This is my Hypocrisy Dance!

I normally avoid the word hate. It holds memories and associations of a bad time in my life. Before I was diagnosed bipolar, I had a very dark time... Hatred was my world view... LITERALLY, the word hate popped into my head without provocation or prompting on more than one occasion.

Sooo... when I use the word hate, you know it is a real big deal.

That being said - I hate Jud McMillin. I seriously do.

Jud McMillin is a republican legislator from Indiana. He proposed a bill that would mandate the drug testing of all welfare recipients. In grand scheme of things, republicans have been passing this kind of law at the state level for a while. Like, 30 laws in the last year have made drug testing a prerequisite to receiving all kinds of government benefits.

I am not one to praise our current political system, but I am actually proud of the democrats. I know... shocker... but the democrats have responded by issuing counter proposals that would require that ALL people who receive government money be drug tested - students, soldiers, legislators, welfare recipients and the disabled.

Now, just so you understand - I am not an advocate of those things at all. I believe it is a violation of our rights to privacy in this country. I also believe that the war on drugs was just a tool designed to control a portion of the population that was considered undesirable and to keep from firing police at the end of prohibition. Now, don't go quoting me on it, this is just a personal belief and perspective.

I mean, let's look at the reasons most often cited.

HIPPIES!

1. It is perceived as addictive. In 1970, the controlled substances act made marijuana a schedule 1 drug because it has a "high potential for abuse." In other words, it is addictive and can take over your life... like alcohol and nicotine. Wait... those are legal... Hmmm
2. It has "no accepted medical use." It's been used for glaucoma pain, control of multiple sclerosis muscle spasms, relief of some Alzheimer's symptoms, has been tested in treatment of mental issues, relief of chemotherapy symptoms... Wait... it s schedule 1 drug... so large scale testing is forbidden... So, THAT's why there's no ACCEPTED uses... yet doctors prescribe it... 
3. It's miss-classified as a narcotic. Narcotics are opium and it's derivatives. It was described as such... along with cocaine. Since people associated it with narcotics, it was pushed aside, away from the realm of good old American fun... like nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, whipped cream, gravy and whip-its. Wait... that's not right... gravy is only recreational in West Virginia.
4. It's associated with hippies. Think about the last person you heard pushing for legalization of marijuana. I mean think long and hard about it. Look up at that pic... look at it! That's what they smelled like, right? Dirt, feet and patchouli? Yeah... they don't make the best impression, so cannabis is associated with an unsavory life-style.
5. It was once associated with oppressed minorities. It was once seen as a way to keep these subcultures from developing in America - wrongly, but still.
6. Political policy is a monolithic thing with an amazing amount of inertia. Simply put, it takes a herculean effort to change anything. Since it's "always been that way", it will be hard to make it legal. 
7. The advocates for legalization don't make a good case. If you listen to them, marijuana cures every disease, promotes creativity and open mindedness. It also gets you closer to god/the divine/or the cosmos. This sounds... like a dumbass on drugs to me. Hell... they could just say - "It's no more dangerous than alcohol or tobacco and makes people happy! Do we need to ruin lives over this shit?"

Sorry... that was a bit of a rant and long winded, but it's just stupid, really. 

ANYWAY...

Jud McMillin - smells like hippie!
I mean, hypocrite!

This guy, Jud McMillin has been trying to make these laws that basically say - "We, the republicans, hate poor people and would like to deny them anything... anything at all that might make them happy." 

Well... it gets better. 

A democrat in his state's general assembly tacked a rider onto Jud's "we hate the poor" bill. Normally, I hate those things. Really. And my reason for it is that they are rarely beneficial and almost never have anything to do with the laws they are tacked on to. This rider stated that the legislators themselves be tested for drugs. That is AWESOME!

But wait... it gets better!

After this provision was added...

Wait for it...

McMillin withdrew his proposed bill! Now, Jud states that this withdrawal wasn't because he fears that his pot smoking ways will be discovered. Of course not... I think he's on shrooms, lsd, angeldust... Wait... that's slander and defamation of character... Of course not... he's as straight edge as it gets!

And this guy is a real winner. He hates the poor and discriminates against the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered) community as well. His website says "I will protect the integrity of the institution of marriage. I believe that a marriage is a union of a man and a woman before their peers, government, and most importantly, God. In southeastern Indiana the family has always been the foundation of our strength of community," he said. "Our relationships with our wives, husbands, parents, children, siblings and other loved ones provides the glue that binds our common purpose. In these times of turmoil the rest of the country could learn something from our example."

At least he didn't cite the biblical definition of marriage-that shit's messed up!

Marriage in the bible.

The Images in this issue were shamelessly stolen from the following sources:
http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/09/04/welfare-rights_9-2-08_1.jpg
http://adsoftheworld.com/files/images/hippies-masterlock.jpg
http://www.in.gov/legislative/house_republicans/homepages/r68/images/110105b800.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8fTurAPzzhPKGmEFDQz8LYg9m_OvkqKaoNVXg3plt-nD3jRWLaj8ajAm9oJSHRidrS7nrkulaiSbKQ-4bskA0lUwpJR3kkaNO9eFYsbZ5EGQvm6DZ4pcRP5UQzS_eXrNBD-95-Idi1O4/s1600/biblical_marriage_chart.jpg