The Lenin Library (Библиоте́ка и́мени Ле́нин) Metro station in Moscow

By Jack Brummet, Moscow Travel Editor

The Biblioteka Imeni Lenina (Библиоте́ка и́мени Ле́нина - The Lenin Library) is one of the ten  Moscow Metro stations (on the Sokolnicheskaya Line) I visited.  I especially liked the mural of Lenin.  

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The Beatles collaborative guitar solo in :The end:

By Jack Brummet, Music History Editor


Fifty-four seconds into The Beatles' The End are 18 bars of guitar solo: the first two bars are played by McCartney, the second two by Harrison, and the third two are Lennon, then they take one more round. I've listened to this song probably more than a hundred times and I've noticed the different voices in the solo, but I didn't know until tonight that it was a collaborative solo--Paul created it when he mixed the song. Their individual styles are so perfectly represented....

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Orson Welles eases out of his Charles Foster Kane makeup during the filming of Citizen Kane

Orson Wells slips out of his Charles Foster Kane makeup during the filming of the the classic Citizen Kane.

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The Seattle Police Department's post-election memo on marijuana

From the Seattle Police Department Blotter on Seattle.gov.  And, yes, they included this video with their post.

Marijwhatnow? A Guide to Legal Marijuana Use In Seattle

Written by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on November 9, 2012

The people have spoken. Voters have passed Initiative 502 and beginning December 6^th, adults over 21 years old can possess up to an ounce of marijuana (or 16 ounces of solid marijuana-infused product, like cookies, or 72 ounces of infused liquid, like oil) for personal use.

Marijuana has existed in a grey area in Seattle for some time now. Despite a longstanding national prohibition on marijuana, minor marijuana possession has been the lowest enforcement priority for the Seattle Police Department since Seattle voters passed Initiative 75 in 2003. Officers don’t like grey areas in the law. I-502 now gives them more clarity.

Marijuana legalization creates some challenges for the Seattle Police Department, but SPD is already working to respond to these issues head on, by doing things like reviewing SPD’s hiring practices for police officers to address now-legal marijuana usage by prospective officers, as well as current employees.

While I-502 has decriminalized marijuana possession in Washington, the new state law is in direct conflict with federal law, which classifies marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic. All Seattle Police officers have taken an oath to uphold not only state law, but federal law as well. However, SPD officers will follow state law, and will no longer make arrests for marijuana possession as defined under I-502.

The Seattle Police Department and Mayor Mike McGinn have already begun working with state officials to navigate this conflict, and follow the direction of Washington voters to legalize marijuana.

In the meantime, the Seattle Police Department will continue to enforce unlicensed sale or production of marijuana, and regulations against driving under the influence of marijuana, which remain illegal.

TL;DR?

Here’s a practical guide for what the Seattle Police Department believes I-502 means for you, beginning December 6^th, based on the department’s current understanding of the initiative  Please keep in mind that this is all subject to review and revision by the state attorney general, and King County Prosecutor’s office:

Can I legally carry around an ounce of marijuana?

According to the recently passed initiative, beginning December 6^th, adults over the age of 21 will be able to carry up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use. Please note that the initiative says it “is unlawful to open a package containing marijuana…in view of the general public,” so there’s that. Also, you probably shouldn’t bring pot with you to the federal courthouse (or any other federal property).

Well, where can I legally buy pot, then?

The Washington State Liquor Control Board is working to establish guidelines for the sale and distribution of marijuana. The WSLCB has until December 1, 2013 to finalize those rules.

Can I grow marijuana in my home and sell it to my friends, family, and co-workers?

As long as you’re a licensed grower and seller, yes. If you’re a medical marijuana patient, the rules on growing haven’t changed.

Can I smoke pot outside my home? Like at a park, magic show, or the Bite of Seattle?

Much like having an open container of alcohol in public,  so could result in a civil infraction—like a ticket—but not arrest. You can certainly use marijuana in the privacy of your own home. Additionally, if smoking a cigarette isn’t allowed where you are (say, inside an apartment building or flammable chemical factory), smoking marijuana isn’t allowed there either.

Will police officers be able to smoke marijuana?

As of right now, no. This is still a very complicated issue.

If I apply for a job at the Seattle Police Department, will past (or current) marijuana use be held against me? The current standard for applicants is that they have not used marijuana in the previous three years. In light of I-502, the department is consulting with the city’s employment law division and the state attorney general to see if and how that standard may be revised.

What happens if I get pulled over and an officer thinks I’ve been smoking pot?

If an officer believes you’re driving under the influence of anything, they will conduct a field sobriety test and may consult with a drug recognition expert. If officers establish probable cause, they will bring you to a precinct and ask your permission to draw your blood for testing. If officers have reason to believe you’re under the influence of something, they can get a warrant for a blood draw from a judge. If you’re in a serious accident, then a blood draw will be mandatory.

What happens if I get pulled over and I’m sober, but an officer or his K9 buddy smells the ounce of Super Skunk I’ve got in my trunk?

Under state law, officers have to develop probable cause to search a closed or locked container. Each case stands on its own, but the smell of pot alone will not be reason to search a vehicle. If officers have information that you’re trafficking, producing or delivering marijuana in violation of state law, they can get a warrant to search your vehicle.

SPD seized a bunch of my marijuana before I-502 passed. Can I have it back?

No.

Will SPD assist federal law enforcement in investigations of marijuana users or marijuana-related businesses, which are legal, at the state level, under I-502?

No. Officers and detectives will not participate in an investigation of anything that’s allowed by state law.

December 6^th seems like a really long ways away. What happens if I get caught with marijuana before then? Hold your breath.  Your case will be processed under current state statute. However, there is already a city statute making marijuana enforcement the lowest law enforcement priority.

I’m under 21. What happens if I get caught smoking pot?

It’s a violation of state law. It’ll be referred to prosecutors, just like if you were a minor in possession of alcohol. But, again, marijuana enforcement is still the lowest law enforcement priority in Seattle. This is all still under review and we’re still awaiting advisement from the state attorney general.

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all this is that election day and night posts on Facebook and Twitter

By Pablo Fanque, Mona Goldwater, and Jack Brummet

For my part, I could have lived with a Romney presidency, but I just don't think they ever let the real Mitt emerge (just a hunch).  I don't know if he broke back to the center too late or if it was just the fractured demographics.  I think the post mortems and finger pointing will be interesting to follow, and I suspect the GOP may come roaring back in the mid-terms (and of course they will if the economy is still moribund).
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From November 2008...Jack gets nostalgic about going to the election polls for the last time (Wash. went to mail ballots after this election).  http://jackbrummet.blogspot.com/2012/11/atit-reheated-end-of-polling-place.html
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If everything else breaks the way it looks like it might (and it has so far), my home state becomes the Bluest of The Blue. After the General Strike, Seattle (and Wash.) acquired a rep. In 1936, James Farley, a Postmaster under FDR, said "there are 47 states in the Union, and the Soviet of Washington." It looks like we're back.

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On top of news that Christie was Gov. Romney's first choice for Veep... /Pablo http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/83104.html

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If you don't vote, you can't beef. A lot of states have referendums and initiatives that may be more important than your President, Governor, Wardheeler, or Congressman. When people tell you that there is no difference between the two candidates or parties, don't believe them. Check it out and commit! xoxo /Pablo F/Mona G/Jack B

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Tim Eyman - How did we let him slip past us one more time? If we beat this guy, he's gone. But if not, he has a job for life, bullyragging and hectoring us for fun and profit.

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Paul Ryan returns to The House, probably as the budget chairman...

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Proud of Washington State tonight...this state broke ground today.

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But I want those 538 numbers--313 electoral votes. To vindicate Nate Silver.

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Nate Silver=92% likelihood now. No longer a nail biter? "Obama’s most likely margin of victory to be two or three percentage points,"

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Interesting Oregon resoundingly defeated their marijuana referendum after wins in other states. The PDX votes don't dominate the state?

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for three days mindless partisanship slumbered. . .

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I'm kind of sad we won't have Todd Akin to kick around anymore. Well, not really.

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"No question now that he's rapidly reaching the point where he's got his back to the wall, his shirttails on fire and the bill collector's at the door." - Dan Rather

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Remembrance of elections past. This is a shot of President Ford and his good friend "Joe" Garagiola on the '76 election night when the President was beaten by Jimmy Carter.

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In stark opposition to Nate Silver, Karl Rove's prognostications. He's no dummy, but it feels like he's whistling past the graveyard here or has been away from the news for a couple weeks...

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Chris Christie finally gets to meet his musical hero (and get a Jersey bear hug). /Mona G - ATIT Bi-partisanship Editor   http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bruce-springsteen-and-chris-christie-connect-through-hurricane-sandy-20121105

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KARL ROVE'S FINAL CALL : "Without twelve toss 

up states (MN, NV, CO, IA, WI, MI, OH, PA, NH, VA, NC, AND FL), Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are tied at 191 each. I predict Mr. Romney will win FL (29), NC (15), VA (13), NH (4), OH (18), IA (6), CO (9) and Mr. Obama will get MN (10), NV (6), WI (10), MI (16), PA (20). This brings Mr. Romney to 285 Electoral College votes and Mr. Obama to 253. These are just my base predictions and I still think several of these states are too close to call. For example, while I put them in Mr. Obama's column, I still believe NV, WI, and PA are in play and very winnable for Mr. Romney. If crowds at his recent stops in these states are any indication of his supporters' enthusiasm, Mr. Romney will likely be able to claim victory in these states as well." www.rove.com/election

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One thing we won't hear tonight are classic Dan Ratherisms. Daniel Kurtzman compiled this AMAZING list of Quotes from CBS Anchor Dan Rather on Election Night 2004. Just one night! this is only about 20% of what he said (you can find the whole list here...http://bit.ly/UvauBw).

"You hear that knocking? President Bush's re-election is at the door. ... This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex. ... If you had to bet the double-wide, you'd have to bet that he'd win. ... This race is humming along like Ray Charles. ... This race is shakier than cafeteria Jell-O. ... Turn the lights down, the party just got wilder. ... This race is tight like a too-small bathing suit on a too-long ride home from the beach. ... Only votes talk. Everything else walks. ... Spandex tight. ...

"Tight as the rusted lug nuts on a '55 Ford. ... Smelling salts for all Democrats, please. ... When the going gets weird, anchor men punt. ... Florida is the whole deal, the real deal, a big deal. ... hotter than a Laredo parking lot. ... This will have the people in Austin standing up like they got stuck with hat pins. ... The big burrito out there in California. ... None of this television mumbo jumbo: Let's get in there and count the votes. ... We've lived by the crystal ball. We're eating so much broken glass, we're in critical condition.'

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 short, sweet concession speech for Romney. He made it clear that this election is over. And that was the right thing to do. Props. #fb

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“@thehill: Washington becomes 1st state to legalize #marijuanahttp://bit.ly/RTPfZp  --> this should be an interesting battle/court fig

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“@thinkprogress: Chris Wallace helpfully reminds Karl Rove he wasted 325 million on this election”

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Where does The Tea Party go from tonight? They're kind of receiving a big time swirly. #fb

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McCaskill and Warren. Sweet.

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Remembrance of elections past 3. Harry Truman beats Dewey. The most famous American election photo of all time.

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Remembrance of elections past: George W. Bush (another two term President) and Karl Rove. pic.twitter.com/S6ALUMNP

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At one point we were heading down the road of public financing (remember the $1 campaign checkoff on your income taxes?), and I still think we should go there. I don't think it's really any more fair that Bloomberg, Forbes, Pelosi, Cantwell or Suzan Del Bene can dump millions into their own campaigns. What we do is we give the Presidential candidates $10 million each. Senators get $100K and representatives $50K. And they can do with it what they will. Hire a few staffers, take a few polls, print up some yard signs and bumper stickers and buy a bus to travel around the country. Sure, it's an incursion into the first amendment, but so is not yelling fire in a theatre or muzzling hate speech. Sure, we'll need to work out some of the kinks, and maybe amend the constitution. . .

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Faces No. 330 - voters

By Jack Brummet

click to enlarge

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Political pairs: photographs of Presidents and their pals (and frenemies, accomplices, and fairweather friends)

By Jack Brummet, Presidents Editor

If you've followed ATIT for any length of time, you probably know that The Presidents are part of the fun here.  Here are a handful of our favorite shots of Presidents with their pals (and frenemies, accomplices, and fair weather friends).

Future President George W. Bush and Karl Rove

Presidents Gerald R. Ford and William J. Clinton at the five President summit

President Gerald R. Ford and "Joe" Garagiola the night Ford lost the election to Jimmy Carter

Future President William J. Clinton and future 

Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson (with funhouse mirror effect)

President Richard M. Nixon with

his Florida pal Bebe Rebozo

President Richard M. Nixon with his golf pal Jackie Gleason

clowning for the cameras at a Florida golf course

President Lyndon B. Johnson with his pal, 

future Supreme Court justice Abe Fortas

President John F. Kennedy tries to control his 

running mate, future President Lyndon B. Johnson

President Barack Obama and his loyal henchman (and 

Chief of Staff) future Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

President Barack Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama (what was it he said?)

President Harry S. Truman and Lauren Bacall (after seeing 

this photograph, Bess Truman went nuclear on HST) 

Two bros bro'ing it up.  President George 

W. Bush and his brother Governor Jeb Bush

Future President Senator John F. Kennedy with future first lady 

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. This is probably a photo booth shot.

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The Traveling Wilburys "The End Of The Line"

By Jack Brummet, Rock Editor

This is a most bittersweet video.  Somewhere between the time when they recorded this originally, and when they shot the video, Lefty Wilbury a/k/a Roy Orbison, passed on (his name is a tribute to country great Lefty Frizzell).  This video shows Orbison's guitar rocking in a chair as the rest of the group play, followed by a brief shot focused on a framed picture of Roy.


 Copyright (C) 2012 by All This Is That. All This Is That contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We make these materials available to advance the understanding of political, economic, literary, artistic, and social issues. In some cases we satirize, parody, or lampoon materials from other sources. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of copyrighted material as provided for by section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit for research, educational, and entertainment purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', please read and follow our Creative Commons Attribution 3.  license 

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Drawings from Turkey: Goreme, Cappadocia, Istanbul

Drawings and text by Jack Brummet 

[2'x2' surplus hospital muslin with Sharkie[tm] and pencil]

click to enlarge

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Dan Ratherisms - from Election nights past

by Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor

One thing we won't hear tonight are classic Dan Ratherisms. Daniel Kurtzman compiled this AMAZING list of Quotes from CBS Anchor Dan Rather on Election Night.

Click here to see the entire mother lode as compiled by by Daniel Kurtzman Quotes from CBS Anchor Dan Rather on Election Night "Do you hear that knocking...President Bush's re-election is at the door." "This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex.""His lead is as thin as turnip soup." "The presidential race is swinging like Count Basie." "This race is hotter than the Devil's anvil." "Ohio becomes like a sauna for the two candidates. All they can do is wait and sweat." "One's reminded of that old saying, 'Don't taunt the alligator until after you've crossed the creek.'" "This situation in Ohio would give an aspirin a headache.' '"Bush is sweeping through the South like a big wheel through a cotton field." "No question now that Kerry's rapidly reaching the point where he's got his back to the wall, his shirttails on fire and the bill collector's at the door." "This presidential race has been crackling like a hickory fire for at least the last hour and a half." "Let's see where it goes from here. Round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows." "We keep talking about Ohio if you've been tuning in and out or you put the baby to bed or you went to pop the cap on an adult, or otherwise, beverage..." "In southern states they beat him like a rented mule." "We had a slight hitch in our giddy up, but we corrected that." "In some ways, George Bush's lead is as thin as November ice." "John Kerry's moon has just moved behind a cloud, as far as Florida is concerned." On Kerry's chances: "To use a metaphor, he's gotta draw to an inside straight. But hey, sometimes you get lucky and hit that straight." "We don't know what to do. We don't know whether to wind a watch or bark at the moon." On how the results are affecting strategists: "It's one reason so many of them drink a lot." "This race is shakier than cafeteria Jell-O.""He swept through the South like a tornado through a trailer park." "This race is tight like a too-small bathing suit on a too-long ride home from the beach." "It's about as complicated as a wiring diagram to some dynamo." "This race is as tight as the rusted lug nuts on a '55 Ford." "The presidential race still hotter than a Laredo parking lot." "These returns are running like a squirrel in a cage." "Frankly we don't know whether to wind the watch or to bark at the moon." "We've lived by the crystal ball, we're eating so much broken glass. We're in critical condition." ---o0o---

The Kremlin Clock Tower

By Jack Brummet, Russian Travel Editor

The 500 year old Kremlin Clock (Russian: Кремлёвские часы; Kremlyovskiye chasy) is an often rebuilt clock on Spasskaya Tower in The Kremlin. The clock dial is above the main gates leading into Red Square. The clock chimes on the quarter hour, and bells toll each full hour.  According to various historical accounts, the clock on the Spasskaya Tower appeared between 1491 and 1585.  It has been tinkered with, rebuilt, music added, clockworks re-engineered, and of course, the clock dials have been updated, re-gilded, and more. 

It was pretty cool seeing it in person, although there were so many other fantastic buildings, churches, and sculptures that it almost becomes lost among all the other great sights.  I remember when I was young, they would often show the clock tower in reports on The Kremlin (our cold war enemies).  U.S. News, however, would more often show some grim, great Soviet building (there are only a couple of that style)--they almost never showed the great churches or towers.

 

The four Kremlin clock faces are 20 feet in diameter, with one on all four sides of the tower. The Roman numerals are two and a half feet tall.  The length of the hour hand is nearly ten feet, and of the minute hand nearly eleven feet. The total weight of clock and bells is 25 tons (or about 1/8 the weight of the gigantic Czar Bell on the plaza.  

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By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor


I voted.  You almost feel like you need a bath after voting these days.

It's the political, and pundit, and expert-fatigue--you can't help watching a train-wreck, and in many ways, this election has been one.  I, for once, am very glad it's nearly over.  I used to enjoy every minute of it.  But this year things got ugly.

It would be nice to have it decided Tuesday night, as opposed to a recount, or in the courts.  And then let Jeb-Rubio-Christie-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -Andrew Cuomo-and whoever else start running for 2016.

There's been a lot of nasty stuff back and forth from both parties (and the libertarian/green 3rd and 4th wings).  Now it's time for the jawboning to end; time to quit blaming the 1% or the 2% or the 47%; time for the bi-partisan solutions both candidates and parties claim they truly believe in.  I don't watch much TV, but I read that some cities/battleground states have literally had ten thousands of ads scream across their screens.  I know the ones I hear on the radio are pretty bad (particularly thinking of our local Governor's contest).  Just a short time to go now, and it's all over but the post-mortem and the finger pointing.  It can't some soon enough.  As long as your guy wins, and maybe even if he/she doesn't.

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