to enforce grossly unjust laws - and furthermore, would not engage in wanton pre-trial destruction of property in the 1st place.

America's legislative branch is writing awful laws, laws that violate the very US Constitution itself - opinions of the Supremes notwithstanding.

America's executive branch is guilty of not only enforcing these bad laws, but of gleefully terrorizing us in the process, and then trying to pass the buck by saying "Don't blame me, I just do it for the money."

Meanwhile, America's judicial branch turns a blind eye and says "Nothing to see here, move along."

The checks and balances in the system have *all failed*. Evil is being done - not random acts of nature like flood or tornados, but willful medieval Crusade-like assaults on blatantly innocent and harmless people. SOMEONE IS RESPONSIBLE, AND SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE.

Who? I'll tell you who - the assholes without whom all this wouldnt be possible. The assholes kicking in doors at 7am in full body armor with machine guns locked and loaded and ready to shoot anyone who so much as swings a fist in self-defense. The assholes who then go tearing the place up and stealing the private property of the sick and dying *simply because they need it*.

These sadistic terrorists shouldn't be reprimanded, or even fined. They should be tried, convicted, and shot. Yes, Im saying this publically because too many are saying it under their breath - EXECUTED. (Read my email and tap my phone all you like, FBI.)

> I think the Feds wanted a day off from the terrorism
> thing so they decided to drive down to Santa Cruz
> Thursday.

And coincidentally it just happened to be right before harvest time? Riiiight.

They took the day off from chasing terrorists, to play terrorists. The so-called War on Drugs, and the "civil asset forfeiture" program that grew from it, has become a tremendous cash cow for all levels of the DoJ. Furthermore, the WoD has become a fantastic PR tool which the DoJ has used to expand police powers in the legal realm beyond anyone's wildest fears.

The troops were playing cowboys and indians, while the generals were trying to put an end to not strike a blow against the medical marijuana movement, but specifically Valerie's extensive 3 year research into the medicinal value of specific strains of cannabis. The medical marijuana movement, and Valerie in particular, are a threat to the so-called War on Drugs and thus a threat to the DoJ's billion dollar "revenue stream".

> I doubt they will be back to that plot for a couple of
> years at least.

Oh, what a relief to only have your home and garden assaulted by well-trained and heavily armed professional warriors once every couple years.

This is America?

When foreign terrorists aren't bombing us, domestic terrorists like the DEA are robbing and assaulting us. Happy 9/11!

-Van