On a day when one of the most widely known investors in the history of the United States comments on CNBC that the US economy "has fallen off a cliff" there is another article on MSN.COM about the booming pot business in Northern California's Mendocino County.
In this small region of Northern California growers estimate that marijuana sales pump nearly one billion dollars into the economy. Nationwide, the figure is closer to ten billion. Due to state laws that make it legal for individuals to grow a certain amount of pot for "medicinal use", a favorable climate and Geo-political issues that are wiping out a large portion of the foreign pot market, many people are surviving and thriving the US economy by participating in the underground economy. Local growers describe pot as just another crop that they grow similar to any other crop except this one is untaxed and has a huge profit margin.
As the saying goes, "desperate times call for desperate measures". So my question would be this: Is our economy bad enough to finally give politicians a rationalization to legalize marijuana allowing people to grow, buy and sell what nearly everyone considers a harmless plant? I would have to think that a pretty substantial percentage of the US has at least tried pot and probably consider it even less harmful than cigarettes and alcohol. On top of that, if the government taxed marijuana the same way that other "vice" products are taxed (it costs nearly $10 for a pack of cigarettes in certain parts of Chicago) the US economy would gain billions of tax dollars that is sorely needed right now considering how the Fed's are handing out cash to corporations like penny candy at Halloween while everyone else goes broke. And if you are a politician who maybe was afraid to offend your voting block by taking such a controversial stand such as legalizing a "drug" now you can wrap in up in some pretty paper.
My argument to the public would go like this... now normally I would never recommend doing something this crazy but with our economy the way it is, we need more money more than we need to be afraid of pot. Soon marijuana becomes a viable crop to sell for many people, we can save money because we don't need to spend it prosecuting and imprisoning people for crimes related to marijuana, and the government gets all they really want... tax money. The next thing you know you'll be able to log onto your E-Trade account and buy and sell pot futures like you can with every other crop in the world. This opens up a whole new economic tool to create wealth and taxes. And tell me the Wall Streeter's won't be snorting coke and reading weather reports at 4 in the morning getting ready for the first day they can trade shares of Acme Pot Corporation. This would be a boon for everyone, whether you want to grow, smoke, eat, or make money off of weed.
So Obama, you seem like you are a common-sense guy, let's see if we can make this happen. And for all my stoner buddies who grew up wanting to rage against the machine but were always to stoned to follow through... it is your time now to be the "big swinging dicks" of the new economy by doing nothing more than what you have always done. Buy pot, hang out in your parents basement and listen to Phish albums... but most importantly to the economy, buy pot.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The CTA
I hear a lot of people complaining about the CTA because there are delays almost on a daily basis. My complaints are very different. My complaints are with the people that ride the CTA.
There are times when the el is packed. As you would expect, those times are in the morning between 7-9 and in the evening between 5-7. Mostly when the cars are full, the conductor will get on the speaker and announce that there is another train about 2 minuted behind. I don't know if people don't hear this information, they don't care, or they are so rushed that 2 minutes will make them late. If you're scheduling your commute so that 2 minutes is going to drastically affect things, you need to get up earlier. People are bitching and moaning that there isn't enough room or that people won't squeeze in tighter while the conductor is announcing this. I want to scream at these people "DO YOU NOT HEAR WHAT THE CONDUCTOR JUST SAID, WAIT 2 MINUTES!!!!!"
If you are a claustrophobic person, not only should you not be taking public transportation, maybe you should consider moving to the suburbs, where there are less people. In my first week riding the blue line to and from work, there was a major delay. Apparently someone was hit at the Jackson station. At the time, all we knew was that there was a delay because of a medical emergency. After spending a good amount of time sitting at various stations, and being told the train was only going so far and then turning around and coming back, people starting getting off the train and taking buses to their destination. Mind you, there are a lot of commuters on the el in the morning as it is, but this just made it worse. I got off and walked to Milwaukee and hopped on a bus. A lady who was on my train with me, was sitting on the phone complaining about how many people there were on the bus and that she was going to be sick or something.
This morning when I rode in to work, the el was packed, as expected. I am carrying 2 bags. Most people, by the way, carry at least one bag. I'm standing. The train slows down quickly and I almost fell. I apologized to the person I almost fell on and then this guy sitting tells me that my bag hit his arm. Are you fucking kidding me? Do you really expect that no one or nothing is going to touch you? A little bit later I was far away from that guy, but the train was even more full, and I have to do a back bend in order to fit more people in. At the same time, someone always leans against my bag, which makes it feel like they are sitting on my bag and pulling my shoulder down to the floor. Did I tap that person and let them know they were touching me? No. Because I know what to expect when I get on the CTA.
There are times when the el is packed. As you would expect, those times are in the morning between 7-9 and in the evening between 5-7. Mostly when the cars are full, the conductor will get on the speaker and announce that there is another train about 2 minuted behind. I don't know if people don't hear this information, they don't care, or they are so rushed that 2 minutes will make them late. If you're scheduling your commute so that 2 minutes is going to drastically affect things, you need to get up earlier. People are bitching and moaning that there isn't enough room or that people won't squeeze in tighter while the conductor is announcing this. I want to scream at these people "DO YOU NOT HEAR WHAT THE CONDUCTOR JUST SAID, WAIT 2 MINUTES!!!!!"
If you are a claustrophobic person, not only should you not be taking public transportation, maybe you should consider moving to the suburbs, where there are less people. In my first week riding the blue line to and from work, there was a major delay. Apparently someone was hit at the Jackson station. At the time, all we knew was that there was a delay because of a medical emergency. After spending a good amount of time sitting at various stations, and being told the train was only going so far and then turning around and coming back, people starting getting off the train and taking buses to their destination. Mind you, there are a lot of commuters on the el in the morning as it is, but this just made it worse. I got off and walked to Milwaukee and hopped on a bus. A lady who was on my train with me, was sitting on the phone complaining about how many people there were on the bus and that she was going to be sick or something.
This morning when I rode in to work, the el was packed, as expected. I am carrying 2 bags. Most people, by the way, carry at least one bag. I'm standing. The train slows down quickly and I almost fell. I apologized to the person I almost fell on and then this guy sitting tells me that my bag hit his arm. Are you fucking kidding me? Do you really expect that no one or nothing is going to touch you? A little bit later I was far away from that guy, but the train was even more full, and I have to do a back bend in order to fit more people in. At the same time, someone always leans against my bag, which makes it feel like they are sitting on my bag and pulling my shoulder down to the floor. Did I tap that person and let them know they were touching me? No. Because I know what to expect when I get on the CTA.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Craigslist
Around Christmas I listed an item on Craigslist for free. I'm always surprised at the responses I receive, people asking me to meet them halfway between Algonquin/Crystal Lake and Rockford and people responding that they want what I have and they can meet me in Algonquin, but when I ask them to meet me in Crystal Lake, they say that's too far. (For those who don't know, Algonquin and Crystal Lake are 10-15 minutes away from each other.) This response was by far the best (re-typed exactly as I received it, errors and all) -
"Hello my name is megan , and i came across your book ends on CL. They r beautiful , they would make a wonderful addition to my grandmothers collection. She lives in phoenix AZ. I dont know what your willing to do to get rid of them but i dont have any money or vehicle or else i would pick them up in heart beat and give them to her as a gift. they would make her so happy. Its been a hard year and i hope to make it back home to AZ myself someday, I stay w/my dad right now cuz things are real bad and i had no choice. alot of things this holiday have come from CL, cant be 2 good 4 the used. But that aside depending on how determened you are to get rid of them let me know If your wiling to mail them 2 phoenix in good faith as a good gestiar of the holiday season. That would be amazing. LOL but if not I understand. you have my e-mail address so let me know. and if there was anything you could do I could send u 5 bucks or so in the near future 4 what ever the cost.
merry christmas and happy new year anyways,
love megan."
How determined I am to get rid of them? If I was that determined to get rid of them, wouldn't it be a hell of a lot easier to just walk 5 feet to the garbage and throw them away?! Rather than paying to have them shipped to Arizona?! Keep in mind that these are BOOKENDS! They're not exactly light. I wouldn't be able to mail them on a 43¢ stamp. Y'know that saying "there are no stupid questions"? I think this is an example of one exception.
"Hello my name is megan , and i came across your book ends on CL. They r beautiful , they would make a wonderful addition to my grandmothers collection. She lives in phoenix AZ. I dont know what your willing to do to get rid of them but i dont have any money or vehicle or else i would pick them up in heart beat and give them to her as a gift. they would make her so happy. Its been a hard year and i hope to make it back home to AZ myself someday, I stay w/my dad right now cuz things are real bad and i had no choice. alot of things this holiday have come from CL, cant be 2 good 4 the used. But that aside depending on how determened you are to get rid of them let me know If your wiling to mail them 2 phoenix in good faith as a good gestiar of the holiday season. That would be amazing. LOL but if not I understand. you have my e-mail address so let me know. and if there was anything you could do I could send u 5 bucks or so in the near future 4 what ever the cost.
merry christmas and happy new year anyways,
love megan."
How determined I am to get rid of them? If I was that determined to get rid of them, wouldn't it be a hell of a lot easier to just walk 5 feet to the garbage and throw them away?! Rather than paying to have them shipped to Arizona?! Keep in mind that these are BOOKENDS! They're not exactly light. I wouldn't be able to mail them on a 43¢ stamp. Y'know that saying "there are no stupid questions"? I think this is an example of one exception.
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