Rebane's Ruminations

Voting for Sue McGuire and Doug LaMalfa

George Rebane

In next Tuesday’s primary I am voting for Sue McGuire for Nevada County’s District #1 supervisor, and State Senator Doug LaMalfa to become our new representative in Congress.

Sue McGuire has all of the qualifications to become our new supervisor.  I won’t belabor them; you can see them on her website.  She has also come to our home for an extended meeting with us and our neighbors, and we have talked with her numerous times at community meetings.  In this interval we have gotten to know her, and I endorse Sue because she will be a capable, professional, and prudent voice on the Board who is ideologically the closest to my own beliefs about governance.

But, given those necessary qualifications, perhaps the prime reason I am voting for Sue is that she will be a new face at the Rood Center, a person with no established ties or ‘accounts’ with county staff, the other electeds, and relationships with the various special interest government associations, leagues, commissions, committees, and NGOs that dot California’s public policy landscape.  Today more than ever, for me that has become the necessary add-on in choosing whom to support for public office.

TechTest2012 Survivors Breakfast

George Rebane

Last Friday (25may12) the annual ‘Survivors Breakfast’ was again held at Tofanelli’s.  The event has become a tradition to celebrate the young people who took the year’s test and those who received the top scores on the SESF sponsored merit scholarship exam.  TT2012 top three scorers (in no particular order) were Ben Martin, Parker Scanlon, and Dominic Castro-Wehr pictured below.

This year included was Joe Fenner (pictured above), the top scorer of TechTestJr2012, and his parents.  TTJr was inaugurated this year for the county’s 8th graders in response to requests from local middle schools.  Students starting 9th grade make a very serious choice to take the science-math track in high school or not.  That choice greatly determines their ability to study STEM subjects in colleges and embark on STEM careers.

After a hearty breakfast, the students each told us of their plans for next year.  The juniors, who took the test for practice, all promised to study much harder for TT2013 when they will be going for the money.  The breakfast always ends with everyone getting their coveted Survivor’s T-shirt, and then a big picture taking session.  Pictured below are the juniors (left) and seniors.

More pictures and information is available on the SESF website here.

Agenda21 on cat’s feet (updated 24may12)

George Rebane

I just returned from the Nevada County Board of Supervisors meeting at the Rood Center.  I went there to hear the report on establishing a 2005 county baseline for CO2 emissions presented by the Sierra Business Council with some mysterious connection to ICLEI.  (You can check the details on the county’s website.)  The report consisted of a bunch of pie charts showing metric tons of “CO2 equivalents” emitted by various county activities and sources.  The numbers came from plugging SBC collected county data into a computer model supplied by ICLEI.

The longer term purpose of this baseline data is to set CO2 targets, pass future regulations and ordinances, and establish monitoring and enforcement procedures to further constrain and dictate the behavior of county residents.

ICLEI stands for International Council for Environmental Initiatives.  It is the NGO charged with implementing UN’s Agenda 21 plan for constraining and controlling ALL human activity on earth as soon as possible.  ICLEI, headquartered in Germany, is the coordinating arm for the distributed infusion of ‘smart growth’, ‘sustainability’, ‘energy efficiency’, ‘climate change laws’, … at local levels throughout the world.  USA, signatory to Agenda 21, has more than 500 national chapters of which over 100 are in, where else, California.

The SBC presenters professed singular ignorance of any of this or even any depth of the work they had done.  To them ICLEI was the supplier of the computer model into which they stuck their local data, period.  Supervisor Ed Scofield called me to the mike to explain ICLEI, and then expressed his deep concerns about the encroachment of ICLEI’s infusion of Agenda 21.

Supervisor Nate Beason asked some excellent questions re the presented ‘metric tons’ and the source of the computer model used.  Supervisor Beason wanted the quoted numbers to be put into some context which would establish their significance.  The SBC people were not able to do that either.   The question still to be asked is ‘how was the computer model validated and by whom?’

Dufus Government – why we need to starve it

Government at its best is a necessary evil, and at its worst, an intolerant one. – Thomas Paine

George Rebane

The contradictory, self-defeating, and citizen oppressing behavior by government at all levels just added two more battle ribbons of stupidity to their banners.

The first is the latest outrage by the feds who deem marijuana consumption illegal across the country in contravention to 17 states which have pronounced it legal.  California is one of the 17, and Nevada County is currently in a white heat debate over its recently passed ordinance prescribing the cultivation of marijuana.

The ordinance is quite draconian, with sufficient measures of all hues in it that 99.44% of the county’s growers can be busted at any time at the discretion of local authorities.  And, of course, they can be arrested and indicted by federal authorities regardless of what California and our county permits.  Our local supes assure us to not worry about the ordinance; that unless you’re really really bad, no one will enforce it.  No such guarantees can be given about the feds.

Our congressman Tom McClintock joined with two other House members to introduce a bill that would remove funding for federal marijuana raids.  The bill failed miserably (262-163) with most Dems in favor, and only one in eight Repubs willing to back states’ rights (H/T to reader, more here).  Go figger, but don’t take too long, the problem is not that hard.  As I have long noted, the two cohorts in our society that would have the most to lose if marijuana progressed toward legalization are the drug traffickers and the drug enforcement authorities.  The trade is a cash cow for both, and neither wants the cops and crooks game to go unfunded and, God forbid, stop.  (History buffs will recall that for the same reasons the repeal of prohibition was equally opposed by the police and organized crime.)

Here in California our Governor Moonbeam made the easily predicted announcement today that none of the state’s past tax/fee increases, regulatory additions, green industries, …, none have produced the projected revenues needed to balance California’s so-called budget.  In fact, revenues have plunged enough to increase the recently announced $9B deficit to its current level of $16B.  Enough people have bailed and continue to banzai out of here to make a bad situation worse.

But the pullet pucky politicians in Sacramento are not done.  They have put their cross hairs on those wealth producers still here, and have decided that another round of tax increases is required to finally fix things.  Not having the character or courage to pass such an increase themselves, they have again thrown the measure into the referendum mill, hoping that we would be dumb enough to pass the increase this November.  One of the big lies, reported here before, is that some of the money will go to maintaining classroom services for our kids’ education.  Actually, the new tax money will go to shore up the egregious under funding of teachers’ union pension funds.  The kids will see no benefit.

Anybody willing to do a little wager on the amount of revenue shortfall the new tax increase will create if it passes?

So, dear reader, here is more conclusive proof that the fix-all remedy for government is simply to starve the beast while revising its legal code, abolishing rogue agencies, rewriting its tax code in toto, and returning rights to the states as exquisitely prescribed by our Founders.

Sacramento vs California (updated 28apr12)

George Rebane

[This is the transcript of my regular KVMR commentary which was broadcast on 27 April 2012.  I have annotated it with notes and links as appropriate.]

One of the nation’s premier demographers Democrat Joel Kotkin was recently interviewed by the WSJ on his study of ‘The Great California Exodus’, that has been vehemently denied by the state’s progressive pundits and local leftists.  Kotkin reviewed the grand history of the golden state and its downward spiral that is now entering its third decade.  This demographer has been busy for a number of years studying and publishing on our economic and demographic decline.  (for more google ‘joel kotkin, california exodus’)

Among the more recent developments is that the great exodus which started with corporations – no one wants to expand in California – grew to include the well-to-do, and now includes middle class workers who are priced out its real estate markets, and taxed out of their income and ability to save.  Kotkin points out that California ranks at or near the bottom on every important comparison of the states ranging from ‘ease of doing business’ through cost of living to individual liberties.   Along with states like Illinois and New Jersey, we have become the poster child of how not to govern a state.

Where California used to invite the founding of innovative companies such as those which gave us Silicon Valley, today the main product of California, according to Kotkin, is red tape.  He goes on to explain that “part of California's dysfunction … stems from state and local government restrictions on development.”

That “local government” part hits home here in Nevada County.  Our county’s population has been stagnant for the last decade.  Both businesses and developers have been taking a pass on the county for some years now claiming that it is just too hard to get anything done in these foothills.  The leftwing activists, of course, celebrate this as an achievement in their eternal quest for a sustainable stasis.  And our local municipal and county governments have long had a bi-partisan effort to support these prohibitions and delays.  The cynical part of all this is the expressed denial by our electeds as they give lip service to promote yet another business development workshop or public meeting.

TechTest welcomes TechTestJr

George Rebane

TechTest2012, the sixth edition of SESF’s annual merit scholarship exam, was held on 14 April 2012 in the Nevada Union High School’s science lecture hall.  As has become tradition, the exam’s solution key has been posted on the SESF website (here), and the upcoming annual ‘Survivor’s Breakfast’, with the obligatory ‘Where the Elite Compete’ T-shirts, honoring test takers and winners is scheduled for May.  The test is given to high school seniors who are headed for STEM (q.v.) careers as recommended by their science and math teachers.

But the big news this year is SESF’s launch of TechTestJr (aka ‘son of TechTest’).  TTjr was inaugurated at the request of some Nevada County middle school educators who observed that it was in the 8th grade that students make the decision to pursue a high school curriculum that qualifies them for undertaking STEM college majors.  It is rare for students, who avoid the difficult science and math classes in high school, to then change their minds and enter a make-up program to enable them to pursue STEM majors.  TTjr is designed to be another timely motivator during that critical decision juncture (more here).

TTjr2012 was given last week over a three day period in several Nevada County middle schools and the results are available here.  A press release from the Sierra Economics and Science Foundation on the test reads –

SESF organized and sponsored a successful inaugural TechTestJr2012 exam for Nevada County 8th graders.  Six Nevada County schools participated in the 1st annual TechTestJr fashioned after SESF's very successful Nevada County high school merit based scholarship exam called TechTest.   93 Nevada County students, primarily 8th graders, took the TechTestJr exam. 

The 1 hour exam covered a wide range of math and science related questions.  

The top score was earned by a student of Robert Sharp's at 7 Hills School who scored a whopping 97% on the exam.  4 of the top 5 scores were earned by 7 Hills students.  Magnolia Intermediate School also had a very strong showing with one of the 4 runner-ups coming from Magnolia.  The 4 runner-ups each scored 93% on the exam. 

The top scoring student from each of the 6 school's will be recognized for their achievement.  Grass Valley Charter School's (top score of 90%), Mt. St. Mary's Academy (top score of 87%), Clear Creek (top score of 83%) and Union Hill (top score of 76%) students also participated in the very difficult merit based exam. 

The exam was proctored the week of April 16th in Nevada County.  SESF expects to add additional Nevada County schools to next year's list of participants.  If your school is interested please email mcdanielwealthman@sbcglobal.net. 

The goal of the TechTest series is to encourage continued education (and future vocations) in the technical fields of math and science.

On the sorry road to Stockton (updated 16apr12)

George Rebane

[This is the submitted form of my April column that appeared in the online (with figure omitted) and printed versions of the 14apr12 Union.]

By now most of us have heard of Stockton, the next California city teetering on the edge of bankruptcy as a result of a fiscal history that “has eerie similarities to a Ponzi scheme” according to its city manager Bob Deis.  The story is common to thousands of cities and counties across the land, and the core of each is years of lavish wage and pension benefits promised and delivered to the public sector employees in all the afflicted jurisdictions.

So now Stockton has already “suspended some payments to bondholders and is negotiating with creditors and unions”.  But Stockton, unlike many municipalities still drinking their koolaid, is open about its shortcomings.  A recent (1apr12) WSJ article reports that “Stockton admitted that its biggest problem has been a lack of transparency resulting in a host of ‘hidden costs’ in labor agreements for ‘obligations that are often difficult for citizens to identify or understand.’ ”

On the national scale the problem has been most recently researched and reported in the Cato Institute’s ‘State and Local Pension Plans’ by Jagadeesh Gokhale.  There we find that the financial health of most plans nosedived during the 2001 to 2009 interval.  What kept the apparent ponzi schemes going was that plan managers were allowed by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) to discount calculation of future plan liabilities at literally any interest rates which barely allowed them to keep a straight face.

California’s ponzi is still being foisted on the basis of the giant California Public Employees Retirement System projecting payouts and liabilities on the basis of their portfolio earning a now reduced (yes, indeed) rate of 7.5% annually, and that while Governor Moonbeam is going to raise taxes again to rebuild the state’s economy.  You can’t make this stuff up.

The Candyass Republicans (9mar12 update)

George Rebane

The subject of this post is the candyass response of Republican politicians to the Limbaugh/Fluke imbroglio.

On ‘The Sad Tale of Sandra Fluke’ and extensive comment stream continues to (finally) air the destructive twists and turns of Obamacare that once more revealed the Left’s intentions on the breadth of entitlements subsidizing personal recreation, and their intentions on the constraint of conservative speech.  The former is part of their long promoted socialism for America, but the latter is a classic illustration and application of their asymmetrical logic on discourse in the public square.

The asymmetry between what progressive pundits can say and how it is received in the lamestream (and their sheeple audiences), and what a conservative can say is a matter of record.  It is a long and detailed historical litany that I will not repeat, but will point you toward so you know what I’m talking about.  Red State’s Lori Ziganto writes ‘Limbaugh, Fluke, 'War on Women’ and the Travesty of Cravenly Caving to Lies of the Left’, Erick Erickson writes 'Silencing the Right', and Reason’s Nick Gillespie examines when ‘It's Like Totally Different When a Liberal Blowhard Guy Calls a Conservative Woman a Twat!’.  There are more similar recountings, but with these you’ll get the idea.

The national response rolling over the countryside has been well-managed by the Left, reaching from the White House down to the loud local lefties in every community, with ours probably serving as the posterchild.  This you can confirm in ‘The Sad Tale …’ comment stream where some of our progressive luminaries in high dudgeon have posted monuments to their one-sided disgust at Limbaugh’s original remarks and my launch of a discussion of this new area of outrageous public entitlement.  These will stand as archeological monuments to 21st century leftwing mores and mentality.

But my gripe here is with the Republican response to the howling heard over the land today.  The proper reply from prominent Republicans to Obama on down on this matter is, ‘Suck it up, this is what free speech sounds like.  Limbaugh has plowed no new ground with his remarks, but followed in your own well laid and deep furrows.  You are piling this crap into a high mountain only to hide your bankrupt social and economic policies during the election year.’

But I haven’t heard any Republican of national note make such a statement.  Instead they continue to duck the topic or make candyass clucking sounds about Limbaugh’s “imprudence” while the Democrats’ machine rolls out their mischevious message over middling minds everywhere.

Locally, you can get a snootfull by tuning in to KNCO this morning.

[9mar12 update]  A correspondent sent this little vignette from O'Reilly that summarizes a lot of the background to Ms Flukes purposeful activism.

Major cash importers finally discovered (updated 6mar12)

George Rebane

Memo to File: The current Economic Resource Council and its hired analyst Gene Warren have discovered that “retirees could be ticket to better local economy” as reported in the 5mar12 Union (couldn't find online version).  This little piece of information should be old hat to anyone who has been paying attention for the last seven years or so.  At SESF (Sierra Economic and Science Foundation) we took a look at the county’s economic future, and it was easy money to discover that the three viable legs of our economy in the out years would be retirees, tourism, and information technology industry (NOT manufacturing).

We started telling everyone in earshot from the BoS down to the local service clubs about this conclusion.  To no avail.  People kept holding economic development workshops every couple of years in which the forest was invisible because of all the pie charts and green propaganda that got in the way.  To no one’s surprise, these gatherings led to nothing.

In the meanwhile I and my colleagues were trying to convince the local jurisdictions to start promoting Nevada County as the ‘Santa Barbara or Scottsdale of the Sierra’ that would welcome well-to-do retirees as the most attractive, low impact, cash importers to our community.  What they needed – restaurants, entertainment, cultural events, peace and quiet, social life, low crime, medical care, natural beauty, … - was already here.  What we didn’t have was a policy that would readily permit the development of high-end condo communities with all the amenities, optional in-home assistance, and controlled access.  With some pluck, the retireds today come here and buy/build on acreage.  But as they age, their choices to stay in Nevada County are limited to modicum elder care facilities, or a move to more comfortable denser housing in a strange community elsewhere.  Few seemed to understand this.

Now with a hired gun from the outside talking to ERC, an agency that is still trying to get its bearings and convince members to contribute enough to pay for a phone, desk, and file cabinet, we may have found a believable source.  I sure as hell hope we didn’t pay him more than SESF got for dispensing the same wisdom.  But at least Gene Warren was able to get Jeff Ackerman’s front-page attention which may even percolate up to the city councils and Supes.

Now I know how the Indians felt when Columbus told them that it was he who had discovered America.

[6mar12 update]  Speaking of tourism as a major county cash cow, our own Paul Emery will be on NPR CapRadio's Insight this morning at 10am to talk about how Nevada County has become "an arts powerhouse" in the region.  Readers will recall that Paul is a noted producer of legitimate theater, music concerts, and also performs on stage now and then.  Paul is also KVMR's News Director, RR reader/discussant, friend, and a sharp critic of anything that ripples off my keyboard (he actually fills in from where mom left off).  Give Paul a listen, he's not that bad ;-)

Nevada County Scattershots – 3 March 2012

George Rebane


Friend Bob Crabb’s 3mar12 Union cartoon above captures well the spirit and goals of Agenda21 (q.v.), and the brave new world we are being herded to pell-mell.  (BTW, Bob now has his own blog which you can visit through the ‘Our Links’ panel on the right.)

And while I’m in the mood, in today’s Union there is a letter to the editor from a Conni Parker of Penn Valley, a certified binary pea brain.  She congratulates fellow intellectual Nancy Eubanks in a former piece “for outlining the many government programs that work”, and puts all people into two boxes when it comes to preference in governance – those who think more government is better, and anarchists.  If you happen to prefer a more limited government, then the Parker and Eubanks filters immediately assign you to the anarchist box, and ask how you’d like to drive on unpaved streets, and do without police protection – “if you don’t like government, try not having one.”  Oh well …

What I really wanted to comment on is the excellent article – ‘$120 million net pension and benefit liabilities can’t be ignored’ – by CPA Dai Meagher in today’s paper.  A couple of weeks ago at a Board of Supes meeting, Dai and I expressed concern about the real level of the county’s unfunded liabilities, which was already disturbing back in 2007, and 2009 when Mike McDaniel brought this up to the Supervisors.

(Unfunded liabilities are now a recognized scourge that threatens all levels of government in the nation, the result of profligate entitlement and public service pensions spending.  Only the diehard and fundamentally transformed progressives deny this conclusion that is even acknowledged in socialist Europe.)

It was again pointed out to us that the county’s fisc has been prudently managed, and implied that any concern people have about the county having an unfunded liability problem is a “rural myth” propounded by ignorance of the true state of affairs.  Such rumors are totally unfounded.

Well, as Dai makes clear, it turns out that they are not rumors, and the concern is indeed founded and in spades.  What specifically irks me is the hubris with which both the electeds and senior staff discuss such matters with us peons.  When I asked county CFO Joe Christoffel about the seemingly sanguine attitude with which the county was dealing with what looked like a financial tsunami headed toward us, his reply was that the county was making the payments required by CalPERS, and since that agency (projecting 7.75% annual portfolio growth) has not raised any red flags, therefore there is nothing to worry about.

McDaniel and I were co-authors of the 2007 SESF unfunded liabilities report, and I have been writing about my concern in these matters for the last five years.  At this time, no one is accusing the current electeds of having run up the county’s obligations to what may actually be over $250M when CalPERS’ 7.75% urban myth is exploded in the new reporting standards that kick in next year as required by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB).  My heartburn is that I don’t see 1) any clear acknowledgement of the problem, and therefore 2) no plan for dealing with it.


As a minimum, I want to see acknowledgement of the problem in the clear format shown above (first  presented in my 26feb12 post).  With that in hand, county taxpayers can make up their own minds on what questions to ask our county government, or just continue keeping their heads where the sun don’t shine.