War on Drugs

They say there is a war on drugs and 2011 its budget will be $15 billion. But we read the papers and hear the news every day that more and more drugs are getting in the country, it is becoming more and more violent and spilling over our borders as well as in other countries. They call this a War on Drugs". Why is everything made to have a war connotation on it first of all? And why have we not won this war in over 50 yrs of fighting it?

Well first of all many of the drugs in question grow naturally and are always growing somewhere. Are we going to burn nature to make this go away? Impossible! Just like a wild tree or plant or flower may hold the key to healing, they may also give off a high if used in a different context. That is nature my friends and we cannot control nature.

Since we began calling it a war it has become more and more violent and more and more innocent people are being harmed or killed. That tells me we are not winning in the present strategy and need to rethink this war.

Now I do not use drugs and I do not condone using drugs. The truth is the spooks and the military have given some if not all of us drugs at some point in time secretly over the last 40 years to experiment and see what happens. If that is not enough the new pushers (the doctors) have us on every kind of prescription drug there is whether we need it or not. Ad to that they say prescription drugs to a certain degree have now tainted our drinking water. Heck no wonder the world is getting more violent.

I say this "war on drugs" is being used to create many new departments of the government and add more manpower and use more technology and weapons and so on. But the truth is it has become more about that than stopping the drugs.

Now don't get me wrong the people fighting this war are doing a very brave and good job but there is just too many dealers and too many sources and too many drugs and too much money to be made for them to win with this strategy.

Now I read an article today about Portugal's legalization of drugs (Fox News) and how it has brought down crime, disease and the number of addicts as well. Now maybe it is time to look at this strategy.

Now first of all no one doing any mind altering drugs should do them at work or in public where they might jeopardize others or driving, etc,. But if we legalized some of them there could be many benefits.

Number one that always gets people's attention is we could tax them and this would add billions to the tax rolls of federal state and local governments. Next we could regulate where it comes from, the potency (now granted if too weak no one would by it but it could save lives keeping it from being too potent), the price, etc. We could require certain training for the sales people (like cpr, etc), we could require a license or certificate to sell and form a series of regulations regarding that, we could require people to have licenses to possess certain types and regulate that and require training in its safe use, etc.

These things would also do more to put dealers out of business and lower their crimes and violence. Also it would get reasonably decent people out of overcrowded jails and prisons where they made be subjected to hardened criminals and abuse and or criminal training or hate training and given a chance to be contributing citizens.

It would also free up law enforcement and military resources to fight other things.
Now I don't claim to know if it would work here as there is too much money and greedy people. Anyway that is my two cents worth.

No PHD here Just common sense

Ok so pardon me all you geniuses. It's global warming,. no wait its not global warming it's bad measurements. No wait its climate change. No wait a minute we caused ,. oh but no wait, we didn't cause it.

Hey I know lets all sit around in a circle and argue about which it is or isn't for oh maybe another 50 years and play like our governments really care and then we can play russian roulette with nukes over resources and in the meantime all the fat sleazeballs at the top stealing all those resources and hoarding all their money can hop on a virgin space plane and go to another planet after they launch the nukes. Then we can all sit back and enjoy their desired armageddon.

Give me a break!!! This is what I think. Now I only have an associate degree and a ged but I hate bullshit and even more I despise politics. Especially when it plays with peoples lives and on an even larger scale a planet's life. But this is what I see.

We are organisms on a planet that is a larger organism. And that planet is in a galaxy with other planets. And these planets are in a galaxy that is an even larger organism. And this galaxy is joined by other galaxies in a solar system and the solar system is an even larger organism that includes all the other lesser organisms and we are all related to each other and connected to each other. And I don't know cause I don't have my PHD but maybe there are multiple solar systems that are even bigger organisms but no matter how hard we try we are neither separate from each other or alone.

Then we add the fact that all these organisms have patterns of movement within each other. Now some of these movement s are on somewhat short time frames and others are on longer and still others are on even larger time frames of movement. Then within that, each organism (large or small) has different patterns of reaction to other organisms.

Please forgive my layman's terms and explanations for these incredibly complicated systems that require PHD's but I can only explain what I see and understand within my limited frame of knowledge since I do not have a PHD and hate to argue and once again despise bullshit.

Now here is the tricky part since in our current stage of humanity we can only see and comprehend in 10 minute segments (to match our consumer diet of soundbites, news flashes and product commercials but all of these organisms are ruled by cycles of patterns that effect them in many different ways. Part of this is the continuous movement of them through space and also the effects they have on each other as well as how they all move within each other.

So while we argue about the name (hell who knows some corporation may want to steal the name from someone so they can market it and make even more money to take to that new planet) let's understand one thing. In our present state that seems more important than truth clarity and preparation for change. And that is that we are taking up a new position in this solar clock like system as are all the other organisms within it. And this new movement and positioning creates new and different effects on all of the contained organisms large and small alike.

Now the word we use for things like this is "CYCLES" here let me say it again for people like me who don't have PHD's, "CYYYYYCCCCLLLEESS". Cycles are of various lengths of time ( and again usually longer than the new BEER commercials).

Now cycles are things that happen and have already happened and will happen "AGAIN". The greatest civilizations new of such things and tracked them. Maybe they had PHD"s. And they even left us tons and tons of clues and explanations but we don't seem to be able to comprehend them yet. Well what the heck lets drink another beer, watch a commercial and argue about it or what to call it.

The thing is we are going to be going through changes and some of them are even spoken of in various religious texts all though they are veiled or obscure references. and some of it is warming and some of it is cooling and all sorts of other shifting and moving and different weather patterns and so on. But lets be clear these things have happened before and will happen again. But it is how we deal with them or not deal with them that matters.

But wait before the "exploiters" get all warm and fuzzy and think they are off the hook and justified and want to go and exploit more resources cause they read from this that it is happening anyway, let me just say that irregardless of that information all of our actions have consequences that can in fact alter things and in a very negative way. So be warned cycles does not mean free pass to be dangerous or thoughtless.

Now I could continue on in much greater detail (even though I don't have a PHD) but I know you are all busy arguing over what to call the changes that are beginning. And anyway......... oh what was I saying.....gosh I think it has been over ten minutes....... Oh well I don't have a PHD and gosh that was a cool commercial lets go buy one after a beer and a juicy fat burger and we can argue about what to call the changes. At least until we get bored and then we can play russian roulette with some nukes or something....

At least some people care

Well we had a great "natural" tragedy in Haiti and many many people were killed. It is a poor country and many people there live modest lives. IT is poor mostly because there is not that much there for the rich people and big corporations to take advantage of. In other words there may be little resources there to exploit.

Anyway there was some great uproar when Pat Robertson(an incredible idiot with money and power and an audience) said that this "natural" tragedy happened because the people made a pact with the devil some time long ago. You make me sick jerk. Why don't you just shut up and open your pockets to help them.

The first thing I noticed was that some corporations with the most money gave the least to help. In particular I saw a report of a bank with billions in profits was going to give $100,000.00. Oh how thoughtful of you. And I don't see where any of the energy companies who also reap billions in profit are offering to give anything.

I did however see reports that some of the stars in hollywood are giving a bigger chunk of money. Sandra Bullock, Brand and Angelina, to name a few are giving a million dollars each. My hat goes off to them for acting like decent human beings that actually care about others and about trying to make the world a little better place.

I myself am having trouble getting by right now but when I have money I always try to give something to charities I believe in. And I do this because it is the right thing to do and because if I were in trouble I would hope that someone would care and help me. And there are people in the world that really need help and we cannot not help them just because there are others who take advantage of that assistance. And finally because it is the right and humane thing to do in a society that professes to hold of some religious or god fearing beliefs

And finally back to the Pat Roberson comments. He states that because of this pact with the devil that is why Haiti is poor and the Dominican republic next to it is thriving. I say put a lid on it idiot. The reason one is thriving and the other is not is because one has more resources for jerks like you to exploit and steal and profit from and the other, people like you and these big corrupt money making machine corporations care little about investing in Haiti and their people.

So cudos to those who put there money where their mouth and heart is and for those who do not see the profit potential in it shame on you.... and to Pat Robertson and people like him I repeat an old adage "if you cannot say something nice then don't say anything at all". These people are experiencing a great and serious devastation and for you to say such a thing only shows your true colors and your true beliefs of seclusion ism and racism and a general lack of humanity.

Our process of Legislature

When we have a problem our politicians get together and bounce around all sorts of ideas to address the problem, Then someone writes a "bill" (term used to identify steps to address the problem) and then it is submitted and finally voted on by the house of representatives. Next the senate creates and submits their version or an entirely different version of a bill with their idea of how to address the problem. Then a bill containing hopefully the best of both bills goes to the president to be signed into law.

This is a fair way to address a problem and the best our system offers to date. However my problem with this is that a bill addressing a single problem is never allowed to work through the system to stand on its own merit and pass into law fundamentally sound to specifically address the original problem.

Every single time with few if any exceptions the bill is either watered down, stripped of the original intent, added to with all sorts of wasteful spending to apease for some votes, or turned over to writers who alter the original purpose of the bill so that in the end it either does not address the original problem or it has many unrelated items attached to it or it becomes something else entirely, wasting money or of little benefit to the people as a whole, or the bill is defeated and the problem is no longer addressed.

And then there is the fact that there is so much special interest involved nowadays with both parties that we seem to increasingly be at odds on everything. This is amazing since both supposedly want the same outcome. That being what is best for our country and our citizens. And yet we seem to grow further and further apart on everything.

We need to come together as a society and remember our values and right and wrong and decide things based on what is really and truly best for our people, our freedoms, our health, our safety, our security, our prosperity and our environment. And when we do the right things based on that our success is assured.

And when a bill is made to address a problem, that problem should be studied and understood fully and the bill shoud then address the solutions for that problem and stand on its own merit and other bills should address each other problem and do the same. Then maybe we could solve some problems and save some money to address other problems that need real solutions as well.

Digital tv What's the big deal

Well it's been a few months now since the switch to digital tv. I got my coupons and went out and got my digital converter boxes and hooked them up. IT was going to have more channels and better picture and all sorts of information.

Well I must say the picture once you can get one to come in is much better. The detail left out is that just a regular antenna may not cut it. So I found a design on the web to make a homemade antenna which works pretty darn good.

The next issue was all the new channels. Well there are a bunch of them to be sure but lets be clear, while the major local channels do have 1 or two additional channels they are mostly weather or traffic. The other additional channels are about 8 Spanish channels and about 6 religious channels. Now that is well and good but I don't speak Spanish and they do not cover my religion so they are of little use. I must say though there is mucho caliente chicas on the Spanish stations( that is the extent of my Spanish skills). Other than that not much value to me. There is also 3 or 4 channels with no sound at all (how cool is that ).

The next issue is the guides. Now I have two different brands of converter boxes so it is not the box it is the stations. And in many cases there is no information or the server clocks are wrong so the data is for a different time, etc so the stations are choosing not to keep that data up in many cases. This lends to little value and since some of the stations are not even covered in many of the tv guide (paper or internet) there is just no information.

The last thing is with digital now the signals are different and weaker and in a heavy rain storm there just is no tv at all (kind of like the satelite or cable stuff).

So all in all better picture with right antenna but not as dependable as the local analog signals were, very little additional info with the guides, and in general I guess the bottom line was it got us to go out and spend money for a box and antenna or choose to switch to cable or satelite (the real intent I believe) and not much else. Woopeeeeee!

Let's change now

Well OPEC is drooling again. They really seemed to like that 80 and 90 bucks plus a barrel a short time ago and oil seems to be edging back up to those prices. The new leader with their "change" mantra have made quite a few changes regarding some other smaller issues as well as some larger ones but where energy is concerned we are still very dependant on foreign oil and we are not working very swiftly to change that.

These are the things wars emerge from and we should be really sinking our teeth into this problem now full force. But there are many issues to overcome before we can actually move in that direction. You see once we have money coming in for something we do not want to lose that at any cost. We have the oil companies and the auto industry and the military all wanting that technology first. The oil companies want to have it to replace the revenue stream from oil which is very lucrative indeed and they are willing to do just about anything to keep that revenue stream from drying up without being replaced equally lucratively. The auto makers want to be the once to have that new technology so they not only have the auto revenue stream but the energy stream as well. The military wants the new technology so no one else can have it and we can have the ultimate power again. Also there are other companies that would like to be the once in control of these technologies such as utility companies, communications companies, computer companies, and electronics companies.

Well this is precisely why we are not driving electric cars or fuel cell cars and why the oil spigots are still flowing full boar. And these types of thinking and acting could ultimately lead us into a major war. We are so very vulnerable to the oil rich countries turning the screws on us any time they want to and they could bring nations to a halt if they so chose to.

Now the oil companies would have you believe and they spend a lot of money to get our government to believe that we just need to open up all these areas (pristine treasures of beauty in America) to drilling. Well the truth is that is only to get the last dollars out of a very lucrative revenue stream for them not us. We do not have near the oil rich fields to supply our countries needs for an infinite future and we are fooling ourselves if we buy into that.

Granted it is a large and long historied industry and there are many many jobs at stake and that must be considered as well. But we need to get with it right now and get these new technologies replacing the old not just to power things but for health and environment reasons as well. But as new industries start up these create those new jobs and that all balances out.

There are people all over our country running their own versions (home-made) of electric cars and other forms of technology born of necessity and a caring for health and environment. Many have quietly been doing this for years and years. As a matter of fact when they were first inventing cars back in the day several tried other forms of power such as electric and steam but oil was chosen at the time because it was cheaper and seemed infinite. Well we all know that is not the case now and we need to put greed and fear aside and get busy.

Lets look at this another way some of the stallers might understand. If you oil companies continue to block progress you will end up empty handed. Now they think they are ok because they play all sides (being worldwide corporations) but they will be in for a surprise as other countries can choose to seize their assets at any time they choose.

As for the auto industry, their treachery has a very long and deceitful history and in light of their current problems, blocking or suppressing technology until you can control it as well as turning out cars that only a small portion of society can afford practically ensures that in the very near future you will be having the same problems and asking for more money from the government.

I say let's get it out there and use it now to head our country in a better more peaceful and prosperous direction while we can control that direction. It doesn't even have to be a one single fix everything system, it could be various technologies but let's not let someone else be standing over us able to shut us down in an instant if we don't want to pay their price or everyone loses.

Common Courtesy

You know once upon a time people used to be taught to say things like "yes sir" or "ma'am" and "thank you" and "please" and "excuse me" and hold doors open for people,etc. Firstly and most importantly it was taught in the home (where it should be) but then also it was re-enforced in the school system and thirdly out in society itself.

Yeah those were the good old days when after a war we realized just how fragile life is and how important another human being was and how much it meant to have respect for each other as well as our homes and property.

Now days it seems like with all this "gangsta" garbage and the survival mentality that these things are a sign of weakness. The parents are kids themselves and don't know how to discipline their children or are afraid to and the schools are afraid to discipline for fear of lawsuits or other consequences.

Well I say manners, respect and courtesy still have a place in our society and in fact they are needed now more than ever.

As the world gets more crowded we all seem to have gone into this jungle mode where it is everyone for themselves. You can see it everywhere in stores and schools and work and especially on the roads.

Is that one car length really so important that you can't let someone in front of you. Give me a break people. We used to drive with courtesy in mind but now everyone is in so much of a hurry they disregard it completely.

You know the reason for the driving rules such as 1 and 1/2 car length separation between cars has a purpose and that is not only for stopping safety but also so that another person can change lanes when they need to and it used to be common courtesy to allow it.

Everyone now drives like they are in nascar and we are putting not only our lives but others lives in jeapordy by doing so.

Another thing is we are so wasteful and throwing or leaving our garbage everywhere. Yeah I know you think there is someone whose job it is to pick it up. Well maybe that is true but not always and anyway we ALL have a stake in a cleaner environment.

Now I know everyone is stressed and tired and rushed most of the time but we are using this as an excuse to be rude, mean, disrespectful, slobs not only with each other but in the not picking up after ourselves and leaving waste everywhere in parking lots, campgrounds, beaches, our homes, etc.

Anyway the point is it is time we stopped using excuses for acting more like animals than human beings and got back to teaching some basic societal rules that make us better people and our world a better place don't you think.