Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition

Reviewing comments at the the Supreme Court this week it appears that the court will avoid a less than sweeping gay marriage decision by punting on California's Prop 8. Instead of feeling badly about it  Gay right's advocates might as well use the political ground swell in their favor to build a solid legal base legislatively brought about. With regard to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) I believe it is toast as a law but it's repeal will not replace the need for legislation by additional states recognizing gay marriage.

Clearly the federal government can create laws. But DOMA narrowly defined a condition in political flux and thereby created untenable contradictions that are easily relieved by it's repeal. Federal drug laws on the other hand will not have such a handy out without Federal Legislation to end Marijuana Prohibition. Despite various states success in decriminalizing marijuana laws it will require a bill such as H.R. 2306 entitled the 'Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011' to avoid Justice Scalia's justifiable derision of legislating through the court.

Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition

Blunt Report Says G.O.P. Needs to Regroup for '16

PBS's American Masters “The Amish” last night reminded me that a Libertarian such as Rand Paul could frame the debate in a manner that would turn the GOP away from its dead end with the Evangelical Right. No Evangelical could claim to be more pious, observant of religious order and personally conservative than a faithful Amish. So that when a candidate is confronted with a moral hardliner one could use the Amish as an example of separation of church and state where there is no intention of making others live the way they do. Until Republicans can educate Evangelicals to live without influence and support a free market agenda will they it be able to reverse the party's low appeal with the young.    

Cheer Up

It takes “The Economist” looking in from the outside to recognize the green shoots here in the States. Oil & gas production is creating jobs and opportunity while making us independent of the oil despots. This energy reversal came about with the active and total resistance in every fiber in the being of the former Energy Department head and Nobel Laureate Dr. Chu. President Obama now proposes a two billion dollar Michigan boondoggle to reduce fuel consumption while Ford independently develops an engine so light that they shipped the engine block in regular check in luggage. with no over weight penalty, for the trip to the Los Angeles motor show. Political dysfunction and empty government coffers hopefully will starve the government initiative and let the private sector come up with the economic solution. Bring it on Grover.

On the other side of the coin I see dire times for the crony capitalist in China and the energy despots of Russia, the Middle East, and Venezuela.

Matt Ridley on How Fossil Fuels are Greening the Planet

I enjoy counter intuitive and Matt Ridley is certainly that.

Matt Ridley - Fossil Fuels Greening the Earth

The Jobs Report shows a Better Result than given credit for

Partisan politics causes the GOP pundits to declare every jobs report as a half empty glass. It's a reflex that is tiresome and makes them vulnerable to the blind siding they suffered this past presidential election. The truth is that for the past thirty months government payroll has reduced steadily while the private sector has steadily increased. It is a headwind that does not cheer the Obama administration, but it is impressing this Libertarian, less government more freedom, commentator.  

Austerity versus Growth

Reduced government spending does not automatically mean less economic vigor if the spending is useless and unproductive.  For example the job loss in Defense Department centric northern Virginia is sure to cut some of that quadruplicated intelligence cluster fucking going on there that is a pure economic waste. The Department of Energy has another cluster going on with turf battles between it's various constituencies; Coal, Oil & Gas, Nuclear and Green, all negating each other.  Eliminating the DOE would improve the economy in spite of the jobs lost. Value for money as practiced by Calvin Coolidge, our 30th President, is an example of careful spending and high interest rates growing us out of the doldrums and into a boom economy in spite of Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Bernanke's actions and warnings to the contrary.