No more Drug Czar? Brilliant!

The people at Marijuana Policy Project are doing an excellent job keeping America apprised of what is going on and what we need to do about this. The "war on drugs" and even the concept of a "Drug Czar", against the American people is distasteful beyond understanding. 

 6th Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy

6th Director of ONDCP, the "Drug Czar" Gil Kerlikowske supports the failed prohibitionist policies which have made marijuana easily available to teens, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

Pres. Jimmy Carter

So many people including police, ex Presidents of the United States and even top leaders from around the world, all say this nonsense has got to stop. 

Today I got this email from the MPP saying:

Imagine there's no Drug Czar. It isn't hard to do ...

For more than 20 years, the federal government has spent lavishly on its own Ministry of Drug Propaganda with virtually nothing to show for it. Our illustrious Drug Czars have crisscrossed the country spreading lies and misinformation while pouring more than a billion taxpayer dollars into an Anti-Drug Media Campaign sinkhole.

But U.S. Reps. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Ron Paul (R-TX) have a great idea: Defund the Drug Czar's office entirely! And they are introducing an amendment to do just that in the next few days.

The Marijuana Policy Project, which for years has taken on the Drug Czar's office directly through formal complaints at the state and federal levels and through lobbying to decrease funding for the Media Campaign, fully supports this amendment and hopes you do too. 

If you want to see the Drug Czar and his gross exaggerations about marijuana tossed out of the executive branch for good, please take a moment to urge your U.S. representative to support the Polis-Paul amendment to the Financial Services Appropriations bill. We have pre-written e-mails all set to go.

Don't even think about this one, simply submit this email. Let's end the war against America by its own government. Do it for us.

Getting hit by a truck

A friend of mine has written a blog today called, An Apology and a Rant. She's a special person and one to be pleased that you know. She is typically a very funny person and her sarcasm can be enjoyably biting. She's not feeling so funny in her blog today however. She's had a rough life and sometimes it comes out.

In her blog today she is responding to another blogger, Heather Lende who was carried on CNN.

She is responding to a blog about someone (Lende) who was literally hit by a truck and should have died, and didn't. But there is a disparity between the outlooks in these two blogs that is interesting and useful to read.

I suggest you give them a look. Or not. It's up to you.

Gordon Ramsey's newest Great Escape show, and others

I caught Chef Gordon Ramsey's 2010 show, Great Escape, where he hits Asia in much the same way that Anthony Bourdain has been doing for years.

If you can't stand Gordon, this may be the show he created for you because the tables have been turned on him, and in some cases he is treated like a new cook by some of the chefs he meets as he is so new to real authentic (and not British fusion) Indian  cuisine. In other episodes he hits Cambodia and Vietnam: videos.

I don't know, I've always liked the guy. But I also know a lot of people, who can't stand him. I just find him entertaining and let's face it, the guy knows his stuff. No, I wouldn't want to work for him, certainly not on one of his shows, but if I were into being a chef, I wouldn't turn down a position with him. But that being said, I also wouldn't want to go through what his contestants go through and I think he probably feels the same.

Gordon Ramsey's website.

Love him or hate him, I have a lot of respect for the guy for achieving so much.

My only concern is for his family. How does a guy do all that and still be around for his family? But then, it's none of my business really, or yours. If it works for his wife and their kids, well, whatever. I still enjoy his shows. I love his Kitchen Nightmares show, both his British and America versions, each of which have their own special appeals for the focus they have in each country.

In the end, I have become far more educated about eating in restaurants since that show came on the air and I can only hope that restauranteurs also watch it, and I know some who do. After watching these shows, one walks into a cafe or restaurant with a far different and more critical eye. And so it should be.

My favorite travel host on a show is Tony Bourdain on his No Reservations show. I've read books by both these guys. Well, I read a bio written by someone else on Ramsey, actually, and the guy had a hard beginning in life, I have to give him credit for pulling himself out of his difficult beginnings and achieving as much as he has.

Tony's writings are pretty entertaining and definitely seems like a guy you could hang with and have a good time, but then, hanging with an ex-footballer (Gordon) would have to be pretty fun too.

Master Chef

I've even found Ramsey's newer Master Chef show, a show for just anybody's to get a chance at being a chef. But I skip throw that show a lot (not as much as on Top Chef where I skip almost anything they show outside a kitchen.

I've even found Gordon's, The F Word, his British cooking show interesting at times. These two guys however, Gordon and Tony, are pretty much my staples for watching TV shows and I'm always interested in what Gordon comes up with next. One does have to realize that they are both in shows, that are shot, they shoot a lot of footage of tape, then edited and padded. Less so with Tony's show I think and so, with Gordon's shows.

I tend to do what I do with the Top Chef franchise, I use the fast forward button on my remote and record them on Tivo first. Except when Padma Lakshmi (above with Tom Colicchio) is on screen, of course. I could pretty much care less about the interpersonal aspects of these shows. I don't care who hates what other chef, I just want to see how they handle cooking, the comments on the cooking, and the professional side of things, rather than the personal side.

So shows like Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef, Master Chef, etc., I just skip along to the good parts, and thus, save myself wasting parts of my life that I would never otherwise get back. Yes, you could argue that about watching any of these shows, but then, if you like this kind of stuff, that pretty much answers that.

There are certainly a lot of other shows I could simply waste my life watching. Like shows on Cats (I don't own any), or shows on hunting (I don't hunt, I can, I just don't). I do like shows like Man vs. Wild, sometimes, it's nice to know how to survive in the wild, or to update info on such things, but I enjoy some of these cooking shows, and their hosts, so if I'm going to waste time, I do it with those I feel I could relate to (not, therefore, Rachael Ray).

Just for fun, let me mention here a site I just saw on Gordon's "The f Word" show, it's called Pimp That Snack where people make huge examples of snacks, post them for comment and get reviews. It's pretty entertaining. Check it out.

Okay, getting back to the point, you might check out Gordon's newest addition to the Ramsey franchise. If nothing else, he's showing a part of India and other Asian countries I've not seen before.

Bon Appetite! Or, whatever....

Someone you know, may live to 150

I have blogged on this topic before, and by Aubrey De Gray.  

Aubrey David Nicholas Jasper de Grey (born 20 April 1963) is an English author and theoretician in the field of gerontology, and the Chief Science Officer of the SENS Foundation. He is editor-in-chief of the academic journal Rejuvenation Research, author of The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging (1999) and co-author of Ending Aging (2007). - Wikipedia

He has said that the first person to reach age 150 may have already been born, according to one British scientist, as reported by Huffington Post in this video.

And the first person to live to be 1,000 years old could be born in the next 20 years, said Aubrey de Grey, a biomedical gerontologist and chief scientist of the longevity research foundation Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence, which is based in California.

"I'd say we have a 50/50 chance of bringing aging under what I'd call a decisive level of medical control within the next 25 years or so," de Grey told Reuters.

The video asks, "Who wants to live to 1,000?" 

Me. But it would be weird, don't you think, to know your Great Great Grandchildren and for them to know you, and to know your Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandchildren. The numbers of your family would get so large you won't even be able to know them all. Few families would be able to afford family gatherings, you cold potentially end up dating someone you are related to and who's progenitors were descendants of your offspring. 

Spring Winter Romances?

How weird would that be? 

But beyond that kind of oddities, think of what you could accomplish. This could change religion. It would have to change our philosophies and how we deal with our lives. We could potentially set ourselves up to have good lives as it now takes most of many people's lives to make the kind of money that they can enjoy retirement to travel or have luxury in life. That would mean more chances for philosophy to advance, for philanthropic pursuits for volunteer efforts.

University degrees could be greater, individuals could have more degrees, their learning could be more in depth. Human knowledge would advance exponentially.

This could lead to further advancements in gerontology and people could extend that 1,000 year life span to an indefinite lifespan. 

We could be seeing the dawn of the golden age of Humankind.

Now there, is something to be hopeful for.

Congress Our Way

There is this email going around now, first time I've seen it anyway, titled: "Congress Our Way". I read it. I found it interesting. I have some amendments to it which I'll put in brackets.

Here it is:

This is not a Republican or Democrat thing.

 “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests”.
- Patrick Henry -

[so true, or it should be]

This email has been totally cleaned of all other names and is being sent to you in hopes you will keep it going and keep it clean. This is something we can all fight for and I hope you will read it all the way through. I believe you will be glad you did.

The 26th Amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months, 8 days to be ratified!  Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.

[One should note that this was a special period in time for America and that the young were coming to awareness for the first time of a right to vote and the ability to institute changes during a time of high duress, and a knowledge of the top heavy capabilities of their youthful cohort.Something it would be nice, if the young now would take note.]

Of the 27 Amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.

I'm asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list, in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really needs to be passed around.

[The proposed] Congressional Reform Act of 2011

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

[This sounds good, except for a few things. The issue isn't so much a problem with those few of the hundreds of millions of citizens in existence, who govern; but then this is a big benefit to get people into office as they don't get that much once IN office. The issue is more that they stay there for so long and have to strive to maintain their office or tenure. That means they tend to do what will get them voted in, and not necessarily what is right, or needed, that benefits the nation, but rather what benefits their keeping their office. It is good they represent their people, but it is bad that this is not always (or typically) the case.

So we have this unbalance of where our laws and efforts go and, have you noticed how corporations have taken over America? How the American workers are working harder, longer, for less? Why, do you think that to be the case? Because those in office are making the best decisions for their people? Then why aren't their people having longer vacations of a month or two per year? Or making more money? Or, why aren't we yet, working 6 hour days and 4 day work weeks?]

2. Congress (past, present and future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

[I have to say, this one sounds good. Although I don't have a problem with them receiving retirement for having served, I do think they need to share the same pool and if they are peeing in it, they need to be getting the foul fluids in their mouths, also]

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

[Again, what goes around, really should come around]

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

[I'm not sure this is the best solution, but I do think this is onto an interesting idea. ]

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

[ibid]

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

[ibid, kind of all goes without saying, doesn't it?]

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. Maybe it is time.

[Yeah, well this never really works, does it? Like everyone not buying gas one day a year, but hey, it's fun to think about. Still, it IS good to talk about these kinds of things, to write about them, and hey, who knows? Maybe some day, something WILL happen.]

THIS IS [kind of] HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!!

Anyway, as I said, it's all fun to talk about it....

Weekend Wise Words

Be Smart! Be Brilliant!

Whenever you find yourself on that long, low road to "cool", just remember... if you have to search for cool, you'll never find it. If it's not already inside you, you can never find it outside of you, unless someone else has it. You can get close to cool, but you can never absorb it.

Wikipedia defines "cool" as: Something regarded as cool is an admired aesthetic of attitude, behavior, comportment, appearance and style, influenced by and a product of the Zeitgeist.

You are either meant to have it, or not. You can build towards having it, but it has to come naturally. And so the only way you can really get it, is to just have it, as it comes from within; you can't force it. Just be yourself.

Now that... is being cool.

The weight that hovers above us all

I'm watching "Igby Goes Down". The central character, Igby, has an interesting set of parents. A scary mother played most excellently by Susan Sarandon, but a much nicer mother than I've had to deal with the last half of my own life and an excellent father played by Bill Pullman, as his schizophrenic dad. There is a scene with Pullman, who loses it while showering with his silk pajamas on. He starts raging behind the translucent glass door, smashes it with his fist and then sits there in the shower as his young son tearfully watches him. Dad (Pullman, in a tour de force, performance) says:

"Igby, I feel this great, great pressure... coming down on me. It's just, constantly, coming down on me. Crushing me."

Bill Pullman

Can you relate? I can relate. I think we all can relate. And we are all at risk of our parent's phobias, paranoia and psychosis.

But it got me to thinking. How is it, this general fear, paranoia, crushing pressure of Life, doesn't crush us all.

I think for many, they simply don't feel it, they are oblivious. some of us are too stupid to see it, some, too intelligent, or are simply such good Artists that they are generally rewarded and recognized and are constantly slipping out from under it.

Others, bear it with no difficulty. Some, bear it with some, or all, duress. Some, simply cannot handle it, some complicatedly cannot handle it; they flip out, run off, are flighty, flaky, or lost.

If you feel it then, I think you are intelligent. At least, in some way. How you handle it, is the thing, you see. Because it is always there, for everyone. It's simply how you handle it that matters.

And I started to wonder: how do I handle it?

I realized, if I looked at it, with my "inner eye", that I could see it, hanging there above me. A dark shadow, a heavy dark weighted thing, suspended there above me, always, waiting to crush me. But I handle its being there simply by, ignoring it.

Sisyphus rollin' that ball up that hill

I'm aware it's there. And I do things to keep it there, keep it from descending upon me; I have a buffer between myself and it. It is a fearsome thing, that weight, but one that needs to be kept at bay. For it is only when that buffer does close in upon you, crushing you, that things can then become dangerous.

We are all at risk. We all have things to keep at bay. It's all in the dignity you choose to show, the actions you choose to play to keep it at bay, that give you the quality of your life. It's your Life. It's the quality you want to have, your choices, that give you that happiness in life, or that great sadness. It's your choice.

Choose well.