By Dick Miller WE.CONNECT.DOTS: — By the time you read this, Pennsylvania may have a budget. Or at least that is what the legislative leaders (all Republican) and Democrat Governor Tom Wolf will pronounce from on high in Harrisburg. Far from perfect is an understatement. The budget for Pennsylvania government will not balance for fiscal year […]
“Shocks the Conscience”: South Dakota Forcibly Catheterizes Three-Year Old in Drug War
by psmith, DRUG WAR CHRONICLE: The state of South Dakota is practicing a form of drug war excess tantamount to torture, according to a pair of federal lawsuits filed by the ACLU on June 28. One suit charges that law enforcement and medical personnel subject drug suspects to forcible catheterization if they refuse to submit to […]
State licenses “legal” marijuana in secret
By Dick Miller WE.CONNECT.DOTS: Does potential corruption raise eyebrows anymore in Harrisburg? Secrecy promotes security? Cash will not attract organized crime? Astonishing conclusions! Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration — through Act 16 of 2016 — has started to implement regulations to allow medical marijuana to be grown and sold in Pennsylvania. The first phase involves gathering […]
TSUKERMAN: Jehovah Witnesses Are Persecuted In Russia
By Slava Tsukerman On June 9, 2017, a Russian citizen received an official document demanding to renounce his faith and change his religion. It sounds unbelievable, considering the fact that Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, adopted at National Voting on December 12, 1993, guarantees to every citizen “the right to profess […]
From the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution
Section 4—Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge […]
Marijuana Legalization Dramatically Cuts Traffic Stop Searches
Home » Drug War Chronicle » Issue #979 by psmith In states where marijuana has been legalized, traffic stops resulting in searches by state police are down dramatically, according to a new analysis from the Marshall Project and the Center for Investigative Reporting. With marijuana possession being legal, police in legal states can no longer assume criminal activity merely because of the […]
MILLER: Harrisburg’s yearly budget fiasco
By Dick Miller WE.CONNECT.DOTS: In another time, the fiasco otherwise known as Pennsylvania State Government might make us the laughing stock of the nation. Instead, the political antics at Springfield, IL capture national attention. At times, the antics are similar to what passes for government oversight in Harrisburg. But Illinois politicians, like lemmings marching […]
Customs Seizes Childproof Marijuana Lock Boxes, Calls Them “Drug Paraphernalia”
by Phil Smith DRUG WAR CHRONICLE: In a prime illustration of the perversities of the war on drugs, US Customs has seized a shipment of a thousand lock boxes aimed at allowing marijuana, tobacco, and pharmaceutical users to keep their stashes safe from kids. Customs has officially designated the boxes as drug paraphernalia, even though everyone involved […]
TSUCKERMAN: There is a Russian war between the Internet and TV.
Demonstration in Moscow June 12, 2017 The posters read: “Corruption steals our future”, “Miserable cowardly thief”. The last phrase is combined with the image of a duck, which refers to the Prime Minister Medvedev, who, according to the allegation made by the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has a custom-made duck house at one of his lavish estates. […]
City Covers Up Dealings with Penn Square Partners
Reneges on promise to cooperate with Right-to-Know Request NewsLanc files complaint with state officials Excerpts from Complaint to The Office of Open Records “Gentle Persons: “NewsLanc.com… publishes news letters and has been an active web site, for approximately a decade…. “LNP […]
TSUKERMAN: Russian Nazi “volunteers” in Donbas
By Slava Tsukerman Russian propaganda calls Ukrainian nationalists and even contemporary Ukrainian government Nazis and Fascists. Here are several typical statements made by Sergei Markov, one of the most popular Russian masters of propaganda, Director of the Institute for Political Studies : “The power in Kiev is controlled by people who hate everything Russian. For the destruction […]
MILLER: Pension reform: not much of a reform
By Dick Miller WE.CONNECT.DOTS: All the ballyhoo about our state government leaders finally achieving pension reform this week in Harrisburg failed to answer one issue. Has Trump-type governance finally floated ashore to the banks of the Susquehanna? Or was the latest style democracy already in place in the hinterlands, awaiting a populist like our new President […]
Opioid Action Plan: Increase Access to Effective Treatment, Expand Harm Reduction Interventions, Prevent Opioid Misuse, and Minimize the Criminalization of People Who Use Drugs
Drug Policy Alliance: The New York Times published on Monday an investigative report that found that drug overdose deaths last year reached an all-time high, suggesting that the country’s long-term opioid crisis continues to worsen and that younger age groups in the U.S. are experiencing record numbers of opioid overdoses than in the […]
Gambling Expansion Legislation Contains More Lancaster Type Sweetheart Deals
The 675-page gambling expansion legislation passed by the PA House is chock full of what we’re calling “sweetheart legislation”. For example, this bill contains this paragraph on page 448- 449: “…the sum of $250,000 shall be distributed annually for a period of 20 years to a city of the third class located in two counties of […]