Shotgun

I don't know.... Bryan Cranston looks pretty hot in his tighty whiteys on Breaking Bad. I told Rich if he asks me to buy underwear for him again, that's what he's getting.

I just finished watching Season 2 last night, and now I have to wait for the DVD of Season 3. I'm definitely hooked. And I was just doing a search on that song "Little Boxes" (the music is one of my favorite things about the show), and discovered that Showtime has a great "Weeds Music" site where you can listen to most of the music! http://www.sho.com/site/weeds/music.do

From the article you posted, it seems that they found alcohol to be #5 based on "physical harm to the person using the drug," "the drug's potential for abuse and/or dependence," and "the drug's ill effects on society." Behind only heroin, cocaine, barbiturates, and methadone. Cannabis is #11 on that list, behind even tobacco. I think that the U.S. should do a similar study and reclassify our controlled substances, and seriously consider legalizing or decriminalizing anything found to be less harmful than alcohol. Marijuana absolutely should be legalized or at least significantly decriminalized. I think it sends a pretty bad message when people see for themselves that marijuana is (overall) less harmful than the legal drug alcohol, and yet here it is, a Schedule I drug alongside heroin and above cocaine (a Schedule II). And, as ubiquitous as it is, that's a lot of people who may be receiving that message, and who therefore may be thinking all of our drug laws are a joke. So I don't know about legalizing all drugs, but I do think we are in serious need of revising the Controlled Substances Act. We need to disseminate _accurate_ information regarding drugs (including alcohol), and we need to keep people out of jail who don't belong there. (And just a note: When I say "legalize," I, of course, do not mean without regulation.)

I just started watching this show. I don't have Showtime, but I recently signed up with Netflix, and they have a lot of stuff that you can download to watch instantly, including the first two seasons of this show. I had heard of it before and wasn't too interested, but since it was "free" I decided to check it out. Now I'm half-way through the second season, and I think it's a great show. Fast-paced, funny, interesting twists, and I love the music. I'll definitely watch the next two seasons on DVD when I'm done with this one. (Don't spoil anything for me!)

Another interesting article regarding drug (cocaine) use/legalization. I recall reading the actual report they are referring to, and just want to point out that they included all forms of cocaine. And the majority of people in the "compulsive or dysfunctional" group were those who used it IV or smoked it. (And almost all of the people who used it IV or smoked it were in the "compulsive or dysfunctional" group.) Also, I am in no way condoning the use of cocaine; I just question the way it is currently presented by the proponents of the "war on drugs."

It seems to me that the availability of tobacco has been reduced somewhat over the years. It is just a tiny bit less available than alcohol since you at least have to ask a cashier for cigarettes rather than being able to simply put them in your cart - here in CA anyway. (Yeah, I know that's not a huge difference, but it is a slight deterrent.) And tobacco is generally available in less places than alcohol. (Most restaurants offer alcohol but not tobacco.) I don't know how much that contributes to the decline in tobacco consumption, but it's probably a small factor. Along with the reduction in places where one can legally smoke, the broad advertising campaign to reduce smoking (along with tobacco companies now being heavily regulated about advertising their products), and the general turn of society to be largely anti-smoking. If most of the currently illegal recreational drugs were made legal, I think that similar factors would keep them from becoming much more widespread than they already are.

Just be careful not to shoot yourself in the foot while trying to light the bong.

I think I don't fit into your observation. I'm for less legislation of marijuana, but I don't want more gun legislation.

I had been having problems with it the last few days, but I was using IE 6. I just re-downloaded Firefox today, and it's working fine in that browser.

But once the ambulance is onsite, medical attention usually begins right away. You may be able to drive someone to the hospital in a shorter amount of time than waiting for an ambulance to arrive, but there is no guarantee that medical attention will begin immediately after you get to the hospital. So I think it's generally a toss-up as to which one is the best idea.

Vanilla.

Well, I had that album, and I had some roller skates that I was pretty fond of, so I probably roller skated to it.

Before reading this thread, no, I didn't know the difference. Mostly because I didn't know what the Paralympics was. (Though I guess I must have at least heard of it before, seeing as I've picked up "Murderball" several times at the video store and almost rented it.)

If that is the case, then yes, I am afraid to die.

I don't think the "terrorists" that Obama was "palling around with" were Muslims.

Thanks for posting that, Larry! Very fun to watch.

We rented "Burn After Reading" this weekend. Very good.

Not at all, Larry! Thanks for the info.

Yeah, I don't get the impression that they are BFF's. But personally, I don't really care if Ayers is a "friend" or just an "acquaintance" of Obama's. Either way, I just don't see it as a negative mark against Obama.

Here's a brief summary of the Ayers/Obama connection. (It's wikipedia, but it seems accurate compared to previous stuff that I've read.): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ayers_presidential_election_controversy#Interaction_between_Obama_and_Ayers

Ayers's explanation for the "wish I had done more" comment was that he wished he had done more to stop the war. And you know, I wasn't around during the Vietnam War, but I suspect that I would have opposed it at the time too. Now I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have set bombs to make my point, and I don't condone what he did, but to some extent I do understand why he did it. Our government was sending young men - often against their will - to go fight and die in a war that many people did not believe in. Here is a quote from Ayers regarding his infamous statement: "The war in Vietnam was not only illegal, it was profoundly immoral; millions of people were needlessly killed. Even though I worked hard to end the war, I feel to this day that I didn't do enough because the war dragged on for years after the majority of the American people came to oppose it. I don't think violent resistance is necessarily the answer, but I do think opposition and refusal is imperative." And looking at the rest of his life beyond that era, it appears to me that he has dedicated quite a bit of it to helping other people. So no, I'm not kidding you. I don't really see a problem with Obama's connection to Bill Ayers.

When I was driving to school Tuesday morning, I heard a song on the radio that put a smile on my face.... It's the end of the world as we know it..... And I feel fine.

I probably did more research on Bill Ayers than most of the anti-Obama-"he pals around with terrorists" people did. I just didn't see it as a connection to have much concern about.

Well, this is what you said: "let's lift the ban on gay marriage. and on polygamy. and on marriage to children. and to animals. and inanimate objects. YEA!" If you meant something other than that same-sex marriage is similar to pedophilia and beastiality, then please enlighten me.

OK, then what is the point that you were making?