Saturday, October 29, 2011
Coincidence ?
Note: This post was the first post I created on this blog, from June 22, 2011 - I created, but forgot to post, till today October 29, 2011
I had not been back to Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church since I was deployed by FEMA in August of 2008. I did keep in touch with Pastor Ken through email.
I had not been back to Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church since I was deployed by FEMA in August of 2008. I did keep in touch with Pastor Ken through email.
I watched a video of one of my favorite Church songs; Holy, Holy, Holy
The program for Grace Lutheran Church showed, 'Holy, Holy, Holy' one of my favorite Christian hymns.
Monday, October 17, 2011
A Curious Crackdown on Medical Marijuana
A curious crackdown on medical marijuana
By Lauren Mendelsohn
Monday, October 17, 2011
14
Maryland may soon join D.C. and the 16 states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana, which is respected by many Americans as a legitimate treatment. For a while, it seemed this trend would continue spreading to more states, but recent action by the federal government has left millions of patients, caregivers and activists bewildered.
On Oct. 7, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued an unexpected and shocking message to California medical marijuana dispensaries: Close your doors within 45 days or face federal prosecution for illegal drug trafficking. The announcement was directed at several dispensaries in particular, not meant as a mandate to every shop in the state, but it sent a clear message from the Feds: We're cracking down on pot and once again revving up the failed War on Drugs.
California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana, and it's had its share of conflict with the federal government in the 15 years since. Because marijuana is illegal on the national level, the DEA has raided countless dispensaries under the guise of "combating drug dealing" and "protecting citizens," even though these citizens are the ones who voted to legalize medicinal cannabis in their state. While the federal government deemed each raid a success, the local population deemed the crackdown an attack on their health, jobs and freedom.
When President Barack Obama took office, he offered a false sense of hope to advocates in claiming he would not focus on indicting medical marijuana patients or shutting down dispensaries, provided they operate within state laws. It will remain unknown whether or not he actually meant this, because something besides the people's desires became more important in the medical marijuana debate: money.
Medical marijuana has the potential to make a lot of money, and neither the government nor the pharmaceutical industry failed to notice this. What many Americans don't realize is that the Feds and Big Pharma are in cahoots on the issue of medical marijuana (and the prohibition of drugs in general). Naturally, pharmaceutical companies lose customers when people discover a joint will give them the same relief as an expensive pill regimen. The companies are fighting to keep this from happening, no doubt using their wallets to encourage the federal government to crack down on dispensaries. At the same time, drug company executives see that THC — the main psychoactive compound in marijuana — does have healing properties, and they want to capitalize on that.
The DEA and the Food and Drug Administration created a THC capsule with the hopes of driving people away from natural cannabis and toward their laboratory-produced version. If things continue the way they've been going lately, the federal government will likely grant a few big drug companies the right to produce the pill using marijuana grown on a pot farm owned by — who else? — the federal government.
Meanwhile, medical marijuana dispensaries that haven't been forcefully closed will struggle to survive, because the IRS has declared dispensaries cannot deduct standard business operating costs — such as security, rent and payroll — from their tax returns. Who else smells hypocrisy and deceit?
These federal actions are in complete contrast with Obama's previous position on medical marijuana. He said the U.S. attorney's office would not prosecute cultivators and distributors abiding by state law, and yet that's exactly what's going on right now. And so the great battle between states' rights and the federal government begins once again. If the Feds are successful in crippling California's medical marijuana system, the drug's future here in Maryland and nationwide will become uncertain. Hopefully, they'll realize they have more important things to do than harming patients and communities.
Lauren Mendelsohn is a junior psychology major. She can be reached at mendelsohn@umdbk.com.
By Lauren Mendelsohn
Monday, October 17, 2011
14
Maryland may soon join D.C. and the 16 states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana, which is respected by many Americans as a legitimate treatment. For a while, it seemed this trend would continue spreading to more states, but recent action by the federal government has left millions of patients, caregivers and activists bewildered.
On Oct. 7, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued an unexpected and shocking message to California medical marijuana dispensaries: Close your doors within 45 days or face federal prosecution for illegal drug trafficking. The announcement was directed at several dispensaries in particular, not meant as a mandate to every shop in the state, but it sent a clear message from the Feds: We're cracking down on pot and once again revving up the failed War on Drugs.
California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana, and it's had its share of conflict with the federal government in the 15 years since. Because marijuana is illegal on the national level, the DEA has raided countless dispensaries under the guise of "combating drug dealing" and "protecting citizens," even though these citizens are the ones who voted to legalize medicinal cannabis in their state. While the federal government deemed each raid a success, the local population deemed the crackdown an attack on their health, jobs and freedom.
When President Barack Obama took office, he offered a false sense of hope to advocates in claiming he would not focus on indicting medical marijuana patients or shutting down dispensaries, provided they operate within state laws. It will remain unknown whether or not he actually meant this, because something besides the people's desires became more important in the medical marijuana debate: money.
Medical marijuana has the potential to make a lot of money, and neither the government nor the pharmaceutical industry failed to notice this. What many Americans don't realize is that the Feds and Big Pharma are in cahoots on the issue of medical marijuana (and the prohibition of drugs in general). Naturally, pharmaceutical companies lose customers when people discover a joint will give them the same relief as an expensive pill regimen. The companies are fighting to keep this from happening, no doubt using their wallets to encourage the federal government to crack down on dispensaries. At the same time, drug company executives see that THC — the main psychoactive compound in marijuana — does have healing properties, and they want to capitalize on that.
The DEA and the Food and Drug Administration created a THC capsule with the hopes of driving people away from natural cannabis and toward their laboratory-produced version. If things continue the way they've been going lately, the federal government will likely grant a few big drug companies the right to produce the pill using marijuana grown on a pot farm owned by — who else? — the federal government.
Meanwhile, medical marijuana dispensaries that haven't been forcefully closed will struggle to survive, because the IRS has declared dispensaries cannot deduct standard business operating costs — such as security, rent and payroll — from their tax returns. Who else smells hypocrisy and deceit?
These federal actions are in complete contrast with Obama's previous position on medical marijuana. He said the U.S. attorney's office would not prosecute cultivators and distributors abiding by state law, and yet that's exactly what's going on right now. And so the great battle between states' rights and the federal government begins once again. If the Feds are successful in crippling California's medical marijuana system, the drug's future here in Maryland and nationwide will become uncertain. Hopefully, they'll realize they have more important things to do than harming patients and communities.
Lauren Mendelsohn is a junior psychology major. She can be reached at mendelsohn@umdbk.com.
Albert Einstein
Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down by the mind before you reach eighteen.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Gerry Spence on Wall Street Protests
The protests on Wall Street have been overdue but will end too soon. Slaves cannot long maintain a war against the master. A money-made U. S. Supreme Court has insured that the Moneyed Master can buy elections, and only the Master has such money. The democratic idea of government by the governed is a myth. One notes that the Republican party is so sensitive to its master’s power that it dare not suggest raising taxes on the Master –- not even an impoverished penny, much less plug the illegal loopholes through which the Master sucks the last of the life blood from the nation. All such slaves know that all power is vested in the Moneyed Master. The current protests are curious news. But the media, both the printed and electronic, belong to the Moneyed Master. The people have no voice and their protesting voices on Wall Street and elsewhere are lost in the din of the growling, empty stomachs of children and the sounds of terror from a people who are crippled, not because their arms or legs have been severed, but because they can find no jobs. The Moneyed Master has closed its doors against the people and sits on its money like an old hen on rotten eggs. The people will not prevail. No, not now. The gluttony of the Master must first run uncontained like maddened rats in a cheese factory until the sky grows dark and the light of hope fades, and there remains only the sound of the Master’s gnashing teeth greedily devouring all but the faintest dreams of the people. With its endless propaganda the Moneyed Master has caused its slaves to believe they are free. But when that cruel hoax is ripped bare of its deceitful cloth and stands naked before the people, and when enough of the people sleep under the bridges and their children’s bellies swell from hunger then one day it will be too late for the Master. Suddenly, without warning, the people will rise up in explosive unison like a long sleeping volcano. Raging and turmoil will ring across the canyons of the streets and blood will flood the streets, and the people will at last prevail. These are the times when the people cry out their pain to the deaf ears of the Moneyed Master. But such are only the beginning steps of the infant. The people will grow strong from their pain. Pain is the nourishment of growth. And in the end the people will prevail as they have though the eons against the tyrants of power. But not now.
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Monday, October 3, 2011
Bambi makes it out of the forest !
America's daughter, Amanda Knox, was released today, after four years of unlawful imprisonment.
So Happy tonight for Seattle, and the Knox family.
Welcome Home Amanda, we love you
Gary L.Ozenne
www.firesprinklers.us
So Happy tonight for Seattle, and the Knox family.
Welcome Home Amanda, we love you
Gary L.Ozenne
www.firesprinklers.us
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