Tag Archives: Government

Terrible Things Are Happening

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This is the reality of where we are, and anyone who might disagree is living in a fantasy. It’s time to take off the rose-colored glasses and WAKE UP to things like the murder of Renee Good (and others), Minnesota, ICE, Venezuela, Greenland, and what’s happening in your communities and mine, too.

Will you join the growing numbers of us who refuse to allow this travesty to continue? When this hell is finally over and we can once again breathe, will you be on the right side of the roaring rapids?

I’m cautiously optimistic that a slight ray of light might be emerging.

According to John Pavlovitz, this will all be over soon, America. The sundowning of the MAGA movement is upon us. The signs are everywhere.

As much as History can be an albatross in moments like these, alerting us to the terrifying ways in which we are repeating the past pathologies of inhumanity, she can also be a source of comfort; a reminder of the inevitability of the endings of all evil things.

If we consult her with a clear head, she’ll remind us that all brutal empires fall,
that all hateful movements dissolve, that every seemingly bulletproof regime reaches its extinction, and that all malevolent momentary victors eventually find themselves defeated and driven out.

Every time the pendulum has swung wildly toward barbarism in a society, it has invariably come back with even greater opposite force to bend the arc of the moral universe back toward justice again.

And History tells us that, despite the story in our heads or the one that comes through the partisan propaganda that we’re continually saturated by, our brutal national nightmare is likely in its final hours.

Few cults survive the passing of their leaders, and MAGA will not outlive the departure of Donald Trump from the White House or from this earth, whichever comes first. Read the full story here: https://johnpavlovitz.com/2025/12/02/the-maga-nightmare-is-almost-over-america/

I have edited this to add an important and powerful letter from Hillary and Bill Clinton to James Comer, responding to their refusal to appear before the House Oversight Committee to testify as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein:

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
January 13, 2026

Chairman Comer,

We want to take a moment, given everything, to address you directly.

This past year has seen our Government engage in unprecedented acts, including against our own citizens. People have been seized by masked federal agents from their homes, their workplaces, and the streets of their communities. Students and scientists with visas permitting them to study and work here have been deported without due process. The people who laid siege to the U.S. Capitol have been pardoned and called heroes. Agencies vital to the country’s national security have been dismantled. Universities, media companies, and law firms have been subjected to threats to their funding, access, and licensing unless they made concessions and surrendered their right to constitutionally protected free speech. American troops have been deployed on the streets of our towns and cities. The Justice Department has been used as a weapon, at the direction of the President, to pursue political opponents. And most recently and searingly, an ICE agent killed an unarmed mother only days ago.

Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences.

For us, now is that time.

We are lucky by virtue of the positions we held, and the protections afforded by them. But we are not blind. Every day we see the country we have dedicated our lives to improving take step after step after step backwards.

As chairman of this powerful congressional committee, you have immense power to target anyone and subject them to closed door interrogation and more. The decisions you have made, and the priorities you have set as chairman regarding the Epstein investigation, have prevented progress in discovering the facts about the government’s role.

The facts speak for themselves: You subpoenaed eight people in addition to us. You dismissed seven of those eight without any of them saying a single word to you. You made no attempt to force them to appear. In fact, since you started your investigation last year, you have interviewed a total of two people. Two.

A legal analysis prepared by two law firms and provided to you yesterday makes clear your subpoenas are legally invalid. You claim your subpoenas are inviolate when they are used against us yet were silent when the sitting President took the same position, as a former president, barely more than three years ago. We call on you to release that analysis to the public to allow them to see how this is yet another example of the casual disregard of the law of the land. All the while, you have done nothing with your oversight capacity to force the Department of Justice to follow the law and release all its Epstein files, including any material regarding us as we have publicly called for.

Over the last year in the House, extending health care for Americans in any state succeeded only because enough Republicans joined with Democrats. The fact that the public and we are seeing any of the Department of Justice’s Epstein files is only because four Republicans, out of 220, joined every Democrat to reach the minimum number of Members to force a vote. You were not one of those four. Even now, despite the Department of Justice’s failure to follow the law the Congress passed, you have chosen not to consider subpoenaing the sitting Attorney General to follow the law.

Despite everything that needs to be done to help our country, you are on the cusp of bringing Congress to a halt to pursue rarely used process literally designed to result in our imprisonment. This is not the way out of America’s ills, and we will forcefully defend ourselves.

Indeed, bringing the Republicans’ cruel agenda to a standstill while you work harder to pass a contempt charge against us than you have done on your investigation this past year would be our contribution to fighting the madness.

We have tried to give you the little information we have. We’ve done so because Mr. Epstein’s crimes were horrific. If the Government didn’t do all it could to investigate and prosecute these crimes, for whatever reason, that should be be the focus of your work – to learn why and to prevent that from happening ever again. There is no evidence that you are doing so. Instead, you have forced the victims to relive their painful experiences, while doing little to give them and everybody else what’s deserved: truth and justice. There is no plausible explanation for what you are doing other than partisan politics.

You accepted the least from those who know the most but demand the most from those who know the least. To say you can’t complete your work without speaking to us is simply bizarre.

You have asked what we know. To answer your inquiry, we are providing you with the same or more than seven of the other eight individuals you subpoenaed regarding the handling of the Epstein investigations and prosecutions, which may be why you have not publicly released their written statements.

We expect you will say it is not enough. We expect you’ll reject it. You may even set out an empty empty chair chair o or stand in front of the cameras and outright dismiss what we have provided. We expect you will direct your committee to seek to hold us in contempt. You may even release irrelevant, decades-old photos that you hope will embarrass us. You will say your caucus, and the Speaker and the President are behind you 100%. We hope, perhaps in vain, that they will not allow you to singlehandedly hijack the Congress by unilaterally making this decision for your colleagues, your party, and our country.

You will say it is not our decision to make. But we have made it. Now you have to make yours.

We are prepared to make our case to your 45 committee members, and if need be, more. Importantly, we also will defend ourselves in the public arena and ensure this country knows exactly what you are doing and why you are doing so, instead of helping the American people who need this Congress’s work and protection.

For most people, maybe even the bulk of the Congress, today will be the first they learn of this dispute. We are confident that any reasonable person in or out of Congress will see, based on everything we release, that what you are doing is trying to punish those who you see as your enemies and to protect those think are your friends.

Continue to mislead Americans about what is truly at stake, and you will learn that Americans are better at finding the truth than you are at burying it.

Continue to pursue autopens instead of penning laws Americans need, and you will learn that you are signing away any remaining chance of being on the right side of history.

Continue to abet the dismantling of America, and you will learn that it takes more than a wrecking ball to demolish what Americans have built over 250 years.

Sincerely,

[signed] Bill Clinton Hillary Rodham Clinto

An American Nightmare

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I couldn’t find an inspirational quote to distract me from the horrific news I woke up to yesterday morning, as if things here couldn’t get any worse. I mean, is there no longer a working Constitution?

Did you hear about the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, being captured by American forces and flown out of the country?

I don’t know much at all about Venezuela or Maduro or his wife, but I do know that this has nothing to do with drugs or drug cartels.

WTAF? Can’t ANYONE stop him?

it’s more likely about OIL to enrich him and his billionaire cohorts, to stay out of prison, and perhaps to further distract us from his disgusting obsession with underage females.

As the heat turns up on the Epstein files, that orange POS will continue to perform insane stunts to keep us from learning even more about what a vile, despicable, sociopathic person he really is.

Didn’t that orange POS just free a big drug kingpin Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, who was serving a forty-five year prison sentence?

Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do but shake our collective heads and hope Congress wakes up, does their job, and removes him from office, along with all of the people he brought with him.

There are legitimate questions regarding this attempt to oust Maduro and if they were genuine events or staged stunts, just like contrived “assassination attempt” or even what happened to that podcaster, Kirk. I think the bottom line is that nothing he or his administration says or does should be believed. They are evil incarnate.

I’m so tired and afraid of this dark energy clouding everything and ruining what is good about America. If only Hilary or Kamala were President now, none of this would be happening.

When will we wake up from this nightmare?

Is It Rude To Dispose of Your Dog’s Poop in Someone Else’s Trash Can?

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Yes. It’s rude. It’s disgusting and stinky and gross and can be left behind when the trash is emptied. 

Somebody keeps throwing their dog poop bags in my trash can. It occurs after I put the cans out before our regular pick up day.

THIS time I saw who did it only they ran away and I wasn’t able to follow them, but that proves they were obviously aware of their stupid action. I didn’t recognize the neighbor OR his dog, so I don’t know who it is.

I fished the VERY FULL bag of poop out of my trash can and left it on the curb.

I can’t understand why it’s so hard for someone to just take THEIR poop home. It’s not mine and I don’t want it. Don’t get a dog if you can’t handle carrying a poop bag. It’s poor etiquette as well as being lazy and RUDE, perhaps illegal.

While not explicitly a separate criminal offense in all cases, putting dog poop in someone else’s private residential bin in Carlsbad without their permission is a form of unauthorized dumping or theft of services, and it could lead to legal fines or civil action. 

  • Unauthorized Use: Trash collection is a paid private service to the homeowner, so using their bin without consent is essentially using their property and services without permission. This can cause issues for the homeowner, such as the bin reaching maximum weight limits, which could result in extra fees.
  • Carlsbad Municipal Code: Carlsbad, like many California cities, requires dog owners to immediately clean up and properly dispose of their pet’s waste in a trash receptacle. The law emphasizes that disposal must be done appropriately.
  • Illegal Dumping Statutes: Under California Penal Code § 374.3 PC, it is a crime to dump “waste matter” on private property without the owner’s consent. While this is usually an infraction with a fine, repeated offenses or significant amounts of waste can escalate the penalties.
  • Nuisance and Trespassing: The act of walking onto a private driveway or property to deposit waste without permission can also be considered trespassing or a public nuisance. 

In short, it is considered inconsiderate and can be illegal. The proper disposal method is to use your own trash bin or a public pet waste station. 

It’s not just about me. This behavior tells me you don’t care about our public workers at all. You’re fine with the trash folks having to handle bins that are lined with excrement.

In the summer time it turns into a shit soup that reeks to high heaven. It disgusts me that some of my neighbors have no respect for ME or the people who literally do your dirty work.

A little Googling reveals that this seems to be a frustrating and RUDE problem everywhere, not just in my community, as it’s essentially illegal dumping and disrespectful. 

Here are some solutions that are offered online:

Simple and Non-Confrontational:

  • Signs: Place a clear sign on the lid saying “No Dog Poop” or “Not a Public Bin”. 
  • Relocate Bin: Keep your bin in a garage or fenced yard until collection day to make it less accessible. 
  • Physical Barriers: Use a heavy brick on the lid or a bungee cord/strap to keep it shut. 

More Direct Solutions:

  • Talk to Neighbors: Politely explain the issue; they may not realize how bothersome it is. 
  • Bin Locks: Invest in a lockable strap or padlock for your bin. 
  • Security Camera: A camera can deter offenders and provide evidence if needed. 

Last Resort:

  • Check Local Laws: Some areas have ordinances against using private bins for public waste; contact your local council. 
  • Document & Report: If it continues, you can document it and report it as illegal dumping to local authorities. 

Is this a problem where you live? How do you deal with it? I’d love to hear any suggestions…

The Elephant In The Room

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I would much rather write about my angst with garden bunnies who destroyed my lawn and post photos of birds and butterflies or continue my passionate obsession with the musical genius of Leon Russell than deal with harsh realities but the elephant in the room is stomping her feet and demands to be heard, so here’s a little something about what’s going on in the (not very) United States.

I haven’t watched the news since Election Day. I mean, what’s the point? I still can’t understand how any of this happened, how we’re enduring this hellscape government like we’re stuck inside of a bad futuristic sci-fi film.

Still, even without the doomnews reports every five minutes, it’s hard NOT to know about all of the senseless violence in every corner of our country, including the recent death of a certain divisive agitator podcaster. I actually had no idea who Kirk even was, but social media was quite informative. His doctrine included stances against LGBTQ+ rights, diversity initiatives, climate change action, and mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. He often made seriously ugly racist remarks that I won’t repeat. He promoted evangelical christian beliefs and argued against the separation of church and state. He once said  “I can’t stand the word empathy, actually. I think empathy is a made-up, new age term that — it does a lot of damage.”

What’s even more spine-chilling is that he had any followers at all. I fear for our children and grandchildren. Hate is pervasive. The US is not a nice place to live right now.

And this at an event organized by TPUSA Faith, “I think it’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the second amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.” (From The Guardian)

Ironic, right?

I also think it’s vital to point out that Kirk was a podcaster and an influence peddler, NOT an elected US official, and certainly not a martyr. Any state services or funding for his funeral or other expenses are a gigantic misuse of taxpayer money. According to Occupy Democrats, his estate is worth at least twelve million. To put it in perspective, all the children who were victims of gun violence did not receive the same consideration.

These words are from A Mighty Girl, who seems to say it all, better than I could:

Today’s fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University comes just three months after Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman was assassinated in her home — two leaders from different parties and opposing ideological perspectives, both silenced by acts of political violence.

Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed while speaking at an event in Orem, Utah, while Hortman, a 55-year-old Democratic leader of the Minnesota House, was assassinated alongside her husband Mark in a politically motivated attack by a far-right extremist on June 14.

The fatal shootings of Hortman and Kirk, a legislative leader and a political activist, are a stark reminder of how dangerous extremism and political animosity can become when left unchecked.

Kirk was addressing a crowd at his “American Comeback Tour” event when he was killed. The right-wing political activist, whose organization promoted conservative politics on college campuses, had become one of the most prominent voices in the conservative youth movement.

Three months earlier, Vance Boelter, a far-right extremist disguised as a law enforcement officer, killed Representative Hortman and her husband, and seriously wounded State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. Authorities found a list in Boelter’s vehicle containing nearly 70 potential targets, including abortion providers and Democratic lawmakers across multiple states. Both victims, Kirk and Hortman, represented the diverse range of political leaders now under threat.

The scope of this crisis cannot be ignored. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, between 2016 and 2025, there were 25 attacks and threats targeting elected officials, political candidates, judges and government employees that were motivated by partisan beliefs. For comparison, only two such incidents were reported in the two previous decades. The increase in partisan attacks spans the ideological spectrum but has done little to lower the temperature in political rhetoric.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat whose home was attacked and set ablaze in April while his family slept inside, condemned today’s tragedy in unequivocal terms: “Political violence has no place in our country. We must speak with moral clarity. The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society”.

The words and actions of our political leaders in the coming days will prove consequential. Lilliana Mason, Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of “Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy,” warns that how leaders respond to these attacks will determine whether violence escalates or subsides.

Yet even as leaders call for unity, the challenge remains addressing the rhetoric that experts say fuels such violence.

trump has referred to political opponents as “vermin” that needed to be “[rooted] out”; called judges “monsters”; and, in a Memorial Day social media post, described those Americans who oppose his policies as “scum” and accused them of “trying to destroy our country.” Trump’s highly charged language explicitly demonizes his political opponents such as when he described them last October as an “enemy from within” that is “more dangerous than China, Russia, and all those countries.”

His aggressive, divisive, and dehumanizing rhetoric toward those who disagree with him — often labelling them as “enemies” and “traitors” — is viewed by many experts as inflaming such extremism and contributing to the normalization of political violence. An analysis of Trump’s speeches over the past ten years by UCLA political scientists found that not only has his use of violent language increased over time but that it surpassed that of nearly all other politicians studied from democratic countries.

In addition to his often extremist rhetoric, Trump has demonstrated a willingness to absolve acts of physical violence to advance his political interests. In a deeply troubling indication of his priorities, Trump made pardoning the January 6 attackers one of his very first acts upon returning to office. On his first day in office, Trump granted full pardons to all those convicted in the January 6 attack, over 1,500 rioters in total, including the 123 individuals charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to a police officer.

Equally concerning is how political violence, once unleashed, can become a pretext for authoritarian overreach. History shows that leaders with autocratic tendencies often exploit acts of political violence to justify crackdowns on civil liberties, suppress dissent, and consolidate power. From the Reichstag Fire that enabled Hitler’s rise to emergency powers, to modern strongmen who use security threats to silence opposition and restrict press freedoms, political violence creates a cycle where democratic norms erode from both ends.

A recent study by political scientist James Piazza found that countries where politicians used hate speech ‘often’ or ‘extremely often’ experienced an average of 107.9 domestic terrorist attacks compared to just 12.5 attacks in countries where politicians rarely used such language. Republican lawmakers have largely remained silent about or defended such rhetoric, despite warnings from security experts about its potential to inspire violence.

As individuals and as a nation, our “task now is to not let the people at the extremes pull the rest of us over the edge with them,” Dr. Garen Wintemute, the director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis, urged in an interview today. “We need to make our rejection of political violence clear.”

We wish strength and healing for Representative Melissa Hortman’s two children who lost both parents just three months ago.

By the way, we haven’t forgotten. RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!

I just saw this open letter from the 50501 Movement and it’s too brilliant not to share:

Dear MAGA,

Why are you still so mad? You got what you wanted, remember? Trump back in office, no more “mean tweets” from Biden, and enough guns on the street to outfit a small army. Congratulations, mission accomplished.

You keep yelling about Biden like he’s still haunting you, but wasn’t the whole point to replace him? You still have your precious guns, even as shootings pile up like unpaid bills. When the Minnesota senators were gunned down, you couldn’t even admit the shooter was a far-right Christian nationalist. Instead, you spun excuses and conspiracies — and a sitting senator even posted something vile about it, with zero reprimand. Trump didn’t even bother to call Governor Walz. That’s your “law and order” president.

And let’s not forget your other golden boy, Charlie Kirk. He said empathy is weakness and shootings are just the “price of freedom.” Those were his words. Yet today, after he was killed, suddenly it’s outrage, grief, and endless demands for sympathy. And who announced his death? Trump. Not the family. Not officials. Trump, center stage again, making it about himself. So which is it? Why the tantrum? Why scream when people protest? Shouldn’t this be, by your own logic, the kind of thing you shrug off, maybe even laugh about like the “snowflakes” crying in the street?

You love to chant “law and order,” but under your hero, crime and political violence are worse. You rail about “Bidenflation,” but prices didn’t magically drop when Trump took over again. You brag about being the “party of God,” but your leaders mock empathy, sneer at compassion, and worship money like it’s a sacrament. And you laugh at “snowflakes,” while turning victimhood into your entire political identity.

Meanwhile, Epstein files keep spilling out, and surprise Trump’s name lingers like a bad smell. Gaza is bleeding, 18,000 kids dead, but hey, maybe there’ll be a shiny new Trump Tower in Palestine (satire he hasn’t announced this, but you know it’s the only thing he’d care about). Putin’s bombing Poland, but relax you’ll either call it “fake news” or say NATO had it coming. And here at home, the National Guard is deployed in the streets like a permanent prop the same militarization you claimed to hate when it wasn’t your guy in charge.

And since you love “tradition,” maybe you’re quietly thrilled we’re back to experimenting on Black bodies again (rhetorical framing referring to the real case of Adriana Smith in Georgia, kept alive on machines to deliver her baby). Her son Chance, barely five pounds, is fighting for survival while her family is forced to grieve in public. Freedom for you, exploitation for everyone else.

So again… why are you so mad? Isn’t this the America you ordered off the menu? You broke it, you bought it.

Sincerely,
The rest of us living in the wreckage

NO KINGS! Attend June 14 National Day of Action

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I’m so proud of the San Diego community that stood strong to protect and defend the ICE kidnapping that happened on May 30 at a local restaurant, Buona Forchetta.

A video of the ICE raid showed heavily armed and masked agents (modern day Gestapo) dressed in full tactical gear surrounding the restaurant. A large crowd of community members pushed back at the ICE agents, surrounding their vehicles and yelling. The ICE agents deployed flash bang smoke grenades which broke up the crowd.

A local politician questioned why ICE agents were carrying machine guns and “aggressively shoving people against the walls,” handcuffing all the employees. He said the warrant for the raid, which was signed by a federal judge, instructed ICE agents to arrest everyone and detain all the employees.

“I don’t know how a federal judge signs off on that,” he said. “What about the rights of those citizens?” He said the warrant didn’t indicate reference to any of the workers having committed violent crimes.

Another politician said that the TWENTY armed agents who burst into the restaurant traumatized the staff and the owner.

Can you believe this is actually happening? And THIS, too…

The orange POS has planned a military parade in Washington, D.C. for his birthday on June 14. This display of might is intended to intimidate opponents and solidify his image as a strongman on our dime—we won’t stand by while that happens.

Instead of allowing this military farce to overwhelm the day, we will make action everywhere else the story of America that day: people coming together in communities across the country to reject strongman politics and corruption.

It’s significant that the new Pope also chose this day to appear in Chicago as hopefully millions of people gather and celebrate the election of its native son — and first North American pontiff — Pope Leo XIV.

Have you seen the news that the orange POS sent the National Guard to Los Angeles EVEN THOUGH our Governor did NOT request their presence?

Did you hear that the orange POS has made it ILLEGAL to wear masks in public UNLESS you’re a member of his ICE gestapo?

Do you understand what is going on? This is not a drill; democracy is in trouble. According to the nonprofit, Third Act, our role is to bring the power and wisdom of elders to this movement, to ensure our voices are heard loud and clear to protect our democracy and our rights.

I think I’ll join my friends and neighbors locally on June 14. Rise up! RESIST!

My Stupid Little Town

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Our water district sent out notices about a horrendous and onerous rate increase planned over the next two years.

For example, if you now pay around $71 a month, the rate will shoot up to approximately $119 a month by 2027. That is absolutely unconscionable and a definite hardship for a lot of us.

The law requires a certain period of time for protests and objections but only for due diligence, NOT because they’ll take our opinions into consideration.

Some people wrote letters and a few of us also showed up to speak at the hearing to affirm or deny the rate increase. I realize that this was a futile exercise more based in legality rather than actually caring about the community because our council doesn’t really care at all about the people who live here; they are fully invested in overdevelopment and support all the rate increases from water to trash.

I’m really sorry more people didn’t come to the stupid council meeting yesterday to voice concerns about the egregious water rate increases but I understand — nothing we say or do ever seems to change the outcome of anything that’s done to stop the ruin of this once adorable coastal city.

The reality is that those people on council do not represent the community they are SUPPOSED to represent.

One guy who spoke said he was a civil engineer and actually supported the increase; maybe he was looking for a job? Kiss ass or a plant, I’m not sure.

The city consistently approves more and more low income housing projects but doesn’t think about those same low income residents on pensions, disability, Social Security, and other types of fixed incomes who are (or will become) deeply impacted by our chaotic economy and cuts to services will actually be able to pay for necessities.

Who can afford an increase of $30+ a month? Council is out of touch with real people. They live in a bubble and not only don’t understand-they simply don’t care.

The water district’s millennial spokeshead was angling for a pat on her back as she uptalked this NOT very humble brag…”We eliminated two full time positions to save money.” like that in and of itself should justify their economically burdensome rate increase?

How much is she paid? Team Leaders at this water district are paid an average of $175,000 per year. Others are paid between $47 and $60 per hour. Group Managers earn $270,000 per year. I think we all can figure out where costs could be slashed to pay for our water increase.

I knew it was a waste of time but I showed up anyway and here’s what I said:

“You all need to learn to read the room. How are you continuously so incredibly disconnected from REGULAR people? It makes no economic nor reasonable sense in this seriously screwed up political landscape to raise rates of any sort, especially now.

Look at it another way—you constantly approve building all these low income housing projects, right?

And there are lots of seniors and retired people in Carlsbad, and other low income families on Section 8– so how do you expect this demographic who rely on some sort of fixed income to pay for these egregious increases when their FIXED income doesn’t match the increased cost? 

Haven’t you thought this through, this macro picture? Do you all live in a bubble?

If the stock market continues to implode, if Social Security and disability is reduced or completely cut, if pensions and public assistance are wiped out, WHO IS going to be able to afford the increased water rates? 

It makes no sense. THIS IS NOT THE TIME. I strongly and LOUDLY object and protest the tone deaf water rate increase.

This rate increase is beyond ridiculous, especially in these uncertain economic times.

It’s an egregious misuse of power to increase financial hardship for those of us who don’t know if we’ll even have a job or are on tenuous fixed incomes. You need to radically correct this type of financial exploitation. It’s an economic burden we do not need to carry.

The truth is that you do not need any rate increase; what you need to do is LOWER your water rates.”

And then I looked at the entire council’s facial valences that communicated zero emotion, negative OR positive as they stared at me with flat affects, and ended my three minutes with, “Crickets again, I see. What a disappointment you all are.”

Featured photo by Enchanted Seashells

Poetic Truth : Pity The Nation

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We are living in sad and scary times. Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote the poem “Pity the Nation” in 2007, drawing inspiration from Khalil Gibran’s original work of the same title, published in 1933. Their words are a reminder about the cycles of history.  

We’ve been warned.

PITY THE NATION

Pity the nation whose people are sheep
   And whose shepherds mislead them
 Pity the nation whose leaders are liars
            Whose sages are silenced
  And whose bigots haunt the airwaves
 Pity the nation that raises not its voice
          Except to praise conquerers
       And acclaim the bully as hero
          And aims to rule the world
              By force and by torture
          Pity the nation that knows
        No other language but its own
      And no other culture but its own
 Pity the nation whose breath is money
 And sleeps the sleep of the too well fed
      Pity the nation oh pity the people
        who allow their rights to erode
   and their freedoms to be washed away
               My country, tears of thee
                   Sweet land of liberty!
 Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 2007

                         

PITY THE NATION
By Khalil Gibran, 1933

Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.

Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press.

Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.

Pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.

Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins, and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.

Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.

Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again.

Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.

Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.

Sisters, ARISE… I Understand The Assignment

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Let’s do it this time; let’s get the job done and elect President Kamala Harris!

When Hillary Clinton ran for president, I was really excited. I posted signs, I made phone calls, I participated in governance.

I thought she won. We ALL thought she won. She SHOULD have, but…

There’s a lot to unpack and delve into about why and how she didn’t become president because she absolutely won the popular vote. I truly believe the vote was interfered with.

According to TIme magazine, When Russia set out to interfere with the 2016 election, it went all out.

“Over the course of the election, a wide-ranging group of Russians probed state voter databases for insecurities; hacked the Hillary Clinton campaign, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee; spread propaganda on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram; staged rallies in Florida and Pennsylvania; set up meetings with members of the Trump campaign and its associates; and floated a business proposition for a skyscraper in Moscow to the Trump Organization. The goal, as determined by the U.S. intelligence community and backed up by evidence was to damage the Clinton campaign, boost Trump’s chances, and sow distrust in American democracy overall.”

I remember first being overjoyed, then confused, and finally, majorly depressed as, with class and dignity, Hillary conceded.

Since President Biden has chosen not to seek another term and has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the BEST and ONLY Democratic party nominee, we are BEYOND EXCITED!

From Kamala’s speech: “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you. Part of the extension of the work you will do is, yes, focused on our young leaders and our young people, but understanding we also then have to be clear about the needs of their parents and their grandparents and their teachers and their communities, because none of us just live in a silo. Everything is in context.”

With future President Kamala Harris, we have another chance. I hope you understand the assignment, too.

It’s too important to NOT vote. We need to save democracy and save our reproductive rights and save this country from the horrors of Project 2025 or another four years of that insane orange turd and his disgusting MAGA cult, the cult of derangement.

Out of Darkness

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The last five years have been a collective dark night of the soul for this country as well as for many people who have endured their own somber and murky life experiences.

We were collectively ravaged by a malignant sociopathic narcissist. By all rights, in 2016 Hillary Clinton should have been our president; there’s no argument that she won three million more votes, but because of our weird system of the Electoral College process, for whatever reason it didn’t turn out that way.

Ultimately she conceded, not by inciting riots and insurrection, but in a super classy way. However, she knew. She KNEW. And so did I.

Today we’re witnessing the tortuous climb out of the depths of hell, reaching toward light out of darkness.

Do you think I’m being melodramatic?

I don’t. We’ve all witnessed an absolute decline in humanity, of empathy, of compassion, of civility, and now, the universe is setting things right.

The kaleidoscope shifted just a bit, but enough.

Part of President Biden’s inaugural speech:
“Our better angels have always prevailed”

As above, so below.

Did you know that a good friend of mine recently died from Covid-19? He was only fifty-two years old and in good health. It was a mere three weeks from the first day he felt sick to the day he died in hospital in a medically induced coma on a ventilator and dialysis. I went to RiteAid for a sympathy card and noticed that all those racks were empty. There were a lot of birthday and anniversary cards, but slot after slot of folded pieces of paper designed to express our care and concern were empty. EMPTY. I went to another store and another and found the same scenario. That’s when it really hit me. There are so many deaths, now 400,000 — that we can’t keep up with the demand for condolence cards.

Witnessing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris take the oaths of office as President and Vice President will once again allow us to feel proud of being Americans. We’ll have rational humans in charge again. Thank goodness.

I regret not being able to see and hear Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Namaste and I’ll end this with the great and beautiful Lady Gaga singing The National Anthem

Call to action for Luna, a coyote

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What has happened to Luna is nothing short of intolerable cruelty. 

Personally, I am absolutely heartbroken and disgusted. There is no justification for her suffering.

One of the valuable tools of being a blogger with a following of about 5,000 inclusive of all platforms-is the ability to ask for help, to send a message, to build awareness. 

This is an urgent call to action.

Please read this post, visit the links to learn more, make the calls, and do something good before the end of the year.

Friends , this is very important to me personally as well as to our wolf and coyote communities. PLEASE HELP.

Please try to help this tortured soul Luna get back to her safe haven of 13 years with Tomi Tranchita  in Illinois.

This is an emergency.

The State of Illinois is trying to get a judge to dismiss her case NEXT WEEK

We need you all to make calls immediately asking that the  Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton‘s office steps in and stops this nonsense that continues to hurt Luna.

Please comment and make calls to her office as well — Be prepared to leave an informing message asking her office to step in as we rightfully expect this judge to order the state DNR attorneys to STOP BULLYING Tomi and to mediate and settle this matter — NOT DISMISS IT.

Phone: (217) 558-3085

Fax: (217) 558-3094

Phone: (312) 814-5240

Fax: (312) 814-5228​

Fax and/or calls better than emails right now. 

Luna should be allowed to return to Tomi’s Federal and State licensed facility without fear of another illegal raid.

Bring Luna the Coyote Home
https://www.facebook.com/bringlunathecoyotehome/

Tomi Tranchita
https://www.facebook.com/tomi.tranchita

Donate:
https://www.facebook.com/donate/2687929711226109/10156970303414353/

History:
At dawn on April 24, 2019, Tomi Tranchita’s Wildlife Education facility and her home were invaded by armed officers brandishing assault rifles and beating on her doors. These Illinois State agents seized Ms. Tranchita’s four coyotes, needlessly shooting them with tranquilizer guns, and dragged the animals by their throats with pole chokeholds, leading to the death of all but one of her perfectly healthy animals. The brutal handling of the animals was in violation of federal regulations governed by the AWA. In actual fact, the raid itself was done on a fraudulently obtained warrant, violating Tranchita’s property rights and her 14th amendment right to due process.

This raid wrongfully shut down Tranchita’s long-established, licensed Wildlife Education Program. Therefore, we ask the State to affirm that Ms. Tranchita has satisfied all state requirements to resume her Education Program and that her surviving ambassador coyote may be returned to her facility.

The excessive use of force and intimidation was orchestrated by one “peace” officer (“Officer M”) employed by the IDNR State Fish and Game Agency (IDNR). Having recently moved into her neighborhood and hearing a coyote howl, Officer M was determined to seize Tranchita’s animals. He investigated her program and found that she had inadvertently forgotten to renew a $25 state permit.

However, in applying for a seizure warrant based on that technicality alone, he neglected to inform the magistrate that Tranchita’s facility has been federally licensed the entire 13 years of its operation.

Fraudulent warrant in hand, Officer M led the violent raid showing no regard for the animals’ well-being. Beautiful, healthy coyotes, all crate-trained, were dragged by their throats, choking and bleeding. When Ms. Tranchita offered to crate the animals for their own safety, Officer M would not allow it, saying he was in a hurry because he was going on vacation. 

The traumatic, brutal handling in this seizure of her four long-established educational coyotes is portrayed on several videos like this one. These animals had never before experienced violence in their lifetimes. 

The brutality continues to outrage more than 40,000 citizens. The stress perpetrated on Ms. Tranchita’s animals resulted in three dying, still with no confirmed explanation. Luna, the last survivor, has been moved three times and was in state custody for five months — all on the taxpayers’ dime. 

Officer M also lied to Ms. Tranchita, saying her coyotes would be taken to huge one-acre enclosures. In fact, Ms. Tranchita’s facility is significantly larger than the small enclosures they were moved to. Before he left her property, Officer M told Ms. Tranchita he knew she was upset, and he suggested she call a mental health hotline. 

The IDNR denied Tranchita’s court-ordered visitation for weeks.

The agency still refuses to return any of Ms. Tranchita’s personal property, licenses, and documents Officer M took from her. 

Officer M attempted to instigate neighborhood concerns but failed. By his own admission, no other neighbors had any problem with the coyotes in the 13 years Tranchita operated her facility. Every neighbor, every facility visitor, and every annual federal inspection report for 13 years stated Tranchita took excellent care of the animals; they had no concerns about her facility, or her educational program, which has also had a flawless safety record.   

Indeed, the IDNR has known all along of Tranchita’s facility and her coyotes. They had been to her facility. They had themselves licensed the facility for years. They also knew of her USDA-issued federal license and that she’d held it for 13 years.

Even though this officer is under investigation by the Inspector General’s office for his failure to uphold due process procedures before instigating this raid, as well as his unprofessional and derogatory comments and brash behavior, IDNR proceeded to file charges against Ms. Tranchita instead of firing this rogue officer and apologizing for the damages his actions caused. 

Months of court hearings followed the seizure, beginning in traffic court. The judges there had no wildlife law experience. Therefore, they deferred to what the IDNR’s attorneys claimed the obtusely complex rules meant. 

So what did the IDNR ultimately conclude Ms. Tranchita was guilty of? 

The only violation they could charge her with was the lapsed $25 “furbearer” permit — a document you can simply acquire online from the IDNR agency’s website. Conversely, the USDA-APHIS license requires annual onsite inspections of the facility and the animals, as well as acquiring the same from the veterinarian of record. These requirements, and their costs, are mandated of all licensees annually. A renewal packet is sent to every federal licensee each year prior to their renewal date, while the state IDNR offers no such oversight, not even a renewal reminder.     

Is it unreasonable for a citizen to presume that she is not violating any laws when, for 13 years, her federal government renews its approval to continue operating? Further, is it unreasonable to expect that our federal and state agencies, which both regulate these activities, would communicate with each other?

Clearly, Ms. Tranchita’s missed permit payment was inadvertent; she was not trying to get away without paying a $25 fee (and immediately acquired the permit). Consider the expense and investment: She invested tens of thousands of dollars in her 13-year Wildlife Education Program and facility; and since incorporating the non-releasable coyotes as ambassadors into her program, she has paid all costs and requirements of annual inspections by both state and federal veterinarians and officials. Due to her investment and her dedication, her renewal has always been approved, and she has remained licensed under a USDA-APHIS Federal Class C Exhibitors educational use permit. There has not been a single infraction or complaint in 13 years. The facility exceeds recommended requirements for caging, public safety, and federal AWA animal care standards. And it certainly exceeds the IDNR’s standards.  

This disturbing, unwarranted, and completely unnecessary action was an egregious civil rights violation by the Illinois wildlife agency. The State is blatantly exhibiting a double standard. The IDNR makes many allowances for various captive wildlife purposes and pursuits, and Tranchita’s interests are not unique among them. Selective enforcement is unacceptable.

Wildlife values

Americans’ wildlife values have been shifting for decades. How long must we be forced to wait for our state wildlife agencies to govern accordingly? These agencies do not own our wildlife, we do. They work for us — for all wildlife and for all people EQUALLY. 

All non-releasable wildlife is required by the State to be euthanized. One of the very few exceptions is the rare availability of a licensed sanctuary or education program willing to accept such animals. Rare, because it is a tremendous undertaking requiring extensive knowledge, expenses and personal sacrifice to meet these animals’ needs for the duration of their lives. 

Tranchita took pride in these animals and found it rewarding to educate the public about coyote biology and behavior, their value to our ecosystem, and methods and solutions for coexisting with them to reduce human-wildlife conflicts.

These animals were not house pets. The four non-releasable coyotes were safely held in large enclosures spanning her property. Tranchita’s program is clear about its position on the risks and challenges of responsible, qualified possession. Contrary to the State’s attempt to now repudiate Ms. Tranchita’s program despite its acknowledged approval, her program’s tutelage has fully supported the State’s opposition to keeping coyotes as “pets”. Education program animals are always given names and provided personalized care and attention. That does not define nor classify them as that of a house pet, and it is not a crime. Belittling the value of 13 years invested into such an animal is malicious manipulation of public opinion and of decision-makers unfamiliar with this professional pursuit. 

It is heavy-handed incidents like this — when citizens are denied their right to due process — that solidifies the public’s distrust of government authority and law enforcement. This display of authoritarian government was and is not acceptable.

We ask that Governor Pritzker advise his appointed IDNR Advisory Board to direct the IDNR agency to review its prejudice in this matter and immediately seek an amicable settlement agreement with Tomi Tranchita. Specifically, we ask that IDNR affirm that Ms. Tranchita has satisfied their requirements and may resume her Wildlife Education Program. Finally, we ask that in so doing, the State will allow Ms. Tranchita to immediately reacquire possession of her last surviving ambassador coyote.