In the news. Newsy broadcasting had an article about marijuana and the current attempt by Congress to make it nationally legal so it can be taxed. Turns out the marijuana older folk played with had 3 percent THC; today the hybridized weed contains as much as 30 percent. Further, medical cards issued by doctors are relatively easy to acquire (fake). With a medical card a person can buy a tar-like concentrate that often causes serious emotional problems and physical damage to the brain. Newsy interviewed a mother whose son died from abuse.
In the News. Britney Spears wins release from conservatorship. Britney’s father demonstrated an evil, abusive, perhaps even psychotic abuse of his daughter for 14 years. Not that Britney was an angel by any means but those wild times have been behind her for years; it has been made clear that her ongoing career was financially curtailed by her father. Truly, money often is at the root of evil. Conservatorship is supposed to be an aid to those who can’t make rational decisions about money and other decisions that affect one’s wellbeing.
In the news. “The Liberty Way”: How Liberty University Discourages and Dismisses Students’ Reports of Sexual Assaults. Jerry Falwell’s university joins the company of athletic managers allowing sexual abuse of the women’s Olympic gymnastics team. An article published by ProPublica reports that the University ignored reports of rape and threatened to punish accusers for breaking its moral code, say former students. An official who says he was fired for raising concerns calls it a “conspiracy of silence.” Read the full account at
In the news. The former chief executive of a tech company in suburban Chicago who lost his job after he threw a chair inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot was sentenced Friday to 30 days imprisonment. Rukstales was forced out as CEO of Cogensia and sold interests in the firm after his participation in the riot became known and the boards of directors for the firm’s clients were ready to cancel contracts. Is it a threatening thought to realize that not everyone at the riot was a gun-toting, white supremacist labor class person? Remember the pillow guy?
This post is a crude attempt to emulate yellow journalism. Similar to TV news, so much sensationalism is thrown at the reader it is hard to determine whether some subtle implication may have importance.
For example, marijuana has had a level, generic aura about it all along except for its early twentieth century association with opiates. Who knew it had morphed into a potent psychedelic? How that was unnoticed is the more important story.
In Britney’s case it is the regulations for invoking conservatorship. There must be hundreds of abused conservatorships that aren’t reported because the individual doesn’t have a famous profile. The same applies to other decisions like moving someone into a hospice. Living will regulations have been developed as a response to some issues but regulations may be lacking when deciding about someone else’s wellbeing. Morally speaking, no human should be reduced to a simple commodity.
As for the membership of the rioters, the real story is how potent the danger to democracy is given the amount of money involved in weakening elections and the broad but unreported cultural membership of the rioters.
Ancient Mariner
As a follow up to mariner’s post about being done with 2021, there are suggestions that don’t sound like the ‘work’ mariner suggested. How about crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, many forms of art, and an endless list of activities that include classification, categorization and even purpose-driven travel – perhaps to see in person the world’s largest ball of string in Branson, Missouri. At the most expensive end of the list is the large RVers who flock to the southern states.