NaBloPoMo: It’s Over!

Whew! It’s over! I did it! I managed to do a post a day for the entire month of November! 🙂

I don’t know how many of you noticed the little square flag down towards the bottom right of my blog. It’s for the National Blog Posting Month of November. I saw a post about it on another blog and thought it would be interesting. So, I joined the challenge.

I thought it would be motivational (it was) and challenging (it was) and help me get some exposure (I’m not sure that worked out).

I think I need to go back to just doing these posts when I have the time and inclination. I didn’t really like the feeling that I HAD to get one done. So, if you don’t see anything from me for a little while, nothing’s wrong. I’m just taking a break. 😉

Weekly Photo Challenge: Let There Be Light- Celebrate

I took all of these at the JAGA (Jamaica-Galveston) Festival in Galveston last Spring. I actually had a decent camera with me (but still no tripod). Glad they turned out OK.

These are for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Let There Be Light. You can see the other entries and enter at…

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/photo-challenge-lights

Weekly Photo Challenge: Let There Be Light- Offshore

Here’s another one for the Weekly Photo Challenge. It’s still on ‘Light’. I took these while I was at work (offshore). I can’t believe I got the moon to come out so good. I took a ton of pictures, it was the ‘supermoon’, but I only had my little point and shoot camera with me and with all the vibration on the rig, I’m just really surprised to get anything like this.

The boat was another story. It came so close to us, I could have thrown a stick at it and actually hit it (I can’t throw very far). Driving us crazy since all vessels are supposed to stay outside our 500 m zone unless we grant permission. They were just about up under our lifeboats. 🙁

We worry they may interfere with our thrusters or ROV with their fishing gear, but they could care less (until something happens like they actually catch a fish and they lose it because their line got cut in our thrusters).

If you want to see the other entries for the Challenge, or enter it yourself, here’s the link

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/photo-challenge-lights/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Let There Be Light- Singapore

Here are some photos I took the last time I was in Singapore. The first 3 are at Clarke Quay. It’s a nice area near the Singapore River with lots of bars and restaurants. The kids love to play in the fountains all lit up in different colors. It’s really quite beautiful at night. The next 2 are from the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Chinatown. The last one is of the Singapore River near Clarke Quay. I took all these photos with a point and shoot camera. I usually only have a pocket camera with me when I’m working. I had just got off the ship and stayed a few days to sight-see before I had to go home.

These are for the Weekly Photo Challenge, this weeks theme is ‘Light’. I thought some of the other people who posted had some really nice shots. If you want to see them, or enter the Challenge, here’s the link

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/photo-challenge-lights/#more-61860

Pack your kids homemade lunch; get fined

Mom packs kids homemade lunch; school fines her and feeds kids Ritz Crackers | Grist.

Here’s another post to go with the earlier one I posted about school lunches ( http://captjillsjourneys.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/the-saddest-sc…weve-ever-seen ). I’m really starting to think there’s something pretty fishy going on. Looks like from this article, it might be a world wide problem. This article is actually referring to an incident that happened in Canada. I thought this kind of craziness was only happening in the USA, I guess I was wrong.

The article is a little sarcastic 😉 but I think it makes some good points. Like WHY should a good lunch consist of things with preservatives, artificial colorings/flavorings, or GMOs? Personally, I would be asking just what business is it of the schools, the government or anybody else what I choose to feed my kids for lunch (or breakfast, or dinner)?

WTF has gotten into people? That they think they have ANY business to tell anybody else what they can or can’t eat? I have my thoughts on this and of course I am going to tie it all into government health care (and other forms of government control). I know Canada has had socialized health care for years. So, no big surprise they are doing this sort of thing. I’m more surprised they haven’t already been doing it for years.

I AM surprised that WE have started it. After all, Obamacare isn’t even fully in effect here yet. If I was going to get into it, I might say I think it might have something to do with the UNs Codex Alimentarius  (http://www.codexalimentarius.org/).

Of course, most people think it’s time for me to get out my tin hat when I bring up things like that. Wacky conspiracy theories and all that. Is it really all that important if it’s a conspiracy theory or not if it’s really happening? What does it matter if it’s a conspiracy or not?

Check it out. There’s the link. Yeah, it all looks so wonderful, just like everything the UN comes up with. It knows what’s best for all of us, riiiiiiigggght…..

The saddest school lunches we’ve ever seen

These are the saddest school lunches we’ve ever seen | Grist.

My curiosity got the better of me and I had to take a look at this. Especially after reading all the stories in the news lately about how parents are being fined and even arrested for trying to feed their kids healthy lunches instead of the kind of SH*T (to put it nicely) they get at school. Don’t try to pawn off your leftover turkey sandwiches on the kids anymore, who knows what may happen. 🙂

Don’t you wonder WHY??? Why is it all the sudden such a big deal that the ‘authorities’ would resort to FORCING these kids to eat their crap food? Why is it so wrong for kids to bring lunch from home like we all did since the beginning of public schools???

Are the schools going broke because so many kids aren’t buying school (free) lunch (no, they’re broke because they spend too much money on things other than teaching)- Or are they in cahoots with big agriculture (through FDA and other big government programs)- Or are they buying into Obamacares premise that they can FORCE even our bodies into their mold?

I don’t know what to think about all this yet, but a couple of things I DO know. They are NOT doing this from the goodness of their hearts and they are NOT doing it for the kids benefit! Time to take another look at your kids schools, check out the report at FedUp (www.fedup.dosomething.org/fedup).

Virgin’s Guide to Promoting a Blog or Website (Ethos – Part 2)

helpful hints on promoting a blog from Don Charisma
🙂

Your Thanksgiving Turkey in 6 Eye-Popping Charts

Your Thanksgiving Turkey in 6 Eye-Popping Charts | Mother Jones.

In honor of todays holiday here in America, I’m passing on this post of interesting information about your Thanksgiving turkey.

Enjoy. 🙂

How to cook your Thanksgiving turkey in the dishwasher

Here’s how to cook your Thanksgiving turkey in the dishwasher | Grist.

Well, this is definitely a new one on me. I thought at first it was a joke, but noooooo… they’re serious about giving you directions on how to cook your turkey in the dishwasher. Just in time for Thanksgiving dinner! 😉

It does sound pretty easy and might even be comparable time wise to the traditional method of baking the bird in the oven. I could see this becoming a big hit with the college boys- do a load of dishes (or even laundry) and your Thanksgiving dinner all at the same time. 😉

If any of you try it, be sure and report back here with the results! 🙂

Video: Female Sea Captains

A friend sent this to me the other day. I just got around to watching it. My computer is very slow and I’ve been really busy so it took a while. She figured I might like it since I’m a female sea captain. She was right, thanks J.! 🙂

It’s a sketch from Saturday Night Live (SNL). A whaling town has an epidemic that wipes out all the male sea captains and so the women take over the jobs. They have to avoid the mermen and find the white whale, with a few ‘she shanties’ sung along the way.

Well, no, it’s not as good as some of the real classic SNL skits, but it’s good for a few laughs, and after all, I really am a female sea captain. 😉

http://www.hulu.com/watch/560124

What Would a Free Society Look Like?

What Would a Free Society Look Like? | Laissez-Faire Bookstore.

I liked this article by Jacob Hornberger of the Future of Freedom Foundation (www.fff.org). I used to belong to them and got these neat little books every month. They always had some great essays by Hornberger, Sheldon Richman and others. I still have a few around the house.

Hornberger is a great advocate for freedom and this short little essay of his is an example. It asks some good questions and at least gets you thinking. At least it did me and I hope it will others. 🙂

You must know enough about me by now to know that I am VERY much in favor of a free society. 😉 I have been a Libertarian for years, working to restore this country to some semblance of the free society we USED to have. I would REALLY like to see the USA return to its founding principles of freedom and liberty for all.

No, we were never perfect, but our principles were (are) sound. Our most basic principle is that of self ownership. Freedom to decide how YOU want to live YOUR life! Since we fought the American Revolution to ensure that one basic human right, our people have fought constantly for freedom.

We have fought against slavery, for womens’ rights, for workers rights, for minority rights, etc. Even today, our soldiers are fighting for what they were TOLD was someones freedom (regardless of whether what they were told was a lie, those soldiers believed it when they left home to fight).

These principles, which hold that the individual is important, are no longer respected in America. Even though it was our support for individual liberty that formed the basis for the most free and prosperous country in the history of the planet. 🙁

Since we stopped following those principles and no longer have any respect for individual liberty, we’ve been going backwards in every way. Most people here don’t agree with me.

They’ll come up with all kinds of excuses and false premises as to what’s wrong with this country. They’ll grasp at any straw to avoid the fact that we have lost most of our liberty already and what’s left of it is fading fast.

They have been manipulated by the government and the media to believe that they are better off trading their freedom for security.

Ben Franklin said it best over 200 years ago…

“Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

I agree with Ben! He was a pretty sharp guy and he sure as hell knew what he was talking about when he made that statement!

I am NOT willing to trade my freedom for any kind of security, it’s NOT worth it! I will take my chances with whatever the world brings my way. I only want the FREEDOM to be able to live MY life the way I choose, just like everybody else should be able to do.

I can think of SO many things I could do if our government had not grown so big. Rules and regulations everywhere. Nit picking and harassing me every time I try to break out of the mold and try to do something different. New ideas for businesses, etc. I can imagine that expanding to all the other people around me and the absolute explosion of creativity, which will foster prosperity, which will foster peace.

I can imagine with that freedom that people would be much happier, much more productive, much more friendly open and caring. Just think for a minute what would you do if you had a 30-50% raise.

Would you spend the extra money on something useful or enjoyable? Go back to school, take a trip, buy a bike, etc? Would you spend it on charity? Would you use the TIME instead to spend more time with your friends and family? Would you take the time to relax and just enjoy life?

Just think how much better off we’d all be with less stress in our lives! I’m pretty sure a LOT of that stress comes from work. How many people are just working for the money? I know plenty of people like that. They HATE their jobs, they’re miserable but they can’t quit. They need the money.

Wouldn’t it be great if we all could work at something we loved and didn’t need to worry about the paycheck?  If we cut government back down to its constitutional limits, you would GET that raise! We might even be able to stop choosing jobs only for the money. Imagine!! 🙂

What do YOU think a truly free society would look like? Would you like it? Or do you think you wouldn’t like it? Why?

A Word A Week Challenge: Lines (natural)

Here are some photos for the Word a Week Challenge, if you want to see some of what others have done, or enter something yourself, here’s the link…

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/a-word-a-week-challenge-lines/

A Word A Week Challenge: Lines (man made)

haul in those lines!

haul in those lines!

boats! all in a line ;-)

boats! all in a line 😉

lines on a boat

lines on the way to the beach

lines on the way to the beach

beautiful lines on a car!

beautiful lines on a car!

building with lines

city sky lines

city sky lines

Here are some photos for the Word a Week Challenge, if you want to see some of what others have done, or enter something yourself, here’s the link…

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/a-word-a-week-challenge-lines/

Fruit Tree Projects

Communities Grow Stronger with Fruit Tree Projects – Community – Utne Reader.

I think this is a great idea and hope it spreads even further. I’d like to see it ‘go viral’, spread world wide, everybody getting involved! It has already spread from Santa Cruz, California all the way to Vancouver, to Australia, and even Fiji! 🙂

I have always hated to waste anything. Especially food. Maybe it has something to do with growing up where my parents always insisted I clean my plate. They warned about the ‘starving children in Africa’. I never figured out how my clean plate would help those starving children, but had to play along anyway.

I’m still a member in good standing of the ‘Clean Plate Club’. I’m sure I’m fatter then I should be because of it. I am working towards creating less waste in my kitchen and everywhere else.

I’ve tried to grow a garden in the past, but because I spend so much time at sea, I have not had much success. I do have a lime tree that is making plenty of fruit. Way more than I could ever use. I hate to see them just rotting in the driveway, so I already told my neighbors to just take whatever they want.

I think it would be a great idea if more people could do the same sort of thing. Like the article mentions, these fruit tree projects not only provide much needed and appreciated fresh fruits, but they build community in the process. They also teach useful skills and promote sustainability. I think they are probably fun too!

I’m not sure what the heck is going on in the US lately with the local vendetta on gardening. We used to encourage everyone to grow a garden. Now, we are allowing localities to force people to tear them up?!? WTF???

I remember a few years ago, my town forced my neighbors across the street to tear out the garden they had in their back yard. Supposedly it was illegal! Illegal to grow a garden? Behind a fence? On your OWN land???? In America, the land of the FREE??? I would have sued the SH*T out of them for a HUGE violation of my property rights!

If you want to tell me what I can do with MY land, then YOU can pay the mortgage and the taxes and every other expense. Then, and ONLY then, will it be your land. That’s when YOU get to decide what to do with it. After all, ownership implies being able to USE the thing you own. If you can’t use it, then you don’t really own it.

Apparently, this abuse of local tyrants citing ‘loss of property values’ as some kind of holy grail is spreading like wildfire around the nation. Here’s a link to an article from just the other day…http://www.care2.com/causes/why-are-cities-attacking-home-gardeners.html.

I really hope enough people are outraged by this kind of thing and will get out and raise holy hell with their city councils and homeowners associations and put a stop to this kind of thing.

Help out by signing the petition, Miami Shores: Let Couple Keep Their Vegetable Garden! – The Petition Site, watch the video and give a hand to the Institute for Justices’ Food Freedom Initiative (www.ij.org/foodfreedom) which is trying to help the couple involved in this latest outrage and by extension all the rest of us. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=avHrPbONTzE

Property values are NOT the be all and end all of the value of a neighborhood. In fact, they are probably far down the list for many people. Friendliness and community spirit are probably up there pretty high. I know they are for me. 🙂

None Dare Call It…

None Dare Call It… | Laissez-Faire Bookstore.

Interesting article from Laissez-Faire. It talks about Obamacare and how no one in the insurance industry is really speaking out against it. Yeah, I noticed that too. I know the insurance industry had a hand in the creation of Obamacare.

I admit, I have not read the ‘law’. No, I haven’t got through even 10 pages of it’s 4000 or so. I don’t know exactly everything it says. I only know about a few of the things it’s supposed to do. But I’m pretty sure the big insurance companies didn’t allow Obama or anyone else to cut their throats. To REALLY do them any damage.

MONEY runs this country and there’s no way this situation is any different than any other in the last 100 years. Big money has protected itself at the expense of the rest of us. Let’s wait and see? Or lets get rid of it before it hammers the final nail into our coffin?

I’m pretty sure the insurance companies are going to benefit from Obamacare. WE, (regular people) are the only ones who are really going to be hurt by it. Regardless of the hope that Obamacare will help the little guy, I can pretty much guarantee that the little guy is the only one that is going to get hurt by it.

If it doesn’t hurt you by turning your hospital into a depressingly substandard VA experience, or turning a visit to your doctor into a visit to the DMV (remember the last time you renewed your drivers license). It will for SURE hurt you when it becomes the final straw that breaks our financial system!

Then we’ll all be in the same sinking boat together. Of course the fat cats that created this mess will probably escape. You DID notice that they all exempted themselves from Obamacare, right? Unless you’re a much better prepper than I am, the rest of us are just going to get screwed. 🙁

The worst part of this whole scenario is what they mention towards the end of the article. The people who work in the insurance industry are not the only ones fearfully staying silent. The writer mentions remembering East Germany and the pervasive atmosphere of FEAR.

I can already see signs of it here. I have felt it myself. It’s all I can do to keep my mouth shut at the airport. I have to do it for fear of being hauled off to be ‘indefinitely detained’ and lose my RIGHT to travel forever.

All for simply wanting to exercise my RIGHT to travel FREELY and my RIGHT to speak freely about the loss of that right too!

I have talked to dozens of people since 9/11. Almost all of them are willing to justify our huge loss of liberty in some sadly delusional trade for safety. Apparently, most of them have fallen for the security theater in our airports and truly believe it is really doing something other than stripping them of their freedoms along with their dignity.

I can’t imagine what it must feel like to live like that. To choose to give up your freedom for ANYTHING, much less an impossibility like total safety. It’s really sad. 🙁

No, it’s not (JUST) Obamacare, that’s bothering me, that’s wrong here. It’s the entire system! The basic reasons for the founding of this country are being lost little by little. People just don’t care any more. Either they want ‘free stuff’ like the health care that Obamacare (falsely) promises. Or they are living in such FEAR that they are willing to not only give up THEIR right to live freely, but giving away MY rights too. 🙁

No Shave November

Home of No Shave November,

Sorry I’m so late into the month to post this but I only found out about it a couple of days after I joined this vessel. A few of the guys were up on the bridge joking around and taking pictures of themselves.

They all looked a little alike,(even apart from the orange/khaki coveralls). 😉 They were all in the process of growing a fancy moustache. I was curious and asked what was going on.

Turns out it’s No Shave November. Like October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, November is all about prostate cancer. It’s national Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

I didn’t know anything about this before. If you didn’t either, here are a couple of links for more information…http://guardianlv.com/2013/11/movember-no-shave-november-raises-prostate-cancer-awareness/, us.movember.com, www.cancer.org.

Let’s hear it for the guys! Men don’t shave your face! Grow a cool beard or an interesting moustache. Have some fun with your facial hair! 🙂

Ladies, the men wear PINK for us, lets return the favor- stop shaving! Stop shaving your legs for a month!! No, it’s not a disaster if somebody sees you that way, it’s a great way for you to let others know about the fight to end cancer. Let’s show a little support. 🙂

The Vermont Sail Freight Project: Alternative Sail

The Vermont Sail Freight Project.

I think it’s really wonderful that this group is trying to bring back commercial sail in the US. They’re also working in another area I like which is good food. The sailing barge Ceres is working with a great project bringing farm fresh food down to New York City.

I think there is a definite place for sailing ships even in these modern times. With all the attention being focused now on the environment, climate change, the high price of fossil fuels, etc., we should be taking a new look at sail (traditional or new improved models).

I’ve been keeping my eye on the Tres Hombres (Netherlands) which has been sailing since 2009. She’s a beautiful brigantine and sails between Europe and the Caribbean. She carries cargo that is not as dependent on a fast delivery time. She only carries about 35 tons so she makes it count with high value cargo such as rum and chocolate (yum). 😉

She can also carry trainees who will pay a fee in return for the adventure of a lifetime and a certificate to boot! With just a quick look at their website, I see that they will give you certificates all the way up from ordinary seaman to captain! Too bad they’re not recognized by any government. 🙁

Sailing General Cargo Schoenerbrik Tres Hombres

Even so, I’m sure the training you would get on board a ship like that would serve you well in any other. You’ll be better off then just going to work on any power vessel. You’ll also get an interesting, fun adventure, which is all but eliminated from the merchant fleet these days (at least in America). 🙁

I’d love to make a voyage on her myself. Or any of the other similar ships around the world. There are a few of them now, the Bessy Ellen and the Tres Hombres (both with Fairtransport) which are truly cargo ships along with the Ceres of Vermont Sail Freight Project.

The barque Picton Castle (home port Nova Scotia) is primarily a sail training vessel but also does some cargo work. She sails worldwide and is presently making her way across the Pacific.

New designs show promise as not only for pure sailing vessels, but as additions to the usual container and other modern ship types. The addition of sails or kites should help fuel consumption at least. Here’s a link to the Skysails website where you can learn more about that idea and how it works…

 http://www.skysails.info/english/skysails-marine/skysails-propulsion-for-cargo-ships/.

Others are working on more new designs to take advantage of the wind. I posted previously about one of them, the ‘Vind’…

 http://captjillsjourneys.wordpress.com/2013/10/23/blowing-in-the-vind

I’m really looking forward to seeing more of these ships in the future. I hope one day I will be able to take the time to sail on one of them again. There really is nothing like sailing on a real tall ship. Spending a day is just a small taste of what it’s really like. Get that taste and you WILL want more! 🙂 

Gov’t to gobble up your Thanksgiving

Liberator Online: Gov’t to gobble up your Thanksgiving.

This is an interesting take on the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. I suppose it is pretty much just an American holiday. Not sure if other countries have it, but I wouldn’t think so.

The report cited in the article reminds us that of $10 billion we spend on Thanksgiving weekend, almost 40% of that is taken by government. Taxes on wine and beer, plane tickets and gas, and the food you enjoy will give the government approximately $3.6 billion in revenues. Hard for me to enjoy my meal remembering those numbers.

What I DO have to be thankful for is, as mentioned in the article, the growing liberty movement, including the Advocates for Self Government (www.theadvocates.org) whose newsletter is where I saw this article.

PS- if you scroll down toward the end of the link, you’ll see a link where you can get a FREE ebook ‘After the Welfare State”. There’s also an article and link to the winners of the Reason Video Prize where you can see the videos.

Video: Overfishing

They did a pretty good job with this video. It is undeniable that we have been over fishing for years. For decades. Might even say centuries now that it’s 2013!

I grew up in a small fishing community. My father was a commercial fisherman for a while. So were a lot of his friends. So were a lot of my friends. I used to be one. My brother still is.

I remember how it used to be when I was still fishing and I see how my brother struggles now. There is no comparison.

We have been raping the ocean (along with the rest of the planet) for a LONG time. Since we have figured out how to take such overwhelming advantage, we have not been allowing nature to replenish what we use.

I don’t know of any practical way to eliminate by catch. I don’t know of any solution to all the issues of farmed fish. I don’t know of any solution to poaching.

I don’t know of any  REAL solution to any of these problems EXCEPT the one that no one will even consider and that is for us as a species to voluntarily limit OUR population. Give every human being a chance at a GOOD life and in the process also allow the rest of the planet some space and a chance to recover.

I hope I’m not the only one on this planet who thinks that other species have just as much a right to exist here as we do. They all have a place and a purpose and we do NOT have the right to just use to the point of abuse anything and everything we feel like.

Coming from a background of commercial fishing, I’m not sure about this video. I have serious doubts about turning ANYTHING over to the politicians. I do NOT think the politicians are the answer to ANYTHING!

WE ARE!!

I have a suggestion for the fisheries… how about we try something like leasing the fishing grounds. Lease the areas where the fish (and other marine life) gather, similar to how we do it with the oil in the ground.

Hold an auction, let the highest bidder win the rights to use (NOT abuse) a certain area of the ocean. The winner would be able to fish there and would also be responsible for protecting his asset. This should put a stop to the practice of taking everything there is to take before the next guy does.

Of course, this wouldn’t work for every type of fish, but lots of them are known to either live or migrate into certain specific places year after year. If we could lease those areas to the fishermen and hold them accountable, we might even be able to GROW the fish stocks instead of depleting them.

I really would like to see this kind of thing given a good chance before we go any further with the restrictions. I have read about how fishermen in Britain have property rights to the streams they fish in. It seems to work there.

Here’s a link to an article about how it works in Scotland…

http://www.adamsmith.org/80ideas/idea/18.htm.

Actually, that website has a LOT of really good ideas…

www.adamsmith.org/80ideas,

glad I found it this morning. 😉

Apple-Cranberry Crumb Bars Recipe

Apple-Cranberry Crumb Bars Recipe – Kraft Recipes.

Here’s another easy to make yummy looking dessert. It seems like the time of the year for cranberries (tho I like them year round). I really only see the fresh ones in the stores after Halloween. I haven’t tried this  recipe yet but I’m definitely adding it to my list! 🙂

23 Petty Crimes That Have Landed People in Prison for Life Without Parole

23 Petty Crimes That Have Landed People in Prison for Life Without Parole | Mother Jones.

I just read this article from Josh Harkinson for Mother Jones and I thought it was worth passing along. It’s informing readers of a new report put out by the American Civil Liberties Union (www.aclu.org).

In this “land of the free”, we now think it’s just fine and dandy to lock people up for LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE for things like…

POSSESSING a crack pipe!

POSSESSING stolen WRENCHES!!

Shoplifting 2 jerseys from an athletics store!!!

How in the HELL can anyone justify this??? I only listed 3 of the insane things they have been doing to people lately.

Try taking a look at the book: Three Felonies A Day by Harvey Silverglate (http://harveysilverglate.com/Books/ThreeFeloniesaDay.aspx). The list is long and getting longer every day. Piss off a cop and don’t have big bucks for a good lawyer, you ARE going to spend some time in jail! I keep telling people we live in a police state now and no one ever believes me.

Well WTF do YOU call it when they will lock you up for LIFE for something as minor as ‘siphoning gas from a truck’ or OMG ‘making a drunken threat to a police officer while handcuffed to the back of a police car”???

This is where we’re at today. Most of it is because of the war on (some) drugs. Look at the list they provide, TEN out of the 23 listed ‘offenses’ are drug offenses. Six out of those 10 are for simple POSSESSION! I don’t see where simple possession of ANYTHING should be allowed to deprive someone of their liberty for even one second! Much less lock them away for LIFE.

THIS is what the war on (some) drugs has done to our once free country! It has done the same thing that alcohol prohibition started to do, but so much worse since for some odd reason we still haven’t awoken to the brainwashing ‘our’ leaders have subjected us to.

Just like during alcohol prohibition, the drugs of choice of many people were outlawed by moralistic busybodies who had NO authority to do so. Instead of minding their OWN business, they decided they just HAD to run everybody ELSE’S life since they knew SO much better how to do it. (idiots!!!)

Because of the LAW, the drugs people wanted became harder to find. Because they were harder to find, some people (‘criminals’) found ways to supply them (for a profit of course- why take a risk without a reward?). The harder the ‘law’ made it to find their drug of choice, the more profitable it became for people to supply it. Because of the risk of going around the ‘law’, the profits grew.

Profits grew til it was worth it for the REAL criminal gangs to get involved and take over those profits. The only way to settle disputes outside the legal system was to take it to the streets. Thus, the machine gun shootouts where innocent people got killed in the crossfire.

The risk of getting caught with the prohibited items (beer/wine/booze) also caused a change in peoples drinking habits. Because beer was easier for the cops to find (basically because it was stored in bigger bottles), people started switching to hard liquor which was easier to smuggle and keep hidden. This was also why you hear stories of people blinded by ‘bathtub gin’. People had to take risks to get their supply.

The SAME thing is happening now, more people started using cocaine since it was easier to get busted with pot. Cocaine was processed into crack since crack was a less risky (from the perspective of getting caught with it) form of the drug. People started switching to things like meth and now they’ve created ‘krocodile’ , a truly dangerous drug (IF news reports can be believed).

And don’t forget how the spread of mandatory drug testing has caused people to switch from marijuana to harder, more dangerous drugs since pot stays in your system for much longer (even tho it has ZERO effect on you after the first day or so).

The invention of krocodile (and other dangerous drugs) is a DIRECT consequence of the WAR on (some) drugs! All those suffering people rotting from the inside out should place the blame squarely on the pandering power hungry THUGS we call politicians for trying to stop them from getting high every once in a while on a SAFE drug like marijuana and so instead they use dangerous drugs like krocodile!

No, I am NOT trying to say that people have no responsibility for their own actions. Of course they should have it. They should be ALLOWED to have it. They should be ALLOWED to make the proper choices for THEIR lives without force and coercion.

Telling people you are going to make their choices for them, for ‘their own good’ is NOT good for them or for anybody else! And if YOU are making THEIR choices for them, then how in the hell can you say they have any real responsibility?

Of course, throughout this whole ‘experiment’ of government ‘for our own good’, the criminals were making money hand over fist. To make sure they stayed out of jail, they bribed and corrupted anyone susceptible in the system to protect them, to look the other way. Ruining our police, courts and any semblance of justice.

Another way our country was hurt by the ‘laws’ against (some) drugs was the loss of general consensus that the law was worthy of respect. HUGE numbers of people came to understand that the ‘law’ was morally wrong and just plain STUPID in addition to being exceedingly harmful to individuals and society as a whole.

The ONLY difference we are dealing with today is that we are too stupid to learn the lessons we SHOULD have from alcohol prohibition! We somehow allowed ‘our’ leaders to prohibit certain other substances. They didn’t even bother to do it legally this time. They thought they could sneak it by us in congress without any real debate and no constitutional amendment (thus NO AUTHORITY)!

The results are as expected. Worse, since we have let it go on for so long. We have not only locked up more people per capita than any other country on the face of the earth, but we have used the excuse of the war on (some) drugs to completely trash the entire constitution!

The ONLY amendment in the Bill of Rights that we have NOT thrown out the window in order to prosecute the war on (some) drugs is the one about quartering troops in your house.

Thanks to Mother Jones and the ACLU for publicizing this issue. I hope it goes viral. My post here is my attempt to help with that. I REALLY hope people will start looking at the FACTS about drugs (all drugs) and STOP being so gullible to just believe what ‘our’ leaders are spouting out.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, they do NOT have our good in mind, they are only out for themselves! They are NOT authorities, they do NOT have any special knowledge! They are politicians, therefore they are all LIARS!

Best Autumn Photographs from the Last Ten Years of Photo Contests

Best Autumn Photographs from the Last Ten Years of Photo Contests| Smithsonian Magazine.

These are some really beautiful photographs. I wouldn’t expect any less from the Smithsonian. Hard to compare between them and National Geographic. I try to look and learn something about what makes a good photo, at the same time just enjoying the beauty. 🙂

Daily Prompt: Food for the Soul (and Stomach)- postscript

Now that we’ve had appetizers, drinks and dinner… it’s time for some dessert! Ice cream! Yummy! 🙂

chocolate ice cream with fancy chocolate and berries

chocolate ice cream with fancy chocolate and berries

More ice cream, YES!!

more ice cream (gelato really)

more ice cream (gelato really)

Checking out the bakery….OMG!!!

such delights at the local bakery

such delights at the local bakery

Cooookiiiesss…. where’s Cookie Monster, he’d have a blast! 🙂

DSC02638

I do LOVE my sweets. 🙂

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/daily-prompt-food/

Daily Prompt: Food for the Soul (and Stomach)

Yeah! Margaritas!! Great way to start a meal.

Yeah! Margaritas!! Great way to start a meal.

Start off with a round of drinks…a little appetizer to go with…

chips and dip Mexican style

chips and dip Mexican style

bacon burger with onion rings

bacon burger with onion rings

This is one of my favorite meals, I love cheeseburgers!! 🙂

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/daily-prompt-food/

Couple of Corny Jokes

A New App Turns Fractals Into Ornate Art

A New App Turns Fractals Into Ornate Art | Collage of Arts and Sciences.

As a person who appreciates art and a person who’s interested in math, I just LOVE the intersection of both subjects. Fractals are really beautiful examples of both art and mathematics!

You can see examples of fractals in all kinds of places in nature. Tree branches and roots are one. A river delta is another. Spiral shells like a nautilus or conch is another (see my earlier post (http://captjillsjourneys.wordpress.com/2013/09/08/beautiful-spiral-shell/) or the others in that series (corals, sea urchin).

I remember playing with creating very simple basic drawings of fractal equations when I was in jr high school. I would have loved to have been able to continue on with it in later classes, but we had to move on to other things.

I think spending more time on this kind of thing in earlier years in school might help show kids that math is actually a really interesting and useful subject and IS really something we can use in the real world. Its not just something we have to get through in school and will never see again.

I do have to admit, I have personally never used calculus since I got out of school, but if I wanted to, I’m sure I could find a use for it. I’m just busy with other things. 😉

I could definitely find ways to use this app with the fractals, even if just to look at the beauty of it and enjoy it every day. 🙂

I don’t know if this Frax app is free or not, but even if it costs a little bit, it might be worth it. I haven’t had the chance to try it yet since I’ve been offshore since I’ve found out about it. I hope I can try it when I get home. 🙂

Caramel Apple Mini “Cheesecakes” Recipe

Caramel Apple Mini “Cheesecakes” Recipe – Kraft Recipes.

Here’s another sweet and simple ‘cheesecake’ recipe. It looks easy enough and you can change around the toppings a little bit for variety. The fact that they are already separate makes it even better, easy to pack a few up for snacks at work or wherever. 🙂

Scary Moment: Barge Crew Swims to Shore as Super Typhoon Lashes Coast

Scary Moment: Barge Crew Swims to Shore as Super Typhoon Lashes Coast | gCaptain

I know the typhoon has passed now and the clean up and recovery stage is just starting but I thought some people who are not in the Philippines or have not had the experience of going through a hurricane or typhoon might like to see this video.

It’s a good example of some of the sorts of things people have to deal with when this kind of storm approaches. The crew of this barge was very lucky they were all able to get off and no one got hurt or killed.

I hope they managed to keep that status AFTER they made it to shore!! I sure hope the people of the Philippines will be able to make a speedy recovery from this horrible storm. I know that the US is already sending a couple of ships and other aid. I’ve already seen a few emails from charity groups collecting aid.

We’ll do what we can to help from here.

6 Sky Events This Week: Leonids, Green Giant and a Stellar Snow Globe

6 Sky Events This Week: Leonids, Green Giant and a Stellar Snow Globe – News Watch.

This weeks sky events from National Geographic. First of all, look out for the comet ISON. You should be able to spot it with a decent pair of binoculars in the constellation Virgo.

On the 14th, look for a ‘stellar snow globe’ next to Venus around the constellation Sagittarius.

Be sure to watch for the Leonid meteor shower on the night of the 17th. Best to check after the moon sets.

Something wonderful to see, easy and affordable way to spend an evening. Enjoy! 🙂

This Year’s Best Photographs Taken Through the Lens of a Microscope

This Year’s Best Photographs Taken Through the Lens of a Microscope | Smithsonian Magazine.

These are just some absolutely stunning photographs. These are some of the top 20 entered into the Nikons annual Small World Competition. These are the winners from 2013. I’ll be looking forward to this for 2014!