Category: Uncategorized

I have used Sundays to write about individuals among us who strives to make a difference and should be looked up to. Today that individual is Curtis Jenkins.

A recent On the Road story by Steve Hartman for CBS News introduced an elementary school bus driver who goes above and beyond. Curtis Jenkins “goes way beyond the outline responsibilities and duties of a bus driver. I mean, that bus is like a family,” explains the principal of Lake Highlands Elementary, Dallas, Emily Gruninger.

When parents send their kids off to school in the morning, it’s often with a little prayer that they’ll get there in one piece and have a great day. But some moms and dads in Dallas, Texas, can be sure that their little ones are starting and ending the day in safe and loving hands.
In fact, for Jenkins, his job is about creating a community where everybody takes responsibility for creating a loving environment. He gives children roles such as “police officers,” or “administrative assistant to the president,” to give them a notion of responsibility. The end result is a bus load of kids feeling loved and important to their community.

For 5th grader Ethan Ingle — whose parents divorced when he was four — it’s this level of attention that led him to share how he considers Curtis “the father that I always wanted. In some ways, I wish my dad could have been like that.”

You might ask what Curtis gets in return for all of his efforts. It’s not exactly a financially rewarding job, but he shares how his paycheck is seeing these children happy.
Curtis Jenkins is a truly inspirational man who demonstrates the importance each one of us can have in the lives of others just where we are, if we take the time to truly care.
6/8/25

First a basic question … “What’s the biggest mistake a lawyer can make?”

As background, most of you remember Kilmar Diego Garcia. From Coffee and Covid:
“Kilmar Diego Garcia has become the new face of the Democrat party, after the Trump Administration was accused of “accidentally” deporting the MS-13 member despite a frantic late-night judicial order trying to force his airplane to turn back around.”
But things have changed as pointed out by a recent headline from the New York Times:
“U.S. Returns Abrego Garcia From El Salvador to Face Criminal Charges.”

This development leads us back to the opening question …
“What’s the biggest mistake a lawyer can make?”
According to constitutional scholar professor Alan Dershowitz it’s … “Putting ideology ahead of what’s best got the client.”

According to professor Dershowitz that is exactly what the lawyers for Kilmar Diego Garcia have done. According to Dershowitz Garcia’s lawyers made “BIG MISTAKE” by pushing for his return to U.S.
From his interview on News Nation:
“If he’s found guilty, he’s gonna spend a long time in prison complaining about his ideological radical lawyers, who made a hero out of him and tried to get him back to the United States when that was not in his own self-interest.”
“If he’s acquitted, they can still bring the deportation charges because the standard of proof is very different in deportation charges … From the government’s point of view, it’s a win-win to do it this way.”

Will those showboating Democrats who recently traveled to El Salvador now recognize the error of their ways? … NEVER, as to them, ‘the hell with the client as it’s all about ideology!’
6/7/25
www.californiacontrarian.com

Perhaps many of you are aware of my position on the millions of illegals that are in our country. I do not have any use for the multitude of bad guys that Biden allowed to freely cross over from Mexico and Canada into the U.S. Get them out ASAP. However, I do have empathy for many who have come to U.S. in order to have a better life for themselves and their families. Be that as it may, this empathy is not an unlimited “Get out of jail free card.”
My feeling is that if they stay, they cannot vote. Voting in any election is an automatic “go back to your country, now.” Of course, for a variety of reasons, mostly obvious, the Dems are not for this concept of a Voter I.D.
However, things are starting to move in the right direction as far as voter ID laws.
From the Epoch Times … First from Nevada:
“Nevada lawmakers have reached a rare bipartisan agreement on voting reforms, combining Republican-backed voter ID requirements with Democratic-supported expansion of ballot drop boxes in a newly passed bill that awaits the governor’s signature.
“There is broad public support in Nevada for voter ID laws, with over 70 percent of voters endorsing a 2024 ballot measure that would implement voter ID requirements as a constitutional amendment. Yet the measure must pass again in 2026 before taking effect due to Nevada’s two-election approval requirement for ballot measures.”

Nevada is not the first state to implement Voter IDs.
From VoteTexas.Gov:
“Under Texas law, voters who possess one of the seven acceptable forms of photo ID must present that ID at the polls when voting in person. Voters who do not possess and cannot reasonably obtain one of the seven approved forms of photo ID may fill out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration (RID) (PDF) at the polls and present an alternative form of ID, such as a utility bill, bank statement, government check, or a voter registration certificate.”

While it is obvious to me that Voter ID requirements in all states will be necessary in order to resolve this huge undocumented immigrant problem. Furthermore, this same solution could be used to solve the DACA issue. (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. (DACA is a US immigration policy that offers temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to eligible undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children.)
Again with the risk of repeating myself, I do have sympathy for these DACA individuals, who through no fault of their own, are metaphorically “trapped”in this country.
Their plight has basically been ignored by Congress, who seem not to be able to take a stand on some basic issues.
My solution for DACA is to allow them to remain here, but not to vote.
Easy-Peasy! Two birds with one stone!
6/6/25

I suspect that many of you are tired of me opining on the humongous rise in autism over the last fifty years, and so in this piece I am not going to mention ‘autism’ at all.
However, there are some things that you need to decide for yourself.
From Townhall:
“After pharmaceutical companies were given complete legal immunity for vaccines from product liability lawsuits by legislation through the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act in 1986, the childhood vaccine schedule exploded, going from the three I got as a kid in the 40s-50s to the present 76 doses of 18 different vaccines by the time a child reaches age 18 today.”

If the health of our children were improving, then many would be cheering the onslaught of vaccines that children now get … but the health of our children is not improving.
I was not aware of how many vaccines children get these days, so I thought that the following list would be illustrative, and thus everyone can decide for themselves. Too much, too little, or just right?

From the Iowa Clinic:
Recommended Vaccination Schedule for Children
Your kids will get more than 50 shots before they enter adulthood. That’s a lot of needles! This chart outlines which vaccines are recommended at each age. Or skip to your child’s age below to learn which immunizations are necessary and why.
Birth
The shots start before you even get out of the hospital. Newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccine to protect against liver infection.
Two Months
Your child gets a second hepatitis B shot as early as one month, but no later than two months. But that’s just the beginning. Two-month-old babies also get immunized for:
* Rotavirus — A common cause of diarrhea, rotavirus is a highly contagious virus that can easily spread between children. Instead of a shot, the vaccine is given in oral drops.
* Diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) — One-shot protects against these three common diseases caused by bacteria. Both pertussis, also known as whooping cough, and diphtheria can cause breathing problems in children.
* Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) — Before the vaccine, Hib disease was a common cause of bacterial meningitis in kids under five years old. The vaccination effectively eliminated 99 percent of cases.
* Pneumococcal conjugate — Pneumococcal disease can cause infections in the ear, blood, lungs, brain and spinal cord. Children two and under are at the most risk.
* Inactivated poliovirus — There hasn’t been a new case of polio in the United States in 35 years — thanks to vaccinations. It’s important to keep it that way to prevent this crippling infectious disease from coming back.
Four Months
At four months, babies get a second dose of rotavirus, DTaP, Hib, pneumococcal and poliovirus to continue building their immunity.
Six Months
Third DTaP, Hib, pneumococcal and polio vaccinations are given to children six months old. They may also get a third hepatitis B shot any time between six months and 18 months.
12 Months
There are a handful of vaccinations recommended once your child turns one. They get fourth doses of DTaP, Hib and pneumococcal. They also get their first immunizations for:
* Influenza — The flu shot protects against the expected flu strains that year. Your child will get a flu shot sooner if flu season begins before their first birthday.
* Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) — This one-shot protects against three potentially serious viral diseases.
* Varicella — Chickenpox is a highly contagious virus that can be serious in infants under the age of 12 months, which is why they cannot be vaccinated until they turn one.
* Hepatitis A — An infection of the liver, hepatitis A is rarely serious, but can be hard to shake. Symptoms can last a long time or come back after several months.
18 Months
When your child turns one-and-a-half, they catch up on any immunizations they missed in the first 18 months. Some shots, like DTaP, require six months in between vaccinations. Depending on when your appointments are scheduled, your pediatrician may hold off on certain vaccines until this point. They will also get the second dose of hepatitis A to complete the series.
Then they get a much-needed break from all the shots.
Four to Six Years
Between the ages of four and six, your kid gets their final DTaP, polio, MMR and chickenpox vaccines.
11 to 12 Years
After another long break, the vaccination schedule picks up again. Your child is immunized for:
* Tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis (Tdap) — The naming order isn’t the only difference from the DTaP shot. The Tdap vaccine boosts immunity for these three diseases in the time since the final DTaP vaccine. This version is designed for adolescents and adults and is repeated every 10 years.
* Meningococcal — Meningococcal disease is a severe bacterial infection that attacks the lining of the brain and spinal cord. It’s commonly spread between 11- and 12-year-olds and is a more recent addition to the vaccination schedule.
* Human papillomavirus (HPV) — HPV is the virus that causes cervical cancer. Your child, boy or girl, should receive three doses over the course of six months to prevent this virus.
16 Years
Sixteen is a milestone year for your child. It marks the end of their childhood vaccination schedule! They receive a second dose of meningococcal to end that series

Whew!
You decide, “Too much, too little, or just right?”
6/5/25

As I have stated many times in the past, I am typically suspicious of those with hyphenated last names. Although, admittedly not 100%, those with these hyphenated last names are usually to the far left on the political spectrum, which is not my cup-of-tea.

Here in San Diego we have a politician with a hyphenated last name. He has served as a member of the San Diego City Council since 2020, representing District 9.
During his 2019 campaign, he emphasized his support for a city-wide plan to address climate change. From my perspective anyone who thinks that a city, or even a state for that matter, can affect climate change is on the spectrum … the “delusional spectrum!” Not surprisingly here in San Diego Mr. Hyphenated Last Name is one of those promoting city-wide bike lanes … bike lanes that only a very few use at the cost of millions of dollars to a city that is teetering on bankruptcy.

Mr. Hyphenated Last Name’s latest progressive gambit involves criticizing ICE agents, calling them “terrorists” after agents carried out an operation in San Diego.
He claimed ICE agents didn’t carry out the operation for the sake of safety, but instead said it was “state-sponsored terrorism… And anyone who cares about freedom—and true safety—should be fighting back.”

Putting things in perspective, Mr. Hyphenated Last Name somehow thinks that underused bike lanes can save the planet, while Mt. Etna is spewing out voluminous plumes of volcanic smoke and ash at the same time.
And furthermore he thinks that ICE agents are an example of “state sponsored terrorism!”
So there you have it … a vindication of my innate suspicion of those with hyphenated last names.
6/4/25

In the morning, if I have to wake up at a certain time, I set my clock radio to a radio station to start playing at that set time. Because my radio is old it has only AM stations, I have the dial set to the local news station – KOGO, 600. This morning because the radio dial had been inadvertently nudged s bit, I woke up listening to KFI, 640, which is out of L.A. It did not take me long to realize that what was being reported was not straight news, but was opinion-news.
Initially, the announcer was saying how horrible it was that innocent Palestinians in Gaza were being killed because they were lining up to get food. “Israel has got to stop killing innocent people.”
However from Daybreak Insider:
“After global reports accused Israel of killing 30 civilians near an aid site in Rafah, IDF denied firing in the area; Citing initial findings, officials blamed Hamas for fabricating the event and obstructing food aid to Gaza residents. IDF spokesperson released a comprehensive response to the accusations regarding the killing of 30 people by gunfire at the aid distribution area in Rafah, claiming that no shooting took place in the vicinity of the compound. Hours after the reports had already echoed around the world, the military accused Hamas of spreading lies — similar to the claim made by the American foundation that “the more successful we are, the more Hamas will report ‘fake massacres’”

The next KFI story had to do with the possible new Medicaid requirements that would take away Medicaid from millions of people that need it, such as disabled children and adults. I found that interesting because what is being proposed is that
able bodied young-middle aged men on Medicaid, who are able to work, have to either work or volunteer. Of course KFI did not mention the millions of waste, abuse, and fraud that occurs with Medicaid, but merely focused on how difficult, if not impossible, any trimming of Medicaid would be … more opinion-news!
6/3/25

After realizing that the city of San Diego is significantly in debt, the city politicians are looking for ways to trim the budget. San Diego has a budget deficit of $258 million, and the cost to maintain the 36 city branch libraries as well as the Central Library is $77 million annually.
Note that the city libraries do not include specialized libraries like the San Diego Law Library, or any libraries associated with any of the many universities within the city. Likewise libraries located in the county, but not in the city itself, are also not included in the tally.

From Perplexity:
In addition, building a new library branch in San Diego typically costs $10–$50 million, while major renovations range from $6–$13 million, with costs trending upward due to market conditions and project complexity.

Recent branch library projects in San Diego show a wide range of costs:
• Pacific Highlands Ranch Branch Library: $29.3 million.
• San Carlos Branch Library: $47.5 million.
• Scripps Miramar Ranch Library: $10.8 million.
• Ocean Beach Branch Library expansion: $12.8 million

It has been suggested by some to only keep the city libraries open five days per week with a savings of $8 million per year.

For those who are unaware, I use the local city library frequently. However, realistically getting a book out of the library is never an emergency, especially when it is easy to order books online. While it is true that an ordered book typically has to come from a city library that is not the local branch library, it typically takes only a week or so, if there is not an extensive wait list. For new books or popular authors, there is often a longer waitlist, but again getting a book out from the library is never an emergency.
My partial solution is the have every branch library open only three days per week, with half opened on M,W,F and the other half opened T,Th, and Sat. With this simple adjustment it would appear that the city could save about $30 million per year. Granted, some individuals work during the week, and might have difficulty getting the local branch library before 5:30, which is the usual closing time. Then on one day per week the branch library would open 2-3 hours later in the afternoon and not close until 8:00 p.m.
I could live with that. If I wanted to take out a book on Tuesday, I would perhaps have to wait until Wednesday. Que, sera, que sera.
6/2/25

Today another story about what is happening everywhere and is going to get progressively worse. Basically the story has to do with the cost of some services and the ability to pay for these services. What I am specifically referring to is services that are provided by the government, the cost of which is paid for by the taxpayers.
As is often the case there are two sides to the story.
One side contends that since the services are becoming increasingly expensive, they can no longer be paid for, and therefore the only solution is to cut these now unaffordable services to the point where the cost is affordable.
The other side I will refer to as the “woe is me” side. In essence, they say that if these services are cut, only bad things can happen to certain groups.

For instance in the San Diego area the South Bay Union School District may close three schools under the superintendent’s latest proposal to respond to the district’s ongoing loss of students and budget deficit.
Next year, South Bay Union faces a roughly $19 million shortfall and $15 million the following year. That’s even as officials expect to spend most of its reserves to balance the budget.
“This is a tough subject. But when you look at the sustainability of operating under-enrolled schools, it’s not financially sustainable,” said Michael Taylor, the district’s consultant on closure talks, during a special board meeting last week.
However on the other side some teachers also argue that the smaller class sizes could actually help address learning gaps among students. (Just a third of South Bay Union students met or exceeded the state standards for English last year, data shows. For math, it was worse: only 20%.)
“We must commit to keeping every single one of our neighborhood schools open,” said Vanessa Barrera, president of the Southwest Teachers Association, during the meeting last week.
So, as is often the case, when the two sides are diametrically opposed, the question is about a possible compromise. And, yes, I do have a potential compromise … set up charity to which contributions can be made. These contributions would then only go those schools that are scheduled to be closed. Those who feel strongly that we need to keep the schools open could then put their money where their mouth is, and after two years the money would either be there or not. If there is still a large deficit, then the “woe is me” group can say, “well, we tried! Que sera, sera” … and the three designated schools can then be closed.
5/28/25

I have always supposed that in order to steal something that something must be owned. However, there is a growing problem concerning the theft of something that cannot be owned. Here we are talking about “wind theft.”

From BBC.com:
As offshore wind farms are expanding around the world in the race to meet net zero climate targets, a worrying phenomenon is attracting growing attention: in some conditions, wind farms can “steal” each other’s wind.

“Wind farms produce energy, and that energy is extracted from the air. And the extraction of energy from the air comes with a reduction of the wind speed,” says Peter Baas, a research scientist at Whiffle, a Dutch company specialising in renewable energy and weather forecasting. The wind is slower behind each turbine within the wind farm than in front of it, and also behind the wind farm as a whole, compared with in front of it, he explains. “This is called the wake effect.”
Simply put, as the spinning turbines of a wind farm take energy from the wind, they create a wake and slow the wind beyond the wind farm. This wake can stretch more than 100km (62 miles) for very large, dense offshore wind farms, under certain weather conditions. (Though more typically, the wakes extend for tens of kilometres, according to researchers). If the wind farm is built upwind of another wind farm, it can reduce the downwind producer’s energy output by as much as 10% or more, studies suggest.

From an investment perspective, even relatively small wake effects can cause problems for offshore developers, Eirik Finserås, (a Norwegian lawyer specialising in offshore wind energy) says. “There are huge costs to building an offshore wind farm,” he explains, due to the sheer scale of these farms as well as all the complex related work, including deploying special-purpose vessels. To justify their investment and make a profit, “it’s very important for a developer to be able to project that the wind farm will produce a given amount of electricity for 25 or 30 years”, the typical lifespan of a wind farm, he says. Even a relatively small, unexpected reduction in that energy output can upset this investment calculation and make the wind farm not financially viable, Finserås says.

It appears that there is “trouble in River City” as far as the wind industry is concerned.
5/27/25

The other day I came across a story about Francis Joel Smith and his adoptive family … a perfect story for Sunday as both have shown remarkable characteristics that we all can admire and praise.
Francis Joel Smith told The Epoch Times:  “At my birth, doctors thought I would die soon, and if I lived, I would be mentally retarded and unable to lead a normal life without hearing or speech due to my facial deformities.”

Smith, who was named Hugh Dermot O’Connor, was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with no ears, eye sockets, or cheekbones, a cleft palate, and jaw deformities. Shortly after his birth, he needed emergency surgery to open his airway so that he could breathe. Bloomington Hospital transferred the baby boy to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis where doctors performed his surgery.
Once he was stable, he was diagnosed with the most severe form of Treacher Collins syndrome his doctors had ever seen.

Smith’s biological parents were academics from Ireland visiting the United States to do a sabbatical at Indiana University in Bloomington. As they couldn’t handle his serious medical needs or take him back home in his condition, they gave him up to the state of Indiana.

He was abandoned by his birth parents. However, he got a second chance at life when he was adopted by a Christian family who supported him through surgeries, an autism diagnosis, brutal bullying, and countless battles for acceptance.
For the first three years of his life, Smith was fostered by an elderly African-American woman in Indianapolis who had an arrangement with Riley Hospital to care for sick babies. Just before Smith’s third birthday, the state found a Fort Wayne family who agreed to long-term foster care with the goal of adoption.
The Smiths already had nine adopted children with special needs, after losing a dozen babies to stillbirth, and would adopt another after Smith. They changed his name from Hugh Dermot to Francis Joel, named after St. Francis of Assisi, and finalized the adoption when Smith turned 14.
“I was always stared at when out in public with my parents or in school,” Smith said. “Children were scared by my facial appearance, and adults assumed I was retarded or otherwise limited, and even pitied me … my parents and I often faced discrimination and exclusion from schools, churches, and other places that could not handle my condition.”
Smith was crushed by bullies and underestimated by his teachers. It wasn’t until he transferred to an “academically rigorous” high school that he was seen as being a gifted student. “I gained confidence, and accepted my condition as part of my life and identity,” he said.
To date, Smith has undergone 30 craniofacial reconstructive surgeries including cleft palate repairs, reconstruction of his lower eye sockets and cheekbones, multiple major upper and lower jaw reconstructions, building outer ears, and multiple bone-conduction hearing aid implants.

After studying biology at Purdue University for a bachelor’s and master’s, Smith applied to medical school but did not get in. He believes that God showed him another direction: a biomedical sciences program at King’s College London in England.

Smith said: “I had my first opportunity to study craniofacial science and do laboratory research in craniofacial genetics and embryology. This proved to be the right fit for me, as my professors encouraged me to go on to pursue a Ph.D. This I did at the University of California, San Francisco.”

Over the years, Smith has been speaking and lecturing on his condition and similar conditions to students, colleagues, and medical professionals around the world, including the United States, Canada, the UK, Europe, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand.
He said: “The most inspiring feedback I have received from my speaking and lecturing is that sharing my life story has encouraged families of those with craniofacial differences and students, faculty, colleagues, and professionals have all said that I bring life to the subject with my own life experiences and thus have made my teaching memorable and inspiring.”

Francis Joel Smith, a truly admirable individual as are his adoptive parents, the Smith Family!
5/25/25