Comments by billclausen
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Posted on July 30 at 6:45 p.m.
Once upon my youth smoking was very popular but then the irrefutable evidence about the dangers of smoking and second-hand smoking resuluted in many people quitting. Hopefully similar awareness about the dangers of drinking/drinking and driving will prevail.
Posted on July 30 at 6:42 p.m.
KsenSku hits the nail on the head.
We have the same battle going on in the Santa Ynez Valley: it's all about how to make $$$ over public safety. All booze/drunk drivers, all the time. @sbdad: there is a reason we don't like these places, and KsenSku articulated the point very well.
I've lived in the area since 1973 and have not been impressed with the slick package of goods the people who sarcastically say "it's called progress" have managed to lord over on locals.
It's the old story of trying to fit ten pounds of sand into a five pound sack. If things are so much better these days, why is it that almost every person behind the wheel around here is frantic, running up the bumper of the person in front of them, and angry as opposed to about twenty years ago? You figure it out.
Posted on July 29 at 6:42 p.m.
Volcano heads are far more dangerous.
Posted on July 29 at 6:40 p.m.
The other issue that makes people uncomfortable is the fact that when a Mexican kid does well in school, they are ridiculed by other Mexican kids. Once again, I'm not making assumptions: I've seen this up close.
Posted on July 29 at 6:36 p.m.
The reason people may assume the people are involved are Hispanic/Latino/Mexican is the fact that these individuals are from the Eastside.
Noletaman: nothing racist about your comments. If it is fair to identify faults in American culture in an international context as well as faults specific to white folks in the U.S. then why should applying the same standard be considered off-limits for non-whites? The fact that we don't have honest discussion about this is the very reason the gang problems not only perpetuate, but get worse.
As for the issue of whether or not these people are born in the U.S., they probably are. It became clear to me even back in the 70's when I was a student at Santa Barbara High school that the problem of the gang mentality was among those born here, not the kids who were raised in Mexico.
As Noletaman points out: avoiding the obvious won't make it go away.
Posted on July 28 at 6:52 p.m.
"Here are some facts about 'medical marijuana' for your consideration:
Marijuana is not medicine."
When a family friend had lung cancer, she used marijuana (illegally and under threat of persecuation) to deal with the side effects of her treatment. While the cancer went on to kill her, she suffered no side effects from the treatment.
"Marijuana is a schedule I drug because it is harmful, addictive and has no accepted medicinal value. Real medicines must be approved by the FDA and have known ingredients, known dosage and known potency. That is not possible with smoke.in any case, but much of the pot being sold in California is laden with pesticides and fungus, and the THC content ranges from 10% to 21% (at Harborview in Oakland), and as high as 37%. Compared to pot 30 years ago when the THC content was .05% to 3%, its like grain alcohol compared to near beer, and there is no way of knowing what is in it."
Lots of things are harmful and addictive. Yes, mainlining pot over a long period of time will take it's toll, just like booze and cigarettes, but we don't arrest people (and we shouldn't arrest people) for abusing those other substances. As far as spraying pot with pesticides, that point is not relevant to pot's value/danger in and of itself. Solution: stop spraying it with pesticides.
What is those of you who are opposed to re-legalizing marijuana are afraid of? (Excuse the preposition at the end of the sentence please)
Posted on July 28 at 6:35 p.m.
"I must say your musings, billclausen, do take some peculiar turns."
Since I'm no longer locked onto the political grid I'm somewhat of a maverick.
By the way, back when the Hutu/Tutsi rift resulted in mass killings in Rwanda, I heard at that time the birth rate was 8.3 children per woman. (In fairness, I don't know what the infant mortality rate was) And to seemingly digress--but not so much since the issue of gun control comes up frequently on these blogs--the killings were done with in large part with machetes.
Posted on July 28 at 4:03 p.m.
Well King and John, I'd say we're all on the same page here. We're striking at the root.
As I've said before: I find it interesting that politicians cozy up for photo-ops with Planned Parenthood yet would dare address the issue of what is driving our rapid population increase for fear of being branded racist.
Posted on July 28 at 6:11 a.m.
pk: given the history of law enforcement abuse we've seen, what do you think corrupt departments would do if they knew all the citizens were unarmed? This may only be a partial answer to your question, but I hope it helps.
It also comes down to individual protection. If someone has a psychotic stalker coming after them, calling the police will not help when said stalker is already in your living room. Carjackers tend to prey on unarmed populaces. I also submit the Virginia Tech massacre where this facility bragged about being a gun-free zone just prior to the massacre taking place. Had 5% of the people there been armed,many lives would likely have been saved.
I know people believe that if we disarm the populace and only allow the military and cops to have guns that we'd all be safer. Psychos will probably get guns anyway even if they are banned, (just like junkies still score drugs and the way people got hold of booze during prohibition) . With this being the case, if even a small number of the populace is armed, the people thinking about robbing, mugging, or carjacking people would think twice, and the psychos wouldn't have a free run against defenseless people--as the Virginia Tech killer did.
Do people need to stockpile AK-47's and engage in similar actions?...I think not, but when we have a career politician senator (Barbara Boxer) calling to take away people's rights to own handguns, THAT is clearly a violation of the constitution she is sworn to uphold, not to mention an affront to common sense.
For those who wish to paint gun owners as right-wing testosterone-crazed Rednecks, please check out the following links: http://www.2asisters.org/ and http://www.jpfo.org/
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Posted on July 30 at 9:28 p.m.
Here is the way it works: some developer or business person throws some $$$ out and comes up with some idea ostensibly to bring in "revenue" (that's the magic word) for the city. The city leaders pretend to listen to the complaints of the those negatively impacted by the idea but in the end, the "follow-the-money" adage wins out.
Santa Barbara's love affair with alcohol also ensured this victory. What else is new?
As I say, I've lived in the area for years and watched this process play out and turn S.B. from a laid back place to a gilded cage where angry scared people rush about hustling from one place to another frantically as they feel more and more caged in. The people opening this business and those who approved it obviously are not considering the impact it has on those who live in that area, but once again, it's a done deal.
For those who will sarcastically tell me "If you hate it so much in S.B., why don't you just get out", to them I answer "I did". I live in the North County and hopefully can live out my remaining years there before the same self-serving mentality destroys that area. If it does, I'm prepared to further escape.
What these people don't get is that sometimes it's best to leave something well enough alone, but rest assured there are those who will not be happy until they've purged this area of all that which makes it unique.
What would be amusing were it not so sad is this farce that somehow the people running this place are concerned with keeping the small-town atmosphere of Santa Barbara while allowing this monstruosity to pass.
I think of the the line from the song by the group Ten Years After: "I'd love to change the world, but I don't know what to do, so I'll leave it up to you".
I had a LOT of fun growing up in San Roque in the 70's, and I feel sad that today's kids growing up there won't have that experience.
On BevMo! A Go-Go