Politics & Government - 2 January 2007

Then consider giving Illegal Immigrants amnesty. Under that theory we should just give amnesty to every criminal un the United States.

2007-01-02 20:55:03 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Immigration

I understand the Constitutional differences outlined in the 'separation of church and state.' However, how can regular United States citizens avoid prosecution for criminal acts even though they claim a priest status? If I was a priest could I violate another human abd civil and criminal rights just by wearing a priest's collar? Does anyone know what loop hole in the criminal allows these monsters to remain out of prison and deters the State's Attorney General from prosecting???

2007-01-02 20:46:31 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Law Enforcement & Police

There is a misconception that marijuana kills brain cells but what actually happens is this: Neurons are made of two parts; the cell bodies and axons. The cell bodies contain fiberous extentions called dendrites which receive information from the axon terminals of the adjacent cell. That information is then channeled through the neuron to the axon terminal and again to the dendrite of another cell. Frequent marijuana use will cause the dendrites to shorten therefore widening the synapses between cells making information get lost in transmission. Heres the kicker... Even with regular use, dendrites grow back after a month or two of not smoking. Here is an essay I recently wrote about the subject.


A letter to the religious right involved in Reagan's war on marijuana

I am not a Christian nor am I a pothead, however, after speculating over the role of the Christian right in the criminalization of marijuana usage and possession, I found it necessary to make an argument using Christian methods against it. I feel that it is necessary to add that I was raised christian so I do not intend to use bible verses that I know nothing about. I know the bible just as well and better than many Christians. I am also a psychology student in college and the psychological information I will use in my argument came directly from textbooks and lectures on the subject. I have two arguments to discuss, the first using strictly biblical elements and the second with human physiological elements to enhance and accelerate the original.

The arguments involved are sophomorically simple.

Genesis 1:9-13 Says this: 9And God said, "Let the waters beneath the sky be gathered into one place so dry ground may appear." And so it was. 10God named the dry ground "land" and the water "seas." And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, "Let the land burst forth with every sort of grass and seed-bearing plant. And let there be trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. The seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came." And so it was. 12The land was filled with seed-bearing plants and trees, and their seeds produced plants and trees of like kind. And God saw that it was good. 13This all happened on the third day.

27-31: 27
So God created people in his own image;
God patterned them after himself;
male and female he created them.
28God blessed them and told them, "Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals." 29And God said, "Look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30And I have given all the grasses and other green plants to the animals and birds for their food." And so it was. 31Then God looked over all he had made and he saw that it was excellent in every way. This all happened on the sixth day.

The kicker... After God kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden, he had this to say to them: 3 17And unto Adam He said, "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, `Thou shalt not eat of it,' cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.


18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.



These three excerpts tell us two things: God created the plethora of plants that we have on Earth and gave them to humans and animals for their consumption. Now before the reader suggests that we were to eat the fruits and seeds were for the birds, the second part of my argument must be considered. Marijuana and tobacco are the only drugs that grow naturally and do not have to be processed and synthesized before consumption. Alcohol has to be processed and it is legal. Marijuana is not. The devil, serpent, satan, whatever you want to call the spirit of darkness has never and will never have the authority to change the godly composition of Gods creations. The devil did not put the active ingredients in the marijuana plant and it would be impossible for him to cause the second part of my argument involving the physiology of humans nervous systems. The only power he has is to deceive and deception cannot change the fact that God made plants and people the way we are physiologically.

The active ingredients in marijuana pass through the blood-brain barrier and enter the central nervous system where they bind to three different receptor sites on the neurons. These receptors are called Delta 9 THC, 2-AG, and Anamine receptors. These receptor sites are activated only by cannabinoids from the marijuana plant and nothing else. Nicotine works in much the same way though there is only one receptor. All other drugs work by manipulating natural receptors in the brain that neurotransmitters use normally. For example, PCP works as a glutamate antagonist, blocking the natural processes of glutamate which works in opposition to the neurotransmitter dopamine. When glutamate is blocked, dopamine takes over and too much dopamine in the brain causes hallucinations, odd behavior, and delusional thinking. Cocaine works as an agonist for dopamine and other neurotransmitters causing more to be in the system than normal. Unlike marijuana, drugs like PCP, cocaine, heroine, designer drugs, etc. work by taking over the natural processes in the brain and bastardizing them to work in ways that do not occur naturally.

Marijuana, unlike any other drug, does not affect the brainstem. The brainstem is a system of regions in the back of the brain at the base of the spinal cord that monitors vital statuses like breathing rate and heart rate. There are neurotransmitter receptor sites all over the brain including the brainstem but there are no cannabinoid receptors in the brainstem. Take alcohol just as an example: by opening the sites for Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter, the nervous system slows down. Since alcohol affects the brainstem, breathing and heart rate slow down too. An overdose of alcohol can slow systems down to the point where they stop and the user can die. Because it does not affect the brainstems regulation of vital functioning, marijuana is the only drug that someone cannot die of an overdose from.

God designed our bodies. God designed our nervous systems. God pieced our brains together long before scientists figured out how they worked. God put these three receptors in our brains on purpose. There must be some significance there. He created these three receptor sites in our brains before the original sin was committed. Many religions have considered the marijuana plant holy in the past. Mind you, I do not advocate a world where everyone smokes pot all the time. Anything can be abused. Too much of anything is bad Too much food can cause obesity or heart problems, Too much sun will cause a sunburn, Too much water can kill you, too much vitamin A will cause blindness, Too much alcohol can cause liver damage. Im not advocating that everyone should participate in marijuana consumption either. The only argument I am making is that to criminalize a plant created by God that human bodies are designed to process is not only un-Christian but unethical, immoral, illogical, ignorant, and an infringement on our rights as Americans to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

And here's a governmental idea: Why not make money on the stuff instead of spending millions os dollars in court fees and incarceration? Option 1: Keep the drug illegal but instead of putting people in jail or giving them jail time, write them a ticket! Make $85-150 on a possession offense (depending on the amount) and keep non-violent criminals out of the jail system. Option 2: Make it legal. Do you have any idea how much money is to be made in excise tax!? Lets say that an ounce of marijuana costs $5 to produce which is an overshot taking all factors into consideration. The tobacco company sells it at a base price of $50 (a 900% profit) and the government places a $50 excise tax on the product keeping store prices around the same as street value of roughly $100 per ounce. Specialty grades can still be sold at street value and companies and the government will make even more money. Sometime, I should do some research comparing the cost of incarceration/probation/court costs vs. the potential profit of taxes and fines.

Note: The citation idea would only apply to those who get caught. The tax idea applies to everyone.

2007-01-02 20:46:13 · 13 answers · asked by 420 1 in Law & Ethics

A comment from a do-gooder would ne nice. I thought we desperately needed immigrants? If we do, why is unemployment just below 2 million people? not to mention the lazy twats on disabliity benefits.


The group also analysed a series of reports on the economic impact of immigration and concluded: "The much vaunted contribution of immigrants to the economy is very slight indeed."

Does this include the extra strain on the NHS? the police etc?

Well done Blair and the do-gooders.

2007-01-02 20:45:28 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Immigration

Someone in my neighbourhood is using what I believe is un-seasoned wood.
It smells smokey, like cigarettes.

They were burning it evey day, but it stopped and I thought that maybe they were using garden waste and now it was all gone, but yesterday it stated again, from the afternoon until 1:30 this morning.

It's bound to start again later. I have to use the electric fan to get releif from it, but I don't want to spend chilly winter days like that.

The trouble is, I suffer from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, and so anything like this effects me more that it does other people, but all the same, there's talk about banning smoking it public places, so surely it can't be legal to burn smokey wood constantly like this?

I don't know which home it's coming from. Is there anything that can be done?

2007-01-02 20:42:04 · 6 answers · asked by Honey W 4 in Law & Ethics

2007-01-02 20:34:11 · 21 answers · asked by AMERICANO 1 in Immigration

I want to move away from the UK and work AND live in another country. I'd like to go to America (I hear the streets are paved with gold!!), but Australia or New Zealand would be nice. Any idea how I can set the ball rolling. Websites to look at for work, people to contact etc...

2007-01-02 20:27:59 · 5 answers · asked by sneak_chamber 2 in Immigration

2007-01-02 20:26:04 · 4 answers · asked by Theresa B 2 in Other - Politics & Government

2007-01-02 20:25:16 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Military

2007-01-02 20:24:14 · 5 answers · asked by Eric 2 in Military

Or does a person need the backing of a country in order to have diplomatic immunity?

2007-01-02 20:19:57 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

And amnesty would give illegal aliens even greater access to our welfare system.

"The proportion of immigrant-headed households using at least one major welfare program is 29 percent, compared to 18 percent for native households."

http://www.cis.org/articles/2005/back1405.html

2007-01-02 20:19:49 · 14 answers · asked by a bush family member 7 in Immigration

15 shootings and the attacks are increasing.

" During the first half of fiscal 2005, the sector recorded 132 assaults on agents, including 15 shootings. In fiscal 2004, there were 118.


http://www.govexec.com/features/0705-01/0705-01s1.htm

2007-01-02 20:17:28 · 6 answers · asked by a bush family member 7 in Immigration

2007-01-02 20:17:23 · 7 answers · asked by sumit m 1 in Law & Ethics

How else do you show them if you don't like their policies? They can at least see where movement is towards.

2007-01-02 20:16:37 · 16 answers · asked by Barbara Doll to you 7 in Government

WHICH COUNTRY IS NEXT ON THE HITLIST
ITS COMMONSENSE ITS A MUSLIM COUNTRY
BUT WHITCH ONE

2007-01-02 20:12:29 · 21 answers · asked by TYPE X 2 in Military

Should the owner of the dog that killed that little girl be tried for manslaughter because he had already had warnings about the dog

2007-01-02 20:11:51 · 36 answers · asked by rocky 3 in Law Enforcement & Police

Ask any illegal immigrant, and he would if he could. Soon the opportunity will be given and you will see that I was right. There will be no shortage of REAL MEN.

2007-01-02 20:11:42 · 12 answers · asked by AMERICANO 1 in Immigration

The way I see it is if these big wig companies would just grit their teeth are hang in there with the good old american help they got, pay the employees their worth and stop hiring these d*&$
illegals, their wouldn't be such a big problem. They are just as much to blame as these illegal immigrants who are after the jobs!

2007-01-02 20:10:13 · 13 answers · asked by Nyema 3 in Immigration

2007-01-02 19:58:00 · 16 answers · asked by ghirmay h 1 in Military

The college I attend is a private, christian college. My roommate is a freshman and recently got a job at a fast food establishment that doesn't close until 1:00 am, 30 minutes to close and then a drive home results in a reture around 2:00 am. Our curfew on weekdays is midnight, and 1:00 am on Friday and Saturday. She emailed someone about getting a curfew extensions because she really, REALLY needs to have this job and maintain as many hours as possible--requiring her to be able to close.. the person over curfew enforcement replied that she can only stay out past curfew two nights a week. My question is if she is 18 and an adult, can they REALLY keep her from her legal right of working full time, especially if she can easily document by a time slip and managers initials when she leaves? It just doesn't seem right or fair..

2007-01-02 19:57:34 · 10 answers · asked by xanders_lilbit 1 in Law & Ethics

2007-01-02 19:56:07 · 1 answers · asked by xander 5 in Military

or all or none of the above?! your most honest views please.

2007-01-02 19:53:57 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Government

what is your idea on this issue? i need people's ideas.

2007-01-02 19:53:23 · 2 answers · asked by emma 2 in Law & Ethics

2007-01-02 19:52:07 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Law Enforcement & Police

If so, why have we not deployed forces along the border.

And why are we prosecuting our border patrol guards?

2007-01-02 19:49:43 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Immigration

We seem to have funny (and some not so funny) new laws made everyday and I dont know about em. I want to know what these laws are. This only really applies to UK but im always up fer a bit of education.

2007-01-02 19:48:32 · 6 answers · asked by roujinz3 4 in Law & Ethics

2007-01-02 19:47:36 · 3 answers · asked by ghirmay h 1 in Other - Politics & Government

2007-01-02 19:45:31 · 17 answers · asked by bobb_hellob4u 1 in Law & Ethics

Would you accept the treatment or refuse based on your convictions? Why not let something good come out of something so bad?

2007-01-02 19:44:36 · 2 answers · asked by Rachel Green 3 in Law & Ethics