MARIJUANA -- BILL TO STOP FEDERAL PROHIBITION -- LET STATES DECIDE

Courageous congresspersons have introduced a bill which would STOP FEDERAL PROHIBITION OF MARIJUANA.

THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

WHAT WE NEED TO DO:

Call, fax, tweet or email your US Representative and let him/her know that you are in favor of the passage of HR 2306.

START TELLING THE TRUTH about marijuana. The cost of being silent is the arrest and conviction and imprisonment of people who are growing and using marijuana. The cost of being silent is the imprisonment of minorities who are caught smoking while also being black or brown. The cost of being silent is that research into the health effects of marijuana can not be reliably done in the US.

Follow the bill as it goes through congress. The bill is currently in the House Energy & Commerce Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Rep. Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas, has vowed to kill HR 2306. A good website to follow the bill and get the names of committee members is www.govtrack.us.

DO NOT INSULT THE OPPOSITION. Refer the opposition to the multiple presidential commissions that have recommended that marijuana be legalized. Refer the opposition to the LEAP website. Use logic, not rhetoric.

WE CAN DO THIS.

BIG OIL, SPECULATION, AND ELECTIONS

After watching elections for many years, I am convinced that the oil industry tries to affect elections in the US and other democracies.

Many disgruntled voters will vote against the incumbent if they feel they are paying too much for their fuel.

At the moment, gas prices are being artificially inflated by speculation. Not content with ruining the housing market, the speculators have been playing with the price of oil. The excuse is the war in Libya, but that war has not actually affected the oil supply much. (Fear and greed are SUCH a useful things. Fear and greed can be used to fuel speculation in almost anything.)

So a large group of oil importers have gotten together and agreed to release a small portion of the oil they keep for emergencies. They said they would do it again if they had to.

The speculation in the oil market stopped immediately.

Golly, gee. Imagine that.

GAY MARRIAGE -- IS IT ABOUT MONEY?

It has come to my attention that, when a gay person dies, his money generally goes to his birth family.

To often, the partner has to fight the family for every penny.

I am wondering if this attitude goes back over 100 years to Oscar Wilde.

Wilde wrote The Importance of Being Earnest, which was recently made into a movie. He also wrote the Picture of Dorian Gray, the famous story about a vile man who looked young and beautiful while his portrait showed all of his evil.

Wilde was noted for his wit. He supposedly asked a society matron if she would sleep with him for one million pounds. She replied that she might. He then asked if she would sleep with him for one pound. She was upset and asked, "What do you think I am." Oscar replied, "We have already established what you are, we are now negotiating the price."

Wilde was openly gay. He believed his popularity would protect him. When his lover's father accused him of seduction, Wilde sued for libel. Bad mistake as the father was a Lord. The upshot was that Wilde went to prison for sodomy. (Oh, grow up. It is a word used by the courts.)

Anyway, I think Wilde made being gay somewhat acceptable as long as the gay person was discreet and just allowed himself to be termed "a confirmed bachelor".

After all, if the gay person was a bachelor, at least his money stayed in the family.

But now gay people want to have spouses. The law gives spouses certain rights, like the rights to inherit the estate of a deceased spouse. The money would no longer stay in the family.

So now families are guilt tripping gay partners into signing away whatever rights the law has given them. (Note to grieving gays: do NOT sign ANYTHING drawn up by your partner's family without consulting with both an estate attorney and a family law attorney.)

As usual, people use their prejudice as an excuse to legally, but immorally, take monies.

TOO MANY GOOD YOUNG PEOPLE ARE DAMAGED BY THE WAR ON DRUGS

Mothers believe that the war on drugs helps prevent their children from getting into trouble with drugs. Unfortunately, this belief is wrong.

Many people have made a decision that illegal drugs are bad for people, and, if we try hard enough, we can stop drug use by arresting drug users and suppliers. Unfortunately, this decision is wrong.

I know you are busy and do not have much free time. It is important that you take the time to read a short, easy to read, international report on the war on drugs.

The Global Commission on Drug Policy has published a June 2011 report. We all need to read this report.

Sometimes it is hard to face the fact that, when you tried fix a problem, unintended consequences resulted in the problem getting worse, rather than better.

IT IS NOW TIME TO FACE THE FACTS REGARDING ILLEGAL DRUGS.

PLEASE READ THE JUNE 2011 REPORT FROM THE GLOBAL COMMISSION ON DRUG POLICIES. Just do an internet search, and you will get the report.

BUYING A HOUSE -- NOW OR LATER

Many of you are waiting on buying a house. I think that may be a mistake. Let me tell you why.

The economy is pretty much healed from the crunch caused by the sudden drop in the supply of money. Economists are saying that, "All the economy needs now is time."

Houses and inexpensive loans are readily available.

The best houses, those that people care about, are selling first. These are the homes of people who became over-extended, and are rational enough to know that they are over-extended. They are good people who want to do the right thing. These people are probably selling short, getting less for their home than the loan on the home. Buying a home from caring owners is worth the hassle you will go through as a buyer in a short sale.

Remember that responsible people who care about the home they are losing have taken care of the home in a responsible way. This is the kind of home you want to buy.

Eventually, the houses available are going to be the ones where the owner attitude is, "If I can not have this house, no one can have this house." Owners with anger issues can deliberately damage homes in such a manner that you do not discover the problems until too late.

GETTING PAID IN LEMONS

One of my clients kept bringing me lemons after I agreed to take his case. I was REALLY PLEASED and told everyone that I was being paid in lemons, instead of chickens.

This was a reference to my favorite fictional lawyer, Atticus. I would take note of all who caught the literary reference, and we would share a smile about how much we enjoyed reading To Kill A Mockingbird.

The lemons came to me during the recent recession. Atticus got paid in chickens for his legal services, because during the Great Depression no one had any money.

Now, truth to tell, my client did pay me money. But my Dad always said, "Why spoil a good story with a few facts?"

Perhaps it is time to remake the movie To Kill A Mockingbird. I vote for Pierce Brosnan as Atticus.

DID CHINA'S MILITARY HACK GOOGLE?

After the latest statement by Google that Google email accounts had been hacked by someone in China, the Chinese government denied that they had been involved in the attacks.

But the Chinese military put out a statement which contended that the US and the unfettered internet had deliberately caused the unrest and political changes in North Africa and the Middle East. The Chinese military went on to say that they had an obligation to protect China from such problems.

WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION. The Chinese military is implying that a free and uncontrolled internet is an enemy of the Chinese government.

If you define something as an enemy, then it is easy to justify spying on that enemy. What we call hacking, China may call spying.

China is wrong about the internet and the US deliberately causing the Arab Spring. As more and more people talk and write on the internet, people begin to say to each other, "I thought I was the only one who believed things should change NOW." Eventually, there are overwhelming numbers of people who want to have a say in their government and who want to stop corruption.

As we put more and more information into an internet "cloud", it becomes easier to hack or destroy that information. The entire world wide economy is dependent on the internet. Without the internet, large portions of Western economy would stop working. The recent recession would look small to what would happen if someone brings down the internet.

Now we have the military of a large country saying that the internet may be their enemy.

WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION.

CANCER TUMORS SHRINK WHEN GIVEN CANNABINOIDS FROM MARIJUANA

Or I could say, "Marijuana cures cancer", which is an exaggeration, but maybe not by much.

Heath professionals and those who can understand medical study synopsis should read the information posted on March 30, 2011, by the US National Cancer Institute, which is a division of the US National Institutes of Health.

The webpage is entitled, "Cannabis and Cannabinoids (PDQ) Health Professional Version".

The paper states that cannabinoids found in marijuana may have a protective effect against development of tumors and can appear to kill cancer cells but do not affect their nontransformed counterparts. (This translates to, "Research indicates that marijuana, or parts of marijuana, can stop you from getting cancer and can kill cancer cells without harming the surrounding tissue.")

While the DEA and many others are retelling the lies about marijuana, the truth about marijuana is being hidden. How many have to die of cancer before we allow people to research this promising cure?