Pot politics: Obama feds reverse Bush crackdown

In a major victory for advocates of medical marijuana, the Obama administration today issues new guidelines that will end Bush-era federal attempts to override state marijuana laws.

Under the new rules to be released today, federal drug agents and prosecutors will be instructed not to pursue pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers in the 14 states, including California, that allow medical marijuana.

With marijuana sales still the largest source of income for violent Mexican drug cartels, prosecutors will be reminded to go after people abusing state laws or using medical marijuana as a cover for other crimes.

But two Justice Department officials told the AP that with limited resources, it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who are suffering from cancer and using medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law.

Last fall, when the economy was collapsing and Washington was looking for ways to salvage the nation's economy, there was a boomlet of talk about legalizing pot to tap into a vast underground economy whose producers and customers are not now paying taxes. Stephen Easton, an economist at the Fraser Institute, estimated that a tax on marijuana sales, if patterned on the same model as cigarette sales, could bring in $40 billion to $100 billion in new tax revenue.

Now that's reefer madness. Hmm. Maybe if that deficit gets any bigger...

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo Credit: Getty Images

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Latest Obama era language edict: 'Drug war' dies, like 'war on terror'

Just a quick Obama Era Language Update and review for you. So you don't say anything politically out of line over the weekend. And end up getting Rick Wagonered or something.

OELUs (pronounced oelus) are a relatively new phenomenon in this country. They began emerging shortly after Jan. 20 to help depict change to believe in. Because, you know, words have meaning. And consequences.

For instance, we used to have "toxic assets," which were real estate properties worth much less than everyone pretended during the EOS (Era of Speculation). These properties have been renamed "legacy assets," meaning real estate properties worth much less than everyone pretended during the EOS but now we're trying to sell them. As in "pre-owned cars."

We used to have the "war on terror," which got its name from the fact that terrorists were killing people and we were killing terrorists, historical activities previously associated with "wars" involving people killing each other.

A variant of "war on terror" was "global war on terror," often used to help convince other nationalities on the globe to join the conflict because things in Bali, Madrid and London had developed a way of blowing up unexpectedly.

These phrases are out now because war is not good or popular. Talking is less violent. And it's another way to differentiate the Obama Change Crowd from the EBG (Evil Bush Gang). Today, the war on terror has become an "overseas contingency operation" (OCO).

Also, acts of terror are no longer acts of terror. They are "man-caused disasters," according to Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano, who happens to be a member of the gender not covered by that term.

The newest change involves the war on drugs, so called because for many years now people have been killing each other or themselves over or with illegal drugs. (See "war on terror" above.)

But now the drug war is gone. Poof. Finito. Just like that.

Obama's new drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, Seattle's ex-police chief, finds the words "drug war" too bellicose ("warlike in manner") for his tastes.

"Regardless of how you try to explain to people," Kerlikowske tried to explain to the Wall Street Journal people,"it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product.' People see a war as a war on them. We're not at war with people in this country."

Indications are the Obama administration intends to deal with the illegal drug situation as a public health issue requiring treatment more than enforcement. So, look for vaccinations against drive-by shootings and muggings.

Also, remember that surge of thousands of U.S. troops into Iraq by President Bush that Sen. Obama said would never work? Well, just so you know, the new surge of thousands of U.S. troops into Afghanistan ordered by President Obama is not really a surge. It's a bolstering. An increase. Wouldn't want any Ticket readers to be caught out.

We'll try to keep you posted on other linguistic developments on the politics front. (Oh, wait, that's kind of a combat term.) We'll keep you posted on linguistic developments involving the discussion of politics and language issues related thereto.

— Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Chris Kleponis / AFP / Getty Images (Kerlikowske with VP Biden, who invented the term "drug czar" when it was a war on drugs).

Factcheck.org alters 'not true' charge about U.S. guns

Last Friday FactCheck.org, the nonprofit independent organization that monitors political claims and charges, issued a report challenging President Obama's claim in remarks during his Mexico visit that 90% of crime-recovered guns there came from American sources.

Based on that report, The Ticket published this item.

Tuesday FactCheck.org issued an explanatory correction, in effect saying that while the president's 90% claim is not supported by statistics, the organization cannot prove the number is wrong. Here is the FactCheck statement:

We are correcting our April 17 article "Counting Mexico's Guns" and sending this revised Summary to our list.

 We originally concluded that Obama’s 90 percent figure was “not true” and based on a “badly biased” sample of recovered guns. We are retracting both those characterizations. The 90 percent figure is not supported by government statistics, but we cannot prove it is wrong.

Our error was to think we had confirmed that Mexican officials submit for tracing only those guns they believe likely to have come from the U.S. Law enforcement officials say they don't know if that's the case.

We have corrected the article throughout. We apologize for this mistake.

Obama tells leaders of Americas the U.S. is too disengaged, dictatorial

Ten days after telling Europeans that the United States had been divisive and derisive toward its allies there, President Obama publicly tells leaders of the Americas that his country has been too disengaged and even dictatorial toward its more local neighbors.

He was warmly applauded. Critics of Obama's European jaunt felt such criticism of his own country was inappropriate abroad. Supporters find his different approach change to believe in.

It didn't take long on this trip -- the fourth paragraph of the very first event. Other news coverage focused on the absence of Cuba from the meeting.

At the opening ceremony of the Summit of the Americas last night, the 44th president sought again to differentiate his new administration from those in the past, many of which have made similar earnest vows of fervent interest in the neighborhood, only to become occupied with affairs elsewhere much farther away.

 But Obama urged that the hemisphere not be "prisoners of past disagreements."

We have the full text of Obama's lengthy remarks below. But here's the particular passage likely to generate some renewed comment and controversy back home:

I know that promises of partnership have gone unfulfilled in the past and that trust has to be earned over time. 

While the United States has done much to promote peace and prosperity in the hemisphere, we have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms. But I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership. (Applause.) 

There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations; there is simply engagement based on mutual respect and common interests and shared values. So I'm here to launch a new chapter of engagement that will be sustained throughout my administration. (Applause.)

-- Andrew Malcolm

Complete remarks of President Obama at Opening of Summit of the Americas, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  I am honored to join you here today, and I want to thank Prime Minister Manning, the people of Trinidad and Tobago for their generosity in hosting the Fifth Summit of the Americas.  And I want to extend my greetings to all the heads of state, many of who I am....

Barack Obama wrong on U.S. guns in Mexico: FactCheck.org-updated

(UPDATE: On April 22 FactCheck.org withdrew its flat statement that the president was wrong, saying it could not prove that. An updated item appeared here.)

On his recently concluded first visit to Mexico as president, a week after telling Europeans that his country had been at times arrogant, President Barack Obama blamed his own country for providing 90% of Mexico's recovered crime guns.

According to a report by the independent FactCheck.org this afternoon, that's incorrect. By a, uh, long shot.

The president's assertion, also cited by Mexican President Felipe Calderon during their joint news conference in Mexico City, and the reported inaccuracy seems likely to fuel the eternal American gun-control debate, especially as it relates to the U.S. role in Mexico's deadly drug world.

Here's the FactCheck full summary:

There's no dispute that thousands of handguns, military-style rifles and other firearms are purchased in the U.S. and end up in the hands of Mexican criminals each year. It's relatively easy to buy such guns legally in Texas and other border states and to smuggle them across.

But is it true as President Obama said, that "more than 90 percent of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the United States?" No, it's not.

The figure represents only the percentage of crime guns that have been submitted by Mexican officials and traced by U.S. officials. We can find no hard data on the total number of guns actually "recovered in Mexico," but U.S. and Mexican officials both say that Mexico recovers more guns that it submits for tracing.  Therefore, the percentage of guns "recovered" and traced to U.S. sources necessarily is less than 90 percent.

Furthermore, the 90 percent figure is based on a badly biased sample of all Mexican crime guns. Law enforcement officials say Mexico asks the U.S. to trace only those guns with serial numbers or other markings that indicate they are likely to have come though the U.S. 

Fox News has put the percentage at only 17 percent, but we find that to be based on a mistaken assumption that throws its figure way off. We can't offer a precise calculation because we know of no hard information on the total number of guns Mexican officials have recovered.

But if a rough figure given by Mexico's attorney general is accurate, then the actual percentage of all Mexican crime guns traced to U.S. sources is probably less than half what the president claims, and more than double what Fox news has reported.

Thecomplete FactCheck report is available here.

We have a video report on Obama's Mexico stay too. (Scroll down or click the "Read more" line.)

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Guillermo Arias / Associated Press (Guns and drugs seized in Mexico).

Full news conference transcript of Presidents Obama and Calderon

Following is the transcript of the joint news conference by Presidents Felipe Calderon of Mexico and Barack Obama, on April 16, 2009, Mexico City. Some news: The U.S. leader would not commit publicly to a ban on assault weapons:

PRESIDENT CALDERÓN: (As translated.) Ladies and gentlemen of the press, of the media, I would like to give the warmest welcome to Mexico to President Barack Obama, and to the delegation accompanying him. This is a historic event that will inaugurate a new era, a new relationship between our two countries.

Today in the meetings that we have held we have confirmed the determination of both governments to consolidate the very, very close contacts and links that join and bring together Mexico and the United States. We have new projects in important affairs such as security, migration, competitiveness and global affairs.

As never before we have decided that the fight against multinational organized crime must be based on cooperation, shared responsibility, and in trust, a mutual trust. 

Both governments recognize that the Merida Initiative is a very good starting point in order to strengthen cooperation in security. But we want to go beyond, we want to go further in order to liberate, to free our societies from the criminal activities that affect the lives of millions of people.

We have also agreed to expedite the times so that we can have available the resources for this Merida Initiative, and we have also decided to launch other activities that are in the hands of our governments.

For example, we can adopt new measures for preventing illicit flows at the border, particularly....

Barack Obama's in Mexico, but the real news is in Riverside

On a day when the American president was piddling around Mexico talking of trivialities like drugs, guns and neighborly inter-American alliances, the U.S. media once again showed its bias against him.

Word leaked locally today that a University of California-Riverside scientist named Kerry Knudsen has named a newly discovered species of lichen after Barack Obama.

No, really. Lichen.

 And, excuse us, but where was the fawning blanket news coverage?

Nowhere but, predictably, on the ubiquitous LA Now blog, where our colleague Jia-Rui Chong has a very interesting item on the find, the distinction and the intriguing history of naming new natural stuff for real people. (Hint: It's not always an appreciated honor.)

Read the whole thing over here.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: J.C. Lendemer

Carlos Santana wants Obama to legalize marijuana

Maybe he was inspired by the Las Vegas rock club where he will soon be setting up shop during a 6+ month residency, or maybe he was inspired by Barack Obama's answer to the most popular question posed by Americans to the president. In an interview with the Associated Press this week while promoting his upcoming run at The Joint, Carlos Santana was clear about his position about the legalization of marijuana, and took a shot at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger while he was at it.

"I really believe that as soon as we legalize and decriminalize marijuana we can actually afford a really good governor who won't keep taking money away from education and from teachers and send him back to Hollywood where he can do 'D' movies and we can get an 'A' governor," the multi-platinum, Grammy winning guitarist said.

Santana said he has a serious invitation for the new president: "Bring the brothers home, and sisters home now. Legalize marijuana and take all that money and invest it in teachers and in education. You will see a transformation in America."

Over 3 million people voted on questions to be asked to President Obama for the online town hall that took place last week. All of the most popular six questions of the Budget section were about marijuana and drug legalization. Unlike the other questions which Obama answered completely with reasons and examples to support his stance, many felt slighted by the way he answered the pot question.

"Three point five million people voted," Obama said. "I have to say that there was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy -- (laughter) -- and job creation. And I don't know what this says about the online audience -- (laughter) -- but I just want -- I don't want people to think that -- this was a fairly popular question; we want to make sure that it was answered. The answer is, no, I don't think that is a good strategy -- (laughter) -- to grow our economy."

California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano disagrees. He recently proposed measure AB 390 that if passed claims that the legalization of marijuana would be worth billions to the state. Times staffer Eric Bailey wrote in February,  "by some estimates, California's pot crop is a $14-billion industry, putting it above vegetables ($5.7 billion) and grapes ($2.6 billion). If so, that could mean upward of $1 billion in tax revenue for the state each year."

Santana's Hard Rock Hotel and Casino residency in Sin City starts in late May and runs through 2010.

-- Tony Pierce

Web lights up with protests over Obama's dismissal of marijuana legalization

President Obama probably didn't anticipate that his brief dismissal of marijuana legalization during the online town hall would light up a potent movement of support for decriminalization.

The fact that he even addressed such a controversial and oft-ignored topic impressed some. But the way he seemed to deride the question angered manywho quickly expressed their dissent online in website comments, on blogs and throughout social networks.

"There was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation," the president said during the town hall, amongst a thunder of laughter from the crowd. "And I don't know what this says about the online audience." More laughter.

"The answer is, no, I don't think that is a good strategy to grow our economy," Obama said.

No further explanation given. Next question.

His short response was not only disconcerting for marijuana supporters but also a bit perplexing. After all, Obama called for marijuana decriminalization during ...

"You have a marvelous virgin," Clinton tells Mexicans

Sen. Hillary Clinton continued her bruising assault on Sen. Barack Obama's inexperience during the ongoing Democratic primary struggles over the weekend.

Oh, wait. That was last year. The other day as his secretary of State, Clinton was in Mexico sharing the blame for that country's gun-blazing, head-chopping drug wars. But the Methodist took time out in Mexico City to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe to deliver a bouquet of white flowers on behalf of the American people.

Catholics believe that almost 500 years ago the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously imprinted on the cloak of St. Juan Diego, who became the Catholic church's first saint indigenous to the Americas in 2002. According to news agency reports, the basilica's rector, Msgr. Diego Monroy, had had the image lowered from its altar for a closer look by the visiting dignitary.

"Who painted it?" Clinton asked.

"God," the rector replied.

Clinton also lighted a candle during her 30-minute visit and, on her way out told a crowd of Mexicans, "You have a marvelous virgin."

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Hat Tip to Don Surber.

Photo: Clinton talks with Msgr. Diego Monroy. Credit: Getty Images