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A clip in this psychoanalysis lecture that made me think: "the past only matters in the degree that it continues into the present."

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxX9wQ_3B3Ee33oJEh5Vav74RmnbYWApvP?si=JPVsOyFe1mHS_XgC

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Here is the Process to Obtain a Medical Marijuana License in FLorida

Are you a Florida resident and considering applying for a license to use CBD and/or THC products?

Here are the steps and the annual expenses.....

Florida rule 64-4.011, F.A.C. is governed by The Florida Department of Health. It requires all patients and legal representatives to have a valid Compassionate Use Registry identification card to obtain low-THC medical cannabis, either at a state-licensed dispensary or a cannabis delivery device.

To begin the process, you must visit a doctor who has met qualifications as required under 381.986(10)(e). You must submit releases for medical records from physicians who previously made your applicable diagnosis. Those records must show that all “legal treatments available” have previously been tried and have not been successful in treatment. The doctor discusses the various delivery options allowed under current Florida laws. Oddly smoking the actual plant is still an illegal act in Florida. The ONLY legal methods of ingestion are tinctures, oils, nasal sprays, or vaporization. The cost of the initial certification is around $250.

Only after the MM specialist confirms your medical necessity does he enter your name on the Compassionate Use Registry. Once you are on that list, you must apply for a Compassionate Use Registry identification card through the Florida Department of Health, Each application requires a registration fee of $75.

Your initial appointment with the certifying doctor begins a 30-week timer.

New patients must return for an office visit within 90-days of their initial certification appointment for the doctor to evaluate if the medication is making a significant improvement to the qualifying condition. Patients must be seen for an in-person examination a minimum of once every 30 weeks. The cost of each of these visits is $100.

Compassionate Use Registry identification cards remain active with the Florida Department of Health for one year. Upon that yearly anniversary, you must AGAIN pay the $75 fee.

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David Bowie’s not dead, he’s just gone back to the labyrinth.

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"In Washington they have racked up enough endictments to field a football team. Nobody in my administration got indicted."

(former) President Barak Obama

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Getting a Handle on Gun Violence

I totally agree with the axiom “Guns don’t kill people. People do.” Firearms are extremely important for things like hunting and self-defense, but they can only keep you safe if you handle them safely. If you buy a firearm for home defense but someone gets hurt or killed because you were careless with it, then it would have been better if you’d never bought one in the first place.

When I was a process server, it was suggested that I get a weapon (”Get something small that you can hide easily”). Before even looking at possible purchases, I decided to take a two-day, sixteen-hour course to earn a concealed carry license. The class was taught by a retired Colonel and a retired police Lieutenant. The first thing we did was take a test on gun laws and their safe use. No one passed "with flying colors."

The first four hours consisted of current laws in Florida regarding weapons use and ownership. During the rest of the day, we became familiar with various weapons and ammunition. Then we took a second written test. No one failed that one...

All eight hours of the next day were spent at the range. We actually USED different types of guns. We loaded them. We unloaded them. We were taught the importance of regular cleaning after every use and were taught the basics of cleaning one. Then we had several HOURS of target practice. 

If you are a gun owner, did you get a concealed carry permit at a "gun show"? How long was the whole course? Did you have to pass a written test BEFORE you were allowed to use one during that course? Did you become familiar with more than one type of weapon, with different kinds of ammunition? Did you practice firing more than once or twice?

My training was way more extensive than what is taught at a gun show class. Even though it has been many years since I had a valid need to carry a concealed weapon, I still am aware of fundamental weapons safety tips. They should be practiced over and over until they become second nature. Here are a few non-radical, sensible things I remember.

Basic Gun Safety Tips

Handle your gun as if it is always loaded. Remember, accidents frequently happen when someone is absolutely sure their firearm is unloaded; everyone makes mistakes.

Only point your gun at what you want to shoot. Even if you think your gun is unloaded, never point it at anything or anyone you don’t want to punch a deadly hole into.

Until you are ready to actually squeeze a round off, don’t put your finger on the trigger.

Never fire at something you haven’t completely identified.

Know the type of material your bullet will be striking. Hard surfaces that bullets might ricochet off of should be avoided as targets.

Don’t depend on your gun’s safety mechanism. Keep the safety on until you are absolutely ready to fire. Regardless of the position of the safety, any blow or jar strong enough to actuate the firing mechanism of a gun can cause it to fire. This can happen even if the trigger is not touched, such as when a gun is dropped.

Become familiar with your weapon. Know how to disassemble and reassemble it. Know what parts are the most likely to malfunction. Know how your weapon is sighted. Know what types of ammunition it can safely fire. Know its range and its capabilities.

Always clean your gun after use. This allows for optimal firing conditions. If you neglect this process long enough, it can impede the firing process and even cause unsafe conditions.

Never fire ammunition your gun isn’t meant to fire. Some weapons can fire multiple types of rounds safely (for example, a rifle chambered in 5.56 ammunition can also fire .223 rounds, but not vice versa).

Make sure your ammunition isn’t out of date. God forbid, if you are in a survival situation where normal society no longer functions properly, you may have to rely on old ammunition. To protect your ammo in the long term, always store it in a cool, dry area, preferably in a sealed container.

Handle a misfire properly. If your weapon misfires, don’t confront the issue immediately. Keep your weapon aimed at the target for half a minute or so to make sure the problem isn’t a delayed fire. Once you’ve waited, carefully remove the faulty ammunition and check it for signs of malfunction. Make sure there is no obstruction remaining in the barrel of your gun.

Decide what type of weapon you are comfortable with and practice with it BEFORE you buy it. Much of gun safety comes down to getting the right weapon for YOU. The weapon you feel the most comfortable with should be your go-to weapon. In addition, consider if you want to carry your weapon with a round in the chamber or not.  There are advantages and disadvantages to keeping your gun unloaded when not in use. In a survival situation, this would be less than practical. Obviously having a round chambered allows for quicker reaction time but reduced safety, while not having one chambered is safer but slower to engage.

Practice shooting as often as you can. Keep your muscles in shooting shape. Practice firing under duress. Shooting in a life-or-death situation is extremely stressful, and the first thing to go in these scenarios is fine motor skills. Practicing often will improve your muscle memory and help you react more accurately in these situations.

Life and Death Decisions

A person who can't pass a driver's license test should NEVER drive any vehicle. Why is there not a necessity for comprehensive education before a person can be licensed to own a weapon? The license should have an expiration date after which he or she would be re-tested to determine their awareness of laws concerning weapons that have changed since they got their license. Before you go batshit crazy, there are very valid reasons to keep up with new laws, new weapons, new technology. Any field that involves life and death decisions mandates fulfillment of continuing education. Just to sell you a house when I was a realtor I was required to complete 36 hours of Commission-approved continuing education during each four year renewal period, including three hours on the topic of License Law. Would you even frequent a beautician who never goes to conventions to take classes to learn how to cut the new styles? 

No, guns don’t kill people the fact remains that uneducated gun users do take many lives.

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Why is Japan's rate of violent crimes so low?

Just read a post relating Japan's exceptionally low levels of crime. The country has 127 million people yet violent street crime is almost unheard of.

According to data released by the Japanese National Police Agency earlier this month, the number of recorded violent crimes fell to the lowest level since the postwar era.

That came as the nation’s economy had its longest run of sustained growth in almost 30 years, which drove the unemployment rate down to 2.8 percent.

Because I found these figures astounding, I needed to see the parallax views; i.e., both sides.

First, I verified the figures. According to the current U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory, it is an undisputed fact that Japan has achieved a remarkably safe society compared to other industrialized countries.

Now let's talk guns. Japan's gun homicide rate is 0.01 per 100,000 people, while America's rate is 3.5 — 350 times the rate of Japan.

Their system for a person to own a gun is one that I have advocated for years. Japan has what members of the N.R.A. would consider incredibly strict gun laws. The Japanese government mandates that its people undergo a rigorous series of written, background, drug, and mental tests as well as annual reviews in order to own a weapon in the country.

So what factors account for their low rate vs. America's high rate?

There is an obvious cultural contrast between Japan and America: their culture values personal integrity and respect towards people. Their universal code of conduct includes loyalty, courage, humility, forbearance, generosity, and self-control. The Japanese people highly value harmony and especially dignity and honor. Going to prison is an unimaginable social stigma for most Japanese.

This is very unlike many of America's generation Z. They have been raised in a culture that values personal wealth, education, freedom, happiness, and health, while glorifying violence. In Japan however, peace, getting along, cooperation within their community, reverence for life, manners, nature and their environment top their list of values.

Also according to chief economist Akiyoshi Takumo, "The economic recovery is helping crimes go down. The need to steal goes down when you have a secure job."

O.K. Although their rate of violent crimes IS rare, behind Japan's low crime rates are some very troubling criminal justice practices.

Interrogations in Japan can be very stressful. Ordinary criminal suspects may be held for up to 23 days without being charged. While legal representation is both available and advisable when Americans are questioned, in Japan access to defense lawyers during the time they are being held is limited or non-existent.

Also another consideration is that Japan's criminal justice system is built to rely largely on confessions. Consequently, prosecutors put a lot of pressure on the police to extract confessions. Investigative techniques forbidden by American authorities are used routinely in Japan to force suspects to falsely confess, just to stop the torture. And Japanese judges rarely question whether confessions really are voluntary. (Yet their rate of incarceration is 13 times LOWER than in the US).

And lastly, although all these factors have created a very low incidence of violent crime in Japan, they have their share of drug trafficking, possession, burglary, and larceny. And recently there has been an increase in a crime that has plagued Americans for years: so-called "grandparent scams". And contradicting the "Me too" movement in America, sexual assaults are said to be widespread and severely underreported.

So before you quote an amazing statistic, investigate the myriad factors determining the factors upon which you draw your conclusions.

Just sayin'....

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My cousin Cindy Perry, a very versatile singer, musician, artist, jewelry maker, created this collage for my b-day. After the 1s shot R close-ups.

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Vladimir Putin is an extremely dangerous monster.

Denis Voronenkov, a former Russian Communist Party member who began sharply criticizing Putin after fleeing Russia in 2016, an "act of state terrorism by Russia.”

Boris Nemtsov, deputy prime minister. In Feb. 2015, just hours after urging the public to join a march against Russia's military involvement in Ukraine, Nemtsov was shot four times in the back by an unknown assailant within view of the Kremlin. Putin took "personal control" of the investigation into Nemtsov's murder, but the killer remains at large.

Boris Berezovsky’s  falling out with Putin led to his self-exile in the United Kingdom, where he vowed to bring down the president. He also accused the Kremlin of orchestrating the killing of Alexander Litvinenko, a former intelligence officer and whistleblower poisoned to death in 2009. Berezovsky was found dead inside a locked bathroom at his home in the United Kingdom, a noose around his neck, in what was at first deemed a suicide. However, the coroner's office could not determine the cause of death.

Stanislav Markelov was a human rights lawyer known for representing Chechen civilians in human rights cases again the Russian military. He also represented journalists who found themselves in legal trouble after writing articles critical of Putin, including Novaya Gazeta reporter Anna Politkovskaya, who was slain in 2006. Markelov was shot by a masked gunman near the Kremlin.

Sergei Magnitsky had been working for British-American businessman William Browder to investigate a massive tax fraud case. Magnitsky was allegedly arrested after uncovering evidence suggesting that police officials were behind the fraud.  He died in police custody in November 2009 after being brutally beaten, then denied medical care. 

Natalya Estemirova was a journalist who investigated abductions and murders that had become commonplace in Chechnya. Estemirova was kidnapped outside her home, shot several times - including a point-blank shot in the head - and dumped in the nearby woods.

Anna Politkovskaya was a Russian reporter for Novaya Gazeta whose book, "Putin's Russia," accused the Kremlin leader of turning the country into a police state. She wrote extensively about abuse in Chechnya, and once or twice appeared on radio shows in Moscow with me. She was shot at point-blank range in an elevator in her building.

Alexander Litvinenko was a former KGB agent who died three weeks after drinking a cup of tea laced with deadly polonium-210 at a London hotel. A British inquiry found that Litvinenko was poisoned by Russian agents Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, who were acting on orders that had "probably been approved by President Putin." Russia refused to extradite them, and in 2015 the Russian president granted Lugovoi a medal for "services to the motherland." Litvinenko also accused Putin ordering the murder of Politkovskaya.

Sergei Yushenkov was gathering evidence he believed proved that the Putin government was behind one of the apartment bombings in 1999. Sergei Yushenkov had just registered his Liberal Russia movement as a political party when he was gunned down outside his home in Moscow. 

Yuri Shchekochikhin, a journalist and author who wrote about crime and corruption in the former Soviet Union. He was investigating the 1999 apartment bombings for Novaya Gazeta when he contracted a mysterious illness in July 2003. He died suddenly, a few days before he was supposed to depart for the United States. His medical documents were deemed classified by Russian authorities.

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You Would Have to Pay Extra for Irregular Periods? O.K., quick glimpse into a lady’s life: every period is an irregular period. It’s not like a paycheck that arrives on the same day every month. Your period is more like an outdoor cat. You know it’s gonna come back at some point, but you’re not positive when, and you have no idea what it’s gonna have in its mouth....

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Hoyer needed for handicapped woman.

My mother has been wheelchair bound for 22 years. She only has one hip, so transferring from her chair to the toilet, her bed, or the car is very, very difficult. She needs a Hoyer lift to make these transitions. Also, we don't have a lift on the car, so she uses a twelve year old manual chair in public that is even more dangerous to transfer to and from. A new manual chair would really help with car transfers.

Mother weighs over 250 lbs., and only has the use of one leg, which is beginning to get really weak. Recently, when she fell, she hurt her one "good" leg. For two weeks, she was TOTALLY bed bound. She couldn't even get to the toilet. She IS older, but her mind is sharp as a tack. She deserves basic mobility, instead of being confined to a bed for the rest of her life, don’t you agree?

Please give her the chance to go to doctor’s appointments, and maybe the library. She has absolutely no life as it is.

Time is of the essence because she has fallen down four times in the last five months. Each time, the paramedics have to come to pick her up. Three times she has been hospitalized from these falls. She fell yesterday and half her face is bruised. We would be so very grateful for your consideration of her plight.

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definition and qualities of fascism

The Merriam-Webster definition of fascism is a political system headed by a dictator in which the government controls business and labor and opposition is not permitted. 

The qualities include

Nationalism

Totalitarianism

Anti-democratic thought

One-party state

Personality cult

Dictatorship

Militarism

Direct action

Mixed economy

Class collaboration

Third Position

New Man

Imperialism

Social order

You can do more research on this subject in an article by the esteemed author Karma Bennett. http://futureisfiction.com/what-is-fascism/

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After sweeping the Grammys, Adele did the “right” thing, with no assistance from Kanye.

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Cola Usage

We all know that soda drinks are “bad” for our body. For the same reasons, the ingredients in that can of cola are great for a myriad of uses.

To remove rust from chrome, dip a rag into it and then wipe down a rusty area. Then take a balled up piece of tinfoil and just use it to scrub away the rust!

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Are all calories the same?

I understand that 10% of calories are burned just by the process of eating. And I had always been told that all calories, whether steak or brownie, are the same.,

Turns out they aren’t My body doesn’t burn as many calories when digesting the carbs or fats as it does a protein. That’s because the protein is made up of large molecules, and my digestive system has to burn more calories to break them apart.

Example: to break down 100 calories from protein, my body burns about 30 calories. For 100 calories of carbs, the body burns about six to ten, and fats only burn up about three calories!