No Excuse.

via TMZ

I am constantly surrounded by people on the road trying desperately to maneuver their vehicles with one hand because their other hand is busy holding a cell phone. And occasionally the "free" hand is holding a cigarette or something as well as the steering wheel.

If you cannot afford the $20 (or $1.48 on Amazon) for a headset for your cell phone, there is an organization called freeheadset.org which will send you one for free. There is no excuse not to have one.

Maria Shriver is now the poster child for this offense. Her husband signed into California law in 2008 a bill that bans the use of handheld devices while driving (as many states have done) yet she has been photographed multiple times violating the law. That is wildly inexcusable.

So tell me: Do you use a headset or not? Do you text while driving?

This isn't really a laughing matter but this video illustrates the topic using humor (just in case you missed it). I think I drive by that guy twice a week.

Pipe Dreams.

From today's L.A. Times:

"An assemblyman from San Francisco announced legislation Monday to ... make California the first state in the nation to tax and regulate recreational marijuana in the same manner as alcohol.

"Buoyed by the widely held belief that cannabis is California's biggest cash crop, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano contends it is time to reap some state revenue from that harvest while putting a damper on drug use by teens, cutting police costs and even helping Mother Nature.

"Ammiano's measure, AB 390, would essentially replicate the regulatory structure used for beer, wine and hard liquor, with taxed sales barred to anyone under 21.

"He said it would actually boost public safety, keeping law enforcement focused on more serious crimes while keeping marijuana away from teenagers who can readily purchase black-market pot from peers."

An economist in Hawaii has published a paper (here) estimating $33 million in cost savings and tax benefits to that state alone.

"...California's pot crop is a $14-billion industry, putting it above vegetables ($5.7 billion) and grapes ($2.6 billion). If so, that could mean upward of $1 billion in tax revenue for the state each year," the Times article continues.

If it's already a $14-billion industry in California alone, who are we kidding to not legalize it and reap the tax rewards from it?

As part of his economic stimulus package, FDR ended Prohibition when he took office in 1933, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and millions in revenue for the federal government at that time.

The Huffington Post did an article on the legalization of pot during the Michael Phelps flap. Go here to read it. From the article, the following points:

• It's estimated by a team of 500 economists, including Nobel laureate Milton Friedman (click here for link to the Forbes article) who advised Nixon and Reagan, that taxing marijuana like alcohol and cigarettes could bring in $6.2 billion annually.
• Job creation: farming, packaging, distribution, and of course, marketing--it's going to be a crowded playing field.
• The Netherlands, where small amounts of marijuana are sold in coffee shops, have a lower rate of drug use of every kind than the U.S.
  

From the Forbes article, "If the laws change, large beneficiaries might include large agricultural groups like Archer Daniels Midland and ConAgra Foods as potential growers or distributors and liquor businesses like Constellation Brands and Allied Domecq, which understand the distribution of intoxicants." Talk to me, Wall Street.

So, what do you think? Is this a pie-in-the-sky notion (Wait! There's pie in the sky? Awesome!) or is it an idea with true economic merit whose time has come?

Monday Morning Halftime Entertainment.

Okay, so the beach started off well enough. I ran into a fellow blogger which I will go into later in the week and had a lovely day with my hubby. Lovely day included a little shopping, lounging on the beach in 75 degree weather!! in November!! followed by a leisurely dinner at one of our staples, The Cultured Pearl:

Not my actual dinner but a representative photo from Kaszeta's flickr

Dinner included one rather large, very tasty Saketini and one little carafe of Saki. Sounds innocent enough, right? Fast forward several hours and several vodka and tonics later to my sweet ass belting out "Sweet Caroline" at The Purple Parrot. I had the College-Freshman-Worthy hangover yesterday to prove how much fun I had closing the bar. No posting or commenting. I could hardly speak, let alone spell and, frankly, am not feeling that great today. I will not go into the post I wrote and almost posted at 2 a.m. Saturday night/Sunday morning revealing my new tried-and-true technique to persuade male McCain voters (of which there was exactly one in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware) to vote for O. by rubbing their nipples chests and saying in a sultry voice, "Come on, baby. You know you want to vote for Obama." And something about the promise of nightly sex (with his wife) and improved gas mileage. Yes, my husband was there and he thought it was hilarious. I think Obama may get that guy's vote. Oh, and I learned all about trannies and drag queens and the hierarchies involved in such and whatnot and I am sure to share that with you in a future post when I am hypnotized back into remembering the actual conversation.

But for now, for your viewing pleasure, my daughter's kick-ass high school marching band. She is a squad leader on the drumline for this peripatetic, rock-star, student-lead band. They will be traveling to London to lead the New Year's Day parade this holiday season. They have played in parades in Rome, Ireland, London (six times), the Rose Bowl and other Bowl games and parades. It's been a very cool experience for the 260 or so members of the band (including band fronts). And since it's her senior year, Friday was their Homecoming game and last home game ever. I will very much miss this Friday night activity next year (as it clearly keeps me out of trouble).

Here's a short video clip focusing on the drumline doing its awesome thing.



I wanted to get in the twirlers with their batons on fire (fire at halftime is always a crowd pleaser) so you have to look to see the drummers tossing their sticks, etc.