The Uncomfortable Truth

Once again, the California legislature is considering a bill to legalize the growing of hemp. Once again, the governor will need to decide if the people or private interests will gain.
For the uninitiated, hemp is the more productive cousin of marijuana. They both carry the scientific name, cannabis sativa, but genes are about all they have in common.
Marijuana is proven to treat a variety of ailments, and is capable of producing a non-violent, non-hangover-inducing high—unlike alcohol. Although, “paranoia may destroy ya.”
Hemp has hundreds—some claim thousands—of uses. It does double duty for the environment both as a commercial crop and in the production of its products. One modest example is when it is grown for clothing: It requires no pesticides to grow, and fewer chemicals to transform it into fabric.
This is one of the reasons it faces a veto from the governor.
Back when I was an undergraduate at Chico State, the farm planted an experimental cotton field. Being employed at the farm, I learned that one pound of a certain pesticide—I cannot recall the name—cost 1100 dollars! True, it did treat the entire 10-acre field, but how many pounds of that stuff are sold every year? The Agricultural Water Quality Alliance reports that in 2004, 780,000 acres of cotton were planted. How much do you want to bet that the pesticide companies don’t want to see hemp legalized?
Further, people were not allowed to enter the field for three weeks. How good is that for the planet?
Last year, I blasted the governor in this space because of his veto of similar legislation. As I recall, his veto message spoke of County Sheriffs who did not want clandestine marijuana growers camouflaging their product by hiding it in a hemp field.
This is proof that, either
A The governor thinks we are stupid. Or,
B Those sheriff’s are crooks. Or,
C The governor is a liar—and a crook, too. Or,
D All of the above.
What makes marijuana and hemp different is the amount of THC each contains. Again, for the uninitiated, THC—tetrahydracannibinol—is the ingredient in marijuana that gets people high, as well as curing their ailments.
A little horticulture lesson here:
Cannabis is a dioecious plant, requiring both a male and female for reproduction. It is wind-pollinated. Marijuana is the female flowering tops of the plant. Without a male plant in proximity, the female will secrete THC-containing resins to catch any pollen that might float by on the wind. The longer the female goes without pollination, the more THC she will secrete. It is not unheard of for a female plant to be fertilized by a male at a distance measured in miles. Marijuana cultivation absolutely requires the absence of pollination sources.
You know what happens when you plant marijuana in a hemp field? You get more hemp.
So why would sheriffs in this state oppose hemp? Wouldn’t it make their jobs easier?
Did some sheriffs really tell the governor that? If so, there is only one reason for them to oppose hemp: Someone is paying them money to look the other way when it comes to marijuana production.
Many private interests will gain if the governor again vetoes hemp. The people of California will gain if he signs the bill.
I wonder what he will do.

Posted by Quentin Colgan at 06:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from a friend of mine inviting me down to Children’s Park today. He wanted me to hold up a sign. If you have driven by the park in the evenings, you have seen the people there, holding up signs that say, “Honk for Impeachment,” etc.
Today, being the anniversary of 9/11, I decided to join my friend who is a member of 9/11 truth.org. At first, I was reticent. I figured today would be a day of passions, and I was worried that some dittohead might attack us. Then I realized, what day would be better for spreading the word?
The word is that President Bush knew the attacks on America were going to happen. The word is that there is no way on God’s green Earth an airplane could have hit a skyscraper, and make it fall straight down without tipping over. The word is that WTC 7—where the infamous Ken Lay kept his records—and which was untouched by anything substantial, was brought down with explosives.
I use to dismiss those conspiracy claims, telling myself there was not enough information. Then something changed my mind. I watched this video Click HERE to view). Isn’t it amazing that the BBC would report the building falling twenty minutes before it did? It’s a cute video. There’s the erstwhile reporter reporting on the collapse with the building still standing in the background behind her (by her left ear).
Yeah, nothing phony going on there!
As I held my sign, several people smiled at me in a shy way—almost as if they were afraid to agree.
That’s when it hit me.
Many people believe there’s more to 9/11 than what the government is telling us. They are just afraid to admit it.
And why not?
Who wants to be labeled a kook? Or even worse, a whacko conspiracy theorist?
There are also people who steadfastly--almost religiously--refuse to believe their government could do this to them. I am beginning to understand their motivations too.
How painful would it be to admit that awful truth?
Imagine how hard it would be to admit that the country you loved all your life lied to you? When I came to the realization that there are people in this Administration who care nothing about sacrificing Americans for their selfish goals, I felt eviscerated. If you were to discover that, wouldn’t that shatter "the dream?"--whatever that phrase means to you. Wouldn’t that rattle you? If you could no longer have faith in your country’s leadership, what else might you lose faith in? Mom? Apple pie?
Seriously though, there is also the fact that it's just plain easier to believe than to doubt. Certainty is easy because it requires no effort. Doubt, being infinte, requires tremendous effort.
Doubt requires more courage and energy than certainty, because you can rest on your convictions. You cannot rest on doubt.
Make the effort.
Explore your doubts.
Question what happened on this tragic day.
If the truth pains you, find some way to deal with it.
And then, take action.
If we let them get away with 9/11, what will they destroy next?

Posted by Quentin Colgan at 08:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)