Saturday, April 30, 2016

Feds Lying About Lack of Pot Studies to Prolong Prohibition

Good Day World!

I really get tired of the government telling us lies.

Fact: monied and ideological special interest groups don't want to see marijuana legalized.

They hook up with politicians to perpetrate lies to keep the plant on the Schedule One Drug list with the Feds. One of their biggest lies has been the repeated claims that no clinical testing has been done on marijuana.

The U.S. federal government, legislators, law enforcement officers and many health care professionals often use the “lack of clinical trials” with cannabis as a legitimate reason for continuing the marijuana prohibition. 
The Catch 22 here is that the federal government has made it virtually impossible for researchers to study the therapeutic efficacy of cannabis.

But guess what? There has been legitimate clinical trials conducted, and what's more they have showed the positive benefits of medical marijuana.

1) 60 Peer-Reviewed Studies on Medical Marijuana - Medical Studies Involving Cannabis and Cannabis Extracts (1990 - 2014)


2) Clinical Studies and Case Reports On Marijuana

3) More research:
 A. Ellis, R. J., Toperoff, W., Vaida, F., van den Brande, G., Gonzales, J., Gouaux, B., et al. (2008). Smoked medicinal cannabis for neuropathic pain in HIV: a randomized, crossover clinical trial. Neuropsychopharmacology, 34(3), 672-680.

B. Abrams, D. I., Hilton, J. F., Leiser, R. J., Shade, S. B., Elbeik, T. A., Aweeka, F. T., et al. (2003). Short-term effects of cannabinoids in patients with HIV-1 infection. A randomized, placbo-controlled clinical trial. Ann Intern Med, 139, 258-266.

C. Ellis, R. J., Toperoff, W., Vaida, F., van den Brande, G., Gonzales, J., Gouaux, B., et al. (2008). Smoked medicinal cannabis for neuropathic pain in HIV: a randomized, crossover clinical trial. Neuropsychopharmacology, 34(3), 672-680.

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I could give more examples, but I think the above are enough to prove legislators are lying when they say there's not been ANY clinical trials.

Why hasn't someone exposed the lie then? Good question. You tell me.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Friday, April 29, 2016

What A Trip! Wacky Predictions from the 1960s that Came True


                                         Good Day World!

Futurists in the early 1960s predicted that someday Americans would be transported in driver-less vehicles. I thought that was too big a stretch at the time, but look what happened...meet the Google self-driving car.

Looking at the popular technological literature in the 1960s is a study in contrasts. Anticipated inventions were often illustrated by using contemporary hardware in fantastic future predictions.

Does the illustration above remind you of anything? It sure looks like the forerunner for Smart Phones to me!


I certainly never thought that there would be underwater homes like predicted in the above illustration.


Fifty and 60 years ago gee-whiz films depicting life today were a staple—a sure way to wow audiences. Today these fanciful visions of the future live on, on YouTube.

As it turns out, though, there’s more technological progress predicted than social progress in the 1960s. The woman’s place in that “futureland” was by the (microwave) oven. Fortunately, Women today aren't stuck in the kitchen.

Science fiction author, Arthur C. Clarke, predicted robotic surgery in 1964. He was right on. 

There's hundreds of other examples out there. I just want to whet your appetite to research some more. Remember, knowledge is power and learning can be fun.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Ladies...what's stopping you from saying 'Thank You' when complimented?

Good Day World! 

  More often than not compliments can trigger an usual response when they come from one women to another. 

Rejection. 

That’s a sweeping statement but consider this; women these days receive mixed messages about which behaviors are desirable or accepted, according to Renee Engeln, a psychology professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. 
   “We’re told love yourself, but not too much. Be confident but practice a style of humility this culture doesn’t require of men. Less than we thought we were going to be. Less than what we could have been. This is a big issue with women,” said Engeln in a recent interview.
   Engeln also explained that women are taught to believe in themselves, but not to admit it, lest they make other women who don’t feel good about themselves feel uncomfortable. 
   In 41-years of research (aka marriage) I’ve watched this behavior first hand. My wife, a very intelligent person, will describe herself as a scatterbrain or some other negative description depending upon the company she’s in.
   She lives in fear of offending people. I may sleep out on the front porch for a couple of nights after she reads this post, but I like to share from experience. You know, that little bit of insider knowledge that keeps you from being a clueless clown even though you don’t have a degree in psychology.
   I’ve had a lifetime of observing women from my mother and sisters to my girlfriends. My wife has been my master’s degree on women and why they do the things they do. The whole concept has been foreign to me from the start. Experts say men just don’t worry about the same things. I’ll go along with that.
   I can’t remember the last time I went to a sporting event with my guy friends and had one of them tell me my outfit looked cute! I don’t recall any men I know ever admiring one another’s t-shirt or slim-cut pants when we got together. Perhaps I’ve lived a sheltered life.
   Men just aren’t that nice. Women often worry about hurting each other’s feelings. Men are busy bruising egos and boasting of their exploits to all who’ll listen. I’d wager if you checked out our DNA you’d find that most men are missing some nice traits. Not all, mind you.
   I think women are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to showing they feel confident without offending each other. I’ve personally witnessed a woman arrive at a party and get immediately complimented on her dress. She responded by saying she bought it at a Salvation Army Thrift Store! Even though it wasn’t true. 
   I ran across a viral video created by Amy Schumer of Comedy Central that every woman should watch. It shows a bunch of young women busy deflecting compliments from other young women. 
   Women are often considered unfeminine if they’re assertive in their careers. Men are thought of as “bold” or some equally positive description when they’re assertive. 
   That kind of thinking needs to recede into the past where it belongs. I think it’s up to women to break the double-standard. They can start by accepting compliments from one another. It’s okay to be praised for something. No matter what it is. Women don’t have to be complete jerks like men tend to be socially, but they should loosen up and not be afraid to say they’re good at what they do.
   We’re not responsible for what other people feel. You can be proud of what you do without being a heel. This change won’t come about overnight, but it’s time for more talk about the topic.
    I’ve watched my wife grow emotionally and intellectually in our marriage. However, she’s still learning how to take a compliment. 
   I remember reading “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,” by John Gray, a relationship counselor and American author, and thinking …“This guy’s hit it on the head!” If you’ve never read the book give it a shot. It’s a good read.
 Time for me to walk on down the road...

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

A Major Breakthough for Politicians This Year

There's been a major breakthrough for politicians this year.

The public has always suspected most politicians were glorified con men. The politicians in turn, always went out of their way to prove they weren't con men.

It was an open secret, however.
Speculation that the common man was NOT getting real representation stretches back throughout America's history.

Thanks to presidential candidates like Donald Trump, there is no longer any speculation about politicians being con men.

To top that off, Trump is being taken to court for defrauding people, raising the possibility of a front-running presidential candidate having to testify during the campaign season.

Never happened before in America's history. If this isn't a sure sign of America's decline, I don't know what is. Despite this, nearly half of Republican voters are getting behind Trump.

Backing Trump clearly sends out a message: "It's okay if you're a con man we'll still vote for you."  

The floodgates have opened. 
Now the rest of the rascals running for president can come out and admit they too are con men/women without fear of reprisal.

That's what I call a major breakthrough for politicians.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

The Reality Revolution: People Are Tired of Being Marginalized

"We need to try and focus less on ethnicity in this country and concentrate on trying to improve the lot of the marginalized whoever they are." - Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi

Good Day World!

African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Muslims, the LGBT community, and a collection of other minorities are tired of being marginalized in America.
(cartoon via USA Today)

They're fed up.

A recent poll highlighted this assertion by showing the popular candidates aren't the ones leading in the primary pack.
Republican Gov. John Kasich and Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders are the people's choice (national polls), but chances are neither will become president.

No one should be surprised that organizations like Black Lives Matter are stepping up and getting the message out (seeking equality) for African-Americans.

Asian have Ascend, a group that promotes their interests in America. It's full of useful information and contacts for Pan-Americans.

One of the fastest growing minorities in America, Hispanics have 21 various groups that support them in numerous ways.

One of the most oppressed minorities in the country today are Muslims. They have the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to support them.

Still fighting for equality, the LGBT community has support organizations like Human Rights Campaign working to get their message out.

Reactions like this are becoming more commonplace.



Despite these organizations, progress has been slower than a snail climbing up a greased pole.

Listening to the hateful rhetoric being spewed from presidential wannabees only proves my contention: a lot of Americans are tired of being marginalized.

Is this how revolutions start? You bet it is...

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

A Shameful Case of Greed: Children's Health at Risk For Convenience

Good Day World!

Imagine a common everyday product like laundry detergent.

Now imagine putting that detergent into brightly colored laundry pod. (photo - TODAY)
That's just what the industry decided to do in the name of convenience.

Big problem.

Young children eat them because they think the brightly colored little pod is a goodie. The result:


Despite repeated warnings about the dangers to young children from laundry detergent pods, calls to poison control centers continue to rise, according to a new study.
Researchers found an increase of nearly 20 percent in reports of children putting the brightly colored packets into their mouths, with serious and sometimes even fatal consequences, according to the study published in Pediatrics on April 25th.

What baffles me is that the manufacturers are still making these pods! They've made a couple of changes to them, but nothing that has slowed the increase of poisoned children down.

Instead lawmakers defend the industry's use of them, while making weak attempts to mitigate the pod problem.

It should be a no-brainer. Stop making the damn things! When warnings have to go out to households with children not to use them that should be enough to pull the plug on the pods.

Related: Increasing reports to poison centers prompt new laundry pod labeling

What's more important here? Convenience, or children? It appears to me that the industry has made that choice.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Monday, April 25, 2016

Where Does Yelling Get You?



Good Day World!

Having a loud mouth is not a virtue unless you're an auctioneer or a carnival barker.

President Obama recently called out the Black Lives Matter movement saying that activists should be willing to sit down and discuss their agenda with leaders in power rather than "yelling at them."

Not a bad idea.

You can't just keep on yelling at them and you can't refuse to meet because that might compromise the purity of your position," Obama said. 
"The value of social movements and activism is to get you at the table, get you in the room and then start trying to figure out how is this problem going to be solved. 
You then have a responsibility to prepare an agenda that is achievable —that can institutionalize the changes you seek and to engage the other side."

Congress would do well to listen to this advise. Members yell at one another all the time. Politicians in both houses are so polarized that have alienated the American people.

People are ready to vote for anyone who has no ties to Congress. It could be Mickey Mouse or Donald Trump. Doesn't matter.

The bottom line is yelling doesn't get you anywhere. It doesn't validate Black Lives Matter or Congress. Both are suckling on the teat of ideology instead of reality.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Sunday, April 24, 2016

What's the funniest thing you ever did?

Good Day World!

What's the funniest thing you ever did?

In the spirit of sharing, I searched through 65-years of memories seeking the best example and came up with...

It was back in the late 1970s when I decided to impress our two toddler sons with my outdoor abilities (of which truth be told I had none).

It was the week before Christmas and I took my wife and boys to the nearby mountains to cut down a Christmas tree. We were all excited.

Pause for a moment.

Have you ever seen National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? It's about a young family preparing to celebrate Christmas.

There was a scene in it when the main character's son (Rusty) asks his dad (Clark), if he brought a saw as they study a giant tree. He didn't. Chaos reigns and somehow they get the tree home.

Back to my young family. It was our first experience in the snow, in the mountains, and actually cutting down a Christmas tree. 

I was as enthusiastic as Clark and wanted to make it a special Christmas. But I didn't make Clark's mistake and take on a giant tree.

My wife and two sons followed me up a snowy slope like ducklings in my tracks. Then I saw THE TREE. It wasn't too big for me. It was just right.

Pulling out a little hatchet that I recently purchased, I gestured for them to step back a little. This was a man's work!

The sun peeked out from the clouds as if to watch me perform my task. A squirrel stopped running and watched me intently as I came up to the tree and swung my manly hatchet...

And missed the tree, but NOT ME. I nailed my shin and somehow managed not to scream. My embarrassment helped me focus and I checked to see if they saw what happened.

They didn't. They were all looking a little puzzled, but eager.

I smiled reassuringly and this time my aim was true and the hatchet bit into the tree instead of me. A few whacks later and the tree was down and I was sliding it down the slope like an old hand.

It wasn't until we got into the truck that my wife noticed the blood on my leg. My long underwear and jeans we're dyed a dark red.

We didn't say anything to the boys on the way home. I made my wife promise to never tell anyone what a clod I was. She smiled and shared the story before the week was out.

I have to say, it's much funnier in the telling than it was at the time!

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Blog Break Until Presidential Election is Over

I finally hit the wall today. I can't think of what to say about all of the madness going on in this country right now. I'm a writer...