The RAnts of RA

If you live in Tuolumne County, you know that means no fireworks. No fireworks because of the dry conditions, all the trees, and of course the  Stanislaus National Forest. I for one am kind of glad of the no fireworks law. We still end up with people shooting off fireworks and it scares me to death.

I love living in the mountains, I’ve been here about ten years now and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s like being on vacation every single day of the year. I can sit out on my back porch and watch the birds, and the squirrels if I’m in a good mood. The deer meander through our yard, driving my dogs crazy. But they are so beautiful, especially the bucks.

Fireworks illegal in most places, discouraged in others

Law enforcement and fire prevention officers across the Mother Lode are reminding the public about the varying rules and regulations governing the use of fireworks.

While legal in some parts of Calaveras County, fireworks are outlawed throughout Tuolumne County and the Stanislaus National Forest.

Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jeff Wilson said it’s not only illegal to set off the fireworks, but the mere possession of any type of firework is outlawed as well.

The article goes on to say.

Residents can go to any Cal Fire station to dispose of unused fireworks or make sure ones they have purchased are legal, according to Williams.

Just be wary, when doing so. Police have been known to take down license plate numbers and find other reasons to go after citizens. In this day and age we have to protect our rights as citizens, the police in all their zeal to go after “drug dealers,” (read, pot smokers). They will stop at nothing.

Related articles

• Happy 4th of July(twainhartetimes.com)

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• ZERO TOLERANCE: Police To Ticket For Fireworks(whotv.com)

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• Beach cities crank up security for holiday(ocregister.com)

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Despite new articles with headlines proclaiming “Jobless rate falls slightly in Mother Lode in Oct.“, the unemployment rate, in fact,  continues to climb.

Jobless rate falls slightly in Mother Lode in Oct.
November 25, 2011 03:24 am

Unemployment Continues to Climb

The unemployment rate fell in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties in October compared to last year, according to a recent study completed by the Employment Development Department which tracks local labor statistics.

Tuolumne County saw modest job creation and its unemployment rate fall to 12.5 percent in October, compared to 13.1 percent during the same period last year. However, it was a slight increase from September, when unemployment hit a two-year low of 12.4 percent.

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits fell from 3,320 last year to 3,160 in October, with the number of employed people climbing slightly from 21,980 last year to 22,020 in October.

Most job sectors saw falling or flat employment figures last month, with modest gains in government jobs and hospitality.

I guess if you don’t mind serving the Chinese and Japanese tourists, instead of going on vacation yourself, the increase in hospitality employment is a good thing. However, adding even more government jobs continues to take our nation down the wrong path to increased government spending. It’s a bleak outlook, no matter how the media tries to paint a rosy picture.

Related articles

• Weekly jobless claims above 400K (hotair.com)
• NC prepares to announce October unemployment rate (charlotte.news14.com)
• MNI Survey: Japan Oct Jobless Rate Seen Unchanged at 4.1% (forexlive.com)

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)