The American political system is dying because the people have become the peons of modern politics. As the peon toils in obscurity and has no access to a better life, the lone voter has no real choice on election day because the ruling political class and their government funded workers hog the ballots. Once elected, the political class only grants access and the ear of influence to the ching, ching, of the cash register. The American electorate is then divided up into a shell game of voter constituencies to be pandered and played off against one another to win an election. The result is voter bondage and our state and our nation is now on life support. California is first in this one thing, the American progressive demise.
G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Hillary Hype
The Democrats reduce their politics to only one criteria for the Oval Office, the next president must be female. Forget about leadership ability, honesty, accountability and a successful track record serving the people, the next president must be a she. Since Hillary Clinton is the only she that has any semblance of name recognition in the Democratic party, this she will be their woman in 2016. According to the ladies, America owes her the honor because the Democrats rejected her in 2008 and this country is long overdue to elect a woman to be president.
The emotional hype is so strong that any woman will do as was the case in 2008 when the hype was any black man will do, newspaper press don’t ask anything else of him, how has that worked out America?
G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca
The emotional hype is so strong that any woman will do as was the case in 2008 when the hype was any black man will do, newspaper press don’t ask anything else of him, how has that worked out America?
G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
The Voice
There is a yearning in the heart of every human being who has confronted mortality, a yearning to somehow touch a reality that is bigger than the mundane survival existence that consumes our days. For most of us that reality has a name, God. For those who are aware of their yearning for such a realty, we have neither the time nor the space to argue the plausibility of God, He just is. The disbeliever is a mere annoying blimp on God’s radar who is destined for eventually surrender. Our yearning is matched in biblical history as well as in human history by those sparse moments when the voice of God somehow touches a human heart.
Every religion in the world, without exception, began with one man hearing the voice of God. Also, in every case, without exception, that man or his succeeding generations turned the voice of God into a human religion in an attempt to explain, interpret and thereby control the people. The religions of the world are as different as the men who first heard the voice and as different as the environment in which God spoke. Since my exposure to the religions of the world is limited, this word is about the Bible and the Judeo Christian religion both of whom have been entangled in four thousand years of human history.
Entangled is the appropriate word because at this hour we have hundreds of Judeo Christian religions, all of whom demand their uniqueness from the Bible. The splintering of the Christian religion is rooted in the prevailing opinion and biblical methodology that uses the Bible as a God given religious textbook. This purview is so fundamental that it is accepted by almost all adherents of the faith, no red flags go up and no questions are asked. The Bible is presented every Sunday as the authority behind the words of the sermon and justification for every unique dogmatism. The question that is not asked but should be asked is whether God preserved and protected these words for a religious purpose? Is God really about religion, any religion?
A religion is always a top down experience with the greatest authority lodged at the very top. The splintering of the Christian churches, particularly in the last 500 years does not change this top down dynamic. The splintered group only changes the top and again assumes all the biblical authority of the group from which it sprang. Every Christian religious structure operates day to day in this manner and they all claim that Jesus is the model. This is a fraudulent assumption because Jesus was not a founder of a religion but one who shared in an atmosphere of total freedom the voice of God. Jesus did not rule as the church rules, he treated others as God treats each one of us for he assumed all others to be a more worthy receptacle than himself to hear the voice. Jesus was so unwilling to bend to religion that he was willing to be judged by it and killed by it.
Satan did not do the deed, the Romans did not do the deed, the Jews did not do the deed, the religion of the Jews did the deed with the same kind of top down authority that rules every group of the splintered Christian Church. If we can place our heads and hearts into the life of Jesus, walk as he walked, think as he thought, we would know that this man was not a top down religion builder but one who wished to share and introduce the God of the galaxies to whomever would listen. Whether on a Judean hillside or by a Samaritan well, there were those who were eager to listen. There were and now are no qualifications only a willingness to listen for the voice, it may be today or it may be tomorrow but the Voice will sound.
G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca
Every religion in the world, without exception, began with one man hearing the voice of God. Also, in every case, without exception, that man or his succeeding generations turned the voice of God into a human religion in an attempt to explain, interpret and thereby control the people. The religions of the world are as different as the men who first heard the voice and as different as the environment in which God spoke. Since my exposure to the religions of the world is limited, this word is about the Bible and the Judeo Christian religion both of whom have been entangled in four thousand years of human history.
Entangled is the appropriate word because at this hour we have hundreds of Judeo Christian religions, all of whom demand their uniqueness from the Bible. The splintering of the Christian religion is rooted in the prevailing opinion and biblical methodology that uses the Bible as a God given religious textbook. This purview is so fundamental that it is accepted by almost all adherents of the faith, no red flags go up and no questions are asked. The Bible is presented every Sunday as the authority behind the words of the sermon and justification for every unique dogmatism. The question that is not asked but should be asked is whether God preserved and protected these words for a religious purpose? Is God really about religion, any religion?
A religion is always a top down experience with the greatest authority lodged at the very top. The splintering of the Christian churches, particularly in the last 500 years does not change this top down dynamic. The splintered group only changes the top and again assumes all the biblical authority of the group from which it sprang. Every Christian religious structure operates day to day in this manner and they all claim that Jesus is the model. This is a fraudulent assumption because Jesus was not a founder of a religion but one who shared in an atmosphere of total freedom the voice of God. Jesus did not rule as the church rules, he treated others as God treats each one of us for he assumed all others to be a more worthy receptacle than himself to hear the voice. Jesus was so unwilling to bend to religion that he was willing to be judged by it and killed by it.
Satan did not do the deed, the Romans did not do the deed, the Jews did not do the deed, the religion of the Jews did the deed with the same kind of top down authority that rules every group of the splintered Christian Church. If we can place our heads and hearts into the life of Jesus, walk as he walked, think as he thought, we would know that this man was not a top down religion builder but one who wished to share and introduce the God of the galaxies to whomever would listen. Whether on a Judean hillside or by a Samaritan well, there were those who were eager to listen. There were and now are no qualifications only a willingness to listen for the voice, it may be today or it may be tomorrow but the Voice will sound.
G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca
Friday, September 19, 2014
The Gun
Divine intervention seemingly lead me to stumbled across 1990 Gibralter Road on the website Zillow, May of 2012. So many things came together in these days that this landing strip just seemed to be waiting and it was an affordable retirement home. The rebuilt 2 bedroom, 1 ¾ bath bungalow with a large detached garage on 2 ½ acres of desert is perfect. There are majestic Joshua trees for and aft of the house, a large Eucalyptus tree and a pepper tree in the backyard. All of this abundance for less than it would cost to rent a one bedroom apartment almost everywhere else in California.
My dogs and I take hikes on our sandy roads while trying not to explore exactly the same route twice. From my front porch I can watch the sun peek above Goat Mountain and then slip beneath the San Bernardino Mountains each evening. The night is the most spectacular event of the day with the light show above and the darkness that surrounds our little world. The barking dogs in the neighborhood give us the security necessary to avoid those nasty street lights of the civilized world. We have said good bye to that world in exchange for the wild, wild, west character of our small community.
The good fortune that we enjoy in Landers is being threatened again by our politicians. The legislature has passed AB 1014 and it sits on the governors desk awaiting his signature by September 30. This legislation is an addition to present gun law and is called “the gun violence restraining order”. Anyone would be able to report to the police any legal gun owner that they deemed a danger to themselves or to others. A judge, without evidence, a hearing, representing attorneys or a trial, can order the police to remove the legal gun, or guns, from the possession of the legal gun owner for up to a year and the removal can be renewed indefinitely. This “hear say” persecution of the gun owner is a clear violation of the Second Amendment given to us by the U.S. Constitution and every legal gun owner is at risk of being harassed by such an order.
Everyone in Landers has a gun including the elderly ladies. A gun is the last means of home defense when an emergency call to the sheriff means a thirty minute response time. How long does it take to break in the front door? We are not a wealthy community which is regularly subjected to this type of crime but we have our crime risks and having a gun in the house is a deterrent. Our politicians are not at all concerned about the safety of you and I, only how they can score a few public relation points by doing something even if that something is boneheaded.
Our legislature is reacting to the killings in Isla Vista, California in May of this year. While the weapons of Elliot Rodgers were registered and legal they were also recently purchased. Mr. Rodgers was a 22 year old student who experienced a schizophrenic break with reality killing six and wounding 13. No one saw this coming, not his family and he got close enough to kill his first three victims, his roommates, with a knife. This mental disorder occurs most regularly with young men at this age but not in the general population. Would it not be a more sane public policy to delay legal gun sales to men in this age group than to over regulate the vast majority of gun owners?
Every legal gun owner in California should be on the phone now to express your displeasure with this new regulation, Governor Brown please do not sign AB 1014. The Governor can be reached at 916-445-2841 or fax 916-558-3160. Thank you.
G.Goslaw
Landers
My dogs and I take hikes on our sandy roads while trying not to explore exactly the same route twice. From my front porch I can watch the sun peek above Goat Mountain and then slip beneath the San Bernardino Mountains each evening. The night is the most spectacular event of the day with the light show above and the darkness that surrounds our little world. The barking dogs in the neighborhood give us the security necessary to avoid those nasty street lights of the civilized world. We have said good bye to that world in exchange for the wild, wild, west character of our small community.
The good fortune that we enjoy in Landers is being threatened again by our politicians. The legislature has passed AB 1014 and it sits on the governors desk awaiting his signature by September 30. This legislation is an addition to present gun law and is called “the gun violence restraining order”. Anyone would be able to report to the police any legal gun owner that they deemed a danger to themselves or to others. A judge, without evidence, a hearing, representing attorneys or a trial, can order the police to remove the legal gun, or guns, from the possession of the legal gun owner for up to a year and the removal can be renewed indefinitely. This “hear say” persecution of the gun owner is a clear violation of the Second Amendment given to us by the U.S. Constitution and every legal gun owner is at risk of being harassed by such an order.
Everyone in Landers has a gun including the elderly ladies. A gun is the last means of home defense when an emergency call to the sheriff means a thirty minute response time. How long does it take to break in the front door? We are not a wealthy community which is regularly subjected to this type of crime but we have our crime risks and having a gun in the house is a deterrent. Our politicians are not at all concerned about the safety of you and I, only how they can score a few public relation points by doing something even if that something is boneheaded.
Our legislature is reacting to the killings in Isla Vista, California in May of this year. While the weapons of Elliot Rodgers were registered and legal they were also recently purchased. Mr. Rodgers was a 22 year old student who experienced a schizophrenic break with reality killing six and wounding 13. No one saw this coming, not his family and he got close enough to kill his first three victims, his roommates, with a knife. This mental disorder occurs most regularly with young men at this age but not in the general population. Would it not be a more sane public policy to delay legal gun sales to men in this age group than to over regulate the vast majority of gun owners?
Every legal gun owner in California should be on the phone now to express your displeasure with this new regulation, Governor Brown please do not sign AB 1014. The Governor can be reached at 916-445-2841 or fax 916-558-3160. Thank you.
G.Goslaw
Landers
Extremism
Here we go again doing stupid stuff. ISSIL is a Muslim extremist group the likes of which the world has not seen for hundreds of years, if ever. Stupidly the peaceniks refuse to accept the world as it is with all the ugliness that we humans carry with us. Somehow they doggedly cling to the assumption that all of humankind is essentially good and that condemnation of anyone is condemnation of all. If we refuse to overreact, as the peacenik believes, the violent extremist will eventually understand their error and join the community of civilized humanity. Be cool America, confrontation with ISSIL will only energize the violent and demean our civility. If you believe this, stupid is the word.
The stupidity does not stop with the peaceniks for there are still those who believe that violent Islamic religious extremism can be destroyed. The destruction language is a broken record. The religion of Allah has been about world conquest for over a thousand years yet we in the twenty first century arrogantly believe we can destroy extremism? Have we not gone to war for the last thirteen years to destroy Islamic extremism? How has that worked out? They are back with more violence than any civilized person can imagine. Instead of advocating for the destruction of Islamic extremism we should be asking what are we doing wrong?
O.K., what are we doing wrong? We are not fighting smart and if the truth were told we are being damn stupid. There are so many world leaders who can only manage to use the fear of the extremist as a political tool to divide. We must do better than this for the threat will not go away, they win or we will thrive in the long term in spit of the threat of Islamic extremism. Most importantly, we must thrive together and by that unity attract all the peoples of the world to a sane Godly treatment of one another. This can only happen in the world order if it is first happening at home, in our kitchens, our governmental policies and our courts.
Are we now, circa 2014, a country of equal opportunity and dignity for all? Combating extremism begins with our willingness to combat our own selfishness. Now is that not a long term project?
G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca
The stupidity does not stop with the peaceniks for there are still those who believe that violent Islamic religious extremism can be destroyed. The destruction language is a broken record. The religion of Allah has been about world conquest for over a thousand years yet we in the twenty first century arrogantly believe we can destroy extremism? Have we not gone to war for the last thirteen years to destroy Islamic extremism? How has that worked out? They are back with more violence than any civilized person can imagine. Instead of advocating for the destruction of Islamic extremism we should be asking what are we doing wrong?
O.K., what are we doing wrong? We are not fighting smart and if the truth were told we are being damn stupid. There are so many world leaders who can only manage to use the fear of the extremist as a political tool to divide. We must do better than this for the threat will not go away, they win or we will thrive in the long term in spit of the threat of Islamic extremism. Most importantly, we must thrive together and by that unity attract all the peoples of the world to a sane Godly treatment of one another. This can only happen in the world order if it is first happening at home, in our kitchens, our governmental policies and our courts.
Are we now, circa 2014, a country of equal opportunity and dignity for all? Combating extremism begins with our willingness to combat our own selfishness. Now is that not a long term project?
G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Manual
There is no place for the young man in our new America. Our public teacher job programs do a lousy job of educating the young man and if they do graduate they will have a limited education, no sense of the great history of this country and no hope that there is an opportunity for them to make a positive contribution. All of us need that feeling in our soul, that feeling that we matter in the search for the greater good and to each other. How can the young man even think about a family in the traditional sense when there are no respectable jobs, no means of earning a way in this life and no sense that America is their home. What are the options? Where can he fit in? There is little opportunity besides partying, weed, drugs, crime and jail, the last form of public assistance.
What do our politicians do? They force the manufacturing jobs overseas with burdensome taxes and regulations. Then they import uneducated and unskilled labor from anywhere in the world to compete for the low wage jobs that do remain. Why are these illegals more important than American citizens? No longer are there those traditional stepping stone jobs for the young, those low wage jobs that if the worker applies himself, flipping burgers will lead to a better job and a more secure future. Not everyone is suited for a college education and few can afford today's outrageous costs involved. You tell me, what is the young man to do?
The nay sayers will point to those young men who have made a place for themselves despite the odds but in complimenting the few the vast majority are somehow trashed. The plight of the young man is a case study in social Darwinism, if you have the right breaks in this society, you will survive. What happens to the vast majority of young men who have no education, no family, and no friendly connections to any societal opportunity. They may just go join ISIS or a like minded terrorist organization to vent their anger. That anger, the anger of the American young man is justified.
Our politicians are getting filthy rich in Washington and our federal, state and local government jobs are given regular pay raises, their jobs are secure regardless of performance and they are permanent. The stock market investor with their IRA's, hedge funds and trading accounts are enjoying the government funded boom years. Instead of glorying in their success, these selfish takers should hang their heads in shame, they are killing our kids and that is acceptable to them as long as the kids are not their own.
All of America should be ashamed of this trashing of America deceitfully labeled as an economic recovery.
G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca
What do our politicians do? They force the manufacturing jobs overseas with burdensome taxes and regulations. Then they import uneducated and unskilled labor from anywhere in the world to compete for the low wage jobs that do remain. Why are these illegals more important than American citizens? No longer are there those traditional stepping stone jobs for the young, those low wage jobs that if the worker applies himself, flipping burgers will lead to a better job and a more secure future. Not everyone is suited for a college education and few can afford today's outrageous costs involved. You tell me, what is the young man to do?
The nay sayers will point to those young men who have made a place for themselves despite the odds but in complimenting the few the vast majority are somehow trashed. The plight of the young man is a case study in social Darwinism, if you have the right breaks in this society, you will survive. What happens to the vast majority of young men who have no education, no family, and no friendly connections to any societal opportunity. They may just go join ISIS or a like minded terrorist organization to vent their anger. That anger, the anger of the American young man is justified.
Our politicians are getting filthy rich in Washington and our federal, state and local government jobs are given regular pay raises, their jobs are secure regardless of performance and they are permanent. The stock market investor with their IRA's, hedge funds and trading accounts are enjoying the government funded boom years. Instead of glorying in their success, these selfish takers should hang their heads in shame, they are killing our kids and that is acceptable to them as long as the kids are not their own.
All of America should be ashamed of this trashing of America deceitfully labeled as an economic recovery.
G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca
Monday, September 1, 2014
Water Panic
California is going into panic mode for a lack of water. The current three year drought is the third worst in over 100 years of California history and we all must be concerned. The bad news is that the water shortage has reached critical mass and Governor Brown is correct to sound the alert by enforcing prudent conservation practices. The fact that California is water fragile is no surprise, our history has had cycles of conflict with the water poor taking from the water rich to ensure water solvency for the large metropolitan populations. This drought is different, this drought is first of all about the rapidly wilting central valley agricultural economy that is making conservation practices necessary in our large water districts. (120)
The good news is that every recurring water crisis is a cyclical event, as is the weather. This crisis will resolve with the good fortune of rain or the state will implode to limp along into an uncertain future. The weather will change at some point and some weather outlets are forecasting that this may be an exceptional El Nino year. Because we have been here before, we the people must not panic by enacting self imposed bad policy, policy that only reduces the anxiety of our situation without resolving the crisis. (92)
Almost all of our politicians in Sacramento have united to put a 7.545 billion dollar bond issue on the November ballot for a vote by the people, claiming that it will resolve the water crisis. It is a thirty year bond or loan that will be paid off from tax revenues from the general fund estimated to cost all of us over $500 million dollars a year, let me repeat, for thirty years. Autumn Carter in the June 11 issue of California Common Sense, points out that the yearly revenue instability of California is a result of our state’s tax structure which is based on personal income. Revenue is up the last few years only because of stock market profits and no one believes this revenue stream will last thirty years. What if there is no rain in the next few years and the state experiences a decided and tragic downturn, what if more and more of our wealthy taxpayers move out of state because of liberal tax politics, who will make those 500 million dollars mortgage payments? (176)
The bond issue is a wise commitment and sacrifice if it actually solves the water crisis. Every voter, before the vote, should take a quick glance at the high points of the bond issue and ask themselves if this bond issue is a resolution of our crisis or an anxiety fix? It seems to be the opinion of everyone that this bond will not make this water shortage go away, nor will it greatly improve our long range water availability. How do we know? We know by the silence of our politicians and their water people who, to date, will not defend the bond issue against criticism. The silence is because the various water entities, special districts large and small, are afraid of offending their political enablers. It is in their best interest to go along to get along. (130)
Very simply the bond provides $2.7 billions for the construction of two reservoirs to service the central valley. These are worthy projects but they will not be in service for ten years and are subject to the inevitable cost overruns. Why should all Californians pay for these reservoirs that will only service the central valley and the agrarian economy? Also, there are other multibillion dollar water construction projects that will be left blowing in the wind. The remaining 4.85 billion dollars could become a huge slush fund to be distributed by politicians to benefit their political sympathizers. To whom the billions are directed will be a decision made in Sacramento regardless of what the general plan may say, shall we again trust our politicians? (118)
The answer is no on the bond issue. (9)
G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca
The good news is that every recurring water crisis is a cyclical event, as is the weather. This crisis will resolve with the good fortune of rain or the state will implode to limp along into an uncertain future. The weather will change at some point and some weather outlets are forecasting that this may be an exceptional El Nino year. Because we have been here before, we the people must not panic by enacting self imposed bad policy, policy that only reduces the anxiety of our situation without resolving the crisis. (92)
Almost all of our politicians in Sacramento have united to put a 7.545 billion dollar bond issue on the November ballot for a vote by the people, claiming that it will resolve the water crisis. It is a thirty year bond or loan that will be paid off from tax revenues from the general fund estimated to cost all of us over $500 million dollars a year, let me repeat, for thirty years. Autumn Carter in the June 11 issue of California Common Sense, points out that the yearly revenue instability of California is a result of our state’s tax structure which is based on personal income. Revenue is up the last few years only because of stock market profits and no one believes this revenue stream will last thirty years. What if there is no rain in the next few years and the state experiences a decided and tragic downturn, what if more and more of our wealthy taxpayers move out of state because of liberal tax politics, who will make those 500 million dollars mortgage payments? (176)
The bond issue is a wise commitment and sacrifice if it actually solves the water crisis. Every voter, before the vote, should take a quick glance at the high points of the bond issue and ask themselves if this bond issue is a resolution of our crisis or an anxiety fix? It seems to be the opinion of everyone that this bond will not make this water shortage go away, nor will it greatly improve our long range water availability. How do we know? We know by the silence of our politicians and their water people who, to date, will not defend the bond issue against criticism. The silence is because the various water entities, special districts large and small, are afraid of offending their political enablers. It is in their best interest to go along to get along. (130)
Very simply the bond provides $2.7 billions for the construction of two reservoirs to service the central valley. These are worthy projects but they will not be in service for ten years and are subject to the inevitable cost overruns. Why should all Californians pay for these reservoirs that will only service the central valley and the agrarian economy? Also, there are other multibillion dollar water construction projects that will be left blowing in the wind. The remaining 4.85 billion dollars could become a huge slush fund to be distributed by politicians to benefit their political sympathizers. To whom the billions are directed will be a decision made in Sacramento regardless of what the general plan may say, shall we again trust our politicians? (118)
The answer is no on the bond issue. (9)
G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca
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