Taliban urge Obama to pull troops out now

"Taliban insurgents told re-elected President Barack Obama to admit that the United States has lost the war in Afghanistan and pull its troops out now. 'Obama must by now know that they have lost the war in Afghanistan,' spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on the Islamists’ website. 'So, without further lying and delays, they should leave our sacred land and focus on their own country instead.' Accusing Americans of committing war crimes, he added: 'The American administration should stop acting like police in the world and focus on solving their own people’s problems, and don’t make the world hate Americans even more.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingTaliban urge Obama to pull troops out now

Obama Bombs Yemen Hours After Winning Reelection

"Not even a full day had passed before newly reelected President Obama ordered another drone strike in Yemen. 'A U.S. drone strike targeted a group of al-Qaida militants on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Wednesday night, killing at least three terrorists, government officials said.' The drone war violates both domestic and international law, and the Obama administration’s vehement disdain for transparency in government is the only thing keeping it from public and legal scrutiny. Beyond the law, it’s terrorism." Continue reading

Continue ReadingObama Bombs Yemen Hours After Winning Reelection

DEA Responds to Legal Weed in Colorado and Washington: “Enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged”

"Despite the passage of ballot initiatives in Washington and Colorado legalizing recreational marijuana, 'the Drug Enforcement Administration’s enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged,' a DEA spokesperson told Reason this morning. 'In enacting the Controlled Substances Act, Congress determined that marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance. The Department of Justice is reviewing the ballot initiatives and we have no additional comment at this time.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingDEA Responds to Legal Weed in Colorado and Washington: “Enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged”

Obama May Levy Carbon Tax to Cut U.S. Deficit, HSBC Says

"Barack Obama may consider introducing a tax on carbon emissions to help cut the U.S. budget deficit after winning a second term as president, according to HSBC Holdings Plc. A tax starting at $20 a metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent and rising at about 6 percent a year could raise $154 billion by 2021, Nick Robins, an analyst at the bank in London, said today in an e-mailed research note, citing Congressional Research Service estimates. In China, the world’s biggest emitter, greenhouse gases from fuel use rose more than 9 percent in 2011." Continue reading

Continue ReadingObama May Levy Carbon Tax to Cut U.S. Deficit, HSBC Says

Puerto Ricans push for U.S. statehood in referendum vote

"For the first time, a majority of Puerto Rican voters expressed support for changing their homeland’s status from a U.S. commonwealth to full statehood Tuesday night. According to CNN, the non-binding referendum on the issue was split into two questions. Residents voted against remaining a territory by a margin of 54 percent to 46 percent in the first part of the referendum, while 61 percent supported statehood in the second part. President Barack Obama expressed support for the referendum. Puerto Rican Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock said economic factors weighed heavily in statehood winning majority support." Continue reading

Continue ReadingPuerto Ricans push for U.S. statehood in referendum vote

Welfare States: Federal Grants Now a Third of State Revenue

"The Pew Center on the States has a great new illustration of how dependent states have become on federal dollars since the recession. States now count on the federal government for $1 out of every $3 in revenue, according the 2010 Census, which offers the most recent finalized data. That’s your stimulus money at work. And $1 out of every $3 is just the national average: In Arizona, 46.9 percent of state revenue came from federal grants; in Louisiana, 48 percent; and in Mississippi, a whopping 49.6 percent." Continue reading

Continue ReadingWelfare States: Federal Grants Now a Third of State Revenue

Preparing for the upcoming federal confrontation on legalized marijuana

"What seems to be pretty much a given is that the DEA will not go after consumers. They simply don’t have the staff to do it. 99% of possession arrests are by state and local police — if they’re not doing it under the new law, then the feds can’t do much about it. So, as with medical marijuana, they’ll go after the big suppliers. That’s almost impossible to defend against — the government’s ability to seize property and the visibility of large suppliers makes it easy picking. So the smart thing would be to push for a lot of small suppliers — make it hard for the DEA to go after them and less of a loss if they do." Continue reading

Continue ReadingPreparing for the upcoming federal confrontation on legalized marijuana

Julian Assange says victorious Obama ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’

" WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday described re-elected President Barack Obama was a 'wolf in sheep’s clothing' and said he expected the US government to keep attacking the anti-secrecy website. Speaking to AFP by telephone from Ecuador’s London embassy, where he sought asylum in June in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex crime allegations, Assange said Obama’s victory was no cause for celebration. 'Obama seems to be a nice man, and that is precisely the problem,' the 41-year-old Australian told AFP, after the president defeated Republican Mitt Romney on Tuesday night." Continue reading

Continue ReadingJulian Assange says victorious Obama ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’