Colorado Marijuana Taxes

As most of us know, marijuana was legalized in Colorado last year, but as of last night, it broken even further grounds as 65% of voters agreed to a 15% excise tax that will help support school construction and a 10% sales tax for law enforcement purposes.  While some argued that it was unfair to give marijuana a higher tax than other products such as tobacco and beer, it seems that a surprising majority disagrees.  This agreement on taxation will ultimately benefit Colorado as it is expected to bring in nearly 70 million dollars in state tax revenue next year.

While legalizing marijuana is one of the many controversial issues today in politics, it is hard to argue the perks that have been presented through Colorado.  Taking the money from under-the-law drug dealers and putting it into the pocket of the government could be very beneficial as the country struggles economically.  While some argued that it doesn't deserve this taxation, there is absolutely no other way for it to become legalized.  The government is not going to agree to legalize such a controversial drug unless it proves beneficial to society in some way.


http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/04/politics/2013-ballot-measures/index.html?hpt=po_c1

GOP only cares about re-election?

In an interview published today, Republican chairman of the House Rules Committee, Rep. Pete Sessions, admittedly said how the "GOP's primary interests aren't even in the chamber it controls" and that "Everything we do in this body should be about messaging to win back the Senate." This comes at a crucial time during American politics and how it is suffering from an unbearable plague of gridlock and minimal progress. Although what one Representative says may not reflect the whole party, it does lead one to wonder whether or not other Republicans feel the same way. This parallels with our discussion on what elected officials truly want. Indeed, re-election is one of them, but apparently, for Sessions, its the number one priority. A justification for his statement could possibly be that a GOP take over of the senate may lead to less political gridlock, but at what cost of priority? Shouldn't every single member of congress be pre occupied with avoiding another governmental shutdown in January? Who knows, only time will tell (and the media, as always).

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/05/house-gop-leadership_n_4221876.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

Returning Troops

Although this isn't the most relevant post, after reading this article it just made me think Damn, I am proud to be an American where we still care for our soldiers overseas.  Fifteen Marines were on their flight back home from Afghanistan.  Their airliner, American airlines holds a policy that upgrades any serviceman or woman free of charge to any open seat.  Unfortunately there were only six available seats for upgrade.  When passengers saw the six men upgraded, passengers excitedly offered the remaining nine Marines their seats so all of the gentlemen who had been valiantly serving our country could stay together.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/06/7-first-class-passengers-give-up-seats-to-marines-returning-from-afghanistan/

Obamacare affecting elections?

Its clear that each American have their own opinions about Obamacare. Some support it and some don't. But did Obamacare really affect an election? The rumors are true! The outcome of Obamacare made new Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe election go from an easy win to a barely won race.  The ending result of the election was 48% of the vote to McAuliffe and 45% of the vote to the Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli. The outcome of this election was a shock to not only the candidates but to the public. The predictors were shocked when a double digit lead was blown after the voters who were opposed to Obamacare closed the gap by voting for Rep. Cuccinelli. Cuccinelli said in his concession speech."That message will go out to the entire country tonight". Talking about the clear message to everyone that not only is Obamacare affecting Americans it's now affecting Democrat's up for re-elections in the red-states. It's not clear that each election will be this close of an outcome to the rest of the states, but it's something that politicians should keep in mind for their upcoming races. Although the government shut down clearly put the most damage on Cuccinelli during the race, because of his political party, the most interesting thing is how the voters are FINALLY expressing their voice about Obamacare in this election. Even though McAuliffe did come out with the win, it was a set back to the newly elected Governor, in the sense that its clear his state voters are not happy with him supporting Obama and his health care plan. It will be interesting to see if Obamacare will affect more elections that are coming up.

McAuliffe barely takes the W

Could Stand Your Ground Laws Be Ruled Racist?

An effort led by Jesse Jackson Sr. has filed a lawsuit against Georgia’s Stand Your Ground statute. The group is seeking to have the law ruled unconstitutional on the basis that it is racist. According to this coalition, society perceives black people as more dangerous as more dangerous than other racial groups. Because of this they are more likely to be harmed from stand your ground laws. The Trayvon Martin case is the first example used in this article to defend the group’s argument. This makes for a very poor argument considering the fact that George Zimmerman waived his right to a Stand Your Ground hearing. He was acquitted under the premise of self-defense and was in no way aided by Stand Your Ground Laws. And even if that case was applicable in any way, the coalition’s argument would still be appallingly shaky. For the most part people in both the real world, and in court, will judge how threatening others are based on their actions, not because of the color of their skin. This isn’t to say that there are zero people in the world who are racist and will feel increasingly threatened by someone who is black. But it does mean that the actions of those people would be wrong, and the courts would reflect that. Georgia’s Stand Your Ground statute has absolutely no mention of race. It’s preposterous to think that someone could use the defense that they felt threatened because a person had skin that was colored differently than theirs. If people disagree with the morality of Stand Your Ground laws and want to oppose them or debate the issue then that is completely understandable. But in my opinion it’s rather outlandish to do so under the guise of racism.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/05/us-usa-georgia-lawsuit-idUSBRE9A412L20131105

Governor Christie re-elected

Last night Chris Christie was re-elected as the New Jersey Governor. According to a New York Times article, Christie crushed the margin and seems to be favored for the Republicans presidential contenders. The Republican governor won in a democratic state with 60.5% of the votes. The article says he has been able to gain the support of blacks, Hispanics, young people, and women- groups that the Republican Party has struggled to engage. Ed Gillespie stated, “He’s proved that a conservative Republican can get votes from Hispanics and African-Americans, that a pro-life governor can get votes from women. This means that those voters are available to us, that we’re not shut out demographically or geographically — that it’s worth the effort.” I would like to see him run for the presidential election. In his first term as governor he was able to work and cooperate with democrats, which says a lot given the recent government shutdown. In a recent interview governor Christie compared Trenton to Washington and said what they have works because they work together, unlike Washington. Christie is a strong candidate because of his ability to work together and his likability. He was able to win re-election despite his controversial views on abortion, same-sex marriage, and minimum wage. With his strong support, I see him as a solid candidate for the 2016 presidential election.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/nyregion/chris-christie-re-elected-governor-of-new-jersey.html?hp&_r=0 

No Morsel too minuscule for All- conguming N.S.A

In this article the National security agency worked incercept a man name mr.Ban's meeting. While the N.S.A eavesdrop he may have been a foreign target. The National security agency has eavasdroped and hacked its way around the world to strip government and other targets for their secrets. The N.S.A. also spies on both their allies and enemies. They have the power to achieve diplomatic advantage. President Obama stood uncomfortable near the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, who  was furious to be named a target for the N.S.A eavesdropping. There had been a European Union protest including in other countries like Mexico, France,Germany, and Spain. There have been questions that wondered for foreign citizens whom now rely on American companies for email and internet services,do they have any privacy protections from the N.S.A.? Will our American internet giants damage or voluntary them in the international market?