Our failed War on Drugs has cost us vast treasure, ruined the lives of harmless citizens, and fueled a growing empire of violent crime. To continue with this national folly would be stupid at best and catastophic at worst. It’s time to legalize marijuana, treating it as we do tobacco, alcohol, caffiene, and other widely...
If there were such a thing as a Public Outrage Meter, it would be registering unprecendented levels of angst. The Gulf Oil Spill. The Wall Street Bailout. LeBron James. The latest (and possibly greatest) case of societal outrage, at least in my corner of the country, is being directed at the public servants of Bell,...
Responsible citizens vote. In some European countries citizens are required by law to vote. Many — most — American’s don’t vote. The more one witnesses the awesome power of corporate TV ads, the more one suspects non-voting Americans might not be such a bad thing. On June 8th, Californians will vote on party primaries and...
James Gray served as a Superior Court judge in Orange County for 25 years. He was on the front lines of California’s War on Drugs. Here’s what he learned: California simply can’t afford to continue to waste hundreds of millions of dollars and countless hours of law enforcement time targeting non-violent cannabis consumers who have...
With each day’s news comes further affirmation that it is entirely possible to be reasonably intelligent, highly educated, and specially trained while also being utterly ignorant of what’s commonly understood to be reality. No, I’m not speaking of the funny folks with advanced degrees who denounce the Theory of Evolution in favor of loopy fairy...
With gasoline prices hovering near historic highs, many Americans (and the commentators that inspire their opinions) profess outrage, umbrage, and annoyance that so many of our increasingly worthless dollars are being sent overseas, further enriching Middle Eastern oil barons who hate us and our morally decadent way of life. According to conventional wisdom, every time...
Everyone has a friend like Tony. He’s the guy who is really cool when he’s straight. He works hard running a small company. He’s a great single dad to his precocious son. He’s funny. He’s smart. He’s a pleasure to be around during the day. At night, however, he likes to drink. Mostly beer, though...
Millions of Americans go to the polls today, participating in the grand charade that passes as our debased version of democracy. Millions of other Americans won’t go. They’re too lazy, or they’ve convinced themselves that their vote doesn’t matter. This time, perhaps more than in any other election in my lifetime, everyone’s vote matters. For...
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor-elect of California, has admitted to at least one and possibly more instances of inappropriately groping female colleagues. As wary as I am of “sexual harassment” laws, particularly those that curtail free speech, the alleged Schwarzenegger incidents reported in the Los Angeles Times do not involve making a woman feel uncomfortable by...
Hope RekindledThis past week has given us more hope for our diseased republic than any other time in 50+ years of paying attention. Observing and participating in a long-overdue peaceful uprising, occupying the streets, feeling the righteous energy of people of all ages, colors, faiths, and wealth (or lack thereof), has…
For two consecutive weeks, we’ve been treated to compulsively listenable new albums by two excellent jazz drummers, Raphael Pannier (“Faune”) and Matt Wilson (“Hug!”). In many ways, the recordings couldn’t be more different. Pannier is a next generation virtuoso surrounded by other jazz killers — Miguel Zenon, Francois Moutin, Aaron Goldberg — whose spectacular modernist...
