Bush: Bring 'em on Is Working

See discussion in the fighting on the War on Terror, "Pakistan and Iraq" at http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/

I think George W Bush’s “bring ‘em on” strategy is working quite nicely”. Particularly after watching THE WAR on PBS and regularly seeing SNAFU and FUBAR in World War II.

I asked a friend why Al Qaeda not only has not successfully attacked the US in six years, but only two successful attacks in the west (Madrid in March 2003 and London in July 2005). See list of Al Qaeda terrorists attacks at http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0884893.html Outside of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, zero attacks in 2006 and only Algeria in so far in 2007.

I said if I was Al Qaeda, and if the US fighting back just created many more terrorists, I would be blowing up a mall or power plant every month. My friend says he thinks it is not due to our efforts in fighting back, but rather that Al Qaeda is just bidding their time.

Bush Rate Cuts Raises Taxes

“President Bush's 2003 tax cuts on income, capital gains and dividends … have raised federal tax receipts by $785 billion, the largest four-year revenue increase in U.S. history.
Fraom Wall Stree Journal OpinionJournal

These increases in tax revenue have substantially reduced the federal budget deficits. In 2004 the deficit was $413 billion, or 3.5% of gross domestic product. It narrowed to $318 billion in 2005, $248 billion in 2006 and $163 billion in 2007. That last figure is just 1.2% of GDP, which is half of the average of the past 50 years.”

Former Governor of Delaware PETE DU PONT Tuesday, October 30, 2007 http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pdupont/?id=110010798

Great Lakes Water Should be Piped to Other States

There are droughts in a number of areas in the United States. Some say the Los Angeles area is in a drought with Southern California having only 3” of rain in 2006, but do look at 2005 with over 30” of rain.

See http://www.calclim.dri.edu/climatewatch/ccw200504.html “Percent of normal precipitation in California as of May 8, 2005. Numerous precipitation records have been set throughout south and central California. Los Angeles has received an exceptionally large amount of precipitation, near double their normal annual average of 15.14 inches. As of press time, downtown Los Angeles had 30.71 inches on the books since October 1, and 37.11 since July 1, the beginning of the rain year.”

But there is an obvious solution, see the Los Angeles Times October 28, 2007 article Fate of Great Lakes' water looks fluid by Tim Jones of the Chicago Tribune “The thirstiest states, notably in the West, cast increasingly interested eyes on the largest fresh-water reservoir.”

■ “The fires in Southern California, the prolonged drought in the Southeast and the shrinking flow of the Colorado River, which feeds seven Western states, have underscored the importance of water supplies in rapidly developing regions and the determination of a handful of states and provinces to hold on to a resource they see as key to their economic future.”

■ “With fresh water supplies dwindling in the West and South, the Great Lakes are the natural-resource equivalent of the fat pension fund, and some politicians are eager to raid it. The lakes contain nearly 20% of the world's fresh water.”

China Has Big Pollution Problems – Lake Cleanup Price Set at $14.5 Billion

■ “China has announced a multibillion-dollar plan to clean up a severely polluted lake where an algae bloom forced the suspension of water supplies to millions of people this summer.”

■ “The $14.5 billion plan to clean up Lake Tai, in a densely populated area northwest of Shanghai, should take five years, said a statement dated Friday and posted on a government Web site of the nearby city of Taizhou.”

■ “The algae covered as much as one-third of the 930-square-mile lake, a popular tourist attraction that has become badly polluted as the Wuxi area developed into a center for manufacturing and high technology.”

■ “Environmental regulators say China's rivers and lakes are so polluted that tens of millions of people have no access to clean drinking water.”

Good News form Al Jazeera - Sudan Declares Darfur Ceasefire

See article Sudan declares Darfur ceasefire

■ “Sudan's government has declared a unilateral ceasefire in Darfur to end the four-year conflict in the region, an aide to Omar al-Beshir, Sudan's president, has said.”

■ “The pledge came at the beginning of talks mediated by the United Nations and African Union in Libya on Saturday between Sudan's government and armed opposition groups in Darfur.”

New York Times on Southern California Wildfires

Some interesting information in the New York Times, Sunday, October 28, 2007 front page story Rethinking Fire Policy in the Tinderbox Zone by Kirk Johnson and Jesse McKinley. It includes:
■ “Mexico has smaller fires that burn out naturally, regularly clearing out combustible underbrush and causing relatively little destruction because the cycle is still natural. California has giant ones because its longtime policies of fire suppression — in which the government has kept fires from their normal cycle — has created huge pockets of fuel that erupt into conflagrations that must be fought.”
■ “In San Diego County, which has borne the brunt of the recent fires, three out of four homes built since 1990 are in the dangerous zone where open spaces and housing meet.”
■ “Wildfires by and large start in national forests, recreation areas and other publicly owned lands. About half of the land in San Diego County is publicly owned, much of it in the Cleveland National Forest.”
■ “As the events of this week illustrate — at least 480,000 acres burned, 1,575 residences destroyed and 7 people killed” [Map depicts that 1,424 San Diego homes destroyed while a total of 51 in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties with an additional 300 homes destroyed in San Bernardino County – the numbers don’t add up, but clearly San Diego took the brunt of the 2007 wildfire]
■ But not as deadly as the 2003 wildfire “San Diego County went through a painstaking self-evaluation after the Cedar and Paradise fires destroyed 2,400 homes and killed 18 people in 2003.”
■ “San Diego County was among the first in the nation to adopt voluntary standards of home protection stringent enough that homes could be deemed safe enough to “shelter in place,” if evacuation is impossible. The standards require special fire resistant building materials, sprinkling systems and water supply fixtures for fire fighting, and fire-resistant vegetation controls. There are early indications from the current fires that some of the new rules may have made a difference. Five housing projects have been built in the county under the shelter-in-place standards; all five have survived the fires.”
■ “The San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society and three other environmental groups successfully sued in 2005 to block a proposed 57-home development near Lake Arrowhead, but that was the exception. Smaller communities like Cedar Glen, near San Bernardino National Forest, are also operating under new rules, including stipulations that homeowners provide 100 feet of defensible space around their homes.”

Since most fires start on public land would it not be fairer for the public to provide the fuel modification around the public lands perimeter to create the defensible space for the firefighters? That’s what we do in Laguna Beach which is surrounded by 17,000 acres of the Laguna Greenbelt. The City uses a herd of goats to munch down the chaparral around the town thinning out the plant life for 200 feet from private property.

Good News from Afghanistan But Some NATO Allies Not in the Fight

See Oct 27, 2007 Associated Press report from Kabul “80 Taliban reported killed in U.S.-led battle”

■ “U.S.-led coalition forces killed about 80 Taliban fighters during a six-hour battle outside a Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan, the latest in a series of increasingly bloody engagements in the region, officials said Sunday.”

■ “The battle near Musa Qala in Helmand province — the world's largest poppy growing region — is at least the fifth major fight in the area since Sept. 1. The five battles that have killed more than 250 Taliban fighters, a possible sign that U.S. or British forces could be trying to wrest the area back from Taliban militants.”

■ “The latest fight began Saturday when Taliban fighters attacked a combined U.S. coalition and Afghan patrol with rockets and gunfire, prompting the combined force to call in attack aircraft”

■ “Australia's prime minister [John Howard], meanwhile, said more NATO powers must directly engage the Taliban to help ease the burden on Australia, the United States, Britain, Canada and the Netherlands, which all have troops in the dangerous southern and central parts of Afghanistan.”

■ “Germany, Italy, France and Spain have troops in the relatively safer northern sections … and Australian Prime Minister John Howard said ‘Some of the other countries have lots of troops in Afghanistan, but they're not in some of the areas that are experiencing the heaviest fighting’."

Garden Hose on Roof Not Good Way To Fight Fires

Los Angeles Time On the Record October 27, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/corrections/
"Fire protection: An article in Wednesday's Section A about preparing for a fire evacuation advised leaving lawn sprinklers on and using a garden hose to wet the roof or the area around your house. In fact, sprinklers should be turned off to preserve water for firefighters, and wetting a roof or area around your house is not effective in Santa Ana winds, fire experts say."

New Orleans May Lose Its District Attorney Office

New Orleans May Lose Its District Attorney Office

Urban Legends says the reports about New Orleans phantom police were not correct; see 'Phantom Police' in New Orleans?

But New Orleans is an interesting place. See October 27, 2007 article “La. mayor: state may take over DA office”
NEW ORLEANS – “Mayor Ray Nagin says the state could take over the New Orleans district attorney's office as early as Monday as the agency faces a multimillion-dollar civil judgment.
A federal judge ruled this past week that district attorney office assets could be seized to pay off a $3.65 million judgment pending from a 2005 case in which dozens of white office workers successfully sued District Attorney Eddie Jordan for replacing them with black workers.”

Nuclear Freeze Advocate Proven Wrong Dies, R.I.P.

See New York Times article October 26, 2007 by Dennis Hevesi Randall Forsberg, 64, Nuclear Freeze Advocate, Dies. May she rest in peace.

In response to the USSR’s SS-20 intermediate missiles which could strike several targets anywhere in Western Europe in less than 10 minutes, President Ronald Reagan organized the Western Alliance to respond with putting the Pershing II missiles in a Peace Through Strength response. This action by President Reagan eventually lead to the defeat of the Soviet Union. The New York Times obituary notes: “Some historians and military experts argue that Reagan’s insistence on increasing military spending, combined with economic and political instability in the Soviet Union, led to the downfall of the Soviet bloc and to the eventual, if often tenuous, improvement in relations between the United States and Russia.”

The world according to Randall Forsberg was very different. After the provocative Soviet action, the Nuclear Freeze movement advised the United States to do nothing but rather freeze in place allowing the USSR to have our European allies under the intimidation of the SS-20s. Many people agreed with her:
■ “By 1982, nuclear freeze proposals had been approved by dozens of town, city, county and state legislatures throughout the country, and by referendums in eight states. The effort peaked on June 12, 1982, with a mass march through Manhattan and a gathering of more than 700,000 people in Central Park”.

■ “In 1982, addressing the rally, Dr. Forsberg looked out over the crowd and exulted: ‘We’ve done it! The nuclear freeze campaign has mobilized the biggest peacetime peace movement in United States history. The politicians don’t believe it yet’.”

■ “The movement lost momentum that year when a resolution urging President Ronald Reagan to negotiate a bilateral freeze with the Soviet Union failed by two votes in the House of Representatives.”

■ “In 1983, a year after the rally, Dr. Forsberg received the so-called “genius award” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In 1995, President Bill Clinton appointed her to the Director’s Advisory Committee of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.”

Global Warming Hottest Years Now 1930s per NASA

Letter-to-the-Editor published in Laguna Beach Independent October 26, 2007
Global warming: It was hotter then than it is now

Editor:
Concerned and want to be informed about global warming? Where can one get accurate information?

See linked to the NASA website at http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=17087 It says” The high temperatures of 2004 make it the fourth hottest year since the late 1800s, the time that most scientists recognize as the start of accurate meteorological record keeping.” But that was written February 9, 2005. What does NASA say now?

See the NASA website http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/2005_warmest.html It says “The year 2005 was the warmest year in over a century, according to NASA scientists studying temperature data from around the world.” But that was written January 24, 2006. What does NASA say now?

From http://www.norcalblogs.com/watts/2007/08/1998_no_longer_the_hottest_yea.html “Steve McIntyre, of Toronto operates www.climateaudit.org and began to investigate the data and the methods used to arrive at the results that were graphed by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies”.

See http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200708/CUL20070816b.html “on Aug. 4, 2007 blogger Steve McIntyre of the ClimateAudit.org website, sent an email to NASA asserting that the data collected by the agency after 1999 was not being adjusted to allow for the times of day when readings were taken or the locations of the monitoring stations”. “NASA climate modeler Gavin Schmidt …said the data analysis was then adjusted accordingly, and a note of thanks emailed to McIntyre”. Corrected data is at http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/Fig.D.txt

“According to the new data published by NASA, 1998 is no longer the hottest year ever. 1934 is. Four of the top 10 years of US CONUS high temperature deviations are now from the 1930s: 1934, 1931, 1938 and 1939, while only 3 of the top 10 are from the last 10 years (1998, 2006, 1999).”

Well, at a minimum, it’s complicated.

Gene Felder
Laguna Beach

Hottest Years Were in 1930s

Concerned and want to be informed about global warming? Where can one get accurate information?

See linked to the NASA website at http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=17087 It says” The high temperatures of 2004 make it the fourth hottest year since the late 1800s, the time that most scientists recognize as the start of accurate meteorological record keeping.” But that was written February 9, 2005. What does NASA say now?

See the NASA website http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/2005_warmest.html It says “The year 2005 was the warmest year in over a century, according to NASA scientists studying temperature data from around the world.” But that was written January 24, 2006. What does NASA say now?
From http://www.norcalblogs.com/watts/2007/08/1998_no_longer_the_hottest_yea.html “Steve McIntyre, of Toronto operates www.climateaudit.org and began to investigate the data and the methods used to arrive at the results that were graphed by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies”.
See http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200708/CUL20070816b.html “on Aug. 4, 2007 blogger Steve McIntyre of the ClimateAudit.org website, sent an email to NASA asserting that the data collected by the agency after 1999 was not being adjusted to allow for the times of day when readings were taken or the locations of the monitoring stations”. “NASA climate modeler Gavin Schmidt …said the data analysis was then adjusted accordingly, and a note of thanks emailed to McIntyre”. Corrected data is at http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/Fig.D.txt

“According to the new data published by NASA, 1998 is no longer the hottest year ever. 1934 is. Four of the top 10 years of US CONUS high temperature deviations are now from the 1930s: 1934, 1931, 1938 and 1939, while only 3 of the top 10 are from the last 10 years (1998, 2006, 1999).”
Well, at a minimum, it’s complicated.

Osama Bin Laden Letter to America

Liberals love to blame and hate President George W. Bush, that he has really caused a mess and is a liar. I see Osama bin Laden as the enemy, however I take most of what bin Laden writes as being truthful. Your readers should read Osama bin Laden’s Letter to the American People; see full text at http://observer.guardian.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,846511,00.html In his November 2002 letter, before the Iraq War, he answers “Why are we fighting and opposing you?”

Osama bin Laden comments include:
“reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling's, and trading with interest.”
“you are the worst civilization witnessed by the history of mankind”
“You separate religion from your policies, contradicting the pure nature which affirms Absolute Authority to the Lord”
“You are a nation that permits acts of immorality, and you consider them to be pillars of personal freedom.”
“Who can forget your President Clinton's immoral acts committed in the official Oval office? After that you did not even bring him to account, other than that he 'made a mistake', after which everything passed with no punishment. Is there a worse kind of event for which your name will go down in history and remembered by nations?”
“You are a nation that practices the trade of sex in all its forms, directly and indirectly. ... under the name of art, entertainment, tourism and freedom, and other deceptive names you attribute to it.”

He demands that we convert to Islam and live under Shariah law: “we are calling you to Islam.” “discarding of all the opinions, orders, theories and religions which contradict with the religion” “Do not await anything from us but Jihad, resistance and revenge.” “we have the right to destroy their villages and towns. …we have the right to destroy their economy.” “you fail to respond to all these conditions, then prepare for fight with the Islamic Nation.”

How’s the Future Look for Al Qaeda in Pakistan?

I predict Pakistan under President Pervez Musharraf and soon-to-be Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will increase efforts to destroy Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan tribal areas

See BBC October 19, 2007 report Attack on Bhutto convoy kills 130

■ “At least 130 people were killed when two bombs exploded among crowds in Karachi celebrating the return of the former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto.”

■ “Several Islamist groups, including pro-Taleban militants, had said they would attack Ms Bhutto on her return, after she promised to confront those operating in the northern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.”

Democrats Concerned About Deficts and National Debt

I am delighted at the increasing number of my Democrat friends who express concern about the Federal budget deficit and the National Debt. I ask them to join me and support the Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Constitution.

In the 1994, the Republican Contract With America included a commitment to vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment

On January 26, 1995 the House exceeded the 2/3's constitutional requirement vote passing the Balanced Budget Amendment 300 to 132 with 129 Democrats and 1 Socialist voting no.
Since it required a two-thirds vote or 67 aye votes, it was defeated in the U.S.
Senate on March 2, 1995, almost passing but with a vote of 65 to 35. Republican Senator Bob Dole voted no hoping he could find the one extra vote and then having voted on the prevailing side move for reconsideration. The 34 Democrats voted no to defeat the Balanced Budget Amendment which they did. Each of these Senators bear responsibility for the Balanced Budget Amendment not passing Congress including California's Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer who each voted no.

This version of the Balanced Budget Amendment included a provision to allow deficit spending when appropriate such as during an economic downturn or during war if sanctioned by a 2/3 vote in both houses of Congress. The Balanced Budget Amendment made sense in 1994 and it still makes sense. Let's work together and get it passed.

See The Fiscal Responsibility Act at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_with_America

Free Bus to California Coastal Commission Thurs Oct 11th Hearing in San Pedro - Stop Foothill South Toll Road

Stop Foothill South Toll Road - Save Trestles Beach

Call 939-7257 to Reserve Your Seat for Free Bus & Lunch
California Coastal Commission Meeting Thurs Oct 11th
9:45 AM meet the bus near Sears at the Laguna Hills Mall off of El Toro Road before 5 Freeway


If can’t go send email expressing your opposition to the Toll Road from http://www.savetrestles.org and click “Take Action”.

Attend the October 11th California Coastal Commission (CCC) meeting in San Pedro encouraging the California Coastal Commissioners to deny the proposed Foothill South Toll Road through the San Onofre State Beach. Save Trestles Beach. If you have never been there, check it out, it’s worth saving.

The most important hurdle before the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) is the powerful, non-partisan California Coastal Commission. The Coastal Commission will be meeting to decide whether to approve construction of the toll road in the coastal zone.

Additionally, the Coastal Commission is charged with making sure the TCA’s road doesn’t pollute the water or harm the surf at Trestles. We expect that the TCA will spend a lot of time and money convincing the CCC that their road is a good idea. We need you to attend the Coastal Commission meeting and let the Commissioners know that Trestles and the San Mateo Campground are too important to be sacrificed for a “pay to drive” road.

Please mark your calendars and plan to take a day off of work or school to join us at this important hearing on October 11th. The hearing will be held at the Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Harbor Hotel at 601 S. Palos Verdes Street, San Pedro CA 90731.

Do your part to ensure that a great campground, great community and great surf beach remain livable, pristine and protected. We owe it to our community, our kids and future generations.

For more information contact Sierra Club/Friends of the Foothills Conservation Organizer
Robin Everett at robin.everett@sierraclub.org or call 949-361-7534

Coastal Commission Hearing
Thursday, October 11th
Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Harbor Hotel
601 S. Palos Verdes Street
San Pedro, CA 90731

Might study the arguments of the TCA; see http://www.ftcsouth.com/home/faqs.asp
How will Foothill-South affect the San Mateo Campground and San Onofre state park?San Mateo campground was built in 1989, eight years after Foothill-South was placed on Orange County’s Master Plan of Arterial Highways. The route for Foothill-South does not remove or damage any campsites within the San Onofre State Park and is 385 feet from the closest campsite. In addition, the trail from San Mateo Campground to the beach will remain open during and after construction. Noise impacts from the road near the San Mateo campground will be offset by the construction of a sound wall. Presently there are campsites along I-5 that are as close as 225 feet to the freeway and have no sound walls.

Is this consistent with Governor Ronald Reagan’s comment on San Onofre Park?
When the San Onofre State Beach park was opened in Southern California in April 1971, then Governor Ronald Reagan characterized the establishment of the park as "the culmination of many months of dedicated effort by many people to enhance and preserve California's grandeur and beauty. I firmly believe one of the greatest legacies we can leave to future generations is the heritage of our land, but unless we can preserve and protect the unspoiled areas which God has given us, we will have nothing to leave them." See http://surfriderfoundation.typepad.com/coastal_factoid/2005/12/ronald_reagan_w.html