The Editor

The Oakland Tribune

Oakland, CA

To the Editor:

I loved the juxtapositioning of your two lead front-page stories in the Sunday issue (The Tribune, October 19): "Warfare at the Speed of Light" (about how our federal government is researching new laser-powered weapons to allow us to continue to control the people of the world) and "Police chief presses war on violence" (about Oakland's ongoing battle with drug dealers and thugs, who want to use guns and violence locally for their own ends).

We seem to be two minds here: Bush thinks it OK to illegally invade a sovereign country, murder thousands of its citizens and endlessly try to occupy it as a colony. On the other hand, local authorities are trying to prevent armed thugs from doing the same thing in Oakland neighborhoods. The local drug and violence problems will continue until all drugs which are presently classed as illegal are decriminalized and their value falls to that of flour, milk and vegetables.

Our international problems will continue as long as we act as a renegade power outside the rule of law and in defiance of the Charter of the United Nations.

Recall Cheney, recall Bush and decriminalize all drugs.

Yours truly,

James K. Sayre

19 October 2003