I'll make this one short and sweet.  I guess this is what happens when you try to remain neutral about everything.  "Right" and "wrong" lose their meaning

Swiss voters have backed a change in health policy that would provide prescription heroin to addicts.

Final results from the national referendum showed 68% of voters supported the plan.

The scheme, where addicts inject the drug under medical supervision at a clinic, began in Zurich 14 years ago before spreading across the country.

But in another referendum, the Swiss appear to have rejected the decriminalisation of cannabis.

The heroin vote was one of a series of referendums held to decide policy on illegal drugs.

Switzerland would be the first country to include it in government policy.

So Switzerland is on the cutting edge of solving their drug problem. . . by just using a simple prescription pad.  How progressive!   Why is it that something about this seems horribly wrong to me? There I go again, using archaic words.  Perhaps I'm just looking in the rear view mirror, longing for the days when the Swiss all lived in chalets and spent their days making chocolate. Those days are apparently past. But if the new direction the world is headed involves prescriptions for heroin, someone stop this handbasket immediately, I want out!

I hope your Thanksgiving Holiday was enjoyable.  The downtime, especially when turkey is involved, can leave you a little lethargic.  I know I was a little slow getting up to speed this morning.  It was a bit hard to wake up and it was even harder to convince myself to check out my usual sources of news what with all the horrific news coming out of India and all! So I clicked on an article in Scientific American, thinking it would be safe from violence or political rancor.  Well, not exactly!


OH NO! (You know I'm really beginning to hate this carbon footprint thing.)  They're trying to convince us that if we want to have a green Christmas we're going to have factor energy efficiency into more than just our tree lights. Although I probably have a carbon footprint the size of Big Foot, the only thing that needs to be green to make my Christmas a success is the tree.   There maybe lots of reasons not to overload the kiddos with video games any time of the year, but wasting a kilowatt isn't on my list.  So they can take their green Christmas and put it where the sun don't shine... Besides, Christmases are supposed to be white, not green!  Just ask Bing Crosby!

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a DAY OF PUBLIC THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many single favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next to be devoted by the People of these States to the Service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks, for His kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the single and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of His providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, of the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have to acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge and in general for all the great and various favors which He hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humble offering our prayers and supplications to the Great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;--to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our national government a blessing to all people, by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all Sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us); and to bless them with good government, peace and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone know to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed) G. Washington

When I saw a headline this morning that declared, "President Issues More Pardons", my heart skipped a beat.  For a brief moment in time I thought that maybe finally George W. Bush had done the right thing and extended clemency to the two incarcerated border agents Ramos and Compean.  Hope was short lived, however, when I read on and found that the two recipients of Presidential mercy were two turkeys from Iowa (and I'm not talking about Tom Harkin and Tom Vilsack!).

Every president since Harry Truman has pardoned a turkey in the days before Thanksgiving. The public votes on names for a pair of the birds on the White House Web site: this year's choices include Yam and Jam, and Roost and Run.

Traditions are a good thing, and this one is kind of light hearted and fun. 

The lucky birds — one, the official Thanksgiving turkey, the other an alternate — spent the night at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel two blocks from the White House. Their stay included room service, a special meal prepared by the executive chef, and mini-bar stocked with — of course — Wild Turkey.

Hmmmm "spent the night at the Willard Intercontinental"!  Sounds like a nice place, probably nothing like the prison where Ramos and Compean have spent every night for the last 600 plus nights.  Do the right thing, George, while you're giving passes to drug dealers, embezzlers, and turkeys from Iowa pardon Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.