When Science Meets Rainbow Thinkers

The University of California at Berkeley, boasts ten current Nobel Laureates. These folks are no slouches. They did not get their prizes for Gender Studies or Social Justice.

Graduate programs at UC Berkeley run the gamut of smarty-pants faculties: Applied Mathematics, Bioengineering, Biophysics, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Chemistry, Endocrinology, Epidemiology, Physics, and a host other fields that make the brain cells spin.

Whatever the field, there is no shortage of brain power in Berkeley.

So I ask myself, why are none of the clever people in town speaking out against the insanity of lockdowns? Surely, some of them have read the research if, in fact, not actually written it.

Now to the data that supposedly supports the draconian measures imposed on the populace.

Berkeley is in Alameda County, which has a population of 1.7 million.

Current statistics for Alameda County, March 1 2020 – Dec 18, 2020: Total COVID related deaths: 565.  (I do not have access to the number that died with COVID as opposed to from COVID, which is a whole other discussion.)

Of those 565 deaths, nearly 50% were over the age of 81, and 159 were in Skilled Nursing Facilities.

In the City of Berkeley, since March 1, 2020, there have been a total of 9 deaths.

I won’t bother with all the statistics about the survival rate if one should contract the disease. Smart citizens already know the odds are in their favor. 

What we have here is a nine-month effort to scare the bejesus out of the populace and sadly, in the home of The Nobel Prize Winners, it has worked like a charm.

At the beginning of March, City Councilmembers began to send out frantic newsletters warning of the impending doom. Granted, no one really knew much about the China Virus at the time, so I’ll give them a break.

The March 14 newsletter outlined the beginning of Governor Newsome’s Reign of Terror. We citizens were now either essential or non-essential. You know the rest.

A few days after that came Shelter-in-Place orders, as if a gas field had blown up and toxic fumes filled the air.

The following week schools closed, sports fields closed, parks closed, pools closed. But don’t worry, residents were still allowed to get home delivery of marijuana.

The Stay-at-Home orders continued and continued and continued, with each newsletter implying we would die or kill granny if we went out or visited anyone.

At the end of April, a few things like construction and real estate sales became permissible. Since summer was just around the corner, there was obviously no need to open schools.

July’s newsletter, with a photo of a virtue-signaling councilwoman in a red bandana, looking to all the world like a train robber, brought great headlines. Dog parks would re-open, outdoor gym activities allowed, student athletes could practice sports if socially distanced. And the best news, Newsome announced a Statewide mask mandate!

Every time I think someone will come to their senses and get rid of all the ridiculous lockdowns and panic-mongering, it just gets worse.

In fact, as I was writing this my phone began to make a horrible sound. I thought maybe it was about to blow up. No, it was an Emergency Alert from the State of California: Stay home except for essential activity.  Who in the heck gave Newsome my phone number?

We already have a 10pm -5am curfew. When is enough enough?

In Southern California, and areas outside of the Bay, people are beginning to speak out and in an attempt to save their livelihoods. But not around here where every other car has a RESIT bumper sticker. They should replace it with a COMPLY sticker, as that is what they are all doing.

What can I do other than write about the injustices practiced in my city and State? At times like these I do go back my Berkeley roots and try sending out possitive psychic vibes and reading tarot cards. I can’t say it has done much good, but you never know.

Prisoner of Thought in My Own City

For the past few weeks, I have felt like I have been waking up in the USSR. Or Venezuela. Or Cuba. Or Syria. Or any other communist country or Banana Republic. What is certain, is that I do not feel like I am in the United States of America.

I live in a city where it appears every single person drank the Kool-Aid and is on board with the total destruction of our country, our constitution, and all that it stands for. Who would have believed that a Jim Jones mentality of following in blind faith could have affected so many?

How we got to this point is concerning. I do understand the younger generations have not been taught the truths of what happens when communists and socialists take over. Authoritarian governments and death. 

But that leaves the entire Baby Boomer generation and old folks that do know. A large portion of the voting demographic lived during the Soviet era and remember the horrors of it all. Yet many of those must still be living in some sort of peyote enhanced nirvana. Why else would they be so unaware of what is taking place around them?

Before the internet era, news from behind the Iron Curtain came from literature. My knowledge of the Soviet Union dates back to high school years reading spy thrillers and Solzhenitsyn; terrifying scenarios all.  I wondered how on earth this type of system managed to take hold. Yet now I am witness to it transpiring right before my very eyes.

In the late sixties, there was plenty of Revolutionary talk running around the City of Berkeley. As a true Flower Child, I protested against the Viet Nam war and the draft. I still feel our cause was for the right reasons. However, I never once entertained the thought that Communism, Socialism, or Marxism were good systems. I was not protesting with nut cases like Jane Fonda in favor of a commie regime. I was protesting against US intervention in a foreign war, and the forced conscription of young men sent to die in jungles halfway around the world.

Apparently, it seems a good many of those I stood next to in peaceful protests actually did believe in Socialism. Definitely, all those who migrated out to Berkeley in the Summer of Love and beyond are still carrying their Little Red Books.

Perhaps if some of the progressives had left the area and lived elsewhere, they would have a different worldview. I have lived in countries where the government and ruling class controlled the news; censored and arrested anyone with opposing views and swiftly shutdown opposition. And suddenly, these tactics are being deployed in America.

The Berkeley Times is a bi-monthly, sixteen-page, free paper that bills itself as A paper for the people of Berkeley. It is not something I usually read, and not anything I would ever bother to comment on. However, the November 5 edition has my blood boiling.

The brief, front-page editorial is, as one would imagine, anti-Trump.  The editor had been “hoping for a blue tsunami – a knock blow to a man who has made a mockery of the American Democracy for the past four years.” *  I read on in the hopes I would find examples for this claim. Something to argue against. But there is nothing. That is how they do it in Berkeley; Trump is bad, now shut up.

He went on to write, “Even with a Biden victory, my hopes for this election have been dashed. Despite Biden’s decency, his message of unity, and unflagging determination to bring people of our nation together, it remains obvious that the rural voters in America remain strongly in Trump’s camp.”

This, I can respond to. Biden is not decent. He has spent nearly fifty years in the DC swamp, lining his pockets and that of his family. He has not accomplished one single thing except to enrich himself, and sell our country out to China.

Message of unity? In just the last few weeks before the election he called Trump voters chumps and losers. That comes at the end of four years of calling us racists and Nazis and xenophobes and homophobes and any other vile name imaginable. Yet Trump supporters are supposed to forget the name calling and physical violence that continues to this day?

Rural Voters? Code for them danged hicks who don’t know nothing. Count me in, Mr. Editor.

The half page graphic for the editorial might be even more egregious. A black and white drawing straight out of the Communist propaganda machine. A statue of Trump being toppled in front of the White House. The artists comments:

“…I am horrified by the repression and violence of the police state, while energized and inspired by BLM and immigration rights movement taking to the streets to demand justice.” **

No, we do not live in a police state. All of the violence has been caused by Antifa, BLM Marxists, and far left radicals.

But there is no point in even attempting to counter these accusations. There is no possibility for rational discourse in this city.

Just last week I stopped to talk to a local cop who was supervising the cleanup of a car wreck. I thanked him for his service and said that if I could, I would hang a Blue Lives Matter flag in front of my house. He smiled and said, “but then your house would be vandalized.”   

What is clear is that I am hated in my own city for no rational reason. This is no way to live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

                                                       ***  

On a side note, I want to point out that although I have been a political/news junkie since those early days witnessing the Free Speech Movement, I did not start publishing these types of thoughts until recently. It is my modest way of fighting the good cause. I much prefer to write fiction. Fun, light stuff that takes the reader to a world outside of the current chaos. For anyone interested in a bit of true 1969 Berkeley riots, please take a look at my latest novel A Neapolitan Intrigue (the 1969 parts are brief flashbacks. The rest is set-in present-day Naples, Italy.) Also, it's a fun read.

If I sell enough books, I can escape this prison!

* R.Todd Kerr

** Juana Alicia

 

 

TRUMP WON ONE THIRD OF CA VOTES

As of Nov 6, with only 66% of ballots counted, Trump has 33% of the vote in California; Biden 65%. Given that this is California, and that is statistically impossible for their not to be voter fraud, the count could be much higher than one third. (see older post)  Question CA Ballots 

Regardless of the final count, it should be of great concern that Biden was declared the winner in winner at 8:01pm on election day. Considering that polls closed at 8:00pm, that is an impossibility. Not one vote had been tabulated at that time.

To clarify how this could have happened, I looked at AP’s Decision Desk that first called the win.

Q: How can AP call a race as soon as the polls close?  AP Q&Q

A: Not all races are closely contested. In some states, a party or candidate’s past history of consistent and convincing wins – by a wide margin – make a race eligible to be declared as soon as the polls close. In these states, we use results from the AP VoteCast to confirm a candidate has won.

How in the name of democracy is this acceptable? How can AP assume they know how I, or my fellow Californian’s, voted?  Even if the entire country assumes that votes in CA are a done deal, that is not legitimate reporting.

Of more concern is that once it is claimed, any votes from Trump are in jeopardy. I would be willing to bet the farm that my vote was thrown out; something one assumes in the San Francisco Bay Area. The only times I have ever voted absentee was when I was out of the country. Even then, I assumed my ballot would never be counted; just thrown in a pile somewhere.

On November 3, I walked into my polling station at 7:00am. Everything was very professional and well run. I had no reason to even consider that my vote would be at risk. Once my ballot was fed into the counting machine, which would be transferred to the county offices at after the polls closed, and electronically transferred, I assumed it would be safe. However, because of the change in the way voting was run this year, I no longer have this assurance.

When I had completed my ballot, there was no machine in which to feed my ballot sheets. Instead, it went into a suitcase style drop box, which in turn would be taken to the county office. That part was completely above-the-board. The concern arrives with what happens after the ballots are delivered. Possibly, a poll worker in the Alameda County Office took my ballot sheets, did not look at them, and fed them into a machine. But I have no confidence that this took place, especially after CA was given to Biden, hours before my ballot had arrived at the county office.  I truly believe that someone may have glanced at my vote and dumped the ballot into the garbage bin. I will never know. There is no way to check.

Confidence in the security and validity of the voting process has been a concern in California for years. It has now spread to the entire country.

2nd Ballot I could Have Used

Califronians Need to Stand up

I have been vocal about my opposition to the shutdowns since last April.  As previously stated, two weeks of closure to flatten the curve was acceptable, but nothing after that. Now, nearly seven months later, California is still closed. Schools have not reopened. Small businesses are closed and will never come back. Life has stalled and one would think that the public would have reached the breaking point. Unfortunately, I see no sign of that in the San Francisco Bay area. The mantra remains, We are saving lives. Should I dare breathe a contrary notion, the scorn is palpable.  

The death of small businesses in this area, and all over the State, is profoundly depressing. Drive anywhere and all that can be seen is boarded up store fronts. Proprietors have lost their entire life’s work. How could any enterprise ever come back from seven months with a Temporarily Closed sign in the window?

Equally as sad, and an aspect I find extremely distressing, is what it has done to the old folks. I know of several mid-90-year-old’s who are spending their last days in isolation and in a state of deep depression. Actually, two of them have died, and it wasn’t from the virus. They were old, it was super-hot, and most people in this area do not have air conditioning, so I cannot say for certain that the lockdowns killed them. However, I do know that they spent their last months on this earth in a mental state that no one should have to endure. 

Anyone who has lived to the age of 95, still has their marbles, and is in decent shape, is a life to be celebrated. I am not sad when they go, but reflect on what an amazing life they led. Nonetheless, knowing how depressed all of these people are, because of the mandated rules, is heartbreaking. In conversations, both in person and on the phone, they constantly talk of how sad they feel. Cognitive decline, not noticeable six months ago, is clearly evident. Yet their friends and families are allowing this to happen. I know that my old friends are not concerned about catching Corvid and packing it in.  Afterall, not one of them had ever expected to live to nearly a century. So why should they be left to suffer in the isolation of their homes, or confined to their room in a senior center? I fail to understand how people happily comply with the State mandated rules to keep them locked up and alone. What sort of society does that?

There are countless other negative ramifications of these mandated rulings that have now done irreparable damage to the lives of all Californians, financially, physically, and emotionally.  And all without one good reason. Who, with even a modicum of intelligence, can actually believe that human beings can run away and hide from a pathogen? The virus needs to run its course as viruses have done down through the ages.

California, wake up. Our State is dying.

 

California State Propositions Nov 2020

One needs to have a modicum of intelligence, and a fair amount of time, to sort through all of the State of California’s propositions that come up every election cycle. This being a presidential election year, there are thirteen initiatives on the ballot.

The State sent out its Official Voter Information Guide a few weeks ago. The quick reference guide in the front of the pamphlet is somewhat informative, but often quite unclear. To be properly informed, one must read the arguments, for and against, see who is endorsing what, read the State’s fiscal analysis, and often do further research. It takes time. Most people I know do not bother. Rather, they rely on the Voting Guides they receive in the mail.

Possibly, if I lived in another area, I might receive voter information from both sides of any given argument. But I don’t. I live in a socialist, brain-dead zip code, where the intelligentsia, and more than a few very wealthy tech folks, reside. It still surprises me that they do not accept diversity of thought.

My counter is filled with voting guides from Teachers’ unions, the AFL-CIO, local politicians, and no doubt I’ll receive more from similar-minded organizations. I realize that any groups with differing opinions feel it is not cost-effective to mail out voting information to my area, but couldn’t they at least try to present an opposing view?  Maybe a few voters would take a look.

I suppose these brochures are helpful if I am not quite sure what a given initiative entails. If the Teacher’s Union is for it, I am against it. (Side note: I am still a State of CA credentialed teacher and have been so for decades. I know whereof I speak.)

For anyone who does not live in The Golden State, and wants a bit of insight on why we have been descending deeper into the Nine Circles of Hell for several decades, peruse what is on the menu for the State this year. Lots of government control and millions and millions of dollars which the State does not have.

 

14 – Authorizes Bonds Continuing Stem Cell Research – Total estimated Cost: $7.8 Billion ($260 million a year for roughly the next 30 years.)

15 – Funding for Public Schools, Community Colleges, Local Government Services by Changing Tax Assessment on Commercial and Industrial Property – Cost to Property Owners $6.5 - $11.5 Billion

16 – Permits government decision-making policies to consider race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin to address diversity by repealing constitutional provision prohibiting such policies.  (i.e., racism in its finest form.)

17 – Restores Right to Vote after Completion of Prison Term, (but before completing Parole, which is part of a sentence.)

18 – Gives 17-year-olds the right to vote in a primary if they will turn 18 by next general election.   Cost up to $1 million

19 – Changes Certain Property Tax Rules.  Removes two voter-approved taxpayer protections form the State Constitution.   (Takes away Prop 13-related protections which states that: Property transferred from parents to children/grandparents to grandchildren are excluded from reassessment.)

20 – Restricts Parole for Certain Offenses/Authorizes Felony Sentences for Current Misdemeanors. (This is one of those crazy initiatives that leaves one’s head spinning). Bottom line: Cost Estimate: $10’s of millions annually.

21 – Expands Local Governments’ Authority to Enact Rent Control on Residential Property.    Cost: (it’s time to sell up and get out if you own rental property.)

22 – Exempts App-Based Transportation and Delivery Companies from Providing Employee Benefits to Certain Drivers.   (Keeps Uber and Lyft Drivers, etc., independent contractors.)

23 – Establishes State Requirements for Kidney Dialysis Clinics.   (Big Brother CA takes over Dialysis Clinics) Estimated Health Care Costs: $10’s - $100’s of millions annually

24 – Amends Consumer Privacy Laws.  (sounds good but the text is very concerning.  Be warned: Big Tech had a huge part in developing this initiative.)

25 – Referendum on Law That Replaced Money Bail with System Based on Public Safety.  (Get out of jail free card – no bail requirements.)

 

I find this all so depressing. I drive through town and see the homeless camps, the filth, the intolerance. I see the money wasted on schools, projects that never come to fruition, and politicians' salaries who only care about power. I cannot forsee a time when California will come back from the brink.

Yes, It is time to leave.

 

 

Jumping into YouTube

In my never-ending quest to find new ways to promote my books, I’ve now started a YouTube channel. I have had an author’s site and travel site for years. Neither have resulted in even one bestseller. I tired Facebook – three times – and ended up deleting them each and every time.  (I can’t abide the voyeuristic aspect of Facebook.) A month or so ago, I delved into Twitter. Although my account is still up, the initial semi-excitement wore off on me after a few weeks. Again, it just feels too creepy. It was then that someone mentioned that I needed to promote my books on YouTube. So I set out to explore this new promotional avenue.

I came up with what I wanted to do fairly quickly; short videos showcasing each of my seven books. Then came the planning stage. I already had a good camera, although I had never even shot one video. That would take a bit of research, but I did know I needed a tripod and a separate microphone.

After deciding that, I popped onto Amazon to see what was available. I looked at various tripods and mics, read reviews, searched around for more information. It became inundating. I do not like purchasing anything that I have no idea about. And I really did not want to buy anything on Amazon. It was then that I found B&H Photo in New York.

B&H Photo carried the tripods and mic I had been looking at, but I really had no idea which was the best, and most economical, for my needs. So I sent an email to customer service explaining what I would be doing and what I was looking for.

To my surprise, I got a response the same day. Lenny listed the items that would serve my needs. The tripod he had suggested was a bit more than I had wanted to spend. I wrote back and asked if the lower priced tripod would work. Again, a quick response, this time from Yaakov. He suggested that I stick with what Lenny had recommended. Something about you get what you pay for in tripods. The mic was cheap and cheerful, so was never a cost problem.

I highly recommend B&H not only for their wealth of products, but for some of the best customer service I have ever experienced. 

As soon as I got the equipment, I set about figuring out how to make a video. I had already watched several videos on the subject and figured I could only really learn by trying it out.

My first trial run I filmed without the microphone. I was only seeing if I could actually hit the start button, sit down, film myself, then turn it off. Surprisingly, I pulled it off. But I could also clearly hear my voice. All those years of teaching in rowdy classrooms means my voice carries, so that must have been why the built in mic worked.

Nevertheless, when I got down to filming the real thing, I sat down to attach the on-camera microphone. I slid it into the bracket on top of the camera, then attempted to attach the thin cable. Oops… it cannot be attached to an EOS Rebel T1I. The slot I thought was for a mic was for a remote start cable. Or something. Since I did not seem to need a mic, I was not concerned.

It took more than a few attempts to get the video where it was reasonably acceptable. I added background music – another new skill set – and after three days, I had finished my first author video.

I figure by the time I get to my seventh book, I’ll be a pro. Whether or not this will lead to increased sales, only time will tell. But it can’t hurt.

Kate's YouTube Channel

My purchases: Magnus VT-300   Andycine MI on-camera microphone

Don't Assume You Know How I Think

My zip code does not define my world view, and certainly not my politics. Yet if one lives in the self-proclaimed Progressive Capitol of the World, the San Francisco Bay Area, people assume they know how the residents think.

Stand in line at the grocery store and the person in front of you will invariably turn around to make a disparaging remark about Trump. Conversations in front of Peet’s Coffee, (BLM posters plastered in the windows), often involve similar accusatory proclamations about the President. I could challenge their statements but there is no benefit. There is, in fact, possible retaliation.

Several months ago I received a call from a Nancy Pelosi campaign worker asking for donations to defeat Trump because of all the horrible things he has done. How did you get my number? I asked. The person said I must be on a list of democrats. I said I was not. He continued that it must have come from another concerned democrat who cared about the future of this country. At that point, I stated that if Nancy was so concerned about the country, why had she remained silent when they tore down statues in San Francisco? Where was her voice regarding all the violence and looting? I waited a second, got no reply, and hung up.

Last week I got a letter from Nancy’s office. Opening lines: Someone had to do it. Someone had to stand up to the bully in the White House…

Apparently, Nance thinks she is a hero and deserves your money for Standing up to Trump. She included a postcard of her having a tantrum when she stood up and pointed at him during a meeting a year ago. I believe that was right before she stormed out of said meeting like a petulant child.

The entire letter, filled with Democrat talking points, could be easily countered should any of the True Believers care to listen. Nancy continues on in her letter to say that, …Trump “cannot do Vladimir Putin’s bidding.” It would even be laughable were it not that most everyone in this town still believe Trump is an agent of the USSR.

Nancy goes on to bring up the ACA, gun control, the environment, women’s rights, tax cuts for the rich. Who honestly believes all her misrepresentations? To me, this is what is so shocking; in this university town, populated by Nobel Laureates and Intelligentsia, no one seeks the truth.

Possibly I am wrong. Possibly people here actually do the research to find out where the truth lies. But I doubt it. This has become a town full of lemmings. They drive cars, ride bikes, and walk in the park all masked up twenty-four hours a day. Businesses and schools remain closed after more than six months.  I can only conclude that their concept of self-determination got lost in a haze of weed and commune mentatlity. 

How I long for the days when one could debate topics that impact our society, a time when people accepted another’s point of view without screaming at them and calling them names. Regrettably, I am unable to envision a time in my life where I will ever be able to do this. At least not in Nancy Pelosi’s California.

 

Kamala, Busing, & BUSD

Kamala Harris has misled the public on her years in the Berkeley Schools. She did not grow up in the big bad ghetto, only to be saved by busing.

It is important to first point out that Berkeley, California is not a large city. It covers about eighteen square miles stretching from the east side of the San Francisco Bay, up into the hills. The current population is approximately 122 thousand. This is significant because those not familiar with the region might confuse the entire metropolitan area of the East Bay as one city. Berkeley is basically a small town. There is no, and never has been, an inner city, or housing projects in Berkeley. Kamala would have you think otherwise.

Then there is the need to clarify Kamala’s integration narrative of the Berkeley Unified School District. She leaves out a lot. Berkeley schools first implemented integration plans in the 1964-1965 school year. (not 1968, as she claims.) Prior to the schoolyear of 1964, there had been three Junior High Schools, (grades 7 – 9). Willard Jr High had always been integrated. Garfield had been predominantly white. And Burbank was mostly black.  Burbank was closed, with kids shuffled to either Willard or Garfield. Stage one integration accomplished. Also of note is that a vast majority of students were never within walking distance to either the junior highs or the high school. They were always “bused”, but it was on public transportation.

Further clarification on an already semi-integrated school district is that Berkeley High School is the only high school the city has ever had. It has always been integrated. There are currently eleven elementary schools in Berkeley. At the time Kamala was a student, there were fifteen. Even prior to busing, many of these schools were integrated.

If I hear the clip, one more time, of Kamala railing about the poor little girl who was bused to school, I will scream. She was the daughter of highly educated parents enrolled in graduate programs at UC Berkeley. There is no way she would ever have fallen between the cracks and turned to prostitution and drugs. She would have the American public believe that she was bused from an area like South Central LA to Hollywood. In reality, it was less than three miles from what would have been her neighborhood school, Columbus, (now Rosa Parks), to Thousand Oaks. Although Thousand Oaks, at the time, was a pricier area of the city, it is not in the “well-to-do Berkeley hills, overlooking the bay.” (as claimed in many an article.)

As to those houses in the Berkeley Hills, times were different in the 1950’s and early 60's. Many houses built on the hill were done so on the GI Bill. These were not wealthy families. New homeowners were often middle-income and lower middle-income young couples, starting a new life after the war. It was the cheapest property in town, no stores, no public transportation, and no close by schools.

The media often refers to Kamala as a strong, independent, woman. As a strong, independent woman myself, I would consider any comparison to that political opportunist as an insult. Strong women have no need to mislead, lie, or use men to get ahead. Strong women speak out against violence even if it does not fit their narrative. Strong women are honest. Kamala is none of these.

 

Question Nancy & California Ballots

GettyImages 615803892

How will Californians vote this coming November? Should citizens go to the polling booth? Apply for an absentee ballot? Or should the State mail out ballots to every person on their list of registered voters? There is no doubt that Nancy Pelosi and her minions will continue to push for mail-in ballots, an option fraught with danger here in the Golden State.

There are around 20 million registered voters in the California. Just how many of these people are still alive, registered at more than one address, or are actual US citizens, is a mystery.

My own experiences shed doubt that everything is on the up and up here on the West Coast. For example, my mother’s name was still on the books at the polling station several years after she passed. Then a few years ago I had filled out an absentee ballot before my plans changed. With my completed ballot in hand, I entered the polling station and asked the worker to please cross my name off her list. She would not do it. I explained that I was about to drop my ballot into the box and wanted to make sure I was checked off the list. Why? She asked. So that no none could come in and claim my name and vote, I said. Why would anyone do that? She asked. Then she got snippy and told me to get out of the way because other voters needed to get inside. I don’t know if anyone actually claimed they were me, but I am pretty sure my absentee ballot was never counted as results were broadcast before any precinct person had time to open all the absentee ballots.  

As to illegal aliens voting, there is plenty of reason to be concerned. California basically merged voter registration with the DMV a few years back. This is especially troubling when you understand that one can be here illegally and get a drivers license just as easily as a citizen, if not easier. And once you get that license, you are automatically added to the voting roles.

Try as I may, I have found nothing that assures me that illegals are not automatically registered to vote when they receive their driver’s license. My own experience with DMV is proof their methodology is questionable. I have been a registered voter since I was 18. Yet when I renewed my driver’s license last year I received a congratulatory letter from the State telling me I was now registered. Obviously, nothing was cross-checked to show that I did not need to be registered again.

Nancy wants mail-in ballots and I am sure she would have a response to my concerns.  Even if she has not considered the above problems with voter registration, how does she plan to insure all those California voters will get their ballot in the correct language? Currently, ballots are available in English, Spanish, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese, Punjabi, Hmong, Syriac, Armenian, Persian, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Formosan, Ilocano. Nearly twenty languages other than English. And, I kid you not, they have an American Sign Language voting option.    CA Voter Info Guide

In fact, to get a 100% English ballot is not an option. All my voter information and ballots are always bilingual, English/Spanish. Granted, I speak Spanish well enough to read a ballot, but why should I have to do that? It is completely disorienting, trying to fill out a bilingual ballot in a dingy garage, with glaring florescent lighting, and chattering people.

Then there was last March, on Super Tuesday. I walked in, gave my name, (no ID ever required), and the lady tried to hand me a Democrat ballot. I explained that I was non-partisan and that is the ballot I wanted. We don’t have any, was her reply. Couldn’t I just take a democrat ballot?  I told her to check to make sure. I was prepared to sit there until they delivered the proper ballot, if necessary. Ten minutes later, after digging through box after box, she handed me a bilingual English/Chinese non-partisan ballot.

Personally, I love languages. I speak several of them. But I should be able to vote in the language of our nation, which is English. My father’s family were all bilingual, but they voted in English. It would never have occurred to any of them to have done otherwise. My mother’s immigrant parents learned English when they arrived in the early 1920’s. They received no language accommodations and would not have accepted any. How is it that the pride in being American and speaking English has been lost?

I do not trust voting integrity in California, and neither should anyone.

Schools Closed Until November 4th

The combination of powerful teachers unions, along with democrat-controlled cities and states, could only lead to one sad finale: schools will not re-open in most of California this fall. There is a very good chance they will not resume until after the election in November.

In mid-March, many schools sent their students home. Extending Spring break from one week to three weeks is not an ideal plan for educational standards, but somewhat understandable. Then the three weeks turned into six weeks, and that turned into two months, which crept on until the end of the school year. The final blow is that no student will be permitted to return in the fall. How has this been allowed to happen?

Within the first month of school closures it became evident that little, if any, instruction was going on in the public schools. Excuses of no computers or slow internet speed have been cited as the reason, a justification that does not stand up to the facts. A more acceptable reason would have been to acknowledge that children parked in front of a screen for five hours a day just does not work. However, if the unions and districts were to admit that, it would be that much harder to continue the charade of unsafe classroom environments.

There is no reason to cancel the start of the fall semester. If so, why have schools opened in Germany, France, Sweden, and all of Europe? The same information about the effect of Covid-19 on children under the age of eighteen is available to all the teachers unions and school boards. They have it. They have read it. The sad fact is that it does not fit their political agenda to open schools.

Teachers say they are scared of getting the virus. These are the same people who, in the past, went to work every day and were exposed to a menagerie of virus, colds, flu, and assorted other pathogens. It is one of the perils of life in a classroom. Yet we do not shut down schools every winter when colds and flu are rampant.

What seems to be left out of the argument for keeping students at home, is the extreme detrimental effects that far outweigh any slight risk of virus transmission. The loss of months of education is by itself reason enough to reopen schools. However, that is only one part of the problem. Children need socialization and a structured environment. A very small percentage of students might be lucky enough to have a parent who can teach all the course work, arrange for interaction with schoolmates, keep up with the homework, and all the other daily activities that are now missing from that child’s day. But what about all the other students? It is doubtful they have had any instrution since mid-March.

The isolation has taken its toll on countless young people. I shudder when I think of children who have been locked inside abusive homes for the past four months. The special needs children have been particularly hurt by the lack of assistance that they would have received at school.

If the teachers refuse to do their job, the taxes we pay for the schools should be refunded. It seems every two years another measure or two is passed increasing our taxes by hundreds of dollars. Some other day I might go into the deplorable state of what is actually being taught here in the Golden State. Rather, what is not being taught. At this point, I really do not care. I only want the kids back in the classroom.

Parents need to stand up and let their voices be heard. But that will not happen in a town where free speech is not allowed, in a state where anyone who questions school closures is labeled as in favor of death.

My question again is, how has this been allowed to happen in the United States of America?

The 4th of July in Crazy Town

4^th of July 2020

I took a walk today and wondered if I would see even one American flag. Shockingly, I did. The lone flag was not on the street in front of the house, but tucked away behind a fence and down a path. My neighbors must have known as well as I that an American flag, even on the 4^th of July, will invite vandalism. That is how far downhill this city has gone.

In contrast, every other house has some sort of Politically Correct poster proclaiming that they are not racist. We Support….  We Stand Against Hate, All Families Welcome. In fact here in Crazy Town, if you do not display such signage, then you are obviously a racist.

Our less-than-patriotic city council has just cut over 9 million dollars from the police budget to pay for reforms with the goal of transforming how public safety is achieved, and to reimagine what public safety looks like.

I must have missed something about our fabulous men and women in blue and why they need to be transformed and reimagined. They are the ones who are told to stand down when hoodlums wreak havoc and loot. They are the professionals who must endure vile verbal assaults. They are the ones who have had tear gas and pepper spray removed from use. They are not, and have never been, anything but the best.

As a teenager, I saw lots of problems with the United States. And I still do. But what really made me aware of just what a fantastic country I live in, and when I truly became a patriot, was after having served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the late seventies.

Try living in a country where it is illegal to speak up against the government. Or where if you are born in poverty there is nary a chance in hell that you will be able to rise above it. Hear the stories of friends' relatives who were disappeared at midnight in government raids. These examples and many more, made me thank my lucky stars I had been born American.

So where are our leaders standing up for our country and the American way of life on this 4^th of July? Where are Nancy, Diane, and Kamala? These gals are actually from San Francisco. Why do they remain silent while mobs intimidate, loot, vandalize, and exhort the public? By staying quiet, they are endorsing the lawlessness. Why are they bowing down to Marxist anarchists groups? They are all old enough to have been in school when they used to teach history. A question, ladies: when did Marxism ever work out?

As much as I would like to attend a City Council meeting and stand up for the police and voice my objection to many of their measures, I cannot. This is not a free city.

                                                      —–

I am, unfortunately, stuck here, and I hate it. My plans for escape have not been realized. I honestly thought that if I wrote some great, light, fun books, I just might be able to make enough money to leave.

Up until recently, I’ve stayed away from politics in my professional writing career. In my younger days, I read all the heavy books and attended enough political speeches to last a lifetime. There is enough death and destruction in the real world that I would never make it part of a novel. Along with that, I have always felt that my mission in life was to make people smile. However, times have changed. I now feel emboldened to speak up, especially since the local city and state politicians are staying silent.

For any of you out there who would like a fun, enjoyable, trip inside a book to take your mind off the present situation in our country, why not try one of mine?

Happy 4^th of July out there to all of you who realize just how fortunate we are to live in the best country on earth.

What Happened to My City?

      Essay written in Feb 2017.  Published June 2020

I was born and raised in Berkeley – something I had, at one time, been proud of. However, so much has changed since the 60’s, that I barely recognize my city.

I was in 6^th grade during the Free Speech Movement and my elementary school was less than a mile from the Cal campus. The majority of my classmates had parents who were in some way affiliated with the university; some had studied there while others were faculty members. Therefore, it was not surprising that the kids at my school were rather well informed about the historic situation unfolding just down the road. It would have a lasting impact on all our lives.

   

It was even more exciting for me because my friend’s father was a prominent Political Science professor at Cal with connections to the leaders of the Free Speech Movement. I remember being at her house when the phone would ring, she would answer, then call out to her father that it was for him. She would then run over to me and whisper in awe, It’s Mario Savio! He had rock star status, even to a couple of 12-year-old Berkeley kids.

A large number of our parents were 60’s liberals and democrats. They believed in a country for all. They believed in tolerance. They believed in civility. Many had come from working class backgrounds, and all the dads had served in the military in WWII. Most had used the GI Bill to get their university degrees at Cal and some stayed on to become faculty members. All of our mothers and fathers were hardworking and did not expect handouts. Perhaps these are some of the reasons there is such a difference between today’s liberals and those of my youth.

Much of my junior high and high school years were spent peacefully protesting the war in Viet Nam, defending the right of People’s Park, and engaging in debate about the future of our country. Conversations could become quite heated, yet I do not remember anyone being frightened of physical repercussions should their views oppose another’s. There were police altercations; some of them rather intense. But to the best of my knowledge, there were never any bands of black-clad anarchists intent on destroying the campus and city, with a total disregard to the views of others.

Berkeley, to me, now represents the opposite of the Flower Child ideals of my youth. It has turned into a city of close-mindedness, intolerance, and the belief that there is only one correct avenue of thought. And although I still hold one or two of my 60’s beliefs, I will never accept the methods by which these now seem to be promoted. Regrettably, this new paradigm begins long before students arrive at UC Berkeley.

When I was growing up, we may have guessed at the political views of some of our teachers, but not one of them ever preached what their students should believe. We were encouraged and allowed to express our own opinions. As a lifelong educator, I still uphold the edict that was taught to me during my college courses. We were instructed that we could never even display political buttons on our clothing or divulge which candidate we supported. This tenet was to allow for students to come to their own conclusions as well as to protect the views of their parents who might have differing political affiliations.

My, how that has changed in the ensuing years. One example is a secondary school teacher in Berkeley who is one of the leaders of the movement to tear down our country. In February 2017, during destructive riots on the UC Berkeley campus, this teacher stood in front of a crowd with a megaphone screaming “…. if we stick together and stay united…. We can shut this f***er down. We can get rid of Donald Trump.” (I believe she is still employed by the district.) Then there was the elementary school Peace (protest) March on the day of the inauguration with 6-year-olds holding Not my President signs. And the 7^th grader whose I Have a Dream essay began: “Donald Trump should be killed,” because “he hates women”. Walk into any school in the city and you will find these same sentiments on the walls and in the classrooms, coupled with a complete lack of tolerance for any opposing views.

So vile is the rhetoric against President Trump in my city, that I am fairly sure the inauguration was not shown at most, if any, of the public schools. As a politically aware child of the 60’s, I have made sure to watch every inauguration. It does not matter that I may have disagreed with the incoming president on any number of issues. I have always seen it as my civic duty to witness one of the great hallmarks of our nation, the peaceful transfer of power. Jan 20, 2017 was no different. Regrettably, my local state official did not share my view. Along with many other House Democrats, she chose to boycott the inauguration. I had wanted to call her office and register my objection. After all, I am one of her constituents and strongly felt that my district should be represented for this momentous occasion. But one cannot do that in Berkeley. When one lives in a city, district, and state that is so vehemently opposed to the president, it is not wise to speak out in favor of civic duty and responsibility.

I remember when Nixon was elected in 1969, and how terribly upset that made me feel. I could not believe that it had happened. My parents had been equally unhappy about the outcome. But it was my die-hard Democrat father who pointed out that the American people had spoken, and it was something I had to accept.

Growing up in this city in the 60’s is why I became an educator. I truly believed that I could change the world through education. At this point in my life, I am totally disillusioned with a profession that seems to have taken two steps back for every step forward. I grew up in the city where the Free Speech Movement originated. We were the first city in the nation to integrate its schools. There have always been strong ties between the University and the public schools, both in research and innovation. One would think that we would now be a sterling example of how to educate young children. We are not.  

What has happened to freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and the first amendment on which my city built its reputation? The Berkeley I knew no longer exists. 

The Oakland A's and Hot Pants Day

No live sports for months. This may be the worst part about the lockdowns.

We should all be watching baseball. Spring Training has come and gone and who knows when the boys will take the field again.

I’ve been left to watch replays in my mind, recollecting the Oakland A’s of old. We had a great team back then, filled with the superb players; Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter, Sal Bando, Campaneris, Tenace – the list goes on. Owner Charlie Finley, quite a character, came up with gimmicks to promote the games. Hot Pants Day, June 27, 1971, had to be a favorite.

That particular day was hot and sunny – not a given in Oakland, for the game against the Kansas City Royals. The word went out: show up at the Oakland Coliseum in Hot Pants and you gained free admission. How good was that? And these weren’t bleacher seats being given away. A pair of hot pants got you a great spot in the stands.

  Hot Pants Day Odd Ball Films

Women in the thousands showed up to fill the Coliseum. During the 7^th inning stretch, the gals were invited to walk down out of the stands and parade around the infield. It doesn’t get much better for a baseball fan than setting foot onto sacred grounds and passing within one foot of Reggie Jackson and the rest of the boys.

Perhaps sometime this year I will be able to turn on the TV and watch a live game. I long to hear the crack of a bat when it connects to a fastball. Or watch a right fielder dive for an impossible catch and make it. Perhaps the A’s will have an exceptional season. Honestly, I’d settle for any type of season at this point if it meant filled stands and great plays.

Hot pants have come and gone, but will forever be linked to a fabulous day at the Oakland Coliseum.
FURTHER BASEBALL MUSINGS: SF Giants in the DR

Question Authority

I grew up in the sixties in perhaps the most liberal city in the country, albeit when liberalism was quite a different animal. Back then, civil liberties mattered. As a teenager, my friends and I protested against the Viet Nam War. We demonstrated against the draft. We valued our freedoms and revered the First Amendment. Question Authority may have been the most popular bumper sticker of the times. 

The Gulag Archipelago, and 1984, were among mandatory reading material for the enlightened youth of my day. We well knew of the Soviet means of controlling their populations. We found it difficult to comprehend how a populace could go along with such measures. (Granted, there were more than a few who idolized Che and Cuba, or carried Mao’s Little Red Book, but that’s a topic for another day)

So why is it now, in 2020, that I am chastised by the old guard who used to cry foul when our civil liberties were at stake?  Why is it deemed wrong to express the opinion that we can both protect the vulnerable and get back to work and open schools? Why does no one seem to mind Big Brother intruding on our liberties a little more with each passing day? For the mere mention of what I consider to be huge government overreach that is causing far greater damage than any virus ever could, I am reprimanded.  

At some point during the lockdown, I decided it might be nice to check in with a few people I have known over the years just to make sure they were all well. In emails and texts, I calmly stated my thoughts regarding the situation and mentioned that it was time to get the economy going. I also expressed my distaste for the Stasi tactics of snitch lines, and my extreme anger at China for having done this to the world.

The replies I got were scathing. I was basically accused of being selfish, wanting people to die, and labeled an outright racist for calling out China. To say the least, I was shocked. One friend left a ranting voicemail that I needed to quit spreading far-right conspiracy lies. Afterall, she pointed out, she had read the truth on Facebook. I honestly did not know that people of my generation relied on news from Facebook. As I recall, we were all brought up to check references, as well as memorizing the adage: Don’t Believe Everything You Read.

As a self-described loner, who thought I would not be bothered by the isolation, I am finding that it really is getting to me. It has nothing to do with sitting alone in my house. It is the isolation of thought. I cannot express my opinion to friends, nor to any of the regular folks in line at the grocery store in this birthplace of the Free Speech Movement. I’m a mellow gal, and do not rant and rave. It’s not my style. Humor and smiles are my preferred mode of communication. However, if I say anything about the lockdown or China, I get a stern look, a shoulder shrug, along with we have to save people. I feel absolutely and totally alone in my views.

Except for when I talk to the workers holding things together, something I have always done, and make an extra effort to do these days. We commiserate, complain about the insanity, and laugh. I’ve worked in the service industry. I know what a friendly word, a thank you, or compliment means when you’re stuck behind a counter or stocking the aisles.

My new favorite place is Home Depot. Actually, it’s always been a favorite place, especially the garden center. I talk to the employees, the workers buying materials, and the few plant buyers. What could be better than walking around in the sunshine and sharing gardening tips? I feel alive and happy.

But then I get home and realize just how alone I am in my beliefs, surrounded by people who seem happy to give up their rights and bow to the whims of government control, all while disregarding the lives being devastated by the shutdown. Or the fact that Big Tech is currently censoring opposing views. It is quite depressing.

I have lived in countries where voicing an opinion that contradicted government policy landed you in the clink, at the very least. That experience is where I truly learned the greatness of our First Amendment. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that Americans might be in danger of losing those rights.  Furthermore, not in a million years did I ever think my compatriots would allow it to happen.

Twitter, 2nd Attempt

Honestly, I just do not understand Twitter. Rather, I do not understand how people use it. Do they follow a list of IMPORTANT people and then just stare at their screens all day?  Or are they more like me who hears about tweets on the newscasts?

Recently, I've found that I do check one person's tweets on a daily basis, because it generally makes my day. But that's once a day. And only one, sometimes two, people. 

I somewhat understand the desire to respond to a particular tweet. But then I think, Why?  Who the heck cares what one unknown, albeit quite marvelous, author thinks? Answer: No one.

All the same, in these desperate times of unemployment, I am trying to come up with more marketing strategies.  Everything I've read tells me that authors must have Facebook. Several attempts at following that recommendation ended with deletion of my account. Facebook is entirely to voyeuristic and creepy for me. I tried the Twitter account a few years back. Did it get me noticed as an author? Of course not. Does anyone care what Kate McVaugh thinks? Most likely not. 

Then yesterday, I opened a brand new Twitter account. Believe me, I am never at a lack for things  to say. I can rattle on forever about a myriad of topics. Again I asked myself, who cares? At least who cares when its a few lines typed into a box. The answer remained the same: No one.

Therefore, all I have up on my new Twitter is my name, a link to my Amazon page, and one minor observation. I'm not following anyone. I have not Liked any tweets and, so far, have kept my opinions about other people's tweets to myself.  

Yet, according to the stats, 50 people have seen my tweets and 5 have Engaged. Huh? How is that possible? What does Engaged mean?

For right now, it's another experiment. So far, I have no reason to delete my account. It does not come with the icky feelings I experienced with Facebook. Will it make me a Bestselling Author? Rather doubtful, but it doesn't hurt to try. Something has to work!

Tofu!

Cedar Waxwings in the Cedar

It has been a month since I have been able to buy tofu...or maybe only three weeks. Lately, the days all seem to run together. However long it's been, I am thrilled.

Week one of lockdown I was only able to buy three cans of beans and a dozen eggs from 7-11.  The following week I managed to score the last whole chicken at Safeway. Then today, not only did Trader Joe's have tofu, but also tortillas. 

Forget hand sanitizer, bleach, alcohol, (not the drinking type), Lysol, or anything else one is supposed to use to kill the germs. Shameless hoarders.

Mostly, it's nice to get out and stand in line, six feet apart, from other early morning shoppers. We still manage to converse and share tales of the supply wars. 

Inside the shops, I make sure to thank all the workers doing a job that has to be wearing on mind and body. I would always do this, but especially now when those checkers and shelvers tell me tales of customers who yell at them for not having a product available. They seem to be verbally abused on a daily basis. Here in the Land of Peace and Love, I find that quite disturbing. This morning, I witnessed a bit of that nastiness first hand.

A small group of about five people stood socially-distanced in front of CVS,

waiting for them to open at 9AM. Mostly 70+ year-old hippie types, so harmless enough. I turned when I heard one old gal scream at another old hipster to Get To the End of the Line! He returned with F*ck You! To which she yelled back F*ck You!    

Fortunelty, it was then that the doors opened. These two kept at it a while longer. I suppose they had forgotten their peace signs and ohm shirts at home.

Now, if only the sun will come out, it might just be a perfect day!

Free Books on Kindle

There is not much I can personally do to help out during these stay-at-home days, or so I thought. But of course I can!  I write books. I can give away free kindle copies.

Free kindle Downloads   March 23 - March 27   (5 different titles)

An added feature is that my works are mostly fun mysteries & capers, light-hearted, take-your-mind-off-the-world, laugh a lot books. 

How about a trip to Bali?  Broadsided in Bali 

Or Tel Aviv ?   Murder, Jaz, & Tel Aviv  -   Jaz, Tall Men, & Mayhem

Travel from Monterey, California to Mexico. Bad Accounts

And a bit of Magical Realism in Brazil, with The Many Wonders of Costa Contente.

I am trying to set up a free promo with my latest A Neapolitan Intrigue, but am having a bit of trouble. That should be resolved soon.

Please enjoy!