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  • Ebola – A Government Competency Metric (updated)

    George Rebane

    The extraordinarily incompetent Obama administration is not done with us yet.  We pray that it is only incompetency that has created the current trail of disastrous public policies to vex and punish us – it could be something much more sinister as some commentators have argued, and about which even RR has murmured.  Without recounting the laundry list (already much counted on these pages) we now witness the daily progress of our government attempting to deal with the Ebola epidemic which has also touched our shores.

    It is finally clear to all that the CDC did absolutely nothing since last spring to prepare America for the inevitable arrival of contagious Ebola carriers, save issuing self-congratulatory assessments of how prepared they already were with their business-as-usual prophylaxes against infectious diseases.  When Mr Duncan got on the plane to come to the US, there was nothing in place to stop this Ebola carrier that would have passed muster with an intelligent layman, but the protocols satisfied our tax-funded public health experts.

    Can you imagine watching that dreaded disease lay waste to three west African countries for months, receiving a constant stream of information and data about the characteristics and progress of the disease, and then responding with an airport questionnaire as the country’s first line of defense?  It was not a military secret that during the first week or so of Ebola’s 21 day incubation period the patient is asymptomatic – no temperature, no bad gut rumbles, no nothing.  And then asking someone with no symptoms who has paid good money to land in the US whether they have been exposed to Ebola is literally beyond butt stupid.

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  • Deconstructing America (updated 20oct14)

    [Mr Sauer is a retired lawyer living in Nevada City who currently serves on The Union’s editorial board.  He drafted the following reply to a commentary by Ms Cheryl Cook, also a member of the newspaper’s editorial board, that was published in the 9sep14 issue of The Union.  For readers having difficulty accessing Ms Cook’s commentary – ‘“To insure domestic tranquility” vs The Second Amendment’ – I have reprinted it below Mr Sauer’s reply.  This post concludes with some of my remarks on Michael Savage’s just out Stop the Coming Civil War now on the best seller lists. gjr

    20oct14 – Appended now are further developments that include Ms Cook's 20oct14 letter of resignation from The Union's Editorial Board.  gjr]

    Norm Sauer

    Cheryl Cook’s recent essay describing the authors of our Constitution as “privileged, white, male property owners who protected slave owners . . . buying and selling family members. . ,” and continuing to condemn “. . . old people . . . able to recall every statesman from 238 years ago . . ,” but unable to appreciate the continued suffering of Blacks in the 1960’s, and that the real threat to domestic tranquility is the Second Amendment’s right of individuals to keep and bear arms, disparages America and its founding documents.

    This rant is known as “deconstructionism” wherein nothing respected about our history remains untainted.  The deconstructionist’s ploy is the de-emphasis, or even effacement, by posing a continuous critique, to lay low what was once high. 

    Cook’s essay tears down the old certainties upon which Western culture is founded and the foundations on which those beliefs are based.  Sadly, I read her diatribe as an attempted erosion of our God-given inalienable rights, that “all men are created equal,” individualism, limited government, an educated and virtuous citizenry, and full republicanism. 

    I can only scratch my head with wonder at her contempt.  What purpose does she seek to serve in her destruction of American Exceptionalism?

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  • Measure S, As It Is (updated 21oct14)

    George Rebane

    Last night the local LWV held yet the latest forum (debate?) on Nevada County’s Measure S, the voter initiative to alleviate the claimed medical marijuana (MMJ) access problem.  The venue was NC’s Rood Center with both pro-S and anti-S sides well represented.  Readers recall that the county’s current Ordinance 2349 already permits and regulates the growing of MMJ.  The overarching state law governing MMJ production, distribution, and consumption is known as Prop215.

    The following aspects of Measure S were claimed, admitted, and/or confirmed by its proponents.

    1. No one knows the scope of the county’s ‘MMJ problem’, and the pro-S people continue to insist that having any relevant data about MMJ, most importantly the number of legitimate MMJ users and how many of those have access issues, does not constitute information necessary to inform the vote on S.  Using a widely accepted statistical method and data from Colorado and (statewide) California, RR’s best estimate is that the county’s MMJ usership is in the 1,400 to 2,200 range.  Without providing a basis of either method or evidence the pro-S people claim that the real number lies somewhere north of 20,000, or over 20% of the county’s population.

    2. MMJ access difficulties in the county have been reported only anecdotally to Americans for Safe Access – Nevada County (the leading Measure S proponent).

    3. Proponents of S admit that the measure’s purpose is also to expand the MMJ production industry in the county through large collectives that would enable the county to produce enough product for export, and become a state and national supplier of MMJ. (see 21oct14 update below)

    4. Proponents of S want to expand the venues for grows from private residences (both indoors and outdoors), to ag lands, and also commercial buildings in business and industrial parks.

    5. Proponents of S freely state that during the (6-8 week) fall MMJ harvest period that the needs of MMJ patients should trump those of nearby property owners and residents when it comes to odor and harvest/distribution related traffic.

    6. Proponents of S claim that the state’s rapidly expanding MMJ market and distribution channels (see below) are too expensive and not sufficient to alleviate the claimed access problems of the county’s legitimate patients.

    7. S is purposely vague on the details of the physical properties of MMJ grows, and instead relies on MMJ patients/growers to be good stewards of their crop, the land, and also good neighbors to nearby property owners.

    8. S purposely omits MMJ grow enforcement provisions and calls for the county to draft follow-on enforcement and nuisance ordinances at its pleasure.  (This invites to Nevada County the same statewide litigation storm that arose to challenge the passage of local ordinances required to clarify and enforce the equally ill-defined provisions of Prop215.)

    9. Proponents of S stated that they purposely resorted to a voter initiative to define MMJ production and consumption in order to “prevent the county from coming in behind us” to make MMJ production and access more difficult in the future.  Measure S will require another election to adopt a new MMJ initiative in order to change ANY aspect of the current measure.  (The current MMJ county ordinance 2349 can be amended at will by the Board of Supervisors to balance the nuisance and need factors as they develop.)

    While we are grappling with our own unknown and emotionally defined MMJ access problem, the world has moved on.  MMJ is now becoming available from well-equipped dispensaries all over the state.  Many of them provide delivery services that will soon let you order via a cell phone app (here).  San Francisco, of course, leads the way in the ready availability of pot in all forms for all uses (here).  Nearby MMJ dispensaries are located in Sacramento and Yuba City.  No doubt others will be opening up soon at even more convenient locations – and then there’s the inevitable onslaught of recreational marijuana (RMJ) legalization that will be with us in a few years.  I believe that voters should consider all these factors as they decide whether to abandon Ordinance 2349 in favor of Measure S.

    The debate over Measure S, Ordinance 2349, MMJ access, and RMJ legalization has been covered extensively on RR in previous posts and their long appended comment streams comprised of various topical threads.  Participants and contributors include the major proponents of both sides of the issue.  I list and link the relevant posts below in order of their appearance –

    ‘Medical Marijuana Cultivation Initiative – Nevada County Ballot Measure S (updated 6sep14)’

    ‘Marijuana Ordinance Utility/Criteria’

    ‘Thoughts on Marijuana and Measure S’

    ‘Medical Marijuana, Property Rights, and Government Access’

    ‘Measure S – The Numbers Please! (updated 8oct14)’

    [update]  Just received an email with the following photo attached.  This illustrates the intensity and chutzpah with which MJ legalization is being promoted across the country.  This huge billboard (note size of truck) erected on Hwy 49 at the entrance to Grass Valley cost a bundle, and was made possible by the huge sums (as also reported here) that have been received by local pro-S supporters from MJ interests elsewhere.  The sign’s claim of a “Ban on Medical Cannabis” in the county is a patently audacious lie.

    MeasureSbillboard

    {21oct14 update]  Ms Patricia Smith states in her 537pm comment below that she and ASA have never endorsed inter-state shipments of MMJ since that is illegal under federal law (as is all forms of MJ consumption in the United States).  Therefore Measure S being silent on such transport should not be taken as endorsement of supplying out of state MMJ markets, MMJ growers doing this will be acting independently and on their own recognizance.  Ms Smith stands by the billboard “ban” statement because 2349 does not allow MMJ growing on terraced slopes which she maintains is a constructive ban.  Please read her own words and my response in the comments.

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  • Sandbox – 14oct14

    [Time for fresh sand and fresh thoughts.  I was pondering the sad case of SecState Kerry.  What has that poor nitwit done since being appointed by Obama to push the national peanut ahead?  A quick perusal of the man's record reveals nothing that would even give him a tie breaker with his equally accomplished predecessor.  There is a possibility that I may have missed an accomplishment that his dual duufuses (duufusi?) - Psaki and Harf- failed to inform us of, or even some remote announcement out of presidential puppet Josh Earnest to burnish the man's image.  Readers will no doubt set us straight.]

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  • The Chaos Upon Us

    George Rebane

    People of a shared ethnicity individuate tactically and aggregate strategically.

    The future described in these pages over the last several years is coming true in spades.  The prime forces acting in accidental synchrony are the rampant advance of technologies, and the profoundly incompetent Obama administration that now rules through a camarilla of perfidious bureaucrats.  The result is growing global chaos and an underclass emerging from systemic unemployment accelerated by misguided rules that accelerate substituting machines for human labor.  The real news is that this ‘news’ is finally being picked up in the mass media and grudgingly accompanied by the lamestream which has always been the public apologist and mouthpiece of the Left.

    Here I want to bring together four contemporary examples of such lightbulbs going off to illuminate that small part of the public forum that is still made up of ‘people of information’, a delightfully appropriate expression that was introduced in the first half of the 19th century.  These consist of the featured essay on the world economy in the 4oct14 Economist entitled ‘The third great wave’, a comprehensive report that recognizes the information and knowledge technology revolution which now succeeds its predecessors – the early 19th century Industrial Revolution and the unnamed electro-mechanical revolution of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  We see these waves of disruption and invention in a global context as reported by Stratfor’s Robert Kaplan in a major essay entitled ‘Super Chaos’ that brings together and focuses our attention on an historical confluence of worldwide disorder and mayhem that is missed by the auto-distracted masses.  In all this there are still some like the leftwing political scientist William Galston of the Brookings Institution who sees slim shimmers of light in an otherwise darkening tunnel as espoused in his hopelessly hopeful 8oct14 WSJ piece, ‘How to Stoke the Middle-Class Comeback’.

    My purpose here is not to drag the reader through the long laundry list of arguments that support the early revelations posted here, but simply to highlight the corroborations of an existential worldview that is uncomfortably ignored by most sitting politicians and world leaders.

    The Economist strongly acknowledges the reality that was detailed in Tyler Cowen’s Average is Over (2013), George Gilder’s Knowledge and Power (2013), and Charles Murray’s Coming Apart (2012), all covered here in previous posts.  Much data is presented on the growing unemployment problem in the developed world due to three driving factors – 1) government regulations making the hiring/firing of humans more difficult and expensive, 2) rapid dating of workers’ skill sets, and 3) the acceleration of technology, specifically in the surge of all types of smart machines and robots.  The Economist sees that government is critical to solving and ameliorating all three factors by reducing red tape, spending more on educating redundant workers, and easing the establishment of smaller businesses that take advantage of new information and fabrication technologies.

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  • Is the State of Jefferson politically sustainable?

    George Rebane

    Last night Jo Ann and I attended the SoJ town hall meeting at the GV Elks Club.  This meeting was announced here, and it drew a full house.  The well-organized gathering was set up by the NC SoJ steering committee under the very able leadership of Eddie Garcia.  I even noticed that Jim Firth, head of the NC Democratic Party and candidate for the GV City Council, was in attendance.  Eddie later told me that he had personally invited Mr Firth to attend, and I commend him for his attendance (although I did notice that his participatory gestures did not exactly track the sentiments of the rest of the crowd).

    The speakers – Messrs Mark Baird, Terry Rapoza, and ‘Red’ Smith – were again excellent and informative.  The audience’s response was enthusiastic and frequent.  The SoJ movement is all about the lack of representation that California’s northern counties suffer in Sacramento.  Our state legislature is dominated by southern California and progressive coastal interests that are inimical to the welfare of the state’s rural and mountain counties.  But a more complete treatment of the arguments for separating out the SoJ have been covered in these pages and are also available on the SoJ website here.

    SoJ opponents have advanced a number of specious and erroneous arguments as to why pursuing such a separation is not only a fool’s errand, but will not work for a number of political, constitutional, and economic reasons.  Most of these have been easily dispensed with on the SoJ website.  The procedural one of getting the separation through Sacramento will probably be most difficult, but doable if the Democrats can be convinced of the win-win benefits from allowing the new SoJ.  The federal approval should be pretty much pro forma with a Republican Congress.

    But I do have a concern that I have not yet heard raised and which doesn’t deal with the feasibility of separation, or even the political and economic viability of the newly formed State of Jefferson.  My question is about the political sustainability of a successfully launched SoJ.  Let me explain.

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  • Scattershots – 10oct14 (updated 12oct14)

    George Rebane

    The dilemma of socialism is that it needs large masses of the ignorant and poor to stay in power.  Socialists know that public policies which enable and empower the individual will grow the economy but doom collectivist governance.

    Los Angeles gets a new national monument that President Obama will dedicate on his most recent fund raising trip through soCal.  The huge land area covered is essentially all of the San Gabriel Mountains north of the greater LA area.  The former national forest will be put into a permanent category of limited or no public use.  Located next to where millions of people live, this takings is a poster child of Agenda21 in operation.  Jo Ann and I spent much of our youth and family recreation days in those mountains.  As a high schooler and college undergraduate I and my friends were often in those mountain canyons and ridge tops since we lived in the Foothill Blvd corridor right below the mountains.  And within minutes from their homes, LA area families with picnic baskets or sleds and saucers would be enjoying themselves in summer and winter.  Those accessible mountains were a godsend to rich and poor alike, and for generations a draw for people to move to California – where else could you ski in the morning and then spend the afternoon on a sunny beach?  The LA Times today murmurs that some local leaders have had the temerity to opine their concerns that this federal takeover “will limit access” to this priceless recreation area.  Sadly, Angeles National Forest RIP as Agenda21’s stack and pack corrals Americans into ever narrower corridors of access and mobility.

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  • State of Jefferson 11oct14 Town Hall, etc

    George Rebane

    The State of Jefferson movement continues along, and our Nevada County chapter of it is holding a town hall event this coming Saturday night (see below).  Remember, the SoJ movement also gives those who feel that the northern counties have no representation in Sacramento an opportunity to leverage their voice – to attend and/or support the movement you don’t have to be convinced that the movement will succeed (yet), only that your voice will be heard in Sacramento.  Give it a look.

    SoJ_11oct14

    And while we’re at it, there are some other civic minded events that you might want to attend:

    9 October – Congressman Doug LaMalfa and contender Heidi Hall will be at a LWV candidates’ forum at the Rood Center 7-9pm.

    10 October – Don Bessee and Patricia Smith will face off in a debate on Measure S broadcast on KVMR at noon.

    11 October – SoJ Townhall (see above)

    16 October – LWV forum on Measure S at the Rood Center, 7-9pm

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  • Paul Emery – The Surge

    George Rebane

    RR reader/debater, musician, producer, KVMR news director, and friend Paul Emery is long known in Nevada County for his many talents and activities which keep us entertained and informed.  This fall Paul is outdoing himself with a bevy of productions that promise to keep the county’s toes a’tappin’.  I am constantly amazed how such a seemingly laid back guy can accomplish all that he does.  This morning he sent out an email that details the various courses of the latest feast he is serving up in the coming weeks.  Take note also that Paul now has a first class website that displays his wares.  Here is how he tells it.

    Nevada City Live – Fall 2014

    Friends, 

    The beat goes on!  This week we have a fantastic line-up at the Nevada Theatre.

    Last year, author and poet Molly Fisk brought the house down with her performance during Nevada City Live. Her humor, wit, impeccable timing, astute observations and colorful storytelling is a joy to see in person!  Don't miss her on Friday, October 10.

    And don't forget Troubadours: Peter Wilson, Moe Dixon and Mountain John Hilligoss will reunite for a very special concert Saturday, October 11.  

    When not touring as Troubadours, Wilson regularly performs at Northern California festivals, concerts and nightclubs.  He's been a featured performer at the California WorldFest, KVMR Celtic Festival and has opened concerts for headliners including The Band, Etta James, Jessie Winchester, and The Smothers Brothers.  Dixon now divides his time between Oregon and Colorado and is considered one of the top solo artists in the country, for his unique finger-style and ragtime guitar.  He's shared the stage with such familiar names as Phil Oches, Pete Seeger, Robben Ford, Buddy Guy, Doc Watson, Maria Muldaur, John Denver, and more.  Mountain John was a fixture in the LA and Nashville music scenes, performing with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris and more, before moving to Pennsylvania to pursue his poetry.  

    Shows start at 8pm and tickets are $20.  Tickets are on sale on at BriarPatch Co-Op in Grass Valley and Yabobo in Nevada City. Tickets are for sale for all shows through Vendini.

    You can find more information on these shows plus the entire lineup on my new website at www.paulemerymusic.com

    We still need volunteers for all shows. You can sign up for a show by sending an email to Robin Karistedt at robinkarlstedt@yahoo.com and she'll give you details.

    See you at the show,

    Paul

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  • Sandbox – 6oct14

    [I'd like to start this fresh sandbox with a bit of an admonition to those (self-centered?) readers who jump into the middle of a comment stream with a notion or a question that they think is unique, original, and not seen before either in the current comment stream, or in a multi-post treatment of the same subject (like currently Measure S).  They do this without perusing the discussion which has been ongoing, perhaps, for several hundred comments, and then demand that their rehash of something long answered and dispensed with deserves a whole new treatment for their self-centered hubris.  Many of us tire of this game, and not all take such forays as kindly as do I.  My opinions are here for all to read as is my socio-political credo.  If you want to make progress, reference what I have said and then demonstrate how it is weak or in error.  That I will gladly defend, or if you are compelling, I will change my mind.  Barn circling is not my favorite dance.  As I requested of one commenter, 'Do your homework.'']

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22 comments on Ebola – A Government Competency Metric (updated)