I'm not sure how many of the bloggers on this site actually subscribe to TBC. I've kept the subscription to help keep informed some, and fulfill old habits that die painfully slow. Today I am glad I'm still a subscriber. I got to pick up the paper and browse through the various sections until coming to that section in the paper holding the comics.

What an amazing section today, in a very quiet and shocking way all rolled into one. First was the picture of Mark Chesnutt, looking for all the world as close a copy of Bono circa 1987 that there could be. I did a double take on that photo because it is an amazing likeness.

Next I was wowed by local columnist Valerie Schultz. Her thoughtful and heartfelt column on why "We can't vote against our humanity" was an inspired piece of prose that hopefully everyone reads. Whether you agree, or not, the premise of embracing the ideals this nation truly represents, human equality and the opportunity to pursue happiness under the law, are worth our time and work to preserve and protect. No legislation should compromise those ideals.

Finally, in a breathtakingly quiet and beautifully rendered work of art, Lynn Johnston finished her epic comic strip run with words that brought tears and closed the circle on the family so many have come to cherish over two decades, For Better Or For Worse.

It might be tough getting to that comics section this coming week, but old habits are painfully hard to break.

I don't know anyone these days not worried about their health care coverage. The latest snapshot on our uninsured is out today and the numbers are revealing. America still has  15.3% of its citizens without health care. The following is an excerpt from a very recent report from the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that monitors the health industry,

-Analysis of the 2007 Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey finds the proportion of working-age Americans who struggled to pay medical bills and accumulated medical debt climbed from 34 percent to 41 percent, or 72 million people, between 2005 and 2007. In addition, 7 million adults age 65 and older had these problems, bringing the total to 79 million adults with medical debt or bill problems. All income groups reported an increase. Families with low or moderate incomes were particularly hard hit, as were adults who had gaps in health coverage or those underinsured. Because of medical bills or accumulated medical debt, an estimated 28 million adults reported they used up all their savings, 21 million incurred large credit card debt, and another 21 million were unable to pay for basic necessities. Sixty-one percent of those with medical debt or bill problems were insured at the time care was provided.-

Another excerpt from this report:

Key findings of the survey include:

Rising Numbers of Adults Go Without Health Insurance Coverage

• In 2007, more than one-quarter (28%) of U.S. adults, or an estimated 50 million people, were uninsured for some time during the past year. This is up from 24 percent of adults, or 38 million people, who were uninsured for part of 2001.
• Families with incomes under $20,000 report the highest uninsured rates: half went without insurance for a time during 2007.
• The coverage gap between low-income and moderate-income families is narrowing. In 2007, 41 percent of adults in families earning between $20,000 and $40,000 reported a time uninsured, up from 28 percent of those in families earning between $20,000 and $35,000 in 2001.

We had a very modest improvement in the number of uninsured from 2006 to 2007, which meant that the 1.3 million people now insured matched exactly the increased number of people receiving Medicaid. Employment based coverage declined more than half a point.

If you are interested in learning more about our current health care situation you can access the Commonwealth Fund at http://www.commonwealthfund...

A philosophical term that gets used a whole bunch these days is Libertarian. It reappeared on the cultural scene following World War II, after years of neglect from the left, and was appropriated by the right to promote capitalism under the guise of personal liberty. This was in response to the gains socialists had achieved during the first half of the 20th century

What does the word Libertarian mean today? How do people define this term? Is it a political movement, and if so what does the political movement  stand for? Can there be Libertarian Democrats and Libertarian Republicans? Or do Libertarians fully reject the platforms found in the two dominant political parties?

I have always been confused by the term Libertarian. I know the term was an outgrowth of the anarchist movement during the 19th century. I know it crops up in a lot of socialist and communist thinking at the beginning of the 20th century. I know Ayn Rand is usually considered the foremost  Libertarian thinker of the past sixty years.  I know Alan Greenspan was disciple of  Ayn Rand's on unfettered and totally free market capitalism. I know Ayn Rand argued convincingly against public schools and most forms of state control and services.

What is a Libertarian today?

I have some great tix for tonight's concert. Can't say when I've been more excited to see a show. It might have been to see Paul McCartney or Bob Dylan about six years ago, or maybe the Pink Floyd tour in the late 1980s that made a memorable stop at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento. The flying pig was great theater that evening amid lasers and spacious Floyd sound textures. An Eric Clapton show many years ago was cause for excitement, but for some odd reason this Steve Miller Band and Joe Cocker concert ranks right near the top of the heap heading into it.

I've been watching a series of VH1 shows this summer. Seven Generations of Rock and a host of documentaries on bands and pop idols that range from Elton John, The Who to lost originals like Syd Barrett. What has struck me is how enduring so many of the original breakthrough artists from the 1960s have been. Bakersfield is great place to be today, and hosts two of the all time greats of popular music who burst on the scene four decades ago.

Both Steve Miller and Joe Cocker deserve a heap more praise from the critics and the general public than they have really gotten over the years. They are two truly original shapers  of sound, whose distinctive styles cross all time-lines and cultural barriers  enabling diverse folks to get together and have fun. Steve Miller and Joe Cocker still defy  time and category, which is way cool.

Hope you have your tickets, and your ears.

The park and trails at the bluffs on Panorama Drive are fully under siege. Today's report is just public confirmation of what the locals who live near the junior college have witnessed for a long time. No major arterial roadway in Bakersfield is immune these days from spray paint and vandalism, but after so much community work and money was mortgaged to make this little spot on the hill a terrific public destination it sure seems sad that all the goodwill left in town is being buried under layers of Krylon paint.

It is no longer a case of periodic eyesores in remote locations of blight, but a full case of rot throughout the city. Photo opportunities of civic leaders with a handful of volunteers in tow painting over the latest two-legged cockroach moniker will not stop the spread of this urban decay.

These are signs of the times from angry disaffected young people with no jobs, no education and no prospects. The few that get caught in the act do very little time, and the time they spend inside their caged dorm rooms just hones their skills and networking with more hardened individuals they share space with who have moved on to more profane acts of social disobedience.

Most of this growing generation of lost boys needs to go to work, someplace. I don't mind my tax dollars going to further education or social opportunity for young people. I do find it a waste to spend so much tax money on so many prisons filled to capacity to just further the disintegration of culture.

The time has come to make the people incarcerated really work for their daily bread. I'm not talking about making license plates or cheap telemarketing schemes to have prisoners work on telephone speaking or computer skills for some well connected subsidized company looking to cut costs while getting greased with my tax money. Put these guys to work building roads, levees, fire trails and bridges. Get them out doors with locking GPS devices to monitor their whereabouts.   Have these guys work the Animal Control shelters and clean out  the carcasses and waste. Let these guys  do the  mop and  brush work removing grime from the buildings and gutters.

Times up!