Obama ‘Open For Questions’ About The Economy Ask Him To Support Taxing And Regulati

[Funky Donkey]

JJ, not everybody hates others. There is such a thing as "facing reality". I knew cannabis was in trouble years ago, when they began seizing the assets of anyone even remotely associated with pot. That in itself is illegal!

Cannabis has the unique property of allowing one to stop, relax and question authority. Those in power, and specifically those with the authority to fuck with your life, will do whatever it takes to stay in power. If it means trampling all over your rights as provided in the constitution, so be it!

When you inhale and have that feeling overtake you, what is the only thing you fear? Be honest. Would there be any paranoia associated with cannabis if you were confident that nobody with a badge could steal your life?

Be cool!

FD

 

[greenhead]

We finally have an intelligent president, and I believe he'll do the right thing if it's politically smart.

Is it the hip thing to say that Obama is intelligent and that Bush is dumb? Obama is no smarter than Bush.

There has been no evidence of Obama's intelligence so far. The things that he has done so far is not a sign of intelligence, but rather ignorance. Also, relying on teleprompters for almost every speaking engagement is not a sign of intelligence or a sign of confidence. Obama comes off as dumber than Bush. He's only been in office a short time and there's already been multiple gaffes and dumbass mistakes. Obama is a gaffe machine and he's put this nation more into debt than all other presidents combined. Decades from now, your grandkids will be paying for Obama's so-called "intelligence". Obama can't even purchase a proper working DVD to give as a present to somebody (UK prime minister), that's not a sign of intelligence.

 

[Leaf it to me]

That's wierd. Twenty years ago the Feds passed a law raising the speed limit to 65. Yet a lot of States still ticket people for going over 55. I wonder how they did that?

Thats weird too. There's a federal road near where I live called the Dulles Toll Road (that's under the control of federal police, and they do ticket). The speed limit is 55.

Why am I telling you this? Because you're so brazen about being ignorant.

 

[JJScorpio]

I agree FD, but it doesn't do any good to get upset. I can understand if the guy has been in office for a few years and nothings been done. Then you can be justified in getting angry. I promised myself to reserve judgement on Obama for a couple years and see what he does.....

People need to start writing letters. And I don't mean write them filled with hate and anger. Write a polite letter and send it to the President, your Congressmen, Senators and legislatures. Obama got the idea today how a lot of people really feel. We need to keep that up...

Thats weird too. There's a federal road near where I live called the Dulles Toll Road (that's under the control of federal police, and they do ticket). The speed limit is 55.

Why am I telling you this? Because you're so brazen about being ignorant.

Federal police patroling highways huh? And not even abiding by their own laws.

I'd really love to see that one, lmao....

 

[buckeye-leaf]

we all have a bright future together who cares what a president says or does?

 

[VirginHarvester]

As for him laughing, he was laughing that online Americans would find this question to be the most important. That's what he laughed about. People didn't think the most important questions should be soldiers dying in Iraq. Or families losing their homes. Or people losing their jobs.

To be honest I kinda find it funny that people would be more concerned about pot than about human lives and families losing their homes and being in the streets.

Doesn't say a whole lot about people's priorities now does it?

Obama doesn't care about people losing their homes and jobs. If he cared he would make manage our money better. Two weeks ago the liar said he will make sure they spend our hard earned tax dollars as carefully as we would spend it ourselves. He lies almost every time he speaks. The reason he laughed is because he's an egotistical jerk that can't figure out people who smoke have to hide, thus the questions over the internet. The real problem is it didn't feed his ego, that we should all be primed to ask the great Wizard how to be saved.

People aren't dying in Iraq, does he want us to get excited about that? How bout we get excited about the people dying in Mexico from guns that came from America and the incredible amounts of drugs flowing into the US from there.... Oh, no, on second thought he probably does want people asking stupid questions about MJ on the internet. It's a lot easier to handle then the huge mistakes and challenges he really has but isn't addressing... probably surprised there's even a problem on the Mexican border- that he could just carve out a bunch of social programs for illegals and all would be well. Welcome to the real world Mr Liebags.

Even a CNN analyst basically said what he's been saying on the economy and deficits are mostly false.

 

[Hal]

Its not even worth it....

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

Obama is much smarter than bush. by far. no question. This is just the first wake up call to obama. he says no now, but we can wake him up. he is not some stuck in his ways unwilling to listen jerk off. But we all must keep pushing. he will eventually push over on federal medical decriminalization. then after that we gotta push more. Give it 8 more years of constant harrassment on the subject and he will give in to making it like beer. It will be his last gift to the people. But he cant do it before then because he will get ridiculed by old assholes that just need to go ahead and die off.

 

[greenhead]

Give it 8 more years of constant harrassment on the subject and he will give in.

You'll have to do it in four, because I don't think that he's going to get eight.

 

[JJScorpio]

http://www.ktvu.com/video/19024732/index.html


Mrs. B posted this up regarding the raid today.....

 

[Leaf it to me]

Federal police patroling highways huh? And not even abiding by their own laws.

I'd really love to see that one, lmao....

I've put you in your place this entire thread and I think you're just trolling me now so I react and get banned.

It'd be an honor to get banned by an idiot.

 

[TrainMan]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7966982.stm


get real folks... the world is a chess game to these people...America is sending troops to afghanistan to train and guard the new oil pipeline...come on now...if you are America planning to attack other countries in the region, you gotta dominate and set up shop, imperialism style....

Privately owned prison systems that makes money with more inmates..it's a business, that's sick as shit, there is nobody talking about that. More pot heads to get into the system more their stock goes up. It's that simple. Obama seems more and more like a cocky elitist every time he speaks. So what that he inhaled..does he understand marijuana? no absolutely not..

Zbigniew Brzezinski, key player << en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Brzezinski

 

[JJScorpio]

I've put you in your place this entire thread and I think you're just trolling me now so I react and get banned.

It'd be an honor to get banned by an idiot.

You can go back to your site now, lol. Thank you for putting me in my place.

Ban you? I haven't laughed this hard in ages.

 

[North]

Good Lord this thread melted down badly since this morning... I'm not sure where to even start.............perhaps Hal had it right....

Its not even worth it....

I'll stick with my first response and side step most of this trainwreck.

Just KEEP POUNDING ON THEIR DOOR! dont let em off the hook till we at least get a serious response, just try and be civil... unlike a good portion of the responses here,lest we ALL look like asshats.

 

[VirginHarvester]

you know what's a little funny, Obama was thrilled by all the nameless, faceless internet people that came out of the woodwork to send money to his campaign- as if they were the important patriots looking for change... Well Mr Obama, they were, and you just dismissed them and laughed at them because you found out they smoke weed. You might even find a few of them cling to their guns and religion.

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

Something occured to me in my cloud of smoke. Obama just said he didnt think we could grow the econemy with pot, he didnt say anything about decriminalization for med purposes, and cutting out cartels. that could be why he laughed. It was just not the right time to adress it. I believe he wants to hear things from his scientist firsts. hopefully they are not really old guys.

 

[Kahl]

well i was enjoying this thread...but damn Leaf it to me..JJ might find your hot-headedness and ignorance to be amusing but i just about cannot handle anymore pointless bickering. Your clearly butt hurt and need to return to the point of the thread. i usually just lurk the forum but god damn shut the fuck up. thank you everyone else for useful input. Obama laughed because he is under the eye of way too many haters. no matter how he feels about it, outside pressure will force him to make the same conclusion. its been that way forever.its gotta start smaller. the president does not have as much power as it seems, his decisions are directly influenced by political pressure. nothing will change that.

 

[FaderVader]

I fully agree, at first i wanted to be mad.

But watch the whole address, he just seemed put out on the spot, even if prepared he obviously was trying to read his audience and keep the whole question in a positive light, something to smile about. Understanding that it was not meant to be insulting to Anti-prohibitionists it just reinforced that fact that its out on the table and that YES they can hear us!

So keep shouting!

 

[otherwhitemeat]

One thing for sure, my grow op doesn't appear to have changed remarkably in any way--whether Bush or Obama is leading the country.

For everyone here who is not familiar with the arguments, Wikipedia does a pretty good job at casting the States' Rights argument.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States'_rights

The 10th Amendment:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

IMHO, this puts governance of 'vice' solely in the hands of the States unless the Fed can state it's case that the 'health and/or safety' of the general population is endanged by MJ use. Hence, MJ's listing as a schedule 1 narcotic. The Fed now has their justification for enforcement. Change the schedule 1 listing by challenging that MJ does indeed have medical benefits and you basically leave the door wide open to MJ legalization.

Full MJ legalization is a political risk that NO president would undertake, I am sorry for any that held out hope that Obama would come to our rescue in this regard.

 

[Tarantula-1]

Cannabis will never be legalized/fully decrim'ed in the US in our lifetimes. It's the dirty little secret that every politician who needs the 'youth vote' to gain power won't tell you until after they're in. Kinda like the way we were supposed to be out of Iraq within a few months of the Inauguration. "Oops! I just checked, and......we're not gonna be doing that after all. Sorry."

We had our one realistic shot in the early 70s....that was the closest we've ever come, and that was in the last days of the youth-revolution era (or at least the fumes thereof); youthful or not, We The People will never achieve that kind of snowballing momentum again.

But you won't have time to dwell on it - you're gonna have enough on your plate to have any free time left over to fret over being betrayed by one more politician who showed up on campus to French-tickle the student body with talk of legalization. To wit: legalization? You'll be too busy providing a piss sample to the authorities to get food stamps and unemployment benefits - in the middle of a worldwide Depression!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090326/ap_on_bi_ge/states_welfare_with_strings;_ylt=AgxhCTQgUQuwtvpWE7uhdyys0NUE


States consider drug tests for welfare recipients


By TOM BREEN, Associated Press Writer Tom Breen, Associated Press Writer – Thu Mar 26, 9:28 am ET

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Want government assistance? Just say no to drugs.

Lawmakers in at least eight states want recipients of food stamps, unemployment benefits or welfare to submit to random drug testing.
The effort comes as more Americans turn to these safety nets to ride out the recession. Poverty and civil liberties advocates fear the strategy could backfire, discouraging some people from seeking financial aid and making already desperate situations worse.

Those in favor of the drug tests say they are motivated out of a concern for their constituents' health and ability to put themselves on more solid financial footing once the economy rebounds. But proponents concede they also want to send a message: you don't get something for nothing.
"Nobody's being forced into these assistance programs," said Craig Blair, a Republican in the West Virginia Legislature who has created a Web site — notwithmytaxdollars.com — that bears a bobble-headed likeness of himself advocating this position. "If so many jobs require random drug tests these days, why not these benefits?"

Blair is proposing the most comprehensive measure in the country, as it would apply to anyone applying for food stamps, unemployment compensation or the federal programs usually known as "welfare": Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Women, Infants and Children.

Lawmakers in other states are offering similar, but more modest proposals.
On Wednesday, the Kansas House of Representatives approved a measure mandating drug testing for the 14,000 or so people getting cash assistance from the state, which now goes before the state senate. In February, the Oklahoma Senate unanimously passed a measure that would require drug testing as a condition of receiving TANF benefits, and similar bills have been introduced in Missouri and Hawaii. A Florida senator has proposed a bill linking unemployment compensation to drug testing, and a member of Minnesota's House of Representatives has a bill requiring drug tests of people who get public assistance under a state program there.
A January attempt in the Arizona Senate to establish such a law failed.
In the past, such efforts have been stymied by legal and cost concerns, said Christine Nelson, a program manager with the National Conference of State Legislatures. But states' bigger fiscal crises, and the surging demand for public assistance, could change that.

"It's an example of where you could cut costs at the expense of a segment of society that's least able to defend themselves," said Frank Crabtree, executive director of the West Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Drug testing is not the only restriction envisioned for people receiving public assistance: a bill in the Tennessee Legislature would cap lottery winnings for recipients at $600.

There seems to be no coordinated move around the country to push these bills, and similar proposals have arisen periodically since federal welfare reform in the 1990s. But the appearance of a cluster of such proposals in the midst of the recession shows lawmakers are newly engaged about who is getting public assistance.

Particularly troubling to some policy analysts is the drive to drug test people collecting unemployment insurance, whose numbers nationwide now exceed 5.4 million, the highest total on records dating back to 1967.
"It doesn't seem like the kind of thing to bring up during a recession," said Ron Haskins, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "People who are unemployed, who have lost their job, that's a sympathetic group.

Americans are tuned into that, because they're worried they'll be next."
Indeed, these proposals are coming at a time when more Americans find themselves in need of public assistance.

Although the number of TANF recipients has stayed relatively stable at 3.8 million in the last year, claims for unemployment benefits and food stamps have soared.

In December, more than 31.7 million Americans were receiving food stamp benefits, compared with 27.5 million the year before.

The link between public assistance and drug testing stems from the Congressional overhaul of welfare in the 1990s, which allowed states to implement drug testing as a condition of receiving help.

But a federal court struck down a Michigan law that would have allowed for "random, suspicionless" testing, saying it violated the 4th Amendment's protections against unreasonable search and seizure, said Liz Schott, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

At least six states — Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Virginia — tie eligibility for some public assistance to drug testing for convicted felons or parolees, according to the NCSL.

Nelson said programs that screen welfare applicants by assigning them to case workers for interviews have shown some success without the need for drug tests. These alternative measures offer treatment, but can also threaten future benefits if drug problems persist, she said. They also cost less than the $400 or so needed for tests that can catch a sufficient range of illegal drugs, and rule out false positive results with a follow-up test, she said.

PS: what do you have to do to get rid of the damn underlining when you cut-n-paste a news article?