More Marijuana

This follows nicely on my last post. A brave California state legislator, Tom Ammiano, proposed that the state legalize and tax marijuana. This is all over the web, but there's a good start on it on The Lede on the New York Times.

I'm amazed at how tame the reaction is so far. Maybe it will finally happen?

The Drug War: Latin American Perspective

I couldn't say it better myself. Three prominent politics from Latin America on the drug war, from the Wall Street Journal.

The 20th Congressional District Gets Interesting

With Kirsten Gillibrand now a Senator, a special election is expected in the 20th congressional district. Governor Paterson should make an announcement soon. The Republicans have a candidate - my friend Jim Tedisco. The Democrats announced Scott Murphy - I was rooting for Tracey Brooks. And making it interesting is my friend Eric Sundwall. Eric ran in 2006 on the Libertarian line and was knocked off the ballot. I represented him pro bono.

Well, Eric is running again. He seems to have a lot of support and should get over the petitioning hurdle this time, even though it's a short window. In these circumstances you only get 12 days to get your signatures, rather than the usual 30 or so.

If you support the Stop Wasting Money philosophy (for example, if you liked Ron Paul), Eric is the best candidate. Tough for me because I really like Tedisco - a great guy. Murphy is off to a great start - "I worked for two Democratic governors - in Missouri."