Holiday Roundup II

That's right, posts on two consecutive days! Betcha didn't see that coming...

Item 1: This shameful story makes you want to live in one of those nice, stable "socialist" European countries where people can actually still, you know, retire.

Item 2: Three cheers for James Webb! The idealistic Senator from Virginia has volunteered to lead the charge for prison reform in the new year, yet another area of policy that screams for reform. As one might expect, Webb aims to decrease the U.S.'s staggering prison population (over half of which are black, although they represent about 13% of the population overall) by diverting non-violent and non-serious offenders to treatment and rehabilitation programs. Seems like a good idea, right? Rather than sending College Joe and his eighth of weed off to jail, where he'll get his student financial aid revoked and instead gain an "advanced degree in criminality" from his cellmate (President-elect Obama's words, believe it or not), why not give him a slap on the wrist with a citation or fine, thereby adding to the state coffers while also teaching him a lesson about how and when to get high? Of course, the spokespeople for the federal drug agencies don't like this idea at all. To me, that makes it all the more correct...

Item 3: Is there one federal agency that Bush didn't fuck up? Can somebody give me ONE? I thought not. Today, let's fret a little bit more about the FDA, especially the part where they didn't notify the public about the melamine-tainted food it was consuming until the AP filed a FOIA request and dragged it out of them. Bon apetit!