TresSugar

Bad Times Keep Us Put: Migration to South and West Slows

CitizenSugar — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:00:23 -0800

The intuitive trend in America to move to where the land is open and the climate warm has hit a road bump. Thanks to the housing crisis, which makes the idea of taking on a new mortgage scary and risky, people are staying put.

The population slowdown specifically hit the western and southern states, which had seen huge growth and migration over the last decade. While this trend could mean less traffic and more space for those already living there, it could also lead to less political influence. Based on current projections, California might lose a seat in Congress for the first time ever following the 2010 Census.

Still, a population slow down in the South and West doesn't mean other regions are growing faster. In 2008, Utah was the fastest growing state, followed by Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina. And Michigan and Rhode Island actually lost population.

Have tough times made you shelve any plans for moving?

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Marijuana Majority? State and Local Laws Ease Access

CitizenSugar — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:30:00 -0800

The number of annual marijuana arrests have been setting all-time records lately. Sales and trafficking aside, there are more possession charges nationally than violent crimes combined. Maybe there are a lot more smokers than violent people, or it could be prosecuted disproportionately.

The latter explanation is the logic behind several state and local decisions to ease restrictions. On Tuesday, Michigan joined 12 other states that have legalized medical marijuana. Licensed dispensaries are not part of the law, so Michiganders will have to get themselves a good dealer.

Over in Massachusetts, marijuana is still illegal. But thanks to voters, possession of up to one ounce is no longer punishable by jail time. Instead, marijuana possession will be punishable with a citation, $100 fine, and confiscation of the drug - almost like getting a speeding ticket minus the license points! In both Massachusetts and Michigan, voters rejected widespread campaigns that argued easing marijuana laws would increase adolescent drug abuse, permit large-scale trafficking, endanger workplace safety, and sharply increase traffic fatalities.

To find out what local laws passed, read more.

Three promarijuana laws at local levels prevailed. Fayetteville, AR, voted to make minor offenses a low priority and Hawaii County decided to make marijuana its lowest priority. Berkeley, CA, where medical marijuana is already legal, put no limit on the amount a patient or dispensary can possess.

So that’s today in soft-core drugs! Do you think increasing access to marijuana for people who need it outweighs potential abuse of the laws? Are voters right to demand that marijuana possession go to the bottom of law enforcement priorities?

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McCain Swings Out of Michigan: How Does the Map Look?

LibertySugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:00:59 -0700

John McCain will reportedly stop employing staff, airing ads, and sending mailers in Michigan, instead relocating resources to Wisconsin, Ohio, and Florida. Since McCain is taking Michigan tentatively out of his win column, let's take a closer look at the electoral map. We hear all about national polls, but those don't matter on November 4.

To see how the toss up states looked as of yesterday, and for some analysis of which states each candidate needs, read more.

As of yesterday this is how the candidates' chances looked according to Real Clear Politics: New Mexico: Obama +5; North Carolina Obama +3; Obama +3; Missouri Obama +1 Florida: Obama +3 ; Virginia: McCain +3; Indiana: McCain +1; Michigan: Obama +10; Nevada: Obama +1 ; Ohio McCain +1 ; Minnesota: Obama +11 Pennsylvania: Obama +9; Obama +9; New Hampshire: Obama +10 .

Obviously a million things could happen before November 4. The map indicates that while McCain needs to pick up all the Bush states, besides maybe New Mexico and Nevada, Obama has more options to get to 270. Obama can lose Ohio and Florida, if he picks up New Mexico, Colorado, and Iowa. If McCain loses Florida, he has to win both Ohio and Pennsylvania. If McCain wins Indiana and Missouri, he still needs to win Ohio, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and Minnesota to get to 270. If McCain loses Minnesota, McCain needs Nevada and New Hampshire to tie (gasp!!!) Obama at 269. While all these scenarios can make your head spin, imagine what a tie would be like!!

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Michigan Asks: Does Foreclosure Take Away Right to Vote?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:15:45 -0700

The housing crisis suddenly has a whole new address: voting rights. Yesterday the chairman of the Macomb County Republican Party was quoted in the Michigan Messenger as saying he's set to assign election challengers with "a list of foreclosed homes and [we] will make sure people aren't voting from those addresses." The statement voting laws, which require an address and a desire to make sure proper election procedures were followed. Furor erupted immediately, with Project Vote issuing the following statement:

The Macomb County GOP's plan is a cynical partisan attempt to suppress the vote of thousands of low-income and African-American voters. . . . Just because you're behind on your mortgage doesn't mean you lose the right to vote. . . the challengers will still achieve nothing but to slow down voting and create an intimidating atmosphere at strategically chosen polls.

The chairman has since announced to the Detroit News, "I never said anything even close to that. We won't be doing voter challenges on foreclosures, and we've never had a plan to do it." Challenges are allowed at the polls if the challenger "knows or has good reason to suspect" a voter isn't eligible, a rule the Secretary of State has clarified to need "reliable sources or means." There's also a new state law requiring voters to produce photo identification.

Outdated addresses could be a very real problem this election. Ohio earlier this summer said that 3,700 people are registered to vote at vacant addresses, and another 27,000 have filled out change-of-address notices without updating their registration. Will foreclosures and outdated voter lists affect the accuracy of the results?

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Droopy Drawers: Is a Ban on Baggy Pants Racism in Disguise?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:15:29 -0700

Like your pants with a little extra room? If you live in Flint, MI, you better hitch up your britches; the city's new police chief announced yesterday that he's going to start arresting people wearing baggy pants. Oh yeah, you heard correctly. No more low-hanging pantaloons - the chief says people are showing off altogether too much of their derrières and it's creating a problem. He says, "this immoral self-expression goes beyond free speech. It rises to the crime of indecent exposure/disorderly persons." The pants punishment? $500 and up to three months in jail.

While it's true that many don't understand the need to sag one's pants, and may rather not see someone's underduds, can a person's pants lead to arrest? It's a case the ACLU is quite interested in. Curious in not only how the law will be enforced, but also how it will disproportionately target young African-American men. A local ACLU attorney says, that a person's right to choose their clothing is an issue of freedom of expression, though he cautions that not all expression is protected by the Constitution. The local NAACP president expressed her concern that the new law has racial implications this way, "I'm not interested in looking at anyone's underwear. My concern is how (the policy) will be applied equitably."

At the moment, the police aren't entirely sure either. Is it possible that dealing with a small societal issue like indecent saggy pants, could have larger benefits over time? Is this a racially motivated move costumed by concern for decency?

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Democrats' Big Decision on Florida and Michigan Delegates

CitizenSugar — Sat, 31 May 2008 18:23:28 -0700

Democratic party officials reached a deal today to seat delegates from the disputed Florida and Michigan primaries with half a vote each. The decision happened behind closed doors and voted on publicly - announced to cheers and boos underscoring the impossibility of reaching a "correct" answer in the scenario.

In the decision Clinton (who won the Michigan and Florida contests) picked up 19 delegates in Florida and 5 delegates in Michigan, a net gain of 24 delegates over Obama.

Howard Dean, chairman of the DNC, opened the meeting today saying, “We are strong enough to struggle and disagree and to even be angry and disappointed and still come together at the end of the day and be united.”

Was this decision fair? Will the Democrats be able to come together now?

Three Things You Need to Know About Michigan and Florida

CitizenSugar — Sat, 31 May 2008 07:30:51 -0700

We're about to hear the end of the big Michigan/Florida do-the-delegates-count snafu - and they're showing the whole debate live now! I just know you're popping the popcorn and settling in to watch the whole shebang - here are three things to know while you watch the showdown.

The Role of Republicans in the Florida Trouble:

Were the Democrats sabotaged? Though Florida's Republican-controlled state legislature determined the date of the primary and Republican lawmakers did push vigorously for an early contest, it started with a Democrat. State Sen. Jeremy Ring introduced the legislation to reschedule the primary He said, "one thing you can be sure of," he said that Florida will be relevant during the primaries.” He's also said that he wasn't duped by anyone. Then the voting. Not one Democratic member of the state House voted against the measure, and hardly any opposition in the Senate.

I promised three, and I will not ask for a change of the rules after the beginning of the game - for the rest, read more.

Has Hillary Always Wanted the Votes Counted?

Not exactly. Clinton said in 2007 "it's clear that this election they're having [in Michigan] is not going to count for anything." A little bit later, her campaign manager said, "We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process. . . . and the DNC's rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role. Thus, we will . . . adhere to the DNC-approved nominating calendar."

Then on Jan. 25 (after Michigan and Florida) she said, "And so I will ask my Democratic convention delegates to support seating the delegations from Florida and Michigan."

What's Likely to Happen Today?

Probably not awarding the delegates according to the popular vote and seating all of them, like Clinton would like. The Rules and Bylaws Committee probably will not reverse the sanctions completely - that's a decision that would set a bad precedent for other states and start the primary season for the 2012 election, around tomorrow. The committee members "have expressed little interest in the option of seating all the delegates." They will probably follow the recommendation of DNC lawyers who say that the appropriate legal resolution would either be to allow half the number of delegates from each state into the convention, or let the full delegations attend with half a vote each. Obama will likely get a party favor of delegates from his missed Michigan contest.

Newsweek has two great FAQs with even more tangly info - just so you'll know exactly what to yell at the screen. What do you think the outcome of today will mean for Hillary?

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Food Stamp Stats Show US Hungry for Help

CitizenSugar — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:00:04 -0700

Yesterday morning's talk about Haiti's food riots turned my attention to tummies close to home. Specifically, food stamps. Perhaps once considered the currency of that spurious caricature the "welfare queen," government food assistance is a harbinger of tight times - and tightening belts. Take a look at these stats out this week:

This year, 28 million Americans are predicted to receive food stamps. That's the highest number since 1960.
1 in 8 Michigan residents receive food stamps.
1.17 million Pennsylvanians were receiving food stamps in a February count, up 4.4 percent from last year and close to a record high.
1 in 3 Oklahoma kids have been on food stamps at some point in the last year.

To receive government food aid, applicants have to pass a very strict asset test and a very strict income test. Some say the threshold to qualify is too high. Once a person qualifies, benefits average about $100 a month per person in the family. In New Hampshire, a state that's seen a 7 percent increase in food stamp beneficiaries, the maximum daily allotment for someone in a three-person, incomeless household is $4.53 a day. It would take some pretty creative cooking to eat on less than $5 a day.

Are those benefits too small? Should we still be relying on the almost 50-year-old program, or should we be taking care of local food needs with private or faith-based programs?

Serious news notwithstanding - never fear! Our fancier international friends recognize that the US is on a budget. To see how they're offering assistance, read more.

Harry’s Bar, the Venice watering hole of Ernest Hemingway, is offering a discount to “poor” Americans. They've posted a sign that reads,

“Harry’s Bar of Venice, in an effort to make the American victims of subprime loans happier, has decided to give them a special 20 per cent discount on all items of the menu during the short term of their recovery.”

Well! That 20 percent off calamari will certainly help. . . right?

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Can Online Voting Maintain Election Integrity?

LibertySugar — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:00:48 -0700

What's a few million extra ballots between friends? In Zimbabwe today, opposition leaders are accusing the government of printing 3 million extra paper ballots, enough to change the outcome of the Mar. 29 election. It's yet another harbinger of potential voting fraud to come. Though most of us probably agree voting integrity is essential to democracy, Africa is not the only place where the authenticity of an election is threatened.

For the past few months, the Democrats have been grappling with what to do about the Michigan and Florida primaries. Online voting has been proposed as a potential solution. Since paper ballots have been historically imperfect, and electronic voting machines are still proving problematic, maybe it's time to bring this whole voting thing online!

Millions of Americans go online to shop, pay bills, sell, bank, and pretty much to do anything! I think online voting could be the future, as it is cheap and efficient. Voting would probably take no more than one minute, and you could do it at home, work, wherever . . . assuming you had a computer. Which brings us to one of the potential problems. For some of the drawbacks, read more.

Online voting could disenfranchise those without internet access, like the poor or elderly, especially if it's used as the exclusive means of voting. Also, the results could be susceptible to fraud, hacking, or innocent technological glitches. So, it might not be the best solution for Florida and Michigan, as there is not much time to guarantee protection from abuse.

Should we start developing secure methods of voting online, and inevitably increase voter turnout? In fact, a system has been used before. The Michigan Democrats voted online in 2004's primaries, and the Democrats Abroad used the internet last month without any problems. The reality: no voting system is free from fraud. So, is it time to check the cyber box?

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50 Cents More Per Gallon of Gas to Save Earth?

LibertySugar — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:01:09 -0700

Americans say action is needed to confront global warming, but that action better not affect their pocket books. The National Center For Public Policy Research found that 48 percent of Americans are unwilling to spend even a penny more on gas taxes, in order to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

John Dingell, a Democratic congressman from Michigan, has proposed a 50 cent tax per gallon of gas. By raising the price of gas, Americans would decrease harm to the environment and become less dependent on foreign oil. The funds could be used to finance public transportation or alternative-energy research. But, Dingell's plan found support among only 18 percent of Americans that said they would be willing to pay 50 cents or more. In Europe, consumers pay anywhere from $4 to $5 in taxes, on top of the price of gas.

Is it a luxury to care about the environment? Do we need a financial motive to conserve gas, and do what we know is right?

Do you favor a 50-cent tax as a way to urgently halt greenhouse-gas emissions?

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