perpetual memory loss

On January 16, 1919 the 36th State ratified the 18th Amendment and Prohibition became the law of the land.  The movement to prohibition was a long one and started in the 1780′s when physician Benjamin Rush warned of the dangers of alcohol.  The real push towards prohibition began after the Second Great Awakening (1790-1840) with the rise of evangelical Protestantism.  What a shock a bunch of religious zealots tried to stop other people from having fun because they were incapable of enjoying themselves.  Although the reasons for the temperance movement–and eventually prohibition–were not entirely religious, those beliefs did play a pivotal role in pushing for the legislation.  Anyways this evangelical movement spawned a plethora of temperance movements throughout the 19th Century.  There was the Washingtonian Movement, the American Temperance Society, the Sons of Temperance, and later in the century the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, and the Anti-Saloon League.

Although these movements preached temperance towards the end of the 19th Century they started to work towards a complete prohibition of alcohol.  By 1919 the 18th Amendment was ratified and in 1920 the Volstead Act was passed to reinforce prohibition.  The grand hope of prohibition was that by forcing people to stop drinking the country would enter a golden age of peace and prosperity.  The truth was much different however:

Prohibition did not alleviate the problems of alcohol—instead it just exacerbated the problems. It created a black market where none had existed before, Americans drank stronger, more lethal alcohol, the purity of which was unregulated, the dosages higher, and violence and alcohol related deaths increased dramatically. Furthermore, criminal organizations were able to take advantage of this new market and rise to prominence. Their rise brought corruption into politics and law enforcement in many American cities…

Once Prohibition went into effect prohibitionists in America lauded the amendment and prophesied that a new and better day was beginning in America. One of those people was the minister Billy Sunday who proclaimed, “the reign of tears is over. The slums will soon be a memory. We will turn our prisons into factories and our jails into storehouses and corncribs. Men will walk upright now, women will smile, and the children will laugh. Hell will be forever for rent.” Unfortunately it was quite the opposite. Prostitution and gambling had always been a staple of organized crime; but once the Eighteenth Amendment took effect organized crime found a new and much more profitable industry. As a result of completely prohibiting alcohol the prohibitionists unwittingly created a vast market; bootlegging became the order of the day and with it came an increase in violence and corruption. Organized crime was able to take advantage of high demands by the populace; and by supplying liquor and beer to citizens of all social standings criminal organizations became rich and powerful. They were able to influence everyone from judges to politicians.

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Me luv you long time.

The term red light district usual connotes a district or neighborhood where prostitution runs rampant.  The origin of the term is not completely agreed upon.  Some think that it is an old railroad term, while others claim other explainations.  Whatever the explanation it is pretty much certain that around the world the color red connotes prostitution, drugs, or both.  As I have traveled around the world, both on my own and in groups, I have had a lot of varied experiences.  Some have been recorded here, but most of them are known only to me and a few others.

If you know me in person or you have been reading about some of my random encounters on this site, then you probably know that I am a magnet for the weird and random.  I once had dinner with a drug dealer in the Czech Republic, been offered Heroin in Chicago, Hamburg, Scotland, and in Iraq.  I have also had discussions, and sometimes a few drinks, with prostitutes in Munich, Australia, Mexico, Singapore, and Hamburg.  These are just some of the experience I have had that have educated me about the seedier side of life, and have provided me with some great stories.  So what’s my point?  I’ll get to my point shortly, but I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what happens in the underground lifestyles of the world.  Dostoevsky spent tons of time hanging out with alcoholics, prostitutes, criminals, and addicts so that he could write about them with realistically.  You don’t have to partake in a lifestyle to know it, you just have to observe it learn the traits, and then when you see if you will know it.  My own varied experiences have led me to have many encounter with these shady characters, and because of that I trust my gut instincts.  I have, at times, had to navigate some precarious situations, in varied random foreign countries, without any help.  I have come through these situations mostly unscathed, and with plenty of experience and a total trust in my instincts.  Which brings me to my point.

When I was in Singapore the whorehouses were all in regular ass neighborhoods.  They looked just like any other house in the neighborhood except for one tiny detail.  At night when the front lights came on the house number instead of glowing white, glowed red.  Now I have lived in my neighborhood here for a year, and when I first moved in I noticed that one house in my neighborhood had red numbers out front.  It struck me as odd in this neighborhood, because of the high police presence and school security officials.  From day one I have had it in the back of my head that this house could be a whorehouse.  I have rarely if ever seen anyone ever coming in or out of the house (the few I have seen are women, and I believe Asian women, but it is usually dark), and the shades are always drawn closed.  The last few months, however, I have had more time on my hands, and I have been walking around the neighborhood a lot more late at night.  (Sometimes when I have been writing too long, and I am stuck and don’t know what to write next, I go outside for a walk to clear my head.)  I have been observing the house more and more and still the shades are drawn shut, and there is very little traffic coming in and out of the house.  I have also noticed lately that often there is a car that sits outside the house with the engine running, and last night I saw one Asian girl go up to the house and knock on the door.  She stood there for a bit and then from around the corner an NYPD van came rolling up–with three people inside of it–it stopped in front of the house, and they shined a spotlight on the girl.  She knocked frantically, and as soon as the door opened scurried inside.  The NYPD van rolled out, and the parked car in front of the house took off in the other direction.  So I’m thinking that the police are either finally wise to the house or have almost enough evidence to make some kind of bust.  I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure I’m right.  If I am right then I think there will be some kind of drama going down in the neighborhood soon.  I’m going to keep taking my late night strolls to check out the hood, and I will keep you all posted if anything goes down.

I wish I could say that news like this surprises me, but I would be lying if I did, in fact, news like this, just ends up reinforcing many of my beliefs.  The Washington Times has done an investigative report called “Disposable Heroes.”  In this report they find evidence that the VA has been testing drugs on veterans without telling them of the potentially severe side-effects.  I guess the only surprising fact of this is not that they were testing this drug on veterans, but instead, it is the brazen audacity of the government.  They act as if there will be no recourse, and no consequences, and unfortunately, they are probably right.  For years now there has been an ongoing controversy about Anthrax shots.  It is still unknown if there are long term side-effects to these shots.  The effects of these shots may not be known for years to come (if there is any.)  However, the effects of this new round of testing are known:

the drug may cause serious side effects, including “anxiety, nervousness, tension, depression, thoughts of suicide, and attempted and completed suicide.”

The drug in question in Chantix, an anti-smoking drug.  You would think that if the potential side-effects include killing yourself, and potentially harming others, that they would exercise more caution.  They don’t, and they don’t care.  I’ve been told personally by people inside the VA that the VA has been taken over by pharmaceutical companies, and that priority number one is to medicate the veterans.  Anytime you go to the VA the first thing they try to do is put you on some sort of drug.  That way the veterans are medicated, and the pharmaceutical companies have a constant stream of test subjects, and a constant stream of government money.  This of course is heaped on top (or maybe in conjunction) with the VA covering-up the suicide attempts and completions of Iraq War veterans.

John McCain has been conspicuously quiet about this subject, and I have yet to hear him address it.  Maybe that is because McCain doesn’t really care.  He has shown time and time again that he is not on the side of veterans.  Obama, however, has addressed the issue:

I was very concerned to read this morning’s Washington Times and learn that the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has yet again failed to take appropriate steps to
safeguard the health and well-being of veterans participating in drug trials.

According to a Washington Times/ABC News investigation, the VA took three
months to notify patients about severe side effects from the anti-smoking drug Chantix.
Almost 1,000 veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were paid
$30 a month to participate in a study examining ways to end smoking. A total of 143 of
the study participants took the anti-smoking drug Chantix.

Last November, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert
regarding reports that Chantix led to hallucinations, suicide attempts, and psychotic
behavior. Even though almost 40 suicides and more than 400 examples of suicidal
behavior were eventually attributed to Chantix nationwide, the VA waited three months
after the FDA advisory to alert its study participants about the mental health risks of the
drug. And when the VA did finally notify study participants, it failed to mention the
most serious side effects of suicide and suicidal thoughts. According to the Washington
Times/ABC News investigation, 21 veterans have reported adverse effects from Chantix.
In addition to Chantix, the VA is testing other drugs on veterans with PTSD that carry
warnings of suicidal side effects.

Read the full Obama letter here. We will have to see what happens from here on out, but this seems to have become standard operating procedure for the VA of late–cover-ups and abuse.  The VA has their excuses about bureaucracy and rules, but of course, those don’t apply to the actual people’s lives they are ruining.  They only serve as an excuse for their immoral, and outrageous actions.  Words can’t describe the betrayal I have felt over the last few years, at this current administration and the VA, and those feelings of betrayal (by my own government and country) continue to mount, and I continue to grow more and more bitter.  With actions like these it is no wonder that veterans are paranoid, and mistrustful, and tend to ostracize and segregate themselves from society, because the institutions that are supposed to be there to help and protect us, instead mistreat and abuse us.  Again I implore you to read the article, and to spread the word, the fact that this isn’t on national news daily is a travesty.  Our society is more interested in the celebutards, than in actual important issues.  Of course if a soldier does something wrong in theater then it is all over the news, but when there are thousands that are mistreated it is a blip on the radar.

Via MSNBC:

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – This city’s famed marijuana bars have weathered many challenges over the years and are still smoking. But now they face an unwelcome blast of fresh air: On July 1, the Netherlands will be one of the last European countries to ban smoking in bars and restaurants in compliance with EU law.

This is happening all over the world.  The baby boomers are clamping down on everything.  I’m ok with the whole no smoking in restaurants law, but if you’re going to go to a bar, there’s nothing wrong with having to deal with a little smoke.  These law pretend that they’re protecting the little kiddies, but let’s be serious, if you’re taking your kid to a sports bar, than you have issues as a parent.  Furthermore, I’m sick and tired of the boomers wanting to make up for their youthful indiscretions, by clamping down on my generation.  You know what, fuck off!  What really bugs me is that I never made it to Amsterdam in my travels around Europe, and now it looks like Amsterdam’s salad days are over.

Now what really irks me is that marijuana is illegal in the states.  This is something that needs to be rectified with a quickness.  Now I don’t have the stats on hand, but if you want more information of drugs in the U.S. check out these two books by Jefferson M. Fish here and here.  The fact remains, however, that weed is a much, much safer and useful drug, than both alcohol and cigarettes.