Good News Round -Up for Week Two of February 2018

by Nomad

In an endless search of positive news, I scoured the Internet, hunting high and low. and I managed to find these four stories for all my glum Nomads. 

Super Beans for Human Beings

Let's talk beans. Specifically, super beans. 

Developed by scientists at the National Agricultural Research Organisation of Uganda, in collaboration with the Colombia-based International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the Nabe 15 bean is better than your average bean. It's a fast-maturing, high-yield variety that drought-resistant. 

California and Jeff Sessions' Big Marijuana Legalization Hang-up

by Nomad

I produced this short film about a surprising moment in California history and the man who would like to see that history reverse itself.

Last week, recreational use for cannabis became legal - at least, in some areas- for the first time since the state officially declared marijuana illegal in 1913.

It was a high point in the state's history, you might say.

Donald Trump and the KKK: Why Trump is Simply Following in the Footsteps of Ronald Reagan

by Nomad

CNN reported yesterday how Trump was attempting to "clean up" the controversy involving his refusal to disavow Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke's endorsement. Duke told reporters that the KKK had hundreds of thousands of followers online "who will vote for Donald Trump."

"Donald Trump has the potential to bring in millions of new voters who agree with our positions.Based on the analytics, I would say my support is very strong."

To this, Donald Trump was silent and later claimed he had no idea who David Duke was. The Republican establishment, now in total dread at the prospect of Trump becoming the nominee, claimed to be appalled that Trump didn't repudiate the support of Duke and other white supremacist groups.

Sounds to me that there's a little confusion here and quite a bit of hypocrisy from the GOP establishment. Seems like somebody could use a history lesson.  

What's to Clean Up?

To hear the outcry against Donald Trump's failure to reject the KKK love kisses, one would think the front runner is doing something out of the ordinary. 

Actually, Trump really ought to be commended for keeping alive the Reagan tradition of race-baiting.

Let me explain. This is actually a case of history repeating itself.

When Ronald Reagan was running for governor of California, there were a lot of political analysts who considered him an extremist. 

Part of that reputation came from a rousing speech he made on behalf of Republican Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election. Goldwater famously said:

I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!

Even though Reagan's speech was considered a fine piece or oratory, it could not save Goldwater who lost the election by one of the largest margins in history.

Reagan's detractors said that he was not a real politician at all. He was a TV and film actor. He had no experience in politics. The ones who protested the loudest against Reagan were the GOP moderates who thought Reagan would drive off the middle of the road voters and wreck havoc in the GOP.

It was during this race that candidate Reagan was confronted with a problem very similar to the one Donald Trump faced the other day. 

The Re-Greening of Suburbia: How an Old Shopping Mall May Soon be Home to World's Largest Green Roof

by Nomad

One development proposal in California would see the world's largest green roof. It will provide an example of how green thinking will change the urban and suburban landscape.

The story of the shopping mall in some ways represents the story of mid-century America. A product of the automobile loving suburban culture of the 1960s, the mall as a cultural icon, critics say, is an idea that has passed its prime.

Many large-scale malls today have become less and less economically sustainable. In some areas of the country, malls are experiencing higher vacancies, being repurposed and are even being demolished.

The question is what is going to come next? 

In California, one developer is offering a possible answer.

Why an Oil Company Plans to Sue County for $1.2 Billion After Voter-Approved Fracking Ban

by Nomad

Following a vote against fracking and other enhanced oil extraction processes, voters and local officials in one California county are learning what happens when you cross an ambitious corporation.

Local government officials in central California's San Benito County have every reason to feel bullied and bruised by recent events in the area. 

Measure J
In a November ballot, a referendum known as Measure J was put before its citizens. That initiative was a proposed ban on all "enhanced petroleum extraction such as fracking, cyclic steaming and well acidizing along with all petroleum activities in rural residential zones."

Supporters argued a so-called fracking ban was necessary to prevent possible environmental impacts. According to Measure J supporters, the toxic chemicals used in the extraction process had the potential to cause cancer and other illnesses through groundwater and watershed contamination. The impact to endangered species in a nearby national park was also cited as a cause for worry. 

The Washington-D.C.-based Center for Biological Diversity pointed out 

“These enhanced recovery methods include steam extraction, acid extraction, and hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"). Although all of these methods involve chemistry not used in traditional oil and natural gas extraction, in California none of them is regulated or tracked any differently than are the traditional methods. Statewide, there is no requirement that companies declare the chemicals used in their extraction operations, or even that they are using enhanced extraction methods. Any regulation on these activities therefore (need to be) enacted at the county level.”

Finally, Measure J supported also noted  in quake-prone California,  the possible impact of fracking  on fault-lines should be matter of grave concern. Even in areas where there is little seismic activity, where fracking has been used, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of tremors. San Benito County already has its risks. The notorious San Andreas Fault runs through the region. 

Opposing the ballot initiative was in Newport Beach- based, Citadel Exploration. The oil company, founded in 2006, was set to begin its Project Indian in the Bitterwater area near Pinnacles National Park. In 2013, the company had received approval from county supervisors, over the objections of environmental groups, for a this limited pilot project.

While still in the testing and initial production stage, the oil drilling project was expected to recover an estimated millions of barrels of heavy (11-14 gravity API) oil. Alongside the oil companies were local farmers ready to sign lucrative real estate deals. The company pointed out that strictly speaking the technique to be used was not fracking

It turned out to be a showdown between environmental groups and powerful corporations which reportedly spent $2 million in advertising to defeat the initiative. That's not surprising. Armen V. Nahabedian, President and CEO of Citadel Exploration. has talked up the project

"Having worked on this project for over seven years, I can't overstate the importance and magnitude of our discovery at Project Indian."

When the measure passed by a strong majority (57.36%) in this month, citizens might have thought that would have been the end of the matter. As of Jan 1 next year, because of the vote, all enhanced extraction practices are to be banned and existing projects would have up to three years to comply with the provisions. 
End of story? 

Not quite.

Bust: How the Republicans Lost the War on Drugs 1/5

by Nomad

Starting with President Nixon, the War on Drugs has been a series of costly mistakes. Sadly, most of the misjudgements might have been avoided if only officials had listened to the experts and to the people most affected.

Part 1. Nixon, Drugs and the Hippie Removal Scheme

Nixon and the Mandate of the Silent Majority 

To understand what went wrong with America's War on Drugs, we have to go back to the days of President Nixon and the time before Watergate. In this turbulent moment in US history, there was a fundamental difference of opinions about the causes of the upheaval in the 60s.

Taking a look at the nation in turmoil at colleges and universities, President Richard Nixon not long after taking office, said:

It's not too strong a statement to declare that this is the way civilizations begin to die... The process is altogether to familiar to those who would survey the wreckage of history. assault and counterassault, one extreme leading to the opposite extreme; the voices of reason and calm discredited.

(As it turned out, it was a oddly accurate assessment and it is even more true today than then.) 

At the time many people, especially conservatives, considered the liberal policies of the 1960s, particularly, domestic programs of the Great Society, to be a failure. The Supreme Court decisions, on abortion and civil rights, combined with liberal idealism had opened a Pandora's box. That was what a lot of middle class people across the country genuinely believed.   

The rebellious counter-culture, which included the hippies, the yippies, the anti-war protesters, the bra burners, the liberationists, the anarchists, the Communists,  was fueled not by resentment or by anger at injustice. Drugs had to be behind it all. What else could make kids from well-off backgrounds, drop out of society, throw away all of the material advantages and live like gypsies? What else could make them so wild and violent?
That view was both widespread and often propagated by the mainstream news media. The conventional wisdom said that the widespread use of illegal drugs was just another example of the general breakdown of law and order.  

Why the Growth of Temp Worker Industry is a Serious Problem for Millions of Americans

by Nomad

California legislators have finally taken steps to tackle a serious labor problem that has held low income workers back from finding long term employment. The often exploitative practice of hiring outsourced temporary staff in place of employees may now- finally- be coming under closer scrutiny.

For decades now, one closely-held secret by US companies was how often and to what degree temporary workers, or temps, could be used to circumvent federal laws regarding labor rights. For the honest business owners, a temp could be a live saver in an emergency but to the less scrupulous, a temp is a worker primed for exploitation. 

The Perfect Victims?

Temps, by law, are cheaper to employ since they are paid on the lowest legal scale (receiving wages well below the standard for any regular employee that would work in the same position). In addition, temps do not qualify for overtime wages nor do they receive health insurance. Forget accumulated vacation time or even sick days. 

So why would anybody want to be a temp? The main reason is the most obvious one. In a word: Desperation.

Temp staff agencies are always hiring and for the desperate, any job- even a temp job- is better than nothing.

It is no coincidence that temporary work is now an industry unto itself, with an estimated 2.7 million workers—one of the fastest growing sectors in the economic “recovery.” That could be, some might say, only a sign of the level of desperation and an economic recovery based on temporary staffing is an illusionary one.  The temp worker rarely earns enough to boost any economy out of its doldrums.

The Full Time Deception

Another attraction is that temp companies say that temp workers can sometimes find full-time employment from a temporary position. Work hard and you will get a permanent position. This is the pitch (but not the actual promise) of temp agencies.

As journalist Michael Grabell for ProPublica explains:

Temps have worked for the same company for as long as 11 years, never getting hired on full-time. Companies have assigned temps to the most dangerous jobs. In several states, data showed that temps are three times more likely than regular workers to suffer amputations on the job. And even some of the country’s largest companies have relied on immigrant labor brokers and fly-by-night temp agencies that have cheated workers out of their wages.

As the economy slowly improved the number of temp jobs soared at a rate 10 times faster than private-sector employment as a whole.
Meanwhile,  the figures for full-time employment limped and hobbled along. That shouldn't come as a surprise. 

Corporate reliance on temp workers hurts all workers.

Across America, temporary work has become a mainstay of the economy, leading to the proliferation of what researchers have begun to call “temp towns.” They are often dense Latino neighborhoods teeming with temp agencies. Or they are cities where it has become nearly impossible even for whites and African-Americans with vocational training to find factory and warehouse work without first being directed to a temp firm.

In the end, it boils to hard cold business sense: why should an employer pay any more than absolutely necessary unless mandated by law? I

As we have heard so often, companies are not charities. They claim no social responsibilities. Today many employers feel no obligation to the welfare of their employees. And since temps are not actual employees of the firm, then they are even less of a concern.

How One California Farm Will Provide Organic Vegetables and Hope for Veterans

by Nomad

One farm in Monterey County California offers an example of a innovative idea to help US veterans transition back into civilian life. By providing vocational agriculture training, such farms can provide fresh food for the local community.
More importantly, it offers them a safe place among like-minded to begin a long healing process.

As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq wound down, President Obama faced  a challenge that his predecessor never had to worry about: How to find work of millions of veterans returning home in an already-depressed economy. So that was no small feat and some steady progress has been made.

According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released in March of this year, the unemployment rate for veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces (at any time since September 2001) edged down to 9.0 percent in 2013.

And where there is unemployment, there is homelessness. At one point, around 2006, one in four homeless Americans was a veteran. Those numbers have been in steady decline due to an improved economy and increased funding to those on the streets. Although the situation might have improved, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said last year that the Obama Administration goals remain the same: to eliminate the problem by the end of 2015.

That won't be won't be easy.

  

While there is still so much more that needs to be done for those who risked life and limb,  that duty is much harder when partisanship seems to cripple progress in Washington.

The shameful fact is that now that the veterans are no longer so vital to the defense of the nation, many  legislators in the capitol have turned their backs.

A Veterans bill,  a sweeping $21 billion bill that would have expanded medical, educational and other benefits for veterans, was derailed in the Senate in February this year  by the Republicans. They dismissed the legislation as election year campaign and an example of unnecessary and excessive spending.  

That's why, despite the discouraging lack of significant progress, it was it was inspiring to read about one small project on the other side of the nation.

Farming the Pastures of Heaven

A pair of Marine Corps veterans in California, John Wagner and Bryan Showalter, are business partners in a venture which may offer one answer to the problem. 

Their 20-acre Semper Fresh Farm, located in Corral de Tierra in Monterey County, California, is part commercial farm and part vocational training for veterans.  

The project which opened last week, is still operating on a rather small scale. The initial market for their organic heirloom tomatoes will be at the farm, as well as local restaurants and other farmers' markets in the area. Once the farm is open to the public later this year, visitors will be able to  this year for the public to come and harvest the 100% organically-grown tomatoes. Picking off the vine is about as close to fresh as you can possibly be. 

The farm is located in Steinbeck country, and provides the setting for stories in his book  The Pastures of Heaven. 

Can't get a better advertisement than that.