Life, Love, and Liberty

My god; I had no idea that Arthur Silber’s teeth had deteriorated to such an extent as this:

I indicated a while ago some aspects of being very poor. One other aspect is this: when you can’t afford to get any decent medical care for major health problems, you definitely can’t afford to go to the dentist, for years on end in my case. One result is that your teeth finally rot and begin to fall out — literally. For the past week, pieces of one rotten tooth have been falling out almost every time I eat. I eat very, very carefully now, mostly soft foods. The tooth doesn’t hurt, at least not yet. This is on top of two fillings that fell out several years ago, and that I can’t get fixed. One of the resulting holes gets infected every two months or so. When that happens, it lasts for about ten days. During the worst two or three days, the left side of my face swells up to the size of a small apple. I can barely open my mouth, so I usually just suck up soup or mashed potatoes until it passes.

And he also is only halfway there to the next rent payment as well as being in need of some computer fixing. Once again, I urge those who find Arthur to be a worthwhile person to consider donating towards his continued living.

See the post linked to under his name above for detail.

When you read about President Bush denouncing tyranny, you really have to acknowledge the hypocrisy. I mean; seriously.

Bush denounces tyrants from Cuba to Zimbabwe

James Bone for The Times in New York

US President George Bush urged UN members today to join in a “mission of liberation”, denouncing tyrants in Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Zimbabwe and announcing tightened US sanctions on the junta in Burma.

“This great institution must work for great purposes: to free people from tyranny and violence; to combat disease, illiteracy, and ignorance and poverty and despair,” Mr Bush told the 192-nation UN General Assembly. “Every member of the United Nations must join in this mission of liberation.”

Making only a glancing mention of the violence in Iraq, Mr Bush saluted “young democracies” in Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan and called on the world to support the “moderate” leaders of the Palestinian Authority.

Avoiding any specific reference to al-Qaeda, the president warned that extremists were trying to impose a “hateful vision.”

“The followers of this violent ideology are a threat to civilised people everywhere,” he said. “All civilised nations must work together by sharing intelligence about their networks and choking off their finances and bringing to justice their operatives.

“In the long-run, the best way to defeat extremists is to defeat their dark ideology with a more hopeful vision - the vision of liberty.”

As protests grow in Burma, Mr Bush announced that expanded financial sanctions and an extended visa ban on members of the ruling junta and their families.

“Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma, where a military junta has imposed a 19-year reign of fear,” he said. “Basic freedoms of speech, assembly and worship are severely restricted. Ethnic minorities are persecuted. Froced child labour, human trafficking and rape are common. The regime is holding more than 1,000 political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.”

“The military junta remains unyielding, yet the people’s desire for freedom remains unmistakable,” he said.

He excoriated the “brutal regimes” in Belarus, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Zimbabwe and said “the long rule of a cruel dictator is nearing its end” in Cuba.

“The Cuban people are ready for their freedom,” he said. “As that nation enters a period of transition, the UN must insist on free speech, free assembly and ultimately free and competitive elections.”

Although he was speaking just hours before Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mr Bush made no specific mention of Teheran’s suspected nuclear weapons programme.

He also call for the reform of the UN Human Rights Council, which was only created this year after a revamp that failed to earn Washington’s support.

“With commitment and courage of this chamber, a world where people are free to speak, assembly and worship as they wish, a world where children in every nation grow up healthy, get a decent education and look to the future with hope,” he said.

And I read the above on the day that the Drug Enforcement Administration conducts another Gestapo raid on medical marijuana collectives in California.

Dear Friends of MPP:

Right now, the DEA is currently raiding the River City Patient Center in Sacramento, California — the longest established medical marijuana dispensary in the city. Protesters have gathered outside the building in support of the collective.

And yesterday, the DEA began threatening landlords in the Santa Barbara area who lease space to medical marijuana dispensaries — activity that’s legal under California state law — with federal prison time and forfeiture of their properties. Several dispensaries closed right away.

This follows a similar move in Los Angeles in July — a maneuver that was condemned in a Los Angeles Times editorial as “a deplorable new bullying tactic.”

No matter what state you live in, will you please take a few minutes to write all three of your members of Congress to protest this federal interference in state law? MPP’s action center is easy to use: You can send one of our pre-drafted letters, or you can personalize the letter.

This is just the latest in the campaign of terror the DEA is waging on the sick. In June and July, the DEA conducted extensive medical marijuana raids in several California counties and in Oregon, including raids on at least 10 Los Angeles clinics in late July. Most were aimed at medical marijuana dispensaries operating legally under state and local laws, and in several cases the DEA detained and terrorized individual patients.

If this outrages you like it does me, would you help MPP hire a new grassroots organizer in California, as well as to retain a lobbyist to help push legislation in Sacramento to protect these dispensaries? If enough supporters on this e-mail list donate today, MPP will be able to fully pay for both positions.

These reprehensible DEA attacks — which run counter to state law, as well as the 78% of the American people who support “making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering” — are preventing effective local regulation of medical marijuana: Cities and counties in California are passing ordinances to ensure that medical marijuana dispensaries follow the law and serve patients properly. But by treating all who provide medical marijuana to the sick as common drug dealers, the DEA has become the single largest obstacle to effective regulation of these establishments.

A major Los Angeles raid actually occurred at the exact moment that members of the city council were holding a press conference to discuss an ordinance to regulate medical marijuana providers.

Local officials and major newspapers are outraged by the DEA’s actions. After the July raids in Los Angeles, L.A. City Councilman Dennis Zine — a Republican and former police officer with the L.A. Police Department — said, “I am greatly disturbed that the Drug Enforcement Administration would initiate an enforcement action against medical marijuana facilities in the City of Los Angeles during a news conference regarding City Council support of an Interim Control Ordinance to regulate all facilities within the City. This action by the DEA is
contrary to the vote of Californians who overwhelmingly voted to support medicinal marijuana use by those facing serious and life threatening illnesses. The DEA needs to focus their attention and enforcement action on the illegal drug dealers who are terrorizing communities in Los Angeles.”

After a series of DEA medical marijuana raids in San Francisco, the city’s health director, Dr. Mitchell Katz, wrote to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, “These actions have resulted in 4,000 persons with chronic illness left without access to critical treatment upon which they rely. Certainly in this post-September 11 environment, it seems that a DEA priority punishing organizations for distributing cannabis for medical purposes to chronically ill individuals is misplaced.”

Would you help us fight back against the DEA’s deplorable attacks on sick patients? Please write your three members of Congress now, and then consider making a donation to MPP today.

Sincerely,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

Could politics get anymore ridiculous? Probably.

Hat tip to the Times Online UK via Antiwar.com, and the Marijuana Policy Project on MySpace.

I had the blog down because of the error message that you hopefully don’t see above every post. I’ll look into fixing it, but I decided that it didn’t really distort the look of the site to the point of it not being readable.

That having been said; any help on fixing the error is very much appreciated. It happened after I upgraded to the newly released WordPress version 2.3.

I am debuting the blog of Rachel Kramer Bussel in this digest and encourage people to give it a chance. See near the bottom of the digest for the three selected posts from her blog. I’ll be making use of the wealth of blogs she has listed on her sidebar to continue to bring you quality posting in the sexuality category

The Usual Wartime Press

New Military Report Acknowledges Signs of Police State in Baghdad

The Totalitarian Personalities Among Us

The Totalitarians Among Us

Economics and the State

Giant Food Companies Welcome the Regulatory State

In Turnaround, Industries Seek U.S. Regulations

Civil Liberties Speaking

Help Create Special Website for The Future of Freedom Foundation’s recent conference titled “Restoring the Republic: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties”.

Naomi Wolf interview on The Colbert Report.

Debuting Ms. Bussel

Feminism vs sexuality or the false dichotomy that will not die

Why im happy with the cleavage situation

Feminist blowjobs and other oxymorons

One Last Decent Item

The Science Behind Personality

My last digest hinted at some new awe inspiring blogs by writers on sexuality; so I kindly point my readers to the Lusty Lady blog of Rachel Kramer Bussel of the big apple. She has become the most recent recipient of the “added to Nick Manley’s blogroll” award.

*Applause *Applause*

Once I alert her to my website’s existence by means of a congratulatory email on her eccentric and sex-positive writing/personality — what I can glean of it from the web, at least — ; perhaps she will give an acceptance speech

Now; I am sifting through her favorite posts on the sidebar to see if there are any I can put in my sexuality category when I redo the insightful reads listing on the sidebar. During this, I came across a post where she mentioned this:

whether that meant going off to play chess at age 15 in Brazil

Wow! Now; I am in complete envy of the friendly variety. I’ve only worked the chessboard in the U.S. in my lifetime. This person has caught my eye now.

Anyhow, I wish I could “stop” discovering awesome blogs maintained by people who are 3 billion miles away. Or snap my fingers to make everybody I adore in some fashion or another be instantly transported with me to some really cool urban environment in short distance from a more rural area; for variety’s sake.

Or I could just apparate — provided that J.K. Rowling hasn’t patented the technique yet — and visit people like that; don’t want to uproot anyone involuntarily

On a final note; check out her very very lusty photographs while you’re browsing through her blog archives. If I am ever living in the NYC area, then I will seek to woo her into a passionate romance.

A combination of intellectual acumen and wonderfully delicious looking breasts is more than enough to make Nick swoon with a starry eyed look on his face.

Off to the big apple! To see Chris Sciabarra. He’s quite possibly the coolest guy to ever feed the ducks of Brooklyn, and I will also court him.

Bisexual polyamory: the best of both worlds.

Note: I am not actually off to visit NYC this very moment or tomorrow, yet I will most definitely meet Chris Sciabarra someday; for all of the reasons detailed here . As for why this post would be of interest to left-libertarians; I thought they might like to know of a new blog listed on my sidebar. This post smacks of my personality and was quite spontaneously written. I had a great time writing it too. Such a nice diversion from the genocidal actions of the U.S. military in Iraq.

Observing the unspeakable death and destruction engulfing Iraq from afar is a strange experience. I can read the latest headlines on Antiwar.com, or even watch a video with footage of civilian casualties, but the reality of the situation is still not completely real to me. Nothing I’ve experienced in my life can match what many Iraqi individuals have suffered as a result of the murderous actions of the American state, and various jihadists who promise them “liberty” in the guise of an Islamic state. It’s hard for me to entirely understand what it’s like to live a day in Iraq.

Iraqi inhabitants face fears and anxieties related to potential death that I simply don’t because of my far more comfortable existence. What is it like to wonder whether you will be randomly killed at a military checkpoint on the way to work in the morning? Or that your child will suffer death via mortar fire? Such are the questions that occupy the attention of countless individuals caught up in the slaughterhouse that Iraq has become.

It truly makes me realize just how precarious human existence really is. The comfort of being able to wake up the next day without being grateful that an artillery shell didn’t rip apart your household is something I take for granted. I don’t go to sleep at night with much in the way of thoughts except “oh; how terribly fatigued I am” or “I wish I was caught up in some wild sexual fantasy in San Francisco”. The latter thought being a possibility is entirely dependent upon the peace and liberty for which so many have striven in human history, yet so few have actually ended up experiencing.

I call upon those fortunate enough to find some enclave of liberty or beacon of happiness in this world to grasp it and never let it go. Let liberty be your shining light! The political value that provides the context for you to truly pursue your dreams in life; whether they be performing at that live musical show you always wanted to, or studying the game collection of your favorite grandmaster of chess, or being reunited with someone who you love dearly, after far too long of a separation.

To Life; the fountainhead — Randians nod their heads in approval here — of it all!

To Love; the feeling that underlies the most joyful acts of sexual intimacy.

To Liberty; the political value that provides the context to happily pursue joy and love in life.

(A few corrections on this one)

This week’s digest will probably mostly appeal to the politicos receiving it. It’s heavy on links pertaining to politics/economics. I especially recommend Anthony Gregory’s take on the North American Union. I’ve found some more interesting blogs by writers on sexuality, so I’ll probably be debuting a few posts from them in the next digest.

Top Ten Reasons for a 9-11 Investigation

The Fakery of General Petraeus: What Iraqis Think About The Surge

War on Iraq: U.S. Secret Air War Pulverises Afghanistan and Iraq

We Have Met the North American Union

This dense article has some fascinating history in it. I never knew that the U.S. tried to invade Canada in 1775.

The Goal is Freedom: Force Fetishists

Is War Necessary for Economic Growth? Military Procurement and Technology Development

I’ve had this argument thrown my way that a benefit of this or that war was the development of: insert wonderful technology here, and my answer is always that this isn’t the only way it could have come about. This book should give people some factual ammunition for countering these arguments about war.

American Economy: R.I.P.

I don’t agree with Paul Craig Robert’s stance on immigration, but he provides some good facts for the economic geek or concerned citizen.

Song of the week: Quicksand by the Martha Reeve and the Vandellas

On Nick’s Chess Book Purchase List:

The Return of the Tournament Book by Steve Goldberg.

I watched one of the more spectacular games of this tournament live!

I’ve decided that the site needs a bit of a sprucing up. The main changes I have planned are ones designed to make the site easier on the eyes for folks. I’ll be making the font size for my sidebar links larger so that it doesn’t strain people’s eyesight to view them. I might eliminate the links section on the sidebar entirely, since I have a wordpress page devoted to it. I also want to move the insightful reads to a page too, so I can continually add to it without the list becoming obscenely long on the sidebar.

I’ll also remove that pesky copyright notice on the bottom and replace it with something a bit more anarchistic. I just hope I don’t have to change my theme to do any of the above, since I really like it.

A revised digest numero 29.

I was off in chess land on Sunday, so I forgot the ol digest. It was a bad Monday for me too, yet I did have some links that I wanted to share, so I am doing a special Tuesday edition

First Off: The Bloody International Affairs Section

Bush’s “Killing Fields” and the Real Lesson of Vietnam

The Khmer Rouge were helped by U.S. intervention says Gareth Porter.

The Outer Limits

The guy talked about in this piece is a very dangerous thinker.

American Fascism: Speaking of Lost Liberties

America, The Sexy Fascist State

“It’s truly a fascinating and convoluted issue, this surveillance thing, largely because it is, both morally and culturally, nearly impossible to nail down. Are cameras and wiretapping and secret GPS systems and Google Maps and so forth a huge invasion of privacy? Well, yes. Do citizens, by a surprising margin, still say they want more cameras anyway? Yes again. Is this creepy and odd and telling? Absolutely. Is it also somewhat understandable, given the public’s frustration with crime and our government’s general ineptitude, all undercut by a sad, ironic willingness to spend millions of tax dollars installing technology to watch for crime, as opposed to actually trying to solve the issues that cause those crimes in the first place? Bingo.”

The infamous Mark Morford does have a way with words. He makes me laugh lots.

Humor Me This and Humor Me That (I am Not Entirely Sure What I Meant by That)

Record Flight Delays

A Musical Treat

Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy

A delightful song put on for you by the infamous Queen.

I am just archiving away!

I was far too exhausted to send out the digest last night, but here it is. It’s just a small number of links on the warfare state and civil liberties.

Understanding and Misunderstanding Iraq

To the Antiwar Left

The Worsening Nightmare

America’s biggest threat comes from within