The irrascible House Judiciary Chair headlined a fundraiser for the Wisconsin Republican Party in Downtown Madison this evening.

Hoping to draw attention to the dangers posed by his “Snitch Act,” HR 1528, a few of us drug policy reformers appeared as the “Madison Stalinist Society” to present him with the 1st Annual Pavlik Morozov* Award, for service to the cause of tranforming the United States into a nation of informers. We waited outside the hotel bearing a Soviet flag, a “Stalinists for Sensenbrenner” sign, etc.

Additional folks turned up with Patriot Act oriented signs, and an American flag. They were spooked by our Soviet flag, until they caught the background of the stunt.
HR 1528 has a provision which makes it a 2 year mandatory minimum felony to fail to inform police of anyone providing a controlled substance to a juvenile, but a 3 year minimum if the person who fails to inform is a parent or guardian.

 Think “That ’70s Show,” set in Sensenbrenner’s district. The kids are passing a joint in the basement. Kitty discovers them, Red throws them out, and calls the other parents, one of whom mentions it to a cop buddy. Red now faces 3 years, because sharing a joint counts as delivery, and calling the parents is not enough to satisfy Sensenbrenner’s Bill.

 We were not able to present the Congressman with his Certificate. We had all guest entrances covered, but they brought him in thru the kitchen.

Aired on local TV news at 10.

*PBS Redfiles Interview with Tatiana Vorontsova
  Housewife and Former Young Pioneer

Lena: What did you think about Pavlik Morozov?

Tatiana Vorontsova: When I was at school they told us that there was a boy called Pavlik Morozov. It was in the 4th class, they told us this story. That Pavlik Morozov was the son of a “kulak”. Then there began a struggle to take grain and other things from the “kulaks,” that they had obtained through all their lives, they started to take these things away from them. Pavlik Morozov went to the head Soviet and said, “They are collecting grain but my dad is not giving his grain, because he’s hidden it.” So they went and took the grain and took away his father. Then the “kulaks” proclaimed him, Pavlik Morozov, an enemy. In the end they caught him, Pavlik Morozov and killed him. So he died like a hero. We of course would also have liked to be heroes, and at that time if I had been in the same situation, and my father had done something against the Soviet state, of course, I would simply have gone and reported him, just like that.

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