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(CNN) -- The Obama administration has consistently supported measures aimed at reforming mandatory minimum prison sentencing for nonviolent drug offenders. But President Barack Obama's recent decision to commute the prison sentences of only eight federal inmates -- incarcerated for drug crimes -- has left advocates wanting more.

The forgiveness of a crime after a sentence is served or the reduction of a sentence currently being served is one of the few presidential powers widely unchecked by Congress or the courts. Commutations are traditionally issued in the weeks leading up to the holidays.

READ: Eric Holder seeks to cut mandatory minimum drug sentences

The eight offenders granted commutations this year (here is the full list from the White House) were all serving lengthy sentences, half of them life sentences, for drug offenses related to crack cocaine and methamphetamine. Although this was the same number of commutations granted in 2013, many expected the number to be much greater given the Justice Department's April announcement of a new prison reform initiative aimed at making it easier for the administration to pardon or reduce sentences of non-violent offenders.

"Well, it's a start, albeit a disappointingly small one," said Julie Stewart of Families Against Mandatory Minimums. "Given the administration's pronouncement that it wants to grant more clemencies, I was surprised they granted the exact same number of commutations as last December."

The initiative launched by the Obama administration and outside advocacy groups earlier this year was touted as a way to "quickly and effectively identify" inmates serving mandatory minimum sentences that have since been characterized as "out-of-date" and inappropriate, according to a statement made by Deputy Attorney General James Cole in May.

Cole said the President's decision to grant clemency to these eight individuals "sustains his commitment to bring fairness to our criminal justice system. While all eight were properly held accountable for their criminal actions, their punishments did not fit their crimes, and sentencing laws and policies have since been updated to ensure more fairness for low-level offenders."

But the Clemency Report, an advocacy group dedicated to making executive clemency work on the federal level, called the number of commutes "disgraceful in an era of mass imprisonment," according to a statement posted to their website.

The advocacy group pointed out that no marijuana, powder cocaine or LSD offenders had their sentences shortened despite the fact that an estimated 2,000 federal inmates qualify for commutation consideration under the administration's new criteria.

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Obama pardons drug offenders

President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room in Washington, D.C., Friday, Dec. 19, 2014. (Carolyn Kaster, The Associated Press)

HONOLULU President Barack Obama rang in 2014 by declaring a "year of action," vowing to strengthen the nation by focusing on fairness, competitiveness and the power of American diplomacy. Since Congress seemed unwilling to help, Obama said he'd act alone.

On immigration, climate change and U.S.-Cuba relations, at least, Obama stayed true to his word, reshaping decades of American policy he argued had outlived its time. In a flurry of executive decrees taken over the heads of lawmakers, Obama added major notches to his legacy and tackled important issues for key support groups.

He angered Republican lawmakers and suffered a crushing midterm election defeat. "America does not stand still, and neither will I," Obama said in his January State of the Union address.

All told, Obama issued more than 80 executive actions and related measures this year, according to a report by the White House on Monday compiling the president's memoranda, orders and directives to federal agencies. Many were designed to use existing laws to meet new objectives, accomplishing what Congress couldn't or wouldn't get done through new legislation.

Yet other initiatives fell flat, never took off or had only modest impact. These were particularly the case with Obama's economic agenda, where the president's ability to act unilaterally was largely limited to small-bore steps like creating regional manufacturing hubs, new student loan payment options and higher federal contractors' wages. Although the economy improved measurably in 2014, it was unclear what role Obama's actions played.

"This was a year of near-zero accomplishment on the legislative front the way the government that James Madison designed is supposed to work," said William Galston, a Brookings Institution scholar who served under President Bill Clinton. "On the other hand, it was a year in which the president took surprisingly large steps through the exercise of his executive authority."

By acting alone, Obama has also assumed an inherent risk. Nearly all of these steps can be reversed by his successor.

Jeff Zients, a top Obama adviser, said Obama's executive actions would be sustained, arguing they were being "hard-wired" into the economy.

Obama's aides say acting without Congress was never the president's preferred approach, but one forced upon him by the inability of lawmakers to pass far-reaching legislation. Republican lawmakers say his inclination to impose his will has created deep mistrust, poisoning the atmosphere for compromise during Obama's final two years.

Continue reading here:
Obama forges ahead with "year of action"

I was amused to see the news that Vermont has decided to abandon their attempt to be the first US state with a truly single payer health care system. Amused because there are people like myself (and thoroughly libertarian economists like Mike Munger) who do think that a single payer system would be better than the current mess that is the US health care system. This isnt because we know all that much (or at least in my case it isnt) about the details of health care systems, its because we know something about economics and incentives.

Heres the news out of Vermont over that single payer system:

Believe it or not, there really are liberals disappointed that ObamaCare does not involve more taxation and central planning of medicine. So be grateful for the state laboratories of federalism and in particular Vermont, where the purest progressive progressive version of ObamaCare has imploded.

Last week, in a reversal that deserves more attention, Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin announced that Vermont would no longer create Americas first statewide single-payer health system. Vermont was seeking a waiver from the Affordable Care Act to abolish whats left of the nominally private insurance market by 2017, but Mr. Shumlins budget gremlins concluded the plan was too expensive and would damage the state economy.

Too expensive there should be taken to mean everyone had conniption fits when they saw what theyd have to ask the voters for in increased taxation. But heres the bit that has me wondering whether theyre mad up there or merely Progressives:

There are only 14 hospitals, and providers are already divided into nonoverlapping service areas meant to reduce competition.

Theres confirmation of this is this report from the Robert Johnston Foundation:

Vermont is divided into non-overlapping service areas, which reduces competition among hospitals, mental health agencies, and other health care organizations.

What? No wonder health care is expensive there (second most expensive in the country I believe). Therere arguments in favour of state provision of health care, of state financing of it (that single payer, as opposed to single provider) just as there are advantages to having markets and competition in both. The net balance can be argued over: but its insane to go to all the expense and cost of ensuring that youve still got multiple private sector providers and then insist that they dont compete with each other. Thats to entirely throw away all and any of the advantages of having private sector involvement at all.

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Are They Actually Mad In Vermont Or Just Progressives?

SILVER SPRING While most people are winding down for the holidays, Progressive Maryland is gearing up.

The liberal grassroots organization held their first phone bank of the season on Dec. 18 to fundraise $20,000 before the start of the legislative session on Jan. 14, according to Deputy Director Larry Stafford. The group has 31,000 members and supporters throughout the state, with Montgomery County as one of the most active areas.

But going into a new session with a Republican Governor, Stafford said they have to mobilize.

We understand that the best way to (reach Governor-elect Larry Hogan) and to also hold accountable any elected officials in this state is to build a grassroots groundswell of support and thats what youre seeing tonight, Stafford said. Were calling through a list of about 1,000 or so of our members and supporters and we want to get those people in for other phone banks and have that build on itself, and then next thing you know theyll be in Annapolis walking around.

The group is focusing on two issues: campaign finance and keeping programs for working families in the state budget.

Montgomery County recently passed its own local public campaign finance legislation, and Stafford said he hopes that is one reform to which Hogan is receptive.

He ran and won using the public campaign financing system. I would hope that he could find some value in it. I think what he really should have seen is that it gives a fair opportunity to candidates of all kinds that may not have as much of a fair shake, Stafford said.

Progressive Maryland also plans to focus on the budget. The latest numbers show a predicted $1.2 billion budget shortfall over the next two years throughout the state, even more than predicted when Hogan ran on a platform of cutting state spending.

We believe we may have to do a lot of defense for working families in Maryland because we see the prioritization that this Governor-elect already has toward more wealthy individuals, Stafford said. So we want to encourage him as greatly as we can to prioritize the needs of working families and fund projects like the Purple Line and keep up our funding for our education system, which has been one of the best in the nation.

The importance of transportation is one reason Linda Saffell, a new Progressive Maryland member and Prince Georges County resident, decided to help with the phone bank. She said she wants to see more people from her county step up, particularly with a Republican governor.

Original post:
Progressives rally for new legislative session

The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has said his desire not to be hostage to anyone was the reason behind his decision to rely on the sacrifices by ordinary Nigerians to fund his campaign.

Buhari said this at a press briefing on the General Muhammadu Buhari Crowd Funding Platform, in Abuja, on Tuesday.

This is even as he announced that the sum of N54, 415,386.70 has so far been received as donations through direct deposit and sale of cards to the First Bank account number: 2026724405.

He expressed confidence that the financial support he was receiving from ordinary Nigerians will see him through the campaign period.

According to him, his supporters who floated the platform drew inspiration from President Barrack Obamas campaign.

The candidate noted that when Obama first came on the scene, he did not enjoy the support of big corporations for a variety of reasons, but that he was able to surmount this challenge when he turned to ordinary Americans who shared his dream.

Buhari said, That is why I depend on them, we are taking this idea from what we have in the United States when Obama came out to contest, he was a coloured person, the big companies were not for him and so on.

But he knew, he had foot soldiers so when he came with this idea, he was able to finance his campaign without looking for money bags or anybody influential, so he remained independent and was hostage to nobody. And this is what I want to achieve.

He said the Buhari Support Organisation currently has 82 registered support groups with over 475, 796 coordinators and total membership in the region of 8, 492,226 across the length and breadth of this country.

Buhari explained that the organisation intends to use the registration and donation cards to enlist the members of the groups as volunteer change agents and also capture the spatial distribution of its donours.

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I dont want to be anybodys hostage -Buhari