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Archive: April, 2010
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| Courtesy of Chicago Now |
It's gonna be splendid out tomorrow, and you've got choices. Equality Forum? The Piazza's Restaurant Weekend? Free Comic Book Day? Inevitably drinking bucket beers in a kiddie pool in Fishtown? Or ... how about marching in the name of the marijuana legalization?
Philly's NORML chapter and local activists will be gathering at Broad and South streets for the march from 3 to 7 p.m., and promise speakers, music, vendors and people in costumes (and with floats!). Check out the event's FB page for more info.
There are certain hard scientific facts that would support the Legalization, but the "orthodox" addiction medicine establishment, being anything but independent from tight DEA control, is not nearly as forthcoming with this information as it should be for scientific integrity. As opposed to alcohol and most controlled prescription drugs, marijuana use has not been associated with one single case of fatal overdose, marijuana does not have a documented physical withdrawal, and its addiction liability is only 3% compared with 10% for alcohol and around 20% for opiates, both legal (morphine) and illegal (heroin). Cannabis use has been shown to reduce the violent crime (Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook, 4-th Edition, page 267). After working for years with seriously drug-addicted patients in Philadelphia, PA, I understand the scientific fallacy of classifying cannabis in the same group with heroin and cocaine. The so-called "gateway drug" theory is by now completely discredited, but this scientific fact is not widely advertised or known. At the same time, the medicinal properties of marijuana plant are by now so clearly beyond dispute, that even the "opponents" are no longer fully comfortable in repeating the old nonsense that the plant has "no medical benefits". Between 74 and 81% of Americans support legalization of marijuana for at least medical use. I know that whatever decision people make in the end (and I hope it will be to legalize this natural medicinal plant), they should make it with all the facts at their disposal. Perhaps the whole situation regarding the legalization of marijuana can be summarized by quoting a true expert whose dedication to scientific truth is stronger than any disinformation the "opponents" can possibly offer: "Cannabis will one day be seen as a wonder drug, as was penicillin in the 1940s. Like penicillin, herbal marijuana is remarkably nontoxic, has a wide range of therapeutic applications and would be quite inexpensive if it were legal". Dr. Lester Grinspoon, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Los Angeles Times, May 5, 2006
Here is the letter I wrote to most PA Senators urging their support for the upcoming medical marijuana Bill:
Dear Senator (name),
I am writing to request that you co-sponsor Senator Leach's medical marijuana bill.
Medical marijuana has been found very useful in a number of serious health conditions which is now recognized by none other than the American Medical Association. In fact, it is the American Medical Association that is now urging the law-makers to change the classification of Cannabis because its current classification as a Schedule I drug contradicts all scientific reality.
While we are still undecided whether to make medical marijuana legal, the Canadian Government even pays for this medicinal plant for their veterans in recognition of the remarkable medicinal properties of Cannabis Sativa.
In particular, medical marijuana has been found useful in malnutrition, pain management, severe muscle spasms, nausea associated with chemotherapy, epilepsy and glaucoma. Recent reports indicate that it is a good treatment for migraine headaches as well, and the most recent studies even indicate that non-THC compounds of the plant may have a suppressive action on aggressive breast cancer gene. Overall, the range of medicinal applications of medical marijuana is wide and growing, while the concerns associated with its use are greatly exaggerated.
As a Pennsylvania physician certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine since 2004, I want to briefly comment on the concerns usually expressed in connection with medical marijuana use.
First, it would really be a scientific distortion to suggest that marijuana, which does not have either a lethal overdose associated with its use, or a documented physical withdrawal syndrome, so characteristic of opiates, "nerve" and "sleeping" pills or alcohol, for that matter, is less safe than any of those substances; the so-called "gateway drug" theory has been discredited by the science of addiction medicine and, no less importantly, cannabis use suppresses violent crime (Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook, 4-th Edition, page 267).
As a Program Physician in Philadelphia drug-addiction clinics for years, I observed first hand the devastating physical dependence that many currently used prescription drugs cause; however, the only cases of "pure" marijuana "addiction" were those referred by the parole and probation departments after failing a drug test. Let me just point out to you that if medical marijuana was used for pain management, this would allow to reduce the doses of dangerous and highly addictive opiates such as Morphine or Oxycontin, thereby rendering the treatment much safer.
What about the possible addiction liability of medical marijuana? I believe the numbers will be more demonstrative than words: Marijuana's addiction liability is 3%, compared with 10% for alcohol, 20% for opiates and between 50 and 75% for nicotine. What does this mean? It means that one out of 10 people exposed to alcohol will develop some kind of problem drinking disorder and 20 out of 100 people exposed to opiates may develop subsequent addiction or dependence, but only 3% of marijuana users go ahead to develop some kind of dependency. This is what one of the country's leading expert says about medical marijuana:
"Cannabis will one day be seen as a wonder drug, as was penicillin in the 1940s. Like penicillin, herbal marijuana is remarkably nontoxic, has a wide range of therapeutic applications and would be quite inexpensive if it were legal".
Dr. Lester Grinspoon, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Los Angeles Times, May 5, 2006
Senator, if the drug (any drug) has not been implicated in fatal overdoses or physical dependence and at the same time is highly effective in some very serious medical conditions, the case for the drug's acceptance to me is obvious; recent ABC and CBS polls indicate that between 74 and 81% of Americans support legalization of medical marijuana. These are very significant numbers, and it it a duty of our elected Representatives to act upon them and heed the wishes of the voters.
Senator, I strongly urge you to cosponsor this Bill for the sake of seriously ill Pennsylvanians as well as for the sake of Scientific Integrity (capital letters) itself.
Thank you Leonard Krivitsky, MD,DD
(address, phone number)Once you learn the law, the weed will be freed. ---->http://satanssmoke.us
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| Michael T. Regan |
Come May 18, denizens in the First District will be disappointed to find probably won't care or notice that there isn't a Republican on the primary ballot for the Congressional seat currently held by Bob Brady. Pia Varma, the Tea Party-friendly candidate who was attempting to square off against Brady in the general election, got kicked off the primary ballot by the Commonwealth Court for not obtaining enough signatures but then appealed.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's reply? "Affirmed," and that's about all. According to Ballot Access News, this decision went against precedent:
Pia Varma is the only person who tried to get on the Republican primary ballot, set for May 18, for U.S. House, First District, a district in Philadelphia. Her petition, which required 1,000 signatures of registered Republicans, was challenged because some of her signatures had been collected by registered Republicans who live outside the First District. The lower court had sustained the objection, without noting that in 2002, a U.S. District Court in the eastern district (which covers Philadelphia) had ruled it unconstitutional to require circulators to live in the same district that the candidate is running in.
...
The federal decision that had struck down the residency requirement for circulators is Morrill v Weaver, 224 F Supp 2d 882. Technically that decision struck down the residency requirement for petitions for independent candidates, not petitions for getting a candidate on a primary ballot. But the logic of one applies equally to the other.
But critics say that, though similar, the Morrill v. Weaver decision addressed different candidates than the case involving Varma, and thus the precedent didn't apply.
PREVIOUSLY>> Tea Party candidate challenging Bob Brady is kicked off the ballot
RELATED>> You Say You Want a Revolution? Tea Party doyenne Diana Reimer has big plans for you, Philadelphia.
[...] the funky fresh season-one-of-the-Real-World flava? Well, sadly (because watching this is fun), the State Supreme Court went ahead (and against precedent) and said, “Yeah, no, sorry Pia.R... As you can see from her Facebook post over the weekend, Pia is all like, “Pfft, [...]
Two panels for you queers and queer-friendlies to hit up this evening, followed by a welcome party at Q Lounge at 10, which will assuredly be fun and debaucherous and all that. But first, the learning:
GLBT Rights and Challenges in Africa, Arts Bank, 7 pm: Moderated by Council for Global Equality founder Mark Bromley, this panel which includes International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission executive director Cary Alan Johnson and Rona Penigal of the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch will delve into the recent unpleasantness in Uganda and other parts of Africa, where gays and lesbians can face lengthy prison sentences or even death.
National Sports Panel, Arts Bank, 8:15 pm: It's no secret to anyone who's been around the sports world, especially in high schools (because teenagers are generally evil to start with), that they can rank among the least tolerant and most anti-gay places on earth. And there are, indeed, nary out gay athletes, at least that I'm aware of, in major American sports. This panel's moderator is Gail Shister, a former Inky scribe who was the first out woman sportswriter and includes Brian Sims, the first openly gay NCAA football captain (he went to Bloomsburg University).
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by philly news now. philly news now said: Today in Gay: Equality Forum, April 29: Two panels for you queers and queer-friendlies to hit up this evening, fol... http://bit.ly/awuqOS [...]
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An occasional, inconsistent, and improbable series on this year's budget.
The Coalition for Essential Services a coalition of labor, service, and community groups dedicated to getting a "fair budget" passed by Council meaning, in their case, preserving city services and jobs rallied outside City Hall this morning to get Council's attention focused on what they consider the fairest way to balance the city's budget: raising (or "rolling back" to mid-nineties levels) the "gross receipts" portion of the business privilege tax.
This comes as Mayor Nutter's proposed trash fee appears all but dead, and the sugary beverages tax isn't doing much better. Councilman Frank DiCicco has withdrawn his own alternative, a proposed 12% property tax hike, and Councilman Wilson Goode has introduced a two-year 9% property tax hike instead, apparently backed by democratic Council leadership, to balance the budget.
But Council is just starting to hold its neighborhood community budget hearings, and they're already being told exactly what they were told last year: "don't raise our property taxes."
Is it just me, or is it strange that we spend about half a year waiting for Council to make up its mind on given budget?
Anyway: back to the gross-receipts thing.
The idea is this: the gross receipts tax is a tax on net sales rather than revenue/income.
Because large companies can easily hide or move their income, the reasoning goes, the gross receipts tax is the only way to tax the operations of major, national retailers in the area.
One of the strongest arguments against raising this tax is that, because it taxes sales regardless of income, it can tax a business that isn't turning a profit. To answer this challenge, the Coalition is proposing that all businesses with receipts under $500,000 be exempted.
It's an interesting idea, and the exemption is clever - I don't think anyone wants to hurt small businesses right now, but getting a better cut from Coca Cola, etc. it could gain steam.
Council members Bill Green and Maria Quinones-Sanchez have so far been the most interested in potentially revising the gross receipts tax.
Anybody out there want to weigh in on this one? Got a better idea to balance the budget? (And if you're going to say, "cut city jobs," that's fine, but no getting off easy: which department anyone want to take up the line-item challenge?).
Thanks Isaiah! 40% of big businesses taxed by the GRT (over $500,000 in Receipts and therefore not exempted under our plan) aren't even based in Philadelphia. They rely on our city services to create markets and access for their products. They aren't going to stop selling their products in our city, and they don't provide any jobs for Philadelphia, so taxing them is win-win for us. Zachary H Coalition for Essential Services PhillyCES.org
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by philly news now. philly news now said: Budget fuss: Coalition urges use of gross receipts tax to balance budget: An occasional, inconsistent, and impr... http://bit.ly/cW0tkT [...]
How about thinking outside the box and limiting the proposed "gross receipts" tax to one full business week of the year.
I'm a little insulted that the Metro, Foobooz (!) and Philebrity got mentioned, but City Paper didn't. But still. Alert the "Down the Shore" girls indeed.
[...] was tweeted by professors, many practitioners and players and then shared by Philebrity and the Clog, raw video of Hitler discovering the results of the PMH auction [...]
This is a pleasant scoop. I did not see it anywhere else.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by You Post, philly news now. philly news now said: Hitler discovers that Philadelphia Inquirer Lenders Group won the newspaper auction: Im a little insulted tha... http://bit.ly/bKpRNs [...]
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| http://www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org/ |
Neighborhood Bike Works the Philadelphia nonprofit dedicated to engaging kids through learning how to build and maintain bicycles is expanding one of its programs with almost Napoleonic speed.
For years, there has been "Bike Church": the free, volunteer-run bicycle workshop, based on Penn's campus, where amateur and expert alike can borrow tools, a work stand, and plenty of collective wisdom to work on his or her own bicycle. (Disclosure: I'm an occasional volunteer there myself.)
Then, recently, came "Bike Temple" no, not a Jewish version of the same program, but the same thing based near Temple University's campus.
Now comes yet another: Haddington Bike Church, based at 230 N. Salford St., near the 60th and Market stop on the Market Frankford Line. They'll be open Wednesdays, from 6:30 to 9:00 P.M.
Proceeds from donations and sales at all three go toward the nonprofit's programming.
They open tonight, and kick things off with a used bicycle sale. Bikes start at $50, according to this handy little flier:
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by You Post, philly news now. philly news now said: Tonight: Cheap bike sale to fund Neighborhood Bike Works newest DIY bicycle workshop: http://www.neighborhoodbik... http://bit.ly/9yL0Sj [...]
Neighborhood Bike Works is also having a bike sale at its 39th and Locust Walk location (Bike Church) this Friday, April 30 from 12 to 6 p.m.
[...] Tonight: Cheap bike sale tο fund Neighborhood Bike Works’ newest DIY bicycle workshop :: T... [...]
In this week's issue, you'll find a special two-page spread with some picks and movies related to Equality Forum, the big gay-rights ta-da happening in the city this week, along with my essay on the movement's heroes from the Mattachine Society to today. But, that issue won't hit the streets until tomorrow, and there's some hot shit happening tonight (technically, today is Day 3). Molly and the A&E team will be, I'm sure, hipping you to some of Forum-related fabulousness; over here on The Clog, I'll highlight a couple of policy-related events you might want to consider.
So, let's get started. (By the way, you can find all the info you need on Equality Forum on their website.
The Forum has two panels this evening, both at the Arts Bank (601 S. Broad) and free. This is followed by something called Women's Party: Battle of the DJs at Sisters, starting at 8:30 (I'd link to Sisters, but when I went to pull up the site just now, I got a "warning: this may damage your computer" thing. Better safe than sorry. Anyway, the address is 1320 Chancellor).
Panel No. 1: National Legal Panel, 7 pm: This panel will explore the role that courts play in gay rights policy formation. Brad Sears, the head of the Williams Institute, will moderate a group comprised of members of Lambda Legal, Equality Federation and the ACLUs LGBT and AIDS project, as well as American University law prof Nancy Polikoff.
Quick thought: There is often a lot of hullabaloo on the right about the way "activist judges" oppress the good and straight people of the world with their tyrannical pro-gay decisions, and indeed, the courts have undeniably played a role in the liberalization of gay-rights (especially gay marriage) policy in the US: in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, and California, court decisions led directly to gay marriage. And yet at the risk of getting too in-the-weeds wonky (and I can't link to academic journals, though you can try to look up a piece that ran in the American Political Science Review last year by Lax and Phillips) the research supports the notion that state policy on gay rights issues, no matter where it comes from, tends to adhere to popular opinion, and when it doesn't, it tends to skew in a conservative direction (meaning, voters are more willing to extend rights to gay people than are their courts or legislators). Counterintuitive, maybe, but true.
Panel No. 2: National History Panel, 8:30: This panel looks at the historical relationship between gays and lesbians and religious institutions. (Hint: It hasn't always been nice.) The moderator is Rabbi Rebecca Alpert, a Temple prof, and the panel is comprised of representatives of different strains of faith, including the executive director of New Ways Ministry, a group that tries to reconcile Catholics and gays.
Quick thought: It's hardly a revelation that there's a pretty consistent link between evangelicalism and fundamentalism and antigay sentiment (don't believe me? I have a 150-page thesis you can read, should you want to cure your insomnia someday). Gay rights have historically, and unsurprisingly, gone hand-in-glove with the secularization, education and urbanization of societies (this is sort of tied to a concept called postmaterialism). Objections to gay rights are almost exclusively religiously oriented (indirectly if not directly). Should make for an interesting chat.
[...] Today in Gay: Equality Forum, April 28 :: The Clog :: Blog Archive … The Diversity Projekt » Weekend Happenings: Walk for a Cure and …Polish President Killed by Mistake PilotCrime task force formed for Atlanta campuses | Washington ExaminerMaison Moschino Hotel, Italy by CubeMeMisunderstanding leads to partial hotel refund after volcanoHotel Costes Paris | The Springfield Web BlogArmani hotel opens in Dubai's Khalifa tower (AP) | www.bullfax.comSingle Best TownShare/NTFS permissions on NAS - Spiceworks CommunityEdCone.com: Town hall budget meeting View the Contact Powered by Staff [...]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by philly news now. philly news now said: Today in Gay: Equality Forum, April 28: In this weeks issue, youll find a special two-page spread with some ... http://bit.ly/d1maw2 [...]
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This morning, in an editorial titled "DROP is bad all over," the Inquirer editorial board praises our April 22 cover story, "The Billion Dollar Boondoggle: DROP is bleeding us dry," written by Ralph Cipriano looking into the controversial 11-year-old retirement program:
It is bad enough that a handful of elected city officials have abused the pension perk known as DROP. But now there is more compelling evidence of an even bigger drain the plan is having on Philadelphia's already wobbly pension system.
A lengthy story in the City Paper last week detailed a number of red flags regarding DROP, short for Deferred Retirement Option Plan.
The plan has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and provided little to nothing in return. The firm that helped the city establish DROP has run into legal trouble in other cities. Before trying to raise taxes, Mayor Nutter and City Council should end DROP for all employees.
Almost 9,000 city employees have either cashed out of DROP or are enrolled in it. The retirees have collected lump-sum payments averaging more than $100,000, according to the City Paper story, written by former Inquirer reporter Ralph Cipriano.
PREVIOUSLY >>> Cipriano talks DROP on Fox29.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper, philly news now. philly news now said: Inky big-ups Ciprianos DROP investigation: This morning, in an editorial titled DROP is bad all over, the Inqu... http://bit.ly/cyZveh [...]
[...] quite so enthusiastic in its DROP-kicking as Fox29, which has run multiple segments on the program, starting with this one and including the videos linked above and after the [...]
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| theflyingsaucer.net, as it looks right now |
Millions swayed by his plight while searching for a nice place to read and sip green tea!
Palestine to be freed thanks to one ugly website and its unique use of capital letters, gifs!
Good luck to you, Flying Saucer Cafe. I dig your cozy non-Cosi-ness. I hope you can restore your website soon.
(big h/t to FairmountNews)
see what's up with this guy: http://www.birthrightisrael.com/site/Calendar/1818788295?view=Detail&id=207084&whence=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.birthrightisrael.com%2Fsite%2FPageServer%3Fpagename%3Dnext_local_phil_calendar
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper, Spyware Lady. Spyware Lady said: Free Palestine hacker targets Fairmount coffee shop! http://bit.ly/cAeSpC [...]
When I was on the phone with the Network Solutions support guy, he looked into the code and had himself a little chuckle followed by "... lazy hackers" then in 30seconds it was fixed! Thanks Emily!
When I was on the phone with the Network Solutions support guy, he looked into the code and had himself a little chuckle followed by "... lazy hackers" then in 30seconds it was fixed! Thanks Patrick! check out www.theflyingsaucer.net
Origin of the Philly Cheese Steak
Did the Philly cheese steak sandwich really originate in Philly? Someone told me it came from Pittsburgh.
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