I’ve never been exposed to a solid intellectual argument for prevailing US drug policy that, if followed to its logical conclusion, wouldn’t turn sweet cream butter into a Schedule A substance.

Something’s wrong when advertisements that warn of the “dangers” of marijuana are immediately followed by ads glorifying alcohol – a dangerous drug which is involved in nearly half of the nation’s accidental deaths. Or when we miss the haunting surreality of a talk show segment that explores the “dangers of ecstasy” then tells us how a troubled teen found help with Prozac.
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What’s always been very scary to me is that, despite it being patently false, a lot of Americans felt there was a connection between Saddam Hussein and September 11, 2001 because of the language games the Administration decided to play leading up to the US attack on Iraq. There were a lot of insidiously crafted sentences parroted by high-ranking officials; speechwriters usually packaging Hussein and 9-11 together into some twisted declarative statement about stopping terror – but they never actually made any direct statements to that effect. The Administration has denied lying, of course. But it’s hard for them to deny deceiving all those busy Americans who are both easily confused and don’t bother to pay too much attention to the facts. If their President says it, or seems to imply it, well, it must be true. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, they’d say. Ugh.

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Andrew Sullivan is trying to keep a very important conversation alive about media corporations and their chickenshit approaches to controversy. I think it opens an important conversation about the maturity of the Internet as a medium; I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, wondering when creators will be able to effectively build audiences and maintain distribution and reach without selling via “big media”. I know it’s starting to happen, but I don’t think we’re there yet.

The unspoken truth about the media buzz surrounding Jessica Simpson’s visit to Congress is something very primal that most people aren’t comfortable talking about in pleasant company. Ron Reagan said it quite brilliantly tonight on Chris Matthews’ show when he observed that “meeting Jessica Simpson is the closest most of these guys will ever come to an erotic experience.” Well put (not that she’s my type.) But why do so few dare say that out loud?

As with many things from food to drugs, Americans – most especially the so-called “intelligentsia” – have a rather schizophrenic attitude about beauty and sexual attraction. Most will uncomfortably admit, if hard pressed, that beauty really matters; but we seem to want to pretend it doesn’t, as if it’s somehow less worthy of our attention and admiration than intelligence or charisma.
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Tonight I’m scouring some old songs from the collection. I’ve encountered Boingo, REM, XTC, The Cure, The The… and just enjoyed the twelve-minute “Welcome To The Pleasuredome” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood (who are much better known for their ‘seminal’ 1980s ballad, “Relax”.)

Also, I’d forgotten what a very strong song “New Generation” is by Oingo Boingo, circa 1987. Good music, damn prophetic lyrics…
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We will almost certainly, in less than a generation, look back on this with great shame and regret.

Even if the estimates of the “major” oil discovery announced in Mexico today are correct (and they most certainly are not), the entire find represents just 100 days of global oil demand.

This piece from the Telegraph is extremely depressing. It’s not as if most of us don’t already know it, but it’s still sad to see it spelled out this way. I applaud the guy for standing up for what he believes, and doing his small part to stem the multi-generational social damage we’re doing. While there’s some guilt on the part of US soldiers and commanders, most of them are performing honorably. I think it’s important to realize that US soldiers themselves are also victims – as their leadership has failed them all the way to the top.

Here’s the news – seems like we found liquid water on Enceladus. Very cool.

Water probably exists under Europa‘s crust, too – I had a weird dream a long time ago that we discovered tube worms living under its icy shell. That dream seems just a little less weird today.

Word is that NASA will today make a major announcement that points to extraterrestrial life or such conditions within our solar system. NASA will hold a press conference today at 2pm. I am not sure if this is directly connected to the progress of the new Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, as it’s scheduled to begin its orbital insertion today… but it’s probably just coincidental timing, since most of the MRO’s instruments are still undeployed.

By chance, I was wandering through Wikipedia’s entries for Titan and Europa just yesterday… hmm. I love this stuff… stay tuned.