Calhouns Can(n)ons

More from the RWQCB’s Presentation of “Torquemada’s Mad Hatter Tea Party & Auto-de-fe Public Beheading & Traveling CDO Show”

The following texts were read into the record by Los Osos CDO recipient Bill Moylan at the January 22 continuation of the CDO hearings. Naturally, everything he had to say to the RWQCB was ignored utterly.

Which was a real shame since Part II placed a real choice and a challenge directly before them.

One of the definitions of Evil is to deliberately do harm to someone when you KNOW the pain you’re inflicting is pointless and that you have other less harmful choices available that would accomplish the same task, yet refuse to take that path. Come to think of it, that’s also a pretty good definition of what makes a sadist a sadist.

Part I



The Specious Logic of the Water Board
The burden of proof lies with the Water Board as stated in the California Evidence Code, section 520, which states, “The party claiming that a person is guilty of crime or wrongdoing has the burden of proof on that issue.”
Everyone in Los Osos and everyone in this room knows that not every septic tank in the Prohibition Zone contributes to the degradation of the state’s water. And yet the Water Board uses specious logic to prove its point. Here is the Water Board’s specious logic: A) Septic systems in the Los Osos Prohibition Zone pollute the state’s water. B) William and Beverley live in the Prohibition Zone and they have a septic system. C) Therefore, William and Beverley’s septic system pollutes the state’s water. Any logician will tell you that you cannot conclude that William and Beverley’s septic is polluting because the premise that septic systems in Los Osos pollute is erroneous: not all septic systems in the Prohibition Zone pollute. And I believe that my septic system does not pollute the state’s water.

Any governing body can create an arbitrary zone. The mere creation of a zone does not make it legitimate. For argument’s sake, I will create a zone where degradation is occurring. This zone is the table that the members of the Water Board are sitting at and I will call it the “board zone.” This zone is being degraded because there are coffee stains on the table and there are indentations on the edge of the table. Not only that, I declare that anyone sitting at this table is responsible for the degradation of the table. Since the members of the water board are seated in the “board zone”, they are all in violation. Now, if you do not want to be in violation, you must provide me with evidence that you are not in violation. But how can you do that, since you are sitting there. Therefore, you must stop sitting at that table if you do not want to be in violation.

You see, members, you can provide me with evidence that sitting at that table is harmless, or that you are very careful with your coffee, or that you have never dented the ends of the table, or that you have no other table to sit at, or that other people sit at the table longer than you do. It does not matter what you say. If you are at sitting at the table you are guilty. It does not matter that I have no direct evidence that you, as an individual, are damaging the table. I do not have to prove anything because you are in violation of sitting there.



What does matter is that you are in the board zone, ergo you are in violation. I don’t have to prove anything because I have created a zone. Science does not matter, logic does not matter, reason does not matter. And proof does not matter. What a beautiful concept, but specious.

If the premise for creating a “zone” is erroneous, then whatever conclusion follows the premise is also erroneous. The premise that the Water Board is using is that all septic systems in the Prohibition Zone are polluting, and that premise is erroneous.



Part II




CLOSING STATEMENT


I could talk about how our due process has been deliberately restricted so we could not mount a complete defense. I could talk about how the Water Board has spurned the California evidence code or how the Water Board has no site specific evidence for our home. I could talk about the infringement of the 8th and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution that this Board exhibits. I could mention the subtle and not so subtle arrogance displayed by the Water Board and how unbecoming that behavior is. I could talk about the repeated gender discrimination in this proceeding.

I could talk about those matters but I would be wasting my time, for the water board staff and certain board members have freely exhibited their disdain for the defendants, no matter how eloquent or truthful or compelling the defendant’s testimony. I could talk about how science does not matter with the Water Board, for Dr. Wickham’s expert scientific testimony was dismissed by Mr. Brigg’s, who said, “we don’t agree with Dr. Wickham’s opinions.” Mr. Cleath’s expert testimony, which said that pumping every septic tank in Los Osos would not lower the nitrates in the aquifer, was also dismissed. The Board has decided that every homeowner in the Prohibition Zone will pump, regardless of the need. Logic does not matter, for we have seen how logic for the boundaries of the Prohibition Zone is non-existent and arbitrary. Reason also gets short shrift from the Water Board, because the reason for having the Prohibition Zone in the first place was based on nitrate test results from illegal wells as stated in evidence submitted by Bruce and Antoinette Payne and posted on November 17, 2006.

So, what does matter? What does matter is that the health of the original 45 proposed CDO recipients has failed over the past year. What does matter is that Bruce Payne was blinded in his right eye from the stress of this CDO process, as verified by his eye doctor. What does matter is that John Mortara was rushed to the hospital three times in January and February last year from the stress of this CDO process and has since had a pacemaker implanted in his chest. What does matter is that Alan Martyn had to have his blood pressure and diabetes constantly monitored in the year 2006 from the stress of this process. And what does matter is that my wife has had to have infusions every eight weeks to tame her auto immune disease that resurged from the stress of this process; an auto-immune disease that was in remission nearly a full year before the first Water Board notice arrived. These infusions, which cost $7600 each, are needed so she can lead a mostly normal life.

What does matter is that the Water Board has been asked to stop this process many times by others and me over this last year and has ignored our pleadings. What does matter is that members of the Water Board prosecution team were informed many times last year that people were suffering physically, emotionally, and spiritually from this CDO process, and that the Water Board had an obligation to help the people of Los Osos and not hurt them, and those pleadings were ignored. What does matter is that suggestions on how to inform the entire Los Osos community without hurting the community were offered by me and others and that these suggestions were disregarded.

What matters now is that these CDO’s are rescinded now, that no more are issued, and that a community outreach program is initiated by the Water Board now. What matters now is that no more people have to suffer from high blood pressure, or surgical procedures directly related to stress, or that auto-immune diseases of possible future CDO recipients are not activated by the threat of $1000 or $5000 a day fines. What matters now is that this Water Board realizes that the health and safety of innocent citizens are not just related to clean water but to how well governing bodies relate to the people they represent. What matters now is that clean water and good relations can both be achieved if the Water Board wills it. What matters now is that the Water Board stops issuing these CDO’s and exhibits the courage to work with the people of Los Osos. What matters now, is that the Water Board thinks about how their future actions could benefit the people of Los Osos, and then act in a beneficial way.