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“If You’re A Viper”: Harry Anslinger, Cannabis, Racism & Jazz
NOTE: This was originally written as part of “BLUNT TRUTHS”, an extended series about the history of cannabis prohibition I did for Weedmaps News. Across 13 installments and 25,000 words, I wrote about how one man – Harry Anslinger – invented America’s attitude toward cannabis. And that attitude sat squarely upon racism’s shoulders. “If You’re…
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Kevin McCarthy Can Quit Politics But He Can’t Quit Treason
This morning’s big headline (and it’s just a touch bigger here in CA) just dropped: California Representative and former Speaker Of The House Kevin McCarthy is quitting the Congress by the end of the year. Or the end of the month – whichever comes first. Poor us – we won’t have Kevin to kick around…
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It’s All “News” To Them
Why does it always feel like our news media remain clueless about the biggest story they’ll ever cover – Donald Trump and the GOP assaulting our democracy? To be fair, they do know how to do freeway chases and beauty contests and horse races. The chase ends. Someone wins the beauty contest or the horse…
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Drowning In A Sea Of Schmucks
In Yiddish, according to Leo Rosten in his essential The Joys Of Yiddish, “schmuck” can mean three things: a penis, a fool or a son of a bitch. Looking around at the various problems pushing humanity to the precipice, I see plenty of penises, fools and SOBs. Plenty of schmucks. Hell, they’ve surrounded us as…
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Oh, To Be A Rich, White Sociopath!
Last night Elon Musk demonstrated (yet again) that not only is he a rich, white sociopath, he’s the poster boy for Rich, White Sociopaths! Elon The Rich, White Sociopath Even before he got to last night, Elon has consistently demonstrated a sociopath’s consistent disregard for right and wrong or the rights and feelings of others.…
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Is Winning An Election And CHEATING To Win Really The Same Thing?
Here in America, we’ve managed a remarkable piece of gymnastics. We’ve equated cheating to win election with not cheating to win election. Both are just “different ways to run”. In theory, democracy is a marketplace of ideas. The good ideas should, ultimately, succeed while the bad ones fail. The bad idea crowd (like the ones…
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Jews’ Refusal To Convert Is Antisemitism’s Root Cause
If you pore over history and histories searching for the root cause of antisemitism, you won’t find it. That’s a curious thing considering the answer’s so obvious. From their first entrance on the world stage, Jews have been outsiders to whatever cultures they lived beside. Take the Romans. They considered the Hebrews “outsiders”. What, from…
How To Live BULLSHIT-FREE
Hint: start With Your Own