Thank you for having the courage to say the right, sensible thing tonight on the issue of marijuana decriminalization. You took a bold stand on a risky issue, and that’s (sadly) rare, even among the candidates for high office and most especially on the gravest of issues.  You deserve kudos (and web traffic.)

When Tim Russert asked the candidates who among them disagreed with Dodd - Biden, Edwards, Clinton and Richardson raised their hands.  Obama seemed to - however unenthusiastically and only about a quarter of the way - raise his hand. What did that mean? I’d like to hear Obama speak out more clearly on this issue and encourage you all to ask him about it.

Edwards said that he was against decriminalizing marijuana because it “sends the wrong message to young people.”

Dodd said,

“We’re locking up too many people in our system here today. We’ve got mandatory minimum sentences that are filling our jails with people who don’t belong there. My idea is to decriminalize this, reduce that problem here - we’ve gone from 800,000 to 2 million people in our penal institutions in this country. We’ve got to get a lot smarter about this issue than we are, and as President I would try to achieve that.”

I’m glad it was brought up tonight.  The decriminalization issue and the penal system rot of our young people is an urgent matter that begs open, mainstream discussion.

I just watched the Republican debate in Orlando, hosted by FOX News.  I was saddened and moved by how many of the candidates got thunderous rounds of applause with vapid, cheap, throwaway rhetoric about “strong families” and a “strong military” and “strong economy.”  But it was perhaps most indicative of the end of the GOP when Ron Paul - standing in for true conservatives everywhere - was constantly greeted by booing and moaning whenever he spoke.  His controversial message?   His usual common sense about a humble, sensible foreign policy; smaller government; and a balanced budget.  [BOOOOOO!]

One of the moderators, Wendell Goler, pointed this out and asked Paul if the Republicans had left him or if he had left the party (paraphrasing Ronald Reagan.)  Paul criticized the Republican insurgency of neocons, gave a brief history of the GOP as common-sense non-interventionists, and also that pesky old thing called the Constitution.  Of course, he finished to a few claps and loud boos.  WTF?

“Give me liberty or give me death,” she said.

Piece in Counterpunch yesterday.

Are you sure this has not already happened?  I’d swear it has.

Look, assholes - stop throwing your cigarettes out your fucking car window. I saw some cretin do this today in Santa Monica and wish I’d had been able to yell at him without causing an accident. This is the world’s most obnoxious habit under any conditions - but you can’t even use your ashtray now? Do the species a favor and die, please.

Cool Discover contest winner - String Ducky - chosen by Brian Greene, incidentally. [via MAKE]

In its semiannual Financial Stability Report, the Bank of England is warning the world that the UK stock market is “particularly vulnerable” to a downturn and the housing scene is grim.

Usually they don’t get quite this close. Good to see, good to see.

Spoke a little too soon. I was getting ready for bed when I heard a strange noise - sounded sort of like the dryer was on or something. I looked outside and saw a large conflagration a couple blocks away. I could see towers of flame well above the houses between us. I grabbed my camera (wrong lens for the occasion, but I was in a hurry) and jumped on my bike to get a closer look. I found a patch of brush, palm trees, and a garage or small home totally involved. Power lines and a transformer fuzzed and sparked and fell to the ground. The fire was high and hot and it moved quickly. I shot these pictures. I was worried the fire would spread quickly because the palm trees - some probably fifty feet high - were fully engulfed and spraying embers all over the area. A man jumped from the flames. A couple concerned residents were out with their garden hoses, doing what they could. The fire department was on scene within a few minutes and brought it under control very quickly. Thanks, dudes.

So says Jim Rogers to the Daily Telegraph; he’s out of dollars entirely.

Reuters: blackout averted in San Diego; “transmission emergency” extended.

Today’s the first day I’ve really noticed any impact from the fires, aside from the odd atmospherics mentioned yesterday. Over the past 24 hours, considerable dust and soot has built up around the house. Tonight, I went for a bike ride around Venice and Marina Del Rey, and there’s a layer of the stuff on just about everything; cars, decks, tables, chairs, and so on.

The last couple of days have been very hot and very dry - you can feel the moisture being lifted from your skin - but the wind has been quite calm.

Some of you have asked where, exactly, I live. Here’s a fair approximation. You can see the up-to-date fire maps here. I’m guessing the dust and soot around here today are from the Malibu and Santa Clarita fires (about ten and twenty miles away respectively). This group of fires burned over 50,000 acres and were apparently extinguished this evening. The closest one that’s currently burning is about sixty miles north - a 55,000 acre fire just on the other side of the Santa Monica Mountains near Santa Paula (the Piru Ranch fire). That one is reportedly 78% contained as of tonight.

I can definitely smell it today. It doesn’t smell like fire, really - it’s a dry ashy smell punctuated by extremely brief moments of smokiness. I’m told it’s not good for me.

That’s all from here.

Report: oil production peaked in ‘06; will decline 3% annually. What we have is a major divergence of views; in a couple of years it should be clear who was right.

Thus far, I’m relatively unaffected by the fires raging in Los Angeles and San Diego counties.  As I’ve told a few concerned people this morning, the primary effect on my own psyche has been the dramatic change of the sunset into a red, freaky, ominous spectre.  NASA’s satellite images give you an idea why.

I may wander north late this afternoon and evening to get a few photos.  For those of you nearby who want to keep your eye on things, see the LA Times’ up-to-date Google fire maps.

Read on.

Here is tonight’s cozy reading.

Tons of great PopTech blogging going on here. Follow along - or: watch, even.  Also, see the flickR stream here.

Economist: “these numbers are absolutely stunning“; damn .. now how we gonna finance all this shiny shit? [Thanks, Josh.]

Bonus reading: Super Conduit to the Rescue!

Pros say it’s deadlier than smoking; majority of Britons could be obese by 2050 (I’m sure we Americans will beat them to it - we’re already about 35% obese and 2/3 overweight.)