MaxRedline

You Don't See Any Juul Ads Lately. Likely Because -

King County is taking its fight against teenage vaping straight to one of the country's largest producers.

The class action lawsuit filed against Juul Wednesday comes after the state banned flavored vaping products for 120 days. "Juul has compelled a generation of youth, who were never cigarette smokers, into nicotine addiction and put them at risk for severe lung injury or other health harms resulting from aerosol inhalation," the lawsuit says.

According to the lawsuit, between 2011 and 2015, e-cigarette use among high school and middle school students increased 900% nationally. Between 2017 and 2018, e-cigarette use increased 78% -- or 1.5 million -- among high school students. "In the largest school district in King County, Seattle Public Schools, 90% percent of tobacco and nicotine violations during the 2017-2018 school year were for vaping, and over 60% of those violations were for Juul use specifically," the lawsuit says.

It's a start, but they ought to be going after the flavor cartridge makers and others in the industry.

From what I've read, that's where the main problem lies - kids vaping THC and other compounds.

 

Cummings And Goings

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, the sharecroppers' son who fought for racial justice in his beloved Baltimore and in recent years took on the Trump administration, died Thursday.

He was 68.

The congressman hadn't taken part in a roll call vote since Sept. 11, failing to return to work after a medical procedure he had said would only keep him away for a week, according to The Associated Press.

Cummings, known for his soaring oratory, said during the pivotal hearing in February when the president’s former lawyer and personal fixer, Michael Cohen, testified before his committee, “When we’re dancing with the angels, the question we’ll be asked: In 2019, what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact? Did we stand on the sidelines and say nothing?”

That was actually one of his many shortcomings: like most Democratics, Cummings operated under the delusion that America is a democracy - which is really just another term for "mob rule". The founders of our nation understood that, were repulsed by it, and therefore established a representative republic instead. It's unfortunate that a person can be a member of the House of Representatives for around a quarter of a century and yet fail to grasp that fundamental distinction.

And while his death, as is the case in many instances, brings with it a time for reflection, the legacy of his belief that America is a democracy remains alive among Democratics:

"We lost a giant today," Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., tweeted. "Congressman Elijah Cummings was a fearless leader, a protector of democracy, and a fighter for the people of Maryland. Our world is dimmer without him in it."

It's no wonder that the country is so badly screwed up - Senators and Congressmen don't have a grasp of the fundamentals, yet pretend to be "leaders".

 

Iron Man

CHICAGO —

A Boston man disarmed a robber on a train in Chicago on Sunday before running in the city’s marathon.

Jean Paul LaPierre, 54, was on a CTA Blue Line train when he stepped off and asked another commuter why marathoners seemed to be rushing for the doors, WGN-TV reported. He said he was told there was another man on the train robbing commuters. LaPierre got back on the train and confronted the robber. Video captured of the incident shows LaPierre struggling with the man and pulling a gun from his hands.

That accomplished, he naturally ran his 12th Chicago Marathon afterward. Why, of course! Just another day in the big city...LaPierre happens to be a boxer. Don't try to jump him in a dark alley - or anywhere else.

 

 

Sleepy Wood Village Isn't Sleepy Anymore

WOOD VILLAGE, Ore. (KPTV) -- A fight took place in an Oregon dispensary after a customer tried to return his pot, according to employees.

The incident was caught by surveillance cameras at NW Compassion Medical Center in Wood Village at around 5 p.m. Friday.

A cashier said the suspect, 30-year-old Daniel Applegate, tried to return a product saying he received less than he paid for. When workers told him they couldn’t accept the return, they said he became volatile.

Oh, if only there were something he could use to mellow himself out....

For all the pot-shop folks knew, the idiot might've been trying to "return" oregano. Maybe the shop should post a "no returns" sign.

Surveillance video shows the suspect reaching across the counter before fighting with employees and another customer.

In any case, he won't be patronizing pot shops for a while:

Multnomah County deputies said Applegate was later caught and arrested on charges of third-degree robbery, fourth-degree assault, criminal mischief and interfering with a police officer.

Workers said it was all over about $40 worth of marijuana.

Pot shops here always have heavy surveillance. He must not have known that.

 

Great News!

BLUE RIVER, Ore. - A threatened fish species is starting to make a comeback in parts of the McKenzie River.

For the first time in nearly half of a century, fish experts have counted hundreds of spring Chinook salmon nests in the Lower South Fork McKenzie River in Blue River. The good news comes after the U.S. Forest Service, McKenzie Watershed Council and other agencies took on about a $2 million restoration project to the area.

Until now, the stretch was essentially devoid of fish. Now, in addition to the salmon, trout are also thriving.

Other wildlife will also benefit from the restoration effort.

Like bears. But it shows that we can undo damage done; in this case, it was the 1960s construction of Cougar Dam that negatively impacted habitat. Mitigation work today appears to be succeeding. I'll have to go back there, come spring.

 

Good News

PORTLAND, ORE. — Several Portland-area vape stores plan to close for good on Tuesday because of Oregon's six-month ban on flavored vaping products.  

On Tuesday, all flavored tobacco and cannabis vaping products will be banned from online and retail stores in Oregon. The Center for Disease Control said as of October 8, 26 people have died from lung illnesses linked to vaping, including two in Oregon.

In Washington, which has also enacted a ban on flavored vaping products:

KENNEWICK, Wash. -- A Kennewick mother recently released from Kadlec hospital is warning others to quit vaping before it's too late.

26-year-old Jocelyn Schaben says she began vaping to quit smoking after learning she was pregnant a few months ago. She tells Action News she thought she was making the right decision until a few weeks ago.

"I didn't put two and two together until I got this sick. I didn't really think it'd happen to me because I'm young," she says through labored breath. "You're better off smoking. I can never smoke again with my lungs."

Well, that's one way to kick the habit.

"When you think of our parents, they smoked 40 years before they saw lung problems like this. Jocelyn smoked a few months and she's left with permanently damaged lungs."

She spent eight days in the hospital, and she still can't do anything; can't even go up the stairs. She spends her time at home lying on a couch, hooked up to an I.V. setup that delivers antibiotics. But if folks want to have the lungs of a 70 year-old in short order, vaping seems to be the way to go.

 

 

 

Kansas City Felony

Who knew that insanity is so contagious?

A 12-year-old Overland Park girl formed a gun with her fingers, pointed at four of her Westridge Middle School classmates one at a time, and then turned the pretend weapon toward herself.

Police hauled her out of school in handcuffs, arrested her and charged the child with a felony for threatening.

Maybe they thought it was a fully-loaded semi-automatic finger.

This country isn't going down the tubes, it's gone down them.

As one person observed:

Note: Kansas State Law on Sexual Battery - The touching must be committed with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires of the offender or another person. Sexual battery in Kansas is a class A person misdemeanor and carries up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine if convicted.
But pretending to shoot people with a Finger Pistol = Felony?

Sad.

 

Read more here: https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article235891762.html#storylink=cpy

Bow-Tie BlueManure Bitten

Provenance Hotels announced Saturday that it has filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics against Oregon Democratic U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer.

Blumenauer called for a boycott of the Portland-based hotel company Wednesday, due to its connection to Ambassador Gordon Sondland; Sondland is currently embroiled in the Ukraine controversy with President Donald Trump. He’s also the founder of Provenance Hotels.

Ellen Carmichael, spokeswoman for Provenance Hotels, said in postings on social media that Blumenauer’s call for a boycott is forbidden by the Office of Congressional Ethics. She said the specific rule Blumenauer allegedly violated states that members of Congress cannot threaten administrative officials over matters of disagreement. “We believe Congressman Blumenauer’s actions constitute a potentially serious violation of Congressional ethics as outlined in multiple sections of the House Ethics Manual,” Carmichael wrote.

Well, technically, Manure's an Oregon Representative, but in fact he's a Portland Democratic - and that's a big difference. Portland Democratics in general seem to believe that they can do anything they want, as Manure has demonstrated. Rules are for the deplorables.

In fact, the House Ethics Manual clearly indicates that Representatives are not to intervene in private matters, “specifically when it comes to attempts to pressure private actions".

In calling for a boycott, which would (if carried out) negatively impact hundreds of hotel workers - ostensibly his constituents - Manure's conduct can rightfully be viewed as outrageous.

 

Somehow, Missed By The MSM

After the suburban New Orleans youth team spent a memory-making day at the White House on Friday celebrating their win of the 2019 Little League World Series, the president took things to another level and gave them an unforgettable ride home with him on Air Force One.

Classy. Unlike the reaction from the rabid Left, of course. The kids will remember the trip for the rest of their lives.

 

I Love L.A.

Conservative activist Scott Presler spent the weekend organizing 200 volunteers in Los Angeles to clean up the heavily littered city, picking up over 50 tons of trash from one homeless camp alone. “I’m just 1 guy,” he said. “We were able to organize 200 volunteers to pick up 50 tons of trash in 9 hours. If each of us did something, we could transform America for the better.”

Isn't that why cities supposedly have "leaders"?