Last week the President of Mexico spoke out against Proposition 19, the move to legalize marijuana in California. He explained that the passage of this proposition would create an inconsistency in the drug laws in this country. Obviously, he is correct. Californians would be able to legally possess the drug, but citizens of the other states would still be arrested and imprisoned for the same practice.
One has to wonder if the good President, for all of his good fight against the drug cartels in his country isn't just a bit concerned that the huge sums of money being returned to his country from the U.S. might be dampened a bit by the legalization of the drug. If California legalizes marijuana, then the other states might begin to follow its lead. Legally sold, marijuana would fetch a much lower price. In addition, in California at least, citizens would be able to grow their own. Oops, Mexico would lose a huge export, illegal though it is.
One would think that President Calderon might be happy that the U.S. might one day legalize marijuana. What a great day it would be for Mexico. The drug cartels would suddenly be out of business. The killing and maiming of Mexican citizens would come to a close. The U.S. border patrol could concentrate more on illegal border crossings instead of the constant search for marijuana. The drug cartels might shift their focus to cocaine and meth, but the demand is not nearly as great.
The years of alcohol prohibition in this country brought a crime wave so very similar to the drug wars in Mexico. Rival gangs battled for territory and supremacy, and there was open warfare. Execution style killings were prevalent, and political corruption, associated with the illegal liquor trade, was rampant. The end of prohibition brought an end to the violent crime.
I have never smoked marijuana, but it appears that the drug is no more harmful than alcohol. In my opinion legalization is the answer. The medical applications for the drug, especially for pain, are a good enough reason in themselves. There are side affects, but it is doubtful that they are any worse, probably less so, than the side effects of so many of the prescription drugs that we take now.
The American public seems to be thinking along these lines, and I believe that the drug war, over marijuana at least, may be coming to an end in the not too distant future. Maybe then, law enforcement can concentrate on cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine instead of filling the prisons to overflowing with marijuana users.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
God, the Whipping Boy
Everywhere I turn these days, someone I know is blaming their bad decisions or bad experiences on God. God led them to quit their job. Now they are complaining because they have no money. God led them to quit their job and move away from their home to a new town. Now they complain because they do not know anyone and maybe it was not a good move. But they are all praying real hard the God will help them make another decision.
I have news for them. When you make a decision to quit your job in the middle of a bad economic downturn, do not blame God. Blame yourself. Man up and take responsibility for your bad decision. When you are greedy, over extend yourself thinking you are going to be rich, and then you lose everything, do not pray that God will deliver you. You made the bad decision. You spent the money.
It has all become very tiring to me. I about throw up every time I read another post on Facebook about God. No one I know seems to be able to make a move or write a sentence without a reference to God, and I am not exaggerating. It is an epidemic. It is amazing how I went though life for over 50 years, and I knew few people who were like this. As a child, adults did not constantly harp about God and how He ran every single aspect of their lives. They could make a move without bragging about how they prayed about it before hand. They did not make reference to God in every other sentence.
We have a new neighbor, who labels himself as a missionary. God, so he says, controls his every move. He, apparently, prays constantly and whips out his Bible at the drop of a hat to find an answer. He and his wife have moved to our town, apparently on a whim or as he says, God led them. His wife has a job a couple of hundred miles away in their old home town, but the job ends soon. They do not know what they will do. But God is leading them. He intends, it appears, to open up his own church and cater to 20 somethings. He is age 60. Another neighbor says she might want to run a background check on the guy.
A friend's husband was critically injured in an automobile accident last week. If he survives, he will face months of therapy and hospitalization. If I hear one person say it was God's will, I think I will surely go berserk. So...God made the motorcyclist brake unexpectedly, cause the following too closely motorist to swerve into the path of the husband, sending him on a helicopter flight to a level one trauma center in Atlanta. God is making him suffer and making his family suffer...to do what? Teach them a lesson? They are good folks. What kind of lesson is that? I know that I am going to hear all kinds of excuses, but few saying that it was simply an accident that might have been prevented had a few circumstances been different. Maybe someone had been less careless.
One comment on a previous post made reference to how the U.S. has become a Godless country. A new church has cropped up in the last few weeks in my area. That is just the one that I have seen advertised. There are probably a few others. We have numerous storefront churches in addition to the countless stand-a-lones. Everyone is a Christian. At least that is what they tell me. I used to be very wary of those who wore their religion on their sleeve. Now it seems almost everyone I know does it. Should I be suspicious? Probably. They are hiding something. That's why I'm suspicious of the new neighbor. A friend from his past recommended him to us, but she hasn't known him in thirty years. Who knows why he left his job in another town. He may be a criminal hiding behind God. After all, politicians and preachers do it all the time. I think a large segment of the "lay" population is hiding behind Him as well. They don't want to be responsible for their own lives and their decisions, so they always blame everything on God. What a whipping boy He has become!
I have news for them. When you make a decision to quit your job in the middle of a bad economic downturn, do not blame God. Blame yourself. Man up and take responsibility for your bad decision. When you are greedy, over extend yourself thinking you are going to be rich, and then you lose everything, do not pray that God will deliver you. You made the bad decision. You spent the money.
It has all become very tiring to me. I about throw up every time I read another post on Facebook about God. No one I know seems to be able to make a move or write a sentence without a reference to God, and I am not exaggerating. It is an epidemic. It is amazing how I went though life for over 50 years, and I knew few people who were like this. As a child, adults did not constantly harp about God and how He ran every single aspect of their lives. They could make a move without bragging about how they prayed about it before hand. They did not make reference to God in every other sentence.
We have a new neighbor, who labels himself as a missionary. God, so he says, controls his every move. He, apparently, prays constantly and whips out his Bible at the drop of a hat to find an answer. He and his wife have moved to our town, apparently on a whim or as he says, God led them. His wife has a job a couple of hundred miles away in their old home town, but the job ends soon. They do not know what they will do. But God is leading them. He intends, it appears, to open up his own church and cater to 20 somethings. He is age 60. Another neighbor says she might want to run a background check on the guy.
A friend's husband was critically injured in an automobile accident last week. If he survives, he will face months of therapy and hospitalization. If I hear one person say it was God's will, I think I will surely go berserk. So...God made the motorcyclist brake unexpectedly, cause the following too closely motorist to swerve into the path of the husband, sending him on a helicopter flight to a level one trauma center in Atlanta. God is making him suffer and making his family suffer...to do what? Teach them a lesson? They are good folks. What kind of lesson is that? I know that I am going to hear all kinds of excuses, but few saying that it was simply an accident that might have been prevented had a few circumstances been different. Maybe someone had been less careless.
One comment on a previous post made reference to how the U.S. has become a Godless country. A new church has cropped up in the last few weeks in my area. That is just the one that I have seen advertised. There are probably a few others. We have numerous storefront churches in addition to the countless stand-a-lones. Everyone is a Christian. At least that is what they tell me. I used to be very wary of those who wore their religion on their sleeve. Now it seems almost everyone I know does it. Should I be suspicious? Probably. They are hiding something. That's why I'm suspicious of the new neighbor. A friend from his past recommended him to us, but she hasn't known him in thirty years. Who knows why he left his job in another town. He may be a criminal hiding behind God. After all, politicians and preachers do it all the time. I think a large segment of the "lay" population is hiding behind Him as well. They don't want to be responsible for their own lives and their decisions, so they always blame everything on God. What a whipping boy He has become!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Join the Army , See the World, Fight and Die at the Whim of Politicians
Sec. of Defense, Robert Gates has been traveling around the country, making speeches about the challenges facing the country's defense. In particular he talks about the state of the military and the difficulties which face a nation with an all volunteer army. In this speech he speaks of the apparent detachment most Americans have for the Afghanistan "War" and the fact that they see it as a war for someone else to fight. In other words, let the professional Army fight it. It isn't our problem.
Daily, we see various groups and individuals drumming up support for our troops. We are asked to send them toiletries and other necessities. We are told all of the things that they need. It seems to be a constant thing and it is usually coming from someone connected with the military in some way, usually through a relative or friend. I have always wondered why the military does not provide these things for them. Is it because they are a professional organization and expected to provide their own necessities? They are trained to become a professional killer, just as a person in the private sector is trained to do their job. The only thing the only thing provided is the equipment to do your job, just as in the private sector.
Why then, is the public "detached?" Why is is harder to recruit and keep people in this professional army? Finally, soldiers and the American public have seen the folly of joining the army at this point in history. Vietnam was a nightmare and the last administration used the military for a preemptive invasion of a non-threatening country, possibly because of a personal grudge. Thousands of unsuspecting young men and women were killed and maimed because a misguided president chose to send them to into harm's way unnecessarily. That same president mismanaged the Afghan invasion, and we are now bogged down in a country that no country has ever conquered. His successor has been unable to focus a strategy that will either take Bin Laden or disengage our country from a very potential failure.
I would never think of joining the U.S. military at this time. If the extremist Tea/Republican Party were to come back into power in its present form, God only knows what will happen to our foreign policy. These people are openly hostile toward most of the world and would not hesitate to use the military, particularly against Muslim countries. I do not think it is out of the question that they would support an Israeli attack on Iran and a takeover of the Palestinian territories. I expect they would also militarily support such an effort, which could finally blow the lid off the Middle East. The young people of the United States would do well to stay away from the military at this time. Take a wait and see attitude. It is no wonder that the American public is "detached."
Daily, we see various groups and individuals drumming up support for our troops. We are asked to send them toiletries and other necessities. We are told all of the things that they need. It seems to be a constant thing and it is usually coming from someone connected with the military in some way, usually through a relative or friend. I have always wondered why the military does not provide these things for them. Is it because they are a professional organization and expected to provide their own necessities? They are trained to become a professional killer, just as a person in the private sector is trained to do their job. The only thing the only thing provided is the equipment to do your job, just as in the private sector.
Why then, is the public "detached?" Why is is harder to recruit and keep people in this professional army? Finally, soldiers and the American public have seen the folly of joining the army at this point in history. Vietnam was a nightmare and the last administration used the military for a preemptive invasion of a non-threatening country, possibly because of a personal grudge. Thousands of unsuspecting young men and women were killed and maimed because a misguided president chose to send them to into harm's way unnecessarily. That same president mismanaged the Afghan invasion, and we are now bogged down in a country that no country has ever conquered. His successor has been unable to focus a strategy that will either take Bin Laden or disengage our country from a very potential failure.
I would never think of joining the U.S. military at this time. If the extremist Tea/Republican Party were to come back into power in its present form, God only knows what will happen to our foreign policy. These people are openly hostile toward most of the world and would not hesitate to use the military, particularly against Muslim countries. I do not think it is out of the question that they would support an Israeli attack on Iran and a takeover of the Palestinian territories. I expect they would also militarily support such an effort, which could finally blow the lid off the Middle East. The young people of the United States would do well to stay away from the military at this time. Take a wait and see attitude. It is no wonder that the American public is "detached."
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