Every time I see Gavin Newson on TV, it just reinforces my feelings about this recall – YES! NOW!

22 Aug

This morning I saw an interview with Gavin Newsom on Fox News “The Issue Is”. He declared, “We’re going to win overwhelmingly, we just need to remind people to turn out and vote.” It sounded more like an order than an observation.

And then the threats of “profound consequences” – Republicans, he says, will eliminate masking and vax orders, forcing the rest of us to “walk off the COVID cliff.” They will tank our economy. They will get rid of Nancy Pelosi. Asked what he thought of each of the front runner candidates, Newsom opined, “they all align with Trump, they are much more similar than they seem.”

That’s not what I saw in the debates – Cox was the only one who announced he would vote for Trump, and only if there were not other way to beat Biden. Both Faulconer and Kiley failed to bite on the question of supporting Trump, saying they wanted to stick to California issues. I think the question was off base. A more appropriate question would have been who they’d pick to replace Dianne Feinstein in the event that her slipping mental abilities lead to early retirement.

So much for a rational conversation with the governor. Asked if he thought his current advice to “just vote NO and skip the second question” was “political suicide”, Newsome ignored the reporter, leaned toward the camera, and rasped, “You don’t have to worry about the second question, just vote NO.” The reporter continued to ask Newsom why he thought there were other Democrats running on the ballot, “do you understand why Democrats are frustrated?” Again, Newsom ignored the question, writing off any Democratic dissatisfaction saying, “Everybody is frustrated, it’s the difficulties we’ve seen as a state.”

I don’t know who he means by “we”, I don’t believe he knows anything about the difficulties the rest of us have been dealing with. For one thing, when asked what he thought is the biggest issue facing Californians right now, he said, without hesitation, “What’s on everybody’s minds – we need a comprehensive strategy for homelessness.”

Well, if he means the instant homelessness that occurs when you burn down an entire town, he’s got something there. Right at this moment, I’d say the biggest thing on anybody’s mind in California is, will we ever have another summer when we can open our windows at night? About two-thirds of the state is wondering if they will always live under the threat of man-made wildfires. And canny taxpayers are wondering how an agency that racks up as much overtime as Cal Fire can’t seem to put out a fire. A lot of us are asking, “if they say it’s ‘contained,’ how come it keeps getting bigger?“

I’ll add, what’s going to happen to our PG&E rates as they burn down one town after another? Earlier this year, Newsom hastily passed legislation that supposedly “stabilized” utilities by protecting them from the consequences of their own mistakes. Does that mean our rates won’t go up? Who exactly is he protecting?

Every time I see Newsom in the news, he just reinforces my feelings about the recall.

Deadline for Newsom recall-related letters to Enterprise Record is September 9 – get those letters in folks! No name calling, Dammit!

20 Aug

I watched the debate televised last night, featuring California Governor candidates Kevin Kiley, Kevin Faulconer, and John Cox, and I thought they all represented themselves fairly well. I thought Kiley’s answers were the most thoughtful, I liked his stance on everything they talked about. But, I was disappointed that there were no questions about what’s on everybody’s mind in California right now – the wildfires.

Look at the Cal Trans CCTV for Chico, you can see the air quality is very unusual.

https://cwwp2.dot.ca.gov/vm/iframemap.htm?long=-122.3917&lat=40.5865&zoom=24
You might think there’s a storm moving in but it’s smoke and ash that are creating the cloud cover.

There is ash on my patio plants, the spiderwebs in the trees – if you stand still, you can see it showering down, tiny particles. You might as well be smoking two packs a day, is what I’m guessing. Can you believe Chico banned woodstoves years back, because smoke is bad for you!

I don’t get mad, I get even. So I wrote the following letter to the Enterprise Record. Mike Wolcott announced the other day, the cut-off date for recall-related letters is September 9. There are other rules:

It’s election time again — and here are the rules | Editorial

“No name calling.” Hah! But trash talk, personal attacks, and misinformation are okay, from what I’ve been seeing lately. Try to keep your letter on point and check your facts, have them ready, just in case Wolcott decides to perform his due diligence.

I’m voting to recall Gavin Newsom because we need to get this governor out of office and change his policies that have caused misery for so many people.

When Newsom took office he declared the state would clear underbrush and thin forests “with prescribed burns and other techniques.“ But Capitol Public Radio found “Newsom overstated, by an astounding 690%, the number of acres treated with fuel breaks and prescribed burns… Newsom has claimed that 35 ‘priority projects’ carried out as a result of his executive order resulted in fire prevention work on 90,000 acres. But the state’s own data show the actual number is 11,399.“

Instead of holding PG&E accountable after the utility was found responsible for the Camp Fire, Newsom announced his office would “broker a deal” to end PG&E’s bankruptcy. Some critics believe Newsom has given the company a gift in the form of this year’s hastily-passed legislation AB 1054, which protects power monopolies from financial accountability when they start future wildfires, after having accepted $208,400 in campaign donations from the utility in 2018.

Newsom has overseen a policy of “containment” – allow fuels to accumulate, and then let fire burn itself out, no matter the calamities it creates, lives, habitat and natural resources lost forever. My vote to recall is purely defensive – I feel like he’s trying to kill us.

Kevin Kiley, with five good years of experience in the legislature, is a good choice to replace Newsom. We need a change in leadership, now.

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Here’s an interesting article from today’s SF Chronicle regarding why Gavin Newsom is trying to ignore away this recall – the Democrats think the voters are too stupid to make two decisions?

19 Aug

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/What-s-behind-Gavin-Newsom-s-advice-to-not-16393947.php

Newsom is not on the regular ballot – so, if we get a majority of YES votes on the recall, he’s out, period

19 Aug

I got my recall ballot yesterday, it was most certainly a high point. I already knew what to do, but I’ve been hearing and reading a lot of confusing information about this recall.

My husband and I noticed right away – Gavin Newsom is not on this ballot. That is confusing, as we heard stories that he was indeed running, and that he had a little set-to with the Secretary of State over his party designation.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-07-12/newsom-wont-get-democrat-beside-his-name-on-recall-ballot-says-judge

Apparently you will have to write him in at the bottom of the ballot if you want to vote for him (in the event that the recall is successful). And the right-in rules are weird.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-08-16/will-your-write-in-vote-in-californias-recall-election-count

Here’s something I didn’t know – only candidates who have applied for write-in status will be counted in this election. This article says that candidates have until August 31 to apply for write-in status. That means the full list of eligible write-in candidates will not appear until early September.

Here’s an August 4 article from CalMatters that adds more confusion:

https://calmatters.org/politics/2021/08/newsom-recall-how-to-vote/

“You can write in any name you want. But for your vote to count, it must be someone from the certified list. Write-in candidates have until Aug. 31 to file. Any write-in votes for Newsom also won’t be counted.“

So, I assume Newsom has not applied to be a certified write-in candidate. In fact, Newsom apparently is telling his supporters just to vote No on the first question and IGNORE the second question. Here’s a blurb from the Democrats’ Twitter page.

The weirdest thing I’ve seen so far are signs distributed by the local Chico Democrats. They are associating this recall with something called Q’Anon – devil worshipping child molesters. This reminds me of the totally weird door hangers they were distributing in the last election. I’m floored – what the hell is happening to Chico Democrats?

The disarray in the Democratic party is one more reason to vote YES on this recall. Newsom and his party are tanking our state with their very, very strange agenda.

I can’t guess what will happen, I just know I’m voting YES for the RECALL and Kevin Kiley for Governor.

Capitol Public Radio: Newsom overstated forest clearance by 80,000 acres

18 Aug

This morning the smoke is so bad I woke up thinking we’d inadvertently left a window open. No. We’d even reinforced the sliding glass door with masking tape. Since 3 am, we’ve been breathing acrid, toxic air, thanks to PG&E, Cal Fire, and the head of the whole stinking fish, Gavin Newsom.

“Dixie Fire: Containment to be determined...” is the official word out of Cal Fire. Meaning, it will go out with the first rains. As of yesterday the fire was bearing down on Susanville – is that their intention? Just burn out all the mountain dwellers, leave nothing but ski resorts? Really?

I received a survey from Doug LaMalfa’s office, asking me how I think they should handle these fires. One option was, don’t allow people to live in fire prone areas anymore. I’m sure LaMalfa’s staff included that option to piss people off, but I’ve heard that kind of talk from people like Jim, and I think it’s on the table.

My family landed in the Sierra Nevada in the 1840’s, my grandma Mahala brought three children in by mule train in 1849. At that time, that was where the jobs were, and that’s where you could get land. Those people built this state. Their descendants continue to live up there – with the exception of my cousin Janet, who lost her house in Greenville a couple of weeks ago.

Is this how Newsom intends to accomplish de-population? Just burn them out? It’s been done before – look up the history of Prattville – the original town burned down due to a suspicious fire in the early 1900’s, just as The Western Power Company (predecessor to PG&E) was attempting to buy up huge swaths of land to build dams and reservoirs. The people of Prattville didn’t want to sell. So, one day when most of the residents had travelled to a baseball tournament, the town burned to the ground. Today the ruins of the original town of Prattville are sunk under Lake Almanor.

Well, that might all be a specious conspiracy theory, but Dan Walters reports here

https://calmatters.org/commentary/2021/08/wildfires-newsom-recall-forest-service/

that promises Newsom made early in his term about fire prevention and suppression have not come to fruition.

“Everybody has had enough,” Newsom said, adding that the state’s approach “fundamentally has to change.”

Newsom said the state would clear underbrush and thin forests with prescribed burns and other techniques, emulating how nature and Native Americans dealt with fire for countless eons.“

“However, what seemed to be an innovative new state policy became an embarrassment when Capitol Public Radio reported in June that Newsom had hugely overstated what the state had done over the previous two years.” Capitol Public Radio  “found Newsom overstated, by an astounding 690%, the number of acres treated with fuel breaks and prescribed burns in the very forestry projects he said needed to be prioritized to protect the state’s most vulnerable communities. Newsom has claimed that 35 ‘priority projects’ carried out as a result of his executive order resulted in fire prevention work on 90,000 acres. But the state’s own data show the actual number is 11,399.“

So, here we are today. Between his refusal to hold PG&E responsible for mismanagement and lack of maintenance, and his failure to implement his own promises to manage our forest lands, Newsom has managed to burn down, what, a third of the state? More? How many left homeless, destitute?

So, watch for your recall ballot, clerks all over the state were supposed to be mailing those out Monday. Vote for RECALL, and then I hope you’ll fill in the bubble next to Kevin Kiley to take on the last year or so of Newsom’s term. Find out more here:

https://kileyforcalifornia.com/

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Do you feel like a turnip? Our public agencies are in it for whatever they can get, and they’re willing to squeeze us hard to get it

16 Aug

Yesterday was the worst day I’ve had all summer. A hundred and WHAT?!! And unbreathable air, it’s like being a cockroach. I grew up here People, and this is Bad.

I have the nicest neighbors, an older couple who moved out here from the mid west to be closer to their adult children, all over whom live out here on the coast. They’re really beautiful people, very easy-going, always cheerful. Well, I ran into them Friday as they hastily threw their travel gear into their car. They were disheveled and dis-coordinated, actually snapping at each other. The woman told me they had tried to stay in their tiny house, sitting under the air conditioner, for three days straight, and they started to go out of their minds. And, they realized, if this kept up, they would be getting a power bill and a half, as they were forced to run the ac night and day. So they were headed out to stay with friends in Southern California. “Anything for a change of scenery… ” she said, as they continued to load supplies into the hatchback.

We had our summer trip, even made it to the coast, but the money started to add up, so we came home.

I try to stay productive, but what is there to do? Feeling the cabin fever, I put on my last N-95 and go outside to rake up dead stuff, prune back dying shrubberies – it’s already fall at my house, stuff is dying fast. The water bill is frightening. I can’t cook because the house is too hot.

Our Australian cattle dog lays on his back with all four paws in the air, like road kill. His old mate is in her last days, and boy, would this ever suck for your last days. She spends the day arranging herself in front of this ginchee portable fan we found at Harbor Freight Tools. I swear, she holds her pee because it’s so nasty outside – we literally have to pick her up and drag her out. As soon as she’s out the door she stops, gives us “The Look”, and tries to turn back inside. Once she’s certain we’re not taking her back inside until she pees, she lets loose a yellow river that leaves a washout in the gravel. Then she turns around and full steam back to the house. For an old, saggy, bag of bones, she’s strong and determined.

So, when we feel like the walls are closing in, we load the dogs into the truck, ac blaring, Ron Woodward on the radio, and drive out to look for fruit stands. The Chico Farmer’s Market is too expensive – not to mention, HOT! – so we head out down Hwy 5 or 99, whichever way looks good. Last trip we ended up all the way past Williams. On Hwy 20 headed for the coast, we found a great stand with the best melons and corn we’ve had for a while. Corn is a good price indicator – 4 ears for a dollar is pretty good. And, get a load of this – CLEAN BATHROOM! Anybody seen a clean public toilet in Chico lately?

It’s the little things, don’t you agree?

It’s the little things that will drive you nuts, too. My friend’s car got stolen a week or so ago, and life has been pretty sucky for him. Just imagine being stuck on your bike right now, lugging your groceries home in three-digits and crap air quality. Chico PD have offered him no solace, even though they actually made contact with his car and the thieves inside. They chose not to pursue my friend’s car – we saw all this on BCFAC Facebook. Thanks for nothing, Chico PD. I felt his frustration, and dropped a note to my district supervisor, Kasey Reynolds. I asked her what she could do about this – it’s not just my friend, Chico has one of the highest car theft rates in the nation. Look at the police reports, also available on BCFAC, and you’ll see car theft is a common, every day occurrence in our nasty little town.

She told me to call her. I hate phone calls. Let me tell you something about talking to Kasey Reynolds on the phone – she won’t answer a direct question, talks rapid fire about everything under the sun except your questions, and then tells you she’ll get back to you with those answers, but never does. I’ve got a mailbox full of inquiries to her that were never answered.

She did tell me that she thought giving our new Chief Madden a higher salary than his predecessor was the only way they can “attract and keep talent”. But gee, crime continues to go up in Chico, how does that work?

Our public safety agencies are in it for what they can get, and it’s obvious to me, they’re willing to squeeze us pretty hard to get it.

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Why I signed the petition, will vote for the recall, and will vote to elect Kevin Kiley for Governor

15 Aug

How soon we forget – did you really expect the state or the governor to really do anything about PG&E mismanagement when Newsom took over $200,000 from PG&E in the wake of the Camp Fire? And then proceeded to personally broker a deal to mitigate PG&E bankruptcy? Here’s that story from November 2019.

https://www.abc10.com/article/news/politics/newsom-pge-broker-bankruptcy-deal/103-eab02ef6-d2c2-4977-b335-10461b0beea7

“‘If the suggestion is somehow I’m influenced by that, you’re wrong,’ Newsom said of the $208,400 PG&E donated to help him win office.”

“In announcing that his office would seek to “broker” a deal to end PG&E’s bankruptcy, Newsom has inserted himself into a massively complex fight that pits fire victims, governments, shareholders, and bondholders against each other. Tens of billions of dollars are at stake.”

“Some critics of PG&E believe the governor has given the company a gift in the form of this year’s hastily-passed legislation AB 1054, which is aimed at protecting power monopolies from financial trouble when they start future wildfires.“

Two years later, PG&E has started more fires, burned more towns, killed more people, but still continues business as usual with no consequences for bad behavior. They have even been allowed to raise rates substantially to cover their losses. Look at your damned bill! And now “flex time” – in the middle of a PG&E caused wildfire that forces us to shut our windows?

Oh well, geeshy sakes, what ya gonna do? Call Ghostbusters? Well, I’m voting to recall the asshole that has brought one of the most prosperous states in the union to a state of total dysfunction.

One concern I have about this recall is the number of candidates running in this circus. Most of them are completely unqualified, like Elder has admitted of himself, and some of them proven disasters, like Kevin Faulconer. Do we want the state of San Diego?

Cox is an obvious outsider who is not familiar with California’s economy or politics. He keeps citing the “train to nowhere” – the real issue right now is corruption. Here’s a recent article from ABC news about what was really going on at the French Laundry – it was a lot more than a bunch of elitist pigs having a high-end meal.

https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/abc10-originals/pge-gavin-newsom-lobbiest/103-2fc7d4f4-a0e0-492d-ac1d-ec674e58a67b

“It was an unforced political error that immediately put Newsom on defense from the appearance of hypocrisy for going against his own COVID safety advice to Californians… Newsom apologized profusely for the dinner. He was only human, he said. And it was a birthday party for ‘a friend that I’ve known for almost 20 years’.”

People, including myself, were outraged over the hypocrisy, while we had no idea it was really about brokering a deal for PG&E. Boy do I feel dumb now!

“Newsom had inserted himself as ‘broker‘ of PG&E’s plan to exit bankruptcy. Bankruptcy documents show the company offered to support the plan only if its terms were ‘acceptable to the Governor’s Office.'”

After accepting campaign donations totaling $208,400 for his 2018 election. But he denies any influence? Why didn’t he just reject the money?

Here is candidate Kevin Kiley responded in 2020:

https://calmatters.org/commentary/2020/02/newsom-california-legislature-must-ban-pge-from-giving-campaign-contributions/

“For decades, Pacific Gas and Electric has methodically executed what the New York Times called its “political playbook”: giving millions and getting its way.

This continued after PG&E’s first bankruptcy in 2004. It persisted after six felony convictions in 2016. And now, even after catastrophic wildfires and devastating blackouts, the playbook is bound to remain the utility’s most valuable asset—unless we make them throw out that book.”

“I have introduced Assembly Bill 2079 to prohibit investor-owned utilities from donating to the campaigns of state politicians.”

Newsom, meanwhile, uses his position to influence California Public Utility Commission in favor of PG&E. From Kevin Kiley’s website,

Newsom’s Catastrophic Corruption

“Now, a whistleblower has come forward at the PUC. Former Executive Director Alice Stebbins says Newsom took ‘complete control’ over the agency’s oversight of PG&E and she was ordered to sign a safety certificate against her will. “

Here’s a week-old story from ABC News:

“SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Three days after Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrated his 2018 election victory, one of his major corporate campaign donors caused a mass killing.“

“The Pacific Gas and Electric Company pleaded guilty in June 2020 to felony involuntary manslaughter for killing 84 Californians in the 2018 Camp Fire.”

“PG&E’s officials walked out of court to go back to work on turning a profit, aided by state policies Newsom crafted to help the company.”

“In the months after the crime, Newsom not only signed new financial protections for PG&E into law, his office hired private lawyers in New York who wrote the legislative language.”

Please read that article further, you can read the actual court documents.

“The documents were obtained as part of ABC10’s news series FIRE – POWER – MONEY: How Governor Gavin Newsom Protected PG&E, which investigated how California gave financial protections to PG&E by the state government in the wake of crimes.  

“AB 1054 resulted in PG&E obtaining official state safety certificates for two fire seasons since the Camp Fire.

“The law was written by the lawyers under a contract to represent Newsom’s office in PG&E’s bankruptcy, state records show.”

And here we are, living with the consequences of corrupt government – after murdering 85 people in their homes, PG&E has been allowed to start a new fire at the same location, burning down more towns, 4 people missing as of now, and how many cancer victims to come in the future? We’re breathing wood smoke. People who never touched a cigarette in their lives will die from lung cancer because of a corrupt governor.

So, I signed the petition, and I’m going to vote for Kiley, who is the only candidate bringing real issues to the conversation.

Are COVID numbers being fudged for money?

13 Aug

Reader Stephen Jackson submitted the following comment, and I wanted to make sure people see this information.

Juanita, I visited the Butte County Board of Supervisors this last Tuesday to present them with their own county death statistics from 2014-2021. Interesting to note that for the years 2014-2019, there were an average of 61 diabetes, 29 hypertension, 52 liver disease, 26 nephritis, 32 Parkinson’s, 54 flu/pneumonia, and 44 suicide deaths each year. When we arrived at 2020, we no longer reported these deaths….now we simply have a pandemic that’s claimed 204 people over 20 months. COVID arrived and miraculously, all other diseases “went away”? In reality, we know what happened in 2020, all these deaths from all these previously mentioned causes were reported under the primary cause of morbidity as “Covid” instead of reporting that these were deaths from Parkinson’s disease, liver disease, or hypertension, with COVID listed as the “co-morbidity” or secondary cause of death. Why did our county do this? Because of the money the medical industry was paid to categorize them this way! If this doesn’t feel criminal, it should. County leadership is allowing the numbers to be played like this, because they like the ability to control a man-made epidemic and operate with the people “locked down” and “locked out” of the workings of local government, this must end!

This is something my husband and friends noticed immediately. Early in the pandemic, we had checked statistics that showed influenza killed as many as 150,000 people a year. Now all we can find are charts from the American Medical Association or the Center for Disease Control, and those are showing far lower numbers, all the way back to 2015. Look at this chart from the AMA.

https://cdn.jamanetwork.com/ama/content_public/journal/jama/938696/jvp210048t1_1620430592.92326.png?Expires=1631875613&Signature=3cX7jzuq08phxAdHFcxCSng63Za5Suvas2hJsK0b3
These numbers don’t match the numbers we were seeing early in the COVID pandemic.

This chart shows only about 50,000 deaths a year from influenze, while they have over 345,000 deaths from COVID in one year. Stephen Jackson has provided statistics from Butte County for the same period and asserts the numbers were fudged to get money. If you’ve kept up on the numbers, as I have, you might think so too.

The county board of supervisors just took $20 million in PG&E settlement money to pay down their pension deficit. I believe the board and their staffers in the Health Department are out of touch with their sense of morality, and yeah, I believe they would fudge numbers to get money.

Straight out of Orwell: Vaccine Influencer Training

12 Aug

I heard something so Orwellian on the news the other day, I had to google it just be sure.

https://www.kcra.com/article/thousands-without-power-elk-grove-after-vehicle-crashes-power-pole/37296304

Vaccine Influencers? I don’t know if that’s Orwellian or Pythonian.

First this article uses shaming, naming the zip code area that has the lowest rate of vaccination? How about the zip code area with the highest rate of smoking? Domestic violence? Obesity? Diabetes? Oh yeah – that’s all considered personal information.

In an effort to bring those numbers up, La Familia Counseling Center, a community-based organization, is hosting “Vaccine Influencer” trainings via Zoom.

Then concerns about the vaccine are belittled, they don’t even mention the side-effects that are listed on the CDC site. They offer one woman’s vague concern – “I’ve heard sometimes that people get worse when they get the vaccination and it concerns me a little bit to get it,” What does she mean by “get worse”? Does she mean blood clots? Heart inflammation? They don’t mention any of that.

And then this – “Vaccine Influencers who take people to receive their first dose will receive gift cards in exchange.“

That seems a little inappropriate to me – are you going to trust people who are motivated by the promise of a gift card? Is there a limit, or is this some kind of bonanza? They’re targeting non-English speaking groups – again, can we trust these “influencers” to be truthful? Is there any oversight?

The world gets weirder by the minute. Again, I’m not an “anti-vaxxer,” but I do believe in full disclosure and honest discussions. This report from the CDC (Center for Disease Control, the accepted authority on COVID) admits cases of myocarditis and pericarditis in adolescents, but seems more concerned with suppressing the news of the risk than truly educating folks about it. They don’t give actual numbers, they don’t explain why it happened, and there’s no promise that it won’t happen again. They are more interested in killing any conversation about it.

Click to access SoVC_myocarditis.pdf

The report details threats to COVID-19 vaccine confidence, content gaps and information voids, circulating mis- and disinformation, and action steps to take.

They just want to throw shit on people like me who want the real truth. We’re ” circulating mis- and disinformation ” just because we are asking questions.

How do you think most people would react if their neighbor came knocking on the door to tell them they are overweight and need to lose 20 or 30 pounds? How about a neighbor who wants to know what a single man is doing living in a three bedroom house when there’s a housing shortage? Should your neighbor be able to rifle through your grocery purchases and advise you as to your diet? Should they be able to look in your garbage? Come over to chide you about your smoking? Your porno collection? Your television habits? Arguments could easily be made that all those behaviors are bad for the community at large. How far are you willing to let other people “influence” your personal behavior?

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Steven Greenhut: “Frankly, union power drives state and local firefighting policies”

10 Aug
Environmentalists Destroyed California’s Forests

Thanks Cynthia for sharing this 2020 article from Ed Ring. Ring documents the 20 year decline in California forest management, citing both the Sierra Club and the firefighters unions as the problem.

I think the title is a little broad – “Environmentalists”? A word that has become just another slur for people you don’t agree with, like Tree Huggers? I consider myself an environmentalist. I believe in proper forest management, thinning of dead and dying fuel, raking and burning tree trash – “biochar”.

And yeah, if I see a good looking tree, I’m liable to hug it.

No, we’re talking about The Sierra Club, an organization made up of the rich and entitled, for the rich and entitled, and supported by the rich and entitled. They don’t represent “environmentalists” as a class of people. Hey, do you pick up litter? Do you turn off the hose when you’re not using it? Congratulations, you’re an environmentalist!

“Sen. Feinstein blames Sierra Club for blocking wildfire bill,” reads the provocative headline on a 2002 story in California’s Napa Valley Register. Feinstein had brokered a congressional consensus on legislation to thin “overstocked” forests close to homes and communities, but could not overcome the environmental lobby’s disagreement over expediting the permit process to thin forests everywhere else.

I don’t agree with Ring that the lawsuit brought us where we are today. Our courts and legislature allowed that to happen, they backed down to a PAC that also donates heavily at election time – what do you think?

In 2014, Republican members of Congress tried again to reduce the bureaucracy associated with “hazardous fuel projects” that thin out overgrown forests. True to form, the bill got nowhere thanks to environmental lobbyists who worried it would undermine the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the law that requires thorough impact assessments ahead of government decisions on public lands.

Here’s what I think – as late as 2019, Feinstein bowed to pressure from the Sierra Club and the new Sunrise Movement, as well as her coworkers in the senate, and dropped her competing “more moderate” resolution on climate change.

The Viral Confrontation With Dianne Feinstein Had a Political Impact Most Pundits Missed

Her protest was weak, she really doesn’t want to go against these people. These PACs have a lot more influence than the average voter because of entrenched politicians like Dianne Feinstein. We need term limits as well as a limit on PAC contributions.

I have to agree with Ring’s friend Steven Greenhut, whom Ring quotes below – the firefighters’ unions are too powerful and they aren’t working for anybody but themselves:

Meanwhile, tragically, expect California’s politically powerful firefighters’ union to do little or nothing to support the timber industry or rural inhabitants who don’t want to move into urban condos.

As Steve Greenhut explained in a recent column in the Orange County Register: “Frankly, union power drives state and local firefighting policies. The median compensation package for firefighters has topped $240,000 a year in some locales. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection firefighters earn less, but their packages still total nearly $150,000 a year. The number of California firefighters who receive compensation packages above $500,000 a year is mind-blowing.”

No wonder firefighters are overwhelmed during California’s wildfire season. The state can’t afford to hire enough of them.

As long as PACs like Sierra Club and the unions are allowed to make enormous contributions at election time we will continue to see fire policy failure from the State of California.

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