NSA: Aw, you know I can’t possibly go more than a few days without coming up with someNSA, spying on Americans, War on Terror,or Privacy right? Heck, they may actually have to do things the legal way.
We Don’t Need No Education:Maybe. Unless of course we do.
It’s good to be the king: Or even just the CEO. Not so good to be a serf, but that’s “same as it ever was.”
Election Follies: So much to ridicule, so little time. At least the Chicken Lady lost her bid to be a candidate for Lieutenant Governor in Nevada.
Is anyone in their right mind surprised?: The DEA is playing hard ball with docs who associate themselves with medical marijuana. This is why Nevada doesn’t require a prescription. Remember: pot is still illegal under Federal law, and when all is said and done the Civil War established that Federal law will always trump state law (in that case, the state laws that said people could own other people).
So, it seems clear to me that the War on Drugs isn’t even the War On Some Drugs, but rather the War On Brown People Possessing Drugs.
At what point can we confess this and address the problem? At what point do we stop wasting millions of millions of dollars “fighting drugs” and putting people in prison — breaking up families and ruining future economic prospects outside crime — sometimes for simply being too close to a substance that many people find less dangerous than beer? Why are we not regulating and taxing marijuana instead of wasting time and money fighting it?
And don’t give me any crap about how it’s a gateway drug. The reason it seems to be a gateway drug is that the same petty criminal who sells it to you would rather upsell you to something harder.
In Closing:rape; obese patients prefer diet advice from people whose techniques clearly don’t work; control of information; and Dave Johnson is right again.
Sorry for the little hiatus. Finals are coming Real Soon Now and my writing has been monopolized by a paper on Henrietta Lacks and HeLa cells. Fascinating stuff. For a minimally sciencey version, check out this biography.
Depending what day it is, the world news front is likely to say something about Iran, North Korea, and/or Syria. Iran is developing nuclear technology, and probably weapons. North Korea is more open about their weapon development. The US is warning Russia that they had better not send Syria better missiles, particularly since Syria is accused of using chemical weapons.
Now make no mistake. I don’t think anybody really wants Iran or North Korea having nukes. I don’t think most people think a better armed Syria is a good thing. But here’s the thing: who gave us the right to enforce our opinion?
Who is the United States to tell another sovereign nation what weaponry it can or cannot have? Under what authority? What if some other country decided that the United States shouldn’t have nukes? Or aircraft carriers? Or [insert fancy piece of military technology here]?
I know a lot of people in the West don’t think much of Al Jazeera as a news source, but they are right to point out that the American bargaining position regarding Iran — and truly, all 3 nations — is a lot like trying to negotiate with Republicans: the only possible option is “do it our way or else.” Or, if you prefer to be more patronizing if not outright racist, “everything would run so much better if you brown people would do it our way like civilized people!”
Maybe, just maybe, international issues could be resolved more smoothly if we treated other sovereign nations like big boys and girls rather than little children who need our guidance.
In Closing:soda; I suspected as much; Jesus is coming, look busy; the Borgias are coming, look busy; um yeah, you can’t do that; student loan debt is officially bad for the economy; consumer spending is up and late mortgages are down (good news!); eVerify; Too Big To Fail must be Too Big To Exist; side effect; don’t forget that Federal law always trumps state law; and riiiiight, exactly where I want to go on Mother’s Day. Not.
Gee, D’ya Think?: Turning underpaid undocumented workers into legal taxpayers making at least minimum wage could boost the economy.
I Could Like this Pope: Ok, he’s not perfect (No, I don’t believe in Papal Infallibility either). At least he has no Nazi entanglements, what with having been a little kid on the other side of the globe during World War 2. But there’s something to be said for a Pope who preaches things like taking care of the environment and those less fortunate than ourselves. It’s like he’s been reading some sort of… Bible or something.
Nevada is Catching On: I think we may just pass a legal marijuana bill here, mostly because the Legislature smells tax dollars.
Turns out it’s easier for everyone: When I was a kid in school, we were “tracked by ability” and we all knew it. Nobody ever told us there were the “smart kids,” the “average kids,” and the “dummies,” but we all knew who we were — and among ourselves, those were the names we used. No “bluebirds and redbirds” for us. That sort of self-labeling might be part of why schools discarded the practice. But it’s back. It has to be easier to teach (and learn in) a group of 20 kids with similar abilities than 20 kids that are all over the map!
Gonna have to try this: Veggie oil + baking soda = cabinet cleaner.
Security Theatre: The TSA is protecting us from people on trains who have had medical tests.
Happy Birthday to both John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) and Alex Kingston (Melody Pond River Song).
In Closing: let’s just get all the TSAbashing out of the way; hope nobody is surprised that Federal law still says pot businesses aren’t legal; Sir Patrick Stewart; no planis a plan; I already said this; perspective; and it’s getting worse; and even worse; oh, that’s why; actually, people’s opinions are center-left.
In Closing: My new favorite blog; disgraceful; AC saves lives; damned if he doesn’t sound reasonable; no deal may well be better than a bad deal, but it doesn’t matter because there will be no vote tonight; yeah, that does sound kinda dumb when you put it that way; Baby Boomer Nuns; they wouldn’t be there if they could farm it legally; we never had a chance; even a broken clock is right twice a day; and somebody must write a sci-fi epic based on this picture.
There’s a restaurant site down the street that does not appear to attract success.
I forget what the place was originally, other than an expensive build. I feel certain that high expenses are what killed the place.
After remaining empty for a while, it became an “Asian fusion seafood restaurant.” Hey, this is Vegas, we can support that sort of thing. Of course maybe if the site weren’t within a few hundred feet of not one, but two nationally known chains of “Asian fusion seafood restaurants,” and down the street from a notable modern sushi bar, it might have done better. Oh yeah, they maybe could have had some advertising. But it was clearly an expensive build, so maybe they didn’t have money to let people know it was actually open.
After remaining empty for another long while, the building got a new paint job in colors that suggested Mexican or some other sort of Latin cuisine, and signage for a new restaurant. It never opened. I remember seeing some sofas out by the dumpster behind the building. Yet another expensive build.
Then the sign changed again, and signs of what was by my count a 4th expensive interior redesign began. The name of the place? Hotel California. Yeah, like this:
Right, because everybody wants to go eat dinner someplace where they’ve got no wine, but plenty of pink champagne on ice. And you have to stab your dinner to death with a steely knife. Oh, and you might not be allowed to leave after you pay your check. Happy Hour indeed.
As if that’s not enough, we have a California Hotel here in Vegas.
Yesterday, I noticed that the sign — which by the way looks like it was painted by teenagers from Acapulco — had changed. It’s now the “Baja California.”
The big, brass, expensive-looking letters on the front of the building still read HC.
In closing: the truth; if even joking about having a bomb is enough to get you arrested, then why weren’t TSA officers arrested?; most Americans don’t give a **** what gender your spouse is; Disagree with me? And you’re a woman? Or an underage female? You deserve to be killed and raped! (*ahem* at least according to some animals who consider themselves conservatives — just a friendly reminder, you don’t know whether I’ve got a concealed carry license, now do you); For pity sake, Mr. President, just freaking appoint Elizabeth Warren already!; The People want more regulation of Wall Street (are we mad enough to “vote all the bums out?”); the environmental case for legalizing marijuana; are your children at the park?; and Mark Zuckerberg is a freaking idiot.
