The Young Turks: John Iadarola & Cenk Uygur: 'Is President Obama Right About Marijuana?'

Source:The Young Turks- President Barack H. Obama (Democrat, Illinois) 44th President of the United States.

Source:The New Democrat

"In an interview published Sunday by the New Yorker, President Obama said pot is no more dangerous than alcohol — and that marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington state is an "important" move towards a more just legal system. "I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life," Obama told reporter David Remnick. "I don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol." In fact, the president went on to admit pot was actually less dangerous "in terms of its impact on the individual consumer." Obama also dived into the vastly disproportionate effect marijuana arrests and incarcerations have on non-white Americans...".* Cenk Uygur and John Iadarola (host of TYT University and Common Room) break it down on The Young Turks." 

From The Young Turks

As Cenk Uygur said, Barack Obama is not a leader, but a politician. And I don't mean that if a negative way, necessarily. I mean we all get the politicians that we elect and reelect, but the idea that even a few of them are ever willing to take a strong stance that could hurt their reelection, you might as well be praying for snow in South Florida in July. Goes way beyond wishful thinking. President Obama like any other good politicians, knows that marijuana prohibition is very unpopular with young voters and that's who he's trying to appeal to here.

Source:The New Yorker- President Barack H. Obama (Democrat, Illinois) 44th President of the United States.

Keep in mind, this is coming from one of the safest politicians at least in modern American political history. Who is well-known for looking at all sides and considering all opinions before making a final decision. Whose run his last race for political office and now has the freedom to basically say what he wants with few diplomatic exceptions. 

What President Obama has done here I believe is not just look at the facts when it comes to marijuana, but acknowledging them as well. For a change, I agree with a lot of what Cenk Uygur said here. But what I would add is that President Obama is a politician before a leader. He’s a leader, just a safe one who generally doesn’t want to be the first person to go out on a limb and take a big stand on a big issue. 

Actually, President Obama he has led on big issues before. The Great Recession when he first took office, health care reform, Wall Street reform, all uses where he’s paid a big price for. But that have worked out and we're the right things to do at the time. But generally, politicians are thinking about their own popularity and careers first, doing the right thing regardless of the politics, second.

ABC News: This Week's Powerhouse Roundtable

Source:The New Democrat

President Obama did what he needed to do politically with his speech. And without the national security leaks he doesn’t give this speech and we aren’t talking about it right now. Because his National Security Council are doing what they believe they need to do to secure the country. Whether Americans on the Left and Right agree with how they are going about that. The National Security Council will continue to do what they believe they need to do to secure the country. And not necessarily screw people’s civil liberties, but to be real about this, that is not their main interest and main objectives. The Neoconservatives have won the battle as far as liberty versus security when it comes to the National Security Council. And whether the President is a Democrat or a Republican security will continue to come first with them.

The White House: ‘Making 2014 a Year of Action to Expand Opportunities For The Middle Class’

Source:The White House- President Barack H. Obama (Democrat, Illinois) 44th President of the United States.

SourceThe New Democrat

“In this week’s address, President Obama says 2014 will be a year of action, and called on both parties to help make this a breakthrough year for the United States by bringing back more good jobs and expanding opportunities for the middle class.”

From The White House

Let Congressional Republicans only talk about ObamaCare especially in the Senate. Where that is the only thing that Senate Republicans seem to be interested in right now. Even though more Americans are becoming more comfortable with the Affordable Care Act. And let Democrats offer and economic agenda for 2014 that puts millions of Americans back to work. In the areas of infrastructure, energy policy, trade and immigration. 2014 should be about the American economy for the Democratic Party. About how far we’ve come since the Great Recession, the work that still needs to be done. And what Democrats would do to move the economy forward so millions more Americans can benefit and live in freedom as well. As Republicans continue to bash a law that more Americans are becoming more comfortable with everyday. 

The Washington Post: Steve Rosenthal: American Politics Are Moving Left

Source:The Washington Post- U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (Democrat, Massachusetts)

Source:The New Democrat

As America is getting more diverse and younger as a country we are becoming more diverse as a country. Not just racially and ethnically, but how we look at politics as well. The more time Americans spend with people from a different race, ethnicity, culture, class, religion, sexuality and in many cases we are with different people who come from different groups across the board, we learn that people are people. And they tend to be good and productive and want similar things as far as being successful in life. And look at people even from different groups as individuals instead of members of groups.

The way America is moving is bad for both the far-right, but the far-left as well that tend to want to put people in groups. The far-right who put down people who don’t look at the world the way they do. And perhaps look different and have different backgrounds and come from different cultures and so-forth. But the far-left who see certain groups as needing special protection even from government and that they need to be treated special.

As we are becoming more diverse across the board and hanging out and working with people of different backgrounds and getting new experiences, we are simply becoming more liberal as a country in a few different ways. The ability to see new things and experience them and not be afraid of change and even embrace it. We are becoming more liberal both culturally, but politically as well and don’t always want to go with the establishment. And how things have always been done. But instead want the freedom to live our own lives and experience different experiences without government getting in the way and saying we can’t.

It is not just our politics that is changing and we are becoming more liberal as a country culturally. With wanting more freedom period over our own lives not just personal, but economic as well. A liberal amount of freedom, as I like to call it and not a liberal amount of government. Which are two different things and as we are making this leftward movement as a country, politicians who look at America from more of an Old America perspective or going to have to adjust politically. Or risk being out of office and having to look for a job.
Source:Bernard Goldberg

VOA News: 'President Obama Looks For a Political Comeback in 2014'

Source:VOA News- Washington political analyst Thomas Mann.

Source:The New Democrat 

"2014 will be a busy political year in the United States. President Barack Obama will outline his policy priorities when he delivers his State of the Union address on January 28. In November, voters will head to the polls to elect a new Congress, an outcome with potentially enormous political stakes for the president, as well as for lawmakers from both major political parties. VOA national correspondent Jim Malone has a political preview from Washington." 

From VOA News 

"Voice of America (VOA) is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of the United States. It is the largest[4] and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster.[5][6] VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content in 47 languages which it distributes to affiliate stations around the globe. It is primarily viewed by a non-American audience.

VOA was established in 1942,[7] and the VOA charter (Public Laws 94-350 and 103–415)[8] was signed into law in 1976 by President Gerald Ford.

VOA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), an independent agency of the U.S. government.[9] Funds are appropriated annually under the budget for embassies and consulates. In 2016, VOA broadcast an estimated 1,800 hours of radio and TV programming each week to approximately 236.6 million people worldwide with about 1,050 employees and a taxpayer-funded annual budget of US$218.5 million.[2][3]

While some foreign audiences[which?] have a positive view of VOA,[10][11] others[which?] consider it to be a form of propaganda." 

From Wikipedia

What President Obama and Democrats need to do is to switch the national political focus to the economy. On issues like unemployment, Unemployment Insurance, a minimum wage increase, the income gap, infrastructure investment, energy, immigration (to use as examples) and all of these issues have something to do with the American economy. Manufacturing would be another example all things that create American jobs in America. And then they need to have an agenda that can move people to supporting them.

House Democrats as well as the President already have this and speak to these issues on a regular basis. Democrats do this and 2014 is not about ObamaCare because people are now getting health insurance and not losing it. And enjoying the benefits of their health insurance and we are starting to see signs of that. The 2014 mid-terms could be very successful for them and they’ll be able to at least hold on to the Senate and perhaps even make gains in the House as well.

If 2014 is basically nothing but ObamaCare and President Obama’s popularity rating continues to sag, or stays roughly flat, then Republicans will probably eat up Democrats at the elections. And Democrats will struggle just to recruit good candidates and raise enough funds to protect vulnerable incumbents. And the Republican Party will have huge year adding to their House majority. And probably winning back the Senate, which is what Democrats need to stop most of all.

Associated Press: 'NY Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez Out For Entire 2014 Season'

Source:Associated Press- New York Yankees 3B Alex Rodriquez.

Source:The New Democrat 

"New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez will miss the entire 2014 season, after baseball's arbitrator reduced the 211 game suspension of Alex Rodriguez to 162, without pay. That amounts to about $25 million lost in earnings."  

From the Associated Press 

Is anyone surprised by this? We knew A-Rod was going to get hit big for use of drugs that are illegal in Major League Baseball. And what A-Rod has been doing what the last six months or so is trying to buy time in hope that he would be bailed out. And have some shot of playing in 2014. 

If you are dumb enough to us illegal drugs in MLB, then you’re dumb enough to get caught and more than deserve the time that you get for them. He knows about his physical health and the state of his playing career better than anyone. And what a one year suspension could do to him in his late thirties. Especially since his career has been in decline the last few years anyway. And yet he takes this big risk with the rest of his career and will now pay the price for getting caught.

The White House: Ensuring 2014 is a Year of Action to Grow The Economy

Source:The New Democrat    

With the weak December jobs report President Obama should be calling for a huge infrastructure investment bill somewhere in the hundreds of billions of dollars. And even call for a National Infrastructure Bank that could finance a lot of these projects through the private sector. And either have his own Transportation Department draft the bill or push Congress to do it. Especially the Democratic Senate and have them start to draft this bill and they could probably find Senate Republican support for it and see if they can pass a bill like this by some point in the spring.2014 could be a great year for the American economy if it is used to rebuild America which would create hundreds of thousands of jobs, if not millions of good jobs. In the construction industry. As well as our manufacturing industry building and selling the supplies to do these jobs.