This is where I post short articles about things that I discover.
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I spent about a decade in the Southeast. I lived in Charlottesville, VA from 2011 to 2017 and in Richmond, VA from 2017 to 2021. Although I identify as one of the most privileged demographics, a white heterosexual man, I suffered from the racism of the Southeast. There is a subtle vibe of cruelty that taints everything from wealthy suburbs to the decaying downtown. I am so glad to leave that place. ...
Bruce Levine is one of my personal heros. Interviewed by Mollie Adler on August 22, 2023
I’m not a big fan of the American Psychological Association. “Doing Harm”: Roy Eidelson on the American Psychological Association’s Embrace of U.S. Torture Program
I have had IFS sessions with one client on multiple occasions with a self-administered psycholytic dose of psilomethoxin (Pm). In addition, I have shared Pm with five people Z, M, W, K1, and K2. What surprised me most from this exploration is that Pm seems to have a built-in exit valve. Or from the opposite point of view, the user only experiences the effects of Pm when focused inside. If you focus outside then you can completely miss the effects. ...
Universal basic income (UBI) is a social and economic policy concept that entails providing all residents of a country with a regular and unconditional financial payment from the government. This payment is designed to cover essential living expenses and ensure a basic standard of living, irrespective of a person’s employment status or income level. The primary aim of UBI is to alleviate poverty, reduce inequality, and provide a safety net in the face of technological advancements that might disrupt traditional job markets. ...
Response to letter dated 09 Aug 2023 by Jackson County Commissioners CALL FOR THE REPEAL OF THE PROVISIONS ENACTED PURSUANT TO OREGON BALLOT MEASURE 110 (2020) order 192-23.1 “Since Measure 110 was passed, there has been a dramatic increase in overdose deaths in Oregon. In 2020, there were 585 overdose deaths. In 2021, that number increased to 917.” It is too early to evaluate the effect of Measure 110 on overdose deaths. ...
The average professional in this country wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep, unaware that he or she has likely committed several federal crimes that day. Why? The answer lies in the very nature of modern federal criminal laws, which have exploded in number but also become impossibly broad and vague. In Three Felonies a Day, Harvey A. Silverglate reveals how federal criminal laws have become dangerously disconnected from the English common law tradition and how prosecutors can pin arguable federal crimes on any one of us, for even the most seemingly innocuous behavior. ...
A drawing of an african woman with dreadlocks, in the style of poodlepunk, luminous shadowing, genderless, anime-inspired, handsome
Abstract: The use of psychedelics in therapy may benefit both the client and the facilitator, and there is a debate about whether facilitators should have personal experience with the substance. While some traditions expect the facilitator to partake in the same dose as the participants, modern medicine expects the facilitator to remain sober. Facilitator sobriety is important to attend to the risks associated with psychedelic use, while communal use of the substance may increase empathy and compassion. ...
At the end of 2022, a new psychedelic became available. Psilomethoxin (Pm) offers a subjective experience similar to MDMA, but without MDMA’s stimulant-like effects. <—> In 1965, Marc Julia’s group at the Pasteur Institute synthesized psilomethoxin (Pm) from ortho-vanillin extracted from the Mexican vanilla orchid. The molecule was never bioassayed nor preserved as a reference sample, and that is how things stood for decades. The synthesis of Pm is an intricate and time-consuming process, with some chemists claiming that it would take a month. ...
