Missed

On the train today four French-speaking tourists got on and sat nearby. I love listening to French… nothing like native speakers to remind me how poorly I speak it. They were rattling on as if no one around could understand them—mostly true. They were annoyed with the weather and hoping to find Times Square. I almost spoke up.

Unfortunately I remember the polite but pained expressions of my friends from Lausanne when I butchered their language. Plus the guy sitting next to me was way too cute (dark features with pale blue eyes!!). So I sat there with a bemused expression on my face while picking out snatches of meaning from their prattle.

My courage finally peaked a few seconds after I got off the train. *sigh* Won't let that happen again! Next time, cute or not, I will frighten tourists with my boldness and poor ability to communicate.

Failure?

Was really excited when I inadvertently saw some of the scene's from M. Night Shyamalan's Avatar: The Last Airbender. Really enjoyed all three “Books” from Nickelodeon so I was dubious about seeing them being somehow manipulated/condensed into a movie. Just now glanced over a critic collection from iVillage entitled “Is 'Last Airbender' the Worst Movie of All Time?” *sigh* Might still catch it in the theaters this week, but maybe I'll save my disappointment for DVD.

Not Exactly a PSA

Walking around in Chelsea I saw a three ads for ManHunt today and the third made me laugh. Someone had written “Cock Commando” atop the ripped Latin guy who was holding up his shirt, showing off impossible abs. I found the homophobic inscription amusingly redundant—like saying Soccer is gay.

It's funny these ads were posted at all. Like any gay man in Manhattan needs to be reminded that ManHunt is out there. And we all know hooking up with that poster boy would involve money and/or an STD. Love this city.

Missed Snapshot

Getting off at 6th Ave stop on the L line I noticed an HRC bumper sticker had been stuck to the ground next to some benches. For whatever reason, that really struck me. That the events, fanfare and Parade from the weekend were done yet continued to have an effect. Almost stopped to take a shot with my iPhone but the lighting was horrible. And the image I wanted to capture wouldn't have been possible to frame with all the people anyway. Still… a good moment.

Californians to vote on legal weed

Californians to vote on legal weed
By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer, March 25, 2010: 1:25 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- It's official: Californians will decide whether legal marijuana should be used to plug the state's $20 billion budget gap.

California residents are expected to vote this year on whether legalization should be approved to raise nearly $1.4 billion in state revenue. That's based on an estimate from the State Board of Equalization, a tax administration agency.

"It would be another source of revenue for the state," said Anita Gore, spokeswoman for the board. The board has not issued an opinion on legalization as a means of easing the state's budget crisis, she added.

California Secretary Debra Brown confirmed on Wednesday that enough signatures had been collected to put AB 390, a marijuana legalization bill, on the ballot for Nov. 2. A press release from the secretary said that legalization proponents submitted 694,248 petition signatures for the bill, easily surpassing the required 433,791.

Unlike prior legislation that has passed in California and other states, this form of legalization is not restricted to medicinal use of marijuana.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, proposes that marijuana be regulated and taxed in a similar way to alcohol.

According to the bill, people would have to be 21 years or older "to possess, cultivate, or transport marijuana for personal use." Californians would not be permitted to use the drug in public or within the presence of minors, and would not be allowed to possess it on school grounds.

Most importantly, as far as the budget gap is concerned, the bill stipulates that the drug would be subject to a sales tax. An additional retail fee of $50 would be imposed on every ounce that's sold.

The State Board of Equalization estimates that the state could raise $1.382 billion in annual tax revenues from legal marijuana. The figure is based on estimated revenue of $990 million from the retail fees and $392 million from sales taxes.

"With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move towards regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense," Ammiano said in a press release when he first proposed the bill last year.

Ammiano was not immediately available for comment.

AWESOME! Hopefully this will distract the fundamentalists enough to let me and my fellow deviants sneak in a few civil rights.

I'm really not a marijuana advocate. Yet it seems to me that decriminalization will bring more realistic oversight. It's the first step in responsible monitoring … through real, legal avenues instead of back alleys. If nothing else, it will help the economy. The AP reported this and it's been carried everywhere, but I grabbed CNNMoney's version to illustrate that point.

Adopted

H.R. 3590 passes 219 to 212. On to Reconciliation. Oh boy. I wonder if any Republican's speech will fail to mention abortion.

Please Heed the Gavel

Whoa. Something about me has changed. Just got home after a date with AndrewFashion and the first thing I did was bring up C-SPAN to watch the health care debate. It is exciting though. For instance, Barny Frank (D-Massachusetts) claims the GOP stands for "Grandstand Oppose Postpone." Good stuff.