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Some Open, Some Undercover :

  • – last episode, I made some slight changes to the audio; seems my voice is not as loud as previous episodes; trying improvements this episode.
  • – out of the cold for this week; recording this episode while on vacation in Florida; a week at Disney World; took till the end of the week to record this; packed schedule
  • News – Story 1: Marijuana legal in Oregon, Alaska and Washington DC
  • – this last mid-term election, the states passed their referendums; so now personal use of marijuana is legal; it’s good to see these states embracing the personal use of pot instead of always trying to bust those that smoke for personal use; it’s been over 60 years since the Marijuana Tax Act, which essentially banned pot; the complications these states now face on a federal level is something they are trying to address; which means that federal laws may sometimes trump state laws; also, any companies that drug test, this is no different than alcohol or narcotics testing; hoping this will move forward into other states, and eventually forcing a federal change; the benefits of pot outweigh the negatives, especially on the level of legal use of the drug.
    – Link to article: Voters give nod to legal marijuana in Oregon, Alaska, and Washington, D.C.

  • News – Story 2: SiriusXM loses court ruling over pre-1972 music
  • – Flo and Eddie of the Turtles fame have been suing various music services, the satellite radio company being one of them; music before 1972 fell under a different set of rules for music royalties and until this week’s NY judicial ruling, stemming from the 1976 overhaul of the copyright laws, which only covered music made from 1972 and newer; RIAA has argued on both sides, in favor of adding pre-1972 music and with leaving the current laws in place; it’s a confusion issue, one that Flo and Eddie would have you to believe they are right; I’m all for copyright rules and the musicians and songwriters to get their fare share, but it appears a line is being crossed here; the arguments made in court are pushing the laws from 1976; yes, they need another overhaul, but at the same time, these artists are looking for pennies and dimes anyplace they can find them.
    – Link to article: SiriusXM Slammed Yet Again As New York Judge Rules in Turtles Lawsuit

  • News – Story 3: Bill Cosby under fire amid rape allegations
  • – The long time comedian is facing various backlash over people coming out saying that he raped them and that he was controlling to women and not treating them fairly; there have been many calls for him to make a statement on these accusations; if he is innocent, he should find the best way to address them; this is coming to a head as several of his current and future projects are being cancelled; TV Land has taken off reruns of “The Cosby Show”; women are coming out with how he mistreated them or took advantage of them; if they are all true, then he needs to face the music; if they are not true, then he needs to proclaim his innocence; it’s a sketchy view here and I only see this getting worse for his public persona.
    – Link to article: Bill Cosby Tour Continues on Amid Rape Allegations

  • RANT: Hiding behind the “doing it to protect the children” mantra when drafting new laws
  • – everything from music, to movies, to video games to alcohol, there is always a phrase that follows new laws or restrictions; doing it for the children; it’s like a CEO being let go, saying he/she is going to spend more time with family; it pretty much means nothing in the way of protecting children; it’s more along the lines of reducing the efforts that parents have to do in deciding what’s right for their kids; the idea that laws get passed to restrict what adults should ultimately have the right to make for themselves; alcohol laws to restrict access to children are more about restricting access to responsible adults; music labels years ago put warnings on CDs; this only enticed children to be more curious and want to see what made these recordings get a warning label; parents supporting these laws and rules are only hurting themselves; they need to parent more, not needing a higher authority to reduce their function in parental functions.

  • SHAMELESS PLUG: John Oliver’s Salmon Cannon
  • – nothing had made me laugh more this past week than this video segment; this comes from a real product that a company made to help salmon get upstream; John Oliver took this to a more humorous level; so many stars and cameos, like the repeated Homer Simpson getting pelted with salmon; Tom Hanks getting slapped with a plastic fish while in an interview; watch it and you will laugh a lot too.

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