Making Our Mark?

Here is a link to a fascinating article in The Economist about what some geologists are saying about the recent and accelerating impacts of humanity on the earth and some of its cycles.

Reconsidering the "War on Drugs"

Over the past few weeks I've enjoyed reading a series of articles that address the topic of the "War on Drugs." It seems that there is at least a small groundswell of new reflection and debate about this longstanding policy and its implications for our country and our immediate neighbors. I'll offer a few links for those of you who might be interested in reading further. These links are to articles questioning the effectiveness and sensibility of the policy, and therefore take a critical point of view. Please feel free to post or e-mail me links or directions to dissenting opinions should you so desire.




THE DRUG WAR HITS CENTRAL AMERICA




AFTER 40 YEARS, $1 TRILLION, US WAR ON DRUGS HAS FAILED TO MEET ANY OF ITS GOALS




REPORT CALLS WAR ON DRUGS A FAILURE

What Does Lady Liberty Mean Today?

Last night (when I should have been in bed resting) I enjoyed watching the last part of Lawrence O'Donnel's show. I especially enjoyed the message of last night's "Rewrite." While out of town this past week I was having a discussion with an acquaintance who works in investments. I was surprised when, in the natural course of the conversation, he stated very strongly that people need to realize that the long-term prosperity and strength of the American economy depends upon "opening the borders" to liberal (as in copious) immigration. We talked about it and I agreed with him that the long-term demographic picture for America gives it a potential advantage due to immigration. Obviously there are many other big long-term issues relating to sustainability and the like, but this is one particular case that is interesting to me because it says so much about how we tend to view things when looking only at the immediate circumstances. Anyhow, here is the link to the "Rewrite".