Thursday, May 01, 2003

 

A Tale of Two Standards

May Day
A traditional Socialist holiday, in celebration of the worker. The worker has little to celebrate these days, save the ones who still have a job…for now. But happy May Day just the same.
Today I’d like a moment of your time for a discussion on my favorite topic …..

The War On (some) Drugs!

Of course the position of most nations is that nicotine, the drug that’s responsible for uncounted (by me) deaths, is legal but should be at least regulated if not outright discouraged…particularly for youths (Utes?). But let’s limit this post to America’s positions on this. Although it’s taken 160 nations 3 years to create a treaty to help control tobacco and keep it away from kids, Bush has sent another toadie, U.S. Ambassador Kevin Moley, to throw a last minute provision into the mix.
What could it be…? After all this time it must be a minor detail, right? Well…the U.S. “wants signatories to be able to ignore any provisions of the treaty they disagree with.” Say WHAT? Anyone can ignore whatever part of this “treaty” that they disagree with? What the hell kind of treaty is THAT? I know. It’s the kind the U.S. used to sign with the Native Americans in the 1800’s (and beyond). Is the rest of the world going to accept this kind of treatment? For how long? We’re already threatening to withhold financial considerations that are expected.

Our esteemed and moral Government doesn’t want to enforce a ban or limit on tobacco advertising. This is key to keeping it out of a child’s attention, It can’t be stressed enough! And we’re against the health warning taking up 1/3 of the package, too. Phillip Morris, with $19 million in sales last year, sees it as a potential catastrophe! After all, that IS where they get their future customer base from….and the old ones are constantly dying! How do you expect them to put a big WARNING on the package? That’s the best time to rope them in…while they’re still young and stupid.

But to “ignore” provisions of the treaty one finds disagreeable…can hardly be called a treaty at all, could it? Apparently our Federal Government doesn’t want to share the same sentiment at home. A number of States disagree with and would like to ignore the ban on marijuana for people who need it to improve their lives, as a doctor sees it. Bush & Co. have seen fit to pursue an aggressive position against “ignoring what’s disagreeable” by investigating and prosecuting some high profile people, as an example to others. Currently in California, a gentleman, Ed Rosenthal, who was deputized by the City of Oakland to grow and help distribute marijuana to doctor recommended patients, is awaiting a possible 80-YEAR SENTENCE! The “American Taliban”, John Walker Lind, is currently serving 20 years! What the hell’s going ON here?

~* And while you’re pondering that….please consider the following opinion piece also. It is again a column by Princeton economist Paul Krugman that MUST be read and SHOULD be responded to. I realize the difficulties in accessing the NY Times pages, so I copied it here for your perusal. Look in the left side bar for "Paul Krugman 4/29/03. The “bold” passages are my doing. I eagerly await any response from someone. For if the powers that rule Congress thought that a President lying about getting a spit shine on his meat-whistle was an impeachable offense, what should they think about one who lies about facts that lead to war… with it’s accompanying suffering and loss of life? Business as usual?

~* Do I sound cynical? Ya damn straight I am, so I sure HOPE I do. But just to show that levity can always be found SOMEWHERE in the news….(1st off, a junior coed from UNLV who plans to become a teacher…just identified Fidel Castro as “The Hitler of Puerto Rico”, who died 5 years ago…! On Jay Leno’s show. But I digress) In fact, she may make this idiot look like Einstein. All SHE did was plant threatening notes on a cruise to Hawaii that she didn’t want to be on! Her parents dragged her along, (she’s 20!) and she missed being with her boyfriend. What’s a girl to do? Read the article in the SF Chronicle. Go to
www.sfgate.com and search "Cruise terrorist notes". She doesn’t even have a clue as to the gravity of the situation. Then again, she IS 20 and blonde and probably will get a slap somewhere as punishment, as opposed to one of them dark swarthy terrorist types…
Ah, well….Enjoy another day in America everybody! Celebrate May Day in some small way!
~Brahma~*

posted by ~Brahma 1:21 AM