Social Policy and Change: Aug 28, 2012

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Arianna Huffington: Shadow Conventions 2012: What They Will Not Be Talking About in Tampa and Charlotte

Arianna Huffington: HuffPost Live is bringing you Shadow Conventions 2012 with the goal of sparking a national conversation on three issues that neither party is seriously addressing: the corrupting influence of money on our politics, the persistence of poverty in America, and the disastrous war on drugs. Our new streaming network will devote a day during each of the national conventions to focusing on one of those three issues. Today, HuffPost Live's team of host/producers will be joined by a broad range of politicians, thought leaders, activists, and celebrities for in-depth interviews and panel discussions on various aspects of the drug war. And we want you to be a central part of these discussions. That's what HuffPost Live is all about -- sparking real conversations about issues that impact our lives. The Shadow Conventions are your conventions. Join us and be part of a convention that's unscripted, surprising, and a lot more interesting than the over-produced political commercials in Tampa and Charlotte.

	POLITICS LIVE UPDATES: Republican Convention Kicks Off In Tampa
	POLITICS Mitt Romney's Strange Bedfellows In Long Drug War
	WORLD Which Cartels Are Running The Show In Mexico?
	BLACK VOICES States with Harsh Drug Sentencing Working Towards Reform
	GREEN Isaac On Verge Of Ballooning Into A Hurricane, New Orleans Threatened

BLOG POSTS

	Steph Sherer: RNC vs. DNC -- Will Medical Marijuana Decide the Election? We want Obama's campaign to know that they aren't meeting their volunteer goals in deep-blue counties because people are finding this president's policies on cannabis too hard to swallow.
	Leonard Frieling: Politicians Ignore Failed 'War on Drugs' at Their (and Our) Peril Opposing the war on drugs is often portrayed as a liberal issue. But it is also a conservative issue for anyone who champions classic "republican" values.
	Kevin A. Sabet, Ph.D.: Legalization Is Not the Answer It makes sense to devote our time and resources now to stopping drug use before it starts, intervening on early use, treating addiction, and enforcing our laws justly and smartly.
	Harry Shearer: In Praise of Waste, Fraud and Abuse As we wait to see what effect Isaac will have on the Army Corps of Engineers $10 billion-plus "hurricane risk reduction system" in New Orleans, I can't help thinking about last week's news from levees.org. When government adopts efficiency as its top priority, decisions like the Corps' get made. And people die.
	John Hodgman: Why Winners Should Vote for Obama I will reveal here that I am going to vote for Obama, and I hope he wins, and here is the reason: I LIKE WINNING.