First Colorado Pot Shops Open Next Week

First Colorado Pot Shops Open Next Week
It's only a matter of time until the rest of the nation wake's up and realizes the stupidity of the "War on Drugs" and the fallacy of just another "failed attempt at prohibition"......all ignoring the economic & social realities while supporting the Drug Cartels!!

The Treason Of Barack Obama ???

The Treason Of Barack Obama

TREASON.........THE ONLY QUESTION IS:  WHO WILL BRING THE CHARGES, AND WHO WILL TESTIFY???....
"People are running around trying to get voters to turn out next year so Republicans can hold the House and gain control of the Senate, as if this will solve the problem of Barack Obama.  It won’t.
***Others have said the solution is a constitutional convention to assert the powers of the people and the states to rein in this out of control interloper.  It won’t work.  There are too many risks involved, and too much time required.
***A growing number call for a military insurrection or citizen revolt, but let’s be realistic: any suggestion that we remove this man from office by lawless acts or violent intervention is stupid, doomed to failure.
***Some hold out hope that scandals will catch up to this criminal, or that the birth certificate issue will cook his goose.  With half the population as uncaring as the lapdog media, these options don’t hold promise either.
The President of the United States is funding and aiding the sworn enemies of the United States.   That is the very definition of treason!   In Washington’s day, this man would be facing a firing squad.
Obama must be removed from power, immediately, and there is only one way to accomplish this, legally, and expeditiously.  It will require courageous leadership in Congress, a miracle in itself."
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!!
I'd LOVE TO SEE IT....but, in reality, it won't happen!  Our Country will continue to suffer until the SYSTEM IS CHANGED......HOW???

Read more at http://www.westernjournalism.com/one-solution-problem-barack-obama/#QuFFx6pBRG5TwtVE.99

                                                             

"HERE'S MY SOLUTIONS ON IT": OUR FOREIGN POLICY....."LESSONS WE REFUSE TO LEARN...

"HERE'S MY SOLUTIONS ON IT": OUR FOREIGN POLICY....."LESSONS WE REFUSE TO LEARN...: U.S. FOREIGN POLICY SURE IS "A FOREIGN ONE" "After 12 years of war, 6,711 troops killed , and costs to taxpayers pro...

OUR FOREIGN POLICY....."LESSONS WE REFUSE TO LEARN"

U.S. FOREIGN POLICY SURE IS "A FOREIGN ONE"

"After 12 years of war, 6,711 troops killed, and costs to taxpayers projected to be at least $4 trillion, Americans' message to the White House and Capitol Hill is loud and clear: less involvement abroad (for now). In a December poll conducted by Pew Research and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), 52 percent of Americans said the United States "should mind its own business internationally," the highest percentage since that question was first asked in 1964"...states MICAH ZENKO.

Have we learned anything??
AFGHANISTAN...."After more than 10 years of war, the United States might have concluded that it didn't make much sense to spend billions of dollars each year trying to stabilize a country the entire GDP of which is a fraction of what the war was costing. So when Afghan leader Hamid Karzai started making lots of onerous demands in the negotiations over a long-term U.S. presence in this strategic backwater, U.S. officials should have grabbed their English-Pashto dictionaries and found the proper phrase for "Catch you later." But instead, the United States started begging the Afghans for permission to throw good money after bad. Sigh.".....by STEPHEN M. WALT
Have we learned anything ??
IRAQ.....
We sure accomplished alot here, huh!? Brought our peaceful, law-abiding civil model of democracy right to the "hearts and minds" of the locals!! Sure thing!!
Another quote from STEPHEN M. WALT....
"Alas, 2013 was the deadliest year since 2008, with more than 7,000 civilians killed by violence. Americans were transfixed by the Boston bombing, but events like that tragedy were weekly occurrences in Iraq. Adjusted for population size, the death toll in Iraq would be equivalent to some 70,000 Americans dying in sectarian warfare last year."

We could go on.....with many more examples of failed "meddling".... AND

  Don't even ask me about VIETNAM !!!

So what's in store for the coming year ???

To help you out, the CFR's Center for Preventive Action produced its sixth annual Preventive Priorities Survey (PPS), which evaluates ongoing and potential conflicts based on their likelihood of occurring in the coming year and their impact on U.S. interests.
(A word on PPS methodology: First, they harnessed social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogs etc.) to solicit a few hundred suggestions of contingencies from anyone with Internet access, which helped us to bypass the media filter. Second, with input from CFR colleagues, they distilled the crowd-sourced results down to 30 contingencies deemed most plausible to erupt or escalate in 2014. Third, those 30 contingencies were sent to a broad selection of 1,200 government officials, foreign policy experts, and academics, who rated their likelihood of occurrence in 2014 and potential impact on U.S. interests.
Here are the results:

Tier One:
Situations that should be the most worrisome for U.S. policymakers:

• Intensification of the Syrian civil war including possible limited military intervention
• A highly disruptive cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure
• Renewed threat of military strikes against Iran as a result of a breakdown in nuclear negotiations and/or clear evidence of intent to develop a nuclear weapons capability
• A mass casualty terrorist attack on the U.S. homeland or a treaty ally
• A severe North Korean crisis caused by a military provocation, internal political instability, or threatening nuclear weapons/ICBM-related activities
• Growing violence and instability in Afghanistan resulting from the drawdown of coalition forces and/or contested national elections
• Increasing internal violence and political instability in Pakistan
• Strengthening of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula resulting from continued political instability in Yemen and/or backlash from U.S. counterterrorism operations
• Civil war in Iraq due to rising Sunni-Shia sectarian violence
• Growing political instability and civil violence in Jordan triggered by spillover from the Syrian civil war

Tier Two:
Situations either less likely to occur, or are in countries of limited strategic importance to the United States:

• Further deterioration of the political situation in Egypt resulting in significantly increased violence, especially in the Sinai Peninsula
• Increased sectarian violence and political instability in Lebanon due to spillover from the Syrian civil war
• Continuing conflict in Somalia and intensification of al-Shabab's terrorist attacks on neighboring countries
• Continuing political instability and growing militancy in Libya
• Escalation of drug-related violence in Mexico
• A severe Indo-Pakistani military confrontation triggered by a major terrorist attack or heightened violence in Kashmir
• An armed confrontation in the East China Sea between China and Japan stemming from tensions over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands
• An armed confrontation in the South China Sea between China and one or more Southeast Asian claimants to disputed maritime areas
• Increasing sectarian violence and heightened political instability in Nigeria
• Escalating violence and risk of mass atrocities in the Central African Republic as a result of the ongoing insurgency

Tier Three:
Situations the least likely to occur or would have a minimal impact on U.S. interests, if at all:

• A Sino-Indian clash resulting from escalation of a territorial dispute and/or a military incident
• Destabilization of Mali by militant groups with spillover effects on neighboring areas
• Growing popular unrest and political instability in Sudan
• Military conflict between Sudan and South Sudan triggered by border and/or resource disputes
• Resumption of conflict in the Kurdish-dominated regions of Turkey and the Middle East
• Intensification of violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo with regional spillover
• Increased sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas in Myanmar's Rakhine State
• Protracted internal violence in Bangladesh surrounding the general elections
• Deepening political crisis in Venezuela leading to civil violence and potential regional instability
• An outbreak of military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh

Finally, experts were asked to provide their own items for U.S. officials to keep their eye on. Among the commonly cited:

• Growing political instability in China
• Competing territorial claims in the Arctic
• Rising political instability in Russia
• Possible Russian intervention in Georgia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet states
• Growing political instability in Saudi Arabia
• Political unrest following the death of Fidel Castro in Cuba
• Renewed political instability in Bahrain
• Third Palestinian intifada or heightened conflict between Israel and Hezbollah
• Renewed political instability in Tunisia
• Chinese military intervention against Taiwan
• Rising political instability in Kyrgyzstan
  
  

  HAD ENOUGH YET ???

TODAY'S DILEMMA !! - POLITCAL THOUGHT CONTROL !!

Do we just prosecute for VIOLATIONS or persecution of "MINORITY RIGHTS"?? ....or do we also prosecute for VIOLATIONS or persecution of "MAJORITY RIGHTS", TOO ???
  Who defines "Minorities or Majorities" ???
What makes YOUR rights more or less valuable than the OTHER person???

Protection....especially by the GOVERNMENT....of Rights to Free Speech (our Bill of Rights) should ALWAYS be IMPARTIAL AND GUARANTEED FOR ALL PERSONS .....not just Minorities!
Because, if not...
..IT BECOMES POLITICAL THOUGHT CONTROL!!!

We all know and readily admit that, over the years, this Country has become a "MELTING POT" of people, cultures, ideals and even morals.   Good or bad....it has and is happening!!

In order to "protect" the minorities, we ("the Government") has determined that it is in our "collective best interests" to prosecute those who offend or violate certain "principles" we deem necessary....

Therefore....

"Hate crime laws in the United States.... protect against hate crimes (also known as bias crimes) motivated by enmity or animus against a protected class. Although state laws vary, current statutes permit federal prosecution of hate crimes committed on the basis of a person's protected characteristics of race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, gender,sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.
and then....
The Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 28 U.S.C. § 534, [2] requires the Attorney General to collect data on crimes committed because of the victim's race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. The bill was signed into law in 1990 by George H. W. Bush, and was the first federal statute to "recognize and name gay, lesbian and bisexual people."[7] Since 1992, the Department of Justice and the FBI have jointly published an annual report on hate crime statistics.
as a result...
Penalty-enhancement hate crime laws are traditionally justified on the grounds that, in Chief Justice Rehnquist's words, "this conduct is thought to inflict greater individual and societal harm.... bias-motivated crimes are more likely to provoke retaliatory crimes, inflict distinct emotional harms on their victims, and incite community unrest."[16] Some people object to penalty-enhancement and federal prosecution laws because they believe they offer preferred protection to certain individuals over others."

Support for hate crime laws:

"Justifications for harsher punishments for hate crimes focus on the notion that hate crimes cause greater individual and societal harm. It is said that, when the core of a person’s identity is attacked, the degradation and dehumanization is especially severe, and additional emotional and physiological problems are likely to result. Society then, in turn, can suffer from the dis-empowerment of a group of people."

Opposition to hate crime laws

"The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously found that this amounted to "viewpoint-based discrimination" and is in conflict with "Rights of Free Speech" because it selectively criminalized bias-motivated speech or symbolic speech for disfavored topics while permitting such speech for other topics. Many critics further assert that it conflicts with an even more fundamental right: "free thought"!
The claim is that hate-crime legislation effectively makes certain ideas or beliefs, including religious ones, illegal, in other words, "thought crimes"!"So now....

If it is a "Hate Crime" to persecute one for violating a "minority" right.....Why, then is it NOT a "Hate Crime" to violate one's "MAJORITY" right??
 Who decides if it is a "minority" or a "majority" ???

Ask yourself this.....In the most recent case in the media.... A&E vs Phil Robertson
Is A&E in violation of the "Hate Crime" statutes for "discrimination" against a Christian person for speaking about his beliefs (via the Bible)??  Many will answer.. No!
So then, I ask .....Why not??
Is it because Phil Robertson was not a "minority" who is protected by the "Hate Crimes"???

Christians are obviously not being protected from discrimination for "their speech".....But if a minority (homosexual or black person, etc) was "discriminated against" (i.e....fired) for comments defending "their beliefs"....there would be be an "uproar" in their defense.."a violation of the Hate Crimes laws".....including a government lawsuit.

A&E is the perpetrator here.....Phil Robertson is the victim......all because of his "religion" and/or his religious beliefs !!!

THIS IS WHAT IS CHANGING OUR SOCIETY....OUR MORAL VALUES....OUR WAY OF LIFE!!! .......AND IT IS BEING DONE BY THE GOVERNMENT  (aided by THE MEDIA) UNDER IT'S POLITICAL AGENDA & MOTIVATION BY WHICHEVER "PARTY" IS IN POWER VIA "THOUGHT CONTROL"

YES....."THE NANNY STATE" !!

GENDER RIGHTS...The issue of Sexuality & Marriage vs A Civil Union?

With all the "hoopla" over Phil Robertson/Duck Dynasty/A&E TV and its subsequent debate over FIRST AMENDMENT violations/rights.....it becomes necessary to "chime in" on this mess!!!

CAN PHIL SUE A&E FOR "DISCRIMINATION" ???

The Senate has voted for a bill that allows any homosexual who gets fired to sue for “discrimination.” Many politicians are still campaigning for a regime that grants these and other special privileges to homosexuals—privileges that are not only NOT granted to OTHERS (including Christians) but are designed to be used against Christians.

Yes....Phil should be allowed his right to give an interview to GQ and to answer their questions honestly (Free Speech) in regards to his personal beliefs, etc.;
AND Yes.....GQ had a 1st Amend. right to publish the interview;
AND Yes.....A&E had a right to fire Phil Robertson (assuming there were no contractual violations to what was apparently a voluntary agreement.
AND DUCK DYNASTY VIEWERS have their right to find something better to do with their time!!


NOW.....FOR WHAT THE REALLY MORE IMPORTANT ISSUE IS:

The right to fire a person for violating pro-homosexual speech codes (often grouped under the now common term of "HATE CRIMES") is NOT matched by the freedom on the other side.
THE GOVERNMENT, AS USUAL, HAS BEEN STEPPING IN.....AND DECIDING THESE ISSUES UNFAIRLY...OR UN-EVENLY.

MOVING ON .....TO THE FULL TOPIC:

The complete topic of GENDER RIGHTS ....covers two main areas.

1. Sexual Preferences    and    2. Marriage vs Civil Unions 

I begin my discussion of these areas with a few excerpts from Kerry Bowers website discussion on the issue to which I agree wholeheartedly and include them here:
Mr. Bowers states:

"As a Christian, I believe that a child, every child, is a gift of God. Sometimes the acts that create a child are not of God’s will and yet, the child is a work of God made possible through the creation God has designed by which children are conceived, gestate in the womb of a woman, and then born into a sinful world. What I struggle with in my human reasoning is why children are born different from my expectations for creations of God.

They are born of different sizes, shapes and colors. They can have varying numbers and symmetries of limbs and digits and, in the worst case, be so malformed that they cannot survive outside the womb. They can be highly intellectual and, in other cases, be born with challenging mental capacities."
"They may be outwardly male, female, or have the organs of both sexes on, or inside, one body. They may be of heterosexual persuasion and, yes, homosexual to the extent defined by man based on the presence of the most obvious physical characteristics, typically, a particular sex organ. If I can believe all the many accepted variations of humans are the works of God, then why should I consider it any less probable that God also created what man has termed homosexual based on a sex organ and not the entirety of a man or woman’s physiology and psychology. Do not get me wrong, as it is not my intent to imply that homosexuality is a human deformity, but instead another of the many varieties of human beings God brings into His world for His reasons and to which He has told us to love one another and lean not on our own understandings."


"Marriage, as I view it from a Biblical perspective, is an institution between a man and a woman created by God."

Which is NOT to say that "marriages" can not exist in OTHER PERSPECTIVES"!!! THEY CAN and DO EXIST!!!

"Such an institution can exist without the issuance of a marriage license in the spiritual bond that marriage creates between husband, wife and God."
"Many times the marriages for which licenses are granted are executed before a magistrate or other nonreligious officiate and for couples who do not even acknowledge the existence of God."
"I support a union certificate that will extend to any couple the same rights, privileges, and legal obligations made possible through what we now recognize as a marriage license. Whether such union shall become an institution of marriage will be left to the couple... "

MOST IMPORTANTLY AS WELL....
"I’ll further add, any union of a couple in one State should be recognized as a union by all States, thus removing any obstacle such union may create in the movement of couples between States and to comply with Article IV, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution."

MY "IMAGINARY FRIENDS"

This is a story about my "imaginary friends" which I will name with a number and refer to with a "generic" him or her with no real reference to their sex.
I found that this is a different and, perhaps, easier way to discuss some of the perennial social issues that seem to plague us......and our "government"???

I have a friend #1.....who is a staunch fiscal conservative like me !!! We balance our books all the time !! If we can't "fit it in our budget", we do without.....until we can afford it.
.....and we don't like to waste money and time on frivolous things, especially when "times are tough".

 We "detest" fraud, and avoid cheats or dishonest people.  We expect and demand "personal responsibility"!!

I also have a friend #2 ...who is quite the opposite.... a "liberal" .......always finding a compassionate reason to help out the less fortunate in one way or another; ........ always finding a reason why its OK to let everyone "do their own thing" regardless of the consequences.    I'm sick of it, of course!.....Where's the "personal responsibility"??  She always points out that... "Well, some of us are less fortunate than others"!!  And I then respond, "Does that mean we are all destined to simply take our places in whatever the "most common denominator is"???    "Doesn't that take away any motive to excel at anything, if it will just get taken away and given to others" ??
The only response I get back is...."Well, that is supposed to make you feel good and a part of the "community"! 
OK! ....So... Moving on.....

My friend #3 is a homosexual !! (Ugh!!) I didn't learn about that until later on. He was a great cook, hard worker, and a very nice guy.   One day, he introduced me to his "boyfriend"....one that he had a "relationship" with for years!  Wow!!! ....and I never knew it.  Yeah, this one was "tough".....certainly not my "cup of tea"!    He later explained to me some of the difficulties he had....like in trying to buy a house "together with his boyfriend"..... the unfair treatment he encountered (legally & civil) due to his sexual preference.  Had to sympathize with them a bit here. They didn't "interfere" with anyone....didn't try to ram their "sexual preference thinking" down anyone's throat, didn't try to "teach it to my kids", or flaunt it around in some of the vulgar ways I've seen on the streets of NYC & LA......so, YES this seems unfair !!??

Now for friend #4 , a nice lady who generally is soft spoken and like me, is generally quite "conservative". She is a Lutheran and goes regularly to church.   She is also PRO-CHOICE on the issue of Abortion.  I tend to understand her position since I have a somwhat modified position myself, which would basically allow for a woman to make that choice only in the case of rape, incest, or medical necessity.   An interesting quoted phrase makes one think:  "....if you take an egg from a woman, it's an abortion.....  If you take an egg from a chicken, it's an omelette."
The obvious reaction here is that there is a difference between a woman and a chicken;... but is there a difference???   And then, subtle point of "necessity" or "reason for taking the egg is not even addressed (as it should be)".

Friend #5 is a devout Muslim who has lived and worked his whole life in his family business since his parents immigrated to the U.S. in 1956 from Morrocco.  They are now closing up the business since many of their former customers have stopped patronizing their store for fear of reprisals to themselves, and assorted other peer pressures.   It's a shame....  he is a "proud" person and refuses handouts, but can not sustain himself here any longer. He chooses now to leave and go back "home" where he came from !!??
He is not a "terrorist"; and does not subscribe to Islam's adoption of Sharia Law as some do......yet they are accused of it regularly.   I guess he will have to take that ship and leave just like the Puritans did when they came to America, huh??

With all these different friends, I began to wonder what was wrong with some "people"??? 

 
I got quite frustrated.....and finally asked GOD to step in and grant me one wish!!!
I felt HE was on my side and would do this in order to keep my sanity.
I asked GOD to put all these people in ONE ROOM !!!
Then, to let them come out, one at a time, with the "proper mindset" as only HE truly intended them to have!!

WELL.....Slowly, each one came out.....and to my "amazement and befuddlement".....they all seemed exactly the same as they went in ????
I immediately said to myself :
"Well, I guess GOD DIDN'T GIVE ME THAT WISH !?"........

or DID HE ???

It may be that, even though, we have social & moral differences among us... (Remember, our own Founding Fathers escaped persecution, too !)
....that social tolerance of others is a virtue also; and that what we may see as an apparent "degradation of moral values" may not always be what it seems!

It may just be that the "human nature" in us all, will, in the long run, enable a CIVIL SOCIETY to adjust to changing times and still prevail over ANARCHY !!
OUR GOVERNMENT MUST BE TOLERANT, TOO
(and learn to stay within the confines of the Constitution)