There is chicanery afoot in California in its worst form, which will keep us from meeting our evolving energy needs in a changing world. Here in California, as is true in the rest of the country, we need to be free as citizens to explore other sources of energy. Many communities are now choosing to […]
Commentaries
Posted inOpinion
A hidden disease
The awareness month may be over, but it’s never too late to break dangerous cycles of abuse
April was Child Abuse Prevention Month. If the appearance last spring of 400 suspected cases of swine flu in the entire United States constituted a potential “pandemic,” what do you call something that impacted more than 2,347 children in San Luis Obispo, Ventura, and Santa Barbara County last year? That “something” is called child abuse […]
Posted inOpinion
Answer this
Which would you choose: French fries or steamed vegetables?
Again this morning on a television news program, I watched a segment about how obese our nation is, the problems surrounding obesity, and the need to exercise and eat healthy to combat this growing (no pun intended) problem. In fact, childhood obesity is one of the issues of interest to Michelle Obama. At the time, […]
Posted inOpinion
Tenure institutionalizes bad behavior
College administrators should carefully consider how tenure diminishes civility
All of us are aware of the many college students who have fallen victim to gun violence on campuses across America. Each time one of these horrible shootings takes place, university administrators are quick to organize prayer vigils and other ceremonies to honor innocent young people who were killed or wounded. Administrators did not respond […]
Posted inOpinion
Think of the country, not the party
We need someone other than rhetoric-spouting, pork-barrel politicians in charge
Our governments are in dire need of rehabilitation: our dysfunctional state government and, in particular, our federal government. The U.S. Constitution, which is the blueprint for our form of government, is very good. The primary problem with the way our government functions is our elected officials, the so-called “politicians.” Instead of taking care of our […]
Posted inOpinion
Service, disconnected
Military service should be open to anyone willing and able to do the job
Long ago and far away overseas, while serving in the Army in the early 1960s, I witnessed something in the name of “military justice” that angered me and turned my stomach. It still does. I served in Asmara, Eritrea, on an Army Security Agency post called Kagnew Station and was an Army broadcaster with the […]
Posted inOpinion
Incarceration doesn’t prevent crime
It’s time to rethink the system and give people a way to become responsible
What is California’s most important resource? Human beings, of course. Yet each year, the revolving door of the criminal justice system sends thousands of nonviolent young men and women to prison, principally based on the continuing inane belief that we are making our streets “safer” and that we can lower our crime rates through incarceration. […]
Posted inOpinion
Complete allegiance
Enforce the 14th Amendment to stop illegal immigration
According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the cost of illegal immigration to California taxpayers is $10.5 billion per year. That figure represents half of the projected state budget deficit for the next year, meaning that illegal immigration is contributing hugely to the massive budget shortfalls California faces year in and year out. […]
Posted inOpinion
Pull together to support AgJOBS
The bill is important to the Central Coast
The year 2010 will bring the AgJOBS bill sponsored by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein before Congress, which in turn will have a profound effect on the economy of the Central Coast—and in particular the coastal valleys such as the Salinas Valley and the Santa Maria Valley, where farmers harvest labor intensive crops. As we all […]
Posted inOpinion
Blue Christmas?
How to wrap up the holidays when you have no spirit
Ah, the holiday season is here, filled with song, the hurry-scurry of gift buying and menu planning, family and friends gathering, the glow of expectation on little faces as they gaze at gifts piled under a tree or near a menorah. Holiday colors light up the street, store windows, and most living rooms—green and red, […]
Posted inOpinion
Let us give thanks
Hopped up on painkillers? You can still enjoy the holiday!
Every year, we celebrate Thanksgiving as a time to count our blessings, spend time with family, eat our fill of a traditional feast, and watch a parade and football game while reclining with our pants unzipped—and it’s perfectly acceptable. So from whence did this tradition come? Oh, I know it has something to do with […]
