Cross posted on The Trebach Report
I offer an example of what I am talking about with links to two short videos. It is important to watch them in order (link one and link two). The first film is the latest internet sensation and its creator is currently enjoying a great deal of media attention. The second clip is a brilliant piece of political satire and I found both of them to be very funny.
In the next paragraph Williams does indirectly acknowledge that the difference between then and now is a far larger and much more lucrative mayhem inducing inner city drug trade. However, he does not take this train of thought to its logical conclusion; that the most effective step that could possibly be taken to lower the murder rate among black people would be to legalize drugs thereby ending the violence generated by this black market.
Instead, Williams suggests a possible solution from the example of the Mayfair neighborhood in Washington D.C. where Black Muslims began to patrol causing a subsequent drop in gang activity and drug dealing. There is no doubt that violence in this area of the city did decline after the Black Muslim began their activity there. There is also little doubt that drug sales increased in other District neighborhoods at about the same and that the overall level of violence in that city was probably greater than it would have been without the relocation of the illegal trade and its inevitable often deadly struggle for control of new turf.
Cross posted on The Trebach Report
The survey reveals that the percentage of teenagers who believe that there is considerable drug use in their High School rose from 44% in 2002 to 61% now. However, it also tells us that the percentage of teenagers who list drug use as their number one concern dropped from 32% in 1995 to 24% now. Therefore this research shows us that teens have a greater exposure to illegal drug use with a corresponding decreased fear of them. If use of these prohibited drugs was the soul destroying, death inducing, horrific experience that the government says it is then you would not get the kind of survey results you see above.
The evidence includes an e-mail, written by Douglas Simon, the drug policy office's White House liaison, which described a meeting where Karl Rove praised the campaign endeavor. Simon asserted that, “The Director and the Deputies deserve the most recognition because they actually had to give up time with their families for the god awful places we sent them.” Meanwhile The Washington Postreports that “The drug control office has had a history of being nonpartisan, and a 1994 law bars the agency's officials from engaging in political activities even on their own time.”
Hat tip to Bill Piper
Cross posted on The Trebach Report
There has been no mention, as of yet, concerning the possibility of Lisa using marijuana to counteract the side effects of her chemo-therapy. While this strategy is still controversial that is because of political not scientific or medical reasons. Even the National Cancer Institute acknowledges the potential effectiveness of marijuana in alleviating the debilitating side effects of Lisa’s chemo-therapy saying that, “Marijuana cigarettes have been used to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and research has shown that THC is more quickly absorbed from marijuana smoke than from an oral preparation.”
If Tom Batiuk is going to accept praise and awards for tackling this subject then it is incumbent upon him to do so in a responsible manner. So far he has not done so, instead, he has put his cartoon strip in the service of the simplistic and questionable, moral and political statement that marijuana is bad. Just like the federal government in the real world, Batiuk has put politics above the life of his character, Lisa.
Cross posted on The Trebach Report
This event prompted Kent to write an open letter to Coleman reminding him of his past position on marijuana which had included a forceful call for legalization. Kent pointed out that, “You never said then that pot was dangerous. What was scary then, and is as frightening now, is when national leaders become voices of hypocrisy, harbingers of the status quo, and protect their own position instead of the public good. Welcome to the crowd of those who have become a likeness of which they despised. “
Faithful readers of this space may well understand Norm Kent’s anger at Coleman since there is no scientific evidence that when used sensibly and in moderation marijuana causes adverse health effects. In fact, the Drug Enforcement Agency’s own Administrative Law Judge, Francis L Young found that “Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.”
Nor is marijuana a highly addictive drug. None of the great objective commission reports from the 1894 British Indian Hemp Drugs Commission report to the recent study by the Canadian Senate and all those in between have ever found marijuana to be addictive.
Also, there is no causal relationship between marijuana and respiratory illness, including lung cancer. Indeed, Dr. Donald Tashkin of the UCLA School of Medicine, a staunch opponent of cannabis use, presented a large case-control study which showed an inverse correlation between marijuana smoking and lung cancer. And, attempts to link marijuana use with mental illness such as increased anxiety are false too.
In addition, there is little creditable evidence, despite widespread belief to the contrary, that marijuana use makes people more dangerous drivers. However, there is evidence that the opposite may be true. Certainly, we must take into consideration that marijuana prohibition encourages the consumption of more alcohol and that without doubt makes transportation, schools, and workplaces more dangerous.
Norm Kent ends his eloquent open letter with some good advice, for Norm Coleman and many others in the political class as well, saying, “How about you looking back at your past and saying: ‘What I did was not so wrong and not so bad and not so hurtful that generations of Americans should still, decades later, be going to jail for smoking pot -- nearly one million arrests for possession last year.’ Can't Norm Coleman come out of the closet in 2007 and say ‘These arrests are wrong -- that there is a better way, and we need to find it.’ You might find more integrity and honor in that then adopting the sad and sorry policy of our Office of National Drug Control Policy. You might find the person you were.”
Hat tip to Kenny Rodgers
Cross posted on The Trebach Report
The flag is supposed stand for freedom, you know, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So if it makes someone happy to buy an American flag manufactured in Taiwan who are they or the government for that matter to stand in that person's way? Their discussion presents us with a snapshot of what is so wrong with much of American culture these days, the triumph of symbolism over substance.
The sponsor of this law, State Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL, those who voted for it, and those who voice support for its passage desecrate the substance that the flag symbolizes far more than anyone who burns it ever could. In fact, those who burn the American flag in protest actually are honoring that substance and it is a sign of our strength not weakness that we continue to allow that.
Grab the nearest book.
1. Open it to page 161.
2. Find the fifth full sentence.
3. Post the text of the sentence along with these instructions.
Don't search around looking for the coolest book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.
My nearest book was Drugs in America: A Documentary History
edited by David F. Musto, M.D.
"Alcohol Explored" Howard W. Haggard and E.M. Jellnick, the sentence is:
"Within this range, alcohol concentration becomes dangerous to human life."
However, Dr. Mikuriya will not be forgotten as long as work such as three recent investigations continues. A German study looked into effect of the cannabinoid dronabinol on the nighttime agitation experienced by patients with dementia. The German scientists concluded that, “the study suggests that dronabinol was able to reduce nocturnal motor activity and agitation in severely demented patients. Thus, it appears that dronabinol may be a safe new treatment option for behavioral and circadian disturbances in dementia.”
Meanwhile, in Columbia, an investigation into cannabinoids potential as neuroprotective compounds in Alzheimer's disease (AD) came up with results that, “suggest that CP55,940/( JWH-015) protection/rescue of PBL from noxious stimuli is determined by p53 inactivation. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of the role played by cannabinoids as neuroprotective agents to target and interrupt molecular signaling that induce damage in AD disorder.”
Also, researchers at The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology in La Jolla, California discovered that, “compared to currently approved drugs prescribed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, THC is a considerably superior inhibitor of Abeta aggregation, and this study provides a previously unrecognized molecular mechanism through which cannabinoid molecules may directly impact the progression of this debilitating disease.”
Tod Mikuriya was a pioneer in a field of scientific endeavor that promises to ease the suffering of literally millions of people. With each study, such as those above, it becomes clearer and clearer that the pledge will be fulfilled. It is not too much to state that Dr. Mikuriya was a hero.
Hat tip to Ian Goddard
Cross posted on The Trebach Report
Professor Kehowski is fighting back with the aid of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). On March 9th Chancellor Rufus Glasper of the school where Kehowski teaches placed him on administrative leave and recommended that he be dismissed. Fire has sent a letter to Glasper but so far his response has been to dissemble.
The president who made the initial termination suggestion, Dr. Velvie Green, of Glendale Community College, part of the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) says he is trying to fire Kehowski because he supposedly had violated the Technology Resource Standards and other District policy. The violation allegedly involved misuse of the institution’s e-mail system which is limited to mail supporting education, research, scholarly communication, administration, and other MCCCD business. If the profssor was in violation, although I maintain that he was not, then he had plenty of company whose offenses have been well tolerated by the adminstration. Now I find incidents like this very distasteful in general but as a historian I am particularly outraged that this fifth rate diploma mill run by left wing hacks does not consider an address by the first President of the United States to be scholarly communication. It is a slap in the face of my profession.
No one can doubt that there is a serious issue here involving censorship that is both unjust and extremely harmful to our society. That is why it has so much in common with the suspension of Opie and Anthony. In both cases past speech of the same type made them a target. The radio duo have been fired twice before and the type of material that got them in trouble was common place on their satellite show, as well as, the previous incarnation of their over the air program. It turns out that Professor Kehowski is a long time foe of multi-culturalism’s excesses and has had run ins before with other faculty and the administration.
Another thing that the professor and radio personalities have in common is that only a very tiny number of people were offended by something that caused minimal intrusion. Kehowsi’s easily deleted e-mail got sent over a district wide listserve but only five people complained, Also, you have to wonder was that five spontaneous protests or one person with four friends? As far as the self selected listeners of Opie and Anthony go they seem to be rallying around them and I doubt very much that any regular listener of the show became offended by that content.
Content, that in each case has real worth. Anything written by George Washington has intrinsic historical worth and his words still deserve attention, perhaps now more then ever. If you write down the words that Homeless Charlie said on the radio or hear them from a self-righteous scolding talking head they sound bad. However, if you heard Charlie say them in the context of the other things he was saying they still sound awful but they are also hilarious Something that intrinsically funny should not be denied to people who can appreciate it.
One of the reasons I have always loved listening to Opie and Anthony is because it reminds me of listening to really good jazz. Their and their guest’s comedy is increditably spontaneous and this sometimes leads to extremely humorous but admittedly dark places. I really wish those who do not want to go there would just listen to something else and leave those who like it alone. Because if the standard for humor is to never offend anyone then it will be like listening to jazz where the musicans are forbidden to play high notes.
Hat tip Kenny Rodgers
However, a new form of censorship is taking hold and it is the equivalent of small groups of people going around barricading and locking up theaters or lecture halls to keep the public out. They get away with this by threatening the livelihood of the owners of venues that allow a platform for speakers or material that they personally object to. The far greater numbers of people who want to hear this communication do not seem to count anymore. A belief in free speech is not just about the right to speak it is also about the right to listen, freedom of assembly.
How does this help the terrorists? Well, CNN’s Glenn Beck in a very articulate and informative segment pointed out that he too is a target of special interest groups whose goal is to remove him from the airways. This attention comes from his strong stand against Islamic terror leading, of course, to charges of religious bigotry. You do not have to stretch the rationale which led to the demise of Imus very far at all to justify Beck’s dismissal.
Beck believes the solution to this new type of censorship will come when society begins to focus on the personal responsibility of turning the dial in the face of material you as an individual find objectionable instead of the nebulous concept of corporate responsibility. This is especially true because the financially responsible thing for these companies, when faced with what are essentially hollow threats, to do is to keep someone who is generating ratings and revenue on the air.
One of Beck’s guests Debbie Wolf was co-founder of an organization, People Against Censorship which is attempting stem the rising tide of this new censorship. She has penned an eloquent letter to Executives of CBS and Free FM pointing out that they are “setting a bad example that other companies have begun to follow, your actions have also placed an insurmountable handicap on every person who broadcasts on every radio station in America (one that will likely extend to television as well). You have put them in a position where broadcasters cannot speak freely without a fear that they may offend some group that will result in their firing. Certainly you must be aware that it is impossible to speak, in this day and age, without offending someone. This is an untenable situation and must be corrected.”
On CNN Wolf argued that any broadcaster or musician or comic should be outraged and fearful that their ability as artists to express themselves will be lost. She might have added that anyone who enjoys discussion of controversial issues, music, or laughing should also be angry and concerned.
Beck’s other guest Michael Harrison publisher of Talkers Magazine unaware of the action taken later by XM Satellite maintained that free speech would not be lost but would rather move elsewhere. That is why the suspension of Opie and Anthony is so disturbing because satellite radio is the elsewhere he had in mind. And, once the so easily offended special interest groups have control of that medium is there any doubt that television is next, followed by the internet?
Cross posted on The Trebach Report
Now we have Democrat Martin O’Malley in charge holding office only a few short months and he is poised to veto a bill that will reduce the harm done to the citizens of Maryland by mandatory minimum sentencing. You may recall that awhile back I posted linking to an excellent call for action letter from Naomi Long of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) in support of change and then expressed the hope that some of the legislators would actually read it. Well apparently enough of them did and the legislation passed. However, despite earlier indications that he would sign the bill O’Malley now appears ready to veto it.
The overwhelming majority of the unjust impact that mandatory minimum sentencing produces lands directly on the backs of poor Blacks and Hispanics, not just those jailed but their families including their children too. Are these not the people the Democratic Party is supposed to be looking out for? If Martin O’Malley halts this change in the law then he is not doing that and he is in fact betraying many of the very people who put him in office.
Perhaps the harshest mandatory minimum laws on the books are the Rockefeller Drug Laws operating in New York State. A very moving music video by Hip Hop artist and star Jim Jones, part of the upcoming film Lockdown, USA, really brings home the complete and utter injustice of these laws which waste enormous resources and make many people’s lives miserable for no good reason. You can contact the political leaders in New York urging them to pursue better public policy here.
In Maryland, there is still a little time to bring Governor O’Malley to his senses. He can be contacted through StoptheDrugWar.org or you can call (800) 811-8336, or fax him at (410) 974-3275. His written address is The Honorable Martin O'Malley, State House, Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1925. The bill he needs to sign in order to keep faith with those that elected him is HB 922. Any action taken must be done quickly as Thursday May 17th is the signing day.
Cross posted on The Trebach Report
