First off - Happy Birthday, President Obama. August 4th, 1961.
Let's see... what was I up to back then? Well, I may have a bit of trouble remembering since I was only 2 1/2. I do remember getting a bath in the kitchen sink but not sure of the date. Needless to say, I'm not able to do much of that now. They don't make sinks that big. Hell, some lakes are too small for this old hippie's ass.
Time to get your freak on!
Hempfest is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I am looking forward to it. The legs are giving me grief but I'll be out and about regardless. I'll use a cart and two blocks of wood if I have to, to get around. The theme this year is a sustainable hemp industry. Granted, everyone knows my views on Cannabis (see sidebar for my series on Pot Prohibition) but this is the first step. I could wait a couple of years for my smoke to be legal if I could get the hemp industry active first.
I hear all kinds of internet fluff about how much money will flow into our communities if we only legalize the Ganj and tax it. True, tax revenue will increase but I don't think as much as folks think. The part of the equation that will produce a substantial economic boost is the legalization and mass production of hemp. This isn't rocket science. Hemp is not smokable. To get as high as a single marijuana joint, you would have to smoke a hemp joint the size of your leg.
But consider the economic advantage of a new industry that is ready made for our agricultural technology. In my home state of Washington, especially the eastern half, there are farms, orchards, ranches, and vinyards closing down and going fallow because of the horrible economy and over reliance on huge multi-national agri-corporations. Monsanto, ConAgra, Dole, ADM, and other monoliths of greed and corruption have crafted a no-win, sellout and assimilate policy against small farmers, ranchers, and orchardists. The politics of agriculture is fraught with corruption, graft, pay-for-play, and influence pedalling like no other industry with the exception of the health care industry.
The legalization of hemp would allow the small farmers to produce a product that can be used in a myriad of ways. Textiles, food and food oils, fuel, building materials, paper and paper products, the list is as long as my pony tail. These industries need not be shipped overseas. We can build the processing plants, the textile mills, the factories and fabrication facilities within a single state.
For example, in Washington, the growers would be mostly in the eastern part of the state. Shipping and processing can take place in centers like Spokane, Wenatchee, and Yakima which are just a few miles from the fields. From there the processed hemp can be shipped to mills and factories in Tacoma, Seattle, and Everett. Whether it's hemp fabric, hemp seed oil or hemp paper, these products could be sent to fabricators all across the US. Not only that but finished goods like clothes, foods, lotions and cosmetics, paper and packaging products, and building materials could be producted locally as well.
Think of the revenue now. This is much more realistic than charging ten bucks tax on an eighth ounce of Ganja. Don't get me wrong, I want to pay that ten spot as much as the next hippie. Please...let me pay taxes on my smoke! But we have to get to that point through the legalization and promotion of Hemp.
Now, to other things...
Mad Dogs invade Town Halls
This is crazy shit. Pisses me off more than anything. These people are thugs. Protesting is a time honored tradition in America. But your protest has to come from an independent desire for change, reasoned opinions that can stand the scrutiny of debate. This isn't grassroots protest, this is astroturf. These goons are the same mindless idiots that gathered together for the 'tea parties' earlier this year. They managed to gather millions...no, thousands...OK, dozens of people to protest whatever their corporate handlers told them to do. Fucking sheep.
They rail against all things government but will wail like pissy toddlers if they don't get their roads fixed, the police don't show up right away or if the fire department doesn't respond quickly enough. Fatheads.
But to me, these goons are no better than Timothy McVey without the bomb. They spout the same garbage he did, demonize the government in the same way, think the same fetid thought of tearing down society as we know it. They are all domestic terrorists without the trigger finger.
Lost and Found
Some of our most respected friends on the Toobs are MIA. Shit happens and not everyone can get a post out six times a day like Skippy or Crooks and Liars. So, when the posts start to drop off and sites go dark, it affects us all. One example is my friend, Eddie at Leftist Grandpa. Haven't heard from him on his site or in the comments of some of our co-conspirators. If I missed a post or if you've heard from him, let me know. If you read this, Eddie, drop me a comment.
The economy has been taking a lot of us down and this may be the case. My best to him and his family and I hope that whatever has taken him away from the Toobs is temporary and not catastrophic. We need to keep our Net family close if we're to get through this bullshit. Eddie's voice is far more important than he realizes and the sooner he can get back on the road, the better for us.
Well, that's the best I can do now. The time to get into the corporate mindset is drawing near and I have to venture out into the gaping maw of my greedy corporate overlords. The recovery can't happen quick enough for me.
So Mote It Be,
David A.
