At last, a President

Man acquitted of two
sexual assaults after telling
court he was sleepwalking.

If you watched Obama’s first prime time news conference this evening you should have been impressed. It was such a breath of fresh air. A President holding a press conference where the audience was not pre-selected, the questions were important, and he answered in more than sound bites. It was the difference between a President and the clown that preceded him, smirking and lying his way through questions from his pre-screened audience, sometimes apparently wired to get his prompts. What a contrast! Obama, I thought, was magnificent, threading his way thoughtfully through a minefield of really difficult questions and making a case for his stimulus bill. He managed to do this gracefully and without malicious intent, although he did slyly get in his digs.

I was just reading an article about the thousands of people who have disappeared in the drug wars in Mexico. One man claims that while working for drug lords he got rid of some 300 bodies by placing them in barrels of lye and then subsequently burning the remains. When you realize all of this could have been avoided had we just legalized drugs instead of continuing our ridiculous so-called “war on drugs,” it makes one sick at heart. And now there are reports that they are going to step up efforts in Afghanistan to destroy the poppy fields and traffic in drugs. Of course the people who will suffer the most are the poor Afghan farmers who have to grow poppies to make a living as no other crop seems to compete. Here again, we ignore an obvious and relatively easy solution to a serious problem, legalize drugs. Not only would legalizing drugs do away with this type of violence and killings, it would also provide billions of dollars in savings that could be used for much more crucial problems. There are apparently some hints that the Obama administration may be considering changing the absurd federal laws about medicinal marijuana, which is all well and good, but the fact remains that all drugs could and should be legalized and the problems of addiction and such should be left in the hands of doctors rather than politicians. Expecting our politicians to do anything sensible continues to be merely a pipe dream.

Senator Leahy is suggesting we have a “Truth Commission” to look into the doings of the Bush/Cheney administration. He wants an individual or a group recognized to be non-partisan and fair-minded to see if there were any crimes committed and whatever. A great idea and a much needed Commission, but don’t bet on it. Obama and his people apparently want to avoid having to deal with the obvious criminal activities of the previous administration and just “move forward.” I sincerely hope the American public will not permit this to happen. Bush/Cheney and their criminal gang must be brought to justice if the U.S. is to have any credibility.

Limbaugh is claiming that he now represents the leadership of the Republican Party. Apparently there are a few Republicans who disagree, but there seem to be quite a few who do not disagree. And Limbaugh himself has suggested that Palin might emerge as the leader. I have a suggestion: Palin and Limbaugh could run together on the Republican ticket in 2012. Not only am I suggesting this, I am actually praying for it (and I’m not generally the praying type). If I had a buffalo skull I could pray to the Great Mystery. But all I have at the moment is a deer skull so I pray to the Not-so-Great-Mystery.

LKBIQ:
It seemed the world was divided into good and bad people. The good ones slept better... while the bad ones seemed to enjoy the waking hours much more.
Woody Allen

TILT:
On September 25, 2004, the Mayor of Wallace, Idaho, proclaimed it to be the center of the universe. A sewer access cover was designated as the precise location of the center.