HorsesAss.Org

Nina Shapiro at the Seattle Weekly writes about Tuesday’s protest in Tacoma over the city’s threat to close down eight medical marijuana dispensaries:

Yesterday’s showdown in Tacoma over the city’s medical marijuana dispensaries all but guarantees that the Legislature will finally attempt to resolve the question of whether such business are–or should be– legal. After the city initially threatened to shut the dispensaries down, it agreed last night to hold off until the end of the coming legislative session. Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Seattle) has already drafted a bill (see pdf) that proposes legalizing dispensaries. A number of fellow legislators, including a former cop and Republican senator named Jerome Delvin, are working with her. “There’s momentum,” says Kohl-Welles.

At the protest I spoke with an older woman who’s authorized to use marijuana to deal with severe muscle spasms that make it difficult for her to walk. I asked her where she’d be able to get her supply of marijuana if her dispensary were to close. She didn’t have an answer. The reality is that our medical marijuana law doesn’t work unless the law provides a safe and legal place for patients to obtain it. The one-patient-per-provider rule has left numerous patients – especially those who are disabled – from being able to obtain medicine. And the opposition to this obvious change is going to come from the same place once again:

On the other side of the spectrum, Rep. Christopher Hurst (D-Enumcluw) says he believes many legislators will oppose any bill that favors dispensaries. “You only need to look south” to California, he says, to realize that the dispensary business is a “sham,” a “nightmare,” and a “disaster.” Instead of serving people with real medical needs, he contends, California’s ubiquitous dispensaries sell pot “to anyone who walks in the door.” He says that’s why Los Angeles, among other jurisdictions, are currently cracking down on dispensaries, even while a broad pot legalization initiative is on the ballot.

California’s system is constantly held up as an example of how medical marijuana leads to “chaos”, but the only evidence of this is that unscrupulous doctors often authorize recreational users for profit. And even with that, California isn’t negatively affected in any way by its dispensary system. In fact, crime rates continue to drop across the state – to levels far lower than in the years before medical marijuana became legal.

That’s the root of the issue here. The more we legitimize this economic activity and bring it out of the shadows, the less violence there is surrounding it. Mexican drug cartels operate in Washington state. When locally-operated dispensaries are prohibited from forming, that just means more of the money goes towards those less afraid to break the law. Whether Representative Hurst understands it or not, what he’s doing is benefiting these organized crime groups.

It may seem hyperbolic to say that Hurst “stands up for the drug cartels”, but that’s unquestionably what’s occurring here. There’s no other way to characterize his position. The experience in Los Angeles, if anything, is an argument to craft realistic regulations for dispensaries (as Oakland and many other California cities did) rather than to follow Hurst’s lead and pretend everything would be better if they didn’t exist. If Los Angeles had set up a smarter method for licensing dispensaries, they’d have a small number of well-regulated dispensaries (again, like Oakland) rather than hundreds of unregulated ones that they’re now having difficulty shutting down.

Well… um… yeah… this is my idea of flirting.

I’ve always had a thing for potty-mouthed Irish women, so I gotta confess to a kinda schoolboy crush on the BIAW’s profanatory, trash-talking PR maven, Erin Shannon. (Really. So give me a call Erin, and lets hook up sometime for a drink or five. Don’t worry; I’ll drive.)

But when it comes to her politics, Shannon is just plain awful. You know, in that batshit-crazy Hitler-was-the-first-environmentalist/DOE’s-storm-water-regulations-are-worse-than-the-Holocaust sorta way that defines the ideological crack-house that is the BIAW.

The rest of my daily Slog post actually makes a point, but I just so enjoyed dipping Erin’s ponytail in the inkwell, that I just had to repost it over here.

Seattle Times home subscribers found this helpful cheat sheet stuck to the front page of their Sunday edition, but when one of the initiative campaigns the Times opposes called to purchase something similar, they were told no, political advertisers can’t buy these sort of stickers, at any price.

It can only be given. Because ownership has its privileges.

Once again proving my point that it’s not bias that is the problem with modern media, but ownership. For as long as our media continues to be dominated by wealthy corporations and individuals, it will continue to largely reflect and serve their own selfish interests.

No, I didn’t end up going to the Obama rally today, as I just couldn’t give up that many hours of the day, so I can’t share my first hand observations. But Andrew at NPI was live blogging and tweeting it, and from all accounts it was a lively, overflow crowd at the Hec Pavilion. You know…  no sign of an enthusiasm gap, at least here in Seattle.

I’ll look for coverage elsewhere, but if you were there, I’d love to read your personal observations in the comment thread.

The Seattle Times editorial board routinely posts video of its endorsement interviews with political candidates. They posted video of the Patty Murray/Dino Rossi interview, and they recently posted video of the interview with Jay Inslee and his Republican opponent (whose name escapes me at the moment, but is not really worth the effort to Google).

Unfortunately, there were no camera’s present at the recent Suzan DelBene/Dave Reichert interview, which explains the lack of video there, but the Times did record audio, which as far as I know, has never been publicly released. Which is a shame, because I hear that Reichert threw a bit of a fit at the end, pounding his fist on the table when pestered about his unwillingness to debate.

I’m not sure why the Times won’t release this audio, but given that this is the only time during the entire campaign that the two candidates have answered questions face to face, they are surely doing 8th CD voters a disservice by withholding it. And, assuming the audio disproves my assertion that the incumbent is brain-damaged and/or stupid, they are doing Reichert a disservice as well.

I’ll be on KOMO-1000 this morning at about 9:35, talking with John Carlson about my feature in this week’s Stranger on Dave Reichert’s Brain. No doubt John will attempt to defend Reichert.

In the meanwhile, for a second opinion on just how serious a chronic subdural hematoma can be, you might want to check out this recent case study in the New York Times.

The folks at the Stranger have briefly rescued me from the Siberian gulag that is Slog (little known fact: “Slog” is a contraction of “Siberian” and “gulag”), giving me temporary refuge in their print edition. The result: this week’s feature story, “Dave Reichert’s Brain,” in which I take a slightly different whack at the three-term congressman’s head:

Seven years before whacking himself in the head with a tree branch, Dave Reichert was on the fast track to the governor’s mansion.

This was in 2003, nearly two decades since a Republican had occupied the residence, and in the silver-haired sheriff from King County, GOP muckety-mucks were convinced they had found their savior. Brawny and photogenic, with the kind of common-folk touch that could only come from being… well… very, very common, the self-proclaimed made-for-TV “hero” of the Green River Killer case would be the Republican party’s best shot at the governorship in years.

But at a meet and greet with the state House Republican Caucus, the Reichert Express quickly jumped off the rails. While the hair and the biceps were as dazzling as promised, once Reichert opened his mouth, it quickly became apparent that the candidate was not. Rambling and incoherent, unknowledgeable and unprepared, Reichert was so bad at answering even the softest of softball questions that he had his fellow Republicans literally shaking their heads in disbelief.

Then-Republican state representative Rodney Tom, now a Democratic state senator, recalls listening to Reichert in stunned silence on a caucus room couch with two colleagues when one of them leaned in and whispered, “If he’s running for governor, the three of us should run too.”

According to another caucus member present at the meeting, Reichert had walked into the room the presumptive Republican nominee for governor, but by the time he walked out, talk had already turned to recruiting eventual two-time loser Dino Rossi. And the rest is history.

[…] This depiction of Reichert as unstudied, confused, and bafflingly incoherent—if not, you know, kind of stupid—these are all testimonials from his fellow Republicans! So when longtime Reichert observers started speculating that his recent head injury may have resulted in permanent brain damage, the first question I had to ask myself was: “How would you know?”

Stupid or brain damaged? Read the whole thing, and then decide for yourself.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IurlK7bpn1w[/youtube]

Before the Seattle Times endorsed Republican Steve Litzow for his alleged ability “to reach across the political aisle in an increasingly partisan atmosphere in Olympia,” they might have wanted to take a closer look at how well Litzow did interacting with the person sitting right next to him on the putatively nonpartisan Mercer Island City Council. And in strident opposition to improving safety at a dangerous crosswalk, no less.

As the ad above says, it’s hard to reach across party lines when you’re yelling.

I actually drive by the intersection of Merrimount Dr. and Island Crest Way several times a week, as does Litzow, I presume, as our children attend the same middle school, and Island Crest is the main thoroughfare to and from. And from what I’ve seen, I sure has hell wouldn’t want to be a pedestrian in that crosswalk, so it’s hard to understand why Litzow would so angrily oppose the proposed improvement.

And yet he not only voted against the proposal, after it passed without his support he cut a deal with other politicians to pull the project’s funding.

19 days later, another child was hit by a car in the intersection.

So if that’s your idea of “fiscal conservatism,” I guess you should vote for Litzow. Otherwise, I strongly urge 41st LD voters to reelect State Sen. Randy Gordon.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR1edS78s9U[/youtube]

This is exactly the sorta ad I wish Darcy Burner had been able to run during the final weeks of the 2006 and 2008 campaigns. But she couldn’t.

Why? More on Slog.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8VMcRqtdSI&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

For years I’ve been suggesting that the way to win an income tax in Washington state was to borrow a page from Tim Eyman, and run against Olympia. You know, a message something along the lines of: “We don’t have an income tax, because they won’t give us an income tax…” emphasizing how the fat cats benefit from the current tax structure, while our legislators kowtow to their wealthy benefactors’ wishes.

So it’s good to see that message finally being tested, if timidly.

This poll from Marist makes eight consecutive polls in which Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) has the lead over Dino Rossi (R), even if her 48% to 47% lead is smallish.

I do a more detailed analysis of the poll, and an analysis using all nine October polls, at Hominid Views.

Man, after all this number crunching and writing…I needs me a drink!

It’s Tuesday following the ballot drop…making it a great opportunity to enjoy and evening of politics under the influence. Please join us at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. beginning at about 8:00 pm. Stop by earlier for dinner.

Not in Seattle? There is a good chance you live near one of the 249 other chapters of Drinking Liberally.

The city of Tacoma has decided to crack down on its medical marijuana dispensaries. There’s an ongoing debate about the legality of dispensaries in this state, and Chris Legeros explains it well right here:

The city’s claim, detailed in a letter sent out to the co-ops last week, is that the co-ops are acting illegally by dispensing marijuana to more than one person. The city claims that under state law, a designated provider of medical marijuana can only help one patient at any one time.

“…In these businesses, that’s not the case; it’s a business supplying it to many patients,” said Rob McNair-Huff a city spokesman.

But Jay Berneburg, a lawyer for The C.O.B.R.A. Medical Group, one of the co-ops targeted by the city, has disputed that claim and said the co-op is complying with both the letter and the intent of the law.

Every patient who comes in to C.O.B.R.A. signs a form designating C.O.B.R.A. as their provider, Berneburg said. After receiving their marijuana, the patients immediately sign the form again, removing C.O.B.R.A. as their provider.

“And that means the designated provider who can only be a designated provider to any one person at a time is now available to be somebody else’s designated provider,” Berneburg said.

Dispensaries around the state have been relying on this creative interpretation of the law in order to operate, but after a review, Tacoma warned eight such establishments in the city that they’re breaking the law and will be shut down. In response, there’s a rally planned this evening outside the Tacoma City Council meeting. I’m planning to head down there shortly and might update this post later with additional info and/or photos.

UPDATE: There are about 100 protestors here, along with some news media. I spoke briefly with James Lucas from Tacoma Cross, a dispensary that opened in April and is under threat of shutdown.

His employees are here wearing their corporate logoed shirts. Lucas tells me that he’s licensed with the city to operate his business and he pays all federal, state and local taxes required of any business.

UPDATE 2: There are now roughly 200-250 protestors here and it appears that their presence has made a difference. Douglas Hiatt and other patient representatives just came out of the Tacoma Municipal Building and it appears that the city will allow the dispensaries to continue to operate until the legislature has an opportunity to fix the law in the next session.

[Read more…]

Washington state voters are, seemingly, under a polling blitzkrieg. Today another poll is released in the race between Sen. Patty Murray (D) and real estate salesman turned foreclosure opportunity seminar motivational speaker Dino Rossi (R).

This poll comes from Public Policy Polling (PPP) and shows Murray leading Rossi 49% to 47%. The poll was taken from 14th to the 16th of October on a sample of 1,873 likely Washington voters. The margin of error is 2.3%.

PPP makes an interesting observation about the race (emphasis added):

There’s a pretty strong argument that the Washington Senate race is the most stable in the country: PPP finds Patty Murray leading Dino Rossi 49-47, basically identical to our July poll of the race that found her ahead 49-46.

The reason for the stability is that voters know these candidates, they know what they think of them, and nothing they’ve heard during this campaign has changed those opinions in one direction or the other. In July Murray’s approval rating was 46/45. Now it’s 47/48. In July Rossi’s favorability was 43/48. Now it’s 44/49.

Compare this with yesterday’s Rasmussen lede (emphasis added):

Democratic incumbent Patty Murray is barely ahead of Republican challenger Dino Rossi now as the lead seesaws again in Washington’s neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race.

The fact is, Murray has now led in the last seven of the eight polls taken in October with margins from +1 to +13 and with an (unweighted) average of just over +5%. Take a look at the entire polling history:

Note to pollsters and reporters…that meme about how close and back-and-forth this race is? Yeah…that last’s month meme based on a tiny blip in the data.

Note: The graph in the first version of this post included a poll by DSCC. I’ve reposted the graph without that poll.

Update: At Hominid Views I do some statistical analysis of the poll and further examine the differences between robopolls and live-interview polls in this race.

Vote No on I-1100… that’s what urge the readers at Slog while joyfully spanking my colleagues at the Stranger for daring to urge otherwise.

See, not all alcoholics are as harmless and lovable as the car-less barflies at theStranger, whose most abusive booze-fueled behavior is mostly targeted at the English language. Alcohol is the most widely abused drug available. It is the most devastating to families, and the most costly to businesses and government. And it is also by far the most deadly.

Anyway, it’s fun and it’s pointed. So read the whole thing.