Remember The Tea Party Protesting Against the GOP's Reckless Spending Under Bush?

News Item: Obama to Double Down on Pot Enforcement

NPR did a story today on the Obama administration's new push to enforce Federal cannabis laws.  One official was quoted saying pot is "addictive" which is patently untrue in the physical sense.  Marijuana is less physically addictive than chocolate.  Anyway, the gist is they're going to go after Federal pot offenses including medical dispensaries because they have to fight the war on drugs.  All I can say is, "What the FUCK?!?"

Let me quote the President himself for you:

“When it comes to medical marijuana, my attitude is if it is an issue of doctors prescribing marijuana, I think that should be appropriate. Whether I want to use a whole lot of political capital on (this) issue; the likelihood of that being real high on my priority list is not likely.” - President Obama 2011

“The war on drugs has been an utter failure. (W)e need to rethink and decriminalize our (nation’s) marijuana laws.” -Barack Obama, January 2004

‎"When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point."
- Barack Obama quote on Marijuana 

I agree with that guy, except on being willing to fight to change the law.  We're spending a fortune jailing people that have only bought and sold pot.  Never threatened anyone, shot anyone, stabbed anyone, ordered the assassination of anyone, sent an army into senseless wars, approved the use of torture, no REAL crimes (other than possibly tax evasion which is kind of unfair when you can do time for having the business for which you are avoiding taxes...) were committed. So many women are in prison as accessories to the felonies that their husbands/boyfriends committed but got off on by ratting on associates.  These laws are part of what is destroying this country, so why would Obama want to increase the resources in enforcement?

Here are my guesses:
1.  Local police departments need an excuse to pull (mostly dark skinned) people over and search their cars.
2.  The Feds apparently need something to do since there's no crime on Wall Street, in our banks, in our Defense procurement, in lobbying, or in the illegal sale of firearms.
3.  The DEA, rather than admitting they've been spewing bullshit propaganda about pot for almost 80 years will do anything to keep lying about the effects of recreational drug use, especially marijuana.
4.  Big oil does not want hemp to be a common crop because the oil from the seeds and the fibers from the stalks can replace many petroleum products.
4.  Big Pharma does not want a powerful and effective pain killer and mood enhancer that people can easily grow in their back yards to be legal.

I don't remember voting for George W. Bush III.  Damned shame that's what I got.

Linky Dinks

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Rape Victim Abortion Funding
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> The Daily Show on Facebook

Bush, in a moment of unusual mental clarity, decides not to go to Switzerland as they actually arrest war criminals there.

Glenn Beck is still on television and he's decided the Egyptian revolution is evil.  Even his fellow wingnuts disagree.

Rush Limbaugh... maybe he's got Alzheimer's?... says that Reagan did not raise taxes.

US aid to the dictator and torturer Hosni Mubarek 2009-2010: $4billion. US aid to homeowners facing foreclosure 2009-2010: $0.

Ogre-oid: No Charges in Destruction of Interrogation Tapes

Once again proving that justice has left this country no charges have been brought in the deliberate destruction of criminal evidence by the Bush administration.  Appalling.

Dear Bill Maher

I wrote a little letter to Bill Maher about his show Real Time that aired last Friday.

Surprise! FBI Investigated Peace and Environmental Groups Under Bush

The Justice Department has reviewed the FBI's investigations of anti-war and environmental activist organizations and, according to Inspector General Glenn A. Fine the investigations were "improper" and the records are still around.  This is not news to me as it was confirmed years ago that the FBI had actually spied on scary terrorist organizations like the Quakers.

From the LA Times:
FBI agents improperly opened investigations into Greenpeace and several other domestic advocacy groups after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, and put the names of some of their members on terrorist watch lists based on evidence that turned out to be "factually weak," the Justice Department said Monday.

However, the internal review by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine did not conclude that the FBI purposely targeted the groups or their members, as many civil liberties advocates had charged, after antiwar rallies and other protests were held during the administration of President George W. Bush.

But Fine said the FBI tactics appeared "troubling" in singling out some of the domestic groups for investigations that lasted up to five years, and were extended "without adequate basis." He also questioned why the FBI continued to maintain investigative files against the groups.
"In several cases there was little indication of any possible federal crimes," Fine said. "In some cases, the FBI classified some investigations relating to nonviolent civil disobedience under its 'acts of terrorism' classification."

In addition to the environmental group Greenpeace, the FBI investigated People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, and the antiwar groups Catholic Worker and Thomas Merton Center. [more...]

Energy Independence - A Daily Show History of Empty Rhetoric

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
An Energy-Independent Future
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

More Civilian Afghan Corpses courtesy Uncle Sam

Today's NY Times reports that a U.S. Army convoy killed five Afghan civilians and seriously wounded up to 18--meaning more causalties could follow--when military personnel opened fire on a passanger bus that, according to the military, approached a checkpoint "at a high rate of speed." This is the latest incident where U.S. military has fired upon and killed civilians. The typical American response consists of cliches: "it's a tragic loss of life"--as though anyone needed that insight--and excuses: young soldiers have to make split-second decisions when facing approaching vehicles at checkpoints. But as one Afghan from the bus asked, "If they're concerned, why not shoot out the tires?" and thus force the bus to stop. According to the Times, over thirty people have been killed and eighty wounded by U.S military, and not a single one of these individuals posed a threat. "It seems they are opening fire on civilians intentionally," says one Afghan. Of course, most Americans couldn't care less about these civilian deaths. Since the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, as sports programming reminds us, it's all for the better that these people died. Life isn't perfect (especially if you're getting killed). And as we've learned from the Iraq, as soon as someone dies, American or not, then it isn't happening anymore, so everything is getting better. Since these five people have already died, they aren't dying right now, which means conditions are improving.

Our Republican President

Teleprompter

The noisy right keeps exclaiming over Obama's teleprompter.  Collective amnesia, anyone?