WTF

I love pot. I hate pot. I don’t care about pot. The best we can tell, that’s the message that’s been coming out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland over the last six months as it wrestles with how to reconcile federal law with Oregon’s liberal medical marijuana laws. Last week, U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall (yes, that’s a real name and not a Hollywood creation) told the Associated Press that she was concerned about the criminalization of Oregon’s medical marijuana culture, but also indicated that she wasn’t opposed to the underlying legislation.

Arizona seems to be.
Lawmakers there passed three bills this legislative session that redefine all kinds of crazy things related to abortion. Here are the highlights.
1) pregnancy would be defined as officially beginning two weeks before conception. 2) abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy would be prohibited, except in medical emergencies. 3) the state must create a web site with pictures of fetuses at various stages of development for women to look at before getting an abortion. 4) high school students would now be taught that birth and adoption are the most favorable outcomes to an unwanted pregnancy. 5)doctors who withhold health information from women would be protected from lawsuits.

It's no secret that Mt. Bachelor's relationship with its season pass holders runs hot and cold.

Those folks who've had the pleasure of dealing with the Forest Service know that the federal agency is a stickler for public process. In fact, critics would argue that the agency too often suffers from analysis paralysis.

That's how many meals that the local nonprofit Family Kitchen provided last Friday, a record for the local charity meal provider. Read about how the organization has stepped to meet the community's growing demand for its service in this week's news feature, “A Singular Purpose” Pg.

That's how much Mitt Romney's inanely titled Super PAC, “Restore Our Future,” spent to woo Floridians in the run-up to Tuesday's Republican primary. The massive outpouring of cash is just the latest over-the-top display of campaign spending in an election year that is expected to break all records, thanks in large part to the Supreme Court's Citizen's United decision. That watershed ruling opened the floodgates for so-called “soft money,” i.e. corporate dollars that are funneled through political action committees like “Restore.”

The discussion over whether or not to release the names of concealed weapons permit holders has proved fertile ground for debate over the issues of privacy, public safety and gun owners' rights. However, much of that debate has been strongly colored by hyperbole, particularly from the pro-gun lobby that would like to paint gun owners as victims.