Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of February 1, 2013. Give Chad your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11 am.

Rob Snyder, KFYO.com
Rob Snyder, KFYO.com
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1. Lubbock City Council

The Lubbock City Council met last night and passed the ban on synthetic drugs. The measure still has to go through a second reading, but don't worry the nanny-state is growing here in Lubbock. According to KFYO's Cole Shooter:

The Council unanimously approved the first reading of the ordinance, which prohibits “the sale, public display for sale, attempted sale, gift, barter, delivery, possession, or use of illicit synthetic drugs and misbranded drugs.”

The ordinance names a number of synthetic drugs, including Salvia and any other drug listed as a controlled substance by the Texas Health and Safety Code.

In order to also cover modifications of the synthetic drug, the ordinance makes it unlawful to use any substances similar to the ones laid out in the ordinance that “may produce intoxication, stupefaction, giddiness, paralysis, irrational behavior, or which, in any manner, changes, distorts, or disturbs the auditory, visual, or mental process of the user, when the substance has no other legitimate, non-narcotic purpose.”

It does, however, exempt those who breathed or otherwise ingested the substance under supervision of a law enforcement officer, or the inhalation of anesthesia for a medical or dental purpose.

Using, selling, or possessing these drugs would be a class C misdemeanor and subject to a fine of up to $2,000 following conviction in municipal court.

The Council passed the first reading of the ordinance 6-0, Mayor Glen Robertson absent due to recent heart surgery.

Some Council members say that the ordinance will not solve the problem of synthetic drug use.

District 5 Councilwoman and Mayor Pro Tem Karen Gibson said “The work’s not done. We have a long way to go…Education is probably the biggest key in the fight against this stuff.”

“This is just the beginning of the things we should have done, because we let this elephant get in our living room when he was little, now he’s grown up and we don’t have a door to let him out of. I’m ready,” said District 2 Councilman Floyd Price.

“The ordinance alone will not solve this problem,” said District 6 Councilwoman Latrelle Joy. “Education is key, but the other part of it, is not just the City educating, we’ve got to talk about it in schools, churches, everybody has got to get involved, but on top of that, parents have to be more vigilant about their children.”

If we've learned anything from this, it's that if you are having problems with your 18-year-old son, you can go to the City Council to help you out. I'm still with the Mayor on this issue. It should have been banned for kids. For adults, if you are stupid enough to do it, go ahead.

We live in a country where most people look to the government to save them from themselves. The country as a whole is okay giving up freedoms in order to feel safe and secure and to feel like they don't have to worry.

I just wonder what is next for the council. You hear from so many people that "it's for the children" or "if it saves just one life it's worth it". Just wait until they go after the foods you like to protect the children.

2. The Border (link)

Want to know why Republicans aren't completely sold on the Senate's immigration plan? Chuck Schumer is one of the key reasons.

New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer said securing the nation’s borders should not be used as “a barrier” to giving illegal immigrants living in the U.S. a pathway to citizenship.

“We want the border to be secure. It’s more secure than it was several years ago, but it has a ways to go. And different sectors need different types of security. It’s a lot different having security in the Tucson sector than off the stretch in Texas, which is bounded by the Rio Grande,” Schumer said on Thursday.

“But we’re not using border security as an excuse or block to the path of citizenship. We just want to make sure — and this is very important both substantively and politically — that there is a secure border, and we’re going to work for that. But it’s not — and Dick [Durbin] and I and Bob [Menendez], as well as our three Republican friends, want to make sure the border’s secure but not to use it as a barrier to prevent the 11 million from eventually gaining a path to citizenship.”

Schumer's comments will do nothing to help the case that Senator Marco Rubio has been selling this week. In fact, his comments stand in stark contrast to what Rubio has been saying. This is why no Republican should be 100% on board yet. The Democrats have no interest in what Rubio is saying.

3. Coke Called Racist (link)

Arab-American groups are now criticizing Coca-Cola over a Super Bowl ad they deem as racist. According to Reuters:

Arab-American groups have sharply criticized a Coca-Cola Super Bowl ad depicting an Arab walking through the desert with a camel, and one group said it would ask the beverage giant to change it before CBS airs the game on Sunday before an expected audience of more than 100 million U.S. viewers.

"Why is it that Arabs are always shown as either oil-rich sheiks, terrorists, or belly dancers?" said Warren David, president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, or ADC.

Coca-Cola released an online teaser of the commercial last week, showing the Arab walking through a desert. He soon sees cowboys, Las Vegas showgirls and a motley crew fashioned after the marauders of the apocalyptic "Mad Max" film race by him to reach a gigantic bottle of Coke.

In its ad, Coke asks viewers to vote online on which characters should win the race. The online site does not allow a vote for the Arab character.

"The Coke commercial for the Super Bowl is racist, portraying Arabs as backward and foolish Camel Jockeys, and they have no chance to win in the world," Imam Ali Siddiqui, president of the Muslim Institute for Interfaith Studies, said in an email.

"What message is Coke sending with this?" asked Abed Ayoub, ADC's director of legal and policy affairs. "By not including the Arab in the race, it is clear that the Arab is held to a different standard when compared to the other characters in the commercial," he said.

Oh shut-up. The ad isn't racist at all. Throwing down the race card is the best way to lose an argument.

Other Top Stories:

These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.

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