greatn posted:

I also think the republican nominee is going to be Rand Paul , who's going to appeal to young idealists just enough.

Alter Ego posted:

So...is this the RNC saying they'd support Elizabeth Warren? I don't get it.

Jerry Manderbilt posted:

Rand Paul gave a fairly well-received speech at Cal, although he mainly stuck to poo poo he knew that crowd would like (e.g. gently caress the NSA, gently caress drones) instead of the black skeletons in his closet about the Civil Rights Act and such.

Mr Ice Cream Glove posted:

Is Ron going to run?

DemeaninDemon posted:

Did he actually say anything of substance? That's his problem: talks a lot but says little.

Jerry Manderbilt posted:

Rand Paul gave a fairly well-received speech in hostile territory at Cal, although he mainly stuck to poo poo he knew that crowd would like (e.g. gently caress the NSA, gently caress drones) instead of the black skeletons in his closet about the Civil Rights Act and such.

Jerry Manderbilt posted:

That perfectly describes his speech, actually.

Anecdotally the only Rand supporter I know is this white business student at Pitt I knew from my study abroad, and he supported Romney and McCain. Guy also threw me a bunch of casual racism on a bus, which made me not at all surprised when I learned he supports Rand for president.

DemeaninDemon posted:

The fear of Hillary is enough for me to support her regardless of how lovely y'all think she'll be.

Joementum posted:

Romney got 47% of the vote and Karl's (hilarious) reaction wasn't that strange. Nobody predicted that Obama would beat the turnout models in 2012 and get more of the minority vote than he did in 2008.

Mr Ice Cream Glove posted:

Is Ron going to run?

DemeaninDemon posted:

Was he an ideas guy? Rands an ideas man.

greatn posted:

Of the democrats it basically is Hilary's but personally I hope Jerry Brown runs and wins.

Joementum posted:

Quote of the day, “I would say that I’m gonna be trying to hold the first big Kirk for Senate fundraiser at a screening of The Interview, so that everybody shows the North Koreans that you cannot edit what we want to see and do in the United States, under the First Amendment." ~ Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL)

DemeaninDemon posted:

Oh lordy I love the Monica line how it's Hillary's fault her husband got a bj from another woman.

E: yeah that dude totally sounds like the ideas man. Give him your finest knuckle sandwich if you ever see him again and he's unchanged.

Joementum posted:

Joementum posted:

quote:

In the most serious legal challenge to date against Colorado's legalization of marijuana, two neighboring states have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the history-making law.

Nebraska and Oklahoma filed the lawsuit directly with the nation's highest court on Thursday. The two states argue in the lawsuit that, "the State of Colorado has created a dangerous gap in the federal drug control system."

"Marijuana flows from this gap into neighboring states, undermining Plaintiff States' own marijuana bans, draining their treasuries, and placing stress on their criminal justice systems," the lawsuit alleges.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said in a statement that he will defend the state's legalization of marijuana, saying that the lawsuit is, "without merit."

"Because neighboring states have expressed concern about Colorado-grown marijuana coming into their states, we are not entirely surprised by this action," Suthers said. "However, it appears the plaintiffs' primary grievance stems from non-enforcement of federal laws regarding marijuana, as opposed to choices made by the voters of Colorado."

Colorado voters in 2012 passed Amendment 64, which legalized use and limited possession of marijuana by anyone over 21. The new law, tied for the first in the nation to widely legalize marijuana at the state level, came after more than a decade of legal use and possession of marijuana in Colorado for certain medical purposes.

Stores able to sell up to an ounce of marijuana to any adult with a Colorado I.D. — or a quarter ounce to any adult with an out-of-state I.D. — opened on Jan. 1 this year. So far, recreational marijuana stores in Colorado have made more than $300 million in sales in 2014. The lawsuit does not target Colorado's separate medical marijuana system, where registered patients must be Colorado residents.

Nebraska and Oklahoma's complaint argues that Colorado does not have authority to pass laws that conflict with the federal prohibition on marijuana. Doing so, the states claim, violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

"Colorado Amendment 64 obstructs a number of the specific goals which Congress sought to achieve," the lawsuit states.

But much of the complaint focuses on harms the two states say have come to them as a result of legal pot sales in Colorado. The lawsuit says the states have suffered increased costs from arrests, the impoundment of vehicles, the seizure of contraband, the transfer of prisoners, and other problems associated with marijuana — which is strictly illegal in the two states — flowing into Nebraska and Oklahoma. The states say the problems amount to "irreparable injury."

The lawsuit does not cite any figures to back up the claims.

News stories since Amendment 64's passage have repeatedly noted the complaints of law enforcement officers working in the two states that marijuana legalization in Colorado is straining their budgets. For instance, the police chief in Sydney, Neb., told a television station this year that half of his department's traffic stops now result in a marijuana arrest. He said the department burned through its yearly overtime budget in six months, mostly paying officers overtime to go to court to testify in marijuana prosecutions.

Another Nebraska television station reported this year that, while the state's highway patrol has not seen a jump in marijuana citations, it seized nearly twice as much suspected drug money in 2014 as in 2013. Late last year, a spokesman for Oklahoma's Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs told The Denver Post that Colorado marijuana has earned a reputation for potency in his state.

The lawsuit argues that Colorado also has done little to keep pot from leaving the state. Marijuana customers are not subject to criminal background checks and their purchases are not tracked, the lawsuit notes.

"Nebraska taxpayers have to bear the cost," Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning said at a news conference Thursday, in comments reported by the Omaha World-Herald. "We can't afford to divert resources to deal with Colorado's problem."

"Fundamentally," Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a statement, "Oklahoma and states surrounding Colorado are being impacted by Colorado's decision to legalize and promote the commercialization of marijuana which has injured Oklahoma's ability to enforce our state's policies against marijuana."

It is unclear whether additional states will join the lawsuit against Colorado. A spokeswoman for the Kansas attorney general's office said the state is "assessing our options."

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper earlier this year proposed hiring two analysts to track out-of-state marijuana diversion, something that ultimately wasn't funded. In an interview Thursday, Hickenlooper said he has talked with officials from Nebraska and Oklahoma about their concerns and how to address them.

"I'm not sure filing a lawsuit is the most constructive way to find a solution to whatever issues there are," he said.

Legal analysts also expressed skepticism about the lawsuit.

"Congress can't force states to criminalize marijuana," Vanderbilt law professor Robert Mikos, an expert on the intersection of federal power and state marijuana laws, wrote in a blog post. Oklahoma and Nebraska "cannot simply force Colorado join their fight," Mikos wrote.

University of Denver law professor Sam Kamin wrote in an e-mail that the lawsuit does not mount much of a challenge to Colorado's ability to legalize marijuana use or possession. Rather, it focuses only on the commercial sale and state regulation of pot — meaning, even if it is successful, it might not entirely strike down Amendment 64 but could lead marijuana stores to close.

Brian Vicente, an attorney who was one of Amendment 64's chief proponents, charged that the lawsuit is "largely without merit."

Likewise, other legalization advocates blasted the lawsuit. Mike Elliott of the Marijuana Industry Group said the lawsuit, if successful, could lead to a resurgent marijuana black market. Mason Tvert, another of Amendment 64's proponents, said Nebraska and Oklahoma are "on the wrong side of history."

"It's unfortunate the state of Nebraska is trying to dictate the laws here in Colorado," Tvert said.

But groups opposed to legalization cheered the lawsuit. Kevin Sabet, a co-founder of the national group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said legalization of marijuana "is not implemented in a vacuum."

"Colorado's decisions regarding marijuana are not without consequences to neighboring states, and indeed all Americans," Sabet wrote in a statement.

Intel&Sebastian posted:

My favorite part of the CO legalization is still the letters-to-the-editor lady who was afraid for her childrens safety because snowboarders were going to start smoking weed.

My Imaginary GF posted:

solution: ban sales to individuals with an Okie or Nebraskan ID

Intel&Sebastian posted:

My favorite part of the CO legalization is still the letters-to-the-editor lady who was afraid for her childrens safety because snowboarders were going to start smoking weed.

Captain_Maclaine posted:

This is now my new standard for being old and out of touch.

chitoryu12 posted:

"Start".

quote:

The lawsuit does not cite any figures to back up the claims.

ComradeCosmobot posted:

"In a 5-4 decision we find that banning the sale of items based on the state of the purchaser's residence violates the Interstate Commerce Clause of the US Constitution." And then we get a backdoor to selling health insurance across state lines.

GWBBQ posted:

computer parts posted:

2018 will be funny if Clinton wins because there is an above average chance that Cuba will normalize relations with the US.