Monday, October 17, 2011
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
Thursday, September 29, 2011
A hopeful prayer for Freedom
On this day I honor my passed friend, Ed Lutz, I say a final prayer for America's Daughter, Amanda Knox.
Her fate will become known shortly and we pray for a final resolution.
Godspeed Chuck Knox, Wife, and siblings of Amanda, we are all praying for you.
Gary Ozenne
Her fate will become known shortly and we pray for a final resolution.
Godspeed Chuck Knox, Wife, and siblings of Amanda, we are all praying for you.
Gary Ozenne
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Can You Imagine ?
Mr. and Mrs America:
Your daughter has been falsely accused of a horrible crime of murder. The prosecutor, plays out fantasy, fantastic, and false scenarios which captivated Italian justice with its lurid stories of sex and ritual. The flimsy evidence, under more careful review, reveals several serious flaws of acceptance of evidence.
I, for one, pledge my support to Chuck Knox, his wife, and daughters. Godspeed, all.
Gary O
Your daughter has been falsely accused of a horrible crime of murder. The prosecutor, plays out fantasy, fantastic, and false scenarios which captivated Italian justice with its lurid stories of sex and ritual. The flimsy evidence, under more careful review, reveals several serious flaws of acceptance of evidence.
I, for one, pledge my support to Chuck Knox, his wife, and daughters. Godspeed, all.
Gary O
Monday, September 19, 2011
Pot and Banks
Banks in Medical-Marijuana States Going to Pot?
Published September 19, 2011
| FOXBusiness
Smoking medical marijuana may be legal in 16 states and the District of Columbia, but selling it still violates federal law, and “ganja-preneurs,” the owners of medical marijuana dispensaries, say this conflict between the state and federal government is a buzz-kill.
Banks in states where marijuana is legal for medical purposes won't do business with dispensary owners for fear that regulators will target them in federal investigations. Federal regulators maintain banks which do business with dispensaries are supporting activities that, even if legal in the state, are illegal at the federal level.
In a memo the Department of Justice issued to U.S. Attorneys last June, the federal government made its stance on federal marijuana law clear: “The Department is committed to the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in all States,” the memo stated. “Congress has determined that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that the illegal distribution and sale of marijuana is a serious crime that provides a significant source of revenue to large scale criminal enterprises, gangs, and cartels.”
This wording was intended to clarify an earlier memo from October of 2009, which had given the appearance of leniency in enforcement of federal laws prohibiting marijuana. That memo instructed U.S. attorneys that regulators “…should not focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.”
This recent intensification from the Justice Department in its intent to prosecute violations of the Controlled Substances Act is scaring banks away from opening and maintaining accounts for medical marijuana dispensaries.
Banks in states where marijuana is legal for medical purposes won't do business with dispensary owners for fear that regulators will target them in federal investigations. Federal regulators maintain banks which do business with dispensaries are supporting activities that, even if legal in the state, are illegal at the federal level.
In a memo the Department of Justice issued to U.S. Attorneys last June, the federal government made its stance on federal marijuana law clear: “The Department is committed to the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in all States,” the memo stated. “Congress has determined that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that the illegal distribution and sale of marijuana is a serious crime that provides a significant source of revenue to large scale criminal enterprises, gangs, and cartels.”
This wording was intended to clarify an earlier memo from October of 2009, which had given the appearance of leniency in enforcement of federal laws prohibiting marijuana. That memo instructed U.S. attorneys that regulators “…should not focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.”
This recent intensification from the Justice Department in its intent to prosecute violations of the Controlled Substances Act is scaring banks away from opening and maintaining accounts for medical marijuana dispensaries.
Jill Lamoureux, who owns and operates four medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado, said she’s now been through two credit unions and two banks, the most recent of which, Colorado Springs State Bank, will close her account on Sept. 30.
“There is an unclear regulatory situation…it became unmanageable in a lot of respects and that was unfortunate,” said John Whitten, Senior Vice President of Colorado Springs State Bank.
Whitten said the bank does not want to have to close their medical marijuana accounts, but one thing both banks and regulators agree upon is that until the differences between the federal and state policies on cannabis are reconciled, these businesses will continue to encounter difficulties finding a banker.
“How should the banks approach it? It’s illegal at the federal level and then legal at the state level, and yet the banks have an obligation to take care of their communities,” Whitten said. “These businesses are part of those communities, so how do we reconcile that?”
Lamoureux said she has found a bank to accept her deposits, but wouldn’t mention it by name for fear that any media attention would prompt the bank to close her account. She thinks the banks have shied away from servicing account-holders like her because medical marijuana is still a nascent business in Colorado that’s not yet profitable enough to compel the banks to risk additional regulatory attention.
“In California the banking problem doesn’t seem to be as bad; their dispensaries may not be regulated as much and they are more profitable,” Lamoureux said.
Congressman Jared Polis (D-Co.) has introduced legislation into the U.S. House of Representatives that would shift regulatory responsibility for medical marijuana businesses away from the federal government to the state governments, and would eliminate the need for financial institutions to report medical marijuana businesses’ activities to the federal government.
Calling it a “fast-growing” industry, and citing the $7.34 million the state of Colorado has already received in licensing fees from medical marijuana dispensary applications, Polis argues that roadblocks to the success of the industry need be removed so these businesses can get back to “providing jobs and tax revenues right when our economy needs it.”
Allen St. Pierre, the Executive Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), a D.C.-based advocacy group, said despite these hurdles, dispensaries have made marked progress on the “road to legalization.”
“If the federal government would simply end prohibition, than we wouldn’t be engaged in any of this nitwittery whatsoever,” St. Pierre said. “The federal government created this mess, and they’re about the only entity that can fix it.”
“There is an unclear regulatory situation…it became unmanageable in a lot of respects and that was unfortunate,” said John Whitten, Senior Vice President of Colorado Springs State Bank.
Whitten said the bank does not want to have to close their medical marijuana accounts, but one thing both banks and regulators agree upon is that until the differences between the federal and state policies on cannabis are reconciled, these businesses will continue to encounter difficulties finding a banker.
“How should the banks approach it? It’s illegal at the federal level and then legal at the state level, and yet the banks have an obligation to take care of their communities,” Whitten said. “These businesses are part of those communities, so how do we reconcile that?”
Lamoureux said she has found a bank to accept her deposits, but wouldn’t mention it by name for fear that any media attention would prompt the bank to close her account. She thinks the banks have shied away from servicing account-holders like her because medical marijuana is still a nascent business in Colorado that’s not yet profitable enough to compel the banks to risk additional regulatory attention.
“In California the banking problem doesn’t seem to be as bad; their dispensaries may not be regulated as much and they are more profitable,” Lamoureux said.
Congressman Jared Polis (D-Co.) has introduced legislation into the U.S. House of Representatives that would shift regulatory responsibility for medical marijuana businesses away from the federal government to the state governments, and would eliminate the need for financial institutions to report medical marijuana businesses’ activities to the federal government.
Calling it a “fast-growing” industry, and citing the $7.34 million the state of Colorado has already received in licensing fees from medical marijuana dispensary applications, Polis argues that roadblocks to the success of the industry need be removed so these businesses can get back to “providing jobs and tax revenues right when our economy needs it.”
Allen St. Pierre, the Executive Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), a D.C.-based advocacy group, said despite these hurdles, dispensaries have made marked progress on the “road to legalization.”
“If the federal government would simply end prohibition, than we wouldn’t be engaged in any of this nitwittery whatsoever,” St. Pierre said. “The federal government created this mess, and they’re about the only entity that can fix it.”
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/09/19/banks-in-medical-marijuana-states-going-to-pot/#ixzz1YQNIoGdW
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