Early Saturday the Connecticut Senate passed a bill that would allow the use of medical marijuana in the state. The measure already passed the state House and now awaits the approval of Governor Dannel Malloy. Malloy has indicated he will sign the bill into the law. If that happens, Connecticut will join the District of Columbia and sixteen other states in the legal use of marijuana for medical purposes.

USA Today – Connecticut passes medical marijuana bill

Under the legislation, marijuana would be sold in multiple forms at dispensaries, which must have a licensed pharmacist on staff. It would be marketed only to patients authorized to use it. The measure also outlines diseases that would be treated by the drug, establishes a registry for patients and caregivers and restricts cultivating the plant to growers with permits.

Read the rest of this entry »

On the April 16, 2012 episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, in a segment mocking Fox News criticism of the phrase “war on women,” Stewart said women should make use of “vagina mangers” for protection. A photo accompanied this segment showing a naked woman with strategically placed manger (see video below). The Catholic League claims this was a “unprecented assault on Christian sensibilities.” This is not to be confused with the unprecedented sexual assaults of minors by Catholic priests, well, because unfortunately those assaults were so numerous they could hardly be called unprecedented.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mark Judge says his “white guilt died on Good Friday, April 6, 2012.” That was the day his bike was stolen while attending Easter services at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Judge doesn’t know who stole his bike but he has a pretty good idea it wasn’t a nun or a monk, and because he also knows there are “predominately black” neighborhoods in the area, he is confident a black kid is responsible.

Read the rest of this entry »

We are told by conservatives that we don’t want government-run universal health care because it would mean rationing care. During the health care debate in the summer and fall of 2009 we heard talk of ‘death panels’ and ‘killing grandma’. Of course all of this was nonsense meant to scare people into thinking and voting a certain way, and it was quite effective, particularly on the Republican side of the aisle. The truth is we already ration health care in the United States. 50 million people are uninsured. How is that not rationed care? Health care costs are higher than they need to be (due to insurance company profits and waste) which means in some cases people forego treatment because they can’t afford it (even if they have insurance). How is that not rationed care?

Read the rest of this entry »

A new Gallup poll shows Mississippi is the most religious state and Vermont is the least religious state. Eight states in all have higher than 50% of residents classified as “very religious”. It’s not a shock that all of those eight states are southern states except one: Mississippi, Utah, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee and North Carolina.

Five states have less than 30% classified as “very religious”: Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Alaska.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bad Religion takes the stage. I’ve been standing for 8 hours now! But it’s been worth it. Hopefully these pictures today haven’t completely sucked! I will have a few better DSLR photos posted soon.

note: Better photos are now available in the Reason Rally – Photo Essay

note: Bad Religion performing ‘The Resist Stance’ now available

note: Better photos are now available in the Reason Rally – Photo Essay

And yes, it is raining.

note: Better photos are now available in the Reason Rally – Photo Essay

note: Better photos are now available in the Reason Rally – Photo Essay

note: Better photos are now available in the Reason Rally – Photo Essay