Spending the Winter in Mexico

[PatrioticStabilist]

Please be careful about "what you ask for"... "you might get it"; and if/when you do, who's gonna do all the field work on the thousands of big agricultural operations which provide most of our food?  And, all the thousands of other jobs that need to be done that cannot attract applicants or graduates from our educational institutions?  Then, on top of this, where are all the drug customers gonna get their supplies?


I know many young men in their 40's that worked construction.  Now they can't find a job no matter what.  We have huge office buildings and complexes being built in the Woodlands near us.  If you drive the feeder road at quitting time you see all the construction workers from those jobs, electricians, ironworkers, the whole gamit and there must be a sign out saying we won't hire American citizens who are white or black because there are none.  These guys are good workers  but can't live on $10 an hour, doesn't matter they dont' speak spanish so they won't hire them anyway.  That was always a way for Americans to get a foot up into the middle class.

What those very wealthy job creators have encouraged is a real shame.  If the shoe were turned they would be suing us for equal rights and discrimination.  I told these guys they all need to get together and do something about it.  They do not understand the concept of unions, that's what they fought for.  A living wage, health care, and other benefits for the workers.  No wonder they have been given a dirty name and are no longer wanted.  Now the workers of all colors can be exploited. 

And don't worry, many of those big farmers have taken their millions and bought land in Mexico and are exporting that food that is contaminated with heaven knows what back to us.  No rights for workers there, no worrying about giving them potable water or furnishing toilet facilites, they will just use the fields. 

Read about some of this stuff that is happening and our captains of industry and congress is encouraging it.  They are going to bring about a US like it was 100 years ago.  Those rights labor fought for are going away day by day.

I had older relatives that worked in the mines in the early part of the century and other work, the stories they told I didn't believe.  But now I see it happening around us again.  You know what they say if you don't learn from history you may see it repeat itself again.

 

[taoshum]

Please be careful about "what you ask for"... "you might get it"; and if/when you do, who's gonna do all the field work on the thousands of big agricultural operations which provide most of our food?  And, all the thousands of other jobs that need to be done that cannot attract applicants or graduates from our educational institutions?  Then, on top of this, where are all the drug customers gonna get their supplies?


I know many young men in their 40's that worked construction.  Now they can't find a job no matter what.  We have huge office buildings and complexes being built in the Woodlands near us.  If you drive the feeder road at quitting time you see all the construction workers from those jobs, electricians, ironworkers, the whole gamit and there must be a sign out saying we won't hire American citizens who are white or black because there are none.  These guys are good workers  but can't live on $10 an hour, doesn't matter they dont' speak spanish so they won't hire them anyway.  That was always a way for Americans to get a foot up into the middle class.

What those very wealthy job creators have encouraged is a real shame.  If the shoe were turned they would be suing us for equal rights and discrimination.  I told these guys they all need to get together and do something about it.  They do not understand the concept of unions, that's what they fought for.  A living wage, health care, and other benefits for the workers.  No wonder they have been given a dirty name and are no longer wanted.  Now the workers of all colors can be exploited. 

And don't worry, many of those big farmers have taken their millions and bought land in Mexico and are exporting that food that is contaminated with heaven knows what back to us.  No rights for workers there, no worrying about giving them potable water or furnishing toilet facilites, they will just use the fields. 

Read about some of this stuff that is happening and our captains of industry and congress is encouraging it.  They are going to bring about a US like it was 100 years ago.  Those rights labor fought for are going away day by day.

I had older relatives that worked in the mines in the early part of the century and other work, the stories they told I didn't believe.  But now I see it happening around us again.  You know what they say if you don't learn from history you may see it repeat itself again.

The CEO of GM, back in the 60's, was giving a leader from the UAW a tour of a new manufacturing plant which was equipped with hundreds of new robots... He bragged saying, "We can turn out the lights and these robots can work in the dark, every day".  The UAW leader turned to him and said, "That's great but who's gonna buy the cars?, Robots?" 

Folks are slowly realizing that the loss of the "middle class" is a big issue which will not be solved with the current approaches.  Of course, we all "vote" with our $$ and feet, everyday... everyday... we are getting what we vote for...IMHO, naturally.

 

[PatrioticStabilist]

It's very hard to vote with dollars because there is hardly anything we can buy made in this country.  I try, but its harder and harder.  What we are letting happen to this wonderful country is a crying shame.  We are gutting ourselves, our industry, everything.

I know the average person can do little anymore and I do truly fear for the countries future.  We have exported and given away our wonderful technology and wonder what is wrong now.  If you don't have people working and paying taxes and supporting our domestic economy we are going to end up a 3rd world country.  Greed of the elite and and the politicos will cause our demise.  We will go out with a whimper eventually if this continues.

They start all these causes that shouldn't even be causes to divert our attention from what they are doing and I guess we have become dumb enough as a country to let it happen.

 

[Luca1369]

I apologize for changing the subject of this riveting semi-political discussion (yawn), but here is a link to a current news story.  It seems that 49 decapitated bodies were just found between Monterrey and Reynosa in NE Mexico.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/13/world/americas/mexico-remains/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

 

[Olys45]

I apologize for changing the subject of this riveting semi-political discussion (yawn), but here is a link to a current news story.  It seems that 49 decapitated bodies were just found between Monterrey and Reynosa in NE Mexico.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/13/world/americas/mexico-remains/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Thank you! You saved me the trouble of posting this.

About the only time you find heaps of bodies like this in the USA is either;
1) after a mass suicide of some religous cult
2) when a serial killer is found and they excavate his backyard or crawlspace
3) some random nut goes into a "gun free zone" and shoots helpless, defenseless people.

Oly

 

[RLSharp]

Think Americans are NOT being killed in Mexico? Read this.

R

 

[s2kskibum]

Want to know where the cartels got many of their automatic weapons?

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/19/world/la-fg-mexico-fast-furious-20110920

Yup, not only does the American appetite for illegal drugs fuel the drug trade and resulting violence, our wonderful government supplied guns to the cartels. Woops.

 

[PJ Stough]

All this violence would end if we just did the right thing and legalize all drugs.

Paul

 

[SeilerBird]

All this violence would end if we just did the right thing and legalize all drugs.

Amen brother.

I tried smoking some of this "herbal incense" that are a fad amongst teens. The stuff is an attempt to imitate the effects of marijuana with perfectly legal substances. I was shocked at how good the stuff tasted and how good the high was. Since then I have visited a few smoke shops to get some more. Every one I have been in doesn't sell it either because the community passes a law against it or the police visit the smoke shop and flat out tell them to stop selling it or they will be harassed. The reasons given are because it is a health hazard and then they will tell you horror stories of people smoking it and having bad breathing problems.

However, there has never been a scientific test to see if the stuff is harmful or not. So based on rumors we have communities passing laws. We have the police acting like we live in a police state.

Yet alcohol, cigarettes and driving a car kill thousands every years in the US and they are all perfectly legal. I have two dead parents killed by alcohol and there is a liquor store on every corner in America. But pot, which has never killed anyone remains illegal.

 

[SargeW]

All this violence would end if we just did the right thing and legalize all drugs.

Paul

Come on guys! I can't count the number of murders, rapes, child abuses and domestic violence incidents I handled in LA in 25 years where the perpetrator was high in Crack, Meth, or combo of who knows what. And that's just in 1 city. I don't profess to have the answer, but that ain't it.

 

[SeilerBird]

Come on guys! I can't count the number of murders, rapes, child abuses and domestic violence incidents I handled in LA in 25 years where the perpetrator was high in Crack, Meth, or combo of who knows what. And that's just in 1 city. I don't profess to have the answer, but that ain't it.

The way it is being done now sure as hell isn't the answer. I bet you can't count the number of murders, rapes, child abuses and domestic incidents that were caused directly by alcohol. So please explain why alcohol is legal and drugs are illegal.

 

[SargeW]

I'm no chemist, but most likely because alcohol is a CNS depressant. The effects are generally slow and measured. Hence the tight controls on manufactures and the amounts allowed in a given beverage.  The drugs I mentioned often have highly unpredictable effects on the user, and often cause violent behavior towards themselves or others with a minuscule dose.

PCP started out as a sedative drug in the 50's, but they quickly found out that the effects were violent and uncontrollable. Then it was used as an animal sedative. Now it's not used for that either for the same reasons.  Sure, lets legalize PCP while we are at it too. I'd love to camp next to some guy that is smoking a doobie laced with PCP. It would be a real riot to watch him run around the campground ripping doors off of motorhomes and tossing iron picnic tables around. Great U tube video.........

 

[Olys45]

Want to know where the cartels got many of their automatic weapons?

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/19/world/la-fg-mexico-fast-furious-20110920

Yup, not only does the American appetite for illegal drugs fuel the drug trade and resulting violence, our wonderful government supplied guns to the cartels. Woops.

And what they were doing was in direct violation of our laws... Then Mexico wants us to ban firearms? They need to clean up their house before they tell anybody else how to live. We are getting close to the 100 year Anniversary of the "Punitive Expedition" that Blackjack Pershing led to try to find Pancho. Not a lot has changed in 100 years on the Mexican Border and we need to observe the anniversary of that expedition with a 21st century version.

Oly

 

[SeilerBird]

I'm no chemist, but most likely because alcohol is a CNS depressant. The effects are generally slow and measured. Hence the tight controls on manufactures and the amounts allowed in a given beverage.  The drugs I mentioned often have highly unpredictable effects on the user, and often cause violent behavior towards themselves or others with a minuscule dose.

Wrong. Alcohol is legal and drugs are illegal because of the pharmaceutical companies are scared to death of pot being legal. If it was then the need for prescription drugs would drop like a rock. Those companies spend massive amounts of money to buy politicians. Obama promised to stop raiding medical marijuana clubs if he was elected. He has not kept that promise since the drug companies campaign contributions changed his mind. It happens with every president and all our senators and governors.

To demonstrate just how screwed up our drug laws are consider this. Marijuana is a schedule 1 drug. That means it is the most dangerous drug available. It has no medical use, even though there are mountains of scientific studies that prove this wrong. Heroin is also a schedule 1 drug. Cocaine is a schedule 2 drug. Now by the governments twisted logic that means cocaine is a "gateway" drug to marijuana.

Alcohol kills many many times more people every year than illegal drugs do. Alcohol should be illegal. Many people drink and they get drunk, they get real loud and obnoxious, they drive real bad, and are dying to get into a fight. People smoke pot and want to listen to music, make love and go to sleep.

This nation has way too many alcoholics.

 

[SargeW]

Wow. I think that there is an Angel game on........

 

[PJ Stough]

One question that always comes to mind when discussing illegal drug use is, does anyone know anyone who has ever said, "I sure would like to use ________(fill in the blank with any illegal drug), but because it is illegal, I wont.

My view is that anyone who wants to use drugs that are illegal are using them, and that making them legal will not increase their use to any degree.

Also, as during prohibition, people usually sought out the most concentrated form of alcohol available, moonshine, 180 proof grain alcohol, now I believe it is sold as Everclear, because the less you had, the easier to hide, and therefore a lesser chance of getting caught.  The same is true for drugs.  I believe that the increase in meth use is directly related to the facts that marijuana is a lot bulkier that meth, and that marijuana stays in the system a lot longer, so those that have to take drug tests are more likely to use meth than pot.  Make pot legal, and you will see a significant reduction is meth use.

I saw similar situation happen in Viet-Nam.  For most of my tour in Viet-Nam not much was said or done about pot smokers, and there was quite a bit of pot use, and little use of other drugs, but in the later part of my tour as the war was winding down, someone came up with the bright idea to crack down on the pot smokers.  The result was that some of the pot smokers quit, but others then turned to heroin, which was sold in small vials about the size of the last joints on your little finger.  It was 98% pure was sold for $2.00 per vial, and the next you know there were hundreds if not thousands of heroin addicts in Viet-Nam.

The real issue with mind altering drugs,legal and illegal, alcohol included, is why is it that so many people feel the need to use them?  Until our culture changes so that fewer people feel the need for mind altering substances, the "drug" problem with continue.

We have been fighting the "war on drugs" for over 40 years.  It has been an abject failure in that it hasnt reduced drug use to any significant degree, but has taken untold billions of dollars of our tax money and transferred it to law enforcement, lawyers, judges, prison building companies, prison guards and a host of others.

I believe it was Albert Einstein who said that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

As far as traveling to Mexico, if you think it is safe go.  If not dont go.

Paul

 

[Luca1369]

In a sense, one cannot put the blame on marijuana or cocaine or alcohol, by themselves they are nothing.  In the hands of the user they become another entity entirely depending on the user (someone who can't "handle" their drugs or alcohol). 

Someone whose personality can exercise restraint and do things in moderation won't have a problem enjoying recreational drugs and should be permitted to do so, but someone whose personality has an addictive side to it, one that goes overboard, that's where the problem lies.  They allow their lives to be controlled by their desire to enjoy the drugs to the extreme, moderation is not in their vocabulary, and our drug laws are aimed at them in part under the banner of helping those who cannot help themselves.  In a larger sense it's part of the "victimless crime" issue, if there is no victim is there a crime? 

As for legalization of drugs, I believe that will happen when the powers-that-be stand to profit from it in some manner.  When they reach that level (not there yet) then and only then will legalization become reality.

 

[Luca1369]

Also, as during prohibition, people usually sought out the most concentrated form of alcohol available, moonshine, 180 proof grain alcohol, now I believe it is sold as Everclear, because the less you had, the easier to hide, and therefore a lesser chance of getting caught.  The same is true for drugs.  I believe that the increase in meth use is directly related to the facts that marijuana is a lot bulkier that meth, and that marijuana stays in the system a lot longer, so those that have to take drug tests are more likely to use meth than pot.  Make pot legal, and you will see a significant reduction is meth use.

Wow!  What a stretch!  You cannot compare a meth user to a pot head, it's like peas and carrots, apples and oranges!  They're at opposite ends of the spectrum!  I don't believe that a stoner will take meth for the sole reason of passing a drug test, they'll go to a head shop and buy one of the potions that clean out their system.  And if a meth head uses pot it likely just because they want to get a little head buzz while they grind away their teeth as they take apart an automatic transmission on their living room floor at 0300.

 

[taoshum]

One question that always comes to mind when discussing illegal drug use is, does anyone know anyone who has ever said, "I sure would like to use ________(fill in the blank with any illegal drug), but because it is illegal, I wont.

I believe it was Albert Einstein who said that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

As far as traveling to Mexico, if you think it is safe go.  If not dont go.

Paul

Amazing prose.  Articulate, poignant, coherent and full of wisdom.  Wanna run for Congress?  Thanks.

 

[SeilerBird]

Drug addiction is a disease and should be treated as such. Addicts should be given treatment. Instead, we pass laws and put them in jail. That means instead of the government providing help they make the problem a lot worse. Putting an addict into jail with thousands of other addicts is no solution. The amount of money wasted in this country on enforcing stupid laws, trials and jailing addicts is staggering, and it has no benefit since it doesn't solve the problem.

People have been getting stoned, drunk and high have been going on since the dawn of time and there is no way it is ever going to stop. No matter how many stupid laws get passed, no matter how many people you put in jail and no matter how many lies the government tells you, people are going to get high.