A Story and A Memory

Some time ago, a friend told me a story that a friend of his father’s had told him. His father’s friend spent WW2 escorting POW’s from New York to their camps. As their train passed the extensive factories of New York and New Jersey, the German prisoner said to his American captor: “I know you are a patriotic American and I don’t want to be insulting, but if you have seen the industries of the Ruhr Valley, you will know that Germany will win the war.”

The American didn’t say anything, as the train’s probable journey took them through the chemical plants along the Delaware River and then Philadelphia. Numerous steel and coal towns of Pennsylvania followed before the blast furnaces of Pittsburgh. From there, they probably traveled through Youngstown, Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio. Both the American and his prisoner kept their gaze out the window at what was once America. South Bend and the mills of Gary, Indiana preceded South Chicago. Then the farm implement factories of Central Illinois, with St. Louis and Kansas City following. As they neared their destination of Fort Leavenworth, the German turned to the American and said: “I owe you an apology. America will win the war.”

What would this story be like if it happened today? We have de-industrialized. Catherine Austin Fitts, as both a former Washington and Wall Street insider, documents this story on YouTube and on her website. A few years ago as a planner in Sacramento, I was on a panel dispensing federal design grants. In what they saw as a good thing, the City of West Sacramento applied for a de-industrialization grant to tear down warehouses and grain elevators for condos and cafes. In the second quarter of 2014 our economy grew 4%, but 1.7% of that growth, or 43% of those dollars spent, were for imported goods.

But many people consider me an alarmist, or even a conspiracy theorist. They keep assuring me that we can have a sound economy and a secure nation based on ecotourism and the like. Better get in line for those jobs in the wild and scenic white-water rafting industry now.

Copyright 2014, Mark L. Bennett

Did Lynn Morgan abuse her position?

Since Lynn Morgan’s political track record is based upon her four years as chair of Upcountry Council, it’s important to continue to examine that record. One of the issues before the council during that time was support for a Community Block Development (CBD) grant to improve Upcounty fire hydrants. These hydrants either do not work and/or drain nearby residences, causing inconvenience and costly repairs.

Also, they often have non-standard and incompatible pipe or hose attachment sizes. Since fire safety is essential most Upcountry residents want this situation corrected. However, there is a contingent in Amador County that believes that any improvement, even if remedial, instigates the evils of growth. Lynn Morgan belongs to that contingent.

Following a discussion of the grant process, Lynn Morgan sent out an email stating that no consensus had been reached at Upcountry Council. Apparently, this was to serve her radical environmental political agenda since the Upcountry Council had not yet voted on the fire hydrant grant yet. At a following meeting the council voted their support for the project and issued a letter of support. Without community support, these grants are hard to get. When asked about her erroneous emails, Lynn Morgan said that she had erased all of them. I can’t help but think of Lois Lerner testifying before Congress about her missing emails of political persecution. In the same vein, Lynn Morgan’s abandoned annual reports remind me of Hillary Clinton’s “What does it matter now?” statement about the dead Americans in Bengasi.

Her misuse of the Upcountry Council email list may also have served to alert others of the “no improvement that could induce growth” crowd about this impending decision. Apparently, her UCC email list went beyond those signing in at meetings to include those out of the county which many UCC members find wrong and those out of the UCC area which some members find wrong. So it appears that Lynn Morgan used or misused the UCC email list for her own political purpose and for those sharing her political bent.

Did Lynn Morgan file required Upcountry Council reports?

Lynn Morgan established herself politically as chairperson of the Upcountry Council during the four years before this year. Since the council is an official advisory to the Board of Supervisors, its bylaws require an annual report to the BOS. Apparently, Lynn Morgan did not file these reports. If she had they would be a matter of public record in the BOS meeting minutes.

At this past Tuesday’s BOS meeting, as an aside during the presentation of another required report, Supervisor Brian Oneto asked if prior years’ reports for the Upcountry Council had been filed. No one present had an answer. However, Brian Oneto noticed Sherry Curtis, the present chair and former vice chair of Upcounty Council, in the audience and asked her. Sherry Curtis said to ask Lynn Morgan if she had fulfilled this obligation or not.

Lynn Morgan arrived at the BOS after this discussion ended, but I assume that she became aware of it. I have not seen an answer from her anywhere, and combed her website for at least a plausible explanation or an excuse. None was found except for this statement: “Public service as an elected official is an honor, not a right-and it should be earned in an honorable way.”

So I am publicly asking Lynn Morgan to state why she didn’t file these required reports. This venue provides an accessible response platform. And if she didn’t file them, and has no reasonable excuse, what does this error of responsibility foretell about her possible tenure as a county supervisor?

Updates: Elizabeth Warren plus Titanium

A little over a year ago I posted Guilty of Fraud about Elizabeth Warren and her brainchild, the then new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). I stated: “Perhaps an agency with illegitimate powers, run by a fraudulently appointed director and designed by a fraudulent person is best suited to root out fraud from consumer financial products? Perhaps I don’t understand the wisdom by which Washington governs today?”

Despite its now brief tenure as a going concern, the CFPB is under investigation by the Government Accountability Office and the House of Representatives Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee where 32 CFPB employees have testified. Employees also filed 115 official grievances in 2013 alone with their bargaining unit, the National Treasury Employees Union. Described as a toxic workplace, the CFPB is rift with intimidation, retaliation, favoritism and cronyism. Black employees are segregated into a low level data entry unit known as the plantation. They have no promotional path from this unit, despite their often outstanding credentials.

Some unaware people might find it ironic that the Democrats during the House Subcommittee hearings accused the Republicans investigating racism of racism. But it is not surprising since the CFPB partly finances itself by creating racism where none exists. Foregoing evidence, they use “disparate-impact theory” to accuse banks of racism and blackmail them with threats of litigation and bad publicity for profitable out of court settlements. Those that thrive from racism must keep it alive. As a consequence those at the CFPB they have internalized (or reinternalized?) those sick attitudes. Apparently they are too arrogant to realize that the spiritual poison of prejudice is infectious.

This past June in Wild & Scenic at Pardee and Environmental Observations I posted: “The SR-71 Blackbird spy plane replaced the ill fated U-2 and served us from 1964 to 1998. It was 92% titanium. We had to buy this titanium from the Soviet Union through various foreign intermediaries. And while global demand for titanium grew by 60% from 2009 until leveling off in 2013, DuPont granted their titanium deposits near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, totaling 16,000 acres, to The Conservation Fund. I call this treason.”

Also this past June, an F-35 Lightning II engine caught fire. Pratt & Whitney immediately suspended production and considered the likely culprit to be suspect titanium in a key component. This component has already been installed on about 150 aircraft. These engines are anticipated to cost us taxpayers a mere $68.4 billion over the course of the entire F-35 project, a joint strike fighter for the Air Force, Navy and Marines.

Our defense and aerospace industries are dependent upon America importing 79% of our titanium needs. Most of this comes from Russia and often through third party enterprises. One of these was recently received a Federal indictment and is best described as a billionaire Ukrainian titanium gangster. Not surprisingly, Crimea and other places being contested between the Ukraine and Russia are titanium rich. But it’s easy for Washington to turn the other cheek as the body count rises, since we now import our spy satellite rocket launchers from Russia, along with many key minerals. Boeing’s need just for titanium alone has resulted in an ongoing investment totally $18 billion in Russia. At times my mind fogs over trying to remember who won the Cold War. I sarcastically hope that the Conservation Fund bird watching guides, as they hike over our domestic titanium resources, feel secure and also sympathetic to their unemployed neighbors.

Following that 1778 winter of sacrifice at Valley Forge, Alexander Hamilton observed that we have no blankets because they are made in England, and that we have no gunpowder because it, too, is made in England. He concluded that political independence is a weak position without economic independence.

We appear to have gone full circle, all 360 degrees, to where we started. We import almost everything.

We finance it through debt held by hostile nations. We pay more for milk because much of ours goes to China.

Copyright 2014, Mark L. Bennett