Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Back on the blogtrail

Miss me? Having installed our house sitter as well as the security door, we're visiting our son Stephen, who has taken advantage of ths in-the-tank housing market to buy his first house -- at the age of 23 an age when, for me, buying a house was abut 20years away. He just got his Internet service installed, and it was a little spotty yesterday -- and when it was up and working it seemed more important for Jen to use it. Also, our niece Mandie spent a good bit of the day with us, and amused herself in part by playing computer games, after which she and I went out shopping.

I don't think I wasted the day. Having changed my direction for my next book -- I think it will be more timely to do a marijuna-legalization trending toward all-illicit-drugs legalization book than a foreign policy book -- I read Ed Rosenthal and Steve Kubby's "Why Marijuana Should Be Legal," and began the Tim Lynch-edited "After Prohibition." It's not that I'm unfamiliar with the arguments, heaven knows but when I'm starting a new project I find it useful to saturate myself with knowledge and arguments to try to make sure I don't miss any important aspects, then setting out to prioritize them.

My inclination now is to expand on the reporting I did for this Register article, noting the swiftness with which leglization arguments seem to have entered the mainstream. I plan to work on an outline and sample chapter during this, my furlough week, and then start peddling it to publishers while I finish it. Wish me luck -- and feel free to ask me how it's going. A little prod now and then from friends is not a bad idea.

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