Civil & Human Rights

Jimmy Carter calls for legalization of marijuana (video)

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Jimmy-carter-peanut-field-smby Pamela Powers Hannley

Former President Jimmy Carter has given a "full throated endorsement" of states' efforts to legalize marijuana.

Alluding to a 1979 speech in which he called for decriminalization of marijuana, Carter said the US has gone backwards in its policies. (He called for decriminalization in 1979? How did I miss that? Oh, yeah, 1979, I … er… must not have been paying attention … for some reason.)

In an interview with CNN (video here), Carter also said that the nation's marijuana-related incarceration laws discriminate against blacks, Latinos and the mentally ill and are unnecessarily imprisoning far too many US citizens. For every person imprisoned in 1979 for marijuana, there are 8 in jail today, according to Carter.

More details, check out the CNN video, this story in the Huffington Post, or this story from ABC News. After the jump, watch the documentary Breaking the Taboo, in which Carter says the War on Drugs has failed, and the US should rethink its drug policies. (Well, duh. I'm glad a well-respected elder statesman like Carter spoke up. President Obama, the ball is in your court.)

Tea-Publican Tyranny in Michigan – Reviving the Civil Rights Movement: ‘Workers Rights Are Civil Rights’

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Ed Kilgore captures the Randian philosophy of conservatives towards the working class perfectly in Ancient Battle:

[T]he [right to work] legislation represents an ancient, almost primal cause among
conservatives who view unions as both an economic and political threat
to a free market society in which workers are independent contractors
whose low pay and meager benefits are an accurate benefit of their
limited value to the enterprises that make all good things possible.

In other words, your labor is just a unit cost of production that needs to be reduced as low as possible to maximize profits to the ownership class and investor class. When you are no longer of productive value (due to age, illness or disability) you are to be discarded — a cost to be externalized to society as a whole. It is a race to the bottom to reduce the unit cost of labor.

The ownership class and investor class, however, the so-called "job creators," are to be worshipped as masters of the universe for amassing great profits and personal wealth. They are the only humans who truly matter in their world. Hence the Randian "makers vs. takers" propaganda from the right-wing noise machine.

Republicans & non-voters shouldn’t whine about school closures (video)

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51st-15-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

As I was reading Arizona Daily Star education reporter Alexis Huicochea's Tweets from the latest public school closure hearing on last Saturday, I wondered to myself: How many of these parents– who are now gnashing their teeth about their kid's school– voted Republican or didn't vot at all?

Remember 2010, when the Repulbicans swept all of Arizona's statewide offices and won a super majority in the Arizona Legislature? Things were bad before that, but our state really slid into dark times with Governor Jan "George Wallace in a Skirt" Brewer and her henchmen– Attorney General Tom "Kill MAS" Horne, Public Instruction Head John "Charter Schools" Huppenthal, Secretary of State Ken "Birther" Bennet, and former State Senate President Russell "Get the Messicans" Pearce– in charge. They are the reason that Tucson Unified Schools District (TUSD) has a $17 million short fall. They are the reason TUSD is closing schools, increasing class sizes, and laying off teachers. And, actually, you are the reason, too.

Parents, grandparents, and activists– if you voted for Republican legislators, the governor, and her gang of thieves and/or voted against continuation of the sales tax for education and jobs (prop 204) OR didn't vote at all– shut up about school closures. You got want you wanted– smaller government, impoverished public education, and millions of dollars of corporate welfare. Hurray for the 1%! Screw you, children of Arizona. 

Your theme song plays after the jump.

Update: Arizona same-sex partner benefits case held by U.S. Supreme Court

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The U.S. Supreme Court did not include Janice K. Brewer, Governor of Arizona, et al.,  Petitioners v. Joseph R. Diaz, et al. (12-23), the the Arizona state workers' benefits case, in its orders list this morning. SCOTUSblog.com live blog suggests that the Arizona same-sex marriage/domestic partner case will apparently be held for … Read more

President Obama to pursue comprehensive immigration reform after the ‘fiscal cliff’ is resolved

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Both the The Arizona Republic(an) and the Arizona Daily Star editorialized today for immigration reform in the next Congress. These editors seem to think that Tea-Publicans in Congress are ready to be reasonable on immigration reform. They express unjustified confidence in Tea-Publicans not grounded in fact or to  be believed from past conduct.

President Obama will “begin an all-out drive for comprehensive
immigration reform, including seeking a path to citizenship” for 11
million undocumented immigrants, after Congress addresses the fiscal
cliff, the Los Angeles Times reports. Obama plans push for immigration reform:

As soon as the confrontation over fiscal policy winds down, the Obama
administration will begin an all-out drive for comprehensive
immigration reform, including seeking a path to citizenship for 11
million illegal immigrants, according to officials briefed on the plans.

While key tactical decisions are still being made, President Obama
wants a catch-all bill that would also bolster border security measures,
ratchet up penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants, and
make it easier to bring in foreign workers under special visas, among
other elements.