Manteca Live!

Bay Area Public Employee Salaries 2010

2012-01-28T16:14:00.001-08:00

At Thursday’s Manteca Patriots (Tea Party) there was a fine fellow running for office who pledge that he would only accept a salary of $42,500 per year. Because, he put it, you shouldn’t be “getting rich off the taxpayer who’s making less than you.”

Fantastic concept. I noted at the meeting that “everybody in the city makes more than that, they all make like 100,000/yr.”

Well this comment drew some reaction. I don’t know if it’s how I said it or if I was over broad in my generalization but it got some hostile rebuttal (I was interrupted) from someone who thought that was a bunch of crap, basically. That these city workers were … and I’m not quite sure what his argument was. But that “they aren’t all making over $100,000 /yr!

Fair enough.

As I tried to explain at the meeting I was speaking in general terms and not every single worker makes that much. Some make more, some make less. But that as an average it’s right around (in the neighborhood) of 100K or so.

Now, here’s the basis for that comment. First, City Manager Pinkerton said this very thing at a meeting of the “tax committee” I forget the name of it but was the citizen’s group that met to try to explore any new taxes. (Which were soundly turned down). He said as a general rule, he counts about $100K per employee. Including the guys who mow the grass who get like $80K and so on.

In addition, in the “COPS” grant application, Chief Bricker had listed the starting compensation for a brand new policeman as $114,000 per year. To start. Councilman Moorhead even asked for clarification. (“Is that what it really cost to hire one policeman?”) The answer from the chief was yes, that’s what it costs. About the same with the fire department. And the pay goes up from there. $114,000 per year is the absolute minimum.

I also asserted that the gentleman may simply not know how much they make. And I related how when the Sun Post ran a list of all city worker pay, they got many complaints and downright accusations of “I don’t make that much.” I asserted “they don’t even know what they make, they argue but the figures in the Sun Post were accurate.” This was also disputed.

Now, read for yourself. Here is all 560 city workers’ pay. Look for yourself. I’ll wait.

Now, if you notice, the “median” just directly from that list is $77,300 per year. Now if you want to go further, notice the last 140 workers are part time, one time, special workers who get a few thousand dollars. Lets just look at full time workers. Fair? Maybe, maybe not but lets just say the small payments less than $10,000 don’t count. Now the median pay is $90,380 per year.

OK, so mea culpa, they aren’t making 100K a year, it’s only $90K. I’m sorry to have even suggested they are making a good living. Wait, the argument was if they were making more than the average Californian, $42,500.

Lastly, remember I said “they don’t even know how much they make?” Well, look at the San Jose Mercury News page. Look at the first comment from a government worker there. Accusing the paper of getting it all wrong, and insisting “I don’t make that much money.” Which is exactly what I said at the meeting, that the workers themselves don’t even know how much they are getting.

And there’s nothing like that in the private (non government) world, but that’s a subject for another day.

You may use the space below in the comments to apologize for doubting my figures.

Bay Area Public Employee Salaries 2010 - San Jose Mercury News

Happy Santa - Santa Claus - Southbury, Connecticut

2011-12-26T00:27:00.001-08:00

From the odd file: This guy, along with his wife and three grandchildren were killed in a horrific fire – Christmas morning.

Happy Santa - Santa Claus - Southbury, Connecticut

Pictured: All five who died in fire on Christmas. From Happy Santa.

The war on Christmas

2011-11-20T20:06:00.001-08:00

Here's 3 minutes of your life

2011-11-03T05:42:00.001-07:00

Moon rocks.

2011-10-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

Looking for the video of my visit to the moon rock exhibit? Me too. Something has malfunctioned in the video camera. I'm working on it but it may take some time and I'm not sure if it exists or not. - sorry about that.

To the teachers who were kind enough to answer questions and the parent and child who showed me her moon drawing thank you for doing that sorry about the problems with the video. (I know I should remember your name but that was on the tape!)

Forecast of doom?

2011-08-08T00:38:00.001-07:00

Here in 16 seconds I list all the bad things that might happen in the next four years.

Streaming Archive

Pointed commentary cuts video feed.

2011-07-20T15:08:00.001-07:00

Last night’s council meeting. For some odd reason the police were limiting the number of people in the meeting.

So I had to ask to bring some business before the council to get in. Which I did. Well, apparently my probing questions broke the TV camera!

It turns out there was some controversy. There was a group of disgruntled citizens there to protest the gunning down of one of their community members. For some reason.

Grand dream loses sheen in glare of daylight

2011-07-14T03:45:00.000-07:00

Grand dream loses sheen in glare of daylight

Prison doctor gets paid for doing little or nothing

2011-07-14T03:44:00.000-07:00

Prison doctor gets paid for doing little or nothing

2011-06-08T05:05:00.000-07:00

Here's the video from last night. I barely escaped!

Getting ready for the plume

2011-03-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

Don't tell Michele

2011-03-02T19:20:00.000-08:00

Election Day II

2010-11-01T20:40:00.001-07:00

I forgot to mention, I’ve forgiven David Harmer. The reasons: Every candidate has some goons and/or idiots hanging around him. I don’t blame Rand Paul for the fight that took place outside where he was debating. No matter how unfortunate the events were you just can’t blame him!

Also, I don’t think they picked me out. It’s not like they said “there’s that ‘joe’ – Get him!” They volunteers were just incompetent morons.

And lastly the Congress of the United States isn’t about my feelings; it’s about electing someone who will make wise decisions and keep us free.

Election Day!

2010-11-01T19:41:00.001-07:00

I wasn’t going to come out with any “recommendations” this year. I didn’t feel like gumming up the political process too much. But I can’t resist at least saying where I’m leaning on election day:

For Mayor of Manteca, Carlon Perry is the obvious choice. We are also electing two councilmen: I’d go with Richard Behling, he seems like a smart guy who understands some deep concepts about the role of government. And for the other council position – I have no idea, name your poison.

For Governor of California, Meg Whitman and for senator Carly Fiorina. At least they created at least one job in their lives, which is more than Brown or Boxer have done.

There’s a bunch more candidates. But no stand outs so you might as well let your parakeet peck at the sample ballot and pick one. Or – NONE. Yes, you can pick “none.” You just don’t vote for those. It will count as an “undervote” but the rest of the ballot will count. There’s no requirement to vote for every single office or every single ballot measure if you don’t know which to pick. Check with election officials if you don’t believe me.

So far as propositions: Prop 19 is a step in the right direction – just in terms of “harm reduction” regardless if you believe using marijuana is good or bad. No one will make you “smoke pot” and if there are those that say it helps them, what do I care? Get the government out of this equation.

I’m still analyzing some of the others. Here, rather than spoon feed you the proposition numbers and a “yes/no” I’ll just spout a few principles to keep in mind.

There’s a proposition on suspending AB32, the “Global Warming®” law. That’s a no brainer – of course yes, suspend it. In this economy? And the whole fear of global Al Goreism is way overblown. Way.

Currently, the legislature has to agree on a budget with a 2/3 vote. We want that. I don’t care how late the budget is. If you lower that to simple majority, that will just make it “easier” to spend your money on a budget that’s not so agreeable. Also, if you cut the legislators’ pay if the budget is late – you’ll get a budget on time even if it’s the worst budget on earth.

Lets see what else there is… this ballot looks like the SAT…..

The power of one, part II

2010-09-18T22:15:00.001-07:00

Now we see the real power of one, finally. Here in this video clip.

This occurred after the harassment at my seat in the back for roughly 5 minutes, the “guy” chasing me around causing a disturbance and after I asked for simple clarification “Am I allowed to film here, yes or no?” Which no one would answer. (Except “the guy” who had no authority to be harassing me and telling me not to film.)

Notice after all this, now a 2nd Harmer staffer is stepping in front of me. The original guy hasn’t given up, and now also Sara Blicharz is moving in front of me to obstruct and interfere with me. That’s at least three “after me” not including another nondescript fellow moving around the place with some urgency.

Now, in this video we pick up as the 2nd Harmer staff, the first harassing guy and Sara Blicharz attack. At this point, one courageous citizen has the guts to stand up and ask the obvious:

Why are you bothering this guy? Everyone else is filming; there’s a fellow filming right there (points to the center) who’s been sitting there filming the whole time….

He didn’t get much of an answer; but the question was enough.

And guess what, the harassment stopped. This ended the incident for practical purposes. Suddenly no one cared what I did or where I sat, no one bothered me. This is after telling the harasser didn’t work; telling the Harmer team didn’t work. Talking to Blicharz didn’t work. The power of one man’s objection was the only thing that meant anything.

Note the calm at the end of the video. hmm.

By the way, I’m sorry for so many “guys” in this story and so few names. I count “guy1 thru guy4” And I think I do know the guy who stood up for me he was familiar, but I just can’t be sure the video is unclear. But I’ll be sure to thank him when I see him next.

Oh, and just to answer one more question I’ve been asked why didn’t you simply ask if it was ok or not. Well, I did. Here. Note how Blicharz carefully considers my question, fully investigates my complaint, and politely explains…. (cough)

This clip is just a minute prior to the above clip. I’ll… just let it speak for itself. Viewer discretion is advised, due to it’s content, this video is not suitable for viewing. By anyone:

Previously, part I here.

The power of one, part I

2010-09-17T23:02:00.001-07:00

This is simply an accounting of the events of Sep 14, 2010, at the Meeting of the South San Joaquin Republicans.

The Manteca Bulletin, at first, reported that for some inexplicable reason, some madman just got up and disrupted the meeting. It was only after I demanded the correct story be told that the Bulletin re-wrote their accounting of events. Maybe I’m just sensitive, but there’s something about being called a “meeting disrupter” that bothered me. I went to the meeting just to hear and support my candidates in peace; I brought a camcorder because it might be interesting, I guess, I really didn’t have any reason. But there were dozens of both still and video cameras going in that room.

I know this is a boring accounting but here it is. By the way no one now disputes this what really occurred so I don’t know why I bother, but just for the record:

About an hour into the meeting, I’ve been sitting there filming whatever I thought might be interesting. I’ve been filming for 31 minutes, 22 seconds when some guy sits down next to me and tells me he’s going to ask me to leave if I don’t stop filming. I pointed out the obvious (I’m invited, the leader of the meeting knows I’m filming and never complained, everyone else is filming, etc.. So I’m confused and just “thanked him” for letting me know.) But continued filming on and off, just as I did for all the other candidates there.

Note I’m clearly in the back of the room, in a chair, minding my own business. The “harassment” from this “guy” has been going on for 4 minutes, 20 seconds.

So I get up and move from the back, and this guy gets up to follow me. This is at :36 minutes, 00 sec.

He followed close. Only 4 seconds to catch me.

trying to block my view, and you can see, again, I’m still at the back of the room.

I’m moving toward the front now, a look back – see who’s following me? And who else? At the front, but even here, note I’m on the left front, not directly in front of the speaker.

But I’m “pushed” closer to the center.

Now someone is on the move, see the figure in the rear right? (under the “2” in 0:37:02)

We have our little dispute. Some words are said. You don’t have to lecture me, I know there are always better ways to handle things; but cut me a break, I’m being harassed here!

So now I’ve moved to the back again. Now a 2nd guy starts jumping in my way, blocking my view.

Now the same guy hasn’t given up!

He’s still harassing me. And wait a sec, who’s that other body on the right that’s stepped in front of me?

Next: Part II: The Power of One.

2010-08-06T19:51:00.001-07:00

Obama authorizes assassination of U.S. citizen

2010-07-19T20:05:00.000-07:00

Confirmed: Obama authorizes assassination of U.S. citizen

New edgy presidential address

2010-07-03T09:26:00.000-07:00

This is how it's starting to look to me:

Weekly Address: Jobs Creation from White House Weekly Address on Vimeo.

Happy Independence Day!

What scoundrel took my flag?

2010-06-24T13:45:00.001-07:00

It went missing Wednesday morning. Probably some communist. And they took the pole too!

Election Results – We hate PG&E, except we hate government supplied electricity more.

2010-06-09T15:57:00.001-07:00

The referendum to require a vote of the people before government can take over electric power generation failed to get enough votes to pass. It seems like an odd result to me. People voted to deny themselves the right to vote on something.

Probably PG&E could have run a better campaign. It was about more than just politicians spending money. In addition it was about the collective right to steal or “take” property from the PG&E owners (millions of shareholders throughout the state).

What may have won the day was this feeling that “corporations are greedy evil bastards!” and “they are always ripping us off!” Fair enough.

It reminds me of the campaign against the railroad companies in the late 19th century. Then the complaint then was about how “unfair” it was that some railroad routes were shorter and cost more than some longer routes. It was an obvious rip off! (Or so they thought, the actual reason was economics). So, after the public demanded action, the government took over the pricing and raised the prices of all the cheaper routes. Now things were “fair” and everyone was “happy!”

So the question is, if PG&E are greedy bastards, then what is SSJID or other government entities? They are men, not angels, just as politically greedy as any corporate board. So, in effect the voters decided that greedy men serve you better if they have guns and can extract money from you by force. (Through taxation.)

Look at the results of the election, by county below left. And the map of PG&E “territory.” (There are some small govt utilities in that “service area though)

In the dark counties, the voters rejected prop 16, i.e. they hate greedy PG&E. Notice anything odd? These are generally the counties served by PG&E! At first glance, sure, it makes sense, PG&E must be terrible, they would know, right?

But on the other hand, look who approved prop 16. They hate the government power worse.

Is it just a case of “the grass is greener?” That’s for you to decide. But if public power was all it’s cracked up to be I would have expected people served by government power to not hate it so much. It seems like they wish they could be served by PG&E!

Note particularly, the high level of hatred of government power in Orange and Riverside counties. (Just about 60%). Also, why did San Joaquin approve the measure and demand a vote on the matter? Could it be that we’re tired of the propaganda from SSJID? (15% less than what?) What about Stanislaus county, also rejecting public power. That is the place where SSJID is telling us “they are so happy they got rid of PG&E!” Well it doesn’t seem so from the election results. The warning is clear; people with government power are telling us “don’t do it, it’s worse than PG&E if you can believe that!”

Election Results - June 8, 2010, Statewide Direct Primary - California Secretary of State

Technorati Tags: Proposition 16,PG&E,SSJID

A mile under the sea

2010-05-28T22:18:00.001-07:00

After 35 years?

2010-05-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

Check out the lawyer in this video. He sounds more cynical than me!

Editorial - Rand Paul and the Limits of Libertarianism - NYTimes.com

2010-05-22T00:17:00.001-07:00

Or, as the New York Times tells us, “the importance of enlightened government.”

Rand Paul’s comments are a great chance to expose the propaganda of “the conventional wisdom.” The CW is this unstated cannon of general principles that just about everyone in the press lives, frames their world, and is so indoctrinated by, they can’t even see their own bias. Like the fish that’s covered in water its whole life, “the fish doesn’t know it’s wet.”

And this editorial hits them all. Or at least the big ones. Lets look at them; one at a time!

Where are these philosopher kings of an enlightened government? How do we find these people? Even if they existed, how would they be elected? If mankind is greedy and evil, then why would you want to put other greedy and evil men over your life to rule it?

How was it possible for “neighborhood associations” to discriminate based on race? Who upheld those contracts as valid? The courts, a part of the government. Based on laws.

Who fixed the “lunch counters” that refused to seat blacks? Was it the government or public shunning? The NYT editorial laughs at you if you thought “public shunning.” Did you notice that? But guess what; read history, it was public shunning, and not any court orders that ended the now famous Woolworths lunch counter discrimination. (This was in the ‘50’s and the “civil rights act of 1964” was almost a decade later.) But the government takes credit for “giving you civil rights!”

How has “liberty” been shown to be ineffective at promoting a “civil” society? (Set aside for a minute if being “civil” is more important than being “free.”) What do they mean the “freedom of a few to discriminate meant generations of less freedom for large groups…?” Not in a free market! Only in a powerful, top-down government can “a few” control “many.” In a free market, there’s very little a few persons can do.

The next example -- we should be so thankful the government ended slavery and something they call “Jim Crow.” (Usually they are called “Jim Crow Laws” but that would have been too obvious.) Let me get this straight. We should be thankful that the government that enabled slavery saw fit to stop enslaving us? And if the government that enforced separatist, “Jim Crow” laws has seen fit to stop doing that, we should be grateful?

Slavery could never have existed but for government support. Neither could “Jim Crow” laws. Or separate (but equal) schools, or even water fountains, which were chiefly in government buildings. I’ve read reports of frontier towns in Kansas territory that educated all their children “white” and “negro” in a one room school house. But the state officials commanded them to build two separate schools! The townsfolk didn’t see any need and thought the school was perfectly fine. (History Channel) But that was the point, the state couldn’t allow whites to “accept” negro children in their school! What would that lead to? Equality and everyone just “getting along?”

Who is the editor to say “neither (slavery nor Jim Crow) would be eliminated by a free market?” These were both created by the government, of course the free market would have ended both sooner than they were but for government action. (See Milton Friedman).

Next are the two big doozies. The two big lies we’ve been taught by the government schools since we were children. And in the press all the time, and most of us believe:

1. The government rescued the economy from the Great Depression! Oh god does anyone still believe this? I know we’ve heard this our whole lives, but there’s a large body of scholarship that says exactly the opposite. The “Great Depression” was a blip or hiccup in the economy until both Hoover and FDR “tried to fix” it. Everything they did made things worse. Hoover made it worse, he was voted out of office and FDR came in and did more of what Hoover was doing, making things even worse than they were. The result was more than a decade of poverty.

2. The government promoted safety and equality in the workplace. John Stossel goes over this better than I can. The result of free enterprise was that the workplace was getting safer and safer. When the government finally stepped in and formed “OSHA” the safety record continued about the same as it was before (getting better all the time). But the government stepped in front of the parade and took credit for the “improved workplace safety.” As is common. (See Stossel.)

So far as promoting equality? See the congressional hearing in the 1930’s regarding the new laws to protect and enable the labor union movement. The main reason the unions were asking for special protection from the government was to protect the white workers from competition from “negro labor.” And we should be “thankful” that the government grants us equality?

Editorial - Rand Paul and the Limits of Libertarianism - NYTimes.com

Harmer claims Emken "lobbied for Obama Care???"

2010-05-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

The phone rang around 2:30 pm yesterday. It was some guy calling himself "Harmer" and told me that Elizabeth Emken "lobbied for Obama Care" or Obama's health care plan.

Actually, I'd just talked to Emken a few times and each time the center of her campaign was the repeal of Obama-care. In fact in the video a few weeks ago, there is a place where she is against the "Obama health care bill" but it got cut out because of noise and distractions. (Someone was handing her clipboards to sign and we got distracted.)

If anyone has any doubt I can find that part of the video for you, but it's really not needed. The issue has been discussed a lot. And what is in the video is a discussion of how she can be "against the Obama health care bill" when she had, in the past, asked for more research and treatment of autism. Based on the answer it's obvious she's against the "health care" bill.

That's the problem with these robo-call whisper rumor calls. When you make a public statement the other side can respond to it. But there's something insidious about these secret calls. And who is this "Harmer" fellow?

Kagan's abortion stance has both sides guessing

2010-05-15T21:50:00.001-07:00

I think it’s completely absurd that anyone can be appointed judge for life and we “don’t know” what she thinks of certain things. Things that are important to a lot of people.

They should have me interview her. I’d get it out of her! Just see the previous video.

Kagan's abortion stance has both sides guessing - latimes.com

Candidate Meeting

2010-05-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

This is the meeting of the South San Joaquin Republicans candidate night. Sorry about the shakey video, my inflamed nerves were acting up and the lighting in there is a nightmare, windows all around, everything is backlit. The sound in there isn't so good either. But here it is, submitted for your approval. As bad as it is, there are some amusing parts. Heck, the rendition of the National Anthem at the end is worth the trip.

Joe the plugger’s idea

2010-05-09T14:26:00.001-07:00

Here’s my idea for plugging that darn oil leak in the gulf of Mexico. If you use it, I want a small piece of the action. Note there are modifications such as the cable or chain tensioners. The plug can be solid or filled with weights. etc.

They were somehow able to get that giant “box” in place, so why not some kind of thing to jam in there. The idea is it has to be able to get in there with the oil and gas escaping under high pressure.

click to enlarge:

Critters of Manteca

2010-05-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

This is some kind of spider found on a cactus in the backyard. It lives in a little silk "house" on the side of the cactus and when someone comes near it jumps out and stares at you. With at least four eyes. Also note the highly colorful greenish turquoise appendages. It's about 2 cm in length. I decided not to mess with it and it's still living out there. If I'm missing it's because this thing crawled inside and got me in the middle of the night.

City adds $1000 to cost of housing.

2010-04-26T17:28:00.001-07:00

Background: Two meetings ago I questioned a proposal to adopt what the city calls “building standards.” What that means is new mandates about how homes (and businesses) are to be built. The stated goal is “energy efficiency.” Absent from any of the documents was any estimate of how much these new rules would add to the cost of a home.

Well a few weeks later there was a “public hearing” on the matter. Odd, because the measure had already been approved in the first reading. The 2nd reading and passage and “public hearing” were at the same time. In other words, it didn’t matter much what “the public” thought about the idea, the “hearing” was a mere formality.

Well here were things take a strange turn. After the public hearing, the “Building Guy” says he’s got some information for me. For me? Why yes. And sure enough they actually attempted to find an answer to question I asked at the earlier meeting.

First, note that in the email I got a promotion to individual from my previous rank of no one.

So in response to the query, the chief guy from the state ~~pulled a figure out of his ass of~~ estimated from $590 to $1,095 in additional costs and further ~~guessed~~ calculated that over the lifetime of the house it could save as much as $5,157. I asked how long this “life of the house” was. No one knew. But it wasn’t 20 years. (“No, longer.”) Over the next hundred years? “Hm, not sure if that long.” So according to government figures you’ll enjoy these savings sometime between the next 20 to 100 years.

Seems like a lowball figure to me on the costs. Maybe one of you in the building trades can say. The estimate has absolutely no supporting calculations other than “what the guy at the state said.” And the savings is based on an assumption that the wonder-house will use 15% less energy.

My guess is that the estimate doesn’t include compliance costs. Those are the costs of following the code. The code is in three large volumes and specifies everything from where to bang in nails to tables and graphs to figure out how much insulation you need. Compliance costs are what it costs in your time to read and understand these books, and to modify your architectural plans, and everything else associated with actually following the code. I wonder if the state’s estimate is simply the costs of the added insulation, the more efficient lighting fixtures, etc. Which may be only a fraction of the total.

I was about to move this issue off my radar screen when I noticed one other thing. On the paper someone scribbled to figure the “percentage increase” in costs. It has two math errors. Where it says =3.52% that should be 0.352%. It’s off by a factor of ten. Sure easy enough mistake, I’ve made that one a few times. But now we’re left wondering. The initial estimate at the first meeting was given at 1 to 2 percent. Just 1 percent is $1,677. So who knows, are the percentages correct and the real figure is ten times more? ($5,900 to $10,950 ? ) Probably not, but one never knows.

By the way, if all they did was come up with three phonebook sized books on “how to build a house that uses 15 % less energy” why not just publish that and let builders build that if they wanted to? What customer wouldn’t want a house that costs less to heat and cool? So why is the government involved at all?

Eyjafjallajökull

2010-04-20T03:25:00.001-07:00

It’s a name only Spock’s mother could pronounce. Now you know why the press calls it “that volcano in Iceland.”

Ow! My gut!

2010-04-18T12:12:00.001-07:00

I haven’t updated lately. I’ll try to avoid going into a Manteca Bulletin-esque tale of personal woe (How I was a fat kid, how I fell off my bicycle, how I can’t eat onions, how I got a bad haircut, how we used the hot tub at our honeymoon at Half Moon Bay, etc.)

At right is an artist’s conception of what I looked like at the emergency room Tuesday afternoon. Oh, I’m not going to go into the excruciating pain, urinating blood, the vomiting, turning colors, etc. But I guess I just did.

It all turned out well. Jackie did a yeoman’s job as an ambulance driver. I’ll be damned if I was going to pay those people a $1,000 for a glorified taxi ride. And the people at San Joaquin County Hospital did a fantastic job. Despite the fight taking place in the waiting room when I staggered in doing my impression of Oswald meets Ruby, they took me in right away really took good care of me. I even got a CT scan. The machine looked like it was the first one ever made. But hey, it did the job.

Time to stop being appreciative for all that everyone did for me and get back to complaining.

Earth Hour

2010-03-28T01:32:00.001-07:00

This is how I celebrated “Earth Hour.” Hope you got your Viking helmet and mayonnaise.

NUMMI

2010-03-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

For a fascinating look at the NUMMI plant be sure to tune into This American Life today. If you're in the Stockton-Modesto area, it can be heard on 91.3 FM (KUOP, Capital Public Radio) at 6 pm. It's a whole hour. I think every American and in particular, every Californian should hear the story. It's both inspiring and damning; about how the workers and leadership failed, then succeeded, and failed. But mostly failed.

We Are What We Watch by Karen Kwiatkowski

2010-03-15T18:25:00.001-07:00

…Avatar’s militaristic state corporatism drew an angry response from some Marine Corps defenders, and The Hurt Locker simultaneously dehumanized and minimized occupied Iraqis even as it failed to address why Americans are in Iraq getting blown up in the first place.

We are concerned about the odd bacteria on a leaf of lettuce transported in record time across the country in refrigerated trucks, but not so much about the tons of depleted uranium dust we’ve blown into Iraq’s air, ground and water. We worry that there are deficiencies or dangerous additives in the pet food we purchase, but after seven years, we don’t mind that we still haven’t fixed the urban sewage systems in Iraq we had crushed…

We Are What We Watch by Karen Kwiatkowski

Sometimes it's just the little things

2010-03-11T16:59:00.001-08:00

They changed the painting I “complained” about. Here. Someone must be reading. To refresh your memory, this is what it looked like when I called it ah… a prison camp:

From Manteca Live!

And here is the new improved version:

As for why it’s adorning the school board men’s room I’m not sure. But it is right across from the public meeting room so that’s something.

Symphony of Science - The Poetry of Reality

2010-03-06T23:09:00.001-08:00

Kids, stay in school and learn science! I thought this was an inspiring video/song/whatever it is.

"The world looks very different to you. And that understanding empowers you."

Featured Article - WSJ.com

2010-03-04T21:51:00.001-08:00

This is one of the last interviews with Milton and Rose Friedman together. Milton died in 06 and Rose just last year.

That last part, about the war of aggression I found interesting. And I wonder if he’d lived the last few years, he would have even further realized the futility of “winning.”

Also he settles the issues with Keynes, and with why the deficits were “under control” in the ‘90s (it wasn’t Clinton!) and what really killed the Republican party.

Questions? What questions? What ordinance?

2010-03-01T23:29:00.001-08:00

Just for the record. I sent a letter to the city council with a list of questions about the new “code enforcement” ordinance. You know, the one that turns Manteca into a giant homeowners association. There was no response from any council member. That was over two weeks ago.

At the meeting I asked if any had received my questions. The City Clerk verified that “her staff sent a copy to each member.”

I also asked if any of the council members had read the law they were voting on. None of them, as best I recall, said anything definite about having read the text of the proposed ordinance. In other words, they were voting on something they had not read.

After I left the podium the mayor was kind enough to acknowledge that he remembers getting my thoughtful letter but that “I didn’t read it.” I’m sorry for wasting His Honor’s valuable time. I’ll include pictures next time.

It's OK to Walk Away From Your Home - WSJ.com

2010-02-28T22:26:00.001-08:00

Is he right? This from the Wall Street Journal:

Millions of Americans are now deeply underwater on their mortgage. If you're among them, you need to stop living in a dream world and give serious thought to walking away from the debt.

No, you shouldn't feel bad about it, and you shouldn't feel guilty. The lenders would do the same to you—in a heartbeat. You need to put yourself and your family's finances first.

ROI: When It's OK to Walk Away From Your Home - WSJ.com

Hayek vs. Keynes Rap

2010-02-05T20:10:00.001-08:00

I wasn't expecting this! A "rap" about economics. And it for the most part accurately sums up a century of argument. Does the government need to control the economy as Keynes thought, or is that a "fatal conceit" as Hayek thought?

I'll give you one hint though, for the last half century or so, America has been dominated by Keynesian thought (under both Republican and Democratic rule). The "bailouts," the TARP, the "stimulus" are all Keynes ideas. But for brief periods In the past, the economy has flourished under Hayekian free market ideas.

Guilty until proven innocent

2010-02-04T18:05:00.001-08:00

Here’s the complete text of the proposed “code enforcement” law I talked about at last city council meeting. I think this will work, I had to scan it in. The city isn’t responding to any questions about it so far.

In addition to the other complaints, I also noticed something odd in the law. On page 8 it says you don’t have to pay the fees if you can get a Notice of Compliance. But look at page 12, it says you have to pay all the fees before you can get the Notice of Compliance! And if the director doesn’t feel like giving you the notice of compliance for any reason, his decision is final and can not be appealed! Ever.

And this is the just the “enforcement” procedures. We haven’t even considered what rules they are going to be enforcing. But suddenly, Manteca would be a giant Homeowners association with the code enforcer the chief busybody who can demand to inspect your home any time he feels like it?

completeC12.pdf - Google Docs

p.s. I almost forgot, notice how many times it says if we don’t notify you of any violation, even if it’s the city’s mistake, you’re still guilty or if there’s a fine or fee, you still owe it even if we forget to notify you or for any reason you don’t get the notice.

From “Enforcement” law:

2010-02-02T17:32:00.001-08:00

Here’s page 7. Read the second paragraph “Authority to Inspect.” You thought I was kidding? (click on image to enlarge)

Enabling law on agenda tonight

2010-02-02T17:03:00.001-08:00

There’s an odd item on the “consent” calendar at tonight meeting of the Manteca City Council called Administrative Enforcement Provisions. (Consent Item 12 CC)

Only the introductory remarks are on the city’s website. The PDF file doesn’t include the actual language of the new law. But after obtaining the actual text, a couple things got my attention:

The law involves “code enforcement” and claims to be needed to protect the “health and safety” of the people of Manteca.
Section 1.10.040 – Authority to inspect. Grants just about any city employee the authority to enter upon any property or premises within the city to ascertain whether … this code, … uniform codes, or … state codes are being obeyed.
In other words, the code enforcer doesn’t even need a reason or any suspicion of any violations. He can simply demand entry to any home or business in Manteca at any time?
The code enforcer is permitted to set up scientific equipment and take photographs and to take “samples.” In other words, he can enter your home, take pictures, and if he sees anything interesting, he can simply take it?
If you refuse to permit entry, they can attempt to get an “administrative inspection warrant” and then charge you a fee for their trouble.
The procedure for administrative hearings ends with failing to comply with the administrators decision is a misdemeanor.
Further, a companion ordinance will establish a $100, $200, and $500 fine for every citation. In the definitions a citation is a document issued by an enforcement officer … for violating … this code or … state code. You don’t get a hearing, you don’t get to plead your case to a judge, the “officer” can simply look at you or look at your home, and issue you a fine.

I don’t usually write things before the meeting but this law is so outlandish, I don’t even know what else to say about it it’s shocking. Has the constitution been repealed and I wasn’t notified? I’m still reading. I urge you to find out about this regulation and tell the council what you think.

Grammy Awards 2010: The 21st century arrives, finally.

2010-02-01T14:03:00.001-08:00

In case you missed the “Grammy’s” it was a hell of a performance. You know how they’ve been complaining “where’s my rocket car?” You know, how the future “in the year 2000” didn’t turn out like “they” predicted. Well, if I were transported from then to the year 2010, this is what I was expecting stage performance to look like. Finally I’m not disappointed!

Maybe there’s something about American creativity. It seems like the most “depressed” times economically are fonts of creativity. Think 1939 and the movies. Wizard of Oz lost the Oscar because it was a spectacularly creative year. Maybe there’s hope.

If you get a chance check out the video of the opening by something called “Lady Gaga” (pictured) and the performance by “Green Day.” I don’t know if they are any good but they put on some kind of performance – and the thing I caught my eye is they are working on a Broadway musical called American Idiot. hmm.

Grammy Awards 2010: Elton John and Lady Gaga duet as they sing Your Song and Speechless | Mail Online

The Revolutionary Holocaust - Live Free or Die

2010-01-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

I'm not a fan of Glenn Beck, but he's made a riveting one-hour documentary to refute revisionist history that leads many Americans to believe that vicious dictators like China's Mao Tse Tung and sadistic revolutionaries like Che Guevara are heroes that we should look up to. Everyone should see "The Revolutionary Holocaust - Live Free or Die" that aired today on Fox News Channel. Beck has uploaded the documentary in 5 parts on YouTube and we're presenting it here for your viewing.

GOP congressional candidate forum video available

2010-01-20T18:59:00.000-08:00

If you missed last week's GOP forum with the 6 Republican candidates hoping to win the nomination to run against Congressional District 11 Democrat Jerry McNerny, the website Tri Valley Patriots has video available http://trivalleypatriots.com/CD11-Manteca-Forum.php

Fallout from Monday's GOP debate - Amador asks for investigation

2010-01-14T16:58:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of buzz since Monday's GOP debate about candidate Robert Beadles' assertions that the January 4 raid on his home and business (RBI, a construction safety company) was politically motivated. Beadles also alluded during the debate that one of the other candidates has hired illegal aliens and cheated on taxes, though that wasn't reported in the papers.

Today's Stockton Record has an article "Probe of raid urged" which reports that another candidate, former US Marshal Tony Amador, sent a letter to California Attorney General Jerry Brown asking him to investigate the allegation by Beadles that the raid was politically motivated in an attempt to intimidate Beadles and discourage or dissuade him from running for office. I'd post a link here to the Record article, but they've gone to a "pay wall" format this week so you wouldn't be able to read it unless you have a subscription.

On Beadles' official campaign website, he has a copy of what basically is a press release sent out the morning of the raid from his competitor's office (Farwest Safety) notifying Brad Goehring, Jerry McNerny, the Contractors State License Board and every newspaper in the area of the raid. Also on Beadles' website is a signed statement by one of his employees recounting a phone call he received from an employee of Farwest Safety while the raid was in progress. The timing of the phone call and the press release are suspicious, as if Farwest Safety knew in advance that Beadles' business was going to be searched.

A few weeks ago, Contra Costa Times political editor Lisa Vorderbrueggen uncovered information that a campaign consultant for Brad Goehring had been anonymously bashing three of the other candidates, including Beadles and Amador, on a conservative political blog. When he was confronted, the consultant David Creager admitted it and said he didn't realize it was a conflict of interest. You can read the entire article here.

In a statement to The Record, another consultant for Goehring, Carl Fogliani, said that the Goehring campaign had nothing to do with the search of RBI and called the accusation "delusional." Sheriff Steve Moore, whose office headed up the investigation of the complaint against Beadles, has endorsed Goehring as a candidate but claimed he had no idea that Beadles was also a candidate until a briefing on the raid on January 4.

Keep an eye on this story, it might have "legs." There is nothing new about political opponents trashing each other's reputations.... we all witnessed the vicious campaign against Lathrop Mayor Kristy Sayles in 2008. This campaign seems even more vicious if the accusations by Beadles against Goehring turn out to be true and even more disturbing if it involves the sheriff's department.

6 candidates vie for chance to unseat McNerny in District 11

2010-01-13T10:56:00.001-08:00

Manteca Live attended the South San Joaquin Republican meeting January 11 to hear from the 6 candidates (so far) hoping to get the chance to unseat Democrat Jerry McNerney in Congressional District 11 this November. Usually held at Chez Shari Restaurant, this gathering was hosted by Crossroads Grace Community Church in Manteca. There was a large crowd, at least several hundred people, and the mood was a far cry from the depressing SSJR meeting a year ago after the 2008 election.

SSJR President Frank Aquila did a fine job organizing the event and the debate format was well-done. Each candidate was given 2 minutes to make an opening statement, then questions were divided into three groups with each candidate getting 1 minute to answer each question. I think the first group of questions came from the SSJR, the second group of questions came from the candidates themselves (previously submitted) and the third group came from questions previously submitted by the general public which were randomly drawn by the candidates. The topics covered a wide range of issues including the economy, the war and foreign policy, the UN, the military, health care reform, taxation, immigration and (unfortunately) abortion and gay marriage. After the debate, the candidates stayed and talked to anyone who was interested.

My first impressions:

David Harmer - A little stiff and rehearsed, maybe too removed from the issues of the Central Valley since he lives in wealthy San Ramon in Contra Costa County. Held up several books he wrote and one on Ronald Reagan written by his father, former California Lt. Governor John Harmer. Had a big colorful chart of the bureaucratic nightmare healthcare reform will create. Nice props but I wasn't real impressed with his answers, reminded me of a career politician.

Tony Amador - Former LAPD patrol officer and US Marshal, currently resides in Lodi. Seems like a nice enough guy but in my opinion, he has too much union involvement for him to be a good representative so I won't make any other comments.

Elizabeth Emken - The only woman in the group, sort of Sarah Palin-like, well-spoken, has a degree in economics (a big plus). Lives in wealthy Danville in Contra Costa County, but seemed well-informed on most issues. Left out Representative Michele Bachmann when listing Republican women in congress that she admires and that disappointed me.

Brad Goehring - Cocky and sure of himself, told the audience several times that he was wealthy enough that he didn't need the job of congressman for the money. He also boasted that he has the endorsement of many in local government (including Manteca mayor Willie Weatherford), which is reason enough not to vote for him. Couldn't name any Republican members of Congress. Born and raised in Lodi, currently resides in Clements.

Robert Beadles - Young and a little rough around the edges, seems earnest, resides in Lodi. He was distracted by recent troubles with the law when the police searched his home and business and arrested him for possession of stolen property on January 4. There is some evidence that a competitor reported him to the police to damage his business and his political campaign. He was subsequently released, not charged and his property returned. Wants to make a difference and probably should start off running for local office instead of aspiring to national office on his first try.

Jeff Takada - Takada, a graduate of East Union High School, is the only Mantecan running for congress. Young, intelligent and well-spoken, he garnered the most response from the audience out of all the candidates. People responded to his humor and spontaneous applause interrupted several of his answers. He named former presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul as someone he admired and, being a Ron Paul fan myself, this is a definite plus. Down-to-earth with good ideas, he could be a dark horse in the race.

There was some drama towards the end of the debate when Robert Beadles gave his closing comments and recounted the raid by police on his business. A collective gasp arose from the audience when he turned to Brad Goehring and asked him to "do something about this" implying that Goehring was behind the accusations that he had stolen property.

You can visit each candidate's official website by clicking on their names.

talking points?

2010-01-12T17:53:00.000-08:00

I said Christina Romer "knew better" this morning at 7:30 am or so. The comment was picked up by C-SPAN and broadcast. At 12:38 pm Rush Limbaugh said the same thing. Great minds think alike? Maybe. Or maybe he's watching Washington Journal, and reading me. Not that that's a bad thing, I put the comments out there in to the public for anyone to use.

It's just that the next time someone who doesn't know me tells me I "take my talking points directly from Rush Limbaugh" I can tell them, "no, Rush Limbaugh takes his talking points from me!" heheheh

Plunder!: How Public Employee Unions Are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives and Bankrupting the Nation - Book TV

2010-01-06T03:01:00.001-08:00

Don’t miss this talk about government unions. The author is from California. Note how many things sound familiar: from issuing edicts on Friday afternoon and voting then into law on Tuesday night to how we are getting less and less government “services” for more and more taxes we pay. And how the union’s plan is to simply keep raising taxes – forever. From the website:

Steven Greenhut takes a critical look at government workers and the unions that represent them. Mr. Greenhut argues that government employees, who receive salaries, benefits, and a level of job security that far outpace workers in the private sector, have become a huge drain on state and federal coffers. He spoke at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Orange, California.

Economics - Plunder!: How Public Employee Unions Are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives and Bankrupting the Nation - Book TV

Click on the “watch” link on the right side of the page to view the video of the presentation. It’s about an hour.

The nation has a complaint. Me.

2009-12-31T17:35:00.001-08:00

The president of my fan club calls into Washington Journal. To complain about a threat greater than the war or national security or the economy or the health care bill -- me!

Explaining what health care reform really means

2009-12-17T17:10:00.000-08:00

In 1961, before he was governor of California and president of the United States, Ronald Reagan gave a speech about socialized medicine in response to a bill in congress to reform health care. If you want to really understand what nationalized healthcare will mean to all of us, please listen to this (there is no video). His words from almost 50 years ago are relevant today more than ever.

I'm always inspired by Ronald Reagan, who was a true patriot, and I think you might be too if you listen. It contains his famous line "what it was once like in America when men were free." (It's 10 minutes long but if you want to skip to the best part, it starts at 5 minutes into the speech.)

Plunder! Dissects Government Unions

2009-12-10T08:55:00.001-08:00

This might help the Manteca Bulletin readers sort things out.

Do policemen die early? Is being a cop a “dangerous job?” Do government unions “protect the worker?” I suggest the answers are no, not really, and no! You can read why in this well researched article.

Plunder! Dissects Government Unions by John Seiler

The War on Kids - Trailer

2009-12-05T08:01:00.001-08:00

This is some kind of movie that looks interesting.

The Giant Pool of Money

2009-11-28T11:35:00.000-08:00

I was reading the Manteca Bulletin this morning and there was a letter to the editor that talked about which political party was responsible for the "economic meltdown" and the "mortgage crisis." It reminded me of an entertaining and informative radio program I listened to earlier this year on NPR's "This American Life" called "The Giant Pool of Money" (produced by Chicago Public Radio, originally aired May 9, 2008, #355).

This program is a fascinating report on how the global economy was driving mortgage lending in the US and how "the global pool of money" that exists drives the world's economies. It illustrates how intertwined our money is with the rest of the world's. It also illustrates how greed and basic incompetence in interpreting financial data on the probability of foreclosures fueled the housing market collapse.

You can access the program for listening or read the transcript (I recommend listening) at http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1242

Thanksgiving in Manteca

2009-11-26T14:41:00.000-08:00

Man, Manteca, Calif. Nov 2009.

The trick to “hide the decline.”

2009-11-21T14:25:00.001-08:00

I thought this was an interesting development. Some “hackers” (or more likely some insider) exposed the files and emails from some preeminent scientific institution being funded to “find evidence of Global Warming®.”

I wonder if the whole thing could be the greatest scandal of modern science.

I note that in a Manteca city council meeting the state forced us to comply with some sort of measures in our “housing element” that would “reduce greenhouse gases.” Whatever they are.

But you know, the great minds in the State of California often want to be “the first” – to lead the world. And in the process they tell us what kind of houses we can build and where and what sort of roads to have and were the bus routes should go. No matter what this does to our economy.

So while the rest of the world cancels the Copenhagen summit and is glad they didn’t fall for this Global Warming® thing, we in California rushed to saddle ourselves with regulation that will help make us ~~poor~~ poorer and won’t do a thing for “the earth.” But we’re leading the way!

Climategate: the final nail in the coffin of ‘Anthropogenic Global Warming’? – Telegraph Blogs

Schools are bad for your kids…

2009-11-21T14:05:00.001-08:00

I thought this was an interesting (if thorough) read into the problems of the government schools.

How Did We Get Into This Mess? by James Ostrowski

Idiocy in Lodi

2009-11-20T10:07:00.001-08:00

What’s wrong with these two stories?

Redevelopment to top Lodi agenda in June

Lodi moves to cap lunch wagons

It seems to me that on the one hand, they are saying the city is poor and blighted and they need to borrow tons of money to “re-develop” the city. And in the 2nd story, they are “cracking down” on hard working people who are making jobs for themselves, providing a service, feeding their families with their own initiative, etc.

Do you need any better illustration of what’s wrong with the central valley and the People’s Republic of California?

Signs

2009-11-14T18:49:00.001-08:00

I wonder what this sign means. Did the Manteca Bulletin say something about downtown businesses not being supportive enough?

And what exactly does it mean to “support” the efforts of the police dept? I thought the job of the police dept was to protect the businesses, not the other way around. hmmm

There were a few of these signs on Yosemite Avenue in the windows of more than one establishment.

Ooops: Fixed name of street.

US embraces communist health care plan as rest of world celebrates the 20th anniversary of the end of communism

2009-11-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the day the Berlin wall was torn down. Symbolically and idealogically it was the end of Communism. Freedom had prevailed. Evil had been conquered. As a child of the 50s, I was taught that the Communists and the Soviet Union were our enemies, they wanted to kill us, to "bury" us. If you are too young to remember air raid drills and "duck and cover" in school, then you probably don't fear communism the way I do. "The Cold War" was real then and we lived with the shadow of nuclear war every day.

Two years before the fall of the wall, President Ronald Reagan stood before the Brandenburg Gate on the 750th anniversary of Berlin and uttered those famous words, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" That marked the beginning of the end of the Berlin Wall and our mortal enemy, the Soviet Union. Ronald Reagan's role in ending the Cold War is often diminished by revisionist historians as if the events "just happened." Time has an article that at least acknowledges the efforts of Reagan and Gorbachev (leader of the USSR) to actively pursue the end of the war and bring freedom to the Eastern Bloc.

The Soviet Union lasted almost 70 years under communist dictatorship and had the second largest economy in the world after the United States. Even so, the US economy eclipsed the USSR's. A failed war with Afghanistan and a failed economy eventually led to the collapse of the communist government. 20 years after the victory of freedom over tyranny, the United States is rushing headlong towards communism at an alarming pace. A failing economy? A war with Afghanistan? What's the answer? Communism!

Manteca Bulletin - Free car wash for veterans Wednesday

2009-11-10T08:55:00.001-08:00

As far as I’m concerned, Quicki-Kleen can keep their free car wash for veterans. I see no reason to participate in any public relations stunt that brings credit to the people who orchestrated the bullying of a fellow citizen who wanted to open up a competing car wash.

The owner of Quicki-Kleen was listed among those who led the “cause” of blocking a new car wash from opening in the 300 block of Yosemite Ave a few months ago.

What does this have to do with veterans you ask?

Well what veterans fought for was freedom. That means the freedom to do business back at home. Anyone who would try to block a competitor using socialistic arguments and questionable “petitions drives” is nothing more than a freedom hating bully. All the free car washes in the world won’t make up for that.

Manteca Bulletin - Free car wash for veterans Wednesday

More on cable customers taxed

2009-11-05T04:44:00.001-08:00

Two other things I forgot.

Regarding the cable TV tax, the editor claims “There is little doubt the revenue is needed.” Little doubt? “Needed” by whom? For what? There are a lot of us who don’t believe the tremendous growth of government over the years has been a good or “needed” thing.

Next, he says “No one in Manteca at this time should have the stomach to push for new taxes. In time, though, the need will come.”

Why will the need come to raise new taxes? What is going to happen that will cause such a need?

Let me dispel two myths of why people think “new taxes” are “needed.” What about growth of the population? Does that cause the need for “new taxes?” NO! If there are more people, more houses, more businesses, then the government collects more taxes from the new people, houses, etc., in exactly the proportion of the growth.

If the population of Manteca goes from 60,000 to 120,000 there will theoretically be no need for “new taxes!” Why? Because there are twice as many people using government “services” and there will be twice as much tax collected. It all evens out.

Of course this never stops the government propaganda machine from telling us a new tax “is needed” because of “the growth in the population,” but that’s just the way it is.

The other excuse sometimes used is “inflation.” We need to raise taxes because “inflation” has made everything cost more. Sounds half-logical until you think about it. If a loaf of bread costs $1 today they collect x taxes. If the price of a loaf of bread goes to $2, then they collect 2x taxes. In other words, if the cost of everything doubles, then the taxes collected doubles. Once again, everything “evens out.”

No, the real question was raised by the author of A Monetary History of the United States; namely, why were taxes more or less stable at about 7 percent of GDP for the first 150 years of the nation, and then suddenly started skyrocketing in the later part of the 20th century. What was so “needed?” And why is the growth in the cost of government so “inevitable?”

Manteca Bulletin - Cable customers ‘taxed’ by Manteca, satellite users aren’t

2009-11-05T04:07:00.001-08:00

A couple of comments in this editorial caught my eye.

Nothing illustrates how we underestimate the huge burden of taxation and regulation than the example of the cable TV provider in town (Comcast) and the proliferation of satellite TV.

Sure, the tax is just a few dollars per person. But it adds up when there are thousands of customers! And what about the regulation? We don’t usually think about regulation costing anything, but it’s not cheap to get city permits, to be authorized as the franchise, comply with all the rules and such.

I don’t have to list the costs. The reason is evident: The taxes and regulations are so burdensome that it was less costly to launch a complex scientific device into geo-stationary orbit above the Earth than to pay the taxes and deal with the regulatory hurdles governments put between them and their customers! Not to mention the costs of the receivers in each home capable of decoding signals from outer space.

And the editor bemoans how “unfair” it is that the genius innovators at the satellite TV company “don’t have to pay the cable tax.” Duh! They invented a way to distribute their content without cables. No cables, no tax.

Manteca Bulletin - Cable customers ‘taxed’ by Manteca, satellite users aren’t

p.s. The first person who suggests that the taxation was good because it spurred on innovation will get 20 lashes with the Milton Friedman noodle.

EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty

2009-11-01T22:27:00.001-08:00

I hope you’ve all been keeping up with your economics education! Tonight’s podcast on “The Financial Crisis” is almost an hour and a half! I hope it’s good. I haven’t listened to it yet.

EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty

Don’t question the hero

2009-10-19T18:05:00.001-07:00

Some guy wrote to the Bulletin questioning my qualifications as “a hero” just because he “saves lives” and “fights crime” and is a good example for the children and stuff. This clip from Dr Horrible’s sing along blog should clear things up.

Remember, “it’s not enough to bash in heads, you’ve got to bash in minds.”

hmmm

2009-10-14T14:04:00.001-07:00

KarenPearsall:
October 14, 2009 - 02:30 PM

American_hero, you state that you have "not seen the slightest bit of any evidence of abuses" as far as city government, yet you set yourself up as judge and jury about how the police union and negotiations work without being privy to any inside information or actual involvement in the process. Making "the union boss" the bad guy here, as if the police officers don't have the power to vote down anything the union leaders recommend, is both inaccurate and misleading. I know from your website that you have a low opinion of unions, but projecting your own biases onto the police union isn't justified and makes for a weak argument that police officers can easily refute. A union leader does not get to "dictate", he represents the group, which has the choice to follow his recommended course of action by voting its approval or to reject his platform. Also, this is not a one-sided affair. The city has its negotiations representative and both sides hash thing out until compromises are reached and a contract is agreed upon by both parties. Much of the anger and frustration we are reading in these postings comes from the police force's resentment of the city's strong-arm tactics and breach of trust by reneging on past contract agreements. It is not just about money, which you describe as "greed", but it is also about principles. Joe, I know that you had a bad experience with the police several years ago when you were on your bike. Do think that, unintentionally, this may be coloring your assessment of the situation or are you just influenced by your obvious contempt for and distrust of unions, in general? Sincerely, Karen

Dear Karen:

Well I only know what I read in the papers. If there was some abuses someone can say. So far all I’ve read is that the city manager is a mean jerk and “threatened to fire us.” Never mind that he’s their boss and that’s his job, to “manage” the city’s resources. They should hire me as their negotiator, then I’d decide if there are any abuses or not.

I know that to many people, the labor unions hold some special place in the hearts and minds, fighting for “the rights of the working man.” But to an economist, a labor union is simply a cartel that controls the supply of labor. Of course I don’t hold the policy of a cartel in high regard; they are simply looking out for the best interests of their members – not “the working man” in general. Now in a free market I don’t dispute the right of workers to assemble into any organization and act according to their own interests. But I don’t make any apology for regarding GOVERNMENT unions as a political force detrimental to the interests of "the working man” or anyone for that matter.

I don’t think I’ve been particularly critical of the MPOA any more than I’ve been critical of the teacher’s union, which in my view is precisely the same issue with different players. The teachers castigate the school board and tell all the parents to “tell the school board you want smaller class sizes” etc. And they are the ones who dictated the larger class sizes!

I’m not the judge of the police department’s operation. I’ve tried to be fair in judgment, and just a last month the chief’s wife thanked me for my kind words about her husband’s leadership at a public meeting. However, I’m not the one who put a gun to some guy’s head and threatened “we can kill you right here” and I’m not the one who kicks a man off his bicycle in retaliation for speaking out at a public meeting and I’m not responsible for the man (men actually) who mysteriously die in custody, sometimes with boot marks on his back. Or picking fights at bars or teenage parties or beating their wives, or singling out businesses for harassment because they are the wrong race. So if you’re asking if I demand better from this so called “professional police force” yes I do. But I don’t think this really has anything to do with the city/union negotiations, except to the extent that I can hardly contain myself when they start whining and going on about what a fantastic job they do.

Notice how suddenly the issue isn’t them but it’s me.

Pumpkins

2009-10-12T14:33:00.001-07:00

That last thing from the city manager was kinda depressing, so let’s just look at some pictures from last week’s Pumpkin Fair.

City Manager's Blog: More Folks Unhappy about Government

2009-10-11T20:04:00.001-07:00

More straight talk from the city manager, and the Cato Institute.

City Manager's Blog: More Folks Unhappy about Government

Just for the record

2009-10-10T10:10:00.001-07:00

This is page 7 and 8 of the report to Manteca City Council (3 Aug 09) titled: COPS Hiring Recovery Program Grant, i.e., the Obama “stimulus” money that reduced the police layoffs from 16 to 12:

The total compensation package to start is $114,405. This includes $15,630 health insurance, $20,227 in deferred pay to his retirement account, a dental plan and even $196 for eyeglasses, in addition to $76K in salary.

Tell me, where else on earth can a kid out of high school get a job paying over 100K? I probably shouldn’t say that, but let's be realistic people!

Notice, in addition, there are some built-in raises for year 2 and 3. By year 3 (the far, far distant future I know) the compensation goes up to $132,126 per year. Isn’t it nice to know our city leaders know what the future holds?

It should be obvious that no amount of new taxes, whether it’s a utility tax or a sales tax or a development fee or whatever, can ever keep up with such obscenely excessive increases in the costs of government services. There’s just no other way to even have a government other than controlling the costs.

Pointless bickering tests endurance

2009-10-07T21:35:00.001-07:00

Amid the heat and mental pressure of a council chamber packed with angry policemen, a woman fainted, briefly causing a break in the pointless, childish, hyperbolic emotional “debate” over pay adjustments for city workers.

I guess technically this was before the pointless debate, as the meeting was still an agenda item at the time, a plan to upgrade the public works garage. This presentation was so searing-ly boring that it’s a wonder someone doesn’t drop every meeting.

(The young woman had, it appeared, simply fainted and walked out with assistance. It was very warm in there, and it was packed with people.)

Below, Manteca citizen does a pretty respectable Norma Rae

Justice for Jeremy walk

2009-10-06T13:47:00.001-07:00

Group marching from SJ Co. Jail to Lathrop on 12 Sep 09 to protest or bring awareness to Jeremy Lum. Total distance about 6 miles. Some made the walk without shoes to simulate the conditions Jeremy found himself.

Manteca Pumpkin Fair

2009-10-04T09:33:00.001-07:00

Here’s an early look at the Manteca Pumpkin Fair. I got there early this year and got lots of free trinkets! And talked to a few of the political movers and shakers.

The circus in town?

2009-10-02T20:19:00.001-07:00

How did this get here without me noticing?Why no mention in the newspapers? There’s a special edition of the Bulletin with a map of the “Pumpkin Festival,” so why no mention of the circus?

Here’s the basic idea. It look like a pretty fun circus. At least it’s something “real.” I know everyone’s probably seen a circus on TV or in the movies, but here’s a chance to see a real live performance. I have no idea of the quality of the show. And I probably won’t because as you can see from the sign my camera isn’t welcome. “No camera?” What’s the point then?

There seems to be a zebra.

… and a camel getting flowers.

But alas, no tiger so I’m told. They do have an elephant on the way but no pictures of it.

Study significant in what it doesn’t say

2009-10-02T09:38:00.001-07:00

Congressman Alan Grayson put up a sign on the floor of congress listing the “republican plan” for health care as “die quickly.” The “support” for this statement is a “study” he claims “proves” that thousands die because they don’t have health insurance. The “study” is on his web site and he invited everyone to read it for themselves.

Well I did look at the study. First of all, it says nothing about “republicans” but that’s not the point. There’s some very significant fine print in that study!

The chart does indeed show an increased risk of death among those without health insurance as compared to those with private health insurance.

Wait a second! Isn’t the study missing something? What about those who have government supplied health care? They simply chose not to include any government health care plans in their study! Why?

We can’t really know why for sure. But there are some hints that suggest a reason: If they had included government supplied health care, chances are it would show that having government health care would cause more deaths than either not having insurance at all or having private health care! Let me explain why that’s likely.

Let’s simplify things with a little analogy. Let’s say I want to study how far an athlete can throw various types of fruit. Let’s say I want know which can you throw farther: an apple, an orange or a pineapple? Simple enough, right?

So we do our experiment (study). We carefully control for the strength of the thrower and randomize things so one person doesn’t always throw the apple first or the pineapple last to avoid skewing the results by having a tired throwing arm, and things like that. No need to go into more details. Let’s just say the results are in and we read the published, peer reviewed results: The apple was thrown 1.4 times farther than the orange. Great study, huh?

But wait a minute, what happened to the pineapple? In the fine print, it says we didn’t include the pineapple because the throwers couldn’t seem to throw the pineapple right. Good excuse?

Why couldn’t they make a glove or something to throw the pineapple or a machine to throw all the fruits? Or something? Maybe they say they had to “adjust” for the different weights of the apple and the orange. So if they could “compensate” for one of them, why couldn’t they adjust for confounding factors for the pineapple? Something is wrong.

Also, from the comment in the notes “not able to throw the pineapple right;” doesn’t that suggest that the pineapple didn’t go as far as the others? Isn’t that the implication? Because if the pineapple flew farther than the others, the note would say something like “the pineapple seemed to be too aerodynamic and flew too easily” or something like that.

Furthermore, let’s say there’s a political debate raging over the issue of if pineapples or apples fly farther. Doesn’t that make it all the more suspicious when the pineapple is mysteriously excluded?

Back to the health study. They write that the reason they excluded the “government health care plans” is that, well, those people must be really sick already. Doesn’t that imply that the results were that people on government insurance did poorly, but they aren’t going to report that?

They even mention they had to do all sorts of adjustments to “even out” various factors for the differences between the “insurance” group and the “no insurance” group. Things like income, smoking rates, rates of obesity, different patterns of exercise among the groups, even assessments of their current health. So, we are to believe that the study authors were able to compensate for all these factors, including current health, (the very reason cited for not including the government insurance in the results) but were somehow unable to do these same compensations to get an accurate view of government supplied health care?

I smell a rat! What would congressman Grayson’s sign say if they included the government health care in the study?

MORR Conference on Redevelopment Abuse November 7

2009-09-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

If you're interested in what the "Redevelopment Agency" (RDA) is and what it does, MORR (Municipal Officials for Redevelopment Reform) is holding their 15th Annual Northern California Conference on Redevelopment Abuse on Saturday, November 7 from 8:30am to 5:00 in San Jose at the San Jose Holiday Inn.

The cost of registration for the conference is $65 and includes breakfast and lunch. We attended one of these conferences a few years ago and it was very enlightening and the food was great! There was a large buffet breakfast and a sit-down luncheon and interesting speakers.

I believe him…

2009-09-28T01:08:00.001-07:00

"I accept responsibility," … "I just assumed that what I was doing was right, and I see now that many of those things were totally wrong." (Monte McFall to judge)

I really do believe him. And I’m glad his sentence is reduced. Why? Because it rings true to me.

In my experience, these government types are bullies, and they don’t even know it. It’s like “the fish doesn’t know he’s wet” because he’s surrounded by water everywhere, it just seems normal to him.

And I know because I’ve gone through a bit of that enlightenment myself. I was quite the junior nazi when I was a young man, I believed in leftist and liberal causes. It just “seemed” to be right. We knew best, and the “little people” just needed to be told. Don’t even bother asking, just tell them, no, command them for their own good.

You can see this in the video of the attack by the teacher. She was incensed that I would question her authority to simply command me to not film the union demonstration or her people. She’s probably used to talking to school children that way. If I was a child I would have been up for detention, expulsion, deportation or worse for “talking back” like that.

It does seem normal to these types, and I know they can change, so I do believe Mr. McFall. Good luck.

McFall's sentence reduced | Recordnet.com

p.s. I know: this makes no sense unless you are familiar with the case I’m talking about. See The Record link above; also a good summary here.

A lineage of geniuses

2009-09-27T05:00:00.001-07:00

Found this article in Slate about why we call certain great men by the first names. Men like Galileo (unique enough name), Leonardo (a common name) from Vinci (Leonardo da Vinci) or Joe from Manteca.

… in 1564, surnames were optional in Italy. In daily interactions, an Italian would use the name his parents gave him at birth … and, if further clarification were required, add on his father's name (like di Antonio, or "son of Antonio"), his birthplace (Romano, or "from Rome"), his occupation (Panettiere,* meaning "baker")…

The governments of the various Italian city-states eventually grew frustrated … without standardization, it was difficult to levy taxes or enforce military registration…

I’m reminded of this legacy every time I address the city council and the mayor insists on giving me his special welcome.

Why we don't use Galileo's last name. - By Brian Palmer - Slate Magazine

Could be worse

2009-09-24T08:18:00.001-07:00

I guess it could be worse. Just look at what the union is doing to Stockton schools.

In a nutshell, the union demanded that the superintendent be fired because he spent a few million dollars on a new reading program in an attempt to turn around the “Dropout Factories” that the schools in Stockton had become. It might have worked too, but the greedy union saw that money and lusted after it.

And the gall of the union is unrestrained if you check their website they are “doing it for the children.” They want to pick the next superintendent “because they know best.”

It’s awfully nice to be able to pick your boss and the guy you have to negotiate with; that makes life a lot easier. But that’s the prescription for building a Dropout Factory.

See the video from the Stockton Record, it makes the MUSD meeting look tame.

Recordnet.com Video | Amato fired after unanimous vote by SUSD trustees

Another great video here. Setting aside that everyone looks like they were sent from central casting, (Mexican Businessman has great hair!) toward the end Bitter Union Organizer explains, couched in language that sounds better, exactly what I outlined above in a nutshell.

p.s. I won’t even get into this “anonymous” blogger called “Chocolate” who was so “concerned.” It turns out that was a disgruntled employee of SUSD who was fired for some reason, although I hate to think of how bad of a job you would have to do to be fired from a Dropout Factory.

Teacher attacks citizen at board meeting

2009-09-23T01:53:00.001-07:00

In this video, Ken Johnson, the head of the teacher’s union is speaking. I follow (with the camera) Mr. Johnson back to his seat to film the audience and applause. A woman sitting next to Mr. Johnson yells something at me. I got the idea she didn’t like the video when she hid her face behind some papers. Next, I’m trying to film the events (the union leader) without getting the woman who doesn’t like being filmed in the frame. Then Mr. Johnson comes over where I’m sitting and goes back to his seat, next the woman comes over from across the room and starts yelling at me some more and smacking me with her papers/book and her hand!

I apologize for my impolite words, I tend to be a little short when someone chases me across the room to hit me with their papers. Although you’d think by now I’d be used to that.

Lathrop’s award winning hot dog cart law

2009-09-20T20:25:00.001-07:00

The old story goes: A man has one good arm and a withered arm. So he prays, “Lord, make my arm like the other one!” In a puff of lighting, his other arm is withered.

The Lathrop hot dog cart law is an attempt to punish mobile food vendors “because it’s fair.” The owners of stores and restaurants don’t think it’s fair someone should be able to compete with them.

The restaurants complain that they have to jump through hoops, get cumbersome permits, pay exorbitant fees and taxes, it can take years just to get a permit to operate (unless you are a big corporation with a good legal department, then it’s easy.) So, in order to remedy this the wise council decided that the hot dog stands should be similarly burdened.

What’s wrong with this? A few things. First, you can’t create prosperity by restrictions on commerce! The “job market” isn’t exactly good right now, and the last thing the city needs to do to “help people” is to outlaw their attempts to make a living.

Also, fairness is a slippery concept that mostly exists in the mind of whoever is coming up with it. The restaurant guy is “irate” how dare that kid with the cart sell tacos or ice cream? He’s “taking away my customers” and I had to pay all these taxes and utilities and get permits to open this restaurant – It’s not fair they whine!

But the guy on the bicycle is probably thinking “it’s not fair” he gets to sit in an air conditioned building with gas and electricity and tables and can sell all sorts of things I can’t.

Well, what’s stopping the restaurant guy from getting a bicycle and going pedaling around the city if he thinks they have it so great? He doesn’t because he and the push cart guy have made choices. Each weighed the costs and the benefits and decided what was best. Each came to different conclusions but maybe that’s just the way it is. But the ignorant and greedy restaurant bullies, rather than accepting their own choices, whine to the City Council to do something about them. (Whaaaaa!)

The council members who voted in favor of this asinine law have earned The Manteca Live! Horse’s Ass award. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that it was a stupid thing to do. So stupid that intelligent people shouldn’t even have to discuss it.

Maybe if I feel like it I’ll list the problems with the new law (it’s poorly written, poorly intentioned, and just plain dumb) in another log entry. But for now, let me point out that it’s not just my opinion that the purpose of the law is to “burden” the food vendors, in the staff report it actually says that. (It talks about “equity” with “other business owners.”)

I have an idea, you can read it for yourself! (see pages 49 to 60).

SSJID make glorious revolution!

2009-09-17T18:35:00.001-07:00

The text reads: SSJID will give glorious power and the people make great harvest.*

SSJID retail power will help agriculture survive & thrive

*accuracy of translation subject to variations. Could also mean: We will take the power from the oligarchs! Not for our glory! But for YOU! Only for YOU!

“Woo” businesses? Start by treating current business properly.

2009-09-15T17:25:00.001-07:00

Lathrop is attempting to “woo” business? The new slogan should be: Come to Lathrop, spend all your life savings investing in a business. Don’t worry, it’s safe because we probably won’t just wake up one day and decide to crush your business like we did to the mobile food vendors.

Lathrop wants to woo businesses in earnest

p.s Oh I forgot to add that former Lathrop Mayor Gloryanna Rhodes wins the “I’m living in a parallel universe” award for this statement:

“Everything in Manteca today was projected for Lathrop. Stockton is booming. Tracy is bringing people in.”

When she uttered the words “Stockon is booming!” a shaft of light shown down and she was quickly beamed up to the mothership.

Straight talk from City Manager

2009-09-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

The Manteca City Manager has some interesting and straight talking Comments on a blog. Of course, he's getting the usual flak from the usual suspects but I agree with his economic analysis. (And then some!)

It's back!

2009-09-14T18:40:00.001-07:00

I thought the street vendor issue was settled in Oct 2007 at this public meeting. Those who spoke about the issue were strongly in support of the "street vendors" and favored minimal licensing or interference with them.

This week the issue comes up again in Lathrop. The "first reading" was passed without much fanfare a few weeks ago.

All the same burdensome regulations rejected two years ago are back like the thing in a horror movie that you think you killed but it keeps coming at you.

Being honest in the health care debate

2009-09-14T14:07:00.001-07:00

There'a an article by Washington Post columnist David Broder Obama must be blunt with us: Status quo must change that I think is worth reading whether you are for or against his health care reform proposals. I think the reason why so many people seem to distrust the president is that he comes across as a used car salesman trying to sell you a bill of goods. His campaign-style stumping to get everyone onboard and telling us to just trust him and don't listen to those trying to scare us isn't working and has an air of desperation around it.

The problem is everyone knows he's fibbing when he says nothing will change with your healthcare if you like it now and that his massive spending plan won't increase the budget deficit. He's not being honest and the general public is smarter than he thinks we are. His promises and statements just don't ring true.

Tired of whining teachers and union boss

2009-09-10T19:52:00.001-07:00

I stepped into the hallway to get some water and frankly was in no hurry to get back into the school board meeting. I could hear the whining from here. With me were a couple of school bus drivers. They looked just as exasperated. I delicately inquired and they told me “we took a 5 percent cut, why can’t they (the teachers) take the same cut like all the rest of us?”

Now we hear “the district is hoarding cash!” And they are firing teachers just to “put money in the bank.” They have $12 million in the bank! (or $15 million depending) They scream!

Readers, you probably know by now I’m not exactly the most uncritical person in the world especially of the school district or any of the government agencies around here. But in this case, I have looked at the MUSD’s balance sheet and from “back of the envelope” calculations I have to side with the school board.

I don’t know if Chief Union Boss has ever taken math, but “$12 million” is just pocket change, not some “hoarding” or a “fortune.” Directly from Superintendent Messer: The payroll alone is $13 million each month! In other words the district needs to write checks for $13 million on one month, every month to keep the schools operating. Having $12 to 15 million “in the bank” is just common sense, otherwise, as Mr. Messer explained, they would have to borrow and pay interest, costing the district even more.

And frankly, every problem mentioned in the letter from the union boss; from class size to the school bus cutbacks is directly caused by the teacher’s union greed and lack of cooperation.

I’m sorry to have to say it that harshly, but if you disagree go ahead and tell me where I’m wrong.

Union boss’s letter here: Kids should come before cash reserves in Manteca

Obama spins fairy tale

2009-09-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

I listened to President Obama’s speech to the joint session of congress last night and felt like I was being told a fairy tale about how the fairy godmother government was going to provide everyone with fantastic low cost heath insurance, and the president personally was going to protect us all from the evil insurance companies and make sure no one would ever be denied coverage, never have their insurance cancelled and never have to pay out-of-pocket expenses! With no increase to the budget deficit at all! Why, who wouldn’t want such wonderful benefits?

If it sounds too good to be true…it is. Put aside all the emotional issues like "death panels" and rationing and look just at the financial reality. There is NO WAY he can deliver everything he’s promising and have it be “budget neutral.” He also says the government will run the health care system more efficiently and at lower cost than the insurance companies! When has the government ever run anything more efficiently and at lower cost than the private sector can? But he’s the president, he wouldn’t lie to us!

Obama says no one else has come up with a solution, so there’s no other choice than to adopt his plan. Others have suggested an easy option that the government does not want to do: Allow open competition for insurance companies across state lines so that people can shop all over the US for health insurance like they do now for auto insurance. Nothing lowers prices like competition. Forbes.com has an excellent article on the subject Making Health Care Simple.

Manteca tells visitors to stay the hell away

2009-09-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

In the Manteca Bulletin yesterday, Dennis Wyatt says "There’s an extra incentive now for out-of-town residents to drive safely in Manteca" referring to the recent city council decision to charge a fee to anyone who doesn't live in Manteca and needs emergency fire services while traveling here. http://www.mantecabulletin.com/news/article/6748/

How will Manteca advertise this incentive? Afterall, if out-of-towners aren't aware of this new incentive, then why would they be more likely to drive more safely? Will they be putting up billboards or signs advertising it as visitors enter city limits? Maybe a prominent sign at the entrance of Bass Pro Shop warning customers to get the hell out of Manteca before they get nabbed for having an accident. One in front of Big League Dreams too.

Conspiracy Theorist Convinces Neil Armstrong Moon Landing Was Faked

2009-09-03T20:21:00.001-07:00

Stunning!

Conspiracy Theorist Convinces Neil Armstrong Moon Landing Was Faked | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

A labyrinth of government panhandlers

2009-09-03T00:13:00.001-07:00

Ok, they used the term “public-sector” as a euphemism for “government.” But this reminded me of this week’s meeting where the firemen asked for permission to charge you for their services.

The term “panhandlers” surprises me because this isn’t coming from a manifesto from a mimeograph machine in the Montana back woods, but rather, the New York Times.

States, Counties and Towns Using Fees to Fix Budget Problems - NYTimes.com

What happened in ‘82?

2009-09-01T14:33:00.001-07:00

This is from the report on “affordable housing” that’s to be presented at tonight’s council meeting. (Pg 10, fig 1) It’s a graph of how much money people make (personal income) in this county over the years and compared to the average of the nation (United States) and the state (California.)

According to this, the rest of the state has done pretty well over the years. One of the more prosperous places in the nation. (Many lucrative industries, Hollywood, aerospace, silicon valley, etc). So what went wrong with San Joaquin country?

And in particular, what happened in 1982? SJ was more or less about as wealthy as the nation as a whole, just a little less than California as a whole. But according to this chart, the bottom fell out in the early ‘80’s. You can see the red line (San Joaquin) diverge from the national average about then, and the “gap” in poverty increases.

So what went wrong? Did people suddenly get stupid? Prop 13? Williamson act? The ascendency of “central planning?” State takeover of school funding? Ronald Reagan? (no, the nation prospered under Reagan). Then what was it? Maybe someone should ask the expert tonight.

Police focus on Club Leon

2009-08-30T22:43:00.001-07:00

The public hearing about Club Leon’s permit for operation was put off a few months ago. This week it comes back for consideration.

Since then, the courts have ruled that if you permit a bar then you have to permit live music. Live music is a right; it’s a form of expression protected by the first amendment.

Nevertheless, the police chief is still opposing the renewal of the permit. He cites “incidents” since they last met. One was a call from an unknown person about “noise.” (One noise complaint in a year? That’s fantastic!) And the police drove through the parking lot and … hold onto your hat… they found a drunk. And guess what, they did the same thing a month later, they found yet another drunk near the bar or in the parking lot. What a crime wave. In a year, that would be a dozen drunks found in the parking lot.

By the way, there’s no result of any investigations in any of these “incidents.” Maybe the noise was coming from a car stereo? It does seem like an odd claim since anyone can go there any night they are open and see if there is “noise.”

Oh, and someone “discovered” (That’s what the report says, as if they unearthed a dusty old zoning map from Joshua Cowell’s sarcophagus) that the zoning is “community commercial” and for some reason a bar and/or dance hall needs a permit. But all of “downtown” is the same “CC” zoning. Including all the bars, restaurants, and the M.R.P.S. hall where they presumably dance and sing. So the zoning is a non-issue.

I’ve previously commented on the other issues. If anything, the courts have spoken and it makes no sense to single out Club Leon for punishment. In fact, in light of the vast improvements they have made, they should be commended.

Manteca Fire to charge a fee?

2009-08-30T21:44:00.001-07:00

This week the Manteca Fire Department is proposing they be permitted to charge (actually, bill) people from “out of town” who get in car accidents in Manteca!

The proposal is riddled with problems:

1. The department notes that California law permits charges for certain services but it’s a bit more nuanced. The accident has to be caused by negligence. And while I’m sure most accidents are caused by someone’s negligence it’s often hard to figure out who. Now the fire department claims to have some method of determining fault?

2. There’s no provision in the law for provincial discrimination. In other words, there’s nothing that lets them charge one guy and not charge another guy depending on where they live.

The rationale they glibly suggest is that people in Manteca already pay taxes for the fire services and presumably “outsiders” don’t. But that is not so. Actually, anyone who stays at a hotel, fills up with gasoline or stops for a meal in a restaurant or buys a stick of gum in Manteca pays some taxes.

Is that enough to pay for fire services? Probably. Consider the entire public safety budget, and consider how long it takes a car to pass through Manteca’s jurisdiction on Hwy 99 or 120. Something like 90 seconds to 180 seconds. And when you figure it all out and divide the public safety budget by the number of minutes in a year, it comes to about a dollar a day, or a fraction of a penny for a passing through. If someone stays at a hotel, they pay about $10 in tax, enough for more than a week of public safety. I don’t want to get bogged down in numbers too much; but it’s obvious that many visitors do pay enough in Manteca taxes. And maybe everyone does.

Because, one could argue that for the small amount of time one passing through Manteca uses, (a minute or two of fire and police protection) they have already paid that in taxes paid to California and to the federal government. Based on my back of the envelope calculation, if Manteca takes in $1.8 million in federal or state aid or grants, then everyone in the United States has paid enough to the City of Manteca to cover the cost of providing life saving services for those who pass through.

3. What kind of a public relations disaster this would be! The city is trying hard to promote itself and encourage people to visit. How will it help our reputation once it gets known if some crazy Manteca driver causes an accident not only might you be hurt but the city will send you a bill! Our new slogan will have to be “Come to Manteca so we can bill you if we have to save your sorry ass.”

4. Maybe we should only charge people who reside in a city that would charge us if we were in their city and got in an accident! Fortunately, there are few cities that do this. Most cities save the lives of Manteca residents when they are visiting or passing through. Our way of thanking them for that is by charging their residents?

5. The charges are outrageous and arbitrary. Anything from about $500 to go out to the scene of the accident and do nothing, to over $2000 to essentially do nothing but watch a helicopter land and med-evac someone. Granted there’s an in-between charge of about $1800 if they have to use the "jaws of life” to pry open a door to get you out of a wreck. Now I have one more thing to worry about if I’m trapped in a wrecked car; if I’m still conscious I’ll be thinking “what is that thing costing me?… Maybe I can just crawl out the back window, just give me a boost….”

6. I saved the best for last. This company they are thinking of hiring brags on their web site how they collect at such a high rate, much more than anyone else. How do they do it? They won’t say. It’s a secret method, we’re just supposed to authorize that.

God only knows what they do! Do they call up and demand money? Do they threaten? Do they “forget” to mention that you have a right to contest the charge? Do they say they will sue? (They aren’t authorized to bring lawsuits.) Do they send out the goon squad who remarks what a shame it would be if your kneecaps were to “get in an accident like your car?” Who knows!

But one thing we do know. The City Council should not authorize a third party to do some secret thing they won’t tell us. Do I need to say it again? A public relations nightmare!

One stop permit center opens

2009-08-27T21:42:00.001-07:00

The long awaited “one stop” permit center has opened in Manteca. Included in this video is the wild opening gala and interviews with customers about their experience and comments from various city officials.

In addition, in this video I ask the chief of Manteca Transit (bus service) about how the new bus route is working out.

Who said it?

2009-08-24T15:33:00.001-07:00

Quick quiz for you. Last week at a meeting with the congressman, this was said:

(they) … complained about illegal aliens playing the system for funds; who see people drive into the parking lot in a Cadillac Escalade clutching cell phones with fake fingernails but claiming they don’t have the money to buy their child asthma medicine;

Who uttered this non-judgmental non-elitist non-arrogant insightful commentary? Choose one:

a) An idiot

b) Directors of Doctors Hospital in Manteca

c) The Manteca Country Club membership committee

d) Lou Dobbs

For the answer, see the report in this weeks Sun-Post. (link below)

SunPost.net - News, businesses, classifieds, sports, events in Lathrop and Manteca, California.

Manteca Transit helps get your lazy ass to school

2009-08-20T20:30:00.001-07:00

Manteca Transit will be offering a new "loop" on an existing bus route to help you get your lazy ass to school. So if you live south-west Manteca, you can hop the bus for a mere 75 cents. (Bring exact change!) Note the times and slightly different routes in the morning and afternoon. I think they did that just to test you.

Below is an interactive map as best as I could figure. The PM route is a bit ambiguous from a cartographic standpoint. Check the actual route map and schedule here.

View Pilot bus route in a larger map

At last Tuesday's meeting, the Manteca City Council extended transit's original 30 day pilot plan to 60 days giving your dumb ass more time to figure out there's a bus to get your lazy ass to school.

Politician training simulator

2009-08-17T17:00:00.001-07:00

If you have some time to kill, or you want to try your hand at redistricting, you can play this exciting and challenging game! It’s based on real political science. See if you can get your candidate elected! And you’ll learn a lot about this otherwise esoteric way politicians stay in power.

(click on link below to start game)

The ReDistricting Game

Ayn Rand quote for today:

2009-08-13T19:20:00.001-07:00

“Freedom has been given a chance and failed. Therefore, more stringent controls are necessary. . . . I need wider powers!”

Why Ayn Rand Is Still Relevant - Bullish on Books Blog - CNBC.com