The Fourth "L"

Government knew in '74

Sat, 31 May 2008 03:01:42 GMT

How many people have died unnecessarily? This is huge.

-Daniel

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig5/armentano-p1.html

Unlocking a Cure for Cancer – With Pot

by Paul Armentano

Who could imagine that cannabis might one day offer hope as a cure for cancer? The United States government, that’s who.

For the past 30 years, U.S. officials have willfully ignored clinical research indicating that marijuana can inhibit the growth of certain type of malignant tumors. However, the recent publication of a trio of clinical studies and a pair of scientific reviews have effectively blown the lid off "Cancergate," and revealed that pot’s medical value may be far greater than ever presumed.

THE EMERGING EVIDENCE

Last year, five scientific journals published prominent articles trumpeting cannabinoids (compounds in marijuana) as potential anti-cancer agents.

These include:

* Clinical trial data published in January 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Clinical Investigation that found cannabinoids significantly inhibit skin tumor growth in mice. Investigators of the study concluded, "The present data indicate that local cannabinoids administration may constitute an alternative therapeutic approach for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer."
* Clinical trial data published in the March 2003 issue of The FASEB Journal that found that the "local administration of a non-psychoactive cannabinoid inhibits angiogenesis (tissue growth) of malignant gliomas (brain tumors)."
* A clinical review in the October 2003 issue of the prestigious journal Nature Reviews Cancer that concluded that cannabinoids’ "favorable drug safety profile" and proven ability to inhibit tumor growth make them desirable agents in the treatment of cancer. According to the review’s author, tumors inhibited by cannabinoids include: lung carcinoma, glioma, thyroid epithelioma, lymphoma/leukemia, skin carcinoma, uterus carcinoma, breast carcinoma, prostate carcinoma, and neuroblastoma (a malignant tumor originating in the autonomic nervous system or the adrenal medulla and occurring chiefly in infants and young children).
* Clinical trial data published in the November 2003 issue of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics that found the administration of the cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) inhibits the growth of human glioma cells both in vitro (e.g., a petri dish) and in animals in a dose-dependent manner. Investigators concluded, "Non-psychoactive CBD produce[s] a significant antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo, thus suggesting a possible application of CBD as an antineoplastic agent (something which prevents the growth of malignant cells.)"
* And finally, a clinical review in the December 2003 issue of the journal Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets that summarized "the demonstrated antitumor actions of cannabinoids," and elaborated on "possible avenues for the future development of cannabinoids as antitumor agents."

AND SUBSEQUENT MEDIA BLACKOUT

Despite these stunning findings, media coverage of them in North America has been virtually non-existent. As noted by Richard Cowan, editor of the website MarijuanaNews.com, "The New York Times, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times all ignored this story, even though its newsworthiness is indisputable: a benign substance occurring in nature destroys deadly brain tumors."

Why the media blackout? For starters, all of these studies were conducted overseas. And secondly, not one of them has been acknowledged by the U.S. government.

U.S. KNEW IN ’74... AND AGAIN IN ’96!

This wasn’t always the case. In fact, the first ever experiment documenting pot’s anti-tumor effects took place in 1974 at the Medical College of Virginia at the behest of the U.S. government. The results of that study, immortalized in an August 18, 1974 Washington Post newspaper feature, were that "THC slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent."

Despite these favorable preliminary findings, U.S. government officials banished the study, and refused to fund any follow up research until conducting a similar – though secret – study in the mid-1990s. That study, conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program to the tune of $2 million concluded that mice and rats administered high doses of THC over long periods had greater protection against malignant tumors than untreated controls. However, rather than publicize their findings, government researchers shelved the results – which only became public one year later after a draft copy of its findings were leaked in 1997 to the journal AIDS Treatment News, which in turn forwarded the story to the national media.

Nevertheless, in the nearly eight years since the completion of the National Toxicology trial, the U.S. government has yet to fund a single additional study examining pot’s potential as an anti-cancer agent.

SCIENCE IGNORED NO MORE

Fortunately, researchers at Madrid, Spain’s Complutense University, School of Biology have generously picked up where U.S. researchers so abruptly left off. In 1998, the research team – led by investigator Manuel Guzman – discovered that THC can selectively induce program cell death in brain tumor cells without negatively impacting the surrounding healthy cells. Then in 2000, Guzman’s team reported in the journal Nature Medicine that injections of synthetic THC eradicated malignant gliomas (brain tumors) in one-third of treated rats, and prolonged life in another third by six weeks. A commentary to the study noted that the results were the first to convincingly demonstrate that cannabis-based treatments may successfully combat cancer.

Today, Guzman believes that enough favorable clinical evidence exists supporting pot’s anti-cancer properties to warrant clinical trials in humans. "The scientific community has gained substantial knowledge of the palliative and anti-tumor actions of cannabinoids during the past few years," Guzman wrote in the October 2003 issue of Nature Reviews Cancer. "Anti-tumor compounds should selectively affect tumor cells [and] it seems that cannabinoids can do this, as they kill [malignant] tumor cells but do not affect their non-transformed counterparts and might even protect them from cell death. ... As cannabinoids are relatively safe compounds, it would be desirable that clinical trials using cannabinoids ... could accompany [ongoing] laboratory studies to allow us to use these compounds in the treatment of cancer." Guzman concludes the article by noting that the Spanish Ministry of Health recently approved a human clinical trial – the first ever – aimed at investigating the effects of intracranially administered THC on the life expectancy of volunteers suffering from malignant brain tumors.

"Cannabinoid research continues to show tremendous potential in the treatment of cancer," summarizes University of Southern California professor Mitch Earleywine, author of the book Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence. However, he laments that the "vast majority of this work originates outside the United States, often in countries that lack our economic and scientific advantages. Let’s hope that our drug policy won’t stymie the battle against the second leading cause of death in America."

Indeed. Let’s not add a potential treatment for cancer to the ever-growing list of victims of pot prohibition.

August 17, 2004

Paul Armentano [send him mail] is the senior policy analyst for the NORML Foundation in Washington, DC.

Copyright © 2004 LewRockwell.com

--
I maintain the Politics, Philosophy and Action yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iccpolitics

"Marijuana Compound May Fight Lung Cancer"

Sat, 31 May 2008 01:29:12 GMT

http://www.forbes.com/health/feeds/hscout/2007/04/17/hscout603764.html

Letter I'm about to send off to the papers, please feel free to pass this on:

Dear Editor,

According to a Forbes.com article on April 17th, 2007, "Harvard University researchers have found that, in both laboratory and mouse studies, delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cuts tumor growth in half in common lung cancer while impeding the cancer's ability to spread."
Also, "When injected into 15 mice with prostate cancer, this "smart bomb" therapy eliminated all signs of cancer -- effectively curing the rodents. Researchers at Columbia University, in New York City, said the therapy also worked in animals with breast cancer and melanomas."

Given this research, the fact that it is impossible to overdose on marijuana, the 10,000 year plus history people have with cannabis, and the effectiveness of grass as medicine for hiv, glaucoma, cancer, fibromyalgia, arthritis and a host of other ailments, we must legalize it NOW.

Is the fact that cannabis is more effective and cheaper competition for a host of multi-billion dollar pharmacutical drugs one reason why this medicine has been suppressed for so long? Is the fact that it can be made out of high quality paper with less chemicals and more efficiently than cutting down forests also a stumbling block due to its competition with the lumber and chemical processing industries? The seed of this plant is a high protein health food for crying out loud, containing all essential amino acids to the human body.

In the words of the popular politicians, "It is time for Change."

-Daniel McGuire

Rally report/Videos of peace rally yesterday for Bush's fundraising visit

Thu, 29 May 2008 13:04:09 GMT

The rally was great. Easily a thousand people were there; notice how KSL starts off the story by downplaying our numbers and doesn't even mention the other speakers besides Rocky. Rocky Anderson ( http://mayor-rocky-anderson.dailykos.com/ ) delivered a passionate speech. So did Daniel Ellsburg ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ellsberg ), Sergeant Marshall Thompson ( http://www.democracynow.org/2008/4/22/a_soldiers_peace_iraq_war_vet ), and Kathy Snyder ( http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=874 )

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3409820

This channel, (ABC, I think) did better with the numbers and at least showed Kathy but no Daniel and no Marshall: http://youtube.com/watch?v=7pflMiRG8os

My friend and I handed out several hundred fliers on fair voting reform, Instant Runoff Voting, to the crowd, including three of the speakers and after the rally on the other side of the building, current mayor Ralph Becker.

-Daniel

Thu, 29 May 2008 10:58:32 GMT

I had a great day and night. First met a good friend at the protest downtown and passed out a few hundred fliers on Instant Runoff Voting. Please google it if you don't know what it is by now, or scroll down in my lj to find the letter I've gotten published regarding the subject. We listened to several great speakers including the veteran who walked across the entire state of Utah to protest Bush and the war, the guy who leaked the pentagon papers and helped bring down the nixon administration at great risk to himself, a mother of a slain u.s. soldier, and the former mayor, Rocky Anderson. After the speakers, we waited and met Rocky as well as Daniel Elsburg (ellis?) and I gave a flier to both. (also gave a flier to the walking dude, when he was done speaking. we were right up close to where they came down after speaking) My friend gave rocky a hug and we then proceeded to meander around the remaining crowd, giving most of the rest of my fliers away. We met the current mayor, Ralph Becker and one of his main staffers on the other side of the building as we were about to ride off on my motorbike. They each got a flier. To coffee, then walking around town, ran into my old acquaintance and chess teacher who'd just gotten back from Iraq a few days ago at a bar on the way to where we were going and so was distracted when he offered to buy us a pitcher of beer. We'd seen him at the rally and apparently his 3rd or so tour of active duty in a war zone has changed his mind from supporting the war in the past to now calling it a big lie. He had some harrowing stories to tell but was a little too choked/fucked up to really tell them tonight. I gave him my impeach bush shirt as he was leaving and said I'd be his friend. (long history with him I won't go into at this point that was preventing the "friend" status for some years try as he might to define himself that way) Ran into several other people I knew and generally had an awesome time. After the bar, ate at betos then walked my friend home where I ended the night awkwardly as I'm sometimes prone to do. Thankfully she's a good enough friend and apparently values our friendship enough to let these drunken faux pas (sp) slide... Anyways, I'm a dork but I have fun.

I was going through a funk for a while, maybe a week or two. Everyone at work commented on it and some others I know too. Gladly, the cloud seems to have lifted for a while, I am out of the tunnel. When I do go under, it's a lot of introspection and I do think I get some mental work on myself done that's been some time coming. One improvement I've made to my situation is earplugs. There are others in the house that have different schedules than I have, (and outside the house) and not hearing them while I'm having vivid, sometimes kinky dreams is a definite plus. Been waking up MUCH more refreshed the last few days and ready to actually get up instead of going back to sleep and failing miserably at resting for another few hours.

dsl's fucking up so I'm going to post this while I can. I might edit it later and get the names right, etc..

A letter I wrote and sent off this morning to various newspapers in hopes of being published again..

Sun, 25 May 2008 12:48:53 GMT

...for the first time in a while and more importantly, making a difference:

Letter to editor: Mandatory Private Health and Auto Insurance is Wrong

Dear Editor,

Hillary Clinton and much of congress seem in favour of forcing by law every American to buy insurance from private *for profit* corporations. Most states have some form of compulsory auto insurance, once again from private *for profit* corporations. Government requiring citizens by law to enrich private owners and shareholders is wrong. Universal health coverage is debatable. In cases of both auto risk coverage and health coverage, *if* government mandates it, then government should provide it on a *not for profit* basis. I propose a great wall in general between the private *for profit* sector and the public *for the people* sector.

-Daniel McGuire

801-859-8730

Salt Lake City

Wed, 07 May 2008 09:39:10 GMT

You scored 18 of 20 boobs!

Thanks for taking my test! Be sure to tip your waitress. She has to pay for her implants.

Link: The Real Breasts/Fake Breasts Test written by tonguesten on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test
View My Profile(tonguesten)

Mon, 05 May 2008 19:17:03 GMT

Your Score: Canada

You scored 2 patrioticity and 1 aggressiveness!

You belong in Canada. You are highly tolerant of other cultures and you don't like wars. You abhor any type of nationalism.

Link: The what country do you belong in Test written by Archont on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test
View My Profile(Archont)

Mon, 05 May 2008 18:42:51 GMT

You are 96% a Beatles Lyrics Master!

No categories here. Your percentage is simply how many you got right. Each question was worth the same amount.

So, if your score is low, then I recommend listening to some more Beatles music. And classic rock in general!

If your score is high, then great! Keep up the appreciation of good music.

Link: The Beatles Lyrics Test written by Thorondor on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test
View My Profile(Thorondor)

Sat, 03 May 2008 11:19:06 GMT

self censorship is a bitch.

"poker girl"

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:12:23 GMT

oh, forgot to mention I'm in this youtube video too:

skip the first two minutes if you want to jump right to the action. I'm in yellow and several of my friends are there too. :)

Columbus and public education

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:08:57 GMT

My politics, philosophy and action discussion group has picked up steam again lately with five new members and a waxing political season. Below is a recent post to it from yours truly regarding the U.S. educational system as I have experienced it. The url for this discussion thread is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ICCPolitics/message/7885

--

I'm in part a product of the public school system and I have to say that the whole deal seems schizophrenic to me. On the positive side, they did a pretty good job at teaching me the basics of reading, writing, science and math. Later, in intermediate school and high school there were a few really excellent teachers that made a huge difference and I'm sure are continuing to make lasting impacts on those students willing to listen. On the other hand, many teachers were obviously bored and/or boring, psychologically abusive tyrants or just plain incompetent. Some classes amounted to nothing more than 50 minutes of busy work, complete wastes of time. Add these deficiencies to the fact that I was *forced* by law to be a subject of these tyrants and I begin to understand why so many people turn off to learning and become apathetic couch zombies. Even from my early years, I had a love/hate relationship with forced school. There has to be a better way.

In addition to the above analysis, I feel like I was a victim of government propaganda, most of it the teachers themselves probably even believed in. One of the better examples is elementary history regarding Columbus. I was taught in school this cartoon fantasy version of history that Columbus was a great guy, an adventurous hero that discovered a "new world". Absolutely omitted were excerpts from his diaries on what great people were already here, strong and willing to share all that they have, innocent and trusting of their new "friends", ignorant of metal weapons to the point of cutting themselves on his sword when he handed one over to be examined. ~"What great servants they would make!, why, with 50 men I could subjugate them all!" he writes after the above observations...

Omitted were the writings from others that knew Columbus that showed him to be a brutal murderer, a leader of a genocidal colonial conquest, killing off half the population where he first landed in a matter of 2 years. Columbus and his gold hungry buddies would mandate the natives produce a quota of gold and in return they would receive a copper coin to wear around their neck. If a native was found without a copper coin, Columbus would whack their forearms off and let them bleed to death. This brutal murderer who then brought back thousands of slaves to Spain and introduced syphilis to this continent is practically WORSHIPED in history classes. We still have a national HOLIDAY devoted to this fiend.

If this country ever is going to accomplish its long stated goals of justice and liberty for all, it's going to have to fess up, come clean about its own history and stop giving easter bunny, santa clause, disneyfied propaganda lessons to innocent, unsuspecting children. It is WRONG to misrepresent the world to people who are soaking it all up like a sponge, eagerly and earnestly. I believe this to be one of the major roots of a myriad of problems facing humanity today.

Feel free to re-post this message elsewhere far and wide.

-Daniel McGuire

Top ten signs your country is going fascist

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 23:12:13 GMT

Boycott Fox advertisers, crush fox!

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 19:02:14 GMT

I'm glad Obama beat Hillary the war candidate in Iowa. I hope it will be him, Kucinich or Gravel, maybe Richardson vs. Ron Paul on the Republican side. It's despicable that Kucinich was locked out of the debates and Ron Paul in the Fox debates. Ron Paul almost tripled the former mayor of New York's vote total in Iowa and yet Rudy was allowed to debate. Boycott fox advertisers for supporting the subversion of our democracy. Call their corporate offices and tell them why you will buy nothing from them until they pull their fox advertising. Bring down this stupid fake news corporation! btw, if any of the other candidates had any integrity, they would have boycotted that debate too. They're only interested in winning all the power for themselves and their buddies, not in fairness. Credit goes to the NH Republican party who *did* pull their sponsorship of the event. The blowback on this decision by fox will be their downfall. They have released a lion. CRUSH FOX.

my youtube debut

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 01:57:10 GMT

My friend made an original song and I'm in the video. Pass it on! -DM

Ron Paul

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 01:09:17 GMT

In a comment on my previous lj entry, my friend sends this youtube clip:

I give him a pass on this. His opinion on evolution doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. He's wrong on several issues, some that are pretty important, but on a few MEGA IMPORTANT topics, he's spot on and one of only a very few politicians willing to straight talk on those matters. I'm talking about the extremely expensive and life destroying war on drugs, meddling in other countries affairs all over the world with military bases in 130 countries, pre-emptive war, fiat currency/inflation/devaluation of the dollar, cutting federal government back to its constitutionally prescribed size so as to do something about the 9,300,000,000,000 dollar national debt, a staggering, nearly overwhelming figure... His religious beliefs and stands on certain social issues like abortion, I don't agree with. His consistency, honesty, and straightforwardness are a rare breath of fresh air in this presidential campaign. The neoconservatives have f*c*ed this county up and most of the democrats are absolutely complicit. At every fork in the road down this path, "Dr. No" has resisted. There's a detailed debate about him and some of his issues going on at my yahoo group, ICCPolitics, if you're interested! groups.yahoo.com/group/iccpolitics/messages

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 07:04:49 GMT

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ron+paul

first five entries for Ron Paul the Presidential candidate:

1. Ron Paul
1232 up, 425 down

Sitting Texas Congressman and one time Libertarian Party presidential candidate. The only honest man left in Washington.

I bet Ron Paul's speeches on the floor of congress are a real annoyance to all the thieving, lying, murdering, slime-dripping scumbags there.
by epsilon minus Jan 18, 2004 email it
permalink: del.icio.us
Send to a friend
your email:
their email:
send me the word of the day (it's free)

2. ron paul
792 up, 365 down

A politician who has the ability to purge washington.

I sure hope that I can inherit the legacy left behind for me by the Ron Paul administration.
tags politics libertarian constitutionalist congressman campaign paul ronald paul
by Estehbahn OR Jun 1, 2007 email it
3. Ron Paul
612 up, 328 down

Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is a 10th-term Congressman, obstetrician (M.D.), and a 2008 presidential candidate from the U.S. state of Texas, seeking the nomination of the Republican Party.

As a Republican, he has represented Texas's 14th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997, and represented Texas's 22nd district in 1976 and from 1979 to 1985.

Paul advocates a limited role for the federal government, low taxes, free markets, a non-interventionist foreign policy, and a return to monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He has earned the nickname "Dr. No" because he is a medical doctor who votes against the bills that he believes conflict with the Constitution.1 In the words of former Treasury Secretary William Simon, Paul is the "one exception to the Gang of 535" on Capitol Hill.2 He has never voted to raise taxes or congressional pay, and refuses to participate in the congressional pension system.3 He has consistently voted against the USA PATRIOT Act, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and the Iraq War.

Person 1: "Here's a tough question: name a person currently in our government who actually upholds the constitution, is incredibly intelligent, and listens to the wisdom of the founding fathers."

Person 2: "HAHAHA!! Everyone knows no such person exists anymore, they all died with our freedoms and liberties."

Person 1: "Actually, there is one person left who represents those characteristics-- his name is Ron Paul, and he's running for president."
tags ron paul ronald paul republicans congressmen congressman congressman ron paul congressman ronald paul congressman paul 2008 election presidential candidates republican presidential candidates congressman ron congress man ron paul congressmen ron paul paul ron candidates texas congressman dr no dr ron paul 2008 presidential candidates constitutionalist paleoconservative republican candidates gop candidates gop presidential candidates.
by Big Marley Maine Jun 7, 2007 email it

4. ron paul
486 up, 268 down

The only politician able to earn Chuck Norris' respect. Here are some facts about Dr. Paul.

1. Ron Paul doesn't go the gym. He stays fit by exercising his civil rights.
2. Ron Paul delivers babies without his hands. He simply reads them the Bill of Rights and they crawl out in anticipation of freedom.
3. Ron Paul doesn't cut taxes. He kills them with his bare hands.
4. Jesus wears a wrist band that says "What Would Ron Paul Do?"
5. When Ron Paul takes a shower, he doesn't get wet...the water gets Ron Paul.
6. Ron Paul could lead a horse to water AND convince it to drink, but he doesn't believe the government has the right to so he refuses.
7. Ron Paul's midi-chlorian level is off the chart.
8. When Chuck Norris gets scared, he goes to Ron Paul.
9. Studies by the World Health Organization show that Ron Paul is the leading cause of freedom among men.
10. Ron Paul makes the U.S. dollar want to be a better currency.

The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing bankruptcy and economic turmoil to our people.
--Ron Paul

Capitalism should not be condemned, since we haven't had capitalism.
--Ron Paul

Our country's founders cherished liberty, not democracy.
--Ron Paul

You wanna get rid of drug crime in this country? Fine, let's just get rid of all the drug laws.
--Ron Paul
tags ron paul freedom hero president libertarian money constitution republic
by Tax Heretic Iowa Aug 17, 2007 email it
5. Ron Paul
463 up, 255 down

Ron Paul was the 44th president of the United States Of America.

He won a landslide victory over Hillary Clinton mainly because she voted for the Iraq War and he did not. There are also a number of other factors involved. But in the end Ron Paul was really the only candidate that was for the people.

history ebook: the internet and Ron Paul saved humanity from ww3.
tags john titor internet msm ron paul 44th president 2008. revolution
by John Titor TimeTravel_0 2036 Aug 18, 2007 email it

at the U.

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 04:27:33 GMT

In the fieldhouse. I played some one on one basketball, ran around the track, hit the boxing bag, leered at some females.

I uploaded some pictures on my okcupid profile and myspace a few weeks ago.

I like hiking; so, if you want to hike then let me know. 859-8730

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 08:20:42 GMT

Did you guys hear about this? -DM

In the words of the video poster:

"This "cop on pot brownies" 911 call blew up on the internet this weekend, but this news report gives you a taste—and also frustrates me tremendously for two reasons. First, the cop was dismissed but no charges were filed, despite the fact that he stole evidence (the marijuana) from a locker? Secondly, the newscasters crack up after hearing the cop freak out on the call, just like everyone else did when they heard it. Because we all know marijuana is totally harmless. That's the fucking punchline of this whole thing, yet while we're giggling about one dumb asshole of a cop's misfortune, thousands of people are in jail for marijuana-related crimes. Ha ha ha!"

Audrey Renee McGuire

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 06:39:51 GMT

Audrey, I hardly knew you; but, I wanted to love you. I wanted to raise you. I wanted to see you grow up, sing and dance.

I wanted to teach you to play chess. I envisioned you doing gymnastics, going to school, hiking with me. I wanted to hug you, to kiss you, to teach you all about life and everything I know. I wanted to support your interests and be suprised by you. I was starting to look forward to a whole world of experiences with you.

Brief though my time with you was, you changed my life forever. Once a father always a father, and that's an adventure greater than hitchhiking across the continent.

Unforgettable Audrey Renee, you'll stay with me until the day I die.

your father,

Daniel

explanation

obituary

some of my political writing as published in local papers

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 02:50:03 GMT

There's more. I have to go to the library some time and look up the rest of my letters to the editor from Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune and make copies. I'm thinking about compiling everything I've written that's been published along with some new writings into a book to sell for extra money. Anyone want to place advance orders to motivate me? Is this a good idea? :) I'm thinking the book will be a simple publication, maybe 5-9 dollars for a copy, probably 5.

-DM

Avoiding the Spoiler Effect 090204

Wouldn't it be a great compromise if the Democrats agreed to formally support Instant Runoff Voting in exchange for Ralph's withdrawal from the presidential race?

A similar deal is in order for the Republicans and third-party candidates that will likely draw more votes from them. Then, with omni-partisan support, IRV would be implemented nationally, and next election cycle we'll get an actual true account of just how much support third parties have, while avoiding the "spoiler" effect.

This is a win-win-win-win scenario. The only losers are individual Democrats and Republicans who stand to gain by the spoiler effect in their individual races.

Daniel McGuire

Salt Lake City http://www.slweekly.com/article.cfm/letters045

Smoke and Mirrors 021005 http://www.slweekly.com/article.cfm/letters067

Thank you for your recent feature on the proposed smoking bans [“Ashes to Ashes,” Jan. 27, City Weekly]. The anti-smoking message is, for the most part, a positive one. People who remain smoke-free are on average healthier than people who smoke.

That said, this business about banning smoking in “private” clubs and open-air parks and venues screams violation in my book. Justifying violating individual rights by making it a health issue for the employees of bars is a red herring. This is really about the culture war. I would like to remind all involved that we live in America, the land of the free. Employees at bars work there voluntarily. No one is forcing them to work there and no one is preventing them from seeking employment elsewhere.

I suggest the anti-smoking folks focus their energy on providing smoke-free “alternatives.” Get some capital together and open non-smoking venues to compete with the smoking ones. That is free enterprise and healthy. Coercion and trampling on personal choices, not to mention the property rights of the owners of these establishments is truly “un-American,” to borrow an overused and abused term.

And if we’re considering banning smoking in public parks and venues due to the minute amount of pollution it causes, maybe banning the automobile should come first.

Daniel McGuire

Salt Lake City

Smoking Out the Truth (this isn't by me, but was published right next to my above letter on the same topic)

After reading the article “Ashes to Ashes” by Jamie Gadette [Jan. 27, City Weekly], I now realize what the root problem of this secondhand smoke issue is: Misinformation! People have become too easily willing to accept whatever they read or hear as truth without questioning its validity, especially if they perceive it as coming from an “authoritative” source. In the article the author states, “Of the more than 50,000 Americans killed annually from secondhand-smoke-related illnesses, 3,000 nonsmokers die from lung cancer and 35,000 nonsmokers die from heart disease according to data from the Utah Department of Health (UDOH).” The question no one is asking is this: Where did the UDOH come up with those stats?

I recently watched an episode of Penn & Tellers’ Bulls—t (from season one) in which they examine the issue of secondhand smoke (SHS). According to their info, most sources who claim that SHS is harmful (sources like the American Heart Association, Lung Association, etc.) rely on information from a 1993 EPA study as their source—a study that was later thrown out by a federal court.

The court debunked the EPA finding, saying the EPA’s procedural failure constitutes a violation of the law, that the EPA cherry picked its data and that they deviated from acceptable scientific procedure to ensure a preordained outcome.

The Bulls—t episode also states that groups like the AHA, ALA, etc., inflated the original stats from the EPA study from 3,000 to 50,000. Sound familiar? So what does it all mean?

Well, if P& are correct, it means there is no statistical evidence that SHS can harm you. It also means that everyone, not just smokers and private-club owners, yes, even members of the staff at Salt Lake City’s most trusted weekly, are about to have their rights taken away by an overzealous Legislature, all in the name of Bulls—t!

But please don’t take my word for it. Find out where the UDOH stats came from. Research before you assume. Get a copy of P & T’s Bulls—t and see what I mean. I suggest you hurry before the Legislature outlaws it. I’m sure they think the truth is bad for your health.

Jay Clayton

Mayfield

Death and Injustice http://www.slweekly.com/article.cfm/letters070

I oppose the death penalty for young people, but for different reasons than the Supreme Court laid out. I hold that as long as young people are prohibited from voting and have no say in the laws they are being prosecuted under, it is a great injustice to prosecute them as adults at all. On the other side, it is injustice to not hold young criminals equally accountable for their actions. The only way to soften or resolve both of these injustices is to lower or abolish the voting age and mete out equal justice to criminals regardless of age.

Also if, by the court’s reasoning, it is “cruel and unusual” to execute people who committed their crimes when they were 17, is it not a violation of the equal protection clauses to execute someone who committed their crimes when they were 18?

Daniel McGuire

Salt Lake City
03242005

Vaporous Poo (this one was a response to my above smoking letter :)

Let's see, where did I put my crayon? OK, here we go. This is in regards to Daniel McGuire's sad little rights tirade ["Smoke and Mirrors," Letters, Feb 10, City Weekly] and Jay Clayton's horrid "buck up baby, it won't kill ya" essay ["Smoking Out the Truth," Letters, Feb. 10, City Weekly]. Pull up a chair, boys, I'll try to use small words.

Here's something only the rare, enlightened smoker realizes, and forgive me for pointing it out, as my 70-year-old mother is among your kind and God knows I love her: Your nasty little s--t sticks stink, so you stink, and everyone who has to dwell in your noxious cloud stinks.

When I go to a club, you don't go home reeking of my white Russian. I could drive a 1970 Maverick with no exhaust, use a keg of cheap perfume, bring my (wet) Rottweiler to ride shotgun, and I'd bet you wouldn't smell like any of that when you got home after clubbing with me.

Nonsmokers have to shower at 3 a.m. after being at a club because the fumes that come off their hair and clothes are sickening. And don't insult me with your "rights" bulls--t. I don't give a damn if you smoke, this is no "culture war," or a dreaded Utah issue. What about my "individual right" to listen to some good disco, have a drink and not smell like a smoldering mountain goat because of you?

I don't really care about the studies on secondhand smoke, either. I'm sure all the liquor I drink and real butter I use will kill me first. Your smoking is not just about you. Maybe this will help you light your next delicious cig and smoke it in front of a mirror. See that big gray cloud around your head, that eventually fills the entire room? It's communicable, vaporous poo.

MARIE JOHNSON http://www.slweekly.com/article.cfm/letters068

Quake Take (this is a shortened version of a three page essay I wrote, some of the more interesting rhetoric cut, full version of essay is here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ICCPolitics/message/6924 )

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This common-sense philosophical wisdom attributed to Benjamin Franklin has been handed down from generation to generation. If only we as a society would put this wisdom into practice on a large scale, we could save thousands of lives, lots of heartbreak, and billions of dollars.

Since junior high school, I’ve been told by various science teachers that Salt Lake City is overdue for a large magnitude earthquake, probably greater than 7.0 on the Richter scale and possibly as large as 7.5 that will destroy much of the city and kill thousands. This scenario is exacerbated by the fact that Salt Lake City is built on ancient Lake Bonneville’s bed. Because the city is built on the sand and silt of a former lake bed, when a major earthquake hits, liquefaction of its water-saturated soil could occur, potentially causing damage upwards of $40 billion and killing several to tens of thousands of people.

We know from experience that after a major disaster strikes in any part of the world, images of suffering and calls for help result in generous outpourings of support from nations and individuals all over the world. We help rebuild villages and cities struck by tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes and wars. After the fact, human generosity reaches incredible highs and people come together to find cures to the present predicament.

What I’m proposing is to put into action the wise words of Benjamin Franklin. My hope is that a major reconstruction plan will be implemented for the Salt Lake Valley, making it affordable for all home and business owners who occupy buildings not currently up to earthquake code to do renovations that will make their buildings safe and able to withstand the predicted disaster.

Daniel McGuire
Salt Lake City

Only Fair

When a majority would rather not have a candidate in office but he gets in anyway due to a third-party “spoiler” effect, something is seriously wrong with the voting system. Instant runoff voting will solve this problem as soon as it is implemented. IRV voting empowers voters to rank the candidates in order of preference so if their first choice is a third-party candidate like Nader, they still get a say in the Bush and Kerry contest. The candidate with the least votes is eliminated and the second choices of those voting for the eliminated candidate are counted as if there were a runoff election between the stronger candidates but without the extra cost of an extra election.

It would be helpful if news outlets would mention fair voting methods to solve this problem. As long as the Republicans and Democrats stay silent on this issue, they will trade off having their campaigns “spoiled” over and over and over again. Last election, it was Bush winning over Gore due to Nader, and back in ’92, it was Clinton winning over Bush Sr. due to Perot.

Check out www.fairvote.org for more information on fair voting methods.

Daniel McGuire

Candidate for Utah State Senate, District 1 051304 http://www.slweekly.com/article.cfm/letters029

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Deseret News:

012707

Let's get on 2008 election
I have a dream that in 2008, the presidential elections will be conducted in a fair and transparent way, resulting in a new Congress and president the people can have confidence in.
I'd like to remind all Americans that when there are more than two candidates in a political race in our system, it is very likely that a candidate the majority of people do not want to win will win anyway. In many places, there is a requirement that the winner have a majority of votes to eliminate this possibility. The top vote getters have a run-off election to determine a majority winner. This is much more democratic and should be implemented.
If we value fairness in elections, let's get on it. Contact your representatives about this one.

Daniel McGuire
Salt Lake City

Trib

012807

Working-class Utahns spend a much larger percentage of their income on basic necessities than wealthy Utahns. Therefore, any tax on basic necessities such as food is regressive.
It's great that last year the Legislature decided to reduce the tax on some food in Utah, but they did not go far enough. The tax on food hurts the poorest of us the most. As far as taxes go, it is the worst of the worst and should be eliminated entirely.

Daniel McGuire
Salt Lake City

The Trib will publish this next one some time early this week:

Please Respect the Constitution Regarding Sodomy Laws

The Supreme Court in Lawrence Vs. Texas in 2003 ruled that sodomy laws violate Americans' rights to privacy as well as equal protection under the law. Shame on any bigots on the hill that oppose removing these illegal laws from the State's code just to prevent the appearance of supporting the gay community. These laws that target the private behaviour of consenting individuals, gay and straight, are a throwback to the Victorian age and a blatant attempt at imposing religion on an unwilling populace. Shame on Chris Buttars and the other Republican Senators who joined him in blocking a public hearing of Senator McCoy's bill to remove sodomy laws. Politicians should promptly remove their noses from the people's private and personal business immediately.

-Daniel McGuire

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I maintain the Politics, Philosophy and Action yahoo group at http//groups.yahoo.com/group/iccpolitics/ Feel free to check it out and join!

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 06:26:32 GMT

Italian :)

French :)

argh, now if I could find it in English! I'm thinking about performing this one for my acting class.

To a friend

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:16:35 GMT

"Safe"

In this darkness
Troubled waters
Lies a flicker
Of hopes fire

Come to your senses
Wager a risk
I won’t let go
Waiting for this
It’s wonderful
Reality
I watch as
This golden bird flies free

In this ash-vault
A rose garden
These walls will never
See me just to
Save me
Save me
Save me
Save me

-Kittie

Renee and I went to the forum at the Salt Lake library yesterday to coincide with the big demonstration that happened in D.C. Terry Tempest Williams the Author spoke as well as a sociology professor from the U., Kim Sprangrude a military mom, Rick Miller a veteran for peace, Larry Cannon an Iraq veteran, Marshall Thomson an Iraq veteran, Kyle Wulle a United Steelworkers Union officer, and some members of the community. At the forum also played as part of T.T. Williams presentation was the documentary "I know I'm not Alone" by Michael Franti. A youtube video of him singing his song by the same name is:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TqBzW5xoEg4

It was a moving film, showing the face of every day Iraqis, Iraqi rock bands, hip hop bands, metal bands, moms, kids, grandparents, then he went to Palestine and Israel and talked to Israeli military and Palestinians, all the while with guitar in tow, singing his songs for the entertainment of the middle east people.

I got William's and Cannon's autograph on my forum program. Cannon is the former military reporter who became convinced the war is immoral and lead a walk across the State of Utah to gain attention. The Iraqi veterans looked in their 20's, and the Vietnam Veteran who spoke, Miller, spoke of the first person he killed and how he took his wallet and now apologizes to his picture daily. He speaks at schools and community events, protests etc., telling his personal story of Vietnam and how now he sees numerous parallels in Iraq.

Friday we saw Hounddog, about a 12 year old girl in the 60's, obsessed with Elvis who is raped. It is an excellent movie. I cried, and I don't usually cry in movies. We met the director after and got her signature on our ticket stubs. It was a Sundance screening and we were the last 2 people to get seats in the wait line, getting in at the last minute. It will probably be picked up for larger distribution, so when it does, definitely go see it. The people who are calling for the arrest of Dakota Fanning's mother and the director, etc.. are a bit off base in my opinion. It definitely was not porn, and the Attorney General of Utah where it was screened as well as the A.G. of North Carolina where it was filmed both agree that nothing about the film is illegal. Fanning has come out with some great quotes in response to the publicity, saying not to worry about her, that she didn't go through anything, but to worry about all those people this is actually happening too instead. A very honest portrayal of a very real phenomenon that should be discussed.

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 08:50:28 GMT

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 06:10:07 GMT

What do you think? Should Salt Lake take a lesson from the "big one", Katrina, and rebuild *before* a major earthquake happens? Or just wait for all the brick buildings in the valley to crumble, *then* rebuild to earthquake code after 10's of thousands or more people are dead?

Your Vocabulary Score: A-

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary!
You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 13:06:44 GMT

I'm taking two classes this semester, philosophy and acting. I like them. How nice it would be to go to school full time again and drop a lot of hours from my work week... This semester I dropped from a 40 hour work week to a 30. On the day my phil. teacher handed back the first mid-terms he told me about some scholarships in the works that will be available to people who want to make philosophy their major or minor. I'm seriously dreaming about it. I learn more later today after I get officially registered in the class.

In acting, I'm memorizing a monologue from _The Laramie Project_ Here's the text:

----
JEDADIAH:
I've lived in Wyoming my whole life. The family has been in Wyoming, well... for generations. Now when it came time for me to go to college, my parents can't - couldn't afford to send me to college. I wanted to study theatre. And I knew that if I was going to go to college, I was going to have to get on a scholarship - and so, they have this competition each year, this Wyoming state high school competition. And I knew that if I didn't take first place in, uh, duets that I wasn't going to get a scholarship. So I went to the theatre department of the university, looking for good scenes, and I asked one of the professors - I was like, "I need - I need a killer scene," and he was like, "Here you go, this is it." And it was from Angels in America. So I read it, and I knew that I could win best scene if I did a good enough job.
And when the time came, I told my mom and dad so that they would come to the competition. Now you have to understand, my parents go to everything - every ball game, every hockey game - everything I've ever done. And they brought me to their room, and told me that if I did that scene, that they would not come to see me in the competition. Because they believed that it is wrong - that homosexuality is wrong - they felt that strongly about it that they didn't want to come see their son do probably the most important thing he'd done to that point in his life. And I didn't know what to do.
I had never gone against my parents' wishes. So I was kind of worried about it. But I decided to do it. And all I can remember about the competition is that when we were done, me and my scene partner, we came up to each other and we shook hands and there was a standing ovation.
Oh, man, it was amazing! And we took first place, and we won. And that's how I can afford to be here at the university, because of that scene. It was one of the best moments of my life. And my parents weren't there. And to this day, that was the one thing that my parents didn't see me do.
And thinking back on it, I think, why did I do it? Why did I oppose my parents? 'Cause I'm not gay. So why did I do it? And I guess the only honest answer I can give is that, well, I wanted to win.

There are certain things when I sit in church. And the reverend will tell you flat out that he doesn't agree with homosexuality - and I don't know - I think right now, I'm going through changes, I'm still learning about myself and - you know I don't feel like I know enough about certain things to make a decision and say, "Homosexuality is right." When you've been raised your whole life that it's wrong - and right now, I would say that I don't agree with it - yeah, that I don't agree with it but - maybe that's just because I couldn't do it - and speaking in religious terms - I don't think that's how God intended it to happen. But I don't hate homosexuals and, I mean, I'm not going to persecute them or anything like that. At all - I mean, that's not gonna get in the way between me and the other person at all.

My parents asked me "So, what plays are you doing this year at school?" And I was like, "Angels in America," and I told them the whole list of plays. And they're like, "Angels in America? Is that... that play you did in high school? That scne you did in high school?" And I was like, "Yeah." And she goes: "Huh. So are you gonna audition for it?" And I was like, "Yeah." And we got in this huge argument... and my best, the best thing that I knew I had them on is it was just after they had seen me in a performance of Macbeth, and onstage, like, I murdered like a little kid, and Lady Macduff, and these two other guys, and she goes, "Well, you know homosexuality is a sin." - she kept saying that - so I go, "Mom, I just played a murderer tonight. And you didn't seem to have a problem with that..."
I tell you, I have never prepared myself this much for an audition in my life. Never ever. Not even close.

(A Year Later)
I didn't for the longest time let myself become personally involved in the Matthew Shepard thing. It didn't seem real, it just seemed way blown out of proportion. Matthew Shepard was just a name, instead of a person...
I don't know, it's weird. It's so weird, man. I just - I just feel bad. Just for all that stuff I told you, for the person I used to be. That's why I want to hear those interviews from last year, when I said all that stuff. I don't know. I just can't belive I ever said all that stuff about homosexuals, you know. How did I ever let that stuff make me think that you were different from me?
----

I stop three paragraphs from the bottom, not going forward a year. I'm not used to memorizing large chunks of text so this has been quite a challenge for me, but I think I'm on pace to perform this Friday. My goal is to have the text memorized nearly word for word by today. I'm about half there.

Living with a person is challenging, but also inspiring.

I've been having a few problems at work lately. The biggest is a prejudicial mormon girl who recently married into a rich family. Supposedly we were friends for the first year I worked there, but now that she is married and her husband took a dislike to me after meeting me for approximately 60 seconds, I am a "weirdo", "scary", incompetent at my job, and worthy of being either a. ignored, or b. treated meanly. I do my job well and I don't deserve this from her.

I'd have to check my notes, but I think Aristotle is quoted as saying, "Those who live extravagantly are apt to be snooty. Those who live simply are apt to be vulgar. I prefer the vulgar."

I think I agree.

So I went to a fellow co-worker who is friends with my rich mormon ex-friend Saturday and told her my side of the story and asked her to talk to her about it. I cried. I re-experienced the hurt of the lost friend or disillusionment while I was telling her. So now I've sort of taken this thing to a different level and gotten other people involved. I hope so much that it was the right thing to do and that the situation will be bettered for it and not worsened. I hate being involved in drama.