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Re: Kent Reporter - Local News, Sports, Entertainment

foo8foo — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:53:40 -0000

Please find the references below from peer-reviewed research reports in science and medicine journals (not some singular crackpot .org website). I know, I know...if it wasn't true they wouldn't put it on the internet, right.

Smoking even a small amount of marijuana and driving leads to traffic deaths. (British Medical Journal 331, 1371 (2005)).

The highest density of cannabinoid receptors are found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentrating, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA 87(5):1932–1936, 1990).

Someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time. (Archives General Psychiatry 58(10):909–915, 2001).

Evidence links marijuana use and schizophrenia and/or related disorders. (Lancet 370 (9584):319–328, 2007).

Marijuana users have a 4.8-fold increase in the risk of heart attack.(Circulation 103(23):2805–2809, 2001.)

Marijuana smokers show dysregulated growth of epithelial cells in their lung tissue, which could lead to cancer. (Monaldi Archives Chest Disease 63(2):92–100, 2005.)

Several studies associate workers' marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers' compensation claims, and job turnover. (Psychological Medicine
33(8):1415–1422, 2003).

Re: Kent Reporter - Local News, Sports, Entertainment

foo8foo — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:31:19 -0000

The article is more biased than the title hints at. Let me help.

Democrats, Republicans, Tea Party, and Libertarians surely understand that while the role of government is not to protect me from myself, a good and necessary role of government is to protect me from people on dope who will kill me by driving a car into my house or performing surgery on my brain. This is why smoking and possessing marijuana is illegal.

Public health and safety data compare legal alcohol with illegal marijuana, so of course the alcohol stats are more dramatic. Certain stats, like the 7% of traffic fatalities that occur due to drivers intoxicated by marijuana (NTSB), will undoubtedly rise upon legalization, due to more widespread use and more frequent and accurate testing.

Parents worrying that their children will ruin their lives, and brains, are being rational, not hysterical. These parents have probably observed, like I have, the devastating effects of drug use, by friends or loved ones. Even if it doesn’t lead to death or jail, it generally leads to poor decisions and an unhappy and unsatisfying life.

From a psychochemical standpoint, particularly regarding long term damage from periodic and normal (non-binge) use, marijuana is far more dangerous than ethanol. Given the actual data (not just anecdotes from stoners), nobody could lose the alcohol comparison argument...except most pro-weed people tend to not be swayed by “science”.

From the National Institutes of Health “Marijuana users have a 4.8-fold increase in the risk of heart attack. A number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. Marijuana smoke contains 50–70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke. Marijuana smokers show dysregulated growth of epithelial cells in their lung tissue, which could lead to cancer. Several studies associate workers’ marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers’ compensation claims, and job turnover”

The “incremental change starting with medical marijuana” was a sickening strategic decision by pro-weed advocates to influence compassionate voters with false propaganda that leads many youthful and gullible people to believe that this dangerous blend of psychoactive chemicals is actually healthy.

Please see the National Institutes of Health, NIDA Neuroscience, for more information, scientific data, and to learn more about current research.

Re: Kent Reporter - Local News, Sports, Entertainment

foo8foo — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 22:02:35 -0000

A pleasant benefit of increased discussion on this topic, is that the medical marijuana hoax will be made even more evident. The movement has been aiming toward general legalization for years, as evidenced by the recently proposed bills in the state legislature and the forthcoming referendum, and the medical hoax was implemented as an idealogical stepping stone for the voters. Marijuana is not a drug. It cannot be accurately dosed or systematically studied. What can be properly studied and prescribed are the therapeutic components of MJ, which have already been developed as typical pharmaceuticals. From the National Institutes of health: “Cannabinoid-based medications include synthetic compounds, such as dronabinol (Marinol®) and nabilone (Cesamet®), which are FDA approved, and a new, chemically pure mixture of plant-derived THC and cannabidiol called Sativex®, formulated as a mouth spray”. Please visit NIH/NIDA websites for more facts on marijuana.

Re: Kent Reporter - Local News, Sports, Entertainment

foo8foo — Mon, 16 May 2011 00:07:55 -0000

uno- The safety issues that the articles lists include other people passing on the right and other people getting frustrated. The unsafe driving in these cases is done by those other than the left lane driver, who bears no responsibility for poor driving by others. Also stated is - get out the way of emergency vehicles. One must do this if they are speeding, passing, or just chilling out. And my favorite - Left lane speed limit drivers are in danger of getting hit by DUI-ers! They are actually safer than left lane speeders because they will have more time to react to this very dangerous situation than a speeder.

dos- But now that they mention this, I'm going to start living my life in a manner of avoiding places a drunk driver might possibly be - front section of grocery stores by the cheez-its display, jack-in-the-box drive-thru, or in very extreme cases...the righthand side of the road.

Re: Kent Reporter - Local News, Sports, Entertainment

foo8foo — Sat, 14 May 2011 19:15:02 -0000

Comment 1 - Speeding and tail-gating are directly linked to traffic fatalities. Left lane speed limit driving is only fatal if the murderer behind you wants to kill you, which may also be illegal. It is a bad law which makes speeding easier at the expense of the law abiding.

Comment 2 - It is similar to how gun control makes killing people easier for the criminals at the expense of the law abiding (see Comment 1).

Re: Kent School District could see more than $16 million in cuts for 2011-12 school year: Developing story - Kent Reporter

foo8foo — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 16:51:28 -0000

From the KEA union blog - "the district is content to leave (released employees) out in the cold, while the administration continues to sit on a huge rainy day fund".

Interesting.

Re: KENT SCHOOL TEACHERS' STRIKE IS OVER - Kent Reporter

foo8foo — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:50:30 -0000

Language in the proposal does not change the fact that 24 is not equal to 29 and 29 is not equal to 32. The class size limits desired by the KEA team were not in the final agreement. The class size limits proposed by KSD were in the final contract.

I repeat, this strike was never about class size.

Re: KENT SCHOOL TEACHERS' STRIKE IS OVER - Kent Reporter

foo8foo — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:50:06 -0000

The KEA proposed class limits of 24 and 29 for K-3 and 4-6 respectively (August 30). KSD responded with limits of 29 and 32 (Sept 7). See proposal documents at www.kent.k12.wa.us. The agreed upon class size limits, according to the above article, are 29 and 32. The union did not get the class sizes they sought.

Learn the facts. Think for yourself. I repeat, this strike had NOTHING to do with class size.

Re: KENT SCHOOL TEACHERS' STRIKE IS OVER - Kent Reporter

foo8foo — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:09:52 -0000

KEA accepted this proposal, with no reduction in class size limits (relative to the KSD proposals from weeks ago), because if fines were levied, it would reduce the ability of WEA unions to strike (illegally) in the future. It is now even more evident that this strike was never about class size. It was an exercise of KEA and WEA designed to advance the personal agenda of union leadership.

The union leaders lied to and manipulated the teachers and citizens of Kent. They promoted harassment and intimidation of the teachers who dared to think for themselves instead of accepting the unions deceitful and unsubstantiated rhetoric. Teachers who followed the court order and returned to their classrooms have been targets of threats and vandalism.

KEA and WEA are responsible for shattering the public image of teachers in Kent. They are responsible for dividing the professional teaching community.

KEA and WEA hijacked the public, stealing our time and money.

They violated the law and therefore should face prosecution....again....this time with real consequences.

Re: STRIKE UPDATE: Teachers ordered back to school by Monday; union delivers new contract - Kent Reporter

foo8foo — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:32:24 -0000

LeavingKSD,
You are correct, there are no winners at this bargaining table. KSD is problematic being poor managers of both money and people. Regretfully, we citizens are somewhat hardened to their faults, and we need to improve at holding them accountable. However, they arrived at the bargaining table through a representative-democratic process to serve the public. KEA/WEA are there to serve the union leaders. Hopefully the members will come to understand this and seek to improve the education system through legal means. Hopefully everybody on the team of ‘educating children’ will find a way past the rhetoric and work together with respect and professionalism.

Thank you for your courageous choice. I hope that you don’t actually “leave KSD”.

Re: STRIKE UPDATE: Teachers ordered back to school by Monday; union delivers new contract - Kent Reporter

foo8foo — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:04:16 -0000

Was class size lower when the teachers agreed to be there on Aug. 31? No. They promised to show up anyway. Were the teachers angry about class size last spring? Angry enough to stop working? Angry enough to defy the law? Everybody agrees that low class and fair compensation is an important goal.

The teachers only became angry after the union told them to be. KEA/WEA is telling the teachers what to believe and how to act. The ones who listen and obey are pawns.

The union members must demand justification from the leadership. What they were (and are still) given was inflammatory rhetoric, half truths, and sermons about disrespect. They are being taken advantage of for the personal agenda of union leadership and it is wrong!

Re: STRIKE UPDATE: Teachers ordered back to school by Monday; union delivers new contract - Kent Reporter

foo8foo — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:31:37 -0000

I am disappointed.

I was in tune with this issue back when it was about compensation. All we heard just a few months ago was how Kent was the lowest paid district. KEA now writes that it is striking for class size and respect- it was never about compensation. In an astounding example of doublethink, many teachers have stepped in line, and stated that it has always been about class size, never about compensation.

This strike is about the education unions KEA and WEA doing what they can to influence the public, because they have the money, power, a group of willing pawns, and no systems of checks and balances to keep their collective ego within the bounds of reason.

Setting aside, for the moment, that hijacking a public service at the expense of taxpayers is illegal and immoral, what disappoints me most is how many (but not all) of the teachers fail to hold their union accountable. KEA leaders have been lying to the members about nearly everything. Particularly, they have been lying to prevent them from crossing the line. They said that schools will be locked (when in fact they were not). They said that teachers who cross the line will not be compensated (when they will). Union representative have said they will do everything they can to prevent the teachers who obeyed the law from being compensated in full. KEA is now fighting to stop teachers from earning due compensation!

The union restricts the sharing of information for the sake of it's members. In a meeting yesterday members were told to stop seeking the truth about the proposals and trust the unions stance implicitly. When some members stated the importance of questioning reported facts and thinking independently, others actually shook their heads and booed in disagreement! Lower ranking union members even have to get their emails to teachers approved by union leadership.

Teachers tell children to get the information, think critically, think for themselves, and support their opinions with facts and logic. Many in KEA have not. They have abandoned reason in order to conform.

Can you justify how authorities like KEA and WEA, who detest free speech, hate independent thinking, strangle freedom of information - who keep members in conformity using lies, scare tactics, and intimidation - have any sort of power over children’s education!

I am happy that over 100 teachers have demonstrated free thinking and courage by returning to the classroom. Where are the others?

Re: STRIKE UPDATE: Mediators suspend bargaining until after Thursday court date - Kent Reporter

foo8foo — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:19:40 -0000

It is unfair to expect the union to bully KM staff individually, the meeting is an efficient way to distribute the required intimidation with a concentrated effort.