Florida’s medical marijuana initiative must get a supermajority of over 60 percent to be approvedIt is going to be a close fight to see if Florida approves medical marijuana this November. Another poll shows that Amendment 2, Use of Marijuana for Certain Medical Conditions, in potentially in danger of losing.The most recent found 53 percent of likely voters in the state are planning on voting yes, 32 percent plan on voting no and 15 percent are still undecided. This is a small drop since which put the measure at 56 percent yes to 31 percent no.Support is strongest among young people and...…Florida’s medical marijuana initiative must get a supermajority of over 60 percent to be approvedIt is going to be a close fight to see if Florida approves medical marijuana this November. Another poll shows that Amendment 2, Use of Marijuana for Certain Medical Conditions, in potentially in danger of losing.The most recent found 53 percent of likely voters in the state are planning on voting yes, 32 percent plan on voting no and 15 percent are still undecided. This is a small drop since which put the measure at 56 percent yes to 31 percent no.Support is strongest among young people and...WW…

I sincerely apologize to anyone who was genuinely offended by the choice of images accompanying my blog post today on .  It’s also important to note that I do not, nor have I ever worked for Ned Lamont’s campaign.  However, at their request, I removed the image earlier today.Unfortunately, Senator Lieberman’s campaign has used this in attempt to hurt Ned and score political points, mustering their own faux indignation in attempt to further distract from the issues important to the voters of Connecticut. For weeks, Senator Lieberman has attempted to woo African Americans by...…I sincerely apologize to anyone who was genuinely offended by the choice of images accompanying my blog post today on .  It’s also important to note that I do not, nor have I ever worked for Ned Lamont’s campaign.  However, at their request, I removed the image earlier today.Unfortunately, Senator Lieberman’s campaign has used this in attempt to hurt Ned and score political points, mustering their own faux indignation in attempt to further distract from the issues important to the voters of Connecticut. For weeks, Senator Lieberman has attempted to woo African Americans by...WW…

As Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel declines to run for a third term, we’re reminded of this story from our archive. Firedoglake editor-in-chief Jane Hamsher highlighted how Emanuel said liberals were “fucking retarded.” She previously had worked to convince any reporter in the Beltway to pursue this story. The report in the Wall Street Journal resulted in a public apology that directly inspired this from Andy Samberg on “Saturday Night Live.”One thing you find out pretty quickly when dealing with beltway press is that Rahm Emanuel is a source for most of them, and that they’re generally...…As Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel declines to run for a third term, we’re reminded of this story from our archive. Firedoglake editor-in-chief Jane Hamsher highlighted how Emanuel said liberals were “fucking retarded.” She previously had worked to convince any reporter in the Beltway to pursue this story. The report in the Wall Street Journal resulted in a public apology that directly inspired this from Andy Samberg on “Saturday Night Live.”One thing you find out pretty quickly when dealing with beltway press is that Rahm Emanuel is a source for most of them, and that they’re generally...WW…

Liz Sidoti is a real piece of work. Her history includes and when indicates the public clearly views them as grandstanding obstructionists.Now at Open Left :He said he would reinstitute a pay-as-you-go rule that calls for spending reductions to match increases and would shun what he said were the past few years’ "casual dishonesty of hiding irresponsible spending with clever accounting tricks." He called the long-term solvency of Social Security "the single most pressing fiscal challenge we face by far" and said reforming health care, including burgeoning entitlement programs, was a huge...…Liz Sidoti is a real piece of work. Her history includes and when indicates the public clearly views them as grandstanding obstructionists.Now at Open Left :He said he would reinstitute a pay-as-you-go rule that calls for spending reductions to match increases and would shun what he said were the past few years’ "casual dishonesty of hiding irresponsible spending with clever accounting tricks." He called the long-term solvency of Social Security "the single most pressing fiscal challenge we face by far" and said reforming health care, including burgeoning entitlement programs, was a huge...WW…

 The Deborah Howell/WaPo fiasco seems to be blowing up outside the blogosphere, which is great. We have a lot of these conversations amongst ourselves and we think other people must be hearing them too and they aren’t.This will probably be the first time many a TV talking head like Zombies-Ate-My-Brain Kyra Phillips will even hear that Abramoff did not give money to Democrats ( has the video). If she hadn’t heard it before this morning she probably has now. Not that it will make any difference to her, but still, it’s the first step in disciplining the press. The talking heads may not...… The Deborah Howell/WaPo fiasco seems to be blowing up outside the blogosphere, which is great. We have a lot of these conversations amongst ourselves and we think other people must be hearing them too and they aren’t.This will probably be the first time many a TV talking head like Zombies-Ate-My-Brain Kyra Phillips will even hear that Abramoff did not give money to Democrats ( has the video). If she hadn’t heard it before this morning she probably has now. Not that it will make any difference to her, but still, it’s the first step in disciplining the press. The talking heads may not...WW…

I was one of 2700 people who on July 19 and let them know I won’t vote for anyone who votes to cut Social Security or Medicare benefits. I went to Capitol Hill and visited some 40 offices with FDL readers weedpicker and Noel Q, who acted as cameraman. I gave each office a copy of our handout on Social Security and Medicare (), and told them that not to vote for anyone who voted to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits.I let them know that “benefit cut” also included voting for a Chained CPI, raising the retirement age, or the creation of any kind of commission with the ability to write...…I was one of 2700 people who on July 19 and let them know I won’t vote for anyone who votes to cut Social Security or Medicare benefits. I went to Capitol Hill and visited some 40 offices with FDL readers weedpicker and Noel Q, who acted as cameraman. I gave each office a copy of our handout on Social Security and Medicare (), and told them that not to vote for anyone who voted to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits.I let them know that “benefit cut” also included voting for a Chained CPI, raising the retirement age, or the creation of any kind of commission with the ability to write...WW…

{!hitembed ID=”hitembed_1″ width=”500″ height=”281″ align=”none” !}President Obama’s Syria Speech on September 10th, 2013.Now that the public has been subjected to a ISIS has become the new existential threat in the public mind that must be destroyed or we’re all gonna die. Consequently, President Obama now feels he has enough public support to finally get the US directly involved in the Syrian Civil War – a war Obama has been relentlessly trying to stumble into for over a year.Obama Administration officials have leaked to the press – in what will surely lead to DOJ prosecutions – details...…{!hitembed ID=”hitembed_1″ width=”500″ height=”281″ align=”none” !}President Obama’s Syria Speech on September 10th, 2013.Now that the public has been subjected to a ISIS has become the new existential threat in the public mind that must be destroyed or we’re all gonna die. Consequently, President Obama now feels he has enough public support to finally get the US directly involved in the Syrian Civil War – a war Obama has been relentlessly trying to stumble into for over a year.Obama Administration officials have leaked to the press – in what will surely lead to DOJ prosecutions – details...WW…

 I really don't know when any sense of journalistic shame is going to kick in with Andrea Mitchell.  There seems to be no limit to what she will say or do when the cameras are rolling, and the fact that about her continued journalistic malfeasance in the CIA leak case means it has gotten pretty friggin' bad. And it does not fall into the category of "well everyone is upset so she must be doing something right." Wrong.  She's a big, fat festering boil on the posterior of NBC that somebody needs to lance.Despite the fact that the Libby defense team spent copious amounts of time...… I really don't know when any sense of journalistic shame is going to kick in with Andrea Mitchell.  There seems to be no limit to what she will say or do when the cameras are rolling, and the fact that about her continued journalistic malfeasance in the CIA leak case means it has gotten pretty friggin' bad. And it does not fall into the category of "well everyone is upset so she must be doing something right." Wrong.  She's a big, fat festering boil on the posterior of NBC that somebody needs to lance.Despite the fact that the Libby defense team spent copious amounts of time...WW…

Today on Stephanopolous, Jim DeMint repeated the mantra that we never spent our way out of a recession.  As he said when , which had nothing other than permanent tax cuts:Long-term corporate, small business and family tax relief will work. John F. Kennedy’s 1963 tax reductions led to 9 million new private-sector jobs in five years. Ronald Reagan’s 1981 tax cuts led to 7 million in the same period.DeMint is part of a high pyramid of historical revisionists who are in denial about Reagan’s legacy of taxation.   But he’s sitting on the fat heads of conservative pundits, neocon...…Today on Stephanopolous, Jim DeMint repeated the mantra that we never spent our way out of a recession.  As he said when , which had nothing other than permanent tax cuts:Long-term corporate, small business and family tax relief will work. John F. Kennedy’s 1963 tax reductions led to 9 million new private-sector jobs in five years. Ronald Reagan’s 1981 tax cuts led to 7 million in the same period.DeMint is part of a high pyramid of historical revisionists who are in denial about Reagan’s legacy of taxation.   But he’s sitting on the fat heads of conservative pundits, neocon...WW…

North Carolina absentee senator Liddy Dole was predictably not in the office when Pam Spaulding and the folks from BlueNC came calling with 1200 signatures we all collected asking Liddy to take a stand and make the racist Republican ads against Barack Obama stop — something that John McCain is too politically feeble to do.:I entered the office, and signed in the senator’s guest book, Mr. Holley came out to greet me and we went to an office adjacent to where Elizabeth Dole "works" when she is in town. I sat down with Mr. Holley and asked where the senator was. He said "she’s traveling." I...…North Carolina absentee senator Liddy Dole was predictably not in the office when Pam Spaulding and the folks from BlueNC came calling with 1200 signatures we all collected asking Liddy to take a stand and make the racist Republican ads against Barack Obama stop — something that John McCain is too politically feeble to do.:I entered the office, and signed in the senator’s guest book, Mr. Holley came out to greet me and we went to an office adjacent to where Elizabeth Dole "works" when she is in town. I sat down with Mr. Holley and asked where the senator was. He said "she’s traveling." I...WW…