On Addiction

ad‧dic‧tion  /əˈdɪkʃən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-dik-shuh-n]
–(noun): The state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.
2. a.The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something.

Habitual psychological and physiological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one's voluntary control.

Hello. My name is Michael and I am an addict.

They say that's how getting well begins for addicts, by admitting that you have a problem and moving forward from that point and leaving the addiction behind. Addicts and alcoholics who attend meetings begin their speeches that way, regardless of how many years removed they are from their addiction or even if they have managed to completely kick the habit. Reinforcement of that recognition is a great help to them and helps break the cycle.

The same case is true for those of us addicted to the political. Politics is an addictive and destructive thing, which any rational person would admit...if they weren't addicted to it. Addicts are loath to admit their addiction can be harmful to themselves and, especially others. Politics may well be the single most destructive addiction on the planet, it has certainly managed to kill more people than all drugs and alcohol combined and enslaves more people than the "drug cartels" could ever dream of.

It is through politics that government derives its power and corrupts the very philosophies of freedom and liberty that so many of us hold dear. They redefine the words and concepts until they bear no resemblance to themselves. Those of us who engage in the addiction of politics may well be the worst of the enablers. We are the ones holding the spoons and cooking the junk while those who run for or hold office mainline our time, money and ultimately a good dose of our freedom. It doesn't matter what "party" they belong to, nor which philosophy they choose to embrace. In the end they seek to control some portion of our destiny. From the dog catcher to the presidency, this truth is self evident.

Even those few politicians or candidates who espouse philosophies familiar and dear to us and who speak of restoring our freedoms are running on the high and looking through some oddly coloured glasses. They, in the throws of their own addiction ignore the obvious. Politics is not the solution to politics, just as heroin is not the solution to heroin. No-one can restore or grant freedom to us through the auspices of political power. Even at its most benign politics is the power to punish, to command or to steal, by its very nature it is non-restorative. It may only choose to command less or steal less. To punish less severely or to ignore but, it cannot grant us that which is anathema to its very existence. The ugly man with the club will always be there.

Recognising that one has a problem is the first step in overcoming the addiction and seeking a "cure". No matter how strong or weak, the withdrawal is always going to be tough,( just ask an ex-junkie or alcoholic), and it can take many forms. One could go cold turkey and eschew politics completely, but I feel this might well require one to adjourn to a desert island and live as a beach combing hermit. The scent of burning politics is going to be present as long as there are two people who've inhaled present. Most folks are going to have to settle for a gradual weaning from their political addiction.

This will not be easy for some of us. Giving up campaigning, fundraising, gladhanding, the Issues, the camaraderie and all the organisational aspects that go with it. The fighting and animosities have to be surrendered, as well. All the warm, good feelings that come with a political hot shot have to be surrendered, if the addiction is to be overcome. That's not easy and may not even be possible, given the prevalence of politics in our society. Many of us may have to become adherents of a maintenance program and subsist on minute doses and eschew taking a full hit. Give up running for offices, supporting candidates and races, voting, campaigning and all the myriad activities associated with it.

No-one says it's going to be easy to kick the habit and it may well cost you some friends who are still addicted (don't become a self righteous crusader, no-one likes that former smoker!). And remember TANSTAAFL, there's always a price to pay, but you can dicker with this addiction. Start gradually and build to freeing yourself from this disease. Skip voting in the Primary. Don't attend a convention. Abandon the small things and see what they don't do to you. If you survive that....start building from there. As with any addiction it's one day, one event, one crisis, one fundraising letter at a time. Many alcoholics whom I have known often replace one addiction for another behaviour, (most commonly known to AA folks as the "marijuana maintenance program") If necessary, go on a maintenance program. Choose a less destructive addiction, like anti-politics.

And remember. Recovered addicts make the best rehab therapists....in case you needed something to do with your time.

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Libertarian, Politics, Addiction

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

What Price Victory?

Election time is here and I must say that it is a serious disappointment to me, all in all. The numbers of people out there worthy of a vote are few and shrinking by the day and it is becoming painfully obvious to me that there is virtually no hope that libertarians are going to find themselves in positions where they can affect anything approaching change. Add in the fact that across the country libertarians have been disqualified from running for political minutiae by the powers that be and you can see why so many people are looking at routes other than the political to obtain their freedom and make the state irrelevant.

Needless to say I don't even look at political candidates from the BOYN Party, only at "libertarian" candidates and, with a few exceptions I find that most either do nothing for me or they make me wonder if these folks are actually libertarians in some cases. I've seen candidates endorse staying the course in Iraq, say they'd support a Constitutional amendment denying equal rights to homosexual Americans, vote the Republican line and in one notable case a candidate even said he'd consider joining the Republican Party if Libertarians gave him the go ahead. Sheesh, what a slap in the face to people who've worked so hard to do something with the political arm of libertarianism for so many years. (Here's my OK, for it. Don't let the door hit ya in the butt on the way out).

As far as I can see there are a large number of candidates who are running as Republican Lite and a handful of notables who are running true to their core principles. A recurring theme this round seems to be "let us in the boys club and we'll fall in line behind the Republican banner" all in an attempt to allow Republicrats to retain their dominance over the Democrats. This truly flies in the face of all reason, especially since most of these candidates are making small government a big running issue. The Republicrats, at all levels have been increasing the size of government, decreasing liberty, spending like drunks on a binge, taxing and indenturing our children and there are "libertarians" who would align themselves with these people? So much for principles.

This year, in an election cycle with the highest level of voter discontent with the Boot On Your Neck Party I have seen more candidates disqualified for minor things than ever before and frankly, I'm not that surprised by it. Those who currently hold the reins of political power are loath to surrender them and even more reticent to surrender even a few votes to a potential spoiler. Since so many locales have already done this and seen that they can get away with it, I suspect this will become the accepted practice in voting offices nationwide. Where ever there are third parties running look for the bar to be raised again and again by those in power.

Sadly, the day after Election Day 2006 will see a repeat of the all the other post election days in past years. There will be the disappointment, defections, resolutions to do things differently and renewed resolve that next time things will be different and nothing will really change. Somewhere along the political path we have lost the battle for hearts and minds. The people in this country have no desire to be free of government and its thieving power mongers. Those who have elected to pursue political office as libertarians are, more often than not sending out the message that we are just like the "other guys" and they shouldn't be afraid to replace them with us. Where's the incentive in that?

If libertarians are to do anything they need to re-engage in the battle for hearts and minds before they tackle the political aims. Until folks finally have the desire for change and the wish to be free then we will continue to see the same results election cycle after election cycle. If "our" candidates are just Lite versions of those already enjoying power there is no incentive to vote for us, nor should they if change is what people truly seek. Moderates cannot effect radical change...and that's what we so desperately need. What's type of victory is it if "our" candidates are just watered down versions of the current rulers begging for a chance to get into the club house? Victory at any cost is not a good strategy, especially if it means becoming what you say you detest.

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Libertarian, Politics, Election 2006