By now, many of you have seen the "Nick & Norm" ads, where two guys - one who is kind of a hapless pushover, the other a smug know-it-all - discuss the link between drugs and terrorism.

Well, perhaps "discuss" is a strong word. What happens in these ads is that the hapless one offers up some straw-man objection to the government's party line about all drugs funding all terror, the smug one asserts the party line, and the hapless one looks shamed, and recants his dirty, heretical thoughts.

Last week, I had had enough of this business of uncritically equating drug users with terrorists, and decided to do something about it.

Taking to heart the Supreme Court's defense of parody as a high form of political expression worthy of protection under the First Amendment - and keeping in mind that more people are convinced by humor and horror than have ever been turned around by logic - my man Greg and I set about making a parody of the "Nick & Norm" ad entitled "Okay". The result was a two-minute piece called "When You Smoke Foreign Weed, the Terrorists Win". Rather than tack on disclaimers and explanations, I'll let the piece speak for itself, and participate in whatever discussion ensues.

Share and enjoy! Feel free to pass it around (note the copyleft at the end), and feel free to add your comments and discussion here or at my site, and keep an eye out for the two follow-ups we have in the works.

The U.S. State Department is publishing a book for consumption overseas. I have a number of questions regarding it, as its distribution is illegal in the U.S.

Anyone with authoritative knowledge regarding the publication, the penalties for distributing, receiving, or possessing it, or legal methods of obtaining it, is invited to contact me via email, a comment here, or a comment on the article at my site.

If there's interest, I'll be happy to publicize the results of my enquiries.