democracy

Tory MP Goguen moves motion to end committee hearings on omnibus crime bill

Submitted by mellowdee on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 11:42am
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'This puts the mock in democracy,' says NDP MP Jack Harris about the Conservation manoeuvre.

By TIM NAUMETZ | Nov. 17, 2011

PARLIAMENT HILL—Opposition MPs and the government majority on the Commons Justice Committee are battling over a motion the Conservatives moved Thursday morning to end a final series of hearings on the government’s controversial 102-page omnibus bill by midnight the same day.

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Montana: Constitutional change would protect initiatives

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 2:13pm
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By. MATT GOURAS, Associated Press

The ongoing battle voters and their ballot initiatives have with elected lawmakers is about to get more intense.

Nearly every time voters have used the ballot box to change state law with an initiative in recent years the Montana Legislature has later at least tried to change it or abolish it altogether.

Most recently, the Montana Legislature completely revamped the voter-approved medical marijuana law — an effort that is now being challenged in court and with another separate initiative effort.

But a new group wants to make it much harder for the legislature to tinker with initiatives — an idea that has already caught the attention of leading state legislators.

The proposed change to the Montana Constitution would require lawmakers to send their suggested changes back to the voters for another vote. Backers of the effort say it is too easy right now for the Legislature to change an initiative that takes hundreds of hours in signature-gathering just to qualify for the ballot. Read more »

Lawyer: Refusal to follow law led to medical-pot clubs

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 3:12pm
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by Mary K. Reinhart

State officials have created a market for medical-marijuana clubs by failing to license pot dispensaries in violation of the voter-approved law, attorneys told a Maricopa County Superior Court judge Tuesday.

The state filed suit last month to shut down the clubs, which charge a membership fee and provide pot to medical-marijuana cardholders. The state has argued the clubs are taking money in exchange for marijuana in violation of state law.

Several marijuana clubs have cropped up around the Valley since Attorney General Tom Horne filed another suit in late May, this one in federal court, to halt the state regulatory process that was expected to license up to 126 dispensaries statewide by August.

Phoenix attorney Michael Walz, who represents the Arizona Compassion Clubs, told Judge Dean Fink during Tuesday’s hearing that the state can’t prevent the clubs from operating, since its failure to license dispensaries gave rise to them in the first place. Read more »

Toke the Vote Canada - I Toke and I Vote Graphic

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Wed, 04/06/2011 - 3:18pm
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I toke and I vote

Click on the Image to get a high res version! Print out, and enjoy! On May 2, Toke the Vote!

Dana Larsen: A fresh vision of direct democracy, regulated marijuana for B.C.

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Mon, 01/17/2011 - 1:51pm
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By. Dana Larsen, Georgia Straight
 
I am running for the leadership of the B.C. NDP because I offer a fresh vision for my party and our province. My campaign will engage those who feel disenfranchised and cynical about the state of politics in B.C.
 
I have been a community organizer and activist for all of my adult life. Over my career I have worked as a journalist, editor, and small business owner. For the past two years I have served as director and manager of the Vancouver Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary Society, which serves 2,500 patients across the Lower Mainland from two locations. I am honoured to assist so many suffering patients to access the benefits of this amazing medicinal herb.
 
My leadership campaign is based on four principles: democracy, sustainability, social justice, and being smart on crime.
 
In terms of democracy, I believe that the people of B.C. should be able to vote more often on the issues of the day, through referendums and ballot initiatives.
 
The NDP brought in our current ballot initiative system in 1995, but since then the only item ever to come forward for a vote will be the HST. I believe in direct democracy, and as premier I would lower the threshold to make it easier for a referendum item to be put on the ballot. Read more »

They’ve Stopped Pretending - LA Sherrif Promises to Break Law, Ignore Democracy

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Wed, 10/20/2010 - 1:17pm
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By. TheAgitator
 
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca says that if Prop 19 if it passes, he won’t abide by it. He’ll keep arresting marijuana offenders anyway.
 
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who reports to President Obama (man of the people!), says he has no intention of respecting the wishes of Californians, either: “We will vigorously enforce the [Controlled Substances Act] against those individuals and organizations that possess, manufacture or distribute marijuana for recreational use, even if such activities are permitted under state law.” Read more »

Feds oppose Calif. Prop 19 to legalize marijuana

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Fri, 10/15/2010 - 4:04pm
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By. Associated Press
 
Attorney General Eric Holder says the federal government will enforce its marijuana laws in California even if voters next month make the state the first in the nation to legalize the drug.
 
The Justice Department strongly opposes California's Proposition 19 and remains firmly committed to enforcing the federal Controlled Substances Act in all states, Holder wrote in a letter to former chiefs of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter, dated Wednesday.
 
"We will vigorously enforce the CSA against those individuals and organizations that possess, manufacture or distribute marijuana for recreational use, even if such activities are permitted under state law," Holder wrote. Read more »

Arrested for Democratic Protest

Submitted by Kirk Tousaw on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 11:40am
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POLITICAL ACTIVIST JACOB HUNTER ARRESTED AT JUSTICE MINISTER'S OFFICE
 
10 June 2010
For Immediate Release
 
Jacob Hunter, the Foundation's Policy Director, was arrested today at Justice Minister Rob Nicholson's constituency office in Niagara, ON.  Mr. Hunter was there as part of a continuing series of protests being held at the offices of Conservative Members of Parliament by supporters of Marc Emery, a Canadian citizen a political activist recently extradited from Canada to the United States.  Another individual was apparently also arrested at the scene.  This is the first protest at which arrests have been made.

Proroguing is for children (and Stephen Harper)

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Thu, 01/07/2010 - 12:27pm
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Even Afghanistan, where Canadians are dying, has a parliament that's open for business
By. Rick Mercer, Globe and Mail
There's a very good reason why the word prorogue doesn't come up that often in our society. Why would it? The word has absolutely no resonance with anyone in Canada because the notion that you can shut down anything for months at a time is a total fantasy. That's the thing about life; it's relentless. If you are an adult and live in the real world, proroguing isn't on the agenda, in much the same way levitating isn't.
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