Month: June 2005

It’s not easy being green.

A defeat for medicinal weed is a victory for federal authority under the Interstate Commerce Clause in today’s 6-3 Supreme Court ruling upholding federal laws against marijuana. Wrote John Paul Stevens in the majority opinion, “[t]he Controlled Substances Act is a valid exercise of federal power, even as applied to the troubling facts of this case.” (The losing side consisted of Justices O’Connor, Rehnquist, and Thomas.) This is a tough one. I think prosecutions of sick people seeking medicinal marijuana to alleviate their daily miseries are grotesquely ill-conceived, but, then again, I’m not for rolling back federal power to pre-Civil War levels, either. And, for what it’s worth, “some lawyers who have followed the controversy closely predicted that the ruling, while disappointing, would not bring sweeping changes, since most marijuana prosecutions are undertaken by state and local officials rather than federal authorities.“

When Filibusters Were Bad.

“‘We have to recognize that as a legislative body we made mistakes,’ Sharp said. ‘The responsibility for it weighs heavily on the Senate.’” If all goes according to plan, the Senate will apologize next week for continually failing to pass an anti-lynching law, as per the bill introduced in February by Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and George Allen (R-VA).

Sylvia on Pointe.

“Gillian Murphy, who danced Sylvia on Friday, looked as if she were born to dance this role. Her natural, bold attack and imposing presence make her the perfect Sylvia.” Gill’s star turn in ABT’s revival of Sylvia (which I caught at the Met on Friday) opens to stellar reviews. In addition, Gill is profiled in this month’s Pointe Magazine. (Unfortunately, the text is unavailable online, although the pics are here.)

The Wages of Sin.

“In what Republican strategists call ‘the DeLay effect,’ questions plaguing House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) are starting to hurt his fellow party members, who are facing news coverage of their own trips and use of relatives on their campaign payrolls.” Under fire from Dems around the country, the GOP begin to understand that their rampant ethical lapses may well carry a heavy political price. Will they cut Boss DeLay loose or sink with him into electoral ignominy come 2006? Either way, it’s a win-win for the Dems, provided they start getting their own house in order and stop their dalliances with crooks like Casino Jack.

Look Ma, No Toilet.

Last Friday, the Pentagon admitted that a Quran — and detainee — were in fact urinated on by a guard at Guantanamo. But, according to the eagerly dismissive White House, there’s no need to court-martial anybody or anything. (Heck, you should hear about Dubya’s crazy pledge days.) In the meantime, Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) took time off from castigating Howard Dean to call for the closing of Guantanamo.

Nuclear Rearmament.

Eager to put the lie to the recent nuclear compromise, Dubya readies a slew of judicial nominations for the Senate, and you can bet dollars to donuts that they’re not going to be moderates. “‘There’s about 20 waiting in the wings,’ a Senate Republican official said.“

McMonticello.

“‘I think there is more significant history in this corridor than in any comparable space in America,’ Moe said. ‘There’s been a lot of encroachment already, particularly in the form of residential development. If this continues, the character of this region will be changed forever.’” Richard Moe of the National Trust for Historic Preservation adds the expansive Tri-State region between Gettysburg and Monticello to its list of most endangered historical sites.