This is an interview with San Diego Assistant District Attorney, Steve Walter from the local Public Broadcasting Service's local station.
(A link to the original source, which includes an audio version can be found after the full text.)
MAUREEN CAVANAUGH (Host): Now what constitutes the difference between a drug dealer and a legitimate provider of medical marijuana?
WALTER: It’s a very difficult question. The law itself, when I say the law I’m talking about Prop 215, SB-420, and the AG’s guidelines, as well as the case law. In essence, you have to be either a user or a qualified patient or a caregiver for such a patient.
Wow. So according to the San Diego District Attorney's Office, "a user" is "a legitimate provider of medical marijuana." That's really disturbing as I have obtained/do obtain all of my medical cannabis from Medical Cannabis Caregivers/ Legal Patients. These are the ones that Walter himself oversaw the aggressive arrests of. I guess going on the above quote, he believes that any one ELSE, just so long as they 'use marijuana' is a responsible, law abiding, trustworthy source for the medication I use for my healthcare. Great.
Organizing for America,
While the President was expressing the need for our nation to reform its' inhumane Health Care system, some of San Diego, California's most vulnerable, suffering citizens were subjected to organized terrororism inflicted upon them by their own City and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies.
I am referring to San Diego District Attorney, Bonnie Dumanis' continued persecution (not a mis-spelling) of those who benefit from legal medical cannabis. Lies are being told about the Collectives operating for profit and not being caregivers to its' members.
Please Mr. Stewart and OFA, we're already victims of our ailments, diseases, handicaps and inflictions. Members of these particular Collectives, at least one that I know, is an amputee U.S. Soldier. Isn't the pain he brought back from the war enough punishment and sacrifice for his country? Does he really need to suffer through prescription opiates that are highly addictive and less effective than medical cannabis? These voices need to be heard. Please look into the facts of this. People's lives are at stake.
Give me bankruptcy or give me death?
The Status Quo- Insurance Scam.
I work in the medical field and healthcare reform is a great idea. It's about time.
I've sat by powerless, while many people have died in my care waiting for insurance companies to authorize non-formulary medications or treatments. Most people are healthy and don't realize how small the list of authorized formulary items is, until it's too late. Bankruptcy or Death is not what Americans should have to choose between. Health Security should be a right.
Even greedy self-loathing hypocrites whom don't like being GUARANTEED protection will someday need more than they can afford, so then, its illness or bankruptcy or DEATH for themselves or a loved one. Anyone who has tried calling an insurance company knows the truth. There is almost no regulation and mostly people just dance in circles with the insurance companies until it is too late. Time is on the insurance companies’ side. For them, time is money and for us or our families it may be a matter of health or death.
As the Democrats try and fight off the big insurance companies and pass strong health insurance reform legislation, it appears obvious that they will be doing it with no help at all from whatever is left of the former Republican party. I say “former” because in the last 6 months, they have shown that they are against ANY change for the better – even those that Republicans supposedly supported in the past. All of the savings people would get from lower insurance costs? They’re against it. Lowering the deficit with a strong public option that could compete with insurance companies? They’re against it. All of the jobs created from the car sales instigated by the incredibly successful Cash for Clunkers program? They’re against it. You name it, they’re against it – even lower taxes (which were a big part of the President’s stimulus and recovery plan passed earlier this year.)
In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find what exactly these former Republicans are FOR, but based on their activities in recent months, I can point to two things: Teabagging and Torture. These are the folks that have recently been going way out of their districts (with the funding of insurance company lobbyists) to disrupt town hall meetings and keep real constituents from being able to communicate with their Representatives. Since they have no argument, their plan is simply to yell and drown out any discussion. The Teabag and Torture party isn’t interested in democracy, they’re interested in gumming up the works.
If there is any truth to be told against healthcare reform, then why are crazy lies, e.g. death squads and committees, the only things we hear against it?
There are no lobbyists pushing reform; there's no money in it. On the other hand....
Henry M
The Associated Press said today Democrat says health overhaul needs GOP to pass. What a headline.What a disgrace! Those Democrats who are stalling health care reform run a great risk of being run out of office, preferably before their terms end.
The American people already have to deal with flat out lies and gross misinformation the Republican party is putting on the airways. Now there are Democrats who are looking out for their own, rather the interests of the American people. Be forewarned: those Democrats who stall or hamper health care reform will be derided, ridiculed, and scorned. The American people have not one iota of tolerance for political shenanigans from either political party.
Faltering Democrats: clean up your act and get on board, or you will surely be left behind.
This is someone's Facebook post that I just read:
"You know, that brings up another good point. My wife and I work hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But these carcasses are going to need help when we get older. The new plan will give preference to younger people with "more life to live". Big O say "some tough decisions will have to be made". OK. So a government worker is going to decide who get (sic) MY money when I need help? And I could loose (sic) out to a younger drinking, smoking person who may not even pay taxes and therefor (sic) hasn't paid anything for healthcare? No man. It's just not the answer. And Big O says he wants it done NOW. He wants to shove this down our throat. Whether you agree with the plan or not, how can people not see what he's doing? It seems like we're bringing the whole country down to the lowest denominator...sort of like "no child left behind"."
This is just one of this gentleman's postings, which is on a mutual friend's FB page. I've asked for a link to where he gets his information, but he has yet to provide one. The problem is it's his staunch belief that these are indisputable facts. I'm not one to start an argument on someone elses page and create an uncomfortable situation, especially when I know the other people reading this have got to be better informed than this.
Here's the deal: misinformation is being peddled like crazy out there and people are spreading it around like wildfire. Some of this stuff is just ridiculous. Preferential treatment based on age? What will they tell people next, that Obama wants to put your sick grandmother on a grass mat out in the street? The sad thing is that some people would believe this. Like that comic says: you can't fix stupid. What the President needs here is a full on media blitz to get the facts out. Someone is doing a very good job of getting out the lies.
The far right can't stop their true faces from being seen time after time. They are locked into the same race baiting tactics they've been using forever. The tactic they tried to use during the Presidential campaign was to accuse the other side of racism to disguise their own racist attacks. So the new code word for bringing up race or gender is to accuse the other party or individual or racism or reverse racism or of ethnocentricity; although they probably don't know what "ethnocentricity" means.
However obvious these tactics are they are also dangerous and are being used to provoke the lunatic fringe and crazies everywhere. It is inciting to riot in an obvious fashion and should be dealt with much like "Hate Crimes" or other forms of provocations to do harm to individuals or groups. There are people out there who believe all the lies and distortions, who are violent and looking for an excuse to do harm.
Can you imagine what would have happened if an equivalent kind of vitriol had come from anyone during the Cheyney/Bush Presidency? First the cries of "Traitor," "Un-Patriotic," "Love it or Leave it," "Terrorists," then arrests and unlawful detention.
I really believe something needs to be done about people on the right who go around during a time of war and severe economic stress, spouting anti-American rhetoric. Perhaps an action committee of some kind could bring civil action against them since the Justice Department could be accused of doing it for political reasons.
CIA-Central Intelligence Agency
Can’t Include All the Constant Inappropriate Alibis
Everybody knows the Agency is built on deception and lies
Nancy didn’t know her husband of 10 years
To be Collaborating In Assignations, not like what he appears
Ronald Comes Into Airports and with the greatest of ease
Arranges to pass through without examination for disease
Like a Conceal Identity Arranged this special pass
I Can’t Imagine Allowing some Contaminations In, Alas
No one should have the kind of clout
To keep Compromising It All as they travel about
Effectively transferring disease like the Swine Flu
Let this epidemic become pandemic by the stupidity they do
Like my friend who Covertly Indulges Adultery
Incorporates his Creative Inventive Aliases for infidelity
Government’s Clandestine Indecent Actions in guise of work
Evil man calling himself patriotic but I call him a jerk
Night and day he goes about in his double life
Cold Ignorant Asinine fool who lies to his wife
Every one working there or at least the majority
Are working in a Corrupted Intolerant Agency
Government people trained to deceive with lovers glances
Every one of them Coming Into Acute circumstances
Never Could I Agree to a job that requires such deceptions
Change I Accepted and now most Countries Imagine Americans
You Can Install A more truthful Central Intelligence Agency
It is probably clear to every progressive and moderate person that what's left of the Republican Party is being controlled by the far right or the Republican Talibans. Their agenda has been, from the moment they lost the election, to take every opportunity to demean, tell lies, criticize, disrupt, personally attack the President, make fun of and stop every initiative of the Obama Administration. This is a virulent form of the negative campaign they conducted during the presidential election. The idea is to stop as much progress as possible but more so to create a perception in the media and in the public's mind that this President and his Administration are not capable of running the country and to move attention away from the progress and positive changes that are happening. The Republicans are not the loyal opposition they are disingenuous and traitors to this country.
The Democratic Party and all elected Democratic office holders need to unite to make things happen. But because of the independent nature of Progressive and Moderate people who find it difficult to see beyond their own personal views, there does not seem to be the kind of unity that will move the Presidents agenda forward in a consistent way. Everyone needs to look beyond their personal view and see the larger picture.
There needs to be a defense and an offense when it comes to dealing with the tactics of the Far Right. It is much like the actual campaign ran by Obama. Put forward the positive action and go after them on every lie and distortion they come up with. Don't let their poison take root. It's clear we cannot stop being united and being activists. The election campaign can't stop it just has to morph into something a little different.
I'm pretty sure the Obama Administration already knows this but we need to wake-up the grassroots movement again and assert ourselves at every opportunity. We can't let the negative spin continue.
For example we should point out that we are still at war and the actions of the Republicans are very unpatriotic and do not show a united country. It doesn't have to be as negative as the Bush years. It can have a much more positive spin. A stronger call to support the Administration in it's efforts to re-establish our foreign policy and end our involvement in foreign wars might be good.
On domestic issues let the Republicans do their filibuster then pass the legislation anyway. The public needs to see just how obstructionist and anti American they really are. They would rather see this country fail then work in a bipartisan way to rebuild this country after they nearly destroyed it over the Bush years.
It's unfortunate that time must be spent on combating the far right, Taliban like, Republican radicals but we need to make sure they don't spread their virus any further. They need to be quarantined!
BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE
Accountability: America's Moral Responsibility to Humanity
Eight years of Republican "leadership" has left America both economically devastated, and globally humiliated. Yet, far from apologizing for the damage that they've done to the stability and image of this great nation, instead, they've circled their wagons and gone into damage control mode–not to control the damage that they've done to the nation, but in an attempt to rewrite history in order to control the damage that they've done to themselves.
So now, as President Obama goes about the business of desperately trying to return America to its former position of economic stability at home, and respect, admiration, and moral authority abroad, the GOP leadership seems to be completely oblivious to the nation's desperate and immediate need for a concerted effort in that regard. They're like clueless children who find it impossible to see the big picture. Thus, at this point it has become abundantly clear that their primary concern is not with restoring America to a sound footing in the world, but rather, simply restoring themselves to power at any cost.
Iaadn adjalajn
