Marijuana and The Wall Street Journal

The mighty Wall Street Journal (my favorite newspaper) has been hopping with pot talk lately. What's the Voice of Capitalism coming to?

It started with an editorial page commentary on March 16 by constitutional expert Randy E. Barnett called "Reefer Madness". It was a learned assessment by Professor Barnett on how the federal courts go through constitutional contortions in maintaining the prohibition on medical uses of marijuana. The commentary was keyed by the Angel Raich story.

On March 23 there were four letters in response. If you are a Journal reader, you know that's a lot for any one commentary, meaning there were probably hundreds that didn't get printed. There were letters from organizations "Common Sense for Drug Policy" and "Marijuana Policy Project" decrying criminalization of a useful drug. President Carter's drug czar Lee Dogoloff weighed in - saying "every major" scientist says there is no medical benefit. Old arguments redux, but articulate and passionate.

Not to let a smokin' subject drop, today's WSJ has yet another letter, this one from "Drug Policy Forum of Oregon," rebutting Czar Dogoloff.

For some reason (maybe the Angel Raich story) I've seen a lot of stuff on the Net about marijuana lately, but to have such a flurry in the Wall Street Journal is downright weird. Must be that changing demographics thang. Makes you wonder if when most of the people in Congress are baby boomers the pot prohibition will be repealed.

Bush Campaigns Owes the U.S. $40 Mil?

I want a follow-up story!

As the Washington Post reported today (March 23 - 07) the Democratic members of the Federal Election Commission say the Bushies cheated us taxpayers on how they accounted for their expenditure of public money. The Republican members of the commission say "did not." An excerpt:

"We had a disagreement on this audit, and it was a doozy," said one of the Democrats, Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub.

The dispute centered on the use of what the commissioners called "hybrid" ads, which were intended to promote both the president and Republican members of Congress. The Bush campaign argued that it should not bear the full cost of these ads, so it split the tab with the Republican Party.

As a result, only half of the cost would count toward spending limits imposed on the campaign when it agreed to take public funds. Weintraub said the spending limit is an essential part of the agreement candidates make to accept public financing. "Bush-Cheney 2004 took the $74 million, and then they broke the bargain," she said.

Commissioner Hans A. von Spakovsky, a Republican, strongly disagreed. "There was no broken bargain," he said. "There was no violation of the law."

Basically: "DID!" "DID NOT!"

What I want to read next is "Who's right?" and "What next?" And what exactly is meant by the Bush campaign "split the tab with the Republican Party."?? What exactly happened to the money? FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP, Siss Boom Bah.

Read the whole story at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/22/AR2007032201861.html

Now For Something Completely Different

I notice I've been grousing a lot on the old blog lately. Time - sez I to myself - to write something uplifting, or at least useful. Vacation time is just around the corner. So here:

Don’t Deny the Devil

There are certain things in the making of recreational choices that color one’s judgment, like a well-tinted pair of sunglasses can make a day look more glamorous than it really is, or a quickly drained dram of tequila can have the same effect on a candidate for social intercourse.

The hint of danger is one of those “certain things.” Hints of danger have various thresholds for individuals. Popping one’s ‘chute a thousand feet closer to the ground than usual might hint of danger to a jaded skydiver making the experience beguiling recreation. To the rest of us there are usually less well-defined danger hints. Just considering that hit of tequila, for instance, puts some people off as being ‘way over the limit, fully into danger.’ Depends on your age sometimes, or on your personal history with tequila.

One definition of “hints” of this sort is that the actual danger is more or less deniable. “Never happen” is a solid denial. One with a little less certainty is “Never happen to me.” Could happen, but me? Nah. Then there is the best, spiciest denial, taking the benefits of a hint of danger to the max, the “could happen, but...” you can handle it. This leads to double checking the backup parachute, packing the snakebite kit, putting the extra inner tube in your backpack for the bike ride; so it is not a bad thing at all.

These hinted dangers are not always glamorous or fodder for a good story (“That little rattler must have snuck into my sleeping bag while I was boiling the coffee...”) Consider, if you will, the inherent limitations of telling the story of your bout with la Tourista.

That is the danger this little piece is about, The Touristas, an ailment so vile that it is the “Devil” in the title. There is an almost universal hint of the danger of Tourista in travel, especially to Mexico and an odd mix of other second world countries.

Like many real dangers, it is somewhat misunderstood. Since it involves the less speakable bodily malfunctions, diarrhea for the most part, there is an inevitable aura of bano humor around it. (“Take a canteen of Pepto-Bismol with you, amigo!”), which is classic “could happen, but...” denial. It could happen, but you can handle it. Well, here are the hard, cold facts.

Definition: At worst, “the touristas” is a hybrid viral/bacterial/parasitic/toxin affliction involving the whole alimentary canal, mouth, esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, colon and anus, plus everything that depends on that wonderful system, i.e. every other part of your tender body. There are milder forms, say only involving bacteria and not quite so devilish, but let’s look the whole demon in the eye here.

First, Tourista is one helluva lot more common than snakebite or smushed skydivers. It happens a lot. Be a tourist in the land of Tourista often enough and you will have a dance with that devil. It’s a statistical thing. Avoidance is the best therapy, of course. So follow the common sense of:

LIST ONE.

1. Face it, it could happen. Think ahead.

2. Be careful about where and what you eat. (References may be the only functional criterion.)

3. Wash your hands like your happiness depends on it. (Guess what?)

4. Eschew ice cubes. (Parasites and their pals don’t mind low temperatures.)

5. Drink only beer, Coca Cola and Perrier (Good for the local economy, too.)

6. Take preventative drugs. (There are a bunch – ask your doctor)

Even with all that, there is the horrible truth... It can still get you. I am talking first hand experience here.

If it does, you might decide a good, clean snakebite is preferable. Tourista is one sombitch of a short-term disease. So let’s get down and talk Tourista.

It can start pretty much anywhere between the in/outlets, but probably the most common beginning is in the tummy. The digestive action in the stomach goes dead stop to start with. Whatever last you ate simply sits there. Those valves that pass the most recent meal down the tubes, so to speak, go on strike and nothing moves. You feel overly full. “Why did I eat so much?” you say, then you typically comment, “Hell, I didn’t actually eat all that much,” but you feel like you ate two horses and a cavalryman. While you know this is not a good sign, in all likelihood it won’t occur to you that this is the start of something really bad because you felt this way last Thanksgiving and nothing much came of it. Also, whatever stereotype you have of Tourista doesn’t include this overly full feeling.

Next thing you know, blam, one of the other valves -- the one that is supposed to keep what you ate eaten -- suffers a system crash and you are lucky if you make the toilet, renamed for the event the vomitorium. There it all is, undeniable and wretched, blasting out of your mouth, up your nasal cavity and all around the place. I have asked several victims of this situation what they think in this early stage of the disease. My conclusion is that the mind is a wondrous thing, because the most common response is “I always feel better after I barf.” Right.

Timing is everything, as you have heard, and that was as likely scripted in hell as heaven, for as surely as penance follows sin, diarrhea follows hotly after regurgitation with Tourista, often so hotly that you are still trying to clear burning excretions out of your nose when yet another major valve failure comes to the fore. All this can escalate to genuine excess as you can imagine, with “firing from both barrels” barely adequate as a description. There is a perverse timing of another sort: mostly this all happens around midnight.

The victim of this bodily revolt, the inner person, is rather like a novice sailor caught in a violent squall. The mind tears in two directions at once. One direction is pain, confusion, resentment, “this can’t be happening,” self-pity and a fine panic. The other is more practical and generally shaped by the kind of person you are and how you habitually deal with problems. With some it is to blame. “That goddamn café; those dirty, germ ridden sonsabitches who never wash their hands; that vice ridden health department lackey who takes pesos over public health,” etc. With others it is solution searching. “Is the Pharmacia open? What are the best short-term remedies? Do I need to see a doc? How the hell can I find a doc in Matamoras at midnight?”

It is to this second crowd that my advice is aimed. Not that it will actually help much, but it can’t hurt.

WHAT TO DO WHEN THE BAD BUG BITES

This is a simple list. It’s simple because there are relatively few things you can do. If List One demonstrably didn’t work, go to:

LIST TWO

1. Kill pain. (It helps 2 through 8 below. Besides, it’s an American tradition.)

2. Stop barfing. (“Anti-emetics” are the ticket. Phenergan, Reglan, Merezine, Meclizine and a whole menagerie of other –zines are available with a prescription. Perhaps the only effective over-the-counter antiemetic is benadryl.. The problem is holding down whatever you swallow, so try to get a suppository. Be careful, some of them burn – something you really don’t need at a time like this.)

3. Fight dehydration (…After you accomplish #2, drink lots of bottled water, sports drinks [Gatorade, et al], Pedialite [baby stuff]; NOT beer, colas, coffee, milk, Tequila.)

4. Slow the out-of-control peristalsis (Any of the loperamide meds – like Imodium; better yet, codeine [Also good for # 1 & 8 – and which you can frequently get over the counter in Mexico], and there are a whole bunch of non-prescription potions: attapulgite, bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol), kaolin/pectin (Kaopectate). They sort of work.

5. Reduce inflammation (not to get personal, but use Tucks or other medicated wipes. Put soothing balms like Preparation H where the sun don’t shine.

6. Suppress anxiety. (If you or a traveling partner has a Xanax, Valium or Klonopin, try to keep some down. If you are an herb nut and have cats claw, kava kava or the like, be very careful – who knows about these and gut trauma?)

7. Adjust your schedule (Forget the snorkel dive in the Cinotes until the plague passes. Even forget today’s plane if it’s bad enough.)

8. Be philosophical (Be philosophical.)

9. Identify and Attack the microorganisms (This goes beyond simple shit, so to speak. Check out this list of bad guys from Boston University. Either look at their site: http://www.bu.edu/COHIS/infxns/common/diarrhea/diarrhea.htm,

… Or just read their list here.

INVADING AGENTS

Escherichia coli (Enteroinvasive E. coli)

Salmonella (Salmonellosis)

Campylobacter

Yersinia

Parasitic Causes

Giardia lamblia

Cryptosporidium

Entamoeba histolytica

Viral Causes

Rotavirus

Norwalk Agent

Calciviruses

TOXIN PRODUCING

Cholera (Vibrio cholerae 01)

Shigella (Shigellosis)

Escherichia coli (Enterotoxigenic E. coli)

E. coli O157: H7 (Enterohemmorrhagic E. coli)

Clostridium difficile

Bacillus cereus

9. SO… If you are really sick (more than a day is a good marker), get thee to a competent physician and have him give you the latest neutron-bomb-level medication.

I hope this didn’t gross you out, and enjoy your vacation!

Did You Say We Are a “CHRISTIAN NATION?”

In today’s Washington Post, Susan Jacoby reviews Stephen Prothero’s book Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know -- And Doesn't (HarperSanFrancisco, 2007). Here are a couple of mind boggling excerpts:

Americans are … the most religiously ignorant people in the Western world. Fewer than half of us can identify Genesis as the first book of the Bible, and only one third know that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.

Approximately 75 percent of adults, according to polls cited by Prothero, mistakenly believe the Bible teaches that "God helps those who help themselves." More than 10 percent think that Noah's wife was Joan of Arc. Only half can name even one of the four Gospels, and -- a finding that will surprise many -- evangelical Christians are only slightly more knowledgeable than their non-evangelical counterparts.

Check it out: http://www.bu.edu/religion/faculty/bios/prothero.html

And… http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/

And… I don’t feel quite so cynical having written the following.

Did You Say We Are a “CHRISTIAN NATION?”

(With apologies to my friends of other religions)

How many times have you heard, “We are a Christian nation,” from politicians of all stripes? Mostly from the religious right. And there’s all that talk about moral values…

If we are indeed a “Christian nation,” I figure we should be pretty hard-core about two points, Truth and The Golden Rule.

TRUTH

“Thou shall not lie or give false testimony” (Sixth Commandment)

“Seek ye the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.” (Christ at the Last Supper)

That means no spin. No twisting facts, no rationalizing bad behavior, no justifying evil means. A Christian nation would believe that truth is sacred in a free society; that truth is the foundation on which all else in public life would be built. A government built on lies, half lies, half truths, shaded truths and the slimy science of propaganda is truly a castle built on sand.

One of the most common evasions of truth is simplism. Merriam Webster Online Dictionary: The act or an instance of oversimplifying; especially: the reduction of a problem to a false simplicity by ignoring complicating factors. Especially if those factors don’t support your position. The most beguiling spin is to take some of the truth and to ignore the rest.

Citizens of a genuinely Christian nation would say that the truth, the whole truth, is the standard.

Then there’s the…

GOLDEN RULE

Jesus said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Matthew 7:12).

Well, that seems pretty clear. Looking at current social programs, taxation, foreign policy, etc. questions our commitment to this ideal, a tough principle to follow. Sometimes it hits us in our pocketbooks or our pride. But do we keep coming back to the principle, striving to incorporate it into our approach to government?

However, that’s the easy part. The toughest of all admonitions on the Golden Rule is in The Sermon on the Mount (also by Jesus, BTW):

Ye have heard it said,  'An eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist one who is
evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn
to him the other also; and if any one would sue you
and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well;
and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him
two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not
refuse him who would borrow from you. You have
heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor
and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you..."
(Matthew 5:38:45 RSV) 

Whoa! How can we turn that into governmental practices? That goes way too far for practical, common sense folks. How many politicians these days say: “Better to send foreign aid that troops. Maintain honorable alliances even when your allies don’t see things your way. Forgive debts from people who can’t pay you back. Support universal human rights.” Imagine how a world would view a superpower with those positions. Talk about the “moral high ground!”

For threats from terrorists, despots and criminals, there’s plenty of room for reasonable action and stay in the “Christian” column: "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace." (Luke 11:21 RSV). No "turn the other cheek" to really bad guys.

And when corporate greed grinds down on all the innocents defined in the Beatitudes - you remember: the poor in spirit; the meek; the mourning; those hungry and thirsty for justice; the merciful; the clean of heart; the peacemakers and the persecuted (Matthew 5:3-10) - a “moral value” is to take corrective action – legal or legislative – because it’s a Christian belief that, “The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10).

So next time you hear someone saying the U.S.A. is a “Christian nation,” say it’s a good idea, then ask some tough questions.

The Zogby Poll of Arabs... Uh Oh.

I had a powerful deja vu experience this evening. On PBS Fareed Zacharia was interviewing Professor Shibley Telhami , holder of the the Anwar Sadat Chair at the University of Maryland about the new Zogby Poll on Arab attitudes and opinions. (Telhami designed the questionnaire and analyzed the results.)


As you might expect, the good old U.S. of A. doesn't fare too well. G.W. Bush is by far the "most disliked" world leader among Arabs of all stripes. He far surpasses the traditional winner, whoever was the current leader of Israel. In fact, Bush beats the combination of Olmert and Sharon.


Professor Telhami noted that the polarization against America has become the driving force uniting Arabs, Shiite, Sunni, et al. The main reason the Arabs admire anyone (including their # 3 favorite world leader Hugo Chavez) is that they stand up to America.


In these powerful findings from a well designed scientific poll there is strong guidance about what's wrong with our current foreign policy. There is a lot of information about how we could be more effective in the vital regions of the Middle East. Information is power, right?


Then the good professor made the comment that caused the deja vu. It reminded me so much of all those times I would deliver a public opinion poll (I did that for 30 years) to a client who didn't want to believe the results. He said "Washington says these conclusions are 'simplistic.'" Right! Not complicated enough to twist and spin into something that fits what the neo-cons believe.


Sigh.

Check out the PowerPoint presentation of the study at http://brookings.edu/views/speeches/telhami20070208.pdf