The RAnts of RA

Question: Why are the feds cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries?

Answer: Because they can.

But perhaps, not for long…

Medical pot advocates sue feds over crackdown

By MARCUS WOHLSEN, Associated Press
November 7, 2011

Support Medical Marijuana

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Attorneys for medical marijuana advocates on Monday sought a temporary restraining order to put a stop to a federal crackdown on California pot dispensaries, claiming the effort by the state’s four U.S. attorneys is unconstitutional.

Plaintiffs asked U.S. District Court Judge Donna Ryu in Oakland to issue an order barring the government from arresting or prosecuting patients, dispensary owners or landlords of properties housing dispensaries.

Pot advocates said dispensaries in the San Francisco Bay area would start closing this weekend if a restraining order was not issued.

The state’s four federal prosecutors last month announced a broad effort to close pot clubs, in particular by sending letters to landlords who rent space to pot dispensaries threatening to seize their property under federal drug trafficking laws.

Lawsuits filed starting Friday in all four of California’s federal court jurisdictions accuse the Department of Justice of entrapping pot providers by reversing its own policy, among other legal issues.

Caught in the middle are the sick, the elderly and the crippled, who suffer in pain and agony, each and every day. In many cases marijuana provides the only relief available. Many patients have found the smoking pot gives them back their very lives.

One medical marijuana user was very close to becoming addicted to prescription pain meds, the doctors were prescribing them like candy to the patient. When she complained about the side-effects and new ailments the prescription medications were causing her, the doctors attempted to prescribe anti-depressants on top of the pain medication, to help her be more tolerant of the damages the pain meds caused. This patient was seeing five medical  specialists and was even told by one “medical professional” that they needed spinal replacement surgery.

Smoking pot allows this patient to enjoy small portions of the day, to smile and even cook occasionally. You can’t put a price tag on the quality of life and that is exactly what we are talking about here. The feds want to control our ability to enjoy life without harmful drugs with even worse side effects, up to and including death.

The war on drugs has run it’s course. The federal government lost but instead of simply conceding defeat, they are lashing out, sort of like Custer’s Last Stand.

We know the federal government is broke and looking for revenue sources, but to resort to outright theft is an egregious miscarriage of justice and must stop.

This so-called “crack down” by the federal government for some reason targets only residents of California, even though similar laws exist in Colorado and Michigan. A curious person might ask why  the sudden crackdown only  in California? Will California law enforcement agencies, such as the Tuolumne Narcotics Team share in the ill-gotten gain when they seize the property of law abiding citizens?

Where is the ACLU when you need them? Let’s hope that U.S. District Court Judge Donna Ryu in Oakland does the right thing by issuing a restraining order.  This is an outrage.

Related articles

• Medical Marijuana Patients, Dispensaries File Suit Against Feds Over Crackdown (sfist.com)
• Lawsuits challenge federal pot enforcement crackdown in California (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Recent Federal Government Actions on Marijuana Go Against Public Opinion, Notes GMSHC (prweb.com)
• Tuolumne County Bans Dispensaries  (twainhartetimes.com)
• Marijuana Cultivation Crackdown  (twainhartetimes.com)

The next Presidential Election is just around the corner and I can hardly wait. Then I got to thinking about the way voters have really been boxed in over the years.  Laws have been enacted that have  all but guaranteed a Republican or a Democrat would lie their way to the White House.  The entire election process has been corrupted and no longer functions properly.

It just doesn’t seem to me like we are getting the bright, honest men of integrity to run for office these days. Perhaps, we need to make some changes to our current system to better the odds to encourage fine leaders to run for office.

On my wish list for changes that should be made before the next election:

Mandatory Testing for Public Employees

• Anyone running for public office, must submit to an I.Q. test. Those with I.Q.s under 80, are disqualified to run. That should weed out at least 50% of those currently in office.
• Any candidate running for office must have his own house in order. Just like most other positions of trust, prospective candidates must submit to a credit check, chexsystems and he or she must be current with all IRS obligations. That should take care of the other 50%, leaving us with a clean house.

I watch for those campaign mailers and save them each election year. I like to pull them out when I make my choices and consider how well thought out the materials are. In other words, how effectively are they using their own resources. I pay closer attention to the smaller pieces of mail because these are the people who know how to stretch a dollar bill and still get the job done.

I personally hate getting those  huge things that won’t even fit easily into our mailbox.  I know those things are costly and they are a huge waste of money. Even the elderly don’t  need 3 inch type and if they do, it makes far more  sense for that person to grab their eye glasses or magnifying glass — because if their eyes are that bad, you know they  have their own.

The  government  — those who work for the people — must start thinking before spending.  Government workers need to let people do for themselves, and stop trying to take care of everyone. It’s time you start to do the job you were hired for.   Period!

I have a question. Why is it that taxpayers are paying the freight for children to be educated at public schools? Schools keep crying for more money, but do you realize that most parents could pay less to send their child to a private school than it costs to educate a child in the public school?

If we are paying for a private school education, why are our children still expected to received a “standardized education?” Maybe that is part of the problem. We have the resources to create a tailor-made  educational system that is better suited to the needs of a growing child. Just ask John Taylor Gatto, he proved it 20 years ago.

If children are going to be continually tested and grilled throughout their academic careers, maybe we should subject the teachers to standardized testing each year as well. And while we are at it, let’s just extend it to all public workers.

Related articles

• Thousands of students transfer to private schools as Indiana implements nation’s most extensive voucher program (educblog.wordpress.com)
• Private schools’ cash boom (heraldsun.com.au)
• The Year of School Choice (cnsnews.com)

We all talk about what is wrong with the public schools but who has time for that?    In reality, it would be a very short discussion if we were to talk about,  “What is right with the public school system?”

Just  today  California Governor  Brown signed SB 48 into law, just one more step into true socialization. Our core values as a nation are under siege and losing ground fast.

Breaking News: Governor Brown Signs SB 48

Moments ago, Brown signed SB 48 and said, “History should be honest,” the Democratic governor said in a written statement. “This bill revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education and ensures that the important contributions of Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are included in our history books. It represents an important step forward for our state, and I thank Senator Leno for his hard work on this historic legislation.”

SB 48 is an attempt to indoctrinate children as young as five to not only accept but also endorse homosexuality through our social sciences curriculum specially history, history books and instructional materials.  [Read more…]

As if  California has money to blow! We are in debt up to  our eyebrows and then some, and our California state legislators want to rewrite our textbooks with more inappropriate material — instructional materials that amount to little more than verbal assault.

When Michigan began mandatory sex education classes for 7th and 8th graders back in the 60’s, the classes were taught co-ed with an even mix of girls and boys. The teacher was a young man, who thought he was God’s gift — he was having a long-term affair with one 15 year-old student and was habitually vulgar  in the classroom. The teacher should have been prosecuted for his lurid behavior – not to mention the bad jokes.

These classes aren’t intended to teach the students any valuable information, though they do manage to pass along a few facts along the way. The real goal of these type of classes are to embarrass students, apply peer pressure and lower the child’s inhibitions.

July 12, 2011, Penny Starr wrote an article, “Time to Stop Talking About the Importance of Teacher Quality,’ Union Chief Says.”

“It’s time to stop talking about the importance of teacher quality. It’s time to start building a high-quality education system by cultivating high-quality educators-from excellent teacher colleges, with ample clinical experience, focused induction, and ongoing professional support throughout a teacher’s career, in an environment that fosters respect.”

The state is continually revising  school textbooks, spending money needlessly, and then have the nerve to cry poverty and come begging the taxpayers for a funding increase.

Our schools should be a reflection of the communities values, not dictated by the state from on high. If those who live in San Francisco or Hollywood want to teach this garbage to their children, they have every right to. The problem is that most of the rest of the state values our children’s innocence. We believe in teaching our children about intimacy, sex and love, when they are mature enough. Introducing this stuff too early isn’t  far from sexually molesting them.

I’m really having a tough time believing that any parent would allow this to happen.

Our governor needs to govern wisely and during a time of economic upheaval is not the time to sign legislation that will force the state to purchase new textbooks. Seriously, you folks in Sacramento need to tighten your belt, just like the families in California are doing right now. The money tree has dried up. Stop the spending and leave something for our children.