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The past few hours in Tripoli have been noisy with the sounds of gunfire. Up until now, Gaddafi had lost most of the country but still maintained control in the capital and his hometown of Sirte. Libyan TV has been broadcasting that a number of cities were retaken by Gaddafi’s forces today, but other news outlets have shown those claims to be fiction. Zawiyah, west of Tripoli, was still being held by anti-regime protesters despite several very violent attacks.

Libyan TV is also claiming that the gunfire is the result of pro-Gaddafi folks celebrating, and the Al Jazeera correspondent on the ground concurred that it’s coming partially from regime supporters who actually believe that government forces have re-taken opposition-held cities and are marching on Benghazi. But she also reports that there’s more going on than just the celebrations, and it’s possible that there are some actual gunbattles in the city between pro- and anti-Gaddafi forces.

Everything points to the fact that the noose is still tightening against Gaddafi and his supporters. It would be fitting to see his insane rule end as his supporters celebrate victory in the parallel universe they’ve constructed for themselves. Al Jazeera has a good live blog of Sunday’s events. And their English live feed is here.

Cenk: Anti-gay pastor caught maturating near a playground.

Thom: The Good, the Bad, and the Very, Very Ugly.

Maddow: Anti-gay marriage language slipped into Ohio “budget” bill.

Pres. Obama toasts Gov. Gregoire and the whole pack of Gubernators:

Defense of Marriage Act: That’s gay.

Revolution in the MiddleEast:

• Ann Telnaes: Gaddafi says Libyans will die to protect him.
• Cenk and Anna: Sheen or Gaddafi
• AC: Gaddafi guns down unarmed protesters in the streets

Young Turks: Anti-Muslim bill in TN.

Drug Czar Kerlikowske on pot legalization and the Seattle Times (via Slog).

Jon: The Pardon of the Christ (via TalkingPointsMemo).

Thom: “How far will you birthers go to keep a black person from being president?”

FAUX News “facts”:

• Liberal Viewer: FAUX News wants examples of bias?!?
• Cenk: FAUX News lies.
• FAUX News survives a tour of duty in Wisconsin (via TalkingPointsMemo).
• Tina DupeyFAUX News bias on WI protests.
• Young Turks: Rep. Weiner pwns FAUX News actress Megyn Kelly.
• FAUX News’ 32 second segment on Republican voter fraud (via TalkingPointsMemo).
• Tweety: “You know who’s un-American! Huckabee & Newt & the rest of yhe (FAUX) goon squad.”

Young Turks: Huckabee’s anti-Obama quasi-Birfer comment.

Sam Seder: George Will takes the Crazy Train to Glenn Becksville.

Revolution in the Middle West:

• GritTV: Rep. Cory Mason: Beating Walker’s Budget.
• Thom: What Republicans have learned from Wisconsin.
• Prank call to Walker pisses off Hitler (via TalkingPointsMemo):
• Pap: Koch brothers’ fascism on the move.
• Sam Seder: The Koch brothers, Scott Walker and garlic covered freedom dildos.
• Thom: Latest from the trenches in Madison.
• Jon on The Crisis in Dairyland (via Slog).
• GritTV: Budgeting badly in Wisconsin.
• Young Turks: Bill-O, Beck, Rush love their union.
• Ed is fired up about Walker’s budget.
• Thom: Wisconsin Democrats are fighting back.
• Sam Seder: The plutocracy and what Scott Walker really wants from Wisconsin State workers
• Thom: New ad campaign for Wisconsin.
• Tina Dupey interviews Ian Murphy, AKA ‘David Koch’.
• Maddow: WI Representative Nick Milroy wrestled to ground by police trying to enter his office
• WI Dem: G.O.P. are creating a Police state in WI (via TalkingPointsMemo).
• Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH): “Hitler didn’t want unions! Stalin didn’t want unions!”
• Democracy Now: The Indiana 35.

Stephen: New Country for Old Men (via OneGoodMove).

Young Turks: Sen. Hatch and the “Federal Government Dumbass Program”.

Rep: Jay Inslee (D-WA-01) on Boeing tanker deal:

White House: Behind the Scenes at “The Motown Sound”.

Federal Budget Battle:

• Maddow: G.O.P. votes for $40B in tax breaks for Big Oil.
• Newsy: Lawmakers kick the can 2 weeks down the road.
• GritTV: Fighting over crumbs left from military spending.
• Maddow: G.O.P. votes to cut IRS Collections from Rich .
• Cenk with Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA-07) on G.O.P. cut, cut, cut agenda.

Lawrence O’Donnell: How Mike Huckabee smears Mitt Romney.

Mark Fiore: Little Suzie Newsykins with “Cut and Run”.

Maddow: Newt’s fundraising scam.

EMILY’s List Senators fighting the G.O.P. war on women.

Young Turks: New Polls show U.S. liberal on taxes, budget cuts, bargaining rights.

Lawrence O’Donnell dismisses Huckabee’s ‘Boy Scout’ talk as culturally detached ‘lying’.

Ann Telnaes: Republican Trojan horse.

Young Turks: Strictest abortion law in U.S. coming to South “Coat Hanger” Dakota.

White House: West Wing Week.

Haters Have Free Speech Too:

• BBC: Supreme Court rules in favor of Westboro Baptist “Church.”
• Newsy: Hate speech is still free speech.
• Young Turks: Westboro Baptist “Church” Supreme Court decision.

Young Turks: 9-week year old fetus to testify.

Thom: Is there a civil war coming in the GOP?

The story of Citizens United v. FEC:

Maddow: Obama to G.O.P. governors, “Put-up or shut-up!

Cenk fires back at Rush.

Newsy’s hat trick in crazy: Teabagger compares Boehner to Charlie Sheen.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

From the floor of the U.S. Senate:

I look back in history, in some of the worst governments that we had, you know the first thing they did, go after unions, Hitler didn’t want unions, Stalin didn’t want unions, Mubarak didn’t want unions, these autocrats don’t want independent unions.

— Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Update: You knew this was coming….

– The video in this post from Glenn Greenwald, showing a flag-filled rally of morons shouting racist slurs at Muslim families attending a charity event, is the most disturbing thing I’ve seen in a while:

– Another Friday in the Middle East and North Africa means another day of demonstrations. The AP has a roundup here.

– The State Senate passed the medical marijuana bill SB 5073, but with some additional amendments.

– Today at the Seattle Times building on John St, there’s an all-day protest against the Drug Czar’s apparent attempt to put pressure on the Times for their endorsement of an end to marijuana prohibition.

UPDATE: I was down at the Seattle Times building around lunchtime today. The rumor going around was that the meeting with Kerlikowske was at 2:30, although it was never confirmed and I had to leave before then. The Times has so far today only put out a short piece from the AP [emphasis mine]:

Pro-marijuana protesters in Seattle are telling White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske to “get with The Times.”

The group rallied outside as Kerlikowske met Friday with the editorial board of The Seattle Times, which recently endorsed marijuana legalization.

Kerlikowske is the former Seattle police chief who now heads the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He says chronic marijuana use is linked to mental illness and other health problems, and argues that legalizing cannabis would not be the cure-all proponents make it out to be because the black market would adapt to offer tax-free marijuana.

Of course! Just like how our city is besieged by gangsters who sell us tax-free whiskey and rum. At a certain point, you almost have to feel sorry for poor old Gil.

He’s Back! This photo is from last Thursday.

A couple of week ago I posted a picture of this guy at the same spot on the UW quad holding a sign saying, “Don’t Think”. I asked if anyone had a clue as to the purpose.

Well, meet Kevin Smith. He came to the comment thread and provided a few clues, and linked to his blog, Signs On the Quad.

So, now what do you think this is all about?

(And this does qualify as an Open Thread.)

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.