tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87671732012-01-10T22:14:16.145-05:00Not simply another silver-tongued devilEric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.comBlogger531100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-60584328208659147022012-01-10T11:48:00.005-05:002012-01-10T11:54:05.768-05:00

David Brooks wonders where the liberals have gone. Just as farmers weed the fields and sailors maintain their ships, Democrats who create government programs have an obligation to prune. He is right, of course.The "war on drugs," a program that huge majorities recognize is not working, would be an excellent area for pruning. By the way, the Obama Administration cancelled the "Safe and Drug-Free

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-26187628338275234312012-01-07T18:59:00.008-05:002012-01-07T19:40:55.148-05:00

On Thurs., Jan. 5, 2012, I was in New Hampshire and heard Rick Santorum, candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, at a town hall event.* The last questioner, obviously believing the Santorum was a conservative, prefaced her question by noting that it is a core conservative principle that state and local governments have the power to govern themselves without

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-26030777144244254602012-01-06T13:35:00.002-05:002012-01-06T13:54:00.949-05:00

GOP Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum was taking questions from students at the College Convention 2012 in Concord, NH, and Students for Sensible Drug Policy was one of the official sponsoring organizations. I helped arrange the sponsorship by SSDP.At the very end of the session, SSDP student, Carly (Gladyce) Thomasett from the slashroot collective in New Paltz, NY asked Santorum if he

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-87152380428917910642012-01-06T05:55:00.001-05:002012-01-06T05:57:23.872-05:00

Santorum says Federal government does not send non-violent drug offenders to prison.

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-14035863757764941042012-01-06T05:19:00.003-05:002012-01-06T13:35:53.401-05:00

I was called out Thursday afternoon, Jan.5, 2012, by a lovely Christian woman for heckling former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum in Concord, New Hampshire this afternoon during his many comments attacking state laws that permit gay marriage. She politely shamed me for being disrespectful and setting a bad example for her three well behaved children. Gay marriage was very hard on her family, she said.

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-31757436826753061342012-01-06T04:52:00.006-05:002012-01-06T13:12:34.009-05:00

The Internet is buzzing about the Newt Gingrich comment in Concord, NH, Jan. 4,"I think Jefferson or George Washington would have rather strongly discouraged you from growing marijuana, and their techniques of dealing with it would have been more violent."I was there! I heard the answer, and I was shocked at the blunder!This was a bigtime inaccurate answer to a question from a student about

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-44324913917200542602012-01-06T04:45:00.004-05:002012-01-06T04:52:41.557-05:00

At the Concord, NH Holiday Inn Wednesday morning at about 10:45, I was leaning through a doorway into the absolutely jam-packed Newt Gingrich event struggling to hear.Newt was in full blown professorial form elucidating our liberties from our founding texts. At one point, after noting Jefferson's soaring ode to liberty "that [all Men] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-57060696795224709602011-11-29T09:24:00.001-05:002011-11-29T09:25:50.585-05:00

This article on the American Bar Association website is an outstanding guide for any writer! Every student should take five minutes to read this!

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-26440518361192337712011-10-07T19:53:00.005-04:002011-10-08T11:32:56.595-04:00

Is it intrinsic to being a citizen to have your heart broken?I put a big burden on citizens. To my mind, to merit the honorific of "citizen" with regard to elections, one is required not merely to cast a ballot (which sounds so passive), but to become educated about the candidates and their issues, to care about the outcome, and if finding an important contest and a worthy candidate, to commit to

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-82073463420002749462011-07-29T06:49:00.003-04:002011-07-29T10:09:23.714-04:00

The United States is in a political bind. The political impasse in Washington is pointing toward a default by the United States on some of its debt obligations next week.The Republican Party, the party of Capitalism, seems like it can't organize its elected representatives to protect the American dollar, and the capitalist structure that depends upon the dollar's credibility and strength. The

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-48993159134603194162011-06-28T18:09:00.004-04:002011-06-28T18:30:33.298-04:00

Read Louis Fisher's excellent testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 28, 2011. Fisher was the senior analyst on separation of powers for the Congressional Reference Service (CRS) at the Library of Congress for forty years and is now Scholar in Residence at The Constitution Project."It is legally and constitutionally impermissible to transfer the powers of Congress to an

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-69219206956898406362011-06-02T13:57:00.002-04:002011-06-02T14:13:49.188-04:00

U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-21st TX) is the chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary, with jurisdiction over the criminal and civil justice systems (all the federal courts, prosecutors, the nation's largest prison system of more than 215,000 prisoners, the rules of procedure and evidence), and critically important areas of substantive law: criminal law, copyright, trademark, antitrust,

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-5029458847532674312010-06-28T14:53:00.003-04:002010-06-28T15:38:38.791-04:00

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia has died at age 92. The New York Times has published a nice summary of his career.Byrd grow up in poverty in a coal mining camp in West Virginia. My mother also grew up poor, the daughter of a coal miner. She is four years younger than Byrd. As a child, we regularly drove to my grandparents' home on the hillside around the bend from the mine where my

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-61490807320286598602010-05-21T18:31:00.002-04:002010-05-21T18:36:21.432-04:00

Silver Spring and Takoma Park MusiciansRock the Senate!Maryland's outstanding State Senator Jamie Raskin (look at these accomplishments!!)On THURSDAY, JUNE 10, from 6:00 to 8:30 pm at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center on Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, the Raskin Re-election campaign will be having some extraordinary local music talent perform at Maryland's first all-vegetarian fundraiser, catered by

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-21344198824997764792010-03-28T23:02:00.002-04:002010-03-28T23:42:38.993-04:00

Niall Ferguson writes about empires that have collapsed in the March/April 2010 issue of Foreign Affairs.The established historical view of the collapse of empires -- Rome, Britain, German, Hapsburg, Ottoman, Russian, Soviet, etc. -- is that the collapses are the result of a long series of events that are intrinsic to a cyclic nature of empire creation and collapse.Ferguson argues that this

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-85786179721212432682009-12-11T13:25:00.002-05:002009-12-11T13:30:53.170-05:00

I was intrigued to discover today that the Maryland General Assembly in 2007 directed the Governor to appoint a Baby Boomer Initiative Council whose duties are:§ 24-1504. Chair; functions. (a) Chair.- The Governor shall designate the chair of the Council. (b) Functions.- The Council shall: (1) Develop a model with recommendations for addressing the needs of the baby boomer population; (2) Make

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-37401815621535667262009-10-09T15:11:00.004-04:002009-10-09T15:19:06.111-04:00

President Obama does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. If I were him, I would decline to accept it. I would have acknowledged the award as a great vote of confidence, but confess that it is not appropriately awarded. Giving this award to President Obama at this time trivializes the award. The President would do more for World Peace right now by restoring the award to its proper stature by

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-80892850281833200372009-07-23T17:36:00.003-04:002009-07-23T17:38:56.833-04:00

How many times have you heard a public official say, "If this measure saves just one life, it is worth it!"The New York Times reports on the danger of high school football. Of course, high school football is defensible on First Amendment grounds: it is a religion in many communities.Ban high school football to protect kids from life threatening injuries? Definitely, pardon the phrase, overkill.

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-58225185926930382922009-04-17T17:30:00.002-04:002009-04-17T17:42:33.421-04:00

Let's generate tens of thousands of letters to the White House to Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and send along a terrific oped, below, from the Chicago Tribune, that was captured by DrugSense Weekly. The author, Brian O'Dea -- that appears to be his real name -- is a former international marijuana smuggler.Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, a native of Chicago, and former Chicago congressman,

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-38982996176812251512009-04-17T16:48:00.003-04:002009-04-17T17:07:28.134-04:00

On Easter Sunday, I rode Amtrak from New York City to Washington, DC. This is route of the railroad train that connects our largest city with our nation's capital. The route is shared by commuter trains into New York, Newark (the largest city in New Jersey), Trenton (the capital of New Jersey), Philadelphia (the largest city in Pennsylvania, and one of the largest in the United States),

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-75119702835535885592009-02-27T10:07:00.002-05:002009-02-27T10:11:13.657-05:00

Conor James blogging at Wide Wide World.com writes about the Agrodome in New Zealand. Definitely check out the You Tube video just above the post!!

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-79126276265691641762009-02-27T10:03:00.002-05:002009-02-27T10:05:45.913-05:00

Craig James, traveling in Asia with his family, writes of the deflation in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-86151898571479158132009-02-27T09:38:00.002-05:002009-02-27T09:40:24.190-05:00

This cartoon , "The Seat of Power," by Jack Ohman at the Portland Oregonian, was the subject of a writing assignment for fifth graders at Rock Creek Forest E.S. in Chevy Chase this week.

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-62707103854698577282009-01-05T10:33:00.003-05:002009-01-05T10:41:09.543-05:00

Several of my daughter's elementary school teachers have had a Friday market at which the students can exchange their rewards for good behavior and good grades for candy and trinkets.Is this reward system good or bad for the kids? If it helps create better behavior in the classroom, that's good, isn't it? If, as a result of this reward system, the scores on the statewide tests are improved, the

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-73095664380527968782008-09-01T15:53:00.002-04:002008-09-01T16:05:23.617-04:00

When the voters adopt a charter amendment to limit officials to four two-year terms, you would think that the government and the effected officials would obey it.In Hawai'i County (the Big Island), the voters adopted such a limit in the 1996 election. In 2004, a long time political boss, who had already served more than 4 terms, filed nomination papers, again. Several citizens sued to block the

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-60847678378211959812008-07-30T17:11:00.003-04:002008-07-30T17:15:46.727-04:00

The HonorableU.S. House of RepresentativesWashington, DC 20515 Re: H.R. 5843Dear Representative: I encourage you to cosponsor H.R. 5843, a bill to eliminate most Federal penalties for possession of marijuana for personal use, and for other purposes, introduced by Reps. Barney Frank and Ron Paul. I appreciate that your decision to cosponsor this bill will not be made easily. Nevertheless

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-4615995595101334442008-07-11T09:51:00.003-04:002008-07-11T09:57:18.595-04:00

How about putting a parking garage or lot location reminder on your cell phone.I park in the same parking garage every day. But I don't park in the same place. I could be confident that I could always park in the same area if I parked on level six. But I want to save time by parking as close to the entrance/exit as possible. That means that from day to day I am parked in a different space on a

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-91875353189554598532008-06-14T22:15:00.001-04:002008-06-14T22:19:08.885-04:00

Stewart Mott died on Thursday, June 12, 2008.He and his foundations were major supporters of many of the people who provided some of the intellectual heft to progressive Washington. Washington Post obituaryNew York Times obituary Sam Smith's remembrance

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-80027266171082044232007-12-21T16:09:00.000-05:002007-12-21T16:12:27.217-05:00

I don't often agree with the sentiments of Republican speeches made during special orders in the House of Representatives, but I agree whole heartedly with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) speaking on Dec. 4, 2007 on the 75th anniversary of the repeal of alcohol prohibition.THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF PROHIBITION The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, thegentleman

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-83354013062126118202007-11-16T12:47:00.000-05:002007-11-16T12:48:59.040-05:00

Here's a cute musical satire of our culture's current pharmaceutical fascination, "We couldn't get much higher."

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-48234435594566298812007-09-19T16:53:00.001-04:002007-09-19T17:18:03.479-04:00

Today, The New York Times historical front page is from Sept. 20, 1881, the day after President James Garfield succumbed to the gun shot wounds inflicted on July 2, 1881, by an attorney who failed to get patronage job.It caused me to reflect that the Presidents elected in 2o year intervals have died in office or been grievously wounded in gunshots.1840 -- William Henry Harrison, died1860 --

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-40244524566848860332007-09-13T22:30:00.000-04:002007-09-13T22:37:44.021-04:00

Sally Satel has a very illuminating, non-polemical op-ed in The New York Times today.Taking off on the revision of the DSM by a DSM-V due to come out in five years, she notes that we still know very little about the causes of mental illness.She points out that a lot of treatment is directed at the symptom rather than an certain underlying condition.If you think about the role of mental illness in

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-80175592571160108372007-08-17T22:49:00.000-04:002007-08-17T22:53:49.039-04:00

Consumers Union is organizing support for increased federal action to protect food and consumer product safety.Here's the letter I sent to my Representative in Congress and my two Senators:My family eats a lot of seafood because it is healthy, supposedly. To my dismay, I learned today that China is the leading supplier of imported seafood to the US, supplying 16 percent of ALL the fish we

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1166544282526523382006-12-19T10:15:00.000-05:002006-12-19T11:04:42.566-05:00

Sustainability. What a clunky word for such a fundamental concept.If you think for a moment about anything that you want to endure -- a family, a life, a career, a species, a planet -- the key feature is that "it" must be sustainable.At a holiday party this weekend several of us got to talking about eating too much. We'll try to eat less in the new year, and lose weight. Isn't it a shame that

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1161366755861750312006-10-20T13:05:00.000-04:002006-10-20T14:07:46.010-04:00

On Sunday, October 8, 2006, after a screening of the motion picture, A Scanner Darkly, at the University of Maryland in College Park, I spoke to the audience about the moral and political implications of the story. I was accompanied by Micah Daigle, Field Director, Students for Sensible Drug Policy national office. This event was sponsored by the University's Student Entertainment Events office

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1153511951201974022006-07-21T15:47:00.000-04:002006-07-21T15:59:11.233-04:00

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. lays out a very damning case in Rolling Stone magazine that the Republicans conspired to swing the 2004 election from Kerry to George W. Bush.Kennedy provides a very detailed analysis of the myriad problems. The focus is on Ohio where he explains more than 300,00 votes that were likely to be for Kerry were kept from being counted. He identifies voting machines that counted

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1148409532445027482006-05-23T14:35:00.000-04:002006-05-23T14:38:52.456-04:00

Business Week reports that Proctor and Gamble has recruited 600,000 moms for the word of mouth sales project, called Vocalpoint. By crafting product messages mothers will want to share, along with giving them samples, coupons, and a chance to share their own opinions with P&G, the Cincinnati consumer-product giant is using personal endorsements to cut through advertising clutter. "We know that

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1148352244480711022006-05-22T22:39:00.000-04:002006-05-22T22:44:04.490-04:00

If you are not a fan of the Bush Administration, you will find it impossible not to laugh at the Robert Smigel comic from the May 20 Saturday Night Live. The video is posted on Crooks and Liars. The entire audio portion is composed from speeches, press conferences, Senate testimony, or media interviews by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. Make sure your

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1139798481922666652006-02-12T21:19:00.000-05:002006-02-12T22:02:39.466-05:00

The National Rifle Association has argued for years that the only legitimate form of gun control is hitting your target. Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006 Vice President Dick Cheney, working to bolster the GOP's conservative base for the 2006 elections, ostensibly aiming at a covey of quail, discharged his .28 guage shotgun into a Texas millionaire lawyer, Harry Whittington, hitting him in the cheek, neck

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1135104838180521362005-12-20T13:50:00.000-05:002005-12-20T13:53:58.196-05:00

The President's scheme for warrantless wiretapping outside the structure of FISA cannot be defended by pointing to the Congressional authorization to use force against Afghanistan. When he argues that the word "force" includes domestic surveillance he really is saying that laws composed of words no longer have meaning to him and his legal advisors. He feels free to make up or disregard the law at

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1106285115027172822005-01-20T23:53:00.000-05:002005-01-21T00:25:15.026-05:00

George Bush's second inaugural speech reads well, doesn't it? If only the speech revealed a conscience or character consistent with its content. Freedom, O Freedom! Freedom, O, Freedom. Washington Post analysts point out that the Administration has extremely close ties to some of the most repressive regimes in the world -- governments that top the list for human rights abuses. Since this

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1099588825436072872004-11-04T13:12:00.000-05:002004-11-04T12:20:25.436-05:00

Lakshmi Chaudry writes powerfully in Alternet about the pain of Tuesday's election: All the blame-mongering in the world can't erase the pain or, more importantly, the fear. My mind can handle the body blow of defeat, but it's the slow, seeping chill of dread that is harder to fend off. . . . No, it's not about losing an election, but the fear of losing faith. Liberals have always believed that

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1099497941020893002004-11-04T10:46:00.000-05:002004-11-04T11:22:33.420-05:00

What if the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court had not, in Nobember 2003 ruled that barring two persons of the same gender from marrying violated the Massachusetts Constitution?

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1099507358663617632004-11-03T13:37:00.000-05:002004-11-03T13:42:38.663-05:00

Andrew Sullivan has a a useful perspective, which gives me comfort: ACCOUNTABILITY: Here's an email with which i (Andrew Sullivan speaking) concur entirely: "I didn't vote for Bush for lots of reasons. But it seems to me that maybe the result, much as it was not what I wanted, will be good for the country. We are in the middle of a war whose outcome is very much in doubt. We have a fiscal

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1099332272017914902004-11-01T16:03:00.000-05:002004-11-01T13:04:32.020-05:00

On Monday, October 25, 2004, in Missouri, White House "drug czar" John Walters unveilled a fancy "national action plan" two weeks after Senator John Edwards unveilled the Kerry-Edwards proposal in Newton, Iowa, on Oct. 11. Methamphetamine has been a growing epidemic in the western U.S. for a decade. Regulatory controls of the precursor chemicals -- not prohibition -- has been found, in an

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1099080509204663652004-10-29T16:03:00.000-04:002004-10-29T16:08:29.203-04:00

Does Dick Cheney or Don Rumsfeld know about this? Why not? And shouldn't we be asking them? Karzai's next hurdle: eradicating opium U.S. officials consider using troops to quash Afghan drug trade 10:22 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 27, 2004 By JIM LANDERS / The Dallas Morning News WASHINGTON – With Afghan President Hamid Karzai's election victory in hand, U.S. and Afghan officials are

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1098996220202034642004-10-28T19:36:00.000-04:002004-10-28T16:43:40.203-04:00

A second instance of a Republican effort to obtain student voter registration information -- and to change the registration to Republican and to change the students' addresses -- has been revealed by Dennis Roddy at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Once again, students were approached this summer with a petition supporting medical marijuana and asked for signatures and voter information. The

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1098409072448229402004-10-21T21:27:00.000-04:002004-10-21T21:37:52.446-04:00

Principal Debra Gore says, "We're not going to tolerate things like this." Zero-tolerance for the mistakes of 8 or 9-year olds? The principal may be good, but in the face of two "nickel" bags of marijuana, she is about to abandon reason. I have a 6-year old daughter. Kids this young do silly things. They learn by making mistakes. We tell them when they have made and mistake and then they

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1098308096858821422004-10-20T17:31:00.000-04:002004-10-20T17:34:56.856-04:00

From: Steve Fox, Marijuana Policy Project steve@mpp.org I haven't seen anyone point out the positive aspect of this [regarding medical marijuana as an issue] ... Republicans apparently think that medical marijuana is so popular that it is the best way to get people to sign a petition. Or, independent signature gatherers think it is easier to get people to sign a medical marijuana petition

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1098306161353366852004-10-20T16:56:00.000-04:002004-10-20T17:02:41.353-04:00

http://www.timesherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13166132&BRD=1672&PAG=461&dept_id=33380&rfi=8 Norristown, PA Times Herald 10/19/2004 Marijuana 'petition' actually voter registration form By: MARGARET GIBBONS , Times Herald Staff COURTHOUSE - Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) students recently received a real-life lesson: Do not sign something unless you thoroughly read it. Students, who

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1098079640496480482004-10-19T01:06:00.000-04:002004-10-19T15:23:29.990-04:00

The Chicago Tribune has irresolutely endorsed Bush for re-election... on the ground that Bush is resolute. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0410170332oct17,1,3673281.story?coll=chi-news-hed Their endorsement of Bush is quite striking for its explicit and implicit criticism of Bush. It is an endorsement based on wishful thinking on one hand, and on admiration of Bush's presentations

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1098074213536482652004-10-18T04:13:00.000-04:002004-10-19T15:41:32.886-04:00

The American Lung Association http://lungusa.org just solicited me for a donation with a fancy package of "Christmas Seals." It included 10 ways to take action against lung disease. The 8th caught my eye: flu shots are "absolutely vital for those who are over 50" years old. I love doing what's vital; I am absolutely vital. But, being not quite 55 and in good health, there's no way I'm going to

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8767173.post-1098071453838521582004-10-18T02:17:00.000-04:002004-10-17T23:50:53.840-04:00

The New York Times has published the first editorial endorsement of a candidate for President that I've seen (other than the Crawford, TX Iconoclast). The editorial is mainly a commentary on the sad record of George W. Bush, not surprising given how bad that record really is. (The Times does not spend time on the personality or intellectual traits of the President, which has been a staple of the

Eric E. Sterlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09061193531254728800noreply@blogger.com