Month: April 2006

Viva México

Finally, some real balls where personal freedom is concerned.

According to the Associated Press, the Mexican Congress approved a bill Friday that will legalize drug possession for personal use. Got that Dumshit? The Mexicans have decriminalized getting high in your own damn home! After el Presidente Fox signs the bill (which he is expected to do) folks toting around small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and even heroin will be free, high, and happy. And get this… they passed this legislation despite the wasteful and entirely useless war on drugs – the last remaining relic of the Nixon years and a product of the 1930s prohibition-minded nabobs who sought to control industries (hemp) and personal liberties. What a proud American accomplishment that’s turned out to be.

I’ll be damned if I can find this news item on the majors – even BBC seemed to miss this rather significant development. Meanwhile, news that did get headlines included Dubya’s indignation over the Spanish version of the US national anthem, a former Abu-Ghraib officer is charged with cruelty (OMG!), and the bill for the war in Iraq (which is far from ‘mission accomplished’) may hit $811bn.

You know? Maybe it’s time that we all sing the Spanish Spangled Banner – the Mexicans seem to have a hedge over most Americans on the concept of freedom and liberty for all.

UPDATE, 2009: After several fits and starts, President Felipe Calderón signs the law into history.

Farewell Tom

Tom DeLayPoor Tom DeLay. His legacy is a certain brand of ultraconservative Texan politico, susceptible to pitiable insight, arrogant oversight, near-sighted ambitions, and general myopia. I’m certain he sees his accomplishment worthy of praise. I’m sure that there are quite a few fellow ultracons who share that view. But as these gadflies of history die off, what will fill the void? Compromise? Willingness to reach across ideological boundaries? OMG… statemanship?

UPDATE – Wikipedia’s first paragraph says it all:

Thomas Dale “Tom” DeLay (born April 8, 1947) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas’s 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party (GOP) House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of money laundering charges in connection with a campaign finance investigation. He was convicted in January 2011 and sentenced to three years in prison but is free on bail while appealing his conviction.