Badlands Journal

Panel will debate controversial water issues Feb. 4 at Fresno State

(January 14, 2009) – A public debate on water policy in California and the Central Valley will be moderated by U.S District Judge Oliver Wanger at 7 p.m. Feb. 4, at California State University, Fresno. Agricultural and environmental advocates will face off on the issues.

The debate, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Satellite Student Union (2485 E. San Ramon Ave. at Maple Avenue, south of Barstow Avenue). It is sponsored by Fresno State’s Political Science Student Association and the Political Science Department.

As the presiding judge for the Eastern District of California, Wanger has ruled over most of the major water cases recently in the Valley, including the controversy over preserving Delta smelt in the Sacramento Delta. Wanger will provide brief opening remarks, said Dr. Thomas Holyoke, a political science professor who is coordinating the event.

With Democratic Party majorities in both houses of Congress, Rep. Dennis Cardoza, Blue Dog Bubblebrain-Maryland, is praising Senate Republicans for embracing his bill to bail out realtors and mortgage lenders and banks. As we have asked in the past, who knows who owns whose mortgage these days? It is possible that the Blue Dogs will be left twisting in the dusty winds of history, along with the 18th Congressional District of California, sporting the highest per capita foreclosure rate in the nation.

Cardoza, Blue Dog minister of propaganda, is correct that falling home values has precipitated this recession-becoming-a-depression. But, the underlying problem is confidence, without which the entire financial system freezes. But, why have the home values fallen? In large part, because of foreclosures, dragging home prices down all around them. Why the foreclosures? Because of predatory lending practices. Why the predatory lending practices? Easy credit and lack of regulation. Why easy credit? When the dotcom bubble burst in the stock market, the next big bubble was real estate, particularly in California and Florida. Why lack of regulation? Systemic corruption of Congress going back to the days of former Rep. Tony "Honest Graft" Coelho, D-Merced. Why the bubble? Because the Federal Reserve cut interest rates. Why did the Fed cut interest rates? To keep the bubbles going. Why? Because the US has nothing left but a financial bubble economy.

Badlands Journal, in its remorseless efforts to understand Merced County, has embarked on a series of comparative economic studies. In fact, in the hope of boosting sagging UC Merced enrollment, Badlands plans to endow a chair in comparative econometric modeling, complete with oodles of math and whirring computers, just as soon as it is solvent. Or is it liquid?

Imagine, the government of a nation with only 50,000 more people than Merced County is being held responsible for that nation's economic collapse!

At first glance, there does not seem to be much basis for comparison between Iceland and Merced County, but as all real good economists know, the poetry is in the numbers.

The population is basically the same and so is the economic condition -- disastrous.

Yet, Iceland has only 0.07-percent arable land and fishing is the basic industry. There are more whalers than farmers in Iceland, while the reverse is true in Merced County. 

But, there is also extensive mining in Iceland, which offers some comparison with Merced County's endless stream of sand and gravel mines.

Iceland had begun to diversify into manufacturing and computer-related industries, the old high-tech, bio-tech engine of growth that UC Merced was supposed to instantly provide Merced County except that all the "money" (credit) was in real estate.

Iceland's now-collapsed banks got into international high finance, another point of comparison with Merced County, where no one quite knows who owns what slice of whose mortgage.

At first, when we received a press release from Rep. Dennis Cardoza, Shrimp Slayer-Maryland, about reducing mortgage payments and, in general, solving the entire recession/depression, we were impressed and willing to applaud the effort. Later, we read the bill, or, more correctly, we tried without success to read and understand the bill, H.R. 230. Our failure derives no doubt from our residence in Merced, in the 18th congressional district of California, rather than in Annapolis, in the 3rd congressional district of Maryland. Although last night we spied a UC Merced student in a supermarket line with a T-shirt announcing, "I know something you don't know...UC Merced 2006-2007," we didn't think the video buyer would be able to help us understand Cardoza's bill, so we didn't ask him what he thought this section might have meant:

(e) Securitization-

(1) REQUIREMENT- Each enterprise shall, upon such terms and conditions as it may prescribe, set aside any qualified mortgages purchased by it under this section and, upon approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, issue and sell securities based upon such mortgages set aside.

(2) FORM- Securities issued under this subsection may be in the form of debt obligations or trust certificates of beneficial interest, or both.

(3) TERMS- Securities issued under this subsection shall have such maturities and bear such rate or rates of interest as may be determined by the enterprise with the approval of the Secretary.

1-20-09
The Guardian (UK)
Inaugural address of President Barack ObamaRemarks as prepared for delivery by the 44th president of the United States
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/20/barack-obama-inauguration-address

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

 
Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence
By Rev. Martin Luther King
4 April 1967
Speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1967, at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City

http://www.ssc.msu.edu/~sw/mlk/brkslnc.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice. I join with you in this meeting because I am in deepest agreement with the aims and work of the organization which has brought us together: Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam. The recent statement of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart and I found myself in full accord when I read its opening lines: "A time comes when silence is betrayal." That time has come for us in relation to Vietnam.

I am so grateful to Israel for agreeing to a cease fire during Obama's inauguration. It would have been tacky for our nation's client state in the Middle East to be committing acts of genocide once the weekend parties in Washington had commenced. Who knows, perhaps some bumpkin from the 18th Congressional District of California, sipping Gallo's finest vintages at the suburban Annapolis home of Rep. Dennis Cardoza, Shrimp Slayer-Maryland, might utter a question about it, causing consternation amid celebration. Wir mussen die Ordnung haben. Unfortunately, our arms dealers are losing a little money this weekend, but that's the price of democracy and time in on their side. After all, the defenseless Palestinians of Gaza aren't going anywhere, because they can't. The slaughter can begin again as Washington recovers from its hangover after Obama has made his speech about hope and change in our time and the Democrats begin gathering the spoils of office.

Natural Resources Defense Council

www.nrdc.org

111 Sutter Street, 20th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94104

tel 415 875-6100

fax 415 875-6161

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS: Erin Allweiss (202)513 6254/(202)277 8370; Monty Schmitt: (415)875-6100; Hal Candee: (415)421-7151

Senate Passes Omnibus Lands Bill

Will Restore Water, Salmon Populations to San Joaquin River

The county's almond orchards, the only orchard crop in the top 12 commodities (it ranks  third below milk and chickens), presents a fascinating agricultural can of worms. First, it can only be called a "classic" position in the perpetual crisis of  overproduction for export-led growth that has characterized San Joaquin Valley  agribusiness for about the last century. Apparently, growers, seeing a terrific export  market for the crop, have climbed onto a "winner" and have planted a reported 650,000  acres in California, the only state that produces almonds, at least in commercial  quantities. We say "apparently," because the assumption that every almond grower in the  state is in the business to make a profit off the actual crop is naive. A number of the  larger "producers" are developers and institutional investors making what are primarily  long-range real estate investments for later conversion to urban growth. Meanwhile, they  are able to take advantage of every tax dodge and loan deal designed for real farmers. A  significant percentage of almond acreage, especially new plantings that may not yet have  come into production yet, represent businessmen farming banks and the government rather  than the faddish nut. 

Thos. Jefferson, c. 1814

1-6-09
Modesto Bee
Lowering UC's standards has several costs...Doug Ose. Ose, of Granite Bay, is a developer who served three terms in Congress.
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/community/v-print/story/553747.html
Editor's note: This article was submitted in response to The Bee's editorial "Changes in UC admissions should improve process" (Jan. 2, Page A-1).
Recently the University of California Board of Regents considered a proposal to lower admission standards for incoming freshman. At the heart of the proposal is the elimination of the SAT subject tests and the establishment of a "holistic" admissions process called Entitled to Review.
The concern is that eliminating subject tests removes a long- established path to admissions that has a proven record in predicting a student's readiness for success in college. Changing to this new policy invites legal mischief. UCLA has been using "holistic" admissions practices and now faces scrutiny for potential violations of Proposition 209, which outlawed college admissions based on race or ethnicity. Fortunately, a significant public outcry from students and others forced the regents to postpone making any decision until early 2009.

1-5-09
CounterPunch.com
Hello, This is the IDF...
Gaza Phone Tag
By MUHAMMAD ALI KHALIDI
http://www.counterpunch.com/khalidi01052009.html

“…hundreds of thousands of Gazans have received warnings in the form of telephone messages or fliers that their buildings are Israeli targets…”

-- New York Times, 1 January 2009

Israeli soldier: Hello, Abdul, this is the Israel Defense Forces speaking…

Palestinian civilian: My name isn’t Abdul, I think you have the wrong number.

I: As I said this is the IDF, we never have wrong information.

P: So how can I help you?

I: I’m just calling to warn you to evacuate your place because of an imminent airstrike on a Hamas target in your building.

P: But there’s no Hamas in my building.

I: Not even on your street?

P: No, there was a Hamas member of parliament on the next street but you put him in jail.

I: Must be old information, anyway, there’s going to be an airstrike so you better go.

P: Can you tell me where you’d like me to go to?

I: It’s not my business, check into a hotel, stay with relatives on the beach, take a vacation in Cyprus, just go.

12-22-08
Merced Sun-Star editorial

...How can we judge if California is taking more water from the delta and its watershed than they can handle?
Consider the evidence: Smelt are at the brink of extinction. Other species, such as salmon, are in serious peril. Federal courts are using the hammer of the Endangered Species Act to deliver a blunt message about the entire ecosystem.
Dry years, when cities and farms suck more from the delta than they do during more rainy times, are especially tough for these species. During wet years, 87 percent of the water entering the delta makes it out to the San Francisco Bay. During dry years, the figure drops to 51 percent.
If California is to have any hope of restoring the delta and avoiding clashes with federal judges, it must develop a water plan that reduces its dependence on this estuary and strives for greater reliability.
What would this plan look like?
To begin with, it must be grounded in reality. Water contracts based on dated premises must be renegotiated, and efficiency should be the law of the land.
Each region of the state -- including Sacramento and the San Joaquin Valley -- must find ways to reduce what it takes from the delta and its watershed. And environmental groups must recognize that not every species will be restored to its population predating the Gold Rush...