coalition of the one-ing

The United Nations
Commission on Human Rights
April 15, 2005

In a resolution (E/CN.4/2005/L.28) on the right of everyone to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental
health, adopted as orally revised and by a roll-call vote of 52 in
favour to one against, with no abstentions, the Commission urged States
to take steps, individually and through international assistance and
cooperation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of their
available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full
realization of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health; and called upon the
international community to continue to assist the developing countries
in promoting the full realization of the right of everyone to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental
health, including through financial and technical support as well as
training of personnel, while recognizing that the primary
responsibility
for promoting and protecting all human rights rests with States.

The Commission encouraged States to recognize the particular needs of
persons with disabilities related to mental disorders, as well as their
families, including by reflecting their needs in national health and
social policies, such as national poverty reduction strategies; and
called upon them to place a gender perspective at the centre of all
policies and programmes affecting women's health. They also called upon
States to protect and promote sexual and reproductive health as
integral
elements of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health and decided to
extend,
for a period of three years, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on
the right to everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health.

The result of the vote was as follows:

In favour (52):
Argentina,
Armenia,
Australia,
Bhutan,
Brazil,
Burkina Faso,
Canada,
China,
Congo,
Costa Rica,
Cuba,
Dominican Republic,
Ecuador,
Egypt,
Eritrea,
Ethiopia,
Finland,
France,
Gabon,
Germany,
Guatemala,
Guinea,
Honduras,
Hungary,
India,
Indonesia,
Ireland,
Italy,
Japan,
Kenya,
Malaysia,
Mauritania,
Mexico,
Nepal,
Netherlands,
Nigeria,
Pakistan,
Paraguay,
Peru,
Qatar,
Republic of Korea,
Romania,
Russian Federation,
Saudi Arabia,
South Africa,
Sri Lanka,
Sudan,
Swaziland,
Togo,
Ukraine,
United Kingdom
Zimbabwe.

Against (1):
United States.

4/20

Okay, enough about the pot, already. El woke me up today by talking about today's date and all its various connotations. Then, in case I hadn't heard it at home, Morning Edition chimed in with a commentary about Stoners' Day and how we should all use it as an opportunity to talk to our kids. Talk to them about what? Most adults I know haven't been able to formulate a Theory of Marijuana which can be distilled into a sound bite small enough to hold a fifteen-year-old's attention.

Meanwhile, grade schools here in Chicago have given their students a day off school so that parents can come pick up their students' report cards. The idea (a marvelous one) is to bring the student, teacher, and parent to the same table, so that they can all have a little heart-to-heart about academia. K-8 kids have their Pickup Day today, and high schoolers have theirs tomorrow. However, this system is problematic for several reasons:
1) Lots of parents just don't come to report card pickup day, the teachers tell me.
2) Pickup is from 12-6 pm for grade school. Parents who have children in both grade school and high school have to make arrangements to go to their children's schools two days in one week.
3) The kids are at home today, many of them without child care. What are they doing, home alone, on April 20? Smoking up, of course. (For those of you who think grade school kids are too young for these activities: I have seventh graders who are 15 years old right now. If they had a car, these kids could drive themselves to school next year.)

On the plus side, being slightly overweight is apparently good for you. So the next time we get the munchies, we can relax about whether those chips are baked or fried.

For those of us who don't observe Stoners' Day, I might also note that this is the anniversary of Hitler's birthday, the Columbine massacre, and that big tornado that hit Utica. The new Pope is being compared to a Rottweiler, and the Virgin Mary is appearing just a few blocks away to the faithful of Chicago, apparently having taken the old Pope in her arms. (As he presumably hasn't spent much time in the arms of women, this is a big thing.) This week's news is a whirlwind of confusion and fear. Makes me almost want to light up a joint.

Jeffords to Resign

Independant Senator James Jeffords of Vermont, whose defection from the Republican Party roiled the political scene in the spring of 2001, will announce today that he will not seek another term. He is 71 years old and not in particularly good health, an apparently does not feel up to a bruising political campaign.

If Mr. Jeffords retires at the end of his third term, intriguing political possibilities would arise. It would not be surprising, for instance, if Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor whose presidential campaign soared early and flamed out almost as suddenly, decided to try for Mr. Jeffords's seat. Mr. Dean is now the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

. . .

"Increasingly, I find myself in disagreement with my party," Mr. Jeffords said in 2001. "I understand that many people are more conservative than I am, and they form the Republican Party. Given the changing nature of the national party, it has become a struggle for our leaders to deal with me and for me to deal with them."

Mr. Jeffords is described in the Almanac of American Politics as one of President Bill Clinton's favorite Republicans. He was the only Republican in Congress who supported Mr. Clinton's ambitious and ultimately futile health-care plan. He left the Republican Party after refusing to go along with all of President Bush's tax cuts in 2001.

I was never a big fan of Howard Dean's presidential campaign, but I feel he would make a fine Senator. I hope he runs.