USA Not as Corrupt as I Thought

New Zealand tops Denmark as world's least corrupt nation | U.S. | Reuters

New Zealand topped the table with a score of 9.4 after coming second last year. In second place was last year's leader, Denmark with 9.3 followed by Singapore and Sweden tying at 9.2 and Switzerland at 9.0...

Britain came 17th in the list and the United States was 19th with a score of 7.5.

Hey, our government is only one quarter corrupt. Isn't that awesome?

Now we can aspire to end that corruption and become more like Singapore.

Portland will soon have two medical-marijuana smoking lounges

Portland News - – OregonLive.com

The Cannabis Cafe will be the second public place for medical-marijuana patients to get together. On Oct. 1, Steve Geiger opened Highway 420, a small lounge at the back of his pipe shop at 6418 S.E. Foster Road...

The pot lounges are the first of their kind in the nation, said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the national NORML. California has dispensaries where medical marijuana can be purchased, but only Oregon will have public places where people can socialize and use marijuana.

Oregon continues to fascinate me. Turns out that you can get a card to grow marijuana, you can get a card to use marijuana, but you can not sell marijuana in Oregon.

So how about pharmaceutical companies can be licensed to make medications, people can get prescriptions for medications, but nobody can sell medication? Patients can still chip in to cover the cost of ingredients, just like they can help cover a grower's costs. The pharmeceutical industry would love that.

As for the Cannabis Cafe, it makes me slightly uncomfortable. In order to go there, you have to have a medical-marijuana card. No problem. In fact, very smart idea. But you also have to belong to NORML. So it isn't really so much a cafe as a private club. NORML wants pot legalized, not just medical-marijuana. Isn't it possible that a medical-marijuana patient might not condone recreational use?

Not saying a place like this shouldn't exist. But if a state allows medical marijuana, shouldn't it also allow for a reasonable way for patients to get it?

As medical-marijuana use continues to legitimize states will have to deal with some cold facts. Like if it is a prescribed medication, why can't people get it in a drug store? Since medical studies have shown it to have no ill health effects, why can't anyone buy and use it like aspirin, cough syrup, or laxatives (all of which have higher overdose rates than marijuana)? And why can't a person write off their hand blown three foot glass bong as a medical expense? Those things aren't cheap! My mom shoots her insulin at the dinner table at the restaurant because she has a prescription for it and needs it. Shouldn't medical marijuana users enjoy the same privilege? Or are they expected to stay at home all the time so if they find they need to medicate themselves they don't end up breaking the law? Or will they have to only go to places like the Cannabis Cafe where their healthy friends can't join them for dinner?

Good luck to Portland's new medical-marijuana social scene. Brave new territory at the end of the Oregon Trail.

Is It Progress?

Marijuana legalized in Breckenridge

So what? It's still illegal at a state and federal level. So if you pot smoking snow boarders and skiers get picked up at the resort town, make certain you get picked up by the local police and not the sheriff's department, state patrol, or an undercover DEA agent in drag.

House passes health care reform bill

As the only industrialized nation without universal coverage, this should make me happy, right? Except to get it barely passed they had to restrict coverage for abortions and fall to their knees to suck some insurance industry cock. Yet we still won't have universal health care. Instead the government just mandates that everyone have insurance. The Democrats who pushed this through are a bunch of spineless sacks of crap and the Republicans that tried to block it are even worse.

As for the price tag, let's get this nice and sparkling clear. Those who support the bill use the more accurate number of $1.055 billion while those who want to gripe round up to $1.1 billion. Sorry, but simply rounding up by $45 million seems irresponsible. Luckily no sane person can really comprehend that much money. It's all just numbers.

For you conservative folks screaming for tort reform as part of a health care package, I hope the medical and insurance lobbyists are sending you a nice, big kickback check for pushing their personal agenda.

Buggar all this.

Mass Marketing

Goldman One-Ups Gordon Gekko, Says Jesus Embraced Greed

"The injunction of Jesus to love others as ourselves is an endorsement of self-interest," Goldman’s Griffiths said Oct. 20, his voice echoing around the gold-mosaic walls of St. Paul’s Cathedral, whose 365-feet-high dome towers over the City, London’s financial district. "We have to tolerate the inequality as a way to achieving greater prosperity and opportunity for all."

I distinctly remember this story as part of my childhood Sunday School lessons. The story of Jesus going to the temple, hanging with the money lenders, and saying, "You guys are alright."*

Jesus wants you to give him your money** and business takes it from you any way they can and wants government to take it from you and give it to them. Business has to use a second party because they just aren't as cool as Jesus. If they were, you'd just give them your money.

* For those unfamiliar with The Bible, the story actually has Jesus smashing their tables. Matthew 21:12

** For those unfamiliar with The Bible, Jesus wants your soul and wants nothing to do with your money. Matthew 22:21***

*** For the record, this Matthew guy was a sandal wearing hippie heeb who hung out with Yeshua bin Yosef, a man executed for issuing terroristic threats against the government.

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