HOW WE CAN "STOP THE HURT" - THINKING LIKE SHERLOCK HOLMES

I know I haven't written anything new for awhile. Part of that is simply taking time watching "things" move and change. Part of that is new medications, of which I am subject, which affects the way I interact with people.

It's "interaction" within society that is the key to how society exists. And right now society is in crisis.

To understand why this is, that requires a lot of research. I will try to insert as many links as possible to conduct that research within this post. "Knowledge is power..." well in theory.

We begin with, I present, a new writer/author, Maria Konnikova

I've ordered the book...

Wish I'd written the book myself, as I already think like Holmes. 

Stopping the Hurt! That's what this is all about.

So where to begin? 

Obviously "We The People" have a Say... however, how much when it comes to foreign policy (Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, Syria)? Not really, do you think? What about "Obamacare"? America's new version of socialized medicine? No. Not really. Okay, Child-protection? No, but...

Wow is that a wide open subject. 

A child is a human-being aged 00.1 - 20.99 years of age, with exceptions for the right to vote at age 18, smoke tobacco and join the military, age 18.

Given what we can change, what is a single-most subject of contention that American's can voice an opinion on and bring about change?

Is it our 2nd Amendment rights? Or is it marijuana prohibition? 

There's not much I can do to add to our resolve to protect our 2nd Amendment rights. However on the subject of marijuana prohibition, I have a say.

I've watched as Colorado legalized and provided legal marijuana beginning January 01, 2014. 

Washington State is soon to follow.

Many states still working on passing medical marijuana bills. 

So what exactly is happening?

There are many Americans for whom marijuana legalization is plain wrong. They feel they have justification. 

"Reefer Madness" - isn't a phrase or event that a lot of Americans are familiar with. Reefer Madness refers to a docu-drama filmed and aired in 1937 proclaiming the ultimate evil and danger that marijuana presented to our society. A film that today is viewed as a joke, if viewed at all. By the 1940's and the advent of WWII, Reefer madness was forgotten. 

Ask someone over age 70 if they've heard about it and the answer is likely, "No".

Ask them what they think about marijuana and the response is likely to be "it's wrong". 

IT'S WRONG! Period.

Or "it's dangerous..."

As in, "marijuana is a dangerous drug".

Federal Law views marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. A S1 drug being one with ZERO Medicinal value and a very high proclivity for abuse. WIKI - SCHEDULE ONE DRUGS

So what's odd about marijuana being a Schedule One (dangerous) drug? Maybe the fact that 20 States have legalized marijuana for medical usage? Two states and a city have legalized marijuana to be regulated like alcohol... the city is Portland, ME. How can a plant deemed MOST DANGEROUS, be legal for use... ?

Obviously Federal Law is wrong. And it influences state's laws, as in the following response to a citizen of NH received from an aide to Gov. Hassan:

 Notice how the emphasis is on children and youth, not adults for which the issue is most pressing. 

The Governor of NH is opposed to legalization of marijuana... and why?

Because it would harm our young people. Nothing at all to do with freeing adults. Apparently there are no adults in NH. Rather makes the Governor of NH a Kindergarten teacher, wouldn't you maybe agree? 

Yet, our young people are already being harmed by tanning salons, tobacco, scorched meat, energy drinks, fast food, alcohol and poverty... how much more harm can marijuana cause? That is the question.

It turns out marijuana can cause a lot more harm as it's illegal and in most states seriously prosecuted... and this means SWAT TEAMS bursting into a house where marijuana is being used and machine guns pointed at a child's parent's head. Seizure of property. Loss of liberty. All because of a plant with beneficial properties. 

It's said marijuana is illegal because of the tobacco industry, Big pharma, the paper industry and chemical synthetic industries like DuPont? Okay, maybe true.

But what's really at stake here is Holmes logic and our freedom as adults to use a plant. This isn't Rocket Science or America's Most Wanted... this is about a beneficial plant, nothing more, and all the frenzy surrounding this plant. 

Hopefully the following links will enlighten/aid in your education:

The Only Cannabis Deaths Come from the U.S. Drug War

The Unbearable Whiteness of Marijuana Legalization

It's Getting Harder For the Feds To Lie About Marijuana and Get Away With It

DEA Chief Faces Backlash for Criticizing Obama's Marijuana Remarks

Reefer Madness Continues: Can Marijuana Kill You?

MARIJUANA AND NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNOR, MAGGIE HASSAN

Updated January 16, 2014; 8:30 PM; Jan. 17, 2014, 9:30 PM

Yes, I live in New Hampshire. Always loved the motto, "Live Free or Die." I've been here since 1988. I am familiar with the state and it's politics, but in no way do I understand politicians. My impression when I moved here after 7 years living in Boston was that people in NH were staunch believers in not treading on others. "Mind our own business", a Ben Franklin quote, if I'm correct. Conservative state that respected individual rights and liberty.

In the news:

Correction: Initially I wrote the next paragraph, and thought I had my facts straight...  I never said I knew the political system, in fact, it's quite intimidating in my opinion. Anyway the following mistakenly says the House voted; It wasn't the House, but rather it was a branch or another group within NH government, perhaps a committee. The actual House of Representatives (the Lower House to be specific) yesterday voted 170 to 162 in favor to legalize cannabis for adult use, for those over age 21 as we can do now with alcohol.

The New Hampshire House is voting once again to legalize marijuana. Tomorrow, January 15, 2014. If voting goes as it did the last time, what? Two years ago? It will pass with an overwhelming vote. As I recall it was something like 21 to 3. The House has passed a measure 4 times. Governor Lynch was in office I think the whole time, and every time it came up for vote, the governor would vow to veto legalization, but never had to as the senate never approved it.

That was then, this is now. We have a new governor, Maggie Hassan (who I did vote for). Last year she signed a bill into law legalizing medical marijuana and this includes five, state of the art facilities to grow the marijuana. NH became the 20th or 21st state to legalize medical marijuana. There are problems with the arrangements however. Governor Hassan refused to sin the bill into law if allowing patients to grow their own was included, or patients suffering from PTSD - most common with military combat soldiers and veterans, though equally prevalent among your citizen population. The regulatory requirements would make one think they're applying for level 3 clearance into the Pentagon. At best, in my opinion it's a compromise.

Since then, two states and one city have legalized "recreation " marijuana, and in Colorado, one of those states, adults 21 and older can now purchase at a cannabis outlet their marijuana and legally smoke it at home. They can grow it. Washington state is soon to follow; marijuana is legal there as of a year or two ago, but their state stores haven't opened yet. The city is Portland Maine.  They legalized it last year - no word on the details yet, but I was told it went into effect December 30, 2013, no plans for outlets to purchase it, possession of two ounces permitted by law. It's been widely reported Maine will be another state in 2014 that legalizes "recreational" marijuana.

There is a reason I put "recreational" in quotes. When it comes to cannabis/marijuana, the media loves to spin words, meanings, phrases and quotes... The following Top News stories from WMUR, Channel 9 in NH caught my attention. I believe they fairly portrayed both sides, gave the governor her say and day.

1) "Governor says she would veto marijuana legalization. 
Hassan says legalization would send wrong message. "

Published  6:30 PM EST Jan 13, 2014 By Josh McElveen, Political Director/News Anchor/Rep

2) "Marijuana debate heats up in NH House; House votes on (the) bill Wednesday."

UPDATED 6:24 AM EST Jan 13, 2014 By Jennifer Gannon, News Reporter

Nothing wrong with a good debate. Problem is Governor Maggie Hassan isn't willing to participate or listen. She's vowed to veto the bill if by some slim chance it passes the senate which has always voted these bills down. In the second newscast, an officer John Tholl is interviewed. A statement he made brought back memories. "Marijuana is a gateway drug. It contributes to a lot of crimes. The problem with marijuana is after awhile it's not enough. The person moves onto harder drugs. Harder crimes."

Hardly true as it's a generalization, a stereotype, hearsay. That's my opinion. Most marijuana crimes occur as for the fact marijuana is illegal. It's like when "dirty books" - Henry Miller, James Joyce, Norman Mailer were the kingpins of "dirty books", and such books reputably would corrupt and sinfully tempt the reader. Or when sex was illegal; you didn't know sex was ever illegal? It was, and still is in many countries, and extremely in-tolerated. In the US it wasn't until the early 1970's M-F sex was "legalized".

Most marijuana users are quite content with their marijuana. That's not to say human-beings don't like experimenting. They do! What it means is to draw a connection between use of marijuana and escalation to hard drugs and crime is quite a stretch - as this essentially says that marijuana users become psychotic and lose their minds. It's why often I refer to stoners as zombies... and the law enforcement experts Governor Hassan refers to must think of marijuana users exactly like they are zombies, without a living mind.

The biggest, most serious concern proponents of legalization are trying to make is, "where does the marijuana come from? Who profits from the sale? Is it untainted by chemicals, fungus, bacteria? And these to me are sound concerns. When Governor Hassan says "legalization sends the wrong message to children", we forget that it isn't about children at all. It's about adults. Liberty and freedom. Just as adults that can legally choose to buy and use all the alcohol and tobacco they want. And often, it is a major cause to health concerns. Marijuana is unique in that it can be used quite safely, and can often be very beneficial. And people are thrown in prisons for that, their lives ruined by an arrest record, for even the smallest amounts, or simply a pipe.

If it was true at all, what officer Tholl says, I'd certainly be concerned too. But I'm not. I'm more concerned about decades of lies, propaganda and deceit. But that's his opinion. I listened. That is the start of communication. However when a governor refuses to listen, that's not being a Representative of the People. And she won't get my vote a second time.

Let's voice our support and legalize marijuana in New Hampshire.

Stop The Hurt!

HUMPTY DUMPTY WISHES ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2014!!!

Edited Jan. 02, 2014; 6 PM

It helps that I had the foresight to take the last two workdays of 2013 off. I try not to be superstitious about the #13 being in the year. Historically it will be looked back upon as extraordinary, both very good and very bad.

To end the year, my thoughts have been about a fairy tale... HUMPTY DUMPTY.

Many may not remember reading about Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll's, "Through The Looking Glass", or maybe Mother Goose.

Humpty Dumpty is of course an egg:

Online Pictures of Humpty Dumpty

Who fell off a wall, and all the King's horses and all the King's men, couldn't put Humpty together again.

Reminds me...

The earliest appearance of the rhyme occurs in the late eighteenth century England and the tune is from 1870, in James William Elliott's, National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king's horses and all the king's men

Couldn't put Humpty together again.

There were many variances since. 

Lewis Carroll for example: 

WikiPedia Link: "Humpty appears in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass (1872), where he discusses semantics and pragmatics with Alice."

    "I don't know what you mean by 'glory,' " Alice said.

    Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't—till I tell you. I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!' "

    "But 'glory' doesn't mean 'a nice knock-down argument'," Alice objected.

    "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."

    "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."

    "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master—that's all."

Or this variance:

In 1842 James Orchard Halliwell published a collected version as;

Humpty Dumpty lay in a beck.

With all his sinews around his neck;

Forty Doctors and forty wrights

Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty to rights!

My own interprtation?

Fried eggs aside...

"Your Brain On Drugs" (Marijuana)!

Isn't it time we give peace a chance?

Laws and prohibition against marijuana were flawed, deeply, from the beginning. Millions of people have suffered because of the laws, few have benefited except for momentary gain. Millions of people would benefit if cannabis/marijuana were legalized beginning with de-scheduling at a federal level. Marijuana prohibition is a Humpty Dumpty, and there's no way short of declaring marijuana a dirty nuke/an instrument of terrorism than to admit, the War is over... none of the Naked King's soldiers can put Humpty (marijuana prohibition) back together ever again. The fairy tale is over. 

Congratulations - You Can Grow Machine Guns!

What Put Colorado Over The Top!

Bob Dylan/President Obama Awards Dylan Metal of Freedom

Committed Suicide Because no One Offered to Help

Life Is But A Dream!

Oh My... A Dream...

Famous President/Famous Poster
Note: cannabis leaves under portrait

A Flower

This Is Being Human, except for the cookie...

***

An Iconic Poster Enabling The War On Drugs!

Non-Violent Drug Offenders Make up the Majority Of Our Prison Population

Life Is Getting High, One Way Or Another...

***

Or Becoming Deceased...

ALL DECEASED DUE TO "HONOR KILLING!"

***

?!

***

And when did we start to accept that friends and sex could mix?

One might ask...

What's become of civilization?

If you consider it, seriously, was 1950's Suburbia the end all/be all for civilization? Was that the ideal?

Although we now, some or many of us, enjoy a broader openness, and more humanistic life freedom and choices - like Gay marriage, legal marijuana, and affirmation of our Constitutional rights...

There is much that has gone the other way, towards totalitarian rule, infringement of our personal freedoms especially on the internet.

I personally still don't believe we have even a basic grasp on what civilization means as a society. We have problems communicating, understanding others, getting respect.

We advertise alcohol as the way to truth... as I watch many popular movies this is so very much advertised as such to the viewer... I just read an article about that very subject concerning James Bond, AKA British Agent 007: "... medically speaking he's a drunk..."

We advertise Faith in Government as the Spirit of the People; Patriotism, while true patriotism, which can be a small national unity type of act goes unnoticed, and large acts, that obviously violate our Constitutional rights are enacted as law without redress. The real problem is education so that we can adequately understand what all the changes are about.

But we still face the fact that zero tolerance means zero mindset, as in the case of this John Wayne themed cloth toy monkey with a replica John Wayne gun, seized from a lady by the TSA at an airport:

TSA SEIZES DANGEROUS WEAPON AT AIRPORT SECURITY!
LINK TO NBC NEWS ARTICLE HERE

I have a similar toy replica of a gun...

Plastic Toy Gun Replica

Realistic Replica Slide and Removable Magazine

The TSA would consider this a weapon; a student in school these days would be expelled possessing one of these toys. When we consider playthings a threat, we ought to look twice at ourselves. Toy guns are not a real threat anymore than marijuana is a machine gun!

  Reference to the fact that the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was modeled after a similar tax when it was proven to be effective against the purchase of an automatic weapon. To this day the Federal Government believes that there is a distinct similarity between the cannabis plant and Tommy guns.

Why? I seriously don't know, but as I was saying, it comes back to education.

HIPPIE NEW YEAR!!!

A TIME TO REMINISCE... A NEW YEAR COMING - ABOUT MISSING PERSONS AND A VAMPIRE; HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Updated/edited Dec 28, 2013, 10:20AM

I have a lot of time to think, imagine things, reminisce and think about those whose lives were interrupted or ended. I am a "commuter", someone who drives to work where it takes over 3 and 1/2 hours a day, M - F to get there. I have a lot of time to think.

I think about Brianna Maitland and I still hurt that nothing much on the surface came to light after weeks that turned into years, in search of and talking to people, comparing ideas and notes, to find her. The same can be said about Maura Murray who vanished shortly prior to Brianna on Feb. 09, 2004. Again nothing solid, and it goes without saying, law enforcement authorities, state government officials all but stymied the fact these women disappeared by refusing to cooperate in many cases with the families.

It should be noted that I as much as the next person understands families can be involved in missing person's cases. The question is are these those "such cases"? My opinion is no, they are not. I lost track of how long I lived weekends with the Maitlands late 2004 and 2005. I grew to respect both Brianna's Mother and Father. I met her brother, a little older than Brianna. Decent guy. It's possible each of us was wondering the same same thing... were you involved?

With the Murray's situation it was a slam dunk! Nothing implicated the family.

With Brianna it was more difficult. I'm not sure if I told you about how I got involved... long story, short, saw the news article describing a teen that vanished under mysterious circumstances. Photo's provided courtesy a group of three out of state skiers vacationing in the area, who saw Brianna's car backed into the old abandoned farmhouse and thought it was so odd they stopped and took some pictures. We have given them the title - "The World Travelers". Without those pictures critical sceneage would have been lost or never found.

I read where the police suspected she staged the accident, ran away because she owed a lot of money to drug dealers. On the seat of her car police find her contact lenses, two uncashed paychecks and medicine she needs. The police consider her of "questionable character due to drug use".

That riled me! Then I read her car keys were missing. Presumed lost at the sight of her accident. As a guy with 20+ years experience with a metal detector I called the family. "Are you a voyeur", her father asked me?  I was so scared calling I couldn't laugh. "No", I answered, "I not a voyeur, I just called to help."

So suspicion were there from the get go. After a few weekends with the Maitlands any suspicions I had were checked off as this is a family truly in grief. Scared and horrified at the possibilities! Even the police took personal evidence from the Maitland family to be tested in their lab. The family is as much victimized by this as their daughter and sister is.

***

 I'm thinking about Abigail Hernandez also, who disappeared walking home from school the afternoon of October 9, 2013. 15 years old. I was asked (can't say who) if I thought there might be a connection, with Brianna or Maura Murray? Other than some unknown person never considered before, the idea of moving from VT., 100 miles away to Conway NH was remote. I rather doubted it. Her mother received a letter from her according to the FBI a moth later. You can read about it here (ABC News Link):

STORY HERE -LINK TO ABC NEWS 

I'm as baffled as the rest of you. I originally thought a school-mate was involved, but that appears not even a possibility at this time. Yes, I wonder why a community isn't advised and assisting, but then if they were it's doubtful we'd know it.

***

There was, Connie McCallister - a 16 yo Wisconsin resident. That is until 9 years later she turned up asking for help to get her out of Mexico. She'd apparently gone off with her older boyfriend on a joyride that took her hundreds of miles from home.

Connie McCallister

LINK; PEOPLE.COM: "For nine years, family and friends of a Wisconsin teen who vanished in 2004 worried about her fate, and whether they would ever hear from or see her again. In September, they learned that Connie McCallister, now 26, is alive and living in Mexico – and after speaking with a missionary who contacted the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, McCallister is seeking help to finally come home." 

It's the comments section to her sudden return that floor me. One person hoped she was put in jail for many years for the suffering she put her family through. I have to wonder, what was her family like? 

***

And finally, I fell upon a stake, well not really, but sort of when I happened upon this CrimeLibrary.com story about "The Making of a Vampire". "Richard Trenton Chase, a serial killer who had a thing for blood. He also had a fear of disintegrating."

The reason his story struck me was the oh so 70's tilt towards "drugs caused him to behave as he did". Particularly marijuana the story implied as he'd been "arrested" a few times for it. The story meanders through psychotropic meds for psychosis, to LSD, to a blatant admission he should have been institutionalized. But no one took responsibility for that reason. Although he'd been diagnosed several times by the professionals he was free to kill. It's a story I should be revisited, given our modern day understanding of drugs and society.

You can read the story here at Crime Library: 

Richard Trenton Chase

BY Katherine Ramsland: 

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/weird/chase/index_1.html

"Born May 23, 1950, he liked to set fires as a child and to torment animals. He had a sister, four years younger, and his father was a strict disciplinarian who bickered constantly with his wife. By the time Richard was ten, he was killing cats. As a teenager, he drank and smoked dope, getting into trouble several times but showing no shame over it."

The problem I see with this tragic story is Richard was mentally ill; doctors knew it, family and friends knew it. It was the job of doctors to monitor him. Which makes me wonder if we all shouldn't be monitored, 24/7?

The NSA thinks so. Sending an e-mail to family, friend or gov't official was deemed to be not protected by privacy laws. Snail mail is. You can look it up - I'm simply remembering things I learned in 2013. While one federal judge calls the NSA spying into human communications, called it "Orwellian" in scope, another federal judge just ruled that it's perfectly legal to collect communications people make via technology. 

Technology it appears have opened our personal lives to extreme exposure. 

So as my heart shrinks, my body becomes more exposed, my mind more scrutinized, I can only say, if you look at federal governance for the past 43 years, you'd see a very weird array of policy, much of it directed at personal liberty, with the exception, Roe vs Wade and abortion. But that's hardly a ruling to celebrate. Roe vs Wade was about personal freedom and a basic human right. That's it. 

No, the issues to consider, in my opinion are, what have our government done to pass constitutionally sound laws and regulations?  

And it's blinding... 2013 was... Gay marriage reform; legal marijuana, in one country, - Uraguay, and two states, CO and WA, also one city, Portland, ME. That's progress!

Now if only we could ween politicians/lawmakers away from their focus on drugs, and more into harm reduction, 2014 might very well prove to be a bunker-buster year for humanity.

I'm hoping. The alternative is that our hearts begin to dry up and we all die.

***

Oh, and the modern day prophet that proclaimed the world would end died recently. You can read about him here: Harold Camping - NPR

Have a safe, very good New Year! No Hurt!!!