Screwing My Neighborhood for SB 375

I live in the Bay Park area of San Diego as many of you know.  During the Council District 2 race, I became aware of a controversy regarding a change to height limits to buildings along Morena Blvd, which runs north-south in parallel with I-5 on the west side of Mission Bay.  Since both main candidates opposed the changes, I figured this was a dead on arrival proposal and didn't think much more about it.  However, I continue to see homemade signs and professional yard signs in my neighborhood, which piqued my interest.  Here is the issue in a nutshell: In order to meet SB 375 targets to reduce per capita emissions from vehicles, the city planners are proposing to build high density, six story condominiums near the future trolley stations along Morena Blvd.  Screw that, to coin a phrase. As a current resident of the area, I am going to suffer massive traffic congestion to meet ephemeral emissions targets as no provision will be made for the influx of traffic.  No way will a majority of new residents be using the trolley to get to work downtown.  Hence the inevitable traffic mess.  Because the plan is intended to "reduce emissions," there won't be any more lanes on Morena Blvd, Clairemont Drive or Sea World Drive to handle all the extra traffic. (Have you tried to get on I-5 north from Sea World Drive during rush hour, even now?)

Annotated plan delivered to my doorstep by RaiseTheBalloon.com.  Click for larger image.

All the rezoning going on this city is designed for social engineering to get the subjects in line with the goals set by the state's political elite.  If you want to reduce emissions, the better path is through a carbon tax that increases incentives to use fuel efficient vehicles without severely disrupting the economy or the value of our homes.  Of course, the left has never supported a carbon tax as a means to tackle pollution or climate change proving that their real goals are social engineering and socialism.

According to the CA Air Resource Board, San Diego region is required by SB 375, to cut per capita greenhouse gas emissions by 7% by 2020.  Somehow, building high rise condominiums close to new trolley lines is supposed to achieve that goal.  No mention of whether the fossil fuels consumed to build the trolley lines and the condos will count against the emissions cap.  Here is the Orwellian double-speak from the 2010 press release announcing the targets:

"These targets are ambitious, achievable and very good news for California communities.  Improved planning means cleaner air in our cities, less time stuck in your car, and healthier, more sustainable communities," said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. "Cities that choose to develop Sustainable Communities Plans that meet these targets have an advantage when it comes to attracting the kinds of vibrant, healthy development that people want."

"Less time stuck in your car" translates we want to prevent you from driving by making driving living hell for you.  Thanks.  The folks at RaiseTheBalloon are a lot more polite in their criticism:

The pressure being exerted on our neighborhood to carry the 3 trolleys and the proposed development could lead to unsustainable urban compacting, displacement of our elderly and poorer residents, and put an unreasonable strain on our infrastructure while clogging our routes into and out of (ingress and egress) Bay Park, Bay Ho, and the Mission Bay areas.  We are encouraging the entire Clairemont Community to get involved and understand the issues.  Please see understandtheplan.info for more information.

If you troll through the planning document (Morena Blvd Station Area Planning Study), you will find that despite the planned increase to urban density, no changes to accommodate more traffic are contemplated (p. 121):

• Motor vehicle traffic lane configurations and capacity on each of the major and  collector streets within the study area would remain essentially unchanged under the adopted community plan. 
• Morena Boulevard (north and south of the two splits with West Morena) and West Morena would remain designated as major streets. Since major streets are to be designed to 45 mile per hour (mph) design speeds, existing travel lane widths and intersection designs are expected to remain. 
• Traffic capacity enhancements would be limited to the planned extension of Knoxville Street as a 2-lane collector to West Morena Boulevard to provide a direct connection with the planned Tecolote station, while also allowing some motorists to avoid delays at the Morena/Tecolote intersection by providing an alternate route with a direct connection to West Morena. 

However, since there is considerable rush hour traffic out of Point Loma into this area, and no connection from Sea World Drive to West Morena, this does little to alleviate the foreseeable problems at the Morena/Tecolote intersection.  (Tecolote is an extension of Sea World Drive).

Please visit www.RaiseTheBalloon.com for more information on how to end this social engineering.

What You Should Be Reading

• The CA Air Resources Board (CARB) is set to implement a cap-and-trade system for transportation fuel (gasoline) that will increase costs at the pump starting on January 1, 2015.  Bet voters didn't know they approved a gas tax with AB 32.  Tank the Tax has the FAQs. 
• Dalrock is great reading for a Christian interested in the intersection of our faith with modern feminism.  He nails it again, pointing out the troubles from delaying marriage.
• KTCat has some advise for San Diegans diving the Point Loma kelp beds. 

Minimum Wage Referendum Expected and Desired - UPDATE

San Diego's 10News is reporting that a campaign to repeal an expected rise in the minimum wage is being organized by the San Diego Small Business Coalition. (I urge you to "like" their Facebook page.)

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer vetoed the measure, but the San Diego City Council is expected to override it. If that happens, Jason Roe, spokesman for the San Diego Small Business Coalition, says he has already begun to fundraise and has "substantial commitments from small businesses." 

Roe says the group is ready to launch a ballot drive to repeal the hike. Some 34,000 signatures must be gathered in a month to get it on the ballot in June 2016.

Meanwhile Council President Todd Gloria is already asking people not to sign the expected petition.  Pretty clear that the referendum fight is game on.  The petition is a great idea that I will support by getting signatures and making donations.

If the minimum wage hike stands, it is going to be a nightmare to have a different wage in San Diego than in neighboring communities.  Enforcement will be tough.  How will the City Attorney collect records from out of town businesses?  Further, such a measure erodes the competitive edge of San Diego businesses at the margins.  The minimum wage hike will only hurt the working poor and punish businesses.  All the energy expended on an issue that only helps a very small 2% of the workforce is all the proof I need that something foul is afoot.  Minimum wage hikes are a back door way for unions to get wage concessions without bothering to bargain or strike.  When some thug tries to stop me from gathering signatures on my petition, I guarantee that they will have been paid by a union.

UPDATE - From the U-T:

The San Diego City Council voted Monday to override Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s veto of gradual increases in the local minimum wage to $11.50 an hour by 2017, starting the clock on a referendum campaign that business leaders have said they’ll pursue.
If opponents can collect the 34,000 valid signatures required for a referendum by Sept. 17, the wage increases will be held in abeyance pending an election in June 2016.

What You Should Be Reading

• The supposed death of the Tea Party has been greatly exaggerated.  
• Meanwhile the left is pinning their hopes of defeating Carl DeMaio's challenge to Scott Peters by tying Carl to the Tea Party.  (I guess its not good enough to actually be LGBT to get support from that community, you have to be the right kind of LGBT.)  
• The VOSD fact checks claims and counter-claims in the Peters-DeMaio race regarding Peters' role in the pension scandal.  While they take DeMaio's claims to task, they also note that Peters' did not in fact solve the problem.  His involvement in the pension mess is surely a liability that no amount of left-leaning fact checking will wash away.  To be fair, I like a lot of the VOSD reporting, despite their clear bias.
•  Having a tough time blogging, research getting tough?  Consider hiring a virtual assistant (VA) for $5 per hour.  Wait, will the city attorney come looking for me if my VA is in India, but I benefit from the work?  (Seriously, I have considered this, as the research and editing is slowing down my writing.)

Wouldn't you rather be doing internet research for me?

Public domain image of 1903 Chicago "sweatshop" workers.

Rule of Law and Medical Marijuana

The U-T reported this morning on San Diego city government's failure to shut down illegal medical marijuana shops.  To be clear, there are currently no legal medical marijuana shops in the city.  

 The case is instructive on the results of the failure of the rule of law, including the failure to pass implementing laws that unwelcome, but legal activity to proceed.  Councilmember Ed Harris wants a process that shines the light of transparency on the efforts to close the illegal shops.

The proposal comes as the abundance of illegal dispensaries has begun adding turbulence to the already complex approval process facing applicants trying to open the city’s first legal pot shops. 

Part of that process, which began in April, is getting the blessing of neighborhood leaders who serve on community planning groups. But multiple planning groups have said frustration about illegal dispensaries in their area makes them less likely to embrace the legal dispensaries being proposed 

In both Pacific Beach, whereas many as 25 illegal dispensaries operate, and Mira Mesa, where there are roughly half a dozen, community leaders say the illegal pot shops are tainting the process of approving legal ones.

It has been almost 18 years since California passed Prop 215 which legalized medical marijuana sales and somehow we can't figure this out.  The interference of the federal government in shutting down pot dispensaries hasn't helped, after the unfortunate Supreme Court decision in Gonzales v Raich, which expanded the interstate commerce clause unnecessarily.  However, San Diego never really came to grips with how it was going to allow this unwelcome but lawful (under California law) activity.  But then, Mayor Filner made it worse, of course, by announcing that he would not enforce the zoning laws regarding the dispensaries, and wouldn't wait for the legislative process to work this out.  The result has been predictable; with the growth of illegal dispensaries to 100.  (This seems to be playing out on the southern border as the President's repeated insistence that he would grant various forms of amnesty unilaterally has provoked a humanitarian crisis.)

I can only hope that we can speed the process of allowing the legal permitting of dispensaries, so that neighborhoods feel that they are protected by law and have a voice in where the dispensaries are located.  My concern is that the slow wheels of bureaucracy will have the same effect as the illegal tactics of Filner, only illegal dispensaries operating.  Lack of clarity in the law, failure to allow a path ahead for what should be legal activity and a failure to enforce the law have led to this mess.

Making matters worse, the California state legislature has again failed to pass a bill that would impose statewide uniformity on medical marijuana and further normalize the business.

Photo credit: "Medical-marijuana-sign" uncropped image from Laurie Avocado. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

What You Should Be Reading

• Lots of military members angry at Ferguson law enforcement over tactics and paraphernalia heavier than what they used in Afghanistan.  See all the tweets. 
• Professor Perry has a host of great links on the Ferguson MO issue.  My favorite is from Nick Gillespie: Let’s Make Cops Wear Cameras – “Everyone behaves better when they’re on video.”  The situation Ferguson also has to do with the rule of law.
• KTCat continues to skewer the administration over its failure to deal with ISIS.

The Inevitable Fall of Iraq

Lately, I have been turning on CNN for coverage of the Middle East, and found them to be well, fair and balanced.  Anderson Cooper asks tough questions of guests and has a variety of them.  I was surprised at how well one guest summarized the roots of the conflict.  Essentially, the Shia majority under Maliki was abusive of its power towards the Sunnis.  (Of course, the Sunnis were favored by Saddam who brutalized the Shiites, but whatever.)  This has given rise to ethnic hatreds that fueled support for ISIS. ISIS claims to represent a swath of Arabic speaking peoples in the western Mesopotamia, parts of Iraq and Syria.  These people feel more loyalty to tribe than to the imagined country named Iraq.  Of course, I am not the first one to notice this. Writing in the CSM in 2007, O'Brien Browne laid out the case for separate nations to be carved out of Iraq.

Mesopotamia, as the region that includes Iraq was called until recently, had never been a "country" or "nation" in the modern senses of these words. The wise and largely benign rulers of the Ottoman Empire, who reigned over this land for centuries, realized that no outside force could ever rule this area by foisting preconceived notions of nationhood upon the population, whose loyalties lay with family, tribe, linguistic grouping, and religious orientation.

Unfortunately, when historic mistakes must be corrected, but the only means of correction is armed conflict, the most violent and ruthless group will come to the fore to lead the charge.  This is how the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, to cite one well-known example. ISIS is nothing if not ruthless and bloodthirsty, but that will be their undoing as the administration of the apparatus of statehood requires skills other pure ideology.  Further, they have made too many enemies.  The governments of Syria, Iraq and Turkey are all going to work against them, as well as the Kurdish regional government.

Meanwhile, Browne saw the break up of Yugoslavia as instructive for what might need to happen in Iraq.

Unfortunately, this meant that wars had to be fought. Though vicious, cruel, and bloody, this process was vital. Its beneficial results can be seen on a modern map of the region: New countries such as Croatia have the telltale odd shape and wiggly lines of older, established, stable countries. Gone are those artificial border lines, the unreal trappings of a federation that should never have existed. Gone, for the most part, too, is the explosive anger that exists when ethnic groups are unwillingly thrown together. Instead, although Serbs, Croats, and the other groups do not love one another, they can now live alongside one another in relative harmony. Where this is not the case, as in Kosovo, ethnic tensions continue to bubble.

I think that ISIS has made too many enemies to survive, but the idea that the Sunnis of western Mesopotamia should have their own state will outlast these vile genocidal madmen.  There is no constitution capable of imposing trust between peoples riven by religious and ethnic conflict.

Some maps to help sort it out:  Iraq by ethnicity/religion source: Royal Burglee's Flatworld Knowledge web site:

Here is the situation today, according to a map on Wikipedia titled "Syria and Iraq 2014-onward War map" by Haghal Jagul - Own workTemplate:Syrian civil war detailed mapTemplate:Iraq war detailed map. Licensed under CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Map of Syrian Civil War and the Iraqi insurgency
   Controlled by Syrian rebels 
   Controlled by Syrian government 
   Controlled by Iraqi government 
   Controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) 
   Controlled by Syrian Kurds 
   Controlled by Iraqi Kurds 
   Controlled by the Qaraqosh Protection Committee

Ebola Ethics

The Washington Post blog post about "white" Americans getting an Ebola serum reminds me of an old joke about the Post.  The Almighty gave the editors of the Post a call to let them know that the world was ending the next day.  True to form the WaPo headline read: "World to End - Women and Minorities Impacted Most."  Distribution of the serum to Americans has jack to do with the fact that they are white and everything to do with the fact that they are Americans.  The serum is being developed by an American company, Mapp Biopharmaceutical, based right here in San Diego, I am proud to say.

Before this outbreak, ZMapp had only been tested on monkeys. Mapp, the tiny, San Diego based pharmaceutical company that makes the drug stated two years ago: “When administered one hour after infection [with Ebola], all animals survived…Two-thirds of the animals were protected even when the treatment, known as Zmapp, was administered 48 hours after infection.”

Here are the ethics.  American technology and compassion are fighting Eblola and when the disease is brought under control, it will be because of America.  So Americans get first call on the vaccine.  To be fair, Arthur Caplan touches on some of this in the article.  He also asks why there is no process to allow more experimental use of drugs when a new disease is getting started.  Great question.  Our medical bureaucracy doesn't care if it kills a thousand people by withholding a treatment, if one life is saved that might have ended from a new treatment.

Unfortunately, Caplan concludes:

An ethical case can surely be made for an organization that puts health-care workers in harm’s way to acquire access to experimental drugs and bring staff home to get the best possible care. But that is neither a fair nor just policy for deciding what to do when an emergency arises and rationing is the only option.

Have to disagree, protecting the people doing good is always the right answer.

What You Should Be Reading

• Professor Perry looks at why there are so many part-time workers.
• I skewer KPBS for their tale of two people minimum wage story.
• Dalrock takes on frigidity, yes, frigidity, here and here (it's not pretty).
• Few of the still 30 million uninsured Americans will face fines.  Of course they won't.  Of course there is still millions of uninsured.  What, you thought the ACA solved that?
• And this speech by Justin Amash, who won his re-election primary against crony capitalist and Chamber of Commerce backed challenger Brian Ellis.

Yes, You Should Be Punished

KPBS has a story about how the purported affect of a San Diego minimum wage hike on a restaurant owner and burger flipping Mom with four kids.  They try to make it sound as if their is no some kind of moral symmetry in the situations, there isn't.

Kristin Aguirre is a married mother of four daughters, all under age 8. She's 25 years old and earns minimum wage working at the Burger King in City Heights.
. . .
"I could have waited to have kids and gone on with school, but I didn't," she said. "Just because of that, we shouldn't be punished and make a low wage to raise our kids."

News flash for you Kristin, you should be punished for having not one, but four kids, with both you and your husband lacking the skills to support them. (Her husband makes $200/week, they both get assistance.)  Both of you decided to be leaches on society through your lifestyle choices and take advantage of society's compassion.  You are punishing your children as well, cramming all four of them into a single bedroom.  What's wrong with you?

Meanwhile, restaurant owner Matt Gordon is going to be hit with over half a million dollars per year in additional direct costs and untold indirect cost increases.  If his business fails, 54 employees will lose work.  Meanwhile, the immediate impact of the minimum wage rise is for Kristin's pay to go from $500 to $540 per month. Not exactly life changing.

The contrast between who we are rewarding and punishing with the left's push for a minimum wage hike couldn't be more revealing of the damage they wish to inflict on society.  Matt Gordon is clearly a successful, creative, ambitious man and pretty decent looking to boot.

The contrast with Kristin Aguirre couldn't be more striking.  Check the pictures in the article and ask yourself "Do we want more Matts or Kristins in our society?"

Hamas' War Crimes

Hamas is committing multiple war crimes.  In a more just world, Hamas leadership would suffer the same fate as convicted Nazi war criminals, to be hung by the neck until dead.  First, they are launching indiscriminate attacks aimed at civilian populations.  The rocket attacks on Israel violate International law as set forth in multiple treaties.  From the Red Cross' web site on international humanitarian law:

Rule 1. The parties to the conflict must at all times distinguish between civilians and combatants. Attacks may only be directed against combatants. Attacks must not be directed against civilians.
The principle of distinction between civilians and combatants was first set forth in the St. Petersburg Declaration, which states that “the only legitimate object which States should endeavour to accomplish during war is to weaken the military forces of the enemy”.[1]  The Hague Regulations do not as such specify that a distinction must be made between civilians and combatants, but Article 25, which prohibits “the attack or bombardment, by whatever means, of towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings which are undefended”, is based on this principle.[2]  The principle of distinction is now codified in Articles 48, 51(2) and 52(2) of Additional Protocol I, to which no reservations have been made.[3]  According to Additional Protocol I, “attacks” means “acts of violence against the adversary, whether in offence or in defence”.[4] 

See the web site for the footnotes.

Second, Hamas delivers their rocket attacks while hiding in and amongst the civilian population.

RETWEET THIS: Hamas terrorists use houses as command centers. We target them for a reason. #ProtectiveEdge pic.twitter.com/LjiQSYwSg0
— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 12, 2014

Again, from the Red Cross (different page):

Rule 97. The use of human shields is prohibited.
In the context of international armed conflicts, this rule is set forth in the Third Geneva Convention (with respect to prisoners of war), the Fourth Geneva Convention (with respect to protected civilians) and Additional Protocol I (with respect to civilians in general).[1]  Under the Statute of the International Criminal Court, “utilizing the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations” constitutes a war crime in international armed conflicts.[2] 

It's the law of the land, well the whole planet, for that matter.  But it seems unlikely that justice will be done or the law enforced with respect to Hamas.

Crumbling Institutions of the Left - Government Run Healthcare

Government run and funded healthcare is having a bad year.  The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has not delivered on its promise to insure all Americans, with 75% of those previously lacking insurance still lacking.  I also think that the situation might actually be worse, since I don't trust surveys in the social sciences.  Meanwhile, VA healthcare is no longer touted as a model of care for all.

In Virginia, Republicans have shown how principled opposition to Medicaid expansion can be popular and helpful to the state's finances.  

In January a poll by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University found that 38% of Virginians opposed the Medicaid expansion. By late April, 53% were against it.

Meanhwile, Medicare is being slowly changed by the semi-free market of Medicare Advantage plans.

Austin Frakt, writing in the NYT, says that Newt Gingrich's 1995 prediction that medicare would wither on the vine if people were allowed to choose subsidized private insurance is turning out to be correct.  From the article. 

No matter the reason, what’s clear is that Medicare Advantage is a strong and growing program, despite recent moderation in government subsidies. As Medicare Advantage grows, traditional Medicare necessarily shrinks and its influence on the American health care system weakens. If the trend continues, policies, including those in the Affordable Care Act, designed to use traditional Medicare as a tool to reshape health care delivery for all Americans may become less potent. Is there a tipping point at which traditional Medicare ceases to matter?

Meanwhile, the GOP is eventually going to have to provide some positive alternatives to the ACA.  There are no shortage of good ideas, see my proposals here.  Reason's Nick Gillespie steals some of these ideas (which I stole from John Mackey).

Crumbling Institutions of the Left - Teacher's Unions

Allysia Finley does a public service by pointing out the epic math fail of the National Education Assoication (NEA, aka the teacher's union, albeit there are others).  While their pension fund goes broke, the union (and not so much the teachers themselves) are calling for Arne Duncan's resignation over testing, and debating fracking, because, well ... leftists just can't help themselves.  Some lovely highlights:

NEA membership has declined is that student enrollment nationwide has dropped, meaning fewer teachers are needed. Enrollment has ticked up mainly in fast-growing states like Texas, where teachers don't have collective-bargaining rights and right-to-work laws make paying union dues and agency fees voluntary. Wisconsin's collective-bargaining reforms and new right-to-work laws in Indiana and Michigan have prompted tens of thousands of teachers to drop out of the union or stop paying dues.

 . . .

In 2007, the NEA promised employees that it would make their insolvent pension plan 100% funded by 2021—it was 84% funded as of last year—to prevent a mandated reduction in benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and Pension Protection Act of 2006, which govern private-employer pension plans. Yet subsequent investment losses have caused pension costs to soar for the national union and its state affiliates.

Interestingly, the employees of the NEA union are also unionized and picketed the annual convention in Denver last week.  One of the AFSME beefs? The NEA passed along higher costs associated with the Affordable Care Act to the union members?  Ironic doesn't quite capture this outcome.  Even the left is being impacted by the actions of the left.  The good work done by Republicans in TX, WI and MI are helping to prevent your tax dollars from going towards the leftist agenda.  A little ray of hope in an otherwise gloomy Obama era.

What You Should Be Reading

• KPBS tosses out a bunch of softballs for Scott Peters and Carl DeMaio in the CA 52nd race. Predictably there answers don't show much difference, except where DeMaio supports border enforcement.  Also, what the hell is DeMaio doing supporting net neutrality?  Peters has the better position on this, where he asks why the heck is the FCC considering labeling broadband providers as common carriers.  Still voting for DeMaio, because we need a strong GOP majority to keep Obama's lawlessness in check.
• Eight straw donors to the 2012 Bonnie Dumanis mayoral campaign were fined a total of $60,000 by the San Diego Ethics Commission. A little more information from the Azano scandal.
• Obama's top donor in the 2012 cycle (when you total donations of employees and contributions to PACs), University of California (I am pretty sure its the whole system, not just Berkeley).

Compassion and Leftist Lies About the Children's Immigration Crusade

WSJ headline: Few Children Are Deported.  Yeah, we knew that, but good to see some investigation into the truth.  The reason I knew, those to whom that information was most valuable; parents who also want to enter the U.S. were already acting on that information, sending their kids by the hundreds of thousands to the border.  Leftists are invoking "rule of law" to say that we can't just deport them.  How about preventing their entry in the first place?  We have a right, well recognized in international law, to prevent persons from walking across our border.

The other leftist plaint is that we should be compassionate.  How is it compassionate to send kids to wander through Mexico unescorted to our border?  The dangers, both man-caused and natural, are too obvious to enumerate here.

I saw a tweet from a leftish sort of dude that said that we should accept these kids because of . . . Darwin.  Somehow these kids represent the survival of the fittest.  News flash, these are not the skills you are looking for.  The fact that their parents risk their lives and the fact that they lack useful economic skills means that they are unlikely to become productive to our society.

Obama keeps talking about immigration reform as the only way to fix this problem.  Another lie, of course, because the root of the problem is the perception that the children will be allowed to stay.  Ramp up deportation, don't let them cross in the first place.  Maybe even fund Mexico to secure their border.

What You Should Be Reading

• CDR Salamander, if you care at all about what is happening to our military and the Navy in particular.  He is particularly adept at deconstructing the ludicrousity of the diversity bullies.  But their latest antics leave him speechless, the comments are very funny to this Navy vet.  My favorite: A collection of the most intelligent non-PC minds in the universe COULD. NOT. POSSIBLY. MAKE. THIS. SHIT. UP.--even if they tried for a thousand years--yet it all comes naturally, automatically, reflexively to the PC crowd.
• Dalrock shows that divorce continues to plague America, despite what some people are asserting. I applaud his close look at the actual census numbers.
• In much better news, Carpe Diem reports that there are over 3000 breweries in America today.   The majority of Americans live within 10 miles of a local brewery, and with almost 2,000 planning breweries in the BA database, that percentage is only going to climb in the coming years.

Bonnie Dumanis - Political Death Watch

I didn't vote for Bonnie Dumanis, because my gut instinct was that too many years in office, coupled with a high-handed attitude meant that there was some corruption lurking.  Bob Brewer didn't run a very good campaign, so he lost.  Now I am watching the news for items that indicate her term in office is unraveling.  For the record, I didn't think that Filner would make it either.  Today, she released what would seem to be an innocuous letter of recommendation for a young man to be admitted to the University of San Diego.  Innocuous, if you didn't know the back story.

Liam Dillon, at the VOSD has a nice summary:

Dumanis was recommending the son of a man charged with making more than half a million dollars in illegal contributions to local campaigns – including Dumanis’ own mayoral bid. 

Dumanis allegedly benefitted from hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal contributions from Jose Susumo Azano Matsura, a wealthy Mexican citizen. Dumanis hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing in the case, but she has consistently given misleading and incomplete statements about how well she knew Azano and the actions she took on his behalf before and after he allegedly helped finance her losing 2012 mayoral campaign.

Dillon goes on to make the case that Dumanis' account of her relationship doesn't appear truthful, including the whopper that she didn't write the letter on official stationery of the DA's office.  Let's say that's true; then this letter certainly is a fraud, as it looks like official stationery and she signs as "San Diego County District Attorney."

For more on the whole Azano affair, the U-T has a series of interesting articles, including details of Dumanis' prosecution in 2003 of a youth who allegedly shot Azano's son with a pellet gun.  This case was eventually dismissed.

Dave Maass, who did some great original reporting that eventually led to the prosecutions in this case, says that this letter shows that Dumanis violated the California Public Records Act by withholding the letter when it was requested.  Maybe that's why she is sticking with the whopper that it isn't "official."

Dumanis has now provided proof that she violated CPRA when she did not turn this over in 2012 to my request. https://t.co/6oyHrAk3Iq
— Defunct Dave (@DaveMaass) July 9, 2014

What You Should Be Reading

• KTCat accurately summarizes the current state of foreign affairs as normal; if normal means there isn't any regard for the U.S. role as enforcer of norms.
• Not Thomas Piketty, darling of the left for claiming that wealth inequality is worsening.  Read Alan Reynolds on why Piketty's numbers are fanciful.
• And in more proof that leftist, progressive policies are racist policies, Milton Friedman takes down the minimum wage and why it has disparate impact on blacks.

"Moreover, the effects have been concentrated on the groups that the do-gooders would most like to help. The people who have been hurt most by the minimum wage laws are the blacks. I have often said that the most anti-black law on the books of this land is the minimum wage law."

Crumbling Arguments of the Left - Unemployment

Democrats like to argue that extending unemployment benefits somehow benefits the economy because, well I can't even remember an argument they presented that was coherent enough to merit repeating.  The actual facts on the ground have proved difficult.  First, hooray for Federalism, North Carolina went its own way on the issue of unemployment benefits.

A year ago, North Carolina became the first state in the nation to exit the federal government's extended-benefits program for the unemployed. 

The left and the media, but I repeat myself, were of course outraged, and outrageous protests of outrage ensued.  Then, reality.

North Carolina didn't descend into the Dickensian nightmare critics predicted. For the last six months of 2013, it was the only state where jobless recipients weren't eligible for extended benefits. Yet during that period North Carolina had one of the nation's largest improvements in labor-market performance and overall economic growth. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of payroll jobs in North Carolina rose by 1.5% in the second half of 2013, compared with a 0.8% rise for the nation as a whole. Total unemployment in the state dropped by 17%, compared with the national average drop of 12%. The state's official unemployment rate fell to 6.9% in December 2013 from 8.3% in June, while the nationwide rate fell by eight-tenths of a point to 6.7%.

Meanwhile on the national level we see the same scenario playing out.

Krauthammer noted that the sharp drop in unemployment has coincided with the end of emergency unemployment benefits. Obama and the Democrats, who insisted that the benefits be extended, wrongly predicted that their expiration would come as a calamity to the poor. Instead, their end has demonstrably had “precisely the opposite effect.” 

“These six months coincide with a decrease in the medium length of unemployment from 17 weeks to 13 weeks — the largest six-month decline in the length of unemployment ever measured,” he said. “Which means the real problem of long-term unemployment was a function of this anomaly of emergency-extended unemployment, which should never have happened, and whose end has contributed to this excellent result. The debate on that extension is over, and the conservatives were right.”

Thomas Sowell pretty much sums up the left's inability to see reason (although speaking about central planning):

But, by the end of the 20th century, even socialist and communist governments began abandoning central planning and allowing more market competition. Yet this quiet capitulation to inescapable realities did not end the noisy claims of the Left.

By the way, under disparate impact theory, leftism is racism.  Here's how: Unemployment disproportionately hurts minorities. Leftist policies exacerbate unemployment, therefore disparate impact, therefore racism.  See how easy that was.

What You Should Be Reading.

• The WSJ editorial pages detail even more Democrat inspired race-baiting rhetoric.  Just part of a scheme to have HUD replace your local zoning board, because, you know, racism.
• The bizarre U.S. corporate tax code is ensuring that may big, formerly U.S. firms become foreign owned.  I note that Coors, Miller and Anheuser-Busch are all foreign owned.
• KTCat sums up the so-called compassion for illegal immigrants in clear concise prose.
• Unfortunately, not Dean at Beers with Demo, who seems to have taken an unannounced hiatus from blogging.

Independence Day

The words of the Declaration of Independence continue to inspire after more than two centuries. It's words and principles inspire the tea party movement and I believe is a source of discomfort to those on the left, even if they won't admit it.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

I continue to be optimistic for our country.  The institutions being built by the left cannot endure in competition with the institutions built by free markets and civil society.  I will blog more about their successive failures; but consider the disaster the left is making of our health-care system and the implosion of so-called liberal arts as the worth of those degrees continues to be revealed.  In the early 1980s, I came to believe that it was only a matter of time before the Soviet Union collapsed due to economic and ethnic forces; and that belief was rewarded.  I believe the same thing about the left and its attempts to control every aspect of American life.  People resent it, and eventually fight back and win.

• The militarization of the nation's police forces is harmful to liberty, see a great compendium at AlterNet.  (H/T CarpeDiem).  The founders would be appalled, no doubt.
• Minimum wage response?  McDonald's experimenting with mobile platform tech for ordering ahead.
• I always thought that it was in our long term best interests to divide into three countries; our failure to do so has enabled further Sunni radicalization under ISIS.  See commentary from Israel in Haaretz on this subject.  Washington's warning against foreign adventures accrued precisely to our inability to understand the roots of these foreign conflicts.  The situation remains fluid, but I expect ISIS to consolidate gains and unite portions of Syria and Iraq, see HotAir.
• KTCat asks how compassionate is it to allow kids to trek across Mexico to the U.S. border?  He argues for border enforcement, but I think the deeper issue is that the world has come to believe that the Obama administration will not deport anyone.  How compassionate is that policy turning out to be?
• The Volokh Conspiracy for nuanced understanding of Constitutional law from a conservative/libertarian perspective.  Randy Barnett has a great explanation of the Declaration of Independence today.  He makes the great point that even then, the founders considered ourselves "a people" who had inalienable rights.

What You Should Know - Today's Supreme Court Decisions

The real action in today's Supreme Court rulings was not in the Hobby Lobby case. The Court struck down the idea that unions could extend their reach in Illinois personal health care assistants in a blow to the public employees' unions.  Because the case was decided on First Amendment grounds, the court signal that they may be willing to do away with all public employee union dues collection that goes to political purposes and may impose further limits in the future.  This could be a big blow for worker's freedom and a big drain on union coffers. See Eugene Volokh's superb analysis at Reason.

Meanwhile, the Hobby Lobby case was determined on narrow statutory grounds, not constitutional ones. The court ruled that Hobby Lobby had a right to not fund contraception under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, no free speech case here. That's not to say that there weren't important constitutional principles involved. The Supreme Court ruled that corporations can be considered persons for the purpose of guaranteeing constitutional protections. Ilya Somin helpfully explains at The Volokh Conspiracy.

What You Should Be Reading:

• Dalrock comments on the strange convergence of conservatives and feminists regarding marriage.  Preview: He doesn't think its good.
• KT helpfully explains the synergy between fascism and spending all of your country's cash.  
• And more in the continuing sage of police treating ordinary citizens as subjects, the Chief of Police in Salt Lake City gets annoyed that people are protesting one of his officers shooting a family dog.

Key Minimum Wage Facts

Half of all minimum wage earners are young people entering the work force (under 24).  Source: BLS.

In 2012, almost two-thirds of minimum wage workers (64.4%) were part-time workers. Source: BLS.

About 2.8% of all workers are paid at or below the minimum wage.  Over half of that number are paid below minimum wage. Source: BLS.

Of the 3.6 million people who earned at or below minimum wage in 2012, 2.0 million earned less than the minimum wage.  Source: BLS.
---Conclusion raising the minimum wage would only help 1.6 million or 1.2% of the workforce, because those making less than minimum wage are already operating outside of the law.

Of Course Drug Laws Have Racist Component

Rand Paul, speaking in Iowa, points out the fact that our nation's drug laws disproportionately target African-Americans and Hispanics.  From Media-ite:

Paul spoke out against the racial biases present in U.S. drug laws. “I think drugs are a scourge. I think we’ve maybe gone too far and that marijuana is a problem,” Paul said. “And yet I also think it’s a problem to lock people up for 10 and 15 and 20 years for youthful mistakes.”

The history of the origin of laws against marijuana show their explicitly racist origins.

The truth is that our perceptions of marijuana—and in fact all of our drug laws—are based on early 20th century racism and “science” circa the Jim Crow era. In the early decades of the 20th century, the drug was linked to Mexican immigrants and black jazzmen, who were seen as potentially dangerous. 

Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (an early predecessor of the DEA), was one of the driving forces behind pot prohibition. He pushed it for explicitly racist reasons, saying, “Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men,” and:  

"There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others."

Good for Rand Paul for taking this on.  Now if Republicans would get serious about supporting charter schools and vouchers as well, they might make inroads with black and Hispanics.

Hard Truths About Minimum Wage - Who Should I Fire?

My income is fixed but decent, so I choose to employ maids and gardeners.  My choice results in extra coin in the pocket of people whom I know are not near as well off as myself.  The hard truth about a minimum wage increase of the size being contemplated by the San Diego City Council is that I can't really afford to continue to employ both.  So who should I fire, the maids or the gardeners?  This is the hard truth about the minimum wage.  My income is set by law, it's not going to change, so those are my choices to deal with rising costs.  Those arguing for the minimum wage will tell me that I am not paying those people enough, but when someone loses that income, I'll bet they would prefer that I still employed them.  Further, I won't be the only one making such a choice; some people are going to lose their jobs with a minimum wage hike.

The other hard fact is that the people who really need employment, the young, will be disproportionately shut out of the job market by a minimum wage rise.  From the BLS:

Minimum wage workers tend to be young. Although workers under age 25 represented only about one-fifth of hourly paid workers, they made up about half of those paid the Federal minimum wage or less. Among employed teenagers paid by the hour, about 21 percent earned the minimum wage or less, compared with about 3 percent of workers age 25 and over. 

And from the Heritage foundation (also based on 2012 statistics):

The characteristics of the teenagers and young adults who earn the minimum wage or less support the notion that these minimum-wage workers rarely work to support children and their families:

• 79 percent work part-time jobs.
• 62 percent are enrolled in school during non-summer months.
• Their average family income is $65,900 per year.
• Only 22 percent live at or below the poverty line, while 68 percent enjoy family incomes over 150 percent of the poverty line, which is $33,500 for a family of four.[6]
• Most have not finished their education. A third have not yet finished high school, while almost a quarter have only a high school degree. Another two-fifths have taken college courses but have not yet graduated. Many of these are college students working part-time while in school. Only 3 percent have finished college and obtained a degree.

Only 3.7 million workers in the U.S. earn the minimum wage or less, which is about 2% of the workforce.  This doesn't do much about income inequality, if that is your current shibboleth.  This is a solution in search of a problem.

Finally, when we look at employment statistics, we find that the young are the ones suffering in the lack of growth in the economy:

Here is the civilian labor force participation rate for those over 55 since 2000:

U.S. Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate for age 55+. Source bls.gov.

And here is the same data for the youngsters (16-24).

U.S. Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate (16-24). Source bls.gov.

It is pretty obvious that the drop in participation rate is far greater for the younger age population. They are the ones leaving the work force; don't believe the lies that labor participation is down because baby boomers are retiring.  The old goats are hanging on to their jobs like the bitter clingers they are. Demographic trends of the older folks retiring is pure bunk. These statistics bode ill for the future because we aren't getting youth employed when they should be starting their working careers and learning skills.

You know what would really help lack of youth employment? Increasing the minimum wage to further disconnect their pay from their skill levels.

California Primary Results - San Diego

I am leaving early on a trip, but I am pretty pleased with the early returns in San Diego.  In Council District 2, Lorie Zapf seems to have a good chance at clearing the 50% threshold to avoid a run off in November.  Propositions B & C also appear headed for defeat, a huge victory for jobs in here in the city.  I live in the 52nd CA congressional district and it looks like a Peters (D) vs DeMaio (R) match up in November.  Peters is only showing 43% of the vote in early returns, against the Republicans seeking to replace him.  I don't think that bodes well for his November odds.

At the state level, it seems as though Kashkari will beat out Donnelly for the right to face Jerry Brown.  I am under no illusions that the Republican can take back the Governor's mansion, so my support, went to the man who was having an effective outreach and effectively hammering home Jerry Brown's support for the "Crazy Train" aka High Speed Choo-Choo.  Checking other results, I am amazed to see two Republicans in the lead for State Controller at this time, Ashley Swearingin and David Evans.  

Right now I am listening to Scott Peters giving a pretty lame defense of the Bergdahl deal today, but he backtracked with "I wasn't consulted and not sure if it was a good deal."

On the down side, Democrats are still in control of this state.  Also, I didn't vote for Bonnie Dumanis, but she may avoid a run off.  I don't know if Brewer would be so great, but her ethical challenges after 12 years in office deserve closer scrutiny. 

Propositions B & C in San Diego - Slow Death for Shipbuilding

With the June 3, primary election approaches, I want to touch on Propositions B and C which are not getting enough attention.  These propositions deserve a No vote, because they would codify the City Council's approval of a plan that would limit commercial zoning in Barrio Logan; and in my opinion start the slow strangulation of the shipbuilding and ship repair industry in San Diego.  Naturally, I am opposed.  The key issue is that the plan calls for a buffer between the current industrial area and the housing surrounding it.  However, this buffer will effectively drive out some of the businesses that are currently part of the shipbuilding ecosystem of the area.  From the U-T:

Shipyard leaders have expressed concern that the new plan could drive up suppliers’ costs, make San Diego less competitive and possibly prompt the Navy to contract ship building elsewhere.

Even the left-leaning VOSD acknowledges how the plan impacts shipbuilding related industry:

The major disagreement is over that dark purple band north of Harbor Drive. The plan makes it a place for commercial properties only — not industrial businesses or homes — so there would be a “buffer” between heavy industrial activity and residences. 

Right now, that’s home to companies that support the shipyards. Those companies could stay, but they’d have limited expansion options, and new companies trying to open there would need a special permit, which the community would have a say on.

Since businesses always come and go, the plan amounts to a long term path to squeeze industrial businesses out of the area north of Harbor Drive.  The linked article has some decent maps showing the impact.

The other argument on the No side is that it would put new homes near the I-5 causing health concerns for those residents.  I am not as concerned about this issue, as people can choose to live near freeways if they want.  My real concern is for jobs in this city.

Is my headline a bit of hyperbole? Sure, but so is the argument that this won't impact a job producing industry in the long run.  I am voting no on Propositions B & C.  There are quite a few retired admiral's who care about the Navy's presence in San Diego who agree with me.

Photo courtesy of No on B & C website.

Memorial Day Reflection - Socialized Medicine for Veterans

As we reflect on the service of Americans who gave their lives in war this Memorial Day, I also reflect on the care given those who sacrificed a great deal and must now depend upon the Veterans Administration to treat their service related injuries.  You can read for yourself about the scandal of longer and longer wait times; and the lying about those facts.  Boiled down to its essentials, the scandal is about rationing care through wait times and lying about rationing care and those same wait times.  Bernie Sanders, self avowed socialist and chair of the Senate VA committee, essentially admitted to the first part by saying that there weren't enough resources to provide care.  News flash - When the Government provides goods and services we always seem to run out.

This goes to the heart of the larger issue.  Democrats have always claimed they were the party you should elect to run government competently.  But the government has grown so vast and complex, it is impossible to do so.  Obama's surprise at finding each new scandal in his administration is almost understandable, given the federal government's vast size. But the solution must come from getting government smaller, and definitely shedding its role as direct provider of services.

With regards to veterans, we clearly need to provide them with insurance alternatives to allow them to make use of private sector medicine.  They deserve to be freed of the incompetent monopoly provisioning of health care by the federal government. John McCain has said that he will make such a proposal.  Count on the left to oppose this move.  They have touted the VA as a model for single payer in the past.  To allow out-sourcing would undermine their arguments for socialized medicine, as Krugman calls the VA system in the linked article.

Reason.com gives a great synopsis what passes for "success" in the VA's socialized medical system.

How could a bloated government bureaucracy achieve such low-cost success? As we found out recently, it's by quietly sticking veterans on a waiting list and putting off their treatment for months—sometimes until the patients are far too dead to need much in the way of expensive care. Which is to say, calling it a "success" is stretching the meaning of the word beyond recognition.

On this Memorial Day, although a time for reflection about those who have died; we should support the living veterans as well, by prising their health care from the monopoly of the federal government.

What You Should Be Reading

• KTCat equates moral relativism Houston Astro fandom.  Read it, it makes sense.
• Left Coast Rebel has great hashtag for Obama on the VA scandal.
• For Memorial Day, I am embedding one of the greatest speeches for the occasion ever given, by Ronald Reagan, of course. (The text of a different but great speech here.)