Legalization could slash the price of pot 80%

I'm hoping that it might make it so that Mexican people don't have to teach their children things like this in school. The monetary amount is secondary. The cost in ruined lives over a drug that is much less harmful than alcohol is the toll that bothers me. I can't dig up statistics right now but I would venture to say that yes, because most of the drugs coming over the border are NOT cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, or even fake prescription stuff that this might put a big dent in the cartel profits and slow down the murders. So what if it puts some useless rich kid pot dealers out of business?

At least I backed up my music correctly

Jeez, I did something right with the backup on the PC, the iTunes. I did not want to spend umpteen million hours feeding in my music CDs one at a time. I'm old dang it, I have everything from classical to punk to world to rock to country to funk to jazz to elevator schmaltz. I even like some of my kid's stuff, but by default kids hate their parents music unless it's old school that they discover on their own, lol.

I have never had a set up so painless and uh.... fun!

Well, except for the earthquake we just had, my husband and I both thought "Oh this thing better not get any worse we just spent some money on that 'puter."

Wow, this thing is awesome

I did it. This machine is far too beautiful for me. I was so excited that when my friend asked me what I was doing my response baffled her. She asked me what a maa was? Dude. It's an iMac. I'm terrified I'm going to mess up the really expensive mouse, but oh what fun!

My husband asked where it was (the computer) and I replied "It's in the screen." He's happy, he got my 20" monitor that I was using on the PC that I just killed. I'll be off to visit my buds as soon as I figure out this baby and get my music back on. I like my music and I got a free iTouch so I don't have to recharge my kid's old mini iPod after 4 songs worth of listening.

Happy belated 4th?

Still haven't made the trip to the Apple store. Will soon. Let's see what's happening today...

Hmm, can't seem to get away from the Apple store site even though my back is aching from using the laptop on the coffee table and my eyes are bleeding from reading tech specs that only make me more dangerous to a computer's health.

BadTux pointed me in the right direction to start looking, I think. As much as I like the Apple LED displays they are $900 and I already have a monitor that I like. I dunno what it's going to look like after the dvi adapter, but I've been watching Netflix via dsl with the VGA cable so I'm not exactly fussy. My brother made some crack about Chip and Dale creating noise on the line so I don't think paying the phone company any more money will speed it up anyway...

Hmmm, as much as I like the price on the mac mini, I'm not sure it's the one for me. Husband says ok to whatever I want (he bought me my first reliable car and I've had it for almost ten years now) so I might as well get what I want, huh? The kid's gonna inherit it anyway and her macbook was a worthwhile investment.

I hope Macs are harder to fuck up

Because I've had it up to here with screwing around with the PCs. Now if I can just get over the initial sticker price shock I have a feeling I will be much happier. I like my kid's Macbook and I watched a couple of documentaries on Netflix on Macs.

Gah. I'm disgusted.

Leave it to the Brookings Institute to put out this pile of self-congratulatory poo.

Man you know this fucker's all thinkin, voters schmoters, fuck it we got the Soooopreme Court to do the bidding of big bidness. Arms is big bidness in this country.

You know, I'm starting to get why people don't bother to vote.

Former agent: Only bad spies get caught

By Peter Wilkinson, CNN
June 29, 2010 -- Updated 1846 GMT (0246 HKT)

Oh nonsense. Well connected ones don't get caught either.

Reading now

A Reporter's Life by Walter Cronkite


P 226
"Carter's administration was plagued by an unusual problem. He lived up to a campaign promise to turn his back on the Washington Bureaucracy. To carry it out, he imported his advisers from Georgia. In most cases, they were perfectly fine people. They just weren't tutored in how to get things done in Washington. They learned the hard way that you don't succeed in the labyrinth of Capitol politics without making a lot of compromises with the entrenched apparatus."

Why is everyone so hard on Obama? Hell, I knew that even though he gave great speech in '04 at the Democratic Convention and he was a promise of hope for the people that would hit that nasty wall called the "entrenched apparatus" that exists in the sewer called Washington DC.

Anyway, I love Cronkite's book. The man had a lot of class.

Dare I hope?

After 41 Years, a Belated Victory for Butter
Posted on Jun 25, 2010
By David Sirota

California welfare recipients withdrew $1.8 million at casino ATMs over eight months

Whoa, what a state I live in. *sigh*

Man, I was on welfare, I never had an extra nickel to play the slots. My kid's favorite food to this day is boxed mac-n-cheese with tuna and frozen vegetables . That tell ya anything? I was really happy when I could work at some clothing warehouse sale that gave me first dibs on what I spent all day hanging on hangers. You think most able bodied people don't work when on welfare for their check? Pfffft.

Friday, June 25, 2010 India to try to extradite ex-Union Carbide head

NEW DELHI (AP) - India's Cabinet has approved pushing for the former head of Union Carbide to be extradited over the toxic gas leak in 1984 that killed an estimated 15,000 people.

We live in a democracy

bwaaaah hahahahahahaha

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Judge who nixed drilling ban has oil investments By CURT ANDERSON and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press Writers

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Louisiana judge who struck down the Obama administration's six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has reported extensive investments in the oil and gas industry, according to financial disclosure reports. He's also a new member of a secret national security court...


Impeach the Oil-Investing Judge Who Declared Deep Sea Drilling Ban Void
Submitted by Lisa Graves on June 23, 2010 - 1:12p

Righty-O, no connection heeeeeeeere

U.S. military criticized for purchase of Russian copters for Afghan air corps
By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 19, 2010


Election-year deficit fears stall Obama stimulus plan
By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Obama traveled on Friday to Columbus, Ohio, the first of more than two dozen stops on the "Recovery Summer" tour. (Charles Dharapak/associated Press)



Buy military copters from Russia for Afghanistan? Bueno.

Give stimulous checks to Social Security recipients? Mal.

¡Claro que si!

Toyota to restart US auto plant, draws UAW ire

Friday, June 18, 2010
By DAN STRUMPF and TOM KRISHER AP Business Writers

"...But Toyota's decision to build Corollas there comes just weeks after announcing the sale of a California plant that also built the compact sedans.

To the United Auto Workers Union, the key difference was the California plant was unionized, while the Mississippi plant - like the rest of Toyota's U.S. factories - isn't...

"...Toyota has been working to patch up its reputation in the U.S. following its recalls of more than 8 million vehicles over reports of unintended acceleration...."

My friend was mentioning today as a matter of fact, that American car manufacturers have gotten better at making cars. After the recent fuck ups by Toyota, it's worth looking into anyway.

Consumer Reports Car reviews

Love Jon Stewart

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Ore on Terror
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Have been uninspired to post

But EB has fabulous news.

Arresting the Banksters.

Ok, back to Netflix. I dunno what I'm gonna do when I run out of X-Files shows to watch. It's nice to see the good guys survive, even if they don't win every time.

ps, the eartquake made my heart beat faster for about 3 minutes and since there was no damage close to here, I relaxed.

The One Percent

The One Percent Wikipedia page
(click on title bar to buy DVD )

part 1

Oh Joy, Cody Franchetti makes another appearance, in all his affected arrogance, like in "Born Rich" .

Also, Milton Friedman, yippee skippy, who was one of my favorite hypocrites. A lot of his early work was paid for by taxpayers, and he helped invent the witholding tax. So much for all his "free market" yammerin' after the fact.

I wonder how long the return to feudalism was planned by the rich? Was it even a return, or just a continuance with hope of getting rich in America propagandizing those eager to believe the lie in the public school system?

I see a need for the "One Percent" to heed the warning in Jaime's documentaries. I don't see his work benefitting the poor, they know the truth. They know they pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than the rich do.

Why can't the rich see that feudalism can not be what it was before?

That there are just too many poor?


Queen - Khashoggi's Ship (Lyrics) from The Miracle (C) 1989

Hoooomans

“Deforestation and pollution, high-risk subjects”

"With the help of its worldwide network of correspondents, Reporters Without Borders has gathered information about incidents in Indonesia, Argentina, El Salvador, Gabon, India, Azerbaijan, China and Morocco. Behind each of these threats and attacks, there were big corporations, criminal gangs or government officials who had been corrupted by money from mining or logging....

... journalists who have been targeted for shedding light on deforestation, which is responsible for at least 18 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions."

National Aeronautics and Space Administration show…. 2009 was the second warmest year since 1880, when modern temperature measurement began.

"...The foundations and routines of modern industrial life — the context for the fabled American dream – assume perpetual consumption; more and technologically improved commodities as symbols of prosperity and even identity. The United States has exported this “dream” throughout much of the world in its films and TV programs. But these “entertainment” products don’t contain warning signs, similar to those on cigarette packages: this product will cause serious environmental damage; future generations will suffer from an unsustainable environment..."

Rachel gets it on the Supreme court

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Yeah, I hate those activist judges also.

Dang it, I don't need anything else to make me nauseous today. My kid is coming home for the summer, and my Filipino neighbors have discovered the joy of fish sauce. How can people eat that stuff? It smells like something that came out of a seal's ass, or fried penguin exhibit waste or gagggggg, wtf?

AT&T security hole exposes iPad users' e-mails

Thursday, June 10, 2010
By JORDAN ROBERTSON AP Technology Writer

"The vulnerability only affected iPad users who signed up for AT&T's "3G" wireless Internet service."


I wonder if At&T will ever spend more on service than they do on advertising?

My disappointments from Tuesday June 8, 2010

Mark my words Californians, these two decisions will come back to bite us in the ass, and in this county, that decision was made by 30-35% of the registered voters.

Politicians, analysts question new open primary system

"...The new system will put candidates of all political stripes on a single ballot, and all voters will be able to participate. The top two vote-getters in a given contest — regardless of political affiliation — will advance to the general election. Supporters say that once the system is in place and voting districts have been redrawn outside of the Legislature, candidates will have no choice but to move to the middle as they compete for voters who are more politically diverse..."

And the failure of prop 15 bums me out, here's why.

Screw it, I'm going to go watch more X-Files , at least there the idiocy is fictional. Sometimes it's funny to watch just how many things they get wrong. I suppose if the only job you ever had was creative writing before widespread Googling, the doofyness is forgivable. Besides, some of the lines Mulder spits out are incredibly funny, intentional or not.

Re-reading

(click on cover for Google shopping link)

(C) 2000 by Chalmers Johnson
excerpt from page 174

"The economic challenge of China is likely to be the most difficult test not just for American economic policy but for its foreign policy in general in the first quarter of the twenty-first century. Unfortunately Americans still remain confused by the idea that the foundations of power no longer lie in military but in economic and industrial strength. They tolerate, even applaud, irrationally bloated defense budgets while doing little to rebuild and defend the industrial foundations of their own nation. When the world economic crisis began in Asia in 1997, the United States responded with the stale formulas of the International Monetary Fund, only worsening the situation. Inadequate political leadership, inappropriate staffing of the government, and an inability to redirect the foreign affairs, defense, technological, and intelligence agencies to pay more reasonable attention to Asia in general and China in particular seem endemic problems for the foreseeable future."

quote of the day

"1. Republicans will do what they are told by their corporate masters."

The Lesson of June 2010: Corporate Power Can Be Beaten
by: Robert Cruickshank ( Calitics )
Wed Jun 09, 2010 at 10:00:00 AM PDT

and yet

"2. Corporations can be beaten.

For the rest of California, however, unlimited corporate power is not seen as a positive thing."

priorities

CONTROLLER REPUBLICAN Precincts Reporting: 100% Updated 8 minutes ago

TONY STRICKLAND 60% 884,592

DAVID EVANS 40% 595,733

Source: CONTROLLER REPUBLICAN NBC San Diego


CONTROLLER DEMOCRATIC UNCONTESTED Precincts Reporting: 7% Updated 7 minutes ago

JOHN CHIANG 100% 116,702

Source: CONTROLLER DEMOCRATIC UNCONTESTED NBC San Diego


Yeesh, it takes about 2 seconds to actually fill the bubble in folks, but this is from the county site, so maybe NBC made a mistake and substituted state for county results

CONTROLLER DEMOCRATIC
Reporting 1671 of 1671 at 100.0% counted.

JOHN CHIANG - DEM 116702 100.00 %

CONTROLLER REPUBLICAN
Reporting 1671 of 1671 at 100.0% counted.

TONY STRICKLAND - REP 96690 61.32 %
DAVID EVANS - REP 60986 38.68 %

Thanks for the laugh Dianne

Voters Approve Term Limits For Supervisors.
By Katie Orr
Originally published June 9, 2010 at 6:18 a.m., updated June 9, 2010 at 9:45 a.m.

"...But Supervisor Dianne Jacob said she doesn’t believe the vote reflects dissatisfaction with the current board..."

The local results are predictably depressing.

I voted

Update - results
and analysis from KPBS
Yeesh, Rethugs actually vote in primaries, Gawd there are a shitload of those assholes in this county. I sure hope it looks better in November. I'm irritable. I've been listening to those goddamned motherfucking jet engines power up all fucking day and my car alarm keeps chirping. I'm at least 5 miles from the airbase, it's pissing me off.

After using a local publication's cheat sheet , looking here and here and here and here and using Google I still needed to talk to my friend about a few things, and I had a wonderful time visiting with my friend. Here is a progressive voter guide from Courage Campaign.

Absentee ballots can be turned in at any county polling place, and I just heard on KPBS that something like 43% of San Diego voters are permanent absentee voters. The station has election information here . You can find your San Diego county polling station here .

I was disgusted at one of the slick ads I found in my mailbox yesterday.

It was a yes on 16 ad which I promptly shredded, as I have done with all of the mailers I've received this election season.

As of May 25, 2010, utility company Pacific Gas & Electric has given $41.1 million to the campaign for a "yes" vote.

I didn't vote for the Mercury insurance thing either, and with glee I marked my ballot for someone other than Mr. "you can tell an immigrant by the way they dress."

Democracy is a good thing, though, so I voted yes on 15 , it looks like a step forward in getting rid of so much money in the politcal system.

And one more thing -- Meg, Carly and Poizner can kiss my ass, I was fed up with their nasty campaigning months ago.

Yes, It's True: California is Banning Plastic Bags

by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 06.7.10
Business & Politics

"...Technically, only the practice of handing out bags for free will be banned -- plastic bags will still be available to purchase for a nickel each..."

"...Californians use a stunning 19 billion plastic bags every year, or some 552 per person..."

So, I guess I won't be forgetting my reusable bags when I go shopping, which frankly is as little as possible these days.

Recycling in my area got a slow start, especially construction recycling. Most of my neighbors don't give a crap, but I throw three times more stuff in the recycling dumpster than I do in the trash dumpster.

Ten year gold price chart

Hmmmm. It can't buy clean water, clean air, health, or happiness, so what is the appeal? And who's buying it? I mean where is the stuff exactly when you do buy it? Do people really have gold bars or coins hanging around in the basement? Some do, I guess.

Five women presenters resign from Al Jazeera

"According to the daily Al-Hayat, they resigned last week after complaining of repeated comments and criticism by a member of the management about their attire, which was considered insufficiently conservative."

Autopsies reveal 9 men on Gaza aid boat shot, 5 in head

By Ivan Watson and Talia Kayali
June 4, 2010 -- Updated 1445 GMT (2245 HKT)

"...In one case, Ince said, a gunshot victim had been shot at at extremely close range.

"From the analysis of the bullet distance on one of the bodies," Dr. Ince said, "the gun was fired between 2 and 14 centimeters' distance from the victim's head."...

"...Turkey, once Israel's closest Muslim ally in the Middle East, has accused Israel of committing an act of international piracy.

"From now on, Turkish-Israeli ties will never be the same," Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Thursday. "The incident has left a deep and irreparable scar."


" Israel has been a major supplier of arms to Turkey, and Israeli firms have been responsible for modernizing the F-4 Phantom fleet of the Turkish air force. Their agreements include cooperation in the "domains of air, sea, land, intelligence; and the manufacturing of aircraft, armaments and missiles," and "prepares the way for mutual military visits, training and exercises, dispatch of observers to oversee military exercises, staff exchanges and military know-how."