Six months after two states became the first in the nation to fully legalize recreational marijuana use the federal government has yet to articulate an official response to the historic voter-approved measures while simultaneously authoring a vast pot crackdown and refusing to accept even far less sweeping state-based marijuana laws as legitimate. The juxtaposition between [...]
“WITH VARYING DEGREES OF CONFIDENCE.“ White House sends message to Congress saying that Syria “may” (according to U.S. intelligence agencies) have used chemical weapons against its own population. This cautious wording seems both to move U.S. toward a view that a “red line” may have been crossed that would justify (overt) U.S. intervention in [...]
TOO BIG TO PUNISH: U.S. SHIP DAMAGES WORLD HERITAGE CORAL REEF IN THE PHILIPPINES AND BARELY SAYS “EXCUSE ME.” The commander and 3 other sailors are “relieved of their duties” after they ignored warnings and slammed their minesweeper ship into the Tubataha Reef. The $1.5 million fine against U.S. government is castigated as a loose-change “slap [...]
Americans are more tolerant than ever of marijuana use, with a majority believing that it should be legalized and that using the drug should not be considered a “moral” issue. National sentiment is trending alongside many states, with new laws allowing medical pot or decriminalizing most marijuana use altogether being passed or prevailing in voter [...]
ANTI-DRONE ACTION: IT’S NOT JUST A 13-HOUR RAND PAUL FILIBUSTER ANYMORE. Medea Benjaming and Noor Mir describe an April “month of uprising” against drone use both domestically and in pursuit of U.S. foreign policy interests. This “uprising” is taking many forms, including prohibitions for police use in many cities and states, protests at the [...]
GOOD TIMES ROLL ON WITH THE U.S. ASIA-PACIFIC “PIVOT.” The 2011 decision to increase sales of arms to U.S. allies in the region to counter growing Chinese influence in the area is providing a bonanza of opportunities for the military-industrial complex. As a Reuters report puts it, “Fears resulting from China’s growing military spending [...]
The scene is set for a legal showdown between the federal government, at least two states, and activist groups in the wake of the success of landmark votes to legalize marijuana in the 2012 election. And for the first time, public opinion on pot is overwhelmingly against the feds. Plenty of coverage was generated after [...]
THE U.S. IS ENGAGED IN PLENTY OF “NATION BUILDING”; IT’S JUST NOT THE AMERICAN NATION THAT ITS GOVERNMENT IS BUILDING. Nick Turse notes the stark contrast between rhetoric and reality in President Obama’s words that the U.S. is not interested in “nation building” abroad but in “freeing resources” from investment in foreign development to [...]
Unparalleled victories at the ballot box in the 2012 election have elevated the debate over marijuana policy in ways that were unimaginable only a decade ago, setting up an inevitable showdown over authority between states and a federal government intent on whether “weed” should be treated like alcohol or a more dangerous substance. The looming [...]
PRESIDENT OBAMA WINS REELECTION. ` Surpassing the 270 electoral votes necessary shortly after 11 PM on Tuesday night, President Barack Obama defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney to win a second term in the White House. After a historically long, bitter and expensive campaign, the status quo was retained in Washington as the House and Senate [...]
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