FREEDOM OF RELIGION

Freedom of religion also means freedom FROM religion. The US constitution forbids allowing governments to do or not do something because a religion demands it.

This means that, we as a people, believe that each citizen is responsible for his/her own moral choices. My religion told me to do it, is not an excuse acceptable in US courts.

This is so ingrained in our laws and philosophy that we forget much of the world still allows religion to make ALL moral choices.

Historically, all this started when Martin Luther nailed a statement, that the church had become immoral, on to the door of a church in Germany. This morphed into many Protestant religions who believed that THEY could read the word of God for themselves.

When these many churches came to North America, they each set up little towns who punished non-believers who were just traveling through. These punishments were so irritating, that just about everyone was in agreement that the other person's religion should not become the law of the land.

Of course in the beginning, this freedom of and from religion was only granted to white, rich Christians.

But the US is the first country founded on the principle that what is illegal is not governed by religion. Each citizen is free to believe what they wish. All of us vote to make the laws that we must obey. And the court system hopefully prevents the majority from taking unfair advantage of the minorities.

(This also means that all of you who spin fantasies of the US adopting Sharia law do not have the remotest idea about the true value of the US Constitution.)

THE THIN BLUE LINE

There is NO EXCUSE for killing a police office. There is NO EXCUSE for keeping marijuana illegal.

We have required our police officers to enforce a law that lawyers and presidents disobey with glee.

We are keeping the stupid drug laws KNOWING that marijuana almost certainly cures cancer and relieves epilepsy symptoms.

And of course, people take out their frustrations on the police officers tasked with enforcing this increasingly stupid law.

If you think a police office is unprofessional, then you COMPLAIN EVERY TIME. Eventually, the number of complaints causes the officer to be investigated. If you are unhappy with the investigation, then it is trivially easy to take over a local government. All you actually have to do is VOTE IN EVERY ELECTION. There are usually plenty of local activists who will run for office if they think they have a chance.

OUR DRUG LAWS ARE PUTTING OFFICERS AT RISK. We ask them to enforce a law that most of us will not obey. Officers are not stupid. They know that arresting lawyers and presidential candidates will just end in grief for everyone involved. So IF they HAVE to show a statistical pattern of arresting for drugs, they will arrest the people who quietly go to prison. Such people are usually brown or black.

Of course, if a bent officer wants to control a judge or politician, then the easiest way is to arrest a child or grandchild for possession of an illegal substance.

ANY DRUG THAT IS LESS HARMFUL THAN ALCOHOL SHOULD BE LEGAL.

Did you know that the FDA can order researchers and doctors to BE SILENT about the merits of marijuana?

GET TOUGH ON THE DISABLED

"Our rules are more important than your disability. We will teach you to obey by towing away your wheelchair van. You must be lying about the 350 pound wheelchair that could come tumbling out the back door on the freeway." -- Thoughts (?) of Landlord, security guard, and tow company.

I am so sorry that my request for a reasonable accommodation was denied in such a way as to endanger the driving public. But I do not understand people who would tow a wheelchair vehicle when the owner was 20 feet away. The vehicle was NOT blocking traffic or access. 

I tried to let everyone know that the heavy wheelchair was not properly tied down. Experience has taught me that it is much safer to use a flat bed truck when towing a wheelchair vehicle with rear access. But punishment would not wait for a safer towing vehicle.

Safety of the public, and common courtesy, are not present when men decide that this is their territory and they WILL be in control. This is much like the judge who told a defendant to crawl up the stairs to his courtroom. (There is a funny House episode with House abandoning a wheelchair during a parking place spat.)

This is exactly the kind of over enforcement that is caused by the broken window police policy. It starts out trying to keep driveways clear, then soon people are arrested for waiting in the driveway for a disabled friend.

For me, it is not so much that my van was towed. It is that I am now much less mobile. You have made my world smaller. Why?

I also feel really hurt and sad. What kind of people harass the disabled?

CRIMINAL ACTS

The Baltimore riots are CRIMINAL ACTS. I believed that the War on Some Drugs has BECOME A CRIMINAL ACT.

When we imprison young people for small amounts of drugs, we IMPRISON PARENTS OF SMALL CHILDREN.

Some strains of marijuana can stop epileptic seizures. Some strains of marijuana can SHRINK CANCER CELLS with NO damage to the surrounding tissue. Some strains of marijuana can help with post traumatic stress.

How can ANY ETHICAL PERSON keep marijuana on any federal schedule? The evidence that marijuana is AN AMAZING MEDICINE is acknowledged by every medical professional that has been involved in marijuana medical research.

PRESIDENT OBAMA CAN STOP THIS INSANITY TOMORROW. The DEA and the Attorney General can remove marijuana from the federal schedules. THIS MEANS THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS THE AUTHORITY TO TAKE MARIJUANA OFF THE FEDERAL SCHEDULES.

STOP RIOTING and start calling the White House, the DEA, the US Attorney General, and congresspersons. You young people have the ability to SHUT DOWN ALL GOVERNMENT PHONES UNTIL MARIJUANA IS OFF ALL THE FEDERAL SCHEDULES.

THEN DO NOT FORGET TO VOTE! Power to the people comes from the people VOTING in EVERY ELECTION.

DO NOT GO TO NEPAL

Nepal can not feed its own people, which means they can not feed you. If you are needed in Nepal, you have already been ASKED to go.

There was an Nepalese earthquake organizational meeting just a few weeks ago. Let the professional work their SLOW magic. When the country is ready for visitors, Nepal will let you know.

When you are giving money, please give to the organizations who already know Nepal, and are doing a good job in Nepal.

Nepal, IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ANSWER WHEN YOU ARE ASKED WHAT YOU WANT. Most Western groups will ask the community what they want. If you do not participate in the process, you can end up with the most stupid help. Ask Haiti.

UNIONS AND FREE TRADE

I believe that unions are the only way to get the 1% to pay people a decent wage.

I believe that trade protections just allow industry to become more and more INEFFICIENT. Sometimes these inefficient industries disappear almost overnight, which is really HARD on the workers.

I also believe that US industry should find some method of getting their employees stock ownership. If an employee feels that her work will make the entire company, and herself, RICHER, then the employee will be much more mindful about her work.

Stock options will not work for lower level employees who can not afford to buy the stock. Gifts of stock may not work because a gift from an employer is taxable income.

SOMEONE OUT THERE HAS THE SOLUTION. We should all work towards encouraging companies to turn employees into stockholders.

President Obama's free trade agreements are going to be good for the world economy, and good for the US economy.

H-1B VISA vs WOMEN

If the tech industry is desperate for employees, they can hire US WOMEN. These male chauvinists prefer to hire foreign MEN, making the tech work places more and more hostile to women.

Worse, there is wide spread FRAUD in the H-1B visa program, with many of the "employers" requiring kick backs. Often the H-1B visa holders are little more than slaves to a "body shop".

Perhaps this program could be replaced with a paid internship program, run by major universities, so that foreign students could get ONE YEAR experiencing how US businesses work. Then they should go home and help fix their own country.

The US was founded upon the principle of, "Give me your tired and your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

Let the people who do NOT have a chance in their own country come here and have a chance at a better life.

We have plenty of highly educated young people living here who would be glad for a tech job.