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This ad raises questions about Pataki’s true motives: If he’s really for the Latino community, then why hasn’t he reformed the Rockefeller drug laws that are destroying Latino communities? Just as President Bush is sending people to die for an unjust war for oil, Pataki is sending people to prison for an unjust ‘war on drugs’. The ad ran on July 13, 2004 in El Diaro.

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Julie Colon’s mother, Melita Oliviera, is serving a harsh 13 years sentence under the Rockefeller drug laws, leaving her five children behind. Most prisons are located in upstate New York, while most Rockefeller drug law prisoners are Blacks and Lationos—like Melita—from New York City. As a first time, nonviolent offender, Melita’s story is just one example of the atrocity that is the Rockefeller drug war. This Ad ran on Friday June 18, 2004 in HOY New York.

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In the Spring of 2004, Governor George Pataki met with the Mothers of the Disappeared / Plaza de Mayo from Argentina. The Mothers were instrumental in bringing down the corrupt military dictatorship in Argentina, and they traveled to New York to urge Governor Pataki to enact real reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Governor Pataki promised the Mothers—and New York’s Latino community—that he would act. This ad ran in El Diaro May 31 and July 19, 2004.

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New York City, already attacked once by terrorists, is listed by the Bush Administration as a ‘target city’. Yet Governor Pataki continues to waste public money by refusing to reform the failed, racist Rockefeller Drug laws. This ad, which never ran in a major publication, raises questions about Governor Pataki’s priorities.

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This ad references a meeting in spring 2004, between New York State Senator Joseph Bruno and the world-renowned Mothers of the Disappeared / Plaza De Mayo in Argentina. The Mothers, who helped bring down the military dictatorship in Argentina, came to New York to meet with Senator Bruno to urge him to enact real reform of the Rockefeller drug laws. Senator Bruno gave the Mothers’ his word. Will he deliver? This ad ran in the Legislative Gazette (Albany) on the week of July 19, 2004.

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This ad, appearing in El Diario and Hoy during the week of July 13th, calls on Governor Pataki to end the catastrophe that is the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Even as terrorists plot to attack New York, Pataki continues to waste hundreds of millions on locking people up under the racist Rockefeller drug laws. The resources wasted on the failed drug war could be better spent on supporting, not destroying, Black and Latino communities.

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This is another variation on the July 13th ad.

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This ad, which ran in the Legislative Gazette (Albany) during the week of June 11 and July 13, 2004, highlights the case of Lisa Oberg, who was born in prison as the result of her mother's arrest for a first time low level drug offense.

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This ad highlights the case of Hilda Garcia, whose husband was sentenced to 15 years to life and died in prison. Her husband, a first time nonviolent offender, was desperate for clemency. But his unjust sentence under the Rockefeller drug laws eventually became a death sentence. Almost 94% of all those imprisoned under the Rockefeller drug laws are Black and Latino—yet Governor Pataki and the Republican Senate still refuse to address these racist laws. This ad ran on Friday June 18, 2004 in El Diario.

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The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo emphatically ask Sen. Olga Mendez: If we confronted a brutal Dictatorship why can't you confront Gov. Pataki and your republican friends in the NY State Senate. This ad ran in El Diario in May 2004.

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The institutional racism which define the Rockefeller drug laws are a national and international disgrace. The numbers speak for themselves: almost 94% of all those incarcerated under Rockefeller drug laws are Black and Latino, despite the fact that whites and people of color use and sell drugs at approximately the same rate. The powerful District Attorney Association is a staunch opponent to real reform, perhaps because their careers are dependent on these racist laws.

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This ad, appearing in El Diario and Hoy, calls on Governor Pataki to reunite Latino families.

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Pataki failed to reform the Rockefeller drug laws, even as he asked the Latino Community for their support. This ad demands that there will be no support for Pataki without justice for Rockefeller families.

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Back in 1998 and 1999, Pataki refused to alter the Rockefeller drug laws despite the fact that over 93% of all those incarcerated under these laws are Black and Latino, even though whites use drugs at approximately the same rate and are a larger proportion of the population in the state. Pataki wasn’t troubled enough by the institutional racism to do anything about these failed laws. As a result, families and communities continue to suffer.

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Justice Reform Should Begin with Drug Laws - Times Union [8-24-07]

Balance Scales of Justice For People of Color - Rochester Democrat and Chronicle [7-30-07]

The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medic - New York Times Magazine [7-22-07]

Treatment Trumps Jail For First-Time Offenders - Chicago Sun Times [7-10-07]

Want to End the Drug War? Ditch Unreasonable Laws - USA Today [7-9-07]

Lessons Learned from Al Gore III - Los Angeles Daily News [7-6-07]

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