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A Great Man : 11/14/2008

I know we are concerned--as we should be--about the Tea Fire; but I do not wish THIS story to be lost in all of this. We have lost a great citizen/public servant in the death of Patrick Plamondon. Patrick was our Principal at Hope school and no one could ask for a better person. He not only knew the names of all the students--but all of the family members as well. That he should spend up to 3 days in jail, let alone 3 hours, is a travesty. That he should die there breaks my heart. I do not know the entire story, but 3 days for breaking a restraining order seems excessive. For him to die in jail...words fail me...it was not the fate of a man as kind/caring/intelligent/etc as Patrick was. Tears have been frequent in our home for this man who touched so many lives. Kathy Betzholtz 238 Sherwood Dr. S.B. 93110 681-1553

Diana has it all wrong : 11/19/2008

Obama is much better than McCain and what he is proposing is not socialism he is just saying that we need to make things more fair right now the corporations are not regulated which has caused all this monetary problems, some lenders gave out risky loans that we the people expect our government to stop instead the Bush administration is helping them out. I call Obama a centralist not a socialist. Sarah Palin does not represent me a women. My hopes are that Obama will do so well in his first term that he will serve a second term and turn this country around reduce the poverty and help we the working people.

Free Kool-Aid for all! : 1/2/2009

Would you like Grape or Punch? If you think that the government will be more efficient than insurance companies, then you will cause the best doctors to bail out of the system, and only the rich will receive decent health care. We will get Kool-Aid rations as the elite and politicians will drink wine.

Paul Svacina, P.E.

pres : 7/11/2009

Hillary has her own agenda. Obama serves others.

dude

Henry Gates : 7/25/2009

A Gates by any other name What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; Romeo and Juliet, 1594 Consider either Bill or Bob inside their respective 3000-mile-separated Washington homes confronted by an aggressive cop, pushing his way inside, and demanding identification, and having been given it in spades, so to speak, then inveigling Bill or Bob to step outside so that he could avoid the 4th Amendment as implemented by Ramey. Hank suffered, why? Bob is merely a bureaucrat; Bill is rich, but couldn’t stick it out to get a proper degree. Hank is a national academic professorial icon, and the property is Harvard’s. Hank was cuffed, arrested, dragged, cane and all, perp-photo’d and jailed. Is there any chance that either Bill or Bob would have been subjected to any of the ignominies? What part of res ipsa loquitor is not patent? A Gates by any other name.

Zwoirle

The Myth of Race : 7/26/2009

[Guest Opinion for Tuesdays] The Myth of “Race” It continues to astound me, now that we are in the 21st century, that American culture persists in perpetuating social distinctions predicated on folk taxonomy contrived to demarcate groups hierarchically for self-aggrandizement. I refer, of course to the recent squabble over the arrest of Harvard Professor Gage inside his own home by a self-described profiling expert, followed closely by President Obama’s comments regarding the ‘stupidity’ of the action. Leaving aside the issues of profiling and definitions of breaching civil peace for later discussion, let’s examine the concept of “race” which precipitated both the profiling and the professor’s less-than-civil vocalizations regarding the officer’s momma. Mind you, I salute Obama’s restraint throughout his entire two-year campaign and election from raising the ‘race card’, and, near as I can tell, even using the word ‘race’ at all. He once referred to himself as “a mutt”, meaning he had a diverse ancestry. Don’t most of us. In fact, truth be known, with the possible exception of historic contact Ainu, practically all of us, back to Cro-Magnon days, are admixtures of many diverse sources of genetic variables. All this blending of ancestry has created a single race of humans, with some visible variations in form and color. But, from a scientific perspective, there is more variability within perceived groups (about 96%) than there is between them (about 6%). Thus, traditional categories of classifying human “races” are social fictions – we are all of the Human Race. I know, this a truly shocking and profound revelation. The implications are enormous; if there is no “race”, then each of us is leveled to a genetic democracy, where no one can feel superior based on physical ancestry. Say what? There is no such thing as Race? But . . ., but . . . Granted there is still ethnic identity or cultural group affiliation, and all the social structures built on racial distinctions – all social constructs – but as far as ‘race’ goes, every person on the planet is of one human race. After studying the question for well over a century, mostly from a Euro-centric perspective, looking to justify their own presumed superiority, the science of Anthropology finally got around to declaring in a white paper in 1996 (AJPA1 101:569-570) that, "Race" thus evolved as a worldview, a body of prejudgments that distorts our ideas about human differences and group behavior. Racial beliefs constitute myths about the diversity in the human species and about the abilities and behavior of people homogenized into "racial" categories.” So, we are left, then, with a social structure with built-in ramifications of the ideologically-constructed fiction of ‘racial’ classification. We all understand the categories; we accept them on a daily basis as fact, or at least real descriptors. ‘BMA’ or ‘HFJ’ are actual classes of people to law enforcement. Profiling is taken for granted, based on aggregate behaviors historically exhibited by those contrived/perceived groups. It is shorthand; we get it. But it also is shorthand that masks individual personalities. The Harvard professor is lumped in with hoodlums roaming the streets of Cambridge selling drugs, without qualification. To the profiler, he is a category, not a scholar of African-American Experience and History. As a society, we take this lumpiness for granted. Next year, when you have to fill out the decennial census form, along with wanting to know how many toilets you have in your house, they will also ask you to self-select a ‘racial’ group you belong to. These “groups” are predefined under the mandate of the Office of Management and Budget Directive 15 (aka OMB-15). The choices will now include something like ‘mixed’ or ’more than one’. It is an improvement, but still does not obviate a crucial fiction. In an official statement issued by the American Anthropology Association on May 17, 1998, they called for the elimination of the word ‘race’, substituting ‘ethnicity’ if the Feds insist on still classifying people by cultural groups. Reiterating the unity of all humans, they put it that, “These facts render any attempt to establish lines of division among biological populations both arbitrary and subjective.” Now, as to why our society continues to persist in maintaining these fabricated classifications becomes evident when you follow the streams of funding allocated per ‘racial’ group. There is much motivation to keep distinctions in place. Remember Affirmative Action? Recall the Sotomayor decision recently reversed by the Supreme Court, which declared that advantages predicated on arbitrary ‘racial’ distinctions are unequal under the law. History has its own threads and rationales. Brown vs. Board of Ed is a direct historical precedent, affirming a level playing field. But socially “racial” continuities aside, the more profound implication of obviating the use of such taxonomic fictions is that ultimately, it should bring us all together. If you take away arbitrary boundaries between people, as mythological, leaving everybody as equal members of just the one human race, then many encumbered boundaries begin to fade away, and we can get down to the problems of real issues based on real distinctions. This is not to say that there are not actual cultural affinities, which provide contrast and texture among peoples worth preserving. A friend of mine is fascinated by a certain type of mariachi music, from a particular place, but can’t stand variations from other places (inexplicably, to me). But those differences make for a mosaic of cultures and identities worth celebrating. But please, let’s not go off half-cocked, spouting mythological “race” as a rationale. Here in the 21st century, we need to make use of the science we have fought so hard to obtain. Let us learn from the progress we have made, be real and precise in our thoughts, and find a way to work together better. We can get beyond this. Dusty Miller Santa Barbara -- 960 –

Thorn in our sides, again : 10/1/2009

If she's a "moderate Republican," then the party is burned toast.

Greg Mohr

BOYCOTT SAMPANIS CONT / ON PATROL / COX CABLE : 10/23/2009

Was it fair for the Daily Sound to plaster half page POLICE/ON PATROL ads during the election cycle. Was it fair the SBPD refuses to turn over evidence in my trial, claiming it belongs to a production company. the same company that uses SBPD name and logos for their advertisement. Did you know On patrol violates the constitutional right of citizens when the officers and the ride along media machine use the color of authority to humiliate their suspects. I have no animosity toward police, but this has to stop. Please boycott this show, COX and Sampanis Construction... Thank You,

Boycott Boy

gaza blockade/war crime : 12/27/2009

In this season of new beginnings would people please take a moment to consider giving 750,000 children (&700,000 adults) a new beginning in Gaza? They have not been allowed the basic necessities of life for over 2 years in an illegal blockade that is partially funded & armed by U.S. taxpayers. Many have seen their homes and loved ones blown to pieces. The Fourth Geneva Convention outlaws the collective punishment of civilians so this is a war crime & a moral outrage.
Please join in solidarity with the children this week, much as we did at the Berlin wall & against apartheid in S. Africa. Please boycott, divest & sanction (BDS) any person, country, or business that profits from illegal occupations. Please contact your politicians & support the Dec. 31 march on the Gaza wall.

johnfromojai

Peace on Earth? : 12/29/2009

Aren’t humans amazing Animals? They kill wildlife - birds, deer, all kinds of cats, coyotes, beavers, groundhogs, mice and foxes by the million in order to protect their domestic animals and their feed.

Then they kill domestic animals by the billion and eat them. This in turn kills people by the million, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative - and fatal - - health conditions like heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and cancer.

So then humans spend billions of dollars torturing and killing millions of more animals to look for cures for these diseases.

Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals.

Meanwhile, few people recognize the absurdity of humans, who kill so easily and violently, and once a year send out cards praying for "Peace on Earth."

~Revised Preface to Old MacDonald’s Factory Farm by C. David Coates~
Check out this informative and inspiring video on why people choose vegan: http://veganvideo.org/
Also see Gary Yourofsky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bagt5L9wXGo

JC

vegan videos : 12/29/2009

Check out this informative and inspiring video on why people choose vegan: http://veganvideo.org/
Also see Gary Yourofsky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bagt5L9wXGo

JC

JC : 12/30/2009

To JC: You are an annoying person. Please go away and take your crusade with you. You can live your life the way you want and others will live their lives the way they want. You remind me of some lame religious zealot trying to convince or impose on non-believers that their nonsensical religion is some kind of salvation. You are like David Karesh (spelling?). By the way, why don't you apply your nonsense to cultivated crops as well as animals. After all, they are living creatures who respond to stimuli just like animals do. You are a hypocrite.

Alan Penske