This is the section of the website where I'm supposed to tell the you
something about myself. It's kind of like an Internet resumé.
In all of my years I've never had a resumé. The kinds
of jobs I've held didn't require one.
I was born March 17, 1954 in the only town in the world named
after a singing chipmunk, Alvin. It's on the Gulf Coast region of Texas. It's about 20 miles South of Houston.
It was actually named after a crazy old man named Alvin Morgan. He
used to walk through the streets with his pet goose and his pet dog.
I hate Alvin and Alvin hates me. I left home when I was 15.
One other thing. My parents named me "Jeffrey Lee" and
our last name is "Hillhouse". Yes, they named me a boy's name. They didn't think the torment they were going
to bestow on me was quite torment enough. They wanted to make sure I was also tormented by other small children:
"You have a boy's name. Nananananana."
I go by "Jeff" in Real Life and "Lee" online. I tried going
by "Jeff" online but I got tired of having to explain every time a newbie joined a group I was in, that I am a woman,
not a guy.
Here's the translation of the poem by SAPPHO Willow was writing on Tara's lovely
back:
Many colored throned immortal Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, wile-weaver, I
beg you with reproaches and harms do not beat down O Lady, my soul.
But come here, if ever at another time My voice hearing, from afar You have
ear, and your father's home leaving -- golden -- you came.
(DSP, May 23 20:12 2000).
Just because I love Buffy. (For non-Buffy fans, Glory is an Evil God and Dawn is Buffy's kid sister.
Well, she used to be a glowy green ball of energy but now, for all intents and purposes, she's Buffy's kid sister and she's
Good.)
Sometimes I feel just like Glory, from this episode of Buffy:
"The Weight of the World"
The minions begin bowing and Glory makes an impatient gesture.
GLORY: Goodbye!
They
hurry out. Dawn glares angrily at Glory. Glory puts her hands to her face, then rubs the sides of her neck.
GLORY:
How do they do it?
DAWN: (hoarsely) Do what?
GLORY: People! (walking toward Dawn) How do they function here like this in the world with all this bile
running through them? Every day it's whoo-oo (wiggles her hand at Dawn) You have no control. They're not even animals, they're
just these meatbaggy slaves to, to hormones and pheromones and their, and their feelings. Hate 'em!
Dawn stops
rubbing her neck, stares at Glory. Glory goes behind a drafting table and leans her arms against it.
GLORY:
I mean really. Is this what the poets go on about, this? (thumps her chest, shakes her head, sighs) Call me crazy, but as
hard-core drugs go, human emotion is just useless! People are puppets! Everyone getting jerked around by what they're feelin'.
Am I wrong? (looks at Dawn) Really, I want to know.
Shot of Dawn leaning against the pillar, looking at the
floor.
GLORY: Gonna bleed you either way.
DAWN: (opens her eyes, looks at Glory) Depends on the person.
GLORY: So you're saying some people like this.
DAWN: (defensively) Some.
GLORY: Funny. 'Cause I look around at this world you're so eager to be a part of ... and all I see is
six billion lunatics looking for the fastest ride out. (smiles) Who's not crazy? Look around. Everyone's drinking, smoking,
shooting up ... shooting each other, or just plain screwing their brains out 'cause they don't want 'em anymore. (looks at
Dawn) *I'm* crazy? Honey, I'm the original one-eyed chicklet in the kingdom of the blind. (sighs) 'Cause at least I admit
the world makes me nuts.
Glory comes out from behind the drafter's table, walks toward Dawn.
GLORY:
Name one person who can take it here. That's all I'm asking. (in Dawn's face) Name one.
DAWN: (firmly) Buffy.
Marijuana Truths Posted by Madspirit in General Discussion Sun Apr 29th 2007,
06:15 PM POT FACTS: www.norml.com
Who smokes marijuana? According to recent statistics provided by the federal
government, nearly 80 million Americans admit having smoked marijuana. Of these, twenty million Americans smoked marijuana
during the past year. The vast majority of marijuana smokers, like most other Americans, are good citizens who work hard,
raise families, pay taxes and contribute in a positive way to their communities. They are certainly not part of the crime
problem in this country, and it is terribly unfair to continue to treat them as criminals.
Many successful business and professional leaders, including many state and elected
federal officials, admit they have smoked marijuana. We must reflect this reality in our state and federal laws, and put to
rest the myth that marijuana smoking is a fringe or deviant activity engaged in only by those on the margins of American society.
Marijuana smokers are no different from their non-smoking peers, except for their marijuana use.
Why should we decriminalize or legalize marijuana? As President Jimmy Carter
acknowledged: "Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere
is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use."
Marijuana prohibition needlessly destroys the lives and careers of literally hundreds
of thousands of good, hard-working, productive citizens each year in this country. More than 700,000 Americans were arrested
on marijuana charges last year, and more than 5 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana offenses in the past decade.
Almost 90 percent of these arrests are for simple possession, not trafficking or sale. This is a misapplication of the criminal
sanction that invites government into areas of our private lives that are inappropriate and wastes valuable law enforcement
resources that should be focused on serious and violent crime.
What about kids and marijuana? Marijuana, like other drugs, is not for kids.
There are many activities in our society that we permit adults to do, but forbid children, such as motorcycle riding, skydiving,
signing contracts, getting married and drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco. However, we do not condone arresting adults who
responsibly engage in these activities in order to dissuade our children from doing so. Nor can we justify arresting adult
marijuana smokers on the grounds of sending a message to children. Our expectation and hope for young people is that they
grow up to be responsible adults, and our obligation to them is to demonstrate what that means.
The NORML Board of Directors has adopted a set of principles called the "Principles
of Responsible Cannabis Use," and the first principle is "Cannabis consumption is for adults only; it is irresponsible to
provide cannabis to children."
Critics claim that marijuana is a "gateway drug." How do you respond to this charge?
There is no conclusive evidence that the effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent use of other illicit
drugs. Preliminary animal studies alleging that marijuana "primed" the brain for other drug-taking behavior have not been
replicated, nor are they supported by epidemiological human data. Statistically, for every 104 Americans who have tried marijuana,
there is only one regular user of cocaine, and less than one user of heroin. Marijuana is clearly a "terminus" rather than
a gateway for the overwhelming majority of marijuana smokers.
For those minority of marijuana smokers who do graduate to harder substances, it
is marijuana prohibition -- which forces users to associate with the illicit drug black market -- rather than the use of marijuana
itself, that often serves as a doorway to the world of hard drugs. The more users become integrated in an environment where,
apart from cannabis, hard drugs can also be obtained, the greater the chances they will experiment with harder drugs.
In Holland, where politicians decided over 25 years ago to separate marijuana from
the illicit drug market by permitting coffee shops all over the country to sell small amounts of marijuana to adults, individuals
use marijuana and other drugs at rates less than half of their American counterparts.
But isn't marijuana addictive? Substantial research exists regarding marijuana
and addiction. While the scientific community has yet to achieve full consensus on this matter, the majority of epidemiological
and animal data demonstrate that the reinforcing properties of marijuana in humans is low in comparison to other drugs of
abuse, including alcohol and nicotine. According to the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM), fewer than one in 10 marijuana smokers
become regular users of the drug, and most voluntary cease their use after 34 years of age. By comparison, 15 percent of alcohol
consumers and 32 percent of tobacco smokers exhibit symptoms of drug dependence.
According to the IOM, observable cannabis withdrawal symptoms are rare and have
only been identified under unique patient settings. These remain limited to adolescents in treatment facilities for substance
abuse problems, and in a research setting where subjects were given marijuana or THC daily. Compared with the profound physical
syndrome of alcohol or heroin withdrawal, marijuana-related withdrawal symptoms are mild and subtle. Symptoms may include
restlessness, irritability, mild agitation and sleep disruption. However, for the overwhelming majority of marijuana smokers,
these symptoms are not severe enough to re-initiate their use of cannabis.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that the U.S. Justice Department, including the
Drug Enforcement Agency, may prosecute state-authorized medical marijuana patients for violating the federal Controlled Substances
Act. What does this decision mean for seriously ill patients and for the ongoing tension between state and federal laws? Laws
in twelve states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and
Washington) remain in effect despite the Supreme Court's decision.
The US Supreme Court decided 6-3 in Gonzalez v. Raich that the Justice Department
has the authority to prosecute state-authorized medicinal cannabis patients for violating the federal Controlled Substances
Act.
The Ninth Federal Circuit Court had previously ruled 2-1 in December 2003," The
intrastate, non-commercial cultivation, possession and use of marijuana for personal medical purposes on the advice of a physician
- is, in fact, different in kind from drug trafficking," and issued an injunction barring the US Justice Department from taking
legal action against the appellants, California medical cannabis patients Angel McClary Raich and Diane Monson, for violating
the federal Controlled Substances Act. The Justice Department appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which ruled on
June 6, 2005.
The Supreme Court's 2005 decision did not expand the powers of federal law enforcement
agencies like the DEA; it only affirmed that they can enforce federal laws prohibiting the use of controlled substances, regardless
of state, county, or municipal law. It is not anticipated that federal agents will step up efforts against state-authorized
growers, dispensaries, or patients because of this decision. State and local law enforcement officers, who are responsible
for the enforcement of state and municipal laws, will most likely continue to honor the democratic decisions that their residents
have made about marijuana policy.
Writing for the majority, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said that he
longs for the day when medicinal cannabis advocates "may be heard in the halls of Congress." NORML's chief complaint is directed
at Congress, not at the Court, for allowing the federal/state inconsistency in medical marijuana laws to exist.
Why does Congress refuse to reschedule marijuana to permit its use as a medicine
under federal law? Many members of both parties in Congress have confused a public health issue, medical marijuana, with
the politics of the War on Drugs. In doing so, they have denied an effective medication to the seriously ill and dying.
Pending legislation H.R. 2087, on this specific proposal.
Didn't Congress vote on a measure to prevent the federal prosecution of medical
marijuana patients in 2005? On June 15, 2005, the House voted 264 to 161 against a bi-partisan measure, sponsored by Reps.
Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), that would have barred the US Department of Justice (DOJ) from targeting
patients who use marijuana medicinally in accordance with the laws of their states.
The 161 House votes in favor of the patient-protection provision was the highest
total ever recorded in a Congressional floor vote to liberalize marijuana laws. Of those who voted in support of the Hinchey/Rohrabacher
medical marijuana amendment, 15 were Republicans and 128 were Democrats. The House's only Independent Congressman also voted
in favor of the amendment.
Many Congressional battles are won only after several failed attempts. Please contact
your representative now and urge their support for federal medical marijuana legislation.
Critics of the medical use of marijuana say (1) there are traditional medications
to help patients and marijuana is not needed; and, (2) permitting the medical use of marijuana sends the wrong message to
kids. How do you respond to these concerns? For many patients, traditional medications do work and they do not require
or desire medical marijuana. However, for a significant number of serious ill patients, including patients suffering from
AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis and chronic pain among others, traditional medications do not provide symptomatic relief
as effectively as medicinal cannabis. These patients must not be branded as criminals or forced to suffer needlessly in pain.
Dronabinol (trade name Marinol) is a legal, synthetic THC alternative to cannabis.
Nevertheless, many patients claim they find minimal relief from it, particularly when compared to inhaled marijuana. The active
ingredient in Marinol, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, is only one of the compounds isolated in marijuana that appears to be
medically beneficial to patients. Other compounds such as cannabidiol (CBD), an anti-convulsant, and cannabichromine (CBC),
an anti-inflammatory, are unavailable in Marinol, and patients only have access to their therapeutic properties by using cannabis.
Patients prescribed Marinol frequently complain of its high psychoactivity. This
is because patients consume the drug orally. Once swallowed, Marinol passes through the liver, where a significant proportion
is converted into other chemicals. One of these, the 11-hydroxy metabolite, is four to five times more potent than THC and
greatly increases the likelihood of a patient experiencing an adverse psychological reaction. In contrast, inhaled marijuana
doesn't cause significant levels of the 11-hydroxy metabolite to appear in the blood.
Marinol's oral administration also delays the drug from taking peak effect until
two to fours hours after dosing. A 1999 report by the US Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded: "It is well recognized that
Marinol's oral route of administration hampers its effectiveness because of slow absorption and patients' desire for more
control over dosing. ... In contrast, inhaled marijuana is rapidly absorbed." In a series of US state studies in the 1980s,
cancer patients given a choice between using inhaled marijuana and oral THC overwhelmingly chose cannabis.
As to the message we are sending to kids, NORML hopes the message we are sending
is that we would not deny any effective medication to the seriously ill and dying. We routinely permit cancer patients to
self- administer morphine in cancer wards all across the country; we allow physicians to prescribe amphetamines for weight
loss and to use cocaine in nose and throat operations. Each of these drugs can be abused on the street, yet no one is suggesting
we are sending the wrong message to kids by permitting their medical use.
Don't alcohol and tobacco use already cause enough damage to society? Why should
we legalize another intoxicant? While there are indeed health and societal problems due to the use of alcohol and nicotine,
these negative consequences would be amplified if consumption of either substance were prohibited.
Marijuana is already the third most popular recreational drug in America, despite
harsh laws against its use. Millions of Americans smoke it responsibly. Our public policies should reflect this reality, not
deny it.
In addition, marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. It fails
to inflict the types of serious health consequences these two legal drugs cause. Around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol
poisoning. Similarly, more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking. By comparison, marijuana is nontoxic
and cannot cause death by overdose. According to the prestigious European medical journal, The Lancet, "The smoking of cannabis,
even long-term, is not harmful to health. It would be reasonable to judge cannabis as less of a threat than alcohol or tobacco."
No one is suggesting we encourage more drug use; simply that we stop arresting
responsible marijuana smokers. In recent years, we have significantly reduced the prevalence of drunk driving and tobacco
smoking. We have not achieved this by prohibiting the use of alcohol and tobacco or by targeting and arresting adults who
use alcohol and tobacco responsibly, but through honest educational campaigns. We should apply these same principles to the
responsible consumption of marijuana. The negative consequences primarily associated with marijuana -- such as an arrest or
jail time -- are the result of the criminal prohibition of cannabis, not the use of marijuana itself.
What is industrial hemp? How does it differ from marijuana? Hemp is a distinct
variety of the plant species cannabis sativa L. It is a tall, slender fibrous plant similar to flax or kenaf. Farmers worldwide
have harvested the crop for the past 12,000 years for fiber and food, and Popular Mechanics once boasted that over 25,000
environmentally friendly products could be derived from hemp.
Unlike marijuana, hemp contains only minute (less than 1%) amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. In addition, hemp possesses a high percentage of the compound cannabidiol
(CBD), which has been shown to block the effects of THC. For these reasons, many botanists have dubbed industrial hemp "anti-marijuana."
More than 30 industrialized nations commercially grow hemp, including England and
Canada. The European Union subsidizes farmers to grow the crop, which is legally recognized as a commercial crop by the United
Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Nevertheless, US law forbids farmers from growing hemp without a federal license, and has discouraged
all commercial hemp production since the 1950s. NORML is working to allow American farmers to once again have legal access
to this agricultural commodity.
How can I help? The most important step you can take is to contact your elected
officials at all levels of government (local, state and federal), and let them know you oppose arresting responsible marijuana
smokers. As a constituent, you hold special influence over the politicians who represent your district. It is critical you
let them know how you feel.
Because the marijuana smoking community remains largely "in the closet" and is
all too often invisible politically, our core constituency currently exercises far less political power than our numbers would
otherwise suggest. The only way to overcome this handicap is for more of us to take an active role, and routinely contact
our elected officials.
A majority of the American public opposes sending marijuana smokers to jail, and
3 out of 4 support the medical use of marijuana. Yet many elected officials remain fearful that if they support these reform
proposals, they will be perceived as "soft" on crime and drugs and defeated at the next election.
Tell your elected officials that you know the difference between marijuana and
more dangerous drugs and between marijuana smoking and violent crime, and that you do not support spending billions of dollars
per year incarcerating nonviolent marijuana offenders.
To make that easy, NORML has a program on our web site that will identify your
state and federal elected officials, and provide a sample letter that you can fax to Congress or e-mail to state legislators.
Additionally, we encourage you to join NORML and help us with this fight for personal freedom. We depend on contributions
from private individuals to fund our educational and lobbying campaign, and our ability to move reform efforts forward is
partially a question of resources. Please join with us and let's end marijuana prohibition, once and for all.
Everyone says I'm crazy but I don't
think I'm Elvis.
...and I don't believe in Jesus.
So who's crazy?
This is my review of the Firefly episode "Jaynestown".
I don't deal with the Funny of Jaynestown in this review though
the episode is brimming with Funny. I try to grasp the underlying philosophy....the Meaning of Jaynestown. I don't
know if I even come close but these are the ways it makes me feel and these are the things it makes me think about.
I
love that Joss Whedon is an atheist yet still deals with issues of Faith. I'm an atheist and I deal with issues of Faith
all the time.
Jaynestown is one of my favorite Firefly episodes. It's an episode about Faith. ...not
Faith in God or not just Faith in God but about how or whether it's important for man to have something to believe in.
There are three main stories: River and Book and The Bible/Jayne, the Mudders and his stature as a Hero/Fess
losing his virginity, becoming a man and standing up to and acting directly against his father.
Each little story
affirms, in a different way, that we NEED Faith in something and sometimes it lets us down but without it we could not continue
as an evolved species. Without it we are just barbarians.
River is fixing Book's Bible. ....way too
many animals for one damn boat, etc. Book explains to River:
Book: Give me that. River, you don't...fix
the Bible.
River: It's broken. Doesn't make sense.
Book: It's not about making sense. It's
about believing in something and letting that belief be real enough to change your life. It's about Faith. You don't fix Faith,
River. It fixes you. (tries to take Bible pages from River; fails) You hang on to those, now.
This leaves
us with the impression that whether or not there is a God, believing in a God, having Faith, can make you whole and happy
and can change your life. ...and the change is real, whether God is or not, whether the Bible is accurate or not,
the change has substance.
The Mudders built a myth and a statue and a Hero out of something false. Jayne
didn't drop that money to help those Folks; he dropped the money so he could escape and he even sacrificed his fellow
Outlaw to many years in a tiny box and the loss of an eye just so his vehicle could take off. When he dropped the money
box, he dropped it on The Mudders and around that a whole myth was born and with it a Hero. ...but none of it was true.
Jayne, previous to his Hero status basically had disdain for these simple-minded and indentured Folk.
He had a change inside, close to a defining moment, when he saw what having something to believe in did for these people.
...and it blew up in his face. The former friend he sacrificed wanted blood and vengeance but when he shot at Jayne
one of the young Mudders jumped between Jayne and the bullet and was killed. This totally freaks Jayne.
He knocks down the statue, tells the Mudders that they are fools for believing in some Pollyanna Hero coming along dumping
money on their heads. He says there are no people like that. There are only people like him.
That
may be true but that is the most insight we've ever heard come from Jayne. So it accomplished something. At the
end he is lamenting about how those stupid simple people have probably already stuck the statue of him back up. Mal
explains to Jayne...it isn't about him:
Jayne: Don't make no sense. What...Why the hell did that Mudder have
to go and do that for, Mal? Jumping in front of that shotgun blast. Hell, there weren't a one of them understood what
happened out there. They're probably sticking that statue right back up.
Mal: Most like.
Jayne: I
don't know why that eats at me so.
Mal: It's my estimation that...every man ever got a statue made of him,
was one kind of sumbitch or another. Ain't about you, Jayne. About what they need.
Jayne: Don't make no sense.
These people's lives are horrible. They are indentured slaves. They wallow and work and live and
play, in filth. They never escape it. They are paid next to nothing and one has to wonder what the suicide rate
is. I guess this story shows us that you have to believe there is something to aspire for; something has to show
you that you matter and that you count and that your life is worth living and that even if everything sucks, things can be
better. That's what having a Hero did for them. It showed them that life can change. I think this one is
about Faith as Hope. Those Mudders don't have much else. It could be the spark that starts their Revolution.
Fess looses his virginity at the behest of his overbearing and tyrannical father. His father is the same
Magistrate who sentenced Jayne's abandoned partner to many years in a tiny box.
His father has also hired
Inara to take care of Fess's virginity. Luckily for all, Fess is a good guy and evidently did, just need to get laid.
Today he is a man. Fess's father puts some kind of lock on Serenity because he wants to catch Jayne. Inara persuades
Fess to remove the lock and going behind his father's back he does just that, freeing Serenity and infuriating his dad:
Magistrate
Higgins: You did what?!?
Fess: I sent an override to Port Control. Lifted the land-lock on Serenity.
Magistrate Higgins: I ought to wipe that smile off your head. How dare you defy me?
Fess: You
wanted to make a man out of me, Dad. I guess it worked.
I think the Faith we learn about here, is Faith in
Oneself.
We also get a little of the two frames of thought about civility under the kinds of conditions our crew
live under. They live on the outskirts of humanity, removed from polite society and manners and fancy dress and
clean clothes. They are marginalized. One theory goes...what the hell do manners matter when you are reduced
to living like that. What the hell do manners matter when those with manners disdain you. What the hell do manners
matter when you barely have food to eat.
Simon contends that these are the times we must MOST hang onto
our civility. Without that...we're just barbarians...Reavers. We must have some Faith...in Some Thing and
that without it, without Hope, we cannot live as civilized beings. We have to think things can be better. The
Reavers have given up. One way to remind us of our Humanness, is to hang onto some of the trappings of civilization.
We have to continue to care and to be decent to each other and to show respect for one another, regardless of the grit and
grime of our circumstances.
I love this episode. I think it's one of the best, right up there with Objects
in Space, War Stories and Out of Gas. It's an episode where you get to glimpse inside of people...without being a Reaver.
