Andrew Sullivan (pictured) is an author and political commentator. Sullivan has maintained a political blog for several years. In fact, he was probably one of the earliest bloggers.
He describes himself as a “libertarian conservative” and during the Clinton White House years, Sullivan may have been a true conservative.Mr. Sullivan claims Bush drove this country deeply in debt, yet aligns himself solidly behind Barack Obama who has nearly tripled the debt left by Bush!
He became strongly anti-Bush when George W. Bush opposed gay marriage. Many believed this prevented Sullivan from marrying his male friend, which would have made it easier for Sullivan to get permanent resident status.
As a British citizen, Sullivan was prevented from becoming a permanent resident because he is HIV-positive. Being married to an American citizen would make it easier to remain in America.
Sullivan was arrested on a national seashore in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for illegal possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor that would incur a $125 fine for Sullivan, if found guilty.
No big deal -- using marijuana while frolicking on the beach near Cape Cod is not uncommon.
While marijuana possession may have been decriminalized, Sullivan, who owns a home in Provincetown, made the mistake of being caught by a park ranger with a controlled substance on National Park Service lands, a federal misdemeanor.
The ranger issued Sullivan a citation, which required him either to appear in U.S. District Court or, in essence, pay a $125 fine.
But the U.S. Attorney’s Office sought to dismiss the case. Both the federal prosecutor and Sullivan’s attorney said it would have resulted in an “adverse effect” on an unspecified “immigration status” that Sullivan, a British citizen, is applying for.
It would have been had an adverse effect indeed! Mr. Sullivan, who flaunts his homosexuality, is HIV-positive preventing him from easily obtaining permanent resident status in the United States.
With a drug charge added to his health status he may soon be forced to return to the UK. Some have wondered how he has been allowed to stay in the United States this long.
Anyway, it was clearly special treatment and Robert Collings, the magistrate who would have heard the case, was stunned.
The judge points out that there were several other defendants in the court on the same day facing the same charges for the same offenses as Andrew Sullivan yet facing very different outcomes.
Link here and here.
A picture of my cave
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