I wanted to add a headline for this post but couldn’t figure out how to do it in short time. The headline was to be… Mail-order porn: a lesson for everyone?

I was reading the paper today and came across a story about a man named Phil Harvey who, with a master’s degree in family planning administration, opened up a simple mail-order catalog which later became the large, successful company that I’m sure you’re all familiar with, Adam & Eve.

With his earnings, he and his partner have started a few non-profits that offer ‘social marketing’ of condoms, birth control pills, and other contraceptives. As a way of controlling population and the spread of disease, the companies sell these items at large discounts all over the world so everyone can afford them. Sounds to me like a good thing to do with your profits from the wealthy perverts, eh? Why not just give the goods away? According to Harvey, people who buy products are more likely to use them than if they are freely dispensed.

So, there you have it. Become a millionaire by selling sex toys and save lives by selling things the Bush administration doesn’t want people to give away or even talk about. It’s estimated that Harvey’s non-profits have saved over 100,000 lives, mostly in third world countries.

Tune in next time for information about my new marketing company, Preservatif pour les Pauvres SA.

Uhhm, I’m the one that estimated the 100,000 lives saved.

Well, the next couple of posts will be off my intended topic for this blog.

I just emailed my mother and told her that the stock market looked bad for a while to come due to continued inflationary pressures and rising fears of continuing interest rate hikes from the Fed. Two seconds later the Fed came out with their Beige Book and said the same things about inflation as I did, but put a positive spin on it.

The market has completely turned around and is much higher now (as I write, it looks like it may be one of the biggest single day turnarounds in the market that I have seen). I'm almost convinced at this point that when I finally think the market is stuck or headed down, that I should put all my money in the market. The way to invest may be exactly the way observers of the market have pointed out.....that at the height of market pessimism is the best opportunity to buy. However, it might be easier to just ask my opinion. When I'm pessimistic on the market, that's the best time to buy!

However, it seems as if I'm getting optimistic, now. Everyone, BEWARE!

I also noticed as I read the comments to my last post and as I wrote this one, that maybe I should try to put a positive spin on my theme instead of being completely negative about this stupid ID concept. I guess I’ll need to focus (or Fukuh as my nephew would say) on that just a little bit more…....boy, it’s gonna be tough.

Heard a commercial today about marijuana. I caught it only briefly, but the gist of it was that ‘you shouldn't be a hypocrite, that you should teach your kids that marijuana is bad.'

It appears to me that anything the government or society has deemed as 'bad' needs to be demonized or made inherently ‘bad’ through the use of propaganda. Now this commercial didn't demonize it thoroughly, but it is propaganda nonetheless.

Marijuana is probably not inherently bad. To my knowledge, most studies have shown that it does not impair long-term memory in adults and many other studies have been inconclusive in ‘adolescent’ rats. The medicinal properties have some fundamental scientific basis that has yet to be completely explained, but, anecdotal evidence abounds. Melissa Etheridge is the most recent person to go vocal about how it helped her during chemotherapy. She also stated that every doctor she spoke to advised her that it was the best drug to handle chemotherapy’s side effects.

Having said this, it probably is ‘bad’ for children since THC seems to have an effect on the formation of short-term to long-term memory. Well, I guess ‘bad’ would only apply if you didn’t want something interfering with your children’s ability to form long-term memories. I’m guessing that applies to most parents.

Why is it that many people feel the need to find certain things inherently evil without taking a thorough look at what they’re condemning? Is the use of propaganda appropriate? It seems as if propaganda is used by adults with their own children at times, but is it really necessary with adults?

Is it in our nature to find ‘evil’ in the world so we can shirk our responsibility and blame something or someone else?

Maybe this is the reason that religion finds such a stronghold in society. If we can find activities and various nouns to demonize, our view of ourselves as good and moral remains intact. It is only the evil things that corrupt our moral selves.

These questions are not meant to be rhetorical. I would really like to hear some opinions.

I’ll start posting more frequently. I promise. I will now post at least every other day.