Today, I spent most of my lunch period laughing my ass off at nigger jokes. There go my TV and book deals... dammit...
(mental note: stay away from Jerome. he's a bad influence.)
Friday, June 28, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
Trying To Explain, So I'll Begin Here...
JUDY WOODRUFF: And we turn to a story we posted online earlier today.
We have done extensive reporting on a set of drugs commonly known as bath salts. These street drugs have been on the rise in recent years and pose serious problems for law enforcement. They are packaged to look like common household products with names like Lady Bubbles or White Dove.
But the chemicals in them and the high they produce can be devastating for lives and communities. Their effects can be stronger and longer-lasting than other drugs like amphetamines and cocaine.
Researchers are trying to understand how they work and how the chemistry behind them continues to change.
Louis De Felice is one of those researchers studying this new class of substances at Virginia Commonwealth University. And he joins me now from Richmond.
Thank you for being with us.
And let me just start by saying, when people hear the
term bath salts, maybe they think of Epsom salts, which you would buy at
a pharmacy, in a drugstore, but this is very different. Tell us what
they are.
LOUIS DE FELICE, Virginia Commonwealth University: Well, you're right. It's very different than the name implies.
It's a benign street name, I think, invented to make it sound harmless. These chemicals are very different and very dangerous than their name implies.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And how long have they been around?
LOUIS DE FELICE: Well, they became popular just years ago, at least in America. The drugs themselves have been around longer in Eastern Europe and in the U.K.
And the basic component of the drug, which is called cathinone, and the derivatives from cathinone, have been around hundreds and maybe even thousands of years.
It's a naturally occurring substance from which bath salts are derived.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, tell us, Dr. De Felice, how are they used and how are they different from other illegal drugs we're familiar with hearing about, methamphetamines, for example?
LOUIS DE FELICE: Well, first of all, bath salts is not a defined substance. It's a combination of drugs. There are several main components that are in bath salts. But you shouldn't think of it as just one kind of drug.
So it contains what are called cathinones, particularly synthetic cathinones.
And what we discovered was that some of these cathinones behave like methamphetamine, very similar to methamphetamine. But other of the synthetic cathinones that are in bath salts behave like cocaine.
So it's an insidious combination of two drugs, one of which, the methamphetamine-like component, releases dopamine into the brain, and the other, called MDPV, actually prevents dopamine from being taken up again.
So it's as if a person were to take methamphetamine and cocaine in just the right way to keep levels of dopamine very high in the brain for long periods of time.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And what effect does that have on a person?
LOUIS DE FELICE: Well, dopamine, as you know, is a transmitter that is used for quite a few normal human functions. One of them is locomotion. It's also involved in mood and cognition.
So the effects can be locomotor.
They can be effects on a person's ability to move and function normally, but also rather outrageous hallucinations and cognitive disorders, very similar to what you would have on a methamphetamine high or a cocaine high, except the combination is particularly devastating and longer-lasting.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And when you say devastating, what do you mean? Just give us an example of what can happen.
LOUIS DE FELICE: I will. The phenotype of a person who is on bath salts -- and, remember, bath salts isn't just one well-defined combination of drugs -- is very peculiar.
First of all, the person apparently feels extreme powers of strength, inability to sense pain, very hard to subdue and hold down.
The people also -- the abusers of bath salts also frequently and for some unknown reason take their clothes off and tear away at their body parts.
So these are unusual features of a drug abuser that are phenotypic for bath salts themselves and allow enforcement agents -- agencies to determine or at least identify whether or not the people are using bath salts.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, finally, Dr. De Felice, why is it so important to get the word out about this substance?
LOUIS DE FELICE: Well, I think it is important, because it's very cheap. It's readily available. It's a -- as I already said, it's a combination of drugs, some of which could be very dangerous, almost in a lethal sense very dangerous.
So I think it's important for news agencies to aware -- to make the public aware of the importance and severity of these drugs.
And I also think it's important to do research in this area, so we can find out more about these drugs. And our research is funded by NIDA at the National Institutes of Health.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And we know that obviously these drugs have led to death in a number of instances.
LOUIS DE FELICE: Yes. Yes, that's the ultimate sort of self-degradation, which, of course, is suicide. And some of these abusers have actually committed suicide. That's correct.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Louis De Felice at Virginia Commonwealth University, we thank you very much.
LOUIS DE FELICE: Thank you very much.
here's the link.
We have done extensive reporting on a set of drugs commonly known as bath salts. These street drugs have been on the rise in recent years and pose serious problems for law enforcement. They are packaged to look like common household products with names like Lady Bubbles or White Dove.
But the chemicals in them and the high they produce can be devastating for lives and communities. Their effects can be stronger and longer-lasting than other drugs like amphetamines and cocaine.
Researchers are trying to understand how they work and how the chemistry behind them continues to change.
Louis De Felice is one of those researchers studying this new class of substances at Virginia Commonwealth University. And he joins me now from Richmond.
Thank you for being with us.
Bath
Salts: The Drug That Never Lets Go - read our investigation into the
human costs, the legal battles, and the science behind these pernicious
new drugs.
LOUIS DE FELICE, Virginia Commonwealth University: Well, you're right. It's very different than the name implies.
It's a benign street name, I think, invented to make it sound harmless. These chemicals are very different and very dangerous than their name implies.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And how long have they been around?
LOUIS DE FELICE: Well, they became popular just years ago, at least in America. The drugs themselves have been around longer in Eastern Europe and in the U.K.
And the basic component of the drug, which is called cathinone, and the derivatives from cathinone, have been around hundreds and maybe even thousands of years.
It's a naturally occurring substance from which bath salts are derived.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, tell us, Dr. De Felice, how are they used and how are they different from other illegal drugs we're familiar with hearing about, methamphetamines, for example?
LOUIS DE FELICE: Well, first of all, bath salts is not a defined substance. It's a combination of drugs. There are several main components that are in bath salts. But you shouldn't think of it as just one kind of drug.
So it contains what are called cathinones, particularly synthetic cathinones.
And what we discovered was that some of these cathinones behave like methamphetamine, very similar to methamphetamine. But other of the synthetic cathinones that are in bath salts behave like cocaine.
So it's an insidious combination of two drugs, one of which, the methamphetamine-like component, releases dopamine into the brain, and the other, called MDPV, actually prevents dopamine from being taken up again.
So it's as if a person were to take methamphetamine and cocaine in just the right way to keep levels of dopamine very high in the brain for long periods of time.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And what effect does that have on a person?
LOUIS DE FELICE: Well, dopamine, as you know, is a transmitter that is used for quite a few normal human functions. One of them is locomotion. It's also involved in mood and cognition.
So the effects can be locomotor.
They can be effects on a person's ability to move and function normally, but also rather outrageous hallucinations and cognitive disorders, very similar to what you would have on a methamphetamine high or a cocaine high, except the combination is particularly devastating and longer-lasting.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And when you say devastating, what do you mean? Just give us an example of what can happen.
LOUIS DE FELICE: I will. The phenotype of a person who is on bath salts -- and, remember, bath salts isn't just one well-defined combination of drugs -- is very peculiar.
First of all, the person apparently feels extreme powers of strength, inability to sense pain, very hard to subdue and hold down.
The people also -- the abusers of bath salts also frequently and for some unknown reason take their clothes off and tear away at their body parts.
So these are unusual features of a drug abuser that are phenotypic for bath salts themselves and allow enforcement agents -- agencies to determine or at least identify whether or not the people are using bath salts.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, finally, Dr. De Felice, why is it so important to get the word out about this substance?
LOUIS DE FELICE: Well, I think it is important, because it's very cheap. It's readily available. It's a -- as I already said, it's a combination of drugs, some of which could be very dangerous, almost in a lethal sense very dangerous.
So I think it's important for news agencies to aware -- to make the public aware of the importance and severity of these drugs.
And I also think it's important to do research in this area, so we can find out more about these drugs. And our research is funded by NIDA at the National Institutes of Health.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And we know that obviously these drugs have led to death in a number of instances.
LOUIS DE FELICE: Yes. Yes, that's the ultimate sort of self-degradation, which, of course, is suicide. And some of these abusers have actually committed suicide. That's correct.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Louis De Felice at Virginia Commonwealth University, we thank you very much.
LOUIS DE FELICE: Thank you very much.
here's the link.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Grammar and Spelling Fail
Gardena, California: "We are who you thought we were."
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
Kermit Gosnell Sucks!
I oppose Capital Punishment, but I wouldn't be as upset as I normally would be if somebody in prison drove a shank into his spine.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Hi Y'all...
I have limited sympathy to offer the surviving Boston Bombing Suspect, but after hearing his mother speak, ...the pain,... the emotion... my heart goes out to her.
As the father of a son who has never come close to doing a 'Boston Bombing' type of thing, (but has done a few much lesser things... as has the Son of his Grandfather ;) ) I still feel for her.
Tis a terrible, horrible thing to see one's child involved in something like this.
God bless this woman, despite her faults.
One thing I do know, is that despite her faults, she never intended her son to do something like that.
I was once 19 and idealistic.
Easily swayed (but not swayed quite as much as this Cat in question. Then again, I did not have a much older brother to look up to, and be swayed by).
I saw much the same zeal in my own Son when his time came...
It did stir an awareness in me at the time.
(His mother said: he's YOUR son, what'd you expect?)
My son is now 26 years old.
He is not the same kid that he was at 19.
That's right!
A kid.
Not a Man.
Neither was I.
Nor were you.
Nobody is a Man at 19.
Not possible, the law be damned...
This Mother is seeing her Son taken from her, facing the Death Penalty.
You need to excuse her reactions at this time.
Keep in mind, in our quest for justice... that...
Her son may not be the same man that he would be if allowed to properly mature into the man that he really is.
I stand opposed to any Capital Punishment in this case.
No man is a Man at 19 years old.
It's just not possible.
To hold him accountable as such is just plain wrong.
Get that. It's wrong.
If this boy dies for what he did in Boston, that would be wrong.
As the father of a son who has never come close to doing a 'Boston Bombing' type of thing, (but has done a few much lesser things... as has the Son of his Grandfather ;) ) I still feel for her.
Tis a terrible, horrible thing to see one's child involved in something like this.
God bless this woman, despite her faults.
One thing I do know, is that despite her faults, she never intended her son to do something like that.
I was once 19 and idealistic.
Easily swayed (but not swayed quite as much as this Cat in question. Then again, I did not have a much older brother to look up to, and be swayed by).
I saw much the same zeal in my own Son when his time came...
It did stir an awareness in me at the time.
(His mother said: he's YOUR son, what'd you expect?)
My son is now 26 years old.
He is not the same kid that he was at 19.
That's right!
A kid.
Not a Man.
Neither was I.
Nor were you.
Nobody is a Man at 19.
Not possible, the law be damned...
This Mother is seeing her Son taken from her, facing the Death Penalty.
You need to excuse her reactions at this time.
Keep in mind, in our quest for justice... that...
Her son may not be the same man that he would be if allowed to properly mature into the man that he really is.
I stand opposed to any Capital Punishment in this case.
No man is a Man at 19 years old.
It's just not possible.
To hold him accountable as such is just plain wrong.
Get that. It's wrong.
If this boy dies for what he did in Boston, that would be wrong.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Blogging has been the source of much joy the past several years and has lead to numerous real-life, honest friendships that span the nation. It's been a blessing.
(and you know who you are.)
I've had a few posts on the burner, some not completed, others intentionally not posted for business reasons. (Bail Bonds is as lucrative as it is competitive, and I didn't think it wise to expose marketing strategy through a Google search. Most of what I have to talk about the past several months has to do with this aspect of my life.)
All of that... and then there are basic life issues as well, things beyond my control and within, that have left me rather ornery...
I'm the happy guy you love today, and tomorrow I'll be the Son-of-a-bitch you wanna punch in the throat.
Fitting, I guess, ...since I am currently 'At War' with United Steel Workers (posted about) while engaged in Jihad against supervision at work;...
was encouraged today to attend the next union meeting (and have a beer!) on Tuesday where my issue(s) would be discussed, and having to decline, reminding the invitor that my presence was not preferred.
"Oh. Sorry."
Fuck You, and the USW horse you rode in on...
It may be... that I am alone.
It may be... that I am not.
I do not know. My Circle Of Trust contracts by the day.
My Homies (those that I work with who know me: The Local) back me up. This I know.
The USW (i.e.: The International) think that I suck. No... they got that shit wrong... it is they who are doing the sucking... Fuck Them!
All Of Them!
Matters not to me...
This (both of them) is my fight to fight, through my own choosing.
I chose these (overlapping) battles (maybe stupidly) of my own free will.
I will fight them.
To conclusion... both of them.
Get that!
May be, that I am a fool.
May be, that I am not.
Maybe, I am a prophet.
I only know that I can be an asshole at times.
('Asshole' has been my first name before..., that.. and 'Fuckin', as in: 'That Fuckin Gino' (another grievance that worked it's way through the (take-no-prisoners) process 12 yrs ago).
This is one of those times.
(the Supe that imposed 'Fuckin' as my first name has become my most die-hard defender today, and has privately encouraged me in this latest battle. 'Don't back down' he says, 'Don't back down'... )
To know me is to love me, I've always said that, didn't I?
My text messaging is off the charts rights now... tonight!
"Give 'em hell, you bastard"
"Hit the Asshole switch"
" Be Gino!"
"thats Gino"
"Fuk'em"
I may be wrong.
I may be right.
I may win.
I may lose.
What do I know...?
Right Now!...
is that my popularity among The Brothers has never been higher than it is tonite.
With one grievance I have become a Rock Star.
USW can go to Hell.
I got this shit, and I don't need you.
So, Fuck Off!
Despite what some might be thinking, I have not abandoned blogging. I just need to find a way out of my funk and get the mojo back again.
I miss being in the conversation and will work my way back into it.
Just bear with me.... OK?
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