Rick Raw: Legal Marijuana? No Brainer for Cash Strapped States–Smoke It, Tax It

By Rick Grant Commentary rickgrant01@comcast.net

Excuse me while I get my old bong out of storage. Yes, cash strapped California has a legalize marijuana initiative before the voters. With a $20 billion budget shortfall, it’s a pregnant idea to turn that red ink into a smoking green surplus, dripping with high grade THC buds. Smoke it and tax the living daylights out of it.

Pot is already listed as California’s biggest cash crop. So, why not just legalize it and reap the tax dollars from an expanding industry. Legalization will also save hundreds of millions of dollars in law enforcement costs to stage paramilitary marijuana eradication campaigns.

The truth is: The war on drugs was lost years ago. Legalization of all drugs takes them out of the hands of organized crime syndicates and cartels. America is the drug demand capital of the world. Here in the U.S., there are over 30 million pot smokers. That’s a bodacious tax generating market.

More significantly, the expensive crack downs on smuggling drugs into the United States form Mexico and other countries has been a pathetic failure. At best, the Border Patrol has only seized less than five percent of the total tonnage of Marijuana and other drugs pouring into the country to satisfy the demand.

The phony preachers and bible belt religious groups can organize "Just Say No to Drugs’ rallies all they want, but drug users are not listening, especially marijuana smokers. This laid-back group correctly believe that pot is a benign drug that has medicinal benefits and a euphoric high.

Years ago, a controlled scientific study was conducted of regular marijuana smokers in Jamaica over many years of their life. It concluded that they suffered no adverse affects, except feeling more joy and appetite than non-users. For cancer patients on chemotherapy, pot smoking alleviates their pain and improves their appetite.

There are innumerable medical marijuana shops which have sprung up around the California. Granted, in California, it’s easy to get a prescription to buy medical pot for just about any malady–real or imagined. It’s time to face facts and not pretend that marijuana isn’t a widely used drug and in high demand countrywide.

The pertinent question is: If California’s voters approves the initiative for legal pot, will it set a precedent for other states to test the voters’ will to legalize it? Perhaps some states will go legal pot green, like Colorado and New Mexico.

Ah yes, not here in uptight Florida, which is a rabidly conservative state that is an extension of the bible belt ballyhoo. I’m like a whore at a nun’s picnic living in this awful state. Still, I get perverse delight skewering the conservative movement here in the state with sunshine coming out of the holes in people’s brains.

The California bill imitates the same restrictions as the alcohol laws. People would have to be 21 years old or older to possess, cultivate, or transport marijuana for personal use. Californians would not be permitted to use the drug in public or within the presence of minors, and would not be allowed to possess pot on school grounds. No more smoking in the boy’s room! And, no more getting the goldfish high.

A whopping $50 tax would be imposed on every ounce that’s sold. Well, that’s okay, every inhalation from the bong will be helping bail out the state. Hey, it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. Yet, I don’t smoke pot anymore. Old age is making me stupid enough. I don’t need any help.

Still, if marijuana was legal in Florida, I might indulge to help the state get out of its billion dollar debt, which was caused by dumbass Governor Crist’s tax cuts. Hell, it would be my civic duty. Now where did I store my Cheech and Chong movies.

Rick Raw: Catholic Church Still Infested with Pedophile Priests–New Priest Sex Scandal Surfaces in Ireland

By Rick Grant Commentary rickgrant01@comcast.net

When are Catholics going to learn that their Church is nothing but a medieval money making machine, that, for years, has harbored innumerable pedophile priests? For years, the Vatican has tried to hide these heinous crimes from their parishiners. This cancer within the Catholic Church continues to make sordid headlines of fractured families filing lawsuits, causing the Vatican to hire expensive lawyers.

Consequently, the Vatican has been paying out hundreds of millions of dollars in lawsuit judgements. Today, all the Pope or the Bishops can do is say "we’re sorry," and go back to covering up sexual abuse by legions of their priests.

To exacerbate this outrage, the Vatican leadership has refused to face up to this endemic scourge. They have moved these predatory sex deviants to other parishes, instead of having them arrested and owning up to the scandals. In some cases, the church offered these sex abusing priests "therapy" and, convinced it cured them, placed them back in charge of parishes.

The truth is: Pedophilia has proven to be incurable. Law enforcement experience teaches that when these deviants are released from custody, they offend again and again until they’re taken off the streets and jailed for life.

Thus, once the pedophile priests had been "treated" and relocated, they continued to offend, ruining the lives of countless families over many years of abuse. The cases are gut wrenching. Many sexually abused children were embarrassed to come forward until later in their adult life.

Just yesterday, a woman’s awful pedophile priest story ran on CNN. She grew up with a parish priest nightly having sex with her, her sister, and her widowed mother. Her sister committed suicide and her mother went crazy. She is now in therapy and suing the diocese. The priest died in prison.

Now, a new series of pedophile priest sex scandals has surfaced in Ireland, a traditional Catholic stronghold. Pope Benedict XVI said he was "truly sorry" for the abuse suffered by the victims at the hands of Catholic priests in Ireland.

Indeed, the Pope’s apology doesn’t even begin to redeem the filthy rich Vatican hierarchy of its responsibility. These old men in robes are corrupt money grubbing swine who are probably pedophiles themselves.

Indeed, the Vatican has known for years about the infestation of pedophiles in their midst. Yet, they have chosen to keep it secret by offering to pay off victims under the table, or shuffling pedophile priests around to sweep the problem under the rug, rather than admit the problem exists.

Yet shockingly, blindly devoted Catholics still believe that the Vatican has their best interests at heart. Hear this fools: The Catholic Church is a big, bloated relic of the past when people were burned at the stake and the Pope was a political manipulator.

The Vatican is afraid that this scandal will bring down its bloodsucking empire. In fact, they seem to have preferred to payoff the lawsuits than call the police on their pedophile priests.

In a recent CNN report by Terence McKeirman, he says, "As the depth and range of the secrecy that allowed child sexual abuse to continue within the Catholic Church is revealed, some governments are becoming comfortable with the notion that they must become more active. The U.S. should follow suit. Congress should convene hearings on the true scope of child sexual abuse within religious institutions."

We know that cult leaders use their power over their flocks to sexually abuse their children.

Likewise, the Catholic Church is like a gigantic cult of religious hocus-pocus.
So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that any religious group could be corrupt. Religious groups are preying on people’s need to have spiritual interaction. Organized religions are nothing more than money making businesses.

Now that the issue of pedophile priests is global, the Vatican has its worst PR nightmare in its history. If I were Catholic, I would immediately cut off all ties with the religion. Even devout Catholics are leaving the church in droves.

My main point is: You don’t need an organized religion telling you what to do and how to live your life. You can have deeply spiritual beliefs without joining these money making scams.

If the Pope says it’s a sin to use birth control, ask him is he willing to raise all of your unwanted eight kids? He only said that to assure the Vatican has more Catholics to give more money to fill up the Vatican Bank. Despite the millions the Vatican has paid out in sexual abuse cases, the Vatican Bank still has billions in assets and valuable art.

Rick Raw: Paying for News Online Will Never Fly–The Rocket has Blasted Off the Pad

By Rick Grant Commentary rickgrant01@comcast.net

Recently "The New York Times" announced plans to charge for full access to its website. Times’ readers will be able to access a certain number of stories for free each month, with fees kicking in for readers who exceed that level. Well, good luck with that bonehead proposal. It will never workout in the long run. Paying for news that is already free on television or the Internet is madness.

As major newspapers clamor for ways to make up their plummeting ad revenues, executives are brainstorming new ways to offset their losses. Since the Internet has been streaming news free for years, trying to put that genie back in the bottle is impossible. The rocket has blasted off the pad!

Of course, the arrogant suits running the "New York Times" are delusional if they think that their content is so well written compared to other news sources, that discerning readers will pay the extra fee to get their quality journalism.

Wake up and smell the coffee fools. It’s not going to happen in the real world of instant Internet communications. Besides, axed "Times" journalists have moved online to "Politico" and "The Huffington Post, providing the same level of quality journalism as when they worked for the "The (stuffy) New York Times," that foolishly got rid of their quality writers to save a few bucks.
Free news flows through the matrix of the Internet at the speed of light. The most popular news websites are CNN, Yahoo, MSNBC, and "The Washington Post."
CNN streams raw footage of disasters as they happen. Anything and everything is well covered by excellent reporters and commentators.

So, how are printed newspapers going to survive as more news websites pop up selling advertising. It’s a brave new world of global Internet communications. Printing ink on paper is expensive and bad for the environment.

Yes, I still subscribe to a newspaper as a holdover from the past. And I still prefer reading books to the new species of electronic books on readers like the Kindle. I like the feel of the paper in my hands to a cold tablet PC.

As an old man, some things like curling up in front of the fireplace with a good book are lifelong pleasurable experiences. Reading my newspaper in the bathroom every morning is part of my beginning of the day ritual.

Indeed, the Internet is an unstoppable runaway train. It has changed communications forever–blasting news and information into cyberspace, available at one’s fingertips.
The marriage of television and the Internet is right around the corner. Clearly, there are so many free alternatives to paying for news, why would the "New York Times" think that they are that special? They’re not.

The answer to the problem of replacing lost ad revenues lies in slowly raising Internet advertising pricing by working out a rating system like television uses to set ad rates. Nickel and diming people for using a news website is petty and will not come close to replacing lost ad revenue.

There are a few websites worth paying for such as IMPD Pro which I use as a movie critic. And, I pay a monthly fee to belong to Rhapsody, a music downloading site. It enables me to preview music before buying it on a download to CD.

Paying for news services is doomed to failure. There is so much free news in cyberspace, it boggles the mind. Those dunderheads at "The New York Times" need a reality check.

The entire news publishing field has moved or is moving to the Internet for free. It’s time to face the fact that old fashioned newspapers are on life support. In a couple of years, they will be a quaint thing of the past.

Rick Raw: Generation Gap Bridged by Economic Apocalypse –From Boomers to Millennials, Everyone is Hurting

By Rick Grant Commentary rickgrant01@comcast.net

To set the record straight, in my view, age is just a number. I do not ascribe to labeling generations. To me, all age groups face the same challenges–sooner or later. Young people are on the same path as older people, except they’re traveling on a different train moving behind the older generation’s journey through linear time.

When a young person enters the workforce, then everything depends on how much they earn. Eventually, they seek a life partner in marriage, which leads to mortgage payments, and many other expenses. When kids enter the picture, expenses increase exponentially.

My generation is called Baby Boomers because we were born during or just after WWII. (46-64). Actually, I just missed that classification since I’m 69. Nonetheless, I’m an old fart traveling into my twilight years, but feisty and keen to learn and communicate with young people. We have much to offer one another.

The Gen-Xers are in the 30 to 45 age group. And 18 and older are now called Millennials. Yeah, I loathe these arbitrary labels. It’s media hype to show how clever we journalists are at coming up with nifty phrases, like "twentysomething." Adding "something" to the age comes from that old TV series "thirtysomething." Yes, we journalists love to weave pop culture into our commentary.
The divisions between generations were bridged when, in 2008, we were hit with the economic apocalypse that swept over the land like a massive tsunami, wiping out our entire financial infrastructure, includiing millions of jobs which subsequently caused millions of home foreclosures. Suddenly, the middle class was dead. Families were going to food banks and homeless shelters.

Ready or not, (not) I was forced into semi-retirement as were many of my age group. As a journalist, I shifted gears, writing as a freelancer and weekly commentary for my own webzine. Hey, at least I’m still practicing my trade, but having to live on a strict budget, with no savings. However, I press on with a positive attitude. The freedom from editors’ tryanny has been refreshing.

The economic catastrophe forced a seismic shift in the financial status of all age groups. Suddenly, young and old were driven from comfortable middle class lifestyles to borderline poverty. Once a person leaves the workforce because of age, then it’s extremely difficult to find meaningful employment because of our culture’s deeply ingrained ageism, which I have experienced first hand.

The so called Millennials (18 and over) felt the blast of the economic apocalypse first when they were in college and facing a grim job market. Today’s young people are the first truly digital generation. Two-fifths of this age group have tattoos and three-quarters have created profiles on Facebook or some other social networking site.

This is indeed the generation that grew up with computers and broadband Internet access, with the magic of Google to find out any information. They extend social trends that the Gen-Xers started. Non-fiction books no longer need bibliographies. Just list reference found on Google.

In my case, I was into computers in my 40s and have upgraded my hardware and knowledge as new technology came on the market since then. It’s a myth that my generation is computer illiterate. But this is just one misconception that young people harbor about older people.

My point is: Since the economic apocalypse brought the younger and older generation together in the same disaster, we have an opportunity to use this common ground to better communicate and negate the stereotypes and prejudices. Like I said, we have much to offer one another.

Rick Raw: Orca Whales Should Be Free, Not Confined in Tanks–Death of Trainer Underscores The Cruel Exhibition of Whales for Profit

By Rick Grant Commentary rickgrant01@comcast.net

The death of 40 year old trainer, Dawn Brancheau at SeaWorld, although tragic, underscores the cruel exhibition of Orca Whales for profit is morally wrong. In fact, confining any wild animals in cages or water tanks for human entertainment is unconscionable.

These magnificent Orcas roam the oceans as predators, feeding on seals and other marine life. They belong in the open ocean not in a tank, which severely limits their movement. Not surprisingly, these Orca prisoners can be neurotic and lash out at their trainers.

Orcas are highly intelligent mammals that travel in family pods. They seem to like humans but only if they are free to swim back into the ocean. Keiko, the whale from "Free Willie" movie was taken to Iceland off the coast and placed into a large cordoned off area in the bay for a adjustment period.

Keiko’ s handlers’ goal was for him to find his long lost pod. Eventually, Keiko was free to roam the ocean if he wanted. However, he would go up to boats and ships in the bay, looking for human interaction.

Given the choice, and Keiko’s background with humans, he chose to stay in the bay and seek human company. When he tried to join a pod, he was rejected. Still, Keiko seemed happy with his new freedom and lived out his life still bonded to humans.

Today it’s illegal to kidnap whales from the open ocean for shipment to sea parks. SeaWorld has a breeding program to release Orcas back to the ocean and to exhibit them in the tanks.

That’s admirable, but for the confined whales, including Tillikum, the large male that killed Ms. Brancheau, he’s serving hard time in a glorified swimming pool jail. Tillikum was kidnaped in 1983, and has acted as a breeding male since then.

Since Orcas are high on the intelligence scale, they deserve to be free and not presented for human entertainment. In the wild, Orcas avoid humans unless they have a calf, then divers should stay away, giving the mother Orca a wide path.

These large mammals sense that we are intelligent beings like them. Pioneering researchers like the late John C. Lilly studied human to dolphin and whale communication. Lilly concluded that dolphins and whales have a sophisticated multidimensional language and could psychically communicate with humans.

Lilly was looking for the holy grail of dolphin-human communication--a language link that would allow humans to talk to dolphins and whales. He never found that link, but he applied his research with dolphins and whales to his human philosophy learned from these animals in his groundbreaking book "The Mind of A Dolphin."

In captivity, there have been numerous Orca attacks on trainers. Tillikum was involved in the death of a trainer in Canada in 1991. And then, a man who had sneaked into SeaWorld in Florida in 1999 was killed in Tillikum’s pool.

The only way to view these impressive sea beast is to travel to its natural habitat near seal colonies and view each whale killing their prey by coming up on the seal at a high rate of speed, grabbing the seal, and leaping out of the water with the seal in its mouth, then shaking it like a rag doll.

SeaWorld does rescue beached whales, saving their lives and releasing them back into the ocean. If rescue and research are their goals then fine, hurray for SeaWorld. However, the SeaWorld corporation exists for profit from selling tickets to its shows by imprisoning these large whales.

If Lilly had developed a human-whale language, and we asked Tillikum, "Hey Tillikum are you happy at SeaWorld?" His answer would be, "Hell no, get me out of this tank, I’m going crazy!"
Zoos and sea-parks rationalize their existence by having breeding and animal conservation programs.

The real truth is: They exist to make money for the company that owns them. All wild animals should be free and left alone. We can observe them at a safe distance, but human contact disturbs their natural order.