The right-wing's top fantasy.

There are plenty of idiots who would believe it, too.

Tee Hee Hee (cough cough) 1.2.3... here we go.

he should be instead of pairing stoopid shit and running his mouth off.

the congress we have. He would be doing everyone a favor with his success.

give us the TPP. I cannot explain it. I wish he would if he has some kind of explanation.

Just like all the social issues, he can throw bones out there to make us think things are changing, but the rich really don't care about that. But when the rich (TPTB), including huge corporations and banks, don't like something - we may never even know about it.

worry about centrism.

so many are not even willing to question what they are told. Usually the same people throwing around "authoritarian" for anyone who things the system of laws we have should be followed.

are they hiding it even from congress by using ridiculous viewing limitations?

Yes we have read the leaked portions which may be changed but if there is change it is going to have to be massive change in order to protect workers and poorer countries from further exploitation by multi-national corporations. IMO corporations have more than enough power already.

We have had only one indication that it could be changed - President Obama said "Trust me". I have never given blind trust to any government official. Our duty as citizens is to oversee what our representatives do while in office. That does not stop because I voted for and like the official.

you'll likely see 2 different people as President. Oh, there will certainly be a "national security" reason that sounds plausible for why the US does this but there is usually a get rich quick scheme at play. In the 2000s we've had contradictory or unsure positions on LGBT rights but after the poll numbers "evolved" you see Democrats across the country pushing, embracing support, etc. Public pressure is a key part of it & is helped by media attention. Outside our borders it is obvious intelligence builds the narratives that the corporate press air & build an illusion of what is going on to support the far right using dirty tricks to commercially exploit resources.

While I support the Confederate flag coming down in SC the strong push out of nowhere interests me. I'd like to see something similar like that for ending the drug war & prison reforms.

We must pay closer attention to things not just domestic pressures as there is often more to that meets the eye. We lack a truly independent powerful media which doesn't help matters. If he has an explanation it will be carefully scripted & choreographed.

for prison reform and I am a bit afraid that it was the Rs that started pushing it because of costs. However, I will take it anyway I can get it at the moment. They also could accomplish a lot by just legalizing mj and ending the drug wars. So the fact that they are talking reform without talking about the other two raises some eyebrows.

Hopefully when President Obama is no longer president he will write a tell all book on why he did some of the controversial things he did. At least someday we should be able to understand what really appears to many as a betrayal of why we voted for him.

Gotta love randy1!

Well, not exactly true.

Most of my psychoanalysis came in the form of 12 step programs, but when I realized there was no god, I had to abandon even those.


But thank you, yes, I do love Randy

Truly brilliant and spot on. I couldn't agree more.

Good god - how can an American president properly weigh issues involving the nation's penal systems without taking some time to see for himself? Most lawyers have seen jails and detention centers, but prison visits are usually made by appellate defense lawyers.

Very sad.

Good for the President.

Thanks for the thread, Idemo

Was cheated of that chance, though.

belong "in" prison.

And the instant overturn of any marijuana related charges (well that one is harder, but I tried to sneak it in).

As federal laws go, it's one of the lowest-priorities out there.

not to enforce a law that congress has passed and thus wouldnt that be grounds for impeachment?

His new AG is going after MMJ more than her predecessor, for example.

I would think that would be pretty risky to do for any president.

Where have you been?

(a) Offense.— Whoever outside the United States commits or attempts to commit torture shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both, and if death results to any person from conduct prohibited by this subsection, shall be punished by death or imprisoned for any term of years or for life.
(b) Jurisdiction.— There is jurisdiction over the activity prohibited in subsection (a) if—
(1) the alleged offender is a national of the United States; or
(2) the alleged offender is present in the United States, irrespective of the nationality of the victim or alleged offender.
(c) Conspiracy.— A person who conspires to commit an offense under this section shall be subject to the same penalties (other than the penalty of death) as the penalties prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2340A

prosecutorial discretion.

He can't decide of his own volition which Laws he will enforce ( as its his job to enforce all of them);
He can make the determination that the punishments for violations of said laws be so un-severe as to make those violations, and their subsequent punishments, nearly meaningless.
A hundred-buck fine for federal weed laws violation, say. The justice department would never bother to collect, as the paperwork cost would be more than the fine collected so....
The only snag would be congressionally issued mandatory minimums laws, and if push came to shove, the Pres could always file a court suit seeking those laws to be declared unconstitutional...
Hell if he wanted to, the president could simply issue full pardons for all currently incarcerated MJ inmates if he wanted to, only reason not to is the political shitstorm it would set off in Congress.

Though for cannabis petition has to be filed to the DEA (aka Intelligence front)

Removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act

The Controlled Substances Act provides a process for rescheduling controlled substances by petitioning the Drug Enforcement Administration. The first petition under this process was filed in 1972 to allow cannabis to be legally prescribed by physicians. The petition was ultimately denied after 22 years of court challenges, although a pill form of cannabis' psychoactive ingredient, THC, was rescheduled in 1985 to allow prescription under schedule II. In 1999 it was again rescheduled to allow prescription under schedule III. A second petition, based on claims related to clinical studies, was denied in 2001. The most recent rescheduling petition filed by medical cannabis advocates was in 2002, but was denied by the DEA in July 2011. Subsequently, medical cannabis advocacy group Americans for Safe Access filed an appeal in January 2012 with the D.C. Circuit, which was heard on 16 October 2012[1] and denied on 22 January 2013.[2] As of May 2014, 22 states and Washington D.C. have legalized the use of medical marijuana.[3] Currently, the FDA is conducting an analysis, at the request of the DEA, on whether marijuana should be downgraded, said Douglas Throckmorton, Deputy Director for Regulatory Programs at the FDA, at a congressional hearing in June 2014.[4]

<snip>

Rulemaking proceedings
Stages in rescheduling proceedings

Filing of Petition with DEA
Acceptance of Petition by DEA
Initial Review by DEA
Referral to HHS
Scientific and Medical Evaluation by HHS
HHS Report to DEA
Evaluation of Additional Information by DEA
Publication of DEA Decision
(Judicial review by the U.S. Court of Appeals)
(Public Hearing on Disputed Matters of Fact)

The United States Code, under Section 811 of Title 21,[21] sets out a process by which cannabis could be administratively transferred to a less-restrictive category or removed from Controlled Substances Act regulation altogether. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) evaluates petitions to reschedule cannabis. However, the Controlled Substances Act gives the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as successor agency of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, great power over rescheduling decisions.

After the DEA accepts the filing of a petition, the agency must request from the HHS Secretary "a scientific and medical evaluation, and his recommendations, as to whether such drug or other substance should be so controlled or removed as a controlled substance." The Secretary's findings on scientific and medical issues are binding on the DEA.[22] The HHS Secretary can even unilaterally legalize cannabis: "If the Secretary recommends that a drug or other substance not be controlled, the Attorney General shall not control the drug or other substance." 21 U.S.C. § 811(b).
Factors

Unless an international treaty requires controlling a substance, the Attorney General must, in finding whether the drug meets the three criteria for placement in a particular schedule, consider the following factors:[citation needed]

The drug's actual or relative potential for abuse.
Scientific evidence of its pharmacological effect, if known.
The state of current scientific knowledge regarding the drug or other substance.
Its history and current pattern of abuse.
The scope, duration, and significance of abuse.
What, if any, risk there is to the public health.
Its psychological or physiological dependence liability.
Whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a controlled substance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_cannabis_from_Schedule_I_of_the_Controlled_Substances_Act

I'm saying he could not make a crime if he really wanted to and not to mention there is "prosecutorial discretion". Torture, perjury, crimes committed by state department agencies, etc. He can enforce federal laws as he sees fit as there is generally a focus which enforcement agencies target and not target. Federal drug laws do have mandatory minimums though for marijuana if it is less than 100 kilos (more is 10 year sentence) "not more than 10 years" less than 50 "not more than 5 years". Anything else has "not less". Usually state police handle drug enforcement but those with different state laws the DEA is choosing this (probably because they were cutting into their drug importation profits).

With a few exceptions.

Things are much better now than they were a few years ago.

Same thing with the legal recreational pot states. The feds are pretty much leaving them alone.

You have to spend some time in a prison to begin to understand. And I don't think a visitor, free to leave, can fully appreciate it. But, spending time inside has an effect on you.

that he's the first. None other? What were the others thinking?
They all had power of the pardon and commutation. Many or
most used it. But no visits ........... until now!

He's humanizing a forgotten population and giving their loved ones something too in the process.

I LOVE this Obama.

Francis has visited prison in Italy, and perhaps others that I'm not aware of.

Maybe, even subliminally, Pres. Obama or his advisors were influenced by Francis' compassionate action.

At the very least, such a visit presents good optics.

34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35For I was hungry, and you gave me food: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in:

36Naked, and you clothed me: I was sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came unto me.

37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we you hungry, and fed you? or thirsty, and gave you drink?

38When saw we you a stranger, and took you in? or naked, and clothed you?

39Or when saw we you sick, or in prison, and came unto you?

40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Since you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.

http://biblehub.com/kj2000/matthew/25.htm

Great thing for Obama to do. Actions speak louder than words.

a show of mercy that we have not been repaid.

City, county, state and private run prisons/jails. I pretty sure the is a list of the worst and best. He shouD defiantly visit the worst. Just a suggestion.

His support team is looking for someone who can get in touch with the Vice producers--anyone have a contact?

Seriously, has no other sitting president ever visited a prison? That can't be right. If it is, color me shocked.

Let alone the number of lives involved.

I hope he can find time to visit some other prisons, interview and unannounced.

43 chief law enforcement officers have run the Federal prison system without a single site visit?

They are full of sitting governors after all.

Our prison system is nothing less than a gulag. 2 million prisoners, it's mind boggling. About time a sitting US president acknowledged it's existence.

if asked, I would have assumed some president already did this. Surprising.

Believe me, security's going to be tight, and any inmates who have contact with him will be specially screened. A lot of inmates would love to blow the whistle on things that are wrong, but they won't have the chance.

If he is sincere about looking into this, he will have had the security detail run an independent analysis and request prisoners that are not on the warden's list.

Though considering rising pressure from the population there is probably a likely effort to at-least reduce this someway which is good but I'd pay close attention to what follows.

An entire population . . . forgotten. Good on Obama.

There are just some things that should not be done for profit - ever.

That's our Potus, dealing with injustice.

Wonder how Fox is playing this one.