Badlands Journal
Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice
Big Mama McClatchy is lecturing us on doing our due diligence as citizens to prepare to vote in the June primary. Mama warns us against all the campaign flak that will be coming at us and urges us to consider carefully the serious issues facing us and to be sure to learn what each candidate's position is on these vital questions of the day.
As Badlands Journal anticipated several months ago, a hot topic of the fiscal year is credit default swaps bought to insure holders of California bonds against possible default by the Golden State, which appears to be rapidly going the way of Argentina, It's the same-old, same-old derivative gambling, played by those familiar high rollers, JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, who, incidently, also handle the bond sales here in our lovely unregulated, post-Glass Steagall Act economy.
"The federal government does not create the American dream that I have lived and that others have lived, although the federal government can surely kill the American dream," -- Carly Fiorina, Republican candidate for US Senate.
Actually the federal Central Valley Project created American dreams for a number of farmers and agribusinessmen in the San Joaquin Valley, although not in Hughson, where farmers get their water from the Tuolumne River, not the CVP.
We always read with fascination the opinions of Rep. Devin Nunes, Pathological-Visalia. Wondering again about Tulare County in light of his latest ravings below, we were reminded of a long-forgotten event in the history of California voter registration, in which in 1966, the Tulare County Clerk discarded more than 150 registration affidavits collected by volunteers going door-to-door in outlying communities simply because the people registered had Hispanic surnames.
Nunes' profound problems with reality began at home.
4-22-10
The Michigan Messenger
House bill would restore Clean Water Act protections...Eartha Jane Melzer
http://michiganmessenger.com/37085/house-bill-would-restore-clean-water-act-protections
The point of the ferocious mudslinging going on in the Republican Party primary election in the 19th CD of California is simple: water and the Endangered Species A ct.
A retired fellow they call "Badger," after killing a little more city grass with tobbaco juice, recently commented to us that he was "wrapped up in Warren Buffett from head to toe." He lives near the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe tracks. Last year Buffett bought the company. He wears Justin boots. Buffett owns the company. He buys his jeans, shorts and socks at Costco. Buffett owns $300 million in Costco stock. He buys his underwear, sweatshirts and fishing gear from WalMart. Buffett owns $2 billion in WalMart stock.