cannabisnews.com: No Room To Grow










  No Room To Grow

Posted by CN Staff on December 14, 2004 at 22:54:43 PT
By Eileen McNamara, Globe Columnist 
Source: Boston Globe 

Professor Lyle E. Craker teaches his students that what we know of the medicinal benefits of plants comes from tradition, myth, and science and that, of these, science is the most valued because of its emphasis on verification.He might want to rethink that lecture, at least for the duration of the ideologically driven Bush administration.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration just rejected an application from the University of Massachusetts plant physiologist for a license to grow marijuana to be used in clinical trials to assess its medicinal uses. Granting the license to the leader of the university's Amherst-based Laboratories for Natural Products, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants "would not be consistent with the public interest," the DEA's letter of Dec. 10 to the professor declared.Craker does not want to smoke the marijuana with his students; he wants to grow it for independent medical research that would have to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. How can research not be in the interest of a public confused by competing claims of the dangers of marijuana and anecdotal evidence of its ameliorating effect on some medical conditions?"I am paid by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to do science and that is what I do," said Craker. "Our goal would be to grow this plant material to help others verify whether it helps glaucoma patients or relieves the suffering of chemotherapy and AIDS patients. Otherwise, we are left with tradition and myths. Tradition gives us leads to follow, but what we lack is the science. I would think it would be a win-win situation, whatever the science reveals, to settle the argument."The DEA, he suspects, refused to distinguish between illegal recreational use of marijuana and scientific use of the same plant. "We are disappointed, of course," he said. "If we have a plant material that can help people, I would have hoped the DEA would be interested in seeing more clinical trials go forward. There are plenty of legal drugs on the market that can be dangerous if misused, yet we still use them as medicine."At present, the University of Mississippi operates the only government-licensed program to grow marijuana for research use. The DEA maintains that it produces an adequate supply for medical researchers, a contention that Craker said would be challenged by some researchers who have found Mississippi's marijuana too weak to be of much use. Noting that independence and verification are key scientific principles, Craker said it makes sense to have more than one source produce marijuana for research.Craker's greenhouses teem with a wide variety of plants cultivated by faculty researchers and the 300 or more students who pass through his four courses on medicinal plants each year. Twenty-five to 30 percent of modern drugs, he noted, are derived from plants. The road to the pharmacy often begins in labs such as his. He is involved, for example, in the collection and study of black cohosh, a perennial plant thought to relieve hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. Medical research is in an early stage."Black cohosh is in limited cultivation in the United States so we collect it in the wild and compare samples, map out the location of the plant material, study its leaf shape, size, chemistry to see which has the highest level of bioactive ingredients," he said. The goal of those trips to Tennessee and West Virginia and Ohio is to determine which plant is best suited to cultivation. It's not glamorous, Craker conceded; it's science.The university has 30 days to appeal the DEA rejection of his request to grow marijuana, and though that decision "is in the hands of the lawyers," Craker said science demands that the ruling be challenged. "You can't let things rest where they are," he said. "If we did, science would never move forward."Eileen McNamara is a Globe columnist. Source: Boston Globe (MA)Author: Eileen McNamara, Globe Columnist Published: December 15, 2004Copyright: 2004 Globe Newspaper CompanyContact: letter globe.comWebsite: http://www.boston.com/globe/Related Articles & Web Site:MAPShttp://www.maps.org/ DEA Rejects Professor's Bid To Grow Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20029.shtmlCollege Fails in Bid to Grow Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20028.shtml

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Comment #26 posted by FoM on December 18, 2004 at 10:49:56 PT
Hope
Check this out if you have time. This sums it all up. I've hunted and competed at Pickering and it's so nice to see it still is going on. My youth was totally caught up in all of this.http://pickeringhunt.ponyclub.org/
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Comment #25 posted by Hope on December 18, 2004 at 10:32:34 PT
Fox hunts
It sounds like wonderful fun. I have a couple of friends who ride English and they have formal fox hunts on horseback for fun. Anything where people get together with their horses is always fun.
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on December 17, 2004 at 10:33:13 PT

Hope
For me the fun was the event itself. Sometimes 3 generations would hunt together. Our horses were always fired up and bouncing around just like the hounds were. There was a reason for fox hunting in England ( eliminating foxes that killed farmers chickens ) but now it's just a sport and a way to meet people. It was hard work to get your horse loaded on a trailer and get them to where the hunt was started. You started at 4 in the morning to get there to start by practically sunrise it seemed but it was very memorable. Foxes are smart and that made it challenging. They know how to throw their scent. The jumping fences was because in England there were many pastures since different animals need their own pasture and it was easier to jump the pasture fences then to dismount and open and shut a gate. 
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Comment #23 posted by Hope on December 17, 2004 at 09:58:24 PT

FoM
The individual hound can make as great a pet as the individual poodle. The main problem, as can be the case with a Lab...is their nature tends to allow them to travel on foot farther from home base than they should. My grandfather didn't want us "spoiling" their fine hunting sensitivities somehow with excessive coddling and petting.Nowadays we have more English riders and hunts than we used to have. I don't think they killed the foxes in the old timey American style foxhunts either. They either just followed the hounds on foot or mule or set around campfires in the woods listening to them bugle, as I've heard their far carrying voices called.The old hunters of that time could recognize individual hound voices and could tell what they were chasing or treeing, and it better not be a rabbit! That was almost a death knell for a hound. They resided with domestic cats and other animals fine. Slogging through the woods for hours and hours at night, trying to keep up with whoever had the flashlight, and trying not to get slapped by the branch that someone in front of you let go after passing through, it occurred to me that the practice was more about exercising than actually hunting something...except of course for the few that were professional hunters.My grandfather could go all night with long strides and joy in his pursuits. When he got really old and suffered from dementia that was the hardest part. He would tear out and be miles away before we knew what happened. We usually just tried to follow him until he was tired and that wasn't easy. One summer day it was my son's and my job to try to keep up with him. My fourteen year old son, sweating, and exhausted said to me, "I thought old people were supposed to be slow and sedentary. I can't keep up with him. He's already worn me out!"Years of fast walking over all kinds of terrain caused his body to far out last his poor mind.In recent years my sister and I have learned so much about caring for the elderly and the hardships that hit them. We were working over at my Grandmother’s when Mom started again about our smoking cigarettes. She said, “I read the other day where smoking will take ten years off your life.”My sister, busy with the laundry, just said, “Good”.End of conversation
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on December 16, 2004 at 22:00:54 PT

Hope
I never saw a black and tan or a redbone hound until we moved to Ohio. The only hounds I was familiar with with was the english foxhound. We went hunting in the winter on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. I even was a Whip a few times. With foxhunting you don't kill the fox it's for the chase and all the hurdles you got to go over. One time there was a hound that did something wrong but I can't remember what and I wanted to take it and make it a pet but they wouldn't allow it for the reasons you said. They are not good pets but when they caught the scent of a fox what a wonderful sound and a big tally ho!
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Comment #21 posted by Hope on December 16, 2004 at 00:01:28 PT

Hounds
You aren't supposed to play with or make big pets out of hunting hounds...least that's what my Granddad said. Of course I petted them and played with them when he wasn't around and once I couldn't resist the urge to paint a black and tan's toenails with bright nail polish.Later, I overhead my grandfather talking with one of his hunting buddies...he was very worried. I heard him say, "Did you ever see anything like that?" and the other guy said, "No, I've never seen anything like it."They were examining the dog's feet. I never said a word. It was just one thin coat.Hounds have such magnificent voices. I love to hear a hound bay.
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Comment #20 posted by Hope on December 15, 2004 at 23:49:57 PT

Where The Red Fern Grows
Indeed. It was one of my favorites. My children all read the book and saw the movie.My grandfather occasionally took me hunting with him. He took my brothers often...but it was a rare treat for me to not have to stay home with the women. Night time running through the woods...getting slapped with branches and sliding into muddy creeks following the hounds, waiting for them to tree or sitting at a campfire with a bunch of old men listening to their hounds run. I wouldn't take for the experience. Now that you mention it, I'd like to have the movie here for the grandchildren to watch during the holidays. Thanks for the idea.I hadn't thought about it in ages and just got a cold chill remembering the snow scene.
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on December 15, 2004 at 23:10:59 PT

Nuevo Mexican 
I hope you are right. If there was fraud it needs to be uncovered.The Mark Fiore cartoon was good. PS: The excuse about being old was too much. If he's too old then what is he doing with this very important job?Duh!
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Comment #18 posted by Nuevo Mexican on December 15, 2004 at 22:44:57 PT

Breaking: This story is about to explode!
Great Link FOM! John Conyers deserves our support, as he is on the front lines of the battle for our democratic right to have our votes counted. If we can make our votes count, we can pass our bills, and get the job of Cannabis legalization done. We'll never beat rigged polls though!http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=163172And here's a great animation from Mark Fiore, and be sure to scroll your cursor from cartoon to cartoon fast and get ready to laugh hard!:
http://www.markfiore.com/
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on December 15, 2004 at 18:43:04 PT

Off Topic: Where The Red Fern Grows
Hope,If you or anyone is looking for a really good movie for children for Christmas you might want to see about this one. The original movie was one of my favorites. Dave Matthews is in this movie. I might buy it just because I would enjoy it and then give it to the library.http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/liveaction/redfern/index.html
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Comment #16 posted by Hope on December 15, 2004 at 17:43:43 PT

13th Step
It makes sense, 13th Step. I appreciate it.Thank you.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on December 15, 2004 at 17:42:09 PT

Nuevo Mexican
Here's an article from the New York Times about the Ohio Election and I thought you would be interested.***Lawmaker Seeks Inquiry Into Ohio VotePublished: December 15, 2004 
 
 
 
 
  
    
 
 
The ranking Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, plans to ask the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a county prosecutor in Ohio today to explore "inappropriate and likely illegal election tampering" in at least one and perhaps several Ohio counties. Complete Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/15/politics/15ohio.html
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Comment #14 posted by siege on December 15, 2004 at 15:58:40 PT

part of Y
The people of this country are hungry for War just look at the TV. and movies at the shows they are all most all violent and they feed the citzens this crape to keep them high on it. then they show the most violent seens from Iraq and Afghan to keep the high going it was the same way with Ny and the WTC days and days of it. when Bush comes out and says that some one did it to keep the up high so they can do there thing, IT is just like the cop with a rush and can't STOP go all the way. ((and the people don't even think about it,)) it has been there so long that they live it.)) this is not a peacefull nation we have been a waring nation from the start. the american people where the Bad apples of England when we came here. 

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Comment #13 posted by FoM on December 15, 2004 at 15:52:39 PT

Sam
I never voted during Vietnam. I didn't have any way to know what was happening or how it happened. The debates on TV and the Internet left no doubt that we invaded a sovereign country. I guess that is why it upsets me. Everyone knew what Bush did. Ignorance as an excuse can't be used this time I believe.
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Comment #12 posted by global_warming on December 15, 2004 at 15:52:18 PT

re:comment 9
I agree about shifting focus, if we cannot have honest and fair elections, then we are no better off than some of these countries that we have invaded for the purpose of offering the democratic process.The questions in Ohio and other states should be answered quickly and decisively, so that such ugly questions do not have a chance to fester.My biggest problem is that the prohibitionists have control of the government, and with such bottomless resources and our tax dollars, they continue to deliver the same message, and they continue to obstruct any rational and reasonable discussion on the subject of drug law reform.It is such a pity, that these good people, the prohibitionists, who must deeply love their children and communities, have been deceived for so long by the profiteers of the illegal drug industry -those that make the greatest profit from this war on drugs, those that seek to corrupt and remain in control of our lives, our democracies, and our liberties.With all the talk about "just say no" these dreaded drugs are still very available and more so today, despite this billion dollar failed experiment in our society, our children have easier and more access to these dangerous substances than ever before in our history.End the war on drugs, end the prohibition, legalize everything, regulate all drugs, and stop punishing responsible adult human beings for their choice of medications or recreational use.Regulation is by far the most honest recipe for a healthy society and democracy, the other will only lead to a deeper corruption of our country, a deeper suffering, and a world that will become filled with despair and isolation as this corruption invades our privacy and civilization.gw

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Comment #11 posted by Sam Adams on December 15, 2004 at 15:35:50 PT

American Voters
Remember, "we" kept voting in Presidents who wanted to continue Viet Nam as well, right up to a huge Nixon landslide in 1972. Even with the draft.Just as we keep voting in Presidents who refuse to sign the Kyoto treaty, which to me is even more stupid that war in the Middle East. We're pumping out more greenhouse gases every year while every other civilized country (except Australia) has agreed to cut them. It's kind of like burning your house down rather than leaving it to your family.The American voters, somehow, are much more conservative than the general population. Just look at the medical MJ referendums, which win but are consistenly 15-20 points below the random telephone poll results.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 15, 2004 at 13:32:23 PT

Nuevo Mexican
You know what bothers me? The whole election. I am ashamed to think that people that have seen the invasion of Iraq, and that country never threatened us, could even think of voting for Bush. What Bush did is the most immoral thing that a person could do and it doesn't seem to register with lots of voters. Why? Why? Why? I can't get by why. I know that I never cared about republicans or democrats or any party but I know now that I will never trust or believe in the republican party. Before none of it mattered and now it does to me.
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Comment #9 posted by Nuevo Mexican on December 15, 2004 at 13:19:22 PT

Democracy exposed as a Sham! Votes don't count!
How can we expect reform on cannabis, when we can't even have an honest election? Can somebody answer that?I personally think we shouldn't give up on our issue of legalization, but we should all temporarily shift our focus to Election Integrity. If we don't, voting be damned! If we can't have a paper trial, we get what we deserve, Bush! Gods (Mother Nature, the all-that-is, The Sun, etc.) way of punishing/balancing the scales for Americans being willfully ignorant of their Governments growing list of deadly actions, and as it should be!How many elections with Cannabis rights hanging in the balance, have been fraudulently changed to suit the status quo. Many I'm sure, especially Nevada and Alaska. Don't believe me, check out the latest on the Ohio Stolen Election Crime Scene, you'll be aghast at the manipulations of Kenneth 'Katherine Harris' Blackwell, to steal the REVOTE for bush! As most of us here are, I hope anyway!These guys have been caught red-handed, and the media blantantly IGNORES what is going on. While focusing on Cannabis issues is my priority, when your vote doesn't count in the first place, what does anything mean?Just imagine the Repugs in our position, ALL hell would be breaking loose in the media, Scott Peterson style! 24/7 with the heat on til they get their way. With the Dems, it polite, don't rock the boat, stay out of the medias' line of fire, Sore loserman stigma thing! Sometimes I feel like my activist energy is being siphoned off from the real issue, (voting, Democracy) when I come back from Election Reality Mode, to Cannabis Freedom mode. My favorite subject, and a huge issue for all of us. Does anyone concur?
 
Cannabis reform on a large scale is not gonna happen folks, until we hold our Reps accountable, and that is NOT happening at the moment. Let us set our priorities, and stay focused! Every vote must count, and a nationwide standard needs to be set, something that WON'T happen while bush is 'ruling', so now is the only window of opportunity we have, while the jury is still out on OHio, and the Repugs know this, to be sure!Read this lurking Journos' and weep! You are NOT doing your job and will NOT get a Pulitzer Prize for your ignorance!From http://newsclipautopsy.blogspot.comIt has now been 4 days now (and counting) and this MAJOR newsbreak has not been made public by the mainstream:Yesterday, it came to the attention of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff that efforts to audit poll records in Greene County, Ohio are being obstructed by County Election officials and/or Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. According to Joan Quinn and Eve Robertson, two election observers researching voting records, Greene County officials initially gave Quinn and Robertson access to poll records, and then abruptly withdrew such access. Greene County Director of Elections Carole Garman claimed that she had withdrawn access to the voting records at the direction of Secretary Blackwell. Regardless of who ordered the denial of this access, such an action appears to violate Ohio law. Later, at the same office, election observers found the office unlocked, and what appeared to be locked ballot boxes, unattended. Prior to the withdrawal of access to the books, observers had found discrepancies in election records, and possible evidence of minority vote suppression.
(from Congressman John Conyers News Release -- posted on The Brad Blog Too)
Not one peep from the big guys. Incredible, right? Well, listen up! There's more to this story. As OpEdNews.com writes:http://newsclipautopsy.blogspot.com/2004/12/truth-left-out-ohios-secretary-of.htmlAnd this!UPDATE #3: Katrina Sumner, one of the Ohio recount activists who was leading the recount effort in Greene County emailed Teresa Amesse, Former Chair of Montgomery County Kerry Edwards Phone Bank. In the email (posted here), she states a troubling encounter:Last night I was returning from Columbus and was scared out of my mind. First I’ve been getting calls from a man that has been able to tell me each and every place I’ve been or roads I’ve been traveling on (a group of 3 other women heard this while driving me to meet Jesse Jackson and Cliff Arnebeck last night, having the call on speaker). Then while driving back I was ran off the road by two dark blue Suburbans(?), bigger than 4 runners anyway, with dark tinted windows. They came up behind me with their brights on and then one came to the side of me and ran me into the ditch off I-70. I saw as they sped away that one had a Maryland license plate, but in the heat of it all I couldn’t get the plate number or even see the plate of the other one. It’s becoming apparent to me that someone is not liking what I’m doing. So thank you much cause I truly need the encouraging words. 
Katrina Sumnerhttp://newsclipautopsy.blogspot.com/2004/12/truth-left-out-ohios-secretary-of.html
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Comment #8 posted by freedom23 on December 15, 2004 at 12:18:17 PT

I'm tired of this
A pseudo code program running prohibitionists:10 print "Marijuana is dangerous. We need more research before doctors should be allowed to prescribe it"20 If doctor asks to research = supply unusable samples30 If doctor complains about samples and wants a different supply = reject request40 goto 10Same old, same old. Once again science takes a back seat to the power of prohibitionists (pharmaceutical and alcohol industries plus ill informed religious folk) over the US Govt. Meanwhile too many people are sick and dying in pain."We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." is meaningless today when good people like the late Peter McWilliams, who was refused access to his medical marijuana and died from aspirating on his own vomit."No life for you!"
"Bullsh*t: Penn & Teller" vs the War on Drugs
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Comment #7 posted by tokenitallup4162 on December 15, 2004 at 10:54:29 PT:

what a democrocy?
well, it goes to show you that until we get the issues of marijuana out of the hands of our government then we are stuck right back where we started, taking chances we normally dont like to take. I take a chance every time I light up a joint for my disabilites.now, after the meds kick in, along with the good smooth, medicinal or not, joint. I feel better, I think clearer, Im ready to get up and do the daily chores. I really wouldn't be here reading and typing, if it weren't for my early mornings meds. THANK GOD!!!  for our ancestors and their wisdom. 13th step, very good article. You are so right!!!
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Comment #6 posted by JoeCitizen on December 15, 2004 at 10:27:32 PT

13th Step - good points
You make good points that anecdotal evidence can be lies, and even when honestly reported, is wholly subjective.I wanted to add to that the dangers of the placebo effect. The body has tremendous ability to heal itself, especially when fueled by the feeling of faith. That faith can be honestly placed (in a good medicine or treatment), or can be all in ones imagination. It doesn't really matter, as long as the feeling of faith is strong.Cannabis is NOT a placebo, don't mistake me. I know from personal experience, personal observation of others, plus extensive reading of the available literature, that cannabis is very therapeutically active and useful. But science demands a higher standard than my eyes and brain, and I respect that. And I strongly believe that science will prove the effectiveness of cannabis as medicine - if scientists ever get that chance.JC
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Comment #5 posted by 13th step on December 15, 2004 at 08:13:52 PT

Interesting
"Doesn't "experience" or "personal experience" fit in there anywhere? Or perhaps "observation"?No, they can't. For instance, I could say that I talk to the dead, but if it cannot be verified, then it is no more real than me saying tobacco makes me feel like a god. It's subjective, and open to interpretation,delusion, and yes, even lying.Anecdotal evidence is only so good, but we can delude ourselves into thinking something helps when it's just coincidence, for example, homeopathic "medicines". All homeopathic medicines are just distilled water, but that doesn't stop many people from thinking that they work.
(This is verified, google it up, a good place to start is quackwatch.org, jref.org)Think of it like chiropractic treatment: Yes, it's very good for musculo-skeletal(sp?) benefit, but there are many chiropractors who claim they can "cure" autism, retardation, and a myriad of other conditions on the basis of "subluxations", which have never been verified, or proven to exist. Go to 5 different chiro's, and take your xrays of your spine, you'll likely get a different answer as to where these subluxations exist from each one.(I've done this myself. I had severe back pain, and I went to 8 different chiros.) But I guarantee each one will say you have them. Unless you find one who says subluxations don't exist. Then you've found a keeper!A theory is just that, a theory. Independent, controlled experiments are necessary in order to verify or disprove a theory. If a theory can't be proven, it doesn't mean that it is invalid, it just means that you've found a way it doesn't work. Then you know that that is not the method to verifying it.I hope some of this makes sense. Haven't had any coffee yet...feeling wiped out..sorry if so!
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Comment #4 posted by siege on December 15, 2004 at 05:06:00 PT

 Examination
 Examination of a cadaver to determine or confirm the cause of death.
This is the only way the Gov't. want the 
scientific medicinal benefits of marijana found they dislike clinical trials to assess its medicinal uses
At present, and if any thing good was found they hide it from every one, and then they say bad thing about it. the University of Mississippi operates the only government-licensed program to grow marijuana for research use. The DEA maintains that it produces an adequate supply for medical researchers,
University of Mississippi and the government there marijana is like the "Dollar Store garbage" you can stop a long side the road and get it. Ditch Weed.
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on December 15, 2004 at 04:51:19 PT

"tradition, myth, and science"
Doesn't "experience" or "personal experience" fit in there anywhere? Or perhaps "observation"? I guess they would fall under "myth".As R. Dangerfield likely would have said, "Can't get no respect."
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Comment #2 posted by Dark Star on December 15, 2004 at 03:49:27 PT

Context
EJ, you are a traditional scientist that is cognizant of myth, and places it in proper context through observationa and experimentation in order to verify it.
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on December 14, 2004 at 23:02:01 PT

I have a question for Craker
Am I a tradition or a myth?
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