Monday, June 22, 2009

Crying 'Fire' in a Crowded Theater

For thirty years reforming marijuana prohibition was not the kind of liberalization that could be allowed to people like you or me. So our "leaders" screamed hysterically about the dangers of pot, causing the deaths of millions and the imprisonment of tens of millions.

But it was easy enough to repeal the banking regulations that kept this country prosperous between 1945 and 1980. Wham, bam, and thank you ma'am, and our prosperity flew out the window and into the Swiss bank accounts of 1% of our population.

I try to keep my faith in what we call "democracy" but it ain't easy.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Obama Should Have Handled That

Obama should have taken 15 minutes to handle the DOMA thing. The Bush holdover who wrote the brief should have been moved, the brief withdrawn, and a different brief, or none at all, filed. I don't fault him for the initial mistake, but for his failure to fix it.

There is no excuse.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Wrong-Footed

Obama really wrong-footed himself when he dissed the legalization of marijuana. Read any comment thread- nothing brings us together like the legalization of pot. Rightwingers and leftwingers agree- the time is now.

Naturally we can't expect that every President is going to stand up like Harry Truman or Dwight Eisenhower and do the right thing at the critical moment. And Obama can't expect we will vote for him again if our own lives are unchanged by his first term.

Saturday, June 13, 2009