Roger Waters' support of Palestinian rights/ BDS movement reportedly costing him millions

More and more mainstream celebrities are coming out in favor of supporting the rights of Palestinians and opposing their oppressive conditions at the hands of Israel. But that doesn’t mean it happens without flak from Mainstream corporations who still side with Israel. The latest musician is Roger Waters, who played for years, for the band Pink Floyd.-SJ Otto

According to FoxNews:

“Roger Waters is planning his most spectacular and expensive tour yet — but the Pink Floyd legend is facing backlash from some big-name sponsors over his views on Israel.

Sources tell us that American Express balked at spending up to $4 million to sponsor Waters’ 2017 US + Them North American tour.”

Also according to the Fox articles Waters said:

“I have been accused of being a Nazi and an anti-Semite for the past 10 years. My industry has been particularly recalcitrant in even raising a voice [against Israel] . . . I’ve talked to a lot of them, and they are scared s - - tless. If they say something in public, they will no longer have a career. They will be destroyed.”

He also slammed Presidential Candidate Donald Trump:

“Waters, who has angered many in New York with his support for a boycott of Israel over the issue of Palestinian rights, shocked people at Oldchella by unleashing a series of brutal images targeting Donald Trump, and slogans such as “F - - k Trump and his wall” and “Arrogant, lying, racist, sexist,” then voicing solidarity with students protesting for Palestinians. He also urged people to support the controversial BDS Movement (boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel) and added, “I encourage the government in Israel to end the occupation.”

For the full article click here.

Pix by LA Daily News Media Center.

94-year-old Ohio judge releases the most comprehensive and blistering attack on voter suppression

From Daily Kos:


Ohio has been involved in a decade-long voting dispute. Last month, two Republican-appointed white judges and Judge Damon Keith (appointed in 1977 and black) ruled on a Republican-led initiative to rid black voting rights with little to no justification. The two white judges ruled that Ohio was justified in its completely evidence-free approach to fighting “voter fraud” and other phantom voting maladies. 94-year-old Judge Damon Keith wrote an 11-page dissent, which included historic civil rights imagery. His basic legal argument is that the two justices applied incorrect legal tests to come to their conclusion, and were even contradictory in their applications of these “tests.” Judge Damon goes on to explain that these laws are clearly racist and an attack on voting rights.

For more click here.

Wichitans give support to the Muslim community

Printed in the letter section of The Wichita Eagle:

  Kansas is often used as a punchline, but the terrorist plot in western
Kansas is serious and frightening. But it is important to know that
Wichita is full of good people who support the Muslim community and
their Muslim friends when they are under attack. For example there was
support for a local mosque when local bullies threatened to show up with
guns during Friday services, egged on by the disgraceful politician Mike
Pompeo. Representative Pompeo didn't like that evening's speaker because
of his support of Palestinian rights. Last year a few ignorant
anti-Muslim locals tried to intimidate Wichita State University into
canceling planned modifications to the interfaith chapel. This was a
longstanding plan initiated by local Protestant clergy for a more modern
facility, and also designed to meet the needs of Muslim members of the
WSU community. Widespread support for the chapel from the students,
faculty, and community at large kept the bullies from succeeding in
this. We know Wichita will continue to stand up for community,
solidarity and civil rights.

Laura Tillem

Peace and Social Justice Center

Damn those dress codes! Young feminists are taking a stand

From Daily Kos:

By Denise Oliver Velez  

Much of the focus here in the U.S. is on the upcoming election of our first female president and her opponent’s ugly behavior and language—and his shaming of women has struck a chord with young women and girls. Hillary Clinton’s campaign ad, titled “Mirrors,” speaks to it. Recently, I had a discussion about this with the young women (and one young man) in my introduction to women’s studies class. Most of them are first-year students, so their memories of high school and middle school are fresh.

All of these young women shared stories about being sent to detention, or shamed, or being sent home, or having parents called to school because they had a shirt on that showed their collarbones or shoulders, or because they wore leggings or yoga pants. They shared about themselves, their younger sisters, and friends, and how this made them feel.

For the rest click here.

The last Trump-Clinton Debate—the most bitter campaign since 1972

By SJ Otto

Not since the Richard Nixon-George McGovern campaign, of 1972, have we seen such a bitter and nasty campaign for president of the US. Last night’s debate brought all of that out. By the end of the night many of the “talking heads” (pundits) surrounding that debate said that Hillary Clinton won and unless something unusual happens in the next 19 days she will be elected as our next president.

So for the absolute Trump haters out there and I do know a few, we don’t have to worry that he will actually win—at least not right now. There was a substantial debate over a few issues such as abortion and the war against ISIS (Islamic State). There was also horror by both Clinton and several news personalities over Trump’s refusal to say he would accept the outcome of the election. All along he has been saying that the election is rigged. I don’t know why anyone would take that seriously. Trump is a showman. That is what he has been in the past. He knows how to keep people’s interest up. He has used that gimmick throughout the election. At one point in the debate Clinton said that ‘he claimed the Emmy awards were rigged.’ Trump responded almost joking “Should have gotten it.” For me it was hard to take him seriously.

This is not unlike the Nixon-McGovern race. The main issue in 1972 was the Vietnam War and McGovern made that his main theme. Much of the rest of the Democratic Party had denounced McGovern, some even going so far as to run commercials against him—“Democrats for Nixon.” All of this was over the military and their war in Vietnam. As with this year’s campaign the candidates called each other names.  

During that election there was speculation that McGovern was not going to congratulate Nixon if he won the election. In fact The Washington Post ran the following after the election results came in and McGovern had lost by a record landslide vote:

“The South Dakota senator, though buried in an electoral defeat of historic dimensions, refused to concede that his platform of immediate peace in Vietnam and populist reform at home had been repudiated along with his candidacy.

Referring to the Nixon stands he had condemned in his long struggle for the presidency, McGovern said from Sioux Falls: "We do not rally to the support of policies we deplore. We love this country and we will continue to beckon it to a higher standard."

Of course there were some major differences. McGovern was considered far to the left of the main stream. Trump is considered farther to the right than Clinton. And on some foreign policies he is slightly farther to the left. And it seems this race is a lot closer. And in the end McGovern did congratulate Nixon on his win. I’m betting that Trump will do the same if and when he loses.

This has been a lively campaign. Trump may not be the man for the job, but he has made this campaign stand out in history. One thing this campaign is not—is boring.

Campaigns are full of surprises, as in the George W. Bush-Al Gore campaign, of 2000 where the votes were so close there was a recount that took until December 12 before a winner was declared. This year’s campaign has had its share of surprises also, especially with Trump having to answer to all the allegations he harassed several women.

Regardless of what the polls say we still need Democrats to get out and vote. A lot of people are saying they don’t want to vote for Hillary and they don’t need to since she is ahead in the polls. Such an attitude leads to delegating your choice to others and with it your own personal responsibility. So do vote.

Hillary Clinton shook hands with the moderator, Chris Wallace, on Wednesday after the debate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a gesture that she did not repeat with Donald J. Trump.CreditJosh Haner/The New York Times

Conservatives use the Carr brothers to try and oust judges

By SJ Otto

Tea Party Conservatives, loyal to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback are running a campaign to oust five Kansas Supreme Court justices in the upcoming November election. To do this they are using the relatives of the Carr brother’s atrocities to drum up outrage from the fact that the Kansas Supreme Court overturned a death penalty ruling. Rather than argue the validity of the actual justices and why these people want them removed, they are using that one case to try and claim the court is soft on criminals.

The case of Jonathan and Reginald Carr was quite brutal. The brothers went on a spree of robberies, assaults, rapes, and murders from December 7 to 14, 2000. In the end they killed five people and one of their victims lived to testify against them.

The brothers are in jail and will never be released. The real reason for the removal of these justices is so that they won’t interfere in Brownback’s destruction of the school system and other government functions. Some very good videos have been released from those who want to save the Justices. See them below:  

Former Kansas Governors: Vote Yes 5 Times

Kansas Supreme Court to be big ballot issue this 

Brownback: Power Grab

Maize, KS Pride Parade- and don't forget the politics

By SJ Otto

This Saturday Morning I got up to see our Maize Pride Parade. It is nice that the City of Maize, where I presently reside, still puts on the parade. The people here need it. Just like it would be nice if they still put up Christmas decorations, but they don't. There were plenty of fun floats of local people and I got a lot of candy thrown at my drive-way. I love free candy.

Some of the highlights of the parade included the political floats, such as candidate for 4th congressional district for US Representative Daniel Giroux.

Giroux gets mixed results from this blog. He favors US intervention in Iraq and Syria but wants to try diplomacy and sanctions first. This is slightly better than Rep. Mike Pompeo, the Republican, who never met a war he didn't like.

Giroux supports Obama Care, although he says it needs to be fixed. And I think most of us would agree with that.

Giroux is prolife. That is why  Miranda Allen is running as an independent against him.

Giroux is better than Pompeo, but that is not saying much. Allen is probably a good candidate, but with two people running against such an incumbent as Pompeo, that spells disaster. Pompeo is almost assured of winning this election. And that is a serious problem as Giroux has put out a really good campaign and worked hard to unseat that treacherous traitor. But with two people winning that ass-hole will probably win anyway.

And here we see candidate Daniel Giroux.

And some friends of mine were working on his campaign.

And we see that the pro-war incumbent Pompeo's minions out to promote his re-election. 

There were a few other cool things about this parade, like this antique car.

And speaking of candy, check out this candy site for your upcoming Halloween.

It is past time to vote Pompeo out of office

By SJ Otto

There have been a lot of supportive letters to The Wichita Eagle lately, supporting Rep. Mike Pompeo, Republican 4^th district US Representative race. Some of the letter writers may actually be shills. But anyway here is an example, from J. Mullen:

We know Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, supports our Constitution. He took the oath to defend it while wearing our nation’s uniform and helped safeguard the rights of us all.

But this is simply not true. He does not support the Fourth Amendment to the constitution, unreasonable search and seizure. Such searches require a warrant and/or probable cause. But that is not what Pompeo believes.

Pompeo believes our wars and military are more important than us. We are supposed to just trust the government. Here is whathe has said:

As a veteran, I want our soldiers in the field to have the intelligence they need to perform their missions effectively. As a conservative, and member of the House Intelligence Committee, I take the balance between privacy and protecting American lives very seriously. I believe these anti-terror programs are crucial.”

But he doesn't take it seriously. He has gleefully supported the spying on innocent American citizens by the NSA. In fact he has supported the NSA when it has engaged in massive, illegal dragnet surveillance of the domestic communications and communications records of millions of ordinary Americans since at least 2001. 

Pompoe even supports the use of drones for surveillance of American citizens.

“When it comes to domestic surveillance, sometimes Congress seems like it’s expressing shock and outrage about something it already knows—or should have known. Take the use of drones on U.S. soil.
FBI Director Robert Mueller admitted at a hearing this week that his agency uses unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance on U.S. soil. Mueller insisted the FBI used drones “in a very, very minimal way.”

Then there was this letter from Justin Thompson:

Though the debate lacked the drama and excitement we have seen from this cycle’s presidential debates, one thing stood out to me: Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, was the only candidate who had any legitimate foreign policy views.

Pompeo has a foreign policy but it is reckless and amounts to ‘I never met a war I didn't like.’ He has opposed the diplomatic negotiations that led to an end of hostilities with Iran.

Around the same time, we all learned about the shocking $400 million payment to Iran that by shipping pallets of foreign currency being flown to Tehran secretly while U.S. hostages were being released.  The world knew this was a ransom payment.  I wrote a letter to the Treasury Department demanding to know what legal grounds they had to make such a transfer.  Then, just this week, the State Department confirmed it – the $400 million was contingent on Iran releasing the American hostages!  I explained all of this to Trish Regan on Fox News on Monday before the State Department confirmed our suspicions."  

His seems to want to stay at war or go to war with Iran.

Another issue is his continues support for the Guantanamo Bay camps. At one point he suggested the US Joint Chiefs of Staff to deliberately defy President Barack Obama's policy to shut down the Guantanamo Bay concentration camp:

“As the urgency of the threat presented by Islamic extremism grows, we cannot afford to have the commander-in-chief issue executive orders in direct contravention of laws that he enacted,” Pompeo said in a statement. “I encourage the Joint Chiefs of Staff carry out an exhaustive legal review before implementing any executive order transferring these dangerous terrorists to the United States.”

For these reasons it is important that we vote Pompeo out of office and put someone in with a moderate stand on the military and someone who does not want to permanently keep us at war.

Carly Simon allows the use of 'You're So Vain' in #NeverTrump video—withone tiny tweak

From Daily Kos:

This is just fun. Legendary singer, songwriter, musician and activist Carly Simon has given her permission and blessings for her classic song “You’re So Vain” to be used in a video that mocks the conceit of Republican nominee Donald Trump. This marks the first time Simon has allowed her 1972 hit to be used for political purposes. A spokesman for Simon said the singer is:

“...alarmed at the prospect of Donald Trump reaching the White House and has joined other creative voices in making a definitive statement.”

For the rest click here.

Last night's debate a slug-fest

I missed the debates last night, since I wasn't feeling very well. But I realize now that I should have watched them. That's not because I thought anything major would change. It's not because I thought the candidates would clarify their stands on the issues. It is more like a Jerry Springer moment. It was less a civil debate and more a knock-down insult-fest.

I probably will watch reruns of this debate somewhere. This has got to be the most hostile debate since the beginning of television. We can give a lot credit to the "slug-fest" atmosphere to Donald Trump's showmanship. Even after the spectacle of his comments about women, taped years ago, where he didn't know he was being recorded, he barely apologized. 

This was in my hometown of St. Louis. I haven't been there much since I left as a small kid. But it is interesting to see the old home town.

Polls show that Clinton is most likely to win this election. Trump has devastated the Republican Party and its members are distancing themselves from him. One thing we can say about Trump is that he has made the election interesting. Never have I ever regretted missing a presidential candidate debate as this one. This is history and we get to watch it live. -SJ Otto

For another look at the debates here is comments from Huffington Post:

ST. LOUIS - Shortly into Sunday night’s wildly anticipated debate, Donald Trumpmade a campaign promise that might be more fitting in Vladimir Putin’s Russia than modern American politics: If he were president, he told Hillary Clinton, “you’d be in jail.”

It was part of a performance from Trump that put to rest the question, if it was still open, of whether Trump is fit for the presidency. Nobody appeared more aware of that reality than Trump, whose strategy seemed to be to extract as much public humiliation from Clinton as he could, rather than to win the election.

His acquiescences to reality also came through in his final answer, when, after trashing Clinton for 90 minutes, the candidates were asked to say one nice thing about each other. Clinton complimented Trump’s children, but Trump effusively praised Clinton’s indefatigable spirit. 

“I will say this about Hillary. She doesn’t quit. She doesn’t give up. I respect that. I tell it like it is: She is a fighter. I disagree with much of what she’s fighting for. I do disagree with her judgment in many cases, but she does fight hard and she doesn’t quit and she doesn’t give up, and I consider that to be a very good trait,” he said.

For the rest click here.

Pix by money.cnn.com.

What Happened When A Food Truck In NC Refused To Serve Gays

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Get More: The Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,The Daily Show Video Archive

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The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Get More: The Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,The Daily Show Video Archive

McDonald workers complain of sexual harassment

"He would physically grab me by the waist."

"He would ask me for pictures of myself."

"I'd tell him to stop and he'd keep doing it."¹

Those are just a few of the stories McDonald's workers came forward with yesterday, along with an explosive report showing that 40% of women in fast food are sexually harassed at work. And instead of getting help, the women who report harassment often get their hours cut or are fired--especially if the employee is a Black woman or Latina.²

Media scrutiny is picking up steam since the report came out. And with McDonald's executives under intense pressure to turn around declining sales, now is the perfect time to get their ear.³ Our friends at Fight for 15, the organization created by fast food workers, have mobilized rapid response protests outside of McDonald's stores today--if we act right now, we can help build the momentum to force McDonald's to do the right thing.⁴

^{Tell McDonald's: Enforce a zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy in your stores starting TODAY.}

Sign the petition

The accounts of sexual harassment from the women are nauseating. One former employee quit her job after her shift manager grabbed her breasts and offered her money for oral sex. Even worse is that McDonald's shrugs off these complaints and allows managers to retaliate--one in five of the women who came forward were denied a raise, had their hours cut, or were given a worse schedule.⁵

And McDonald's measly wages--so small that the company has told employees to go on food stamps--make sexual harassment even worse.⁶ The report found that nearly half of the women who endure harassment say they endure the abuse because they can't afford to lose their job.⁷

Women make up 65% of the sexual harassment-riddled fast food industry.⁸ As the second largest employer in the country, McDonald's can set an example across the industry.⁹ If enough of us join the fast food workers who are protesting right now, we can push McDonald's to fix its sexual harassment problem.

Tell McDonald's to end rampant sexual harassment in its stores.

Article from --Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Adam, Holly, Kathy, Onyi, Susan, Anathea, Audine, Shannon, Megan, Libby, Emma, PaKou, and Pilar, the UltraViolet team

Sources:

1. McDonald's Workers Detail Horrifying Sexual Harassment, The Huffington Post, October 5, 2016

2. McDonald's accused of ignoring rampant sexual harassment in its restaurants, ThinkProgress, October 5, 2016

3. McDonald's 2016 Revenues To Decline YoY Despite Improvement; To Pick Up Pace Thereafter, NASDAQ, May 19, 2016

4. McDonald's Workers Across the U.S. Plan Protests Against the Company's Sexual Harassment Problem, Jezebel, October 5, 2016

5. McDonald's accused of ignoring rampant sexual harassment in its restaurants, ThinkProgress, October 5, 2016

6. McDonald's helps workers get food stamps, CNN Money, October 24, 2013

7. McDonald's accused of ignoring rampant sexual harassment in its restaurants, ThinkProgress, October 5, 2016

8. Charts: Why Fast-Food Workers Are Going on Strike, Mother Jones, December 4, 2016

9. 7 Fortune 500 companies with the most employees, Fortune, June 13, 2015

Vengeful politicians monkey wrench the peace process in Colombia

By SJ Otto

A peace proposal to end nearly 50 years of fighting between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and its government and military has now been monkey wrenched by a vindictive right-wing hatchet man; former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. Uribe organized the “no” vote to try and hold out for jail time and other punishments to the FARC, despite the fact that this deal brought an end to years of senseless bloodshed.

This agreement has been supported by various middle-of-the-road politicians, both at home and across the globe, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The vote was expected to be yes. Most Colombians are tired of the war. This would have brought it all to an end. But as with right-wing politicians across the globe, Including the US Republican Party, the British Tories and the Likud of Israel, winning elections is a fine art and does not depend on popular support. The victory was razor thin, 50.2 percent. That means just 0.2 percent of voters now stand in the way of an institutionalized peace.

Conservative politicians as Uribe have held societies hostage all over the world, in the last 20 years, to policies of never ending war. Peace seems to be an affront to such parties and people. For those who would like to move away from the rigid positions of conservative, mean-spirited, all-for-the-wealthy-only parties these are tough times. Such leaders seem to be masters of manipulating public opinion to get what they want. These politicians are unrelenting in their determination to punish all who would dare to stand up to their militaristic policies.

An interesting issue is that no one is talking about punishment for those responsible for human rights violations on the government’s side, including death squads against leftists.     

According to Human Rights Watch, “World Report 2015: Colombia:”

“Human rights defenders, trade unionists, journalists, indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders, and other community activists face death threats and violence. The administration of President Juan Manuel Santos consistently condemns these attacks, but lack of effective investigations means perpetrators are rarely arrested.”

Human Rights Watch takes notes of violations by the guerrillas, but it is clear that right-wing paramilitary groups and the government also violate people’s rights. Does Uribe care about the government side? We can assume he doesn’t. As with all right-wing leaders in Latin America and elsewhere, he seems to believe that only left-wing groups are capable of human rights violations.

The Deal worked out by President Santos was a good one. It is possible that Uribe will not have as much of an impact on the process as he hopes for. But this is a tough time for those trying to find justice through the so called “electoral systems.” For the most part right-wing politicians have refined the art of manipulating elections and deceiving the voters. This is a Triumph of the Swill.

Keep our Surpreme Court Justices—Don’t let Brownback beat them

By SJ Otto

Conservative Republican Kansans are already trying to unseat Kansas Supreme Court Justices Carol Beier, Marla Luckert, Lawton Nuss and Dan Biles for doing the job they were appointed to do. Governor Sam Brownback has not been happy with the Kansas Supreme court because they have insisted that he fund Kansas Schools at the levels required by the state constitution.

Of course conservatives are not going to come out and say they don’t want the Justices to do their jobs. They have tried to claim that they are coddling criminals. For example, Kelsie Voss wrote a letter to the Sunday’s The Wichita Eagle claiming that those four justices have un-necessarily delayed the sentencing of the Carr Brothers, two men accused of viscous murders and rapes. But as bad as these crimes are we have a duty to allow proper due process in law. No one in Kansas is above the law and Brownback and his supporters constantly ignore that. They are also using criminal cases, such as this, as an excuse to censor the justices on their views on school funding—or at least there is a possibility of such a bait and switch campaign.

People’s rights are supposed to be defended by the state and national Supreme Court. That is what those courts are for. When people vote them out for defending those whose lives and rights are violated, we put all of us in danger. Defending people’s rights is not about a popularity contest. At times a person’s life may be at stake. We don’t need innocent people being jailed or executed.

Let’s defend our Kansas Judges. Vote to keep in Justices Carol Beier, Marla Luckert, Lawton Nuss and Dan Biles. Let’s show Kansas that we believe in due process.   

Confessions of a poppy pod tea drinker

The following is an expose and not intended to promote illegal drug use. This is just one person’s experience. This follows up after; “Fox News attacks mild use of herbs — poppy pod tea — more lies, more hype!”

 –SJ Otto

By Conrad Klondike

It was almost noon. That is when the mail comes. I was waiting for my box. There is something thrilling about anticipating poppy pod tea. The anticipation is almost as good as the high I get from it. Once it gets here I will rip open the box and then go through a lengthy ritual to make my tea.

Once I've drank all the tea it is like being on a vacation—a vacation from all my troubles, stress, pain and just about anything that ails me. It's like being in heaven for about 8 hours. There is really nothing like it.

And of course I'm talking about making a tea from the straw of opium poppies.[1] I can get this stuff because the law allows people to buy the pods for use as craft supplies—mostly for flower arrangements. It took me a while to learn how to unlock the magic of the pods. I learned about it from a friend. I have used narcotics of various types through out my adult life. This is probably the best thing I ever discovered. I don’t have to go look for a dealer or a connection of some kind to some shady criminal. I can just send away from it on line.

I have spent many of my adult years as an alcoholic. I used to smoke pot. I lost interest in pot smoking years ago. And as for alcohol, my health has deteriorated since I have had hepatitis C. I was diagnosed with it about 10 years ago. If they had not come up with new medicine I probably would die within the next five years from now. I was getting sick for a long time. But with new medicine I am now free of the virus that causes hep C. But the damage has already been done. My liver is damaged and I have a hard time with alcohol now. It doesn't relax me as much as it used to. Also if I drink a little too much I black out and don't remember a thing. Over the years I've learned that alcohol is a sloppy drug. It lowers my inhabitations making me talk about things I really shouldn't. It messes with judgment encouraging me to act stupid and make dumb decisions. It also makes me feel spacey and out of it.

Opium does not do those things. Opium makes me feel relaxed. It brings on the feeling of euphoria. I feel pleasant sensations, almost rushes running through my body. Alcohol does some of this, but the negative affects outweigh the good.

Opium doesn't mess as much with my liver and it doesn't make me as sick as alcohol can. I can take the stuff and go to work. I can talk to people and unless they know what to look for, they can't tell I'm high.

So why do I want to use this at all? I've had depression all my life. Maybe that is why I used to drink so much. I've seen doctors and I've taken my share of anti-depressant medicine. It just doesn't work for me. The bottom line is that I just want to feel good. That is all. I'm not looking for some kind of thrills. I'm not trying to gain some great insight or improve my artistic capabilities. I just want to feel good for a while. That is hard for me to do. Unless someone can show me a better way to feel good, I will continue to drink my tea. I don’t have regrets or wish I could get free of the drug, as some addicts will say. I don’t want to be cured from this stuff. I plan to keep using it as long as I can.

In the past I've used all kinds of drugs, from LSD to heroin. I used to get wild and party and go to wild parties. I used to think it was cool to get loaded on booze or drugs. Now I don't care about being cool. I avoid telling anyone I use this stuff. Again I just want to feel good.

I still like the feel of shrooms—not as good as opium, but if I can get it, and it is extremely rare that I do, I like it. I still drink a little, since I can't use the opium more than about once or twice a month, to avoid outright addiction. I have used other narcotics. But the tea last the longest and it is much easier to get that heroin or the many subscription pharmaceutical narcotics such as OxyContin, Vicodin or Dilaudid.

For much of my adult life I've used narcotics of all types at one time or another. So when I found out about the tea, I knew what I was looking for.

I have a crummy job working at a shoe store. It pays lousy with few benefits. I am 63 so I can retire in a few years. Once I retire I don’t have to worry about being drug tested at work. It is getting to the point where having a job is just a liability. There are so many disadvantages to having one, drug testing, a lack of benefits and no job security—who in their right mind really wants to work past retirement?

As I get older my health gets crummier. My sex drive is starting to deteriorate. So spending my golden years loaded on opium just makes a lot of sense.

So once or twice a month I go to the web site that sells me my pods. I order a box for a little over $100. I use my credit card. After I close the deal they ship the box out for overnight service. It takes about two days and I can track it from one postal station to the next, until it makes it to the post office near my home.

When I get my box I tear it open, take some of the pods out, crush them a little, put them in my coffee grinder and then into a pot. I put just enough water, bring it to a boil and let it steep a while. Then I strain the tea through a filter and drink it. It tastes awful, like drinking something made of hay. I don’t bother to put sugar in it as some people do. I just gulp it down fast. I chase it with tomato juice. I get enough pods to get high about four times. Once the drink does its magic I sit back and enjoy it. Sometimes the tea makes me nauseous. But I don’t really care that much. Puking is a small price to pay for such a good experience.

I don’t know how many other people do this. I don’t really care. It is my body and I will decide what goes in it. I don’t need police or moralizing religious fanatics to tell me how I should live. I tried AA when I first found I had hep C. I tried it for a year. I just don’t like being that sober. So after a while I dropped out of the program for good. I’ve never looked back. A sober life is just not for me and I have no intention of living that way. When I first used the tea, I drank it so often I got addicted and eventually went through withdrawals. They lasted a few days. I quit the tea for a while, but I later went back to it. I’m more careful about it now.

Most of all I do what seems to work for me. I can’t speak for others. I don’t care if anyone but me uses the tea. I know at least one other person who uses it as I do. I don’t promote it. What works for others is up to others. I just take care of myself and my own medical needs.

Conrad Klondike is a pen name for a writer from Wichita, KS.

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[1] Poppy tea contains two groups of alkaloids: phenanthrenes (including morphine and codeine) and benzylisoquinolines (including papaverine). Of these, morphine is the most prevalent comprising 8%-14% of the total. Its effects derive from the fact that it binds to and activates mu opioid receptors in the brain, spinal cord, stomach and intestine.

Dried Papaver somniferum capsules and stems will, if harvested and dried by the usual protocol, contain significantly lower quantities of thebaine than opium made from latex as well as somewhat more codeine. When ingested, thebaine causes nausea, vomiting, and myoclonus. Thebaine is an important precursor for manufacture of pharmaceuticals, and is more concentrated in the roots of Papaver somniferum than elsewhere. Other species of poppies, numbering in the hundreds, do not contain morphine or codeine in useful amounts, but may contain non-narcotic alkaloids like protopine, sanguinarine or berberine. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppy_tea