The Costs of Prohibition

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday December 12, 2008 · 1:23 PM PST

2008/12/12 · 13:23

You may wonder, why am I bothering to write another marijuana legalization diary. Don't we have more important things to talk about? The country is in real trouble. We're facing the worst economic contraction since Hoover lost to Roosevelt. The financial markets are in a quiet panic. The Senate Republicans are blocking the Detroit bailout, risking a manufacturing collapse. Unemployment is rising rapidly. Millions of people can't afford basic health care. So why am I wasting time talking about marijuana legalization?

For me, the answer is simple: We have a lot of serious problems in this country. The federal government should not be wasting time and money on marijuana prohibition. More generally, we will not overcome the problems we face unless our government is rational and respected. Marijuana prohibition is an embarrassment. It's egg yolk on Uncle Sam's face.

cityofgates

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday September 25, 2008 · 8:09 PM PDT

2008/09/25 · 20:09

So, Washington Mutual just failed. Perhaps you do you're banking with them, and you were wondering how their closure affects you? I was. My wife keeps most of her savings in an account with them. So we looked up the answer on wikipedia.

And guess what? If you're an ordinary Washington Mutual customer, nothing changes. Your account has been already transferred to JP Morgan Chase. But your ATM card still works. Your money is still there. Your old checks still work. This isn't your grandfather's bank failure.

And do you know why? Because government works!

cityofgates

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday September 24, 2008 · 12:53 PM PDT

2008/09/24 · 12:53

Mccain just announced he's suspending his campaign and returning to Washington to focus on the economic disturbances we're experiencing. He's asked Obama to agree to suspend the national security debate, which was to take place this Friday.

What? The? Hell?

The President has a lot of jobs to do. One of them is shaping economic policy (jointly with Congress). Another is handling national security policy. When you're President, reality doesn't always give you the option of wearing just one hat at a time. Seriously, I'd like to know what McCain intends to do if -- just to choose a hypothetical example -- North Korea decides to throw out the UN monitors and restart its nuclear weapons program while we're trying to address a liquidity crisis here at home?

cityofgates

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday August 30, 2008 · 1:04 PM PDT

2008/08/30 · 13:04

What does John McCain's selection of his running mate tell us about him and his campaign for President?

cityofgates

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday June 05, 2008 · 5:46 PM PDT

2008/06/05 · 17:46

I know this will disappoint some of you, but John Edwards isn't going to be Attorney General. It's tempting to think of him in this position, since he's well-respected and was once a practicing lawyer, but it really isn't a good match. John Edwards' number one interest is lifting the unluckiest of us out of poverty. That's what he asked Obama for in exchange for the endorsement: A poverty tour. The next AG isn't going to get to do very much about poverty, because she or he will be too busy cleaning out the Augean stable that Bush has made of the Justice Department. The next AG is going to have to be universally trusted, a brilliant manager, and a scholar of law. Think Edward Levi.

So please, stop putting putting forward Edwards for Attorney General. It's not a good match.

In fact, stop making up fantasy cabinets all together.

cityofgates

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday February 05, 2008 · 9:13 AM PST

2008/02/05 · 09:13

What peculiar timing! Sometime today or tomorrow, while most of the citizens of the US are distracted by the primary elections, our Senators are going to vote on the FISA bill and telecom immunity. Maybe they think it'll be easier to slip it by us while we're all busy hitting the reload button?

Let's turn this logic around on them: Every time you check Daily Kos today, call one of the Senators on the list below. Or call one of your own Senators. Tell them that you want them to respect our legal traditions. Tell them you think retroactive immunity is immoral, and bad politics as well. Tell them No on telecomm immunity. Tell them No on "basket" warrants and reverse targeting. Remind them that the FISA court exists for a reason. Tell them that dangerous, experimental laws should have a sunset clause.

And don't forget to tell them you voted.

cityofgates

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday January 29, 2008 · 10:19 PM PST

2008/01/29 · 22:19

In Michigan, the other state which has (at least temporarily) been stripped of its delegates, Hillary Clinton beat Uncommitted 55% to 40%. In Florida, she beat Obama and Edwards 50% to 33% to 14%. And now she's staging a big "victory" party, trying to fool the TV cameras and newspaper front pages into reporting Florida as a real victory.

This is not a good sign for the Clinton campaign. It looks desperate.

And it only looks worse when you start looking into the factors behind the Florida results.

Poll

181 votes Show Results

The Florida results show how weak Clinton's position is.

181 votes Vote Now!

The Florida results show how weak Clinton's position is.

Agree

123 votes

Disagree

58 votes

Democrats and the Reagan Myth

cityofgates

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday January 17, 2008 · 3:01 PM PST

2008/01/17 · 15:01

I've got some news for you: It doesn't matter in the slightest if Barack Obama -- or any other Democratic politician -- "advances the Reagan myth".

You know why? Because the Reagan myth isn't a hypothetical, some figment that American populace might someday accept or reject. It's already firmly embedded in the American culture, and it's not going to go away, no matter how many facts we throw at it.

Poll

74 votes Show Results

Which more powerfully affects the outcome of Presidential elections?

74 votes Vote Now!

Which more powerfully affects the outcome of Presidential elections?

Facts

5 votes

Stories

69 votes

Enough With the Paranoia!

cityofgates

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday July 20, 2007 · 1:18 PM PDT

2007/07/20 · 13:18

There's been a lot of diaries lately on Daily Kos talking about the idea that Bush and Cheney will cancel the 2008 elections and declare themselves dictators. And I'm getting sick of them: sick of the paranoia. sick of the defeatism. sick of the stupidity.

So enough already!

cityofgates

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday April 18, 2007 · 10:06 AM PDT

2007/04/18 · 10:06

I checked the New York Times today. Their website is currently dominated by a huge interactive feature, which enables you to view the profiles of the 32 people killed at Virginia Tech by an asshole with a gun. There's also an article devoted to the fact that he had shown "signs of anger", and another one devoted to the fact that he'd apparently been a creep to 2 girls. There's also an interactive graphic showing the course of events. And there's articles on how the victims responded. There's an article about how this has rekindled political debates about gun control. There's even an article about how other campuses have reacted. The Virginia shootings pretty much dominate today's news coverage.

But if you look around you might notice that some other things happened today...

RSS

The Costs of Prohibition

Chicken Little-ing About Washington Mutual

Suspend Debates = Can't Do the Job

Some Thoughts on John McCain's Campaign

Playing Dolls with the Cabinet

FISA: Speak up NOW!

Is Florida the Best Clinton Can Do?

Democrats and the Reagan Myth

Enough With the Paranoia!

Media Coverage, in a Nutshell