Interesting article in SWJ round up today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/us...=2&_r=1&ref=us

Police Officers Find That Dissent on Drug Laws May Come With a Price

If marijuana were legalized, Mr. Gonzalez acknowledges saying, the drug-related violence across the border in Mexico would cease. He then brought up an organization called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition that favors ending the war on drugs.

Those remarks, along with others expressing sympathy for illegal immigrants from Mexico, were passed along to the Border Patrol headquarters in Washington. After an investigation, a termination letter arrived that said Mr. Gonzalez held “personal views that were contrary to core characteristics of Border Patrol Agents, which are patriotism, dedication and esprit de corps.”
More than a little concerning that a view that doesn't support the failed war on drugs is viewed as non-patriotic. This is a way to guaruntee group think by prohibiting those on the front line to provide their insights on a policy that is not producing the desired results. I suspect the idiot who wrote this letter wasn't really interested in whether the drug war was working, but very interested in protecting their budget, and used patriotism as a Red Herring.