Saturday, December 13, 2014

High! High! High! Merry Marijuana Trees and the Holidays

Merry marijuana

(Plastic marijuana leaves light a Christmas tree as part of holiday display in a recreational marijuana shop in northwest Denver. AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Editor’s Note: I’m taking a blog break and will be back on Monday, Dec. 15th

Good Day World!

‘Tis the season…

for merry marijuana and the holidays!

It’s a trippy thing to see

a marijuana tree

at a party!

With the increasing acceptance of pot among the general public, it’s a good idea to start thinking about what you want to get those special stoners in your life for the holidays.

(Photo: Bud tenders from left John Satterfield, Maxwell Bradford and Emma Attolini decorate a Christmas tree in holiday display at a recreational marijuana shop in northwest Denver. AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Merry marijuana

From new marijuana strains for the holidays to gift sets and pot-and-pumpkin pies, the burgeoning marijuana industry in Colorado is scrambling to get a piece of the holiday shopping dollar.

Dispensaries in many states have been offering holiday specials for medical customers for years — but this first season of open-to-all-adults marijuana sales in some states means pot shops are using more of the tricks used by traditional retailers to attract holiday shoppers, according to a recent AP story.

Thinking about traveling for the holidays and want to know where you can get high without a big hassle? Go here for a list of pot-friendly countries.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Friday, December 12, 2014

A Poem: ‘We Brag That We’re Free’

America has it’s own royalty.

the reality

lies with presidential last names like Bush, Clinton, and Kennedy.

the fact that Americans embraced family dynasties is a mystery to me.

but “bundlers and donors” are changing that you see…

presidential candidates are growing on every tree.

our new election reality…

decided by a few billionaires, not by you and me.

nevertheless, when election times arrives, we brag that we’re free

voting for liberty.

Just repeat after me…

All hail democracy!

-Dave Stancliff

 

Dick Cheney should be tried for war crimes – not interviewed on Meet the Press

Good Day World!

Former vice president, Dick Cheney, should be tried for war crimes, not interviewed by the press ( he’s due to appear on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday).

Thousands of American soldiers, and innocent civilians blood are upon Cheney hands for leading the country into a bogus war, based upon lies.

Cheney is a liar, and as long as someone gives him a platform, he’ll continue to spread lies.

Most recently, he’s lying about the CIA’s methods of torture. He claims a Senate report faulting the CIA for brutal interrogation tactics is "full of crap." In Cheney’s perverse universe, waterboarding is not a torture – despite the fact that United Nations officials have classified it as a torture.

Amazingly, Cheney told Fox News that torture "was something that we very carefully avoided." Say what?

How does he justify making a public statement like that when it’s obviously a lie?

Because he lives in a different America – one that you and I would reject. He called the report “crap.”

I beg to differ. Cheney is full of crap. The real bottom line is the CIA’s torture program didn’t work. The intelligence gathered from torture techniques was minimal at best, according to the report.

Cheney's name crops up 41 times in the report on the CIA's use of "enhanced interrogation." Here are some of his noteworthy appearances:

1) Cheney personally worked to quash press coverage of the CIA's secret prison network.

2) Cheney attended a CIA briefing focused on justifying torture techniques.

3) Cheney reportedly did not know the specific location of a CIA black site. (He was reportedly lined up to help lobby the government of an unnamed country, but as with President Bush, the CIA aimed to keep Cheney in the dark so that he couldn't refer to the location of "a more permanent and unilateral CIA detention facility" in that country.)

4) After leaving office, Cheney declassified a CIA report arguing that torture worked.

5) Cheney blew off Senate leaders investigating the CIA interrogation program as early as 2005.

I’d like to see Chuck Todd expose Cheney’s many lies during the upcoming segment of Meet the Press, but I know that’s unlikely. I suspect that the program’s producers aren’t interested in holding Cheney to account…at least not at this time.

Cheney represents viewership via controversy. Which means money. Something Cheney himself appreciates.

Time for me to walk on down the road… 

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Boneheads from both sides in congress blocking marijuana legalization in Washington DC

Good Day World!

Both Republican and Democratic congressional leaders managed to agree on something recently. A Christmas miracle?

Not really.

It’s the same old shit according to the DC Cannabis Campaign and Drug Policy Alliance. Congress is playing the Grinch and blocking marijuana legalization in Washington DC.

BACKROUND

  • DC's legalization initiative got more than 69 percent of the vote in November. But ballot initiatives, like all DC laws, must get congressional approval to become law, and they can be blocked through congressional budgetary requirements.
  • DC's marijuana legalization measure would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to two ounces of marijuana, grow up to six plants, and give marijuana to other adults 21 and older.
  • The measure wouldn't legalize, regulate, or tax sales, because voter initiatives in DC can't have a direct impact on the local budget.
  • Marijuana legalization will remain in place in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, since Congress doesn't have the authority to terminate those states' laws.

    HOW CONGRESS IS GETTING AWAY WITH IT

    Through the Home Rule Act of 1973, Washington, DC, can elect a sitting local government composed of a council, mayor, and other local agencies. But the Home Rule Act also made it so each law passed by the local government requires congressional approval — and Congress can still block DC's laws through budgetary requirements, as they are doing with the legalization measure.

    Congress previously used this authority to block DC from implementing a medical marijuana law for nearly 12 years. Federal lawmakers have also prevented DC from using local tax dollars to fund abortion services and life-saving clean needle exchange programs.

    Read more: 6 questions about Washington, DC, statehood you were too disenfranchised to ask.

    Time for me to walk on down the road…

  • Wednesday, December 10, 2014

    Study says male rats like tiny jackets on their girls – equates findings to men turned on by lingerie

    Rat lingerie

    Good Day World!

    Who pays researchers to study human sex habits by using rats as examples? 

    Really? Rats…

    (Photo by Gonzalo R. Quintana Zunino)

    Male rats that are turned on by female rats wearing tiny jackets, no less! Guess what? These brilliant researchers have concluded – based upon those tiny jackets – men associate sex with lingerie.

    Apparently the researchers weren’t aware of Victoria’s Secret, but I digress.

    In what can be generously called an unusual study, intrepid researchers allowed virgin male rats to have sex with females wearing special rodent "jackets."

    Later, when scientists gave the males a chance to mate again, they preferred to mate with jacket-wearing female rats rather than with the unclad ones. (Go figure)

    These earth-shaking findings suggest that male animals can learn to associate the sight and feel of clothing with sex. [51 Sultry Facts About Sex] Who would of guessed?

    In other words, male rats learn that "each time my partner wears lingerie [a jacket], I'm going to have sex," said study co-author Gonzalo R. Quintana Zunino, a psychologist working in the lab of psychologist Jim Pfaus at Concordia University in Montreal. 

    The findings were presented Nov. 17 at the 44th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington, D.C.

    Time for me to walk on down the road…

    Tuesday, December 9, 2014

    ‘Made to feel uncomfortable…Alive!’ Senior scares off thieves with walker gun, Chimps lose legal battle for ‘personhood’

    Paul Rosolie.

    Good Day World!

    Life is full of disappointments, but we still have to soldier on.

    (Conservationist Paul Rosolie holds one of the many anacondas he encountered in the amazon.-Discovery Channel photo)

    For example:

    On Sunday night, Discovery aired the highly anticipated "Eaten Alive" special, in which conservationist and filmmaker Paul Rosolie went head first into the jaws of a 20-foot anaconda — or at least that's what viewers were led to believe would happen.

    Maybe the show should have been called "Rolling Around in the Mud Alive," "Constricted Alive" or "Made to Feel Really Uncomfortable … Alive!"

    By the end of the two-hour event, one thing was clear: Rosolie, outfitted in a compression suit covered in a generous coating of pig blood, did convince the anaconda to go after him — but he was by no means eaten, alive or otherwise.

    -----------------------------------------------

    Just imagine the disappointment some thieves felt when they tried to break into the home of a A 68-year-old Gastonia man.

    Joseph Sapienza told The Gaston Gazette (http://bit.ly/1vx3JpO ) that he scared off two men in ski masks trying to break in his home with his gun that he keep on his walker. He flipped on a light, yelled he was armed and threw open the door.

    Afterwards he taped a note to his door saying if they try to break in his house again, he will be waiting on them!

    His message was loud and clear. You rock Mr. Sapienza!

    ---------------------------------------------------

    What a disappointment for Chimps worldwide!

    In the first case of its kind, a New York appeals court rejected on Thursday an animal rights advocate's bid to extend "legal personhood" to chimpanzees, saying the primates are incapable of bearing the responsibilities that come with having legal rights.

    The case is Nonhuman Rights Project v. Lavery, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, No. 518336.

    ---------------------------------------------------------

    Parting shot: Today is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day!

    Time for me to walk on down the road…

    Monday, December 8, 2014

    Happy Weird Holiday Ideas That’ll Thrill or Nauseate

    The 2014 Cult of Weird holiday gift guide will help you find the perfect gifts for the weirdos on your Christmas list!Good Day World!

    I’ve found my gift guide for the season!

    The sheer wackiness of it suits me to a tee.

    Find the perfect oddities to finish up your holiday shopping with the official Cult of Weird 2014 holiday gift guide, full of weird stocking stuffers, quirky novelties and macabre confectioneries.

    Whether you are looking to fill a cabinet of curiosities, or feed the insatiable human appetite for the unknown, there is sure to be something on this list to make someone happy (or nauseous) this holiday season.

    Thanks to Cult of the Weird for this nuttiness!

    Time for me to walk on down the road…

    Sunday, December 7, 2014

    Seasons Greetings from the Satanic Church, Festivus followers, Christians & more on display

    Good Day World!

    Are you getting that holiday feeling yet?

    The folks at Florida's Capitol in Tallahassee sure are.

    A Satanic Temple is set to accompany nativity scenes and other holiday decorations on the first-floor rotunda of the Capitol. The Florida Department of Management Services approved The Satanic Temple display (they rejected it last year) the Florida News Service reported.

    Two other displays, including one that celebrates Festivus, the fictional holiday from the sitcom "Seinfeld," are pending final approval.

    What a change a year makes.

    The temple was rejected a year ago after the department called it "grossly offensive." It features a banner reading "Happy holidays from the Satanic Temple" atop a diorama of an angel falling into hell.

    Although I’m not really comfortable with Satanism in the 21st century, I think it’s only fair to let people worship what they want as long as they don’t hurt others. I’m glad I can freely admit to not belonging to any organized religions.

    I’ve found that Festivus best suits me for the holiday season. My only concern, after being approved for a big public display in Tallahassee this year, is that Festivus goes mainstream!

    Time for me to walk on down the road…

    Saturday, December 6, 2014

    Shop till you drop in public toilets!

    Good Day World!

    The last frontier of advertising has been breeched, and it’s not pretty!

    You’re no longer safe from being bombarded by ads in public restrooms. Proctor & Gamble and Amazon have partnered up to launch "Stall Malls" inside public toilets.

    That’s right. When you enter a stall to take care of business, you can take care of even more business like buying toothpaste and toilet paper.

    Once you sit down in one of the stalls, an ad wrapping the back of the door invites you to download the Amazon App and displays the barcodes for coupons for several bathroom-appropriate Proctor & Gamble products. Use the app to scan the barcodes and place your order. 

    So while you finish using the bathroom, you'll also be scratching an item off your to-do list.To encourage users to take the plunge, the coupons are on the high side for what the brands offer.

    You can find them in New York at Paramus Park, Staten Island, Willowbrook, and Woodbridge Malls, in Los Angeles, at the Glendale Galleria, in Philadelphia at the Christiana and Neshaminy malls, and in Seattle at the Alderwod, Bellis Fair and Westlake malls.

    Time for me to walk on down the road…

     

    Friday, December 5, 2014

    ‘Say it ain’t so Bill’– Fan laments comedian’s plunge from popularity

    Good Day World!

    My world has been turned upside down in the last month.

    One of my all-time favorite comedians – Bill Cosby – has become a bigger villain than Darth Vader. Adolf Hitler. Putin. His career and legacy suddenly called into question. His character assaulted.

    Last month numerous women, including journalist Joan Tarshis, model Janice Dickinson, actress Louisa Moritz, actor Lou Ferrigno's wife Carla Ferrigno, Florida nurse Therese Serignese, Playboy playmates Victoria Valentino and Sarita Butterfield, actress Michelle Hurd, and eleven other women alleged that Cosby drugged, sexually assaulted and/or raped them between 1965 and 2004.

    This can’t be the same man who made the comedy albums that I loved In the 60’s, that left me breathless with laughter with such gems as:

    The accusers can’t be talking about the Bill Cosby who starred with Robert Culp in the I Spy espionage adventure series. He was cool. A good guy.

    How could this same man be a rapist? How could the creator of Fat Albert and the Gang have drugged women and taken advantage of them? How could Cliff Huxtable from the Cosby Show do such nasty things?

    Cosby Strikes Back: Claims in Court Docs That Accuser Extorted Him

    It’s like watching Rome burn. A great artist has been exposed as a cad. A man who takes advantage of women sexually.

    No colleges want him on their board anymore. His shows are being cancelled. Proposed series projects have been dropped like hot potatoes.

    Despite all of these terrible accusations, I’m not going to take any of those laughs he gave me back. I can’t forget how many times I laughed watching him perform stand-up, or in sitcoms.

    In my memories he’ll remain a great comedian and performer. No one can take that away. My disappointment with his actions is deep. I wish all those women were lying, but I doubt it. My hero has feet of clay.

    Time for me to walk on down the road…

    Thursday, December 4, 2014

    Compare white cops killing black men vs black on black violence – no contest

    Good Day World!

    It’s time everyone looks at the overall picture when it comes to violence being perpetrated against African-Americans in America.

    The shooting of a black teen, Michael Brown, by a white police officer has been surrounded with misinformation from the start.

    One look at the grand jury report from 51 “eye-witnesses” attests to that fact.

    Half of the testimonies given involved outright lies (Brown’s buddy is at the top of the list after giving testimony that physically couldn’t have happened. When confronted with that fact he said he “felt uncomfortable” and didn’t have anything else to say).

    Some so-called witnesses weren’t even present at the crime scene (under oath they had to tell the truth and admit that).

    As for other witness testimonies, "Some of the witness accounts of the shooting differed so much they didn't seem like the same scene," reported the AP.

    "It's difficult for people under the best of circumstances to accurately report what happened," Elizabeth Brondolo, a psychology professor specializing in the effects of race on mental and physical health at St. John's University in New York, told the AP.

    That's because witnesses' backgrounds and life experience color what they see.

    "The truth always really matters, but it's important to recognize that past experience to stereotypes also influences the perception of hands being raised," Brondolo said.

    Ultimately, however, for some, it doesn't matter whether Brown's hands were raised or not.

    "Even if you don't find that it's true, it's a valid rallying cry," Ferguson protester Taylor Gruenloh told the AP. "It's just a metaphor."

    Out of the chaos that ensued from these testimonies a movement to canonize Brown sprung up. Suddenly a thug who had just robbed a convenience store moments before physically confronting a cop, became a martyr. (Photo-Michael Brown, soon-to-be a saint)

    FACT:

    Racial exclusivity is apparent in the majority of violent crimes. Around 91 percent of Black victims are murdered by Black offenders while 83 percent of white victims are killed by another white person, based on the most recent FBI homicide statistics.

    FERGUSON BLACK ON BLACK VIOLENCE

    Why no protest when another Black man was murdered near Ferguson?

    On Oct. 18, Jermaine Jones, 29, stood with a few friends on a street in Berkeley, Mo., adjacent to Ferguson.

    Police say an unknown black male opened fire, killing Jones and wounding three other black men near him. (Strangely, Jones’ sister, Margaree Dixson, was shot fatally a half-mile away, just three hours earlier. Police suspect yet another unidentified black man.)

    Why has Jones’ death not unleashed riots and looting?

    Simple: Jones was killed by a fellow black man. Thus, his death and his loved ones’ agony generate silence.

    No one wants to talk about reality when it comes to black youths being killed in this country.

    The national outrage still is at full boil over this white cop shooting an unarmed black man who acted very aggressively after robbing cigars from a convenience store. But one can hear birds chirp while listening for public outcry over the deaths of black citizens killed by black perpetrators.

    Why doesn’t Jesse Jackson, and/or Al Sharpton talk about Blacks killing each other? I can’t remember these two activists leading any marches on Washington over this sad truth. 

    Is there racism in law enforcement? Are blacks and whites treated equally when they commit crimes? No. Not always.There are bad policemen, just as there are bad priests.

    But the majority of them protect the public everyday – putting their lives on the line. Standing between civilization and chaos. Take them away and see what happens. 

    Using Michael Brown as an example of an innocent black youth killed by a racist cop is foolish and misrepresentative of the whole situation. Everyone needs to take a step back and look – who is killing more black youths? Bad cops, or other Blacks?

    We already know the answer to that question. Now we need to have a national dialogue that deals with Blacks killing one another in record numbers.

    Time for me to walk on down the road…

     

    Trump's Lowest Grift Ever Saved for Holy Week

    This is a story about how the devil's puppet, aka Donald Trump, mocked Christianity by selling a book combining the Bible, the Constitu...