POLITICS SCHMALITICS

[Crazy Cat Gentleman]

18 hours ago, Tigeraholic1 said:

Wow, you decriminalized drugs and create a self induced crisis. Nobody saw that coming.

yeah, it's been a complete ****show. I like the idea of voter initiatives way more than most of the initiatives we actually crank out.

[chasfh]

On 2/1/2024 at 7:02 PM, Tigeraholic1 said:

Wow, you decriminalized drugs and create a self induced crisis. Nobody saw that coming. 

 

https://apnews.com/article/fentanyl-state-of-emergency-oregon-afc46aca7de7fbef121b6832e0275f3a

At the state level, Oregon lawmakers have introduced a new bill that would undo a key part of the state’s drug decriminalization law. Public opinion has soured on it as public drug use has become more visible because of growing homelessness.

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/fentanyl-oregonians-portland-emergency-central-city/283-bc97fda8-eff5-4148-95e7-77ff12b1a02f

James Pritchard smoked a cigarette outside a Beaverton homeless shelter on Wednesday morning. He says fentanyl is always at his fingertips, whether he wants it or not. “Unbeknownst to me I had gotten some coke, and it was mainly fentanyl… I overdosed and almost died,” Pritchard said. “Fentanyl is everywhere…People are dying every day from it,” added his friend Ronald Hastenpayne, who stays at the Beaverton shelter because he couldn’t find an available bed in Multnomah County.

Fun fact: I am going to have fentanyl tomorrow when I go on the table for a routine procedure. Hope they don't overdose me! 🤪

[chasfh]

Red hats will never hear this.

 

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, chasfh said:

Red hats will never hear this.

 

CPD doing anything differently? More cops? New gang units? or is it just improving overall economics?

[Tigeraholic1]

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

CPD doing anything differently? More cops? New gang units? or is it just improving overall economics?

I read the other day that violent crime was down in the U.S. 20% in 2023. There was a huge uptick in stolen vehicles however.

[Tiger337]

Elon Musk taking illegal drugs is probably the least surprising story we'll hear this week.  

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/some-board-members-felt-pressured-to-take-drugs-with-elon-musk-wsj-reports-88cb0934

 

[Motor City Sonics]

Wow,  thanks Wall Street Journal.   Calling my hometown America's Jihad Capital.

Has the writer actually even been here? 

I ran out of toilet paper, I know where to get some now. 

   

[chasfh]

14 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

Elon Musk taking illegal drugs is probably the least surprising story we'll hear this week.  

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/some-board-members-felt-pressured-to-take-drugs-with-elon-musk-wsj-reports-88cb0934

 

Probably as unsurprising as learning he has an Epstein island would be.

[CMRivdogs]

Hopefully this link will be live for a while. The governors of Maryland and Utah discussing how to disagree better. It's part of this years National Governors Association series of civility. This discussion is at the group's annual meeting, PBS's Judy Woodwruff is the moderator..

 

[chasfh]

Christ Almighty, is there not one of these conservative right-wing organization leadership people who are not grifting mother****ers? Not one?

 

[pfife]

Wayne is a top 3 most contemptible person in politics, right there with Don CHump and Alex Jones.   So sad to see it.

[smr-nj]

This just seems to be a reasonable conclusion, to me.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

On 2/1/2024 at 8:02 PM, Tigeraholic1 said:

Wow, you decriminalized drugs and create a self induced crisis. Nobody saw that coming. 

 

https://apnews.com/article/fentanyl-state-of-emergency-oregon-afc46aca7de7fbef121b6832e0275f3a

At the state level, Oregon lawmakers have introduced a new bill that would undo a key part of the state’s drug decriminalization law. Public opinion has soured on it as public drug use has become more visible because of growing homelessness.

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/fentanyl-oregonians-portland-emergency-central-city/283-bc97fda8-eff5-4148-95e7-77ff12b1a02f

James Pritchard smoked a cigarette outside a Beaverton homeless shelter on Wednesday morning. He says fentanyl is always at his fingertips, whether he wants it or not. “Unbeknownst to me I had gotten some coke, and it was mainly fentanyl… I overdosed and almost died,” Pritchard said. “Fentanyl is everywhere…People are dying every day from it,” added his friend Ronald Hastenpayne, who stays at the Beaverton shelter because he couldn’t find an available bed in Multnomah County.

So we should recriminalize drugs and continue having the highest incarceration rate in the industrialized first world? The Nixonian approach to treating drugs as a crime problem does not work. Whether you are dealing with coke, crack rock, fentanyl, heroin, lsd, marijuana/cannabis, meth. We've tried the other way, criminalizing drugs and locking everyone up, for decades in this country. That didn't work. Frankly, if people want to do drugs, that is their choice and they should not be put into prison for making that choice. 

What we should do, in line with decriminalization, is adequately tax the wealthy, upper middle class, and big corporations to pay for a universal system of healthcare. Through that, we can pay for and send people to mandated drug treatment, rehab, job training, and life skills programs. Furthermore, if you want to get drugs off the streets and out of the hands of violent gangs then not only should you decriminalize the, but let them be sold in retail stores the same way beer and now cannabis is. I'd rather have it sold from licensed and regulated vendors than sold on the streets near children, schools, and neighborhoods.

Edited March 6, 2024 by Mr.TaterSalad

[romad1]

 

[1984Echoes]

Go Liz!!!

[romad1]

https://x.com/mynamehear/status/1765403262633570355?s=46&t=76Y1aNflZsD8yrwQrvLC2g

[chasfh]

One unfortunate but probably unavoidable side effect of this whole sordid affair is that it is no longer considered deranged and unqualifying to announce that you will go after former presidents on the flimsiest of evidence. In fact, millions will vote for Trump just for vowing that. A high percentage of red hats seek only punishment of people they despise, because take that and see how you like it.

[CMRivdogs]

Republicans and Democrats actually working together (on a few bills). I'm old enough to remember this was how government worked

 

[Tiger337]

Americans are not happy like Europeans.  

https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/world-happiness-report-americans-top-20-0f59cf98?mod=hp_lead_pos11

[chasfh]

Now Joe is free to run for Vice President of Heaven on John McCain's ticket.

 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

Good riddance to Joe Lieberman. That piece of dirt cost millions of Americans access to quality, low cost healthcare by almost single handedly stripping the public option out of the ACA. He did so in the name of profit. Profit for the healthcare industry, profit for insurance companies, and profit for himself for the money he made blocking a public option. All the while, he was a total and complete hypocrite, receiving free, single payer, government-provided healthcare. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

On 3/21/2024 at 2:00 PM, Tiger337 said:

Americans are not happy like Europeans.  

https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/world-happiness-report-americans-top-20-0f59cf98?mod=hp_lead_pos11

Unregulated, unfettered, capitalism is a ****ing bitch.

[ewsieg]

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2024/03/29/nessel-dte-rate-increase-request/73147027007/

Nessel with some old school democratic thinking here.  Her preferred governor pushes for more green energy, her preferred president pushes for more electric cars.  I hate DTE, but it's going to cost money to transform the grid.  Policies have costs.

Also note, it's just a show.  She gets to look like a fighter, but ultimately they'll get most if not all of their proposed adjustment.

[pfife]

The article doesn't say they want the increases to respond to Green policies, which probably means they will want that in addition to this. 

 According to the article:

DTE officials have said the rate increase is needed to invest in its grid and improve service reliability.

[gehringer_2]

20 minutes ago, pfife said:

The article doesn't say they want the increases to respond to Green policies, which probably means they will want that in addition to this. 

 According to the article:

DTE officials have said the rate increase is needed to invest in its grid and improve service reliability.

DTE (Consumers also I believe) have sold all their transmission lines ITC, an outfit that only does transmission lines. So when DTE talks about the 'grid' they are talking local I guess. I suppose an example would be that they are upgrading the local distribution system in A^2 from 4300V to 13,000V.