Another Reason to be Ashamed

'Death to Obama' sign holder in Md. detained

Thu Aug 13, 11:56 am ET

HAGERSTOWN, Md. – The Secret Service is investigating a man who authorities said held a sign reading "Death to Obama" outside a town hall meeting on health care reform in western Maryland.

Barbara Golden, the special agent in charge of the agency's Baltimore field office, says an investigation is ongoing but declined further comment.

Washington County Sheriff's Capt. Peter Lazich (LAWZ'-itch) says the sign also read, "Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids."

He says the sheriff's office turned the unidentified, 51-year-old man over to Secret Service agents Wednesday after deputies detained him near the entrance to Hagerstown Community College.

Maryland Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin was hosting the meeting, but President Barack Obama was not there.

(source)

Two-fer Tuesday

First, a video of President Barack Obama reading "Where the Wild Things Are" to the kids gathered on the White House lawn for the annual Easter egg roll. Notable because I think you can actually see unconditional love glistening over the Obamas like the shimmer over a sun-baked highway.



Next, a few selections from a series of photographs created by compositing photos of the same NYC location over several days. The smokers are my favorite, obviously. The people touching their faces reminds me of 9/11.

Just Say "Oh, Alright"

Over the weekend, Matt and I met up in Astoria (the Athens of New York City) for one of our regular intellectual discourses. Matt had NetFlixed "Super High Me," a documentary about weed and all things people do better stoned (take the SATs, read minds, do stand-up comedy about being stoned). We watched and enjoyed and discoursed.

Throughout "Super High Me," the filmmakers keep a tally of how many medical marijuana dispensaries there are in Los Angeles. At the start of the film I think there are around 90 and by the film's end they're up to 300 or so. It's legal in California to grow, sell and buy weed as long as you've got the right paperwork. The Feds, though, are all the time breaking in with unsigned warrants and bogarting the stash, arresting the "pharmacists" and harshing the vibe. Well, no more. Attorney General Eric Holder has almost-but-not-quite vowed to end the DEA raids on medical marijuana dispensaries and stop the harassment of the poor, poor souls who need reefer relief. Holder's cryptic response to whether DEA raids would continue: "What the president said during the campaign ... is now American policy."

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first international ban on a drugs (the International Opium Commission of February 26th 1909) the Libertarian but usually a bit more socially conservative Economist is calling for an end to drug prohibition, saying "the least bad policy is to legalise drugs."

Now that Spring Breakers are being warned away from Mexico on account of the murderous, kidnapping, meth-snorting acid-bathing drug lord banditos, American hero Michael Phelps gets high and gets off, AMC's hit series Breaking Bad has humanized a meth chef, and Pineapple Express made $87 million and the economy is tanking for lack of spending, maybe the stars are aligning for legalization? Is there money in the stimulus package for grow lights? Is this the green economy Barry keeps promising? California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (fun name to say out-loud) and I certainly hope so. In California alone:

"Despite its illegality, marijuana is said to be the state's largest cash crop ($14 billion), ahead of vegetables ($5.9 billion) and grapes ($2.6 billion).

Tax collectors estimate that Ammiano's proposal would produce $1.3 billion in new tax revenue for Sacramento."

So my question is: Do we give the rest of the country a chance to catch up, or do we all move to Cali now?

Also, I want this illustration from The Economist article on a t-shirt:

Sports In Plain Site

Obama plays basketball!

McCain plays basketball!

Good game girl!

*Honorable Mention: Since 1936, my squad, the Washington Redskins, have predicted 18/19 presdential election winners

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you

Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' whoThat it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

- Bob Dylan, 1963

Bringing CHANGE to PA

Yesterday I went to the not-so-great state of Pennsylvania to campaign for the next president of the United States, Barack Obama! I was there with my good friends Amanda, Ryan, and Smita, all of us willing to get off our asses and make a difference.

We went to Obama's local campaign headquarters, not far from where we were staying. As we approached the sign-in sheet I exclaimed, "Don't worry, Pennsylvania! The New York City elitist are here!" The Obama supporters were in such good humor, making jokes about how we all enjoy drinking tasty lattes from Starbucks. After introducing ourselves, we were then informed of our duties, and sent to another campaign station. It was already starting to feel like a scavenger hunt!

We ended up in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. The second campaign station was in a small office building walk-up, just a few people, a dog, and a few babies; nothing fancy. Again, the campaign workers seemed to be glowing that we were there to help. I'm sure my friends and I also brought great energy in the room, everyone was thrilled. We were explained that their campaign efforts were past the "persuading" stage. In these final steps before election their efforts were going to be focused on getting out the vote. We were going to a middle class neighborhood/apartment complex and put doors hangers on registered Democrats doors, informing them of their voting booth locations. No talking to people, just walking 'n door handles. This made sense, but I was hoping we'd be doing something on a larger scale, that we might be giving grand speeches on the Obama's leadership ability and the ills of 4 more years of failed policy; but alas, hanging things on doors was our assignment. Easy enough.

We start walking our assigned neighborhood, originally confused by where the hell we were, doing our best to figure out how to read the apartment building/door numbers. It was a cold, quiet, but sunny first day of November... Nothing too dramatic happened. Some old guy told Ryan that Obama was a "murderer." Some little kids on bikes responded harshly to us asking them if they were voting for Obama. Another guy talking on a cell phone stopped to tell me there was no chance in hell Obama was going to win (hmmm, I know the last time PA was a red state, Reagan was running for office, so their might be a chance in PA, if not Hell). Overall, though, I was surprised by the amount of Obama/Biden signs I saw in the neighborhood. Pennsylvanians aren't ALL bad!

Yesterday it felt good reminding Democrats to go vote this Tuesday, in a "here's something on your doorknob to remind you" way, Sen. Barack Obama, I'm sure, was very proud of us today. Between you and me, I'm confident he will win on Tuesday. The electoral college numbers are in his favor, and he's run one hell of a successful campaign. At this point John "My Friends" McCain is throwing Hell Mary's. Desperate, praying for the polls to be incorrect.

If PA and Virginia go blue, we're in for an early night Tuesday. Yes, we can (and we will).

On Undecided Voters

"I look at these people and can't quite believe that they exist. Are they professional actors? I wonder. Or are they simply laymen who want a lot of attention? To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. "Can I interest you in the chicken?" she asks. "Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?" To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked."

- David Sedaris, author

Table Top Debate

hope v. faith

Sports In Plain Site

-It is unsportsmanlike to run up the score, unless women are doing it.
-Rigging elections...cool. Rigging Olympics...that is fucked up.

-Even the sports world is getting more involved with politics: 1 * 2

-And vise versa.

Honrable Mention - Bloopers

Blogama - Economy

I caught this article from the NYT Mag that I stole from Starbucks this weekend. "You look like you're going to have a fun day today," the barrista said to me. "No, I'm going to work," I said and snatched the magazine and left. I'm so tired of people feeling the need to make up words - Obamanomics. It makes me think of TaeBo. So this sort of cheap headline didn't initially draw me in, but it's virtually impossible to pick up any sort of insight into actual policy from watching debates and I've typically enjoyed the NYT Mag. Read the breakdown HERE.

I really dig the article! For anyone that's interested in economics, Obama's standing in a good place. Besides taking from SS and Medicare funds and making rich people pay more for what they perceivably won't receive (hey, fuck 'em anyway and he's just doing some correcting), I really like where Obama's going economically - learning from what's happened over the past few decades. Dad and mom have a new big screen TV, but a crane just fell on poor Jimmie's head.