PERJURY

Twice now, I have watched the US government go after a woman or a minority for lying to a federal officer or for lying to a federal grand jury. Lying in court is called perjury.

In order to convict for lying, the prosecutors bring in testimony from a person who otherwise would be prosecuted for a crime.

In the Martha Stewart case, the only evidence against her was the testimony of a man who was caught using cocaine. Now, in the Barry Bonds case, the testimony is from a man who was accused of theft by Mr. Bonds.

Again and again, in US courts, the person testifying against the accused is a person who was caught for another crime and who is getting a lesser sentence or is having the charges against him dropped in exchange for his testimony.

How can we trust the testimony of such a person? Juries seem oblivious to the possibility that the criminal testifying for the prosecution in return for a plea deal could be lying to save his own skin.

The reason that prosecutors use this kind of testimony is that they are trying to enforce our draconian drug laws. It is sort of a "it takes a druggie to catch a druggie".

Frankly, it is so close to suborning perjury that it is scary. How can you possibly trust the testimony of someone who is avoiding prison by telling us all a good story.

AVOID EMAIL SCAMS AND VIRUSES

NEVER, EVER, go from a link in an email to a web site address.

If you can not type reliably, you can copy and paste the web site address into your browser.

The problem with going directly to the web site from your email is that the web address can sometimes access your ENTIRE email address list and sometimes also access your email password. Once they have this information, they can come into your email again and again.

Sometimes these people use your computer as a "slave" so they can send out mass emails which look like they are coming from you.

Yes, I know. The BAD GUYS are making the internet less fun.

If you get something unusual from one of your friends, call the friend and ask if (s)he sent the email. If you do not warn your friend, your friend will not know that (s)he needs to fix his/her email.

If your email has been hacked, you need the help of a nerd. It is always important to be nice to nerds so that when you need help, you can get help.

AN EASY CON

Sometimes one has to feel sympathy for con men. Some of you numnuts were paying $5000 for iodine pills to prevent radiation poisoning. It made me tempted to sell you iodine pills.

ONE MORE TIME. It is the AMOUNT of something that can kill you.

Radiation is everywhere. The US gets more radiation from solar flares than we will get from a total meltdown of a power plant in Japan. Plus, modern, well built, nuclear power plants do not give off much radiation even during a meltdown. TV explained that it would be as bad as Three Mile Island, which was a tempest in a teapot if there ever was one. (A tempest in a teapot means that something is blown into a big scare when it is actually a very small scare.)

Once again, it is the AMOUNT of something that will kill you. In Japan, MANY more people were killed by a huge amount of water. Did it make you afraid to take a bath?

In the Gulf of Mexico, the oil spill did not harm us or the shrimp because the Gulf of Mexico is HUGE and the amount of oil relatively small. LESSON -- PPM means parts per million, which is how we measure if it is a problem or just TV SCARE TACTICS.

ALL ENERGY PRODUCTION comes with a price. Solar power plants will destroy the fragile desert. Wind energy is ugly and kills birds. Wave energy will mess up our coastlines. Hydro-electric power ruins rivers, canyons, and fish. Geo-thermal power ruins hot springs, which are great for healing and relaxation. TANSTAAFL.

CHOOSING FOOTBALL OVER EDUCATION

The California City of Santa Clara wants to avoid the state taking their redevelopment monies and giving it to schools.

Their brilliant idea is to give their redevelopment money directly to a professional football team.

You have to admire their honesty. Most politicians would at least TRY to hide the fact that they think football is more important than educating our children.

2010 -- 50,000 MARIJUANA ARRESTS IN NYC

A new report states that over 50,000 people, mostly people of color, were arrested for simple possession of marijuana in New York City in 2010.

I can guarantee that this is not the entire story. Here, in Palo Alto, a Black man with marijuana rolled into joints* was once arrested and charged with possession for sale. I call it the, "Black man should not park at Palo Alto quick mart store," case.

If the police in New York City are using the same arrest methods, then many of the arrests for marijuana in NYC do not show up in the latest study. This is because the police decided to charge the person with possession for sale, rather than for simple possession. Such arrests were not counted in the 50,000 kids arrested each year for marijuana possession in NYC.

An arrest for possession with intent to sell puts the "crime" into a much more expensive legal action. So the amount of money NYC is spending on marijuana arrests is probably MUCH greater than $75 million per year.

The marijuana laws have ALWAYS been used as a way to keep "those people" in line. For "those people" you can substitute whatever group the media is using as the "bad guys".

Marijuana needs to be completely legal.

Personally, I have been dreaming of class actions regarding law enforcement use of the color of authority to violate civil rights. The Southern Poverty Law Center used to be really good at that sort of class action.

* A joint is old slang for a marijuana cigarette, rolled up and ready to smoke. The police theory is if the person has the marijuana rolled into joints it is obvious that the person is going to sell the joints to other people.

BRAVE WOMEN -- IGNORED BECAUSE THEY ARE BLACK

The bravest people I have seen on TV all year were the unarmed women who marched for peace in the Ivory Coast. Women marched even though they KNEW the pretender president had shot and killed other women who marched against the pretender.

Japan and the unrest in North Africa has thrown the Ivory Coast problems off the news. Over and over we see that the US and Europe are not interested in the death of Black protesters, especially Black women protesters.

In the Ivory Coast, Mr. Gbagbo lost the November 2010 election by 9%. The next day, he had his Constitutional Council throw out the votes of Northern provinces who voted against him. (This is why courts have to be independent. No one respects a court that is "owned" by a pretender.)

The International community has declared Mr. Ouattara to be the rightful president of the Ivory Coast.

Watching the young thugs who declare themselves for Mr. Gbagbo, I think that Mr. Gbagbo is paying the thugs to riot and cause problems, in the hopes that they will keep him in power. Lately, Mr. Gbagbo is trying to seize all of the cocoa so that he can continue to finance his grim, unlawful, clinging to power.

WHAT PART OF THE LOYAL OPPOSITION THEORY DOES GBAGBO NOT UNDERSTAND? Every single part.

VOTE ON TAXES IN CALIFORNIA

Gov. Jerry Brown wants to hold an election to ask the voters to extend some taxes. Without the election, the taxes will automatically decrease, which will require us to further cut funding for police, fire, schools, colleges, etc.

I think the election is a good idea, but the Republicans are opposed to an election. You need to call the Republicans state legislators and tell them to vote for an election.

Of course, the state legislators and the governor could always just vote for and sign the taxes into law. Thanks to a new proposition, they can do this without the Republicans. Jerry would not even have to break his promise about no new taxes, as these are not new taxes. It would even save on the costs of an election.

However, I voted for Jerry as I think he is smart, educated, experienced, and wise. If he thinks the election is the best way to go, then I am in favor of the election.

But isn't it nice that the last election gave the governor options?

BTW, the pension issue should NOT go before the voters. It is easy to fix pension plans, you just have to raise the age at which the pension starts. This seems fair, as life expectancy has increased. We may need a plan for those who need to retire due to illness.

We are in this pension mess because arbitrators decided to let the future pay for current salary demands. In other words, the workers asked for a raise, but they were given extra pension benefits instead.

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE*

Americans are so addicted to money that they can not spare any taxes to help the poor, the disabled, the sick, the children. A new iPod is more important than a poor student's college education.

How did we get to be so selfish?

I watch the poor and disenfranchised of Northern Africa risk death for themselves and their families to have democracy, because they believe that democracy will bring them the jobs and education they want for themselves and their children.

I watch us refuse to even help our own.

How did we get to be so selfish?

I do believe that the people who want democracy and who face gunfire in the streets, should come up with another way to protest. Having a "sick day" can be very effective if enough people join in. Be sure to keep something around to make you really sick, so you do not become the example.

People who work for dictators can not refuse to obey orders. But no one says that you have to intelligently obey orders. Modern systems are complex and it is easy to delay implementation of such a system.

Unfortunately, I do not know how to cure selfishness.

*A saying which means that there are no easy answers to the problem we face.

SAVE MONEY -- STOP KILLING CRIMINALS

The death penalty is REALLY EXPENSIVE. Not only do we have to pay for keeping the killers in prison, we have to pay for lawyers on BOTH SIDES to fight a seemingly endless battle to decide if the killer should actually be killed. Occasionally, we still make a mistake and kill an innocent person.

If the governors commuted the death sentences of all those on death row, we would save billions of dollars in attorney fees. If the best criminal law attorneys were not busy with death row inmates, they could turn their attention to other problems in the criminal justice system. I would suggest the attorney start with people who are not given defense attorneys as required by law and on the bias against minorities in the criminal justice system.

Of course, if you really want the death penalty in California, then you should call the Republican state legislators and ask them to allow the tax extensions to go to a vote of the people.

MARIJUANA CLINICS SHOULD PAY THE EXTRA TAXES

The marijuana clinics in California should pay the sales and excise taxes as required by law.

WHY?

Because money is physically and psychologically addictive. Money is physically addictive because without money, people are unable to pay for their ongoing housing and food expenses. Money is psychologically addictive because people enjoy buying themselves things, and feel deprived and depressed when they can not buy themselves things.

Governments also get addicted to tax revenue. Once they come to expect a certain level of revenue from a group of businesses, it makes the government much less likely to shut the businesses down.

This does not mean that we can quit the political support for marijuana clinics. It just means that the political support becomes more effective.

If closing a marijuana clinic means firing a police officer, then the decision making process changes.

SO PAY THE TAXES.

THE TAX FREE UNDERGROUND ECONOMY

Economists estimate that about 8-10% of the US economy is underground and tax free.

This includes everything from the gardener who gets cash for mowing your lawn to the heroin dealer who gets cash for his drugs. Taxes are not paid on any aspect of the underground economy.

The largest section of the underground economy in the US is marijuana sales, which is estimated to be $142 billion per year. My guess is that this is grossly underestimated. Berkeley, California is demanding $6 million in back sales taxes for ONE medical marijuana clinic.

SIX or SEVEN presidential commissions have recommended legalizing marijuana. Marijuana has never been proven to have killed a single individual. Marijuana is not physically addictive. Marijuana is a useful medication for many different illnesses.

STUDY AFTER STUDY shows that ILLEGAL drugs are MUCH MORE AVAILABLE to teenagers than LEGAL drugs, like alcohol.

In New York City, the majority of arrests are for possession of marijuana, even though marijuana is supposed to be decriminalized. 86% of those arrested for marijuana in NYC are Black or Latino. (73.4% of NYC is White.)

Our colleges and universities do not have enough money to run, but law enforcement is STILL arresting, prosecuting, and imprisoning people for marijuana. WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD THIS WASTEFUL POLICY.

Republicans want to save money and make the federal government smaller. Take marijuana off schedule 1 and leave the decision up to the states. Make the Drug Enforcement Agency MUCH SMALLER. Let all of those in federal prison for marijuana possession, growth, and sales OUT OF PRISON.

As we found out during alcohol prohibition, making something illegal does not stop people from using it. STOP WASTING MONEY on trying in vain to keep people from using marijuana. Our colleges and our schools need money badly. WE DO NOT HAVE MONEY TO WASTE.