tvashtarkatena

That is a concern of course, but it's also not a reason to continue to move forward. In fact, the more states that legalize, the harder politically it becomes for the feds - regardless of party, to turn back the tide. I don't know which states will probably legalize in 2016 - I'll check. Legalization is not the only step, of course. Med MJ and decriminalization provide intermediate steps to building down the War on Pot. The majority of state level jurisdictions (including DC and PR) have some from of legalization/decriminalization of pot now. Public sentiment is rapidly changing as voters discover that legalization does not, in fact, result in anarchy, zombie children, or an increased population of long hairs. Think same sex marriage. Between 2004 and 2006, 21 states passed same sex marriage bans. 8 years later, 35 states and 64% of our population enjoy equal marriage rights. Simply put: the GOP lost that one. Well, they're probably going to lose the pot thing (if, in fact, it will be a GOP issue in 2016 - which I doubt). Lot's of tea party support for legalization now. Not because they give a rip about civil liberties, really. It's because it makes money. Think legalized gambling. Money talks.

The public is on board for pot legalization not for the reasons you've mentioned, but because they recognize the negative civil liberties impact of prohibition. We checked with several rounds of voter surveys. Regarding the tax structure of I502 (not 501), That can be amended starting next year. Yes, the tax implications were considered when the bill was written by two of WA's most talented civil rights attorneys - Paul Lawrence and Matt Segal. Matt served on the ACLU WA board with me for 4 years, Paul still does. Smart guys. The state must also estimate the fiscal impact as part of the initiative process. So, a lot of eyes were on it. But I 502 was the first of its kind worldwide, so it's likely some adjustments will be necessary. A wave of other jurisdictions - 3 other states and DC (if congress doesn't screw it) have their own tax structures which WA is watching very closely. The supply problem in WA has nothing to do with the tax structure but everything to do with the licensing structure - 3 levels of licensing became available simultaneously - grow, process, retail - but of course, it takes time to do the first two steps before the third can happen. Short term problem that is predictably settling out on its own nicely. OR's simpler, single level tax structure is one model WA is looking at closely. Simpler is often better.

how do you know what voters will decide in 2016 and 2020 in all 50 states? you call yourself a scientist? where's your data? Here's a data point. Alison Holcomb, arguably the country's leading expert on drug policy reform, stated on saturday that a majority of voters want the drug war to end. that's today. lots of surveys will be done in the next 6 years

Ringworld

The ACLU's preliminary strategy for ending mass incarceration: End the War on Drugs. Legalize marijuana, decriminalize other drugs. Reform our drug treatment and education systems. Eliminate one size fits all policies like minimum sentencing and 3 strikes, so that judges and juries can act on a case by case basis once again. Reduce the severity of non-violent crimes, like California just did. Ban for profit prisons. End the school to prison pipeline. End our debtor's prison system by applying pressure to the worst actors. Reform our mental health system so that the mentally ill don't wind up being warehoused in jails in huge numbers, as they are now. This will be a strategic effort using all the tools available - initiatives, referenda, legislation, litigation, public education. Key swing states and those with the worst criminal justice records will be targeted, as will the low hanging fruit where reform will come more naturally. These successes will then serve as examples for action in other states. Actions will be timed coincide and influence the next two presidential elections - where voter turn out is higher and candidates will be under pressure to address the issue on the national stage. This will take a coalition of national organizations, of course - but many are primed for such a campaign already. It's going to take a while, but that's no reason not to start getting on it in a big way. Voters are already there in sufficient numbers to move things along. This will necessarily have to be a bi-partisan effort, and one that involves law enforcement in a big way.

CA PROP 47 just reduced nearly all drug possession to misdeamenor - retroactive. decrim all drug offenses retroactively. stay tuned in WA. thats now an objective. the ACLU just got a 50 M donation to end mass incarceration, BTW.

A couple of issues with body cameras: How long can the police store the videos? Who has viewing access to them? Bellingham jurisdiction is currently flooded with FOIA requests for body cam videos. They estimate it would take 3 years to satisfy them. What's to prevent videos of people's homes showing up on the web? The ACLU WA is lobbying for body cam regulation to address these two issues - stakeholders (those with encounters with police wearing body cams and law enforcement) have 60 days to flag a videos where something worthy of flagging - as evidence, or when violence occurs. If no flagging occurs, videos must be deleted within a short time thereafter. Only said stakeholders have viewing rights to such videos to protect privacy.

end the drug war for starters. reform our mental health system, which warehouses a large number of mentally ill people who shouldn't be there would make a huge dent as well.

As long as the po po stick to shooting guys in Camaros and Beamers, they'll continue to enjoy carte blanche.

NASA's budget is 1/12 (as a percentage of GDP) of what it was during Apollo, so there's that. Still, it's hard to imagine that outsourcing things to the Chinese wouldn't get a big ole project like this done faster, but the UI might not be as quite as groovy. I've got to wonder if the Moon, Mars, and an asteroid or two will be our only options for meat puppet visitation in this neck of the woods. That's probably as far as we'll get before the robots come for us.

if you dont have time to read the studies, then dont. fucking kids these days.

Have you seen his new show? The Fuck Stables.

Our comprehensive indoctrination program has ensured that the Liberal Apocalypse will soon be upon us once the Selfie Generation seizes the Gaming Consoles of Power! Fly, my Tweeting Little Monkeys, Fly!

i think they used a Bugle Corn Snack for the doomsday machine shiite, i could use a bag right about now, but papa aint got one

dood, suri works for skynet

after i flew my drone around the theater - and into the orchestra pit under the stage (not so good with a gaming console), one kid asked when sentient machines were gonna happen. another raised his hand and said "well, its either gonna be the three laws or the apocalypse" I love these kids!

set phasers to clueless

Landru! Landru!

The much needed shitstorm has finally begun. Pattern of excessive force? Over militarization? I think we're gonna find both in almost every major US city. All we have to do is pry that lid off. Stay tuned. It's very interesting seeing America transition from bat shit crazy to...something. Just in time for the robots to come and take it all away.

Everybody comes around when titty twisted. That shit hurts.

The advantage high schoolers have is that they haven't choked down a stockyard load of bullshit over a lifetime. Like "Emptying your clip into an unarmed person is perfectly OK. It's what they're trained to do." And it is OK - in a war zone, but the rest of the civilized world, where policing is very different - has found a way to police largely without such extreme levels of violence. Hmmmm. Ah well, we'll all be dead soon enough, and the kids, who couldn't give two shits about race or sexual preference for the most part, will be able to enjoy each other that much more.

Yeah, he'd already been shot. More than twice. And he wasn't all that close when Wilson chose to finish him off - with his hands raised, apparently. Certainly too close, however, to wonder "hey, am I hitting this (size of a barn) kid?" Fucking shiite don't add up to "hail of bullets required" brah. Love the 'forensic evidence' line. And there's no credible proof Wilson got punched at all. His "injuries", or lack thereof, indicate otherwise. Blood on the gun could mean defensive action on the part of Brown - shielding, parrying. What we have, in the end, is the survivors story against the dead kid's story. And the survivor is a cop. History of similar events indicates (New York! New York!) clearly indicates how that almost always goes down. But enough mutual titty twisting. You're obviously 100% right and I suck. Back to the larger issues at hand.

Your self described experienced isn't represented in either your opinions or your analysis. Both suck. Seriously, it doesn't matter how many times you shoot someone? Really? I think it mattered a bit to Brown. Particularly considering that the autopsy reveals the last shot was probably the fatal one. And Wilson wasn't sure if he was hitting the kid, yet the kid was SO CLOSE (he wasn't) that Wilson's life was threatened. What, does Wilson need to hit the gun range more often? He can't hit a 6'4" kid at 8'? Should a guy who (claims) he couldn't tell if he was hitting a target that close even be trusted with a gun? In what universe does any of what you just recounted make any sense? Wilson's life wasn't seriously threatened when he gunned that kid down. That much is readily apparent from any witness's angle. But he emptied his clip into the kid anyway - at a distance - and that's OK with you. Yeah, I'll go with inexperience, smarter, calmer, and kinder. I'm good with that. Choke hold anyone?

You're the expert. The strawmen don't help your case, though. By all accounts Brown was neither near nor attacking Wilson when Wilson finally gunned him down with multiple shots. Many witnesses stated he had his hands up. Several claim that he shot Brown while Brown was attempting to flee. Some of us would argue that Wilson's actions may have been a tad excessive, to say the least. I wouldn't dis high school students too much. I've found many of them to be a good deal more intelligent and considered than some of youz guyz. Way less ideologically rigid, too. Glad to have 'em taking the reigns of a world we fucked the living shit out of without lube or saying "I love you".

Well, at least we're finally talking about this nationwide problem in earnest. I gave a talk at Garfield High this morning to about 100 students (not in this topic). Ferguson came up while conversing with the student organizers. According to them, it's a hot topic around the school - and most of the students do not share many of the sentiments presented here. Just a data point. One that gives me a lot of hope for the future, although they will have the killer robots to contend with. Garfield is an amazing school, BTW. Their theater/arts/music program is awesome, and they've got the facilities to do it up right.