Gas Bandit's Political Thread V: The Vampire Likes Bats

Using eminent domain to build a highway/railroad is one thing.

Using it to sell the land to a developer to build a casino/mall/housing development and then twisting the definition of "public use" up to the point where it means "anything that might increase tax revenues" is something else entirely.
Agreed.
 
Regarding the halal food store, from what I understand the problem is this: the previous tenant was a supermarket that closed, so there was seemingly a need for another one for the good of the community. This store opened up to ostensibly serve that need, but instead is a specialty food store. The problem with that is since that store is already zoned as general food, no other nearby business would likely be granted a general food license, and so there is now a gap in service. What that guy was supposed to do was apply for a specialty permit, which is what other ethnic food stores do.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Regarding the halal food store, from what I understand the problem is this: the previous tenant was a supermarket that closed, so there was seemingly a need for another one for the good of the community. This store opened up to ostensibly serve that need, but instead is a specialty food store. The problem with that is since that store is already zoned as general food, no other nearby business would likely be granted a general food license, and so there is now a gap in service. What that guy was supposed to do was apply for a specialty permit, which is what other ethnic food stores do.
So, it's really a zoning issue disguised as a social issue.
 
So, it's really a zoning issue disguised as a social issue.
We don't have enough information to infer either case, unfortunately.

How or why is the government defining what "general food" is, to the level of what a store can or cannot stock? If they carry all other general food items, not just ethnic specialty items, then are they really an ethnic specialty store and not a general food store because they don't carry two items?

My guess is that the availability of pork and alcohol products is not hampered by this one store not carrying them.
 
I guess its so different than the US. I don't think in America there are any rules about having grocery stores too close to each other. If there are, I can't imagine what they'd be since I know of big supermarkets that are literally across the street from each other.
 
My guess is that the availability of pork and alcohol products is not hampered by this one store not carrying them.

While I can't comment on this exact situation, my borther owns a house in France where there's one bakery, two butchers and one (small) supermarket in a 45min drive radius. Yet the local village and area councils won't allow a seecond supermarket to open up, because they want to keep the landscape/tourist area/things intact. if that supermarket were to suddenly not stock pork, I assure you it'd be a serious problem for several small communities.
 
We don't have enough information to infer either case, unfortunately.

How or why is the government defining what "general food" is, to the level of what a store can or cannot stock? If they carry all other general food items, not just ethnic specialty items, then are they really an ethnic specialty store and not a general food store because they don't carry two items?

My guess is that the availability of pork and alcohol products is not hampered by this one store not carrying them.
Dunno about pork, but apparently alcohol falls under the general license. Makes sense: France and wine, you know?
 
It's funny to watch someone tie themselves in knots trying to explain why they want to legalize drugs and criminalize guns, when drug overdoses kill more people than guns do in the US.

For more amusement, look at increasing drug overdose deaths in states which have decriminalized weed. People are practically falling over themselves trying to explain that there's no connection, or that it's a symptom of some other unrelated issue, or, or, or.

Truth is, they don't care, they go victim blaming, "Drug use is fine as long as the user is careful and safe," thus implying that anyone dead of an overdose deserved it.

Rant over. Didn't want to create a whole new thread.
 
It's funny to watch someone tie themselves in knots trying to explain why they want to legalize drugs and criminalize guns, when drug overdoses kill more people than guns do in the US.

For more amusement, look at increasing drug overdose deaths in states which have decriminalized weed. People are practically falling over themselves trying to explain that there's no connection, or that it's a symptom of some other unrelated issue, or, or, or.

Truth is, they don't care, they go victim blaming, "Drug use is fine as long as the user is careful and safe," thus implying that anyone dead of an overdose deserved it.

Rant over. Didn't want to create a whole new thread.
I disagree, but I understand the sentiment, and given the circumstance don't really want to debate you. Instead, rant as much as you need.
 

Necronic

Staff member
It's funny to watch someone tie themselves in knots trying to explain why they want to legalize drugs and criminalize guns, when drug overdoses kill more people than guns do in the US.

For more amusement, look at increasing drug overdose deaths in states which have decriminalized weed. People are practically falling over themselves trying to explain that there's no connection, or that it's a symptom of some other unrelated issue, or, or, or.

Truth is, they don't care, they go victim blaming, "Drug use is fine as long as the user is careful and safe," thus implying that anyone dead of an overdose deserved it.

Rant over. Didn't want to create a whole new thread.

No doubt, legalized drug use leads to increased death/overdose. So does alcohol, we should make that illegal. Smoking causes cancer, lets make that illegal. Hey, you know high sugar drinks are heavily linked to diabetes. Let's make that illegal too. And really, sedentary lifestyle shortens your life span, we should have mandatory exercise. Did you know that charred meat is linked to cancer? Perhaps we should make BBQ illegal.

And this is the "limited government" republican line?
 
2010 deaths by drug overdose, total: 38,329. Of those, Pharmaceutical drug overdose account for 22,134 deaths, with opioid analgesics being responsible for 16,651 of those.

2010 deaths by firearms, including suicides and accidents: 31,076.

So yes, drug overdoses DO account for more deaths than firearms. Just not street drugs (which would account for 16,195).
 
"Drug use is fine as long as the user is careful and safe," thus implying that anyone dead of an overdose deserved it.
You can't draw the conclusion that they deserved it, only that they invited it.
Because really, LD50 is NOT a precise science, any more than MTBF.

--Patrick
 
It's funny to watch someone tie themselves in knots trying to explain why they want to legalize drugs and criminalize guns, when drug overdoses kill more people than guns do in the US.

For more amusement, look at increasing drug overdose deaths in states which have decriminalized weed. People are practically falling over themselves trying to explain that there's no connection, or that it's a symptom of some other unrelated issue, or, or, or.

Truth is, they don't care, they go victim blaming, "Drug use is fine as long as the user is careful and safe," thus implying that anyone dead of an overdose deserved it.

Rant over. Didn't want to create a whole new thread.
Instead you'd rather have the most prisoners of any nation on Earth thanks to strict laws for drugs? Most of those arrests due to Marijuana.
 
Lost a friend to an OD this year myself. That ever popular new combination of heroine and Fentanyl that has taken over rural Ohio. It's kind of a pandemic here.
 
I thought it would possible to ingest too much from edibles, albiet an amount that you would only take if you're trying to make bad stuff happen.
One could argue there's a certain threshold of fiber you don't want to cross, too.

Meth is the dominant mover in my area (no doubt due to the proximity to Perrigo, which is one of if not THE biggest mfr of generic Sudafed), but people don't tend to "OD" on meth so much as "ODearWhatAStupidStuntToTry."

--Patrick
 
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Necronic

Staff member
It may be very hard to OD from weed but it really is absurd to act like it doesn't have severe health consequences (not that anyone here's doing that). I'm more or less all for legalization but I can't for the life of me stand the 420BlazeIt crowd who pretends that it is actually good for you. Smoking it is definitely linked to lung cancer, and even if you don't smoke it it is a habit forming drug which lowers inhibitions and judgement and could definitely cause issues with operating a motor vehicle or used as a way to assault women/girls etc, especially when mixing it with other drugs.

It also makes me people paranoid (I've heard....).

But at the end of the day that's not really any worse than the other recreational drugs out there, and it is an INCREDIBLY safe alternative to so called "synthetic" weed, which is going to lead to a large amount of people with brain damage.

Increase tax revenue. Reduce prison population. Reduce exposure to more harmful "alternatives" that are increasingly impossible to regulate. And you know, just sort of chill out dude.

But I do still totally want my guns too. I want to have my weed infused cake and be able to shoot it too (after a safe period of "coming down".
 

Necronic

Staff member
I would argue it's as addictive as alcohol, but nowhere near as addictive as tobacco of course. I'm basing this purely on my own experience with the items. Not sure how much good research there is about this. There's a wealth of bad research of course. It's even in the new DSM and iirc it's fairly absurd how it's defined. Hopefully with legalization we will actually start seeing honest research on the subject.
 
I had a much harder time giving up weed than alcohol. The psychological addiction is much stronger for me than alcohol's effects ever were. Though, physically at least, it's much less dangerous.
As for ODing, the whole "it's totally impossible dude" is a myth that needs to die already. It's hard and uncommon and usually doesn't/won't lead to death but it is very possible to get into dangerous levels, especially if you're not used to it. Very hard through smoking, sure.
Mind you, I'm in favor of legalizing it, it's definitely no worse than either alcohol or tobacco.
 
Listening to my parents talk about how Donald Trump talks like an everyman and at least he didn't get his money from welfare be like: [emoji43] [emoji379]
 
Smoking [pot] is definitely linked to lung cancer, and even if you don't smoke it it is a habit forming drug which lowers inhibitions and judgement and could definitely cause issues with operating a motor vehicle or used as a way to assault women/girls etc, especially when mixing it with other drugs.
I think its biggest problem is that effect where it depresses your ability to properly calculate urgency. For instance, experiments show "drivers" (on a simulated course) will notice a stop sign just as early as non-impaired subjects, but then they will just stare at it as they blow right through it. And that's definitely an unhealthy behavior.

--Patrick
 

Necronic

Staff member
Are you getting near retirement? Because you seem to have a certain pro-pot leaning that I would associate with that. My dad for instance, a staunch Reagan republican who dedicated his life to national defense, went to Colorado and enjoyed some edibles within a year of retiring.

This is a guy who doesn't drink caffeine and I can count on one hand how many times he's drank.
 
Are you getting near retirement? Because you seem to have a certain pro-pot leaning that I would associate with that. My dad for instance, a staunch Reagan republican who dedicated his life to national defense, went to Colorado and enjoyed some edibles within a year of retiring.

This is a guy who doesn't drink caffeine and I can count on one hand how many times he's drank.
My dad is old and super conservative and has a Donald Trump bumper sticker, and smokes SO MUCH POT.

He thinks I don't know.
 

Dave

Staff member
I am not close to retiring and I've only smoked pot once. I think since I neither smoke nor drink I look at it more logically. I don't have a horse in the race. So the hate on pot by the government while simultaneously touting the benefits of drinking and (taxation of) smoking just annoys me. If you look at pot and alcohol side by side, you'd make pot legal and alcohol illegal.
 
I am not close to retiring and I've only smoked pot once. I think since I neither smoke nor drink I look at it more logically. I don't have a horse in the race. So the hate on pot by the government while simultaneously touting the benefits of drinking and (taxation of) smoking just annoys me. If you look at pot and alcohol side by side, you'd make pot legal and alcohol illegal.
The hate on pot is brought to you by the alcoholic beverage industry. :p
 
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