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Sunday, Feb 05th

Last update:07:29:30 PM GMT

Headlines:

Iowa caucus: Newt Gingrich trounces Mitt Romney among Fox viewers

Cheers and Jeers: Wednesday

Abbreviated Pundit Round-up: Obama defends middle class

Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest: Rick Scott hits an epic new low

Daily Kos Elections Polling Wrap: No 'co-leader'—Newt is the guy

Fox Business launches war on 'anti-corporate' Muppets

Senate Republicans filibuster Obama judicial nominee Caitlin Halligan

Verizon Adds 4G LTE Droid Xyboard Tablets

Like Gollum drawn to the ring, Jon Huntsman decides to becomes a climate change skeptic

Barack Obama gains another union endorsement, from AFSCME

White House will use foreign aid to advance gay rights. Hillary Clinton makes historic speech

Midday open thread

Pot

Judge Rejects Willie's Plea Deal for 3oz of Marijuana

J. R. Ransom

Check This: Video 2min 23sec. A Texas Judge Rejects Willie Nelson Plea Deal On Arrest For 3 Ounces Of Marijuana.

The judge in Willie Nelson's latest marijuana case. Here's what happened. Last year, you may remember, Willie Nelson was on the road again and got arrested for pot possession again, at a border stop in Texas.

There was apparently a very specific odor emminating from Mr. Nelson's tour bus. How much do you want to bet that the vending machine in the border patrol break room was subsequently relieved of all of its cool Ranch Doritos.

Anyway, Willie worked out a plea deal paying a $500 fine and court costs but the judge is apparently not at all stoked. She just rejected the plea deal. So now the case is back in limbo.

And there is the judge told the New York Times that she thinks the prosecutor is giving Willie special treatment because he's a fan.

Let's have a bit of perspective here, people. It was 3 ounces of pot on Willie Nelson's tour bus.

Am I the only one who assumes that on a Willie Nelson tour bus the bus pulls a flatbed trailer under a cover with an entire acre of marijuana tended by Cheech, Chong, and Snoop Dogg. 3 ounces? Willie Nelson's braids weigh more than that.

Global Commission On Drug Policy Calls For Legalization

J. R. Ransom

The Global Commission on Drug Policy says the war on drugs can't be won and governments should change current drug laws.

It has been 40 years since President Nixon declared a War on Drugs. Now, a high profile panel says that the war is unwinable and that it's time to look at other strategies including legalizing drugs.

Use of Opiates up 34%.

Cocaine use up 27%.

Marijuana use up 8.5%.

That's according to UN data sited in a new report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.

The commission says bluntly the global war on drugs has been a failure.

100 Million Americans Say Yes to Marijuana

J. R. Ransom

Medical Marijuana Plant Video 5min 12sec. A legal battle has broken out over a Californian law permitting the use of marijuana for medical purposes. A pro-pot advocate in Washington, Aaron Houston, who is the Director of Government Relations for the Marijuana Policy Project, said marijuana is Americas largest cost crop.

It is bigger than corn and wheat combined with a value of about $36 billion per year; and if marijuana wholesale is legalized, not just for medical purposes, the US would make between $14 and $40 billion from the drug.

Marijuana is America’s largest cost crop, said pro-pot advocate in Washington, Aaron Houston, the Director of Government Relations for the Marijuana Policy Project.

“There are 13 US states that have legalized medical marijuana but there are about 100 million Americans using marijuana and those people want to admit to government’s survey takers that they have used it,” Houston said.

“Clearly, when we have 100 million people saying they used it to government survey takers it probably would stand to reason. But that number is actually higher because certain people just do not want to tell someone from the government that they have used marijuana, a kind of illegal substance,” he said.

Supporters of legalization say the drug helps to relieve pain and may have huge financial benefit for the country.

Bob Marley Interview About Herb

J. R. Ransom

Bob Marley Interview about herb Lest we forget our Taos radical counter-culture roots, here's an interview with the legendary Bob Marley regarding the use of herb and a clip at the end of H.I.M Haile Selassie's Coronation with Bob Marley singing 'Zion Train'.

Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981) was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands The Wailers (1964–1974) and Bob Marley & The Wailers (1974–1981). Marley remains the most widely known and revered performer of reggae music, and is credited for helping spread both Jamaican music and the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience.

Legalizing Marijuana To Improve Lives Of Millions

Cooper Hill

Medical Marijuana Doctor The active ingredient in marijuana appears to reduce tumor growth, according to a Spanish study published on Wednesday. The researchers demonstrated giving THC to mice with cancer decreased tumor growth and killed cells off in a process called autophagy.“ The findings support that safe, therapeutically efficacious doses of THC may be reached in cancer patients," Guillermo Velasco of Complutense University in Madrid and colleagues reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.