Lawsuit deals with ban on pension, other benefits for same-sex couples
U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro ruled in favor of gay couples' rights in two separate challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, a 1996 law that the Obama administration has argued for repealing. The rulings apply to Massachusetts but could have broader implications if they're upheld on appeal, but it was not clear if the Obama administration would appeal.
How desperate is the Republican Party? Let’s put it this way - if GOP members pick Palin to head their party they’re panicked to the point of denying reality. Palin is a cartoon for extreme Conservatives, a comedian’s delight, and possibly the dumbest Republican star to emerge since George Bush. Look at her track record. She couldn’t even finish her term as Alaska’s Governor because she was getting into trouble with staff and letting her husband run things behind the scenes. The seat was becoming too hot and her handlers advised her to vacate before she ended up losing the job. But she figured out that the real money (forget a governor’s small salary) could be made flapping her guns from coast-to-coast to crazed Conservatives who thrive on rhetoric.
When McCain pulled her out of obscurity, he created a monster. She found out that there were bigger fish to fry than what the political waters in Alaska offered. She let the world know that she could almost see Russia from her back door, and created that much repeated chant, “Drill baby Drill.” Now she gets a reported $100,000 per speaking engagements where she can continue to share her special views on the Constitution, her love for the NRA and hunting wolves from helicopters. All great grist for the GOP agenda.
The only positive thing I see coming out of Palin heading the GOP Party is it ought to drive any sane Republicans (if any are left) into becoming Independents and giving them a much needed lift to be a real player in politics.
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R.J. Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch / Politicalcartoons.com
Pennsylvania, which has some of the most Byzantine liquor laws in the U.S., recently introduced the country's first wine "kiosks."
Keith Wallace, president and founder of The Wine School of Philadelphia, described the kiosks as well-intentioned failures with limited selections and overtones of Big Brother.
"The process is cumbersome and assumes the worst in Pennsylvania's wine consumers — that we are a bunch of conniving underage drunks," Wallace wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press
The outspoken Steele has faced calls for his resignation from conservatives and some in the GOP after he said that the nine-year-old conflict in Afghanistan was a mistaken "war of Obama's choosing." So far, Steele has ignored demands for him to step down.
Looks like another inconclusive academic study regarding Marijuana legalization. I got this email from Dale this afternoon (at noon):
“Overall, this report casts more smoke than light on the issue , but that is in the nature of any academic study where so many basic facts remain in dispute. The most important lesson to be taken away is that the benefits of legalization depend strongly on how it is implemented. Passing a bill or initiative is therefore just the first step in a lengthy process requiring many additional, carefully considered policy decisions.”
- Dale Gieringer Cal NORML
http://www.canorml.org/background/mjeconomics.html
CONCLUDING REMARKS OF RAND REPORT (p. 69)
The current California proposals to legalize marijuana would go well beyond cannabis reforms in any other nation to date-even the Dutch cannabis coffee-shop system. California voters and legislators face considerable uncertainty because it is very difficult to estimate how much more marijuana will be consumed in the state or how the change will affect tax revenues, criminal-justice costs, and health-care costs. Nonetheless, we believe that bringing together relevant data in a systematic fashion and developing a model has provided some important insights:
* The pretax retail price of marijuana will substantially decline, likely by more than 80 per-
cent. The price consumers face will depend heavily on taxes, the structure of the regula-
tory regime, and how taxes and regulations are enforced.
* Consumption will increase, but it is unclear how much because we know neither the
shape of the demand curve nor the level of tax evasion (which reduces revenues and the
prices that consumers face).
* Tax revenues could be dramatically lower or higher than the $1.4 billion estimate; for
example, uncertainty about the federal response to California legalization can swing esti-
mates in either direction.
* Previous studies find that the annual cost of enforcing marijuana laws ranges from around
$200 million to nearly $1.9 billion; our estimates show that the costs are probably less
than $300 million.
* There is considerable uncertainty about the impact that legalizing marijuana in Califor-
nia would have on public budgets and consumption, with even minor changes in assump-
tions leading to major differences in outcomes.
* Much of the research used to inform this debate is based on insights from studies that
examine small changes in marijuana prices or the risk of being sanctioned for posses-
sion. The proposed legislation in California would create a large change in policy. As a result, it is uncertain how useful these studies are for making projections about marijuana
legalization.
Legalization has many potential dimensions; thus, the term can mean many different
things (MacCoun and Reuter, 2001). An examination of the Dutch system, the Australian
and Alaskan home-cultivation allowances, and the far more-extensive international experiences with alcohol and tobacco regulation suggests that the devil is in the details. On many dimensions, neither the Ammiano bill nor the RCTC proposition is particularly good at the details. Indeed, many of the issues addressed in this paper are specific to the "details" of these two proposals, not to marijuana legalization in general.
GO HERE TO SEE MORE. Beware…some are rather risque, but all are funny.
In the south of France, sunbathing grandmothers have no tan lines. In Norway, young children play naked in fountains. On summer days, accountants in Munich head to the park on their lunch break to grin and bare it, trading corporate suits for birthday suits.
It's quite a shock to Americans (they're the ones riding their bikes into the river and trees). In Belgium, huge billboards advertise soap by showing a woman's lathered-up breasts. A Copenhagen student tourist center welcomes visitors with a bowl of free condoms at their info desk.
If you’re a hiker planning to trek into rattlesnake-infested hills this summer, take a fashion cue from a pair of California reptile researchers:
Make sure to wear jeans. Snake scientists at Loma Linda University have discovered that denim clothing significantly cuts the amount of venom injected by angry rattlesnakes, reducing the poison by up to 66 percent.
The researchers, William K. Hayes, a biology professor, and Shelton S. Herbert, a doctoral student, tested 17 small and large southern Pacific rattlesnakes, allowing them to strike liquid-filled latex kitchen gloves, some covered with denim fabric and some left bare. They reported their findings in a recent issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine
Body painting with soul… err, I meant sole!
Temptu, a company which concentrates on airbrush makeup and cosmetic innovations, painted some smelly feet for the NY Magazine.
When New York Magazine needed to recreate the appearance of shoes on actual feet, using just makeup, they contacted Temptu. Body paint artists, John Maurad and Jenai Chin created the results you see below for the article titled “You Walk Wrong”. Their work includes a traditional wing tip for men, a pair of Christian Louboutin heels, and an old-school Adidas Gazelle shoe. The Adidas one is so incredibly rendered on the bare foot, it’s hard to believe it’s not even real! The only problem with these, is that I can’t decide whether to choose the slip one, or Adidas one as my favorite.
The U.S. Justice Department is filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Arizona's new law targeting illegal immigrants, setting the stage for a clash between the federal government and state over the nation's toughest immigration crackdown.
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I finally hit the wall today. I can't think of what to say about all of the madness going on in this country right now. I'm a writer...
