At the Willits, California Food Bank, a 31-year-old cannabis farmer we’ll call Mark was energetically ticking off the community service hours he’d earned for growing our nation’s number-one cash crop. I watched for a few minutes as he passed bags full of apples, cheese and surplus generic sponge cake to a Mendocino County mom. I asked Mark what he thought about the approaching end of federal cannabis prohibition. He acknowledged that it was imminent, but was deeply wary of it. “It’ll be the end of the small farmer,” he told me. “Foks’ll be buying packages of joints made by Coors or Marlboro.”

Why does Mark, like many if not most of today’s American black-market cannabis farmers, dread the aboveground acceptance of his industry? Why did the voters in the Emerald Triangle cannabis farming counties of Mendocino (by 6%) and Humboldt (8%) vote against California’s Proposition 19 in 2010, which would have legalized cannabis?

The answer has as much to do with simple accounting as the more common outsider assumption: that farmers fear the price drops that come when a prohibitionary economy dissolves (though this is certainly part of the story). When, in three generations of farming, your family has never had to pay taxes, record payroll or meet building code, let alone meet a customer (the Emerald Triangle has an entire caste of middlemen and women who broker wholesale deals, so the farmer doesn’t have to leave the farm), the prospect of coming aboveground -- and dealing with the same red tape every other industry does -- can be terrifying.

--snip--

His point is that of course major players are going to enter the fray when we’re talking about what is already a $35-billion-a-year crop in the U.S., greater than the combined value of corn and wheat. Although the end of cannabis prohibition will almost certainly cause short-term wholesale price drops, what Balogh says to jittery farmers like Mark is, “even if your worst, most paranoid fears about modern corporate ethics are correct, there is still a lucrative (and expanding) niche for top-shelf, organically grown cannabis like the Emerald Triangle provides.”

http://www.alternet.org/pot-becomes-legal-weve-got-fight-against-corporate-control-cannabis

“even if your worst, most paranoid fears about modern corporate ethics are correct, there is still a lucrative (and expanding) niche for top-shelf, organically grown cannabis like the Emerald Triangle provides.”

On Feb. 12, Asheville City Council will declare "Darwin Day." Council member Cecil Bothwell has released the full text of the city's proclamation:

In recognition of Charles Darwin's immense contribution to the sciences, stemming from his explanation of evolution moderated by natural selection, the City of Asheville will join municipalities across the continent, and nations around the world in declaring Feb. 12, International Darwin Day.

The proclamation will be issued at the regular meeting of the Asheville City Council on that date.

The proclamation will read as follows:

International Darwin Day Proclamation

Whereas February 12, 2013 is the anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin in 1809;

And Whereas Charles Darwin is recognized for the development of the theory of evolution by the mechanism of natural selection;

And Whereas Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is recognized as the foundation of modern biology, an essential tool in understanding the natural world and the development of life on earth;

And Whereas Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection has provided, and continues to provide, the basis for great advances in science, medicine and philosophy;

And Whereas the anniversary of Darwin's birthday is an appropriate period on which to reflect and celebrate the importance of scientific advancement to all people;

And Whereas government bodies around the world, including the United States Congress, have designated this anniversary as a celebration of the life and work of Charles Darwin;

And Whereas the City of Asheville is rightfully proud of its commitment to scientifically-based environmental awareness, appropriate technology and high educational standards;

Now, Therefore, I Terry Bellamy, Mayor of the City of Asheville, do hereby proclaim February 12, 2013 as "International Darwin Day" in the City of Asheville.

http://www.mountainx.com/article/48327/Council-member-Cecil-Bothwell-releases-Feb.-12-Darwin-Day-proclamation

On Feb. 12, Asheville City Council will declare "Darwin Day." Council member Cecil Bothwell has released the full text of the city's proclamation:

In recognition of Charles Darwin's immense contribution to the sciences, stemming from his explanation of evolution moderated by natural selection, the City of Asheville will join municipalities across the continent, and nations around the world in declaring Feb. 12, International Darwin Day.

The proclamation will be issued at the regular meeting of the Asheville City Council on that date.

The proclamation will read as follows:

International Darwin Day Proclamation

Whereas February 12, 2013 is the anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin in 1809;

And Whereas Charles Darwin is recognized for the development of the theory of evolution by the mechanism of natural selection;

And Whereas Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is recognized as the foundation of modern biology, an essential tool in understanding the natural world and the development of life on earth;

And Whereas Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection has provided, and continues to provide, the basis for great advances in science, medicine and philosophy;

And Whereas the anniversary of Darwin's birthday is an appropriate period on which to reflect and celebrate the importance of scientific advancement to all people;

And Whereas government bodies around the world, including the United States Congress, have designated this anniversary as a celebration of the life and work of Charles Darwin;

And Whereas the City of Asheville is rightfully proud of its commitment to scientifically-based environmental awareness, appropriate technology and high educational standards;

Now, Therefore, I Terry Bellamy, Mayor of the City of Asheville, do hereby proclaim February 12, 2013 as "International Darwin Day" in the City of Asheville.

http://www.mountainx.com/article/48327/Council-member-Cecil-Bothwell-releases-Feb.-12-Darwin-Day-proclamation

Who doesn’t want to pony up big dollars to bail out the financially-troubled archdiocese after their reported $660 million settlement with 562 victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests? It’s for a good cause, right?

Sure, the archdiocese appears to have ignored reports of potential pedophile priests. And the Catholic church overall still hasn’t fessed up to its crimes. And sure, some Catholic leaders blames the kids. And they some cardinals attack the victims outright. But who could possibly feel like they’re funding the sins of the church when they hand over money to an organization that has consistently lied and obstructed authorities from finding out the truth about the systematic rape of children?

I mean sure, there’s that little issue of the Catholic church even being involved in modern-day slavery and holding firm on bigotry, but besides that, they’re really a great bunch of people once you get to know them, and hand them all your money so that they don’t have to feel the pain of their sins.

Just because the LA archdiocese is still holding back on providing the full details of their decades of child rape doesn’t mean that they haven’t learned any lessons from their severe failings. I mean, who hasn’t helped to cover up rape, especially the rape of children?
Catholic priest in handcuffs pedophilia sex abuse child

Remind me again why anyone gives the Catholic church money these days for anything, let alone to help the church minimize the damage from its horrific sins on this matter?

http://americablog.com/2013/02/los-angeles-catholic-archidiocese-fundraiser-child-abuse.html

Who doesn’t want to pony up big dollars to bail out the financially-troubled archdiocese after their reported $660 million settlement with 562 victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests? It’s for a good cause, right?

Sure, the archdiocese appears to have ignored reports of potential pedophile priests. And the Catholic church overall still hasn’t fessed up to its crimes. And sure, some Catholic leaders blames the kids. And they some cardinals attack the victims outright. But who could possibly feel like they’re funding the sins of the church when they hand over money to an organization that has consistently lied and obstructed authorities from finding out the truth about the systematic rape of children?

I mean sure, there’s that little issue of the Catholic church even being involved in modern-day slavery and holding firm on bigotry, but besides that, they’re really a great bunch of people once you get to know them, and hand them all your money so that they don’t have to feel the pain of their sins.

Just because the LA archdiocese is still holding back on providing the full details of their decades of child rape doesn’t mean that they haven’t learned any lessons from their severe failings. I mean, who hasn’t helped to cover up rape, especially the rape of children?
Catholic priest in handcuffs pedophilia sex abuse child

Remind me again why anyone gives the Catholic church money these days for anything, let alone to help the church minimize the damage from its horrific sins on this matter?

http://americablog.com/2013/02/los-angeles-catholic-archidiocese-fundraiser-child-abuse.html

(Washington, DC, Feb 8, 2013)—Humanists and other nontheists are enthusiastic about a proposal by Washington D.C. City Councilmember Tommy Wells to allow anyone to perform a wedding ceremony in the nation’s capital.

The bill under consideration will create a single-use “temporary officiant” designation for anyone to perform the marriage of a specific couple. Under current DC law, only religious authorities and court officers can perform marriages, with applications by those with a religious affiliation not always approved. The proposal by Wells for a temporary permit tied to a specific wedding would have no such requirements.

“Couples should have the freedom to choose an officiant, and she or he should not need a religious affiliation to solemnize a marriage,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. “With the religiously unaffiliated nearing 20 percent of the general population, more and more people will be seeking the services of secular officiants and non-religious ceremonies.”

The Humanist Society, an adjunct of the American Humanist Association, trains and equips officiants to perform humanist, nonreligious, and interreligious weddings and other lifecycle ceremonies. Speckhardt continued, “I hope elected officials in other states will take notice and introduce similar legislation that gives all marrying couples the freedom to choose.”

http://www.americanhumanist.org/news/details/2013-02-humanists-applaud-dc-bill-allowing-secular-wedding-o

"Beliefs do not change facts. Facts, if one is rational, should change beliefs"

Ireland’s government was directly involved in sending girls and women to work for nothing in laundries run by Catholic orders, a landmark report published Tuesday concluded. The report by Irish Senator Martin McAleese found that orphans and abused, neglected or unruly children were among more than 10,000 sent to the Magdalen Laundries from 1922 to 1996.

Some had committed minor crimes, others were simply homeless or poor. Women with mental or physical disabilities and some people with psychiatric illness also found themselves in the laundries. Their average age, the report found, was 23, but the youngest child was just nine and the oldest known entrant was 89.

Activists called on the government to issue a formal apology and pay compensation, with one group saying those affected had been "treated like slaves."

Their plight came to greater public attention when it was the subject of a 2002 film called The Magdalene Sisters, which used a different spelling. And in June 2011, the United Nations’ Committee on Torture highlighted allegations of "physical, emotional abuses and other ill-treatment" and said it was "gravely concerned" at Ireland’s failure to "protect girls and women who were involuntarily confined."

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/05/16854772-ireland-sent-girls-women-to-catholic-workhouses-until-1996-report-finds