Friday Talking Points [288] -- 2014 The Year Of The Marijuana Voter?
[ Posted Friday, January 24th, 2014 – 18:37 UTC ]
Sooner or later, though, whether it is 2014 or 2016 or beyond, the "Year Of The Marijuana Voter" is coming.
Archive of Articles in the "Free Speech" Category
Packing A Super Bowl
[ Posted Tuesday, January 21st, 2014 – 16:46 UTC ]
For those of you not up on the lingo of the marijuana subculture, that headline is meant to be a pun of sorts, combining the Super Bowl (more on this in a moment) with the phrase "packing a bowl." Barack Obama, back in his "Choom Gang" days, would certainly have known what this is meant to refer to -- cramming marijuana in the bowl of a pipe constructed to smoke the substance.
Obama Should Announce Ban On National Security Letters
[ Posted Thursday, January 16th, 2014 – 17:38 UTC ]
President Obama is slated to give a momentous speech tomorrow, on the subject of what changes should be made to the National Security Administration and all of the other alphabet-soup agencies which provide intelligence to the federal government. Much attention has been paid to the N.S.A.'s activities, due mostly to the revelations from Edward Snowden. But there's one subject which Obama should address which has been discussed for years -- ending the blatantly unconstitutional practice of issuing "national security letters." Obama should take the opportunity tomorrow to announce he is adopting one of the key recommendations his oversight commission proposed: forcing judicial oversight of national security letters. In plain terms, making them similar to all other search warrants, to comply with the Fourth Amendment.
My 2013 "McLaughlin Awards" [Part 2]
[ Posted Friday, December 27th, 2013 – 17:50 UTC ]
Welcome back to our annual year-end awards column!
How About A Saturnalia Display?
[ Posted Wednesday, December 18th, 2013 – 17:58 UTC ]
For others, joining in the mirth has now come to mean celebrating the season of Festivus, a made-up holiday from a made-up television show. And even the Flying Spaghetti Monster adherents are getting in on the fun this year.
Friday Talking Points [275] -- Ted Cruz: Senator Ham-I-Am
[ Posted Friday, September 27th, 2013 – 18:10 UTC ]
No, the big point missed in the midst of Senator Ted Cruz's talkfest was the moral of the story he read. By now, most people have heard that Cruz read, in its entirety, the classic Dr. Seuss children's book Green Eggs And Ham -- tucking his own kids into bed, long-distance, via C-SPAN. Cruz then doubled down on his point-missing by comparing Obamacare to the story's green eggs and ham. Cruz really has no excuse for this monumentally idiotic mistake, since (as mentioned) he read the whole story from the Senate floor.
Friday Talking Points [271] -- A Weed Screed
[ Posted Friday, August 30th, 2013 – 17:09 UTC ]
This is all by way of introducing you to today's column. We're throwing out our usual format today, because of a monumental shift in federal policy this week. Such a momentous and historic occasion deserves special treatment, we feel, and that special treatment translates to the following unorthodox presentation: first, a few awards; then, some talking points from respected voices; and finally, my own screed at the end.
Friday Talking Points [269] -- The Debate Debate
[ Posted Friday, August 16th, 2013 – 17:22 UTC ]
We begin today with some awfully short memories, from both the Right and the Left, on the crossover subjects of presidential debates, television, and Hillary Clinton. It all stems from the news that the Republican National Committee has announced it will not sanction 2016 Republican candidate debates on CNN and NBC, because the two stations are both putting together movies about Hillary Clinton. The RNC feels that this will unacceptably prejudice the networks in the 2016 presidential race, in which Clinton is likely to be a Democratic candidate.
From The Archives -- Celebrate The 4th -- Pursue Some Happiness!
[ Posted Thursday, July 4th, 2013 – 09:00 UTC ]
That line will be widely quoted across this land today, in parks and bandstands, on radio and in newsprint, from California to the New York islands, in countless big-city parades and from a myriad of small-town gazebos.
Friday Talking Points [263] -- Professional Edition
[ Posted Friday, June 28th, 2013 – 17:09 UTC ]
Well, we've been away for two weeks, and those two weeks were just chock-full of political news, so we've got a lot to cover. The reason for the interruption in columns was, of course, our attending Netroots Nation, the yearly conclave of bloggers, Progressives, and all and sundry who like hanging out with them. Which brings us to this week's unusual title -- today's Friday Talking Points, for the first time ever, are going to be professionally-produced and focus-group-tested. More on this later.