Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

I was tracking my usual haunts and came across a petition headlined The Federal Government: Eliminate laws prohibiting the use of the endocannabinoid system. Because every human being born has an endocannabinoid system, a network of receptors exclusively designed to capture cannabinoids and process them. Prohibiting the only source of cannabinoids, Cannabis, aka marijuana et…

Eric has a post up about the Mandarin mentality. Which fits into a comment I was responding to that my friend Neil made on a different post. Here is what Neil had to say. It’s probably true that drug use was not a major problem when government began prohibition efforts. It wasn’t really a problem…

These are the people Megan McArdle calls the Mandarins, due to their similarity to the Chinese ruling class scholars. Passing the tests and becoming a “scholar official” was a ticket to a very good, very secure life.  And there is something to like about a system like this . . . especially if you happen…

“The refusal of King George III to allow the colonies to operate an honest money system, which freed the ordinary man from the clutches of the money manipulators was probably the prime cause of the revolution.” Benjamin Franklin The Currency Act of 1764. The Currency Act of 1764 was passed after the French and Indian…

Funny thing that just before going to bed last night I would write about uptight feminists (including a famous anti-sex law professor here at UM), because this morning I saw a local news item that made little sense in the abstract until I factored in the prudish uptight feminist mindset that reigns at the University…

A photo I saw on Facebook earlier got me thinking about a relatively new term that has captured public attention. Sex trafficking. The above conjures up sexual slavery, which I and everyone I know is against. Yet the term is being used more and more in such a manner that it is indistinguishable from ordinary…

This guy is in favor of Medical Marijuana. He doesn’t like the cartels. Me? I’m against prohibition. Period. No one should be going to jail for marijuana. CBD Science – HPLC Analysis Weed Country – The Discovery Channel I used to live in Briceland. Update: 23 Feb 2013 1307z You can read a review of…

From Reason Magazine. How to beat a patent troll. Don’t negotiate with terrorists. Patent Trolls Eat Startups First. Here’s What You Can Do About It The author of this: A Patent Troll Wants to Charge You for Emailing Your Scans!, also writes for Network World. The patent trolls are, in effect, completely legal financial terrorists.…

A little news from Florida. The university called a special meeting of its Board of Trustees to formally accept a gift of $6 million from the Boca Raton-based GEO Group. In exchange for the gift, FAU Stadium be renamed GEO Group Stadium for the next 12 years. GEO Group is a private correctional facilities company…

We have some very smart legislators in Illinois. Creates the Internet Posting Removal Act. Provides that a web site administrator shall, upon request, remove any posted comments posted by an anonymous poster unless the anonymous poster agrees to attach his or her name to the post and confirms that his or her IP address, legal…

This is a repost in whole without permission. I have advised the owner Kari Boiter so I may have to take it down later. ==== I spent the last three years working as an Executive Legislative Assistant to a ranking budget chair in the Washington State Legislature, so it should come as no surprise that…

votehemp.com

From the comments here. I am an evangelical minister and I do remember, with the same concern, this evangelical political turning towards the what was then termed as the Catholic Issue of Abortion. I had a Catholic friend who challenged me when the Supreme Court decision was rendered in 1973 about what she perceived as…

“You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.” Ayn Rand aka Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum

This may seem like an odd topic for a post, but I was talking with a man the other day who is in a state of grief over the killing of his two Labrador retrievers by what he said were coyotes. I’m not a zoologist, but it initially struck me as odd that Labradors (large…

I thought it might be interesting to back up my statement: Medical Marijuana prohibition is a crime against humanity and a violation of the religious precept – heal the sick. We probably should start with a little evidence. A few links are in order for that. CB2 CBD Science – HPLC Analysis Immune System Modulation…

I sometimes worry about irresponsible calls for civil war or armed revolution, and I have pointed out till I am blue in the face that if such an event happens, I will fight against it. But so far (fortunately), most of the people I’ve heard clamoring for such things have no real power, and perhaps…

In my recent post, CBD Science – HPLC Analysis, I discussed how various strains of cannabis are useful for different conditions. I also looked at that question here: CB2. A friend of mine sent me a link to this Cannabis Strain Explorer which may help you find a cannabis strain for a particular condition. Should…

One of today’s popular truths is that people (especially young people) are so mired in technological gadgetry that they are missing out on important things. Actually, I think many of the technological gadgets rank high as the most important things, but to those who want to make sweeping judgments about how the quality of life…

NSFW americandrugwar.com On YouTube: American Drug War: The Last White Hope