Kentucky passed a law requiring all Homeland Security operations credit God with protecting them. The law lists the office’s initial duty as “stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth.” They’re also required to install a plaque that states “The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God.”
My question is simple. Which God?
5 Things the Corporate Media Don't Want You to Know About Cannabis
By Paul Armentano, AlterNet. Posted September 23, 2009.
Recent scientific reports suggest that pot doesn't destroy your brain, that it doesn't cause lung damage like tobacco -- but you won't hear it in the corporate media.
Writing in the journal Science nearly four decades ago, New York State University sociologist Erich Goode documented the media's complicity in maintaining cannabis prohibition.
He observed: "[T]ests and experiments purporting to demonstrate the ravages of marijuana consumption receive enormous attention from the media, and their findings become accepted as fact by the public. But when careful refutations of such research are published, or when later findings contradict the original pathological findings, they tend to be ignored or dismissed."
A glimpse of today's mainstream media landscape indicates that little has changed -- with news outlets continuing to, at best, underreport the publication of scientific studies that undermine the federal government's longstanding pot propaganda and, at worst, ignore them all together.
Here are five recent stories the mainstream media doesn't want you to know about pot:
1. Marijuana Use Is Not Associated With a Rise in Incidences of Schizophrenia
Over the past few years, the worldwide media, as well as federal officials in the United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S. have earnestly promoted the notion that smoking pot induces mental illness.
Perhaps most notably, in 2007 the MSM reported that cannabis "could boost the risk of developing a psychotic illness later in life by about 40 percent" -- a talking point that was also actively promoted by U.S. anti-drug officials.
So, is there any truth to the claim that pot smoking is sparking a dramatic rise in mental illness? Not at all, according to the findings of a study published in July in the journal Schizophrenia Research.
Investigators at the Keele University Medical School in Britain compared trends in marijuana use and incidences of schizophrenia in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2005. Researchers reported that the "incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia and psychoses were either stable or declining" during this period, even the use of cannabis among the general population was rising.
"[T]he expected rise in diagnoses of schizophrenia and psychoses did not occur over a 10-year period," the authors concluded. "This study does not therefore support the specific causal link between cannabis use and incidence of psychotic disorders. … This concurs with other reports indicating that increases in population cannabis use have not been followed by increases in psychotic incidence."
As of this writing, a handful of news wire reports in Australia, Canada, and the U.K. have reported on the Keele University study. Notably, no American media outlets covered the story.
2. Marijuana Smoke Doesn't Damage the Lungs Like Tobacco
Everyone knows that smoking pot is as damaging, if not more damaging, to the lungs than puffing cigarettes, right?
Wrong, according to a team of New Zealand investigators writing in the European Respiratory Journal in August.
Researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand compared the effects of cannabis and tobacco smoke on lung function in over 1,000 adults.
They reported: "Cumulative cannabis use was associated with higher forced vital capacity [the volume of air that can forcibly be blown out after full inspiration], total lung capacity, functional residual capacity [the volume of air present in the lungs at the end of passive expiration] and residual volume.
"Cannabis was also associated with higher airways resistance but not with forced expiratory volume in one second [the maximum volume of air that can be forcibly blown out in the first second during the FVC test], forced expiratory ratio, or transfer factor. These findings were similar amongst those who did not smoke tobacco. … By contrast, tobacco use was associated with lower forced expiratory volume in one second, lower forced expiratory ratio, lower transfer factor and higher static lung volumes, but not with airways resistance."
They concluded, "Cannabis appears to have different effects on lung function to those of tobacco."
Predictably, the scientists' "inconvenient truth" was not reported in a single media outlet.
3. Cannabis Use Potentially Protects, Rather Than Harms, the Brain
Does smoking pot kill brain cells? Drinking alcohol most certainly does, and many opponents of marijuana-law reform claim that marijuana's adverse effects on the brain are even worse. Are they correct?
Not according to recent findings published this summer in the journal Neurotoxicology and Teratology.
Investigators at the University of California at San Diego examined white matter integrity in adolescents with histories of binge drinking and marijuana use. They reported that binge drinkers (defined as boys who consumed five or more drinks in one sitting, or girls who consumed four or more drinks at one time) showed signs of white matter damage in eight regions of the brain.
By contrast, the binge drinkers who also used marijuana experienced less damage in 7 out of the 8 brain regions.
"Binge drinkers who also use marijuana did not show as consistent a divergence from non-users as did the binge drink-only group," authors concluded. "[It is] possible that marijuana may have some neuroprotective properties in mitigating alcohol-related oxidative stress or excitotoxic cell death."
To date, only a handful of U.S. media outlets -- almost exclusively college newspapers -- have reported the story.
4. Marijuana Is a Terminus, Not a 'Gateway,' to Hard Drug Use
Alarmist claims that experimenting with cannabis will inevitably lead to the use of other illicit drugs persist in the media despite statistical data indicating that the overwhelming majority of those who try pot never go on to use cocaine or heroin.
Moreover, recent research is emerging that indicates that pot may also suppress one's desire to use so-called hard drugs.
In June, Paris researchers writing in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology concluded that the administration of oral THC in animals suppressed sensitivity to opiate dependence.
Also this summer, investigators at the New York State Psychiatric Institute reported in the American Journal on Addictions that drug-treatment subjects who use cannabis intermittently were more likely to adhere to treatment for opioid dependence.
Although a press release for the former study appeared on the Web site physorg.com on July 7, neither study ever gained any traction in the mainstream media.
5. Government's Anti-Pot Ads Encourage, Rather Than Discourage, Marijuana Use
Sure, many of us already knew that the federal government's $2 billion ad campaign targeting pot was failing to dissuade viewers from toking up, but who knew it was this bad?
According to a new study posted online in the journal Health Communication, survey data published by investigators at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania found that many of the government's public-service announcements actually encouraged pot use.
Researchers assessed the attitudes of over 600 adolescents, age 12 to 18, after viewing 60 government-funded anti-marijuana television spots.
Specifically, researchers evaluated whether the presence of marijuana-related imagery in the ads (e.g., the handling of marijuana cigarettes or the depiction of marijuana-smoking behavior) were more likely or less likely to discourage viewers' use of cannabis.
Messages that depict teens associating with cannabis are "significantly less effective than others," the researchers found.
"This negative impact of marijuana scenes is not reversed in the presence of strong anti-marijuana arguments in the ads and is mainly present for the group of adolescents who are often targets of such anti-marijuana ads (i.e., high-risk adolescents)," the authors determined. "For this segment of adolescents, including marijuana scenes in anti-marijuana (public-service announcements) may not be a good strategy."
Needless to say, no outlets in the mainstream media -- many of which donated air time to several of the beleaguered ads in question -- have yet to report on the story.
--
Paul Armentano is the deputy director of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and is the co-author of the book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink (2009, Chelsea Green)?
Quote: "It seems that under the Baucus bill the cost for employers to pay a fine or penalty for not providing insurance is much less than the cost of providing the insurance itself. If so, why not pay the fine and do away with the headaches of providing health insurance for your employees?"
This legislation is bullshit.
My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping channels.
She asked, ‘What’s on TV?’
I said, ‘Dust.’
And then the fight started…
******************************************
My wife and I are watching “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” while we were in bed.. I turned to her and said, “Do you want to have sex?”
“No,” she answered.
I then said, “Is that your final answer?”
She didn’t even look at me this time, simply saying, ”Yes.”
So I said, “Then I’d like to phone a friend.”
And then the fight started….
******************************************
Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my lunch, grabbed the dog, and slipped quietly into the garage. I hooked up the boat up to the truck, and proceeded to back out into a torrential downpour. The wind was blowing 50 mph, so I pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the weather would be bad all day.
I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into bed. I cuddled up to my wife’s back, now with a different anticipation, and whispered, “The weather out there is terrible.”
My loving wife of 10 years replied, “Can you believe my stupid husband is out fishing in that?”
And that’s how the fight started…
******************************************
I rear-ended a car this morning. So, there we were alongside the road and slowly the other driver got out of his car. You know how sometimes you just get soooo stressed and little things just seem funny? Yeah, well I couldn’t believe it…. He was a DWARF!!!
He stormed over to my car, looked up at me, and shouted, ”I AM NOT HAPPY!!!”
So, I looked down at him and said, “Well, then which one are you?”
And then the fight started…..
*****************************************
My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary.
She said, ‘I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.’
I bought her a scale.
And then the fight started…
******************************************
When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace expensive…
so, I took her to a gas station.
And then the fight started…
******************************************
After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security. The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver’s license to verify my age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home and come back later.
The woman said, ‘Unbutton your shirt’. So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair. She said, ‘That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me’ and she processed my Social Security application.
When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office.
She said, ‘You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten disability, too.’
And then the fight started….
******************************************
My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a
nearby table.
My wife asked, ‘Do you know her?’
‘Yes,’ I sighed, ‘She’s my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she
hasn’t been sober since.’
‘My God!’ says my wife, ‘who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?’
And then the fight started…
******************************************
I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first.
“I’ll have the strip steak, medium rare, please.”
He said, “Aren’t you worried about the mad cow?”"
Nah, she can order for herself.”
And then the fight started…
******************************************
A woman is standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror. She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband, ‘I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.’
The husband replies, ‘Your eyesight’s damn near perfect.’
And then the fight started…
EXCLUSIVE by Kim Noble 21/06/2009
Birthday treat is actually wedding as Gemma proposes to boyfriend Jamie in front of 180 guests
Suprise wedding
The first Jamie Crook knew of his wedding was when his girlfriend proposed in front of 180 guests... just 10 minutes before they were due to exchange vows.
Gemma had planned everything in secret. She booked the venue and registrar, picked the bridesmaids and best man, but said nothing to Jamie.
Even when he walked into the venue and everyone said “surprise” he still thought it was for his 30th birthday the day before.
But as Jamie began chatting to friends, Gemma grabbed the microphone.
She said: “With all eyes on me, I was trembling with excitement. This was my moment.
“I turned to Jamie and said: ‘You know you’ve always said you’d marry me, well tonight’s the night. You’ve got 10 minutes while I go and get my dress on. I could see his tears welling up and he was utterly speechless.”
As the whole room waited with bated breath for his answer, mum-of-two Gemma, 29, thought about how it was the biggest and bravest gamble she’d ever taken.
She said: “The idea came over a glass of wine with my best mate Zoe while we were planning a surprise 30th birthday party for Jamie.
She said: “Why not go one better and make it a surprise wedding? You’ve been talking about it for years’.
“My first reaction was that it was daft. The date was only eight weeks away. But once the seed of the idea was sown I decided to go for it...with Zoe’s help.
“The more we plotted and planned, the more excited we got. I never doubted for one minute that Jamie would say ‘yes’. We’d been together 11 years and have two lovely sons... Harry, who’s nine and Thomas, who’s eight.
“We’d had our good and bad times but I loved Jamie more than ever and I didn’t doubt he loved me.”
The invitations, venue, flowers, food, dresses, rings and suits had to be sorted out without Jamie knowing.
Gemma, of Lordswood, Kent, said: “When I told Jamie’s mum Jennie and our families, everyone agreed it was a fantastic idea, but there was one voice of caution – my older sister Freddie, who said: 'What will you do if Jamie says no?' I told her 'I didn't even want to think about it'.”
Gemma found a hall at the local leisure centre that was available the Friday after Jamie’s 30th and she found a humanist registrar on the internet.
“We arranged everything by email so Jamie would not catch on. I told her about our lives together and she sent back ideas for our vows. The first time I read them, they were so moving I burst into tears.”
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Then Gemma drew up a guest list of 180 and swore them all to secrecy.
Roping in more friends to help, Zoe stayed up all night making invitations and, as the countdown to the big day ticked away, she ordered cutlery, balloons, tablecloths, flowers, table decorations and bridesmaids’ dresses for the black-and-white themed event.
She said: “With only four weeks to go, my mate Clair, who works at M&S, found a fabulous wedding dress in the sales. I rushed round to hers and tried it on. The strapless embroidered ivory dress fitted perfectly and with Clair’s staff discount it was only £12.”
Because Jamie was working night shifts as a production assistant, it was easier to keep things under wraps – but Gemma knew it would be impossible to keep her plotting from their childen.
She said: “I told them ‘Mummy and Daddy are getting married, but it’s a big secret’. They loved being in on the plot and didn’t breath a word.”
Finally, the day arrived. “I told Jamie we were popping to a friend’s party. As we stood outside the hall doors we heard everyone say ‘Shush’. Jamie flushed bright red and said: ‘Is this party for me?’. As he pushed open the doors, our family and friends all shouted ‘Surprise!’ He was completely bowled over.”
Then came the dramatic moment when Gemma grabbed the mike and proposed.
Best man Scott Devonport said waiting for Jamie’s answer was heart-stopping.
He added: “There was an incredible hush and everyone held their breath.
“The poor bloke was speechless. So I grabbed the mike and said, ‘Well, will you marry her?’”
Gemma said: “Finally he said ‘Yes’, then he grabbed me in his arms and whispered, ‘thank you’. We were shaking from head to toe, tears streaming down our faces. While I rushed off to put on my dress, he put on a cravat and waistcoat.
"When I walked back into the hall on my dad Rob’s arm with both my boys walking in front of me, my heart was in my mouth. I’d waited years for this moment. We made our vows and then had our first dance. When Jamie made his speech he said: ‘I didn’t know I would be doing this until an hour ago. But I’d like you to raise your glasses to my beautiful wife Gemma’.”
Jamie said of his big day: “It never occured to me to say ‘no’. I would have married Gemma 10 years ago. It was only ever money that stopped us getting married. It was the best day of my life. It’s typical Gemma to organise something like this in so little time... and she can really keep a secret!”
And now the couple have something else to celebrate – a new baby, due in September.
Gemma added: “I always said I’d have another baby when we married. Now all my dreams have come true.”
Super Reefer Madness!
Posted on: June 19, 2009 9:30 AM, by Ed Brayton
The latest bit of anti-drug hysteria in this country is - cue the scary music - Super Pot! We're suddenly seeing breathless reports of this allegedly evil weed and how dangerous it is and now one legislator wants federal legislation to mandate a sentence of 25 years in prison for a first offense of selling it:
U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk will call for legislation Monday that would toughen drug trafficking laws regarding a highly-potent form of marijuana, with penalties of up to 25 years in prison for a 1st-time offense.
The law would target offenders who sell or distribute marijuana that has a THC content exceeding 15 percent, which is between 5 and 10 percent higher than average marijuana, according to Kirk's office. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the main active ingredient in marijuana.
Wow, 15% THC. That's SUPER pot. And once again, Europe laughs at us. What he wants made a capitol crime is a requirement in the Netherlands:
To put this in perspective, the average potency of marijuana that has fueled this fire is seven percent THC. This is the marijuana that White House Drug Czar John Walters warns is horribly dangerous because of its super-strength. In contrast, Dutch government standards require medical marijuana sold in pharmacies in the Netherlands to be more than twice that strong. So a country where teens are actually less likely to use cocaine and heroin than in the U.S. wouldn't even use our marijuana to heal their sick. A recent report from the European Union noted that "a slight upward trend" in potency means little because the potency of U.S. marijuana "was very low by European standards."
And the swindle continues:
Third, unlike the speculative claims of increased danger, peer-reviewed scientific data show that higher potency marijuana reduces health risks. Just as with alcohol, people who smoke marijuana generally consume until they reach the desired effect, then stop. So people who smoke more potent marijuana smoke less - the same way most drinkers consume a smaller amount of vodka than they would of beer - and incur less chance of smoking-related damage to their lungs.
Official warnings about "super pot" often accompany claims that huge numbers of teens are in treatment for marijuana "dependence and abuse," and that those numbers have risen dramatically. Such claims are utterly misleading. According to the U.S. government's own statistics, most teens in marijuana treatment are there because they were arrested, not because of actual evidence of abuse or dependence. Virtually all of the vaunted increase in marijuana treatment admissions stems from these arrests.
So, we arrest kids for smoking marijuana, force them into treatment and then use those treatment admissions as "proof" that marijuana is addictive. Somewhere, George Orwell is smiling.
This wave of marijuana treatment has nothing to do with actual dependence. According to the latest government report on drug treatment, called the Treatment Episode Data Set, more than a third of these marijuana "abusers" did not use marijuana at all in the month prior to admission. Another 16.1 percent used it three times or less.
So more than half of marijuana "abusers" used marijuana three times or less in the month prior to entering treatment - and this, we are told, is proof that we must be fearful of highly addictive "super pot"!
All of this would be laughable if it wasn't used as a pretense for violating our liberties, costing us a fortune and ruining lives by throwing people in prison for doing nothing to harm anyone else.
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