THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

Yesterday, my congressional candidate brother, Will, visited  Cousin Gary visiting from Southern, CA. Gary had never been to an Occupy Wall Street protest because, as he put it, “I’m not interested in closing ports and businesses where people have jobs. And, I don’t want to lay down in the street.”

He also confessed to not quite understanding what the point is. While vitriolic radio show hosts criticize and condemn the movement as pointless and leaderless, I notice that all National news organizations are covering this movement- because  it has legs.  As one local protester, Rick Mines put it, “Protesting the concentration of wealth and power held by less than 1 percent of the population is an effort to  save capitalism.  Capitalism has to be fair,”  (And I would add regulated.)
You can’t compete when some guy is putting $100 million down to put a  Supreme Court Justice in place, or when 80% of congress regards their major job in governing is to get rich by way of  hand-outs, insider trading, and million dollar jobs when they leave. I take heart because the long term apathy among the general population is finally over. You couldn’t get people to take to the streets. That has changed all over the world as well as  in our highly conservative mountain counties, Tuolumne, Calaveras and Amador.

It was a small band on a cold December evening during the busy Christmas season. Two young students were there. The only other woman said to me, “In our county we are all part of the 99%. We don’t have any concentration of wealthy here. But, it is still important to let people know, its time to take a stand and we desperately need change and jobs and a robust middle class.”

This sign speaks to an issue that may be more important than the government laws that tilt toward the wealthy.  It is a slippery slope to a fascist state when we weaken our first amendment rights.  There are many good things in the NDAA, like protections for whistleblowers. But, we are not to know if sub-par maintenance of our airplanes is a factor in crash. We cannot know who contributed what to the congressional committee people overseeing the granting of government contracts. On any contract,  any savings realized cannot be directed to the National Debt once the money has been set aside and is not used for that project. No clue to where that money WILL go. Suspected terrorists will not have the same rights of trial, detention, and ability to defend themselves as we do now. There are good things in the act, but  many slippery areas. The idea to audit the Defense Department Budget was soundly rejected. Hmmm. It’s on-line. Read it.

THE GOP HATES BIKES?

—By Stephanie Mencimer

| Tue Oct. 25, 2011 9:24 AM PDT

Bill McNeil/Flickr photo

Over the past few months, as Republicans have focused their attention on cutting what they see as wasteful government spending, they’ve zeroed in on a surprising new target: bicyclists, and the programs that serve them.
The federal government spends about $40 billion a year on transportation projects. Of that, about $928 million has been devoted to what’s known as a “transportation enhancement” program, which provides funding for projects—including rails-to-trails conversions, bike lanes, and bridges—that make cycling safer, and thus more viable as a commuting option. But as Congress gears up to reauthorize the massive transportation funding bill this year, Republicans are arguing that states shouldn’t be forced to use scarce transportation funds to encourage bike commuting when bridges for cars are falling down.
“We’re doing all these things that, if we had extra money, if we were running a surplus, sure, nobody would really be complaining about it,” Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) told the Washington Post. But, Coburn added, “We can no longer have silly priorities get in the way of real needs.”
States spend only about 1 percent of all transportation funds on projects devoted to cycling or pedestrian improvements. Yet Republicans see this as an area ripe for cutting. Over the summer, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) targeted DC’s nascent Capitol Bikeshare program, which provides cheap rental bikes at subway stations and other strategic locations in the Washington Metro area (including northern Virginia) to encourage bike commuting.
The program has been wildly successful and has inspired other cities to replicate it as a good way of reducing traffic congestion and air pollution (not to mention obesity). But Cantor sees only waste. As TBD reported in August, Cantor used the GOP’s “YouCut” website to highlight Capitol Bikeshare as a foolish venture ripe for elimination. Cantor also complained that bike-sharing programs were one reason that federal transportation spending was vastly exceeding the revenues brought in by the gas tax.
The actual reason that gas tax revenues aren’t meeting demand for infrastructure improvements is that Congress hasn’t raised the tax since 1993, so its value has been eaten up by inflation. But no matter. Targeting bike programs to try to tame the federal budget seems to fall in line with the GOP’s belief that the whole deficit problem could be solved if we just got rid of NPR and Planned Parenthood. It’s an ideological battle rather than a viable budget solution. Bike programs are associated with liberal Democrats who believe in climate change and care about the environment, so Republicans like Cantor would like to get rid of them, even if those programs make it much easier for some of his constituents to get to work every day.

Thank you Stephanie Mencimer for writing my blog today.

What a bunch of horseshit.

OCCUPYING WALL STREET

Occupying Wall Street for me is tomorrow, on Earth Revolution day, October 15th, at Sonora, a small community in Tuolumne County.
This movement is really the first major grassroots revolution going on in America since the Viet Nam protests.  Its been a peaceful revolution and I expect it has put our legislators on notice, maybe…  Maybe not. Did they pass a jobs bill?  No.

Keeping Millions Out of Work to put One Man Out of a Job.
Republicans have turned into a fringe element as in you have to refuse any compromise with Democrats, especially any budget compromise. You have to question Science, because all those environmentalists are a bunch of crazies. You have to think  you can  run a country without any taxes, or regulation, nor listen to any sensible tax plans; you can’t support any muslim citizens of the United States, nor allow women to have control over their bodies.  And, if you are a candidate, you have to PLEDGE to hew to the party line, don’t even think of having an independent thought.  And, while Republicans sympathize with alternative lifestyles, maybe, well, some do, they start to shake when it comes to the word marriage as in same-sex marriage.  The word scares hell out of them. And, you have to deny  environmental holocaust and climate change exists because those pesky environmentalists want to phase out coal and dependence on oil where the $$$$$$ comes from.   And, you can’t be friendly to anyone who ever worked with or compromised with a Democrat.  And gun control, cannot be touched, even for a child safety lock, or for assault guns that can kill an elephant.  And you can’t associate with the “wrong” people,  as in Democrats or anyone who thinks a Union has any merit. Lock our borders, don’t let anyone in, but let cheap goods flow freely across the borders. Why make anything in the U.S?
So, I’m going to put my legislators on notice,  that this movement is about holding Wall Street, the banks, the money grabbers pushing for legislation that benefit only a certain segment of corporations, accountable.  This is about taking back Democracy By The People For The People. This is about basic freedoms and it is just part of a global revolution.
Occupy Wall Street has websites and demonstrations in every state,  ten provinces in Canada, and Puerto Rico. This occupation has been going on for 28 days.
There are protests for PEACE, and REBIRTH of  DEMOCRACY  in Egypt, France, England, Italy, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Syria, and Tunisia. Oh, and don’t be surprised if it doesn’t surface in your local newspaper.
In Ohio, the state is bulldozing houses to keep neighborhoods from turning into slums, and our Congress can’t pass a jobs bill?  They send people to prison for stealing a loaf of bread, but banks and corporations that steal billions get away without even a reprimand?
This isn’t the Democracy that I grew up with.  It may take Americans a long time to wake up, but change is in the air.  Revolution is a painful way to make change, but it works. And, it could get bloody.

PHOTO ID NEEDED

 The Alameda County Sheriffs Archive Association has had this picture for many years with no idea who the two interesting people are, nor where the picture came from? At some time back, I put out a search for Jim Crewe that brought results via this blog. So, thought I'd try for identification of this couple. If anybody can help, we'd appreciate it.

It was taken during the early 1970's during a spate of civil protests going on at the time. This may have been a women's support group given the attire. In any case, if anyone has information about this picture, please let us know via this blog.
Today is my day to work the archive and meet with new President, Bill Rhodes, newly retired from the department.

PROTEST, AND ART CONJOINED

A chance encounter with Tiffany at Hot Cuts in Angels Camp provided a glimpse into beautiful body art.
Tiffany told me her mom got a tattoo when she was in high school' and she was aghast, embarrassed and angry. "How could you do this to me? Embarrassing me in front of my friends?", Tiffany remembered admonishing her mother.
At age 23, older, wiser, she invited her mom to go to Santa Cruz to be with her while she got her first tattoo.
"I'm so glad tattoo's are mainstream and don't have "that" reputation," she declared.
Tiffany is shown with a beautiful angel on her arm. On her foot she had a pisces tattoo in honor of her first child, Sharlee. Second daughter, Bella, was honored with a beautiful signature on her wrist.
Tattoo's have been a respected part of human culture since prehistoric times. During the 1940's, the tattoo was the territory of sailors and soldiers. Prevalent in the biker and jail culture for years gave tattoos a bad boy rep in the 1950's and 60's. It became a form of protest in the 70's and 80's. Now, mainstream.
I chuckle at the ring finger tattoo of a friend. It is a personal, political statement against marriage. It states succinctly, never again.
Now, that is determination.