I-95

Spent a few days last week in the I-95 corridor, shuffling between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.  I hadn't been to D.C. for about 20 years, and never traveled there by car.  Some observations of the 30 or so hours spent there:

* Visiting the Smithsonian museums seems like it should be more interesting than it is.  The Air and Space Museum is very cool, but the others are.....museums.  Art and history aren't really that much fun.

* I highly recommend taking the tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.  It's only about 30 minutes, and to see and hear the details behind how money is printed is the opposite of the Smithsonian Museums, meaning it's more interesting than it sounds.

* The respectful silence of the hundreds / thousands of tourists at Arlington National Cemetery is deafening.

* The other monuments, in my order of interest:  Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, World War II Memorial.  The Washington Memorial was being repaired, and while it's tall, it isn't all that compelling.  Didn't get to the Jefferson, MLK, or Iwo Jima Memorials.

* The White House is neat to look at but if you could tour it, or be there at the right time to see dignitaries or cars or choppers coming or going, it would be a lot better.  The Capitol and the Supreme Court are the same way.

* The Metro (subway) is a safe, clean, efficient way to get around D.C.  But it isn't necessarily cheap, and you still end up walking a long way to see the tourist attractions.

* The drive on I-95 between Philly and D.C. (through Baltimore) is ridiculous.  Packed with cars and tolls.  So many people in a hurry to get somewhere else, every day.  It's OK if there's no next time for that.

Bad Medicine

On March 16th, 2014 I had a letter to the editor published in the Sunday Des Moines Register.  They edited it, so here it is with the edited part in brackets:

So Iowa Governor Branstad opposes legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes (on the vague grounds of 'unintended consequences'), [while our legislative 'leaders' pat themselves on the back simply because they had a 'conversation' about it this year.]  Both government branches claim the issue needs more study.

The reality is, there's nothing else to study.  Twenty other states already allow medicinal marijuana. Dispensing it by prescription isn't rocket science.  Plus, a majority of Iowans want to legalize medicinal marijuana.

Yet, Iowa is no where near the point at which its narrow-minded political leaders are willing to act to reduce the pain and suffering of some of its citizens.

Iowa doesn't need more study-time to legalize medicinal marijuana.  What it needs is its legislative and executive branch to stop assuming marijuana is an evil drug, and start focusing on the good it can do.

See it here.

A Self-Professed Idiot

My Favorite Martian, WOITH Rep. Steve King of Iowa, is at it again.  Our resident racist / homophobe / bigot had a few (dumb) things to say in support of Arizona's proposed anti-gay, er, I mean religious freedom legislation (which I just wrote about the other day).

I'm happy to say The Colbert Report punished him.  You must watch this video now.