Inspire Political Discourse

Holder to End Raids on State-Sanctioned Medical Marijuana Clubs

:: During the Bush administration, the Feds raided even the clubs legalized by the state. Fulfilling a promise made by Obama during his campaign, Holder will now move to end these raids. From HUFFPOST:

Attorney General Eric Holder said at a press conference Wednesday that the Justice Department will no longer raid medical marijuana clubs that are established legally under state law. His declaration is a fulfillment of a campaign promise by President Barack Obama, and marks a major shift from the previous administration.

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Political News Summary: Wednesday, January 28, 2009

:: More on HuffPost re Republican behavior (besides, I had to share this great graphic from HP). The headline over the elephant pic reads "Toeing the Party Line". Gotta admit, we Dems have a much keener sense of humor than the Repubs. Oh, and by the time you click on this link, the headline and the image may be different because it's on the HuffPost home page. From HUFFPOST:

:: On Republican behavior. From Bob Cesca (I love this guy):

VIDEO: Petition Attorney General-designate Eric Holder to Appoint a Special Prosecutor

Political News Catch-Up Summary - Thursday, January 22 - Friday, January 23, 2009

:: Jan. 23 - A bank which received bailout money, employs the wife of House Republican Whip Eric Cantor. Bolding is mine. From PROPUBLICA:

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor [1], a rising star in the Republican party, has been a prominent voice demanding accountability in how the government doles out hundreds of billions for bank bailouts.
This Thursday, Cantor cast a high-profile vote opposing release of another $350 billion in bailout funds. Unpublicized until now was a recent development: The Treasury Department used $267 million of taxpayer funds to buy preferred stock in a private banking company that employs Cantor's wife.
The bailout for New York Private Bank and Trust (NYPBT) [2] came earlier this month as part of a Treasury Department program to boost "healthy banks" with extra capital. NYPBT is the holding company for Emigrant Bank [3], a savings bank with 35 branches in and around New York City. Diana Cantor runs the Virginia branch of Emigrant's wealth-management division, called Virginia Private Bank & Trust, which targets an ultra-rich clientele.

Hmm...and where exactly is your accountability re this direct conflict of interest, Mr. Cantor?

Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

The Obama Cabinet

FOREIGN POLICY	JUSTICE	EDUCATION
Secretary of State - Hillary Clinton	Attorney General - Eric Holder	Secretary of Education - Arne Duncan

TRANSPORTATION	LABOR	VETERANS AFFAIRS
Secretary of Transportation- Ray LaHood	Secretary of Labor - Hilda Solis	Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Eric Shinseki

COMMERCE	HEALTH	AGRICULTURE
Secretary of Commerce - Bill Richardson	Secretary of Health & Human Services - Tom Daschle	Secretary of Agriculture - Tom Vilsack

ENERGY	HOMELAND SECURITY	DEFENSE
Secretary of Energy - Steven Chu	Secretary of Homeland Security - Janet Napolitano	Secretary of Defense - Robert Gates

TREASURY	HUD	TRADE
Secretary of the Treasury - Timothy Geithner	Secretary of Housing & Urban Development - Shaun Donovan	United States Trade Representative - Ron Kirk

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Ambassador to the United Nations - Dr. Susan Rice

This is the full cabinet, as nominated. They must all be confirmed by the senate, but with the exception of Eric Holder, they are expected to be confirmed without major incident.

You may notice that I included the Ambassador to the United Nations (Dr. Susan RIce) in the cabinet. Although this position has not previously enjoyed cabinet rank, Obama has said that he intends to confer cabinet rank on this very important position.

As far as presidential succession goes, the only two positions that really matter are that of the secretary of state, and the secretary of the treasury. While technically, the entire cabinet is in the line of succession, in reality, it simply wouldn't work that way. The line of succession is as follows (incomplete because it is pointless):

1. Vice President - Joe Biden
2. Speaker of the House of Representatives - Nancy Pelosi
3. President pro tempore of the Senate - currently Robert Byrd
4. Secretary of State - Hillary Clinton
5. Secretary of the Treasury - Timothy Geithner

In the unlikely event that the president, the vice-president, the speaker, and the president pro tempore all died or became incapacitated, Hillary Clinton would be unlikely to assume the presidency, as a new speaker and president pro tempo would be elected by congress. The chances of the other cabinet members assuming the presidency are very much slimmer.

For a full (those that have been announced) list of the White House staff, cabinet level positions, and administrative positions, check out my earlier/updated post.

 

All images were cropped from wikimedia commons images.