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29 Newspeople, Some of Paper's Best, Take U-T Buyout
Response to post # 73: Keep up your great investigative reporting Don, I hope you can make enough people madder than hell in 2008 to do something about it by voting against the corrupt establishment and incompetent politicians that threaten American Democracy more than any other failure mode today. Far too many heroic military, police and firefighters, and innocent Americans are losing their lives because of republican and democratic party failures. At least some excessive consumption will be reduced in the meantime because too many have no choice but to cut back the hard way.— January 8, 2008 4:46 a.m.
29 Newspeople, Some of Paper's Best, Take U-T Buyout
Response to post #71: That sounds fine to me Don, but be careful what you wish for because it is all too tempting to turn the quintet into a herd. Actually, Pogo comes to mind again, the enemy really is us. Worst of all We failed to vote against corrupt and incompetent politicians. And then we failed to demand that our politicians be held accountable even when they cause excessive death and destruction. Thus the most important thing to do in the 2008 elections is to vote against all U-T Establishment “Ballot Recommendations” politicians, or more San Diegans are guaranteed to die and lose their property in firestorms and violence because the powers that be are too busy stealing our money to even buy enough equipment to keep our heroic fire and police personnel safe much less the public. We took our Democracy for granted and allowed it to fail because We watched and did nothing while our institutions failed one by one: Legislative – Not enough people care enough to vote or even bother to think about what they are voting on, while too many lemmings cutout U-T “Ballot Recommendations” and take them into the voting both so they don’t have to think. So we have no leaders anymore in Washington, Sacramento and San Diego, just the corrupt and the incompetent. Academia – Tenure killed their sense of responsibility to humanity. They failed to find ways to overcome poverty and protect the environment, and they gave degrees to far too many “leaders” who never learned ethics and integrity. Scientific – The Military-Industrial-Government-Scientific complex has failed to produce non-fossil fuel burning energy sources when they could have long ago, so humanity is screwed and science has no credibility when we need to listen to them at last. Religion – Sex triumphs over “Peace on Earth, Good Will To All Men.” Adulterers and pedophiles are enabled by look the other way flocks. Corporations – They have done what they always do best, it is too easy in America to use corruption to maximize profits. Judiciary – Justice has been overruled by powers that be corruption as a way of life. Sports – Roman Coliseum culture is the only thriving section left in the U-T, while drug addicted millionaire players are role models. Fourth Estate – RIP, dying of self inflicted wounds, while the U-T Editorial Board rants on planting the seeds of our destruction as long as they can. Can Democracy be far behind?— January 7, 2008 12:11 p.m.
29 Newspeople, Some of Paper's Best, Take U-T Buyout
Response to post # 69: Is this group some modern version of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, , i.e. should we redesignate War, Famine, Conquest and Death as Washington, Wall Street, Big Business and Big Labor? Or are they still just the same good old boy forces of man's destruction in peacetime: U-T Establishment Conquest (Power, Greed and Hate), War (U-T Political Corruption, Social Breakdown, Gang Violence), Famine (Economic Breakdown, Poverty and Hunger) and Death (Death by failed Democracy)?— January 7, 2008 2:43 a.m.
29 Newspeople, Some of Paper's Best, Take U-T Buyout
Response to post #67: Gad, the rich get richer, still but in the $Billion class this time, and the poor get poorer, again and are rapidly more numerous. But it appears that middle and low income Americans today are not only at the mercy of Neocon powers that be, but also at the mercy of too many other countries because Washington and Wall Street sold America out. Which brings us back to the U-T and San Diego. Quality of life for The Reader constituency requires that all eligible San Diegans vote against all U-T “Ballot Recommendations” candidates from now on. The lesson we must relearn from 2007 is that U-T puppeticians caused too many deaths, destroyed too much property, and have stolen too much hard earned taxpayer money for another year due to establishment corruption and larceny which is granted impunity by too many judges who look the other way and perpetuate corruption as usual because it is in their own best interests also. The U-T era has been one of continuous corruption, larceny, exclusion and elitism. This era must be terminated permanently or with what is going wrong in Washington plus Wall Street in addition to San Diego your readers are facing the gravest threats against their future since WWII.— January 6, 2008 1:19 p.m.
29 Newspeople, Some of Paper's Best, Take U-T Buyout
Response to post #65: Thanks for the forecast Don. 6% inflation is another big hit against the middle and lower income Americans. But also most important are the devastating individual prices such as gasoline, food, housing, health insurance, etc. plus employment meltdowns that are making poverty a growing and much more threatening part of our society. The fact is that rich are still getting richer, a $Billion is what a $Million used to be for entry into the elite ruling class, and they are already the most destructive part of American society today because of their greed, except for a few excellent exceptions like Warren Buffett who still believe in and promote Democracy and wealth for all Americans. Relative to the candidates in both parties, the number one fact is that congress has absolutely no problem solving leadership today, so none of the candidates who are members of congress are fit to lead the country because they have proven they can't even lead congress. As for bringing religion into the campaigns, I have very strong personal religious beliefs but I do not want politicians using Jesus as an endorsement. The will of our Founding Fathers who fought against religious and political persecution, and the polarization by the radical religious right today prove that religion has no place in American politics.— January 6, 2008 3:01 a.m.
29 Newspeople, Some of Paper's Best, Take U-T Buyout
Response to post #63: Yes Don, it's been looking as if major changes are remotely possible at this point, but the smoke filled powers that be star chambers at the conventions still dominate unless people make their anger known loud and clear. We are at the very beginning with a lot of fiery hoops to jump through and a lot more special interest money from those who have profited from the oil wars with tax cut $Billions ready to be poured upon the anointed. Stay calm Don, times are achanging but who knows what things will look like after the finalists cross the finish line. Or are you ready to predict what life in America at the end of 2008 will be like already?— January 5, 2008 12:58 p.m.
29 Newspeople, Some of Paper's Best, Take U-T Buyout
Response to post #58: I remember party conventions where some who did well in the primaries “disappeared” from consideration by the powers that be after the first ballot or so. The way the economy is going south we could have more whole new ballgames by the election. If the "republican gas tax" causes prices to go to $4 per gallon, if too many more jobs are exported to China, if food and other living costs continue to escalate beyond belief, if public safety becomes an even greater blood bath in the inner cities spilling over into the suburbs due to out of control poverty, if health insurance companies screw an even greater number of Americans, if congressional approval rates stay in the dumper, if etc. With the rates of change of too many things going wrong and the failures in leadership of too many institutions, one would think too much daily bad news will most certainly hurt the corrupt republicans and the incompetent democrats, but then who will be left to vote for? The electorate must be motivated enough to demand change before the election, and there are more than enough reasons to demand change.— January 5, 2008 12:05 p.m.
29 Newspeople, Some of Paper's Best, Take U-T Buyout
Response to post #56: You are right again Don, so we must minimize the panic by educating people on what is actually going on in spite of never-ending failures by all of our institutions, inform your readers on what our action options are, and encourage people to support timely implementation of solutions instead of continuing to expect our failed institutional leaders to do the right things in time because we now know beyond all doubt that our leaders are much more likely to fail us than to do the right things.— January 5, 2008 3:34 a.m.
29 Newspeople, Some of Paper's Best, Take U-T Buyout
Response to post #52: I agree with your points on the failures of our universities, and it makes the problems with educating the public to think about and vote in their own best interests for their future almost impossible. If a universities fail to educate our best scholars to protect humanity, then what can the Fourth Estate be expected to accomplish with the general public. For example, UC’s best scientists/scholars are a worst case study in failure to design extremely expensive supercomputer models that actually forecast global warming until the ice melting accelerated uncontrollably at least 20 years before their best forecasts predicted, and then it took years for them to reach a consensus after the fact. Thus America’s scientists have no credibility, so our best journalists like Don Bauder have an impossible challenge to meet. Too bad, because California desperately needs non-fossil fuel burning nuclear power plants that will also provide clean water supplies by combining nuclear power with desalination plants along our coast. And the scientific community has already proven to be a total failure at accomplishing anything in time to prevent our ocean from rising and flood unacceptably large areas of California like Ocean Beach, prevent further life-threatening reductions in unpolluted water supplies, and prevent more out of control firestorm deaths and destruction which have become a new way of life in San Diego. However Don, I know you are still young enough and positively motivated with the highest level of journalistic integrity to meet the challenge of educating your readers to do the right things for their own future even though our universities have failed humanity.— January 4, 2008 12:57 p.m.
29 Newspeople, Some of Paper's Best, Take U-T Buyout
#2 - Essay on San Diego’s Heroes and Patriots Our most heroic and patriotic Americans are our military, and our police and fire personnel who must now risk their own lives daily at increasing risk levels because of the failures of our politicians. If we don’t protect them then they can’t protect us. And that is one of the most urgent reasons that The Reader must take San Diego journalism to the highest level required by our U.S. Constitution to protect America, as defined in the “Rights of the People” reference in Essay #1.. #3 - Essay on Evil in San Diego La Jolla provides a metaphor for the worst aspect of San Diego corruption. The La Jolla Gentleman’s Agreement exclusion that lasted into the 60s, perpetuating an evil for decades beyond the end of Holocaust Against Humanity. Today those forces are reduced to a feeding seals to the sharks for their viewing pleasure society. But the ultimate irony is that UCSD is the institution that ended the Gentleman’s Agreement, and UCSD itself has failed to protect humanity. One failure being the subject of Essay #4. #4 - Essay on UC’s Failure to Protect California and Humanity Ike’s 1961 Farewell Address included the warning: “The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present – and is gravely to be regarded.” UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography proves how grave the consequences of failing to heed that warning really are today. SIO scientists failed to understand and warn us until climate changes got out of control, and we are now paying for that failure with rising oceans, reductions in unpolluted water supplies, firestorm deaths and destruction, etc. Sadly SIO can’t even save the seals much less humanity. One most important problem that requires immediate action is that today in San Diego and Southern California we are faced with water shortages because our nation’s establishment failed to warn us and make the right things happen, like promotion and implementation of combination nuclear power-desalination plants along the coast with the required sense of urgency we now face.— January 4, 2008 5:40 a.m.