Tag: Red

But when a state Senate vote was abruptly put off Monday because it didn't have enough support, the delay was a reminder that the politics of pot legalization aren't purely partisan. The key question instead can be whether voters or legislators are making the decision, experts say. Several states where it passed — like Massachusetts, Michigan and Vermont — are less blue than purple, with governors and legislative leaders of different parties. The Democratic governors and legislature leaders of New York and New Jersey have been jostling to make their states next in line to legalize marijuana, but the effort hasn't gone as smoothly as they might have hoped. Those are also among the sticking points that prompted the New Jersey Senate to postpone Monday's planned vote, which would fulfill a campaign promise from Gov. Pot advocates, meanwhile, say they don't expect it to be easy to change policy about a drug that was illegal in all 50 states for decades, and still is in the federal government's view. Nine of the 10 states that have legalized recreational marijuana did so through voter referendums — not through their legislatures. "I actually see this as a populist-movement-vs.-representative (body) issue," says Andrew Freedman, who helped set up Colorado's recreational-pot program and now consults governments on doing so. For all that, lawmakers in 21 states at least proposed legalizing marijuana last year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. “States are talking about it in the rainbow of red, blue and purple.”

NEW YORK (AP) — To anyone who figured the path of legalizing recreational marijuana use ran along blue state-red state lines, a sudden setback for pot advocates in New Jersey may show the issue isn’t so black-and-white. But when a state Senate vote was abruptly put off Monday because it didn’t have enough support, the delay was a reminder that the politics of pot legalization aren’t purely partisan. The key question instead can be whether voters or legislators are making the decision, experts say. Several states where it passed — like Massachusetts, Michigan and Vermont — are less blue than purple, with governors and legislative leaders of different parties. The Democratic governors and legislature leaders of New York and New Jersey have been jostling to make their states next in line to legalize, but the effort hasn’t gone as smoothly as they might have hoped. Those are also among the sticking points that prompted the New Jersey Senate to postpone Monday’s planned vote, which would fulfill a campaign promise from Gov. Nine of the 10 states that have legalized recreational marijuana did so through voter referendums — not through their legislatures. “I actually see this as a populist-movement-vs.-representative (body) issue,” says Andrew Freedman, who helped set up Colorado’s recreational-pot program and now consults governments on doing so. For all that, lawmakers in 21 states at least proposed legalizing marijuana last year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. “States are talking about it in the rainbow of red, blue and purple.” ___ Peltz is a member of AP’s marijuana beat team.

NEW YORK (AP) — To anyone who figured the path of legalizing recreational marijuana use ran along blue state-red state lines, a sudden setback for pot advocates in New Jersey may show the issue isn’t so black-and-white. But when a state Senate vote was abruptly put off Monday because it didn’t have enough support, the delay was a reminder that the politics of pot legalization aren’t purely partisan. The key question instead can be whether voters or legislators are making the decision, experts say. Several states where it passed — like Massachusetts, Michigan and Vermont — are less blue than purple, with governors and legislative leaders of different parties. The Democratic governors and legislature leaders of New York and New Jersey have been jostling to make their states next in line to legalize, but the effort hasn’t gone as smoothly as they might have hoped. Those are also among the sticking points that prompted the New Jersey Senate to postpone Monday’s planned vote, which would fulfill a campaign promise from Gov. Nine of the 10 states that have legalized recreational marijuana did so through voter referendums — not through their legislatures. “I actually see this as a populist-movement-vs.-representative (body) issue,” says Andrew Freedman, who helped set up Colorado’s recreational-pot program and now consults governments on doing so. For all that, lawmakers in 21 states at least proposed legalizing marijuana last year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. “States are talking about it in the rainbow of red, blue and purple.” ___ Peltz is a member of AP’s marijuana beat team.

(CNN)Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats raised the alarm on growing cyberattack threats against the United States, saying the situation is at a "critical point" and coming out forcefully against Russia. "The warning signs are there. Coats compared the "warning signs" to those the United States faced ahead of the September 11 terrorist attacks. "It was in the months prior to September 2001 when, according to then-CIA Director George Tenet, the system is blinking red. And here we are nearly two decades later, and I'm here to say, the warning lights are blinking red again," Coats said. Coats referred to the indictments and alluded to upcoming election threats, but said "focusing on the potential impact of these actions, on our midterm election, misses the more important point: These actions are persistent, they're pervasive, and they are meant to undermine America's democracy on a daily basis, regardless of whether it is election time or not. Russia actors and others are exploring vulnerabilities in our critical infrastructure as well." Coats added, "What's serious about the Russians is their intent. In his remarks, Coats pointed to the indictment as showing "exactly what they're trying to do or what they've done through their military intelligence relative to elections." While Coats will not be sitting down with Putin, he was asked Friday what his message to Putin would be if he was given the chance to speak with the Russian leader.

Blue of course symbolizes the Democratic party, while red represents the GOP. But for years, both major parties used the full panoply of American red, white and blue for their own self-identification. With the spread of color television in the late 1960s, color-coded electoral maps were incorporated into election coverage, but neither red nor blue had been assigned a permanent side. So depending on the election or the network, red and blue were variously assigned to Democrats and Republicans. That year, the networks had chosen red to represent states won by the Republicans and blue to represent states won by the Democrats. However, by the end of Election Night, neither George W. Bush nor Al Gore had a definitive electoral majority to turn the country red or blue. Only on Dec. 12, when the U.S. Supreme Court suspended the recount, did Florida officially become a “red state” – and Bush was elected the 43rd president of the United States. Night after night of television coverage had fixed our political colors in the national imagination: red for Republicans and blue for Democrats. In the United Kingdom, for example, the Conservative party color is blue, while the unofficial anthem of the Labour Party begins “The people’s flag is deepest red.” In various nations, red faces off against blue, replaying social and political divides that first assumed their ideological outlines and their primary colors in the French Revolution. Now, in America, red has become the color of conservatism.

Come to any event at the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing, and you're bound to see red. As the hulking venue for official pomp and ceremony hosts the annual meeting of China's rubber-stamp parliament this month, flags of scarlet line the building's rooftops, red carpets cover its floors and hostesses in long ruby-colored dresses welcome dark-suited delegates. Red has long be special in Chinese culture, representing good fortune — but not necessarily its rulers. For centuries, China's emperors were equated with the color yellow while they surrounded themselves with walls of deep vermilion. Not until after the Communist Party swept to power in 1949, did red, the universal color of communism, dominate political imagery. During the Cultural Revolution launched by Mao Zedong, the founder of the communist state, young Red Guards wearing red scarves and armbands touted the Little Red Book of his quotations and sang the anthem the "East Is Red" in praise of their leader. Never miss a local story. Sign up today for a free 30 day free trial of unlimited digital access. Today, official government directives are colloquially called "red top" documents and stamped with red-ink seals, while important events are denoted by red headlines in state and party newspapers. An entire class of political elites — including President Xi Jinping — are known as "hongerdai" — the "second red generation" of the party elite.

BEIJING (AP) — Come to any event at the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing, and you’re bound to see red. As the hulking venue for official pomp and ceremony hosts the annual meeting of China’s rubber-stamp parliament this month, flags of scarlet line the building’s rooftops, red carpets cover its floors and hostesses in long ruby-colored dresses welcome dark-suited delegates. Red has long be special in Chinese culture, representing good fortune — but not necessarily its rulers. For centuries, China’s emperors were equated with the color yellow while they surrounded themselves with walls of deep vermilion. Not until after the Communist Party swept to power in 1949, did red, the universal color of communism, dominate political imagery. During the Cultural Revolution launched by Mao Zedong, the founder of the communist state, young Red Guards wearing red scarves and armbands touted the Little Red Book of his quotations and sang the anthem the “East Is Red” in praise of their leader. Today, official government directives are colloquially called “red top” documents and stamped with red-ink seals, while important events are denoted by red headlines in state and party newspapers. An entire class of political elites — including President Xi Jinping — are known as “hongerdai” — the “second red generation” of the party elite. With the ceremonial legislature voting earlier this month to scrap term limits for Xi, who has strived to preserve communist traditions and reassert the party’s leading place in public life, China will likely be red for many years to come. Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press.