Is there a noticeable lack of autumn leaves in your yard or in your neighborhood? If so, don’t worry that you’ll miss out on the colorful fall staple. To create a homemade substitute, find a brown paper bag and cut out a variety of leaf shapes. Once you’ve got a big enough pile, color the […]
Commentaries
Posted inOpinion
What is more important: prosecuting BP or prosecuting medical marijuana providers?
The rich and powerful are above the rule of law
I made a bet, after 11 rig workers died from the grossly negligent BP explosion on the oil-drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, that Attorney General Eric Holder would throw around the phrase “criminal investigations” to appease the public for a while, but with time would pretend the largest oil spill in history, and […]
Posted inOpinion
Flee the temples of consumerism
Cheap products made overseas by U.S. corporations cost us dearly
There is a big new box store, across the street from the other giant box stores: more than half a million square feet of box-store mania, collectively. I opened boxes at the new box store, almost all of which were marked “made in China”—boxes for every department, from cosmetics to candy, house wares to infants, […]
Posted inOpinion
The occupation movement is neither red nor blue
Thomas Jefferson warned that a super-wealthy elite could topple the democracy
Recent letters in various newspapers implore voters to unseat President Obama next year. Apart from the standard reason—“He’s a Marxist!”—their authors rant about Obama’s bailout of the banks. They condemn the Occupy Wall Street movement—generally considered “leftist”—for hypocrisy, for being on the same side as the obviously corrupt corporatists the protesters deride. But the bailout […]
Posted inOpinion
Behold the next subprime loan crisis
College students are, on average, $25,000 in debt upon graduation and face an unemployment rate between 14 and 17 percent
In California, indeed throughout the nation, student loan debt surpasses credit card debt, and youth unemployment hovers between 14 and 17 percent. We are witnessing the next subprime crisis of the United States. Students have demanded relief, yet we hear only the same bromides about better times to come, how we’re the future, how investment […]
Posted inOpinion
Protest spotlights space militarization
Vandenberg’s testing of strategic missiles and launches of intelligence satellites from the base shouldn’t be mistaken for defensive or deterrent measures
When demonstrators gathered for a vigil on Wednesday, Oct. 5, outside Vandenberg Air Force Base, they joined a series of actions in more than 40 locations worldwide marking Keep Space for Peace Week. Actions took place in such locations as Menwith Hill, England; Jeju Island, South Korea; Nagpur, India; Kaua’i, Hawaii; and National Security Agency […]
Posted inOpinion
Teach your children about money
A good education about finances can be a profound influence for success, but few elementary or high schools provide such curricula
Teens today are often accused of being entitled, materialistic, and impulsive—most of them spend money as though it grows on trees—but I think they’ve gotten a bad rap. They’ve been taught to spend. Since their days in a snuggly, they’ve watched adults buy ice cream, shoes, movie tickets, cell phones—endless purchases. Every magazine, billboard, and […]
Posted inOpinion
Mediation heals relationships, saves money
Consider engaging a mediator to avoid litigation
Mediation, not trial or arbitration, is now the preferred method of dispute resolution in our justice system. The reasons are myriad: • More than 85 percent of disputes negotiated through mediation are settled, according to statistics from the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo superior courts. • Mediation is private and confidential, but litigation is […]
Posted inOpinion
American workers deserve respect
Labor Day should have reminded us how unions built the middle class
“The middle class would not exist without organized labor,” Vice President Joe Biden proclaimed, more than once, during his recent speech at the AFL-CIO 25th annual Labor Day picnic. He is entirely right. With our nation’s unemployment stuck at more than nine percent, with millions of Americans futilely looking for good jobs, the need for […]
Posted inOpinion
Every litter bit counts
Don’t complain about trash along our roads: Pick it up!
I volunteer to pick up trash that litters our public roads. I am an organization of one, who does not represent an “Adopt a Highway” group, who has no legal obligations that would require me to do what I do. For me, it’s simply easier to pick up the litter instead of bitching about it. […]
Posted inOpinion
Sierra Club slams regulatory reform
House Republicans are wisely attempting to remove restrictions that needlessly hamstring business
Well, boohoo: The local chapter of the Sierra Club is outraged by Congress’s attempt to do something about unemployment and the economy. You would think from reading the spew by the chapter’s executive committee (“Worst. Bill. Ever.” Aug. 18), that Congress was hell bent on annihilating the planet. Birds will refuse to migrate, “evil” corporations […]
Posted inOpinion
Plan ahead
The children of elderly parents inevitably face difficult decisions
My 87-year-old mother lived independently in a mobile home in Arroyo Grande until soon after a telephone call that changed my life. At 5 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2009, I pushed “mom” on my cell-phone contact list: There was no answer, except the pre-recorded greeting, though she always picked up one of the several extensions […]
