Just A Spoonful Of Sugar

Hooray for the scientific community for informing us of the efficacy of marijuana where Alzheimer's Disease is concerned! Of course this is only news in the USSA. Back in 2005 Spanish researchers announced the same thing and showed us that news apparently isn't news unless researchers in the US do it. Spanish researchers also led the way back in 2004 in showing that the THC in marijuana could fight brain cancers, too. Regardless of the fact that the Scripps researchers are just redoing research already accomplished by others, we are left with another chip in the facade of the government and their "Reefer Madness" inspired hatred of what is likely the most beneficial of plants on this world.

It's one more blow against the moronic Drug Warriors, tho and those mindless supporters who continue to use the governments spurious propaganda as fact, in order to persecute people. Look for this news to be relegated to the backwoods, showing that marijuana is useful for anything is verboten in the USSA. No-one is interested in ever seeing marijuana legalised in any manner, especially government entities at all levels. They make entirely too much money off of arresting,
persecuting prosecuting, incarcerating and "rehabilitating" those who possess, use and grow marijuana.

Lawyers would lose money defending their pot clients. Rehab clinics and programs would lose their influx of insurance money, court mandated rehab funds and grants. Cops would lose out on seizures and the cash their auctions make. Prisons and jails would see their budgets slashed as cells were emptied of these vicious criminals. As with so many things where marijuana is concerned it is all about the money. For all the wailing, moaning and gnashing of teeth about "criminals" making money selling pot, people seldom look at what the prohibitionists make from it. $39.1 BILLION has been spent on the war on drugs this year alone. None of that money went to users or growers. 606,600 + people (as I write this) have been arrested for marijuana crimes to date. The jails will be paid to house these people, bails will total in the millions, court costs in the millions, lawyers fees, fines......it's all about the money.

It's certainly not about those who could be aided by using marijuana. Not about the Alzheimer's patients, like my wife's grandmother. Nor is it about neuropathy patients like my own mother, who lived in constant, crippling pain before her death. It's about exerting power and extorting money for the state, the Powers That Be and all their hangers on who benefit from the continued War on People.

While we can cheer this announcement as yet another proof that cannabis is a true panacea and a gift, we must never lose sight of the fact that there is a Drug War going on and it is being waged against us. By forbidding its use the state tortures thousands and condemns to death even more. All the research in the world will never change their minds, no matter how much we wish it. The battle lines have been drawn and the time is long past to start treating it as the War that it is.

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Libertarian, Marijuana, War On Drugs, Medical Marijuana

Putting Aside Prudence

Despite what you may think of them Wal-Mart has always offered its customers value for their hard earned dollars, allowing them to maximise their purchasing power. Even tho they aren't the "Buy American" store they once were, due to customer demand and the nature of the markets Wal-Mart has always been customer friendly. This is about to change, tho. Wal-Mart has announced that they are ending the practice of "layaway" which the chain has offered since its 1962 founding and are going to start offering credit terms instead.

I remember my folks using the layaway system for holiday shopping when we were kids. Why did they choose to use it? So that our family did not accrue any more debt than necessary for non-essentials. It allowed us to stretch our family budget a lot farther and still purchase the "necessary" holiday gifts (as determined by my mother) for all parties. We accrued no debt using this system and neither did other people who used it. That is now at an end, as Wal-Mart ushers in a new class of lower income debtors. People who truly cannot afford to assume credit card debt will now be welcomed with open arms by Wal-Mart's underwriters. This is not a good thing on any level.

Layaway programs foster fiscal responsibility and monetary prudence for people who normally would not be considered for credit cards, due to their income limitations or who are smart enough to eschew the assumption of unsecured credit card debt. Now Wal-Mart, like so many other retailers is adding another layer to our already burgeoning national debt problem. I will not be overly surprised to see a great number of credit defaults amongst people using this method for their holiday shopping. People who previously could only afford to purchase a limited number of items within a set price range will suddenly see an expensive cornucopia of items that were previously outside their grasp.

The time is coming, aided by events such as this when we will likely see ourselves in the same predicament that Great Britain now finds itself in, if indeed we're not already there. The low income segments of our population can ill afford to have unsecured credit dangled in front of them in such a fashion. While it is obviously not the place of businesses to hold the hands of their customers in such a situation, it does no great service to those same customers to place them in a situation where they become slaves to debt. A good customer is a lifetime project, not someone you use until the money dries up. Good customer service sometimes means not offering something to your customers, especially those who can afford that "service" the least.

Thanks to Kevin for the tip on the Brits!


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Wal-Mart, Debt, Libertarian