FREE CALIFORNIA LEGAL INFORMATION -- GREAT STUFF

There is a GREAT website, which is actually for judges, but available to anyone who has an internet connection. It is a set of Benchguides for California judges, with the current law on MANY different subjects. The pdf books are jointly published by the California Judicial Council, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the California Center for Judicial Education and Research.

Many private websites are now offering these books. I would highly recommend that you use an official State of California website (which always has "ca" somewhere in the web address). This insures that you are reading the most recent update of the book, which is always important in law.

You can search using "California judge benchguide" plus the legal topic you want or you can go direct to the index of the Benchguides, which is http://www2.courtinfo.ca.gov/protem/pubs/

The people who publish these books RUN the California court system. The books contain a synopsis of the law, with case citations. Usually this kind of research is only available from a law library or an expensive legal research company.

Happy researching!

MORTALITY VS. IMMORTALITY

All life on earth is mortal, in that everyone and everything eventually dies.

This foreknowledge of mortality does not help when someone you love dies. It helps somewhat if the person who died lived a long and full life. But the person is still gone from your life forever, leaving an empty spot.

Fantasy novels tell tales of immortal elves, who live forever, unless killed in battle. The novels make it clear that the price the elves pay for a long life is having almost no children. I would not agree to immortality with no children, not that I have a choice in the matter.

We often portray the new year as a baby and the old year as an old man as a reminder about the cycle of birth, life and death.

Unfortunately, right now, all this philosophy does not make me feel better about loss. I still mourn.

A MORE PEACEFUL EARTH WITH FEWER ATOMIC BOMBS

I am asking Santa for a step towards peace on earth. If the Senate approves the START treaty, Russia and the US will have fewer atomic bombs, we will get to inspect Russia's bombs, and we will be able to replace our older atomic bombs with spiffy new atomic bombs.

Five former Secretaries of State, all Republicans, have said the treaty is a good idea.

However, Republican Senators are resisting voting for anything that did not come from a Republican President. Hey, guys, the first START treaty came from a Republican President.

Call your Senator and ask for the treaty to be ratified.

Let us make one small step towards peace on earth.

NO MONEY FOR HOLIDAY PRESENTS?

Our relentless American advertisements make us all believe that the December Holidays are about presents, and expensive food and drink.

The December Holidays are about friends, family, religion, and an acknowledgement of the New Year. All these things can be celebrated using little or no money. Actually, some of the very best celebrations I have attended have been done using a limited budget.

It is all in your attitude. In the Little House book, The Long Winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder tells of the Christmas Pa got caught in the big snow. Pa had to eat the children's only Christmas present, hard candy. The family celebrated anyway. Pa was alive, they were together, and that was enough.

Even if you are by yourself, plan on doing SOMETHING on the day you usually celebrate. Take a walk, make a special food, volunteer to feed the poor, anything but sit at home feeling sorry for yourself.

Who knows, it might be your best Holiday ever.

IN MY DREAMS

In my dreams, I am running or riding a horse, speeding over the prairie of my childhood. In reality, I walk slowly, using a wheelchair for trips over half a block.

In my dreams, I am traveling to see my family for the holidays. In reality, travel is very difficult for me, especially in the snow or rain.

Like a blind person, I have carefully set up my life so that I can do the maximum number of things without anyone else noticing there is something wrong. As my arthritis gets worse, I quietly mourn each loss of freedom of movement.

But the worse thing about all this is the difficulty of travel. A phone call is not the same as a hug. Slowly, the friends and family who live far away become strangers.

I tell myself that it could be worse. And it could be. My disease could prevent me from doing anything, or I could live in an underdeveloped country where I would not be able to have a wheelchair and a wheelchair van.

And I do have friends and family. I do my best to celebrate the joy rather than mourn the things I used to be able to do.

WIKILEAKS -- FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

The First Amendment to the US Constitution reads:

"Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...."*

The US Supreme Court will hold the STEALER of secrets responsible for the theft. The Court will also NOT prevent the publication of secret information unless it can be proven that such information is causing damage. The Court does not consider embarrassment to be damage.

Wikileaks has been really smart and really reasonable about the information that they have acquired. Lawyers around the world should be in awe of the strategy that almost certainly insures the continuing leaking of information. The most important aspects of this strategy has four components.

1. Wikileaks is NOT the only organization that has the information. The information is also in the possession of five respected newspapers in five different countries. They are The New York Times, in the USA; Le Monde, in France; El Pais, in Spain; Der Spiegal, in Germany; and The Guardian, in Great Britain.

2. These newspapers and Wikileaks have spent months redacting (editing) the information so that no person is put in danger. The New York Times had plenty of time to consult with US government agencies about the content of the cables.

3. ALL of these countries have laws protecting freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Each country has slightly different laws.

4. Even if Wikileaks disappears from the face of the earth, the information will still be leaked. Too many people have possession of the information for the information to continue to remain secret.

LET THE COURTS AND THE DIPLOMATS SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. Denial of service attacks are exactly the same as burning books, which most of us deplore.

Freedom of the press and freedom of speech are basic protections essential to democracy. It is not possible to have a working democracy without a full debate on the issues. We need to know things, because the ultimate decisions are up to us, the voters.

OUR COURTS have worked on the problem of protection of necessary secrets since the American Revolution. LET THEM SOLVE THIS.

BTW, people who publish secrets KNOW that they take a risk. I am sorry Assange is in jail, but, as far I know, Britain and Sweden have acceptable systems of justice. Let the British and Swedish courts solve this problem.

* ... means some words were left out because they are not relevant to the current discussion. .... means that the words left out were at the end of the sentence.

SHALL WE MAKE THE RICH RICHER OR MAKE THE POOR POORER?

I agree with President Obama. As distasteful as it is to give millionaires a tax break, it would be even worse to allow the unemployed to suffer homelessness and worse.

It is unfortunate that the rich get a two year break and the unemployed get a one year break. It is something to remember during the next election.

BUT WE NEED MORE STIMULUS AND THIS IS ECONOMIC STIMULUS. So pass the bill quickly and get the atomic bomb treaty done also.

BTW, I think the reason that people do not want millionaires to pay taxes is that, like girls wanting to go to the Prince's ball, everyone in the US wants to be a millionaire. And when they reach their illusory goal, they do not want to pay taxes. NO ONE seems to have the attitude of, "This country made me rich, now I can pay back for the infrastructure that allowed me to become rich."

NEW INTERNET SCAM -- DYING CANCER PATIENT TO GIVE MONEY

The new internet scam is an email from a fake doctor saying that his patient is dying and would like to give you money.

YOU DO NOT GET MONEY FROM EMAIL FROM AN UNKNOWN PERSON. These kinds of emails are SCAMS and will COST YOU MONEY.

The people who fall for these scams are the people who are desperate for money. Unfortunately, the scam artist will make their money problems WORSE.

BETHLEHEM IN SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA

I LOVE history recreations. Often, the recreation gives you SOME of the feel of what like was like during a particular time and place. For instances, I always enjoy the Renaissance Pleasure Faire.

I am NOT a fan of Victorian Christmas, which I think started the "only the rich can properly celebrate Christmas" attitude. However, the Dickens Faire can be a lot of fun. And you can buy great gifts at the Dickens Faire.

Myself, I try every year to go to the local churches' recreation of the town of Bethlehem, set up in the parking lot of the First Baptist Church of Santa Clara. There are donkeys, camels, examples of shops from the time of Christ, Mary, the innkeeper, and very little "preaching". Each year it gets more elaborate.

No matter your religion, the WORDS that are quoted as the words of Jesus are useful for living a good life.

You cannot buy anything at Bethlehem. But you can make bracelets, pet camels, kneed bread, and watch the reenactment of the birth of Jesus. My favorite year was the year some of the wisemen rode camels.

WIKILEAKS

I think the reason this US State Department information was available to a private first class, a very LOW rank, is that the cables were designed as an insider's political and historical lesson for people being considered for the job of political analyst.

This information is either NOT a surprise or is a logical extrapolation of events in the news.

I WAS surprised by the Chinese envoy's comments about North Korea, but it makes sense that China would prefer that South Korea be saddled with the expense of a shattered North Korea.

The snarky comments were left in the cables to keep people interested in reading the stuff, which is mostly fairly boring information.

BTW, I read the entire cable about Prince Andrew and I think it was the Americans that Prince Andrew was "just short of rude" to. His hosts seem to have been very pleased with him.

The Guardian in London has almost all of the cables up in a searchable date base.

Oh, and I was almost certainly RIGHT about China and backdoors! It is time to stop infighting and PAY ATTENTION. (All you need to do is search for the Google China information, and the information on part of the internet, including military information, being briefly diverted to China, instead of where it was supposed to go.)

DEAR ABBY IS WRONG! ALCOHOL IS NOT ALWAYS A GOOD GIFT!

Dear Abby says that alcohol is the perfect Christmas gift because if someone does not want the alcohol, they can give it to someone else.

GIVING ALCOHOL TO AN ALCOHOLIC IS A HORRIBLE CHRISTMAS PRESENT.

Many alcoholics do not tell other people about their problem. That is why they call their meetings "Alcoholics Anonymous". Some alcoholics do not want alcohol in their home because they know they are unable to resist temptation.

Unless you know a person well enough to know their favorite alcoholic beverage, do NOT give alcohol as a present EVER.

$900 TAX TO GIVE HALF OF HOUSE TO DAUGHTER

One of the easy ways to avoid probate for a home or a bank account is to put your child, or your children, as "joint tenants" on the deed or on the bank account. In California, the term "joint tenant" means that if one of the tenant dies, the other tenant gets the property.

BUT WAIT, THERE IS A NEW DOCUMENTARY TRANSFER TAX, which is a relatively EXPENSIVE tax. In a city in Santa Clara County, the transfer tax could be around $900.00 for a property worth $200,000. (See California Revenue and Taxation Code section 11911.) You can NOT record the change to the deed without paying the tax.

In Santa Clara County the only exemptions to the tax are transfers between married people and transfers to and from a TRUST. (LA County has more exemptions, so check with your own county.)

The DOWNSIDE of avoiding probate by joint tenancy is that you lose control over your property while you are still alive. The joint tenant on a bank account can clean out the bank account. The joint tenant on a house can refuse to agree to sell the house.

IT IS WAY BETTER TO HAVE A LIVING TRUST and a will. (Your 'living trust' is a trust which can be changed during your lifetime.) YOU CAN AVOID BOTH PROBATE AND THE TRANSFER TAX.

REMEMBER THAT A TRUST CAN ONLY AVOID PROBATE ON PROPERTY WHICH IS HELD BY THE TRUST. If you do a trust, but do not put the property into the name of the trust, you have wasted the time and money you spent on the trust.

You should also have a will in case some of your property does not get put into the trust.

I am offering a recession special of a living trust and a will, including preparing a new deed for your home, for $750.00. This includes a discussion with me about your wishes. This offer is for ONE person. Married people may need a more complex living trust.

Note that my trusts do NOT have the property and heirs as exhibits to the trust. In the age of computers, being lazy and putting property and heirs as exhibits is making fraud too easy to accomplish.

TSA USES HUMAN ROBOTS INSTEAD OF LAW OFFICERS

TSA is destroying the dream of a vacation which involves flying. Business travelers are thinking of taking the train. People wonder if they dare take the kids to see their relatives.

People do not enjoy being patted down in intimate places. They find such experiences to be humiliating. Even thinking of small children being subject to such abusive searches by an agency of my government makes me ill.

Why is this happening? Because we are using low level, non-citizens as inexpensive human robots to pat people down in more and more aggressive fashion. We CANNOT use more intelligent means of screening plane passengers because no law enforcement agency is going to share intelligence data with poorly trained, low level, non-citizens who do not even have security clearances to receive such information.

I use a wheelchair. I am also searched on a regular basis because I go into courthouses. I have been searched by the county deputy sheriffs, by Homeland Security officers, at federal courthouses, and by airport security. Law officers treat me with respect, and with understanding of my disability. Airport security sometimes treats me with disdain, and sometimes ignores what I tell them about my disability.

The TSA website says that airport screeners get about 3 1/2 weeks of training, half of the training 'on the job'. They get less than 2 days of training per quarter year. You do NOT have to be a US citizen to become an airport screener.

BOTTOM LINE -- YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. If you buy cheap screenings by people who are NOT law officers, then you get screeners to whom we dare not give the ability to make judgment calls.

THE MOST EXPENSIVE MONEY YOU WILL EVER SAVE

People LOVE to save money by drawing up their own legal documents using forms from the internet.

Unless these forms come from a government website which has directions on how to fill out the forms, you are taking a HUGE risk.

It is especially dangerous to use the internet forms for something like a will or a trust. A will or trust is done to make certain that your wishes are carried out after you are no longer with us. If something goes wrong, you will not be around to fix it.

I ALWAYS recommend hiring a local attorney with experience in such matters to help you write your will or trust. Think of it as a kind of insurance.

For those of you in California, my website has a durable power of attorney form and a health care directive that were taken straight from the California Probate Code. The website is www.LawandLaws.com. The website also has advice on how to locate an attorney.

DO NOT USE the web attorney sites either. It is IMPORTANT that you know the name, address and phone number of the attorney you use in case something goes wrong. Most of the time the web attorney sites are staffed by paralegals who may or may not be trained.

I should also mention that I do inexpensive simple wills and trusts.

TSA, SEARCH, SAFETY AND VIDEO

I think it is a very bad idea to hold an airport protest on the busiest day of the year.

The airport will be filled with children and us old people. Please do not make the day any worse for the most vulnerable of us.

I think the TSA has gone out of control, especially regarding children.

I also think that the VIDEOS people are taking are the most effective way to get changes made.

Spending Thanksgiving in jail is not a fun way to celebrate the holiday. Cooperate with the security screenings or you may be in jail over Thanksgiving. The people who think it is OK to "feel up" children, are not the kind of people who are going to be reasonable about citizen protest.

Please remember that the people who are doing this to you genuinely believe that they are preventing planes from blowing up.

So be quiet, take your medicine, and POST YOUR VIDEOS when you get home.

I also wish to remind TSA that the people who support the increased screening almost certainly have not been through an advanced screening.

So how do you get through a probing screening without hitting the inspector? Old advice is usually good advice, so, "Close your eyes and think of England."*

*Old advice said to have been given to a young woman on the eve of her wedding.

OLDER ATOMIC BOMBS

Every time we agree to limit our atomic bombs, we get rid of older bombs. This time the US/Russia treaty to limit atomic bombs contains a provision to fund replacing even more of the old bombs.

I have been assured that our old atomic bombs are perfectly safe. Call me paranoid, but I think that atomic bombs with all of the very latest safely equipment would make ME feel safer.

Republicans believe that more of the older atomic bombs are better that somewhat fewer new, spiffy atomic bombs.

Under the new treaty, both the US and Russia will each have 1550 atomic bombs.

While we are building new atomic bombs, more formally called nuclear bombs, we should insure that any and all computer chips used in the bombs have been designed and manufactured by people who have US security clearances.

Of course, we will not have the safer, new bombs because the Republicans, especially Senator Kyl from Arizona, refuse to ratify the treaty which will fund the safer bombs.

If you decide to call your Senator about this, the treaty is called the START treaty.

ROYAL WEDDING

When Charles wed Diana, I got up at 4 AM so I could watch the wedding.

This time, I have a DVR, thank goodness, as I am getting too old to be awake in the middle of the night.

I LOVE the carriages, the horses, the uniforms, the dresses, the hats, the palace balcony scenes, the snarky family comments, the silly commentators. It is going to be fun.

If you want me to be politically correct, I will say that it is like watching a history reenactment. It will be great for Britain's economy. It is good to have a respected person who can do ceremonies, it takes the social pressure off of the politicians.

I am GLAD I am not the people who are getting married. I hope for their sake that it is as much fun to ride in the carriage as it is to dream of riding in the carriage.

OPTIMISM and the G-20

Last week, in Korea, the G-20 leaders looked relaxed and optimistic during their photo session.

I think that this means the world wide financial crises is getting much better.

Anyway, in my little corner of the world, the economy will be improved by the large Holiday bonuses paid by Google and Facebook, and by the recovery stimulus research money which is FINALLY reaching the San Francisco Bay Area.

BTW, I hear that if you are searching for a job in Silicon Valley that you should use Linked In.

CALL YOUR SENATOR

Call your Senator to see if they can pass some needed legislation in the lame duck session.

The most important are:

Unemployment, which is going to run out for millions if it is not renewed.

The atomic bomb treaty, which lowers the number of atomic bombs the US and Russia can have. This is a NO BRAINER* that Republicans are stopping just so President Obama does not get the credit for the treaty. (I assure you that, under the treaty, the US and Russia will still have enough atomic bombs left to destroy the planet.)

The National Criminal Justice Commission Act which changes nothing but does establish a commission to study criminal justice penalties in the US. Another NO BRAINER.

Extend the tax cuts for all but those who make over $250,000 per year.

Many of you gave money to the Democrats. Call them and tell them you want these things passed before Christmas.

My mother says, "If you aim for the ground, you are damn sure to hit it." This means that if you set your goals REALLY LOW, you will meet those goals, but it is better to set your goals high so that you at least get something, instead of nothing.

*A NO BRAINER is a term used when something is obviously a good thing to do.

HOLIDAY KID GIFTS

This list is the best of what I remember my children liked -- the gifts that lasted for years or were remembered for years.

Books for 6 months to 2 years

Pat the Bunny

Goodnight Moon

A Very Hungry Caterpillar

Other things

A light switch that plays music for a few minutes when you turn off the lights.

Glow in the dark stars for their ceiling.

Gift for 1 year to 5 years

A CD of you reading their favorite books, or better yet, read the Just So stories by Kipling. You then give them a CD player for Christmas. It does NOT have to be an expensive player, just a sturdy player.

A box large enough to crawl into. Tape up the box so it stays in a box shape. On one side cut 3/4 of a rectangle for the door, bending the fourth side so the door opens and shuts. Make a hole for the "doorknob" so the door can be shut from the inside. Cut a window into the other side. Large boxes are available behind furniture or appliance stores. There is no need to paint the box or make curtains or anything. Just let the kids play in their own private space.

4 -- 12 years

Great, safe swords can be made from PFC pipe and pipe insulation which is made to fit pipes. Have pipe cut to size, cover with the insulation, cover one end with heavy cardboard for safety, leave one end of the pipe free of insulation for the handle of the sword, cover the insulation and cardboard with duct tape, and have fun. Be sure and make at least two. Swords should be about as long as the arm that holds the sword.

Dominoes

Old Maid, a card game, very inexpensive.

12 -- 14 years

A Dragon's Hoard by Tanith Lee. This book has a game as part of the plot. That game is one of the best car games ever.

Teenagers love that stupid game where you put your hands and feet onto colored squares.

Try to get gifts that encourage friends and family to interact IN PERSON.

I HAVE BEEN BAD -- HAVE YOU BEEN BAD?

Now that I have been using the new little florescent light bulbs, I have stopped being careful about turning my lights off.

I was reminded of this by a global warming expert. He said people with the energy saving bulbs did not save any electricity because they felt comfortable leaving them on when they were out of the room.

DRAT, I thought, but did not say. That is EXACTLY what I am doing. So I starting turning off the lights in the bedroom, kitchen and bath when I was watching TV. It is surprisingly annoying to do this.

Please remember that these florescent light bulbs have mercury in them. If you are not going to turn them off, you should buy the other kind and turn THEM off.

BTW, I am told that the new florescent bulbs last longer if you leave them on for four hours the FIRST time you use them.

VETERANS GET MORE HELP

In August of 2009, a new GI Bill came into effect. Active duty Army, Air Force and Navy personnel qualify for college financial aid after 90 days active duty. (Search using the words "Post 9/11 GI Bill.")

Unfortunately, those who serve their county in the National Guard or in the Reserves, must have served three years of active duty to qualify for college financial aid.

This seems VERY UNFAIR. This is especially unfair if the National Guard or Reserves person served in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Bush Administration ran large portions of the Iraq War with personnel from the National Guard and the Reserves.

I do not understand why a person who is in the National Guard has to put in almost three years of leaving his/her civilian life and family in order to fight a war, only to be told they are "second class soldiers" who do not qualify for the GI Bill.

ARE YOU ON BOARD A BROKEN CRUISE SHIP?

Yes, yes, I know the Carnival ship that is broken is off the coast of California.

However, if you want to sue about your experience, you are going to have to sue in Dade County, Florida.

According to David W. Singer, an attorney in Hollywood, Florida, all lawsuits regarding injuries on a Carnival cruise ship MUST be brought in Miami-Dade County, Florida, within ONE YEAR.*

Don't you wish you were rich enough to "bribe" (contribute to the campaigns of) lawmakers so you could only be sued in one county in the US?

*Please let David know that I gave you this information. He pays for referrals and I could use the money.

MIDDLE MANAGERS

Too many times, the person who says, "Yes, Sir," gets promoted to manager. Too few times, the person who says, "This may not work," gets promoted to manager.

We are not promoting the people who are willing to give bad news to the upper management.

Therefore, the upper management is not getting the bad new until there is a huge crises.

The Gulf oil spill is an example of this. The companies knew at the lower levels that something, including the concrete formula, was wrong. They did not communicate that knowledge to the people who were actually making the decisions. Almost always this problem stems from a corporate culture of "we can do this".

"We can do this" is a way to get great things done. It is also a way to cause great harm by ignoring the voices that say "there might be a problem".

Middle managers almost certainly knew that mortgage paperwork was being done wrong. Middle managers almost certainly knew that some mortgages being sold were going to people who could not pay the mortgages.

However, the companies they worked for rewarded cost savings and profits. There was no reward for pointing out possible future problems.

Companies that run "full speed ahead" are risking a fatal crash.

Organizations MUST reward those people who bring possible problems to the attention of upper management. Until this happens, we will have more and more crises caused by the need to keep the profits flowing, no matter the future cost.

WINTER HOLIDAY SHARING

Many people around the world are going to have a tough holiday season. Most cultures celebrate something around the time of the winter solstice when the nights stop getting longer.

What can we do to make the holidays better for people? Of course, giving to charities that feed people is a good idea. Giving new toys and books to people who give them to poor kids is a good idea.

But maybe your own holiday is going to be too tough to allow for charitable giving. What can you do?

You can go though your decorations, books, and toys. Give the ones that no one wants and that are NOT BROKEN to a thrift shop. People LIKE to buy things they can afford. Then it does not feel like accepting charity, but instead feels like getting a good deal.

Some of my favorite Christmas decorations came from thrift shops. I have Salvation Army and Goodwill close to me. I also like St. Vincent de Paul.

For years, I collected Star Wars toys for my children at thrift shops. Before eBay, the toys were sold at garage store prices. I find you can get great deals especially at thrift stores in the more wealthy neighborhoods.

If you are giving away stuffed toys, or buying used stuffed toys, you can clean them by soaking a washcloth in alcohol and rubbing the fur until it is clean. Be careful with the eyes and nose, the color can run or come off. A new ribbon will perk up the toy.

I do not understand the need to have all NEW things.

FASHION AND GLOBAL WARMING

If a person dresses in warm clothes in cold weather and in cool clothes in hot weather, the person is more comfortable and buildings do not have to be heated and cooled as much.

The most obvious example of this is the suit for men. In the summer, and in warm countries, the suit can be unbearably uncomfortable. But men INSIST that the suit be worn if the person wants any respect. In the summer, office buildings must be cooled to a temperature that is comfortable for a man in a suit.

Hawaii seems to have overcome this problem. Of course, they are an island, with a strong and vibrant culture which laughs at people who try to wear mainland fashion.

Comfortable clothes mean comfortable workers. Comfortable workers can THINK better.

Yet, we persist in insisting that people wear the "uniforms" of suit and uncomfortable shoes.

It is important that there be a form of dress which demonstrates respect for the event, especially if it is a formal business or social event.

It is also important to recognize that every degree of heating and cooling costs money, and usually costs fossil fuel.

Fashion designers could help with the effort to "go green".

Movie stars can help by wearing the "green" fashion, and explaining WHY the fashion is a green fashion.

I have NO IDEA what can replace the suit.

So, fashion people, please solve this problem.

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

California is going to have a new playing field. Now we can see if our ideas make for a better economy than the old ideas of tax cuts for the rich.

California is sticking to its energy policies. California is going to have a commission to do the redistricting to stop gerrymandering. California will be run by the Democrats, with a Democratic legislature that can pass a budget with a majority vote.

Unfortunately, the suppliers of marijuana will still face prison terms. Sorry guys. Somehow we have to convince the soccer moms that marijuana is WAY less dangerous than alcohol.

For the rest of the US, expect that NOTHING will get done. Oh, the Republicans will investigate President Obama for any petty little thing that they can smear him with. Republicans really, really want a Democratic President to be worse than President Nixon. I wish they would just get over it.

Of course, MAYBE the new Republican congresspersons who say they are libertarians will work with the Democrats to allow medical marijuana. Hey, look, a girl can dream can't she?

SECURITY IN MANUFACTURING CRITICAL CHIPS

Manufacture of the critical chips that we use in our military, transportation, and communications systems MUST be done under conditions where each person working on the chips can pass a US security clearance.

OTHERWISE, we are putting chips into our critical systems that could have a "backdoor", which means that the system is vulnerable to a virus which could possibly take over the system.

Currently, our chips are manufactured by the lowest international bidder. This means that a bad guy could put backdoors into our chips and sell the backdoor information to the highest bidder. The international chip manufacturers do not owe any loyalty to the US. Many of the international chip makers do not owe any loyalty to capitalism.

WE COULD USE THE STIMULUS MONIES TO BUILD CHIP MANUFACTURING PLANTS IN THE US.

CHANGE THE FUTURE TOMORROW -- VOTE

Those of us who believe in equal rights and in rescuing the rest of us now that we have rescued the rich, can change the future of the United States of America.

It does not matter whether your state is a red fish or a blue fish, your vote can keep the fearmongers out of congress. The fearmongers are counting on your staying home, hiding under the covers, and refusing to vote. It is the only way they can win.

Prove them wrong and VOTE.

If you need a reason, here is good reason to vote.

It took 1% of the gross domestic product (GDP, sort of like the income of the US) to rescue the rich when the economy collapsed. Yes, we did have to rescue the rich, depressions are no fun at all.

For another 2% ($200 for every $10,000) of GDP, we can rescue the rest of us and end this recession early. Economists all agree with me. We can even use some of this money to fix aging infrastructure so that bridges and levies do not collapse, killing people. We could use some of the stimulus monies to manufacture chips in the US so we do not have to worry about viruses taking over our critical military, transportation, and communication systems.

Why hasn't this been done already? Because the Republicans voted against it. THEY WANT YOU POOR AND DEPRESSED, so that you will not vote against them.

If you need another reason, many of you have a chance to vote to begin the end of the prohibition on drugs. Vote to legalize marijuana in any way that you can.

BUT VOTE. We can all make the world a better place. Start this process by voting.

(As you know, this year I am asking everybody to vote for the Democrats. I am tired of this recession and the Democrats are willing to listen to the economists and do their best to end the recession.)

MY FAVORITE HALLOWEEN COSTUME

I did not get to see very many Halloween costumes this year. But I see a lot of costumes at SciFi cons and RenFaire.

This year my favorite is the Arabian princess I saw at WalMart on Friday. She had a headdress and necklace like the coin headdresses and necklace worn by some of the Arabian nomad women. It is a style that goes back to Helen of Troy. You have seen them in National Geographic, headdresses of chains and coins, necklaces to match. It was a child's fake copy, but the copy was very well done.

I think we are too ethnocentric in our Halloween costumes. We need to import from other cultures. In case you do not know it, the unusual costume is often the most admired.

PARANOIA OR REALITY?

Am I being paranoid or is it really true?

Could drug dealers be giving huge amounts of secret cash to the Republican Party in order to keep prohibition, so that the drug dealers can continue to make huge illegal profits?

Even if it is not true, it could be true, as there is no law making them tell us who gave them the huge amount of money they are spending.

I am a Democrat because I believe in equal rights for everyone, not just for those that Christians approve.

I am a Democrat because I believe in equal rights for women, including the right to control one's own body.

I am a Democrat because I believe that our great nation can afford to take care of the sick, the old, the disabled and the poor.

I am a Democrat because I believe that some of the rich can be greedy, selfish, and willing to con the rest of us.

If you agree with me, but do not vote, you are actually voting for the other side.

CORPORATE CON ARTISTS

The corporations who do not want any financial regulations are pouring BILLIONS of dollars into next week's elections. These corporations do not have to disclose who they are. These corporations want to be able to continue to do "business as usual" like the Bush Administration let them do.

Of course, business as usual was extremely detrimental to the middle class. Remember Madoff, who never even bothered to purchase stock for his stock market mutual fund, but just ran a giant Ponzi scam? Remember that several people asked the SEC to investigate Madoff? Remember that that Bush's SEC did not even bother to check into Madoff?

It is not enough to make thousands or millions on paper. That money has to be real, and available for your retirement.

The only way I know of to stop these corporate con artists* is to make and enforce regulations against such financial frauds. The only politicians willing to do this are the Democrats.

So again, we are all going to have to send a little bit of money to the Democratic candidates so that they are not overwhelmed by the last minute ads from the corporate con artists.

*If you want to prove you are not a corporate con artist, you can disclose to whom you gave political donations, just like ordinary people have to do. By hiding, you make us think you are doing something you are ashamed of. People who are proud of what they do, put their name on what they did.

YOUR ATTORNEY GENERAL

Your ATTORNEY GENERAL is the lawyer for your state. The attorney general is an important job. In California, the attorney general interprets the law for all of the state agencies.

This means that the ATTORNEY GENERAL is very important if we are going to stop prohibition. An attorney general who opposes legalizing and taxing marijuana will make stopping prohibition much more difficult.

We need a Democrat to be California Attorney General.

A Republican attorney general will almost certainly be against any new medical marijuana laws, and against ending prohibition.

Usually, the Republican candidates say they should be elected because they will be tough on the death penalty.

I have three problems with the death penalty. One, no one has shown, in a scientific study, that a death penalty prevents any murders. Two, I have nightmares about my government killing an innocent person. Three, the death penalty is extremely expensive. It is much less expensive to have someone serve multiple life sentences than to have experienced (expensive) attorneys litigating a death penalty case.

You would think that all of the appeals in a death penalty case insures that no innocent person is executed. You have not seen the blind adherence to uphold convictions that I have seen. A defense attorney and his small team of helpers has almost no chance against the entire police department, the entire prosecutors office, and the entire attorney general's office.

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

It is fun to go to Renfaire (slang for Renaissance Faire) where we pretend to be in the time of Queen Elizabeth the First.

It seems to us like a simpler time, where we did not have complex problems like terrorists and health care.

Everyone used horses to get places. Horses are fun to ride and beautiful to look at. However, they do produce the normal waste product that all mammals produce. Did you know that an animal's feces is directly proportional to the animal's size?

Now horse are BIG animals. They produce a lot of feces (the correct word for shit).

There was no garbage pickup, so people just threw their garbage into the street. So the streets were full of horse shit and garbage.

There were no washing machines. All wash was done by hand, usually by the women.

Almost no one had a water pump in the house. Toilets were out back, with chamber pots used in the night. Chamber pots were usually emptied by the women.

Women did not have the right to vote, to own property, or to control their own money.

America was founded during the time of Elizabeth. During the American Revolution there was still no garbage pick up or running water. Women could not vote, own property or control their own money. All wash was done by hand. All sewing was done by hand.

BTW, not everyone could vote, even after the Revolution. For some time, only white, male, property owners had the right to vote.

The TEA PARTY loves the ROMANCE of the Revolution, not the REALITY.

When I was a child, I often carried a bucket of drinking water from the well to the house. We had a cistern for running water, but you should not drink cistern water. Carrying water is not fun. Unless of course, you practice swinging the pail in a circle to learn about centrifugal force, which spills a lot of the water and gets you in trouble when you get the water to the house.

The Revolutionary War Period is a great place to visit, but NONE OF US would like to live there.

BTW, the founders of our country were extremely radical for their time. Some of their ideas are still considered radical today. May I recommend the Federalist Papers, and Common Sense for reading homework?

WHAT IS AN AMENDMENT?

Last week I tried to explain the word amendment to a person who spoke limited English. Amendment is not a word I have thought much about. All attorneys know the words, "as amended" are often part of a legal citation of a statute. (A statute is the correct legal term for a part of the law. A citation is the correct legal term for correctly describing the statute. The citation has the big section of the law first, then the number of the paragraph being referenced.)

After a law or a constitution gets adopted (becomes legally a part of the laws), it can be changed. If the law is no longer a law at all, it is called "repealed". If the law is changed, the change is called an "amendment".

An amended law is a combination of the original law and the amendment. The only time it makes a difference when an amendment is passed* is if the act that someone did was not addressed in the original law and the act was done before the amendment is passed. (There are no ex post facto laws in the US, due to the Bill of Rights, which is what we call the the first 10 amendments to the US constitution.)**

THIS IS REALLY BASIC STUFF. Sort of 6 x 6 = 36 stuff. It is FRIGHTENING that a candidate for the US Senate does not know that an amendment to a constitution is a integral part of the constitution.

* "Passing" a law is not the same as enacting a law. Passing means that, in one legislative group, the necessary number of legislators voted for the law. "Enacting" a law means that all the groups and people who have to approve the law have approved the law. "Adopting" is generally used for constitutions, when all of the groups and people who have to approve the constitution, have approved the constitution.

** An ex post facto law is a law that makes an act that has already been done, which was legal when done, into an act that is now against the law. For instance, in 1990 a woman dumps blue dye into the river. In 1992, a law is passed stating that dumping blue dye into the river is illegal. The woman can not be arrested as she dumped the blue dye BEFORE the law was passed. A law passed in 1992, making dumping blue dye in 1990 illegal, is unconstitutional as an ex post facto law.

BRAVE VETERAN AFRAID OF PROHIBITION BLACKLISTS

This weekend I met an extremely brave veteran who was a truck driver in Afghanistan. A roadside bomb put her in a wheelchair.

She knows that using cannabis would make her life better. She could use less pain medication, and would be able to enjoy life more. But she does not want to sign up for medical cannabis.

I can understand. Possession of cannabis is still against Federal law.

The disabled veteran knows that her fellow soldiers were disciplined for having small amounts of opiates is their systems after burning fields of opium.

Even in California, medical marijuana patients are still being arrested for possession.

All it takes is one drug conviction and a disabled person loses almost all of the help available from the government. The drug blacklists during the Bush Administration included no federal housing help and no school financial aid.

The Obama Administration stopped the Feds from raiding cannabis clinics, but a change back to the Republicans would almost certainly cause drug raids, draconian blacklists, and more people in prison.

We need to change the Federal law. THERE IS NO REASON THAT CANNABIS IS MORE ILLEGAL THAN ANY OTHER DRUG.

To do this soon, we must keep the Democratic control of the US Congress. It would help if you could send some monies to the Democrats.

I intend to start a campaign to change the federal law if I have a Congress that will listen to reason. Because the Republicans have NEVER listened to reason regarding cannabis, I do not expect that they will listen to reason in the future.

ADDICTION

Addition is horrible for the addict and the friends and family of the addict. I can understand why people want to do something to stop addiction.

Addiction to alcohol is called alcoholism. During prohibition of alcohol, we learned that one can not cure addicts by making their drug illegal. (As you all know, an adult addict has to truly want to be helped before it is possible to help the addict.)

All prohibition does is compound the problem.

By making the drug used by the addict illegal:

people still become addicted to the drug,

the amount of drugs available does not change,

we reward bad people with huge drug profits,

bad people tempt good people with huge bribes,

bad people use guns to protect their profits, and

our prisons become full of low level drug dealers and users.

IT IS TIME TO STOP PROHIBITION.

THANK YOU STAPLES COPY CENTER

Staples Copy Center in Campbell gave me curbside service yesterday.

For many reasons, this week has become too full of tasks requiring physical movement.

Thanks to Staples I am not so tired that I can not do my work.

IT'S A SMALL, SMALL WORLD

Last night I missed one of my favorite TV shows because I was caught up in the drama of the rescue of the Chilean miners. The miners are brave and resourceful men, and I am very glad many of them are now safe. (As I write this, some are still in the mine.)

In the 21st century, when there is a large disaster, we are all watching. We cheer when the people are safe, and mourn when the people are killed.

It is a small world after all. (Yes, I go on the ride every time I am there. What can I say?)

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Gas prices are AGAIN going up just before the election. "I am shocked, shocked, I tell you." (This is a quote from the movie Casablanca, which you need to see if you have not already seen it.)

I feel INSULTED that US astronautics are hitching rides on old Soviet rockets. Republicans want to fund fighter airplanes that the military does not want. Can't we have a space shuttle instead? BTW, did you know China was planning a trip to the moon?

Do you think that the Delaware Republican candidate for US Senate is doing performance art instead of a real election? Christine O'Donnell seems to be acting as weird as Joaquin Phoenix did when he was doing performance art for a movie.

Brace yourselves, the Giants in a World Series could be earthshaking.

Whenever you see the words "GANG WAR", it really means "DRUG GANGS' WAR". Innocents are dying in both the US and Mexico. PROHIBITION did not work on alcohol, and it is not working on drugs. It is time to fact the truth.

The head of a local drug task force raided a medical marijuana clinic last week here in Silicon Valley. No police force was willing to take credit for this stupid move. Advice to the clinic owner: DO NOT PLEAD GUILTY. You have money. Get a hot shot Oakland attorney with experience in these things.

If you want political power, you need to VOTE at every election. If your group wants political power, your group needs to VOTE at every elections. The polls are based on likely voters. The polls affect the laws the are passed. So to affect the laws that are passed, you need to VOTE in EVERY election.

FICTION AND FACT

Fiction is SO MUCH MORE FUN than fact.

In fiction, the hero gets to drive like a madman to save the day. In fact, people who drive like that get arrested.

In TV fiction, the bad guy is usually caught within a hour. In reality, the bad guy is sometimes never caught.

In fiction, there is almost always a happy ending. In life, there is no ending, just a journey with an ending for each one of us, but not for all of us.

This is why some people would rather believe in fiction than in fact. Life is so much easier if you can believe that you should not have to pay taxes. Life is so much easier if you believe you will never get sick.

Besides, to understand facts, you often have to be able to understand math. No one but nerds likes math.

The problem with believing in fiction is that fictional solutions can not solve real world problems. All real world problems are fairly complex, and not easy to solve. Problems are only easy to solve in fiction.

BEWARE of those who tell you that a problem is easy to solve. Generally, those people have a solution that sounds good, but will only benefit the people proposing the easy solution.

Generally, if an idea is based on a fiction book, it is not an idea that can work in the real world.

I LOVE FICTION. I really want to be the hero of a John Grisham novel. However, my clients expect me to solve THEIR PROBLEMS, not a fun, fictional problem. So I play a fictional character at SciFi conventions and at Renaissance Faires. Halloween is also a good time to be a fictional character.

UNFORTUNATELY, WE ALL HAVE TO FACE REALITY.

We can solve our problems. But FIRST, we have to recognize that all problems are complex, that there are no easy solutions.

UNEMPLOYMENT -- WHAT IS GOING ON?

When the economic collapse happened in 2008, George Bush was still President. President Bush and Congress OK'd the bank bailouts.

When President Obama was elected, he asked Congress to OK an economic stimulus so that the rest of us, who are NOT bankers, could get back to our normal lives. This was passed.

When President Obama asked Congress to continue stimulus funds to complete the recovery, the Republicans in Congress said NO WAY!

Economists agree that the stimulus needs to be continued until people are back to work. (This is the US investing in PEOPLE rather than the US investing in banks.)

The Republicans have opposed continuing the stimulus. Their excuse is that it will add to the deficit. Their real reason is that they WANT lots of unemployed people so that they can win the election.

How do I know this?

Because if the Republicans were actually worried about the deficit, they would not be trying to give more tax cuts to rich people.

CELEBRATING BEING FINISHED

I have practiced law for 37 years. (It is called 'practicing law' to remind you that you are always learning.)

For 37 years I have hated to write the legal paperwork for court. It requires thinking, precision, good writing, and proof reading. I am somewhat dyslexic, so precision and proofing are very difficult for me.

Anyway, as part of the 'filing in court' ceremony, I always mail the papers to the opposing party. Sometimes I personally file the papers, especially in a matter I care a lot about. I do not celebrate until I see the "FILED" stamp on my copy.

Now I have sent something to Federal Court under their VERY COOL electronic filing system. NO COPIES had to be made, no mailing to the opposing party. Just have permission to file (easy to get), upload your file, and the court sends electronic copies to the judge(s) and opposing parties. IT IS THE WAY TO GO!

But my old fashioned mind refuses to celebrate. Somehow, pushing a button does not give me the same feeling as seeing a stamped copy.

I have made up for this by telling people that I have finished.

All this seems very silly, but it is important to stop and celebrate the small victories. Life does not give people very many big victories.

Give yourself a present from Goodwill or Salvation Army if you can not afford the Renaissance Faire. Give yourself lunch at a taco stand if you cannot afford a sit down dinner. But celebrate, pat yourself on the back, and go back to work.

MOM'S ADVICE -- IGNORE AT YOUR PERIL

My mother always told me, "Do not do anything that you do not want to see on the front page of the newspaper."

Mom could, but would not, tell you that I REALLY IGNORED her advice. However, I decided early on that I did not like the "living in a fishbowl" aspect of politics.

Now we have "NannyGate". Meg Whitman "did not know" that her nanny, housekeeper, errand runner, was illegal. Whitman says that the nanny gave her the correct documents showing that she was legal. Of course, the regular letters from the Social Security Administration regarding the fake social security number should have been A CLUE.

It is always fun to catch someone in a "do as I say, not as I do" situation.

I think that it is just one more indication that Whitman is an amateur when California really needs a pro.

I know you all have fun insulting politicians. But who would YOU bet on, the golf amateur or the golf pro?

HONEST COPS NEED MONEY TO FIGHT PROHIBITION

More and more law enforcement officers believe that prohibition of drugs does not work any better than prohibition of alcohol. (In case you did not listen in history class, you could watch the new HBO series on alcohol prohibition in Atlantic City.)

LEAP stands for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. This organization is providing law enforcement speakers to counter the misinformation given out by those in law enforcement who want the drug monies to keep flowing.

They need money to do this.

Please log on to www.LEAP.cc or google LEAP and give what you can afford. If you have had an illegal smoke in the last month, you can afford at least $10.00.

NOW WE KNOW WHY ENGINEERING WAGES ARE LOW

Now we know that there was a PROVABLE CONSPIRACY among Silicon Valley companies to NOT HIRE EACH OTHERS' ENGINEERS. The only thing the government anti-trust people can actually prove, is that there was an agreement not to 'cold call' each others' workers.

My guess is that the agreement went even further, to where the companies did not attempt to hire an engineer unless that engineer actually applied for a job at the other company. My guess is that this was a deliberate attempt to hold down engineering wages, and that it worked very well. (The low engineering wages were blamed on immigrants because immigrants make such good fall guys.)

I notice that engineers are also no longer getting stock options. This has been blamed on a new accounting rule, but I notice that this rule does not prevent CEOs and other upper management from getting HUGH stock options.

All this also explains why the 'next new thing' has been so derivative. People tend to keep their super creative ideas to themselves if all they get in return is "slam, bam, thank you, ma'am." (This old expression was used to indicate a successful seduction followed by an immediate desertion.)

The free market does not work if greedy, selfish, powerful people use their money and power to manipulate the markets. Over and over, we are being taught that regulation is necessary in order to keep things fair for the rest of us.

I think, if allowed, the Democrats can fix this mess. Certainly the CEOs are not afraid of Republican anti-trust regulators.

If the Democrats can, or won't, fix this mess, I have a few ideas of my own. But I would like to see the Democrats control both the house and the senate so they have the best chance to fix what has gone wrong with our country. My other idea will take a very long time. So send a small amount of money to the Democrats now, and let them try to quickly fix this mess.

BTW, the above saying is why a lot of women of my generation HATE being called "Ma'am". I have always thought everyone should be "Sir". It is really silly to have everyone remember, every moment, what sex someone is, rather than the job someone does.

I would MUCH rather be "Sir Pam" than "Lady Pam", or even worse, "Dame Pam".

TAXING THE RICH AND THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT

I do not understand why Christian conservatives are against taxing the rich.

Isn't there something about rich men, camels and the eye of a needle?

I AM SO SPOILED

I am totally upset and discombobulated because my remote control for my DVR does not work. It turns out that it will not use the kind of batteries that I normally buy. This is because the remote was badly designed. It was probably the least expensive remote and was chosen by my provider in order to help their bottom line.

I realize I am being rabidly unreasonable because MY TOY IS NOT WORKING.

I tell myself that millions of people are currently homeless and starving due to floods in Pakistan, China and Africa. I tell myself that the people in Haiti have only tents for houses. I tell myself that most of the world's population does not have TVs, let alone DVRs.

It does not help. I WANT MY TOY TO WORK RIGHT NOW.

Sometimes even the best of us turn into 2 year old children.

RETELLING LIES

I guess Meg Whitman believes she will not win unless she keeps retelling something that has been proven to be a lie. It has been proven that taxes went down the last time Jerry Brown was governor of California.

People who lie to get elected, will also lie to get their favorites' legislation passed. Legislation based on lies is almost always bad legislation.

Prohibition advocates have been retelling lies for a long time. Whenever anyone tells you that marijuana damages your health, you need to ask them for proof in the form of scientific research, published in a respected medical journal.

Unless you want the people who lie to get what they want to win, you need to send at least a small contribution to the people who try to tell the truth. Those who say, "This ad was reviewed and approved by the candidate" are at least trying to tell the truth.

DEATH BY INFRASTRUCTURE

Infrastructure is such a boring topic, until something actually does fail.

"My life was changed in an instant," mourned a woman who lost her family and her home when a gas main exploded.

Infrastructure is the word used to describe those things necessary for modern life, which we tend to take for granted. Infrastructure is roads, bridges, electric transmission lines, gas lines, levies; the things that have been around our entire lives and have always worked.

But NOTHING LASTS FOREVER.

We need to replace many of the things our grandparents installed and/or built. Bridges are falling down, gas lines are exploding and levies are failing because we are NOT REPLACING our aging infrastructure.

PG&E asks for a rate increase to pay for upgrading aging gas lines and we fuss about our utility bills.

Government asks for a tax increase to pay for upgrading aging bridges and levies and we fuss about socialism.

Please do not let it be my family next time.

TEMPLE OF APSHAI

In 1986, our consulting company upgraded their computers, and I inherited an original IBM PC. I installed a computer game for the kids, called Temple of Apshai. Unfortunately, neither the kids nor I were fast enough with a keyboard to stay alive for more than 30 seconds.

With the help of a science fiction fantasy book, I created a character for the game that had the top physical characteristics in every aspect, as well as the highest rated armor and weapons. The game allowed you to type in these attributes from a character you were playing in the board game Dungeons and Dragons. (Yes, I cheated. Shame on me.)

Soon the children were having a grand time playing the game. They could walk away from the computer and their character would still be alive when they got back, surrounded by bad guys, but alive.

The three of us played computer games together a lot after that. Loom, all the King's Quests, the Guy Threepwood pirate games, Seventh Guest, Gabriel Knight, we played them all.

But I am unable to move the mouse, or game controller, quickly enough to kill a bad guy. I also do not like killing things for fun. As the games moved into shooting games, I quit playing. Soon I could no longer play even the adventure games as there would always be an element of quick movement before one could win.

Now games are not selling. I think it is because people got bored with shooting things.

Fads are funny things. As they start, soon everybody seems to be doing the same 'thing'. Suddenly, no one is doing the 'thing'.

My advice to game people? Re-release some of the old adventure games in a format that is easy for the computer illiterate to play. If that works, design some new adventure games.

REGISTER TO VOTE

Contented people usually do not bother to vote. Then the contented people are surprised when everything changes after the election.

People who blame others for their difficulties ALWAYS vote.

This year, especially, it is important for everyone to register to vote and to vote. If you have moved, you need to re-register.

Registration deadlines vary from state to state, but you should have at least 30 days before the November elections to register. To find out how to register in your area, google the League of Women Voters and enter your zip code.

This year it is especially important to vote. In California, we actually have a chance to stop the violence and corruption caused by the state prohibition of marijuana.

PLEASE REGISTER TO VOTE.

MARIJUANA VERSUS ALCOHOL

SOCIAL INTERACTION

Both marijuana and alcohol make social interaction easier in that they both lower inhibitions so people may make incorrect choices. However, marijuana generally makes people friendly and giggly. Alcohol often makes people aggressive and confrontational, which sometimes results in violence.

DRIVING

Driving is STUPID if you have recently used either alcohol or marijuana, and is against the law. However, alcohol makes people aggressive. People who drive on alcohol often speed without realizing they are speeding. Accidents get much worse if someone is speeding. People who drive on marijuana generally drive very carefully and slowly, which makes them "road boulders".

WORK ETHIC

Both alcohol and grass can affect people's work, especially overuse of either substance.

LENGTH OF EFFECT

Both alcohol and marijuana will affect a person for about two or three hours after last use. If you eat marijuana on an empty stomach, the effects may last for four hours.

ADDICTION

Alcohol is physically addictive, in that you can get very ill if you habitually drink a lot of alcohol and suddenly stop drinking. The alcohol addict can get conflusive seizures and delirium tremens (DTs), which can result in death. Marijuana is not physically addictive. You may miss the effects of marijuana, but stopping marijuana use will not result in physical symptoms.

CALORIES

Alcohol is fattening, and causes a desire to eat salty, fattening food. Marijuana has no calories, but may cause "the munchies", which is a desire to eat snack food.

PHYSICAL EFFECTS

Alcohol kills brain cells, and damages the liver. So far, I have not found any scientific evidence which found adverse physical effects from using marijuana. And believe me, the US government has spent A LOT of money unsuccessfully trying to find that grass damages the body.

Alcohol causes a person to feel lousy the next day. This is called a "hangover". Marijuana does not.

Alcohol used on the skin kills germs. Alcohol used in the hair kills lice (but is flammable, so be careful). Marijuana may have beneficial effects on arthritis, glaucoma, nausea, pain, depression, and sleeplessness.

HOMEMADE

Both alcohol and marijuana can be produced at home. Both are difficult to produce as a quality product.

ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS

Alcohol is taxed and sales are controlled. It is difficult for children to purchase alcohol. Marijuana is underground. No taxes are paid on sales. Marijuana is relatively easy for children to purchase as the sellers hide their activities.

ONE THIRD of the people in jail and prison in California are in for marijuana related offenses at a cost of $65,000 a year per prisoner. Nationally, the percentage of people in prison and jails for marijuana is over 40%.

Our prisons in California are so overcrowded that the federal court has ordered California to release prisoners. DO WE REALLY WANT TO SPEND CALIFORNIA TAX DOLLARS ON PUTTING PEOPLE IN JAIL OR PRISON FOR USE OR POSSESSION OR GROWING OF MARIJUANA? Frankly, I think incarcerating people for marijuana use, possession and/or growing is a criminal waste of our tax dollars.

WHY THE US CAN NOT PREVENT A BURNING OF THE KORAN

A small man from a small church in the US State of Florida is planning on burning a paperback copy of the Koran, which he likely purchased at his local bookstore.

His actions are protected by the freedom of speech and freedom of religion clauses of the US Constitution.

Freedom of speech and freedom of religion can sometimes be very hard to accept.

The US Constitution protects all speech and also protects all actions that are meant to make a political point (such as burning the flag, burning draft cards, and burning bras). The US Constitution protects all religions, even religions that believe some people are aliens from another galaxy.

We in the US believe that a country's course of action can only be correctly determined if everyone has the right to say what they think and to vote as they please.

Now, a small man from a small church is getting his 15 minutes of fame by insulting Islam by burning a paperback copy of the Koran. (Andy Warhol, the pop artist, once famously said that everyone gets 15 minutes of fame. Now we use "15 minutes of fame" to describe a person who so wants to be famous that the person will do anything to become famous even for a little while.)

If anyone anywhere protests the actions of this small man from a small church, the small man will get an hour of fame, and lots of people who want to be famous may do what he did.

If you want to stop the small man from a small church from insulting Islam, you should hire an expensive excellent attorney and sue the small man from the small church. You may not win your lawsuit, but you will certainly cost the small man and the small church a lot of money in legal fees.

LABOR DAY -- ARE UNIONS EVIL?

Many people seem to believe that unions are evil.

Lately, I hear people use the word 'union' as if they were saying a bad word.

Did you know that many Assistant District Attorneys belong to a union? You do know that police officers and firefighters belong to unions? Yet everyone seems to believe that prosecutors, police officers and firefighters are good people. So why do they belong to a union?

In jobs where a mistake is costly, it is easy for management to fire a designated patsy. (Pasty is slang for an innocent person who takes the blame.) Unions provide protection from unproven allegations against its members.

Because police officers and firefighters are paid with your taxes, those who want to pay less tax often try to pay the police and fire persons less money. If these people are in a union, they can negotiate from a position of strength.

Before unions, we had child labor and workers being killed without compensation. There was little or no workplace safety. Many families had to have their children work or they could not afford to feed the children.

Corporations are always trying to save money on wages. They especially want to save money on the people who do blue collar jobs. (Blue collar jobs are jobs where the people work with their hands, such as plumbing, cleaning, construction. White collar jobs are jobs where people can wear a white shirt to work because the white shirt will not get dirty.)

Sometimes I think that corporations want to encourage illegal immigration in order to keep the labor costs down.

I am not saying that all unions are perfect. But without unions, workers would have no voice at all in how they are paid or what kind of working conditions they have.

TEMPEST IN A TEAPARTY

The Teaparty seems to believe that the freedom of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution does not apply to Muslims.

Guess what? It is FREEDOM OF RELIGION not FREEDOM OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION.

Anyway, the proposed Muslim community center is two blocks from Ground Zero. This is not two blocks in the small town where I grew up, it is two blocks in New York City, where two blocks can be worlds apart.

I am sorry that too many people seem to be stuck in the anger and blame stages of grief. You need to give up anger and blame so you can move on to acceptance. The anger will hurt you. The blame will hurt innocents.

Using the real grief of people to make political gain is propaganda of the worst sort. Propaganda is ALWAYS the partial truth which is really a lie. It is designed to trigger the rage we all feel when we are helpless against the forces of the universe.

Please look for the real truth behind the propaganda lies. If a political ad makes you too angry to think, that is when you really need to think. If you discover a political ad is propaganda, look carefully at all other ads by the same people.

Please remember that people usually use propaganda when facts and reason would lead one to the conclusion that what is being proposed is something that is good for them and bad for the rest of us.

OBAMA UTUBE 'BIRTH' VIDEO

I checked out the video where President Obama is supposed to confess to being born in Kenya. Honestly, YOU PEOPLE CAN NOT EVEN TELL A JOKE FROM THE TRUTH. The truth is that the video was originally a joke because most people thought that the idea that a person born in Hawaii was not a US citizen to be very funny.

Now someone has taken the joke video and posted it as the truth.

Added to this untrue video is the theory that even if President Obama was born in Hawaii, he was born in Hawaii before it became a state. Two minutes of research found that Hawaii became a state in 1959 and President Obama was born in 1961, which means that he was even conceived in a US state.

Are you so prejudiced against someone with a Kenyan father that you will believe anything?

Actually, all this started with a New York Times article pointing out that Senator McCain was born in Panama, and therefore may not be eligible to be President. Now that was actually an interesting legal argument.

There is are websites for urban rumors, just google urban rumors. There is also a political rumor website www.politifact.com.

JOKES ARE NOT THE TRUTH. Unfortunately, the truth seems to be that some people will believe anything other than the truth.

FACEBOOK JUST DOES NOT GET IT

Providing a service to tech savvy college students is different from providing a service to everyone.

Now Facebook is allowing your friends to post your physical location to all their friends.

If YOU want to broadcast your physical location to the entire world, I do not care. But you have NO RIGHT to broadcast the physical location of OTHER PEOPLE. Facebook needs to require express permission each time a friend wants to broadcast the location of another friend. Or better yet, do not let ANYONE tell where ANYONE ELSE is physically located. IT COULD GET PEOPLE PHYSICALLY KILLED.

NO JUDGE is going to hold that I am responsible for using complex privacy settings in order to have my privacy. This is especially true if the company holds itself out to be a friendly place for friends and family to share their lives.

I wish I could be the personal injury attorney representing the first victim killed by a person who found their ex-spouse because a "friend" posted where she was. Unfortunately, no amount of money can truly compensate for a lost life.

TAXES AND TITHES

During most of human history, people paid both taxes and tithes.

Taxes went to the government to do things like build roads, public buildings, pay armies, etc.

Tithes went to the religious order to which a person belonged to do things like build temples, hospitals and help the poor.

Government and religion were usually closely tied, in that the major religion in any area almost always held that the person in power was a ruler because God or the gods had anointed him/her with power.

To tithe means to give a tenth of your earnings. To tithe to the church means that you gave 10% of your earnings to the church.

Generally, you also gave 10% of your income in taxes. Historically, your taxes were NOT lower because you were paying a tithe to the church.

If you did not pay your taxes, you could be imprisoned. If you did not pay your tithe, you could be excommunicated, which meant that no church member could do business with you.

Now, most people do not give anywhere near 10% of their earnings to church and/or charity. Your taxes must now cover many of the things the churches used to do. (Please remember that charity is tax deductible.)

But you complain about taxes as if you were still paying tithes.

Did you think that roads, armies, care of the disabled, feeding the hungry, appeared by magic and not through government?

ARE CURRENT SENATE RULES CONSTITUTIONAL?

I am concerned about the filibuster rule as it is now practiced in the US Senate.

At one time, it took 61 senators to stop a filibuster, which was defined as a protest debate by a member who just kept talking in order to stop a vote on a matter.

Now, however, the Senate requires a fake filibuster vote for legislation to go forward.

I believe that requiring 61 senators to agree that legislation should go forward is unconstitutional.

The US Constitution makes it very clear that the Senate should be "majority rules" unless the Senate is voting on a treaty, a conviction of impeachment, or expelling a member. Article 1, section 3 states, "The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided."

US Constitution makes it clear that it only take a majority vote to pass legislation unless it is a treaty, etc.

It may have been OK to have a 61 vote requirement to stop debate, but not to send every bit of legislation forward. (Actually, a argument can be made that even the old filibuster rules is unconstitutional.) I believe that the Senate can not make a rule for itself that changes the intent of the US Constitution.

I am not a constitutional attorney. It does, however, seem clear that the Senate rules almost certainly violate the US Constitution.

Who can bring a lawsuit regarding this matter? Good question. I think a US Senator could bring a Writ of Mandamus to the US Supreme Court.

Again, I am not a constitutional attorney.

FEED YOUR PARANOIA

If you are determined to be paranoid, then you should watch the System Crash series on the Smithsonian channel.

PLEASE be paranoid about clicking on a weblink in your email. NEVER use a link from an email that you were not expecting. ALWAYS use your browser to check with the main website of the place that sent you email. Most email telling you about a bounced check or other financial problems are fake emails, meant to steal your financial information.

There is no need to be paranoid about illegal immigrants having babies. A person must be 21 years old before that person can request a family member be given a visa.

There is no need to be paranoid about President Obama being a Muslim, because he is a Christian. If you know anything about the Muslim religion, you would realize that no Muslim would lie about being a Muslim. No Muslim would tell people he was Christian.

If you want to be paranoid about art forgery, you should read Feint of Art and the sequels by Hailey Lind. These books teach about forgery, are funny, and good mysteries.

There is no need to worry about legalizing marijuana. The 'drunk driving' laws also cover driving while under the influence of marijuana. There is no need to worry about people being high on marijuana while working, as that is still going to be a firing offense.

The world has a lot of real problems. Could you please focus on solving real problems instead of making up fake problems?

There are plenty of real problems to be paranoid about.

END OF SUMMER READING

These books are not for very young children. Most of them explore the dark side or deal with issues we tend to avoid. Jinks is new to me, but the other authors have many other books they have written, ALL of which are good books.

Nightseer by Laurel Hamilton

Evil Genius and Genius Squad by Catherine Jinks

Dead Witch Walking and sequels by Kim Harrison

more uplifting are:

To Ride Pegasus and Ship Who Sang and all SHIP sequels by Anne McCaffrey

funny and insightful are:

Summer of the Dragon by Elizabeth Peters

Murder With Peacocks and sequels by Donna Andrews

DAMNED IF WE DON'T

I am not certain why few donors are helping Pakistan. YOU DO KNOW THAT ONE THIRD OF PAKISTAN IS UNDER WATER?

I think donors are not helping because they know that the people will NOT be grateful to be helped by the West.

You need to remember that the survivors will be VERY ANGRY that they GOT NO HELP and had to watch CHILDREN DIE. It is the kind of anger that lasts for 80 years, because a child survivor will remember, with anger, for that long.

You do not like taking charity. Pakistanis do not like taking charity. Both you and the Pakistanis will take charity to save your children.

CHILDREN DYING of DIARRHEA and TYPHOID and STARVATION are just around the corner for Pakistan. Please help if you can.

BEING STALKED? BE WARNED

YOUR PHONE IS PUTTING A LOCATION ON EVERY PHOTO IT TAKES AND SENDS!

ANY phone or camera with GPS puts a 'geotag' on EVERY photo.

The photo I took of my cat and sent to friends tells everyone my home address. Good thing none of my clients wants me dead.

This is because it is COOL to mix GPS information and photo information. NO ONE thought of how DANGEROUS it is to mix photo information and GPS information.

Even high school computer programmers can find the actual location of ANY geotagged photo. It is fairly easy to write a computer program to troll the internet and find people on vacation and the location of their home. This is because the location of where every photo was taken is encoded into every photo. (If the device taking the photo has GPS.)

IT IS BEYOND STUPID.

Programmers, most of whom do not understand people very well, are not even telling you that people on the internet can find out your home address from your posted photos. Luckily, I think that low resolution uploads, like to Facebook, do not keep the geotag information.

But if you are posting photos on your website, you may be giving the viewers the exact location of where you took EVERY photo.

To turn off geotag can be difficult. I suggest you put in the name of your device followed by 'remove geotag' in Google. It worked for me.

SOME OF YOU WILL BELIEVE ANYTHING

Now some bloggers are saying that President Obama should not have graduated from Harvard Law because he may not have gotten great grades at Columbia University.

I did not get great grades at the University of South Dakota. Does that mean that I should not have graduated from the University of Arizona College of Law?

NONE of you seem to understand what being on the Harvard Law Review means. Harvard Law Review is one of the premier legal magazines in the US. Law Review is only offered to the best law students. Law Review in any law school is the beginning of a road to being a judge. Harvard Law Review, in particular, is the start of the career of many federal judges. To be chosen to be EDITOR of the Law Review is to be one of the top legal scholars in your law school class.

I enjoy reading about, and watching shows about, American history. I have NEVER EVER HEARD of anyone questioning the education of any other American President.

Personally, I think it is, without a doubt, PREJUDICE that is causing you all to try to belittle the educational success of President Obama.

It is easy for me to recognize this sort of prejudice. You would be surprised how many people believe that short, round women should be neither seen nor heard.

DOES THE LAW REQUIRE THE DRUG CZAR TO LIE?

Several websites in favor of legalization of marijuana have stated that the US drug czar is REQUIRED by law to NOT tell the truth about marijuana.

Unfortunately, these websites do not have the correct legal citations to allow one to judge for oneself as to the actual law about this issue.

It is true that the law states, "Responsibilities, The Director ... shall take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form) that (A) is listed in schedule 1 of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act ... and (B) has not been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration..." Those who read my blog know that marijuana IS A FEDERAL SCHEDULE ONE DRUG, making it illegal to sell even as medicine.

The above quotation is properly cited as 21 U.S.C. section 1703(b)(12).

The US governmental decision that the drug czar is allowed to make statements that are unsupported by scientific evidence can be found at www.gao.gov/decisions/other/301022.pdf.

The legal question is, "Does the above law require the drug czar to LIE about marijuana as (s)he 'takes such actions as are necessary to oppose' legalization of marijuana?"

The law does seem to require that the drug czar ignore the 6 or 7 Presidential Commissions that have recommended the legalization of marijuana.

IS DRUG CZAR MANDATED TO LIE>

IS DRUG CZAR MANDATED TO LIE>

SUMMER FUN WITH KIDS

Children really do not need expensive trips.

A child under the age of four will enjoy a leisurely walk around the block, especially if you take the time to examine the interesting leaves, bugs, and animals you see along the way.

A child under the age of 12 will enjoy a trip to the park to feed the ducks or play on the gym equipment.

A teenager will enjoy a private lunch just with you.

Your time spent with your child is more important than money spent on your child.

I am disturbed my newspaper reports of parents paying attention to their toys (iPhones, Blackberries, etc.) rather that their children.

We all need to TALK with each other.

ARE ETHICAL STANDARDS DIFFERENT FOR BLACKS?

All criminal defense attorneys know that the courts will likely come down harder on a black defendant. There are two main reasons for this. One is that white judges can not see the fear concealed in the arrogance of a black defendant, and react to the arrogance. Second is that black judges do not want to seem to be giving blacks a break, so they often err on the side of harsher sentences.

Now the House of Representatives is going after two black members for ethics violations.

One of accused black members has said, "But everybody does it." The news laughed at that defense. But it is truly a defense, called selective prosecution, and is a violation of due process of law. (Law expects equal treatment for everyone.)

The second one is a black woman in trouble for setting up a meeting, which she did not attend, regarding a bank and the Treasury Department. The charge is that her husband had, six months prior to the meeting, served on the bank's Board of Directors.

I remember how angry I was 35 years ago, when a woman attorney told me that women attorneys had to be better than men attorneys in order to succeed. I said that I should be judged as equal to a man, that I should not have to be better than a man.

It is really too bad that the woman attorney was right, and I was wrong.

I think the woman attorney was also right if we substitute 'black' for 'woman', and 'white' for 'man', so that the statement reads, "a black attorney has to be better than a white attorney in order to succeed."

Why can't we make both statement incorrect?

I wait for the day that both those statements will be incorrect.

GOOGLE -- THANKS FOR HIRING

Google is using the money they are earning to hire more workers. The rest of the tech industry is still too chicken to hire workers.

As a THANK YOU, I will give Google my unsolicited advice on their old book project. (I REALLY think having the old books online is a fabulous idea.)

Agree that if Google either charges too much to use its book database, and/or discriminates against any user, then the entire data base reverts to the US Library of Congress.

Agree that the book database is free to libraries if the user is physically present in the library. Restrict these libraries to countries who have agreed to protect copyrights.

Set up a fund for people to use if they wish to prove that a book is or should be covered by a copyright.

Agree that any book published for profit in the last 20 years, which is not covered by copyright, will only be available if that book's publisher or the publisher's successor is given a percentage of the profits from the sale of the online book.

Historians NEED to have the online book database. Let's make this happen.

HEARST, PANCHO VILLA & THE WAR ON SOME DRUGS

William Randolf Hearst, you know, the media robber baron who started the Spanish American War to sell newspapers, also started the war on some drugs.

Hearst was angry at Pancho Villa for trashing Hearst's Mexican villa (a fancy house with a built in movie theater). Hearst also wanted to cut down redwoods to make paper, because he owned the redwoods and could make more money cutting trees for paper.

Pancho Villa was a great choice for marijuana villain. Who in the US would trust a Mexican revolutionary?

Hemp, a relative of the marijuana plant, makes great paper. Hemp does not need acid or bleach to make it ready to be paper. Hydrogen peroxide can make the hemp paper white.

But who cares about the environment when there is money to be made? (Yes, I am being sarcastic.)

So Hearst put his newspapers behind starting the war on some drugs. He and the government told OUTRIGHT LIES about marijuana in order to convince people to make marijuana illegal. Most of you STILL BELIEVE the lies Hearst told.

ALL THIS SO HE COULD CUT DOWN REDWOODS THAT HAD LIVED FOR 2000 YEARS.

DEA & MEDICAL MARIJUANA

President Obama stated that he would not allow the DEA to raid medical marijuana clinics in states where medical marijuana is legal.

Now President Obama has nominated Michele Lionhart to head the DEA. Ms. Lionhart is known to oppose all medical uses of marijuana. She was an appointment to the DEA by Geo. W. Bush.

PLEASE email the White House asking for President Obama to withdraw her nomination. If you want to email your Senator, the nomination number is PN 430-111. The Senate can also stop this retro nomination.

THIS IS IMPORTANT! Did you know that marijuana is not actually legal in Amsterdam? The Dutch government just decided to not enforce the marijuana laws in Amsterdam.

MONEY SUPPLY

There is money and there is MONEY.

My money is counted by adding and subtracting. My spending is decided by what I believe I will continue to earn.

This is the same for a business. CEO's are mostly dealing with the kind of money that you can add and subtract. The only time businesses deal with the supply of money is when they do sales projections. (How well do sales projections do in your company?)

Governments have to deal with MONEY. A large portion of the government's money is based upon prediction that the entire economy governed by them will either decrease, increase or stay about the same. Since trust in the economy has a lot to do with the increase or decrease this is REALLY HARD to do.

I do not understand why people believe that business people will be excellent at running a large state. No one believes that business people would make good military generals.

We all know that being a general takes experience in the military that cannot be learned from books, but must be learned by doing. This is also true of politics.

Just as an illustration, Meg Whitman and her campaign to govern California, do not know that a city mayor has absolutely NOTHING to do with running the school system in that city.

We can not afford to be again governed by someone who is learning on the job. We need someone who already knows politics in our state.

I keep saying that politics is the hardest job on the planet. You have to take everyone's opinion and forge a course of action that will work for most of us. You mostly work with people who do not have to do what you tell them to do. You have to compromise, sometimes you have to compromise with people with whom your disagree.