By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Jan 17, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET Last week, we began a new tradition at The Recovering Politician: a great virtual debate among our recovering politicians; with provocations, rebuttals, responses, and defenses. This week, we ramped up the controversy level by tackling a highly explosive topic: legalizing marijuana. The RP starts off with his provocative article arguing the moral case for legalized cannabis. Tune in every half hour to read what other RPs have to say.
SPOILER ALERT: There will be fireworks.
This week, the contributing RPs take on The RP’s recent controversial call for legalizing marijuana in The Huffington Post. (As well as a Kentucky-centric version dedicated to Gatewood Galbraith, published in the Lexington Herald-Leader).
The RP’s Provocation:
While a recent Gallup poll revealed that a majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana, and Ron Paul — a proponent — has run well in the early GOP presidential primaries, most mainstream politicians still refuse to touch the subject, and many journalists continue to refer to legalization as a “radical” position.
It’s no wonder. The loudest voices for reform usually come from the political margins: the “hippie” Far Left and the libertarian Far Right. And while emanating from different directions, the two extremes share a similar credo: An out-of-control government has no business telling me what I can ingest.
A politically-influential cross-section of Americans, however, disagree. Many associate pot advocacy with the “anything goes” counter-culture of the 1970s that they blame for the decline of personal responsibility. Others worry that the logical extension of the philosophy could lead to legalizing “harder” drugs, prostitution, even polygamy. All of them — liberals, moderates, and conservatives — believe that there must be some moral standards established to guide public policy.
I’m part of that moral majority. But unlike Jerry Falwell’s version, my values system is based on the multi-religious mandate to “love your neighbor as yourself.” I’ve even written a book, The Compassionate Community, which applies Bible lessons and other religions’ texts to advocate for progressive policies that promote the common good.
And I’ve recently concluded that these same enduring moral values compel me to support legalizing marijuana.
Read the rest of…
The RPs Debate Legalizing Marijuana: The RP Provokes
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Jan 12, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET The RP has written his most provocative piece yet — He argues in favor of legalizing marijuana. Check out an excerpt from his Huffington Post column published this morning:
While a recent Gallup poll revealed that a majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana, and Ron Paul — a proponent — has run well in the early GOP presidential primaries, most mainstream politicians still refuse to touch the subject, and many journalists continue to refer to legalization as a “radical” position.
It’s no wonder. The loudest voices for reform usually come from the political margins: the “hippie” Far Left and the libertarian Far Right. And while emanating from different directions, the two extremes share a similar credo: An out-of-control government has no business telling me what I can ingest.
A politically-influential cross-section of Americans, however, disagree. Many associate pot advocacy with the “anything goes” counter-culture of the 1970s that they blame for the decline of personal responsibility. Others worry that the logical extension of the philosophy could lead to legalizing “harder” drugs, prostitution, even polygamy. All of them — liberals, moderates, and conservatives — believe that there must be some moral standards established to guide public policy.
I’m part of that moral majority. But unlike Jerry Falwell’s version, my values system is based on the multi-religious mandate to “love your neighbor as yourself.” I’ve even written a book, The Compassionate Community, which applies Bible lessons and other religions’ texts to advocate for progressive policies that promote the common good.
And I’ve recently concluded that these same enduring moral values compel me to support legalizing marijuana.
Click here to read the full piece, “The Moral Case for Legalizing Marijuana”
================
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Please vote in the Votifi Daily Poll in the far right column of this Web site. And let us know your opinions in the Comments section below:
By Lisa Miller, on Mon Nov 28, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET  Sunday, Dec. 4th: The Mind Body Studio, 517 Southland Dr, Lexington
OR
Saturday Jan. 7th: The Om Place, 815 Quisenberry Ln, Winchester
10:00am-5:00pm
Join this fantastic circle of women for a day of gentle yoga, chakra meditation, understanding your aura, Nia dance, writing, and Ayurveda, as we reconnect with the inner Goddess that resides in each of us.
The Women’s-Circle Retreats are a light-hearted, profoundly insightful, replenishing, time-out from stress. Here, in the company of other fantastic women, we remember how to tap into pure calm from deep within, and to carry that as wisdom and balance into our daily lives.
This will be a day of laughter, movement, play, and stillness, in the company of others who share a similar desire to feel great and to
live from a place of happiness!
To reserve your space in the class, mail a check for $70, include your name, phone & e-mail, to Lisa Miller, C/O The Cntr for Wellness Therapies 2040 Regency Rd, suite A, Lexington, KY 40503
Questions? Lisa Miller, RYT/ Chopra Center for Wellbeing Instructor:
(859)227-4101, or LisaMMM628@aol.com
Bring a lunch, journal & colored pencils, water bottle, & dress comfortably.
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Nov 16, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET In United States public school cafeterias, pizza still legally counts as a vegetable. Congress blocked the Department of Agriculture’s proposed changes school lunch menus to fight childhood obesity. [NY Times]
Could women’s use of birth control pills increase men’s risk of prostate cancer? A new study suggests there’s a link, finding that countries where more women take oral contraception have higher rates of prostate cancer and prostate cancer deaths. [Time]
Here’s seven stress-busting foods and scents for when Thanksgiving preparations get to be a little too much to handle. [Huffington Post]
Check out these healthy, easy recipes that only require one pot. [Fitness]
Read about the science about Toddlers and Tiaras moms and why some parents want to live through their kids. [Psychology Today]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Mon Nov 14, 2011 at 9:15 AM ET Remember shock rocker Bob Forrest? These days he’s known as the “Addict Whisperer,” using his own life experience to help Hollywood’s most troubled. [CNN]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Nov 9, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET New research shows that becoming a father decreases a man’s tobacco and alcohol use and participation in crime. [Time]
In Thailand, women are combating cervical cancer with a surprising home remedy: vinegar. [NY Times]
We all know getting catcalled at is an uncomfortable experience, but research now shows it has serious psychological effects as well. [Psychology Today]
Good news: a family history of breast cancer doesn’t necessarily affect your own chances at becoming sick. [Huffington Post]
The HPV vaccine has proven effective, so the CDC is now recommending it for boys too. [Wall Street Journal]
By Lisa Miller, on Wed Nov 9, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET “I am what they call me, a pirate, she mused. And several other things too, for have I not lived many lives in one? And known more than one man… her lips curled into a smile, remembering. I’ve taken what I wanted, but I’ve also done the best I could for those who depended on me. Some call me an ally and some think me a traitor because they do not understand that.”
(Grania: She King of the Irish Seas, Morgan Llywelyn)
I devoured all of those 792 pages about the legendary Grace O’Malley this summer, because I needed to find my inner lady pirate.
Did it help?
Yup.
Dr. Deepak, founder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing, says that the need for archetypal role models are key in uncovering one’s hidden potential. Because archetypes offer profound wisdom across the ages, they typically represent strength and endurance in the face of struggle; define character traits in which we long to aspire; and they demonstrate the potential to live with a little more oomph.
A lot more oomph.
While I’m very happy in my marriage and don’t need more than one man (one is great, thanks), I was (am) exploring what it means to be, what my beloved female mentor, Rosalyn Bruyere, calls a “Goddess”, and what my young adult girlfriends call, “kick-ass.”
 Grace O'Malley And Grace O’Malley (Grania, in Ireland) delivers. She was a big specimen of female apparently–tall and strong with big thick hair, trousers, a hearty laugh and an appetite to match.
She learned to swim in order to avoid drowning at the hands of obnoxious village boys, and she learned to sail the world at the knee of her sea faring father. With work to be done on every expedition, she pulled her weight, literally, with hands raw and bloody along side every single sailor on every single voyage.
And years later, on her own ship when fire broke out on deck and relentless flames threatened to take her ship along with the lives of her crew, she beat back the firey rage over and over again with the only thing available in close proximity, her jerkin.
That’s old timey talk for “shirt off her backside.” Errr, frontside. So basically waist-up naked, she saved 40 men serving under her. That doesn’t sound right.
OR maybe it does.
Read the rest of…
Lisa Miller — Sisters: Empower Your Inner Pirate
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Mon Nov 7, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET  So, this turns some commonly used forms of birth control into murder. What a great idea!
Given everything else on the nation’s plate right now, a focus on this seems so 90s. It will inevitably result in many years of costly litigation.
(Cross-posted, with author’s permission, from Politico’s Arena)
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Mon Nov 7, 2011 at 9:15 AM ET Hey ladies, here’s something that will either make you feel good about yourselves or sad for your dating prospects. New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that one-fifth of American males aged 24 to 35 still live from their parents. [Time]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Nov 2, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET Trouble sleeping lately? New research suggests that people who feel lonelier are more likely to have restless sleep. [Time]
Bad news for you sommeliers out there. A new study shows that women who routinely have even small amounts of alcohol have an elevated risk of breast cancer. [NY Times]
More depressing science: why our brains our hard wires to spend, spend, spend. [Newsweek]
Check out these tips on making it out of the grocery without a lengthy receipt and a cart full of junk food. [Prevention]
Feeling disgust is… a good thing? [BBC]
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