On the way to Texas
As I write this I am traveling on Interstate 10 just about to leave Arizona and spend the night in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I am on my way to San Angelo, Texas, for the National Reined Cow Horse Association’s World Championships. This is the year’s end show that is by invitation only and pits the best of the best against each other for the prestige of being named the best in the Nation or best in the World for one’s particular level. I have three horses going, two in the Hackamore class and one in the Bridle class. I am also attending because my stallion, Shady Lil Starlight is being awarded the Supreme Award, the highest award the association offers. This award reflects the fact that he has reached the highest level of training in the vaquero tradition.Last night we spent in Buckeye, Arizona, that is located about 30 miles west of Phoenix. We are traveling in our motorhome so we have certain requirements as to where we stay. We also have our eight-month-old chow “puppy” Ozzie with us. He started traveling with us last September when my husband presented him to me for my birthday. He’s a very good traveler and as he gets older it becomes easier for us as we no longer have to stop at every single rest area like we did when he was so much smaller. This is a good thing because it seems that many or even most rest areas in Arizona have been closed.
Tonight we will stay in Las Cruces, New Mexico mostly because we don’t want to be anywhere near El Paso. There have been way too many news reports on the crime wave there due to gang spill over. I don’t want to get mixed up in that. That will leave another long driving day for my husband tomorrow but he seems happy to do it. I am very grateful for that.
Although there has been a lot of rain here recently, just like in the valley, there are only fluffy clouds hanging by invisible strings all across the sky and a few standing puddles. Some of the rivers have had small amounts of water running in them. I am sure they will have more later on in the season. I hope you enjoy some of the rock pictures.
Actually rain is predicted for the middle of next week so we shall see. We just passed into New Mexico and have about three more hours on the road. Every time I go on one of these trips I enjoy the new sights but I also long for home. I have been home quite a bit lately and really miss it when I have to leave.
I know that I often write about how I see things in the Valley and I sometimes wonder if my perception is skewed because I didn’t move here from somewhere else but rather have been here for most of sixty years. I am not like some who resent all of the “newcomers” although I have to admit I am irritated by those who move here because they loved what they saw and then as soon as they move in they want to change it. I think that if you moved here because you liked what you saw when you visited, then please don’t try to change it into what you left behind.
I know that there are a lot of residents who are becoming increasingly angry at those new residents who have moved here with a political agenda, primarily progressive, who want to make us into the next Soylent Green community. Remember the North Hills planned community that the county was trying to push that required everybody to walk or ride a bike to work? That kind of social planning just curls my hair because it is so discriminatory against those who cannot walk or ride a bike to work!
I guess we have a bunch of those ideologues in our Planning Department. That is the only reason I can think of why such a ridiculous confiscatory heritage designation. I presume that is why we have had the unfortunate incident of a group of outsiders trying to saddle a property owner with an historical designation on their property without even their permission, much less their concurrence. This doesn’t even meet the State regulations that say in every other line that the property owner must submit their written consent before they will even consider the application. This seems much more reasonable. What is going on in Santa Barbara County is clearly an effort to selectively control people’s property and to prevent development they don’t want. This is a very backdoor way of doing it but, given the individuals involved, it doesn’t surprise me. I think the solution to this situation is to have Mr. Lansing Duncan make his home to 1888 standards (remember no running water or electricity!) and see if he enjoys that lifestyle. If he does, then perhaps the owners of other properties would consider doing the same.
I also presume that this is the reason for the shenanigans regarding the succession of the district attorney’s job. The decent and reasonable thing to do would be to leave the person the previous district attorney chose to succeed her in the seat until the soon to be election in June. I cannot predict the future but given recent behavior I will not be surprised to see another agenda driven decision that will reflect another attempt to bury the truth. I can only hope that this does not happen as there will be severe consequences for flaunting a small political agenda in the face of our Constitution that has guided our country for over 200 years more than adequately.
I am appalled at the surreptitious, behind closed doors way that our county is being transformed into a non-democratic, totalitarian, ideological place. It is shameful how public officials work together with their little army of like-minded minions to trash the values of our country for their own benefit. I am not alone in these thoughts and I would suggest that those who would change our society need to go back into the shadows where they belong. They do not speak for most of us and I am happy to expose who they are until they have moved elsewhere to do their dirty work anew. We do know where many of them came from, very often leftovers from the ’60’s radical Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). They are still trying, forty years later, to change our country. Unfortunately, for them, the watchdog part of us has discovered their agenda, in time to expose and dismantle it. Stay tuned.
Contrived confusion
I have mentioned the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) before as an organization that was dedicated to destroying animal agriculture. I also believe that their name is no accident. I believe that this sham organization deliberately fools people into giving money to them because they think their purpose is to help cats and dogs. After all, that is the message of their often graphic and disgusting ads of abused animals. I personally cannot even stand to watch or hear them. My husband turns off the TV every time one of their ads comes on.
So I found a recent 1/11/10 article in the Livestock Marketing Bulletin to be very interesting and I think you might as well. HSUS collected $86 million in ’08. They gave $450,000 to care for dogs and cats that is ½ of 1%. They spent $20 million on campaigns, legislation and litigation and $24 million on fundraising including $4 million on professional fundraisers that is 28 cents of every dollar went to raise more money. It even paid one company $4.2 million to count and process their cash that is 10 times what it paid to care for animals. Forty-one employees of HSUS made at least $100,000 in 2008. The CEO earned $250,000 in salary and benefits.
Is this the sort of organization you want to support? I wouldn’t think so. It is unfortunate that these folks think it is all right to traffic in the pain and suffering of animals in order to further their own agenda to destroy animal agriculture. I believe they were instrumental in getting the new regulations passed in California that made the production of chickens and eggs no longer possible in this state.
I also know that they have been involved with attempts to make school menus vegan and force schools to keep reporting what they are feeding our children so that they can attack whatever they disapprove of. I know that the cattle industry is in their sights as there are constant assaults on it all of it based on misinformation, ignorance or outright distortions. I will write in the future about the unintended consequences should we lose our livestock industries because of these foolish, irresponsible people. Losing hundreds of thousands of jobs and businesses is just one result.