News Genius Quotes Of The Week, 08/30/2013

With every day creeping closer and closer to The Matrix, it is only a matter of time until...wait, that’s not too bad! With luck, you might even get to be Neo, somehow flying and wearing sunglasses that went out of style in 1996. But in reality, the world is no Utopia right now, with stresses in the fast food industry all the way up to nations. News Genius: smoke one for Spitta! -- Gavin Matthews

5. “The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today ruled that same-sex couples, legally married in jurisdictions that recognize their marriages, will be treated as married for federal tax purposes” - IRS, Same-Sex Marriages

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Following the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act in June, many wondered when the IRS would adjust its paperwork to recognize benefits for same-sex marriages. As it turns out, August 29th, 2013 was that day! Citing the responsibility placed onto their shoulders by the removal of the law, the agency has rendered state-recognized same sex marriages equivalent to heterosexual marriages for tax purposes, paving the way for country-wide acceptance of the basic human right. Wheels are turning, justice, wheels are turning!

4. “If the use of 221 Tomahawk cruise missiles, 704 Joint Direct Attack Munitions, and 42 Predator Hellfire missiles expended in Libya does not constitute “hostilities,” what does?” - Rep. Scott Rigell, Open Letter on Syria

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With both United Kingdom and Canadian governments losing public and bureaucratic support for a strike in Syria, the pressure is on the United States to back down from plans to send two naval units into the conflict. Because of the legal loopholes used by Presidents Bush and Obama to launch prolonged battles in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, Congress technically cannot prevent a strike from occurring. Nevertheless, letters urging the President to back down flood in, stressing the lack of clear battle lines and targets. Striking the Syrian government one time is unlikely to significantly alter the war, but a stretched conflict only promises more issues. We can only hope now that (snicker) the government can make a sound choice, preferably one that does not include spying on its own people.

3. “...the U.S. Department of Justice announced an update to its federal marijuana enforcement policy in light of recent state ballot initiatives that legalize...the possession of small amounts of marijuana...” - DOJ, Update to Marijuana Policy

popularresistance.org

Each year, more and more states approve marijuana legalization, medicinal use, or decriminalization. Once again giving into the pressure, the Department of Justice has decided that direct prosecution of states over their policy decisions is probably a bad call. While many will celebrate this as the biggest step toward full legalization, hold back on the joy: nobody is in the clear. Remember that the Obama administration is responsible for an escalation, not a decrease, in drug arrests. The subtext tells the full story: “marijuana remains an illegal drug under the Controlled Substances Act” - you can, and will, be arrested at any time for the drug. Still, you can smoke to a step forward, however small!

2. “We’re rising up as Americans to say it’s no longer a matter of WHETHER you will raise wages; it’s a matter of WHEN. Your companies can do this right now – you have the power to raise wages for your workers today.” - Fast Food Employees, Strike Letter

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Fast food jobs have a long-set reputation for being low-paying, dirty, and ridiculed (mostly by the idiotic). The very real issue at hand is pay - restaurants pretend that a near impossible budget is adequate and pay anywhere between minimum wage and just above minimum wage. Finally deciding that only group action could force a change, thousands of fast food workers around the country grouped to strike, demanding higher wages, near $15, and better treatment. All that is left now is to wait for the industry response...

1. “Faced with a $15 wage mandate, restaurants have to reduce the cost of service in order to maintain the low prices customers demand. That means fewer entry-level jobs and more automated alternatives” - Employment Policies Institute, Robot Workers

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...and the response. Rather than probing the economic consequences of increasing pay, attempting to find common ground, or at least acknowledging the strike, the fast food industry chose to respond in a full-page Wall Street Journal ad. The answer to the entire crisis? Apparently, robots. Unfortunately, the group behind the ad failed to do its research - the “robot” used as an example cannot even do many of the most basic restaurant tasks. This may be an issue in 10-15 years, but the entire industry embarrassingly failed to show what happens until then.