Via NORML, which is encouraging people to contact their legislators about marijuana reform, here's the e-mail that a constituent received back from GA Rep. Tommy Benton (31st House District). He says he favors caning for minor pot offenders and execution for those that sell marijuana:

Thanks for the email. We will have to agree to disagree on this and whether or not money is wasted. I am opposed to the legalization of marijuana. I think we should go to caning for people caught using and maybe execute dealers. That would solve the problem as well. That is what they do in Singapore and they don’t have a drug problem, but then they have less liberty than we do here.

Rep. Tommy Benton
tommy.benton@house.ga.gov

In a follow-up e-mail, Benton threatened: [More...]

How did Cameron Douglas, charged with trafficking in multi-pound quantities of crystal meth, carrying penalties of 10 years to life, get released on a bond the conditions of which were home detention at his mother's New York apartment where he would be watched by a private security guard company?

It may not matter now. He's been transferred to the Metropolitan Correction Center for violating the terms of his bond.

His girlfriend, Kelly Sott, brought Cameron an electric toothbrush filled with heroin to his mother's apartment. Cameron had requested the toothbrush.

Sott is now charged with multiple offenses and has been ordered detained without bond. She has a court-appointed lawyer. The judge also ordered medical treatment for her as her lawyer advised she's a heroin user. The complaint against Sott is here (pdf). [More...]

Not going to Pittsburgh for Netroots Nation? You can follow along at home in real time.

• Watch the live stream of convention coverage, generously sponsored by SEIU, or on Facebook while you chat with other attendees.

• You can participate from Second Life with Netroots Nation in Second Life. This year features an interactive session and caucus with real-world attendees.

• Follow on Twitter via their account or the #nn09 stream and Facebook.

[More...]

While President Obama said this week that immigration reform will have to wait until next year, his Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, has been racheting up former Bush policies of punitive enforcement.

Janet Napolitano, defended the administration’s assertive strategy against illegal immigrants and companies that employ them, relying largely on programs started under President George W. Bush.

....Ms. Napolitano said security problems on the border were inextricably linked not only to the drug trade, but also to the problem of illegal workers in far-flung cities across the country. The government needs to address illegal immigration at the same time it attacks the Mexican mafias, she said.

[More...]

As regular readers know, I never have had a strong opinion on health care reform. I think it sounds like a good idea but I can't pretend to have studied the issue in detail. But, I have reacted to the Tea Party "arguments," such as they are, against health care reform, and they make me want to be on the other side of the issue from them. Again, from the NYTimes report on the Arlen Specter town hall:

“This is about the dismantling of this country,” Katy Abram, 35, shouted at Mr. Specter, drawing one of the most prolonged rounds of applause. “We don’t want this country to turn into Russia.”

(Emphasis supplied.) What does this mean? Health care reform would "dismantle the country?" Like Medicare did? Or Social Security? It sounds like a time warp hit these folks and sent them back to fight against the New Deal. Which leads me to my next question - what is this supposed to mean? "Standing two feet from the senator, Craig Anthony Miller, 59, shouted, “You are trampling on our Constitution!” (Emphasis supplied.) How would health care reform "trample on our Constitution?" This must have some connection to the Constitution In Exile people, who want to roll back the New Deal (except for their Medicare of course.) More. . .

CNN President Jon Klein is a foolish man and has been for some time. But he is certainly painting himself into a corner regarding Lou Dobbs. Via Steve Benen and MediaBistro, Klein reportedly wrote a message to his producers that said the following:

CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein asked his show producers to avoid booking talk radio hosts. "Complex issues require world class reporting," Klein is quoted as saying, adding that talk radio hosts too often add to the noise, and that what they say is "all too predictable."

Of course Klein must know he is raising the Dobbs issue here. Is he trying to get Dobbs to resign? Or is he really not aware of the import of his words?

Speaking for me only

From the money changes everything file:

$500K prize divides 2 elderly sisters in Conn.

HARTFORD, Conn. – A passion for gambling shared by two once-inseparable octogenarian sisters has ended up dividing them, with the Connecticut Supreme Court ruling that one can sue the other for a share of a winning $500,000 lottery ticket. The court said 83-year-old Theresa Sokaitis, of Middletown, can try to enforce a written contract she signed with her 87-year-old sister, Rose Bakaysa, of Plainville, agreeing to split any gambling winnings.

Sokaitis says she is due a share of a $500,000 Powerball jackpot won by Bakaysa and their brother, Joseph F. Troy Sr., in 2005. "We had an accountant, we had a contract and we had a notary public," Sokaitis said. "We signed the contract together and we agreed to split anything. And when it came time, they didn't even tell me; I saw it in the paper."

. . . Sokaitis said she doesn't want to drag her sister into court but believes she and her family are due a share of the money. "I miss her so much, and I love her, and I don't like what's taken place," Sokaitis said. "But all I want is what is rightfully mine. All I want is my share, nothing more."

This is an Open Thread.

The business about “death boards” is over-the-top nonsense and is indeed being presented in a dishonest, unhelpful manner. But nobody — not even Sarah Palin — is arguing that the Democrats actually put a measure into writing that requires offing granny when she gets too sick to be worth the cost of healing her.

From a NYTimes story on the Arlen Specter town hall yesterday:

Many seemed concerned about issues that are either not in the health care legislation or are peripheral to the debate in Washington — abortion, euthanasia, coverage of immigrants, privacy. “It says plainly right there they want to limit the type of care elderly can get,” said Laurel Tobias, an office manager from Lebanon, referring to a bill in the House. “They are talking about killing people.”

(Emphasis supplied.) Somebody is arguing it, Mr. Joyner.

Speaking for me only

It's barbecue and "Weeds" replay night here. A new salad: spinach, red pepper, avocado and mango slices with a handful or two of blueberries tossed in. Hope the TL kid likes it. If not, there's grilled honey-mustard chicken, corn on the cob and asparagus.

For those of you thinking health care is beyond our reach, this song's for you.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Bump and Update: The judge has decided to order Lisker released on bond pending the DA's decision on whether to retry him.

****

Original Post Sunday 8/9/09

In 2005, the LA Times published a 15 page online report on the conviction of Bruce Lisker. Lisker, at age 17 was charged with killing his mother. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. I wrote about it here and TChris wrote about it in 2008 here.

[More...]

I have court this afternoon, which means an open thread for you. All topics welcome.

Via the Washington Post, the House Judiciary Committee has released transcripts of Karl Rove and Harriet Miers' testimony and emails in its investigation into the firing of U.S. Attorneys.

You can access them here. Rep. John Conyers concludes: [More...]