President Obama, in his online Town Hall meeting Thursday morning, brought up the topic of cannabis legalization for the purpose of bringing in tax revenue. He dismissed it with a laugh, joking about what this says about the online audience
Now, he was laughing and joking about it. This is a fairly serious subject around here so I did take a bit of offense at it at first. But I realized and was reminded by a good friend, Hoff @ Hoffmania, that he brought it up. It was not posed to him, he wasn't backed into a corner and forced to respond; he chose to address the issue. Andrew Sullivan, who I rarely consider an ally, didn'tsee it that way. This is the comment I left at Hoff's place:
I agree, Hoff with a caveat. True, making any motion toward legalization would be political suicide. I hope the MPP and NORML see it that way. The proof will be in what his administration does about the other cannabis issues like raiding medical marijuana facilities and the legalization of hemp. Another would be to quietly drop cannabis from the Schedule One list at the DEA.
Those would involve a lot less sacrifice on his part since they aren't allowing potheads to go to the store to buy a bag of weed. It would green light more research and hard science about the medical benefits that cannabis has and give the US a foot up in the production of hemp and hemp products. Both of those would be a huge boon to the economy.
Ending prohibition will take state legislatures passing laws and direct citizen involvement. However, while pot is a Schedule One drug, that is unlikely. Attorney General Holder said he won't raid medical marijuana clinics but seems to have gone back on that. Keeping his word would be a great first step.
We have to stop putting sick people in prison for treating their illnesses.
If we are to end prohibition, we have to do in it by the numbers. The issue is still hot and, with the Mexican drug lords killing dozens of people just over the border down south, we may not be able to get past the emotion of it. Reason and logic dictate that if you take away the money that funds the drug lords, you can take away the guns they buy with that money. We supply the customers for their weed and, through our gun shows and private dealers, provide the weapons they use to keep their drug war with the Mexican government fully armed.
Pres. Obama could have been more diplomatic with his response. Paul Armentano, at NORML, sees nothing funny about it. He rightly points out that this is a serious issue and not about guys sitting around their mom's basement getting high. Obama made the crack about 'what this says about the online audience'. Well, Mr. President, we expect you to treat this issue seriously.
Last night, while I toiled in the proverbial coal mine, Pres. Obama delivered his State of the Union speech that wasn't really a State of the Union speech 'cause it's February and he hasn't been president for a whole year yet and the tradition says it's in January.... aw, fuck it! He gave a damn good speech!
President Obama laid it out raw and made America stand up and take notice. He didn't mince words, he was as specific as he could be in this arena. He spoke to America like adults. We haven't had that kind of respect from a sitting president since The Big Dog left in 2000.
What the fuck was that? Did I just see what I thought I saw? Booby Jindal, governor of Louisiana, just came on my monitor and puked all over my desk. What a fucking moron. Even the zipper strokers at Fox News saw this speech as the train wreck it was.
I'm with Rachel Maddow here. "Wha?"
Then this boob gets to the line about wasting money on volcano monitoring. Whoa, folks. Stop the bus! This shit is getting close to home here. My thoughts to Gov. Booby.
Speaking as someone who probably has about a pound and a half of Mt. St. Helens finest ash still in his lungs from THREE eruptions in 1980, I can unequivocally say: Fuck You, Bobby Jindal and the gilded horse you rode in on!
So, you don't think volcano monitoring is important.
Tell that to the people of Orting, WA who stage volcano drills every year in case Mt. Rainier decides to blow. Then, saunter out to the Tacoma tideflats where the dirt you'd be standing on came from within the mountain just a few thousand years ago.
That's called lahar, Gov. It's a pyroclastic mudslide that sweeps over an area at breakneck speeds (100mph) and can be as hot as 500°F. Let them eat mud, eh Gov?
If a repeat of the last lahar were to happen now, there would be at least 500,000 to a million people at risk of being parboiled in volcanic soup. Unless they are warned.
So, Governor Jindal of Louisiana, home of New Orleans and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, take a long hard look at our president and see what real leadership is. Then, take both hands, reach around and grab hold of your worthless ass and haul it the fuck out of the way. You and your GOP cohorts are nothing but potholes on the road to recovery.
Portions of this post first appeared as a comment at Hoffmania. Gotta love the Hoff!
B.A.D. to da B.O.N.E. (Blogs Of Notable Excellence)
What is B.A.D.?
Oh, gentle traveller, 'tis a righteous tale of woe and repression, of demons and Orcs, and of salvation and retribution. Come hither, sit and take a repast of bread and brew and I shall weave this tale for you.
Yes, it was long ago in the Time before the Great Emancipator, when King George the Simple and his grand vizier, the evil overlord Darth Cheney did rule the land.
There was battle and bloodshed in Blogtopia (from Sir Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo did we come by that name!) as we took umbrage from the denizens of the Overlord. We fought the knaves of Red State and the flying monkeys of the Freepers; many of our kind did conquer the ugly, dreadful lies of King George. All of the Liberal blogs had fought bravely, the great and powerful to the small and meek. Side by side did we wage a mighty war for truth, justice and American Pie.
But victory was not ours as the Idiot King and the evil vizier, Cheney took the throne over Prince Kerry of Cape Cod. There was a great and mournful wail that came up from the beaten warriors of Blogtopia.
Sad as this defeat was, sadder still was the recriminations and oath breaking that did accompany thus. The great and powerful blogs, once mighty and golden symbols of Progress, began to grow fat and conceited. They formed great councils of blogdom, gathered the aristocracy of the Liberal Web to plan and scheme. But they did close the gates of their magnificent castles to the lesser blogs. They had once proudly announced to all in Blogtopia who their allies were in the Great War with the Idiot King, but no more. They had grown complacent, allowed themselves to be turned away from the common folk they had come from and be corrupted by soundbites, spotlights, and fair maidens of the Media.
They locked their castles to the lowly blogs. Left them to wither in the wind and be consumed by the Overlord's minions. So, gentle traveller, our tale might have ended here, sad and lonely, with the awful demise of the tiny blogs.
But, lo, there was a great sound that came forth from the lesser bloggers. They would take on the minions themselves, without the fat and bloated Royal Blogs. Those who were of greater size would take a handful of smaller blogs under their wing and put their visage prominently upon their walls. Thus did the good folks of Blogtopia learn of the wonder of the lesser blogs, feast upon the tender morsels of goodness and flights of magic and fantasy. This day was hence forth known as "Blogroll Amnesty Day", a day to post upon your blog the links to five blogs smaller than yourself.
What? You want more? Is there more to this tale?
Yes, there is!
And lo, did King George the Simple come to the end of his reign and Darth Cheney did answer the call of his master, the Great Corporate Beast. The war for supremacy took a mighty turn when the Blogs once again answered the call to defeat the Orcs and Demons of the Overlord. The Idiot King had tried to place his crown upon the head of Sir John the Ancient, but there was too much strife and poverty in the land. The townsfolk had grown weary of the lavish ways of the King and his minions and began to listen to the Liberal Blogs. Soon, a mighty warrior came forth from the common folk to claim the crown for himself. Sir Barack of Obama did take his place in the Great House of the People. The lesser blogs did defeat the flying monkeys and the Eaters of Cheetos and a great and mighty cheer was heard across Blogtopia.
That, my good friend, is why we celebrate B.A.D. today. Because there is no blog too small to make a big splash.
(this video link was blatantly stolen from Blue Gal)
Not over the ocean at some remote native village. Not in any war-torn country that we see only as fleeting images on CNN. All we have to do is look right into our next door neighbors eyes and see abject desolation. Millions of Americans are living in Poortown and more are moving in.
For those of us who have jobs, we see shades of this disaster at the edges of our work place. Cost cutting in management. Restrictions on overtime and new hires. Supervisors demanding more but not giving anything in return. Some companies are even taking advantage of the hard times by using the bad news to frighten workers into concessions that benefit upper management but leave the lower rungs worse off. I see this in my job, which has the additional pain of happening during the holidays.
Add to this the true colors of the 21st Century Republicans. How people who call themselves Americans can operate this way and still look in the mirror is beyond me. How cold and vapid can the 'human' heart get?
If McCain had been elected, these situations would have become much worse. As decent, loyal Americans we would have had to recreate the French Revolution for Christmas. But The Fates saw fit to grant us a favor, a reprieve. But we have to wait for silver lining. We can see it on the horizon but we ain't there yet. What can we do to keep the country together as we approach Inauguration Day?
We have to gather the troops. This is no bluster, we have to get every one we know on board to take these monsters on. It isn't a partisan tiff any more. This is for the suvival of the American Worker. How these greedy Republican bastards can face themselves in the mirror every morning is beyond me. How cold and vapid can the human heart get? Is the Almighty Dollar that grand that you would desimate your own nest to get it?
These fucktards consider themselves moral, devout Christians. As Liberals, we've spent the good part of the last eight years pointing out how blatantly false and hypocritical this is, but it goes beyond that now.
This IS the face of Modern Christianity. The grand cathedrals of stone and glass that reside in heavenly parks and reserves throughout the South are testament to this new 'Faith'. These new temples of greed use Christ the Icon, not the Savior. They rake in millions from ignorant fools who fall for the grift and patter of the ministers. The money is fed to the charlatans in the GOP who take the message of greed and avarice to the Hall of Power. For eight long and indulgent years we have suffered for their profit. Greed is God to these people.
Decent people who call themselves Christians are outliers. They exist only because the Halls of Power keep them around for show. They do good works but can't seem to get beyond helping only a few. Consider the action against poverty if the combined resources of all the Christian denominations were set in place.
Everyone I know who calls themselves a Republican is going to hear an earful from me. Every chance I get, I'm going to remind these bastards who drives this country, who serves up their double tall mocha in the morning, who rings up that bottle of scotch, who put wrench to nut to assemble that great yellow Humvee they drive from fill-up to fill-up.
Let them use their religion to explain away their inhumanity. Let them curl up and wither as we show them how real Americans take back this country and put the shine back on the Statue of Liberty after eight years of being covered in crap.
parts of this entry was posted as a comment on Hoffmania.com
If we are to end prohibition, we have to do in it by the numbers. The issue is still hot and, with the Mexican drug lords killing dozens of people just over the border down south, we may not be able to get past the emotion of it. Reason and logic dictate that if you take away the money that funds the drug lords, you can take away the guns they buy with that money. We supply the customers for their weed and, through our gun shows and private dealers, provide the weapons they use to keep their drug war with the Mexican government fully armed.
Pres. Obama could have been more diplomatic with his response. Paul Armentano, at NORML, sees nothing funny about it. He rightly points out that this is a serious issue and not about guys sitting around their mom's basement getting high. Obama made the crack about 'what this says about the online audience'. Well, Mr. President, we expect you to treat this issue seriously.
The joke is getting old.
So Mote It Be,
David A.