Does Sarah Palin Smoke Pot?

[Formaldehyde]

For someone like yourself that has been so godawful anal about correct definitions in the past, I would have thought this a no-brainer that the USA simply isnt a theocracy, but a constitutional federal republic.

And for someone who likes to argue semantics so much instead of addressing the real issues, I can see why you are trying to deflect the discussion yet again.

http://www.publiceye.org/christian_right/cr_intro.html

Spoiler :

The Christian Right is a series of groups that compose both a social movement and a political movement. It has components that stretch from the Conservative Right to the Hard Right. Here we concentrate on that sector of the Christian Right that is part of the Dissident Right. A number of studies have found that people with above average income, education, and social status populate the organizations of the Christian Right in the United States. Many are managers and small business owners. When studying the contemporary Christian Right it is easy to find evidence of apocalypticism, conspiracism, and populist anti-elitism. Much of the populist rhetoric reflects alienation caused by the shifting sands of gender, sexual identities, and class positions. "The rise of the Christian Right, with its emphasis on 'family values,' gender roles, and a muted, cultural form of Eurocentric racism, was one of the most significant features of politics in the 1980s and 1990s." Nonetheless, the Christian Right should not be lumped together with the militias or the Extreme Right.


Starting in the early 1900s, the major scapegoat for the Christian Right was godless communism. After the collapse of European communism, around 1990, a new scapegoat was found. The new mobilizing focus for the Christian Right was an umbrella concept called the Culture War; launched against the scapegoat of secular humanism. For the Christian Right the apocalyptic demon of secular humanism had three heads: liberal moral relativism; the feminist movement and its demands for reproductive rights; and the gay and lesbian rights movements. As a result of this analysis, the Christian Right launched campaigns aimed at policing "traditional" gender roles. According to Clarkson, abortion and homosexuality are both a "permanent, defining issue for the movement." In part as a payback for Christian Right voter turnout, and in part due to ideological and theological agreement, George W. Bush has embraced several items from the Christian Right agenda on gender. Kaminer warns that the "current regime envisions an ideal world in which heterosexual couples can't divorce and gay couples can't marry, women cannot get an abortion, and even contraception is scarce, especially for teens."

Dominionism is a trend in Protestant Christian evangelicalism and fundamentalism that encourages not just active political participation in civic society but also attempts to dominate the political process.

The broad concept of Dominionism is based on the Bible's text in Genesis 1:26:

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." (KJV).

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'" (NIV).

Most Christians interpret this verse as meaning that God gave humankind dominion over the Earth. Many consider this a mandate for stewardship rather than the assertion of total control. A more assertive interpretation of this verse is seen as a command that Christians bring all societies, around the world, under the rule of the Word of God, as they understand it.

As Sara Diamond explains, the general Dominionist idea, is "that Christians alone are Biblically mandated to occupy all secular institutions until Christ returns -- and there is no consensus on when that might be. Dominionist thinking precludes coalitions between believers and unbelievers...." This creates a contradictory tension. "The Christian Right wants to take dominion," says Diamond, but also wants to work within "the existing political-economic system, at the same time." In the United States, Dominionism raises issues of separation of church and state, but since Dominionism appears in a variety of forms, it is important to take each example and evaluate the specific beliefs, especially around the issue of theocracy.

I'm pretty damn sure that MobBoss is just about retaining the status quo, no matter how dumb.

That is pretty much the definition of a reactionary aka ultraconservative. I don't think even Mobboss would disagree with that particular label.

 

[bhsup]

As much as I may disagree with the federal law, it IS illegal right now. Just another reason to be glad I didn't vote for her and wrote in someone else instead.

P.S. - To all those who want pot legalized in a bad way. You want my support? Don't do it while it is illegal and wait til it is legal to partake. Otherwise you're nothing but loser potheads who contribute to police being murdered and all sorts of other violence.

 

[Formaldehyde]

How am I contributing to police being murdered any more than you are by continuing to support absurd laws such as these being enforced until they are finally repealed?

 

[nonconformist]

P.S. - To all those who want pot legalized in a bad way. You want my support? Don't do it while it is illegal and wait til it is legal to partake. Otherwise you're nothing but loser potheads who contribute to police being murdered and all sorts of other violence.

I don't know how it is in America, but in the UK, most cannabis never sees a gang, and is homegrown by people in gardens and such to suppliment their incomes.

 

[bhsup]

Yes, that is what the potties love to try to claim over here as well. They don't like to talk about the involvement of large violent gangs.

 

[Ajidica]

Just to play devils advocate, there would be less of a need to import it from other countries through gang pipelines if it was no longer illegal and people could grow small amounts. Still regulated though.

 

[Formaldehyde]

I don't know how it is in America, but in the UK, most cannabis never sees a gang, and is homegrown by people in gardens and such to suppliment their incomes.

The vast majority of it here also doesn't involve gangs. However, people have to be extremely careful about growing it because getting caought doing so is an extremely draconian felony in most parts of the country.

An ultraconservative friend of mine wouldn't have dreamed of ever smoking pot until she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She smoked grass to overcome the nausea caused by the chemotherapy and claims it was the most important factor that saved her life. Ever since, she has visited local hospices and handed out free marijuana to anybody who would accept it. To help her in her efforts, she eventually grew a few plants on a very affluent friend's property, It was eventually discovered by one of neighborhood kids who was over there playing. When the police arrived everybody had to play dumb or face extremely harsh prison sentences.

 

[nonconformist]

Yes, that is what the potties love to try to claim over here as well. They don't like to talk about the involvement of large violent gangs.

You can say that, but how many of these people do you actually know, and how much can you account for?

There's a reason the UK police generally ignore marijuana possession

 

[El_Machinae]

I'm quite in favour of legalization, if only to totally cripple the criminal element. I also don't appreciate that stupidly getting caught with pot will hamper someone's contribution to society, since they'll have then been exposed to the justice system. I'd prefer to save the justice system for real instances of protecting society.
A prerequisite, I think, is a way to teach teens the risks of MJ usage, in such a way that it's believable.

 

[nonconformist]

As far as I'm concerned, the only "criminal" element with marijuana is tautological; it's criminal because it's illegal.
There is almost no crime associated with "vanilla" pot dealing, as far as I've seen.

 

[El_Machinae]

Well, I've seen thugs use their pot funds to pay their lawyers to fight assault charges ... so it might be anecdotal. That said, 'vanilla' pot dealers wouldn't be hurt by legalisation, except they'd lose their 'crime premium' that we're currently subsidizing.

 

[nonconformist]

Selling marijuana isn't particularly profitable; you're never gonna get rich selling it to people.
Coke and amphets are where it's at.

 

[warpus]

Well, the difference there was alcohol was widely used and legal prior to the attempt at prohibition. Marijuana....not so much.

Citation needed, cause I'm pretty sure that you're wrong about that.

 

[El_Machinae]

Well, we live in different worlds. The people I saw who were 'rich' (rich for thugs, anyway) were gang members. Mom & pops are unlikely to get rich, I agree.

 

[nonconformist]

Pretty much everyone who I'm aware of are sstudents who cannot afford to live, and see it as away to suppliment their incomes.
Most of them are magna cum laude accountant students, lawyers, and physicists.

 

[MobBoss]

That is pretty much the definition of a reactionary aka ultraconservative. I don't think even Mobboss would disagree with that particular label.

Since the majority is for keeping the status quo, and I hardly think even you would argue that 'ultraconservatives' are a majority in the USA....then no.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Herald-Leader
Friday, May 24, 1996

WASHINGTON - Less than half of American adults understand that the Earth orbits the sun yearly, according to a basic science survey. Despite flubbing such questions, there is enthusiasm for research -except in some fields such as genetic engineering and nuclear power that are viewed with suspicion.

Only about 25% of American adults got passing grades in a survey by the National Science Foundation of what people know about basic science and economics. Even fewer of those surveyed felt they were well-informed about technical subjects.

The worst showing came when those surveyed were asked to define scientific terms. Only about 9% knew what a molecule was, and only 21% could define DNA.

But even more fundamental questions stumped man: Less than 1/2 knew that the Earth orbits the sun annually. In a test of environmental understanding, 1/3 of Americans surveyed understood the effects of a thinning ozone layer, 14% could identify locations of ozone holes, and only 5% could give a scientific explanation of acid rain.

Even money questions stumped most Americans. A 10-point quiz on economics showed that only 22% could correctly answer 7 or more of the questions. "Only 10% feel feel very well informed about science and technology, and studies show that only a small segment of the population has a strong grasp of basic scientific ideas," according to a report released yesterday by the foundation. On a 10-part quiz testing scientific understanding, only 27% of the American adults surveyed could answer 7 or more questions.

Despite a fundamental lack of understanding, the survey found that 72% of American adults think science research is worthwhile. Only 13% took the opposite view. Among college graduates, 90% thought the benefits of research outweighed the risks, while only 48% of those who did not complete high school felt that way. The survey, however, found many Americans fearful of some aspects of science. Support for nuclear power was about evenly split, with 43% saying its benefits were greater than its risks, and 42% taking an opposite view; 14% were uncertain. Genetic engineering fared only slightly better. 43% saw it as beneficial, but 35% said the dangers outweigh benefits. About 20% were undecided. Medical discoveries were rated the most interesting science topics in 69% of those who took the survey. Space exploration scored the lowest - just 25%. About 40% of those surveyed expressed high confidence in scientists and medical workers. The rating was only 25% for leaders in education, religion, and corporations.

GO AHEAD; CHECK YOURSELF OUT

1. The center of the earth is very hot. (True/false)

2. The oxygen we breathe comes from plants (true/false)

3. Electrons are smaller than atoms (true/false)

4. The continents on which we live have been moving their location for millions of years and will continue to move in the future. (true/false)

5. Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals. (true/false)

6. The earliest human beings lived at the same time as the dinosaurs. (true/false)

7. Which travels faster: light or sound?

8. How long does it take for Earth to go around the sun: one day / one month / or one year?

9. Tell me, in your own words, what is DNA?

10. Tell me, in your own words, what is a molecule?



Answers, along with the percentage of correct responses:

1. True - 78% 2. True - 85% 3. True - 44% 4. True - 79% 5. True - 44% 6. False - 48% 7. light - 75% 8. one year - 47% 9. DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a large molecule in the chromosomes which contain the genetic information for each cell. 21% 10. Molecule is the smallest unit of a chemical compound capable of existing independently while retaining the properties of the original substance. 9%

Over half of Americans in this survey didn't know the Earth orbited the Sun once a year.

 

[bhsup]

I wonder how many physicists would know how to properly plant a crop in a field and harvest it.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

I'm pretty sure farmers know that the Earth orbits the sun once a year.

 

[bhsup]

Or maybe they think the sun orbits them. Regardless, it is irrelevant to their lives. Yes, kinda pathetic that they don't know, but does it matter? And again, do you think the physicists have the knowledge and skill to bring a crop to market? Doubt it.