(no subject)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15111438/

Nev. religious leaders make case to legalize pot
Measure allows government regulated and state-taxed marijuana shops

RENO, Nev. - A coalition of religious leaders made a moral case Tuesday for legalizing the sale and possession of up to 1 ounce of marijuana for adults in Nevada while stiffening penalties for sales to youths and driving under the influence.

At least 33 members of the clergy have endorsed ballot Question 7 on the November election ballot, which if approved would make Nevada the first state in the nation to allow people 21 and older to legally possess small amounts of marijuana and purchase it at government regulated and state-taxed pot shops.

The clergy argued the move would cut down on minors' access to marijuana, reduce gang-related violence and generate money for the state to help finance treatment programs instead of making drug dealers rich.

( Read more... )

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Interesting. We'll see how it goes. I can't wait to get my ballot!

This is my favorite bit, though:
"Proposing to legalize another intoxicating drug is not the best thing for Nevada. The message it sends to youth is that smoking pot is just part of growing up," said Todd Raybuck, who operates the Web site http://www.nevadasaysno.com for the Committee to Keep Nevada Respectable that opposes the measure.

The Committee to Keep Nevada Respectable? (Per their web site, only concerned with the pot question.)

I have a few words for you:

Legalized Gambling.
Legalized Prostitution.

And you're worrying about pot?

DV

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over? You're coming in broken and stupid...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15131023/

Congress ready to celebrate end-of-war party
Politicians have $20 million set aside, despite poor news out of Iraq

WASHINGTON - The military’s top generals have warned Iraq is on the cusp of a civil war and that U.S. troops must remain in large numbers until at least next spring. But if the winds suddenly blow a different direction, Congress is ready to celebrate with a $20 million victory party.

Lawmakers included language in this year’s defense spending bill, approved last week, allowing them to spend the money. The funds for “commemoration of success” in Iraq and Afghanistan were originally tucked into last year’s defense measure, but went unspent amid an uptick in violence in both countries that forced the Pentagon to extend tours of duty for thousands of troops.

All right. I know that in terms of the defense budget, $20 million is spare change. But it's the principle of the thing. There's not enough money to give us the 2.7% raise, we have to settle for 2.2%, but there's money for BS like this? I'm sure it's not the only pork, but what the hell?

Republicans have yet to claim responsibility for the provision. Democrats say it was likely added by the Senate’s majority Republicans, and less than five weeks from congressional elections are pointing to it as another example of where the GOP has gone astray handling the war in Iraq.

“If the Bush administration is planning victory celebrations, Americans deserve to know what their plan is to get us to a victory in Iraq,” said Rebecca Kirszner, spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Carolyn Weyforth, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said, “Republicans are confident we will be victorious in the ongoing war in terror, and we look forward to a time when those funds can be used to honor the men and women who have risked and given their lives.”

The money had better be spent on the troops.

President can designate victory day
Under the language, the president could “designate a day of celebration” to honor troops serving in the two wars. The president also could call on the nation “to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities” and issue awards to troops who have served honorably.

The Pentagon could spend up to $20 million of its $532 billion budget in 2007 for the commemoration, minus any private contributions it might receive for such an event.

The money will be available for the 2007 budget year, which began Oct. 1.

Some 140,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, with a drawdown not expected until at least early next year.

About 20,000 more are in Afghanistan. Last year, Bush administration and Pentagon officials had hoped thousands of troops could be brought home before the Nov. 7 elections.

Proclaiming victory in the Iraq war has already proven to be tricky business.

President Bush was slammed by critics for delivering his “Mission Accomplished” speech in May 2003 aboard an aircraft carrier. While troops had successfully stormed Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime in Baghdad, the fight over control in the nation against a violent insurgency had just begun.

Vice President Dick Cheney also was ridiculed for suggesting last year that the insurgency was in its “final throes.”

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Here's a few ideas for using that $20 mil. Use it on the troops, on the people who are working to get this job done.

How about establishing a scholarship fund for the children of servicemembers killed in OIF/OEF?
How about providing more morale and communications for the troops deployed?

As I said above, I know $20 million isn't all that much as compared to the budget. But they can fund BS like this, while chipping away at pay and trying to cut veterans' benefits? Pardon my langauge, but fuck that.

Or here's an idea. How about we wait to celebrate victory when we've actually been victorious? Esepcially in light of the rumors I keep hearing about eighteen-month deployments being in the pipeline.

DV