Biden Has A Great Night - Extends His Delegate Lead

Bernie Sanders needed a big night in the March 10th primaries. He didn't get it. The big night went to Joe Biden.

Biden started the night with wins in Mississippi, Missouri, and Michigan -- all by large margins. These states helped Biden to significantly increase his lead in delegates.

As I write this, Biden is also leading in Idaho, and trailing in North Dakota. In Washington, Biden and Sanders are nearly dead even. Regardless of who finally wins these three states, neither candidate will show a significant lead in delegates from them.

There are still about half of the states that have not yet held their primaries, but things are getting critical for Sanders. Another 500 or so delegates will be up for grabs on March 17th. If Sanders doesn't cut down Biden's delegate lead than, it will be hard to see a path for him to win the nomination.

Democratic Polls For Arizona, Michigan, And Washington

The chart above reflects the results of the latest OH Predictive Insights Poll -- done on March 3rd and 4th of 398 likely Democratic voters in Arizona, with a 4.9 point margin of error.

The chart above reflects the results of the latest Detroit Free Press / EPIC-MRA Poll -- done between March 4th and 6th of 400 likely Democratic primary voters, with a 4.9 point margin of error.

The chart above shows the results of two recent polls in Washington state. The KING 5 News Poll was done between March 4th and 6th of 500 likely Democratic voters.

The Data for Progress Poll was done recently of 717 likely Democratic voters.

Trump Has Made The D.C. "Swamp" Bigger And Nastier

(Cartoon image is by Dave Granlund at davegranlund.com.)

Donald Trump, while campaigning for office, promised to "drain the swamp" in Washington, D.C. And even today, he brags about doing that. But he hasn't. In fact, he's made it far worse.

Robert Reich (pictured) gives us 5 ways in which Trump has not only failed to drain the swamp, but made it worse. He writes:

1.He has packed his administration with former lobbyists and corporate executives. He has installed a former Boeing executive to run the Defense Department; a former pharmaceutical lobbyist to run the Department of Health and Human Services; a former coal lobbyist to run the Environmental Protection Agency, and a former oil lobbyist to run the Department of the Interior. In total, more than 300 lobbyists now work in the Trump administration – many in key positions overseeing the industries they used to lobby for. 

2. He and his family are personally profiting from the presidency. Despite Trump’s promise he’d sever all ties with his existing businesses and place all assets in a “blind” trust to eliminate any conflicts of interest, documents show Trump remains the sole beneficiary of his trust and still retains the legal power to revoke the trust at any time. Meanwhile, foreign dignitaries have flooded Trump’s hotels, lining his pockets in clear violation of the Constitution. He even attempted to host the G-7 at his own luxury golf course until he was forced to back down.

3. He is catering to billionaires and corporations at the expense of the American people. In the fall of 2017, mega-donors shelled out more than $31 million in political contributions to Trump and Republicans. And in return, they got a massive $2 trillion tax cut. Not a bad return on investment. As Trump told his wealthy friends at Mar-a-Lago just days after the tax bill became law, “You all just got a lot richer.”

4. He is using taxpayer dollars to subsidize his luxurious lifestyle. Since taking office, Trump’s golf trips alone have cost taxpayers more than $110 million dollars. His children have also charged taxpayers for costs associated with business trips around the world that they’ve taken, including India and Uruguay. Taxpayers even footed the bill for Donald Trump Junior’s hunting trip to Canada.

5. The Trump administration has been riddled with scandals and ethics violations. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross held on to investments and never divested despite pledging to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has tried to arrange meetings with Chinese officials for her family business. Ethics officials have found Kellyanne Conway broke laws that prohibit government workers from engaging in political activities. The list goes on, and on. This has been the most corrupt administration in American history.

Trump is exploiting everything that’s vulnerable in our political system. But in order to truly stop the corruption of our democracy, we have to fix what’s broken. We must get big money out of politics, end the flow of lobbyists in and out of government, and strengthen ethics laws.

Trump has enlarged and deepened the swamp, but the swamp was there before he got to Washington. One of the first tasks of the next president must be to drain the swamp once and for all.

Inslee/Hickenlooper Out Of Prez Race - Will Run State Races

 There are now two less candidates running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

John Hickenlooper dropped out a few days ago. Yesterday, he announced he will run against Republican Cory Gardner for the senate seat in Colorado. This gives Democrats a very good chance to pick up that GOP-held seat.

Yesterday, Washington Governor Jay Inslee also announced that he is dropping out. Instead, he will run for a third term as governor.

These two men were not bad candidates, but they were smart enough to know that 2020 is not their time for a presidential race. It's time for a lot more Democratic candidates to make that same decision (like Gillibrand, Delaney, Williamson, Messam, Ryan, Sestak, etc.). There are no more than about 10 candidates who have even an outside chance of winning the nomination, and Democratic voters have made that clear in poll after poll.

White Supremacist/Nazi Rally In D.C. Is An Epic Failure

(Photo of white supremacist/nazi march  toward D.C. rally is by Al Drago in New York Times.)

This weekend marked the one year anniversary of the conflict in Charlottesville, when hundreds of white supremacists and nazis demonstrated. That led to a conflict with decent Americans, where one young woman was killed as a racist barreled his car through a crown of people demonstrating against the racists.

While most Americans considered that conflict in Charlottesville a travesty, the racists considered it a great victory. They got their agenda in all the media, and Trump even called them "good people". They decided to celebrate the anniversary of Charlottesville with a huge rally in D.C. in a park across from the White House. The rally would be both a celebration of their "victory" last year, and a showing of support for their white supremacist brother in the White House.

But those plans went awry -- BIGLY! The "huge rally" was attended by less than 50 white supremacists and nazis. NBC put the number a a couple of dozen. And that paltry number of racists was surrounded by several thousand people demonstrating against them. In the end, their rally had to be cut short, and they were escorted away by police protecting them from the huge crowd of anti-demonstrators.

The whole thing was a huge embarrassment for the white supremacists and nazis -- and that's a good thing. They need to know their vile views will not be allowed to spread in this country, even with a racist in the White House.

Who Sets The Political Agenda In Washington ?

Who sets the political agenda in Washington, D.C.? Who decides what the government will do and what it won't do? The congressional Republicans thought immediately after the 2016 election that it would be them. They had majorities in both houses of Congress, and they were sure that the Republican in the White House would do whatever they asked him to do.

It hasn't worked out that way. Those congressional Republicans have become little more than a weak sister to Donald Trump -- apologists who try to justify whatever Trump wants (no matter how little sense it might make). Trump has become the person setting the political agenda. I don't think that's good for the country, but it is the truth.

And the American people know it. About 46% say Trump sets the political agenda, while 17% say it is the press, 11% say it's congressional Republicans, 10% say it's congressional Democrats, and the remaining 16% are unsure who it is.

Do you agree? If so, are you comfortable with Trump setting the political agenda -- a person that most Americans feel is unqualified and dishonest?

The chart above reflects the results of a new Rasmussen Poll -- done on May 2nd and 3rd of a random national sample of 1,000 likely voters, with a 3 point margin of error.

Most People Say Trump Is Not "Draining The Swamp"

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to "drain the swamp" in Washington once elected. Has he done that? Most Americans say NO. About 65% say he is not draining the swamp (with 39% saying it has stayed the same and 26% saying he has made it worse). Only 25% think he has made progress in draining the swamp.

The chart above was made from information in a new Monmouth University Poll -- done between August 10th and 14th of a random national sample of 805 adults, with a margin of error of 3.5 points.

Nevada Becomes The 5th State For Legal Marijuana

(This map on legal marijuana is from governing.com.)

Yesterday (July 1st), Nevada became the fifth state where the sale and possession of small amounts of marijuana is legal. After passing the legalization initiative in the last election, Nevada joined four other states (Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska) in implementing that legalization. They expect the tax on marijuana sales to bring the state about $60 million in revenue in the next two years. I think that's probably a very low estimate.

By early next year, the number of states with legal marijuana will climb to eight states. Massachusetts, California, and Maine have all voted to legalize the gentle herb. The legalization will actually go into effect in Massachusetts on December 15th, in California on January 1st, and in Maine next February.

The genie is now out of the bottle -- and I expect several more states to jump on the legalization bandwagon in the next few years.

Two-Thirds Of Public Say Trump NOT Draining The Swamp

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump said he would drain the swamp in Washington. Is he doing that? Well, 67% of Americans say he is not doing it (35% saying nothing has changed and 32% saying he has made the "swamp" worse). Only 24% believe he is keeping his promise.

This chart was made using information in a recent Monmouth University Poll -- done between May 13th and 17th of a random national sample of 1,002 adults, with a 3.1 point margin of error.

Trump Hasn't Drained The "Swamp" - He's Filled It

(This image of a "swamp" monster is by DonkeyHotey.)

During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump used a very vivid image -- an image of Washington being a swamp infested by monsters who care only for their own gain. He promised his supporters that he would drain that swamp. That's a promise he seems to have forgotten since taking office.

Instead of draining that swamp, Trump has filled his administration with Wall Streeters, corporate CEO's, and an army of lobbyists. Those lobbyists are of special concern to the Office of Government Ethics, since many of them have slid into government jobs without being exposed to the glare of media publicity -- and they were concerned enough to ask the Trump administration for the waivers they issued to allow those lobbyists to get government jobs (waivers that are necessary before a lobbyist can work for our government).

The Office of Government Ethics wanted to know who those lobbyists were and what jobs they got, so they could be watched to see if they used their government job to benefit the companies they had lobbied for.

What was the response of the Trump administration? They have refused to produce the waivers signed by Donald Trump to allow those lobbyists to get government jobs. Trump and his cronies don't want the American public to know how many lobbyists got government jobs (and what those jobs were). They don't want the public to know that they not only failed to drain the swamp, but filled the swamp with many new and voracious predators.

Why aren't these waivers open to not only the Office of Government Ethics, but also to the general public. Doesn't the public have the right to know how many lobbyists were given government jobs, and who those lobbyists are?

This is just more evidence that the administration of Donald Trump is the most corrupt administration in modern history.

Reich's Assessment Of Our Chaotic Federal Government

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich (pictured) recently talked with his friends in Washington (on both sides of the aisle). Then he tweeted his assessment. He said:

1. Washington is more divided, angry, bewildered, and fearful — than I’ve ever seen it.

2. The angry divisions aren’t just Democrats versus Republicans. Rancor is also exploding inside the Republican Party.

3. Republicans (and their patrons in big business) no longer believe Trump will give them cover to do what they want to do. They’re becoming afraid Trump is genuinely nuts, and he’ll pull the party down with him.

4. Many Republicans are also angry at Paul Ryan, whose replacement bill for Obamacare is considered by almost everyone on Capitol Hill to be incredibly dumb.

5. I didn’t talk with anyone inside the White House, but several who have had dealings with it called it a cesspool of intrigue and fear. Apparently everyone working there hates and distrusts everyone else. 

6. The Washington foreign policy establishment — both Republican and Democrat — is deeply worried about what’s happening to American foreign policy, and the worldwide perception of America being loony and rudderless. They think Trump is legitimizing far-right movements around the world. 

7. Long-time civil servants are getting ready to bail. If they’re close to retirement they’re already halfway out the door. Many in their 30s and 40s are in panic mode. 

8. Republican pundits think Bannon is even more unhinged than Trump, seeking to destroy democracy as we’ve known it.

9. Despite all this, no one I talked with thought a Trump impeachment likely, at least not any time soon — unless there’s a smoking gun showing Trump’s involvement in Russia’s intrusion into the election.

10. Many people asked, bewilderedly, “How did this [Trump] happen?” When I suggest it had a lot to do with the 35-year-long decline of incomes of the bottom 60 percent; the growing sense, ever since the Wall Street bailout, that the game is rigged; and the utter failure of both Republicans and Democrats to reverse these trends — they give me blank stares.

Alaska, Hawaii, And Washington Hold Presidential Caucuses

Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington held their Democratic caucuses on Saturday and, as expected, Bernie Sanders did very well. Sanders has done well in caucuses in this campaign. He dominated the caucuses in all three states last night. Here are the results:

ALASKA

Clinton...............18.4%
Sanders...............81.6%

HAWAII

Clinton...............29.2%
Sanders...............70.6%

WASHINGTON

Clinton...............27.2%
Sanders...............72.6%

Sanders picked up more delegates than Clinton did tonight, which means he did cut into her delegate lead -- but not enough. Here are the current delegate totals:

Clinton...............1712
Sanders...............1004

That means Clinton has to get 671 more delegates to win the nomination. Sanders needs 1379 more delegates. Since there are 2,049 unallocated delegates, Clinton needs 32.7% of those unallocated delegates, while Sanders needs 67.3% of those delegates. Sanders has a Herculean task ahead of him -- especially considering Clinton is expected to do well in Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland (which are coming up soon).

Alaska, Hawaii, And Washington Democrats Vote Saturday

The Democratic presidential nominating race marches on. Democrats in three more states will decide their presidential preference this coming Saturday, March 26th -- Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington.

Alaska has 16 delegates up for grab, while Hawaii has 25 and Washington has 101 delegates. Those states will send more to the convention, but those are the delegates that will be decided on Saturday.

All three of Saturday's states will be having a caucus, instead of a primary. That would seem to favor Bernie Sadners over Hillary Clinton. So far, in this year's campaign, Sanders has done better in the small state caucuses and Clinton has done better in the large state primaries.

But Sanders needs to do more than just win these three states. He needs to win them by a huge majority, so he can take most of the delegates at stake. Splitting the delegates with Clinton does him no good at this point. He needs to start cutting into the substantial delegate lead that Clinton currently has -- and he needs to do it before the large state primaries of April (like Wisconsin, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, and Pennsylvania).

Here are the Bloomberg Politics delegate totals for Clinton and Sanders:

CAUCUS / PRIMARY DELEGATES
Clinton...............1223
Sanders...............920
difference...............303

ALL DELEGATES
Clinton...............1690
Sanders...............946
difference...............744

(NOTE -- The caricature of Clinton and Sanders above is by DonkeyHotey.)

Marijuana Sales In Oregon Set Record (While Marijuana Arrests Nationwide Are Up)

The legal sale of marijuana has now begun in Oregon, and those sales are breaking records. The previous record for first week sales was about $5 million in Colorado. But the first week sales in Oregon more than doubled Colorado's sales -- coming in at about $11 million dollars.

Oregon officials had originally thought they would gather about $9 million in taxes from marijuana sales, but after the huge first week sales, that number could go as high as $36 million. That's money that won't have to be raised on other forms of taxation.

Oregon, Colorado, Washington, and soon Alaska, are the first to legalize the possession and use of marijuana for adults, but I believe several other states will join them in the next few years. This is just something that makes sense. Marijuana is safer than any other drug -- including ALL legal drugs. It is not addictive, cannot be overdosed on, and doesn't affect driver safety. And the tax benefit is huge (and so could the job creation if many more states join these four).

But while some states understand the benefits of marijuana legalization, many other (and the federal DEA) do not. They continue to ruin the lives of many people, and continue to throw money away by making marijuana arrests. Consider the following:

An estimated 700,993 arrests were made nationwide for marijuana-related offenses in 2014 — up from 693,058 in 2013 — of which 88.42% were for possession. On average, one person was arrested for a marijuana-related offense in the U.S. approximately every 45 seconds (every 51 seconds for possession).

While law enforcement was busy making nearly three quarters of a million marijuana arrests, more than 35% of murders went unsolved, the clearance rate for rape was less than 40%, and for robbery and property crimes, it was below 30%. 

This is insanity. It is a waste of both jail and prison space, and a waste of law enforcement resources. If police weren't wasting time chasing after marijuana users, they could spend more time chasing other types of criminal offenders -- criminals that actually do harm to victims and the country. And we would have the prison space to put those criminals away when they were caught.

Majority In U.S. Still Wants Marijuana Legalized

On election day, the number of states that have voted to legalize marijuana doubled -- as Oregon and Alaska join Colorado and Washington in legalizing the recreational use and possession of marijuana for adults. The District of Columbia also voted to legalize the gentle herb, but it wouldn't surprise me to see the Republican Congress overturn the will of the people in D.C.

And there's a good chance that some other states will soon follow suit, since a majority of Americans nationally still support legalization. It will probably be states from either the East or the West, since 57% of the people in those regions support it. It will probably take a little long for voters in the South (47%) and Midwest (45%) to get on board.

The chart above was made from information in a recent Gallup Poll -- done between October 12th and 15th of a random national sample of 1,017 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.

Right-Wing's "American Spring" Demonstration Fizzles

(These two photos are from the "massive" American Spring demonstration in Washington. The top photo is from rightwingwatch.org, and the bottom is from dcist.com.)

Friday was the day the ultra-right-wing promised millions of right-wing Americans would flood Washington, D.C. -- and arrest President Obama, Attorney General Holder, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker Boehner, and others. They were going to ship them off to Gitmo, and then replace the government with a panel made up of right-wing politicians like Ted Cruz. They said they were going to do that because the present government leaders had failed to follow the Constitution -- completely ignoring the fact that there is no provision in the Constitution for overthrowing the elected government and replacing it with a panel.

But then reality has never been a strong suit with the extreme right. The organizers of the demonstration had promised that between 10 million and 30 million people would show up. As you can see from the photos above, that didn't quite happen. One of the organizers said he was disappointed that only hundreds had shown. But even that estimate seems overly optimistic, as most put the crowd at about a hundred people, or less. They didn't even turn out enough people to warrant a mention by the mainstream media.

The poor turnout might have been understandable if it was a spur of the moment thing, but the demonstrations have been planned for six months now. If you can't draw a crowd with six months of planning, then you never will. These ultra-right-wing extremists need to understand that they are a minority -- a very tiny minority. They may be vocal (nut-jobs usually are), but their numbers are extremely small. Thank goodness for that. They talk a lot about the Constitution, but don't understand (or seem to care about) the rights it guarantees to all citizens -- even those who are not white or male or heterosexual.

Legalizing Marijuana Would Provide Millions In Tax Dollars

(The image above is from cannabisculture.com.)

I have written many times before about the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Marijuana is the most harmless of drugs (far less harmful than almost all legal drugs), and it simply makes no sense to prohibit its possession and recreational use by adults. It just makes criminals of hard-working and tax-paying citizens who are doing no harm to anyone (including themselves).

But there is another effect that legalizing marijuana would have that is not discussed as much, and that is just what a financial boon it could be for both states and the federal government by taxing its legal purchase. Colorado and Washington have already legalized the gentle herb for recreation use and imposed a tax on its purchase, and it is estimated that both states will earn many millions of dollars from that tax -- dollars that will not have to come from citizens through raising some other kind of tax (like property, income, or sales taxes).

All of the other states (and the federal government) could benefit just as much. And it looks like some elected officials are beginning to realize that. There is a petition going around in California right now to put legalization of marijuana on the ballot in November. Here is the wording of that petition approved by the Attorney General of that state. Note especially the words at the end in bold type.

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Legalizes under state law marijuana use, growth, cultivation, possession, transportation, storage, or sale. Creates commission to regulate, and provide business licenses for, marijuana cultivation, sales, processing, transportation, and distribution. Applies retail sales taxes to marijuana, unless exemptions for medical or dietary uses apply. Allocates revenues equally among education, healthcare, law enforcement/fire, drug abuse education/treatment, commission expenses. Prohibits discrimination against marijuana users or businesses. Requires voter approval to zone beyond set limits. Bars state/local aid to enforce federal or state marijuana laws. Exempts existing medical marijuana collectives from licensing, regulatory, and local zoning requirements. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Reduced costs in the low hundreds of millions of dollars annually to state and local governments related to enforcing certain marijuana-related offenses, handling the related criminal cases in the court system, and incarcerating and supervising certain marijuana offenders. Potential net additional tax revenues in the low hundreds of millions of dollars annually related to the production and sale of marijuana, a portion of which is required to be spent on education, health care, public safety, drug abuse education and treatment, and the regulation of commercial marijuana activities. (13-0025.) 

Only A Few More Days Until The Use Of Marijuana Is Legal In Colorado

(This image is from examiner.com.)

In the November 2012 election, the people of Colorado (and Washington) voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana by adults, and in November of 2013 they voted to tax the sale of marijuana. Now we are only days away from both of those laws going into effect -- as the sale and use of marijuana will officially be legal on January 1, 2014.

This week the state government began mailing out the first licenses to sell marijuana. Here is how CNN reports it:

Retail marijuana licenses issued by Colorado -- the first in the nation -- should arrive in the mail by the end of this week, according to the state Department of Revenue's Marijuana Enforcement Division.

The state sent out 348 retail marijuana licenses to prospective retail marijuana establishments on Monday, including 136 marijuana stores, 178 marijuana cultivation facilities, 31 products manufacturing facilities and three marijuana testing facilities.

The state's retail marijuana licensing process includes fingerprint-based background checks and financial checks. The businesses must also receive approval from the local authorities before they may operate.

Thomas Behler, assistant manager at Ganja Gourmet, a medical marijuana dispensary in Denver, said he is happy about the licenses.

"Business should increase exponentially; every 21-year-old on the planet is going to come here," he said. "We already have a successful business, but we are not in it for the money. We are helping people and providing them with a service."

Mason Tvert, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project, also praised the development, which he said will affect efforts in other states.

"Colorado will be leaving prohibition behind in the new year," he said. "The movement taking place in Colorado has piqued the interest of voters and elected officials around the country, many of whom will be taking the issue on in 2014."

Colorado now joins Washington as the only two states where the legal recreational use of marijuana is allowed. The law in Washington took effect in December of 2012, and by June of 2014, that state is expected to have 334 legal marijuana retail outlets.

The question now is who will be next. There's a real chance that the next state to legalize marijuana will be Alaska. Proponents of changing the law in Alaska to legalize marijuana have gotten over 44,000 signatures to get that measure on the ballot for a vote in August of 2014 (and they only needed to get slightly more than 31,000 signatures). Proponents in California are also collecting signatures to get a measure to legalize marijuana on the November 2014 ballot.

Colorado Will Benefit From Marijuana Tax

I don't know if taxing marijuana was the reason for Coloradans to vote to legalize marijuana. I suspect it was for a few people anyway. But whatever the reason, it is a fact that Colorado will benefit from millions of dollars in taxes on the sale of marijuana (and so will the state of Washington). And that's pretty important in these troubled economic times, when all levels of government are struggling to get by without raising taxes. This new tax on marijuana will help the state to keep other taxes low (and the marijuana users will happily pay it).

This same tax could be a boon for all the other states and for the federal government (which desperately needs new revenues). It seems insane to forgo this new tax money, just to pander to those who want to keep an old lies alive -- the lies that say marijuana is harmful to its users, leads to addiction, and has no medical value (all of which are not even remotely true).

Colorado Is The First & January 1st The Date

In the election last November, two states (Colorado and Washington) voted to legalize the sale and use of small amounts of marijuana -- not just for medical use, but also for recreational use. After that, it was just a question of ironing out just how the sales would be done (and taxed). Colorado has now done that.

Recently the Colorado legislature passed new laws regarding the sale and taxation of marijuana. Starting on January 1st of 2014, "packaged and labeled marijuana and marijuana products will be available for purchase through state-licensed stores by anyone 21 years of age or older. Anyone." For the first time in many decades it will be legal to purchase and use marijuana for recreational purposes. Hopefully now, many other states will follow suit.

The only remaining question is how the federal government is going to react, since the possession and use of marijuana is still a federal crime. It never should have been made illegal, since marijuana is not a dangerous drug. It poses no risk to those who use it, or anyone else (while many other legal drugs, like alcohol, do pose serious risks -- both to users and those they come in contact with).

Let us hope President Obama does the right thing -- nothing at all. The people of Colorado (and Washington) have spoken -- and the federal government should respect their decision.