SENIORS SHOULD READ THIS

Dear Editor:

Just got a new twist on old scam. Now the caller asks if I know someone named, and they name one of my grandsons. I never give any info. I know all these calls are scams, especially when they call an old lady. Lucky for me, I’m old, but not dumb.

Please pass this info on to your elderly audience.

Esther Cole

Hello Sheldon,

I am just now reading the Wednesday edition and your Editors columns.

If the strange helicopters were from the “Government”, they would have been a shiny black with black tinted windows.

I think the signing of documents in cursive is dying because with the evolution of mankind and his opposable thumbs all that is needed to write a note are two thumbs.  (Who said evolution was the Devil’s work?)

I don’t think we need worry about future generations learning how to communicate in cursive, by the time handwriting becomes a dead art the Robots will do all the communicating.

Writing of Homelessness, we both attended a grand opening of a shelter down near the harbor a couple of years ago.  The shelters were made by Tuff Shed.  I have noticed for several years a large chunk of deserted land along Harbor Blvd. that looks like it was intended for family dwellings.  The land has remained unused and would be a very nice location for a county homeless shelter for hundreds of homeless.  But, only if they elected to use the shelter.
The land is about 4.3 miles South/Southeast of our Harbor, on the Eastern side of Harbor Blvd.

Michael Gordon

Note: Michael is a contributing photographer to the Ventura Breeze

Ventura Breeze

It’s my understanding that none of the Republicans will stand up to Trump because they are fearful of losing their House or Senate seat!

I have the solution! All those with gonads or kahunas’ should band together and not only convict Trump, But remove him from office! They will save their jobs as there will no longer be a Trump threat, and would also restore the Republican Party to a saner place.

My political savvy friend, Trish Parker, has the perfect winning ticket for the Dems; Biden for President and Obama for Vice- President. Can you imagine the Republicans reaction? They would all be apoplectic! Speechless! Dumbstruck!

Could someone please contact Obama and persuade him to return to DC for just 4 years?

Judith A. Beay Ventura

The Trump impeachment train is running out of stream

The manic cry’s for a vote to impeach President Donald Trump in December have morphed into the stem winding speeches of January in a mind numbing impeachment trial in the US Senate. As eloquent as the house team can reach is isn’t enough to rise to the level of so called “high crimes.” Even if all the Democrat team has alleged was true it is still without the foundation of legal fact to throw out a sitting president. Still, the trial goes on, inching towards its inevitable outcome. The President will be exonerated and the Democrats will charge a cover up. It will be a talking point for the rest of the year. The impeachment has and will fail like a steam engine lacking coal—it will slow and go no where. While the Congress is locked into this sham trial, President Trump is still acting in the best interests of the American People.

Richard Senate

Each morning I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy and I’m going to be happy today.
~ Groucho Marx

Breeze:

I’ve heard it said that the electorate deserve the leader they elect. But, I don’t accept that statement anymore. I know a lot of people voted for The Trumper, but I don’t believe that all were deserving of what we got.

I’m convinced he had his first temper tantrum at age two, and no one told him such behavior was unacceptable. He’s been feeding that ego and lack of personal responsibility ever since, and, unfortunately, for the people of the United States of America, he’s been manipulating, the office of the Presidency, for his entire term.

Now he wants a war to assure his re-election. He cares nothing for the damage he does to our own military, nor the collateral deaths of innocent civilians. 

He is an abomination, and should be removed from office, after a trial by the Senate. I’m sure not all Senators are in favor of keeping him in office now.

But, he will be gone. At a point, not too far distant, he will be gone.

Colene Hertse

Trump supporters:
We welcome your opinions regarding Trump. What are you waiting for?

The Trump administration will soon roll out a new plan to slash drug prices.

In 2018, the administration proposed pegging the price of certain advanced drugs to the prices paid in other developed countries. Now, the administration wants to go further, setting U.S. drug prices equal to the lowest price paid anywhere else in the developed world. 

This plan might trim the costs of today’s medicines. But tomorrow’s medicines would never make it to the market, as such a scheme would obliterate our research industry.

The administration’s proposed rule, which is expected in the coming weeks, would apply to advanced physician-administered medications covered by Medicare. Currently, these drugs cost 80% more, on average, in the United States than in other developed countries. 

The administration says this plan will level the playing field between the United States and countries like Canada and the United Kingdom, which use price controls to keep drug spending artificially low. These tactics are unfair. They force Americans to shoulder a disproportionate share of the global research burden.

Price caps would slash research companies’ revenues and dissuade them from funding future drug development projects.

Close to 90 % of experimental medications fail in clinical trials. It can cost over $2 billion and take more than a decade of research to bring a new medicine to market. 

The resulting medical breakthroughs save millions of lives. In the United States, cancer death rates have declined 26 percent since the early 1990s. Almost three-quarters of these survival gains are attributable to new treatments. HIV-related deaths have decreased by almost 90 percent since the introduction of antiretroviral therapy “cocktails” in 1996.

Price controls in the United States would derail research into new treatments. In the long run, forfeiting these treatments would cost the government far more than it’d save.

Drew Johnson

To correct these dogs that were in the last issue they are Certified Therapy Dogs, not Service Dogs. A Service Dog is trained toward specific symptoms of one individual to aid that one person. Certified Therapy Dogs are highly trained and have to be recertified every year, as do their handlers.

My dad believes in reincarnation, so in his will he left everything to himself.
~ Barry Goldsmith

There’s no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.
~George Santayana

Breeze:

I was saddened to hear that the Catalina Casino (Avalon Theater) will stop showing movies, according to your publisher S. Brown.

I must confess that I never actually supported the place by viewing movies there, mainly because it is a long swim from Ventura to Catalina, even when the ocean is calm.

But I have a very fond memory of seeing a movie at that venue: It was l966, and 20th Century Fox took me out to the Casino–which was a magnificent edifice and an architectural landmark.  I felt like I was stepping back in time and was at some regal theater in a European capital. The ocean views were spectacular–but alas, the film “Morituri” was not too terrific and frankly was a bit of a box office flop.

But on the same evening after seeing the film, we got the opportunity to meet and chat with  a scruffy looking gent, who was surprisingly amiable: A fellow named Marlon Brando, who I believe made a handful of movies that really did well and was considered a rather good actor!

Ivor Davis

Ventura Breeze

Starting Jan. 22, 2020, the T.S.A. will ask all travelers who don’t have a driver’s license from a compliant state or a state that has been granted an extension to the compliance deadline (this means that residents can continue using their noncompliant license for federal purposes while the state continues working to be in compliance) to provide an alternative form of acceptable identification. Travelers won’t be able to pass through security without this acceptable identification.

And, as of Oct. 1, 2020, all air travelers will be required to have a Real ID-compliant driver’s license or alternate acceptable identification to fly domestically.

Thanks

Mike Merewether

Dear Editor:

Just caught the President discussing toilets. I think he has discovered how useful they are. I’m not sure he knows, that men, and women ,use them differently, but he is concerned, about the lack of discipline, in how many times, and how often, toilets get flushed.

He is worried about wasting water during our climate change worries(he said people flush 10-15 times each time). He wants us to be aware of how much water is wasted, by flushing more than we need to. 

I’m not sure what he is recommending: how many flushes are needed for sit-down uses, or stand-up uses. No matter. Watching how much water is used, during our bathroom breaks, is important, and it behooves, all of us, to be frugal, anytime, we

need to use the “potty:”

I am so relieved that the President is talking about important stuff. 

Relieved, but frugal,.
Esther Cole, Ventura,

If you don’t like the way I drive, get off the sidewalk.
~ Lotus Weinstock

Breeze:

I have friends that say why don’t we just convert salty ocean water into drinking water? Huntington Beach is building a seawater desalination plant that will provide drinking water to supply 100,000 homes (basically the size of Ventura). The problem is the cost which is about $1billion. A bit more than Ventura can afford.

Thanks
Sam Goodall Saticoy

Ventura Breeze

Recent News has published that K-Mart in Santa Paula, and Sears in Ventura will soon be closing, as have K-Mart in Camarillo.

These buildings should be repurposed for housings. One really good thing is there is plenty of parking, which is always a major concern in new builds.

Please don’t allow these buildings to be shuttered and become an eyesore. As a citizen, I would encourage and challenge these cities to partner with developers to immediately construct affordable housing; and, don’t forget green spaces.

Judith A. Beay Ventura

Readers:

I just renewed my driver’s license with the DMV on Market in Ventura. (is anything worse then sitting there for many many hours with a lot of depressed people?). Very strange to me is that they made me read the letters by covering one eye. How many of us drive with one eye closed? I did like the machine testing that gives immediate results of pass-fail of the questions. So glad that is over for another 5-years.

Sally Lowe Ojai

Venturan’s

I think a wonderful Christmas present is to give blood and help the American Red Cross ensure a sufficient supply is available during the holiday season.

You can make an appointment by calling 1-800-733-2767.

In Ventura you can give at the following locations which makes it easy.

• 12/5/2019: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., El Camino High School, 61 Day Rd
• 12/17/2019: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Knights of Columbus, 36 S. Figueroa St.
• 12/30/2019: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Wells Fargo, 2704 E Thompson Blvd
• 12/31/2019: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Knights of Columbus, 36 S. Figueroa St.

Thanks

Helen Gordon

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
~ Albert Einstein

To [email protected]

Previously I wrote saying that Ventura has a bias against seniors. I should have said bias against seniors in senior mobile home parks Ventura has a lot of programs that can keep seniors busy.

The problem is in the senior parks that are owned by greedy companies. I have lived in Lemonwood mobile home park for 2 years and in that time my rent has gone up about $100 a month. Add to that $46.50 per month in capital expenses that we are billed for. They have billed us about $700,000 I capital expenses Including interest-yes we pay interest also, The name of the company that purchased this park is Sun Communities. We have no recourse as we get to help from the council person in our ward, no response from rent review board and nothing from the City Council.

My name is Ralph Trigo and I am a member of the VMRC which is the Ventura Mobil Residents Council hoping someone will listen.

Thank you

Breeze:
I’m an avid reader of the Breeze, and really appreciate the role you play in our community, especially in keeping government accountable.  I hope you can help my community do that, and seek your advice for the best way the Breeze may help.

I’m the President of the Padre Place Homeowners Association, a community of 13 homeowners that live across the street from city-owned property on Ferro Drive at Grant Park.  This hillside burned during the Thomas Fire, and yet remains thick with brush and dead/burned Eucalyptus trees.  To give you perspective, standing in Old Town, on Main Street and looking up, we live just below the huge crop of Eucalyptus trees on the hill (on city property), above the Mission. It’s an obvious fire danger to us and Old Town.

This situation creates a fire hazard for our community. We have called the city fire prevention department 8 times over the past several months, with no action or even a callback. We have also called the public works department and, when they did not return our call, we emailed the director. Nothing. We are very concerned and find it ironic (and dangerous) that the city is issuing safety guidelines for brush removal that they themselves are not enforcing, putting our homes (and lives) in danger.  We seek to make the city take our fears seriously and respond to our concerns.

Perhaps this is a letter to the editor, or other means of communication?  I really appreciate any advice or support you can provide.

And by the way, my dog Gracie (now deceased) was featured on your pet page last year (she was pictured in her dog stroller downtown). I really love that section!  We still keep that Breeze clip on our refrigerator, and of course miss her dearly.

Cheers,
Ed

Ed: Perhaps printing this will be a good start. I know what you mean with Gracie, I miss Scamp everyday.
Sheldon

Subject: Trump Supporters

I am sad, incredulous, stunned at those fellow citizens who continue to support Trump! He lies nonstop, denigrates career military and civil servant employees and accuses everyone else of lying while fabricating conspiracy theories. Any innocent person would willingly want their supporters to testify, show requested evidence, including tax filings, etc.

I am especially saddened by the 98% of Evangelicals’ who are staunchly supporting him when his policies and actions are so against their Biblical teachings!

Trump and GOP are not upholding the Constitution, only their party. They also ran on “draining the swamp”; under Trump and the GOP, the “swamp” has grown tremendously; just look at his inner circle and how many are in prison, indicted, committing perjury and refusing to appear when subpoenaed.

If a President lands in prison, would taxpayers still have to pay for 24/7 Secret Service protection?

Judith A. Beay

What say ye Trump supporters? Is being a kind of movie star enough for you? Let’s hear from you!

Sheldon:

Thank you, Sheldon, for running that Walk with a Doc article. I have heard from many readers who saw it and were tickled to be in a “newsworthy” program.

You do a great service for this community. A trusted resource.

Thank you again.

Warmly,
Rosanne Facone

Rosanne:

Thank you for presenting Walk with a Doc also a great service for the community.

Breeze:

When an ex-city council person says at a meeting ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet” when referring to the future increases of water bills for city residents you should take notice, but maybe its too late already.

Instead of fighting a law suit against the city brought by the “California Water Impact Network” the city decided to just pass on the $200,000,000 cost of a “toilet to water” project to the residents. This doesn’t include the $3-$6,000,000,000 per year operating cost (bound to exceed the estimates I’m sure).

Meanwhile the city water dept is being sued by a county supervisor for not coming clean on the cities failure during the Thomas Fire, and not releasing  to the public the report on why the failure occurred and why we had no water. Is there another massive project being hidden from the public lurching in the background?
Why don’t we know what happened? The residents are still suffering and deserve to know the truth.

To cement our plunge into third world status, the power company threatens weekly to shut down the power if the wind is blowing !

So our future in Ventura is to sit in our powerless homes, drinking water that a few weeks before came from our toilet, wondering if we can someday get enough power to charge our electric car. However, we are secure in the knowledge that California is on the leading edge into the future. From Governor to city council we need a change to individuals who are for the people.

Regards
Robert W Coshland

Dear Sheldon Brown,

As a Pierpont Beach resident, I recently received a notice that Anastasi Development has proposed a mixed-use project at Harbor and Seaward.

They tried to develop this area in 2006 or 7, and after attempting to work with the city and neighborhood, ultimately abandoned it. In that time, this is what has changed:

The housing crisis has become more acute. Hundreds of acres of Ventura’s farmland, the most fertile land in the world, has been built on. Housing costs have skyrocketed. Wildfires have displaced families throughout Ventura County.

It seems to me that it is time to stop saying “we love Ventura and don’t want it to change”, because everything changes. It either gets better or it gets worse, and a lot of things have gotten worse. New condominiums would bring people who have chosen to live near the beach, and they would support the marginal restaurants and shops in the area, most of which are deserted in the off-season. Empty lots, like broken windows, are signs of stagnant areas and decay, besides being just plain ugly.

I hope that the community will work with Anastasi to help this project happen, because even though yes, it will put more cars on our streets, it will add greatly to the area through additional retail and restaurants and support of the existing ones. And on an environmental note, it is far less costly and disruptive to bring water, power and sewer lines as infill in developed areas than to bring them to outlying farmland – and that goes for traffic, also.  The farther out the homes are, the bigger the commute and the more total miles on the road.

We love Ventura, and want to keep most of what brought us to the area 40 years ago, but things change, and we need to change too.

Carolyn Hiller Ventura

Dear Editor:

Trump must have been nursing this competition for years. At last, he can nya nya his victory, being more important, than getting Osama bin Laden.

What kind of a “leader’ spends so much time planning a “coup” for years, just so he can prove he is as good as Obama.

No matter what Trump does, or kills, or brags about, he will never match our previous president. Obama is intense, intelligent, focused on being a leader. Obama never wasted breath or energy on “one upsmanship” Obama, and his entire family, were models. They are moral, and kind, and made the United States of America, trustworthy and reliable. The reputation of the U.S.A. was upheld, and enhanced, during the Obama administration.

How sad, this current, “me, me, me” president’ is so focused on himself, he has no time, no space, no understanding of how to lead.

Can’t wait for the next election. I can’t believe, the voting population of the U.S. of A., will repeat the last mistake. 

Trump is focused on Trump. The Trump trumpet never ceases to blast noise.

Impatiently, Esther Cole, Ventura

Breezy:

Thank you and Sheldon for the *shout outs.  They are paying off.  Each clinic we are able to do up to 32 cats and dogs and that is three times a month, plus the call ins for local vets.

Valerie

*Thursday, October 31st at SPAN Thrift Store parking lot 110 N. Olive St. (behind Vons on Main), and a second at Albert H. Soliz Library – El Rio, 2820 Jourdan St., Oxnard, 93036 on Wednesday, November 6th. Please call to schedule an appointment (805) 584-3823.

Men are wise in proportion not to their experience, but in their capacity for experience.
~ George Bernard Shaw

Folks:

We Californians are in for it once these intense winds blow through the dried up mountains and foothills, potentially knocking down high tension power lines and starting fires. Now we begin to see some notice of the need for “Microgrids” that service communities with local power without the need for PG&E or SCE supplying power over hundreds of miles of dangerous landscapes. Check out this Newsletter from “Microgrid Knowledge”: https://microgridknowledge.com/

Robert Chianese

Breeze:

Every day I observe dangerous situations on the streets of Ventura. Bicycle riders not observing the traffic laws, riding the wrong way on the street, flying through stop signs and red lights. Night riders without lights or reflectors while wearing dark clothing and some without helmets. It’s crazy.

I was twelve years old back in 1953, living in the beach city of Lynn, Massachusetts just north-east of Boston. I worked part-time for my uncle for fifty cents an hour and saved up enough to buy a brand-new bicycle from The Firestone Store for $ 62.50. The bike was equipped with a battery-operated front light, a push-button horn and a red reflector on the back fender. The salesman sent me directly to the police station to register the bike where I purchased a license plate good for a year. It costs one dollar. I was presented with a bicycle road safety booklet.

In those days anyone caught breaking the traffic laws were in deep trouble, especially youngsters. An officer would pull you over, confiscate your bike and give you a ticket. This meant that you had to bring one of your parents to the police station to retrieve your bike. The first ticket was just a warning; after that you paid a fine. I never got a ticket!

Stay safe out there. Always use the bike lanes where possible, signal when changing lanes, do not cover your ears and remember, pedestrians have the right-of-way.

Go online for all important California Bicycle laws.

Skateboards; don’t get me started.

James Francis Gray

Sheldon

Love your coverage and commitment to the community!

I agree and regret the loss of Yolanda Bundy as so many other department heads!   The cost of employee turnover is significant, but how to measure.  Also, any sense of our history

Mike Merewether

Ventura Breeze

I am writing in response to the Article Pension Funds are under funded by Venturans for Responsible and Efficient Gov’t (VREG)

This article is of course another attack on government pensions, and I would like to respond to some of the inaccurate statements that the author made in this article.

He stated that Public Employees can get generous pensions at age 50 to 55. The only public employees that can retire and receive a pension at these ages are safety personnel. You know, those guys and gals that risk their lives as policeman or fireman. All other public employees have to wait until the normal retirement age to receive a pension.

He claims that all proposals to modify the public pension system for new employees have been rejected. This is also a misleading statement. Before he left office Governor Brown signed new legislation that modified public pensions and changed the funding so that the employees pay more into the system. There were other significant changes. I suggest that the author of this article read up on the changes to the public pension system.

I have often heard that the public pension system is like a mortgage it is an obligation that is not all due all at once and is paid overtime. So this “panic” about the unfunded liability is not the crises that is going to bankrupt the State or the city of Ventura in the forcible future.

Respectfully
Jim R. Crow

PS:Yes, I am receiving a pension from a governmental agency

Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.
~ Lewis Carroll

Breeze:

My Opinion on gas prices and taxes is that we are getting screwed…again, and the roads are not getting any better. Folks should pay better attention during midterm elections and not bow down to the promise of road and highway fixes and hope for the best, the last gas tax vote was a huge sham and now we as voters don’t have any recourse, they can now raise the price anytime they want without any say or vote from the consumer. Never mind the refineries. which we have the most of many states. Anytime one has an incident whether in our state or not gas prices go up, troubles in the mideast or just the hint of it sends the price soaring high yet we are the largest exporter? This stupidity is our reality……my opinion of the day.

John Murchison

Editor;

As I stagger through the twilight years of my life, one of my few remaining pleasures was the cornmeal hotcake available exclusively through the Vagabond Coffee Shop here in Ventura. Imagine my shock and horror when I found out they were closing! “Fear not, grumpy old dude,” I was told. “They’ll be back in no time and better than ever.”

Ten months later and…nothing.

As Ventura’s only actual and true local newspaper, I expect the Breeze to get to the bottom of this travesty.

Hungrily,
Alfred J. Lewis

Alfred: Hey, you work for the Breeze you go find out why and inform our readers.
Editor Sheldon

Dear Editor:

How much more direct evidence do we need to accept the facts?

Trump thinks the miscounting of votes, and interference of a foreign power, into our last election, giving him the presidency by mistake, means that he, Trump, has been awarded the United States of America as a gift. One, he can run, and rule, to please himself, and contribute to the wealth, and welfare, of his immediate family.

 It’s like Putin owning Russia. It’s like Saudi Arabia having a house of royalty. Trump counted the votes and decided he had won the lottery. The ownership of the United States.

If other dictators can own countries, then he, Trump, being the best dictator of all, should have control of the U.S. of A.

I’m convinced he believes all this. He is royalty. He is a dictator. He need ask no one, for permission to do anything he wants to do, and no one can challenge his authority.

And his sycophantic followers are letting him get away with all this malarkey.

When does this country wake up and say “enough?” When do we stop letting this nightmare rule the country?

When do we revive our Constitution, and make it work like the founders wrote it?  When do we put down this bratty temper tantrum, and send him to bed without the pacifier he thinks belongs to him.

When?

Es Cole
Ventura, Ca.

The demise of language and manners

Over the last decade or so, there has been a noticeable decline in the use of the English language. It seems that we, as a whole, have gotten lazier, using more slang than appropriate words, and much more language that should not be used in public.

Recently I was at a local restaurant for a quick meal. In the booth between me and a family with two children were two late-teen young men. Throughout the meal their discussion was peppered with impolite language. Not one sentence was uttered that did not contain the F-word or S-word, or both. So unnecessary.

Across the restaurant was a group of six young people who were so loud they were a public nuisance. Half of them were carrying on conversations on their phones in addition, raising their voices to be heard. Not a relaxing meal. I am all for people enjoying each other’s company, but when behavior impacts the entire restaurant, it is simply rude and uncalled for. Everyone deserves the right to enjoy their meal, not just a few.

Maybe it’s just me, but I believe telephone conversations should be in private, not public. Pay attention to those around you and act appropriately. Say please and thank you. Leave the colorful language at home. We all have our issues. We don’t need to add yours.

Whatever happened to polite manners and appropriate language? Apparently, these skills aren’t being made a focus of early learning. Why do we have to accept the sheer laziness and rudeness of others? Don’t they realize it makes them look uneducated and trashy? As much as I fear our present course as a country, I fear our future more, knowing that these young people will someday be our leaders.

Shirley Lorraine
Shirley: Like our President saying B- – -S- – -?

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.
~ Alan Wilson Watts

Dear Editor:

Listen to all the voices. Hundreds of voices squealing about

impeachment. Everyone on TV news is parsing that word.

Do we or don’t we? Do we call it impeach? Do we call it an investigation? Does what we call this matter?

Every commentator has advice for the Democrats. Enough already!

Every commentator is so boring. Every commentator makes my fingers itch to change channels. Every channel has a talking head about the wishy, washy Democrats, and the obedient Republicans. Every commentator is irritated that the politicians are not listening to the commentator’s advice.

TV has never been so boring. I used to play games in the street when I was young. I miss those days. I think I’ll go play In the street. If  I’m  limber enough to avoid being hit by a car, that will be way more exciting than listening to dull, carping news commentators.

Your Scamp column is far more informative, and interesting, and entertaining, than those boring talking heads on TV.

I’m going outside; gonna  play tag with moving cars.

E. D. Coleski

E.D. Woof woof

Dear Sheldon, your heartfelt honesty is much needed, you are truly one of Ventura’s gems.
Sincerely
Jay Berkowitz (*no relationship to Avi).
Downtown Ventura.

Thanks Jay but some readers don’t think I’m a gem but a clump of coal.

*Avraham Berkowitz is an American attorney and political adviser, who currently serves as the Deputy Assistant to the President and Advisor to the Senior Advisor in President Donald Trump’s White House.

Editor,

Today I rode my bike down to Mission Park for the Climate Strike event that was happening there. I wore my March for Science t-shirt, took some pictures, and talked to a lot of people before I realized something: I am sick of all of this.

I was involved in what we hippies in Phoenix thought was the first Earth Day. There was no internet (or PC’s or Smart Phones, etc.) so the word was spread by people calling people then people telling people about the day. We called it word-of-mouth communication. There was no formal organization, no central authority. We just showed up one morning at Encanto Park and started picking up trash and putting it in the proper receptacles.

In the past fifty years, I have been a member of the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, Defenders of Wildlife, Green Peace, and VLT. Fifty years and nothing has changed except that the planet has gotten hotter and more polluted. That is why I am sick of all of this.

I tried to tell a few people that things will continue as they are now if we don’t have the right politicians in place to make changes, politicians who care more about the Earth then Big Energy’s cash, but it was like shouting into the wind. They had their t-shirts, their clever signs, and their righteous indignation and they were sure that this would “save” the planet. I was tempted to clue them in on the fact that man will never destroy the Earth, it will go on no matter what we do; only mankind will be destroyed and, sadly, some of the beautiful animals who share this planet with us.

But maybe that is what is needed, maybe a species reset should happen so maybe a new class of man will arise that will respect our natural resources and work to protect them.

I know that I won’t live to see this or any other end of mankind however it happens, but I still care enough to do the thing now that will help the most: I will vote for candidates who have PROVEN that they give a damn about the planet.

Regards,

John Darling

Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.
~ Robert L. Peters