Category: Politics

Federal Government Rules Marijuana Has No Medicinal Purposes

Just in case all that research demonstrating the contrary confuses you into thinking that marijuana has medical purposes the federal government has made their ruling on the subject:

Marijuana has been approved by California, many other states and the nation’s capital to treat a range of illnesses, but in a decision announced Friday the federal government ruled that it has no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a highly dangerous drug like heroin.

The decision comes almost nine years after medical marijuana supporters asked the government to reclassify cannabis to take into account a growing body of worldwide research that shows its effectiveness in treating certain diseases, such as glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.

I wish I could just take a pen and make something so regardless of scientific evidence. In case you believe the government’s rule is based off of any scientific research I turn you eyes towards the following:

In a June 21 letter to the organizations that filed the petition, DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart said she rejected the request because marijuana “has a high potential for abuse,” “has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States” and “lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision.” The letter and 37 pages of supporting documents were published Friday in the Federal Register.

I find that last item truly ironic. The government claims that marijuana lacks safety under medical supervision but that’s because it’s been ruled an illegal substance. You can’t put it under medical supervision if mere possession will land your ass in prison for many years.

The thing I never understood was the simple fact that most research indicates that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. To me it would only be logical if a substance less dangerous than another currently legal substance were also legal. Of course I realize I’m talking about the government so logic can just take a flying fuck and a rolling doughnut.

The State’s Definition of Critical Services

We’re in day eight of Minnesota’s government “shutdown” but really the word shutdown is a misnomer. I think it would be more appropriate to call this a reduce government operating capacity. Services that have been deemed critical by the state are still running. So what’s critical? Well the collection of taxes for instance:

The Minnesota Department of Revenue said Friday it will continue to process tax payments during the shutdown. All tax laws and deadlines are still in effect.

But with no authorized funding in place, agency functions not deemed critical by the courts are suspended. That means no tax refunds will be processed or issued at this time. And the Revenue Department will have no one to help taxpayers by phone or email until normal operations resume.

According to the state, who get to make the rules, processing the payment of taxes is critical but returning excess money is not. Although people are required to pay their taxes on the appropriate deadlines the state sees no need to ensure help is available to those not sure if they’re filling out the right forms correctly (after all if people don’t know if they’re doing something correctly they’ll likely screw up and the state can fine them for more revenue).

This further demonstrates that this entire “shutdown” is nothing more than a political game. Only services that will noticeably impact the lives of Minnesotans negatively have been shutdown. The parks were shutdown which was noticed on Independence Day, tax refunds aren’t being sent out which will noticeably impact the finances of many Minnesotans, etc. This “shutdown” is simply an attempt to gain political influence next election cycle. The Republican are blaming the Democrats and the Democrats are blaming the Republicans. Both parties are pointing to the other and saying, “Look! The other party make sure you wouldn’t get your tax refunds on time!”

Personally I hope the “shutdown” continues indefinitely. People who are dependent on the state need to rid themselves of that yoke and those not dependent on the state need to realize it. We don’t need the state to run our lives, we’re more than capable of doing that ourselves.

Day Seven of The Minnesota Government Shutdown

We’re now in day seven of the Minnesota Government shutdown. Chaos is spreading through the streets as rioters set cars ablaze, women can’t walk the streets because they will get viciously raped, fire and brimstone are raining down, all hope is lost!

Seriously though, it’s been a week and nobody besides a few campers last weekend have even noticed the government went into shutdown mode. I think this indicates how crucial government isn’t.

I’m Amused

As I read headlines today I’m very amused. Just as I expected both political parties are blaming the other for the shutdown and their respective followers are joining the fray. The Republicans and their followers are blaming Dayton and the Democrats for the shutdown because he walked out during the debate. On the other side of the arena the Democrats and their followers are blaming the Republicans because they refused to negotiate with Dayton on increases taxes.

Since I’m just glad the shutdown is happening I have nobody to blame so don’t mind me as I’m kicking back and sipping on a beer later this evening with a little smirk on my face.

The State Shutdown

I doubt you noticed this morning but negotiations broke down between the parties last night and Minnesota’s government went into shutdown mode:

Talks imploded Thursday between DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders in the final hours before a midnight deadline, and Minnesota began a historic government shutdown.

“This is a night of deep sorrow for me,” Dayton said in an address at 10 p.m. that was punctuated by jeers and hisses from Republicans, including some lawmakers.

Personally I’m glad the state went into shutdown mode. There are some valuable lessons that people need to learn and the only way to learn them is through experience. One of those lessons is the centralizing services is a bad thing because when the monopoly entity falters and stops providing those services everybody is negatively affected. If there were competition on all markets any single private entity failing would only affect that entity’s customers whom would then be able to go to a competing service.

I firmly believe that this entire shutdown is nothing more than a pissing contest to get votes during the next election. Both parties are blaming each other for the shutdown which has lead to parks and rest stops being closed on the 4th of July, a travel heavy holiday. Having parks and rest stops closed on this holiday ensures the maximum number of people will be negatively impacted in a way that they’ll easily notice (honestly the schools shutting down during the summer doesn’t affect too many people). People will remember the 4th of July where they had to go somewhere besides a state park and take that into consideration come voting time.

Either way the state shut down and all is still well. No riots are occurring in the streets, nobody is being murdered that wouldn’t have been had the state been running, water and electricity still work, and the highways still function.

What Will and Won’t be Open During a Minnesota Government Shutdown

We’re only a few days away from a possible government shutdown here in Minnesota and people are confused about what state provided services will and won’t be open should the government take a leave of absence. The Red Star has a summary of what services will and won’t be available during the possible shutdown.

Reading through the list it’s bloody obvious to me that nobody is going to even notice a state shutdown. My concern is reading through all the shit that the government has obtained a monopoly on providing. For instance this little gem:

STILLWATER LIFT BRIDGE

Would close to vehicle traffic. It would be raised to allow boat traffic and would remain in the raised position.

Why the Hell is the state government charged with operating a lift bridge? Does that seem like a job that you need a government bureaucrat to perform? Being the bridge is connected to Stillwater why not let the city of Stillwater run the damned thing? Read through the list though and then ask yourself what downside would exist to the government shutting down. The shutdown is nothing but a boogeyman being used by those at the Capitol to justify their existence.

You’re Asking the Wrong People Obama

It’s being reported that Obama is meeting with Senate leaders to negotiate spending cuts:

President Barack Obama is meeting Senate leaders negotiating on spending cuts and raising the US debt ceiling, as a deadline for action looms.

Mr Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden had what officials said was a “constructive” meeting with Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Mr Obama was due to meet Republican leader Mitch McConnell later on Monday.

The problem lies in the fact that there seems to be only one person on Capitol Hill that has actual knowledge in economics and financing. Obama shouldn’t be talking to the Senate leaders but should be picking up the phone and calling Dr. Ron Paul who is one of the few members of our government that isn’t a complete Keynesian (and those are the fuckers who got us into this mess).

Unfortunately for those of us living in the United States Obama has decided to talk with Mitch McConnell who only seems capable for parroting the standard Republican party line:

The White House has said Republicans want to use the negotiations with the Obama administration to secure tax loopholes for corporations, tax breaks for the wealthy and subsidies for oil and gas firms.

“We have to have a balanced approach so that no sector of society, not the middle class, not seniors, not any one segment of the business community, has to bear any disproportionate burden,” Mr Carney told reporters on Monday.

This is what gets me about the Republican party, the often talk about things that sound somewhat libertarian on the surface but underneath they lack a true understanding of why libertarians express the beliefs they do. The majority of Republican also talk the big talk until it comes time to act, at which time they reveal their true colors as authoritarian Keynesian just like the Democrats (really there is no difference between the two parties).

Securing tax breaks isn’t going to fix the problem, we need to dramatically cut spending if we want any hope of keeping our inflated fiat currency from dropping in value fast enough to violate the theory of general relativity. Unfortunately the spending cuts must come from the political suicide sectors of Social Security, “defense” spending, and Medicare. Without cutting heavily from all three of these no major change will occur and our money will continue to inflate which will reduce the purchasing power of everybody who is dependent on our paper currency.

I also doubt the Republicans have the balls required to keep the debt ceiling where it’s at. At least if we did that it would force us to adopt a balanced budget for the year. But as usual there will be a back and forth between the Republicans and Democrats that will be little more than a pissing contest. After the pissing contest both sides will agree to compromise and raise the debt ceiling which will further increase our debt and fuck us over in the long run.

I’m Truly Shocked, California Did Something Right

Holy shit I’m actually surprised by something that happened in California, and it’s a pleasant surprise. I never thought I would actually have something nice to say about that forsaken state but it sounds as though they’re going to stop paying their “representatives” until the state budget is balanced:

It is often said if the state of California was a country it would be the eighth biggest economy in the world.

But with a $10bn deficit to match, and residents fed up of legislators missing the annual budget deadline by months, they voted for a new law.

It is the first time Proposition 25 has been put into effect – and it means all 120 elected members of the State Assembly and Senate will not be paid their wages, or their living allowances, until they pass a balanced budget.

Hell. Fucking. Yes. Obviously the “representatives” are complaining but they have no ground to stand on. Those people were hired to do a job and have failed to do it. As they have failed to do their job it’s only right that they don’t get paid (I’d fire them frankly but alas that’s not an option when government is involved). California should expand on this and refuse to pay their “representatives” until the state debt is paid off as well. Imagine how quickly such a program would accomplish turning California from a the most debt-ridden state into a debt-free state.

For once I can say there is something other states can learn from California, don’t pay the legislature until the budget is balanced.

I Bet He Cures Blindness By Throwing Mud in Your Eyes Too

When I saw this article on the BBC asking why the crime rate in the United States have been dropping I expected no mention would be made of the increase in issuance of carry permits. I’ve come to expect that from the media, especially Britain where guns are almost completely illegal. What I didn’t expect was the theory that our lower crime rate is due to the election of the Obamessiah:

1. The Obama effect could explain the increased pace of the reduction of the last few years, says one of the country’s top criminologists, Alfred Blumstein. “The prior expectation was that the recession would have the opposite effect. The question then is what distinctive event occurred in ’09?” The election of a black president could have inspired some young black men, who are disproportionately involved in arrests for robbery and homicide, says the professor. It’s very speculative, he adds, and probably only one factor of many, as one of the cities with a huge drop in crime is Phoenix, in Arizona, which does not have a large black population. “In the field of criminology, you don’t get consistent indicators as you would in physics. There are so many factors that could have contributed.” A separate study on school test scores supports the view that some black teenagers were motivated to try harder by the new presidency.

Hallelujah brother, it’s a miracle! Our president can cure the blind by throwing mud in their eyes, he can walk on water, he can turn water into wine, and he can lower the crime rate! Seriously could the media suck his… I’ll let you fill in the blank here, any harder? Did Barack personally send the BBC a shipment of hookers and blow?

Before some Obamabot comes on here and claims my heated reaction is just due to the fact that I’m a Republican/Glenn Beck supporter/dirty Satanist/whatever I should state that I’d have the same reaction regardless of what president it was about (also I’m not a Republican or Glenn Beck supporter or dirty Satanist).

Beyond that stupidity the article was written as I expected it. Almost all of the theories stated are attributed to the state and not a single mention was made about liberalized (in the classical definition of the word) carry laws raising the stacks for committing crimes. Regardless of the reason the decline in crime does demonstrate that liberalized (again the classic definition) carry laws don’t lead to higher crime rates and thus enacting stricter gun control laws to curb crime is an exercise in stupidity. This is even more important to note when you consider the fact that liberalized (classical definition) carry laws may be part of the reason crime rates are declining.

I May Take Back Everything I Said About Texas

I ripped on Texas a short while back because they were trying to play tough and stand up to the federal government but folded the second the guys in Washington D.C. pushed back. Texas has a chance to redeem itself though as they have reintroduced the anti-molestation bill during a special session:

On Monday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry presented legislation for consideration in the ongoing Eighty-Second Texas Legislature, First Called Session that would ban intrusive TSA pat-downs.

OK Texas this is your chance to prove to the rest of the union that you don’t take shit from anybody. Get this legislation through and tell the federal government where to shove their legalization of federal agents committing sexual assault. On yet another bright side it appears as through Texas may not be the only state telling the boys at the federal capitol where to shove it:

Sources close to the Tenth Amendment Center tell us to expect at least 10 other states considering similar legislation in the 2012 legislative session. Utah and Michigan have already joined in. CLICK HERE to track the progress of all “travel freedom” legislation around the country.

I would love to see all fifty states take a stand against the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). There is no valid reason for allowing government agents to commit sexual assault on people simply trying to fly from one place to another.