Jericho: Why can't I work ...

... HERE???

Max: Basic Instructions

How to explain yourself to a doctor.

Jericho: Legalize it already!

Let's be clear here: I have never smoked pot. I've had plenty of opportunities, but have never indulged. So, you cannot dismiss what I am about to say as the words of some "pot-head" - I'm not one. I've never done any illegal drugs. I don't smoke and I don't drink. I'd rather stay sharp, thanks.

However, we live in a society where there are plenty of intoxicants. Alcohol and cigarettes being but just a few. Cigarettes? I've had two or three of those - twist my head up every time I have one. Darned addictive those things. Alcohol is quite addictive, too. Both of these drugs are destructive to the body. Yet, marijuana is not physically addictive. It is indeed an intoxicant, but no more or less than booze. You do get more tar in your lungs per volume, but even the most advanced user wouldn't (couldn't without over dosing?) smoke six to ten joints a day - the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes.

To this day I cannot understand why pot smoking is illegal. There is no logical basis to the law. I've heard it blamed on news paper moguls, I've heard it blamed on politicians and I've heard it to have a racial bias. Whatever the case, there is no logical argument for why it is illegal and alcohol is not.

In the video above, it is claimed that the state of California could save a billion dollars a year on law enforcement, raise 1.3 billion in taxes and cripple the Mexican and other drug cartels all by legalizing and taxing marijuana. For those that can't do that math, that's 2.3 billion dollars back in the hands of just one (large) state. Ya know, a billion here and a billion there, eventually you are talking about some real money. In turn, Califonia would see, at worst, a 40% uptick in use.

So let's think about this. $2.3 billion dollars into the Californian system. Some of the 1.3 from taxes could be used for drug education and treatment, which seems to be part of this proposal. Cops could now go about the business of busting real bad guys. Prisons would slowly empty as we stopped arresting people for pot use and sale. Yes, usage would increase, but, frankly, would it matter? If you have 10,000 people who drink alcohol today and 14,000 people that drink tomorrow, would you say that's an odd thing? That's a 40% increase! Who cares?

Of course the police are concerned. They see losing a billion dollars from their budget. They see easy busts going out the window. No more "We found ten billion dollars of pot in this guy's garage. Of course, he couldn't be bothered to get off the couch he was so stoned!" And, if the police are so concerned that there are too many intoxicants, why are they not out campaigning against alcohol? What? And give up their own favorite intoxicant? Total hypocrisy!

I've been saying for twenty years that it's ridiculous that this drug is illegal. Can we as a country finally begin to pull our collective heads out of our collective asses and do the right thing for once?

Considering the current backlash against cigarette smoking in this country, perhaps President Obama should look to his own drug of choice. The American Tobacco industry should get their lobbies behind this as well - no one is better suited than Big Tobacco exploit this change. It might save that industry and those jobs.

Jericho: Am I wrong?

Max asked where Def Leppard failed in the performance below. Well, I may not have enough musical chops to be able to identify what note was wrong or what key was off, but, I know this song makes me bang my head and my head was not banging watching the performance below. Much like porn, I know a good head banging when I hear it!

Here are some classic performances for comparison. Am I wrong? Judge for yourself!

Max:Photograph

Max: Adolescent Stupidity Outlawed

Salon.com Life | The new pornographers

The photographs show three naked underage girls posing lasciviously for the camera. The perps who took the pictures were busted in Greensburg, Pa., and charged with manufacturing, disseminating and possessing child pornography -- and so were their subjects. That's because they are one and the same.

It all started when the girls, ages 14 and 15, decided to take nudie cellphone snapshots of themselves. Then, maybe feeling dizzy from the rush of wielding their feminine wiles, the trio text-messaged the photos to some friends at Greensburg-Salem High School. When one of the students' cellphones was confiscated at school, the photos were discovered. Police opened an investigation and, in addition to the girls' being indicted as kiddie pornographers, three boys who received the pictures were slammed with charges of child porn possession. All but one ultimately accepted lesser misdemeanor charges.

Jericho: Whoopsie!

Sorry about that!

For some strange reason, once a year, the people that host this blog want me to give them money! It's right about this time, every year ... you'd think by now I'd remember it!!!

I've taken steps to help this not happening again next year - like changing my contact email address from one I never check to one I check all the time. Hopefully, that will help. Be nice if they sent out the "you are about to lose your domain, bub" notice more that two days in advance!

Anyway - welcome back!

Max: 245 Years of Meh

Saint Louis Beacon - Happy birthday, St. Louis

Happy Birthday, St. Louis! The city of St. Louis was founded on Feb. 14, 1764. The community is 245 years ago today.

Max: Relief

The test came back negative. Laura will not be going into labor in the next two weeks -- hopefully longer. She still gets to look forward to being tied to the bed for the next 7-10 weeks. And I doubt I will have a moment to breath in that same time. But, all things considered, we lucked out.

Max: Because Life Isn't Stressful Enough

While at work yesterday, I received an email from Laura sharing the delightful news that she had blood in her urine. A little while later, she called to say her Dr. wanted her to go to the hospital. There, they discovered that she was dilated 1 cm and 50% effaced, something that should not happen until late April. Also, she was having contractions every 3-5 minutes. Under other circumstances this would likely have freaked me out anyway, but given our history I was about ready to have a stroke.

Fortunately, they got the contractions to stop. Unfortunately, that is no guarantee that she won't go into early labor. Tomorrow, we get to go back to the hospital so Laura can take a test that will determine if her body is planning to go into labor in the next couple of weeks.

Like I need this shit right now.

At least she is in her 30th week. Unlike Robin, Iris will have a 90% chance of survival if thrust into the world before full term. She will also have a 60% chance of not suffering any long term health consequences. That said, the longer we keep this bun in the oven, the better.

In order to enhance that chances of that, Laura is confined to bed. Not only is she only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom, she is not even allowed to sit up. After a day she is already sick of it. Given that our hope is to hold Iris back at least another 7 weeks, it is going to be a long couple of months for her.

That leaves me to both work 40+ hours a week, take care of just about everything around the house and look after Laura. I'm trying hard keep positive. Things certainly could be worse. But right now I'm not sure I am going to handle this as well as I would like.

Max: Charter Communications To File For Bankruptcy

Saint Louis Beacon - Faced with crushing debt, Charter Communications expects to file for bankruptcy

On Thursday, Charter Communications said it would file for bankruptcy by April 1. The move was expected, given the company's crushing debt, a recently missed interest payment and unhappy creditors. Even with a bankruptcy reorganization, though, customers of this St. Louis-based cable giant shouldn't be affected. They'll still be receiving their favorite TV shows because Charter has enough available cash to keep operating into 2010.

Die you bastards.

Max: Runaway Teen

Runaway Teen! - watch more funny videos

Yes, that is Daphne from Heroes; AKA Brea Grant, her blog is here.

Max: Praise be to dog

Salon.com Life | Praise be to dog

Human beings who keep smelly, burping, unruly, butt-licking beasts in their houses with them, allowing those beasts to lounge on the furniture, gulp up their gruel in the kitchen, press their slimy noses against the front windows, shed their hair all over the floors, growl menacingly at innocent mail carriers, then stretch their filthy bodies across the bed at night must be, by definition, dog lovers.

Max: MO Village Legalizes Medical Marijuana

02/10/2009 - Mo. village legalizes medical marijuana - STLtoday.com

A small southwest Missouri village has passed an ordinance to allow the use of medical marijuana.

Mayor Joe Blundell said Cliff Village, with a population of about four dozen, wanted to show grass-roots support for Missouri to legalize medical marijuana as 13 other states have.

'This is symbolism, pure and simple,' Blundell told The Kansas City Star for a story published Tuesday. 'I would like to be the brave one who grows the first plant, but they've built a lot of cages for the people who stick their necks out.'

Am I the only one who thinks "Blundell" is the perfect name for a small blunt?

Jericho: Fun Video

I like the tune, too.

Max: The Pain, When Will It End?

The Pain - Latest

A lot of grown men seem to experience an almost hysterical fear of ever being perceived as anything other than a 100% normal, straight, red-blooded American male, a condition which is imaginary and therefore impossible to wholly achieve, which doubtless leaves a lot of them feeling anxious and fraudulent and in constant danger of being found out as only 87% manly. Hence homophobia.

Max: When Rush Limbaugh Isn't Stupid Enough For You

Joe the Plumber advises GOP-ers - Politico.com

When GOP congressional aides gather Tuesday morning for a meeting of the Conservative Working Group, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher – more commonly known as Joe the Plumber — will be their featured guest. This group is an organization of conservative Capitol Hill staffers who meet regularly to chart GOP strategy for the week.

Max: 7yo Has Bad Trip After Dental Surgery

Max: Terrorist Spanks Children, Loses Temper At Sky Waitress

In-flight confrontations can lead to charges defined as terrorism - Los Angeles Times

Tamera Jo Freeman was on a Frontier Airlines flight to Denver in 2007 when her two children began to quarrel over the window shade and then spilled a Bloody Mary into her lap.

She spanked each of them on the thigh with three swats. It was a small incident, but one that in the heightened anxiety after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks would eventually have enormous ramifications for Freeman and her children.

A flight attendant confronted Freeman, who responded by hurling a few profanities and throwing what remained of a can of tomato juice on the floor.

The incident aboard the Frontier flight ultimately led to Freeman's arrest and conviction for a federal felony defined as an act of terrorism under the Patriot Act, the controversial federal law enacted after the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.

...

After three months in jail, Freeman agreed to plead guilty in exchange for being released on probation. A court-appointed attorney told her that a plea deal would be the fastest way to see her children, who had been taken back to Hawaii and put into foster care.

Her probation required her to stay in Oklahoma City, where she grew up, and prohibited her from flying. Meanwhile, legal proceedings in Hawaii have begun to allow the children's foster parents to adopt them.

Max: Dies ist ein smallen haus

Small House Design "Paco" From Japan : TreeHugger

Let's say you needed a really small house, perhaps a Dome Home, to put on a secluded place on a beach, somewhere far off and away. Schemata Architecture Office Ltd. is a group of designers showing a concept small second house that you could build yourself, or perhaps help to develop. I like the freedom of this. You could put it anywhere. If noone complains, you are ok to go. Are there laws against second house freedom?