Random thoughts

I know its going on the second month of the new year of 2011, but I just had some random thoughts and wanted to let you know what some of MY favorite things of 2010 were.
The Quiet Mouse is back and here's what I think in a short segment of some random stuff.

1) Best Movie of 2010: (by far)  INCEPTION with Leo Dicaprio and one of the best, but under rated actors, Joseph Gordon Levitt, along with Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Tom Berringer, and Ellen Page. Just a flat out awesome, mind bending flick!

2) Best video game of 2010: That's a tough one, but I'm gonna have to go with Final Fantasy XIII. Although the game play is a little bit linear, the storyline and amazing graphics take this winner over the top and set a new standard for the RPG genre.

3) Best video release for home viewing of 2010: LOST the entire 6 season set released into one box set with a shit load of bonus footage. Many didn't like the ending, but I think a lot of that had to do with losing parts of the story from breaks in the television airing of the episodes. When you watch it faster and without commercial breaks, it flows better and makes a lot more sense with less detail lost in translation.

4) Best restaurant of 2010: (now mind you, this only a place I have tried recently here in Portland and no where else) CHINA DELIGHT. The owner is a 5 star chef from San Fransisco who got tired of the fast paced life of the big city so he moved to Portland and serves high quality Chinese food for a very reasonable price. His "String bean chicken with mushrooms" is to die for. Slightly spicy, full of flavor. This is the winner for me hands down.

5) Best cake I made in 2010: A brown sugar pound cake with toasted pecans... or the butter rum cake I made for x-mas. Both were fantastic and got annihilated very quickly by my roommates.

6) Favorite drink of 2010: Simply Orange juice... this stuff will put lead in your pencil... yummy. I'm sure my daughter would agree.

7) Best gluten free product of 2010: BOB'S RED MILL brand. Period. I can finally make all my cakes and cookies without wheat gluten without a loss of flavor.

8) Best new player in the NFL from 2010 season: Sam Bradford, former OU alumni, current QB for the St. Louis Rams. Almost led them to the playoffs. Good job Seattle in a narrow win.

9) Best new fitness workout from 2010: Zumba!! If you haven't seen it, look it up, try it out, this is some heavy duty stuff. Dance your way to a slimmer figure in minutes a day. You can sweat your ass off (literally) and don't have to listen to the oldies with Richard Simmons queer ass.

10) Best concert of 2010: Kotton Mouth Kings at the Wonder Ballroom!! Chappy and I went to see these guys and had such a blast!! I can't wait til next time they are in town again. I even caught a hat that was thrown off stage by D-Loc!

11) Last but not least, best girlfriend of the year: Tamara Spain. It is wonderful to have someone smile and make your heart melt every time. Everyone goes through ups and downs, but to find someone that reciprocates unconditionally, well... that IS special. I love you babe ;)

But Quiet Mouse, you left out so many things...
ah... perhaps so. It is difficult to pick just one or two things when there are so many great things in this world. There are many people I would like to thank including Mike Shultz and Dr. Brian Jones.

2010 was a good year, but with a little effort, I truly believe this new year, 2011 can be even better. I don't need any new years resolutions. It doesn't take a new year to make a decision that will forever change and better your self. It doesn't take holidays or special occasions to make me want to give back and help out or just do something nice for NO REASON. There are no alterior motives. There is no hidden agenda. I do not speak in code or a foreign language. I just try every day to be ME and no one else. Despite some of the negative things I blog about, I really do believe that there is good still in the world.
That's for another blog, lol...
This has been the Quiet Mouse once again.
Peace. Love. Respect. Truth.

Where's the Beef?

Welcome back my friends to another edition of the Quiet Mouse Strikes Back!!
As many of you are already aware, there is a class action lawsuit going on right now over the false advertisement of Taco Bell's taco meat. It is currently labeled as "seasoned beef", although it does NOT meet the current U.S. Department of Agriculture's minimum requirements to be labeled as BEEF.


Before I go any further, this reminds me of the old Wendy's commercials from the 1980's... I am sure some of my readers are too young to remember, so I will illuminate upon this. The commercial goes something like a couple of old ladies are gathered round this HUGE bun with this tiny little patty of meat in the middle and a few trimmings of ketchup and mustard. It was a big campaign slogan at the time to attract business away from pre-cooked burger chains like McDonalds. 


Anyway, thankfully there is no monetary claim being pursued by the lawsuit, only that customers have the right to know what is actually in their food, requesting that it be labeled as "taco meat filler" instead. According to the suit, the "beef" in question is only actually about 35% ground beef, with the other ingredients used as FILLERS including: the remaining 65 percent containing water, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent and modified corn starch.

The main reason for bringing this up is to get people to understand what they are consuming, especially for people 

like myself who have food allergies. I have celiac disease and should not be eating gluten. Wheat oats... BAD! 

soy lecithin... BAD! MODIFIED corn starch... BAD!! And WHAT THE FUCK is an anti-dusting agent???

For those who do not know, here is what soy lecithin is:

Soybean lecithin comes from sludge left after crude soy oil goes through a "degumming" process. It is a waste product containing solvents and pesticides and has a consistency ranging from a gummy fluid to a plastic solid.

One of the biggest problems associated with soy lecithin comes from the origin of the soy itself. The majority of soy sources in the world are now genetically modified (GM). Researchers have clearly identified GM foods as a threat to the environment, pollution of soils and a long-term threat to human health with links to of the world with unnatural genetic material that may have unknown long-term consequences with links to decreased fertility, immunological alterations in the gut and the exacerbation and creation of allergies.

Genetically engineered soy contains high concentrations of plant toxicants. The presence of high levels of toxicants in the GM soy 
represent thousands of plant biochemicals many of which have been shown to have toxic effects on animals.

Maltodextrin is another clever way of saying GLUTEN. It is created using Maltin (a wheat product) and dextrose (sugar) from corn combined with acids, YES acids to create a food stabilizer that adds weight to a product while emuslifying it.

And last but not least, modified corn starch. People with celiac disease should also try to avoid this pitfall of empty calories that doesn't even have to be made from corn... huh?? YEP, it  can also be made from wheat, potato, rice, or tapioca. YUMMY!!

The point being that by itself corn starch is NOT bad for us, but when they MODIFY it and treat it with harmful chemicals, well, then it isn't so good for us after all. It among other products mentioned in this list are used to EXTEND the shelf life of the product. 

The point I am trying to get at here is to question what you put in your mouth. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!! after all. READ THE LABELS. If you DON"T KNOW what it is... chances are you shouldn't be putting that in your body. As always, I encourage my readers to do their own research, but in the end, the only food worth consuming comes from MOTHER NATURE, UNADULTERATED and NON-GENETICALLY MODIFIED!!

YOU make the decision for yourself, but ME personally, I don't see much of Taco Bell in MY future. I'm going back to my Jack Lalanne juicer... may THAT good man rest in peace.

This has been the Quiet Mouse once again. 

Think. Love. Respect. Evolve.

The WAR on Drugs

"In 1937, with the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act, the United States effectively banned recreational and medicinal use of cannabis.(1) Many nations followed suit and in 1961, through the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, fifty-four nations agreed to "[a]dopt such measures as may be necessary to prevent the misuse of, and illicit traffic in the leaves of the cannabis plant."(2) Despite such restrictive control, cannabis has become the most widely used illicit drug in the western world."


Ladies and gentlemen, this is the ONE and ONLY Quiet Mouse here to talk to you today about an issue that is killing American society and leading us down the rabbit hole of sacrificing the loss of more and more freedoms for a false sense of security. Let's start this off with a few myths and facts about Cannabis, labeled as Marijuana by the government.

Myth: Marijuana Can Cause Permanent Mental Illness. Among adolescents, even occasional marijuana use may cause psychological damage. During intoxication, marijuana users become irrational and often behave erratically.

Fact: There is no convincing scientific evidence that marijuana causes psychological damage or mental illness in either teenagers or adults. In rare instances some marijuana users experience psychological distress following marijuana ingestion, which may include feelings of panic, anxiety, and paranoia. Such experiences can be frightening, but the effects are temporary. With very large doses, marijuana can cause temporary toxic psychosis. This occurs rarely, and almost always when marijuana is eaten rather than smoked.  Over all Marijuana does not cause profound changes in people's behavior.

Myth: Marijuana is Highly Addictive. Long term marijuana users experience physical dependence and withdrawal, and often need professional drug treatment to break their marijuana habits.

Fact: Most people who smoke marijuana smoke it only occasionally. A small minority of Americans - less than 1 percent - smoke marijuana on a daily basis. An even smaller minority develop a dependence on marijuana. Some people who smoke marijuana heavily and frequently stop without difficulty. Others seek help from drug treatment professionals. Marijuana does not cause physical dependence. If people experience withdrawal symptoms at all, they are remarkably mild compared to tobacco and alcohol dependence, or stronger drugs like cocaine or heroin.

Myth: Marijuana Is More Potent Today Than In The Past. Adults who used marijuana in the 1960s and 1970s fail to realize that when today's youth use marijuana they are using a much more dangerous drug.

Fact: When today's youth use marijuana, they are using the same drug used by youth in the 1960s and 1970s. A small number of low-THC samples seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration are used to calculate a dramatic increase in potency. However, these samples were not representative of the marijuana generally available to users during this era. Potency data from the early 1980s to the present are more reliable, and they show no increase in the average THC content of marijuana. Even if marijuana potency were to increase, it would not necessarily make the drug more dangerous. Marijuana that varies quite substantially in potency produces similar psychoactive effects.

Myth: Marijuana Offenses Are Not Severely Punished. Few marijuana law violators are arrested and hardly anyone goes to prison. This lenient treatment is responsible for marijuana continued availability and use.

Fact: Marijuana arrests in the United States doubled between 1991 and 1995. In 1995, more than one-half-million people were arrested for marijuana offenses. Eighty-six percent of them were arrested for marijuana possession. Tens of thousands of people are now in prison for marijuana offenses. An even greater number are punished with probation, fines, and civil sanctions, including having their property seized, their driver's license revoked, and their employment terminated. Despite these civil and criminal sanctions, marijuana continues to be readily available and widely used.

Myth: Marijuana is More Damaging to the Lungs Than Tobacco.Marijuana smokers are at a high risk of developing lung cancer, bronchitis, and emphysema.

Fact: Moderate smoking of marijuana appears to pose minimal danger to the lungs. Like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke contains a number of irritants and carcinogens. But marijuana users typically smoke much less often than tobacco smokers, and over time, inhale much less smoke. As a result, the risk of serious lung damage should be lower in marijuana smokers. There have been no reports of lung cancer related solely to marijuana, and in a large study presented to the American Thoracic Society in 2006, even heavy users of smoked marijuana were found not to have any increased risk of lung cancer. Unlike heavy tobacco smokers, heavy marijuana smokers exhibit no obstruction of the lung's small airway. That indicates that people will not develop emphysema from smoking marijuana.

Myth: Marijuana is a Gateway Drug. Even if marijuana itself causes minimal harm, it is a dangerous substance because it leads to the use of "harder drugs" like heroin, LSD, and cocaine.

Fact: Marijuana does not cause people to use hard drugs. What the gateway theory presents as a causal explanation is a statistic association between common and uncommon drugs, an association that changes over time as different drugs increase and decrease in prevalence. Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the United States today. Therefore, people who have used less popular drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, are likely to have also used marijuana. Most marijuana users never use any other illegal drug. Indeed, for the large majority of people, marijuana is a terminus rather than a gateway drug.

Myth: Marijuana Causes Crime. Marijuana users commit more property offenses than nonusers. Under the influence of marijuana, people become irrational, aggressive, and violent.

Fact: Every serious scholar and government commission examining the relationship between marijuana use and crime has reached the same conclusion: marijuana does not cause crime. The vast majority of marijuana users do not commit crimes other than the crime of possessing marijuana. Among marijuana users who do commit crimes, marijuana plays no causal role. Almost all human and animal studies show that marijuana decreases rather than increases aggression.

Myth: Marijuana's Harms Have Been Proved Scientifically. In the 1960s and 1970s, many people believed that marijuana was harmless. Today we know that marijuana is much more dangerous than previously believed.

Fact: In 1972, after reviewing the scientific evidence, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded that while marijuana was not entirely safe, its dangers had been grossly overstated. Since then, researchers have conducted thousands of studies of humans, animals, and cell cultures. None reveal any findings dramatically different from those described by the National Commission in 1972. In 1995, based on thirty years of scientific research editors of the British medical journal Lancet concluded that "the smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health."

Few public policies have compromised public health and undermined our fundamental civil liberties for so long and to such a degree as the war on drugs. The United States is now the world's largest jailer (especially with a FOR-PROFIT prison system), imprisoning nearly half a million people for drug offenses alone. That's more people than Western Europe, with a bigger population, incarcerates for all offenses. Roughly 1.5 million people are arrested each year for drug law violations - 40% of them just for marijuana possession. People suffering from cancer, AIDS and other debilitating illnesses are regularly denied access to their medicine or even arrested and prosecuted for using medical marijuana. We can do better!!

So why is Cannabis (marijuana) illegal in the first place? Let's look to drugwarrant.com for some answers.

Many people assume that marijuana was made illegal through some kind of process involving scientific, medical, and government hearings; that it was to protect the citizens from what was determined to be a dangerous drug.

The actual story shows a much different picture. Those who voted on the legal fate of this plant never had the facts, but were dependent on information supplied by those who had a specific agenda to deceive lawmakers. You’ll see below that the very first federal vote to prohibit marijuana was based entirely on a documented lie on the floor of the Senate.

You’ll also see that the history of marijuana’s criminalization is filled with:

• Racism
• Fear
• Protection of Corporate Profits
• Yellow Journalism
• Ignorant, Incompetent, and/or Corrupt Legislators
• Personal Career Advancement and Greed

These are the actual reasons marijuana is illegal.

Background

For most of human history, marijuana has been completely legal. It’s not a recently discovered plant, nor is it a long-standing law. Marijuana has been illegal for less than 1% of the time that it’s been in use. Its known uses go back further than 7,000 B.C. and it was legal as recently as when Ronald Reagan was a boy.

The marijuana (hemp) plant, of course, has an incredible number of uses. The earliest known woven fabric was apparently of hemp, and over the centuries the plant was used for food, incense, cloth, rope, and much more. This adds to some of the confusion over its introduction in the United States, as the plant was well known from the early 1600′s, but did not reach public awareness as a recreational drug until the early 1900′s.

America’s first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia in 1619. It was a law “ordering” all farmers to grow Indian hemp seed. There were several other “must grow” laws over the next 200 years (you could be jailed for not growing hemp during times of shortage in Virginia between 1763 and 1767), and during most of that time, hemp was legal tender (you could even pay your taxes with hemp — try that today!) Hemp was such a critical crop for a number of purposes (including essential war requirements – rope, etc.) that the government went out of its way to encourage growth.

The United States Census of 1850 counted 8,327 hemp “plantations” (minimum 2,000-acre farm) growing cannabis hemp for cloth, canvas and even the cordage used for baling cotton. The illegalization of this plant led to the increase of tobacco farmers in the American south. 

Yellow Journalism

Harry Anslinger, the antagonist of the "DRUG WAR", and starter of the Bureau of Narcotics got some additional help from William Randolf Hearst, owner of a huge chain of newspapers. Hearst had lots of reasons to help. First, he hated Mexicans. Second, he had invested heavily in the timber industry to support his newspaper chain and didn’t want to see the development of hemp paper in competition. Third, he had lost 800,000 acres of timberland to Pancho Villa, so he hated Mexicans. Fourth, telling lurid lies about Mexicans (and the devil marijuana weed causing violence) sold newspapers, making him rich.

Andrew Mellon and his brother Richard Mellon had started an oil company in Texas in 1901 called Gulf Oil and was looking to drill oil in Kuwait.  However Britain was in control of Kuwait's foreign affairs in 1932.  Gulf Oil appealed to the US Government and directly to Andrew Mellon, Treasury Secretary of the US (1921-1932).  It appears he was not able to help however because he then became the US Ambassador to Britain and travelled to Britain 3 times, each time bringing up the subject of Gulf Oils interest in Kuwait.  Two years later in 1934 British Petroleum and Gulf Oil struck a 50-50 deal and in 1938, struck oil.

In the 1920’s and 30’s the DuPont Petrochemical company was making similar advances with oil instead of hemp. They had developed the sulfite and sulfate processes for chemically treating paper pulp from trees, as well as gasoline additives, cellophane, nylon and Dacron (orPET used in plastic).  DuPont went on to become a leader in the development of Rayon fibre (synthetic fabrics), paint, synthetic rubber, plastics, insecticides, photographic film and other chemicals

So lets recap a little: Hemp was the primary crop grown by George Washington at Mount Vernon, and a secondary crop grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. For the first 162 years of America's existence, marijuana was totally legal and hemp was a common crop. But during the 1930s, the U.S. government and the media began spreading outrageous lies about marijuana, which led to its prohibition. Some headlines made about marijuana in the 1930s were: "Marijuana: The assassin of youth." "Marijuana: The devil's weed with roots in hell." "Marijuana makes fiends of boys in 30 days." "If the hideous monster Frankenstein came face to face with the monster marijuana, he would drop dead of fright." In 1936, the liquor industry funded the infamous movie titled Reefer Madness. This movie depicts a man going insane from smoking marijuana, and then killing his entire family with an ax. This campaign of lies, as well as other evidence, have led many to believe there may have been a hidden agenda behind Marijuana Prohibition. Marijuana was banned to destroy the hemp industry pure and simple. Hemp can be used to produce more than 25,000 products and hemp will prove, for both farmer and public, the most profitable and desirable crop that can be grown.

The majority of the prohibition of cannabis and hemp throughout the world NOW is due to the pressure of the American government alphabet agencies, including the DEA, FBI, and CIA. The fact is that there is TOO MUCH MONEY now involved in the "WAR ON DRUGS" for them to stop now. Think about this, my friends... THEY, being the people who are in control of this nation (and NO, I am NOT talking about the idiots on capitol hill in Washington DC, but rather the corporate interests backing them), NEED a "WAR" on drugs to keep the supply low enough to create high demands and high profits. THAT is why they want stronger border security. So that THEY can control the trafficking of Mexican immigrants (as cheap labor, again to MAXIMIZE PROFITS) and the illegal drug trade. THEY are getting profits from the government to "fight the war" while ALSO making profits from the over-inflated price of drugs. 

Despite the graphic violence, the movie MACHETE shows a good correlation between drug violence and the PROFIT MOTIVES behind corrupt politicians and foreign drug kingpins. Remember my former blog: "Follow the Money to the Rich White Guys"? Any time you want to know how the world turns, look to who is getting the $$CASH$$!! 

The same can be said, not only for the DRUG WAR, but also for the other wars in Iraq and Afghanistan... AGAIN, it is ALL about money. In Iraq, there is direct evidence that American corporations have profited off of the OIL market. Then there is the reformed constitution in Iraq where they are NOT allowed to grow their own food any longer, except from American sources like Genetically Modified seeds like Monsanto produces. It is a fact that the nation of Iraq, right in the middle of the fertile crescent, ONCE held the largest natural seed bank in the world... NO LONGER as that was one of the "TARGETS" of American soldier attack. And Afghanistan it is again all about the money, as analysis has shown over a trillion and a half dollars worth of raw minerals that corporate interests want THEIR stake in. Any time there is WAR, someone is behind it making a PROFIT, i.e. IBM during WWII or Haliburton during the Iraqi war.

It is difficult for many to see the potential benefits of the legalization or decriminalization of the cannabis/ hemp plant. The propaganda machine for many years now has vilified these plants under the guise of public health protection, but the MONEY motivation is all the same. The TRUTH is that THEY are NOT interested in the money that could be saved in costs if the prohibition were lifted. THEY are already  making too much PROFIT off of the illegal trade. The demand has NOT gone away due to this prohibition. Concentrated and harsher laws only lead to a higher demand and increased inflation. The revenue from legalization and taxation, although useful for balancing budgets and funding the system that is ALREADY strapped for cash is NOTHING compared to what THEY are making now. It is shameful that the taxable revenue could pay for the education system to be reformed, roads to receive necessary repairs, and the police could ACTUALLY enforce laws on the REAL society problems like Methamphetamine, serial killers, rapists, and white collar fraud, which is becoming more and more prevalent with pyramid and Ponzi schemes. 

The decriminalization of cannabis in countries like Portugal and Holland has actually led to a DECREASE in the use of hard drugs like cocaine, meth, and heroin due to the user actually being able to LEGALLY go to a "Hash Bar" to smoke marijuana rather than seek it out illegally from a person who is selling MORE than just the cannabis they desire. Teenage use in these two countries has gone down as well as there is not the stigma of doing something "illegal" to produce a stimulation to the user. "Following decriminalization, Portugal had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people over 15 in the E.U. ... The U.S. has long championed a hard-line drug policy, supporting only international agreements that enforce drug prohibition and imposing on its citizens some of the world's harshest penalties for drug possession and sales. Yet American has the highest rates of cocaine and marijuana use in the world, and while most of the E.U. (including Holland) has more liberal drug laws than the U.S., it also has less drug use." The Netherlands, with a less criminally punitive approach to cannabis use than the U.S., has experienced lower levels of use, particularly among younger adults. Clearly, by itself, a punitive policy towards possession and use accounts for limited variation in national rates of illegal drug use."

So ultimately it is up to YOU as a citizen, either of the United States, or any other nation to decide which SIDE you want to stand on. Are you going to believe the stereotypical dogma preached by the PROFIT-DRIVEN propaganda machine? Or are you going to use more common sense and approach the issue with a real sense of KNOWLEDGE? I urge any and all to do some REAL research and find out for yourself. As for the case of the United States, think of this... Cannabis has killed NO ONE, where as alcohol and tobacco kill thousands if not millions of people EVERY year. As we face a NEW world of globalization, over-population, and the DEMAND for a "GREENER" planet... what is more GREEN and sustainable than the hemp/ Cannabis plant? It IS the solution to ending the petrochemical dependence we have created based on Middle Eastern, Russian, and other countries (Kenya, Venezuela, and others) oil drilling. As a nation and as a planet we MUST seek alternatives to the ever-dwindling resource of petroleum... IT has destroyed entire generations of workers, children, and national economies. The plastic industry is killing the environment as many TEXAS-SIZED rafts of plastic bottles and trash pile up on the surface of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and that isn't even taking into consideration all the aquifers and fresh water sources that are being sucked dry to make all this bottled H2O. Think of the unprecedented numbers of sink-holes popping up all over the world!!

We could be making plastics from plants that are recyclable and more environmentally friendly. We could have clothing from hemp that does NOT require the heavy pesticide, fungicide, and herbicide petrochemicals that are used for COTTON. WAKE UP AND THINK!! There is no where for us to go! We, as humans are facing global extinction within the next hundred years if we do not act quickly to turn around the damage and destruction we have unadulteratedly committed on this planet, OUR MOTHER EARTH!!

Re-use. Recycle. Stop the senseless violence and criminalization of our children, families, and future generations. 

This has been the Quiet Mouse hoping to wake up more people from this Matrix of illusion and propaganda. Think for YOURSELF. Don't let ANYONE make YOUR decisions for YOU!!

Recycle. Peace. Love. Respect. TRUTH. 

Thanks to marijuana.com, drugwarrant.com, dope-seeds.com, drugpolicy.org, and others for contributing information to this blog

I HAVE A DREAM... MLK Jr.

"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane"
"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom. "
Martin Luther King, Jr.


Welcome my friends to a special edition of the Quite Mouse Strikes Back. We have come a long way and have received almost 1000 page views from all around the world. The issue today is HEALTH CARE, which is a truly GLOBAL issue that affects ALL OF US, equally. So sit down, buckle up, and get ready as I explore this issue in depth.
Thank you to all who contributed ideas and inspirations for this blog on my face book threads. Let's jump in with both feet...


I agree with the fact that a "for profit" health care system is the antithesis of actually RECEIVING quality treatment. First I would like to talk about that: how we treat one another as Americans by posing a question...
Are we really FREE?


I want to start my answer by citing Amendment 4 of our bill of rights:

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Now, I understand that this is meant for a grander purpose than just the health care, but I wanted to cite the first part of the paragraph in particular. "The right of the people to be secure in their persons..."

The reason I cite this is that I personally believe that we have LOST this right as Americans, in the example of inadequate health care, invasive policement of our person and homes, and un-constitutional, unhealthy TSA screenings.

The idea for health and other forms of insurance came from the NIXON administration, ergo, the beginning of the modern fall of ROME. We lost the "gold standard" as well during that time, so the ONLY thing backing our currency is FAITH as an American people. Faith in something that is NOT tangible. Faith in a system that is corrupt, immoral, and by far GREEDY.

How can we be expected to keep the faith in this system that has plundered, raped, and pillaged from the very soul of its inhabitants who are the BACKBONE of this nation? I have asked before and I will ask yet again: "What has to happen for YOU to stand up and demand change?"

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. He did speak of the plight against people of color, but his REAL message was universal. ALL men and women being equal in the eyes of God.

"We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force..."

"When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

When Dr. King spoke these eloquent words, he did so with a fervor and passion that is lacking in American society today. Too many people are AFRAID in their own skin to even leave their own home, hoping and praying for a change that will NEVER come... UNLESS... unless we leave our homes, take to the streets, and DEMAND action from those that would lead us to suffering and despair. All for the bottom line of greedy, blood PROFIT, the true FACE of America. 

Over the last week I have heard many voices on the wrongs and rights of the health care CRISIS facing this ONCE GREAT nation. Let's see some pros and cons of this new health care reform bill passed by Obama.

Health Care Bill PROS:

1. Discrimination of health insurance companies will be eliminated. No more pre-existing conditions clauses in health insurance contracts.

2. Given the fact that millions of Americans will be insured by this new health care bill, the US Government can negotiate among health insurance firms to lower the premiums of their health insurance. This would mean less health insurance costs for a lot of Americans.

3. Tax credit will be given to those Americans who still cannot afford to avail health insurance to help them to have one.

4. Stiff competition among health insurance firms will possibly result to much lower insurance costs and more quality health insurance products and services.

5. Aside from the elimination of pre-existing conditions stated above, the coverage amount or sum insured will also be waived by health insurers.

Health Care Bill CONS:

1. Given the huge amount of expenses pegged at $940 billion in a spread of about 10 years, it might slow down the growth of heavily burdened US economy.

2. Insurance Availment Mandate. You have no choice but to get a health insurance. Otherwise, you will be subjected to a 2% tax increase which will be used to subsidize the insurance costs of other Americans. Healthy people who take care of themselves will have to pay for the burden of those who smoke, are obese, etc.

3. There will be a tax increase on people with very high income. If you are making more than half a million per annum, you will have about a 1% tax increase.

4. The US Government will have more control in the health insurance industry causing patients’ confidentiality to be more likely compromised since centralized health information will likely be maintained by the government.

5. Chances of bribery may possibly increase as health care equipment, drugs, and services may end up being rationed by the government.

Friends have told me about their doctors abandoning patients out of FEAR of this new legislation. There is a likely chance that Emergency Rooms will be flooded with patients that cannot afford this "mandatory" insurance. The state of ER's across this country is a disorderly affair. They are understaffed at most times, burdened with myocardial infarctions from our over indulged, obese society. Burdened with the non-insured, sometimes ILLEGAL immigrants who cannot afford health care on their SLAVE wages, nor the rest of us for that matter. 

And I empathize with people who see the flaws in the system and are fearful of a government ran health care system. But here's the problem folks... While you and I are busy complaining about OUR taxes, the solution is actually simpler than imagined. The issue is NOT weather we need to pay more individual taxes, but that we need to get more INDIVIDUALS to pay their taxes, period.

The insurance system, to my understanding, is based upon having enough people pooling the money into the resource so EVERYONE can be covered. Why do we feel as Americans that we need to be selfish and NOT pay our fair share, let alone the cost of covering EVERYONE. Quite simply put, if we could get MORE people, LEGALLY into the system, i.e. illegal immigrants, to pay their taxes, then we would NOT be facing these issues. Secondly, we NEED to have proper PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE practices in this country... and I'm NOT talking about that POISON they have been injecting us with for "immunizations". 

I was trained in the medical field in the Navy. I have worked in both the military and civilian medical fields, am currently going to school for nursing, so I have been inside the belly of the beast and seen MANY examples of where the system has gone systemically wrong.

The first place it has gone wrong is GREED. From when I was a child, I remember growing up with doctors being treated like ROCK STARS! It was always KNOWN that doctors got paid good money to do what they do, despite long hard hours, and often grueling working conditions. Here's the thing about some doctors. There is a split in the MD community. Some ARE there for the genuine concern of all their patients, seeking to provide ALL that they can, even at the LOSS of their own profit... on the flip side of the coin, there ARE many other doctors, who desire to embrace this ROCKSTAR mentality, and seek to maximize profits, even at a potential patient loss. I have seen this many times, especially during my time working as a surgical tech.

One thing I have noticed emphatically is that the amount of money that insurance companies, including the gov't ran Medicare and Medicaid... well, to put it simply, the COST of the doctors to do business keeps going UP, and the pay keeps going DOWN as the insurance companies make all the PROFIT, while doctors are going belly up. I repeat, it is NOT, in most situations (private doctors like plastic surgeons and cash pay patients not counting toward my argument)  the doctors making the money any longer!! It is the INSURANCE COMPANIES THAT ARE CUTTING A FAT HOG. It is BLOOD MONEY, made off the pain and suffering of the masses.

What are the reasons for this hyper-inflation in health care costs?

To be honest, MOST of the rise in cost is from ADMINISTRATION cost. It doesn't cost much more than it used to for a pack of sponges or gauze rolls. Health care workers are often NOT paid what they are worth, for example, EMT's and ambulance workers are often paid below standard wages, barely above minimum wage. Who's really making the money?

The INSURANCE COMPANIES of course. For years now, THEY have dictated to YOU, the patient, who you can see, what drugs you can get, what treatments you can receive, etc...

They do this because, as I wrote at the top of this blog, because FOR PROFIT health care CANNOT EXIST without someone getting SCREWED OVER. All THEY have to do is pay off our presidential candidates, BUY up smaller companies, and squeeze the lifeblood out of all of us. THEY do not worry about the rise in health care because  THEY are greedy toads, lacking the soul to help their fellow human beings. If they will not help us, then WE must stand together and help OURSELVES!! Don't you think?

Let me cite another example... the last place I worked at back in Plano, TX. The three doctors that owned the building/surgery center I worked at were some of the most vile and greedy people I have ever met. They performed all kinds of fraud toward the insurance system, gov't moneys, as well as the tax system. Ultimately, they RAN THE BUSINESS INTO THE GROUND, putting many people out of jobs... and why? So they could claim a LOSS on their taxes and avoid having to pay out monies of legality to one of the brother's divorce claim, where the ex-wife would get half... can't get half of a LOSS, now can you? The reason I am citing this is because of a couple reasons. 1) I personally witnessed these doctors perform what is known as "ghost" surgery. For those who do NOT know... this is where they tell you that one doctor is going to perform your surgical procedure, but once you are gassed and knocked out, someone ELSE actually does the work. 2) I have seen them withhold medical procedures NEEDED by the patient, because the insurance would not cover. 3) I have seen these same men charge the insurance companies for procedures that were NOT performed, while padding their own pocket books. 

I am sure it is nice to have court side tickets to the Dallas Mavericks basketball games, or 50 yard line tickets for the Cowboys football games... but ALL of these things have come at the price of the PATIENT. They come at a price to ALL OF US who threw our money into the insurance pool. You must understand that THEY, as doctors, are trying to re-make they money and profits that THEY have LOST from the insurance companies due to the EVER-INCREASING cost of MALPRACTICE INSURANCE.

I am fully aware of the issue with doctors cheating their patients and they system! I am fully aware that honest people DON'T want to pay higher premiums or pay for the care of someone else who could potentially be getting better treatment than them (NOT LIKELY). However, as a nation, we have GOT TO STOP suing other people!!

It doesn't matter how much you got fucked over, suing someone over ANYTHING, ONLY SPEEDS UP THE INFLATION OF COSTS!! THEY have to make up their profit margins. This is NOT a lottery! EVERY TIME someone sues the medical system, the systemic rise in costs is paramount to the cost that THEY had to pay out millions of dollars on a lawsuit. STOP suing!! It is ONLY making your costs go up, OUR costs go UP UP UP!!!

Now as far as a government ran nation-wide health care plan goes, I understand the concerns as well. Take a look at my blog about the VA and how badly the veterans of this nation are inadequately treated. Why on Earth would ANYONE want to buy into a system that is already being ran so POORLY?

Here's the deal on the VA... it is NOT about it being ran by the Gov't!! It is about the misappropriations of the Gov't, giving BILLIONS and TRILLIONS of dollars to the Department of Defense to fight "FOR PROFIT" WARS. Companies like Halliburton are making huge profits!!

We CAN afford adequate health care for all Americans... IF we weren't funding TERROR across the world. We could afford adequate education for all of our citizens... IF we weren't trillions of dollars in debt while we unsuccessfully try to POLICE THE WORLD (which by the way... the other nations DON'T WANT US THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE). We owe CHINA soooo much money now. 

The cost of health care and war has crippled the American economy quite possibly BEYOND REPAIR. Like my cousin Jason said, it IS simple economics. You CANNOT spend MORE than you bring in. 

You want ANSWERS!! I have them... you might not like what I have to say, though. Hope you are ready.

1) Put a spending FREEZE on ALL government employees for the next 6 years (at least). It is INSANE that they are making hundreds of thousands of dollars per year while the average citizen makes pennies by comparison. Plus, they get health care included in their salaries.

2) We need to have a comprehensive reform on immigration, both legal and ILLEGAL. We need to set up a plan to get these ILLEGAL citizens into a LEGAL status, so they can be made to pay TAXES too, rather than being a constant LEECH to the system that already CANNOT AFFORD to pay for them.

3) WE must take steps toward comprehensive health care reform:

a) first by shifting our focus away from Emergency Care to preventative care, this includes those end of life discussions, as well as proper nutrition plans, proper regulation of the food and drug industry, as well as IMMEDIATE regulation over the poisonous immunization industry (lead, mercury, and other toxins have been found in these shots)

- On a side note about the end of life physician discussions... These are NOT "death panels". Suggesting your patient is aware of the critical and necessary End of Life care alternatives, not only does it save on EMOTIONAL damage, but it also will save countless amounts of money in the long run, both in health care costs, but also legal fees. If you know it is coming, then you can set your affairs in order, talk to your family about your posthumous wishes...

b) We need to take examples from Asian nations like Japan, where the citizens actually exercise as part of their work day on the job. Preventative health care is MEANINGLESS if we continue to poison our bodies with McDonald's, sodas, and other poisons, like High Fructose Corn Syrup (or corn sugar... as they cleverly want to disguise it)

c) We NEED to demand the subsidizing of FRUITS and VEGETABLES over CORN, IMMEDIATELY!!! This is to include a change in school lunches, which I am very happy that Michelle Obama is tackling that issue right now.

4) We must END these WARS in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places we DO NOT belong. It is INSANE that we have military bases in over 100 other countries, many of whom do NOT want us there in the first place!!

5) We NEED MORE, not LESS institutions like Planned Parenthood. The gov't has been and could easily spend more money on a program that would offer free- to low cost STERILIZATION. Women need to get their tubes tied if they have too many kids to feed. Men need to STOP being unfit fathers and sticking their dicks in every woman they meet, especially unprotected. The EASIEST way to stop these unwanted or un-needed pregnancies is to eliminate the ability to spread the seed. There are ALREADY almost 7 billion people on this planet consuming up the world's resources faster than they can be replenished. 

6) We NEED, as parents, to talk to our children about the REAL issues of sex, which are unplanned pregnancies and STD's. This goes into the preventative care issue. The social welfare system is overwhelmed with single, unfit mothers and fathers that are NOT paying their child support. This has to STOP!!

7) We need to, globally, repair our image as a nation by providing an example of our real freedom. If WE can reduce our nuclear weapons and cease the war-mongering, we could save BILLIONS of dollars annually.

8) We MUST end the prohibition on CANNABIS or Marijuana as well as HEMP, the industrial product. The end of this prohibition would save the gov't, once again, BILLIONS of dollars, not only in the cost of policement that would be saved, but the taxable revenue as well. 

a) The Hemp plant is VITAL to the efforts of creating a more sustainable country as well as planet. We MUST shift our focus away from the deadly and hazardous petrochemical institution which we live that POISONS everything from the food we eat, the water we drink, to the air we breathe

b) the Hemp plant is 100% usable unlike cotton which is only 50% usable and requires MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF PESTICIDES, HERBICIDES, AND FUNGICIDES from evil companies like Monsanto

9) We need to adopt the mindset like the Europeans have done with GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS!! These foods are NOT safe for human consumption and we need to DEMAND stronger laws AGAINST THE SALE and marketing of them, IMMEDIATELY!!

10) We NEED to reform the tax system in this country as well. Forget the refunds, forget the loopholes. We NEED a tax system that is  both FAIR and ENCOMPASSING. We NEED a system that takes the revenues from the taxes and actually USES them to run the gov't more efficiently, environmentally conscious, and FOR THE PEOPLE, NOT the corporate interests, who see us as mere sheep or cattle.

11) We NEED to give MORE incentives for small business owners to be able to set up shop, function efficiently, and provide a decent wage + health care for employees

What is the point of all of this, you might be wondering...

The point is that despite what you may think, YOU ARE ALREADY PAYING for EVERYONE ELSE to get adequate health care. It would cost little to NO more if we would all just contribute the same amount, legally. It IS our responsibility to make sure that children and seniors are afforded proper health care. When you are elderly, YOU will want a handout too!! Social Security IS important. Medicare IS important. All WE need to do is demand the reform that is necessary BEFORE it bankrupts our nation. 

Again, I am gonna ask what I asked earlier in this blog. What will it take for YOU as a person to stand up and DEMAND the fairness and EQUALITY that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. advocated for so many years ago? You don't have to be black or another minority for this issue to affect you to the core. There are many many white people who cannot afford this either. There CAN be a resolution. There CAN be an adequate health care system for all to share. 

Hell, if countries like Cuba and Venezuela... countries that WE have labeled as "socialistic", can have health care for ALL their citizens at a fraction of the cost... WHY can't we? Even Canada has better health care than we do, as I have been told by Canadian citizens. If you want a procedure faster than the system can allow and it is NOT emergent, then by all means PAY FOR IT out of your own pocket. Of ALL the forms of healthcare that I have seen and read about, it seems to me that TRICARE, the military hospital care system, is ran the MOST efficiently. LOOK IT UP... we could all take an example from that. As much as we look down our nose at socialized medicine... that's EXACTLY what military medicine IS... socialized medicine. If we could ONLY get away from our OWN egos and think about the collective GOOD of ALL HUMAN BEINGS rather than our own SELFISH INTERESTS (which make us NO BETTER than the corporations that steal from us), then I think one simple truth...

YES WE STILL CAN!! 

Then and only then can we get past those troublesome issues of pre-screened medical care. Ridiculous profiteering Insurance pyramid scams are un-American, anti-Constitutional, and are INHUMAN by nature.

What kind of world do you want YOUR children growing up? A selfish, immoral one? Or rather one of kindness, empathy, and compassion? 

Write your congress men and women!! Write your Governors and President!! Do ANYTHING but sit on your ASS and complain my friends!! Join with many others on 4/20/2011 at your capitol buildings in EVERY state and demand social change, not JUST in the change of CANNABIS laws, but in HEALTH CARE, WAR, IMMIGRATION, and ALL other pertinent issues. The ONLY way change is EVER gonna happen is if we LEAVE OUR HOMES and march in the streets to demand change!! THEY tend to notice things like that!!

Change is NOT something to FEAR, but it IS something to EMBRACE. If we keep doing the same things that have ALWAYS been done, then we will KEEP getting the same things we have always GOT. We must EVOLVE as a human race to meet the cultural demands for the future... NOT the demands for technology, but the demands for EQUALITY, despite social class or financial wealth!! Dr. King... please illuminate for me...

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

This IS the Quiet Mouse! Let FREEDOM ring!! Today, I too have a dream!!

PEACE. LOVE. RESPECT. EMPATHY. CHANGE.