Month: November 2022

As is my custom on Sunday, I write about someone that we should all admire. Rachel Baribeau is such a person. 

From Epoch Inspired:

“She had succumbed to cocaine addiction and for years led a double life: working as a successful sports broadcaster by day, and junkie by night.

While studying media and entertainment at Auburn University, she was introduced to cocaine. By 28, she had a full-blown cocaine addiction and was suffering domestic abuse.

Baribeau said. ‘My darkest moment came when I began to deal hard drugs to support my habit, because not only was it affecting me; I was contributing to the takedown, the delinquency, of other people.’

Raised a Christian, Baribeau felt she was ‘living life apart from Him’ but never stopped hearing God’s words. At her lowest point, she heard a familiar message from God with fresh ears: ‘I created you for more than this, Rachel!’

After a decade of addiction, Baribeau was subsequently rinsed clean, and she never looked back. Recovery only strengthened her will.

By 2016, Baribeau’s ambition only burned brighter. She wanted to share her story and inspire others, so she founded mental health non-profit I’m Changing the Narrative. Working and performing outreach simultaneously, she heard God’s voice again: “You’re supposed to pick up your cross, you’re supposed to do this full-time, this is what I put in front of you.”

For the past three years, Baribeau has devoted herself to her nonprofit. She now travels and works with over 60 colleges and schools, customs and border patrol, law enforcement, state halfway houses for ex-prisoners, and churches to help anyone who has strayed from their purpose to find hope and meaning in life once more.

One of Baribeau’s most impactful relationships is with border patrol, whom she has visited five times since 2019. During a humanitarian trip to El Paso, she had a chance to meet men and women putting their lives on the line to protect Americans from gangs, drugs, and other dangers flooding across the border. Contrary to certain narratives, illegal migrants crossing the border are “treated humanely.”

“There was tons of food, there was air conditioning,” Baribeau said. “I fell in love with the border patrol agents that are overworked. The things they see every single day are horrific, and they’re dealing with their own issues of depression and suicide. … I just decided I was going to start helping them.”

Baribeau connects with her audience via social media and often receives heartwarming feedback. Stories of family reconciliation, forgiveness, and forging new bonds are typical.

Her first book is coming out in June 2023. Baribeau’s overarching message is twofold: help others, and take that leap of faith.”

Rachel Baribeau, a truly admirable individual who pulled herself up by her boot straps to go from the depths of drug addiction to devoting herself to helping others.

11/20/22

As part of my new Saturday program, this is what I wrote this back on 10/9/20. Enjoy!

They Did It Again!   

As we go along with this pandemic, I am consistently amazed by some of the arbitrary decisions and diktats that are beIng decided by “those who know best.”

Almost every time those who know best come up with something, I reflect to myself, “certainly they cannot top this one!” However, it typically doesn’t take long before I am again saying, “They did it again!”

Finally last week those that know best decided to open the neighborhood playgrounds, so that the children could for the first time in six months use those playgrounds that are being paid for by our tax dollars. When I told my four year old granddaughter that the playground was opened, she was very excited. 

“I can hardly wait to go on the swings,” she said.

So later that morning we went to the neighborhood playground, and . . . like a lead ballon, crash! . . . her expectation of swinging was instead, “disappointment personified.” Yes, the playground was open. The slides were open. The climbing structures were open. The entire playground was opened . . . except there were no swings! “They did it again!”

I assumed that those who know best must have decided that the swings were just “too risky.” I do not understand this logic. 

I said to myself, “certainly they cannot top this one.” 

However, it took only about a day for me to again say, “They did it again!” The latest involves “proper behavior when going out to eat.” . . . Those who know best now say, “when out to eat, you should put your mask on between bites, and of course between sips of whatever you are drinking” Can any rational person actually expect that any non-Karen will do this ?

“Certainly they cannot top this one!”

The present Vegas line “that those who know best will do it again, probably within the week!”  . . . even money!

11/19/22

Earlier this week I was asked by a friend about getting this year’s influenza vaccine, “Should I get a flu shot?” My answer was unequivocally … “Yes, especially if you have had flu shots in the past. In fact I got mine on the first day it was available.”

The conversation then switched to the Covid booster. “Should I get the next Covid booster?” Again my answer was unequivocally … “No, especially if you have already had Covid.” Keep in mind that my answer was not just because I got Covid fifteen days after I had my one and only booster, but my answer was based on the latest information on this issue out of Israel.

From Epoch Health:

“An Israeli study found that antibody levels after a fourth dose of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19vaccine returned to similar levels as after the 3rd dose after about four months.

The study, conducted among health care workers at the Sheba Medical Center, the largest hospital in Israel, found that the immunological protection of the 4th dose ‘was much smaller and had waned completely by 13 weeks after vaccination.’

It found ‘no substantial additional effectiveness over a third dose at 15 to 26 weeks after vaccination.’

The researchers tested the immune response of 6,113 employees and performed a monthly follow-up of the antibody levels in their blood. In addition, they performed a vaccine effectiveness analysis of 11,176 employees after the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th doses.

The weekly levels of antibodies throughout the period after the receipt of the 3rd and 4th doses were found to be similar and the study said were higher than after receiving the 2nd dose.

Effectiveness of the fourth dose against infection started at just 52 percent during the first five weeks after administration and dropped to negative 2 percent at 15 to 26 weeks. A growing number of studieshave detected negative effectiveness, which means the vaccinated are more likely to get infected.

The six-month follow-up study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine on Nov. 9.”

So there you have it unequivocally:

-flu shot … yes

-Covid booster … no

11/19/22

Is my local “newspaper” interested at all in what is going on in Washington? I am convinced that it’s level of interest is limited to things that are pro-left.

A few weeks back the following occurred:

“House Republicans release 1,000-page report alleging politicization in the FBI, DOJ” 

Now to me this seemed like significant news. One thousand pages is a significant report. Not two pages; not ten pages; but one thousand pages!

However, this 11/4/22 news out of Washington not only did not make the front page of my local liberal “newspaper,” but was not mentioned in the entire front section! 

I asked the San Diego Union Tribune (SDUT) why this story was not reported on in  its “newspaper.” The answer to my question was to ignore the question. Since “gaslighting” refers to the continuous repeating of a falsehood until people start to believe it, I am going to refer to this SDUT tactic as “reverse gaslighting,” which basically means ignoring a news-story with the aim that the general populace will never know that there was a news-story in the first place.

I bring this up now because with the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives there will certainly be a lot of “reverse gaslighting” in the near future. In fact it’s already starting with the upcoming Hunter Biden exposé. 

After securing the House majority in the midterm elections, GOP Reps. James Comer of Kentucky and Jim Jordan of Ohio held a press conference Thursday to detail their impending investigations into the Biden administration. 

Comer, who is set to chair the House Oversight Committee, said whistleblowers have come forward to detail how Hunter Biden and his relatives “flourished and became millionaires simply by offering access to the family.” 

In order to attempt to get ahead of this story the White House accused congressional Republicans of promoting “long-debunked conspiracy theories” in a swift response after House lawmakers alleged that President Biden was actively involved in overseas business dealings alongside his son Hunter. 

This despite the fact that The New York Times and The Washington Post both verified Hunter Biden’s laptop after Big Tech dismissed the New York Post’s bombshell reporting during the 2020 presidential election. 

No, this story was not reported on either the front page or in the entire front section of my local “newspaper … let the “reverse gaslighting” begin!

11/18/22

A little over a year ago I was seen in the Emergency Room, and after evaluation, tests, etc. was sent home with a prescription for an opioid to take for pain relief. Much to my surprise I was also given a prescription for Narcan nasal spray. (FYI: Narcan [Naloxolone] is the antidote for opioid overdose.) Thankfully, although I have not had the occasion to use the Narcan, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of having it available. With the present near epidemic of fentanyl overdoses and subsequent deaths, I wondered why Narcan was not more readily available. With that same reasoning, a physician friend of mine suggested that perhaps Narcan should be immediately available wherever an automatic cardiac  defibrillator was immediately available. The more I thought about that idea, the better I liked it, as in both situations time is of the essence.

In a similar vein the availability of Naloxolone is increasing on college campuses as pointed out by Fox News on 9/1/22 … “Naloxone growing on college campuses as opioid overdoses continue.” 

Over 80,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses last year, a record number. Whereas most of these opioid deaths are due to fentanyl, more than 16,000 people have died from overdoses involving prescription opioids, says government data. 

Interestingly, just today, the FDA said, “Opioid reversal drug might be safe for over-the-counter use.”

So why not follow the lead of at least 20 American colleges that now offer naloxone in common spaces? Why not have Narcan very available … at least in every high school, and potentially wherever there is an automatic defibrillator?

11/17/22

Yesterday I was sent an interesting and provocative op-ed piece written by Wayne Allen Root (WAR). Some of you may remember that about a year or so, I stated that WAR was one of my favorites, but lately, for whatever reason, I have not seen anything written by him. However WAR just came through again in a big way on 11/13/22 with a piece titled, “You’ve Been Gaslighted – Democrats Just Stole Another Election.”

The gist of this article is:

1. As the Democrats have been gaslighting us for years, why should anyone believe that this results of this recent election is any different? (“Think of all the times in just the past few years you’ve been gaslighted. They lied to you about open borders…they lied about Hillary’s 30,000 deleted emails…they lied about spying on Trump…they lied about Russian Collusion…they lied about a perfectly fine Ukrainian phone call…they lied about massive Biden corruption in Ukraine and China… they lied about the Hunter Biden laptop…they lied about the origins of Covid…they lied about the need for lockdowns and masks…they lied about the need for Covid vaccines…they lied about the vaccines being ‘safe and effective’…they lied and covered up all the deaths and injuries from the vaccine…they lied about the success of miracle drugs Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin…they lied about the stolen 2020 election…”) And these are the exact same people now telling you Democrats just over-performed, and stopped a GOP red landslide, against all odds, without cheating and stealing the midterm election. Hmmm!
2. Why were all of the pre-election polls so far off? A red tsunami had been predicted, but never materialized … except in Florida where DeSantis and Rubio both easily and decisively won. How could the polls in Florida be so right, and the rest of the nationwide polls be so wrong? According to WAR, the answer is quite simple: “Guess what Florida has? Florida has strict Voter ID, strict laws against voter fraud, severe prison terms for anyone caught trying to commit voter fraud, no mail-in ballots sent to every voter, no ballot drop boxes, no ballot harvesting, no ballots accepted for days after Election Day, no counting for days until the desired result is achieved by the Democrat Party. Isn’t it a funny and strange coincidence that in that state, with all of those strict rules against cheating, the GOP red tsunami happened as predicted? But everywhere else, where there are no strict laws against voter fraud, and they allow all that cheating, the red tsunami fizzled.” Hmmm!
3. Finally are we all supposed to believe that despite the fact that Joe Biden is an extremely unpopular President, millions of people ignored the facts about inflation, the economy, crime, and open borders … 

       “But in the end they all moved back to Biden and                                               

        Democrats? Does that make sense to you?”

11/16/22

Prior to reading a article from “tech crunch.com” by Mark Mills, I had never heard of “embodied emissions.” After reading a few salient points from that Mills piece, it becomes clear why  “embodied emissions” is a dirty word that is, by necessity, stricken from from the Go Green EV Bible.

(If you should do desire to read this long but very informative article go to 

“https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/22/the-tough-calculus-of-emissions-and-the-future-of-evs/“)

Here are but a few of some important things you need to know about “embodied emissions” from that Mills article:

“A growing body of research points to the likelihood that widespread replacement of conventional cars with EVs would likely have a relatively small impact on global emissions. And it’s even possible that the outcome would increase emissions.

The issue is not primarily about the emissions resulting from producing electricity. Instead, it’s what we know and don’t know about what happens before an EV is delivered to a customer, namely, the “embodied” emissions arising from the labyrinthine supply chains to obtain and process all the materials needed to fabricate batteries.

All products entail embodied emissions that are “hidden” upstream in production processes, whether it’s a hamburger, a house, a smartphone or a battery. To see the implications at the macro level, credit France’s High Climate Council for a study issued last year. The analysis found that France’s claim of achieving a national decline in carbon dioxide emissions was illusory. Emissions had in fact increased and were some 70% higher than reported once the embodied emissions inherent in the country’s imports were counted.

One review of 50 academic studies found estimates for embodied emissions to fabricate a single EV battery ranged from a low of about eight tons to as high as 20 tons of CO2. Another recent technical analysis put the range at about four to 14 tons. The high end of those ranges is nearly as much CO2 as is produced by the lifetime of fuel burned by an efficient conventional car. Again, that’s before the EV is delivered to a customer and driven its first mile.

Embodied emissions can be devilishly difficult to accurately quantify, and nowhere are there more complexities and uncertainties than with EVs. While an EV self-evidently emits nothing while driving, about 80% of its total lifetime emissions arise from the combination of the embodied energy in fabricating the battery and then in “fabricating” electricity to power the vehicle. The remaining comes from manufacturing the non-fuel parts of the car. That ratio is inverted for a conventional car where about 80% of lifecycle emissions come directly from fuel burned while driving, and the rest comes from the embodied energy to make the car and fabricate gasoline.”

To me, until there is some mention of the “embodied emissions” in the discussions of EVs, any conclusions about the CO2 benefits of EVs is like playing Three-card Monte, a classic “short con” in which the mark has no chance whatsoever of winning, at any point in the game.

11/15/22

On 10/3122, SCOTUS heard two cases involving racial favoritism on admission at both UNC and Harvard.

From Townhall:

Harvard’s own admissions statistics show how the elite school’s use of racial preferences has drastically warped the likelihood of acceptance for students of different races, giving priority to some at the expense of others in a way that erased merit as a standard for admission and stripped students of an equal opportunity to attend schools that use such standards.

Regarding the Harvard SCOTUS case today(from Twitter):

An African American in the 40th percentile of Harvard’s academic index will beat an Asian student with in the 90th percentile.

See table below:

The stats in that table make no sense at all! Rewarding those less qualified because of their skin color is truly un-American. Luckily the comments from the conservative justices suggest that they also think that these criteria are not kosher, and are discriminatory.

Chief Justice John Roberts said it best: the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race. 

Oftentimes, I do not agree with Chief Justice Roberts, but I do here.

11/14/22

As we grow older some of us look for different ways to make a difference, but few make a difference like Glenellen Dickinson. Truly she is someone we can all look up to and admire.

From the San Diego Union Tribune (SDUT):

Glenellen Dickinson, 92, is a volunteer elementary school tutor making a difference in the lives of children who are struggling.

Dickinson began with the San Diego Oasis tutoring program in 2014, and, after taking a hiatus during the pandemic, is beginning again this semester with, among others, first graders at Rock Springs Elementary School in Escondido.

Dickinson travels to several elementary schools four days a week to work under the supervision of a teacher. During each visit, she spends four hours one-on-one with first-, second- and fifth-grade students needing help with reading and, occasionally, other subjects. She typically spends 15 minutes per first- and second-grader and 30 minutes per fifth-grader.”

Glenellen does not have college degree, much less a teaching degree. 

At first, Dickinson was apprehensive about the idea of tutoring young children. “I was scared as all get up,” she said. “I never tutored and did not know what to do.”

How did she gain expertise in tutoring? … from Oasis.

Again from the SDUT:

“Oasis gave her the guidance and tools she needed. She participated in two days of training on the “Oasis method” of tutoring and receives continuing instruction.

San Diego Oasis is a nonprofit organization serving people 50 and over since 1987, with a wide variety of programs in addition to tutoring.

“Envision a future,” Oasis writes in its vision statement, “where older adults/seniors are viewed as a resource, not a burden; where they are learning, teaching and encouraging each other; where they inspire youth to succeed; where purpose in life is viewed through a lens of living longer and giving back to the communities where they live.”

Toward that end, Oasis began the tutoring program more than two decades ago and estimates their tutors have helped over 12,000 students.”

If some of us actually live to the age of 92, hopefully we can be one-tenth of what Glenellen Dickinson is. A tall order indeed!

11/13/23

Today’s “blast from the past” is from 10/12/20.

Pure insanity!

11/12/22

“Is It Insanity . . . ?” 

At the present time in the Boston area there are towns where not only is in-person schooling prohibited, but also youth sports are prohibited. As many of you may or may not realize New Hampshire and Vermont are very close to the Boston area. People who had lived in the Boston area have now relocated to Vermont because Vermont has in-person schooling and, just as important to some, a modified variety of youth sports. Boys in Vermont can play seven-man competitive touch football and other outdoor sports, whereas most, if not all, sports are prohibited in Massachusetts. “Is it insanity to believe that the coronavirus cannot or does not cross over the Massachusetts-Vermont state border?”

Similarly just over the New Hampshire-Massachusetts state border playing youth basketball games is allowed, whereas in the Boston area it is “prohibito!” So of course what happens? Multiple,multiple, multiple  carloads of youth basketball players and parents drive over the border into New Hampshire to play basketball. “Is it insanity to believe that a state border somehow prevents the coronavirus from crossing over?”

I have known about this Massachusetts lunacy for a while, but figured that it was just an East Coast thing. However today I read an article in my local newspaper which showed me how wrong I was to attribute this unusual way of thinking about youth sports to the East Coast. (“Come on, man!” . . . We in California can out liberal-think you anytime.) 

In California, youth soccer teams are now renting fields in Arizona in order to host league games. The major difference here is that the distance is much further that from Boston across the state lines to where it is “safe” to play sports. (From San Diego to Phoenix is 355 miles … to Tucson 407 miles … to Yuma, a mere 172 miles.) Youth soccer teams that practice a few miles from one another in San Diego now have to travel hundreds of miles to play each other. “Is it insanity to think that the California-Arizona border is impervious to the coronavirus?”

However youth soccer is not alone. AAU basketball tournaments (LA & Las Vegas) have moved across the border to St. George, Utah. “Is it insanity to think … etc?”

The top youth lacrosse players are now playing in Salt Lake City. “Is it insanity to think … etc?”

“Freak Show Wrestling” with 3500 entrants has moved from Las Vegas to Idaho. “Is it insanity to think … etc?”

Interesting, but not surprising: the states that are clamping down on youth sports are blue states. 

Warning:

If Biden is elected, look for nationwide clampdowns on just about everything from youth sports to pre-schools. The only ones likely to benefit if Sleepy Joe crawls across the finish line first are contractors . . . specifically those that are into designing basements.

10/12/20

californiacontrarian