Post Scripts

Posted by Tina

Words mean things…

“I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism. I’m enormously proud of my country and its role and history in the world. If you think about the site of this summit and what it means, I don’t think America should be embarrassed to see evidence of the sacrifices of our troops, the enormous amount of resources that were put into Europe postwar, and our leadership in crafting an Alliance that ultimately led to the unification of Europe. We should take great pride in that. ** “And if you think of our current situation, the United States remains the largest economy in the world. We have unmatched military capability. And I think that we have a core set of values that are enshrined in our Constitution, in our body of law, in our democratic practices, in our belief in free speech and equality, that, though imperfect, are exceptional. ** “Now, the fact that I am very proud of my country and I think that we’ve got a whole lot to offer the world does not lessen my interest in recognizing the value and wonderful qualities of other countries, or recognizing that we’re not always going to be right, or that other people may have good ideas, or that in order for us to work collectively, all parties have to compromise and that includes us. ** “And so I see no contradiction between believing that America has a continued extraordinary role in leading the world towards peace and prosperity and recognizing that that leadership is incumbent, depends on, our ability to create partnerships because we create partnerships because we can’t solve these problems alone.” (emphasis mine)- President Barack Obama April 4, 2009

I take from this response to a question about American exceptionalism that the current administration welcomes cooperation, friendship, advice, help, ideas, assistance and sharing from other countries of the world. His is an open hand policy filled with respect and regard for other nations around the globe.

So what is going on? I’m serious! I want an answer! (good luck getting it, I know) You see the behavior of this president does not match his words…not even close:

On April 20, the Deepwater Horizon exploded, killed eleven oil-rig workers, and began gushing perhaps 60,000 barrels of petroleum into the Gulf of Mexico daily. Three days later, the Dutch offered to sail to the rescue on ships bedecked with oil-skimming booms. They also had a plan for erecting protective sand barricades. ** “The embassy got a nice letter from the administration that said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,'” Dutch consul general Geert Visser told the Houston Chronicle’s Loren Steffy. “What’s wrong with accepting outside help?” Visser wondered. “If there’s a country that’s experienced with building dikes and managing water, it’s the Netherlands.” ** Had those Dutch ships departed for the Gulf nearly two months ago, who knows how much oil they already would have absorbed and how many pelicans now would soar rather than soak in soapy water while wildlife experts clean their wings. ** After initially refusing to name them, the State Department on May 5 declared that Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the U.K., and the U.N. had offered skimmer boats and other assets and experts to prevent the oil from destroying dolphins, crabs, oysters, and this disaster’s other defenseless victims. ** Alas, they were turned away. ** “While there is no need right now that the U.S. cannot meet,” stated a State Department statement, “the U.S. Coast Guard is assessing these offers of assistance to see if there will be something which we will need in the near future.” – “Keeping Up With the Jones Act,” by Deroy Murdock – NRO

Ohhhhh…I seeee! Those partnerships may be more important (especially prior to an election) than demonstrating to other countries that the Presidents word is his bond. Apparently those partnerships are also more important than cleaning up the Gulf region or helping the people in the southern Gulf states affected by this disaster.

Posted by Tina

This guy knows how to use the old noodle:

Dr. Rainer Meinke, chief scientist at the Advanced Magnet Lab in Palm Bay, Fla., wants to fill the metal riser belching millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf with extremely powerful magnets to block the flow, MyFoxOrlando.com reported. ** These aren’t the magnets holding up pictures on your refrigerator. Though they’re quite small — the same diameter of a silver dollar and about a half-inch thick — the neodymium boron magnets can do some massive damage if handled incorrectly. ** “If you get your thumb between two of these magnets, the forces are really so large that it can crush your bone,” Meinke told MyFoxOrlando. ** Meinke envisions dropping the small magnets into the riser in the Gulf, where they will naturally cling to the pipe’s metal walls. As more are poured in, the magnets would create an unbreakable bond with each other, he said. ** “That is the beauty. By themselves, they will seek the right position and they will stick to the steel of the tube,” Meinke told the station. “They will automatically, without doing anything, block that thing up.” ** In a white paper he submitted to the Coast Guard touting the idea, Meinke projected that his magnets will not be washed out by the gushing oil. ** “We have calculated what the flow rate and the flow velocity of the oil is. And we have calculated what the drag effect on the magnets is. And you can show that gravity still wins, even at these very large flow rates,” he said. – FOX News

At this point this simple solution is certainly worth a try and the sooner the better! How I love the American entrepreneurial spirit!

But hold on….hold on…unfortunately BIG arrogant government must spend both time and money to study this idea before approving its use. This isn’t the way the West was won, folks!

Posted by Tina

Reports of rampant starvation in North Korea have been going on for years. By 2002 the BBC reported that the North Korean people were surviving by eating grass. Now the well fed leader has finally decided to allow his people to buy food from private markets:

SEOUL — Bowing to reality, the North Korean government has lifted all restrictions on private markets — a last-resort option for a leadership desperate to prevent its people from starving. In recent weeks, according to North Korea observers and defector groups with sources in the country, Kim Jong Il’s government admitted its inability to solve the current food shortage and encouraged its people to rely on private markets for the purchase of goods. – Washington Post

Ahhhh…the humanity of the Marxist model!

We need only to look around the globe to see what makes our freedoms so precious. Small government and a free market economy supported by the rule of law is far, far superior.

by Jack Lee

In the post election analysis for Supervisor in the 3rd district, Butte County, it looks like the deciding factor was as usual… money. Incumbent Maureen Kirk (democract) raised nearly 480% more money than her challenger Erny Spears (Republican) who ran his first race ever. Ironically, Erny received more votes than Larry Wahl who won against Jane Dolan in the 2nd district.

Kirk’s campaign spent about $1.96 for each vote she received, while Erny Spears spent a mere .71 cents per vote, yet he captured over half the total vote. Do the math, in terms of efficiency (making the most of what he had) Erny Spears did a much better job. And in theory if he had just half the money Kirk had at her disposal it’s conceivable that he could have won the race.

The ability to do fund raising by Kirk should not be a surprise. According to FPPC incumbents always get the lion’s share of campaign contributions. And this explains why incumbents are re-elected almost 93% of the time.

To his credit, Erny Spears did a very respectable job as a first time challenger and it shows he has good potential should he choose to run again. I’m wondering if Erny shouldn’t take a shot at the Chico City Council? There’s three seats up for re-election in November and the Council is in dire need of balance between conservatives and liberals. Currently the council is completely dominated by liberals with only one lone conservative voice and he departs in January.

Submission and foreword by Steve Thompson

A local icon and legend passed away last week. Although I didn’t know Larry Juanarena very well, he was loved and respected by many in his community.

I did get to meet him a few times, and I can remember the incredible patriotism he always displayed. He truly loved this nation that he once served, and reserved his highest love and loyalty for his brothers in arms. There are so few great men like him left in this country, it is as if we are losing our true national treasures.

Larry was known for his love of country, and to some degree his politics, but if you ever got to taste his cooking you knew what a talented soul he was. By God’s grace he is at rest now, and may we never forget his service to us all.

From the Chico ER
LARRY JUANARENA (1932 – 2010)

Hilario “Larry” John Juanarena was born in Chico on May 3, 1932 in the Sheep Camp at the M & T Ranch to Basque immigrants, Carmen and Hilario Juanarena. Larry was raised in Chico, attending Notre Dame and graduating from Chico High in 1950. Larry enlisted in the USAF, serving from 1951-1955. He was a Staff Sergeant and a crew chief for the B36 Bomber. He was stationed in California, Texas and Maine.
Continue reading “Goodbye to a Local Hero” »

by Tina Grazier

I’m sorry but there is just no excuse for what is happening in the Gulf. We have someone in charge with the power to override bureaucratic red tape in an emergency situation, particularly the Jones Act and rules governed by the EPA, Coast Guard, and the Corps of Engineers. That very powerful man is the President of the United States, Barack H. Obama. Why has he repeatedly failed to act? What could possibly be motivating him when clearly his inaction is only making matters much worse for the people in the area and the environment? I have to say it, the man has finally demonstrated that he’s good at something other than speaking from a teleprompter…he’s very good at maintaining and sustaining a crisis situation.

Continue reading “How to Maintain and Sustain a Crisis” »

Posted by Tina

In case you were unsure about the idiocy of those running the Environmental Protection Agency I’ve got proof!

As reported in the Grand Rapids Press they have decided that milk is so dangerous that requires extra special (read very expensive) containment tanks. Don’t know whether to weep…laugh myself silly…or both! How many millions of danger warnings have we been treated to over the years? Makes me realize by golly that something is gonna getcha…salt, fat, sugar, eggs, fast food, cigarettes, chemicals of all kinds, cell phones, SUV’s, meat, poultry, oil, the sun…are they all truly monsters in the closet or has the hype gottten totally out of hand?

Here’s the latest nutty thing from the EPA:

“EPA Classifies Milk as Oil Forcing Costly Rules on Farmers,” by Monica Scott

Update: State Senate calls for EPA to change rule classifying cow’s milk as oil ** GRAND RAPIDS — Having watched the oil gushing in the Gulf of Mexico, dairy farmer Frank Konkel has a hard time seeing how spilled milk can be labeled the same kind of environmental hazard. ** But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is classifying milk as oil because it contains a percentage of animal fat, which is a non-petroleum oil. ** The Hesperia farmer and others would be required to develop and implement spill prevention plans for milk storage tanks. The rules are set to take effect in November, though that date might be pushed back. ** Gayle Miller, legislative director of Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, said agricultural pollution probably is the nation’s most severe chronic problem when it comes to water pollution. ** “Milk is wholesome in a child’s body. It is devastating in a waterway,” Miller said. “The fact that it’s biodegradable is irrelevant if people die as a result of cryptosporidium, beaches close for E. coli and fish are killed.”

Sounds a bit like the exagerations over DDT which resulted in the banning of that product world wide and eventually the deaths of millions of people.

This month marks three years since the militant Islamic group Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip. The event led Israel to impose a blockade on Gaza. Israel’s goal was to prevent weapons and other materials that could be used for weapons from entering the Gaza Strip. But it was also to pressure and topple Hamas, which is backed by Iran and whose charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.

The recent attack by Israeli commandos on a flotilla carrying aid and activists to Gaza has drawn attention to the blockade. Within Israel, questions are being asked about whether it has been effective.

In one of Gaza’s markets, there are few signs that a blockade even exists.

by Jack Lee

A study recently released through the Center for Immigration Studies has found that in California we currently have the least educated labor force. Just a few decades ago California had one of the most educated. According to the report, “By 2008 California ranked 50th, making it the least educated state” What happened to send us from the top to the very bottom?

The reports cites that a great majority of immigrants in California are in the country legally. “In a 2007 study we estimated that 28 percent of California’s total foreign-born population in the CPS was comprised of illegal immigrants.”

Next is an excerpt from that report. You can get the full report by clicking the link at the bottom of this article:

“Between 1970 and 2008 the share of California’s population comprised of immigrants (legal and illegal) tripled, growing from 9 percent to 27 percent.1 This Memorandum examines some of the ways California has changed over the last four decades. Historically, California has not been a state with a disproportionately large unskilled population, like Appalachia or parts of the South. As a result of immigration, however, by 2008 California had the least-educated labor force in the nation in terms of the share its workers without a high school education. This change has important implications for the state.

Among the changes in California:

In 1970, California had the 7th most educated work force of the 50 states in terms of the share of its workers who had completed high school. By 2008 it ranked 50th, making it the least educated state. (Table 1a)

Education in California has declined relative to other states. The percentage of Californians who have completed high school has increased since 1970; however, all other states made much more progress in improving their education levels; as a result, California has fallen behind the rest of the country. (Table 1b)

The large relative decline in education in California is a direct result of immigration. Without immigrants, the share of California’s labor force that has completed high school would be above the national average.”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REPORT.

The comprehensive report has been compiled by Steven A. Camarota, Director of Research and Karen Jensenius, a demographer at the Center for Immigration Studies.