Calhouns Can(n)ons

Yes, Yes, Plluueeez Mull


The Tribune reported on the 23rd.(“Board mulls inquiry report), that The Board of Supervisors has received a draft report looking into the Edge/Wilcox Problem and they will make a decision on in a few weeks. Supervisor Gibson was reported as saying, “We have to be methodical. We’re taking care in how we do things.”

Oh, yes, please. And this time, BOS, no happy horse plucky about “philosophical differences” being the reason your CEO got fired. And while you’re “mulling” make sure that report includes a look at the system you’ve now got set up. Wilcox, in her lawsuit, alleges that the BOS knew about and turned a blind eye to her sexual harassment, that even the office of County Counsel knew, and that Human Resources was no help because THEY were serving at the pleasure of the CEO. Not a particularly good situation. So, it’s possible that the system needs some fine tuning.

So, mull the current report and if you’ve got a system problem that needs tweaking or the report indicates you need to do some more snooping, then snoop. Time to fix this mess now so we’ll have another 10 years without canoodling and black lingerie.

Hooray for Don Ernst!

Don Ernst, a SLOTown trial lawyer, wrote a Viewpoint in the June 23 Tribune, for which I’d like to say: THANK YOU. He tossed down a challenge to Assemblyman Sam Blakelesee: Help save California or Save Your Behind – take your pick.

If you recall, the Republicans, during the last budget wrangle, took a blood oath to Grover Norquist (I know, you thought they too their blood oaths to the constitution, but No, it’s Grover.). Grover’s the ideologue who’s started his “No Tax Pledge,” because he wants government weak and small enough to drown in the bathtub. Several Republicans refused to sign the pledge and voted to go along with the first compromise and they were punished by being sent to Coventry. Sam, on the other hand, smelled the wind and which way he wanted his career to go, and fell into lock-step with Grover. In short, Sam picked his career over the good of the state of California and was rewarded by moving on up the committee/chairmanship ladder.

Now, here we are again and Ernst is now calling on Sam to Do The Right Thing. Wrote Earnst, “Throughout history, responsible Republicans have raised taxes when required to do so: Gov. Ronald Reagan did it in 1969, Gov Peter Wilson did it in 1992. Any rational person can see we need a balanced approach to this budget crisis.

“When our schools are destroyed, our teachers unemployed, when state parts close and felons roam free, and when sick children, the elderly and the disabled are unable to receive minimal medical care, you will know who to call. Blakeslee will tell you that he signed a “No Tax Pledge” because politics and ideology are more important than schools, parks, roads, public safety, health care and the future of California.”

Well, we shall see. The irony here is that Sam has always portrayed himself as Mr. Pragmatic, Mr. Git ‘r Done, Mr. Sensible Compromise. Until now. Perhaps the lure of more power and powerful Chairmanships were simply too much. Or maybe it was Grover’s aftershave.

Burp!

In the June 22 Tribune, was an AP story in the “Science” section. Since Global Warming is at the forefront of our international worries, one of the big contributions to the greenhouse gas build up is cow belches – actually lots of methane gas from both ends of the cow, and pigs and sheep, which add up to one-quarter of all the methane released in the U.S. Lotta methane. So, a group of Vermont dairy farms are discovering that changing the cow’s feed reduced the belching. Feed the cows flaxeed, alfalfa and grasses high in Omega 3 fatty acids instead of corn, and the methane amount drops. Change the natural bacteria in the cow’s rumen and the gas is reduced. In the case of the Coventry Valley farm, a reduction of 13 percent. At other farms, the gas has been reduced 18 percent.

What’s also interesting about this is that corn, which is subsidized by the government and fed to all critters to fatten them up in (totally unnatural, truly awful) feed yards, is for cows a totally unnatural “bad” food. The result, many feel, is sicker, weakened cows needing antibiotics which then get into the food chain and create problems all their own. Not to mention corn-fattened cows are, well, full of fat, which is exactly what this obese nation doesn’t need.

So, here’s a solution that kills two birds with one stone: change the cow’s diet up front, reduce greenhouse gasses and get a leaner, healthier dead cow for people who like to eat dead cows. Then, if people understood how bad too much meat in the diet is for their own health, perhaps they’d reduce their consumption (go for quality not quantity), which would further reduce the greenhouse gasses needed in the form of energy to raise all those cows in the first place. More win-win.