Politics

Reason Morning Links: Herman Cain Camp Denies Sexual Harassment Charges, NYPD Ticket-Fixing Scandal Gets Bigger, White House Responds to Pot Petition

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  • While president of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, Herman Cain was accused of sexually harassing at least two female employees, both of whom received settlements from the NRA. 
  • More than 500 NYPD cops across the city have been accused of expunging tickets and summonses as favors. Sixteen have been arrested.  
  • Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske has responded to an e-petitioner who asked President Obama to stop the war on pot. Snippet: "As a former police chief, I recognize we are not going to arrest our way out of the problem. We also recognize that legalizing marijuana would not provide the answer to any of the health, social, youth education, criminal justice, and community quality of life challenges associated with drug use."
  • Anonymous threatens to unmask Mexican police officers working with cartels. 
  • The NYT dives into Gov. Rick Perry's criminal justice record: "He has done more good than any other governor we've ever had," said Jeff L. Blackburn, chief counsel of the Innocence Project of Texas. "He approaches criminal justice issues like a lay person rather than like a prosecutor or judge, which makes him open-minded and willing to embarrass the system." Unless, of course, it involves the death penalty.
  • How Occupy Wall Street protesters handle crimes (like rape) in the Zuccotti Park camp: "We don't tell anyone. We handle it internally. I said too much already."
  • A new study suggests that "municipalities get worse ratings for the same expected default because they pay ratings agencies less." 

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