Calls for legalization in the aftermath of the Michael Phelps media frenzy haven’t met with much backlash, probably because the gold-medal winning bong-monger kinda breaks the mold as far as stoner stereotyping goes. So we should be grateful, if anything, for the few anti-drug zealots that are so unhinged, so consumed by reefer madness, that they feel compelled to speak even when doing so serves only to further expose and embarrass their crazy beliefs:
The recent incident involving Michael Phelps getting caught smoking pot has caused the age long debate to rear its head again on whether or not we should legalize or at least decriminalize our drug laws. The idea in attacking the drug laws is that people should be free to make their own decisions. The problem with that line of reasoning is that you would never be able to draw the line on establishing any law. Everything would have to be legal, including armed robbery, murder, assault, etc. In essence, it would be anarchy. [Shreveport Times]
OK, I don’t think you understand. We want to legalize marijuana, but not murder. Does that make sense? Armed robbery, etc. would still be illegal. No one will ever try to legalize violent crime, so shut up and stop worrying about that.
It’s a shame what marijuana does to some people’s brains.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Study: Marijuana Users Less Likely to Get Injured Than Non-Users
A new study from Switzerland looked at substance use among people admitted to the hospital with injuries. Not surprisingly, people who'd been drinking alcohol were more likely to get hurt than those who had not. But what about marijuana use?
Conversely, cannabis use was associated with significantly lowered risk of injury. Whereas the risk for injuries associated with the use of less than a pipe or joint’s worth were not significantly different from the on associated with no use, relative risks decreased with increasing levels of use… [BioMedCentral]
Not only were marijuana users less likely to be injured than non-users, but risk of injury actually decreased with larger doses. It's incredible. But my point here isn’t that the more pot you smoke the safer you'll be (although that is what the data suggests). It was a small sample and I kind of doubt that continued research would confirm a massive reduction in risk of injury among marijuana users.
What matters here is that marijuana clearly doesn't raise your risk of doing something stupid and busting your head open or whatever. What better indication of this could there be than the fact that people who show up all bloody at the emergency room are disproportionately not high on pot?
The researchers note that marijuana use may sometimes take place in safer environments than alcohol use and that marijuana users as a group might be more careful to avoid risks while under the influence. I'm sure both of these points are correct, but to really sum all this up: marijuana just doesn’t make you do dumb shit.
The widely-disseminated notion that marijuana leads to impaired judgment is simply false. Thus, I'm tempted to conclude that much of the propaganda aimed at associating marijuana with risk-taking behaviors has been motivated by cynicism on the part of our opposition, namely to the effect that they recognized -- and sought to preemptive obscure -- the relative safety of the drug.
One thing that never ceases to amaze me in the marijuana debate is the extent to which anti-pot propaganda is not only false, but is in fact often the precise opposite of the truth.
Conversely, cannabis use was associated with significantly lowered risk of injury. Whereas the risk for injuries associated with the use of less than a pipe or joint’s worth were not significantly different from the on associated with no use, relative risks decreased with increasing levels of use… [BioMedCentral]
Not only were marijuana users less likely to be injured than non-users, but risk of injury actually decreased with larger doses. It's incredible. But my point here isn’t that the more pot you smoke the safer you'll be (although that is what the data suggests). It was a small sample and I kind of doubt that continued research would confirm a massive reduction in risk of injury among marijuana users.
What matters here is that marijuana clearly doesn't raise your risk of doing something stupid and busting your head open or whatever. What better indication of this could there be than the fact that people who show up all bloody at the emergency room are disproportionately not high on pot?
The researchers note that marijuana use may sometimes take place in safer environments than alcohol use and that marijuana users as a group might be more careful to avoid risks while under the influence. I'm sure both of these points are correct, but to really sum all this up: marijuana just doesn’t make you do dumb shit.
The widely-disseminated notion that marijuana leads to impaired judgment is simply false. Thus, I'm tempted to conclude that much of the propaganda aimed at associating marijuana with risk-taking behaviors has been motivated by cynicism on the part of our opposition, namely to the effect that they recognized -- and sought to preemptive obscure -- the relative safety of the drug.
One thing that never ceases to amaze me in the marijuana debate is the extent to which anti-pot propaganda is not only false, but is in fact often the precise opposite of the truth.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
This is a Constance battle between ourselves
It is a fight between good and evil we all want to be righteous but it is easier to take the path of the wicked. Daylight we can get allot of work done but it is night fall when we have allot of fun. The truth is what we absolute want and need but we can't handle it. We prescribe to lies because lies works our ego. Fakes runs rapid in the city's because we have no id. We make fake personality to better our chances at life. In the thick of things that mentality does not work . We all as nation must change our mentality on life so we all can prosper in change. Without change we are all part of the problem it it is on us to change the problems that we created. The days of the blame game should be put behind us lets not point fingers lets do some action. This is a a Constance battle between ourselves.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
FreeStyle
What are you going to do. You chase money like a dummy to prevail, You have a urge for the honeys but nothing is buzzing. You stand for nothing we are all something we must stand for something. Use your voice to speak good and to empower don't use you tongue to speak evil.The path of evil is a easier path but it will get you nowhere. Check your ego we are all the same all equal. We must get along with each other make a difference change one and an other. teach each other if we are all educated the workplace will be even no tricks from employers. Keep you thoughts free and away from harm and harmful people that want to lead you a stray. Follow your self you know whats good for you and with your knowledge you can help out the ones in need of help. As I close this is the time to start a movement that will lead this Nation back to the promise land, that we all know and love.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Bailout or Stickup
As of Sunday it appears that Congress will pass a Wall Street bailout bill with expenditures potentially totaling more than $700 billion. After a week of fear tactics put forth by the executive branch and the Federal Reserve, the Congress has apparently caved.
According to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the billions will be spent to shore up credit markets by buying “illiquid” assets that are weighing on the balance sheets of foreign and domestic banks.
This is just the latest in a series of bailouts performed by the Federal Reserve and the treasury in which billions of taxpayer dollars have been put at risk. Since March, the Federal Reserve has loaned out more than $100 billion to rescue failed financial institutions.
Recently the Fed became worried that its own balance sheet was being depleted and the U.S. treasury came to the rescue, effectively bailing out the federal reserve by auctioning debt on behalf of the Fed. Add to this $200 billion for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the total new liabilities for the U.S. taxpayer are more than $1 trillion.
This robbery of the American people has been performed under the guise of preventing a recession, although more frightful language is often used by supporters of the bailouts. The fear generated by the actions and words of Federal Reserve have scared Congress into adding more fuel to the fire of the recession which will inevitably occur as a result of our the failed monetary policy pursued by the Fed itself.
Understanding the Fed and its language — termed “fedspeak” — is often difficult, perhaps purposely so. It is important to first understand that the Federal Reserve System is made up of Federal Reserve Banks, which are private banks whose shareholders include such Wall Street titans as JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Citibank.
From its inception in 1913, the Federal Reserve has crafted monetary policy which has resulted in alternating periods of inflation and deflation of the money supply. The most recent inflation of U.S. housing prices is just another example of the effect of Fed policy.
In 2001, the Fed lowered its benchmark interest rate from a high of 6.5 percent to below 2 percent and maintained this level for more than two years. This change in the mandated interest rates for interbank loans resulted in an oversupply of “cheap” money which resulted in malinvestment. This malinvestment took the form of over development of commercial and residential real estate, sub-prime mortgages, and many other forms of irresponsible lending.
As a result, millions of Americans were lured into accepting adjustable rate mortgages to pay unaffordable prices for overvalued houses. When the Fed raised interest rates, housing loans became less affordable and the prices of housing fell along the demand for these loans.
While some prospered from the booming real estate prices, the overwhelming effect of the Fed’s monetary policy was to inflate a housing bubble that drove millions of Americans further into debt while investment banks posted billions of dollars in profits from creating and trading debt instruments backed by these loans.
These same debt instruments have now become “illiquid” after the realization that the housing bubble had burst, and the underlying collateral backing these debt instruments had lost value. These assets are said to be illiquid because banks are not willing to sell them for the prices currently being offered by the market.
Now thanks to the lobbying efforts by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, which is owned by Wall Street banks, and Henry Paulson, a former banker at Goldman Sachs, the American people are now completing the cycle, moving further into debt, while the bankers benefit.
On top of this, all the cheap money flowing through the system has caused our dollar to steadily lose value against world currencies. This has driven up the price of oil, food, and all essentials of life. As a result of dollar devaluation, all the stock market averages, which are valued in dollars, have been falling for years. Valued in 2001 dollars, our Dow Jones Industrial Average would be well below the 8000 level. Yet we continue to tell ourselves that we are not in a recession.
Adding to our national debt will only further this inflation problem. We must realize that we are already in a recession and not be swayed by fear-mongering from Wall Street. Instead we must clean house and remove these bankers from the halls of our government.
Congress has failed us for now, but the people still have the power. We can change this system any time. We only have to declare our independence from the banking system. We can all vote with our dollars buy removing them from the banks and converting them to gold, silver, or other currencies which are out of reach of devaluation by the Fed.
According to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the billions will be spent to shore up credit markets by buying “illiquid” assets that are weighing on the balance sheets of foreign and domestic banks.
This is just the latest in a series of bailouts performed by the Federal Reserve and the treasury in which billions of taxpayer dollars have been put at risk. Since March, the Federal Reserve has loaned out more than $100 billion to rescue failed financial institutions.
Recently the Fed became worried that its own balance sheet was being depleted and the U.S. treasury came to the rescue, effectively bailing out the federal reserve by auctioning debt on behalf of the Fed. Add to this $200 billion for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the total new liabilities for the U.S. taxpayer are more than $1 trillion.
This robbery of the American people has been performed under the guise of preventing a recession, although more frightful language is often used by supporters of the bailouts. The fear generated by the actions and words of Federal Reserve have scared Congress into adding more fuel to the fire of the recession which will inevitably occur as a result of our the failed monetary policy pursued by the Fed itself.
Understanding the Fed and its language — termed “fedspeak” — is often difficult, perhaps purposely so. It is important to first understand that the Federal Reserve System is made up of Federal Reserve Banks, which are private banks whose shareholders include such Wall Street titans as JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Citibank.
From its inception in 1913, the Federal Reserve has crafted monetary policy which has resulted in alternating periods of inflation and deflation of the money supply. The most recent inflation of U.S. housing prices is just another example of the effect of Fed policy.
In 2001, the Fed lowered its benchmark interest rate from a high of 6.5 percent to below 2 percent and maintained this level for more than two years. This change in the mandated interest rates for interbank loans resulted in an oversupply of “cheap” money which resulted in malinvestment. This malinvestment took the form of over development of commercial and residential real estate, sub-prime mortgages, and many other forms of irresponsible lending.
As a result, millions of Americans were lured into accepting adjustable rate mortgages to pay unaffordable prices for overvalued houses. When the Fed raised interest rates, housing loans became less affordable and the prices of housing fell along the demand for these loans.
While some prospered from the booming real estate prices, the overwhelming effect of the Fed’s monetary policy was to inflate a housing bubble that drove millions of Americans further into debt while investment banks posted billions of dollars in profits from creating and trading debt instruments backed by these loans.
These same debt instruments have now become “illiquid” after the realization that the housing bubble had burst, and the underlying collateral backing these debt instruments had lost value. These assets are said to be illiquid because banks are not willing to sell them for the prices currently being offered by the market.
Now thanks to the lobbying efforts by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, which is owned by Wall Street banks, and Henry Paulson, a former banker at Goldman Sachs, the American people are now completing the cycle, moving further into debt, while the bankers benefit.
On top of this, all the cheap money flowing through the system has caused our dollar to steadily lose value against world currencies. This has driven up the price of oil, food, and all essentials of life. As a result of dollar devaluation, all the stock market averages, which are valued in dollars, have been falling for years. Valued in 2001 dollars, our Dow Jones Industrial Average would be well below the 8000 level. Yet we continue to tell ourselves that we are not in a recession.
Adding to our national debt will only further this inflation problem. We must realize that we are already in a recession and not be swayed by fear-mongering from Wall Street. Instead we must clean house and remove these bankers from the halls of our government.
Congress has failed us for now, but the people still have the power. We can change this system any time. We only have to declare our independence from the banking system. We can all vote with our dollars buy removing them from the banks and converting them to gold, silver, or other currencies which are out of reach of devaluation by the Fed.
Monday, February 16, 2009
The Rising Prices of Marijuana
Marijuana, like everything else, has suffered from inflation. Back in the 70`s, it was sold as an illicit drug. Nowadays, it is more of a commercial crop, with the prices guided by the supply and demand of any given area.During the early 1980`s, prices for commercial-grade marijuana varied between $300 and $600 a pound. In the `90`s, the prices ranged from $200 to $4000 a pound, with the average pound selling at around $800.Sensimilla, the higher-quality seedless grade with a higher THC content, averaged between $1000 - $2000 a pound a decade ago. In the upper `90`s, the prices ran from $700 - $8000 a pound, with the typical pound bringing $1300.With the ever-increasing supply, and due to the proximity of, the border to Mexico, marijuana prices have taken an extreme swing throughout the `90`s, although they have remained fairly stable for the last several years.Marijuana may be purchased in Mexico today for $100 - $200 kilogram. Along the southwest border, Mexican marijuana sells for $400 - $1000 per pound, but occasionally it can be bought wholesale for $150 - $300 a pound.In the northeast and Midwest sections of the US, today, the average price of marijuana runs from $700 - $2000 per pound, while in California the market jumps to $2000 - $6000 per pound.Mexican marijuana profits increase greatly when the retail sale is made at the greater distances from Mexico . For example, 500 pounds can be bought for $50,000 in Juarez and resold in St. Louis for $400,000. The profit margins increase significantly, the farther to the north, east, or west the marijuana travels from the source of original sale.In 1995, it was estimated that the American people spent $10 billion on marijuana. The estimate for 2005 has dramatically jumped - the government estimates that $19 - $20 billion will be spent on marijuana this year.Wholesale marijuana prices vary widely from country to country, also. Canadian marijuana markets for $2000 - $2500 per pound of sensimilla.Columbia marijuana rates at $1000 - $1500 per pound. Hawaiian marijuana averages out at $2000 - $2500 a pound, while Jamaican marijuana sells for $1500 - $2000 per pound for commercial grade, and $2500 - $3500 per pound for sensimilla. Marijuana from Thailand sells for $200 - $3000 per pound.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
War and the Working Class
The government treats its soldiers the way most corporations treat their workforce--as an invisible, disrespected, disposable means to an end that is contrary to workers' interests. Members of the armed forces come mainly and disproportionately from the working class and from small-town and rural America, where opportunities are hard to come by. The "economic draft" operates, in effect, to recruit young people from these communities as they sign up to gain job skills, experience and educational opportunities absent from their civilian lives. A number of parallel experiences link the lives of soldiers with those of working-class civilians, going well beyond their common discipline of following orders. Consider "stop-loss" as an example. The military reserves the right to extend the deployment time and active-duty status of every soldier beyond the service dates prescribed in their enlistment contracts and mobilization papers. Most soldiers were unaware of this as the Iraq War intensified, but by the start of 2006 the military had enforced its stop-loss provision on 50,000 of them. Outraged soldiers and their families challenged these extensions in court, but they were upheld.Meanwhile, in the civilian economy, one out of every five full-time hourly employees worked mandatory overtime--the requirement by management that the worker stay on the job beyond the normal quitting time. Many workers want overtime for the money, but they generally resent being forced into it, especially when it disrupts family plans or taxes their physical or mental strength. While the consequences of stop-loss are more far-reaching, the principle is the same. Both disregard the needs of the workforce and abrogate the expectations working people have of a life outside the control of their employers. These bait-and-switch practices are reminiscent of the way corporations demand local and state government subsidies to locate offices and factories in depressed communities desperate for jobs. Such corporations typically promise good jobs and long-term economic stability if local communities underwrite roads and other infrastructure, give tax exemptions for the company's property and profits, and sometimes even give it direct cash subsidies. All too often the company collects the subsidies but fails to live up to its end of the bargain. It fails to create the promised new jobs and moves out of the community when the subsidies end, leaving the local working people and their government depleted and often mad enough to sue, but almost never successfully. When jobs disappear, workers are supposed to be able to collect unemployment compensation, a program begun in the New Deal era and a critical part of the social safety net. But over the last thirty-five years, unemployment compensation programs have been cut back and made more inaccessible. At this point, only 35 percent of unemployed workers actually collect these benefits. Labor opposition to the war stems in part from the wars economic cost, counted not just in dollars but in what else that money could buy. So far the war has cost more than $522 billion (not counting interest payments on the borrowing that has paid the bills and long-term costs for veterans' care). Taxpayers in Louisiana alone have paid about $4 billion, which could have created more than 47,000 units of affordable housing there, and the jobs that go with their construction. (The National Priorities Project has a thorough accounting on its website, nationalpriorities.org, of the real costs of the war to states and communities across the country. See the chart in this issue for a visual representation of these trade-offs.) Should a new Democratic Administration continue the Iraq occupation while offering to satisfy some of labor's interests as part of its domestic agenda, sustaining this movement will require additional analysis and new resolve.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Winners
We are all born winners, but some of us choose to live life as a Loser. Their is nothing wrong about being a loser it is just a state of mind. The loser state of mind can be overcame if you work at it. The first step is to stop blaming yourself we all make missteps, the second thing is to accept yourself as who you our. That is so important for our growth as an person. the third thing that we can do is make plans we all forget about how important time is. If you use time as a helper you life will move allot smother. the last thing to do is to become a full person. A Full person in my text is your goal. So remember keep the faith and but people before profit.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
saying no and Management
Are we selling are self's short by saying yes to everything that comes our way. Somewhere people forgot how to say no we are always trying to please everyday. We can not do that anymore it is okay to say no, it will not hurt there feelings. When we take on much more than what we can handle we are doing more harm to ourselves. As a Nation n we have put ourselves in this path of self destruction by the actions that we do. We can make these things go away time and allot of effort, we all can mange this together. Just start by saying no sometimes you will feel allot better and time will be back on your side.The next thing that we can is just try to mange our lives because we all say that time is short. So lets put some tools to work and watch your growth. Management does not stop with the creation of time it is more than that you can take it to you budget, work, school and so much more. Lets all change because we as A nation need change but it starts with ourselves.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Picture
Picture me rolling in a 500 Benz
Picture me with endless ends
Picture Lil Wayne with an ill er brain
Picture John Lennon looking at the images he hoped the world could see
Picture the world with everlasting peace
Picture every free thinker thinking freely with no penalties
Picture a place were we are all kings
Picture cannabis being used for good and not profit
Everything that we picture can be reality
Just don't get caught in the everyday hustle
you will forget how to live.
Picture me with endless ends
Picture Lil Wayne with an ill er brain
Picture John Lennon looking at the images he hoped the world could see
Picture the world with everlasting peace
Picture every free thinker thinking freely with no penalties
Picture a place were we are all kings
Picture cannabis being used for good and not profit
Everything that we picture can be reality
Just don't get caught in the everyday hustle
you will forget how to live.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Modern day Slavery
We have all heard the stories of how slavery was ended in 1865. Yet, even today there are examples of slavery in the world. I am not talking about conditions that are the "equal" of slavery under one theory or another. I am talking about out-and-out slavery. I am talking about people being kidnapped or tricked and then held against their will. People who must work every day long hours or be beat. I am talking about people who are given no money for their labors. People who are bought and sold. Why would slavery ever exist? The reason is money. Employees cost money. It's a lot cheaper to steal their labor than pay them.
The surprising thing is that it actually goes on in the United States. slavery is widespread in two African countries, Mauritania and Sudan. In Mauritania, over 100,000 Africans are enslaved. Their families were made slaves by the sword during the 12Th century invasions. In the centuries that followed, they accepted it as natural.Slavery takes different forms in different lands. In Pakistan and India there is debt bondage. Poor people are tricked with promises of good jobs, but they are isolated and must deal with their employer in every way. The food they buy and other required things are sold only by their employers, with very high prices. The workers are forced to stay and work until the debt is paid off. But the deck is stacked so the debt keeps getting bigger. The "employee" is a slave for life. End all of this nonsense by giving everyone what they are worth. People should always be first but this day and age we are all looking for a quick buck. The greed is eating us away.
The surprising thing is that it actually goes on in the United States. slavery is widespread in two African countries, Mauritania and Sudan. In Mauritania, over 100,000 Africans are enslaved. Their families were made slaves by the sword during the 12Th century invasions. In the centuries that followed, they accepted it as natural.Slavery takes different forms in different lands. In Pakistan and India there is debt bondage. Poor people are tricked with promises of good jobs, but they are isolated and must deal with their employer in every way. The food they buy and other required things are sold only by their employers, with very high prices. The workers are forced to stay and work until the debt is paid off. But the deck is stacked so the debt keeps getting bigger. The "employee" is a slave for life. End all of this nonsense by giving everyone what they are worth. People should always be first but this day and age we are all looking for a quick buck. The greed is eating us away.
Words of Wisdom From Marcus Garvey
Chance has never yet satisfied the hope of a suffering people. If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. Liberate the minds of men and ultimately you will liberate the bodies of men. Progress is the attraction that moves humanity. There is no force like success, and that is why the individual makes all effort to surround himself throughout life with the evidence of it; as of the individual, so should it be of the nation. Those are some words from the bright mind of Marcus Garvey, we all care some of his soul in us . Some of us have forgotten our own roots but we all must take a minute and look at the world around us and we can see that this place is going in the wrong direction. Like Marcus we must remain students and learn as much as we can so our growth will help others.
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