Bud-Bucks? Caribou Cannabis? Green Mountain Hemp? Dunkin Dope? Java Janes? Daily Chronic?

So it turns out that Amsterdam is coming to America. Legalizing marijuana (for "medicinal purposes" - though it is still banned federally) all but ensured this would happen eventually... well that time is now.

In a sort of "don't ask, don't tell" kind of way, the Cannabis Cafe is distributing medical marijuana and providing a room that is out of public sight for users to get toked, er treat their ailments together... over a cup of coffee, a snack and whatever else they need to cure their munchies... er, deal with the effects of their medical treatment. One day in the not too distant future the cafe plans to offer Cannabis Community College (too many jokes, I'll refrain) to educate their "medicated" constituents on the environmental benefits of hemp and how they can grow it themselves.

Seriously, for those that genuinely see the medical benefits of Pot, how does this benefit your cause? Why not have a Pharmacist on site to handout antibiotics, too? This way you can treat sinus infection and glaucoma AND treat your "case of the munchies" all at the same time.

I'm sorry, but for all the "benefits" medical marijuana may (or may not) have, this goes to show that it is nothing short of a step in the wrong direction. People are not as concerned with the science of Pot as they are the High. To guise a harmful drug as helpful (even if it is for certain symptoms or illnesses, it still presents users with other major health issues - not to mention it impairs their judgment) is dangerous and highly irresponsible.

LEGALIZE POT
Regarding the "people are going to do it anyway, why not legalize it?" argument (which is the real reason this cafe exists - the hobby of smoking weed), I will not waste much time on this other than to say - "really? That is your argument?" Let's see how that "people are gonna do it and it's fun" logic has worked out for the sexual revolution...

• Marriages are crumbling at record rates
• Pornography is everywhere now (and "sex addiction" is actually a real issue)
• STD's and unplanned pregnancies continue to climb (even with all those helpful "safe sex" school talks)
• Sexual appetites are such now that healthy, thriving monogamous marriage relationships are boring and inadequate (so they think) to meet their needs
• Fetishes are now the norm and the only things really out-of-bounds (for now at least) are things that will land you on the news and in jail (which is still not enough to deter most)

So yes, please - let's go ahead and make a harmful drug the next new norm, too and fight those conservative, disconnected, ignorant nut jobs who only want to suppress "natural desires and pleasures." They have no idea what they are talking about.

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The (In)Tolerance of the Movie "2012"

The movie "2012" opens this week and goes to great lengths to show the end of the world. Based on the idea that the Mayan calendar supposedly predicts the end of the world on December 21, 2012 (or December 23, depending on who you talk with), director Roland Emmerich and writer Harald Kloser bring Kennedy back to the White House (that would be the USS John F Kennedy aircraft carrier as it lands on top of the White House in a massive tsunami), crush people praying for salvation with the Vatican in Rome (irony anyone), and otherwise destroy the world as mankind fights for their survival. In terms of film making and carnage it appears to be a brilliant piece of work. In the preview, however, there is a curious theme that struck me (and was recently confirmed in an interview with director Roland Emmerich): it appears that Emmerich is not much of a fan of faith or religion, evidenced by the religious relics or institutions destroyed in the preview (most notably Christian ones).

One might argue "it's an end of the world movie - churches and statues and such are going to be destroyed." I agree and have no issue with that, however, I do have an issue with the fact that, once again, Christianity is the primary target and one faith group in particular is spared (on screen, at least) - Muslims. The Kaaba in Mecca (the most sacred site in Islam) is intentionally spared by the director (and his co-writer) so as to avoid any death threats similar to those received by the cartoonist in the Danish newspaper for portraying a caricature of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. It is not that he did not want to destroy the site, but fear for his life led him to consider otherwise. From his interview...

"We have to all...in the Western world... think about this," Emmerich says at one point, regarding his choice to destroy Catholic symbols rather than Muslim ones. "You can actually...let..Christian symbols fall apart"-- actually, the director destroys them, but that's a quibble -- "but if you would do this with [a Muslim] symbol, you would have...a fatwa, and that sounds a little bit like what the state of this world is. So it's just something which I kind of didn't [think] was [an] important element, anyway, in the film, so I kind of left it out."

I'm sorry, but this is plain cowardice. If the director is so bold so as to mock God, His people, and their faith then it would only seem logical that he follow through and finish his product. It was important to destroy Christian symbols, Christian worshippers and mock them for praying, why not extend that same courtesy to our Muslim neighbors, too?

As I've said before - this is the new tolerance: tolerate all, but Christianity. Mock them, loathe them, and destroy them cinematically... there are no problems. Talk bad about a Muslim, mock a Buddhist, loathe a spiritualist and you are nothing but a bigot. See my blog post on the Playstation 3 game "Little Big Planet" and this topic of "tolerance": Offensively Offensive.

Note: Outside of one Tibetan Buddhist monk being annihilated by a giant wave in the preview, I have no idea if Emmerich demonstrates his disdain for religion with any other faiths other than Christianity. The interview does not shed any light on this either as it speaks extensively about Christianity and Islam. One thing is clear, though - he has no problem slamming Christianity and some level of worry or issue with misrepresenting Islam.

PARENTS: This is another example of a director wrapping his personal thoughts, philosophies and beliefs of the world into a nice, tidy blockbuster package. The message this time: "even your faith can't save you" (or "your God is a sham and a stupid crutch"). The major problem we face as parents, however, is not the message but the subtlety (or not so subtletly) in which it is portrayed. As I've said before, the world's loudest philosophers today are movie directors and musicians and they sell a pretty tempting message to the novice listener - namely our children and teens. Use this movie as a way of talking about the communication of worldview. Take your teen (if they're capable of handling the mature subject matter and content) and following the film ask: "What do you think the director thought about religion?" or "How do you think this movies' portrayal of the end of the world compares to the Biblical account?"

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Still Out (Hopefully Back Soon)

As you can probably tell, I am still out. It turns out the chest congestion is actually pneumonia. I am up and about, but still coughing quite a bit and lethargic. I pray I will be back by Monday with regular updates and posts. There has been some crazy stuff happening in the world of "pop culture" that I have tons of thoughts on (some of which may not get their own blog post, depending on other cultural developments):

- Devout, Mormon moms making sexy calendars
- The movie 2012 and religious discrimination, er tolerance
- Education's (Mis)education
- Inmates rescuing a prison guard
- The New/Old Mickey Mouse
- ABC's FlashForward and Predestination

My mind has been racing, but due to health limitations have had no outlet! I look forward to returning soon. Until then...

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