Looking Back - JBertia's Blog - Bakersfield.com

Marylee Goes Nuts On Gay Marriage

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:56:52 PDT

Marylee Shrider is enraged that the state Supreme Court shows a “shocking” disregard for the will of the people. Yep, they disregarded, and that’s one of the constitutional prerogatives of the Court, unlike lawmakers who’ve genuflexed to the Will of the Majority with Separate But Equal, Executive Order 9066, and miscegenation laws.

If she feels like she was tazered, think about this-- unlike her, minorities have to turn to the courts - especially the Supreme Court - to protect them from the Will of the People.

Marylee, where was your outrage when otherwise good people advertised, “If you’re not Christian, shut up and sit down”? Don’t worry. You’re going to be warm and safe in your moral majority.

Rev. Wright and Bill Moyers on PBS 4-25-08

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:34:32 PDT

The media did its usual venial-non-reporting with those Wright sound bites ["damn America." ] Enough with the words. Only money gets America's attention, and I'm voting for Wright with my wallet. Go to his church's website https://www.tucc.org/home.htm, look around, and if you believe in what he really says, then translate it into a few bucks.

Northshore Sewage Pumping Station is renamed

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:02:00 PDT

San Francisco. AP.

This summer the Presidential Memorial Commission will honor George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States, when the Northshore Sewage Pumping Station at the Embarcadero is officially renamed the “George W. Bush Sewage and Biogas Transfer Facility." It’s proximity to the popular plaza will memorialize Mr. Bush’s contributions to his country and to the world.

BAKERSFIELD MAGAZINE, Spring 2008: Bakersfield’s Premiere, Wealthy-White-Men’s

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 10:22:19 PDT

BAKERSFIELD MAGAZINE, Spring 2008: Bakersfield’s Premiere, Wealthy-White-Men’s Self-Congratulatory Sycophantic Magazine of Advertising.

What a worrysome example of the use of dead trees. Can the Corum Family still make a buck by showing at least a few women; people of color; the fourth of Kern County who are working-poor; those losing their homes and jobs?

Fellow sinners, let us pray that Moorhouse’s BAKERSFIELD LIFE MAGAZINE from the Bakersfield Californian doesn’t also sell its integrity to the devil and lubricate the rich with lavish caresses and sweet kisses in perpetuation of institutionalized prejudice.

The US Government is Homer Simpson. We elected him.

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 08:57:01 PST

The US is Homer Simpson when it comes to kissing up to corrupt foreign governments --and then looking surprised. Our trusted friend: Pakistan's President Pervez Mascara. And now … well, when you lie down with dogs you get fleas.

This happened in Pakistan:

At one in the morning, five men burst through the door of the family's mud-brick home in the village of Nizampur in southern Punjab. They identified themselves as police and said they were searching for weapons. One held a pistol to the mother’s chest while another pinned her nine-year-old brother, Rizwan, to the floor. And then two men held 16 year-old Najma down on the bed while a third raped her.

The family recognized the assailants and went to the police the next morning. Najma was examined by a doctor, who submitted a medical report confirming the rape. But the local police, who are of the same clan as the constable, refused to file charges. Incensed, the family hired an attorney who appealed to officials in the nearby town of Khanewal.

Officials there concluded that the police constable was incapable of committing such a crime. The case was closed. What will happen to the family? "If they don't leave immediately, they will be in danger. The constable could send men to rape the other sister, or to rape Najma again. Or he might kill them all, to make an example of them or to punish them for going to the police."

The father speaks. "When government fails them, people get angry. They lose faith in the system and look for alternatives. Think how easy it would be for the Islamists—or Taliban or al Qaeda—to go to the brothers of this girl now and say, 'What happened to your family is not justice. This man dishonored your sister; he dishonored your father and your family name. Join us and we will help you get justice. We will make him pay.' When citizens are denied their basic human rights, they become radicalized. When people are powerless, they are easily manipulated.”

Struggle for the Soul of Pakistan, (a country where 3% of the country’s wealth goes to the people, and 97% goes into the pockets of the military junta), is online at National Geographic Magazine (9-2007).

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0709/pakistan/pakistan.html

Keep the public in the dark and feed them manure

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 22:46:22 PDT

It’s time to get a fire started, and soon.
Next month Chairman Kevin Martin of the Federal Communications Commission plans to let giant corporations gain even more control over what we read, hear, and watch on TV.
Most US newspapers, TV, and radio stations are owned by six mega-businesses that serve-up massive helpings of spin, which the pubic innocently swallows.
The Big Six also filters the news.
Forty years ago, 50,000 demonstrators crowded around the Lincoln Memorial in DC to protest the Vietnam War, and the event made Page One of every newspaper in America.
On October 27, 2007, 100,000 people in a dozen major US cities protested the Iraq War.
Didn’t hear about that one? It’s because the Big Guys decided they didn’t want to know it.
It’s like growing mushrooms: keep the public in the dark and feed them manure.

Trick me once, shame on you.

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 10:15:05 PDT

China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia buy American bonds and keep us financially afloat, and for the next several generations Federal Income Tax will repay that interest and principal.
Meanwhile, California’s aging roads, bridges, schools, Veterans’ benefits, etc. etc., go begging at a Federal Government purse that's impoverished by our foreign wars.
The added dollars that our children and their children will pay in Federal Taxes will mean a poorer life for them.
Mr. President, you told us that you attacked Iraq because it supported Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, and now you tell us we have to invade Iran.
Sir, trick me once, shame on you. Trick me twice, shame on me.

Ruben Navarrette has the Liberty Valance Disease

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 13:32:51 PDT

Ruben Navarrette’s October 8th column about the “No Child Left Behind” Act suggests that he’s infected with the Liberty Valance Disease. It’s the one that says since GW Bush and his sycophants are still boosting the Act, then it must be a mighty fine one.

Mr. Navarrette implies that some parents (“Republicans”) oppose the testing and test-preparation constraints of the NCLB Act. I see those parents as the ones who want their B students to be A students and their A students to be A+ students, the parents who attend school functions, meet regularly with their children’s teachers, and visit the school from time to time. Yes, we don’t like NCLB, and Yes we want to restore what has been subtracted from the curriculum under the sacred name of NCLB.

I can’t speak for low-performing schools, but I know that the “self-serving” teachers you named are not the entire reason that some pupils don’t progress. What do you do when letters are mailed, phone calls made, notices sent home-- in Spanish and English-- translators sit by, and classrooms are staffed so teachers can have one-on-one meeting time with parents? Who shows up? Less than half the “responsible adults” ever come, and that’s all year.

The reasons for that are very many, but right now I’m talking about the fact that schools have cut back on art and music and writing and discussions, and replaced those with “test preparation,” testing, more preparation for testing, & etc.

“No Child Left Behind” is unnecessary for achieving children, and I wonder if it’s even a good idea for low-achieving ones. I do know what I want for my child’s school. Woe to the children whose parents trust the Government to make good school decisions.

Why Does the Administration Use the National Guard to Wage War?

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:47:47 PDT

Californian: “It is the general impression that in case of a war the National Guards cannot be called upon to leave the State, and such was the case until recently when Congress passed a law enabling the president to order any company to any point. The reason for this power being delegated to the president was to permit the mobilization of troops at the upcoming Omaha exposition where it is expected 250,000 soldiers and militiamen will be assembled. However, while the guards may be ordered into actual service, the chances are that they will be kept in reserve for home protection in case of war and will constitute an army of defense.” --February 21, 1898

Be Careful What You Say About the Government

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 14:20:07 PDT

If you still think it's no big deal that Bush's Congress gifted him warrantless spying power, then here's some newly released history about our slippery slide into fascism. After Martin Luther King Jr. was shot, the FBI spied on Coretta Scott King, read her private mail, recorded her phone calls, and tailed her wherever she went, all that without a warrant. Remember, this was illegal. Mrs. King never had committed a crime. So, why did it happen? Dick Nixon and his boys were afraid Mrs. King would stir up the civil rights movement against the Vietnam War. When Nixon was caught red-handed, an indignant Congress passed an act in 1977 requiring the government to obtain a warrant before spying on its citizens. Fast forward: You already know that GW Bush started spying on American citizens in violation of that law, and he, like Nixon, was caught. Bush then instructed his majority in Congress to amend the law to allow certain kinds of electronic spying on citizens, note, without warrant or review. In this case, a Pontiff President and his cronies never flinched when they subtracted from our civil rights. Be careful what you say about the government.

Just hold it right there!

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 10:07:51 PDT

A grateful thanks to Thomas Jefferson and the others for not giving us a constitution like the one of pre-Nazi Germany. Ours lets us say Just hold it right there! but Hitler's takeover was absolutely legal: he eliminated his critical judges, put in his own, and murdered a nation.
This Thursday, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero ordered the FBI to stop issuing National Security Letters. Marrero ruled that the letters violate the First Amendment and the Constitution’s separation-of-powers and that they were "the legislative equivalent of breaking and entering, with an ominous free-pass to the hijacking of constitutional values."
Background: National Security Letters permit the FBI to demand information from others about our private lives, e.g., our use of telephones, libraries, doctors, schools, internet, and banking. If you get a national security letter from the FBI, you will be criminally prosecuted if you tell anyone you got the letter. The critical part of this is that the FBI doesn't have to get a judge to authorize the letter. That means the Bureau goes hunting without a license. The Government admits to issuing 19,000 National Security Letters in 2005 alone.

The world is crazy, but there's something about Americas

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:40:56 PDT

Darfurs murder Darfurs. Iraqis murder Iraqis. The world is crazy, but Americas step out of their ethnic boxes and get along with their neighbors. Around 1900, Oakland Blacks were learning the jokes and talk of their immigrants neighbors. Royal E. Towns, an African-American, said that West Oakland was then a uniquely cosmopolitan town, and many of its national and ethnic groups shared a tradition of neighborliness, cooperation, and goodwill. To show what he had learned as a child growing up there, Towns related several jokes and personal incidents -- in both Irish and in Jewish accents. He told another story that took place during World War II when he was in Brooklyn, New York and was trying to visit his son who was serving on a Merchant Marine ship. But when Towns tried to get down to the dock an Irish policeman blocked his way. Said Towns, "With all the flannel on his tongue that he could possibly have, the cop says, 'No yuz don't. An n'body goes down to the ship, and arders is arders.' " Towns showed his identification that he was a lieutenant in the Oakland Fire Department and his port pass to visit ships in San Francisco harbor. The cop turns red and yells, "I don't give a damn what fire department yer from, you don't go down to the ship, and 'arders is arders." Towns smiles and says, "'You know what, you're the first Irishman that ever believed me. Say, when was you born--in the year of the black potatoes or the year of the big wind?" The cop does a double-take, "Where'd yuz get the blarney!" Towns answers, "Out where I live in Oakland." And the cop says, "Many Irishmen out there?" Towns: " 'Ha! I was born in old man O'Brien's house right next to Mr. Tracy's, an' there was the O'Boyles, the O'Hallihans, the McAllisters,' and jeez, I started naming a whole gang of micks, you know. And then the cop says, 'Wait a minute, wait a minute!' and he calls over another cop and says, 'Hey, Pat, come 'ere and take this Irishman down to the boat.' " --Adapted from Pioneer Urbanites by Douglas Henry Daniels, pp. 75-105.

Fox in the henhouse, Bush denied. Thank you, Sen Wyden

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 12:07:49 PDT

Yesterday's e-mail to Senator Wyden, Dem (Oregon): "Please accept my grateful thanks for your efforts in placing a hold on the confirmation of John Rizzo. Your vote was mentioned in 'The Black Sites, a rare look inside the CIA's secret interrogation program' by Jane Mayer. New Yorker, Aug 13, 2007, (page 49a-b)." Background: President Bush was once again trying to install a fox in the henhouse, and Wyden deserves accolades for his willingness to run contrary to the President's abysmal history of acquiring super-Constitutional powers. There are far too few Wydens, but our independent press still has some power to wake up the people. Once the press goes weak-kneed, a bloody revolution in America might restore personal liberties, but no matter what happens, or what does not happen, there's no guarantee that we will ever get back all our Constitutional rights. It's critical that we support, and protect, our fearless press.

Is it The Bakersfield Californian or The Bakersfield Californian Inquirer?

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:25:56 PDT

Relax. Today's front page headlines, Hiding money from your spouse? and Korn rocks Rabbobank, don't mean our Eye Street gang is infected with valley-girl disease. Actually the Californian has been in a complex financial-survival mode for a couple of years, and it's not going to die any time soon from lack of trying to stay vital. The paper's new Bakersfield Life magazine taps into advertising dollars that were draining off to Corum's Bakersfield Magazine; upon the demise of the Blackboard Free Press, the Californian brought out its own "alternative newspaper," albeit lite, and the Californian adopted other Blackboard-inspired tools, such as citizen journalism and a local history column; the paper publishes Mas, and then there's the Californian's website. That's not the end of the list.

Okay, so what's your point? The point is the Californian is doing what it can to stay alive, and for that we should be truly thankful. Behind today's front-page gingerbread, the Ginger Morehouse newspaper engine leads the fight on critically important issues that government has conveniently ducked, stalled, ignored, and pooh-poohed: Los Angeles sewage dumping, oil company ground water contamination, air pollution, and specifically on a more local level, government payroll transparency. The Fifth Estate has traditional lead the way for independent, right-headed, clear-eyed, investigative reporting, and at this point in history the Californian is one of the few heavies still looking out for our interests. (Yes, yes, I know about Keith Rupert Murdoch.) Kiss or criticize the Bakersfield Californian, but support it.

The insidious encroachment by men of zeal -- (read, "politicians")

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 21:31:43 PDT

As the Senate and House sit by and titter at the exceptional powers assumed by the Bush administration, voters must be reminded that freedoms given up easily are hard-won to ever recover from an increasingly powerful fascist government.

"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government's purposes are beneficent.

Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers.

[But] The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."

--Louis D. Brandeis, Justice, US Supreme Court, 1916-1939

Praying for an Early November 2008

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 21:47:34 PDT

Our nation's defenses against conventional attack are impregnable,

and we are vigilant against threats from terrorists. But as is the case with a

person, size and physical prowess are not the key characteristics of a moral

nation. The important traits include a demonstrable commitment to truth, justice,

peace, freedom, humility, human rights, generosity, and the upholding of moral

values.

America can be an international example of these virtues. Our

government should be known, without question, as opposed to war, dedicated to

the resolution of disputes by peaceful means, and, whenever possible, eager to

exert our tremendous capability and influence to accomplish those goals. We

should be seen as the unswerving champion of freedom and human rights, both

among our own citizens and within the global community.

We should be the focal point around which other nations of all kinds could rally to

combat threats to security and to improve our common environment. We should

be in the forefront of providing humane assistance to people in need, willing to

lead other industrialized nations in sharing some of our great wealth with destitute

peoples.

We would give up little in exemplifying these traits. Instead of loss, our

own well-being would be enhanced by restoring the international trust, admiration,

and friendship that our nation formerly enjoyed.

J. Carter. Our Endangered Values. (2005) Pg 199-200.

I'm Making a Buck, Forget the Rest of You

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 20:55:17 PDT

Big Business Up To Its Usual Game of S***w the Public

Instances of outright mortgage fraud are coming to light. Reports of suspected fraud from federally regulated institutions more than doubled between 2003 and 2006. Federal officials estimate mortgage fraud totaled from $1 billion to $6 billion in 2005 alone.

Tell Me What I Want To Hear, Never Mind Reality

Experts say many recent borrowers were put into ARMs that are likely to cost far more over the life of the loan than if they'd chosen a fixed-rate option. Often, consumers could have locked in fixed-rate loans at low interest rates, but lenders downplayed the advantages of these loans.

Widow Gets Fleeced

Experts also cite numerous cases where borrowers say they didn't understand the loan structure — and the escalating payments; in many cases, they couldn't really afford them. Jennie Haliburton, a 77-year-old widow in Philadelphia, told NPR she refinanced into a subprime ARM that now costs her $300 more than the $800 she was originally told she'd pay. Her loan resets in May 2008. If the current interest rate holds, the monthly payments will grow to $1,218; depending on rates, they could eventually reach almost $1,700 — 95 percent of her Social Security income.

Hey, We Can Get In For Nothing Down!

New loan products allowed more Americans to own their own homes than ever before. But regulators exercised little oversight over the booming mortgage market.

Can't Trust Business, Can't Trust Government, Can't Even Tust Yourself

The Federal Reserve and four other federal regulators did not issue guidance for nontraditional mortgages until last year. They recommended that lending institutions consider the borrowers' ability to make payments over the life of the loan before underwriting, and that they improve disclosure to consumers.

Oh, You Mean "Me Bad"?

Federal Reserve executive Roger T. Cole says it was too little, too late. "Given what we know now, yes, we could have done more, sooner," Cole told Congress in March.

Oh, No!

But the loans are already out there; all that's left is to wait for the fallout. According to First American CoreLogic, this year and next, about $260 billion in prime ARMs and $376 billion in subprime ARMs will begin to reset.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9855669

Chickens and Chihuahuas as Artists?

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:08:18 PDT

A Tehachapi gallery is displaying several exceptionally fine examples of animal artistry, works displayed side-by-side with local, human painters and ceramic artists. Charming is a memory box, framed under glass, housing a fragment of soft blanket and the head of a fabric doll that's missing one eye. It's caption reads, "Okay That Susie Loved Me. " Gallery director Marjorie Colby explained, "Susie is a Labrador." Next to the "Okay" box is a pyrotechnic, pointillist-inspired oil by an unnamed local Chihuahua. According to Colby, "The owner told me that the dog was very thoughtful and deliberate as it scampered over the canvas with wet little feet." Another member brought in a 9 x 12, framed sample of her cat's claw work on her husband's naughahide chair. As the date for the show's official opening approaches, Colby encourages the owners of larger animals and marine life -- underrepresented groups-- to come forward with examples of their pets' expressive art work.

Opening on August 22, 2007 in old town. "Pet Art" will run for two weeks at Gallery 'n' Gifts, 100 West Tehachapi Blvd. For information call Tehachapi Valley Arts Association, 661-822-6062.

The Long Arm of the Presidency

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 08:56:48 PDT

The Bush Administration has redefined the reach of the Presidency, and average citizens sit by in acquiescence, dumbly watching TV, their mail opened, their email examined, and their cell calls monitored. Maybe most citizens are not capable of more: "One plunks, one distributes, one eats. Everyone partakes, everybody confesses… yet none feels himself accountable. He did not create the abuse; he cannot alter it. What is he? An obscure private person who must get his bread. That is the vice -- that no one feels himself called to act for man, but only as a fraction of man." --January 25, 1841. RW Emerson, Man the Reformer.

Citizens Become Sheep

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 22:11:26 PDT

Comments of viewers of the Nicholas-Fine segment of the Bill Moyer's Journal re impeachment of the President and Vice President are at http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2007/08/impeachment_the_conversation_c_1.html

The program, re-run this evening owing to public interest, enumerated the several incidences of Anti-Constitutional acts by the President and the Vice President of the United States.

Nicholas characterized the present Congress as an unusual collection of politically-ambitious non-vertebrates.

Is there not at least one member of the House of Representatives who is willing to place the US Constitution before politics as usual? To say, My country is more important to me than being reelected.