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As the big meeting between Obama’s Drug Czar (and former Seattle Police Chief) Gil Kerlikowske and the Seattle Times editorial board approaches tomorrow, the Times is hosting a live chat today at noon to debate the topic of marijuana legalization. While Ryan Blethen explained that feedback to their editorial stance has been both overwhelming and positive, they’re still very willing to have a debate about it.

To that end, they published an editorial from Patti Skelton-McGougan, the director of Youth Eastside Services. And if this is the best the prohibition-backers can come up with, they’re in worse shape than I thought:

AS we consider the legalization of marijuana, we must bear in mind the impact on our youth. Politics aside, the legalization debate is sending a confusing message that’s contributing to a rise in marijuana use among teens.

There’s absolutely no evidence supporting this assertion. Drug use rates have gone up and down periodically over the years and we’ve been having a debate over legalization for a long time. In fact, the enactment of medical marijuana laws led to decreases in teen marijuana use across the country. But at that time, we were told the same thing. We were told that medical marijuana laws send a confusing message to kids about the dangers of marijuana and that would lead to greater use. It was wrong then, and it’s still wrong today.

In the Seattle Times’ Feb. 20 editorial calling for the legalizing of marijuana and Editorial Page Editor Ryan Blethen’s Feb. 27 column, the potential impact on youth was blithely dismissed.

I thought that the Times editorial could’ve been stronger on one particular point. Legalizing and regulating marijuana will have a positive impact on the youth in this state. As has been pointed out millions of times, teenage marijuana use rates in Holland (where sales to adults have been allowed for over 30 years) are much lower than in the United States. A big reason for this is exactly the reason why Skelton-McGougan’s logic in her opening paragraph is wrong. In Holland, marijuana is far less glamorous. It’s not associated with teenage rebellion the way it is here. Claiming that marijuana is far more dangerous than it really is only taps into the teenage tendency to rebel. That’s especially true when most teenagers are smart enough to see with their own eyes that marijuana isn’t meth or heroin because they often see older siblings or other people they know using it and leading normal lives.

Beyond that, the Times editorial did provide some good points on the policy impacts for youth. Marijuana prohibition leads to increased involvement in the criminal justice system and exposure to gangs. And young people with marijuana convictions can lose out on scholarship money and other benefits that can radically alter their future prospects in life. It’s never good to see anyone under 18 using marijuana. People who start using it before they reach adulthood increase their likelihood of developing destructive habits as they get older. But cutting off someone’s access to an education, or getting them involved in criminal activity is far more detrimental.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, there’s the question of access. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University does an annual survey of teenagers and they consistently find that teenagers report that it’s easier to get marijuana than it is to get alcohol. Why? Because when you put control of an illegal commodity in the hands of criminal gangs, they generally don’t care whether or not the person buying it from them is over a certain age. If you want to reduce access to young people, a good start is by establishing a system that allows us to regulate its sale to those over 21. Currently, we have no way of doing that.

The people who are advocating for the end of marijuana prohibition are not “blithely dismissing” the impacts of such a move on our youth. They’re advocating for it because they know that it’s the best path forward for them. And there’s a mountain of evidence and even more common sense that points very clearly in that direction. I’ve probably written variations of this post a half-dozen times to various editorials and other outbursts of uninformed nonsense. And I’ll continue to do so until the baseless fear-mongering over “protecting our youth” is proven to be nothing more than uninformed attempts to prop up a failed policy that does exactly the opposite.

UPDATE: Well, that was interesting. It looked like there were a lot of participants in the discussion. Some interesting things to note:

– According to Ryan Blethen, the details of the meeting with Kerlikowske will be made public. In addition, Kerlikowske was expected to be out in Seattle anyway at this time.

– Stephen Bogan, a Therapist who was arguing to keep prohibition in place, made this interesting claim at the end of the session:

Most kids get pot and other drugs from their parents homes.

I’ve never seen any evidence that even comes close to supporting this claim, and after looking through some similar data in the CASA survey, it doesn’t even seem plausible. Has anyone heard this one before?

Bogan was quite vocal about his concerns over teenage drug use, but was never able to explain why he supports a policy that puts the distribution of marijuana in the hands of gangs and others who could care less about how young their customers are.

The Seattle School Board has let Maria Goodloe-Johnson go as superintendent in the wake of the auditor’s report. I don’t know anything about Susan Enfield, who the board chose as interim. I know nothing about the process to pick the next superintendent, but I have a suggestion.

Involve the teachers union as much as possible. They were right about her last year. They’ll be the ones on the ground when further cuts get made, and they’re the ones who will be able to spot any bullshit since it effects them directly. They will know what works best and what doesn’t for their students.

And after years of chronic unemployment impoverished activism, Goldy really earns his paycheck. And man, when he gets a fire under his ass, he can perform!

Check out this outstanding feature for the current issue of The Stranger.

Goldy takes an in-depth look at a Governor Rob McKenna, and what McKenna’s own words and actions suggest would happen during his stay in the Governor’s mansion.

I won’t even offer a blockquote-bite here, but let me just tease you with, Hello…Wisconsin! For the full skinny on McKenna, head over to The Stranger, right now. There you will learn the nightmare-provoking truth about the many faces of Rob McKenna.

If, by chance, McKenna doesn’t capture the Governor’s mansion in 2012, Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) will deserve most of the credit. Goldy’s piece gets most of the rest.

(Full disclosure: Goldy is an occasional contributer to this blog.)

Yesterday there was this NY Times poll, of 984 adults, taken 24 to 27 Feb (3% margin of error):

Americans oppose weakening the bargaining rights of public employee unions by a margin of nearly two to one: 60 percent to 33 percent. While a slim majority of Republicans favored taking away some bargaining rights, they were outnumbered by large majorities of Democrats and independents who said they opposed weakening them.
[…]

The poll found that an overwhelming 71 percent of Democrats opposed weakening collective bargaining rights. But there was also strong opposition from independents: 62 percent of them said they opposed taking bargaining rights away from public employee unions.
[…]

The one group that favors weakening those rights, by a slim majority, was Republicans.

And today, a similar poll from the Wall Street Journal and NBC is about to be released. This poll sampled 1,000 adults (3.1% margin of error). From the preliminary WSJ write-up:

Eliminating collective bargaining rights for public-sector workers over health care, pensions or other benefits would be either “mostly unacceptable” or “totally unacceptable,” 62% of those surveyed said. Only 33% support such limits.

The results don’t bode well for Wisconsin’s newly elected Republican governor, Scott Walker, who is locked in a standoff with statehouse Democrats and unionized state workers over these rights.
[…]

Similarly, 77%…think unionized state and municipal employees should have the same rights as those union members who work for private companies.

You know, I seriously doubt the same poll taken six months ago would have come out anywhere near this pro-Labor. Gov. Walker’s extreme, and ham-handed politics, with a helping hand from New Jersey, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, etc. has been a big awakening for America’s inner progressive.

The question is does Walker do more damage by compromise, or by standing firm on stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights?

Either way…Walker’s and the right wing extremist’s War on Workers has sustained a huge blow.

Upwards of 200 people, a hand full of police officers, a few different media organizations, and one bloodmobile braved gusty winds and rain this morning to gather by George on the University of Washington campus as part of a United Students Against Sweatshops national day of action.

The protests are in response to draconian budget cuts and anti-collective bargaining legislation proposed by governor Scott Walker (R-WI).

Here are some scenes from the demonstration taken from my cell phone:

I’m sure someone’s gonna claim the bloodmobile was used to bring in out-of-state protesters….

Although you can count me as a supporter, I didn’t make it down to the rally in Olympia for Wisconsin public employees on Saturday. I did manage to get to the walk for choice. And as I’ve done before, here are some of the slogans that were on the signs. As always this isn’t meant to be comprehensive, and if I missed your sign, sorry. Also, most of the signs were in all caps and while that works for signs, I’ve made capitalization, and less frequently punctuation choices for the blog that I hope still capture the meaning of the signs.

– $75 Million for 800 clinics/year = 4 Hours of war
– American freedom – freedom of choice
– Don’t take away my breast exams
– Don’t take away my cancer screenings
– Every child wanted every mother willing
– GOP Cares About: union members immigrants women teachers fetuses
– Health, safety, & choice for all
– Hey GOP! Where are the jobs? Not in my uterus! Promise!
– I can’t believe I have to protest this
– I stand with Planned Parenthood
– If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention
– I’m a theist for choice
– Keep your laws off my body
– Keep your rosaries off of my ovaries
– My family stands with Planned Parenthood
– Planned Parenthood is the best parenthood
– Roe, Roe, Roe your vote
– Trust Women
– Walk for choice
– We are midwives for reproductive rights
– We have a choice
– We stand with Planned Parenthood
– Women’s rights are civil rights

PS, sorry this is so late.

Please join us tonight for an evening of politics under the influence at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally. We meet at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. We start at 8:00 pm, but feel free to show up even earlier for dinner.

Not in Seattle? There is a good chance you live near one of the 214 other chapters of Drinking Liberally.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10:30am, UW (Seattle) students will meet by the Statute of George Washington and protest in solidarity with UW–Madison students.

The United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) and members of the UW American Association of University Professors (AAUP) will demonstrate in support of
Wisconsin unions and workers. The rally is part of a USAS national day of action called by students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who are currently fighting draconian cuts proposed by governor Scott Walker (R-WI).

The full press release is posted at The Ave.

Steve Benen gives George Will some good advice about writing columns on subjects he doesn’t understand.

Remember that 2008 Republican primary candidate named Tommy Thompson? You know, that guy who demonstrated all the charisma of soiled laundry? Tommy was elected Governor of Wisconsin in the late 1980s. When elected, Illinois had had a Governor Jim Thompson in office for a decade. Big Jim was a Republican as well.

I don’t remember why, exactly—perhaps it was just a pissing contest over who the real Gov. Thompson was—but economic warfare ensued between the two neighboring states.

Gov. Jim struck first when a billboard appeared just over the Wisconsin border saying, “Gov. Thompson wants you to move your business to Illinois.” Cute. Gov. Tommy responded in kind, though I don’t remember the details. I moved out of Wisconsin as the battles raged. Not even sure who (if anyone) won the war.

Cut to 2011 :

After Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law a state income tax hike…New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels–all Republicans–pitched Illinois business to move to their states. Christie was the most aggressive, running newspaper and radio ads in Illinois and stopping earlier this month at the Union League Club in Chicago.

What is it with these Republicans and their desperate opportunism. You have to believe they’d sell the flesh of their own mothers if it might lure a business to their state. And they might not wait for death.

“What…you have a headache, Mom?”

“Well then perhaps you would you consider contributing some bits to my campaign to land our state a new Kibbles factory…MY PRETTY!”

Let’s examine a Democratic and Republican response to this gubernatorial scavenging. First, the Democrat (my emphasis):

At the opening session press conference on Saturday, I asked Washington State Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Democrat and the NGA chair, what she thought of governors coming to Illinois to steal jobs.

“Going over and stealing from someplace else really isn’t the future for them,” Gregoire said. “Their future is building their own economic stability inside their state…my policy as governor is anybody who wants to come to Washington State is welcome. I am not out trying to steal a company from my colleagues.”

And now, the Republican:

NGA co-chair, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman responded that it is okay to poach “I believe in competition among the states and among the countries.” He then gave out his phone number.

See any difference?

And hear that, Boeing? Gov. Heineman wants poached Boeing. For a good time, call Gov. Dave Heineman at 402-471-2244…and re-relocate your headquarters to fricken Nebraskghanistan.

Q: Who is winning the hearts and minds of Wisconsin voters?

A: Not Governor Scott Walker.

Public Policy Polling (PPP) has released a new opinion poll today, taken from 24-27 of February on 768 Wisconsin voters. From PPP’s write-up:

…if voters in the state could do it over today they’d support defeated Democratic nominee Tom Barrett over Scott Walker by a a 52-45 margin.

The difference between how folks would vote now and how they voted in November can almost all be attributed to shifts within union households. Voters who are not part of union households have barely shifted at all- they report having voted for Walker by 7 points last fall and they still say they would vote for Walker by a 4 point margin. But in households where there is a union member voters now say they’d go for Barrett by a 31 point margin, up quite a bit from the 14 point advantage they report having given him in November.

It’s actually Republicans, more so than Democrats or independents, whose shifting away from Walker would allow Barrett to win a rematch if there was one today.

The poll details are here.

Keep this in mind when Gov. Walker starts “ratcheting it up” with claims of irreversible damage Democratic senators are doing to the state by preventing a quorum, or about how the people of Wisconsin are tired of the Senators’ “stunt.” More likely than not…he’s bullshitting.

The major damage the Democrats are causing is to Walker’s future in elective office.

Today is the 10 anniversary of the Nisqually earthquake that shook the Seattle region and almost brought down the Alaska Way viaduct. 

I celebrated the day by driving the viaduct…for the first time in my life.  I took it southbound…you know, the direction that would get me pancaked in a collapse.

I was on my way to West Seattle to get a root canal.

You might say I was wishing for The Big One.

No such luck, as  I’m writing this from my phone while waiting in The Chair for the Novocaine to kick in. 

Update: Well, that wasn’t so bad. Root canals have a bad rep. I hereby apologize to the residents of the Puget Sound region for wishing mayhem, death and destruction upon them over my endodontic anxiety.

The 4:00 pm closing deadline is here, and the bottom two floors of the capitol building in Madison is still filled with protesters. Will the police take action to clear the building? If so, some resistance is expected. Watch it live…

Update: The world is watching! At 4:30 pm CDT (2:30 pm here on the left coast), there are over 10,000 people watching this live stream.

Update: The feed went dead around 4:32 CDT/2:32 PDT. Huh…imagine that.

Update: Mother Jones reports via Twitter that the internet has been cut off. Nobody is sure why.

Update (2:50 PDT): For now, you can follow the live stream at FOX News. Hold you nose, if you must, but it is just a feed…no commentary from the FAUX News entertainment gallery.

Update (3:15 pm): FOX News pulls the plug on their live stream.

Update (3:55 pm): Eric Kleefeld files this report from inside the capitol building.

Update (4:10 pm): Back to live (not–see below)…found a new video feed. (This one contains commentary.)

Update (4:18 pm): Fugitive Senators in Illinois have no plans to return to Wisconsin.

Update (4:30 pm): Okay…so the embedded “live stream” is not live. Here is a stream from someone’s iPhone that is, supposedly, live.

Update (4:59 pm): There are unconfirmed reports flying around the Tweetosphere that “Republican Sen. Dale Schultz will vote no on Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill”. This was just mentioned on the iPhone live feed too. “This is the crack in the armor!”

Update (5:00 pm): Apparently…capitol police are allowing protesters to spend the night. This is an impressive symbolic victory for the protesters.

Update (5:15 pm): Yep…the announcement has come that the protesters can stay for the night. And pizza will be delivered.

Update (5:32 pm): Ok…the current iPhone live feed from brandzel here.

Update (5:38 pm): Just heard on NPR bottom-o-the-hour newscast that Walker was “clearing the Wisconsin capitol building.” Someone needs to have a little talk with NPR’s news department about Twitter….

Update (6:01 pm): Rachael Maddow looks into Scott Walker’s disastrous attempt at busting unions while Milwaukee County Executive:

Finale (7:47 pm): Well…that was exciting.

Here is, I think, the take-home from this little episode of Walker’s War on Workers. First, tonight could have been just another evening of protesters in the Wisconsin capitol…a protest sleep-over like those of the preceding fortnight. But with the announcement that the protesters would be evicted from the capitol building on Sunday at 4:00 pm, the State Department of Administration created a huge confrontation. And both the old media and new media took a keen interest in the outcome. I didn’t really plan to live-blog this event. But with the live video feeds and instant reporting available through Twitter, the confrontation came alive–an epic battle was about to unfold between Walker and the protesters.

And the protesters won–big time. Tonight was a PR disaster for Walker.

The protesters won because the Administration had no choice but to back down. With a heavy media (old and new) presence, images of handcuffed teachers, students, firefighters, construction workers, etc. being dragged from the building would have been a disaster an order of magnitude larger that what we saw.

The protesters won because Walker’s cocksure posture has now been shown to be a façade, and one that is cracked. Walker is vulnerable.

The protesters won because the media saw police and firefighters, uniformed and off duty, stand with and even join in with the protesters. It does raise the question of whether the State Department of Administration made the decision to back down or whether the capitol police simply refused to clear the protesters out of the capitol.

The protesters won because, apparently, Republican Sen. Dale Schultz has decided to vote “no” on the bill. Yeah…it could be a trick. And, yeah, the Democrats need at least two more Republicans to kill the bill. But a Republican Senator rejecting the bill is huge (if actually true—I remain cautious). A week ago, I did not expect anything but the usual monolithic Republican support for the bill. If one Senator can bail, so can others. And now that the people of Wisconsin see that they can have a voice in the process, many more citizens will feel it worthwhile to write or call their elected leaders.

The protesters won through their longevity. A week ago, I could not imagine that the protests would be sustained through the week. Hell…a week ago I though it was unlikely that the bill would be killed. Now I’m not so sure. Tonight may be a defining moment—a turnaround—in Gov. Walker’s War on Workers.

Stay tuned!

Last week’s contest was won by wes.in.wa. It was along Lake Sammamish.

Here’s this week’s, which is related to something in the news from February. Good luck!

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) has made the claim that dismantling collective bargaining rights for most state workers is necessary to balance the budget:

“The bottom line is we are trying to balance our budget and there really is no room to negotiate on that because we’re broke,” the Republican governor said.

This is a lie. In fact, the public employee unions have offered fiscal concessions close to those imposed by the controversial legislation:

Top leaders of two of Wisconsin’s largest public employee unions announced they are willing to accept the financial concessions called for in Walker’s plan, but will not accept the loss of collective bargaining rights.

This isn’t enough for Walker, whose real motive is to destroy most public employee unions. (The exceptions found in his legislation are the unions that supported his election campaign.)

Even today Walker continues his lie on the Sunday morning talk show circuit:

“If we do not get these changes, and the (state) Senate Democrats don’t come back, we’re going to be forced to make up the savings in layoffs, and that to me is just unacceptable.”

In fact, Walker could have had all the budget savings necessary simply by negotiating compensation adjustments with the unions.

You know…like Gov. Christine Gregoire (D-WA) did!

This morning on NPR’s Weekend Edition, host Liane Hansen spoke with Gregoire (who is suffering laryngitis) about public employee unions and the Washington state solution:

Last fall, Gregoire was elected Chair of the National Governors Association, establishing that she has the trust and respect of her peers.

So in this forth year of the Bush Recession, when almost every state is struggling with budget issues, maybe newly elected gubernatorial nut cases like Scott Walker should study and emulate the successes of the more experienced and respected Governors in the nation.