It Never Rains in (Southern) California...

Huzzah! The Pineapple Express has arrived!

OK, I parenthesized the “Southern”, cuz I grew up in LA (Los Angeles/Southern Calif, not Louisiana), moved here to the SF/Bay Area to go to UC Berkeley to get my baccalaureate in chemistry. I totally detest El Lay. The title is a reference to an MOR pop music song from my teen years (yes, I know: you can determine the date of this song by Albert Hammond, and figure out that I come close to qualifying as an old fart). A music video of said composition can be found here.

We are currently in the midst of a rather bad drought. The same thing happened a couple of decades ago, and water conservation was the watchword. Lawns turned brown, and there was a saying regarding flushing the toilet: if it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down. Take a shower with a friend, don't brush your teeth (kids loved this one).

Why?

Cuz there is a high pressure ridge parked off of the coast of California.

Guh?

You see, here in California, there are 2 sources of rain.

The first are storms that grow in the Gulf of Alaska, and sweep down the west coast, dropping rain all along the way. These are the ones that are quite cold, and are often accompanied by winds that cause the rain to fall horizontally.

The second is the so-called “Pineapple Express”. These are weather fronts that have their genesis in the Hawaiin Islands and sweep westward here to California. They are powerful, and can dump huge amounts of rain. In a good year, they turn gutters into mighty rivers and streets into great seas, and, yes, your shoes and socks will get sopping wet. They are also quite warm and humid, and often cause me to sweat (yes, in winter).

Now: when a high pressure ridge parks it rear end off of the coast, both types of storms get shoved north, and Washington state and Oregon and Canada get our rain. Hence, the current drought.

Happily, today, we got a small bit of the Hawaiian Express, but not nearly enough to soothe our drought. It is going to be a very long summer in California.

Why I Oppose Bride of Peripheral Canal

You see, many conservatives favor said environmental disaster because farming and therefore economic activity are being totally destroyed in the interior valleys. Nevertheless, I still oppose it due to a small, yet disastrous regulation: if we allow construction of SON OF PERIPHERAL CANAL, SF/Bay Area (who rely on the Sacramento river for drinking water) will be required by law to ship water southwards. SF can turn into a friggin' desert, but will still be required to ship predetermined quantities of water southwards. Worse: the beneficiary will not only be agriculture in the valley, but also LA. You see, the powerful land development company who will control the water once it reaches the valley also has powerful contacts to the DWP (Department of Water and Power), and the water can easily and legally be trans-shipped to LA, for people in Bel Air to fill their swimming pools and wash their cars, at the same time that SF residents will be forbidden to wash their cars. FYI: DWP is quite powerful, and has a history of snookering entire states (Nevada, Arizona) out of their fair share of water from the Colorado River. Have you ever seen Chinatown starring Jack Nicholson? It is all about the political battles over water in the LA basin: yes, water is that important. Can you guess who the shadowy power is lurking in the background? That's correct: our old friend DWP.

A Bit of Agricultural History

Before the advent of pumping water from the SF/Bay Area to the valley, this area was still the salad bowl of America. How? Humid farming: the farmers were smart enough to grow crops that did not require irrigation, but could thrive and be productive using only the natural rainfall. My heart does not bleed for the farmers of the valley, who are wailing and gnashing their teeth. All they have to do is become as smart as their forebears and switch to crops that do not require irrigation. They will still be wealthy and productive farmers. All they have to do is switch from lettuce and rice and stone fruits to other crops using humid farming (Google it). 

Chris Christie - The Decline And Fall Of A Republican Presidential Hopeful

A Tale of the Republican Mafioso

The latest brouhaha regarding the rather rotund Guv details yet another case of mafia-like behavior. You know, made him an offer he couldn't refuse. It is now clear that he is simply a bully, in the old-fashion, high school sense. Said tub-o-lard is clearly not made of presidential timber.

It seems that a key aide has said that CC knew of the GW Bridge closure/retaliation much earlier than he claims. Well, this by itself is not that damning, but then CC made yet another mistake of the same magnitude as the bridge closure. He retaliated against the aide, his career, and his family.

Now, dear readers, I have a question: are not these 2 events clearly congruent? Does this not give us a clear view into his soul?

Hmmm?

Do not be fooled by the media, who clearly favors CC as the R presidential candidate in 2016.

Oxfam (and Europe) is anti-Semitic as ever

I was listening to Malcolm Hoenlein on the John Batchelor's radio show the other day, and my heart sank about 10 feet. Fierce antisemitism is alive and well.

Oxfam Is Officially Anti-Semitic

I can forgive you for thinking that this NGO is akin to Doctors Without Borders or the Bill Gates Foundation: simply trying to feed and help the global poor. You would be wrong. “Economic Justice” is an official principle. The genesis of the current dust-up is that a famous American actress, a celebrity ambassador for Oxfam, signed an endorsement deal with Sodastream. Oxfam viewed this as unacceptable behavior and, for the second time, forced such a person to resign the post because they signed a commercial deal with a Jewish company.

Guh?

You see, said company is owned by Jews in Israel (let us ignore for the moment the fact that they employ 500 Palestinians, and the source of the best paying jobs anywhere in areas controlled by the PLA). Oxfam's official legal position is that they are pro-Palestinian, pro-2-state-solution, pro-right-of-return, making them as anti-semitic as, say, Iran.

Europe Still Hates Jews

Quiz: how many of you know that present day Great Britain hates Jews even more than Germany? Hmmm?

(crickets).

No one? Not a single one of you? (sigh...)

You see, the “ox” in Oxfam comes from its founding in Britain, that is Oxford. Fierce antisemitism was an integral part of Oxfam from the very start, and this continues to the present day. Sadly, this British hatred of Jews is common throughout Europe. It is illegal to give the Nazi salute in Europe. Funny: this is legal in the USA, one of the few unabashedly pro-Israel countries in the world. Mr. H says that there is a new version of the Nazi salute that is au courant in Europe. Apparently, European disdain for Jews is as strong as it was in the 1930's, which gave rise to Nazi Germany. Sadly, I do not think that a modern day Kristallnacht is as unthinkable as you might expect.

I do not, as the old saying goes, have a horse in this race (I am neither Jewish nor Christian nor Muslim), but may God have mercy upon our souls.

Lone Survivor—you gotta see this movie

I do not write movie reviews, because, frankly, most movies in recent years are trash and a waste of my time and money. I would rather spend the time reading Tocqueville. This one, however, is a happy exception. It is the best action/adventure movie I have seen in several years. Why? Because it is based on a real story. Like the old saying, fiction is but a pale imitation of real life, and this movie is verification of same.

I will not recount the plot (you can read the book and/or see the movie for yourself), but it is a Special Ops assignment that went terribly wrong. This historical recreation is quite realistic, sometimes stomach-churningly so.

SPOILER ALERT

The most amazing part of this story is towards the end. A Pashtun village protects the injured, surviving American soldier, and has to fend off a major Al Qaeda military assault as a result. Yes, the movie ends with real photos and videos of the American soldiers who died in this military disaster. I heard an account that the woman in the wedding video broke down in tears when she saw the video of her wedding at a screening: she had no idea that it was included in the movie. The best one was a still photo from 2010 showing the surviving soldier, who wrote the book, happily hugging the Afghani who saved his life. And, yes, the Pashtun fight against the Shiite Al Qaeda continues to this very day. 

TELL HOLLYWOOD TO GO F*CK THEMSELVES

Politically Liberal Hollywood expected this movie to only gross $17 million in the end. Right now, it is on track to gross $100 million and counting. If I have not yet convinced you to see this movie, if you have not already, then at the very least give this movie your money to really crank up this number and make this movie a fabulous, surprising financial success for patriotism, a paean to honor, duty, and loyalty, even unto death.

Please Stop Killing Our Babies

Mark Levin made an important point about humanity, and it bears repetition.

55 Million Americans Have Lost Their Lives

Cancer? Car accidents? AIDS? Gun shootings?

Nope, nope, nope, and nope.

Abortion.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am about to firmly implant my foot into the cowpie of politics. As a Buddhist, I can do no less.

What The Constitution Really Says

Amendment V

No person shall be...deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...

Amendment XIV

Section 1.

...nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...

Weasel Words

Those who believe that abortion is an acceptable, humanitarian practice are fire-bombing the English-American language. They will use the word “fetus”, and say that until said object emerges from the human vagina, it is not a “person”. Perhaps a blob of protoplasm, akin to a pimple or appendix. Removing said item presents no more moral dilemma than, say, clipping one's fingernails. I beg to differ.

Freedom of Choice

Advocates of abortion will say that a female should have moral choice over her own body, and do as she pleases. They will invoke words such as freedom, choice, and liberty.

Hogwash.

There are some such that humans should have no control. A pregnant woman should have the same “choice” to an abortion as I should have to behead a politician whom I disagree with using a samurai sword.

Why?

When I was a youngster, an uncle gave me a wise bit of advice: never ask “why”. As in: why on earth would a pregnant female, who respects life and thinks that it is valuable and worthy of respect, want to terminate same that is gestating in her body? Why does she not understand that she is now 2 lives, and is now living for two?

Pissing Into the Ocean

Yes, I know: my words will change the belief of no one. Nevertheless, these words need to be spoken. I can do no less.

Final Word

The life you are carrying in your womb is not your baby. It is our baby. 

Yahoo! Impeach Gov Chris Christie!

News reports say that if the Guv has a direct link to the GW disaster, he shall be impeached by the state legislature.

I pray to the Great God JuJu that this shall come to pass.

You see, CC has been touted by the Bushies and the Mass Media as the perfect Republican, that is in the venerable tradition of Rockefeller Republicans. He is not conservative, but rather establishment bureaucratic. He represents everything that is wrong with the Republican Party.

I am glad to see his political prospects crash and burn such spectacular fashion.  

The Republican Party Yakuza

I suppose I could have referenced the Mafia, Mafioso, Blood 'n Crips, Medellin Cartel, Skinheads, Sinaloa Cartel, Bratva, whatever. However, I am Samurai and therefore choose the Yakuza.

I call your attention to two points of datum:

• staffers of NJ Gov. Chris Christie, potential presidential candidate, unnecessarily closed the GW Bridge for several days to punish the mayor of Fort Lee for his failure to support Christie's bid for governor
• staffers of Senate Minority Leader McConnell pressured a local radio affiliate to drop Mark Levin's radio talk show, because he dares to criticize same

Whether or not the leaders in question directly ordered these acts of vengeance is beside the point. The fact is that said politicians fostered an environment where, at the very least, such actions are thought of as conscionable political activities.

Question: is this the type of Republican party that you can support? I ran for the House in 2010, and I am having second thoughts.

The power of ideas is no longer respected, but rather the exercise of raw political power.

Antics like these are why the Republican Party is not in the ascendancy, and will not be so on the visible horizon.