Wednesday, October 01, 2003

Cheech and Chong's Tommy Chong gets 9 mths prison: "Chong's attorney Richard Hirsch had offered the court a deal for leniency: Chong would repudiate his involvement with marijuana and the bong industry and promised to spend his probation making appearances speaking against drug use. The judge said no dice.

"Thank you, Judge Schwab.

"Because of the court's refusal to accept this devil's bargain to turn Tommy Chong into another horrible Just Say No advertising shill for the Partnership for a Drug Free America, Chong is a free man. For the mere price of nine months in jail, he can spend the rest of his life as a hero for libertarian ideals. He doesn't have to kiss John Ashcroft's ass. He doesn't have to be a liar and a hypocrite. Like those who went to jail and endured the blacklist during the McCarthy Era, Chong can maintain his integrity in these increasingly right-wing Big Brother times. He can use this imprisonment to publicize the punishment inflicted by our government for a non-violent crime which has harmed no one."

I wouldnt say 9 mths in a US federal prison is a 'mere price', especially when someone else is deciding that I have to pay it, but the point is taken. Alert Bush Administration officials must have figured the 70s Cheech and Chong movies were too realistic to be based on pure acting.

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