Althouse: George Obama, arrested.

January 31, 2009

George Obama, arrested.

Marijuana.

27 comments:

Palladian said...: Wow, now Obama has his own Billy Carter!

Maybe in keeping with the Carter family tradition", George Obama can endorse a product called Billy Bud.; 1/31/09, 11:17 AM
Synova said...: Well, it's not quite the degree of separation from Sarah to Levi's mother, but it's every bit as irrelevant.; 1/31/09, 11:24 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: And here I was thinking that "No hope in the Dope" was about to change ;); 1/31/09, 11:41 AM
reader_iam said...: George is 20 years younger than Obama, had a different mother, and was raised in a different country. I think the two have met just twice, once in 2006 and before that in something like 1987. The father who is their biological connection died in 1982, when George was 6 months old.

Apart from blood, what connection is there supposed to be?

Hell, even if they'd been raised together and maintained continuous contact, as adults I don't think one should reflect on the other. (If my brother or I were to be busted on pot charges, it would be his or my problem alone.) Here, there aren't even those connections!

Stupid thing to be an international story.; 1/31/09, 11:44 AM
garage mahal said...: Good thing over here we have freedom and liberty and would never have to worry about being arrested for possessing a plant our founding fathers encouraged everyone to grow.; 1/31/09, 11:47 AM
The Dude said...: Dude, they are totally stoner brothers. They have bonded over the bong, joined over the joint. Stay stoney, my prez bruthah! And be cool...; 1/31/09, 12:03 PM
TMink said...: I feel so much safer knowing that this poor guy is busted for smoking weed. The world probably feels safer.

Trey (who is feeling for his eyeballs after they rolled out of his head); 1/31/09, 12:04 PM
reader_iam said...: My God, Garage. Get a grip. Better yet, mosey on over to Freedom House and peruse its various reports and comparisons.; 1/31/09, 12:12 PM
garage mahal said...: reader
Elaborate, I'm not sure what you're getting at.; 1/31/09, 12:26 PM
Meade said...: Garage: I don't have time to mosey over there but perhaps reader is alluding to the fact that the crop a few of our Founders encouraged Americans to grow was not the one you and George Obama use to get high on.

The cultivar of Cannabis that is Hemp does not contain psychoactive cannabinoids. If you did not know that, you've been misinformed. If you did know it, you are being dishonest.; 1/31/09, 1:13 PM
garage mahal said...: Who said anything about smoking it? George Obama wasn't arrested for smoking it. If you can give a good reason why it's illegal to grow or possess in a free country I'd love to hear it.; 1/31/09, 1:21 PM
Gahrie said...: Who knew marijuana was illegal in Kenya?

I wonder if Qat is too?; 1/31/09, 1:22 PM
David said...: Being in Jail in Kenya is not a good thing.

I've been to Kenya a couple of times and mj is not a rarity. It is illegal though.

Kind of sad, really. It must still be a confusing set of feelings for Obama.; 1/31/09, 2:32 PM
William said...: I wonder if there isn't some hidden agenda behind this. Arrest his brother. Embarass that goddammed Luo. Don't let those Luos think they're some kind of special.....In the way that liberals think that Nixon is the greatest tyrant in history, they think that black-white relations are the most vexed in the world. Those liberals never had to deal with preening Luos and their evil ways.; 1/31/09, 3:21 PM
Roberto said...: Palladian said..."Wow, now Obama has his own Billy Carter!"

Yeah, Americans will probably follow this guy's every move.

Duh.; 1/31/09, 3:30 PM
Unknown said...: David -

I agree. I am NOT an Obama fan but the difference in their lives is striking.

I feel bad for his brother.

I hate to harp on this but you would have thought Michelle Obama, after knowing how her husband's family lived in Kenya, would have been able to find something, ANYTHING, to be proud of here in America before her husband's win in Iowa.

Hopefully his brother can turn his life around.; 1/31/09, 3:31 PM
Michael Haz said...: Brothers. Whaddya gonna do?

Barry has George.

Bill Clinton had Roger.

Jimmy Carter had Billy.

JFK had Teddy.

Pretty soon, ya'd think brothers could figure it out. Drugs no, tax evasion yes.; 1/31/09, 4:12 PM
sonicfrog said...: Was he at the party with Michael Phelps????; 1/31/09, 5:20 PM
Revenant said...: Apart from blood, what connection is there supposed to be?

I don't think there's much of one at all. It isn't any reflection on Barack, certainly. But then, Prescott Bush wasn't any reflection on his son or grandson either. :); 1/31/09, 6:10 PM
Fred4Pres said...: Well here is another guy who is going to lose some ad revenue--not just Pajamas Media. Although I suppose it helps to explain his appetite.; 1/31/09, 6:55 PM
Wince said...: The cultivar of Cannabis that is Hemp does not contain psychoactive cannabinoids. If you did not know that, you've been misinformed. If you did know it, you are being dishonest.

And it would explain the headaches, irritability and moodiness.; 1/31/09, 7:53 PM
Revenant said...: If you can give a good reason why it's illegal to grow or possess in a free country I'd love to hear it.

For the same reason why it is legal to make a person with a $250,000 income pay more taxes than a person with a $50,000 income, even though both men receive exactly the same government benefits.

In short: "Because that's what the voters want".

Congrats, Garage. You've taken your first small step on the road to recognizing that democracy and freedom bear little more than a passing resemblance to one another. :); 1/31/09, 8:59 PM
Mark said...: Wonder what Kenya wants to make this story go away?; 1/31/09, 9:51 PM
garage mahal said...: In short: "Because that's what the voters want".

Not true. When decriminalization referendums are left up to the voters they overwhelmingly support loosening restrictions on its use. Mass. just did it this year - making possession of an ounce or less punishable by no more than $100 fine.; 1/31/09, 9:53 PM
Revenant said...: Not true. When decriminalization referendums are left up to the voters they overwhelmingly support loosening restrictions on its use.

There are states within the union where majorities favor decriminalizing marijuana, yes -- I live in one of them.

Unfortunately that isn't true at the national level, and since the Commerce Clause is a dead letter that means local opinions on decriminalization don't matter. I would recommend supporting the nomination of more Supreme Court justices like Clarence Thomas, Sandra Day O'Connor, or William Rehnquist. With Obama in the White House, though, you can rest assured that nobody who respects federalism will be allowed anywhere near the Court. :)

just did it this year - making possession of an ounce or less punishable by no more than $100 fine.

A better example would be the San Francisco law ordering police to make marijuana enforcement their absolute lowest priority. A fine of $100 still sounds plenty illegal to me.; 2/1/09, 3:53 AM
J. Cricket said...: Update that is unlikely to get its own post here:

Feb 2. NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- All charges against George Obama, half-brother to U.S. President Barack Obama, have been dropped after his arrest in a drug raid, according to police in Kenya.; 2/2/09, 7:34 AM
Meade said...: So George Obama is a rock star or sports celebrity or politician or something? I did not know that. I thought he was just a little people. Like me.; 2/2/09, 11:16 AM