November 27, 2010

"A U.S. Border Patrol spokesman says country singer Willie Nelson was charged with marijuana possession after 6 ounces was found aboard his tour bus in Texas..."

"Patrol spokesman Bill Brooks ... says an officer smelled pot when a door was opened and a search turned up marijuana."

Come on. Leave Willie alone.

90 comments:

The Crack Emcee said...

This is such a non-story. Or rather, the story is they keep acting like it's a story when it's nothing. Willie nelson smokes pot. Yea, well tell me something I didn't know. I agree with you 100%:

Leave Willie alone.

Anonymous said...

I gotta agree.

Leave Willie alone!

Free Willie.

What's the point?

Bob_R said...

Caught him with almost a week's worth.

Albatross said...

Willie's a Truther. He gets no sympathy from me. I don't understand why so many people are willing to give him a pass on everything just because he wrote a lot of songs a long time ago.

Don't leave him alone. His Truther nonsense is dangerous.

Indigo Red said...

Free Willie!

Paul said...

Just Willie, or does this apply to non-celebrities too?

Ann Althouse said...

"Don't leave him alone. His Truther nonsense is dangerous."

You know what's dangerous? Listening to what actors and singers have to say about politics. Let it go. And let Willie have his marijuana. He deserves it.

Ann Althouse said...

"Just Willie, or does this apply to non-celebrities too?"

Wille gets a special dispensation.

Big Mike said...

Come on. Leave Willie alone.

I disagree 100%. If you want the law to have special exemptions for over-the-hill has-been singers, then amend the law.

Paul said...

"Wille gets a special dispensation."

Fuck that. I hope you're joking. Rule of law not men, right?

Beth said...

then amend the law.

I agree - but until then, leave Willie alone.

just because he wrote a lot of songs a long time ago.

He wrote a lot of great songs. Transcendent songs.

You know what's dangerous? Listening to what actors and singers have to say about politics.

I agree. They're dancing bears. Enjoy their dances. I'd add candidates and politicians to that list, but I'm jaded. We should listen to them, but not believe them.

Albatross said...

You know what's dangerous? Listening to what actors and singers have to say about politics.

You what's even more dangerous? Failing to challenge them simply because they are famous. Especially when it is about something as ugly as Truther crap.

That's why I can't stand Charlie Sheen anymore, either.

Anonymous said...

So....the law as writs of discretion. Seems like Nancy Pelosi has a similar view.

That the kind of company you want to keep Ms. Althouse?

Paul said...

Some animals are more equal than others.

So depending on how many "great" songs you right you can get a "get out of jail free" card. So Willie gets off on drug charges. Hmm...how many great songs for armed robbery? Murder?

While were at it the inconsequential-as far as you can get from celebrity Beth should get at least tarred and feathered or maybe waterboarded for stupidity as long as we're making up crimes and punishments by whim.

AA is a very minor celebrity so she just gets a public spanking on BHTV.

Trooper York said...

I guess Willie will join Dylan, Woody Allen and Russ Feingold in your personal overrated Hall of Fame.

Trooper York said...

I mean this is so 1970's.

What next, you are going to tell me Burt Reynolds shouldn't get a speeding ticket on the Cannonball Run?

Beth said...

Beth should get at least tarred and feathered or maybe waterboarded

Wow, that would suck. I hope that never happens to me!

MadisonMan said...

I'm thinking they gave the collar to an agent who wants to pad his arrest statistics or something.

You're going to arrest Willie Nelson for possession is equivalent to You're going to find sand on a beach.

madAsHell said...

How much blood was spilled in the border towns that supplied Willie's weed?? Would legalization diminish the bloodshed?

I used to smoke alotta weed, but I found it to be a waste of time.

Now, I sit around making cranky comments on the Althouse blog.

Anonymous said...

I disagree 100%. If you want the law to have special exemptions for over-the-hill has-been singers, then amend the law.

Willie over the hill? Shush your mouth.

I guess Willie will join Dylan, Woody Allen and Russ Feingold in your personal overrated Hall of Fame.

Now, Trooper, you're testing the limits of our friendship. Willie does not belong in this group at all.

You're talking about the guy who wrote "Crazy" here. That's a lifetime pass in itself. And, there's lots of others.

Paul said...

"Wow, that would suck. I hope that never happens to me! "

Better up your game girl and write some great songs. It's the only protection against criminal penalties.

Paul said...

Jessie Hill wrote "Ooh-Poo-Pa-Doo". That oughta be worth at least an eightball doncha think?

Anonymous said...

Pot prohibition in general is madness. Nobody should be busted for growing, selling or smoking pot.

Willie is one of the great songwriters ever.

Hello Walls
Whiskey River
Crazy
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
Night Life
Funny How Time Slips Away
On the Road Again
The Party's Over

I'd give Willie a special dispensation for all the joy and consolation he's given to other people. I don't care about his politics, looney as they are.

When I've been at the bottom of the barrel, I've found a reason to live in Willie's version of "Blue Skies."

Anonymous said...

Jessie Hill wrote "Ooh-Poo-Pa-Doo". That oughta be worth at least an eightball doncha think?

Fuck the law. The law is an ass?

The real issue is what in the fuck is to be gained by prosecuting, and possibly putting Willie in jail.

I'd put the assholes who would prosecute and jail Willie in jail. If you're an asshole enough to do that, you belong in jail for a hell of a long time.

Jeremy said...

madAsHell said..."How much blood was spilled in the border towns that supplied Willie's weed?? Would legalization diminish the bloodshed?"

When was the last time your heard about a drug war or blood being spilled over legalized booze?

Take out the incentive for illegal and over-the-top profit and crime diminishes.

Unknown said...

In one sense, I put Willie Nelson in the same category as Fidel Castro - professional rebels who refuse to grow up, get a haircut, shave, put on a suit, and get a real job.

He broke the law, he pays the price.

Beth said...

just because he wrote a lot of songs a long time ago.

He wrote a lot of great songs. Transcendent songs.


Gah. A lot of whiney, maudlin, pseudo-country tripe. The only guy to make a point of writing a depressing Christmas song.

somefeller said...

In one sense, I put Willie Nelson in the same category as Fidel Castro - professional rebels who refuse to grow up, get a haircut, shave, put on a suit, and get a real job.

Making millions as a highly successful singer sounds like a pretty good job. Better than anything you've done, I suspect.

Gah. A lot of whiney, maudlin, pseudo-country tripe.

Most people who know a bit about country music, and more importantly most real Texans, would disagree.

ndspinelli said...

I have driven that route near El Paso three times in the past 2 years. It's like a DMZ, w/ Border Patrol and cops everywhere. This guy lives in Texas for chrissake, Willie, take another fucking route!!!

Anonymous said...

OK, you're all under arrest!

Jesus, there are a lot of thing I can tolerate, but dissing Willie ain't one of them!

Willie has to carry a lot of weed. Everybody expects him to give them a smoke.

Check it out

Willie was just trying to be a good host.

The Dude said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Paul said...

"The real issue is what in the fuck is to be gained by prosecuting, and possibly putting Willie in jail."

What's to be gained for putting anybody in jail for smoking weed?

But since we give Willie special compensation for his talent how about we throw the book at you for your lack of it?

Anonymous said...

But do carry on. I like to see how libs and cons fall on the stoner/non-stoner side of things and how laws should be broken or ignored, depending upon whether or not one wrote "good" songs.

I'm not a con or a lib.

The law is an ass.

The law has no purpose other than to provide salaries and jobs to lawyers, judges, social workers, etc.

I don't give a fuck about the law.

But, that's just me.

Anonymous said...

What's to be gained for putting anybody in jail for smoking weed?

But since we give Willie special compensation for his talent how about we throw the book at you for your lack of it?

Well, I'm kind of in the middle. I earn a fairly decent second income as a musician.

But, you've pointed out with some degree of accuracy: The law is an ass.

Nothing is going on here with Willie's arrest except:

o A cop is collecting his salary
o A lawyer is going to collect some big checks
o The legal system will receive an infusion of cash

It's all a fucking waste of time.

Are you sucking on the law's tit, too?

Paul said...

"Are you sucking on the law's tit, too?'

I'm a full time musician, a hired gunslinger. So maybe I can break traffic laws with impunity?

Drug prohibition is madness.

But the laws that protect property, contracts, citizen's safety, etc., are essential to a functioning prosperous society. And they must be applied equally to all regardless of race, creed, staion, celebrity, political connections, etc., or else it's just another banana republic.

Capice?

Paul said...

Staion=station.

Anonymous said...

Drug prohibition is madness.

So, what are you arguing with me about?

You just like the sound of the wind coming out of your ass?

Incidently, my first line of work is as a commercial artist. I'm a multimedia artist, producing animations, video and other web related art. Among my skills is writing music for video and multimedia presentations.

So, blow it out your ass.

I choose to keep my career as a performing musician secondary, because that is generally a very lousy life.

But I've worked with some of the biggest names in rock and blues.

ricpic said...

I think I saw Willie up on a stage with Bruce Springsteen and Willie actually tolerated the punk. On that basis alone he should get a pass.

Meanwhile Jeter continues to hold out...for what? Take the offer you old has been.

Anonymous said...

"The law has no purpose other than to provide salaries and jobs to lawyers, judges, social workers, etc."

...and law professors...whose knowledge of the law gives extra weight to their opinions. Apparently some are of the opinion that the laws don't apply to people who are 'special'.

That what you teach, Ann?

vw=annes Guess so.

Paul said...

"So, what are you arguing with me about?"

A) About Willie getting special compensation because you like his music.

B) The law is an ass.

When some thug kicks your wimp ass and takes your money and gets away with it, remember what you said.


"I choose to keep my career as a performing musician secondary, because that is generally a very lousy life."

Not if you're good at it. Something you might never know nuthin' about.

Anonymous said...

Not if you're good at it. Something you might never know nuthin' about

You're a low life shit, aren't you Paul?

Now that we know that you are a low life fucking asshole, what do you plan to do for an encore?

I gather that you are lying about your professional career.

Guys who've been there don't act like a piece of shit like you do.

So, now that you've proved that you're a low life cunt, what else you got to say for yourself.

Clyde said...

I loved the "Ganja On My Mind" headline that Fox News ran on the screen with this story.

I don't think it's any damn business of the government what adults choose to ingest, though. Marijuana, tobacco, alcohol, salt, fat, sugar: There's always some goddamned ninny who thinks he knows better than you how to live your life. The government should just say, "These things are bad for you," and let us make our own decisions.

But if they ever do legalize pot, Willie Nelson's picture should be on the scary label on the front of the pack, saying, "Kids, if you smoke dope, you'll end up looking like this."

Anonymous said...

And, I tell you another truism of the music biz, Paul.

When low life fucks act the way you do, the motivation is always...

Jealousy.

Although you don't know me, you're consumed by jealousy. Don't know why. Don't want to know either.

I'll leave you to respond like a low life cunt. Which is what you are.

Trooper York said...

Willie is a talented songwriter with a couple of good songs to his credit but a very mediocre performer whose best days are long behind him. Much like Carole King, Dion, and the person he most resembles....Neil Sedaka.

As performer, not in his looks. In his looks, Willie most resembles Rosie O'Donnell.

Trooper York said...

His place in the entertainment world is on those PBS pledge drives. I bet if he include a couple of splifs with his greatest hits album he could raise a lot of cabbage. Just sayn'

Anonymous said...

In his looks, Willie most resembles Rosie O'Donnell.

Trooper, what in the world are you thinking?

I've been told I look a lot like Willie!

Anonymous said...

His place in the entertainment world is on those PBS pledge drives. I bet if he include a couple of splifs with his greatest hits album he could raise a lot of cabbage. Just sayn

I didn't know he did PBS pledge drives.

That's a strike against him.

Trooper York said...

Did you click the link shouting?

Revenant said...

Arresting Willie for pot is retarded, but what really chafes me about this is that it happened at an internal checkpoint.

They're supposed to be catching illegal immigrants. They suck balls at THAT, but they seem to have no problem busting country singers for smoking weed. If that's all the checkpoints are good for, get rid of them. It'll reduce freeway congestion.

Trooper York said...

But if you look like Willie...well no wonder all those hariy armpit hippie chicks are all up in your business shouting. They must think you have a really big stash....so to speak.

Anonymous said...

Eew!

I clicked the link!

Trooper, what's the matter with you today?

Trooper York said...

I am stuck inside selling bloomers all day instead of enjoying football at the bar. That's whats wrong with me today.

Clyde said...

@ Shouting Thomas

Which brings to mind a joke:

A woman goes to a tattoo artist and tells him that she wants to get a tattoo of Johnny Cash on the inside of her left thigh and a tattoo of Hank Williams on the inside of her right thigh.

Well, the tattoo artist sits her down and goes to work. When he finishes the tattoos, though, she's unhappy, thinking that the likenesses aren't very good.

When she complains to the tattoo artist and doesn't want to pay, he says, "I'll tell you what. Grab the first guy off the street and we'll let him decide if they're good or not." So he goes outside his shop and grabs the first guy coming by and brings him in.

The woman pulls down her pants, points to the tattoos and asks the man, "Do you recognize these?"

And the man replies, "I don't know about the ones on the left or right, but the one in the middle is definitely Willie Nelson!"

John henry said...

I like Willie.

I support legalization of pot.

But why should Willie get any more of a pass on this than the average kid on the corner?

We have one law for pols and other laws for us "subjects" (who used to be citizens and treated as such)

Why is Rangel not in jail for tax fraud? If I had did what he did, I would be.

Why should Willie be treated any differently from anyone else?

Shame on you, Anne, a Constitutional Law professor. What happened to equal protection under the law?

Either Willie goes to jail or nobody does.

I favor the latter, myself.

Given the quantities and the fact that it was on his bus, perhaps send him to jail under federal laws against interstate transportation of drugs for sale.

One law for all.

John Henry

Trooper York said...

I remember the story about the woman in the 1970’s who loved the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” more than life itself. So she went to tattoo parlor and asked the guy to tattoo Paul Newman’s face on one inner thigh and Robert Redford on the other inner thigh. Well about six hours later he’s finished and he takes a mirror and shows her the finished product. And the woman was irate!

“That looks nothing like Robert Redford and the other one is even worse that looks nothing like Paul Newman. I ain’t gonna pay for this shit.”

Well the tattooist is pissed. “It does too look like them and I am going to prove it.” So he goes outside and grabs the first guy he sees and asks him “Seriously fella, doesn’t that tat on the right look like Robert Redford and the one on the left look like Paul Newman?”

And the guy goes “Well I don’t know about that but the one in the middle looks just like Willie Nelson.”

Trooper York said...

Clyde you son of a gun you beat me too it. Good show. I salute you.

John henry said...

Ann said:

"Wille gets a special dispensation."

Bullshit and fuck you. (Assuming that you are not kidding)

Equal justice under the law.

Anonymous said...

Why is Rangel not in jail for tax fraud? If I had did what he did, I would be.

Why should Willie be treated any differently from anyone else?

Tell me a decent song Rangel has written? I bet the SOB can't even carry a tune.

Same joke from two different sources!

Trooper York said...

Seriously though, Willie should smoke all the weed he wants and pot should be legalized.

I agree with Peter Tosh, Legalize it, Don't Critize it!

Clyde said...

Great minds think alike, Trooper. And it was a great classic joke!

Trooper York said...

I know, it was part of my favorite commenting style a while ago...just print the punchline of the joke.

Especially good for racist or sexist jokes that can get you fired.

Not that I would tell any of those you know. Just sayn'

Trooper York said...

Great punchlines only.....

My dog's name is chunks.

Ten if you spread them real thin.

What do you mean wrong hole.

The fare is two dollars for you and two dollars for your son when he stops smoking.

You're a Puerto Rican.

(None to be used in the hearing of the human resources department)

John henry said...

Edutcher said:

In one sense, I put Willie Nelson in the same category as Fidel Castro - professional rebels who refuse to grow up, get a haircut, shave, put on a suit, and get a real job."

look at some pics of Willie from the 50's. He had a real 9-5 job working for on salary as a songwriter. He wore a suit and tie to work. Short hair, no beard/stache. Super straight looking.

After he wrote "Crazy" he could afford to live as he likes. More power too him. I have a dozen or so of his albums and love them all. Someone mentioned "Blue Skies" and I will say Amen! and bump it with "Stardust".

And a couple dozen more.

I love Willie and would hate to see him in jail. But if we don't have equal treatment under the law, what do we have left?

John Henry

PS-Just to be clear, legalize marijuana!

WV-Frave as in "Willie is such a favorite of mine that I frave about him"

Unknown said...

somefeller said...

In one sense, I put Willie Nelson in the same category as Fidel Castro - professional rebels who refuse to grow up, get a haircut, shave, put on a suit, and get a real job.

Making millions as a highly successful singer sounds like a pretty good job. Better than anything you've done, I suspect.


Don't know how successful a singer (since he can't sing), but any money he ever had, the IRS got long ago. Frankly, I suspect whatever he made went for booze and pot.

PS Some phony folksy, like all our small c commies, is a captain of industry when he isn't railing against it.


Gah. A lot of whiney, maudlin, pseudo-country tripe.

Most people who know a bit about country music, and more importantly most real Texans, would disagree.


All of Nelson's music is "Oh, poor me. I'm so down and out because I'm a born loser". A lot of country isn't.

PS Some phony folksy is, of course, an expert on everything and a son of the Alamo, too.

Trooper York said...

"PS Some phony folksy is, of course, an expert on everything and a son of the Alamo, too."

Just because he was concieved and born in the back seat of a rental car does not make him a son of the Alamo.

Jeremy said...

Sixty Grit said..."But do carry on. I like to see how libs and cons fall on the stoner/non-stoner side of things and how laws should be broken or ignored, depending upon whether or not one wrote "good" songs."

Oh, get your head out of your ass.

NOBODY should be arrested at this point in time for possession of any drug that is for their own use.

1,000's upon 1,000's of people die every year in the U.S. and around the world using drugs handed to them by licensed physicians.

Give me a link to anybody, ever...who has overdosed or died from marijuana.

Then Google deaths from booze.

Trooper York said...

I never thought I would ever say this but I totally agree with Jeremy. All drugs should be legalized. If you want to kill yourself then go right ahead.

You can't make a law against being stupid.

Trooper York said...

So he took his bowling ball and put it in the sink.

John henry said...

Trooper

I could not figure out about the bowling ball.

So I went here and found out

http://www.goingfaster.com/angst/harleyjokes2.htm

Thanks for 10 minutes of my life that I will not get back.

John Henry

Former harley owner from back in the day when they sold Harley brand 90 weight motor oil and you still needed a pan to catch the leakage.

somefeller said...

Trooper York says: Just because he was concieved and born in the back seat of a rental car does not make him a son of the Alamo.

Ha! Good one. But coming into the world that way Hertz.

Michael Haz said...

Whoa. It's Crabby Saturday on the Althouse blog.

Get outside and enjoy the fresh air. Work in the yard a while. Pull some weeds.

Uh..

Icepick said...

How about this for a reason to leave Willie alone - He got busted near the Mexican border with 6 ounces of pot. How much pot crosses the Mexican border every day? How much coke? (The kind without the trademark.) How many other illicit drugs? How much drug money and weapons head south over that border every day? How many illegal immigrants pass over the border every day?

A whole hell of a lot, that's how much.

So is busting an old musician for six ounces of pot really the best utilization of our resources?

To the US Border Patrol: Leave Willie alone because his crime is inconsequential. Go bust some real badass criminals and do your fucking jobs.

Icepick said...

I never thought I would ever say this but I totally agree with Jeremy.

See, old Willie is bringing people together.

somefeller said...

edutcher emotes:

Don't know how successful a singer (since he can't sing), but any money he ever had, the IRS got long ago.

Newsflash - if people pay you a lot of money over the course of a career for singing, you are a successful singer. Basic point of definition. What you do with that money is a separate issue.

Some phony folksy, like all our small c commies, is a captain of industry when he isn't railing against it.

Hmm, don't recall referring to myself as a "captain of industry" or as railing against it. Industry is what it is, as are the industrious.

Some phony folksy is, of course, an expert on everything and a son of the Alamo, too.

While some of my ancestors were in Texas at the time of the Alamo, they were nowhere near San Antonio when that last stand was made, so I can't claim the title of Son of the Alamo. Also, I'm not an expert on everything, but I'm also not a dullard on everything. You take that title, however, chief. Take a bow.

Unknown said...

Trooper York said...

I never thought I would ever say this but I totally agree with Jeremy. All drugs should be legalized. If you want to kill yourself then go right ahead.

The problem is that people like that are never happy just offing themselves. They have to take as many as they can with them.

PS Jeremy doesn't want to talk about the fact you don't necessarily drink for the purpose of getting drunk. Drugs, OTOH, are for the express purpose of getting wasted - an apt description.

Truth in advertising - I've never taken a drink, the couple of times somebody wanted me to, I didn't like the taste. My old man was a drunk (no other word for it). I'm no friend of booze.

But there's a reason alcohol is an acculturated drug and the rest aren't.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Will(i)e gets a special dispensation.

I agree.. I know its a precarious precedent but..

Willie is a national treasure.. hes like one hundred years old.. After what the IRS has done with him.. enough!

Icepick said...

And now Homeland Security is seizing website domain names - to protect Hollywood copyrights. I'm okay with (reasonable) enforcement of copyright laws, but is this really the job of Homeland Security? Similarly, should Border Patrol be worried about what American citizens are doing if those citizens aren't actually crossing the border? Mission creep.

Unknown said...

To the contrary. Some phony folksy wants his opinion to be the only one.

Wrong.

The dullard is the one who can't stand disagreement.

Wizzo said...

Don't the police have anything more important to do? How about catching some cayotes bringing a truckload of illegals into the USA. Isn't that the Border Patrol's primary mission (one they are failing at). Is this a distraction from the ineptitude of the USBP in guarding our borders? Are they infringing on DEA's turf in some arcane bureaucratoic infighting? Or was it just a day filled with too much boredom.

paul a'barge said...

Leave us all alone.

Legalize the pot already, please.

T J Sawyer said...

"Leave Willie alone."

As Glenn might say, "laws are for the little people!"

Unknown said...

edutcher --

"The problem is that people like that are never happy just offing themselves. They have to take as many as they can with them."

Drunks off far more people than stoners do.

"But there's a reason alcohol is an acculturated drug and the rest aren't."

Yeah, industry. Read a bit. It's rather recent, you know.

Fernandinande said...

I'd feel safer because of the bust, but they let that maniac out loose on bail! Now we're all in danger again, since - with that bus - he could strike again, almost anywhere, without warning.

tim maguire said...

Didn't you recently come out against legalization of pot because of the chaos it would cause?

Wouldn't special dispensation for certain Prof.-approved artists create even more chaos?

Revenant said...

But there's a reason alcohol is an acculturated drug and the rest aren't.

Which is?

bagoh20 said...

Six ounces is too much weed to let him go.

It means that he buys weak weed, or is distributing, or intends to die of lung cancer trying to get high. These are all good reasons to put him in jail.

Now if he had one ounce for the whole bus, I could understand that, and would tell him to go about his business, as soon as he signed my guitar.

Ambrose said...

So this is what the Border Patrol is doing; good to know.

AST said...

Only 6? That must have been a pretty cursory search.

I'd never heard of him until Jimmy Carter named him as his favorite singer.

Since then, I've tried to appreciate what others see/hear in him, but neither his "outlaw" lifestyle or his music does anything for me.

lonetown said...

Why doesn't someone just get Willie a vaporizer?

Its healthier and no stench of burning weed.

AlphaLiberal said...

He wasn't busted at the border. About 80 miles away from the border.

Random searches of citizens traveling by motor home.

Freedom!

Nichevo said...

Let's see...

Willie Nelson:
Folsom Prison Blues, etc., vs. 6 oz possession: Get Out Of Jail Free

Roman Polanski:
Chinatown, etc., vs. stat-rape, sodomy, etc.: get a BS sentence, then flee and not be caught

Now, Ann, until your marriage to a decent conservative fellow, I wanted to plug you in every hole. Ideally with your consent, to be sure. So what is your price for that indulgence? I have to write an ep of The Situation to get a piece of that proffy poontang?

How about if I were, arguendo, to rape you? What do I have to do to get off that charge? Write a season of Boardwalk Empire? How about if I code the Flicker migration for you?

Long story short:

1) It's a pity that pot is illegal and that people are arrested tried convicted and punished for it. Ideally you should be able to buy an eightball at CVS and a 9mm at the local hardware store, too.

2) I wonder if Willie Nelson himself would tell you he deserves special treatment. If he's the man one might hope him to be, I'd think not.

3) I dunno, is it good to have one law for the rich/talented/special and one for the poor and ordinary? Motivation to become special maybe? Will there be brackets?