Oh Barney.  I try so hard to hate you, but every once and again you do something like this:

Today, Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to eliminate all federal penalties for marijuana possession. This came only one week after he also introduced a bill to protect medical marijuana patients.

Would you please take one minute to ask your U.S. representative to support these two bills? MPP’s easy online action center makes it simple — just enter your name and contact info, and we’ll do the rest.

The Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2009 would eliminate the threat of federal arrest and prison for the possession of up to 3.5 ounces of marijuana and the not-for-profit transfer of an ounce of marijuana — nationwide.

What’s more, last week Congressman Frank introduced the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, which would allow states to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest and jail without federal interference, as well as allow pharmacies to dispense marijuana to patients with a doctor’s recommendation. You can take action on this bill here.

MPP has worked closely with Congressman Frank’s staff in past months, helping to craft both pieces of legislation and build political support for the proposals on Capitol Hill.

Now members of Congress need to hear from their constituents who want to see it passed — that means you! It takes only a minute or two to use MPP’s online action system to send a quick note to your member of the House, so would you please send your letter right now?

Eliminate threat of federal arrest and prison for marijuana possession

Protect medical marijuana patients nationwide

News blurb courtesy of the MPP.  Help us out, take action now!

http://freekeene.com/…

I’m writing in response to Keene Sentinel columnist Michael Schuman’s story titled “Will the Free Staters Please Sit Down?” I must admit, a couple of years ago, before coming to understand the message of liberty, I would have agreed with Schuman’s opinions.

Schuman’s views are consistent with what many would describe as main stream America. Unfortunately many of his ideas are based in ignorance and misunderstanding that stems from a lack of critical thinking. Like most of us, Schuman probably attended government indoctrination centers where school children are taught to stand on their X, respect authority, and do as you’re told without question.

Take a look at the pledge of allegiance. How many other countries have one? How many of you know it was written by Fancis Bellamy, a National Socialist (Nazi) flag salesman, to “instill a strong belief in the state.” Dont believe me? Look it up on the internet. You’re likely to find the same picture I did of school children doing a Roman salute – the same one Hitler’s army used – before that was changed after WWII.

Schuman’s description of a classical libertarian is severely flawed and his examples display an ignorance of private property vs. individual rights.
Read More…

https://docs.google.com/View?id=dhbvr2gz_18gk9wt8gt

Note: the below was created from OCRing screencaps of a Flash based chatroom. Excuse the mistakes.

Xaq Fixx 3:39 pm
Alright… Question 1:
Political Identified Profile field, when will it return

Lee Doren
As soon as I get confirmation to add it back—it was my intention to add at asap Friday, but then it was unclear what my authority was to do so
The only reason why it was removed was so I could add something else asap
Like an open-ended political affiliation
Read More…

http://www.star-telegram.com/…

A $226,000 armored vehicle for the North Richland Hills Police Department SWAT team arrived a few days ago to replace one the agency got in 1990.

To many people that vehicle — and others like it used by police departments across the country — will go unnoticed. The public seems to largely accept the use of military-type equipment, technology and tactics as not only appropriate but also necessary to fight crime and make communities more safe and secure.

Armored vehicles are used by law enforcement agencies in Fort Worth, Arlington and Bedford and at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, just to name a few. Some police departments have assault rifles, noise-flash devices and grenade launchers. Arlington even sought federal money for a drone aircraft.

But some criminal-justice experts are troubled by law enforcement agencies’ growing use of military-style equipment. Rather than employ such equipment only in extreme situations, the critics say, their use is becoming commonplace, leading police to use unnecessary force and intimidating residents. For example, some cite an episode last year in which police used a battering ram to raid a Duncanville swingers club when no one answered a knock.

“We have been witnesses to a little-noticed but nonetheless momentous historical change — the traditional distinctions between military/police, war/law and internal/external security are rapidly blurring,” said criminal justice professor Peter Kraska, of Eastern Kentucky University, in one on his studies on the militarization of police departments.

Local police officials note that growing populations, rising crime rates and more-lethal weapons available to criminals have forced officers to keep up. They also say they rely on training to make sure equipment is used appropriately.

“For years, there’s always been a parallel between law enforcement and the military,” said Bedford Police Chief David Flory, former director of training for the Texas Tactical Peace Officers Association. “Of course, the big difference is the rules of engagement. The military in Afghanistan or Iraq is dealing with warfare. We as officers have the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Penal Code that we must follow.”
Read More…

http://sentinelsource.com/…

Iused to say that a libertarian is just a Republican who wants to smoke pot and watch porn. That was before I attended a Bob Dylan concert in Laconia some years ago. Shortly after the concert began, a young woman two rows in front of me stood up. She continued to stand throughout the concert. Never mind that everyone around her was seated.

I asked the man sitting in front of me to ask the woman to kindly sit because she was blocking people’s views. She continued to stand. I asked an usher to ask her to sit. He spoke to her and walked away, the offending woman still standing. I called the usher over and he told me the woman said she will stand if she wants to because it is her right; there was nothing the usher could do about it.

Apparently this phenomenon is fairly common, because around that time it was lampooned on “Saturday Night Live.” At that concert, she was one of perhaps 10 scattered audience members standing. When I regularly attended concerts in the 1960s and ’70s the audience would either collectively stand or sit. That’s when I realized my original assessment of libertarians was wrong, since even the staunchest Republican I know would have the courtesy to sit down.

Libertarians say they espouse the rights of the individual, which always seemed to me to be just a political way of saying me first, second and third and the hell with everyone else.
Read More…

bile recently pointed me to a CNN article called “Government runs nation’s only legal pot garden” which details a government run facility for growing marijuana, the security it uses and some of the controversy that surrounds the subject. What follows are my comments on the article.

Like a cask in a wine cellar, this barrel of marijuana is marked with the year of vintage. It is one of many in the room. ElSohly, the director of the lab, guesses that it holds 10 to 15 kilos, or about 22 to 33 pounds, of impeccably clean “product.”

If you look at the picture they have a wine barrel filled with ground cannabis bud. While the “impeccably clean” product certainly is devoid of stems and seeds I don’t see why they would store it this way. Cannabis continues to cure when stored with the bud intact. I can understand why they would grind it up to test it, but to store it that way doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.  Ultimately the cannabinoids created during curing are going to be slightly different since there method of storage isn’t typical.

How much would this be worth on the street?

“A lot,” he answers.

He’s not being evasive. It’s just that the value of the marijuana, like the gold at Fort Knox, fluctuates wildly. And like the government gold, it is not for sale. So the question is academic and of little concern.

Eh, $25k?  I imagine it would be hard to unload 33lbs so you’d take a knock for selling it in bulk.  You’d expect a cannabis researcher to know something about the price, even if it does fluctuate.  Also isn’t this guy technically an academic?

Of course, marijuana inside the fence has added value as a scientific tool. Researchers know the genetic makeup of the plants, and that is essential if you’re studying the impact of a drug that, with 14.8 million users, is the most widely used illicit drug in the country.

Preserving or hybridizing cannabis genotypes would be damn near impossible if the facility weren’t cordoned off.  The best seed banks in the world are equally concerned with preserving the distinct makeup of their crosses.

Although street marijuana in the early 1980s had an average strength of 4 percent tetrahydrocannabinol — the drug’s primary psychoactive ingredient — the average was 10.1 percent last year, the government announced.

That’s because it’s illegal and if you’re going to transport something you want the most bang per pound.  That’s also why people prefer to move hash over long distances.  If cannabis were legal you’d see a huge amount of marketplace variety including low potency strains.  Personally I prefer lower potency.  Also, nothing says people use the same amounts of different types of cannabis.  A more potent strain may be used more sparingly.  To quote MC Chris (an excellent academic source) “I’ve got a one hitter named Margo Kidder and I only need to hit that shit once!”

Read More…