21.4 - For the Record

For the Record

Finally for this week, it's For the Record, where we cover a few things very quickly just to make sure they get mentioned.

So, For the Record: On May 10, the Vermont legislature approved a bill to legalize recreational use of marijuana. The governor hasn't said if he will sign it, although he has indicated he is generally in favor of it. If enacted, Vermont would become the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana and the first to do so by legislation rather than ballot initiative.

For the Record: Six states - Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas - mark a public holiday called Confederate Memorial Day, or in Texas, Confederate Heroes Day, to memorialize the soldiers who died in open rebellion against the United States in support of slavery. Georgia still has the holiday but they stopped calling it that, just calling it a "State Holiday."

For the Record: In a demonstration of the fact that the American public is not as dumb at it is sometimes portrayed, or as hopeless as I sometimes fear, when the latest Quinnipiac University National Poll asked voters "What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of Donald Trump?" the top three answers, in increasing order, were number three, "liar," number two "incompetent," and the number one answer was "idiot."

Finally, For the Record: Some good news coming up the end of our week, which I expect I will comment on when it happens: Wednesday, May 17, Chelsea Manning is being released from prison.