bjn wrote: Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:57 pm
Is legalising/decriminalising actually politically toxic? The politicians behave as if it is, but I can’t see a significant majority getting wound up by the legalisation of marijuana say.
I think it's one of those asymmetric political footballs, like abortion or gun rights in the US. Or prohibition a century ago.
There's a small but dedicated bunch of people who make a lot of noise in opposition, and a quieter* majority that thinks it'd be nice if everyone could be a bit more sensible about that and lots of other things.
*Not a silent majority, but one that actually exists.
I get the impression in the UK it would be very unpopular with the right-wing press, who call a lot of the shots.
bjn wrote: Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:57 pm
Is legalising/decriminalising actually politically toxic? The politicians behave as if it is, but I can’t see a significant majority getting wound up by the legalisation of marijuana say.
I think it's one of those asymmetric political footballs, like abortion or gun rights in the US. Or prohibition a century ago.
There's a small but dedicated bunch of people who make a lot of noise in opposition, and a quieter* majority that thinks it'd be nice if everyone could be a bit more sensible about that and lots of other things.
*Not a silent majority, but one that actually exists.
I get the impression in the UK it would be very unpopular with the right-wing press, who call a lot of the shots.
After accounting for the influence of the press and how it can shape the views of people around things that they don't care about very much, that's pretty much what I mean.
Would be interesting to see if there were big swings in public opinion once serious discussion of legalisation started in the various US states and Canada where it's happened.
We have the right to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment.
Bird on a Fire wrote: Thu Sep 30, 2021 12:16 pm
Fair dos.
Would be interesting to see if there were big swings in public opinion once serious discussion of legalisation started in the various US states and Canada where it's happened.
There's a fairly big difference between the US and the UK, in that most of the mainstream UK press outlets are right wing and reactionary, while most of the mainstream US ones (with one glaring exception) are centrist and less reactionary/campaign driven. There's also a big difference in balance between TV news and print news.
Did they only add the remaining validity to your passport for a while? My first passport was from Jun '90 to Jun '00. The next was from April '00 to April '10, the 3rd from Sep '09 to April '20, and the most recent Jan '20 to Jan '30. So on 3 renewals twice I've lost ~3 months and the other they gave me a passport which lasted 10 years and 6 months (and 11 days!)
I don't remember my previous ones but I definitely had it on the one which I've just replaced.
Thread jump! This started in the International Travel thread.
My avatar was a scientific result that was later found to be 'mistaken' - I rarely claim to be 100% correct
ETA 5/8/20: I've been advised that the result was correct, it was the initial interpretation that needed to be withdrawn
Meta? I'd say so!
having that swing is a necessary but not sufficient condition for it meaning a thing
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Ah it's because that thread is locked, what with all the consequences of Brexit having been resolved.
having that swing is a necessary but not sufficient condition for it meaning a thing
@shpalman@mastodon.me.uk
@shpalman.bsky.social / bsky.app/profile/chrastina.net
threads.net/@dannychrastina
Having check out the annals of the mod penthouse, we locked it because it was, in essence, a sh.t thread. There's still the possibility of starting a new one - would you like me to move the post into its own new thread on the topic?
