Toke 'em Up for Zoroaster, Boys

Here an interesting story our of Phoenix... The Arizona Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether there is a religious right to possess marijuana.

Without comment, the justices granted to hear Daniel Hardesty's argument that the First Amendment protections of free exercise of religion entitle him to use marijuana as a "sacrament'' of his church. Both a trial judge and the state Court of Appeals rejected those arguments.

If the high (snicker, snicker) court decides otherwise, it would be the first time in Arizona that judges have concluded there is a legal defense for those who use marijuana.

Hardesty was arrested in 2005 after being stopped by police while driving in Yavapai County.

At trial, Hardesty testified he had been a practicing member of the Church of Cognizance since 1993. A church official said that the religion, founded in 1991, is based on "neo-Zoroastrian tenets'' and that marijuana provides a connection to the divine mind and spiritual enlightenment.

...

There is a precedent for what Hardesty wants.

Arizona courts have allowed the possession of peyote for religious use by the Native American Church. But Weisberg said that is different, as prosecutors in that case never showed that peyote was addictive or being used in quantities harmful to the health of the participants.

Weisberg said the long and continuous use of peyote by a "discreet and well-defined group'' makes it different than drug use claims by other religions.

Yes, this is stupid, but if it takes the guise of religion to break down the criminalization of pot, then maybe, finally, there is something that religion is useful for...

A Moment of Silence for a Dead Stooge

Maybe only Bawdy will appreciate this post, but (p)unk guitarist Ron Asheton of The Stooges has been found dead in his Ann Arbor home. He was 60.

City police Sgt. Brad Hill says there were no signs of foul play, and the death appeared to be of natural causes.

Hill says officers discovered Asheton early Tuesday after they were called to his home around midnight by an associate who hadn't heard from him in several days.

Asheton was an original member of The Stooges, the influential protopunk band founded in Ann Arbor in 1967. Asheton's brother, Scott, was the band's drummer.

Asheton's distorted guitar was a hallmark of the Iggy Pop-led group's late-1960s and early-1970s sound. He was named the 29th greatest guitarist of all time in 2003 by Rolling Stone.

If you've never heard The Stooges you really oughta give 'em a listen. They are an acquired taste, but once you acquire it, you'll savor it!

Here a link where you can sample their seminal 1970 album Funhouse.

Milky Way not snack-sized anymore

For decades, astronomers thought when it came to the major galaxies in Earth's cosmic neighborhood, our Milky Way was a weak sister to the larger Andromeda. Not anymore.

The Milky Way is considerably larger, bulkier and spinning faster than astronomers once thought, Andromeda's equal.

Scientists mapped the Milky Way in a more detailed, three-dimensional way and found that it's 15 percent larger in breadth. More important, it's denser, with 50 percent more mass, which is like weight. The new findings were presented Monday at the American Astronomical Society's convention in Long Beach, Calif.

...

"Previously we thought Andromeda was dominant, and that we were the little sister of Andromeda," Reid said. "But now it's more like we're fraternal twins."

That's not necessarily good news. A bigger Milky Way means that it could be crashing violently into the neighboring Andromeda galaxy sooner than predicted — though still billions of years from now.

I thought it was time to interrupt our regular programming and blog some science news here.

Franken Certified Winner in Minnesota

The Minnesota State Canvassing Board certified results Monday showing Al Franken, a Democrat, winning the Senate recount over Republican Norm Coleman.

Earlier today, the state Supreme Court rejected the Coleman campaign’s petition to count several hundred additional absentee ballots.

After this weekend’s tally of mistakenly rejected absentee ballots, Mr. Franken, the Democrat, was holding on to a 225-vote lead. The Supreme Court has declined the Mr. Coleman’s appeal to consider 654 more ballots.

This makes me wonder what could have happened had Al Gore fought for a recount in Florida in 2000...

The Riddle of Epicurus

An oldie but a goodie...

Is god willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?

Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?

Fox Sucks (and they are racists, too)

As if Americans needed any more reminders of how closely aligned with the Republican party the Fox News network is, New Year's Eve brings us this new tidbit.

During it's broadcast from New York City, the network encouraged viewers to send in text messages which, if approved by moderators, would scroll across the Fox ticker at the bottom of the screen.

Moderators, however, let this one slip: "HAPPY NEW YEAR AND LET’S HOPE THE MAGIC NEGRO DOES A GOOD JOB. LOVE JEN AND JOHN C."

"Slip," meaning the comment either just 'got past' a negligent moderator, or said moderator thought it was appropriate for broadcast.

Religion Losing Influence in America (And It Is About Time)

Two-thirds of Americans think religion is losing its influence on U.S. life, a sharp jump from just three years ago when Americans were nearly evenly split on the question, according to a new Gallup Poll.

Sixty-seven percent of Americans think religious influence is waning while just 27% say it is increasing. That perspective demonstrates a continuing downward trend, Gallup said.

But the 27% figure is still higher than the record low, set in a 1970 poll, when just 14% of Americans thought religion was increasing in influence.

Those who regularly attend worship services are more likely to say religion is losing its influence; three out of four weekly attenders (74 percent) said religious influence is falling, compared to 24% who thought its influence is on the rise.

At other times in American history, religion has been perceived by more Americans as having increasing significance. In 1957, 69% thought its influence was increasing, compared to 14% who thought it was declining. Likewise, in 2001, three months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, 71% saw an increasing religious influence, compared to 24% who said it was decreasing.

Senator Bill Clinton?

Sen. Bill Clinton? Sen. Mario Cuomo? Don't completely rule it out. The former president and the former New York governor are among several boldface names being touted as possible "caretakers" for New York's Senate seat — people who would serve until the 2010 elections but wouldn't be interested in running to keep the job.

As the process of picking Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's replacement gets messier, the option may become increasingly attractive to Gov. David Paterson, who has sole authority to name a successor.

I doubt President Clinton would be very interested in the job, but it sure would be fun to watch the right wing haters start foaming at the mouth over the prospect... but I guess they're already foaming about Caroline Kennedy, huh?