An Argument for Marijuana Legalization That is not Necessary

The debate to legalize marijuana is one of the more polarizing debates in the country, rubbing elbows with the likes of gun-control and abortion. While most of the debate points that the pro-pot crowd uses are both solid and valid, their point that the tax revenue generated from legalizing marijuana would be overly beneficial to the country is over-reaching at best, and a flat-out lie at worst.

Right now, any revenue that flows into the government would be welcomed. A $16.8T national debt is, frankly speaking, revolting. But anyone who thinks that there is a quick-fix to that problem is short-sighted. This includes Harvard professor, Jeffrey Miron. He believes that cannabis willgenerate yearly revenue totals between $6B and $10B. Half of which he believes will come from tax revenue. The other half would come from not spending money on prosecuting for marijuana-based offenses.

The problem with that however, is in the math.

Per Global Newswire, legal marijuana sales are projected to total $2.34B in 2014. Miron projects the “sin tax” to be roughly 50%. That would mean the tax revenue generated would be $1.17B, which is a far cry from being half of the $6B-$10B estimate. And you can’t account for illegal sales because there are no records kept of those amounts.

Marijuana should be legal. It is in the same category as alcohol with regards to harmfulness. But creating math to buy votes is an attempt to legitimize a cause that doesn’t need help in becoming legitimate.

For My Wife

Wednesday August, 7th was the anniversary of the date that I moved from California to Pennsylvania. It's been nine years since I made that move, and even now I still get the same look and question from people when they find out that I traded life in sunny Southern California for the schizophrenic weather of Central Pennsylvania. They don't understand. They probably never will understand. But they don't need to understand. I know why I made the move. And if I could go back to that date, I would do the same thing all over again.

August, 6th, was a more important day though. Tuesday marked the eight year anniversary of the day my wife, Amber, and I made a lifetime commitment to each other. And I know what your thinking; "Eight years? That doesn't seem like a lot." But in the world we live in today, eight years is kind of like 50. What's the 50 year present? Diamonds? Sorry, honey. Maybe I'll get you a car next year to make up for it. Probably not. But, maybe.

Amber and I have always had what I like to call a "uniquely perfect" relationship. We are complete opposites. When we met on December 17th, 1999, she was very much into boy bands like N*Sync and Backstreet Boys. I was very much into Bad Religion and Pennywise. She was a Preacher's daughter. I was not the kind of young man that a Preacher would allow to get within 100 yards of their daughter.

And to this day, not much has changed. Our musical differences aside, we are near polar opposites in every aspect of life. She likes board games. loves them, in fact. I detest board games. She kinda sorta likes baseball. I'm a baseball fanatic (although I think this rubbing off on her because she harbors some love for Mike Trout). I swing to the left on the political spectrum. If she cared about politics (she doesn't) she would swing to the right. She likes Chinese food. I go to Chinese restaurants and eat pizza. She likes Mongolian food. If Mongolian food restaurants served pizza, I would eat pizza at a Mongolian food restaurant. She's a little bit country, and I'm a little bit Rock N' Roll. She is, quite literally, the Yin to my Yang.

But that difference, is what makes us, "us." And I wouldn't trade that uniqueness for anything in the world.

She's the most selfless, understanding and caring person I have ever known. She always has everyone's best interests at heart. She likes to refer to herself as a "doormat" because of those qualities. Me? I believe them to be the qualities that endear her the most to me. She is loving, compassionate and warm. Even though I suffer from genetic insecurity, I have not once felt like Amber has fallen out of love with me. I know that I have taken a back seat to our two children as far as who holds her heart the tightest, but I know that I come in right behind them.

They say that your significant other is your "better half." I don't think that that is good enough. Amber is not just my "better half." She is my "best half." She is the reason why I moved 3,000 miles with almost no money and (literally) sand in my suitcase. She is the reason that I will not settle for a mediocre life. She is the reason why I still believe that dreams can and do come true. Because I dreamt about a life with her. I imagined it while she was living on the east coast and I was getting tan on the left coast. I thought about it as we communicated both by phone and letter for nearly four years after she moved here in 2000.

Our relationship is like a movie script. These things just don't happen in real life. Boy meets girl at 16. Girl moves to the other side of the country. Four years later, boy moves to be with her. Who does that? Outside of Hollywood, who actually does that.

I do. That's who. And I did it because at 16 years old, I got butterflies whenever i was around Amber. I knew then that this was something special. And now, nearly 14 years, 3,000 miles, eight years of marriage and two children later, I still get those same butterflies. They don't happen as often, but they happen often enough to remind me why I am where I am. And why everyday I get to wake up next to her, is another day that I have been blessed.

I love you, Amber. As much, if not more, now than I ever have. Thank you for being my everything.

Number Crunchers and Game Watchers

There are two camps for baseball fans. Camp one, the "Stat Geeks." Heavy reliance on data and analysis is required. Baseball can be shrunk down, and thanks to Fangraphs, Baseball-Reference, Baseball Prospectus etc. and so forth, Bill James initial work done in the 70's has evolved into the massive Sabermetric presence we see today in baseball. It's called progress, and it's OK. Camp two, the "Watchers." Even though sayings like, "looks can be deceiving" and "these lying eyes" have been around for decades, these folks hold nothing above what they see when it comes to evaluation. the anti "moneyballers." Two camps, two ideas, red states and blue states, Hatfields and McCoys. A veritable WAR if you will. But why the vitriol?

Small Sample size Man Crush

I love small sample sizes sometimes. Especially when they justify a totally no homo man crush. I present to you, Nick Maronde.

I could go bananas over how deceptive he is on the mound, I could talk about how refreshing it is that bill of his hat isn't flat, I could go on an on about how giddy it makes me that we have another lefty in the pen who has a history of striking guys out (8.6 K/9 in in the minors). 

But no, I'm not going to do any of that. I'm just going to describe how Maronde makes me feel compared to How Johnny Depp makes me feel when he shows up in a movie. 

Mike Trout, AL MVP Front Runner?

     Mike Trout is something special.............let's try that again.  Mike Trout is on another plane of special in regards to playing baseball (I hear there is also rumors that he is curing cancer, saving children from high rise fires and volunteering at nursing homes, all while stealing 2nd base in the 1st inning). Scanning my Facebook (LOL at Facebook stock) timeline earlier I came across a post by the MLB Network where they asked if Mike Trout is the front runner for AL MVP.  Now, of course, I'm a little biased (he's the MVP of the galaxy as far as I'm concerned) so I say "YES."  But as I scanned some of the comments left by other users, I couldn't help but to burst out into laughter.  You can read them here, go on, I'll wait.

     Done? Good. Let's carry on.

News and Notes

     In case you missed the news that was out their yesterday, here's a brief recap of some of the more "off" news stories of the day.

    Iowa governor leaves hospital after choking on carrot.  The title alone makes this article worth reading.  Gov. Terry Brandstad was at a dedication for the USS Iowa (which is being turned into a floating, interactive museum, pretty cool). However, during the dinner, he seemed to forget that chewing your food is essential when eating dinner. Chew, swallow. Chew, swallow. Seems easy right? apparently it's more perilous to our health than we thought. Money quote:

Branstad choked on a carrot during the event and vomited, spokesman Tim Albrecht said. He said the governor was taken to a nearby hospital “out of an overabundance of caution,” went through a series of tests and was released after his health turned out to be fine. 

“We're glad he's okay. He's in great spirits,” Albrecht said. “He's probably a little more embarrassed than anything.” 

     Florida lifeguard fired for saving drowning man.  Wait? You went into the water over there to save that man? Why? No, why on earth would you think that it is a good idea to save that man when he is clearly outside the "protected" zone? This is too easy, Tomas Lopez should be commended for what he did, but apparently, it is the lifeguard company policy that "if someone is in trouble outside the company protection zone, the lifeguard is to call 911 and hope that help gets there on time." Money quote:

"The reason I was fired is just ridiculous," Lopez told CNN late Wednesday night. "It is a ridiculous rule, really. What was I supposed to do? Just let the guy drown?"

     Yes Tomas, you were

Oh Dan Haren, Why Must You Pain Me So?

     There are a few things in life that really get under my skin.  Oh, you want to know exactly what they are? I'll be happy to oblige you.

1. Cold. Seriously, if you live in a cold weather state, it feels like winter goes on and on and on. 
2. Other peoples kids. Sounds harsh right? Yeah, I know, but some parents should have never been allowed to have kids. And it's my kid who seems to always need sand washed out of his eyes because one of these hellions pushed one of them off the teeter-totter. (you, in the khakis, yeah you.  I'm watching you)
3. Ignorance. Racists, bigots, people I work with.  They are EVERYWHERE!
4. A player on the team that I root for, hurting the team that I root for.

     Dan Haren.  Dear, dear Dan Haren.  You sir, are really starting to get on my nerves.  Tonight's performance against the Indians is another example of why I now dread the days you pitch.  For those of you that are gonna say, but, Ervin Santana, Ervin Santana.  Santana has been seriously inconsistent this year, but you can tell early if it's gonna be a good game, or if you should get back to designing the model of the shipwrecked Titanic that you've been putting off for months.  Mr. Haren is another thing altogether.