Alan Watts - What do you want?

Hurricane Sandy Aftermath Video: Inside the Chaos of Breezy Point,

Hurricane Sandy Aftermath Video: Inside the Chaos of Breezy Point


Are these the floods that Noah also warned of, that's the only thought other than forces unknown to Western Civilization. There are several maybes that fools are entertained with, which do not characterize the citizenship as a whole as vulnerable, at all times!

Ron Paul with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show 9/4/2012

PRESIDENT PAUL, Simply screwed of the republican convention.

FULL UNEDITED Ron Paul Speech @ We Are the Future Rally - Tampa Sun Dome - Aug 26 2012

These are all speaking 'in the moment' - if only Pictures could talk

California medical marijuana operation targeted by feds

Article from L.A. Times
By Joe Mozingo, Los Angeles Times

The federal government is moving to shut down the nation's largest and highest-profile medical marijuana dispensary operation, filing papers to seize properties in Oakland and San Jose where Harborside Health Center does business.

Copies of the federal Complaint for Forfeiture were taped to the front doors of the two dispensaries Tuesday, alleging that they were "operating in violation of federal law."

Medical marijuana advocates, as well as some state and local officials, decried the action, saying it hurts patients in legitimate need of the drug and breaks repeated promises by President Obama's Justice Department that it was targeting only operations near schools and parks or otherwise in violation of the state's laws.

The U.S. attorney for Northern California, Melinda Haag, said she now found "the need to consider actions regarding marijuana superstores such as Harborside" because they presented unique opportunities for abuse.

Harborside was co-founded by outspoken marijuana activist Steve DeAngelo in 2006 and was the subject of a reality show, "Weed Wars," on the Discovery Channel last year. While other dispensary operators have sought a low profile since California's four U.S. attorneys began cracking down on the industry in October, DeAngelo has consistently railed against the federal intervention, advocated for better state regulations and become a leader in the movement.

"People are not going to stop using cannabis, they're just going to buy it in the illegal marketplace … on the streets," he said Wednesday in an interview. "Why are federal prosecutors using their discretion to do something so profoundly destructive?"

DeAngelo said that he would fight the Justice Department "openly and in public" and that he would resist any effort by his landlords to evict the dispensaries in response to the federal complaint — which targeted the property owners, not the tenants.

While all marijuana use and sales are illegal under federal law, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder told the House Judiciary Committee last month that federal agents were targeting only those large-scale growers and dispensaries that have "come up with ways in which they are taking advantage of these state laws, and going beyond that which the states have authorized."

In a statement released late Wednesday, Haag suggested "superstores such as Harborside" fit that bill.

"The larger the operation, the greater the likelihood that there will be abuse of the state's medical marijuana laws, and marijuana in the hands of individuals who do not have a demonstrated medical need."

She noted that Harborside claims to have "over 108,000 customers."

California's medical marijuana laws are nebulous in regard to how the drug is to be distributed and courts have yet to settle the matter. Still, marijuana activists often hail Harborside as a model of professionalism and compliance. Its main facility in Oakland is one of four independent enterprises permitted and strictly regulated by the city.

"If Harborside is not in compliance with state law, no one is," said DeAngelo, 54.

The Oakland dispensary was awarded its permit in 2006 after the city put out a request for proposals. DeAngelo says it does about $22 million in annual sales, and the San Jose shop does about $8 million. Together they pay about $3 million in city and state sales taxes, and employ more than 100 people.

The state Board of Equalization estimates it collects $58 million to $105 million in annual sales tax from dispensaries.

"If we continue to drive everything underground, we're going to create an unsafe environment for patients who need this product … and lose revenue," board member Betty Yee said.

This week's move against Harborside further highlights the continuing conflict between local and federal officials over the drug.

"The city of Oakland has developed a system to assure such distribution occurs according to state law in a fair and orderly process," Nancy Nadel, member of the Oakland City Council and vice mayor of the city, said in a statement. "It is most unjust to our citizen patients and distributors who have followed local guidelines to be harassed and treated as criminals by federal officials."

Medical marijuana advocates said the Obama administration has repeatedly reneged on its promises that it would not meddle with the state laws.

"This is the most obvious and significant step by the federal government in attacking completely law-abiding dispensaries," said Kris Hermes, spokesman for the advocacy group Americans for Safe Access. "It becomes more untenable for them to say they are just going after certain facilities and not just undermining the state's marijuana laws."

Build Stockton for its future

June 4, 2012
Dear Governor Jerry Brown:
Dear State Assembly Member Joan Buchanan:
Dear State Senator Lois Wolk:
I am writing to ask you to support AB 484 (Alejo), which was recently amended in the Senate to help protect jobs in some of California’s most economically depressed areas.

This bill will help ensure businesses within an Enterprise Zone can continue receiving uninterrupted program benefits until such time as the Department of Housing and Community Development has completed regulatory and administrative review of the program, issued a request for proposal and issued conditional designation letters to the maximum number of Enterprise Zones within the state.

Not only is the Enterprise Zone program vital to economic development, the benefits of the program help our businesses offset costs and encourage expansion or hiring of new employees. Enterprise Zones deliver numerous benefits for employees and employers. AB 484 is a bridge to help two zones with high unemployment and improve economic stability in these distressed areas.

AB 484 ensures that employees and struggling businesses do not fall victim to bureaucratic and political delays. Our state is still struggling to pull itself out of this recession. Every job counts. AB 484 is vitally important to these economically depressed regions.

For these reasons, I strongly urge you to support AB 484.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Mr. Gregory Pitsch
1704 Maude St
1704 maude st
Stockton, CA 95206-5713

CalPERS says Illegal funds are now Legal?

STOCKTON - While in violation of the city charter, retirement benefits that Stockton paid for years on behalf of some elected leaders were perfectly legal according to state law, which overrides any local rules.

So representatives of the California Public Employees' Retirement System said Thursday.

Called CalPERS, the state agency manages pensions for 1.6 million public workers, including a longstanding contract with Stockton.

City leaders said they will now undertake bringing Stockton's CalPERS contract in line with its charter. Until that happens, they also will discourage any newly elected Stockton leaders from enrolling.

CalPERS already has agreed to remove from its rolls three city current elected officials - councilmen Elbert Holman and Dale Fritchen and Mayor Ann Johnston - if each so chooses. The public-pension agency will credit Stockton the funds contributed for each.

"I will disenroll," Johnston said. "Absolutely."

Fritchen said Thursday he was still fuzzy on the details. The three leaders expect a full debriefing Monday at City Hall. But Fritchen said he's intent on doing whatever is right by taxpayers.

Fritchen repeatedly has described dysfunction at City Hall, which led to the controversy, "frustrating."

"I keep saying that," he said. "I can't think of any other word."

'Click Here' To read the rest of Scott's Article

Who's enrolled

Stockton mayors and council members enrolled in the CalPERS retirement fund, and the amount the city contributed:

Mayors *Bold Denotes if official is still in office.

• Joan Darrah: $7,682.62 (collected retirement, now deceased)

• Ann Johnston: $45, 538.61 (not retired)

*Why is her dollar amount so much Higher than the rest of the people that have yet to retire? Maybe because she has been in
office longer than the City Charter's Limit. So she has almost $46,000 extra in her retirement, don't you think her "expert eye for finding the
problem" that she touts she has would've caught that amount in her should be non-existent pension??

• Gary Podesto: $7,018.43 (collecting retirement)


Council members

• Steve Bestolarides: $15,475.79 (not retired)

• Dan Chapman: $15,561.42 (not vested)

• Dale Fritchen: $12,189.52 (still accruing retirement)

• Gary Giovanetti: $8,326.68 (not vested)

• Ted Gonzales: $3,003.95 (not vested; cashed out his own money)

• Elbert Holman: $12,189.91 (still accruing retirement)

• Clem Lee: $15,622.18 (not vested)

• Leslie Martin: $23,599.99 (not retired yet)

• Sylvia Sun Minnick: $2,269.38 (collecting retirement)

• Victor Mow: $4,194.24 (collecting retirement)

• Rebecca Nabors: $15,566.89 (cashed out)

• Richard Nickerson: $4,486.29 (collecting retirement)

• Melvin Panizza: $4,297.94 (collecting retirement)

Source: City of Stockton

Obama campaign chief slams Romney ‘hypocrisy’ on Harvard, out-of-touch attacks

With the presidential campaign in full "I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I" swing, President Barack Obama's re-election campaign manager Jim Messina on Monday accused Mitt Romney of "hypocrisy" for his attacks on the president as a member of a coddled, out-of-touch, Harvard-educated elite.

"I would brand it simply hypocrisy," Messina told reporters on a conference call. "Romney is also a Harvard graduate."

And Messina mocked Romney's attack as "a little difficult when he's shopping for car elevators" -- a knock on the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's plans to include one in a beachfront California home.

The Obama strategist's comments came on a call designed to promote legislation to implement the "Buffett Rule," a measure inspired by billionaire investor Warren Buffett's claim that he pays a lower effective tax rate than his secretary. The proposal, crafted by Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, aims to ensure that Americans making $1 million per year or more pay at least 30 percent of that income in taxes. The Senate will vote on the measure April 16 -- and it is expected to fail.

But that won't necessarily dull its edge as a political weapon to embarrass Romney, who has made a series of verbal campaign-trail gaffes seen as reinforcing the notion that his vast wealth has left him out of touch with average Americans.Romney, who opposes the legislation, is "the beneficiary of a broken tax system and he wants to keep it that way," said Messina. "Why should Mitt Romney pay a lower tax rate than average Americans?"

The former Massachusetts governor and multimillionaire investor recently released his 2010 and 2011 tax returns, which show he paid an effective tax rate of roughly 14 percent on income of more than $40 million.

"That's what this Buffett Rule fight is about," Messina said on the conference call.

With Obama set to make the case for the Buffett Rule at an event in Florida on Tuesday, White House press secretary Jay Carney disputed the notion that the president was targeting Romney, saying he supported the proposed tax change "long before it was evident who might emerge as the nominee for the other party."

"I think that we hope it will pass. I think that every senator who votes on it will have to examine for himself or herself whether or not they want to vote for a bill that says millionaires and billionaires should not pay taxes on their income at a lower rate than middle-class Americans, or vote against it. And they will have to explain to their constituents why they don't agree with that principle," said Carney. "That's what votes do -- they put senators on record."

Romney campaign communications director Gail Gitcho hit back at the White House, calling Obama "the first president in history to openly campaign for re-election on a platform of higher taxes."

"He has already raised taxes on millions of Americans, but he won't stop there. He wants to raise taxes on millions more by taxing small businesses and job creators. We appreciate the Obama campaign reinforcing Mitt Romney's platform of lowering tax rates across the board in order to jumpstart this bad Obama economy," she said in a statement.

More popular Yahoo! News stories:

*Greg Pitsch Vows to Save Stockton

Quote of The Day

"I Live Today for the best Possible Tomorrow, anybody who does, will reap the benefits of Life."

This Song Is So Meaningful To Me

This Song so reminds me of my wonderful wife. "She talks to angels" is the only way I can explain how Strong of a woman she is. Some women think they are strong, but it's not only mental strength, but her passions, goals, and the fact that she resembles what it means to be independent. She is the most courageous woman I have met. What she feels is right, usually is, but sometimes she can go overboard.

I will be the first to admit she has a tendency to take things to early extremes, and this is why most will push away from her. If you can get past her initial always right attitude, you will learn a lot from her, I know I did!!

Adsense For Dummies

Step 1) You First Need to start a Gmail account through Google. This will be the foundation for everything you do Online.

Step 2) You will then have to Go to Adsense: Click Here

P. Diddy's Words of Wisdom

Master Of Puppets

Drake - Motto Ft Lil Wayne And Tyga

Break Up Fights And Get Paid

If you are good at breaking up fights and want to get paid for it, then you need to become a mediator! For those of you that don't know, mediators are qualified professionals that assist businesses and residents in solving needless fights and disputes that get ridiculously out of hand. By becoming a mediator, you will earn a very lucrative income - up to $150/hr worked! This is a great reward for the hard work involved, both for you and the parties involved. There are, of course, many great things about becoming a mediator. Some of these are listed below:

1. They are always in need. There are always disputes and fights that need solved, even in a recession!

2. Easy to get started. Full support and training will be provided to you as well as ongoing advice.

3. A brilliant way to bring in additional income. Help you and your family become better off financially, become debt free, or go on that dream holiday....

4. A respected profession & is needed by businesses, employers, and sectors of all levels.

For more information visit http://www.mediatorcash.com

When This Happens I Will be Hard to Reach

As the world as my witness, I will never blame someone else for my shortcomings, however if I have people around that are becoming obstacles, I will hurdle them and continue on my way.  I would like to have help along the journey, but I feel as if I am asking the wrong people to get involved.  Once I get the means to start my successful corporation, I will put Americans back to work.

Everyday that passes only stirs my boiling water, I am in need of the noodles to make my pasta.  Investor's are hard to find and tough to contact.  Once they come forward and help my corporation with a little bit of capital, It's going to be too much for me to try to do all alone.  So this becomes the point where I hire college graduates to use their education daily, and improve the moral and ability to get orders out.  This is where most business owners fail, because they get their first business running well and they think they are done.  Life will be a struggle if they stop here and want to, "BE THE BOSS."  For those of us that know the economy, this is just #1, and now we're ready to go, "on to the next one!"

Truth be told, there is no end in business, especially for one that has yet to truly begin the path to wealth and prosperity.  Time will allow you to continue, but only until you reach a point where you see the peak, at this vista point too many will stay.  And why not?  It's a beautiful view, and there is usually a nice breeze that one will feel.  This is the Catagory you fall into if you are happy with what you have.  I am different, its not that I am unhappy with what I have, I want more, so I have more to give.  I have yet to be described as greedy.

I would like to start my clothing company, capital management company, recycling company, solar-farming company, as well as a shipping company, all with a good amount of employees.  This is just to name a few, eventually I will open Mall's, Business Parks, Retail Strips, Apartment Complexes, my own Airline, Record Labels, a Cellular provider, Television Network, and the list goes on... One Day...  Some Day!

"Some don't deserve what they have, and the rest don't have what they deserve!"

Lets look at a business Idea together and see what we can produce while money isn't involved:

Business Name:  EE (Electronic Experts)
Start-up Date: 9-10-2011
Start-up Costs:  $45,000

What will you do with this money?  
First:  Acquire a 1 year lease for a Retail Shop at least 500 square feet
Second:  Furnish the Store (POS Machines, CPU's, Tables, Lights, Desks)
Third:  Purchase initial Inventory
Fourth:  Advertise on the Radio, On-line, and local Newspapers.
Fifth:  Food and Drinks for the Break-Room.
Sixth:  Put $250 in each Register before we open the first day!

This is all it takes to put people to work, and it will sustain itself as long as you give your customer's a reason to patronize your store (sales, new inventory, public ads, and even promotions).  If we all did a lil-bit to help out this country would be the land we all see in our dreams, but the sad part is the people that have the money, won't put it to work to make more.  But the people that are willing to help anyone, don't have the money.  I have come to the reality that some don't deserve what they have, and the rest don't have what they deserve!!





 

America Wants Change but is not Willing to Change

In a moment of clarity, will America take on the challenge it faces or will we watch our dreams crumble from underneath our feet?