Thursday, September 08, 2005

Two Questions, Three Web Sites, One Can(n)on

Where is the post-hurricane "leadership" of George W. Bush? asks Mickey P. Rowe.
Another question from David Ciaffardini: has Dick Cheney gone AWOL?
Leggs Ortiz logs in recommending three web sites she reviews.
Ann Calhoun spotlights the Los Osos CSD and legal liabilities of airing ads less than 30 days before an election.

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Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Thoughts For This Labor Day Week


Ron Fink asks: should New Orleans be rebuilt?
David Ciaffardini outlines the hurricane test of our compassion.

Newsstand Greg pays respect to Labor Day's "salt of the earth."
Dr. Don explains the "symbiotic" tax code.

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Sunday, September 04, 2005

Talk About The Weather
Talk About The Government

Lompoc Mary asks what's the worst kind of weapon in existence?
Guest bloggette Reenee wants a "today appointment" with her doctor.
Ron Fink shows how the weather can be politicized in a blame game.
Bill Benica's solution to lawless New Orleans: "shoot the loot!"
Doc Regan knows disaster news means we are prepared here, right?
Ann Calhoun finds a new wrinkle in the Los Osos sewer saga.
Margo Viers lives in a building where death knocks three times.
Leggs Ortiz "personal" hurricane tells what she wants from "them."

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Saturday, September 03, 2005

What Is The ABC Plan?

More than one spectator has wondered just what is this "ABC Plan" that Joey Racano promotes? In fact, I emailed him the same question and he sent me this link to the complete document.

Now it's up to the people to look at it and see if it's an agreeable place to start reconsidering the Los Osos sewer/park fiasco. --editor, CCNM

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Friday, September 02, 2005

Katrina Reaches The Central Coast

The damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina is on our minds.

Photo by UW Madison, Wisconsin
Two views on what it means, from Ron Fink and David Ciaffardini.
A little coffee for the soul from Newsstand Greg and a quick visit to the newest "no spin zone," this time in Los Osos where Ann Calhoun tells it like it is.

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Death Comes Knocking

Death knocked two doors down a couple of weeks ago.
Death knocked one door down today.

The people who died were just people, not famous, not well known by very many people, but the people who knew them well loved them with all the love they had.

It does not matter that both of the people who died had been sick and there was warning that the end might come at any time. Death came as a shock. To those that died and the ones they left behind.

I worry about the ones left.

One of the women does not drive and has a bad back making walking difficult, food shopping has become an issue and cleaning is impossible. Her son lives many states away. He and his wife offered to move her but she does not want to impose. She has no one here, she says.

My other neighbor is still recovering from having her best friend Bear Bear, her little dog of 14 years, snatched and killed by a big dog. She tried to save her friend but the big dog was too big, too strong, and too intent on the kill and she was too frail. Her son's death may be too much for her.

Grief is present in the neighborhood this week and we still have one to go since it always knocks three times.

It just knocked again. --Margo Viers

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Thursday, September 01, 2005

Gambling For Dollars

Describing sound is rather like catching smoke. You can hear it in your head but the words elude you. The casino was like that--smoky and filled with sound.

Electronica gone amuck, with the people trying to catch it.

Shoulder to shoulder people, smoke wafting everywhere inside a building in California no less! Amazing. Up the escalator there is a woman smoking. I pause to see how security will handle it. And they just walked by. I knew I was in a different world.

Smoke was not the only item filling the air. Soun-- lots of sound. A cacaphony of sound. Whirs, beeps and pings but few human voices.

I pick a machine and promptly realize that once again in the path of life I don't know what to do, it has been too long since the last visit to a casino. It's time to figure it out.

Five buttons on the top row, 5 buttons on the bottom row. Pick and choose. Ok. But the machine won't take my bill. I take that as a sign and move on.

Second choice was not a good choice. Four spins, good-bye five.

Next machine is a 7-spinner and a good-bye five. Movin' on now. What's the reverse of ka-ching? ka-chung?

Hey, that Bandida looks like a good machine, another five in the slot and spin it down to the last 1 credit. But... there is a help button. Now that's my kind of button. Read the instructions. Play the last spin and up come 15 free games but I definitely don't know how to cash in.

My neighbor gestures to just let it run. I start to touch a button and he gestures again. I leave it alone. The machine spins up a 36 dollar win. I turn to say thank you to my neighbor and realize that once again, sign language has worked in place of words since he did not have the ability to verbalize.

Good bye Bandida. Goodbye casino. Goodbye gambling. --Margo Viers

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