The Incredible American Right Wing

I can't believe what I'm seeing and hearing about the right wing of American politics. How can any group of people be as stupid, as incredibly stupid as they are behaving?

First, the right hasn't come up with any good ideas that actually help the majority of people since Eisenhower was in office. Let's see: Nixon. Watergate and massive numbers of lies and constitutional obfuscation. Let's step up drug enforcement and create a "War on Some Drugs." Ford: "Whip Inflation Now." Reagan: Eliminate the regulations on financial institutions so there is no protection against the excesses that have put us in this economic mess. Let's gut the labor unions so the average worker doesn't have a defense. Let's lie, cheat and steal to keep tin horn dictators in South America in power while selling weapons to an unstable fundamentalist dictatorship in Iran. Let's continue to shred the Constitution and step up the war on some drugs. Bush: Let's pick up where Reagan left off and force people to pee in cups for employment. Let's sell chemical weapons to another unstable middle east dictator. Bush Jr: Space doesn't permit a full accounting of his treason. Suffice to say the economy is in ruins and civil liberties possibly irreparably damaged.

Now we have "Birthers," who, in spite of every piece of evidence possible to the contrary, claim that Barack Obama is not an American citizen. Now the "Deathers" are trying to claim that Obama's health care plan will kill older Americans.

Now, don't get me wrong: I'm not a supporter of Obama. So far it looks like "Bush Lite," and I'm not talking about beer. Obama's health care plan falls woefully short of being of real help to Americans. And, no, I don't trust the American government to be able to efficiently and effectively administer health care, but I damn sure trust the insurance industry considerably less. After all, they are the ones who will stand to lose if a public option that actually helps people comes to pass. As far as I'm concerned, the greedy bastards running the insurance industry and their hand maiden, big pharma, can both go screw themselves. They've cost us enough in terms of money and lives.

The Republicans are insane, corrupt and vile. The Democrats are too stupid and cowardly to do what's right. Time we dumped them both.

"Experts" on Marijuana

The New York Times ran a rather lengthy piece from “Experts” on Marijuana. http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/if-marijuana-is-legal-will-addiction-rise. Most, as usual, fail to grasp the reality of the situation, the exception being Norm Stamper of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

Here is my brief response:

Many of the opponents of Marijuana fail to adequately address the potency issue as well as the large body of “Unofficial” research; research conducted largely in non-American facilities.
The U.S. government only permits research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) which has a stated purpose of opposition to legalization. The government also allows only Marijuana grown by the government at one facility in Mississippi which is of notoriously low quality.
Foreign research, unfettered by government meddling, indicates Marijuana is far safer a substance than many we currently use. Indeed, Drug Enforcement Administrative Law Judge Francis Young in 1988 stated the Marijuana “Is safer than many of the foods we commonly consume.”
It has been proven Marijuana is not physically addictive. Just as a certain number of the populace can not use dairy products, some people have adverse reactions to Marijuana.
Because of negative policy, people who enter hospital emergency rooms are frequently drug tested. When Marijuana is found in one’s system, far too often it is determined that the visit is “Marijuana related” even if that person comes in for treatment of an injury.
There has never been a death caused solely by the consumption of Marijuana. There has never been a case of cancer caused solely by Marijuana. There is no possibility of overdose of Marijuana. It is not physically addictive. It does not cause one to try other substances.
The problem is simply U.S. government policy that tries to enforce a narrow set of values on free people by making them less free to choose their own following.

Skywolf.

The Passing of Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite has crossed over at the age of 92. An excellent summation of his life can be found at: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/17/walter.cronkite.dead/index.html

Cronkite was one of my life-idols. He, along with Edward R. Murrow, Chet Huntley, Elmer Davis, Paul Page, Dan Rather and (Later) Hunter S. Thompson, formed my attitude of telling the truth and, to quote Murrow: "Let the chips fall where they may."

It was Cronkite's dedication to telling the truth above all that guided my Journalistic career.

Even as a child, I remember watching Cronkite and feeling I could trust what he said. When I became old enough to do my own research, I found my gut feeling was correct.

I had the honor of having dinner with Walter Cronkite along with other Journalism students while at IU in the early 70's. I remember him telling me "Get the story fast. That keeps the boss at bay. But above all, get it right." He also told us to always do our homework on a story. Ask the questions that you, as a curious-about-life Journalist want to know about. Temper that with who you're addressing and find out all there is to know about a subject.
That's a lot harder than one might think. But it was good advice. I've endeavored to follow that advise throughout my life.

Walter Cronkite is the last of the pioneer TV Journalists...real Journalists, not some of the bozos we have now. The best we can hope to do is to do our own research, our own digging for truth. Cronkite showed us how. It's up to us to do the job.

Gateway Drug, eh?

The following brief report is from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

We’ve known for years that there is no such thing as a “Gateway” drug. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have worked together to prevent research that would counter the official position on Marijuana. Other nations, more wise than our own, have allowed and often encouraged honest research into Cannabis. This study was done in France, and is one of several studies that debunk the idea that one substance will automatically cause one to do another substance. Peer pressure and distrust of government to tell us the truth has been far more responsible for chemical drug abuse than any other reason.

Skywolf.

Paris, France: The administration of oral THC in rats suppresses sensitivity to opiate dependence, according to preclinical findings published in the June 24 issue of the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

An international team of researchers from France and Canada assessed the impact oral THC (dronabinol) exposure in maternally deprived rats. (Rats that are deprived of their mothers immediately after birth are far more vulnerable to opiate dependence than non-deprived subjects.)

"[D]ronabinol treatment on maternally deprived rats normalized ... morphine consumption and suppressed sensitivity to morphine conditioning," researchers reported. "These findings point to the self-medication use of cannabis in subgroups of individuals subjected to adverse postnatal environment(s)."

Clinical data published this month in the July/August issue of the American Journal on Addictions reported that drug treatment subjects who used cannabis intermittently were more likely to adhere to treatment for opioid dependence.

Commenting on the studies, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, "These findings undermine the notion that cannabis is a so-called 'gateway' to hard drug use. Rather, these results indicate that in certain populations marijuana may be a useful tool for deterring the initiation or continuation of hard drug abuse."

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "Adolescent exposure to delta-9-THC blocks opiate dependence in maternally deprived rats," appears in Psychopharmacology.

The Over-Reach of Potential Employers

I find a major stumbling block to finding employment is the over-extended background checks on the part of potential employers.

With the serious problems within our economy, many people now have terrible credit ratings. After all, when one is unemployed, bills aren't going to be paid. Foreclosures and repossessions are becoming all too common.

While I sympathize with employers who want to find honest, able employees, I don't think it's good policy to allow employers to access an individual's credit information.

How can one get a job to clear up financial difficulties if one can't procure employment because of the financial difficulties?

Additionally, this is rather a violation of privacy rights. I don't particularly like the idea of a stranger having access to my credit information, good or bad.

I would urge all readers to contact their representatives to stop access to private credit information by employers.

Reblogging Again

Welcome!

I have blogged before, but I'm setting this one up for general information. There will be a lot of politics, some personal observations, and, who knows what type of words might show up here.

The phrase "Hey now!" is one of the standard greetings between Deadheads, those who follow the travels, mindset and lifestyles of the band formerly known as "The Grateful Dead." They are now known, of course, as "The Dead," "Ratdog," "Phil and Friends," "The Mickey Hart Band," "Trichromes," and others.

Yeah, I'm an old Hippie. Don't like that? Go somewhere else. I believe in peace, freedom, love and brother/sisterhood. I'm what's known as a "Politico." I have been involved in politics all my adult life. Politics is in every aspect of our lives, right or wrong, good or bad. We must deal with that, modify what it has become and try to pass on a better world to our kids. I believe that we must, each and every one of us, begin again to think about how our actions affect the world around us.

This is just a short introduction. I use my words to make a point, change a mind or at least make one think about the impact of our individual lives on the culture, our nation and our world.

Some of my words will be angry, some funny, some sad. I'm sure I will touch every emotion available...maybe some we haven't even defined yet.

Let's make it a better place.