Speaking of “Unintended Consequences”...........

Bill Levin, founder of the, so called, First Church of Cannabis Inc believes he is putting a fast one over on the State of Indiana and its controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

Critics of RFRA claim that the law was enacted in order that Christians could discriminate against LGBTXYZ12@%. Levin has responded to the Governor's signing of RFRA by filing paperwork with the State for the First Church of Cannabis Inc., which Levin claims uses marijuana in the "church's" religious ceremonies.

Progressive sites are calling it a classic case of “unintended consequences.”

I have no idea how this will hold up in court, but I believe Levin needs to consider the unintended consequences of mocking God.

No one seriously believes that smoking marijuana is an actual sacrament in this would-be church.

On the "church" Facebook page, Levin is soliciting donations:

Individual Membership Donations $4.20 per month
Donate $ 100 or more and become a GREEN ANGEL.
Donate $ 500 or more and become a GOLD ANGEL
Donate $1000 or more and become a CHURCH POOHBA

Other than a list of "The New Deity Dozen", there is no mention of God in this "church".
Bill Levin - Minister of Love and Grand Pooba of the Church, proclaims we should all, "Practice these in your daily adventures in life, teach others to do the same".

1) Don't be an asshole. Treat everyone with Love as an equal.
2) The day starts with your smile every morning. when you get up, wear it first.
3) Help others when you can. Not for money, but because it's needed.
4) Treat your body as a temple. Do not poison it with poor quality foods and sodas.
5) Do not take advantage of people. Do not intentionally hurt anything.
6) Never start a fight... only finish them.
7) Grow food, raise animals get nature into your daily routine
8) Do not be a "troll" on the internet, respect others without name calling and being vulgarly aggressive.
9) Spend at least 10 mins a day just contemplating life in a quiet space.
10) when you see a bully... stop them by any means possible. Protect those who can not protect themselves.
11) Laugh often, share humor. Have fun in life, be positive.
12) Cannabis, "the Healing Plant" is our sacrament. It brings us closer to ourselves and others. It is our fountain of health, our love, curing us from illness and depression. We embrace it with our whole heart and spirit, individually and as a group.

I especially like #4. Treat your body as a temple. Do not poison it with poor quality foods and sodas......but it's OK to inhale smoke into your lungs, possibly setting yourself up for cancer or other lung diseases.

#7 tells us to raise animals. I'm guessing not for food, however, since #5 says we should not "intentionally hurt anything".

Levin may have pulled one over on Indiana, but not God. If Levin doesn't repent, he will one day suffer the consequences of his blasphemy.

You Go Uruguay, I'll Go Mine.

Checking bbc news and aljazeera.com, I learned that six Guantanamo prisoners have resettled in Uruguay. There was no mention of the release on CNN, Fox or Drudge. I was beginning to believe that the story was going to be completely ignored by America news outlets, until I discovered articles on the transfer on the Washington Post and the Washington Times.

Prior to this story, my knowledge of Uruguay was pretty much, well, nothing. So, wishing to increase my knowledge of the country, I searched for information about the current president of Uruguay, José Mujica. For the most part, he seems like a man after Obama's heart. Mujica has called Guantanamo a "disgrace" and has used Guantanamo to bash George Bush. Being a typical politician, Mujica delayed bringing the prisoners into Uruguay until after the country's recent elections - an October opinion poll showed 58% of Uruguayans were opposed to bringing in the prisoners.



On the plus side, Mujica does not live in the Presidential palace, but on his wife's farm where the couple cultivate chrysanthemums. Called by some, the world's poorest president, Mujica donates about 90% of his monthly salary to charities which benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs. This leaves his take-home pay inline with the average Uruguayan income - $775 a month. I can't imagine any U.S. President, Democrat or Republican, doing the same.

On the negative side, Mujica supports abortion.

Not surprisingly, Mujica has stated on a left-wing Spanish television station, that he is an atheist.

As for the photo, due to Mujica’s efforts to legalize marijuana in Uruguay, the president has won the praise of Aerosmith's Steven Tyler.

Photos from the Denver 420 Shooting.

OK, I know this a serious matter and I know I really shouldn't make light of the shootings at the Denver 420 marijuana festival, but I came across some photos of events following the shootings posted on the Denver Post website.

I couldn't resist posting a few of those photos here.

All Quiet on the Left Front.

In spite of my Conservative views, I do have a number of Left-leaning Facebook "friends".....yes, there are some who haven't defriended me.(yet)

I couldn't help but notice that my Left-leaning Facebook "friends" have been strangely quiet today.

I thought, at first, that perhaps they were simply devastated by the news that the Boston marathon bombers turned out to be Muslims.

After giving it some thought, it occurred to me that perhaps my Left-leaning Facebook "friends" are too busy attending their local April 20 marijuana smoking festival to post their opinions of the recent updates in Boston onto Facebook.

Immediately after the terrible bombing in Boston Monday, some on the Left began their speculation as to reason the bombers had chosen April 15th to unleash their terror. Some put 2 and 2 together and came up with 5.

April 15th? - Tax Day? - Right wing extremists.
Some on the Left had even noted (incorrectly, it turns out) that April 15th was the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. Actually, the Oklahoma City bombing happened on April 19th, as did the FBI assault of the Branch Davidan compound in Waco.

Following the Left's lead, I could speculate as to the reason why April 20th was chosen as the date for the annual marijuana smoking festival.

April 20th is Adolph Hitler's birthday.

Coincidence?

I'm certainly not the first to see a connection.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110420042140AA32IKb

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081221024355AAoGg7s

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Did_Hitler_smoke_marijuana



If the Left can pull wild ideas out of their ......um, hats, then why can't I?

More Government Regulations.

Approximately 3800 years ago - circa 1790BC - the sixth king of Babylon, Hammurabi created a code of laws that have, naturally, been named for him (for those in Alabama, this code is known as the Code of Hammurabi).

The code of Hammurabi consisted of 282 laws which were carved into large stone monuments, called stele, which would then be placed in a public place for all to see. One example that exits today is a 7 foot tall stele reportedly in the shape of an index finger. Considering that this finger stele is the handiwork of a "government", I suspect that it is actually a middle finger.

One would think that after nearly 4000 years of law making, government bureaucrats would have addressed every issue there is; you'd think that they would eventually run out of things to regulate. You'd be wrong, however.

As I pointed out yesterday [San Francisco Bans Soft Drinks] a clever politician can always fine something regulate. In that post, I related how San Francisco's mayor Gavin Newsom has issued a directive banning sugary soft drinks in vending machines located on city property. After writing yesterday's post, I learned from this article that the San Francisco Department of Public Health has issued a set of regulations for THC laced brownies, ice cream and milkshakes (and more) made in San Francisco's medical marijuana dispensaries.

These regulations deal with issues such as proper packaging, hand washing as well as each item have a warning that the item is a medication and not a food. Considering Mayor Newsom's war on obesity, I'm surprised that the regulations do not cover the amount of sugar in each marijuana brownie.

Years ago,when I was in my teens, I first heard the claim that "the reason why marijuana is illegal, is because they haven't figured out a way to tax it". As I pointed out in a post from two years ago, the notion that governments can't figure out how to tax something can best be described as dunderheaded. As if to prove my point, the Berkeley CA. city council has been discussing how to tax both medical and recreational cannabis.

Schwarzenegger Welcomes Marijuana Debate.

California Governor - and husband of Maria Shriver - Arnold Schwarzenegger said he welcomes a public debate on proposals to legalize and tax marijuana.

When asked about the idea of treating pot like alcohol, Schwarzenegger said,
"No, I don't think it's time for that, but I think it's time for a debate."

Why not?

From my Libertarian point of view, I don't see much difference between the legalization of marijuana, tobacco or alcohol. I don't use tobacco......only an idiot would; I wouldn't smoke marijuana either but, for the life of me, I can't see how the government can make the use of one a crime but not the other.

Tobacco and alcohol are hardly health foods, yet adults can use either if they like. All three substances have the potential for abuse. Go to an AA meeting and you'll see a cloud of cigarette smoke hovering overhead.

I don't have a problem with Joe Six-pack, sitting in his living room, watching T.V. and smoking a cigarette while he drinks his brewski. As long as he stays at home, minding his own business, I don't have a problem with him having a joint as well.

Heck, he can even have a cholesterol laden cheeseburger too.

Thoughts on the Legalization of Marijuana.

It was 1970.…a time before the planet cooled-dinosaurs walked the Earth and the Beatles were still together. I was but a mere lad of 18 and like all 18 year olds, I was a complete dunderhead.
Full of myself, I believed I was more brilliant than I actually was. To paraphrase an old saying….if you could have bought me for what I was worth and sold me for what I thought I was worth, you would have made a fancy profit.
An example of one of my dunderheaded notions was my thoughts on why marijuana was illegal in the United States. Mind you, I had not come up with this notion on my own. I had heard it from someone whose dunderheadedness surpassed even my own. We were certain that the only reason for the United States’ ban on reefer was because….are you ready?…..we believed it was illegal because the government had not figured out a way of taxing it.
It’s hard for me to believe I was that naïve. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that, while the government may not know how to do many things, it does know how to levy taxes.
Common sense, if I had had any at the time, should have told me that. True, I wasn’t working, so I had little first hand knowledge of income tax, but I was perfectly aware of the taxes on beer and cigarettes. It should have been obvious, even to me, that the government would not have had a difficult time taxing marijuana if it had been legal.
Fast forward to the present.
Today, I can’t explain why marijuana isn’t legal in the U.S.. I don’t have a dog in this fight, as they say; I would not smoke it even if the current laws were changed. I don’t drink hard liquor either. You won’t see me buying vodka or rum or anything of that sort. Still, I see no need to outlaw the use of those drugs by adults.
The reasons behind the ban can’t be based on the risks involved. Alcohol and tobacco are hardly health foods.
If I were prone to conspiracies, I’d say the prohibition is work of the various alcohol lobbies “funding” congressmen’s pet projects……nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
I suspect, though, that it’s simply the lack of interest on the part of the general public to have the current laws changed. I’m sure that if enough people wanted it to happen, it would happen.