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From 11Alive.com in Atlanta, Georgia:

HENRY COUNTY, GA — Out of jail and doing community service, Clifford “T.I.” Harris made a trip to Woodland Middle School in Henry County on March 5, an unwanted surprise for one family.

Tom Myers was surprised when his daughter came home and told him that T.I. had been the speaker at the assembly on anti bullying. Myers told 11Alive News that had he known T.I. was speaking, he would not have allowed his daughter to attend. So he wrote an e-mail to Woodland’s principal, Dr. Terry Oatts.

“The first e-mail I sent to him was to ask that from now on we have some kind of parental input whether or not a speaker is appropriate. If I don’t want my child to be there, just give me the right to opt them out,” Myers said.

Myers also wrote in the e-mail, “How about next time, let him mow the grass or pick up the trash around the school grounds? If the kids see that they might understand that what he did was wrong.”

In e-mails obtained by 11Alive News, Oatts replied in his e-mail, “I thought about asking a guy who snorted cocaine and got arrested for DUI when he was 30 to come and speak to our kids, but President George W. Bush was not available.”

LSD was banned in this country in 1956.  That didn’t stop people from using it for recreational purposes, and as with all banned substances, the quality of the product wasn’t regulated so sometimes people got their hands on the “brown acid.”

Some 53 years after the substance was banned, scientists are now studying its positive medicinal effects.

From The Daily Beast:

Most people with headaches aren’t going to purchase an illegal drug. And soon, they may not have to. For the first time in four decades, the government is cracking open the door to studies looking into the medical benefits of LSD.  If such studies bear fruit—and early results are promising—people like Wold [who suffers from debiltating cluster headaches] may someday be able to pick up an LSD pill at their local pharmacy.

The watershed moment came last September, when the FDA approved a clinical trial on the use of LSD to treat anxiety in cancer patients.  According to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (or MAPS), it was the first time since the 1960s that a medical study involving LSD was permitted by the federal government.  MAPS Director Rick Doblin called it “a symbol that the psychedelic renaissance is here.”

…

Before it was banned in 1966, LSD had a rich scientific history, used as a popular treatment for everything from alcoholism to autism.  (YouTube has old black-and-white videos of 9 year olds tripping acid under doctors’ supervision.)  But LSD’s recreational legacy has made current proposals at Cambridge and other institutions an awkward subject.

…

In many ways, what’s most remarkable about the breakthrough of LSD is the drug itself. It’s the most potent psychedelic of its kind.  It lasts several hours longer than either MDMA or psilocybin, and it has the greatest risk profile of any psychedelic.  But researchers say that’s also what makes it so tempting.  “It’s more challenging, more powerful, but there’s also great therapeutic potential,” Doblin says.  “It’s like taming the lion.  If we can tame the lion, then we can work with the leopard and the wolf.”

Oliver Stone’s latest movie “W” will be released to theaters on October 17th 2008, mere weeks before the Presidential Election in Novemeber.

Oliver Stone says:

“We don’t really know much about Mr. Bush beyond the controlled images we’ve been allowed to see on TV. This movie’s taking a bold stab at looking behind that curtain.”

Here is the trailer:

From the Telegraph in England:

The 90-second clip starts with scenes of US President George W. Bush, played Josh Brolin, struggling to find his way before entering politics: a whirl of drinking contests, gambling, drink-driving and being thrown in jail – he is seen being led down a prison corridor in Yale sweatshirt.

“If I remember correctly, you didn’t like the sporting goods job,” his father George H W Bush, played by James Cromwell, says as he lectures his son.

“Working in the investment firm wasn’t for you either, or the oil rig job. You didn’t exactly finish up with flying colours in the Air National Guard, junior.

“What are you cut out for?”

Bush senior continues as Brolin, star of No Country For Old Men, hangs his head.

“Partying? Chasing tail? Driving drunk? Who do you think you are? A Kennedy? You’re a Bush. Act like one.”

What does that mean?  Is that “blow” like in “You know how to whistle don’t you”  Just put your lips together and blow?” Or is that “blow” as in “cocaine,” or is it blow like “fellate?”  Take your pick.

Nonsense?  Yes…  but not if you are a high school student.  Those words may be interpreted by an authority figure as loaded words that advocate something prohibited in a school policy.

Kind of like “Bong Hits 4 Jesus.”  Does that phrase promote marijuana use?  Promote Christianity?  Nonsense?  definitely…  Is it likely to promote some kind of harm or disturbance that the government wishes to avoid?  Not likely.  Was it disruptive?  Not until the principle demanded that the students take it down.

But that didn’t stop the Supreme Court from ruling 5-4 against Joseph Frederick, the one student holding the banner that refused the principal’s order. Principal Morse wanted it down because she interpreted it to promote drug use, and she believed that schools should be able to enforce their zero-tolerance drug policies.  Okay, I’ll give them that authority on school grounds and at school functions.  But holding up an obliquely worded message designed to attract television cameras at an Olympic Torch Relay event on non-school property?  You’ve got to be kidding me.  5-4?  That’s a 9-0 vote in favor of a citizen’s right to free speech in any modern democracy.

Was it more offensive because it said “4 Jesus?”  Depends on what you believe.  Roberts did not mention it in his majority opinion.  But I have to think that if Hendrickson’s banner read “Bong Hits 4 Buddha” it would not have received much attention and a legal case, if any, would not have progressed to the Supreme Court.

If you are interested, you can read the whole Supreme Court opinion here.  I did, and I found that Justice Stevens’ dissenting opinion (starting at page 45) made far more sense than Roberts’s majority opinion.

So drugs are bad, especially when mixed with Christianity.  What about sex?  Last I heard, the schools weren’t enforcing a zero-tolerance-for-sex rule and they weren’t testing kids to make sure they were virgins.  So could a principal prohibit students from hoisting a nonsensical banner mixing sexual innuendo during a similar event?

Someday we may find out.

So, what I suggest is that we further test the boundaries of student speech.  If you know any high school students, feel free to encourage them to see how far they can go with any of the following ambiguous messages:

Shoot Up 4 Shiva

Pipe Licks 4 Mary

Light up 4 Allah

Huff 4 Hosanahs

Eat Tabs 4 Yahweh

Mainline 4 Mwari

Cracking 4 Christ

Jello Shots 4 Jehovah

Sloppy Seconds 4 Agnostics

Adrenachrome 4 Atheists

Why his father’s ashes of course!  That’s Keith with his son and his father Bert, who died in August 2002.

And here’s what he had to say to British magazine NME recently:

“The strangest thing I’ve tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father. He was cremated and I couldn’t resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow.

“My dad wouldn’t have cared, he didn’t give a shit. It went down pretty well, and I’m still alive.”

Well that’s debatable…

So what does he mix with his drinks? 

I would summarize, but so much would be lost.

Just check it out:

VALLEJO, California (AP) — A cell phone apparently ignited in a man’s pocket and started a fire that burned his hotel room and caused severe burns over half his body, fire department officials said.

Luis Picaso, 59, was in stable condition Monday with second- and third-degree burns to his upper body, back, right arm and right leg, Vallejo Fire Department assistant chief Kurt Henke said.

Firefighters arrived at the residential hotel Saturday night to find Picaso lying on the bathroom floor after a malfunctioning cell phone in his pants pocket set fire to his nylon and polyester clothes, Henke said.

The flames spread to a plastic chair, setting off a sprinkler that held the fire in check, he said.

Authorities declined to name the phone’s manufacturer and model.

The fire and water caused $75,000 (euro57,955) damage to the room and a business on the ground floor, Henke said.

In case you lost count, that was 4 petroleum based products combining to nearly kill this man.  Wow, I have heard that petroleum was flamable, but had no idea how dangerous it was when used to manufacture clothing, a plastic chair and a cell phone…

While I do in fact understand the flamable nature of petroleum, I think only one of two scenarios is plausible.  The first involves a crack pipe that is suspiciously absent from the new story.  The second scenario is that he was secretly testing Apple’s new iPhone (note that authorities “declined to name the phone’s manufacturer and model).
What do you think???

I’ve had a bad one for about a week now, and because of the high volume of gluey mucus coming out of my sinuses today, I thought it would be a good idea to buy some Advil Cold & Sinus remedy.  I haven’t bought any strong cold medicines for over a year, so I wasn’t aware that it was such an ordeal to purchase this stuff these days.  (Thanks meth heads!)

I couldn’t just pick it up off the shelf in the cold-and-flu-remedy section of the pharmacy.  I had to ask the cashier to get it for me, and then she had to take my driver’s license so she could write down all of my personal information in a log, and then I had to sign for it.

I haven’t had to go through so much hassle to buy something since the last time I bought a keg of beer.  The cashier didn’t ask me to return the empty blister packs, so I guess buying a keg is a bit more of a hassle, but not by much.

In 2003, dead bodies were piling up in Mexico and a United States Government informant was being paid (over $200k) to participate in the murders. As the events unfolded, the paid informant, told his handlers everything, including the code word used by the cartel when a murder was coming ‘Carne Asada’

The story has a lot of twists and turns, with one of the more interesting aspects being that the informant’s actions were known and approved by a current Bush appointee in Washington DC.
The informant, Lalo, would travel from the United States to Mexico where he committed many crimes while wearing a ‘wire’ and being a paid informant for several US agencies.

The Narco News Bulletin website provides the source material for an interesting story published in The Observer, which the US media has neglected to cover.

From The Observer article, a who’s who’s list of the key players in the story:

· Sandy Gonzalez Special Agent in charge of the DEA in El Paso who was forced to resign after complaining about the official handling of the House of Death case

· Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Believed to lead the Juarez drug cartel. The US has a $5m bounty on his head.

· Heriberto Santillan-Tabares Known as ‘the Engineer’, he is a key henchman of the Juarez gang and the man who arranged the killings at the House of Death.

· Guillermo Ramirez Peyro Known as Lalo, he is a US government informant who worked as a henchman inside the Juarez drug cartel. Now in a maximum-security US jail.

· Fernando Reyes A Mexican lawyer, murdered at the House of Death. His killing was tape-recorded by Lalo

· Johnny Sutton US Attorney for Western Texas and ex-adviser to Bush. Approved indictments against Santillan.

· Raul Bencomo The Ice Special Agent who was Lalo’s main handler.

More information can be found on The Narco News Bulletin website.

This just in from CNN, Marijuana may stave off Alzheimer’s, this story confirms the findings of an earlier 2005 BBC news story, Marijuana may block Alzheimer’s.

The biggest problem with the great news comes in the area of self medication. Would you need to smoke more to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s if you experience the following symptoms or smoke less marijuana to reduce the side effects of smoking marijuana???

Forgetfulness
Loss of concentration
Forgetting names
Memory loss
Forgetting how to do everyday tasks
Thinking difficulty
Difficulty speaking
Difficulty reading
Language deterioration
Impaired visual skills
Impaired spatial skills
Poor judgment
Confusion
Disorientation
Apathy
Anxiety
Depression
Aggression
Wandering

If you are a hypochondriac, you should head over to ObeyTheFist.com a take the Worst Case Scenario test to find what ailments you may have…

The October issue of Uncut features a photo of Kurt Cobain on the cover, and the magazine features a series of articles about the Seattle grunge scene that took off fifteen years ago.  There are interviews with Eddie Vedder, Mark Arm, Mark Lanegan and many more. 

Here’s a sidebar piece appearing next to the article about Cobain:

“I love myself and I want to live”
We imagine an alternative future where Kurt hadn’t died…

May 1994 Kurt leaves rehab, declares himself a changed man, puts Nirvana on hold. Rumours begin to circulate that he has suffered a motorcycle crash on his Seattle estate.

November 1994 Unplugged In New York is announced as Nirvana’s “final” album.  Kurt breaks his silence with a guest appearance on Neil Young’s new album, Sleeps With Angels.

January 1995 Kurt divorces Courtney Love, citing ongoing “drug and lifestyle issues.”

March 1996 Kurt releases his debut solo album, recorded in Nashville, but his new born-again Christian country-rock direction fiercely divides fans.  Inspired by his 12-step rehab and newly positive outlook, the album, I Love Myself And I Want To Live, sells poorly.

October 1997 Dropped by Geffen records for poor sales, Kurt announces his retirement from the music industry and claims he is looking for work as a janitor.

February 1998 Kurt is spotted holidaying in the Bahamas with actress Nicole Kidman.  Their alleged affair will later be blamed for Kidman’s divorce from Tom Cruise.

July 1999 Kurt releases a new solo album on his own label and plays Woodstock ‘99.  He helps to calm rioting fans but almost comes to blows with Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst.

September 2000 In response to Kurt’s scathing comments about his misogyny and homophobia, Eminem disses the grunge godfather onstage.  As a result, sales of Kurt’s solo albums enjoy a surge in popularity.

November 2000 Nirvana surprise the world by putting their differences n hold for a one-off reunion tour to mobilize the anti-Bush vote.  Kurt dedicates “Negative Creep” to Bush at every show.  The massive sell-out tour is later credited with helping Al Gore wind the White House by a narrow margin.

October 2002 Kurt digs out and finishes a couple of sketchy old songs for Nirvana’s best-selling career retrospective, Heart Shaped Box.  He then shocks the world by marrying Amanda de Cadenet.

May 2005 Kurt makes his acting debut playing “asshole art dealer” in Gus Van Sant’s Last Days, a semi-abstract meditation on Andy Warhol’s death.

July 2005 Kurt and Dave Grohl hug on stage during a mixed set of Nirvana and Foo Fighters songs at Live8 in London.  “This is more important than any beef between us,” they say.

March 2006 Kurt delivers a stripped-down acoustic album, produced by Rick Rubin.  The record is widely hailed as a return to classic form.  His new internet radio show, Drivetime with The KC, also becomes a huge success.

September 2006 In Martin Scorsese’s epic documentary profile of Kurt, Stupid And Contagious, the goatee-bearded singer gives a shifty and selective account of his career.  It is hailed as a masterpiece.  Kurt is bigger than ever.

Buy the magazine to read the rest of the articles.  In it you’ll find this quote from Mark Arm: 

“Kurt was taking all kinds of pills and shit.  He was asking how I’d quit, and I said you have to want it bad enough.  I should have also said: ‘You should get away from your junkie wife.’”

The magazine always comes with a CD featuring mostly new music, and this month’s CD includes a song off the upcoming Sparklehorse CD that for some reason hasn’t yet been released in the U.S.