Extreme measures for the economy include: legalizing marijuana?

At a time when the economy is in shambles, people are starting to save more and more. Lots of people are going to extremes to cope with the economy, but legalizing marijuana? Schwarzenegger is "back". ("I'll be back")He opens the floor for debate over the legalization of marijuana.

"Well, I think it's not time for (legalization), but I think it's time for a debate," Schwarzenegger said. "I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues, I'm always for an open debate on it. And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what effect did it have on those countries?"

Any headline like that would throw someone. The governor of California considering pot taxed and legal is a little disturbing. I don't engage in those acts because I feel like its pointless, so any thought of making it "okay" for people to have at their leisure is weird. The article even says that "Even if California were to legalize marijuana, the state would hit a roadblock with the federal government, which prohibits its use."

President Obama supposedly doesn't think its a good idea. I feel like its a person's decision to do the things they do. As far as using marijuana, its going to go on whether the government likes it or not. People will cheat the system and that's a known fact. Its kind of odd that at the time of economic crisis, we run right back into the idea. Its supposed to raise "an estimated $1.34 billion annually in tax revenue." That all sounds like a good idea, but does it have to involve something that is prohibited by the federal government?

It was legal for marijuana to be used for medical purposes in 1996, but still to this day, I haven't heard of a person to use it for medical use except for in movies. Its supposed the curb the habit of smokers, but what's worse? Cigarette smoke or marijuana? Its not supposed to have the effects of alcohol, but I think that it makes a person die a slow death. Cigarettes are like cancer sticks, but I don't think that's an excuse for those who do smoke. SMOKING IS BAD! No matter in what shape or form, its bad.

I guess you could say that I'm a person who doesn't agree with anything smoke related. If you don't die from cancer sticks, it still involves a slow death and a downward spiral. I think they're just trying to make it seem okay for people to smoke. There should be no alternatives for smoking besides quitting. As for my rambling, I know people who have been on this downward spiral and evetually have died. Maybe California should find another way to increase their revenue.

Are you going to add The White House to your friends?

So have you requested the white house to be your friend on MySpace? Have you become a fan on Facebook? Or maybe you've followed it on Twitter?

President Obama will not twit, I have been authoritatively informed. Or should that be tweet? Unsure about the correct verb form for sending Twitter messages, I turned for guidance to my authoritative informer, Macon Phillips, the affable young Internet specialist in charge of the White House's new-media office.

He seemed unsure as well. "But I don't think the president is the right person for this. There are better ways to engage the micro-blogging community," he told me, explaining at another point: "We try to find the audiences where they are, and deliver the president's message to them at the best delivery point." That now includes Twitter, where the White House established an institutional presence last week.

Social networking has reached new heights. Its crazy how the white house, not a person, but a building, has profiles on many of the networking sites. On MySpace, the white house has 175,532 friends. Twitter:34,956 followers. Facebook:158,959 fans. All of these are steadily growing. Isn't this amazing? We have the ability at our fingertips to access information from the white house itself! I asked my roommate on Wednesday, "Are you friends with the white house?" She was like no; I guess she didn't believe me. Yes, its true.

I think it's nice that the white house has profiles. Maybe we don't have to reach out to the media anymore, or do we? Maybe politics has become too mainstream. But as time goes on, new things approach and we can't always stand still in tradition. This might be the breakthrough we need. People complain about how the media "soups up" the goings-on in the world, but this makes citizens closer than they've ever been to the world in which we live.

I personally think it would be weird if the President was twittering away, so it comforts me that he isn't REALLY involved in the "twits or tweets" and status updates. I wonder how many people would click on the "like" button on Facebook if the President just so happened to update a status. It makes me feel good that he's attending to the business of his country. He's a human being with human feelings and human wants and needs, which include his blackberry. Some people complained about his having a blackberry; just because he has a noble title doesn't mean that he doesn't want to text Mrs. Obama an "I love you" every once in a while.

After all, communication is key in any relationship, whether its with your spouse or your country.

The cooler side of the pillow....with the b-word

I was wondering when it became common for the "b-word" to be said on television without a bleep. Seems like it started with the reality tv shows that are the best thing since turning your pillow over to feel the cool side.

The Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 for the Federal Communications Commission's right to regulate even "fleeting expletives," the commission's shorthand that describes when a curse word is suddenly blurted out on live television. Those weren't treated as indecent until the FCC changed its policy in 2004 as part of a crackdown triggered by Janet Jackson's momentary partial nudity at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.

As far as I was concerned, this was a long time coming. I can remember a time when you'd never hear a curse word unless it was damn on television. Now, its okay for everyone to call each other "b-words" and bleep out the "got" before damn. Personally, I think that people should be able to watch what they want, but at the same time, there are kids who are watching these same shows. Some parents take strict precautions to have their kids exposed to barney, bob the builder, dora the explorer, rather than make "adult swim" accessible to them with just a touch of the remote. I commend those who watch out for their kids well being, but what happens to those who aren't being looked after? They go to school and think its okay to call another kid out of the name that he was given. We all know that kids' minds are like sponges; they catch on to everything. They're alot smarter than we think.

I remember when the infamous "Super Bowl" incident happened like it was yesterday. Yes, things happen and maybe there was a wardrobe malfunction, but it still rings in my head when my neighbor said "Since when did they show boobs on tv?" There was alot of controversy, but why did it take for that to happen for people to catch on that these things aren't the best things to hear or see on television.? Leave it for the satellite radios and cable channels.

I do understand the issue of going by the first amendment, but there are many people who get in trouble for less than the things that celebs get away with. Celebs are people, too. Its a frustrating thing to deal with, as far as yelling or letting expletives slip. You want to make everyone happy, but everyone will never be happy as a whole. There will always be those few people who aren't happy with a decision that everyone else has rooted for. Hopefully celebs and producers, along with viewers, can just take the decision that the Supreme Court eventually reaches and deal with it. BUT WHO KNOWS.....

[janise. 04.29.09]

04.28.09

[MY FIRST BLOG!] Well, not really. Dr. Edge told us to write our first one. Technically, this isn't the first. I guess MySpace blogs and Facebook notes [and when Xanga was popular] don't count. But this would be the first for blogger.com. Expect randomness daily, even with the assignments. :)

love.live.life.