Pasadena Sub Rosa

A GAIA LOVE MESSAGE TO CONSERVATIVES

Above photo from 2007 anti-war rally hanging President George Bush in effigy upon the actual hanging of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. The sign says "What's good for the goose (is good for the gander)." And by the look of the chain around the cardboard cut out of the image of Bush it looks like they wanted Bush tortured!

John Hawkins - Pajamas Media

Note: Gaia is the goddess of earth. The Gaia Hypothesis is that everyone should have environmental awareness and live in harmony with the earth. 

I am writing this column because some lone voice in the wilderness has to speak the truth to power about how you conservatives are ruining your own lives, this country, and, yes, even the entire planet. If Gaia herself could speak to you, she would give you troglodytes a tongue-lashing — and that’s just for the polar bears alone. You don’t want to get her started on the drilling for oil. Mother Earth does not like having people stick things in her sensitive places, conservatives!

Somebody needs to speak up. Because you conservatives certainly never hear the truth on the news, where Fox News spreads its propaganda while good-hearted but misguided journalists like Chris Matthews and Katie Couric spend most of their time echoing right-wing talking points on behalf of their corporate masters. The corporate masters who make sure that goons like Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, and Sean Hannity stay on the air and have huge audiences, despite the fact that no one wants to hear them — while popular liberal hosts are usually kept off the air and aren’t allowed to draw an audience when they do get on.

You certainly aren’t getting the truth from newspapers, where journalists treat every argument you make like it deserves coverage. Why do these astroturfed “teabagger” parties deserve even the small story on page A-18 that they’re getting? It’s not like the unions, A.N.S.W.E.R., Code Pink, or any other real grassroots organizations are busing people in for the events.

Let me give you the message that you never hear — and need to: You conservatives are wrong about pretty much everything.

I know, I know. You’re probably stunned because this may be the first time in years you’ve heard a contrary thought. Your kids come home from school, where they studied how Noah used dinosaurs to help build the ark 500 years ago. Then you turn on the television, where your “family-friendly” shows won’t even allow nude lesbians to go at it lest some overbearing Christian get “offended.” Then you turn on the news, where all you see are people talking about how wonderful Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin are.

But here’s what you have to understand: Barack Obama is our president and he wants change and hope.

Let me repeat that: Barack Obama is our president. And he wants change and hope.

Some people have claimed that conservatives hate hope, but I don’t believe that. See? I’m reaching out to you guys. Why can’t you do the same for me by supporting President Obama?

I know many of you may be saying (I’m using bigger words than you people would grunt out, of course): “But we can’t cooperate with Obama! He’s black! Let’s lynch him instead!” Stop the hate, people! We all know that conservatives loved the idea of socialized medicine, cap and trade, and high taxes right up until the day a black man became president. Coincidence?

Yes, I realize that a few people on the other side of the aisle may have, on some very rare occasions, said uncharitable things about George W. Bush. But how often did that actually happen in the last eight years? Twice? Three times? It was an unusual event — certainly nothing like the criticism that’s being aimed at President Obama. Besides, Chimpy McBushHitler was a stupid, drooling Nazi who started a war for oil and let 9/11 happen on purpose to help make more money for Halliburton. Barack Obama is simply a moderate statesman whose every thought is about how to best unify the country and help clean up the mess you people made of everything.

I’ll tell you what. You forget about the irrational anger you hillbillies have over the Bush years, we’ll forget about the swastika mobs you unleashed in an effort to thwart democracy this summer, and we’ll all just cooperate from this point on. That’s what bipartisanship is all about, people! We come up with an agenda and you get to benefit from it, so we’re all in it together! You little Eichmanns have to admit that’s a pretty good offer, given all the hateful rhetoric you people use at your teabagging parties.

Let me leave you with a piece of hard-earned wisdom we liberals have come to accept as absolutely true since January 20 of this year: All dissent is unpatriotic. Do as you’re told.

DUPED INTO OCTOBER SURPRISE ABOUT FINANCIAL CRISIS?

Four primary claims have been made about the current crisis by financial institutions themselves, public policymakers and the financial press, as follows: 1. Bank lending to nonfinancial corporations and to individuals have declined sharply. 2. Interbank lending is essentially nonexistent. 3. Commercial paper issuance by nonfinancial corporations has declined sharply and rates have risen to unprecedented levels. 4. Banks play a large role in channeling funds from savers to borrowers. But this has now been refuted by evidence from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in a document entitled Facts and Myths About the Financial Crisis of 2008. Link here: http://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/WP/WP666.pdf

OBAMA TO SHIFT SOCIAL SECURITY TO WELFARE PROGRAM!

Moreover, this payroll tax cut plan would reduce Social Security's tax revenues by around $710 billion over the next 10 years. If made permanent, the Obama tax cut would increase Social Security's long-term deficit by almost 60% and push the program into insolvency in 2034, versus 2041 under current projections.

To fill the hole in Social Security's finances, Mr. Obama would increase income taxes on high earners and pour that money into Social Security. This would be the first time that income tax revenues have been used to finance Social Security, which has always relied on its own dedicated payroll tax to differentiate itself from other government programs. Filling the gap with higher taxes on high earners would further increase Social Security's progressivity, pushing it closer toward a welfare-program approach.

More here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122480907545265123.html

THE END OF IMPORTED WATER FOR SO CAL?

Greenies Court Action May Require Southern California to Obtain Pollution Discharge Permits for Drinking Water from California Aqueduct and Colorado River Aqueduct

Could Southern California be required to have a pollution discharge permit costing billions of dollars to get its customary entitlement of drinking water from the California Aqueduct and/or from the Colorado River Aqueduct?  As bizarre as this may sound, a court ruling in New York City requiring a pollutant discharge permit for the City to receive water from upstate New York may threaten domestic water supplies in the Western United States.

A discharge permit is what you need to get if you're discharging pollutants into the environment. The original intent of such permits was to prevent industry and government from dumping harmful substances into our water, such as happened when industrial waste was dumped in the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1970's which were flammable and caught fire.  But such notorious pollution is now under control.

If New York City buys water from upstate New York and puts it into its pipeline, environmentalists want New York to have to consider that a water pollutant and get a discharge permit. The ruling specifically relates to water transfers, something that literally happens all the time in the Western United States, especially shipments of water to Southern California. Irrigation canals and ditches are specifically exempt under the Clean Water Act, but that may change if the court ruling stands.

The ruling could cost New York millions of dollars and Southern California mega millions or billions to treat the water to a level that would be tantamount to buying purified water (which coincidentally would eat through steel pipes rapidly resulting in even more damages).

Southern California could quickly find itself in a similar situation as New York given the massive water hydraulic system that moves water from hundreds of miles away. Moreover, the Colorado River Aqueduct conveys water with about 6 parts per billion of perchlorate from natural sources.  Some local water wells in Pasadena are shut down with as little as 10 parts per billion of perchlorate. The entire sources of imported water to Southern California could be lost overnight if this ruling prevails.

Sources:
1. http://aquafornia.com/archives/5033
2. http://www.capitalpress.com/main.asp?SectionID=67&SubSectionID=617&ArticleID=45177&TM=52570.33

NO ROOM IN AMERICA FOR CLASS WARFARE

Nolan Finley
Excerpt
Equalizing income based on need saturates Obama's platform. Nearly every bullet point involves -- paraphrasing the candidate -- giving less to those at the top and more to those at the bottom.

It sets my teeth on edge when I hear him say that because it reveals a belief system that views wealth as a collective asset to be parceled out by the government, not the property of the individuals who earned it.

The obvious outcome of penalizing success is that it destroys the incentive to succeed. Adopting European-style socialism will turn us into France, sluggish and unambitious, with productivity and growth falling as taxes and handouts grow.

My father, were he alive, would be a major beneficiary of Obama's Robin Hood plots. But he'd have rather taken a beating than a government check.

America risks its identity if it tells folks like him to stop reaching for their own reward and instead pick the pockets of those who've already made it. Full article here:
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081012/OPINION03/810120311/1271/OPINION01

HYPERINFLATION 2010

The U.S. economy is in an intensifying inflationary recession that eventually will evolve into a hyperinflationary great depression. Hyperinflation could be experienced as early as 2010, if not before, and likely no more than a decade down the road. The U.S. government and Federal Reserve already have committed the system to this course through the easy politics of a bottomless pocketbook, the servicing of big-moneyed special interests, and gross mismanagement.
Full article here;
http://www.shadowstats.com/article/292

WHOOPS WE MADE A MISTAKE - (SURE.........)

Star News Correction:
Wednesday's letter by Kent Cornwall of Monrovia had the wrong headline. The headline should have read: "Prop. 8 not harmful." 

Prop. 8 harmful

Article Launched: 10/07/2008 10:13:25 PM PDT

Re Thomas Elias's column: Elias is due his bias but the readers should expect accurate statements behind his point of view.

He wrote "the campaign for Proposition 8 could not name one" way gay marriage "harms" anyone. "Harm" is certainly a subjective term based on what one feels is important to a stable, civilized society.

Going to the campaign's Web site protectmarriage.com one can easily find a number of "harms" stated that are felt by the Protect Marriage side.

He wrote "... if Proposition 8 loses, it will be a sign of a major swing in the public's view of gay people." Proposition 8, like Proposition 22 before it, is paramountly a test of the public's view of the sanctity of marriage - traditional marriage and its importance to society. The proposition states the view of what marriage is, not what it is not.

If a segment of our state were promoting marriage to be recognized between adults and pets, or adults and minors, or adults and numerous partners, etc., efforts would certainly be exerted to protect marriage between a man a woman.

He also wrote, "people do not choose their sexual orientation and ... it is grossly unfair to deny opportunity for gays." With the legislative passage of domestic partnerships and associated rights I think it is Elias' responsibility to state one way a gay person's opportunities are harmed by not being able to use the relationship title of "marriage."

Kent Cornwall, Monrovia

WILL PUSD BOND ISSUE GO "GREEN?"

The City of Santa Monica has built a "Green" parking garage for $29 million, or $10 million more (or about 35% more) than a conventionally-built garage.  The proponents of such Green Building Ordinances (i.e., the crony capitalist architectural and engineering firms) contend that such buildings do not cost much more than ordinary buildings.  They confuse the tax payer with energy cost/benefit ratios and LEED ratings, etc.  The City estimates it will take 15 years for it to see "green" from its new solar parking garage.

The City of Pasadena has also enacted such Green building ordinances.  PUSD is planning a $350 million bond issue for refurbishments to public schools that will have to comply with these new costly and unproven ordinances. 

Read more about the Santa Monica parking garage here:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/29/smallbusiness/green_parking.fsb/index.htm?postversion=2008100209

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"You can't be for capitalism on the way up and socialism on the way down." — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Sept. 21, 2008.
Note: Oh yes you can. It is now established public policy that government will be the insurer of last resort for your home and your mortgage but that you are entitled to any appreciation of your capital assets.

DEREGULATION: SCHIFF YES; McCAIN ABSTAINED

Under the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 restrictions on the integration of banking, insurance and stock trading imposed by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, one of the central pillars of Roosevelt's New Deal, were deregulated in return for retaining and expanding the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) for making home loans to so-called "redlined" renters who could not otherwise afford homes. Under the old law, banks, brokerages and insurance companies were effectively barred from entering each others' industries, and investment banking and commercial banking were separated. The Republicans wanted banking deregulated and the Democrats wanted to retain and expand the Community Reinvestment Act forcing banks to make otherwise bad home loans to low income people.
Read about the Republican/Democrat tradeoff of financial deregulation for retention of the Community Reinvestment Act here
http://piggington.com/clinton_republicans_agree_to_deregulation_of_us_financial_system 

Senator John McCain abstained from voting on this piece of legislation.

Senator Joe Biden, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Nancy Pelosi, and Congressman Adam Schiff (Pasadena) voted YES on this legislation.

Senaor Barbara Boxer voted NO on this legislation. 

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were not yet elected to the Senate to be able to vote on financial deregulation, but have the highest political contributions from the financial sector in Congress.

Financial Sector Contributions 1989 to 2008 and Voting Record on Financial Deregulation

Name	Political Contributions	Rank in Bank Political Contributions	Vote on Financial Deregulation Act of 1999
Hillary Clinton	$31,040,714	1st	Not elected yet
Barack Obama	$27,942,613	2nd	Not elected yet
John McCain	$26,593,411	3rd	ABSTAINED
Joe Biden	$3,714,310	19th	YES
Dianne Feinstein	$3,570,557	22nd	YES
Barbara Boxer	$2,483,182	53rd	NO
Nancy Pelosi	$1,884,224	86th	YES
Adam Schiff	$556,238	402nd	YES

Source: http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/09/money-and-votes-aligned-in-con.html