The next Statewide Primary Election is on June 8, 2010 and then the big day will probably be a chilly Nov. 2, 2010.
So, it's time to begin the studying, the research about who we are potentially going to be electing and how this person and their background, opinions, and goals for the future, will effect us all.
Here in Kern County we have some role changing as Assemblywoman, Jean Fuller, will be grabbing her suitcases and moving over to the Senator's seat, Roy Ashburn, who is terming out this year, to make a run for it.
But Fuller has some interesting opponents in her own party to defeat before she moves on to the democratic opposition.
Fuller has been visible and accessible to the people of the Kern River Valley, the home of the elder abuse case which rocked our rocks up here. Fuller has said in the past she supports all efforts to keep the hospital not only open and functioning, but growing services which fit the community.
If she were to be elected to Ashburn's seat, she would have the ability to bring even more leverage for the rural community that is lost amongst so many other, larger, prospects which contain bigger voting bases.
But the KRV is known as conservate central, but there is a diversity up here in the valley which would like to see change for reasons other than voting for one party or another.
The following links will give you the head start for elections upcoming.
http://elections.co.kern.ca.us/Elections/
And on the California Secretary of State website much information can be found which may help those needing to register or who are running for office.
The website lists the key dates for this year's election:
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/
So, let's begin...
Friday, March 5, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
don't get disabled or fired because there is no net for you out there right now...
It's not the like the government has ever known what to do with the hundreds of thousands of disabled people throughout our country from children born with organs outside their skin, in need of transplants.
Then there's the high rev lifestyle where exciting adventures on dirt bikes, or setting sail on the high seas, leaping off cliffs attached to rubber bands, which lead to potential accidents which have paralyzed and or maimed millions, taking away their independence.
Yes, it would be exciting to think we could have healthcare reform which worked like this: anyone experiencing a broken back, would automatically be given the genetic makeover required to heal it, though costing an arm and a leg (bad joke, but probably true) if we don't deal with the real problems, divvying up the pile of dough for all.
Obviously hypothetical, but that future is so close, that it will be a consideration in the near future. That's called looking ahead and planning, a simple sort of concept.
The players: the insurance companies, John Garamendi knows them as do others here in California.
I could add some personal anecdotes but I will save them for when we discuss this issue with the insurance companies themselves.
That's an easy one.
Pharma, is about as entracted as the tobacco industry, aren't they related?
Whatever your situation, healthcare can "easily" be reformed and nobody would be severely limited or put unfairly out of business. If it has the goal of not just saving lives, but making people healthy so they can work, go to school and contribute, then yes, that's an easy answer.
But what are the complications? Oh boy, that's where it gets fun. We will get there soon.
Then there's the high rev lifestyle where exciting adventures on dirt bikes, or setting sail on the high seas, leaping off cliffs attached to rubber bands, which lead to potential accidents which have paralyzed and or maimed millions, taking away their independence.
Yes, it would be exciting to think we could have healthcare reform which worked like this: anyone experiencing a broken back, would automatically be given the genetic makeover required to heal it, though costing an arm and a leg (bad joke, but probably true) if we don't deal with the real problems, divvying up the pile of dough for all.
Obviously hypothetical, but that future is so close, that it will be a consideration in the near future. That's called looking ahead and planning, a simple sort of concept.
The players: the insurance companies, John Garamendi knows them as do others here in California.
I could add some personal anecdotes but I will save them for when we discuss this issue with the insurance companies themselves.
That's an easy one.
Pharma, is about as entracted as the tobacco industry, aren't they related?
Whatever your situation, healthcare can "easily" be reformed and nobody would be severely limited or put unfairly out of business. If it has the goal of not just saving lives, but making people healthy so they can work, go to school and contribute, then yes, that's an easy answer.
But what are the complications? Oh boy, that's where it gets fun. We will get there soon.
Election year is here are we all excited?
"It's the worst economy since the depression," a teenager told me the other day, as he rummaged through his jean pockets trying to find a few extra coins so he could be a value hamburger off the menu meal.
"You know that food will kill you eventually," I kidded him.
He said, "I know, but you tell me what else I can eat with a buck?"
Yeah, that's definitely a problem.
Somebody across from me at the gas pumps told me she had filled the tank twice in one week, and was speculating that the owners of the gas stations are diluting the fuel to make more money.
Yes, there is so much confusion, not just with our legislature and every agency in the land, but with the kids who inherit this great big boondoogle.
It's not just the children either, grandparents are taking life hard as social security was burned up in war and political misappropriation.
Confusion and fear
Nobody knows if their house they may have worked all their life to buy and pay off will be worth anything once they retire.
"Oh it can't last that long," somebody of a different ilk explained to me the other day.
"Why not," I asked?
She didn't have a response, and her uncertainty made me realize people are just trying to make themselves feel better as they watch the disaster around them.
Life has changed, the government can't keep up, the information is too much for the average person trying to raise a family, and family means something different too.
I told somebody that I had three mothers and three fathers, and a father I didn't know.
How could that be? It sounds like a trick question, but we have not evolved in our awareness that great change took place and we missed it.
I was adopted at 6 weeks old by my mother and father as I knew them. They stayed married until I was ten, then both remarried, giving me an extra mother and father.
When I turned 18 I had to know my roots so I quickly found my biological mother who gave birth to me.
Now, I had three mothers, two fathers. Yes, you figured it, my natural mother got remarried, so there is the final father.
But if you were to say this thirty or forty years ago, you would have been blashphemous or deluded.
Families have changed and we need to change with the families. We could start with getting the male "birth control" on the market allowing men to feel more in control over their bodies.
With men, fathers, in jail, not paying support or not being able to pay support, the dynamic must change.
As women we have made it pretty clear what we want in the way of control of our bodies, our children, and the more we bring women into the chambers once only seating men, white men with property, we see a profound change in our culture.
The influence of women in society
The movements we saw last century, those without property or power were nothing but forced to act or be run over by a patriarchal system using religious materials as justification in many cases.
Now, we see many more women who are making choices their forebearers would not have done.
Graveyards are full of women who died in childbirth, there were no pink ribbons back then, and the rule of thumb was to keep the father alive so he could work the land, fight the wars, and tame the country, all along in battle; never in harmony.
Now women are still recieving hysterectomies in great numbers all in the name of cancer and the relief of night sweats. Men may have only recently discovered that they have a high cancer risk in prostrate cancer, but that is not as significant as the breast, ovarian, and cysts which have been the reasons for taking out what doesn't need to be there?
Our country needs women, women in charge. They need the experience a woman provides in knowing children, food, and a sense of being part of creation.
The founding mothers
This years elections are going to bring about much change, and certainly we will see that sort of push in Washington, other than to cram a horse pill sized healthcare reform pill or bill down our throats.
It's time to think, and we will try and bring as much good, provocative and thoughtful information as we can to make our voting choices, just that choices.
We will be sold many reasons as to why tax increases will be fired at us like shrapnel, and we need to be prepared to understand where we can actually help, and where the responsibility falls in lack of oversight by people in their respective communities.
It's time to pull together, but I must say I see people are pulling apart. Fear our favorite friend.
What fear is not is a motivator, so parent's it's not always necessary to frighten to teach.
What counteracts fear is education. Educate yourselves, there are many incredibly intelligent, funny, daring and determined sites out here in the land of the internet and still hiding out in our newspapers.
And I will be adding posts where you can link up with newsletters which let you know what is going on. It's going to be some year, a defining year, as to how we handle it.
Were we unprepared for this? No bottled water and canned goods?
Yes, we didn't see this coming a long way off...
"You know that food will kill you eventually," I kidded him.
He said, "I know, but you tell me what else I can eat with a buck?"
Yeah, that's definitely a problem.
Somebody across from me at the gas pumps told me she had filled the tank twice in one week, and was speculating that the owners of the gas stations are diluting the fuel to make more money.
Yes, there is so much confusion, not just with our legislature and every agency in the land, but with the kids who inherit this great big boondoogle.
It's not just the children either, grandparents are taking life hard as social security was burned up in war and political misappropriation.
Confusion and fear
Nobody knows if their house they may have worked all their life to buy and pay off will be worth anything once they retire.
"Oh it can't last that long," somebody of a different ilk explained to me the other day.
"Why not," I asked?
She didn't have a response, and her uncertainty made me realize people are just trying to make themselves feel better as they watch the disaster around them.
Life has changed, the government can't keep up, the information is too much for the average person trying to raise a family, and family means something different too.
I told somebody that I had three mothers and three fathers, and a father I didn't know.
How could that be? It sounds like a trick question, but we have not evolved in our awareness that great change took place and we missed it.
I was adopted at 6 weeks old by my mother and father as I knew them. They stayed married until I was ten, then both remarried, giving me an extra mother and father.
When I turned 18 I had to know my roots so I quickly found my biological mother who gave birth to me.
Now, I had three mothers, two fathers. Yes, you figured it, my natural mother got remarried, so there is the final father.
But if you were to say this thirty or forty years ago, you would have been blashphemous or deluded.
Families have changed and we need to change with the families. We could start with getting the male "birth control" on the market allowing men to feel more in control over their bodies.
With men, fathers, in jail, not paying support or not being able to pay support, the dynamic must change.
As women we have made it pretty clear what we want in the way of control of our bodies, our children, and the more we bring women into the chambers once only seating men, white men with property, we see a profound change in our culture.
The influence of women in society
The movements we saw last century, those without property or power were nothing but forced to act or be run over by a patriarchal system using religious materials as justification in many cases.
Now, we see many more women who are making choices their forebearers would not have done.
Graveyards are full of women who died in childbirth, there were no pink ribbons back then, and the rule of thumb was to keep the father alive so he could work the land, fight the wars, and tame the country, all along in battle; never in harmony.
Now women are still recieving hysterectomies in great numbers all in the name of cancer and the relief of night sweats. Men may have only recently discovered that they have a high cancer risk in prostrate cancer, but that is not as significant as the breast, ovarian, and cysts which have been the reasons for taking out what doesn't need to be there?
Our country needs women, women in charge. They need the experience a woman provides in knowing children, food, and a sense of being part of creation.
The founding mothers
This years elections are going to bring about much change, and certainly we will see that sort of push in Washington, other than to cram a horse pill sized healthcare reform pill or bill down our throats.
It's time to think, and we will try and bring as much good, provocative and thoughtful information as we can to make our voting choices, just that choices.
We will be sold many reasons as to why tax increases will be fired at us like shrapnel, and we need to be prepared to understand where we can actually help, and where the responsibility falls in lack of oversight by people in their respective communities.
It's time to pull together, but I must say I see people are pulling apart. Fear our favorite friend.
What fear is not is a motivator, so parent's it's not always necessary to frighten to teach.
What counteracts fear is education. Educate yourselves, there are many incredibly intelligent, funny, daring and determined sites out here in the land of the internet and still hiding out in our newspapers.
And I will be adding posts where you can link up with newsletters which let you know what is going on. It's going to be some year, a defining year, as to how we handle it.
Were we unprepared for this? No bottled water and canned goods?
Yes, we didn't see this coming a long way off...
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Harvest Fest celebrates marijuana as a medicine: the Kern River Valley celebrates the bounty, the knowledge
;The 6th annual Harvest Fest went off without a hitch, but many bongs and pipes, and joints were passed around as Medical marijuana patients came together in Havilah, California, in the mountains east of Bakersfield.
For the last six years, the Reverend Victor Love, and the love of his life, Debbi, have been pushing for marijuana reform, and in the small valley, surrouding Lake Isabella, and the Kern rivers, has become somewhat of a hero.
Love, who in the early days, which wasn't so long ago, had to deal with the local Kern Countty Sheriff's no tolerance program, versus the state's and voters reform of the marijuana growing laws.
The local sheriff's came in and claimed Love's bounty of pot, leaving with trash bags full of weed. But Love not only won his case, but he claimed his weed back, as the sheriff's had not followed their own laws.
The Harvest fest's allow patients to exchange recipes and new, cleaner ways of ingesting the medicine. There are new ways other than the standard rolled joint, there are new gadgets which use heat and vaporize the materials without burning it, as well as other handy crystals which are solar powered.
Many recipes are handed out, how to make cookies and candies and also what part of the plant to use when looking for a certain type of effect. For instance, the red hairs, are qite good for head issues, while an oil can be just the thing for reducing acid without having to take regular pharmaceuticals.
One of the main claims of medical marijuana propenents is that they don't have to use standard medicines and with some research, sometimes just on the part of patient's themselves, like Love, they are able to reduce the amount of prescription medications they have to take.
Love has been growing and passing along his secrets for years, and as the movement progresses, where people are allowed to have more control over their lives and their healthcare, more of these events will take place all across the nation.
"No alcohol," a sign posted at the entrance to the property which was donated for the event by Dennis Fluhart who has allowed these events to take place for several years now.
There haven't been any fights or any sort of problems during the harvest fests as well as the June gatherings, most camp out, enjoy the music, and a large meal consisting of beef and pork is barbecued up to feed the large crowds.
With 187 people on hand in an area which has a small population, the gatherings have grown as the years have passed.
And with the recent announcement by President Barak Obama that the DEA leave the people with prescriptions alone and not try to bust them, patients are feeling more safe and are coming out to support their cause.
Although, a representative from the local newspaper for the area, The Kern Valley Sun, appeared at the event, he did not write a story, in fact, one of the creators of the gathering wrote the thank you article, and then paid them $40 to have it printed.
So, the local media was squeamish but that didn't keep the event from being advertised.
With only one radio station in the Kern River Valley, the talk show host, and notorious figure sitting on the local public healthcare board, Bob Jamison, saw the flyer for the mariujana event, made a huge deal about it on the air.
Listeners heard as he read off the flyer which included things like raffles, best buds, music, food and camping.
The radio DJ made sure not to read the warning, "no alcohol" allowed at the party. But yet he railed against the small party.
He also made it a larger party. With the biggest turnout ever, the people putting on the party were able to give $400 away to charity.
No foul, no harm, as the sheriff's checked to make sure that the party goers were all carrying their prescriptions. No one was cited, and sheriff's went on their way.
"They do this every year, it's nothing different or unexpected." Love said.
They will be back out in June to do this again. And more and more people join in
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Here are some suggestions for California
Here's where we start: First remember the major problem of government is that the ideas that would actually help the change the system for the better, are not the notions that we actually implement.
For instance, each time an assembly member or congressman writes a bill, there is always, and I say always, some sort of rider on top of the actual intent of the bill.
This happens because we don't have an effective system.
What if we could write bills which were comprehensible and understandable and not necessarily backed by the richest and those with the most interest in how it all plays out?
Wow, we could make some progress.
So, we need to write a bill about how bills are written. This has been tried before, but much like term limits, it is not well accepted by those in power.
We put them in power, we gave them the power, or did we just give away our own power?
If you cast your vote and then walked away thinking "I'm a good citizen" then you have been fooling yourself for a long time.
Follow the vote. Who did you elect, what have they done in the past, what are they doing now, who put the money in their campaign, who has an interest in them?
You vote, but that is not enough. You have to oversee your employee, your government employee.
You can follow them on the internet, CSPAN, newspapers, and so on, and find out what they're doing.
If you don't agree, and find that the person you voted for is not fulfilling the promises they made during the campaign, it's time to ask some questions.
How do you do this? It's easy write to them and ask what is going on?
Again, you hire them, and you fire them.
So, how do you get rid of them if they didn't do what they said they would?
Start by writing letters and talking to others who may have voted for that person. Get as many people as you can to write letters to the public official, the local news outlets, and to different government watchdog groups.
The internet is a great place to get support for ousting a mediocre or ineffective politician.
Where's the resume and what qualifications would you need?
I've thought about this for years, as I have owned my own business, and have had to hire employees over the years.
Depending on the position I was hiring for, I had a certain set of qualifications I was looking for that would help me decide who would most likely be the best candidate for the position.
What qualifications do you need to be a governor or a state senator or a congressman? Well, not much.
Again, the campaign reform could never pass because both parties are equally afraid of the potential onslaught of legislation which could limit the power and even possibly bring about a higher ideal: Service to community and country.
We expect our soldiers who risk their lives to "serve" their country, but we see little in the way of serving others and more about serving themselves. There are exceptions, but they generally never go past a certain level, as the people living in the penthouse suite have everything they need.
But it's campaign reform that's needed and the only way it's going to happen is if, we the people, are the one's who push forward with it.
Simplify and it will attract the swarm
Let's say we want a Governor for our state of California. We do a search, yes, I said, search, we look for the people rather than them coming to us.
We establish a general set of qualifications and basically put out a "want ad."
Needed, FT, Governor, must be bi-lingual, but English is the primary language, has to be 40 years old, education: minimum master's degree, recommended types of courses and background: History, philosophy, economics, business, anthropology/sociology/psychology, geography, business management, education and definitely, spelling.
I see we need people with a background that is not tied directly to lawyers, corporations or acting. Not that these careers would necessarily put them out of the running, but target new perspectives.
Campaign reform, or the real deal, would have to come up from the grassroots tangling up the feet of those who have made a career for themselves as a politician.
Service to the people
Career politicians know everybody and they have ties to big business, oil resources, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and all the rest.
They mooch off the people. Yeah, that's exactly it. It's like at 30 year old living at home, watching tv all day while reclining in an armchair: not exactly the attitude which should be running the government, but it is.
Yes, there is a lot of work to be done, no doubt. But not all kids at school did their homework, and I'm sure that we see that with our politicians everyday.
CSPAN Scares the hell out of me, when I hear the politicians outside of the soundbites. It's like they're naked and real now. They say things they know won't be reported and it's generally something they know nothing about.
I remember turning on the TV while an Indiana congressman went about telling what was supposed to be a sad story of a woman who consumed too much marijuana and died. "It was terrible," he said.
I wrote to him and asked for actual proof of this story, that a woman died of an overdose of marijuana. What I found out was the woman was apparently a drug addict, and the other drugs, most specifically alcohol killed this woman. But right there in our faces we get lied to and we're supposed to be okay with this?
I'm dealing with a public healthcare district where two current board members actually aided and abetted a CEO who allowed the residents of the nursing home be utilized as test rats for a whole array of psychotropic drugs. Sleeping patients don't need full staffing.
These people will not give up their power and guess what? Neither will I.
We the people, I the person, whatever, will take a stand and continue to push for some justice and some change.
Progress does not come without pain
When we are unhappy, like the whole country is right now, we tend to get tired of not having any control over our lives.
We do have control over our lives. I'm not talking insurrection, I'm talking about following up on campaign reform.
It's our first line of action. It's not the term limits that were damaging us: it was the campaign and the political environment which stops progress.
Cam-pain in the ass
Oh, we could streamline this whole process and not even start a committee, couldn't we? But the old guard is going to fight that tooth and nail.
Politicians spend half there time in office campaigning. Do you really think that is how you want your representative to be spending his or her time?
No. They need to stay focused on the ever changing needs of this diverse state and country.
Stop the campaigning entirely. Does that sound blasphemous?
But start the research, background checks, ties to corporate businesses, any conflict of interest, first, then we can have a mini-campaign.
After we select the best candidates to run for office, then we may need more information which could easily be passed along via the Internet.
I can almost predict what readers will think of this blog, this idea, to stop the campaigning entirely and not just reform it.
There are modern tools for this type of things.
California, you're going to be the first:
Not known for doing much to help itself, California, can and really should try it out, something new.
But we have to deal with the constitutions both state and federal to even begin to straighten this problem out.
How does the great big oligarchy keep us from doing just that: they know it will take time. And they have the ability to slow down progress so that they can scoop in those extra dollars before the loophole (AKA money portal) closes up.
For instance, each time an assembly member or congressman writes a bill, there is always, and I say always, some sort of rider on top of the actual intent of the bill.
This happens because we don't have an effective system.
What if we could write bills which were comprehensible and understandable and not necessarily backed by the richest and those with the most interest in how it all plays out?
Wow, we could make some progress.
So, we need to write a bill about how bills are written. This has been tried before, but much like term limits, it is not well accepted by those in power.
We put them in power, we gave them the power, or did we just give away our own power?
If you cast your vote and then walked away thinking "I'm a good citizen" then you have been fooling yourself for a long time.
Follow the vote. Who did you elect, what have they done in the past, what are they doing now, who put the money in their campaign, who has an interest in them?
You vote, but that is not enough. You have to oversee your employee, your government employee.
You can follow them on the internet, CSPAN, newspapers, and so on, and find out what they're doing.
If you don't agree, and find that the person you voted for is not fulfilling the promises they made during the campaign, it's time to ask some questions.
How do you do this? It's easy write to them and ask what is going on?
Again, you hire them, and you fire them.
So, how do you get rid of them if they didn't do what they said they would?
Start by writing letters and talking to others who may have voted for that person. Get as many people as you can to write letters to the public official, the local news outlets, and to different government watchdog groups.
The internet is a great place to get support for ousting a mediocre or ineffective politician.
Where's the resume and what qualifications would you need?
I've thought about this for years, as I have owned my own business, and have had to hire employees over the years.
Depending on the position I was hiring for, I had a certain set of qualifications I was looking for that would help me decide who would most likely be the best candidate for the position.
What qualifications do you need to be a governor or a state senator or a congressman? Well, not much.
Again, the campaign reform could never pass because both parties are equally afraid of the potential onslaught of legislation which could limit the power and even possibly bring about a higher ideal: Service to community and country.
We expect our soldiers who risk their lives to "serve" their country, but we see little in the way of serving others and more about serving themselves. There are exceptions, but they generally never go past a certain level, as the people living in the penthouse suite have everything they need.
But it's campaign reform that's needed and the only way it's going to happen is if, we the people, are the one's who push forward with it.
Simplify and it will attract the swarm
Let's say we want a Governor for our state of California. We do a search, yes, I said, search, we look for the people rather than them coming to us.
We establish a general set of qualifications and basically put out a "want ad."
Needed, FT, Governor, must be bi-lingual, but English is the primary language, has to be 40 years old, education: minimum master's degree, recommended types of courses and background: History, philosophy, economics, business, anthropology/sociology/psychology, geography, business management, education and definitely, spelling.
I see we need people with a background that is not tied directly to lawyers, corporations or acting. Not that these careers would necessarily put them out of the running, but target new perspectives.
Campaign reform, or the real deal, would have to come up from the grassroots tangling up the feet of those who have made a career for themselves as a politician.
Service to the people
Career politicians know everybody and they have ties to big business, oil resources, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and all the rest.
They mooch off the people. Yeah, that's exactly it. It's like at 30 year old living at home, watching tv all day while reclining in an armchair: not exactly the attitude which should be running the government, but it is.
Yes, there is a lot of work to be done, no doubt. But not all kids at school did their homework, and I'm sure that we see that with our politicians everyday.
CSPAN Scares the hell out of me, when I hear the politicians outside of the soundbites. It's like they're naked and real now. They say things they know won't be reported and it's generally something they know nothing about.
I remember turning on the TV while an Indiana congressman went about telling what was supposed to be a sad story of a woman who consumed too much marijuana and died. "It was terrible," he said.
I wrote to him and asked for actual proof of this story, that a woman died of an overdose of marijuana. What I found out was the woman was apparently a drug addict, and the other drugs, most specifically alcohol killed this woman. But right there in our faces we get lied to and we're supposed to be okay with this?
I'm dealing with a public healthcare district where two current board members actually aided and abetted a CEO who allowed the residents of the nursing home be utilized as test rats for a whole array of psychotropic drugs. Sleeping patients don't need full staffing.
These people will not give up their power and guess what? Neither will I.
We the people, I the person, whatever, will take a stand and continue to push for some justice and some change.
Progress does not come without pain
When we are unhappy, like the whole country is right now, we tend to get tired of not having any control over our lives.
We do have control over our lives. I'm not talking insurrection, I'm talking about following up on campaign reform.
It's our first line of action. It's not the term limits that were damaging us: it was the campaign and the political environment which stops progress.
Cam-pain in the ass
Oh, we could streamline this whole process and not even start a committee, couldn't we? But the old guard is going to fight that tooth and nail.
Politicians spend half there time in office campaigning. Do you really think that is how you want your representative to be spending his or her time?
No. They need to stay focused on the ever changing needs of this diverse state and country.
Stop the campaigning entirely. Does that sound blasphemous?
But start the research, background checks, ties to corporate businesses, any conflict of interest, first, then we can have a mini-campaign.
After we select the best candidates to run for office, then we may need more information which could easily be passed along via the Internet.
I can almost predict what readers will think of this blog, this idea, to stop the campaigning entirely and not just reform it.
There are modern tools for this type of things.
California, you're going to be the first:
Not known for doing much to help itself, California, can and really should try it out, something new.
But we have to deal with the constitutions both state and federal to even begin to straighten this problem out.
How does the great big oligarchy keep us from doing just that: they know it will take time. And they have the ability to slow down progress so that they can scoop in those extra dollars before the loophole (AKA money portal) closes up.
Pick Pocketing the Poor: California's strategy for creating an impoverished population
Well, if your goal, California Governor and Legislators was to create a population of grossly impoverished citizens, you did it!
I hadn't thought of it, taking money from the poor, and pushing it back up the pipes to the sordid business of job creation in California.
Yes, I'm sure that will be highly effective, as the people on the lowest echelon, the people with disabilities (we're useless aren't we), mothers with children, will soon starve or be dislocated because of the cuts.
Then we can use that money we're saving by cutting out health and mental health programs, and give that to law enforcement who will drive off these people as they begin to collect at the local parks and on the streets.
Okay, we take the money from the disabled and poor, create whole new programs to help the poor, but not the way we did it before.
Now we have to get some committees together to figure this problem out. We will need some money for that. And they will need a place to meet and discuss the latest plans on how to deal with the poor. We're going to need a lot of money to figure out how to deal with the most impacted segments of the California population.
Okay, so we've taken away food from a lot of people, and that may satisfy the governor as he does not like the obese. He's rather feverish about it, I'd say.
But with the coming mass dislocation of the poor out onto the streets, we now have a secondary problem: disease.
Oh, yes, you and I both know if you get run down and stressed out, you don't sleep well, or eat right, you're going to get sick.
I would say having your house foreclosed on, and your family in limbo, would be some stress. And if you make it all the way to homelessness, I'd say that would be the most stress of all.
People are going to get sick, and they are going to go to the hospital. So, we have laws which require that California hospitals take patients who cannot pay.
But the hospital's are now taking the brunt of the situation: now they have to struggle with all this bad debt.
Okay, we need another bill, another committee, we need to really spend some money thinking about how to save the hospitals from the uninsured or previously insured through California health plans which have been quashed in the budget battle.
I guess you may have gotten my point, but it's ridiculous.
There are better ways of doing things, so let's try that. (I'm going to start a committee right now...of volunteers who just want to do it right. Not of leeches who bleed this system of all it's power. We're not poor or even in dire straights, we have not been wormed of our parasites and until we do, the game continues to be, take it from the poor. Sad and pathetic.)
California series: Part two: how do we make us better? Hey, we're California, anything goes...
I hadn't thought of it, taking money from the poor, and pushing it back up the pipes to the sordid business of job creation in California.
Yes, I'm sure that will be highly effective, as the people on the lowest echelon, the people with disabilities (we're useless aren't we), mothers with children, will soon starve or be dislocated because of the cuts.
Then we can use that money we're saving by cutting out health and mental health programs, and give that to law enforcement who will drive off these people as they begin to collect at the local parks and on the streets.
Okay, we take the money from the disabled and poor, create whole new programs to help the poor, but not the way we did it before.
Now we have to get some committees together to figure this problem out. We will need some money for that. And they will need a place to meet and discuss the latest plans on how to deal with the poor. We're going to need a lot of money to figure out how to deal with the most impacted segments of the California population.
Okay, so we've taken away food from a lot of people, and that may satisfy the governor as he does not like the obese. He's rather feverish about it, I'd say.
But with the coming mass dislocation of the poor out onto the streets, we now have a secondary problem: disease.
Oh, yes, you and I both know if you get run down and stressed out, you don't sleep well, or eat right, you're going to get sick.
I would say having your house foreclosed on, and your family in limbo, would be some stress. And if you make it all the way to homelessness, I'd say that would be the most stress of all.
People are going to get sick, and they are going to go to the hospital. So, we have laws which require that California hospitals take patients who cannot pay.
But the hospital's are now taking the brunt of the situation: now they have to struggle with all this bad debt.
Okay, we need another bill, another committee, we need to really spend some money thinking about how to save the hospitals from the uninsured or previously insured through California health plans which have been quashed in the budget battle.
I guess you may have gotten my point, but it's ridiculous.
There are better ways of doing things, so let's try that. (I'm going to start a committee right now...of volunteers who just want to do it right. Not of leeches who bleed this system of all it's power. We're not poor or even in dire straights, we have not been wormed of our parasites and until we do, the game continues to be, take it from the poor. Sad and pathetic.)
California series: Part two: how do we make us better? Hey, we're California, anything goes...
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Oh, California I do love you...but you've become a piece of crap
I love California and I love calling myself a Californian, true to the shaky ground we live on in every way these days.
There was a time I thought California should even secede from the union, I know fighting words, you say.
But my place of origin, LA, Los Angeles, became part of me, my personality.
What does it mean to be a Californian?
There's the geography aspect, envied by those landlocked folks in the midwest, we have the beaches. And down the sloping shape of the state we have a variety of elements which have created unique terrain stretching from the northern rugged, rocky beaches to stretches of silky sand just short of our Mexican Border (which is another issue I would like to talk about).
So, I guess I associate my California personality with variety. Some ruggedness, some grandeur of Yosemite,which is inspirational if you've had the chance to visit.
There are so many places in California to discover over your life...and of course, we Californian's like or even love would not be stretching it, the adventure of California.
It's in our self image here.
There is still a vastness, a feeling of places untouched, that makes us believe the universe is expanding and so are we.
My spiritually could even be connected to the California part of me.
As it has become internalized in me, I feel the pain we are experiencing with our own image, as a state.
Divided we stand, united we fall: California politics
That's another trait of Californian's is diametrically opposed viewpoints living next door to one another, driving on the freeway at 3 miles an hour together, and the ethnic mixture that can only be a strength and not a weakness.
The weakness has only been in our inability to effectuate our high ideals. Make it happen baby.
Most major changes are either catastrophic in nature or they're slow growing and evolving. Maybe both.
Sometimes something comes along to finally knock off the piece of branch left broken and hanging after the storm has passed.
In the case of institutionalized racism, remember, we had to have a political maelstrom which brought the issue to the forefront and finally a day has come where there is a dark skinned President. Pigment has been the problem.
(Personally speaking I would like some pigment myself. I envy it. And so it goes.)
So, since the inception of this country and its constitution we have excluded rather than utilized the diversity as a positive force, which it should be. It took almost 200 years before this country finally admitted to the ostracizing people, this was the 1960's which was the erupting of mount stupidity.
Yeah, we were stupid, scared mostly.
Here in our California of today, 2009, nine years after the year 2000 cataclysm of fear we experienced because of some reason I still don't know, we are in a huge change cycle.
When I hear people back east talk about us as a liberal state which will always give up its electoral vote to the Democratic party in the Presidential and federal elections.
That's another thing California has the most electoral votes, yes, we are a big guy in the scheme of things: we can make or break you in an election.
We're quite important strategically in any election.
So, Californian's believe we are important. And we are.
How you treat your most vulnerable says it all
I'm in shock about the cuts coming in the tangled budget we are apparently in denial about,
in California, falling on those who have the least and have the least amount of hope because they are caught in a system which is discarding and degrading people.
Yeah, we are experiencing racism here and if not just that, but exclusivism, (is that a word?) which I will define as a territorial thing. We want the resources, or at least control or, no, at least a hand in it.
And a discriminatory, outwardly, apparently, system which discards people we pretend to help.
Let me talk about health issues. Our Governor who has had an expensive heart operation or two to make him live a stronger life, he will be back.
His health is driven by a system of big money. Remember the terminator who is firing people left and right, gutting a state system that didn't work. Is it all bad?
No, not at all. These programs need to be reformed, but standing in the way, are the people feeding off the various programs. Nobody wants to give up their share. It's an immaturity, its a lack of faith in the bounty that is here all around us, more so, I think, here in California.
What I would like to see done that they cannot do, quite yet
If there were changes available to us, I could go right now on an urgent visit to the Governors office, and throw a bunch of ideas at him.
"Governor, there is no reason we cannot take care of our poor and there is equally no reason they can't take care of us."
"What are you talking about crazy lady?" (sorry, my dialogue skills are limited)
"Yes, sir in all due respect, could I ask you a question?"
"If you have to waste my time with public opinion which is not my opinion, so I will only half listen if you don't mind." (again, I'm sure he's had better writers writing for him)
"If you saw someone fallen in the street asking passer's by for help up, would you extend your hand and lift him up?"
"I could lift them and over my head and do my daily weight training reps at the same time."
"Good point. You give and get at the same time. But imagine later on, this person you helped, now has been able to help another person. Hey, you remember that movie, "Pay it Forward?" A similar principle needs to apply to the systems which handle people who are no longer able to hold down certain types of employment, but that doesn't make them useless."
"They just want a free ride in my Hummer and they're hustling us."
"So, with that attitude sir, you will be wasting human energy, which needs to be utilized. I recommend that we change our system in California, to begin an on-going program of compassion and effective rehabilitation, an adequate word, for those who want it. And we will not reprimand those who can't."
"Okay, get it started. Oh, I like the blog, the one about Jerry Brown. He's a thorn in my side right now."
Part one of the "I love California" series. Next: California Creativity, what can it potentially do and splitting the state? The ultimate in gerrymandering.
There was a time I thought California should even secede from the union, I know fighting words, you say.
But my place of origin, LA, Los Angeles, became part of me, my personality.
What does it mean to be a Californian?
There's the geography aspect, envied by those landlocked folks in the midwest, we have the beaches. And down the sloping shape of the state we have a variety of elements which have created unique terrain stretching from the northern rugged, rocky beaches to stretches of silky sand just short of our Mexican Border (which is another issue I would like to talk about).
So, I guess I associate my California personality with variety. Some ruggedness, some grandeur of Yosemite,which is inspirational if you've had the chance to visit.
There are so many places in California to discover over your life...and of course, we Californian's like or even love would not be stretching it, the adventure of California.
It's in our self image here.
There is still a vastness, a feeling of places untouched, that makes us believe the universe is expanding and so are we.
My spiritually could even be connected to the California part of me.
As it has become internalized in me, I feel the pain we are experiencing with our own image, as a state.
Divided we stand, united we fall: California politics
That's another trait of Californian's is diametrically opposed viewpoints living next door to one another, driving on the freeway at 3 miles an hour together, and the ethnic mixture that can only be a strength and not a weakness.
The weakness has only been in our inability to effectuate our high ideals. Make it happen baby.
Most major changes are either catastrophic in nature or they're slow growing and evolving. Maybe both.
Sometimes something comes along to finally knock off the piece of branch left broken and hanging after the storm has passed.
In the case of institutionalized racism, remember, we had to have a political maelstrom which brought the issue to the forefront and finally a day has come where there is a dark skinned President. Pigment has been the problem.
(Personally speaking I would like some pigment myself. I envy it. And so it goes.)
So, since the inception of this country and its constitution we have excluded rather than utilized the diversity as a positive force, which it should be. It took almost 200 years before this country finally admitted to the ostracizing people, this was the 1960's which was the erupting of mount stupidity.
Yeah, we were stupid, scared mostly.
Here in our California of today, 2009, nine years after the year 2000 cataclysm of fear we experienced because of some reason I still don't know, we are in a huge change cycle.
When I hear people back east talk about us as a liberal state which will always give up its electoral vote to the Democratic party in the Presidential and federal elections.
That's another thing California has the most electoral votes, yes, we are a big guy in the scheme of things: we can make or break you in an election.
We're quite important strategically in any election.
So, Californian's believe we are important. And we are.
How you treat your most vulnerable says it all
I'm in shock about the cuts coming in the tangled budget we are apparently in denial about,
in California, falling on those who have the least and have the least amount of hope because they are caught in a system which is discarding and degrading people.
Yeah, we are experiencing racism here and if not just that, but exclusivism, (is that a word?) which I will define as a territorial thing. We want the resources, or at least control or, no, at least a hand in it.
And a discriminatory, outwardly, apparently, system which discards people we pretend to help.
Let me talk about health issues. Our Governor who has had an expensive heart operation or two to make him live a stronger life, he will be back.
His health is driven by a system of big money. Remember the terminator who is firing people left and right, gutting a state system that didn't work. Is it all bad?
No, not at all. These programs need to be reformed, but standing in the way, are the people feeding off the various programs. Nobody wants to give up their share. It's an immaturity, its a lack of faith in the bounty that is here all around us, more so, I think, here in California.
What I would like to see done that they cannot do, quite yet
If there were changes available to us, I could go right now on an urgent visit to the Governors office, and throw a bunch of ideas at him.
"Governor, there is no reason we cannot take care of our poor and there is equally no reason they can't take care of us."
"What are you talking about crazy lady?" (sorry, my dialogue skills are limited)
"Yes, sir in all due respect, could I ask you a question?"
"If you have to waste my time with public opinion which is not my opinion, so I will only half listen if you don't mind." (again, I'm sure he's had better writers writing for him)
"If you saw someone fallen in the street asking passer's by for help up, would you extend your hand and lift him up?"
"I could lift them and over my head and do my daily weight training reps at the same time."
"Good point. You give and get at the same time. But imagine later on, this person you helped, now has been able to help another person. Hey, you remember that movie, "Pay it Forward?" A similar principle needs to apply to the systems which handle people who are no longer able to hold down certain types of employment, but that doesn't make them useless."
"They just want a free ride in my Hummer and they're hustling us."
"So, with that attitude sir, you will be wasting human energy, which needs to be utilized. I recommend that we change our system in California, to begin an on-going program of compassion and effective rehabilitation, an adequate word, for those who want it. And we will not reprimand those who can't."
"Okay, get it started. Oh, I like the blog, the one about Jerry Brown. He's a thorn in my side right now."
Part one of the "I love California" series. Next: California Creativity, what can it potentially do and splitting the state? The ultimate in gerrymandering.
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