John Burnett's Sunday report on NPR's Weekend Edition about a nationwide tour centered around a Catholic saint certainly stands outs, as the liberal radio network has a long record of hostility to Christianity in general and, specifically, Catholicism. Burnett spotlighted how the remains of "Saint Maria Goretti, patron saint of purity and mercy, drew tens of thousands of the faithful" across the United States. The correspondent also zeroed in on how the widow of an Oklahoma politician, who was murdered by their mentally-ill son, visited the relics for inspiration, as the saint herself forgave her killer.
John Burnett
By Jeff Poor | April 22, 2009 | 8:07 PM EDT
The economy is already in rough shape, but some think we should let it go to pot - literally. Pro-legalization advocacy groups are promoting the possibility that legalizing marijuana could provide some economic relief, and the media has eagerly explored the idea.
On April 20, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) aired TV ads calling for marijuana legalization. They ran on CNN, Fox News Channel and were covered by CBS News.
"In the spot, Americans say of the drug, ‘you can tax it, you can regulate it, apply age restrictions...create millions of new jobs ... save our economy,'" Brian Montopoli wrote for CBSNews.com on April 20.
With chatter that this could be a campaign issue in 2010, the new Obama Administration's relaxed policies toward the drug and some people's desperate, try-anything approach to solving the government spending deficits and economic woes, the idea of marijuana legalization is gaining traction with the media.