For some reason, December 7 makes me miss my grandfather more than most other days of the year. he fought in WWII, in the Pacific, and we spent a lot of time talking about that in his final years. This is one of my favorite photos of him because he was always snarky til the end.
This photo was taken at least a year after Pearl Harbor, when he was home on leave for a few days before shipping out into the pacific. He's in the middle — my grandma is to the left and his lifelong friend (my father's godfather) is to the right, with his wife.
One story my grandfather told me about his time in WWII stuck with me, and I'd like to share it here -- but this is a trigger warning, because this is a battle story and war is evil and terrible.
He told me that during the invasion of Okinawa, there were kamikaze pilots. He made eye contact with one of the pilots, and after watching the plane dive into the water, turned and told another officer standing near him "that's an incredibly brave man." [1/]
The other officer was angry, and told my grandfather that his statement was un-American because that was the enemy.

But, my grandfather told me, his opinion didn't change. He said always remember there are brave people trying to do what's right on both sides of any conflict. [2]
Honestly, I think that lesson can be applied to anything -- to war, yes, but also to politics and religion and so much more.

I think we could all take a moment to step back and remember that the people on the other side of any conflict also are just trying to do their best.
There are still so many unanswered questions I have for him. I know what he did on Dec 7, 1941 - but I don't know where he was when he found out the war was over. I know about Okinawa, but not about the friends he lost. If you know a WWII vet, don't wait. Get their stories.

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More from @natsfert

7 Dec
Trade groups are shifting their rhetoric a little on #SAFEBanking in the wake of Schumer and Booker pointedly prioritizing decrim legislation, noting here that it could "put wind in the sails" of broader decrim — which is a strategy some advocates like @NORML have embraced.
The other strategy, embraced by Schumer/Booker and progressive groups like DPA, ACLU, CAP and more, is that passing banking would satisfy many republicans and big groups like ABA, who would then not push for or even be willing to come to a compromise on broad decrim.
Part of the background is that even advocacy groups are settling into the belief that decrim will not happen in this Congress. Here a 3+ year timeline is put on broad reform. Other advocates liked/retweeted this.
Read 4 tweets
7 Dec
Rules Committee hearing is starting. If you're planning to tune in, welcome to the dry policy discussions and monologues that make up the majority of my and every political journalist's life. Watch closely or you'll miss the action. You can stream here:
Chairman McGoverns says they'll be talking about the NDAA -SECOND- so go like do some laundry or make some lunch if you haven't and check back in a bit.
LOL idk why but the framing on this shot makes it look like a sitcom.

(its a photo of judiciary committee members who came to testify about the legislation to the rules committee)
Read 18 tweets
6 Dec
For everyone asking if this NDAA is the final version or if there will still be conference/more amendment votes beyond the NDAA we see tonight:
To reiterate: last concrete intel I had was Merkley last week said he didn't get it in the bill. Since then, all signs point to Schumer digging his feet in on this strategy. Most lobbyists/hill staffers I've talked to think it's unlikely the House fights super hard to keep it.
If it's in this version, the House -really- went to bat for it. Like I mean REALLY.
Read 4 tweets
6 Dec
JFYI: Congress’ stopgap bill passage at the end of last week means DC will need to wait ~11 more weeks to find out if it can have a taxed and regulated adult-use cannabis industry.
The Harris Rider was removed from the budget - but the new budget has to be signed into law for that deletion to go into effect.

It’s like when you are editing the code on a webpage, the page itself won’t update til you press “save”
Passing a stopgap can make some changes or additions that are specifically outlined in the stopgap, but mostly just continues to fund the government according to the guidelines of last year’s budget.
Read 4 tweets
10 Jun
Me: "I work at POLITICO, I'm the cannabis reporter."

@BernieSanders: "You're the cannabis reporter?"

Me: "I'm the cannabis reporter."

Sanders: "Are you stoned right now?"

Me: "I am not stoned right now."
Sanders: "Is that a requirement to be...?"

Me: "It's actually not."
Okay okay — by popular demand, here is the audio...

...As a special @POLITICO #dispatch episode 👯‍♀️. You can direct your thanks to Dispatch host @jersiegel and his fab editing skills (also subscribe to dispatch!): open.spotify.com/episode/7INWyd…
Read 4 tweets
9 Jun
Annual reminder from @GavinBade and I that #cannabis is the nation’s most energy-intensive crop and that energy use — by indoor cannabis cultivation facilities, especially — is only going to grow now that all these NE states (NY, NJ, etc) have legalized. politico.com/newsletters/po…
Thanks @tweyant @renurayasam and the #POLITICOnightly team for having us!
The facts on indoor vs outdoor cultivation are just 🤯.

An indoor grow, on avg, consumes 1.27 kWh per cannabis gram, according to New Frontier Data.

Growing weed outdoors uses 0.07 kWh per gram — 18 times less.
Read 4 tweets

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