Political Hippo Circle Jerk - America, farg YEAH!

[QB Eagles]

Off-The-Cuff Prediction:

A viable third party will be established in the next 30 years.  Of course, it will only be a third party for a few years before one of the two current parties disbands and/or joins the new third party.

The winner-takes-all system of US national elections pretty much guarantees two-party hegemony. However, the two parties don't have to be a liberal Democratic Party and a conservative Republican party. US political history is filled with seismic shifts. Some happen quickly, like the demolition of the Whig Party or the silverites taking over the Democratic party from the classical liberals in 1896. Others, like the shift of the Republican Party from a cosmopolitan northern party into a rural southern party, happen much more slowly.

We're about due for another quick seismic shift. With the potential presidential nomination of a socially liberal (or at least moderate) Republican, declining union power, an unsustainable medical system, a demographic crunch on the horizon, a stagnant war in which either adding or subtracting troops is sure to lead to unpopular short-term bloodbath, the emotional issue of immigration once again nearing it's once-every-25-year crest of paranoia, and the potential that any day some terrorist could throw a lit match on all this gasoline, both parties are rife with infighting and not particularly sure what they want to spend political capital on. Seems like some long-standing coalitions are going to file for divorce when it all shakes out. Couldn't happen soon enough.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

the ancestors of Obama's white mother owned slaves

Personally, I think this is a non-issue (as this proves nothing about Obama or his mother), but it will be interesting to see if America agrees with me.

[rjs246]

Basically anyone who has white ancestors who lived in the south is related to someone who owned slaves. It was just a part of life. How on Earth could this possibly be an issue to anyone? What do distant relations have to do with anything? My 4th cousin is Sal Bando, which makes me a borderline hall of fame third baseman!111!!!13123213421423592 y5vp9865tqy432otrgqwuyrfgwqepoopie

[Diomedes]

Kucinich on decriminalization of marijuana

http://kucinich.us/issues/marijuana_decrim.php

With the enactment of the Volstead Act in 1919, America embarked on a social experiment known as Prohibition. Prohibitionists rejected the idea that people could be trusted to drink in moderation, arguing that alcohol use inevitably led to moral corruption and undesirable behavior. Accepting these premises led Congress to conclude that a federal ban on the production and sale of alcohol would go a long way toward reducing crime and addressing a variety of other social problems. Within a decade, however, Americans discovered that the criminally enforced prohibition of alcohol produced harmful side effects. The rise of black markets empowered organized crime to an unprecedented degree. In some of America's largest cities, local governments had been heavily corrupted by the influence of organized crime. The black market provided minors with easy access to bootlegged alcohol, which was frequently of poor quality and unsafe to drink. Faced with the disastrous consequences of Prohibition, Congress decided in 1933 to repeal the Volstead Act. Since that time, the government has implemented the much more successful policy of focusing law enforcement efforts on irresponsible alcohol users who endanger the rights of others.

Unfortunately, current drug policy fails to take into account the lessons of Prohibition. The law regards all users as abusers, and the result has been the creation of an unnecessary class of lawbreakers. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, more than 734,000 individuals were arrested on marijuana charges in 2000. This number far exceeds the total number of arrestees for all violent crimes combined, including murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Eighty-eight percent of those arrested were charged with possession only. Convicted marijuana offenders are denied federal financial student aid, welfare, and food stamps, and may be removed from public housing. In many cases, those convicted are automatically stripped of their driving privileges, even if the offense is not driving related. In several states, marijuana offenders may receive maximum sentences of life in prison. The cost to the taxpayer of enforcing marijuana prohibition is staggering -- over $10 billion annually.

The harsh nature of punishments for marijuana offenses is even more disturbing if one considers the racial bias of the war on drugs. According to data collected by the National Household Survey, on an annual basis the overall difference between drug use by blacks and whites is quite narrow. However, a recent national study found that African Americans are arrested for marijuana offenses at higher rates than whites in 90% of 700 U.S. counties investigated. In 64% of these counties, the African American arrest rate for marijuana violations was more than twice the arrest rate for whites. Questions of racial bias affect the integrity of investigations, arrests, and prosecutorial discretion. If we truly aspire to the ideal of "Justice for All," then these unjust racial disparities are unacceptable outcomes for the American justice system.

The rationale for continuing this draconian policy of marijuana prohibition is unclear. Statistical evidence shows that marijuana use follows a pattern very similar to that of alcohol. Most marijuana users do so responsibly, in a safe, recreational context. These people lead normal, productive lives -- pursuing careers, raising families, and participating in civic life. In addition, marijuana has proven benefits in the treatment of numerous diseases, such as providing a valuable means of pain management for terminally ill patients. In either of these contexts, there is no rational justification for criminally enforced prohibitions. These unnecessary arrests and incarcerations serve only to crowd prisons, backlog the judicial system, and distract law enforcement officials from pursuing terrorists and other violent criminals.

New Mexico's 2001 state-commissioned Drug Policy Advisory Group determined that marijuana decriminalization "will result in greater availability of resources to respond to more serious crimes without any increased risks to public safety." This finding is backed by the successful implementation of such policies in twelve states. The state governments of Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon approved these measures after the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse recommended that Congress adopt a national policy of marijuana decriminalization. A recent CNN/Time magazine poll indicates overwhelming public support for this approach, with 72% of Americans favoring fines as a maximum penalty for minor marijuana offenses, and 80% approving of marijuana used for medical purposes.

As a nation, we must work to implement a drug policy that removes responsible recreational users and medical users of marijuana from the criminal justice system, in order to redirect resources toward the following goals:

Enforce penalties for those who provide marijuana to minors.
Enforce penalties for those who endanger the rights of others through irresponsible use, such as driving under the influence.
Develop drug treatment programs focused on rehabilitation, rather than incarceration.
Support the efforts of state governments in developing innovative approaches to drug policy.
Improve drug education by emphasizing science over scare tactics.
Implement a Department of Justice program that would review the records of, and consider for sentence reduction or release, inmates convicted for nonviolent marijuana offenses.

this guy makes more sense on every single issue than any of the others.   

[rjs246]

Now I'm going to have to look into his position on other issues...

[Diomedes]

http://kucinich.us/iraqplan

He's actually got a plan to get out of Iraq.  Maybe you don't think it's perfect, but it's the best I've heard from any politician yet.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Most informed leftists I know prefer Kucinich's platform to the alternatives, but informed people don't elect Presidents.

[Diomedes]

Kucinich is short and dorky.  He's got no chance at all.

[Rome]

Kucinich has common sense solutions to a lot of problems facing this country.

Unfortunately, politicians are elected by groups who are more interested in demonizing and profiting from those problems than they are solving them.

No chance in hell he gets the nomination much less the presidency.

[phattymatty]

abortions for some, miniature american flags for others.

[rjs246]

There does appear to be more common sense than usual on his site, but jesus I cannot stand reading politicians' web sites. I can feel "I'm smarter than you but no one is listening to me!!" oozing through my monitor.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Shocking development:  NEWT GINGRICH is a HYPOCRITE

I'm just shocked.

[MDS]

Roger Ailes, the fat republican douchebag who runs Faux News/Fox Noise/The RNC channel, said:

"It is true that Barack Obama is on the move. I don't know if it's true that President Bush called [Pakastani President] Musharraf and said, 'Why can't we catch this guy?'"

Ahaha. The head of a major "news" outlet makes a joke about a presiential candidate, likening him to the most dangerous terrorist in the world. Funny stuff. Obama's dad is from Kenya and his mom is from Wichita. He was born in Hawaii. He's black and christian. His middle name is Hussein. SEND HIM TO GUANTANAMO BAY.

On the bright side, the democrats have pulled out of a Fox sponsored debate in Nevade this summer, the first one to bail was John Edwards after the haha Romes are funny comments from the ugly manish bitch Ann Coulter. Of course, Edwards is a loser and isn't gonna win, but still. Good. Nuke Fox.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

unauthorized Obama campaign video

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Obama most liberal member of congress running for President?