california

A COVID Travel DIARY

Posted on by Helena

My grandbaby was born and my son decided to arrange a travel junket on the spur of the moment to go meet this newest family member.   While the two hour window to be ready didn’t exactly appeal to me, he relented and made reservations for the following morning.  It was my first out of state air travel and I was not prepared for exactly how horrific the reality would unfold verses the news reports:

Denver airport is fast becoming one of the major hubs in the US and has been undergoing massive expansion for the last 2 years unabated.   Construction continues despite the near empty terminals.   Long term parking is empty – no shuttles. Short term parking, charging premium rates is perhaps at 10% capacity with front row seats everywhere.  The only choice.

Inside the airport most stores and eateries are shuttered, although the larger chains remain viable.   Chick Fil A was swamped, the line snaking perhaps five lengths.   There was absolutely no line at the TSA gate, making the costly preferred check-in worthless.

Once seated on the plane, a demonstration of their ‘cleaning and health efficiency methodologies’ scrolls endlessly on the mini TV screen ending with the final coup detat wherein a hazmat suited person holding a rocket launcher spray gun demonstrates the aerosol toxins that are released like a veritable cloud throughout the cabin.  Shitake Mushrooms!

The stench was intolerable!   All I could think of was how many people will be dying of Agent Orange flight diseases sometime in the near future.

Booking a hotel room on his phone while driving en route was easy given hotels are operating at perhaps 5% of capacity.   Our twenty story hotel was quite nice – which we shared with perhaps 6 other people the entire time.   Of course, there was no food service, no maid service, and the two free drinks had to be taken outside for consumption.

As such we walked the streets drinking alcoholic beverages consumed in plastic cups.  And that was legal.

The streets were littered with homeless. One luxury block would give way to as many as 5-10 homeless per block, mostly asleep in the middle of sidewalks.   My son’s girlfriend decided to get a pedicure one afternoon. Walking back to the hotel wearing the foam slip-ons provided by salons she had the unfortunate experience of watching as a homeless man got up from his pile, labored into the street, pulled down his pants and ‘toileted’ the street brazenly wagging all his privates for passersby.

She couldn’t run given the stupid foam slip-ons, and no person in their right mind would ever walk barefoot on a city street!  As such, she was rather horrified.

Stores were shuttered. Restaurants were shuttered.   It was dirty.   Plants were shriveling.   It was cold. Bitter cold.

There was one restaurant around the corner that was open with barricades setup in the street to accommodate picnic tables.  It was only open on weekends because there were not enough customers to support it otherwise.

Walking to the pier there was a children’s park open to the public. It was packed!   Despite the outdoor mask mandate – no one at the park wore masks.   Children can congregate at parks in droves, but they can’t go to school.   An entire generation will be left behind intellectually.

But it isn’t just the education that will create vast unemployable young people, the sports industry is about to realize they have no one to recruit.   Football, baseball, basketball, dead given high school sports no longer exist.  Gymnastics – dead.   Skating dead.   What will become of this generation?

A yoga class on the lawn behind the playground was accommodating perhaps 50-75 adults – social distanced.

A homeless man covered by a full head veil walked past us screaming, ‘get away’ while giving us the finger.   Parking lots were empty.   Buses and trolleys continued their journey, albeit empty.   Banks were closed.   Buildings boarded.   Face shields abounded. Double masks, gloves, and an odd lack of police were fairly common.

And then, by chance we found an enclave – Little Italy.   Taking over a lane on each side of the street, outdoor dining crowded into small spaces, tents with heaters, and lively chatty people proclaimed some bizarre reality.   While open door restaurants were devoid of tables, the streets were now open for dining!   Hurrah.  Perhaps three blocks of some gaiety prevailed. Good food, better wine, and friendly eyes lifted the veil, the shroud, levied by Gruesome Newsom.  All doggies allowed.

Still it was bitter cold and my flimsy Colorado jacket was not the right choice for southern California’s global warming weather.

In the end, we cut our trip short and came back a day early.   Changing the flight the day of was no problem given it was only 40% capacity. Despite the fact that instead of the ‘normal’ 4-5 flight choices per day, there were now only two.

Upon arriving back in Colorado, we were happy to be home.   Carefully placing the parking ticket in the CD slot of my car, my son drove to the gate, accidentally pushed the ‘play’ button and watched with horror as the ticket stub disappeared forever.   Twenty minutes later, with much discussion and ado, we paid the proper amount and were allowed to leave the airport behind.

Outside of visiting family, there was one interesting bright side to the excursion.   I imagine dog rescue facilities are virtually empty.  Adoptions must now  require a lengthy waiting list given everyone seems to have relinquished the agencies of  available companions.   Seemingly everyone on the street and at the park had at the very least one dog, some two or three!

Despite the new reality, the doggies were happy!

STATE DEFICITS – $1 Trillion and Counting

Posted on by Helena

Well, the shitake is hitting the fan and all the idiotic Barney Fiefs in positions of power as governors and mayors think that raising every conceivable tax is going to magically produce their necessary revenue after tanking their economies.   Of course, state employee pensions would be first in line… Because unions support liberal candidates.

One such idiotic move was attempted by the mayor of Nashville wherein he thought he could slip thru a 32.6% property tax hike while his entire entourage was still vacationing at home amidst the pandemic epidemic flu virus.

As of 2016, the funding gap between state pension liabilities and assets was determined to be $1.4 trillion. According to Moody’s that gap increased by $1 trillion during the CoVid 19 selloff.   That gap widens every day that state and local revenue flattens.

The average pension across the country is roughly $28,000 compared to New York’s average of $53,000 representing 1.14 million members and current beneficiaries of 482,000.

So who are these Comptrollers in charge of managing state finances? Because they would not appear to be doing a great jon!

Tom DiNapoli has served New York State for 13 years in the capacity of Comptroller having achieved a degree in history and subsequently a masters in human resources.    His entire career has been in politics. He has absolutely no education in finance or economics .

California’s Controller is Betty Yee. Her bio states that – growing up she handled the books of her family’s dry cleaning business.   In college she went on to obtain degrees in Sociology and Public Administration. She has worked in politics her entire life.

What are the duties of state Comptrollers?

  • Conducting performance and financial audits of all City agencies;
  • Serving as a fiduciary to the City’s five public pension funds
  • Providing comprehensive oversight of the City’s budget and fiscal condition;
  • Reviewing City contracts for integrity, accountability and fiscal compliance;
  • Resolving claims both on behalf of and against the City;
  • Ensuring transparency and accountability in setting prevailing wage and vigorously enforcing prevailing wage and living wage laws; and
  • Promoting policies that enhance City government’s commitment to efficiency, integrity and performance for all New Yorkers.

I passed the CPA exam years ago and conducting financial audits, managing billions in assets, preparing budgets, etc… were highly specialized tasks reserved for the most competent in education and experience.   Degrees in history and sociology would hardly track that level of competence.

But that is who is managing state budgets.

New York is quickly approaching a deficit of $60 billion and California is climbing the ladder at $43 billion. I’d say the state governments had ridiculously ‘failed’ in their duties and responsibilities to manage.

And now they want President Trump to just give them all the money they lost – which is effectively money from you and I. Cryin’ the blues…

As of 2019, New York State was already in trouble facing a deficit of $6.1 billion as a result of rising Medicaid costs. Roughly one third of NY residents are on Medicaid representing a cost of $70 billion annually.

While Cuomo has recently stated that nursing homes represented the crisis in NY for CoVid 19, it was the state government that ‘ordered’ nursing homes to take in CoVid residents.   73% of all deaths in New York state claimed to be caused by CoVid 19 were residents of NYC. Twenty six other counties within New York report death rates of 5 and under, yet the lockdown applies to every county.   A number of counties have -0- deaths, but must adhere to the same lockdown restrictions as NYC.   The absurdity seems lost on Health commissioners, Comptrollers, Governors and Mayors who are irate that their deficit is not being wiped clean by President Trump and OUR Dollars!

A damning video of Cuomo’s response to the CoVid 19 virus reveals an arrogant, we are the best in the world, timeline response dating from February 2, 2020.   While claiming New York could handle it better than any other state, claiming New York had the best hospitals and most up to date equipment ‘in the world’ – to cryin’ the blues…

March 20th, Cuomo issued an Executive Order lockdown which remains in effect today.

Further dementia would have Pelosi brightly smiling while announcing that state and local governments require $1 trillion to stay in business and a new package is being assembled with Maxine Waters at the helm of distribution???  

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/03/30/cuomo-on-coronavirus-watch-a-timeline-of-his-comments-since-february.html

NRA A Terrorist Organization?

Posted on by Helena

What does it mean when San Francisco designates the NRA as a terrorist organization?

First, what is the definition of a terrorist?   “A person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.”   An organization designation means any member, employee, affiliate, sponsor, or funder would thus fall under that terrorist designation.

According to the FBI, a Domestic Terrorism designation would apply to:   individuals and/or groups inspired by or associated with primarily U.S.-based movements that espouse extremist ideologies of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature. 

The designation has always been Federal, the acts are deemed to be in violation of criminal law, and are aimed at committing egregious destruction against people and/or property.   For example:  The Weather Underground was a domestic terrorist organization during the 60’s and 70’s.  Led by Bill Ayers, they were a socialist organization that sought out violence ultimately bombing 25 separate locations and killing 2 policemen and a Brinks driver.   Ayers never served any prison time – but he did manage to become Obama’s primary mentor. Some believe he was the writer of Obama’s storybook.

By designating the NRA as a terrorist organization, San Francisco is basically obliging their local police force to arrest anyone that is remotely associated with them.   That would also include the 4H Club, Boy Scouts of America and the American Civil Liberties Union.   Notable members have included John F Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, Reagan, Teddy Roosevelt, and Michael Moore…

The NRA is a lobbying organization. They don’t buy and sell guns, they – lobby. All lobbying groups advocate their cause before the government. Currently there are over 11,500 lobbyists in the US. All advocating for their cause, membership, money, and changes.

In 2018, Facebook spent $12,620,000 lobbying. The National Association of Broadcasters spent $14,170,000.   Amazon spent $14,400,000. Google spent $21,740,000. Soros Open Society spent $31,520,000. And the US Chamber of Commerce spent $94,800,000. The NRA didn’t even make the top 20 list.

But the San Francisco Board members apparently are not educated in this implication of law that they have enacted.   Other than the fact that all Board Members are Democrats, they have little biographical information.   The current mayor of San Francisco who serves as president of the Board is London Breed whose initiation began as an intern for Willie Brown – just like Kamala Harris.

From there, like Harris, her political career rose quickly.

Breed gained access to the politico arena as mayor only after mayor Ed Lee suddenly died of cardiac arrest in 2017 allowing Breed to step in as Acting Mayor. He died at the teaching hospital Zuckerberg San Francisco General.   Why he would be taken to a ‘teaching hospital’ is not clear.   But his death allowed Breed to step into the role.  A role she and her subordinates would seem wholly unqualified for representing given the enormity of this perverse – gaffe!

Labeling a lobby group as terrorist would allow a vast array of other groups to come under the same legal status, many of which are Democrat functioning.   But the real legal ramifications that could be initiated would be if the police failed to arrest a known member of the NRA.  The police would then be subject to collusion or negligence or – corruption…

Obviously legal advice was not requested when the San Francisco Board Supervisors made this ridiculous assertion.   But if you are a member, affiliate, funder, donator, or employee, I would think about leaving this very precious city and relocating somewhere over the rainbow where it is – safe.

In the meantime San Francisco has managed to make itself the laughing stock of the Country!

LA Teachers Strike – Pity Party

Posted on by Helena

LA teachers are on strike and the Women’s Marchers support the strike!   Hallelujah…  Somewhere along the conversation they missed the recent report that LA County is spending $1.5 billion on illegal immigrants, the same illegal immigrants that LA voted to support, the same illegal immigrants that the Women’s Marchers support!   But they want money.  Gimme more money. 

California as a whole is now spending roughly $30.3 billion per year for illegal immigrants, representing over 17% of the state’s budget.   That is about par with LA’s entire annual budget.

But not to worry, all government employees, including teachers, in LA have a benefit package that surpasses imagination:   medical coverage, dental coverage, group life insurance, AD&D insurance, health care spending accounts, long term disability and subsidized dependent care accounts.   Poor babies. But that’s not all.   They boast ‘generous maternity and family leave’, flexible work schedules, lactation support, and of course the ever burgeoning – retirement package.

The BASE salary for LA County teachers now stands at a starting range of $55,667 to $73,609.  As of 2015, an LA ad for a Superintendent offered a salary range of $267,788 to $310,817 – as BASE requiring a Masters Degree.

As of 2014-2015, Los Angeles had one of the highest cost per students for all of California $11,751, on par with Malibu.

So where does all the money go?

The California Pension Fund announced in 2016 that it had roughly 68cents available for every dollar liability.   State governments are borrowing against current teacher’s pensions to fund retirees.  In the real world of business it is called a Ponzi Scheme.   And it is highly illegal.

So where is the ‘more money’ supposed to come from?  Gimme, gimme, gimme.

Charter schools receive roughly $3000 – $4500 less per child.  Homeschooling costs roughly $500-$1000 per child per year.  States are now paying $9000 to $20,000 per year for public education per child… more than in-state college.

So what did Governor Newsome decide to do about California’s incredible spending crisis?   Why he is spending more money on immigration, more money on child care credits, more money on kindergarten, more money on higher education, and a pledge of $3 billion to offset the $72 billion shortfall of funds that CalSTrs doesn’t have to pay – pensions.  CalsTrs Pension Fund currently sits at $215 billion and that ain’t enough.

Where exactly is all the money going to come from?

Governor Newsome announced that the California General Fund had a surplus of nearly $65 billion from Bond Funds and that he would allocate $80.7 billion for 2019 to public education which would amount to an increase of $5,000 per student!   Really?  Then why are the teachers striking?

If California is so revenue rich why does it continue to demand $368 billion per year from the Federal government?   Those funds are spent on California’s free-speech public Universities, California’s Medicaid, Social Security Benefits, and California’s Medi-Cal which supports illegal immigrants.   Other than Social Security, I want my money back.

The LA Union for teachers is asking for a 6.5% raise, smaller class sizes, reduction in standardized testing, more support staff, and more infrastructure spending.  Newsome offered a compromise which included a 6% raise and his 2019 budget already included infrastructure spending.  It was rejected.   This is the Nancy Pelosi negotiating team.

Perhaps the way to achieve such spending increases would be to shut down pension plans and institute the same caps and math analytics as Social Security Benefits.

Pensions for teachers were originally created to offset the fact that their salaries were significantly lower than the average employee.  Obviously, that fact has long ago dissolved.

LA teachers are above par, more than double, in their earnings when compared to the median income of the LA county household earnings of $55,909.  Factor in their benefits and pensions, and they dwarf the average worker.  If Obama’s redistribution of wealth were to occur, LA teachers would be stripped of pensions, benefits, and half their salaries…in order to equal their non-government peers.

But then equality is only for everyone else to ante up.

Woolsey Fire: Site of Toxic Waste and Methane Leak

Posted on by Helena

Santa Susana is located in Simi Valley California where a fire erupted recently.  It is also home to the highly controversial Santa Susana Field Laboratory – a nuclear waste facility that has been the topic of cleanup for decades.  I say ‘topic’ because battles continue as to who is responsible for the mess:  PG&E, Boeing, NASA and DOE.

Located 30 miles from downtown LA, the site has been used for the development and testing of liquid propellant rocket engines, nuclear reactors, and liquid metals research.   It is considered considerably contaminated.  It also sits directly on top of some of California’s major fault lines, including the San Andreas, according to a map prepared by California Geological Survey.  The valley was created as a result of tectonic shifts and earthquake action.

The area has been host to horror stories of contaminations, toxicity, deaths, leaks, and meltdowns since 1959.  Yet it still remains.  Radioactive fires, fission gas releases, burn pits, and containment structures that had a ten year life span and not housed with concrete domes.   The meltdown was said to be nearly 460 times that of the Three Mile Island catastrophe in Pennsylvania.

The Woolsey fire is suspected to have begun at the Rocketdyne facility of Simi Valley’s Santa Susan Field Laboratory.   The contamination that was in the soil was thus captured and spread via the fire into the air.  Yet the LA Public Health Department issued a statement that it was ‘safe’.  Nuclear, burn pit and radioactive toxins likely ignited the fire, yet LA says it is safe.

As recently as 2006, the lab was cited for wastewater runoff that had contaminated Bell Creek and the Los Angeles River including, chromium, dioxin, lead, mercury and other pollutants.

In 2007 California passed a bill citing standards for cleanup, the standards are being contested and the cleanup has stalled.

California has five nuclear waste sites that are no longer active due to meltdowns;  San Onofre which sits on a beach between LA and San Diego and is frequented by tourists, Rancho Seco south of Sacramento, Humboldt Bay in Eureka, Vallecitos near Pleasanton, a quaint suburb of San Francisco, and Santa Susana in Simi Valley.   There is one remaining active nuclear plant, Diablo Canyon Power, located near San Louis Obispo – sitting atop the San Andreas Fault along the scenic beaches of California.  It is slated to shut down in 2025 when its license expires.   It currently provides just over 8% of California’s electricity.

Roughly 30% of all California’s electricity is imported, 30% of which had an ‘unspecified origin’.  Natural gas, including one coal fired plant, account for about 43% of their electricity, and renewables about 30%.  Most of the natural gas is imported via pipeline from the Rocky Mountains, Canada and the southwest given the state produces very little and stored in Aliso Canyon Oil Field.

The Aliso Canyon Oil Field is located in the Santa Susana Mountains –

In 2015, a break in the injection well casing caused a methane eruption that spewed 87.5 million tons of combustible methane into the air…   fallout caused 6,000 families to permanently relocate and 10,000 families were given air purification systems courtesy of SoCal Gas – the owner.  It took SoCalGas four months to contain the blowout and plug the leak after 100,000 metric tons of natural gas was released… creating what one might call a ‘fire hazard’ within a toxic cocktail of nuclear waste in Simi Valley’s Santa Susana.

Governor Jerry Brown’s sister, Kathleen Brown, is a lobbyist for the oil and gas industry and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Sempra Energy, which owns the SoCal Gas Aliso Canyon Oil Field

Neither SoCalGas or Sempra incurred any fines for this leak.  Sempra assets are valued over $56 billion.  To date it is estimated the cleanup costs will surpass $1 billion most of which will be covered by insurance.  A settlement agreement for climate cleanup was only reached this past August although it had not yet been approved by the state’s Superior Court.

Meaning – no environmental cleanup had been conducted prior to the Woolsey Fire.

California Wildfires: Land Management?

Posted on by Helena

California is being devastated by fires once again, one destroying the entire town of Paradise, destroying homes, cars, and killing 25 people, a second fire rages in southern California northwest of LA causing multiple homes to burn in affluent Malibu and Oak Park.  A third fire has erupted in Ventura County.   They are truly a catastrophic perpetuation of California’s human and economic toll!

While wind speeds topping 55 mph have fueled the fires and rapidly propelled them leaving little time to evacuate, the cause of the fires has yet to be officially determined.   Dry, brittle groundcover, and winds have said to be the catalyst.

Within the devastation a fight is brewing regarding land management and fire prevention management. While the IAFF, International Association of Firefighters and the California Professional Firefighters Union have called out Trump’s comment that poor management has led to the devastation, there are facts that have been liberally manipulated to serve a purpose.

1)   Yes the Federal government is tasked with managing  a portion of California’s land, that land includes national parks, national forests, and national wildlife refuges. It does not include towns, cities, and metropolitan areas.

2)  While the IAFF stated that percentage of Federal land in California tops 60%, that is incorrect, it is 45.8% – a statistic they should know…

2)   Governor Jerry Brown has done little to nothing to mitigate the constant drought issues that plague California creating a continuum of environmental risk.

3)   FIREPAC, through the IAFF is among the top 1% largest PAC’s in the US, it is affiliated with the AFL-CIO whose efforts are predominantly political lobbying. They did NOT support Trump’s election.

4)  The president of IAFF is Harold Schaitberger who is also a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council created March 2002 by Executive Order.  Council Members of HSCA include Bill Brattan, a Democrat, appointed by Obama.  A former NYC Police Commissioner appointed by Bill De-Blasio, he is also Co-Chair on the CBP Integrity Advisory Panel, formed as an adjunct to HSCA by Obama in 2014.

Unfortunately, the California fire situation is political.

According to the UN regarding Fire Management:   “From an assessment of megafires it was concluded that the main contributing elements of these wildfires are drought, fire meteorology, accumulation of fuel and homogenous or fire prone landscapes, which are often caused by lack of appropriate land management. 

Preventive landscape management is therefore needed and should include policy, cultural, technical, social, financial, organizational, economical and market aspects. 

For instance, large homogeneous forests and housing areas shouldn’t be established in regions with fire-prone vegetation, but different land uses should be combined to maintain mosaic features in the landscape with natural firebreaks.

Special attention should be paid to timing of certain agricultural activities e.g agricultural burning should take place before the dry season and before the surrounding landscapes turn fire-prone. Burning should also be avoided during the high winds and hottest time of the day. At the same time alternatives for agriculture fires might be developed.

Local populations should be involved through participatory and/or community based approaches because they are often main actors in landscape management activities, they suffer directly from the fires which threaten their livelihoods and might also be involved in some of the fire causes.”

Bottom line – Land Management within towns, cities and communities should include drought control and landscape features including natural firebreaks.

Is improper land management the fault of firefighters?  NO. But Trump never attributed such claims.  So why would Unions associated with Firefighters even enter the dialogue? Politics.

California is host to roughly 4,000 to 9,000 fires every year!  In 2007 and 2008 over 1.5million acres were scorched.

In 2017, California’s wildfires cost $180 billion.  California’s fire budget is $442million.  The remainder of the cost, $179,558,000,000, is paid for by taxpayers outside of California through Federal funds and increased insurance premiums.  California’s budget covered .2% of the cost.

California has been in the midst of one of the longest droughts in history lasting since December 2011 and continuing according to the US Bureau despite Gov Brown declaring it had ended in 2016.

Over 95% of fires are human caused, including intentional and negligence.

 

  • January 2017, Governor Jerry Brown released his state Budget which included: Emergency drought spending. While recent rains have drenched California, the governor’s emergency drought declaration is still in effect, and the new budget appropriates an additional $188 million in one-time resources for drought relief. Roughly half ($91 million) is allocated to CAL FIRE—the agency dedicated to fire protection and stewardship of the state’s forests—to enhance its firefighting capacities and support the removal of dead trees. The drought has contributed to widespread tree mortality, which has raised concerns that the dead trees might fuel future destructive wildfires.

And what happened to the torrential rains that drenched California?  The water evaporated unable to saturate the dry soil, there were no reservoir projects to capture the rain, and runoff spilled into the Pacific Ocean.

 

          Governor’s Budget Summary:   Based on aerial surveys, it is estimated over 102 million trees have died as a result of the drought and the effects of bark beetle infestation. In 2016 alone, it is estimated 62 million trees died and millions of additional trees are weakened and expected to die in the coming months and years. These dead and dying trees make forests more susceptible to destructive wild res and pose public safety risks from falling trees for residents and infrastructure in rural, forested communities. The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has identified high hazard zones within counties suffering tree mortality.

In October 2015, the Governor issued an emergency declaration directing state and local entities, as well as utilities, to remove dead and dying trees that threaten power lines, roads, structures, and critical community infrastructure.

The Tree Mortality Task Force continues to evaluate the most effective ways to
utilize existing resources to maximize the state and local response to the effects of tree mortality. These efforts include utilizing CAL FIRE equipment and personnel including foresters, hand crews, engine companies, and heavy equipment operators for hazardous tree removal and fuels reduction efforts.

In December 2016, CAL FIRE awarded $15.8 million in grants for a total of 107 projects across 34 counties to support local efforts to remove dead and dying trees that pose
a threat to public health and safety and projects that reduce the threat of wild res
to homes.  Butte County, where Paradise, is located received roughly $600,000, and Ventura County about $200,000.

In other words, Trump is correct.  California has done little to mitigate what the UN, CAL FIRE, and Governor Brown have declared to be the causal factor of these massive fires – land management.  The proof – to date there have been 7,579 Wildfires throughout California and two months left to go.

California Drought – All The Leaves Are Brown

Posted on by Helena

I have such a hard time listening to the plague of drought that is decimating California. I have a hard time, not just because it is happening, but because it has happened for centuries. California has experienced devastating droughts historically that at times lasted decades. We know this. It is common knowledge. And yet, the real problem is that they have never done one lick to anticipate and fix the ongoing issue. Nothing.

Is it the fault of the people, the homeowners, the farmers? No! They do what they can under the guidance and supervision of – the government. Do they use too much water? Maybe. Is water usage inefficient? Yes – a resounding yes! But it is the JOB of the government to regulate and anticipate and do what is necessary to protect the state and the people from a disaster. They want this job, they get paid for this job – now do it!

California has a history of droughts dating back to 850 A.D. (the earliest recording) in which two droughts lasted 180 and 240 years respectively! Given their were not fossil fuels or ozone depletion or carbon releasing industries polluting the atmosphere during these historical times, it is safe to say these droughts were persistent without blaming ‘climate change’. And in the last 1000 years, 10-20 year droughts have been documented as rather ‘typical’ of the state/area.

And that’s the true problem. Droughts have gone on and on and governors have ignored them – for centuries. Have they built more storage? No. More underground reservoirs? No. Have they built desalinization plants? No. Do they still allocate water to farms that grow nothing? Yes. Do they require lawns to be drought tolerant or rock gardens? No. Half of individual water use is for lawns. But 80% of the water is used for agriculture. For rice paddies in desert land. For growing water absorbing Alfalfa which is mostly exported to China. Almond trees consume 10% of ALL water use – that’s NUTS! And yet they are preserving these cash crops – for hopes of greater $$$ – to the decimation of lower crop values like vegetables. Add to the fray that 60% of almonds are an export crop, its just not practical. Its not about what is best or right – it is about what is going to make me the most money in the quickest time and allow me to high-tail it outa here jack mentality!

So what are farmers doing to make it better? They’re digging deeper and deeper wells, more and more wells, sapping up every last dribble of water that they can without concern for the longer term consequences. And no one is stopping them. In some over-pumped areas, the ground has actually sunk a few dozen feet.

And now California’s government is running around like Chicken Little claiming the sky is falling – when in fact, it already fell. And they have done – nothing!

They take water from Colorado, and run garden hoses to clean debris from their driveway! Grab a broom people! Interesting that Hollywood is silent. How are their expansive gardens doing? Their manicured, lush green? Not a word. So I took the opportunity to see the homes of some of Hollywood’s most famous via ‘google earth’ and was completely – not shocked – to find that they are lush and green. Swimming pools were filled, and lawns were pristine.

So while livelihoods are decimated, Hollywood is immune. In fact, they would seem to believe that they are ‘above’ the plights of the commoner peasant, and they can do whatever they want despite the devastating predicament. Some of the more flagrant decriers of self importance include: Lopez, Kardashian, Streisand, Hefner and West. They would appear to be of the mind that the drought simply does not apply to them and the fine is too ludicrously low to dent their importance. Where are the Hollywood environmentalists; DiCaprio, Redford, Theron, Hanks, Pitt? Well their homes look pretty fine according to Google Earth.

In fact, one water district, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, which includes many celebrity palaces, states that 70% of their allotment goes to watering just 100 of the posh estates. And while Kardashian gushes that she is a conservationist washing her hair only every five days, she is using thousands of gallons for everything else… Hello?

So where is the Hollywood agenda? The outcry? The action to resolve and create a new, better California equipped to handle any drought that will again wreak havoc in the future? They are silent, because their hypocritical agenda is about talking – not ‘acting’.

The weather media is now claiming that an el-nino will affect California this coming winter with heavy rains. Do you think the folks will simply forget and the government will continue non-business as usual? Of course, always worked in the past.  And if the rains come this winter, well the entire drought will be forgotten and archived.  Until the next time…