Daily Clips: September 29th, 2015
An American was arrested every 51 seconds for pot in 2014: When talking about marijuana policy, I always know I’m talking to someone in the upper echelons of society when they say, “But pot’s practically legal already!” No, it’s not. The US government spends a mind-boggling “$3.6 billion each year enforcing laws against marijuana possession, according to a frequently cited report by the American Civil Liberties Union.” That is a whole lot of taxpayer money that is being wasted on a substance which the majority of Americans want legalized.
Could Trey Gowdy be the next House majority leader? I know what you’re thinking and the answer is no, I also don’t have a clue who this guy is. After a quick Google search, I found this gem about Gowdy:
The South Carolina Republican, a former state and federal prosecutor, is best known for chairing the House Select Committee on Benghazi.
Oh, he sounds nice and bipartisan. Gowdy has a “Liberty Score” rating of 85% (basically, the closer to 100% you are the closer to craziness you get). To put that number in comparison, soon-to-be former Speaker of the House John Boehner had a score of 35%. Yikes.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: The South African’s first episode aired last night and it is definitely worth a watch. I’m one of the few people who is very excited about his future. Having an objective, outside-of-the-US perspective on our politics and culture is much needed (think of John Oliver).
Clinton gets recommendation endorsement from National Education Association: The 3 million-strong teachers union sent out an email to its members stating:
After months of interactions with the three candidates who chose to participate in our process [Clinton, Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders], certain things became clear…Clinton is the best positioned candidate to win both the Democratic primary and general election. She has unmatched organizational strength, ground game, and fundraising ability to defeat the candidate of the Koch brothers.
While this endorsement will certainly ruffle feathers within the #FeelTheBern crowd, the NEA’s logic is spot-on. However, I can see how Sanders supporters would be upset with the endorsement process:
“There was recently a phone interview that was arranged for Secretary Clinton with their board of directors,” said a Sanders campaign official. “That was never offered to us.” An NEA spokesman did not respond to a request for comment about the phone interview.
