From the DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE: Today, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler certified an initiative for the state’s November general election ballot that would legalize personal marijuana possession and allow regulated sales of marijuana to adults. Colorado now joins Washington as one of two states to qualify a legalization initiative in 2012, while several other states are hoping to follow suit.
Tag: featured
Corbett budget cuts funding for libraries
From the LEHIGH VALLEY MORNING CALL: …Pennsylvania’s library subsidy — the biggest chunk of state money that goes to the institutions — takes a 5 percent hit, to $50.83 million, in Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed 2012-13 state budget. Public libraries receive a mix of state and local funding for their operating budgets.
Violent Uproar in Afghanistan Casts Shadow on U.S. Pullout
From the NEW YORK TIMES: American officials sought to reassure both Afghanistan’s government and a domestic audience on Sunday that the United States remained committed to the war after the weekend killing of two American military officers inside the Afghan Interior Ministry and days of deadly anti-American protests.
Revisiting: “The old board shackles the new”
Lancaster County Commissioners Paul Thibault and Ron Ford had very good reason for passing the controversial convention center county bond guaranty just before the midnight hour of their terms. The two lame duck commissioners who voted for the guaranty in the week before the November, 2003, general election were aware that if they didn’t get it done then, there would be no county guaranty under their successors.
A seventy-fifth birthday wish
Over dinner earlier in the week, a senior representative of a worldwide non-governmental organization related how the charity was cancelling student fellowships for summer work in several Latin American and South American countries and withdrawing their personnel from some… all due to the rising power of the drug cartels and the danger this presents to the inhabitants.
Infiltration to Disrupt, Divide and Misdirect Is Widespread in Occupy Movement including Lancaster
This is Part I of a two-part series on infiltration of Occupy and what the movement can do about limiting the damage of those who seek to destroy us from within. This first article describes public reports of infiltration as well as results of a survey and discussions with Occupiers about this important issue.
Oscar Hangover: Part 2
Last time I talked about Oscar qualifiers I admired, but with reservations. The following are those I admired with few if any qualifications. My Week with Marilyn. On its surface this slice of movie lore, probably as much fiction as fact, appears no more substantial than an after dinner mint. But I found it more amusing and thoughtful than the far weightier prestige films of the year.
LETTER: Further ways to reduce college costs
Besides online classes, some other ways to reduce college costs that quickly come to mind in no particular order are:
1. Consider a community college, which are the lowest in price followed by state colleges, and transfer into a four year school after the first two years.
2. During semester breaks and the summer take as many credits as permissible at a local community college or state college/university for transfer back to one’s regular college/university. Generally there is more flexibility regarding courses outside the major.
Some states unprepared for shale energy boom (???)
From USA TODAY: … In the most obvious example: Pennsylvania and New York have no severance tax on oil and gas… By contrast, all veteran energy states tax their energy resources heavily and use the money to keep other taxes low. Texas charges a 7.5% severance tax on natural gas and has no income tax.
CC cannot defult; Marriott finances big secret despite public funding
No one outside of the Penn Square Partners knows if the Marriott hotel might be facing a financial crisis. In spite of the fact that they are occupying a taxpayer-owned building with their only “rent” payments toward about 1/3 of the total construction debt, and receive far too much of their revenue from taxpayer-owned ballroom and meeting spaces, their financial results are a tightly-guarded secret.
Experts Say Iran Attack Is Irrational, Yet Hawks Are Winning the Debate
From the DAILY BEAST: …Then there’s an attack’s likelihood of success. In congressional testimony this week, Clapper warned that an Israeli strike would set back Iran’s nuclear program by only one to two years. In January, Michael Hayden, who led the CIA from 2006 to 2009, said a successful strike was “beyond their [Israel’s] capacity.”
Iraq seeks to educate more students in U.S.
From USA TODAY: Following Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s pledge last year to fund scholarships for 10,000 Iraqi students to study in the United States, the Iraqi government has dispatched several top officials to Washington as part of an effort to raise interest in their country’s students. “No country can get out of the suffering and backwardness without the development of higher education,” said Ali al-Adeeb, Iraq’s minister of higher education, who met Tuesday with State Department officials…
LETTER: Hard to believe CC project was championed by Republicans
This is an excellent piece, very insightful. This entire series should have its own website and as things deteriorate, people can be directed to it to see what really happened and how this debacle came to be. I would add that when I read Dale High’s remarks, I don’t get “if you build it, they will come” but rather “if you build it, I will get them to MOVE”.
Prescription drugs deaths demand attention
From the USA TODAY Editorial: …While Xanax and similar drugs are less notorious than narcotic painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin, they’re addictive, widely prescribed and, combined with alcohol, can be just as dangerous. They cause 373,000 overdoses a year, almost as many as the narcotic painkillers.