:: The S.I.C.L.E. Cell ::

:: Monday, March 31, 2008 ::

Nick, of Lifewithoutlimbs.com ROCKS! He's cute, smart, funny and amazing! He says that in third world countries they kill kids like him when they are born. I wonder how many Nicks have been aborted when U.S. sonograms revealed they too would live a life without limbs.

Nick proves that life without limbs is challenging, but so not the end of the world.

Every life counts.
Every life.

Are you listening?

:: ashli 11:24 AM # ::
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Personhood ballot initiative:

:: ashli 10:41 PM # ::
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This just blows my freaking mind.


HT: Students for Life of America

:: ashli 10:40 AM # ::
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Wear a Tshirt; be a voice.

:: ashli 2:45 PM # ::
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One "pro-life" Democrat made all the difference.

:: ashli 11:27 AM # ::
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Oh yes, by all means, Florida, let's criminalize something that screws you up for an hour, but lets take something that screws you up for the rest of your life and keep it "safe" and legal. I guess we're more interested in "saving one child's life" than millions of children's lives. Tsk, tsk.

"Is Salvia the Next Marijuana?

By JESSICA GRESKO, AP
3 hours ago

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — On Web sites touting the mind-blowing powers of salvia divinorum, come-ons to buy the hallucinogenic herb are accompanied by warnings: "Time is running out! ... stock up while you still can."

That's because salvia is being targeted by lawmakers concerned that the inexpensive and easy-to-obtain plant could become the next marijuana. Eight states have already placed restrictions on salvia, and 16 others, including Florida, are considering a ban or have previously.

"As soon as we make one drug illegal, kids start looking around for other drugs they can buy legally. This is just the next one," said Florida state Rep. Mary Brandenburg, who has introduced a bill to make possession of salvia a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Some say legislators are overreacting to a minor problem, but no one disputes that the plant impairs judgment and the ability to drive.

Native to Mexico and still grown there, salvia divinorum is generally smoked but can also be chewed or made into a tea and drunk.

Called nicknames like Sally-D, Magic Mint and Diviner's Sage, salvia is a hallucinogen that gives users an out-of-body sense of traveling through time and space or merging with inanimate objects. Unlike hallucinogens like LSD or PCP, however, salvia's effects last for a shorter time, generally up to an hour.

No known deaths have been attributed to salvia's use, but it was listed as a factor in one Delaware teen's suicide two years ago.

"Parents, I would say, are pretty clueless," said Jonathan Appel, an assistant professor of psychology and criminal justice at Tiffin University in Ohio who has studied the emergence of the substance. "It's much more powerful than marijuana."

Salvia's short-lasting effects and fact that it is currently legal may make it seem more appealing to teens, lawmakers say. In the Delaware suicide, the boy's mother told reporters that salvia made his mood darker but he justified its use by citing its legality. According to reports, the autopsy found no traces of the drug in his system, but the medical examiner listed it as a contributing cause.

Mike Strain, Louisiana's Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner and former legislator, helped his state in 2005 become the first to make salvia illegal, along with a number of other plants. He said the response has been largely positive.

"I got some hostile e-mails from people who sold these products," Strain said. "You don't make everybody happy when you outlaw drugs. You save one child and it's worth it."

An ounce of salvia leaves sells for around $30 on the Internet. A liquid extract from the plant, salvinorin A, is also sold in various strengths labeled "5x" through "60x." A gram of the 5x strength, about the weight of a plastic pen cap, is about $12 while 60x strength is around $65. And in some cases the extract comes in flavors including apple, strawberry and spearmint.

Web sites such as Salviadragon.com tout the product with images like a waterfall and rainbow and include testimonials like "It might sound far fetched, but I experience immortality."

Among those who believe the commotion over the drug is overblown is Rick Doblin of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a nonprofit group that does research on psychedelic drugs and whose goal is to develop psychedelics and marijuana into prescription medication.

"I think the move to criminalize is a misguided response to a very minimal problem," Doblin said.

Doblin said salvia isn't "a party drug," "tastes terrible" and is "not going to be extremely popular." He disputes the fact teens are its main users and says older users are more likely.

"It's a minor drug in the world of psychedelics," he said.

Moreover, it's hard to say how widespread the use of salvia is. National and state surveys on drug use don't include salvia, and because it is legal in most states, law enforcement officials don't compile statistics, either.

San Diego State University last year surveyed more than 1,500 students and found that 4 percent of participants reported using salvia in the past year.

Brandenburg's bill would make salvia and its extract controlled substances in the same class as marijuana and LSD.

Florida state Sen. Evelyn Lynn, whose committee plans to study the salvia bill Tuesday, said the drug should be criminalized.

"I'd rather be at the front edge of preventing the dangers of the drug than waiting until we are the 40th or more," she said."

:: ashli 10:48 AM # ::
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If you have lost a child by abortion, please tell your story here.

I did.

:: ashli 9:32 PM # ::
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Go, DAWN!

Women aren't cows! RIGHT ON!!!

Some thoughts on the clip:

1. Sex can decline in marriage because you get so much of it that it can get old. If you don't understand this concept see Bruce Bogtrotter and the chocolate cake scene from Matilda. (Sex is cake, baby!) However, there are some sick, sick individuals (joking) who never seem to get enough. I know people in their 50's who mate like bunnies. They should seek psychological help. (Joking again.)

2. If sex could possibly get "old," then is it really more important than substance (i.e., the actual person)? You're going to spend more time being around your mate than on top of your mate. The most awesome sex in the entire world would not make me want to tolerate an annoying man even 50% of the time. (I.e., if Borat were the absolute Master of Kama Sutra, would YOU want to marry him?) Substance is how guys like Tom Hanks are sexy.

3. If someone has to have sex early on to determine whether or not they will continue a relationship, that suggests that sex is more important than an actual relationship. (In which case, stay home and please yourself; nobody does it better.) What is a "bad lover" anyway? Don't talk to me about technique or size. If I can learn to crochet, I know a husband can hone his technique. And if penis-less lesbians can satisfy each other I KNOW a husband can find some way to satisfy his wife. Personally, if I were searching for someone to marry, I'd pick a guy who makes me laugh over a mediocre guy with a golden schlong. If the guy's an annoying, self-absorbed slob, the best sex in the whole entire universe will neither make him a good husband nor a good father. Sex as "the" defining issue is LAME.

4. In spite of sex "getting old" in marriage, I'll bet if you tallied up "events" for married and unmarried persons, the married person would be getting way more nukie than the unmarried person in a year. And if you tallied it up for a span of time, say a decade...or even forty years, the married person would win hands down. While no one likes to think about their parents actually having sex (EW!), I accidentally found rubbers in my mom's underwear drawer when she was in her SIXTIES!!! (She hit menopause wayyyy late.)

I hope I've made my point about sex in marriage.
I'm going to go bathe in bleach now.

:: ashli 10:22 PM # ::
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