∙ I hope you enjoy reading the enclosed Harbor View insert and learn lots about our wonderful Harbor.
∙ Have you written a book – or have been thinking about self-publishing and don’t know where to start? If so, The Breeze is presenting a self-publishing seminar on March 24. (see ad on page 24 to learn all about it).
∙ Okay, I give up – no more Trump comments by me (or cartoons by others). Readers, of course, are welcome to send in your comments about any topic. So, keep sending in those opinions. I do reserve the right to comment though on opinions, which I am doing below. As always, if you write to support Trump, please tell us why you think he is a good President.
From a reader:
Dear Editor,
I’m from out of town and visit for business every 6 weeks. While here, I enjoy reading your newspaper. Although I have no comment on the disrespectful cartoon you published (I didn’t see it) in your response to Beth Brokken, you had to add for the record that Hillary received over two million votes than President Trump. I believe a fair comparison would be to publish a map of the USA with every county and by color of the winner. You will see President Trump winning most of the country and Hillary winning the large cities. The large cities don’t speak for me and most hard working Americans. This is also true for this state and our recent elections. Very sad with the 2018 results.
Jeffrey “Putt” Mills Gavilan Hills, CA
Sheldon’s email response: Thanks for sending – will be in February 13 issue. Don’t you think whoever gets the most votes should win?
Jeff: Absolutely not. The electoral college checks the balance of the big city to rural America.
Sheldon: The Convention approved the Committee’s Electoral College proposal, with minor modifications, on September 6, 1787. How could something passed in 1787 possibly have any
application to today? The population in 1787 was under 4 million – today it is 326 million – and the flag had 13 stars. And, some historians believe that the whole purpose of the College was to keep slavery alive and well.
Using that concept, the vote of a person in Charlotte (population 860,000) means more than a vote in Ojai (population 8,000). If someone lives in New York, but moves to Georgia, their vote is now more important. It’s a ridiculous law that has absolutely no meaning today and should be removed. This isn’t 1778.
Can you imagine what would have happened if Trump had received two million more votes than Hillary and she won the election because of the Electoral College? Instead of carrying MAGA posters, Trump supporting would be carrying ATEC (abolish the electoral college) posters.
Okay if I quote Trump? “Since the founding of our nation, many of our greatest strides – from gaining our independence to abolition of civil rights to extending the vote for women – have been led by people of faith.”
∙ From the LA Times: “Los Angeles recorded its highest level of hate crimes in a decade, with a nearly 13% increase in 2018 over the year before.”
∙ I hear some people in Ventura complaining saying this: “Well, Ventura is screwing us again and making us become part of the Clean Power Alliance without getting our approval.” Almost 40 cities, as well as unincorporated parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties have adopted it. And if you don’t want to be a part of it, all you need to do is go to their Web site and “opt out” – it’s as simple as that.
Clean Power Alliance customers will still receive their bills from Edison.
∙ 2018, on average, was the fourth hottest year around the planet since modern record-keeping began in 1880 and 2019 is predicted to be even hotter.
The hottest five years on record are, in fact, the last five years.
∙ The 1099 tax forms have an income field to add “Fishing boat proceeds”. Are fishing boat proceeds different than other income? Do any of you understand this?
∙ Want to prolong your life expectancy by more than a decade? A new study suggests that you can do just that by following these five healthy habits: Never smoke, maintain a healthy body-mass index, keep up moderate to vigorous exercise, don’t drink too much alcohol, and eat a healthy diet (and read the Ventura Breeze to keep your mind sharp).
Adhering to those five lifestyle factors at age 50, compared with not adhering to any of them, was associated with 14 additional years of life expectancy among women and 12.2 additional years among men in the study, which was recently published in the journal Circulation.
∙ Southern California Edison has submitted a wildfire mitigation plan to the California Public Utilities Commission. This was required by Senate Bill 901 passed in 2018. They plan to cut down thousands of trees in high-risk fire areas and inspect thousands of miles of power lines. The question is, will these efforts result in higher utility bills for users?
Hoping to reduce wildfire risks and increase the growth of native plants, conservation groups in the San Diego area have removed palm trees which burn like Roan candles. And their fronds are blown by high winds easily spreading fires. Removing trees is always disturbing to see but certain species just burn too easily.
∙ Apparently, members of Homo Neanderthalensis were the height of sophistication. These ancient hominins ranged across Europe and parts of Asia for more than 300,000 years while producing tools, jewelry and impressive cave art. They cared for their sick and elderly and even performed a primitive kind of dentistry without anesthesia. And, we all contain between 2-4% of Neanderthal DNA, so the next time someone calls you a Neanderthal, just say “thank you.”
