i rant alot about drug laws in particular and have definitely
suffered under them directly and indirectly but at bottom it’s the principle of the infringement that bothers me most, and that same underlying assumption underpins many other issues i’m not as vocal about, from gambling and prostitution
to helmet laws to forced charity to compulsory education and unchecked domestic spying and Executive power – in short, social engineering, which as a frame is HUGE.

i know we disagree on whether drug laws fall into that category i’m just saying that it is part of a broader ideology for me, ie: Libertarian Constitutionalism (Fed obeys
Constitution to letter and ideally uses Libertarian compass within its jurisdiciton, and ideally States do the same thing
but aren’t required to except as the Costitution mandates, ie: Bill of Rights, and i think we’re of a mind there.

in other words i’m not the “issues voter” i probably come off as, it’s just that the way both liberals and conservatives cherry-pick the Constitution to suit their druthers, we’re reduced to patching it back together one issue at a time, allying with liberals on some (de-criminalising social taboos, civil liberties issues) and conservatives on others (taxes, education, getting out of the charity-at-gunpoint biz).

but i’d love to just be able to scream HEY! EXECUTE YOUR OATH
OF OFFICE AND OBEY THE FUCKING ONSTITUTION and actually have both sides listen.

yep, interesting times ahead alright GG..

When you talk about snitches from my redneck perspective I can tell you that a snitch is a coward and if one snitch bites the dust through 2X4 or fist up the side of the head until pulpy, the others run away to hide. Examples can be great teaching tools. In any neighborhood we all know who the snitches would be and they would be the first visit. The very first with pleasure.

But right now

I’m more concerned with states rights and the Constitution than any other problem we face including drugs. America is more important than drug issues or sports drugging issues. We are all at a tipping point.

It is time to secure the states back to a more sovereign standing intended in The Articles of Confederation and The Constitution and end the monopoly of power the Feds were never intended to hold. The states should grow some nads and take the lead as the wording is with them just not the will as of yet. A few states are now grumbling and rumbling but not enough as of yet.

The next 12 full months will be interesting especially if we have another Katrina type storm that piles another buck on top of the $4 gas expected in spring added to higher food prices and the credit fiasco.

Will we see anger or whimpering as usual? Will we see actions or empty words?
Will it simmer or boil over?

Who knows? But it will be something that Washington as usual cannot handle.
Too many fools in office these days.

GG

you can also look at it economically:

we all have differing amounts of emotional capital to play with, which we can spend on ourselves or invest in others to multiply it: find out their interests and nurture them; culltivate their happiness then bask in their smiles. even when you’re down, one or more of them will be up because of your efforts. think of it as a hedge against depression. it’s like happiness in the bank.. in gold of course ;)

dj’ing’s like that too; you see what they’re responding to and it’s a give-and-take; you rock, they respond, you rock harder – it’s an upward spiral – and when a bunch of people are getting off together, it increases the O by orders of magnitude. i love raves.. well, until Burridge’s boys arrive anyway.. bust people on your *own* dime Burridge! (Burridge can you spare a dime?)

mental health is really about feeling empowered, and if we surrender excessive power to government out of fear of our neighbors, it eventually grows into something that diminishes
us all in countless unintended ways. government decreases individual power which is why too much of it messes us up. they say that Total Surveillance ™ will not only fight terrorism but will also help win the drug war, and that only a total police state can cleanse the scourge. but i’m a little worried about Bob these days..

or we could take *back* our power and rebuild community: when
everyone’s sharing each *other’s* power instead of being wired into some central nerve center (special dime rate for snitches) and sucking on *it’s* boobie, then no-one’s “all powerful” and we’re *all* powerful. united we stand..

now for Bob’s sake, let’s bare those boobies and get to work!

and yea GG you’re a polemicist alright. i like that. run those concepts up the flagpole and if they can’t stand the wind they ain’t fit to fly.. sa-lute!

Apologies for the length.

I think to keep one’s life in perspective it is often best to set your own definitions of what happiness is to you and what success is to you bearing in mind that if you set the bar in a somewhat static nature these things are achievable, yet if you make those things dependent on floating rules, you could never reach personal nirvana.

I see folks all of the time get what they want and in a short time cast off the success by saying something like; “I would be happy if blank would happen” or “If I only had this or that or if…”. No one can ever be happy for long when they keep moving the happiness or success bar up constantly. It’s self-defeating.

Every person needs to define what success or happiness is and keep the definition that is most supportive of happiness and logic. Either we help ourselves get through life or we destroy ourselves along the way becoming bitter or beaten and I note that No person is ever any more than what they tend to pay attention to the most. What we give power to mentally determines everything in our lives.

The personal self-destruction of my past had to morph into what works for Glen to survive and get something of life worth having and sharing with others so I reinvented Glen to become the type of person first whom I wanted to marry or do business with or be a neighbor of. In doing that it insured that the things mirrored back to me would be mostly of a similar quality. We generally get as we give and in my marriage and my business dealings I have found this to be 90% true over the last 20 years.

There is far more in giving than getting that is supportive of happiness. Folks who volunteer in the community get high off of giving. It is a unique experience to lighten another person’s load and add to their lives value.

Yes, some folks disappoint but so what? We move on and know that we are not responsible for the thoughts and actions of others. We simply chose not to deal with them again where appropriate. We bounce back or recover–move on.

Personal success to me is having a wife in my life who by her own choice not only loves me but is proud of me, my efforts and I wholly feel the same about her. We often become the person that our loved one’s expect us to be. This will keep a person in reasonable line and live up to things not wanting to disappoint those we love. It becomes self-feeding by habit of agenda. I think of her first in everything as she does think of me first in all things. I’m not her boss, nor her my boss. We are equals. This is just what works best for us. An example of our functionality choices.

Others make different choices that must be respected as well. What works for you is what matters. Invent such a thing and stick to it.

Financial success to me is paying all bills the very day they arrive and they hit the mail the next day always for twenty years. It is saving and investing first off the top of the gross without fail and having things set reasonably where that can always happen. I make a promise I keep it no excuses.

That’s how I want to be treated always so I do it first. No one’s ethics are my responsibility, but mine are my responsibility so I am super careful I can do what I say I will. This leaves me guilt free and guilt free supports happiness.

When the important stuff has been addressed I opt for pleasure knowing that what I do is of no risk to our future and I can fully enjoy myself without nagging feelings to screw it up. As humans we tend to worry of the things more of what we didn’t do than what we did do and for me I do not enjoy any boulders hanging over my head to screw up our fun.

Happiness is often just a matter of freeing one’s self from lifestyles that are unworkable or worrisome habitually. Without care and evaluation folks can get stuck in or with things that do not leave ample room for new expressions or even sunshine to get in. The time we have stress free is the valuable time to make love, relate to each other and enjoy just being together as friends.

I try to make our lives about the fun stuff like running the ATVs, hiking or boating or travel or even couch time with popcorn and a favorite on TV with a hug and the fireplace crackling, or any number of things we both enjoy. Isn’t that why I married her? Those things are keepers. Quality time daily. It keeps love alive. Love is supportive of happiness. It is warmth that humans crave. Give it freely to those in your life.

Lastly but most probably First Really! Gratitude and acceptance for everything in my life no matter what. Problems are opportunities to learn and grow. When we extend ourselves to solve problems it empowers us fully and we learn from that making us more than what we were.

When I have a problem I ask myself “What is so good about this?” In that way I immediately defeat defeatism itself and empower myself to come up with answers without stalling out or wasting time. I just go to it.

When a person asks “Why me?” their mind will come up with crummy defeating answers that lead to no where. Cast that one aside for the crap it is. I’d rather empower myself to move through it and learn in the process. This expands my sphere of experience and influence. I learn instead of regress.

Gratitude is being happy for all I have today and acknowleging it daily. I am happy where I live today, who is in my life today, my situation today, my problems today, what is mine today, what my dreams are today. And today is each and every day for the last 20 years dependent on nothing.

This empowers me and allows me the attitude to feel grace in my life and peace and thereby calm the waters of those who mean so much to me when needed. I am now available for whatever and not self-absorbed or unreachable. I am here. I am ready. That’s what folks want to have. An ear, a shoulder, a hug or just a presence.

It is not what others can do for me that I center on. It is what I can do for others in my life that I center on because in that my needs do somehow always get met. I think it is a mirror effect. You get as you give.

But this again is just what works for me and my closest given as a humble example of a point of view. Take what you will or scrap it all.

GG
As for my sometimes tone, I have done the podium thing
which requires strong emphasis. How I speak and write
become the same and I do try for thinking reactions from whom
I speak to..prod exchanges. It’s just so me. If I make others
feel nothing then what is the good of it? Wasted air, wasted time.
Who likes speakers that are milktoast droids that put you to sleep?

*slipshift*

i crave the night but dread the sunlight it’s not funlight my car don’t run right when sweaty palm slips off the shifter it’s enough to make ya throw a lifter nailed Christ to a cross but me to a cortex i love tv but hold the gortex -28

my dj handle, susan 28, is all about balance. i took my b-day, 28, 2+8=10, drop the zero for a life number of 1, a singularity (i smiled knowingly). but i needed something more. something limitless. so i heresied the pagan system by dropping the 1 for a life number of zero -

mathematically, something signifying nothing; valueless, yet infinite; able to encompass alpha, omega, and all points in between: oblivion. philosophically, the place where up/down, good/bad, pleasure/pain, existence/nonexistence become one and the same: Zen. musically, a sonic environment so enveloping that you lose yourself in it, and return to the Source: Bliss.

the movie “Pi” explores this, great flick scored by someone i used to spin with years ago. you’d love the ending. very Bob. i won’t spoil it for you but if you watch it, you’ll say “figures susan would like this”, and when you see the ending, you’ll know why i know you like it, and enjoy your little victory :P

no worries GG ;)

Thanks for the answer and I will continue to give your points some deeper thought and weight.

I apologize for being wholly obstinate even though I admit that is my nature when my brain really kicks into overdrive as I read.

GG

Michael Hampton

The foot I inserted in my mouth today was not all that tastey and it never is. My apologies Sir blaming you for the typical electronic mayhem known to all servers.

GG
I shall now don my hair shirt and flog the piss out of myself as I chant “All Praises Be To Michael” 10001 times.

You’re making it too complicated Susan. You’ve got to get out in the bush once in awhile. Grow a garden. I hear you talking about your DJ triumphs. It feels good to be proud of something doesn’t it? It’s not all bad. It’s balanced, you’re just not seeing all the good.

It is what it is. It’s just as easy to appreciate it and enjoy it. You, get up in the morning and puke because of the horror of it all, but somewhere out there is someone getting up, throwing open their window and singing “Good morning America, how are ya?! Whoo hoo!” (I’m sure of it because of the balance thing.) It’s the same world for both of you, just different ways of looking at it.
Lighten up girl.

Three or four days ago, I had that thought you mentioned about ignorance and knowing all. If ignorance is bliss, then the balance logic would dictate that the other end of the scale is bliss too. Just the space in between that’s tough. Didn’t write it down, I guess you beat me to it. It’s a good thought.

28

>how will giving them more readily legal drugs helps that situation? How?

it will reduce the harms associated with their use and sale with controls that can only be implemented in a legal regulatory framework, bringing it into the light of day.

> What is so horrible about reality that escape is necessary?

that’s very subjective so i can only answer for myself but *cannot* answer in 3 or 4 lines but we need to put this thing to bed.

my answer is the very fabric of our carnal reality itself. nature red in tooth and claw. it’s brutally efficient, but cold and indifferent from an objective standpoint. it has its perks but undrlying it all is sheer horrific brutality. it scares the living daylights outta me every day the moment i become conscious and i scramble for some kind of solace, some understanding, some anchor as the cold chill sweeps over me down the backs of my palms and into the pit of my stomach. i go to the bathroom and vomit. this has been my morning ritual since childhood, which pot used to ease, but now that i’m au-naturale it’s back to business as usual.

i have Asperger’s syndrome which makes me hyper-sensitive and hyper-aware, but without the ability to create cozy abstractions to climb into. i see life without the rose-coloured glasses. it gives insight, but is hard to take sometimes.

this is why i coined the phrase, “having children is like shooting craps with somoene else’s money”, because you bring them here (roll the dice) but they’re the ones that pay if it comes up snake eyes.

it’s usually argued that parents want something to love, to “give life” to, that they plan for their kids to be happy, but we know those are just instincts to which they’re submitting, it’s gratifying a deep-seated need in them, which is why i commend you so for denying yourself the fulfillemnt of that need. it’s the most noble thing i’ve ever heard.

but let’s go with the “we meant well” thing. ok: you have a billion in gold in a safe (metaphor for “things are just fine the way they are”, ie: unborn, uncreated). then a well-meaning friend gets a hot horse tip, (“hey, let’s have a kid, it’ll be great, we’ll give them all the advantages and lots of love”), and he does you the “favour” of betting your billion (the zen serenity of non-existence) on the horse.

the horse may win or lose, but the fact is they put you at risk simply by placing the bet. speaking only for myself, i’d be furious with that friend either way, but doubly so if the horse lost (i’m born paralysed, or life just deals me blows that were beyond my control).

now say the friend says we have alot of nerve being angry, and if the horse loses, blames *us* for “not having the right attitude” about the bet. the bet whose collateral was something we were quite content with and were incapable, at that time, of conceiving any improvements on, til someone dragged us out of security and into the casino.

and the terrible empathy of it all.. i look out into the world and my heart breaks. all of nature seems designed by a machiavellian sadist who gives us just enough carrot to make us chase, and whips us if that doesn’t work. gives us
“things to live for”, but makes life itself excruciating and confounding while at the same time causing us to form bonds that make it hard to break away, and survival instinct that is hard to overcome, even if we “philosophically” wish not to exist, the doing is not so simple. the only way out is never to have been brought in.

hence my horror at the sheer inevitability and regimen of things, things which i could’ve been spared, but for someone’s “desire to give”. or “love”. it’s the most selfish and egotistical act anyone can commit, worse than any constituent part of life itself, because it is the very instrument of their propagation – their “vehicle” if you will.. don’t get into that Black Sedan!

there is also the sheer mystery of it. such powerful forces we can’t really comprehend but are at the mercy of. the fear of the unknown. absolute knowledge would be fine, as would absolute ignorance, but the middle ground is just Hell. and since we’re robbed of absolute ignorance once here, i desire as much knowledge as possible, and that only comes from experience, from pushing the envelope, because there is no torment like mediocrity.

in short, “existential angst”.

drugs can put you in a world of hurt, but when your CNS is lit up like a christmas tree, there is perspective in that, information you just can’t get anywhere else, and sometimes a brief respite, “time out of mind”, as Steely Dan said in
“chase the dragon”. it’s priceless, and that’s why “risk” arguments will continue to be ineffectivew for disuading the determined, as will punishment. *any* punishment.

and i’m not extra-human. this bottomless pit exists in all of us. watch the movie “nature of the beast”. the junkie’s speech near the end of it says it all. it’s a human thing, not a susan thing. susan’s just a lil sensitive, which is why her music affects people so powerfully. she is a shaman, and that’s never a fun job, though it is very profound.

> What is it about your day or anyone’s day that cannot be handled?

see above.

What is missing in your life that you chose to replace with a substance?

knowledge, perspective, understanding. a feeling of well-being, which i contend is *always* an illusion, and at least inducing it with a drug acknowledges that, and to that extent, gives you some hands-on control of your perspective, even if short-lived or ultimately self-destructive. done purposefully, it is a simple matter of cost-benefit analysis.

>Nature hates avoid Susan. what void are you suggesting that drugs fill for YOU or others?

Nature IS a void. *everything* – love, hate, pleasure, pain and most ludicrous of all “meaning”, is an attempt to fill that void. what you fill it with is just semantics and has no objective value other than the Pain/pleasure nexus you describe below, the final “pipeline” of feeling.

>why would anyone choose death over life?

peace.

>sickness over health

experience. see first answer. but as i said there’s a crucible and that varies with the individual. poor health usually hurts so that must be weighed in. is the experience worth it? was it better than poor health is bad?

>risk their kid’s mentality or wellbeing just to get high or the safety of others or even spend the money?

it’s not nice to risk the safety of others (like by birthing them for instnance). precautions should always be taken to minimise that risk to others. parents have an extra burden in that respect. you owe your kids an unpayable debt. your life is no longer your own and anythng that affects your ability to support them is breach of contract, enforceable if you default.

i wouldn’t prohibit parents from using, but would support stronger penalties for abandonment, neglect etc in cases involving voluntary potentially disabling activites, just as even in areas without seatbelt laws, insurance can pay less if you’re injured.

> If you lose someone to this not by their own doing, but by the doing of some high fool who had a momentary lapse you might put that other shoe on and take a stroll in it for a while. It hurts a lot and I ask if legal or not legal matters in ruining lives?

i can’t even imagine the horror of what you’ve been through, GG. all i can say is non-criminal regulation will bring it all more out in the open and make such situations easier for people in a position to help to see coming. one way or another the drugs aren’t going away. i say bring users in from the cold.

>hurting kids like I was hurt was out of the question. Even then it was a question of “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” I didn’t like it, why would they?

you’re a saint, GG.. all any of us really have as a compass is our own experience. my observation is that Nature gets around to everyone eventually, and to go from oblivion to consciousness back to oblivion again seems inefficient at best, horrific at worst, so i say it’s a sucker bet. but i’m not really wired for subjectivity, i had to learn it. “projecting value” onto things doesn’t really come naturally to me, i’m more of a conduit and very reactionary. i process, i don’t originate, like constructing musical sets from other people’s records. life just looks like an absurd movie to me. one which i prefer to keep at arms’ length as an observer/communicator. but i don’t give high marks to the human drama, or Nature en toto.
>
> Psychology tells us that humans will only do anything for two reasons.
> 1. Gain Pleasure 2. Avoid Pain.
> (Which are you attempting to do?)

BOTH! mostly avoid Pain (yeah, capitalise that bad boy), but i figure if imma have to endure Pain, i’m gonna take out payment in the currency of pleasure. but pleasure’s about as solvent as the dollar. we’ve evolved a negative-feedback system in the brain which always regulates us back to a baseline emotional setting that’s fixed at birth, which is why drugs can never be the panacea we wish they could be, and what causes that “crash” after any high. it’s your body punishing you for trying to actually *eat* the carrot instead of just chasing it. The Hedonistic Imperative, an apology for transhumanism, argues for the modification of this circuit to grenetically raise that baseline and minimise
the capacity for Pain, duplicating its functionality with less nasty mechanisms. it’s the only thing i can possibly imagine making procreation even remotely moral, if your notion of immorality is placing someone in a situation where Pain is inevitable, whch is infact my stance. i am a negative utilitarian, which means i assign value to Pain minimisation over pleasure potential. with the exception of pot, most drugs are a bad value in that respect, but the unique pleasure and knowledge gained therein was worth it to me on a limited basis. been there done that outgrew the t-shirt, even the pot one.
>
> In comfort we do little.

yeah… good stuff, that.. worked my whole life to get to a place where i could just retire to my corner and watch the movie til the curtain raised. my path was just one way here, but it worked for me, and i’m darn glad for those that enabled me along the way. i gave a major corporation a critical infrastructure. i’ve given the world some stunning, life-transforming dj sets (a dj saved my life in 1984 and i’ve been paying it forward ever since), and have given aid to the needy as i’ve encountered them to the best of my ability. if there’s a final judgment, i’m ready for it. God don’t like me, screw him. i’ll go to Hell with the rest of the rejects who couldn’t accept creaturehood.

> Life is doing or not doing things and those things are 100% our choice all outcomes our baby no excuses Susan.

none given, my friend, none given. i stand on my record.