By Lee Enochs
When Joe Biden was elected President last year he promised to bring unity to a country that was highly divided during the Trump presidency.
However, he and the Democrats quickly forgot that campaign pledge to bring unity and healing to our divided nation as evidenced by Biden and the Democrats’ massive $3.5 trillion dollar spending bill called the “Build Better Act.”
The 2,465-page bill which promises to significantly expand America’s social safety net, is Joe Biden’s chief legislative priority, and if passed will fund everything from expanded Medicare funding, free community college and the fight against climate change.
By Lee Enochs
History now shows that Rumsfeld and the second Bush administration were gravely mistaken about WMD's being in Iraq at that time and the consequences of this blunder of unfathomable proportions, was the loss of over 5 000 American soldiers and over 100,000 innocent Iraqi lives.
Because Rumsfeld was considered the "chief architect" of the second Bush administration's Iraq war policy, any objective discussion over his legacy must include this monumental and historic foreign policy mistake. This was left out of your comments on Rumsfeld.
by Lee Enochs
Anyone that has been paying attention to what is transpiring in current affairs throughout the United States should acknowledge that political progressives and socialists have been emboldened and are increasingly influencing public policy decisions in America. With this increased influence of leftism has come a proportional erosion in our civil and constitutional liberties.
Case in point, the massive social media popularity and “Green New Deal” agenda of Democratic socialists Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and other leftist environmentalists, have already influenced new President Joe Biden to kill the economically prosperous Keystone Pipeline contract and with it, thousands of American jobs.
By Ryan McMaken
On Wednesday, a mob apparently composed of Trump supporters forced its way past US Capitol security guards and briefly moved unrestrained through much of the Capitol building. They displayed virtually no organization and no clear goals.
The only deaths were on the side of the mob, with one woman—apparently unarmed—shot dead by panicky and trigger-happy Capitol police, with three others suffering nonspecific “medical emergencies.”
Yet, the media response has been to act as if the event constituted a coup d’etat. This was “A Very American Coup” according to a headline at the New Republic. “This Is a Coup” insists a writer at Foreign Policy. The Atlantic presented photos purported to be “Scenes from an American Coup.”
By Patrick McKnight
A new effort to legalize recreational cannabis is coming to the Keystone State. Pennsylvania lawmakers Daylin Leach and Sharif Street are hoping to build support for their latest proposal, Senate Bill 350 which they introduced on October 15th. The bill would allow for both home delivery and the automatic expungement of many previous criminal convictions related to marijuana. The bill’s supporters estimate it will generate $500 million in tax revenue within twelve months.
By Patrick McKnight
Recent comments from Governor Phil Murphy and Senate President Steve Sweeney suggest one final legislative effort to legalize marijuana in 2019.
“I think I’ve been consistent that I hoped we could have one more shot at this,” Murphy told reporters last week. “Getting something to happen sooner, if we have a real shot at that, I’d be all in. … Count me all in to try and work toward that.”
The Governor’s promised to legalize marijuana within his first 100 days in office. That was nearly two years ago. The following year and half have been a rollercoaster of rising and falling expectations for reform advocates. After Murphy and Sweeney came to an early 2019 agreement regarding how recreational marijuana would be taxed, the stage appeared finally set for a legislative vote.
By Patrick McKnight
Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have enacted medical marijuana programs. Despite this expansion military veterans often face greater obstacles to gaining access to medical marijuana than other groups. Veterans suffer widespread health problems including chronic pain, traumatic brain injuries, and post-traumatic stress disorder at a rate higher than the general population. When veterans seek medical care from the federal Veterans Administration health system, they not only lack access to medical marijuana but may fear jeopardizing all federal benefits if they admit to personal use. Notwithstanding the rapid spread of medical marijuana across the United States, many veterans report feeling left behind.
By Patrick McKnight
An ongoing political saga took another unpredicted turn this month. After over a year of building momentum, hopes for a legislative vote on legalizing the adult-use of recreational cannabis have once again faded. Senate President Steve Sweeney announced he is no longer working towards a legislative solution, instead proposing a ballot referendum in 2020. In the meantime, he pledged to continue efforts to expand the Garden State’s medical marijuana program. He also expressed his support for an expungement bill.
On May 15, 2019, Sweeney tweeted “We will move forward with the expansion of our medical cannabis program as well as the progressive social justice reforms in the expungement legislation. We will not, however, pursue the legalization of adult use marijuana at this time.”
By Patrick McKnight
Over a year after reform advocates first began predicting swift legislative victory, the recreational use of cannabis remains illegal in New Jersey. When Governor Murphy and Senate President Sweeney agreed on a $42 per ounce flat tax in February, legalization supporters once again hoped for quick adoption of New Jersey Assembly Bill 4497 (“A4497”). Once again, the much-publicized March 25th vote was called off due to lack of support. Now legislators have a limited window to act before the state budget deadline on July 1st.
Hopes for reform have ebbed and flowed since Governor Murphy was elected on a platform including legalization within his first 100 days. Despite his party controlling both the Senate and Assembly, the Governor has only been able to expand the medical program since taking office. That executive action doubled medical marijuana enrollment in just six months.
While the media has spilled considerable ink analyzing the political drama, actual details of the bill itself have received considerably less attention. A4497 attempts to incorporate lessons learned from other legalization regimes in Colorado, Washington, and California. Some critics argue certain provisions in the bill are too ambitious. Others wish the bill would go even farther. These disputes will need to be resolved before the ongoing 18-month saga finally comes to a vote in Trenton.
By Patrick McKnight
New Jersey took another big step towards legalizing the recreational adult-use of cannabis last week, but legislators stopped short of taking the historic vote. After a breakthrough in negotiations over taxes and regulatory oversight between Governor Murphy and Senate President Sweeney in February, the scene appeared to be set for legalization. A vote was scheduled for Monday, March 25 but was postponed due to a lack of support. Leaders now hope to work out remaining sticking points and pass legislation before June.
