I’m not sure how many of you know but a few days ago Rebecca Sue Taylor tried to sell her infant son for 10 grand to Leigh Burr. She apparently needed the money for a new apartment. Now Burr had contacted Taylor about becoming a surrogate for her. Instead of that Taylor decided that she needed the money today and offered to sell her baby for 10 grand. Later Rebecca lowered the price for her son to 5 grand. My what a devoted mother.

Now if what I just wrote wasn’t bad enough do you know what the penalty is for doing something like this. A 100 to 2500 dollar fine and or 1 to 5 years in prison. THAT’S IT! For trying to sell her own infant son the maximum this woman could face is 2500 dollars and maybe 5 years but I’m sure she’ll get parole in a fraction of that time. Doesnt something just seem wrong with this. I don’t know maybe it’s just me.

Well is it any wonder that Americans are in the situation we’re in! I’m not at all surprised that every thing’s going down hill. Why because for the most part the average American just does whatever the media tells them to! If the news at six says be afraid of this and then the paper the next day backs it up well then guess what 200 million Americans are now terrified of something that only yesterday posed no threat.

Now let me stop for a moment and say that I love this country and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else and I wouldn’t want to live at any other time either. This is where and when I want to be. That said there is serious problems with the critical thinking in this country I see it all over. Like take the peanut and pistachio scare that happened. Only one or two plants were contaminated with salmonella. The next morning after the almighty box told us to be afraid every American went out and burned every peanut every where. None of them bothered to check that it was less than 10% of the total supply. The same thing happened with the pistachios only this time the terror inspiration that you read with your OJ got that tid bit first. Once again less than 10% of the total supply but  again everyone believed the paper’s gospel and you couldn’t get a pistachio for a month.

Now I’m not attacking the nightly news and I watch it myself and I read the paper everyday. They’re great ways to get info. HOWEVER! they report the facts as they have them or what they can deduce at the time. When you read the paper or watch the news listen for the key phrases We’ll stay with this or more details will follow. I believe the peanut thing ended with We’ll have more as the FDA releases it but only a very small portion is affected. Did anyone hear that or read that and go online for a few more facts that were available. Hell no they didn’t because that would require a little bit of thought on their part. No one questioned what the media told them or even to see if something else had been released about it. They panicked until about six the next night.

That I think is the biggest problem NO one questions what they read or see anymore. If it’s reported by the AP or our local 5 news or if it’s told by a teacher, parent or hell a celebrity it must instantly be true! This isn’t really a surprising result because that’s the way that parents and SCHOOLS! teach children from the earliest stages. If you’re told that everything is fine then everything must be fine. No one’s ever taught to question anything. Then  there are teacher (I’ve had them) that would get pissed with a student if they dared challenge their omnipotent knowledge. I thought that teachers were supposed to challenge students.

Another big problem is people don’t read enough any more and it’s not really any one’s fault again. Because in school reading isn’t taught as a joy it’s taught as a chore and the materiel is the pre-determined master works. I’m sorry Dickens may be considered a master by some but The Tale of Two Cites and The Pipwick Papers SUCKED! It’s the same with any thing wrote by Amy Tan. So for most people reading unfortunately develops into this hated chore that after collage they never do again. So one one bothers to read ALL the evidence and instead goes with a thirty second sound bite.

In the end America wake up learn all the facts on something before you hit the panic button. One last thing generally I’ve found that most of the time when the people on TV tell you that it’s going OK that’s about the time that everything goes to hell.

this is the end I just can’t do this anymore. I’ve just finally run out of bullshit. I’m tired of it aren’t you tired of it. I’m tired of one side on an issue always ignoring facts that don’t help their cause. I’m sick and tired of environmentalists thinking that corporations and big business are destroying the precious fabric of earth. Big Business is some of the largest recyclers out there but I’m also sick of the bullshit reason people believe them! The companies don’t do it out of some morale imperative to save the earth, they do it to make MONEY! Why in the hell would you throw something away when there’s another company that will buy it!

I’m tired of the stupid bullshit things that people flip out about. We’ve got a recession on, no one can find a job, Health insurance is non existent or at best a broken pile of shit of course that doesnt matter because no one has money for even a Minute Clinic visit. People are losing their homes the crime rate is going up Our freedoms are being taken away to thunderous applause and are we outraged by it HELL NO! Why because gasp! Lindsy Lohan broke up with her girlfriend and Mel Gibson is divorcing his wife! And gays want to get married oh dread! How can anyone say that Madonna not being able to adopt kid number 23 is a bigger deal to the world then the war going on!

I’m also tired of the bullshit that surrounds the school systems and the kids that infest it! The school is a public place that I keep shoveling more and more money into to help educate the kids! Guess what thanks to all of the bullshit the kids keep getting DUMBER! It’s not really the kids fault because they’re never challenged. Why because  when you challenge someone’s abilities you run the risk of them failing. We can’t have that in schools now can we! We all know how soul crushing it is  not to do something perfectly the first time. Then who really gets it the worst are the smart kids. We can’t separate them because that’s exclusionary and would make the majority of kids feel dumber and left out. We can’t get the class harder because that would make most of the other kids actually think for a minute! Do you lovers of bullshit really think that a person’s emotional center can be forever destroyed because of elementary school! Your assigning the kids way more self awareness then they’re capable of!

I’m sick and tired of the bullshit surrounding the fact that we can’t say anything or have any sort of zest for life because it might be offensive to one in ten-thousand people! You know what if you people would come out of the bubble of bullshit that you’ve built for yourself for just a few seconds you’d see that they’re just words they can’t hurt you. They only hurt you if you let them, alone words are meaningless. No word has the power to kill or to wreck some one’s life, day or even the fifteen minutes after he heard it. All the bullshit surrounding all the so-called hateful words is just that bullshit! Once you stop giving a shit what people say then everyone will see just how fast the so called hateful or offensive words lose any power. You don’t even need words to offended people and wreck your life. A photo of you on MySpace or Facebook have a drink with friends at a bar can keep you from a job, which is just stupid. Why in the hell dose someone going for let’s say a administrative assistant job need to worry about what they do in their off time. The bullshit lovers trying to take away any sort of fun that people want to have.

I’m also sick of the bullshit about how no one can take personnel responsibility for their actions. I’m talking about all the people that spouted the popular “predatory lending” there’s no such thing. It’s just another bunch a bullshit and I’ll prove it. No one held a gun to these people’s heads and made them sign the ARM loan now did they. They had all the time in the world to sign the loan or to have a lawyer look it over. Then to make matters worse instead of cutting back on expenses what did they do instead they went and just busted out their platinum VISA didn’t they. Now before they knew it they’re in over their head and bankruptcy and ruin are just around the corner. At any time we’re these people forced to buy all the shit they didn’t really need. Did they have to get a car every three years No they didn’t

The exception to that is the poor bastard that get laid off because the failing banks remove their line of credit and that spells the end for most companies. So he’s saved for a rainy day but with no jobs that dries up quick and then everything in his life begins to go down hill. To him I say first call your mortgage company and explain the situation. Trust me more and more companies are letting payments go for longer and longer. Then after that I’ll buy the drinks. 

One last pile of Bullshit that I just can’t deal with anymore is the fact that why can’t men be proud to be men anymore. WHY! Oh we can be men alright just the watered down subtle weak version the feminists want. I mean I’ll give you an example if a woman goes out and sets up a club for women or a gym for women or a event celebrating womanhood every one’s just fine with it. However if I set up an event for men or centered around men there would be such a public outcry from NOW and NAW that it would probably end with me getting lynched.

That’s not even going into if i dared set up a club for guys to hang out and shoot the shit. The only requirement for membership is that you are a man that’s it. Race age creed religious belief or even gay or straight wouldn’t matter. It would be shut down in two weeks by the court for discrimination yet women can do that now can’t they especially lesbian bars. Please explain the equality and fairness in that.

That’s all the bullshit I can talk about now get back to this in a part 2 or I’ll go into it on my Warcorpse666 YouTube Channel.

Okay Warcorpse here with something that’s almost killed him and many of you on the road. I was in McDonald’s yesterday. Yes once in a while I eat there, I was to hungry to wait until I got home. Anyway so I’m standing in line and ahead of me is an elderly couple taking FOREVER ordering. Which I don’t really get because McD’s menu hasn’t really changed in the last 25 years and everything still tastes the same. So after so many years of life you’d pretty much know what you want right off the bat, I do. But what the hell I suppose after so many years you get the right to take as long as you want in line. So I patiently waited and got to the register and ordered my food to go. While I’m walking out I almost get run over by a grandma in of course a Buick because she’s not feeling the need to look behind her as she backs out.

I thought as you get older, wiser you get better at the things you do everyday. That’s the attitude that half of the old people have. Then they pull out with out looking, run red lights, cut across the parking lot at a high rate of speed. Go either 5 or 500mph on the highway. Do U-turns in the middle of the street, how are any of theses considered safe driving practices from the wisest members of society.

Then most states put restriction after restriction on teen drivers and their justification is that “they don’t have enough experience”. Yet the ones with the most experience are just as bad. I’d venture to say the number of safe teen drivers to elderly drivers is about the same. Would it really be so bad for some elderly people to re-take the drivers test at lets say 80 to see if they still got what it takes to operate a car safely. And in some cases put them on a restricted licence.

This is not to say that all old people are bad drivers about half of them are wonderful drivers fully capable of operating a car normally like about half the teens out there. Just if we’re going to continue to target and restrict one group of people then we should acknowledge that there’s another group that’s just as bad.

Anyway that’s my view point feel free to disagree

Warcorpse

I know what you’re all thinking (half of you). “The best exercise in the world is watching TV…”

The other half is thinking something along the lines of “Hmmm, what designer wear should I put on to go down to the gym?”

Let’s face it, none of you give a crap about exercise. You just do it to show off your fancy clothes. Minnesotans, I’m writing to you now because first of all, I got attacked by a designer-gear wearing freak at Willow River State Park last winter, for walking on the wrong part of the path. All I was doing (besides exercising) was trying to stay as far off the path as I could, (to let the cross-country-skiers pass), and this designer-clad stress-basket went off on me for being in his way. How was I supposed to know that those park pathways are friggin’ freeways in the wintertime, with their own set of driving, sledding, walking, skiing, and snowshoeing rules? (On a side note; I can’t believe people actually snowshoe for fun. There’s something wrong with that. I mean, don’t you have to walk with your feet spread about two feet apart in those things? Is that enjoyable? I can see snowshoeing if you were starving and you had to go hunting back in the olden days in four feet of snow in the middle of winter to feed your family, but for a pleasant walk through a state park, where the snow has already been well-packed by all the psycho skierboys in tights? What is up with that? Anyways…not the best exercise.)

There are a large portion of people all over the world who believe that shopping is the best exercise in the world. I disagree. Shopping is too d*mn stressful to be good for you, and I believe that fundamentally, exercise should be good for you. I used to consider shopping meditation, but here (where people plan everything from their meat buying to their campsite reservation a whole YEAR in advance, shopping could very well give you a heart attack, and it is not fun at all. I know a girl who buys meat twice a year (by the truckload) because she gets a better deal. Whatever. What she saves in meat per pound I’m sure she more than makes up for in her electric bill. Not to mention paying off that massive freezer that she put on her credit card. And who the hell plans a camping trip a YEAR in advance? Are you people crazy? I am a camperaholic and I don’t even do that. How can you bloody well know you’re going to feel like camping on this particular weekend exactly one year from today???

Minnesotans, you’ve ruined shopping for me. Even if it was the best exercise in the world, I can’t keep up with you.

Which leads me to the original question: what exactly is the best exercise in the world? Before I answer that, I’ll name my criteria for any exercise to even be considered to be do-able (let alone the best).

1. It has to be fun. If it’s not fun, I’ll never do it.

2. It has to be challenging. You have to be able to improve your skills over time. This eliminates walking. Walking is walking. No one can get better at walking, unless they’ve lost their ability to walk and have to start from scratch. But that’s a whole nuther deal.

3. It HAS to de-stress you and leave you feeling happier than when you started. This is the whole point of exercise, as far as I’m concerned. To feel better, happier and healthier. This eliminates pretty much everything that is considered exercise (with the exception of walking, which I’ve already eliminated).

4. Running should be against the law. This has nothing to do with anything, but I just felt that it needed to be stated.

5. It should require no special talents or skills. Anyone should be able to do it.

6. It should not require designer gear (or any gear whatsoever). This eliminates swimming and anything that requires purchasing gear (as in skiing, biking, snowboarding, tennis, badminton, baseball, football, etc etc etc.)

So what is it? Ok. No one laugh. This is not only the BEST exercise in the world, but it’s the MOST FUN thing to do. It will make you feel GREAT when you’re doing it and even better when you’re done. It’s great cardiovascular, great for every muscle group, impossible to do without laughing, and allows you to improve and develop your skills over time.

Without further ado, I’d like everyone to put on a pair of sweats or jeans (you don’t even have to change out of your work clothes if you don’t want to) and run, (or drive) down to your local park, playground, or back yard, and swing!

Don’t forget that you can pump with both your legs and your arms, (interchangeably) for a full body work-out, and DON’T forget to try to jump off in mid-air, starting out slow and safe, and work up to the highest point that you can reach. And when you’re done swinging as hard and high as you can, for as long as you can, then flop down in the grass on your back and stare at the sky until your heart stops pounding.

That’s it folks: the BEST exercise in the whole world is swinging! And don’t let the fact that you’re an old fart get in the way; no one cares, and if they do, to hell with them!

Warcorpse here talking about something that if you think about it for to long you’ll get a guaranteed migraine. All these fat people that sit and first off bitch about their weight while they’re sitting on the couch sucking down a Ho-Ho. Blaming everything from society to the media to the goddamn restaurants themselves for their weight problem. What’s even more aneurysm causing are these parents groups that get the schools to serve bland tasteless food because it needs to be healthyer for their fat ass kids. Then the third group that say they want to eat healthy but by nothing but TV Dinners, Frozen Pizza and other assorted Garbage. When confronted they say I don’t have time to cook. Really dinner should only take twenty to thirty minutes you don’t have that long!

To the people that sit there and blame everything I have one thing to say. NO ONE IS PUTTING A GUN TO YOUR HEAD AND FORCE FEEDING YOU DOUGHNUTS! You people are the ones going to restaurants and ordering all three courses for yourselves. Your the ones that go to buffets and eat for two goddamn hours. Your the ones that go to the grocery store and buy nothing but boxed or canned heavly processed instant meals. And your the ones who think that cooking begins and ends with the MICROWAVE!

Now does it end there hell no! You snack at least three times a day, drink soda by the gallon, won’t think about going to the gym after the month of January and generally round out the day by sitting on your couch watching all the safe programming on TV and slurping down all the ice cream you can handle. Then you try and tell me that it’s NOT your fault that you can barely get behind the wheel of your car . Here’s a thought try a salad, go see your doc, get on a exercise program, and you know what the pounds will FALL off! I know that’s not what the fat pride group wants to do but that’s another article

Now to the parents that are wrecking school lunches and even the goddamn bake sales, enough already. First off lunch is the one goddamn meal that you can eat like shit and still get away with it. Because you still have several hours to burn off the calories. Secondly most children can eat whatever they want because their metabolisms are burning at a hundred miles an hour and most of them are a hell of alot more active than their PARENTS. Third and most important school serves the kids ONE MEAL! you parents serve them the other TWO PLUS ALL THE SNACKS! If your kid is over-weight and he asks for cookies as a snack say NO! I know that’s a foreign word to most parents but it’s a great way of combating childhood obesity. Having the PARENTS step up and tell the lard ass kid NO!!!

It’s not McDonalds or Burger King’s fault your kids are fat its YOURS. Last time I checked the parents took them to McDonalds and PAID for the Happy meal. They’re kids they don’t have fucking jobs to buy shit with. Plus parents it’s really hard for a kid to eat healthy when mom and dad are sucking down the cookies to. Also if you want them to eat healthy stop giving them crap,  they’re kids they won’t starve after a day or two they’ll eat. It takes an adult brain to be able to starve yourself. One last little thing about the parents that got the bake sale to be healthy… SHUT THE FUCK UP! Cookies will never be healthy.

Lastly the third group that wants to eat healthy but says they don’t have time to cook and so they buy a Hormel ready-made Meatloaf, two packs of Bob Evans Mashed potatoes, A pack of Green Giant steam vegetables and a large jar of gravy and call it “dinner”. Then they sit there and wonder why their weight keeps going up and more so wonder why they’re to tired to cook. Here’s a thought, did you ever think the junk you’re eating is keeping you TIRED! Maybe if ate some REAL FOOD you’d feel better and have a little more energy. Folks healthy eating does not come from a PRE-MADE BOX! LEAN CUISINE IS NOT PART OF A HEALTHY DIET!

And don’t tell me you don’t have time to cook everyone does if you’ll just have to sacrafice the twenty minutes of American Idol and if you put a TV in the kitchen that problems finished. Fourtuently for everyone the old Warcorpse loves to cook and I’m compiling a list of recipes. They’re not particularly light but it is REAL FOOD! No pre-made bullshit!

So i think this proves that for every 1 fat person that is over-weight related to a medical problem that can’t be controlled through medication there’s 999 that are a  result of pure laziness or stupidity. Laziness is the reason I’m a bit overweight myself. I just don’t make bull-shit excuses for it. Okay America now it’s time to either do something about it or stop crying about it!

More from Warcorpse HERE

Warcorpse here with something that’s been pissing him off.

Sensitivity what the fuck is this bullshit. Every stupid yuppie middle American is running around telling me that I can’t say this or do that or watch that because it might offend another group of people. Well you know what I live in America doesn’t that give me the right to say and watch whatever in the hell I want. Where exactly is it wrote that I have to take every one’s feelings into consideration when I go out in public! Where’s it wrote that every one’s personnel beliefs on such things as language should effect everyone else in society.

Look I swear I don’t do it because I think it’s cool I’m not nine years old anymore that’s just the way I talk and you know what I’m not fucking changing it either. Here are some truths about the so called naughty, foul, coarse or sharp words. They’re just WORDS like all the other words in the English language. If you say them out loud it won’t turn kids into delinquents it won’t cause grandma’s to have a stroke. I just love that some people almost afford these words an almost mythic quality to cause harm. Like every time you’ve said shit on the road a puppy just died in Montana because of it.

Now at times people who don’t swear seem to me very unnatural and you can almost see the rage they’re suppressing. Like take someone who’s worked at a job and has a family. They just found out that little Jamie needs braces right away and Tommy need to have his tonsils ripped out. The parent isn’t all that worried because they have insurance and have worked at the same place for two years. Then after two years of working at the same place they walk in sit down in their cubical and see a note that they’ve been laid off. Now when they get home to really think they’re going to stand in the room and scream to the top of their lungs “Cheese and Crackers” or “Oh Fluffers how am I going to afford Billy’s darn operation and Jamie’s dang braces. Pussywillowswhat am I going to do!” Yeah that sounds like a normal rational response from someone.

Now it’s not even swear words that offends these easily hurt people now they say that I can’t make certain jokes or make fun of certain topics. Why ANYTHING CAN BE FUNNY!!! Here are a few of the topics that apparently we shouldn’t make fun of.

Domestic abuse not really funny Having Porky Pig smacking the shit out of Petunia Pig while screaming at her with his classic stutter Funny

Dead Babies not funny Have Garfield the Cat accidentally swallow a baby whole while he’s eating a pan of lasagna Funny

Genocide not funny Have Gargamel finally destroy that fucking smurf village funny

Those are just a few. If we left comedy up to these guys it would’ve apexed with 101 dinosaur jokes. Plus if something that you’re are watching happens to offended you do what I do TURN THE DAMN CHANNEL. One last thing just because you find something offensive does not mean that everyone else finds it offensive. I hate to break it to you the world does not begin and end with you.

In closing I’d just like to say that everyone who feels even the slightest bit constrained by this type of shit do what I do and quit giving a shit. To everyone who causes this shit here are a few things to remember 1 they’re just words and they can’t hurt you. 2 If you really do get your spirit or aura destroyed then i suggest this go home put on your center of wellness CD, regain your center while you sniff eucalyptus and lemon vapor, Then after that you chug your bottle of Merlot and forget all about it!

Warcorpse

I know a youth for whom suicide is an option. Do his parents know this? No. Where do his parents stand with regard to him?

Well, let’s have a look-see.

This kid’s pot use was just found out about. His parents reacted by getting angry. Telling him he was in big trouble. Telling him he just broke their trust. Grounding him. Bla bla bla bla bla bla.

Where is this kid at now? Confused. Alienated. Alone. Depressed. Angry. He is confused about the trust issue. He never felt there was any trust between him or his parents to begin with. He never felt particularly close to them, and has never felt a connection with them. Now, he’s further cut off from them, rejected, hurt, angry and bitter.

Is he going to stop using? Hell NO! He’s going to find better places to hide while using. Which means he could be entering dangerous territory. Believe me I know. I’ve been there. You don’t want to know where your kid could be hiding to “use”. I would rather have my children using in my home, than in a dark alley with strangers. Wouldn’t you?

Back to the kid. What his parents don’t know about him? When listing his after-graduation options he included three: 1. go travel, 2. go to this college (which his parents chose for him and he doesn’t want to go to), 3. suicide. I’m not making this up.

What don’t you know about your kids? Find out.

Listen Grown-ups; raising kids is like fishing. First you gotta hook them. You do this by using bait they like. Find out what it is. It could be anything; it’s your job to figure it out. How will you know when you’ve got them hooked? Because you’ll be talking. There will be good feelings between you – at least somewhat open feelings. Get to this place no matter what it takes.

Once they’re hooked, keep them on the line for as long as it takes to reel them in. I MEAN IT. The ocean is a big dangerous place. Once you lose them they will swim away and swim fast, whether they know where they are going or not. You may never be able to find them again. And you don’t want to know what could happen to them out there. Why don’t you? Because you’ll have to live with that knowledge for the rest of your miserable life. As well as the knowledge that you had them. You almost had them.

They’re your kids. Sit with them, even if you have to sit with drugs at the same time. Hold on to them while you can, even if they’re high. If you do that, you might be able to steer them toward better choices by loving them, accepting them, finding out what makes them happy, and helping them pursue it. Believe me, there is something that makes them happy besides drug use. Get to it.

This makes me so mad. Parents, get a f**king clue!

I don’t care how you approach it. You’ll probably f**k up 9 times out of ten in your efforts to relate to your kids. Keep at it. Tell your kids you’re stupid, you don’t know a d*mn thing about how to deal with this issue, but you LOVE them and you’re angry because you’re afraid you might lose them. Tell them your fears and tell them you are there for them NO MATTER WHAT! Tell them you’ll work it out together. Tell them to tell you when they think you’re being stupid. You have to communicate with them – that means letting them tell you when they think you’re feeding them a line of BS.

Get your own shit out of the picture and be there for them. It’s your d*mn job, mom and dad. Do it. And do it with love so you don’t lose the greatest chance for love you ever had.

More chillgirlette Here

Are all you parents talking about drugs with your kids? Because you should be. Regularly. It’s a good subject. Start young and make it a casual part of conversation so that it doesn’t ever have to be awkward. Joke about it when appropriate, tell stories, talk about your own use and experimentation – good stories and bad, converse about drug-related media, and let them know that its not scary and bad.

Why should you let them know that it’s not scary and bad? Because to them, it’s not. It’s a curiosity. If you approach the subject without judgment and fear, your kids will be more willing to talk with you – and listen to you – about this touchy subject. If you approach it with an open attitude, then when the potential for “scary” and “bad” enters your home (teenage years, give or take a decade), you’ll have a nice little, somewhat solid, foundation on which to relate to your kids, and hopefully influence them in a safe, healthy direction. Kids need this foundation, and they need to know you’re there for them on this one.

Drug conversations in my home have covered pretty much every “common” drug out there from alcohol to meth to coke to pot to heroin to psychedelics to that big happy candy store: pharmaceuticals…generally, antidepressants. Lately conversations around my house have been about Adderall, an amphetamine that is often prescribed for ADD, ADHD and various other things from weight loss to fatigue, and so on and so forth. It’s commonly called the Focus Drug. Students love this drug as it helps them focus, makes them smarter (or feel smarter), and has all sorts of other super duper effects. In addition, it has numerous negative effects, especially over long-term use.

Last night while discussing Adderall with my daughter I learned a few things. This drug is readily available to kids. Kids who have a prescription for it either sell it or share it with their friends. It has amazing results. My daughter told me about one particular student whose C average was raised to straight A’s last semester as a result of the beneficial effects of using this drug to study. Needless to say when kids see those kinds of results in friends who are using a particular substance, that drug becomes very appealing.

One of the points my daughter made, and I can empathize with her on this, is that now a-days you almost need some sort of drug just to keep up with the pressures of everyday expectations, and requirements. It is increasingly difficult to compete in this world; getting into college can be a real challenge, and the intensity and amount of school work is extreme compared to what it was say in the early eighties, when I was floating through school on a B average that required no special focus, attention or skill (or intelligence). Hell, homework back then was an occasional annoyance. Now, it’s a daily four-to-six hour grind. At the same time, all you hear in the media is how far the USA is falling behind other “smarter” countries with regards to education.

So, you have kids stressing about school, trying to keep up, worrying about getting into college at younger and younger ages. At the same time you have a media telling them that they are “stupid” compared to the rest of the world. Put that together with a pharmaceutical industry that prescribes drugs like they’re candy, and you have a whole bunch of little stressed-out junkies in the making. And that’s just survival. Forget about taking drugs for fun! (Like back in the good ol’ days when that’s the only reason most of us were doing them).

I’ve had conversations with a few of my daughters’ friends about drugs as well. Their main complaint is, they don’t have anyone to talk to about drugs. And (surprise, surprise) they have all sorts of questions. They want to know what is potentially dangerous about this, or what might happen if they try that. Their parents react to “drug topics” with anything from poorly masked horror, to contrived “just say no” BS, to some superficial spew that sounds like it came from some outdated Newsreel from the 1940’s. Generally, their parents are not talking to them about drugs! I find this utterly ridiculous and very scary (for the kids sake).

Let me just ask one question to all you parents who avoid the drug conversation at all costs, or try your best to brush it aside with some prefabricated anti-drug propaganda: As a parent, don’t you want your kids to get their answers from you? Don’t you want to know what’s going on in your kid’s world, just incase something goes wrong? If they get into trouble, don’t you want to be the one to hold their hand and make sure they get out of trouble safe and sound?

If the answer to those questions is yes, then start planning your drug foundation as soon as you conceive. (Or now, if you already have conceived.)

A good place to start: assume your kids are going to try drugs, whether it be a little experimentation, or a full-on addiction. In this day and age, it’s not ridiculous to assume this. Americans are a drug addicted society (thanx, pharmaceutical industry, for that). This starting point will hopefully help you avert some of the “shock” you feel when you find the remains of a joint in your kid’s dresser drawer. Or when you get a call from the county jail in the middle of the night.

Next: educate yourself: Even if you never did drugs, there’s no excuse for not knowing the basics. The internet has pretty much any answer you ever wanted to know about drugs. My favorite drug website is www.erowid.org. It’s a huge drug database. Good family fun. You may chose to share this website with your kids. I have it as my homepage on my computer. If my daughter asks me a question about drugs that I don’t know the answer to I head straight for the computer… “well, let’s just see what we can find out about this one…” Well looky here, Morning Glories are a Psychedelic. Fancy that!

Approach the negative effects of drug use honestly and openly. I’m lucky in this regard; I have a whole pile of bad examples of drugs gone wrong in my own life, many of my friends lives, and some of my family’s lives. My kids have seen up close and personal some bad drug and alcohol shit. I’ve got that on my side. I try to balance this with some “happy” drug experiences. Why? Because if you inundate your kids with just the bad shit, they’re going to know you’re not open to really talking about it, and they won’t talk to you about it. Anyways, that’s how I chose to approach it; it may not be the best, but it’s the only way I can honestly approach it having spent a fair share of my earlier days playing with various substances. I’m not going to lie about any of it. If a drug is potentially really dangerous, I tell my daughters so. If it’s a not-so-dangerous drug, I say that too. (example: “If you absolutely have to do drugs honey, but you’re not sure which one to try…chose pot over meth, the effects are a lot less deadly.”)

However you chose to approach it, be open, honest, and try to throw aside your fears. Whatever you do, don’t judge your kids. If you do, you may lose the one chance you might have had to save their life (or make it a little less painful).