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Friday, October 20. 2017

Should Inclusive Restrooms Really Include Bears?

5 Things to Stop Doing in Your 20s

I'd put video games at the top

The Bids Are In: Amazon Offered Up To $7 Billion In Tax Breaks ($140k Per Employee) For Second U.S. HQ

THE HUNT FOR THE BRAIN-EATING AMOEBAS OF YELLOWSTONE

Cops arrested a very nice fellow: Florida Man Awarded $37,500 After Cops Mistake Glazed Doughnut Crumbs For Meth

Marijuana devastated Colorado, don’t legalize it nationally

I’LL BELIEVE GLOBAL WARMING IS A CRISIS WHEN THE PEOPLE WHO TELL ME IT’S A CRISIS START TO ACT LIKE IT’S A CRISIS

Trump’s Struggle With The Ethanol Lobby Is Just Beginning

Ethanol is a terrible scam, should be a scandal

College Professor Under Siege for Challenging Transgender Orthodoxy - A petition is circulating at Boise State University to to have tenured professor Scott Yenor fired.

A Failure to Discern: Burns & Novick’s “The Vietnam War” is Bad History - A Review (Part II)*

In a market economy, every job is at risk of being destroyed.

“How can we Democrats appeal to those Jesus-loving, racist idiots who hate science and don’t live on the coast like everyone we know?”

More Honesty from the Left: The Goal Is Big Tax Increases for the Middle Class

Bernie To Americans: "Sure, You'll All Pay More Taxes... But You'll Get More Free Stuff"

The United States Again Fails to Make the Top 10 Freest Countries

Shameful. Incomprehensible, really

The Census Is Worth More Than a Big Mac

Now we know about the Russia deals

Silverglate: How Robert Mueller Tried To Entrap Me

Judging by Mueller's staffing choices, he may not be very interested in justice

Nearly 800 mental health professionals have joined a coalition asserting that they are so alarmed by Trump’s mental health that they feel a duty to warn the public.

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 07:11 | Comments (30) | Trackback (1)

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"Marijuana devastated Colorado" what a howler.

Counterpoint: "Legal Marijuana in Colorado is Saving Lives, Study Finds" -https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/10/16/legal-marijuana-is-saving-lives-in-colorado-study-finds

#1 peacelovewoodstock on 2017-10-20 08:31 (Reply)

That was my first reaction after reading it, then seeing who authored it.
While it cites data, it doesn't present sources or provide back up to the claims.

I know many people who live in Colorado who feel since legalization things are going much better. They feel safer, even though they don't smoke, they realize the people who do are not under a microscope as they once were.

The author points out youth arrests for marijuana are up - well, of course they are. That's hardly a surprise. Before they were much more careful when they walked around with it. Now they think they can carry it around, a mistake on their part. That will change with time.

The research being done on opioid addiction, and using cannabis to help reduce it may alter some of these POVs, if it pans out. Even if it doesn't, it's pretty clear to me that Prohibition never works the way you want it to - and legalization is helping to pave the way for a better social arrangement.

#1.1 Bulldog on 2017-10-20 09:14 (Reply)

WAR on DRUGS and Drug Illegality.

Its as if all the horrific downsides of Prohibition (of alcohol) are forgotten or ignored because a few teenagers and whackos cause few more accidents.

Of course there's never any countervailing data to the "blue nose" claims that legalization of MJ ensures we're all gonna die of MJ related-this or that.

As for the continued existence of the black market, yes, people will do things to avoid paying taxes; see the stories regarding interstate smuggling of cigarettes. Yet, raiding that black market is far less dangerous than the violent, deadly and civil rights invasive War on Drugs---which by the way, is an expensive, on-going failure!

How tough is it now, in Colorado to walk up to a street dealer and ask to see his MJ sales license? Don't need expensive, jack-booted thug SWAT teams on midnight raids, for that! More like a team of accountants can perform riads and secure far easier convictions for selling without a license, as with liquor. Hard for rappers to glamorize a street dealer fighting an accountant, as opposed to standing up to a heavily-armed drug enforcement agent.

Nobody hears of huge expensive liquor busts (ala Elliot Ness) nowadays do they?

Instead of re-criminalizing MJ, follow Ireland's and Portugal's examples and DE-criminalize ALL drugs! Both countries have seen a significant decline in crime as a result. Then fous on the really bad guys and re-education.

#1.1.1 B48 on 2017-10-20 10:24 (Reply)

"DE-criminalize ALL drugs!"

Do you really mean that or is it just a slogan? Would you end prescriptions so I can medicate myself? If not, why not? If I could legally take drugs that will kill me why shouldn't I be able to take drugs that will cure me? So let's legalize all drugs, right!

#1.1.1.1 GoneWithTheWind on 2017-10-20 10:33 (Reply)

If I was going to get really into this, I'd say yes - you should be able to buy and misuse any drug that can kill you. After all, alcohol does that, if the dosage is high enough. So does Drano, with relatively low doses.

Point is, you can't actually think you're protecting people.

But prescriptions, from my perspective, aren't about what's legal and what isn't. It's about proper dosage. I'm not running out and buying opioids. But IF I was prescribed some after a painful surgery, I'd consider taking some, so I'd want to take the right dosage.

If you want to run out and buy opioids today, without a prescription - I'd have no problem with that. It's your right to ruin your life.

#1.1.1.1.1 Bulldog on 2017-10-20 11:15 (Reply)

So then you want to legalize illegal drugs without regard to "proper dosage" but not legalize beneficial drugs because of "proper dosage". Why? Either you are in favor of letting adults make their own choices or you are not. You are parsing your response. Why? Street fentanyl will kill you. It is an extremely powerful drug and is difficult to impossible to create a safe dosage when made in illegal drug labs or mixed with other illegal drugs. But we should "legalize" them anyway? Why?

IMHO the only reason that people want to legalize the currently illegal drugs is because they are tired of issue. It won't reduce the number of people who die from overdose or die from drug induced crime but it allows us to kinda wash our hands of the issue. I can guarantee you that next year a couple million young people will become addicted to drugs and a large percentage of them will die as a result of that addiction. Further that an even hiigher percentage of these young people will do despicable things, unprintable things to feed their habit. THAT is what we should try to prevent and not encourage.

#1.1.1.1.1.1 GoneWithTheWind on 2017-10-20 12:14 (Reply)

"Medical marijuana" is all a scam for Big Marijuana (formerly known as Big Tobacco) to get a foothold. They already have a sophisticated strategy for setting up "clinics," underwritten by big money and supported by expensive lawyers who get all the necessary permits and documentation, and operations complete with phony doctor's "prescriptions" you can get online or over the phone by calling the number you are provided with and then you get your "card" which means no one can take action against you if you are walking around stoned. You're largely free to drive around stoned too, because with that little card it is very difficult to convict you of DUI, so you can just flash the card at the cop and they will walk away. As a jogger, I smell all these people driving stoned when I'm out running--there are now quite a few. Once Big Marijuana gets people to buy into that concept and behavior, then the argument is that it shouldn't be regulated at all, marijuana is harmless and unrestricted recreational use should legalized.

Marijuana is addictive, causes permanent brain damage in a lot of people, triggers mental illness in many others (including schizophrenia and psychosis) and is worse for you than tobacco. It is also a gateway drug into the others, and much street marijuana is also now laced with things like PCP.

As for no negative effects of legalizing drugs, I can show you hundred of people on the streets here (actually we are now up to thousands) whose brains are burned out on marijuana, meth, cocaine and other drugs. My wife got assaulted by one of them last week while walking across the street from her office building to my office (fortunately, she wasn't hurt but it was a scary situation). I can show you marijuana addicts (you can smell the reek 20 yards away) right outside my office building who are so stoned they are walking into lampposts and in and out of traffic; at times they are psychotic and attack people. And that's just the dopers. In the afternoon the tweakers come out en masse, twitching, yelling and screaming, smashing things, walking around in circles and talking to themselves non-stop. (I can hear them yelling from my office, fourteen stories up.) This is not an occasional occurrence, we are talking about this stuff going on right outside where I work, all day and night, every day. And I work in the so-called upscale "financial district." But every time I walk out of my office I can see at least 4 or 5 mentally ill druggies going at it.

Life in America is becoming a nightmare, and drugs are a big part of that. Crime in our area has skyrocketed the past few years, and most of it is due to the "homeless," the large majority of whom are "homeless" because of drugs and the resulting mental problems and brain damage. And no one is willing to take responsibility for these people (e.g., incarceration or institutionalization) and the ACLU is always there to stop you if you try, so these dangerous, deluded and brain damaged people just wander the streets and prey on other citizens.

#1.1.1.2 Jim on 2017-10-20 14:56 (Reply)

Marijuana is addictive, causes permanent brain damage in a lot of people, triggers mental illness in many others (including schizophrenia and psychosis) and is worse for you than tobacco. It is also a gateway drug into the others, and much street marijuana is also now laced with things like PCP.
Really?How do you know this to be true?

#1.1.1.2.1 RL on 2017-10-20 20:51 (Reply)

He heard it from a friend of his neighbor's sister's babysitter's hairdresser.

#1.1.1.2.1.1 Jerryskids on 2017-10-20 21:24 (Reply)

I see it first-hand every day.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC281114

https://www.livescience.com/50794-marijuana-intoxication-delusions-psychotic-symptoms.html

https://www.livescience.com/56264-heavy-marijuana-use-may-damage-the-brain.html

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2014/04/16/casual-marijuana-use-may-damage-your-brain/

http://www.cchrflorida.org/pcp-laced-marijuana-creating-psychosis-and-psychiatric-commitment/

https://www.thoracic.org/patients/patient-resources/resources/marijuana.pdf

#1.1.1.2.1.2 Jim on 2017-10-20 22:19 (Reply)

Sorry for the first, the link seems to be malfunctioning:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2811144/

If it still doesn't work, Google
"Cannabis-Induced Bipolar Disorder with Psychotic Features" on the NCBI website.

#1.1.1.2.1.2.1 Jim on 2017-10-20 22:31 (Reply)

Ya really got to remove your cranium from your anus.

Harry Anslinger is way long dead; and H. Hoover.

We in the 21st century now. Smell the coffee and the reefer smoke.

Best,

red

#1.1.1.2.2 tennesseered on 2017-10-21 07:47 (Reply)

Don't worry, I've already written America off and planned appropriately. What the country's impending bankruptcy and opening the doors to illegals doesn't destroy, burning your brains out on drugs will. The hordes are going to cut through you like a hot knife through butter. You just don't see it, but the Chinese and others certainly do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhREkFsdjpU

You don't have this problem going on in Korea, where I hang out. People don't tolerate marijuana and other drugs. (Although I won't deny alcohol is an issue.) But then Asia has had a long history with knowing how bad drugs are (opium which destroyed China, for example), so drug using is harshly punished.

#1.1.1.2.2.1 Jim on 2017-10-21 13:49 (Reply)

Japan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW6ujcuIbvg

#1.1.1.2.2.1.1 Jim on 2017-10-21 14:40 (Reply)

Article just out in Scientific American:

"Link between Adolescent Pot Smoking and Psychosis Strengthens"

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/link-between-adolescent-pot-smoking-and-psychosis-strengthens/

#1.1.1.2.3 Jim on 2017-10-23 04:37 (Reply)

glad to see Florida was not on the list of Amazon suck-ups. Nothing like giving away other people's money. funny most of them seem to be in Blue states where people are fleeing.

#2 grant1863 on 2017-10-20 08:31 (Reply)

I generally avoid network news; but, last night I watched the first few minutes from the Dallas, Fort Worth area. There were glowing reports about the presentations being made to Amazon to try to lure them to locate in one of the cities. Of course, there was no mention of this bribery.
In our very small town here, we have that "Economic Development Council." Just about 3 or so years ago, they offered similar tax breaks to a major hotel chain to build here. The hotel has already filed for bankruptcy and is now under new ownership.
This is the kind of thing in modern life that makes my head explode! They never offer these incentives to local people just starting an independent business that would probably be around a long time.

#2.1 mary on 2017-10-20 09:30 (Reply)

I've seen that same thing many times from the various locales where I've resided.

And I think you make an excellent point, why aren't these "development councils" cultivating the local businesses? It's much better to have a small company grow big, than bring in an outside behemoth. But small companies don't have perks and benefits to offer these council members and local politicians.

#2.1.1 DrTorch on 2017-10-20 10:29 (Reply)

"I’LL BELIEVE GLOBAL WARMING IS A CRISIS WHEN THE PEOPLE WHO TELL ME IT’S A CRISIS START TO ACT LIKE IT’S A CRISIS"

Yup. Something I think to myself whenever I see the roads in and around Ottawa packed with cars and SUVs (including my own, to be fair).

I have neighbours near me here in the country who are devout "Climatistas". By last count, they own two cars, a truck, two snowmobiles, a tractor, an ATV and two motorbikes. There are just the two of them in a very large air-conditioned house with an equally large swimming pool.

#3 JJM on 2017-10-20 08:40 (Reply)

I must add that just about the only climate change advocate I have real respect for is flaky old Ed Begley Jr, a man who actually tries to walk the talk rather than fly around in private jets sermonizing about it.

#3.1 JJM on 2017-10-20 08:49 (Reply)

Just as I'll believe Neil Degrasse Tyson that global warming is a crisis when he leaves astrophysics and public punditry to actually do work in climate research.

#3.2 another guy named Dan on 2017-10-20 12:09 (Reply)

Trump's mental health: compared to...?

#4 Assistant Village Idiot (Link) on 2017-10-20 08:40 (Reply)

"Nearly 800 mental health professionals have joined a coalition asserting that they are so alarmed by Trump’s mental health that they feel a duty to warn the public."

But they'd never go public to warn anyone about some murderous wackjob they're counselling who has threatened to kill people.

Professional ethics and patient confidentiality, you know.

#4.1 JJM on 2017-10-20 08:45 (Reply)

Those 800 mental health professionals were likely global warming scientists just a year or so ago. No real money left in the AGW scam nowadays.

#4.1.1 indyjonesouthere on 2017-10-20 20:06 (Reply)

I'm no psychologist, but I play one on TV.

I think there are some clues you can take from everyday behaviors to make determinations about certain aspects of people's personalities. It's pretty clear to me that Obama suffered from severe narcissism. Of course, so does Trump. But so do most leaders. It's what drives them to engage in popularity contests we call "elections".

But I don't think you can make the kinds of determinations these 'professionals' make if you haven't had a few sit-downs with the person you're making a judgement on.

Having gone to a therapist myself, with much skepticism (which I still have) about its value, at least one thing I took away from it was that she was able - OVER TIME - to come to a realization of where my head is at. Early on, I would often leave her office laughing to myself because in the course of conversation, something I'd say would evidently take her by surprise, as if she'd formed an opinion of who I was, and what I said suddenly altered that opinion (she told me she doesn't form opinions about people, but I found that really hard to believe).

By the end of a year of visits, I felt she understood me well enough and we were making some reasonable progress. She often said "People who meet you, but don't know you, would probably think you're on the spectrum." I suppose I am, to a degree. I'm OK with that, but her comment does show that anything these 'professionals' know is based on very little real knowledge.

I have plenty of friends who enjoy not only engaging in behaviors similar to Trump's, but appreciate his behaviors - outlandish as they often are. I suppose he lacks some of what is popularly called "EQ" (which I do not believe in), but I'm OK with that because I do, too (I'm told). In some ways, I think lacking that is what makes him effective at the things he's truly effective at.

But I don't think he's unhinged at all. He is just used to doing things his way, and he's in an environment where you can't do things that way anymore - or so we're told.

#4.2 Bulldog on 2017-10-20 09:24 (Reply)

Regarding the Amazon tax breaks, I think it is morally wrong and quite possibly illegal to favor one company with tax breaks while increasing taxes on everyone else to pay for it. Usually the claimed increase in jobs and other benefits is never realized while the unanticipated negative effects are pushed under the rug. I don't think that cities and states should have the right/ability to offer these tax breaks. I suspect that most politicians who vote for them have been paid off in some way and it is a stab in the back to existing businesses.

I sincerely hope that our state doesn't get Amazon to move here. Portland Oregon has misspent highway funds for decades (on the Max light rail) and now it is an hour long chore to drive through the city on the interstate. Having Amazon move here will only make that worse.

#5 GoneWithTheWind on 2017-10-20 10:28 (Reply)

Businesses don't pay taxes. They simply collect the taxes for the government by passing them onto their customers as higher prices. So called business taxes are actually consumer taxes.

#6 Ray on 2017-10-20 15:49 (Reply)

"So called business taxes are actually consumer taxes."

Yes, the price a business proposes to a customer will always be predicated by the margin of profit based on supply and demand and the expenses the business must incur to provide a product.

And one of those expenses is the taxes levied on business by governments at every level.

#6.1 JJM on 2017-10-20 16:38 (Reply)

" The United States Again Fails to Make the Top 10 Freest Countries"

Sadly, like the poor, it appears Democrats will always be with us.

#7 JK Brown on 2017-10-20 21:15 (Reply)

One problem with this freedom index is that it does not take into account structural limits on government. For example, it rates Hong Kong higher than the US, but Hong Kong only has the "freedom" it does because it pleases the communist Chinese government to allow it today. That could change tomorrow and it could rapidly become an enslaved gulag, if the communists wanted to do that. There are no effective structural limitations on what the Chinese government can do there.

Measuring freedom this way is like saying slaves whose owner gives them a day off are freer than free men who have to go to work that day. As long as their owner keeps giving them days off, they seem freer than genuinely free workers, but the master can call anytime and that "freedom" will vanish like a mirage. That's not real freedom. Freedom is measured by the things government CAN'T stop you from doing, not the things it merely DOESN'T stop you from doing.

The article ends by invoking the idea that there is only one kind of freedom: it is wrong to think in terms of economic freedom and non-economic freedom. However, the institutions that produced the only measure of freedom the article talks about specifically just measure economic freedom. If they measured freedom in general, Hong Kong and Singapore, the current #1 and #2, would certainly lose their places at the top.

#8 Thomas Doubting (Link) on 2017-10-20 22:08 (Reply)

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Friday, October 20. 2017

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