Badlands Journal

The Pimlico Kid is so lame all he can think about is the sweet pasture that lies ahead at taxpayers' expense after he leaves Congress. In the following letter to his constituents he limps along in the shadow of -- of all people -- the President, whose wife the Kid insulted by preferring to attend the Preakness with lobbyists to attending a UC Merced graduation featuring the First Lady as commencement speaker.

And, of course, he lied about the whole thing, claiming he couldn't make the event due to family commitments. The Kid finished dead last by 50 lengths in that contest.

Today, in his letter, he indicates that at last the president has recognized that he, the Pimlico Kid, had the right idea about the foreclosure crisis all along. It is a simple, three-part strategy: Do everything in the power of a politician to stimulate housing growth in your district; get the taxpayers to bail out the banks for the weak mortgages on their books; sell the package as a bail out of the people. Cover the whole campaign in the Kid's patented unctious piety and you've got as fine an example as you'd ever want to see of absolute political irrelevance.

"I know what you're thinking about," said Tweedledum; "but it isn't so, nohow."

"Contrariwise," continued Tweedledee, "if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't.

That's logic." -- Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass

 We found it necessary to consult this primary text in logic to attempt to "parse" (even to robustly and proactively parse") the following statement from the desk of our very own White Queen, Dianne Feinstein, senior US Senator for California:

Because California can't store enough water during wet years to compensate for dry years, transferring water is a criticaltool to help provide farmers, businesses and residential areas with a dependable water supply.--US Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Sacramento Bee, Jan. 17, 2012.

Within the primary unexamimed assumption, "Because California can't store enough water during wet years to compensate for dry years," there is another fundamental assumption, "California" itself.

"I don't have a conflict of interest - I'm a citizen who is talking to my old colleagues." -- Rep. Dennis Cqrdoza, Annapolis, Merced, Atwater, etc. Jan. 20, 2012, Sacramento Bee 

1-21-12

Sacramento Bee

Rep. Dennis Cardoza enters online gambling fray in Sacramento…Torey Van Oot, Capitol Alert…1-20-12

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/01/e.html

Add Rep.  Dennis Cardoza  to the long list of individuals and interests weighing in on the online gambling legislation discussions going on under the dome.

The Merced Democrat was part of a group of racehorse owners and lobbyists for the Thoroughbred Owners of California trade association that met with members of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee this week "to discuss Internet poker, and other Internet gaming issues," according to a report by California Watch.

In a telephone interview, Cardoza said he is an unpaid member of the board of directors of the thoroughbred owners association. The House of Representatives' Ethics Committee approved his service last year, he said.

He said the Sacramento meetings were aimed at calling attention to the economic problems of the state's $2.8 billion horse racing industry. He was "absolutely not lobbying," Cardoza said.

1-11-12

Merced Sun-Star

Dry January raises concern over drought in northern California…Matt Weiser

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2012/01/11/v-print/2186343/dry-january-raises-concern-over.html

The dreaded D-word – "drought" – is back on the tongues of many Californians now that a dry December has crawled into a dry January.

A dry December is not that unusual. But a dry January – well along into winter and usually the state's wettest month – is another matter.

"What is unusual is that it just hangs on and on and on," said Maury Roos, chief hydrologist at the California Department of Water Resources, noting it will be hard to recover from the missed January storms.

"It's not impossible, but it's quite unlikely we'll make it back to normal before the end of the season," Roos said.

Sacramento has had no rain since Dec. 15, and only a trace on that day: 0.07 inches.

Lake Tahoe – so dependent on snowfall for its winter economy – has fared just as badly. South Lake Tahoe has seen no measurable precipitation since Nov. 20, according to National Weather Service data.

"It's a problem of moral perpitude." -- Bdlands Journal leader

A theory about the latest US Immigration and Customs Enforcement fiasco: 15-year-old Jakadrien Lorece Turner of Houston TX just wanted to travel to exciting foreign countries. She lacked foreign language as does the overwhelming majority of American high school students, but that was no barrier to her adventurous spirit.

And she found the perfect free tour, ICE, an agency that has such a weakness for high school girls that around her its dark minions ambush school buses in the morning.

Nevertheless,, less the inconvenience of momentary incarceration, Turner got a free trip to exciting Colombia. No one in the ssytem caught on to her ruse, probably because her skin tone is like that of many Colombians.

Once the media pressure is again diverted to the thrills of Republican primary electionss, ICE will probably throw the book at Turner to teach her a lesson she will never forget: You will pay dearly if you ever make the US Department of Justice look ridiculous!

The Alma Oseguera Affair was most widely covered case of the craving ICE and its political supporters have for high school girls. See below or at: 

12-10-11

Fresno Bee

Bill McEwen: Resnick wants to enhance Valley…

Bill McEwen

http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/12/10/v-print/2645195/resnick-wants-to-enhance-valley.html

Lynda Resnick is a marketing whiz and one of America's richest women. She has mastered the art of moving bottled water, pomegranate juice, oranges and other products off of supermarket shelves.

Now she's tackling a bigger challenge: making a dent in the concentrated poverty that has saddled the San Joaquin Valley with a reputation as the Appalachia of the West.

Resnick might be this generation's highest-profile Valley advocate. She certainly has the connections to make politicians and foundations pay attention to our overlooked region and its daunting problems.

She and husband Stewart own Roll Global and are estimated to be worth $1.8 billion. A good chunk of their fortune has come from the Valley's fertile fields and the success of Paramount Farms.

"What I hope to give is a voice to the whole Valley," Resnick says. "Too many people have no idea about the Central Valley and the wonderful people here that deserve a chance."

The Resnicks, who live in Beverly Hills, long have been major donors to causes in Southern California.

Gee whiz: we're soooo surprised.

12-31-11

Merced Sun-Star

Livingston annexation appears on fast track

Gallo family wants 334 acres of land to be rezoned for industrial, commercial uses…JOSHUA EMERSON SMITH

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2011/12/31/v-print/2173795/livingston-annexation-appears.html

LIVINGSTON -- City officials have taken steps toward approving a Gallo family request to annex several hundred acres of land into the city.

Proponents argue it would set the stage for luring industry and jobs to the town. However, local residents have already voiced concerns about the possible negative impacts of development in the area.

On Thursday the Livingston Planning Commission voted unanimously to send an annexation plan to the City Council, which would make 334 acres of land owned by the Gallo family part of the city.

If the council votes to incorporate the property into the city limit, future industrial, commercial and housing developments approved at the site would then have access to public services, including water, sewer, fire and police -- important incentives for prospective investors.

We agree with Merced County Planning Coimmissioner Jack Mobley's letter below. The people of California generally believed that they were voting to spend $9 billion to plan for a railroad along existing rail routes from LA to SF to travel at a high rate of speed. What they bought for their money was dishonest ridership. cost and job estimates, routes going through both suburban and rural areas that would be extremely disruptive to flows of existing traffic and the movement of farm machinery, staff barring the public from public meetings, supine federal resource agencies selling out the environment "because The Boss wants high speed rail." and a seemingly endless stream of ubiquitous, meaningless flak fomented by local land-sue authorities and their boosters like Merced trying to cover up their disastrous failures of judgment about housing and growth by denying the simple facts Mobley outlines below.

"It's been explosive growth for them," he said in a telephone interview. "The economics on it are staggering." -- Bloomberg, 12-12-11

12-12-11

Bloomberg News

Dark Side of Fracking Makes Heckmann a Takeover Target: Real M&A…David Wethe and Tara Lachapelle, ©2011 Bloomberg News. Editors: Michael Tsang, Daniel Hauck.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/12/12/bloomberg_articlesLW3TAV6K50Y6.DTL&type=printable

Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The need to reduce the environmental risk from shale-oil drilling is boosting the allure of Heckmann Corp. and Poseidon Concepts Corp. as takeover targets.

Local and federal regulators are raising questions about pollution after demand for so-called hydraulic fracturing, which uses millions of gallons of water mixed with sand and chemicals to unlock oil and gas in shale rock, more than tripled in the past five years. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a report last week it found evidence of chemicals used in the process in a drinking-water aquifer in Wyoming.