Archive for August 2020
Lately a lot of politicians from both major parties have been blaming the cannabis industry for the results of the mass incarceration of marijuana users and suggesting that while people rot in prison for non-violent cannabis offenses, the Cannabis Industry is “making millions” on cannabis sales. The implication is that somehow the success of the cannabis industry is responsible for the damages caused by The Drug War.
It is an irrational and illogical leap to conclude that somehow the cannabis industry’s success is somehow responsible for the current circumstances regarding The Drug War.
Why is it an irrational or illogical leap to reach such a conclusion? It is irrational because the “cannabis industry” has only been around for perhaps 10 years or so, much less in many states, while the The Drug War has been waging for decades, close to 100 years in many respects.
In my opinion, it is an attempt to create an opportunity by our elected to increase taxes on both the producers of cannabis and the consumers of cannabis by suggesting they are somehow involved.
Instead, why don’t our elected simply change the law and free those who are currently serving sentences for non-violent marijuana related offenses?
Why don’t our elected just do that?
Why don’t they?
I think we all know the answers to those questions.
Copyright © William Thien 2020
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Why not internet voting?
Posted on: August 17, 2020
Have you noticed all of the scandals lately concerning voting in America?
First there was the “Russian meddling” in the last election and that story went on for months. It wasn’t really meddling with the election, it was propaganda on social media, misrepresentation of fact, something our own politicians do quite well. No votes were “meddled” with. Next, electronic voting machines at polling places could be hacked. “We must only use paper ballots.” was the implication. Then there were numerous claims of voter fraud due to voter registration issues and that scandal goes on till this day. That scandal in fact has carried over in to this upcoming Presidential election where both sides have demonstrated concern over voting by mail and the US Post Office claims a fair election can’t be had without extra funding. That may be true.
But with all of that going on, all of that scandal and fraud, you don’t hear one person talk about “voting on the internet.” Not one. Why? Because voting on the internet signifies the loss of control. It means eventually, and this is what they are afraid of the most, it means eventually you will begin to assume more control of what your government does.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is what they are afraid of the most, you having more control of what they do with our money and lives.
You now do your banking, maintain your credit cards, and most of your other financial transactions all on the internet and you even order your “mail-in” ballot on the internet, that’s right, the internet But not, oh no, voting on the internet, that can’t be done.
It’s too dangerous. Clearly they are hoping, working to make it it too dangerous, to be sure.
Copyright © William Thien 2020
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Posted by: William Thien on: October 12, 2018
I don’t know about you but I’m getting sick of hearing and seeing campaign ad after campaign ad suggest that if you vote for the other guy, you will practically end up dead, destitute, or homeless and out of work.
Your medical insurance will be canceled. Voting for the other guy is akin to getting cancer in some ads with a medical angle.
Mass murderers and thug rapist inmates will be freed from jail if you vote for the other guy in some ads.
You will all lose your jobs and then your houses.
People will practically die in the streets if you vote for the other guy.
Do our politicians have that much control over our fates? Because they should not. The media would have us all believe though that it is so with the amount of ads they are running and making a killing on themselves.
Ugh! Another campaign season. Another season of fear.
Makes you want to vote for the third party candidate. They don’t have any money to run such ads, yet.
Copyright © William Thien 2018
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Some have said I’m anti-business in that I believe any stimulus should go directly to the tax payer instead of businesses and organizations to include non-profits.
Wrong!
I merely believe it is better to let the tax payer decide which businesses and which non-profits receive any funds from the stimulus by voting with the dollars they receive from the stimulus rather than letting the government decide. That of course would make the stimulus payment which goes to the tax payer much larger than the miniscule $1,200 they want to return to the tax payer again.
As it is now, both parties have long lists of special interests they wish to give the stimulus funds to while nobody is truly determining how those funds are being spent.
I think the best way to spend tax payer dollars is to give the funds to the tax payers and let them decide.
That is all.
When you go to vote this time, remember what they did with your money when they gave it to someone you will never meet and will never know but that had someone knocking on their door asking for your money while you were working, waiting in line for a test or waiting in line for food.
Copyright © William Thien 2020
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The Republicans and the extra $600
Posted on: August 3, 2020
One of the problems I have with the current administration’s position on the stimulus is their constant statement that $600 extra per unemployment check is preventing people from going back to work.
If I’m not mistaken, unemployment is at its highest level ever. That is not because there are a lot of jobs. It is due to the absence of jobs, particularly good jobs, something the Republicans have driven out of the country along with President Clinton when they all clamoured for NAFTA and to give China MFN, or Most Favored Nation Trading status.
But even more significantly, when people lose their jobs, often they lose the benefits that came with the job such as health care, retirement savings accounts, life insurance, child care, and the like. Those benefits easily total more than $600 if you have all of them or even just health care. Have you had to pay real health care premiums lately? Unemployment is just a cash payment. Unemployment doesn’t include any benefits. Benefits cost a lot of money. Families rely on those benefits.
You don’t hear anyone from either party talking about that. Why? Because they get free benefits and many have made themselves millionaires in office. They haven’t a clue what it is like to be an American any longer.
Instead, both parties it now appears want to give the lion’s share of the stimulus to the special interests that the lobbyists are now knocking down their doors about. That is what all the bickering is about, who gets the money.
Campaign cash resulting from “Freedom is Speech” has flooded in to the media so that the media has become the judas goat for the two major parties and is willing to omit facts and slant the truth on behalf of the two parties.
The Republicans would have us all believe that the extra $600 in the grand scheme of things is excessive but so is the greed eminating from the elected and their special interests.
They should ask themselvse if by prolonging the disbursal of the stimulus and paring it down while redistributing the funds to special interests, they should ask themseslves if it is worth it to lose the election?
Well, is it?
Copyright © William Thien 2020
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What they want to do is to make you feel badly for speaking out and they will try the hardest to stomp out the ones people are listening to by trying to make them look like they are somehow responsible for the conditions that were created and people are speaking about in the first place. It is your tax money. Notice how they can’t figure out how to give it back to you? It means they don’t want to give it back to you in full.
Watch the pile on. Even the media, to include social media (blocking posts, limiting views, you name it), will be in on it, facilitating it by broadcasting select statements by politicians to make it look like they are trying their best and at the same time demonizing those who disagree with supporting the redistribution of the nation’s wealth the way they want to distribute it.
Once again, notice how they can’t figure out how to give it back to you? It means they don’t want to give it back to you in full.
They should give it back, all of it.
Copyright © William Thien 2020
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William Thien 