Congratulations Carlsbad, California

I have been following the Citizens Initiative and voting on Proposition A and want to congratulate the voters of that city for defeating that proposition.

A developer wanted to turn a parcel of land into an upscale shopping center while wowing the citizens with how much would be saved as agriculture and open space. The current owner/lessee of the strawberry fields was all for this new development and of course, I and so many others, believe it was all about money to him. His appearance on commercials for the developer were pitiful where he recalled his child in college and how this legacy would not be passed on if the citizens did not pass this indicative. WTF? If this kid was smart enough to finish college, and they were not going to an agricultural college, wouldn't you think they just might aspire to something other than to farm strawberries for the rest of their life. Nothing wrong with farming in any way, but there seemed to be too much cash incentive to think otherwise.

The city council and many people didn't care about the quality of life for so many Carlsbad citizens, only their own pocketbooks and the fat taxes this would bring in. In fact, one of the reasons this was fast-tracked, avoiding environmental review was because the city fathers saw about 650,000 dollars in tax revenue from allowing the project to start early. Traffic congestion and the people be damned, just let the developers have their way. Just as they have done for the thousands of new homes recently built or being built with a failing infrastructure to support them. One citizen stated they are being asked to cut back on electricity and water while new construction takes away what could be used for the rest of the current population. And what amount of water and electricity the proposed shopping center would have used is just outrageous in this time of energy and water crisis. As one person put it...the City of Carlsbad never saw a development or developer it didn't like.

So congratulations, Carlsbad voters for sending the developer back to Los Angeles licking his almost 11 million dollar campaign spending wound. And whatever he wasted on wooing the city to approve his project. Hope that next time whoever wants to develop your city does so openly and with voter approval.

Maybe it is time for an initiative to require citizen approval for new housing and industrial developments? After all, if you are being asked to suffer the shortages associated with unbridled development, shouldn't you have a say?

What do YOU want, America?

Here it is yet another election year and Americans have the ability to change the course of history. Not just for the next 4 years but likely forever.

I am not advocating one candidate over another but want to ask you whether you want another 4 years of "change" and put up with the same old establishment, captained by yet another non-thinker who will sell our country down the tubes. Are you happy with the free give-away mentality of the current administration?Are you happy with the erosion of your Constitutional Rights? Are you happy with the lack of respect by other nations? Do you agree with the butt kissing by the current administration in their foreign affairs?

Veterans, are you happy with the way the VA is run? Do you think the multiple assignments to head the VA have been beneficial to you? Do you think the people responsible for the deaths and mistreatment of veterans have been adequately punished? Is your life better with the current administration or worse? Do you think your health care is no better or worse than the lowest available under "Obamacare"? Do welfare recipients have better benefits overall than war veterans?

How about it, American workers...do yo think more of your pay is going to fund those who sit and refuse gainful employment than ever before? Do you think you have another family or two to support because of the administration's give away programs? Do you think the US government resembles California's government more and more, where give-away is king and politicians advocate more and more freebies for those who do not earn them? Do you think women who rely on welfare should be required to identify their "baby daddies" and the fathers held responsible for support. If the person is incarcerated should their work stipend be used to offset welfare? Do you think people in Section 8 housing should be required to work for some of those benefits? And that unannounced inspections are in order to catch multiple adult persons living in a single adult person household that you are supporting? And how many illegitimate welfare children should the taxpayers have to support while the parents contribute nothing? Shouldn't there be a limit somewhere?  Multiple generations of families on welfare with no incentive to work or get off, just excuses that they have another child. Maybe the answer is birth control or just close your damned legs??

Are you tired of the open borders and the estimated 13 million illegal aliens in our country while they are coddled by the administration. Tired of the "anchor baby" syndrome? Tired of the lack of enforcement by Immigration and the Border Patrol because they have no backing from Washington? Tired of politicians and their hacks making excuses for the failure of programs like 'Fast and Furious" while an American dies as a result? And thousands of weapons are sent to Mexico to help curb...weapons smuggling? Tired of having appointed idiots in charge of many governmental departments while those who try and do their best are sanctioned and fired.

Are you happy with our foreign policies where we buy "friendship" by sending your tax dollars to foreign countries that hate us? Are you tired of sending Americans off to war to fight battles that the administration and foreign leaders know we won't win because of their policies? And to countries that cannot deal with their own issues so we act as their police force. And Americans die for misdeeds of the administration like Benghazi?

It's time to wake up and make a decision, America. If you don't do it now you will be faced with 4 more years of "change" that seems to be leading us into a socialist society where your work, savings and gains by the sweat of your brow is divided among those who will not work and support themselves. It's not those who really need the support temporarily but the millions who game the system knowing they can get away with it.

There is no more time America. The decision is yours.

Epidemic, Pandemic, What the New Illegal Immigrants are Bringing to YOU

Every day you read or hear of the hoards of children and adults rushing the U.S. Mexico Border as they push into the United States from El Salvador, Guatemala, and other South American countries as well as Mexico. The unbridled immigration of these illegals is a shame, a threat to our national security, overwhelming our Border Patrol and damaging the sovereignty of our borders. These people, children not withstanding are illegal and need to be repatriated to their country of origin immediately, NOT processed and then dispersed among the unsuspecting American people, while awaiting immigration court hearings.

FACT: 90% of people ordered to show up for hearings never show! They just melt into the immigrant society and are never apprehended. The US ends up supporting them on your tax dollar when they become ill, or through the welfare system that runs rampant with farad fraud.

So, forget about all the above. Forget the illegality of the illegals and the costs to the taxpayers and the dishonesty of the Obama regime. Forget about all that is being foisted upon the American people by our lying government in Washington. But keep this in mind:

MANY OF THESE CHILDREN ARE DISEASED AND INFECTED WITH DISEASES WE HAD WIPED OUT IN THIS COUNTRY! 

Tuberculosis, Scabies, H1N1 (swine) Flu, Chagas Disease, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, 

plus Hepatitis and STD's 
and maybe Smallpox and Polio!!!

Add to that, that the type tuberculosis found is the drug resistant strain that is difficult to treat. And these children and adults (remember they classify anyone under 18) have been released into the general US population without adequate health checks or vaccinations. And without adequate testing to determine who might develop TB from contacts during their travels or in close quarters at holding areas. 

Remember, the health standards where these people are coming from are far substandard to ours. Vaccination programs in some areas are non-existent. Disease runs rampant. So we are receiving people who are ill or exposed to illness that we are not prepared for and are spreading it into the community. No matter what lies the government mouthpieces tell you. 

Did the government De-louse these kids, many of who had head lice so bad you could see the lice crawling from feet away, per reports? Did they De-louse the planes and buses? What will happen to the next passenger on the public transportation system when they were dropped off at bus stations in towns. Imagine riding the bus to work or school and how you will feel coming home with head lice. Or when your children come home with it. A nice cross country trip on Greyhound anyone? Once again, no thinking about Americans, just illegals and how to move them into the US quickly so they can never be found again.

Did you think these kids and adults brought their vaccination records with them? Did you think that the US was going to be able to adequately give them health checks and vaccinate them before moving them on to God knows where? Dis you think the government was going to hold these illegals for a minimum time to ascertain none had contracted TB from someone else on their journey before turning them loose on your community? And your family or children? Anecdotal evidence says no way in hell did the government do the right thing and that evidence is piling up higher every day. 

What we have is a ticking time bomb. One that will start exploding in many small clusters of disease that could easily start to overwhelm our health system. If you imagine thousands of patients coming to hospitals with complaints of diseases that we had not seen in many years and the numbers keep multiplying and get more serious, the epidemic begins. Then, those who will not go out for fear of being caught will allow the disease not only to fester, but spread to others and soon the entire family will have it and then spread it to others. A cycle will be born that will make the horror movies look like a child wrote them. Only this time, it will be likely a child started them, a pandemic like we have never experienced.

If you think I am overreacting, go ahead and research the topic. Look at what some eminent epidemiologists have to say about this mess. And then pray because there isn't a lot more you can do until Obama and the other idiots figure out how to revere this mess they started. Sad truth is that they can't.  

Never expect the government to keep you safe. You are on your own! The powers that be ONLY look out for themselves!

California Fixes Good Samaritan Law

California Legislators finally correct the wrongdoing of the State Supreme Court!

On August 6, 2009 Governor Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 83 (Feuer/Benoit), legislation which encourages individuals to act as "Good Samaritans" and voluntarily help rescue others in peril. The legislation goes into effect immediately.

“Now Good Samaritans have no reason to hesitate to responsibly help someone in an emergency out of fear that they might be sued, " Assembly Member Mike Feuer said. "This legislation encourages Californians to look out for each other at a time when public resources are all too scarce. I'm proud of the broad coalition that came together to make this common sense law possible." The bill garnered unanimous bi-partisan support in its passage through the Legislature, and it created a broad and unusual alliance of support from law enforcement and rescue agencies, as well as the plaintiffs and defense bars and the American Heart Association.

“As a former Highway Patrol Commander, I’ve experienced many situations where Good Samaritans arrived first on the scene, making the difference between life and death for accident victims,” commented Senator John J. Benoit (R-Bermuda Dunes), a 31-year law enforcement veteran and principal co-author of AB 83. “Good Samaritans show kindness to others and their good acts should be encouraged, rather than discouraged.”

AB 83 reverses a recent court decision and clarifies the Legislature's intent to shield all Good Samaritans from lawsuits if they act responsibility – regardless of whether their rescue assistance is of a medical or non-medical nature. In the court case of Van Horn v. Watson, the California Supreme Court ruled that the state’s Good Samaritan statute only partially protected those who voluntarily act as Good Samaritans from possible negligence lawsuits. The Supreme Court held that such volunteer rescuers would only be shielded from lawsuits if they provided “medical care” at the scene of an emergency; they would not be protected from possible liability if they provided "non-medical care."

Another supporter of the legislation, Christine D. Spagnoli, president of Consumer Attorneys of California, stated: “This bill strikes an important balance between the human desire to help people who are in distress, and the rights of victims. Consumer attorneys are delighted to join police, firefighters, paramedics and insurance and business groups in endorsing this measure.”

“Assemblyman Feuer and his co-authors deserve a big thanks for acting quickly and fixing a quirky law that threatened to penalize people who performed noble acts in helping others in an emergency," said John H. Sullivan, president of the Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC).

Assembly Member Feuer was moved to introduce AB 83 by personal experience. While driving home from work on a Los Angeles freeway we witnessed the driver of a pickup truck swerve and lose control, overturning in traffic. Feuer helped pull the driver and his family from the overturned vehicle while others blocked traffic on the busy freeway.

Giving Mortgages to Illegals? More Michelle Malkin

ACORN’s illegal alien home loan racket

By Michelle Malkin • September 18, 2009 08:33 AM

My column today blasts ACORN Housing Corporation’s criminal-enabling home loan program for illegal aliens. To paraphrase Jon Stewart: Where the hell is everyone?

AHC is one of the endless non-profit arms of ACORN. Their response to the BigGovernment.com sting videos hasn’t received as much attention as the national ACORN flagship’s. You can read AHC’s CYA reaction here.

***

ACORN’s illegal alien home loan racket
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2009

There’s one thing more shocking than the illegal alien smuggling advice that an ACORN official in San Diego gave undercover journalists James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles. It’s the illegal alien criminal racket that ACORN has already been operating with the full knowledge of the U.S. government.

On Wednesday, O’Keefe and Giles published the fifth in a series of BigGovernment.com sting videos. ACORN official Juan Carlos Vera coached the pimp-and-prostitute-posing pair on how best to pull off a border-busting smuggling operation. It would be “better from Tijuana,” he counseled on videotape. Carlos Vera then generously offered the investigative couple his Mexican “contacts” to bring 12 illegal alien girls into the country for prostitution.

GOP California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger now wants an investigation. But neither the Terminator nor any other California public officials raised a peep when the very same San Diego ACORN office publicly announced a partnership with Citibank to secure home loans for illegal aliens. In 2005, Citibank and ACORN Housing Corporation – which has received tens of millions of tax dollars under the Bush administration alone — began recruiting Mexican illegal aliens for a lucrative program offering loans with below-market interest rates, down-payment assistance and no mortgage insurance requirements. Instead of Social Security numbers required of law-abiding citizens, the program allows illegal alien applicants to supply loosely-monitored tax identification numbers issued by the IRS.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that “undocumented residents” comprise a vast market representing a potential sum of “$44 billion in mortgages.” Citibank enlarged its portfolio of subprime and other risky loans. ACORN enlarged its membership rolls. The program now operates in Miami; New York City; Jersey City, N.J.; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Bridgeport, Conn., and at all of ACORN Housing’s 12 California offices. San Diego ACORN officials advised illegal alien recruits that their bank partners would take applicants who had little or no credit, or even “nontraditional records of credit, such as utility payments and documentation of private loan payments.”

The risk the banks bear is the price they pay to keep ACORN protesters and Hispanic lobbyists from the National Council of La Raza screaming about “predatory lending” off their backs. These professional grievance-mongers have turned the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act – which forced lenders to sacrifice underwriting standards for “diversity” – into lucrative “business” opportunities. Or rather, politically correct blackmail. As the Consumer Rights League noted in a 2008 report on the group’s successful shakedowns of financial institutions, “an agreement with Citibank, a significant ACORN donor and partner, showed that some activists become less active when deals are in place.”

In the wake of the sting videos, ACORN officials are making a great show of clamoring for “reform.” ACORN chief executive Bertha Lewis blamed the debacles across the country on the “indefensible action of a handful of our employees.” But the corruption is systemic. ACORN has long thrown rank-and-file operatives under the bus to cover for its management’s indefensible conduct. And ACORN’s highly-touted advisory watchdogs include inherently conflicted foxes guarding the henhouse:

ACORN advisory council member Henry Cisneros resigned from his post as Clinton HUD Secretary after lying to FBI agents about payments to a former mistress.

ACORN advisory council member Andy Stern is president of the SEIU, the Big Labor organization plagued by embezzlement scandals and inextricably linked to ACORN’s disgraced founder Wade Rathke. (And see my document drop here on ACORN’s “nurturing” of SEIU Local 100.)

And ACORN advisory council member Eric Eve of Citigroup is a champion of the ACORN/Citibank illegal alien loan program that openly undermines immigration laws and integrity in banking.

The truth is more sordid than any fictional scenarios caught on tape: ACORN is a criminal enterprise.

Posted in: ACORN Watch, Immigration, SEIU

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The People Have Spoken in California

The voters of California have finally come to their senses. How this could have happened is way beyond my mortal powers of comprehension, but they have. They defeated all but one of the six propositions that the state legislators tried to have passed on the May 19 special election, and passed just one...the proposition that says no pay raises to state politicians when they don't balance the budget. Good for you, voters!

Now how about placing a proposition on the ballot that says NO PAY AT ALL IF THE POLITICIANS DON'T PASS A BALANCED BUDGET ON TIME? Bet that would get them off their dime and political oriented butts to pass the budget in a heartbeat! Or maybe get some of the dead wood out of office once and for all.

Or, maybe, California voters are going to dump the politicians who have been draining this state so long when the next elections come around? Or will they forget how bad things are and simply vote along the same old party lines and place the same old useless politicos back in their seats for another round of what could be bankruptcy and tax hikes?

Car taxes went up, sales taxes went up, counties are complaining they don't collect enough taxes because property values plummeted, people have asked for revaluations to reduce taxes on lower valued homes; many homes have been foreclosed, and taxes are not being paid.

Employment is the worst in about 40 years so income tax revenue is way down, so they raise the income tax rate..how about that for brilliance? Tax the crap out of the remaining working people to make up some of the lost income so the state can continue to pay for welfare and Medi-Cal for the illegals and the welfare recipients and the will-not works? Cut education, teachers and services for the understandably medically needy, but still be sure to throw that money at the services for those who won't ever contribute anything to society due to a lack of work ethic and/or pure laziness? How much can the working people of California accept before they realize how bad they're getting screwed? Year after year, ad nauseum?

Time to dump the surfer dude image, folks and get involved with changing the way Sacramento does business. If you don't, your children and grandchildren will bear the huge burden that the politicians keep piling up. The fastest and best way is to vote, and tell them you're not happy with them. Get them out of office, and make them get a real job for a change. Let them see what the working class sees, a dwindling paycheck and increasing bills and taxes. It isn't a pretty sight!

California Illogic and Laws that Seem to Have Been a Waste Writing

Here's some ideas to help Arnold fill the state coffers. Of course, the Granola State" is so filled with political idiocy, that passing a law that makes sense, has teeth, is enforceable, and furthermore IS enforced, is as likely as freedom from drought and having a heavy snowstorm in San Diego in August. Regardless, here goes:

Raise the fine for talking on a non-hands-free cell phone from $20 to $500. Every day I see dozens of people using their same old cell phone slammed to their ear, dialing it or otherwise scoffing at the law that was passed a year ago. Twenty bucks doesn't cover the cost of a Bluetooth device but would cover the cost of a wired headset. But when it's only twenty bucks and the chances of getting caught are about zero, why bother. RAISE THE FINES, IMPROVE SAFETY, AND ENFORCE THE LAW!

Raise the fines for cutting into the carpool lanes in non-access areas and enforce it. It's dangerous and people do it all the time. Double the fine for crossing the double yellow line to enter a carpool lane and if the person is a single occupant, double the carpool lane fine too. That should get someone's attention. On San Diego's Interstate 5, place an officer or two on the Del Mar Heights bridge to watch traffic heading north and watch them cutting in before and after the bridge; have several motor officers on I-5 north of the bridge. You could pay a politicians salary multiple times a week with the tickets you could write there. RAISE THE FINES, IMPROVE SAFETY, AND ENFORCE THE LAW!

Enforce the speed limit within reason. If that means installing speed cameras, then do it and collect the fines and slow down the blithering idiots who seem to think that driving at 100 miles an hour and weaving in and out on the freeway is somehow okay! Maybe if the speed limit was enforced and the fines were really heavy when someone were caught, the message might get through. Endangering everyone else's life just because you drive like an asshole on fire isn't justified in any case. You should be caught, fined and your license revoked. And, if you get caught driving again, your vehicle should be impounded and your ass thrown in jail. Wanton disregard for public safety shouldn't be acceptable behavior, even though this is California! RAISE THE FINES, IMPROVE SAFETY, AND ENFORCE THE LAW!

Go after all the outdated and unregistered vehicles and make them comply with current registration requirements. Vehicles that are unregistered or outdated have high levies placed on them, so collect it rather than allow them to be run on the streets for months or years while not collecting a cent! The State has raised the vehicle license fee on the rest of us to make up what they don't get from these scofflaws. Have the police and parking enforcement cruise through parking lots, private developments and gated communities and ticket vehicles with outdated registrations. Tow vehicles that are unregistered. Those that are junks yet are still roaming the streets should be noted as unsafe for use and impounded. Quit taxing the crap out of everyone else to make up for the inadequacies of the State in enforcing the laws that are on the books already. RAISE THE FINES, IMPROVE SAFETY, AND ENFORCE THE LAW!

Can anyone see the gist of the above? This State makes laws they don't enforce, or perhaps never intend to enforce. They simply place them on the books to placate the general public, like MADD and other safety minded groups. Then the legislators can brag that they passed a law, even though it is hollow and really presents no positive impact on public safety. And if accident statistics go down, they can tell you it's because of their work on passing the law; except that in reality it's probably a glitch or because someone cooked or skewed the statistics to read how they wanted them to read this week or month or year.

Time to quit being a Girly Man, Arnold! You accuse everyone else of it....look in the mirror and see how you acquiesce to the political machine and pass taxes and laws to screw the ordinary citizen, while doing nothing to properly use the laws that we already passed to protect us.

California Screws the Middle Class...Again, And Again

Wow...did we expect anything less than to get screwed by the State in this budget impasse? Those of you having a decent vehicle will see your annual vehicle tag costs double, while the illegals and the no-load welfare suckers are either driving unregistered vehicles and won't pay anyway, or have crapmobiles that have reached the end of the valuation scale, and also the smog index! Or, we're paying for their every cost so they don't give a damn in any case. And the heavy hitter politicians who make the big bucks by screwing us in the first place won't care, as they have state perks that cover their fuel and vehicle costs, so what the hell. Hmm, so the middle class digs deeper into their wallets to support the Granola State.

Increase income tax on the workers so we can support the no loads and the politicians? Wonderful! That's the most asinine idea yet, because it postulates that most Californians will still have jobs, and the way they run this state, most will be unemployed soon. Business is being run off as fast as they can get out the door, and other states are welcoming employers with open arms and tax breaks, land deals etc. But no, not here. Just tax people more.

I noted no welfare cuts being trumpeted. How could we even think of cutting free programs for lazy ass bastards when we can dump the costs on the working man and woman. Or cut into the free health care through Medi-CAL for the immigrants and illegals and welfare cases when we can't even afford our own health care? God forbid we ever do the right thing and make the no loads get off their asses and work! That's just not politically correct, is it?

Let every politician give up their pay for a year and serve the people for free. That's right, for free. Give them just enough for the basic food and basic shelter like we give the recruit in our military. It's a public service so let them act like it instead of a bunch of pork barrel stuffing, egotistical, greedy bastards. Oh wait, that would be so uncharacteristic, wouldn't it?

Hats off to Abel Maldonado for his vote in getting this mess behind us. He showed courage and deep-sixed the 12 cent a gallon gas tax as well as forced lots of concessions too. Instead of considering a bleak political future, maybe he should be looking to be the next governor?

A Slow Typist....surgery, and the octuplets

Sorry to be so slow in posting, but multiple men with knives have placed me out of commission for awhile. No worry though, they exacted payment through my medical carrier, and all was for a good cause...they were surgeons repairing damage number three to my shoulder, which for some reason refuses to remain uninjured and without multiple steel pins, bone holes, pieces of bone missing, biceps tendon removed and assorted holes and slices. I know, I know, more than you wanted to know, but the above has taken forever to type with one finger, plus corrections! Thus a lack of postings for awhile.

Don't ask what I think about the octuplets in California! That mother must be part male because she has balls the size of a world globe, when she states her and the six existing children don't get welfare, although they, and she, get food stamps and public assistance, and she leeches off her family besides. Her own mother states she gets Zip, Nada from her towards feeding and taking care of the kids, housing, etc. Now the almost bankrupt Granola State has 8 more to feed ,and the 3 million dollar medical bill besides. And the dumb ass used her Work Comp money to have a Beverly Hills doc implant all the embryos!

Ought to take his license and run him out of town on ethics charges..oh wait..doesn't look like he has any ethics! And they should have super glued the dumb ass octuplets baby squirter legs together way back when. And make the baby daddy step to the plate and pay, pay, pay 14 times over, since the baby mommy states all the eggs were from the same sperm donor, both this 8 and the first 6.

Makes you wanna puke. Freaking freeloader on the dole also thinks and states the "programs to help people in need" are not welfare. Illegal immigrants who commit murder are not murderers if you change the name to undocumented workers who perpetrated a felonious homicide? Hmm? Or a drug dealer is just an undocumented pharmacist? Hmm? She received a college education so she could learn semantics. You go girl. No matter how educated you think you are, your head is still up your ass doing what you did, and there must be a lot of room up there, because your doctor who implanted all those embryos is looking right at you!

Educated people are not necessarily smart people, and people without an education can sometimes be brilliant!

California Taxpayers - Screwed Again

Once again, the infantile mentality and downright lack of conscience of our state legislators leads the news in California. It's small wonder this state is known the world over as a bunch of freaks and assholes, judging by it's government. When you're governed by what is assuredly the greatest collection of buffoons and idiots ever placed in office, even worse than Washington DC, granted placed there by the votes of people in the highly populous counties who have not a clue what's happening in the real world, (read Proposition 103 that passed among others for a clue about how they vote!), you know you're in trouble. Add to that the 9th District Circuit Court and their outright crazy decisions, and it's small wonder this is known as the Granola State...Fruits, Nuts and Flakes. Don't blame me, I didn't coin the expression, nor did I create the aura that surrounds the state and makes people think of it as another planet!

The latest move by these bureaucrats, who have not been able to agree on a budget in seven months, is to withhold paying income tax refunds to the people who have them coming. They're now holding the refunds for at least 30 days and state they will issue IOU's to taxpayers, as they don't have the funds to return your money and meet other state obligations. But in the interim, the legislators and the Governor are getting their paychecks and their other perks. Now ain't that sweet!

The middle class taxpayer who supports all the welfare recipients, illegals, Medi-CAL recipients and lazy asses, including the politicians, all year can't get their tax refund money back so they can pay their own bills!

Then the State has the balls to tell you that no, you can't pay your income taxes with the IOU, nor can you stop paying your income taxes because you don't have the money, because they didn't refund it!

And, to kick you again, they won't give you interest unless they don't refund until after 45 days beyond April 15, even if you filed on January 25. But They want interest if you owe them tax, and didn't pay your estimated tax on time!

California taxpayers, you have my sympathy. You live in a place where the only perk is the weather, and if Sacramento could possibly screw that up, they sure would. Oh wait, that's coming too. As a measure to shore up the economy, some "brilliant" politician will figure out how to tax you on the number of sunny days in your region, multiplied by the number of average breaths you take and charge a "Life Tax" for living here. Of course, it only applies to the employed, and those who are on the dole, illegal or otherwise screwing the taxpayer will not be charged. You, the workling class will pay their share, so breathe deeply and enjoy the sunshine! What's that you say, the air has a putrid odor? That's politics you smell, my friend and in California it always smells rotten.

California Cell Phone Ban is a Joke....and More!!!

In July of 2008, California banned the use of cell phones while driving for all persons under the age of 18 years. The State also banned the use of hand held cell phones for persons over the age of 18 while driving. All cell phone users have to utilize hands-free devices, either corded or cordless, such as Bluetooth, to be within the law and avoid fines.

That law is a huge joke! Every day I watch dozens of people with their cell phones glued to their ears and yapping away. There are a number of possibilities for their idiotic behavior:

• They don't give a rat's ass about the law
• They don't care if they get caught
• They would rather pay the fine than shut their mouth
• They think whatever they have to say is more important than safe driving
• They think they can talk and drive but they can't chew gum and walk

So, brilliance aside, what the hell did the lawmakers think these rocket scientists were going to do to dial their cell phones? Not all of them have voice dial, so here we now have motor mouth tethered to the cell phone by their new hands-free ear bud and microphone combo, holding it up in front of him or her, trying to see the keyboard and dial a number. Or, looking down, totally eyes off the road trying to do the same thing. Or, better yet, holding a piece of paper and a pen and the cell phone, while trying to write down a number that has appeared on the screen, and must be of utmost importance.

Then our brilliant lawmakers impose a very stiff (trying not to vomit) $20 fine for the first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses if you get caught on the phone while driving. No points on the license, just a minuscule fine. They should have made it hundreds of dollars! Leave it to our lawmakers to pass a law with no teeth in it! God forbid they actually create a law that would help improve safety on our highways and put some teeth into enforcement efforts by law enforcement agencies. No, not in California! Once again, it cements our title as the Granola State!

To make this even more tragic, nobody though to ban texting! Until now. So, effective January 1, people can no longer text on their cell phone, Blackberry, PDA or whatever, while driving. But you know they will anyway! Ever watch some idiot driving along trying to text and drive? It's scary as hell. Their car weaves and bobs as their thumbs flit from key to key, the car rhythmically moving in tune to the miniature keystrokes from one side of the lane to the other.

Like most abusers of any technology, cell phone users in vehicles may soon find they are totally prohibited from using the phones in vehicles. Period. On January 11, 2009, The National Safety Council advocated a total ban on cell phone use while driving, stating the practice is clearly dangerous and leads to fatalities.

The group's president likens talking on cell phones to drunken driving. She says cell phone use increases the risk of a crash fourfold, and that hands-free cell phones are just as risky as hand held phones.

The council examined more than 50 scientific studies before reaching its decision. One is a study by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis. It estimates 6% of vehicle crashes causing about 2,600 deaths and 12,000 serious injuries a year are attributable to cell phone use.

Yes, I have a cell phone. No, I don't use it in the car. I turn it off most of the time unless I have a need for it. It has voice mail so if I get a call and I don't answer, someone will leave a message. If not, the call wasn't important enough for me to answer anyway. That's the nice thing when you become the master of technology, rather than let technology become your ruler!

I abhor people yapping on the phone incessantly behind me in the grocery line, or at the bank or anyplace else. They talk loudly because they must think they need to be loud to be heard, and it's damned obnoxious. Fully grown men and women sound like children when they get on the cell phones, and their incessant chatter must make them believe that they are so important that the world will stop unless they have communication every second of every day, no matter what else is going on around them. They don't seem to have a clue how impolite it is, nor what an imposition it is on others, to listen to the constant barrage of yapping from all angles. And, if you raise your voice so you can be heard over their motor-mouthing, they give you the evil-eye, like you're interfering with some God-given right to communication!

Finally, a word to the wise. Giving out all your credit card, Social Security and other information over your cell phone is not only unsafe, but pretty stupid. Period. No, nobody has to use high tech decoding equipment to stealthily get those numbers. Just stand near you while you're talking and placing an order, or using your talking bank teller and they have all they need. I've heard people carry on conversations where they obviously give out their credit card numbers, then after a pause, state other numbers which I believe either to be their PIN or the Security Code on their credit card, either of which can cost you money, or at least big time financial headaches in the wrong hands. If you're using the Takling Teller as many banks have, lowering your voice when you give your PIN might not be enough, if someone can hear and copy your account and PIN down, they can clean you out in a heartbeat.

Finally, not being aware of your surroundings and being on a cell phone can have disastrous consequences if someone were to accost you and you don't hear them coming. Paying attention to your surroundings is a cardinal rule of personal safety, and being distracted while on a cell phone caln give an attacker the edge they want or need. Another reason not to constantly have that gadget against your ear all the time. Speaking to a friend doesn't help in an emergency...being fully cognizant of all that is around you is situational awareness and leads to personal crime prevention.

Face it, the cell isn't the most important thing in the world. And if using it results in an accident, personal injury, or other harm, it's not technology put to good use. Even the best technology can have deadly consequences when used without considering its effect on other systems you must also control and interface with.

Idiots, Politicians, and No Brainers...One and the Same!

Wow..I must be on some other freaking planet. This just can't possibly be earth nor the USA. We're in a recession like we've not seen for decades. millions are unemployed, losing houses left and right, house values tumbling faster than AIG stock, gas prices more volatile than the hydrocarbons they're composed of. Food prices are astronomical, homelessness is at all all time high, uninsured people with no health insurance is epidemic.

Sooo, what do the politicians in Washingtom, DC and Sacramento, CA want to do? Raise the damned taxes! In California, Governor Schwarzenegger, who has never had to be without, wants to increase the sales tax, increase the tax on oil production ( a real incentive to produce our own oil there, right Arnie?), increase the automobile registration fee (tax), add sales tax to your pets veterinary visits and other presently non-taxable services (watch out...soon it will be your hospital and doctor visits too), and reduce the dependent care exemption on State income tax returns by two-thirds! Then the Democrats want to increase your income tax as well. All this in a year when many are struggling to survive.

Oh yeah, Schwarzenegger wants to add a 5 cent a drink tax on alcoholic beverages. Hmm...why not a buck a drink and we'd maybe be able to clean up the drunks off the streets of Oceanside and San Diego, fund the hospitals better and curb underage drinking and DWI? Oh wait, that's too logical for the Terminator and the lame brains in the legislature to figure out.

Then we have Washington DC who wants to add a 50% increase on the Federal Fuel Tax, which is already 18.4 cents per gallon. So this proposal would raise it to over 27 cents. And why? Because we did the right thing. We're conserving fuel and not driving as much. We did as they asked and suggested, and coupled with the high price of fuel, we cut our miles driven and consumption. And now we're going to get screwed, because the greedy bastards aren't getting enough tax money for roads and infrastructure, so their logic is to tax some more.

Want to read some sickening statistics and "think tank" crap, read this:
http://www.heritage.org/research/smartgrowth/bg2103.cfm

Those who hold positions in public transit are all for screwing the motorist to hold on to their highly paid jobs, and I'm not talking about bus drivers here. But the truth is they haven't figured out how to move the population from Point A to Point B effectively andd economically since they tore down the old trolley lines and interrurbans in the 1950's and 1960's. And you know who was responsible for that? The automakers, the rubber companies and Big Oil. They conspired to shut down the most effective, efficient rail services in the country and we'll never have that again, even though we now spend billions rebuilding many of the same routes.
Some info on that: http://www.trainweb.org/mts/ctc/ctc06.html

Why not simply cut off the free medical care for all the 14 and 15 year olds who have babies in our local hospitals time and again! Why not cut back on the Medi-CAL program and make the people pony up for some of the care. The poor elderly on Medi-CAL have to agree to sign over their home to get this coverage but what about the illegals and other immigrants who get it for free and contribute ZERO! We pay for all the losers time and again and I don't see our illustrious governor cutting these programs. Nor welfare and telling these losers to get off their butts and get a job. Jobs are scarce? Sure..but dump all the illegals working at the fast food places, car washes, construction and landscape companies and ship them back to wherever they came from, and there would be plenty of "entry level" jobs for the welfare recipients to do.

No work, no pay, no eat. Emergency medical care only. Getting pregnant doesn't entitle you to thousands of dollars of free medical care just because you laid your ass down. You need to work and pay for your bills like the rest of the DECENT Americans who are supporting the country. We're TIRED of going without because you won't work and are sucking the lifeblood out of America.

Worse yet, the politicians are pandering to you like a bunch of butt kissers. Even Arnold is looking more like a Girly-Man to his constituents with his proposals. Hey Arnie..get a budget passed so you don't have to give out IOU's. Or will you be able to give the welfare recipients IOU's for their food stamps and housing too? Right...I thought so. No, only the taxpayers and real workers who support the State.

Politicians..get it through your heads. Quit giving the money away and cut where it matters. Tax booze, cigarettes, and other non-essential items and spend that money on medical programs. Close the border and ship illegals back home. If a person has a baby and they're illegal...bill the foreign country and then cut all aid until they pay. That's not part of a free trade agreement!

If you keep going down this track, the derailment and consequences will be catastrophic, more than any of us ever thought. And we'll all be seated right in the "coffin car" as it runs head-on into disaster!

Lack of (Train) Control

It is with sadness that I write this blog, due to the 25 dead and the 135 injured as a result of the head-on collision of the Metrolink commuter train and the Union Pacific freight train near Los Angeles on Friday afternoon. My heart, sympathy and most of all, prayers, go out to all those who lost loved ones, and to the injured, wishing them a speedy recovery.

But, regardless of fault in this terrible collision, there is another feeling inside of me. OUTRAGE! What the hell happened here? Why was there no controls to prevent this? We won't know for awhile who or what was truly at fault here; early reports say it was the Metrolink engineer who failed to stop at a red signal. Regardless if that remains the outcome, more questions need to be answered.

I don't claim to be a rail expert, although I've travelled all over the country to work with rail districts, and I do know something about controls on trains. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has had a push on for years for PTC or Positive Train Control systems for railroads in the US. But it, like so many other things, is left to the whims of the railroads, so little gets done until a tragedy occurs. Just like after the last California commuter train - freight train head-on crash in 2002, there was a hue and cry to get something done again. I'd bet we'll hear the Feds moan about this, yet the railroads won't do much, if anything. It's almost like they're unregulated.

For example, there are a number of systems which work similarly. They are all a supervisory system that alerts the operator of a train if he fails to follow the required speeds or signals. First a light goes on along with a horn or other signal and then, if the operator still fails to do what is required, such as decrease speed or stop, the train goes into emergency braking, and all power to the locomotive is shut down. Engineers hate this since in most cases, the power has to be restored by a supervisor, and their a** gets written up at a minimum, or worse.

Want to read more about how the Federal Government has been protecting you on the rails? Here you go:

http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/mostwanted/positive_train.htm

So, I ask why the Metrolink train, on such a busy corridor, had nothing similar to PTC or ETMS or other control in place? From what I have heard, some commuter trains do, many do not. I believe the Coaster in San Diego, which shares the tracks with Union Pacific freights, the same as the Metrolink, has ETMS or a similar system. Why not Metrolink? Would the sounding of the alarms have prevented the tragedy of Friday afternoon, and turned what is now termed the second most deadly railroad crash in modern American history, into just an inconvenient delay, and a big ass chewing for someone? Probably. Too late to speculate now.

Ride the train. Save gas. Who wants to ride the train when one mistake, if that's what it was, can send you right into a freight train that takes a mile to stop on a good day? Granted, these accidents are few and far between, but there is no backup plan? No copilot, which would be the automatic train control? Sure, make the light rail vehicles have all these controls, a dead-man control so if the driver of that vehicle becomes incapacitated the light rail vehicle will stop. Even SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems on some, monitored from a central location, to assure smooth traffic flow and that there are always multiple safety systems in place.
But apparently, our nations commuter rails don't place the same emphasis on safety.

I have only one more observation to make. Those commuter trains are push-pull meaning the locomotive could have been behind the cars instead of in front when then collision occurred. Had that been the configuration on Friday, September 12, the toll would have made it the deadliest train collision in our history, as the head car would have hit the Union Pacific locomotive head-on and the Metrolink locomotive would have continued to crush the cars between it and the UP locomotive. I'd estimate maybe 100 deaths or more in that scenario; just a guess but maybe for those who think things could not have been worse, a guardian angel was in Chatsworth that afternoon after all...

A Great Tradeoff for Veterans

Well, the VA says it can't afford to pay 3.3 billion dollars over the next 10 years if veterans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange are so adjudged, so it has continued to fight that issue, and for now it seems to be able to hold its own on the case. But, the fight isn't over yet.

Wait, though. I have a simple idea that would solve the funding issue once and for all. Take the money the government is spending on illegal aliens in this country, those who receive free everything, including healthcare, educational benefits, and more, and cut it off. They're illegal, meaning they are not entitled to anything! What part about illegal doesn't the government seem to understand?

In 2004, California alone spent over 10.5 Billion dollars supporting illegal aliens. That's 3 times the money the VA says it would spend in 10 years! Don't you see something wrong where a country would rather fund the illegal aliens than take proper care of their own veterans?

Illegal aliens who commit crimes, up to and including serious felonies are deported and come back time and again. One who brutally executed a police officer during a traffic stop had been deported at least three times. In 2004, California spent 1.7 billion dollars a year incarcerating illegals for various crimes, yet so many would have you believe the "poor illegals" just come here to work. Tell that fairy tale to the victims of their crimes. Deport them once and see that they never can come back. Seal the border as you need, to prevent infiltration by illegals and terrorists, for you know not which is which until you properly identify them.

Our state's nearness to bankruptcy can be closely related to the willingness to give away the store at each and every turn, and completely ignoring the will of the people for the past fourteen years, following the passage of Proposition 187, and continuing to dole out billions in free aid to illegal aliens. We have only the politicians to blame for the situation we're in, and regardless of how much any of them point fingers at the others, all one need do is look at the voting record of the Democrat controlled legislature who presses for money to be spent on these programs, and the witless judiciary who rule in the favor of giveaway programs.

And California is just the tip of the iceberg when you add in all the other states. There were an estimated 12 million illegal persons living in the US in 2007, according to government research. The cost associated with this illegal immigration was approximately 32 billion dollars, although some sources place the figures as high as 50 billion dollars or more. In California alone, the tax burden on every native-born family is said to be $1200 to make up for the illegals living on the system.

So, once again, why can we not take this money, being doled out to people who have no right to be here, who have broken Federal law to enter the country illegally, and are living off our tax dollars, and cut them off? And give that money to the veterans who fought for their country? Other than a bunch of bleeding heart politicians who pander to specific groups for their votes, and a judicial system that usually fails to do what's right for the public good and falls prey to short sightedness, and panders to splinter groups and special interests, there is no reason!

Remember when you vote to make it count and get rid of these people who constantly disrespect your service to your country. Most have never given anything to this country but rhetoric and, as you well know, that's worth nothing.