Sunday, May 20th, 2012
government union pays $65 K a year compared to $15 K for private sector Social Security
The average public sector retiree gets $65 K a year compared to the average private sector social security benefit of $15 K. It’s an accurate statement to say that taxpayers are enslaved to the public sector unions and why collective bargaining by government employees must be limited. See article that appeared on the web site.
Government Employees – The True “1%”
By Wayne Allen Root, on March 6th, 2012
Editor’s Note: The claims made in this commentary by Wayne Allen Root are incendiary. But they are true. We are on track in the United States to pay more money to 20 million public sector retirees – at an average pension of $65,000 we will pay these retirees $1.3 trillion per year, then we will be paying in social security to 80 million private sector retirees – at an average social security benefit of $15,000 per year that will cost less, about $1.2 trillion per year. Providing a level of retirement security to government workers that only the wealthiest 1% can enjoy in the private sector is not “protecting the middle class,” it is economic enslavement by government unions over the taxpayer. This article originally appeared on FoxNews.com and is republished with permission by the author.
How did America become broke and insolvent? How did we build up an unimaginable $115 trillion in debt and unfunded liabilities? How did we allow the American Dream to become a nightmare? (more…)
Tags: CA, collective bargaining, freedom, public sector employees, unions
Posted in Economy, Freedom, Government, Law, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, May 10th, 2012
![HOUSE UNDERWATER Firenze Sage: Free money to the undeserving [100 K principal reductions for CA homes]](http://freedomok.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/HOUSE-UNDERWATER.jpg "HOUSE-UNDERWATER")
free money to the undeserving
In a big change, the state-run Keep Your Home California program will use federal money to reduce an eligible homeowner’s mortgage balance by up to $100,000 without requiring a matching reduction by the bank servicing the loan.
Many more underwater California homeowners will get principal reductions when the change takes effect in early June, but there’s a catch: The reduction is structured as a forgivable loan. If they sell their house within five years, any profit will go toward repaying the principal reduction. After five years, there is no repayment requirement. Under current rules, the loan is forgiven after three years.
Loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are potentially eligible for principal reduction under this program.
The money is coming from a $2 billion grant the state was awarded in 2010 from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Hardest Hit Fund. The grant provides four types of assistance to low- and moderate-income homeowners who can document a financial hardship.
To qualify under the new rules, homeowners must use the home as their primary residence, owe more than it’s worth, fall below the income limit for their county, demonstrate a financial hardship and owe no more than $729,750 on a first mortgage originated on or before Jan. 1, 2010. (The previous cutoff date was Jan. 1, 2009.)
In San Francisco the household income limit is $121,900. For other counties see keepyourhomecalifornia.org/files/income.pdf.
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This is simply outrageous. If in San Francisco you make $121,901, you have the privilege and honor to pay taxes so the federal government can turn money over to the state government(forget all the carrying charges here and there) to give your neighbor who overextended himself or lied on his loan application a gift of $100,000. This is fair?
JAJ48@aol.com http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/109312
Tags: CA, federal taxes, houses under water, keep your home, reduce principal, undeserving
Posted in Government, Law, Politics | No Comments »
Sunday, April 29th, 2012
Aptos, CA ire at Safeway expansion in Rancho del Mar which wipes out many small businesses
Any CEO such as Safeway’s who is paid $11 million must be worth that much to the company probably knows who to talk to and which campaigns to contribute to concerning the upcoming election for 2nd District.
So, will Safeway readily get the necessary Santa Cruz County governmental approvals to drastically alter the Rancho del Mar shopping center?
The next Santa Cruz County supervisor for 2nd district — which includes Aptos & enviorns — will be …?
Why not ask Safeway’s representative to attend the meeting to introduce possible 2nd District Supervisors May 7 at the Rio Sands Motel? And of course invite all the small businesses which will be eliminated per Safeway’s plans. Great opportunity for all “stake holders” to stake out their positions.
Maybe someone can get KSCO 1080 to put it on the radio live so those who cannot attend could get a few questions in as well? written by drcameronjackson@gmail.com
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Candidate opinions on Safeway sought
An open letter to the five candidates vying in June for 2nd District supervisor: Aptos’ own 99 percent need to know where each of you stands regarding 1 percent Safeway’s planned destruction of over half of the locally owned businesses of Rancho del Mar Shopping Center in Aptos. Details, please. No more generic statements as in the Voter’s Information Pamphlet nor your various “town meetings.” We are looking forward to reading your responses, Daniel Beckett, Doug Deitch, Zach Friend, Rich McInnis and Antonio Rivas.
Letter to Santa Cruz Sentinel, April 29, 2012 written by C. A. Dyer, Aptos
Tags: ACE hardware, Aptos CA, CA, expansion, Le Chef, Rancho del Mar shopping center, Safeway
Posted in Anti-Safeway Expansion, Government, Law, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 5th, 2012
![GROCERY STORE 300x146 Aptos Psychologist: Bigger is not better [Safeway to double in size in Aptos, CA]](http://freedomok.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/GROCERY-STORE-300x146.jpg "GROCERY-STORE")
Safeway in Aptos, CA plans to double in size
![GROCERY222 Aptos Psychologist: Bigger is not better [Safeway to double in size in Aptos, CA]](http://freedomok.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/GROCERY222.jpg "GROCERY222")
why Safeway to double?
Why? Bigger is not better for the existing Aptos, CA community.
Safeway recently bought the entire Rancho del Mar shopping center.
There’s plenty of parking now and no need for a double decker parking garage. The Rancho del Mar center has the only movie theater and the only ACE hardware store between Watsonville [9 miles south] and 41st Avenue in Capitola [3 miles north] Both the theater and ACE hardware will be eliminated if Safeway expands as planned. As local Aptos users know, ACE is the place for excellent services from the time you enter the door.
It’s likely that many small businesses [a movie theater, a jewelery store, a pharmacy, several restaurants, Ace hardware] will be eliminated if and when Safeway expands from 30,000 to 60,000 square feet.
Susan Houghton is a contact person for Safeway. Per Houghton, it will take about 2 years to get permits and 2 years to build. Several letters to the editor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel express concern about the pending changes.
Where and how to speak up: Aptos, CA has a supervisor on the County of Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors. And there’s of course the Planning Department. Is there a disgruntled citizens department? You can subscribe to the RSS feed to get updates to this post.
written by DrCameronJackson@gmail.com
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Tags: ACE hardware, Aptos CA, big box stores, Board of Supervisors, CA, grocery stores, movie theater, Planning Department, Rancho del Mar shopping center, Safeway, Santa Cruz County, small businesses
Posted in Aptos CA, Economy, Food, Freedom, Government, Law | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, February 29th, 2012
six months
Research shows that the critical time to stimulate the auditory and brain pathways is during the first six (6) months of your child’s life. So pay particular attention during your child’s first six months that he or she continues to hear normally.
The good news is that children with all degrees of hearing loss — who receive appropriate interventions prior to 6 months of age– can obtain speech and language skills comparable to their normal hearing peers when age 3 years.
What parents can do:
Check and re-check that your baby’s hearing remains normal. Visit your pediatrician for screenings as your doctor recommends. Research recommends hearing screening every 2 months until age one year — and every three months until age two. (more…)
Tags: 0-3 interventions, CA, child assessments, early start, Early Start services, Gold standard, hearing, hearing loss, new borns, OAE, otoacoustics emissions, parents, pure tone aduiometer, Santa Cruz County, screening, services, what to do
Posted in Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Develop Delays, Education, Government, Health | No Comments »
Saturday, February 25th, 2012
![CLOSET22 Firenze Sage: Get out of the closet now! [CA judges must]](http://freedomok.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CLOSET22.jpg "CLOSET22")
CA judges must
In order to make sure gays and lesbians are adequately represented on the judicial bench, the state of California is requiring all judges and justices to reveal their sexual orientation.
The announcement was made in an internal memo sent to all California judges and justices.
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So in the name of “fairness” we invade people’s privacy. Where does this stop. ![CLOSET1 Firenze Sage: Get out of the closet now! [CA judges must]](http://freedomok.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CLOSET1.bmp "CLOSET")
jaj48@aol.com
Tags: CA, closet, come out of closet, homosexuality, judges, LGBTQ, reveal, sexuality
Posted in Freedom, Government, Law | No Comments »
Sunday, February 19th, 2012
![FOOD CART Firenze Sage: The roach coach disabled ... [CA Monnings mobile food vending legislation]](http://freedomok.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/FOOD-CART.jpg "FOOD-CART")
food cart
The bill prohibits food and beverage vending within 1,500 feet of elementary and secondary school campuses from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on any days schools are in session. It also requires local health agencies to notify mobile food vendors of this restriction.
“The mobile vending of unhealthful snacks like ice cream, chips and sugar-sweetened beverages near school campuses undermines efforts to provide students with the nutrition they need,” Monning said. “At a time when childhood obesity is at epidemic levels, we must ensure that our school environments foster student wellness.”
According to Monning, mobile vending near school campuses creates incentive for students to leave school grounds, which increases their exposure to off-campus hazards such as heavily trafficked streets.
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This is bogus on many grounds. Kids leave school at lunchtime anyway. The roach coach is at the curb which is closer than the store down the street. The union workers at the school cafeteria benefit while the non union workers are expelled from business.
1500 feet from any school will encompass most of many cities. And, finally, who appointed Monning as Chief cook? Legislative obesity is a problem so let’s regulate their food.
JAJ48@aol.com
Tags: CA, Children, coach, democrats, Food, food police, leave school, legislation, obesity, roach, students, vendors
Posted in Freedom, Government, Health, Law, Politics | No Comments »
Sunday, January 29th, 2012
Live Oak Beach Club
Frolicking dogs at beach
I live at the beach in Live Oak, CA and am very aware of some of the problems associated with dogs on the beach and understand the concerns addressed in a recent article.
I also believe the incidents are infrequent and in the 10 years I’ve lived here, I have seen a positive change in the attitude of the local dog owner community.
The beach here has long been recognized as an off-leash haven, despite the law, which also prohibits fireworks, littering, glass containers, alcohol and bonfires. I have never seen efforts by the county to monitor activities that include these.
Why punish an entire community of happy frolicking dogs and responsible dog owners for the actions of a few rotten tomatoes? There are other ways to address this issue such as off-leash hours or joining community efforts to promote public awareness and pro-active measures in keeping our beaches and parks clean and safe for everyone.
One such group is Live Oak Beach Club for which information can be found on Facebook.
It’s not unusual to see a group of these local dog owners picking up the trash and broken glass left in smoldering bonfires by drunken revelers from the night before. And no, they don’t leave their waste in bags.
Letter by Marion Morris, member of Life Oak Beach Club, published 1-29-2012 in Santa Cruz Sentinel, B2
Tags: beach, CA, clean beaches, county efforts, dogs, litter, Live Oak Beach Club, santa cruz
Posted in Animals, Government, Health, Law, Places to visit, Politics | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011
![KICK DOG Firenze Sage: Surprise! [robber threatens to kick womans dog]](http://freedomok.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/KICK-DOG.jpg "KICK DOG")
Robber threatens to kick dog if not give bag
An unknown man approached a 62-year-old woman as she was walking her dog just before 10 a.m. on the 100 block of Dakota, in Santa Cruz, CA.
The man demanded that the woman give him everything she had. He said that if she didn’t, he would kick her dog.
The woman handed him a bag and the suspect fled.
Unbeknownst to the suspect, the bag she gave him contained her dog’s feces.
The suspect is still on the loose.
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A new crime: Grand theft poop.
jaj48@aol.com
Tags: CA, kick dog, robber, santa cruz, theft
Posted in Crime, Law | No Comments »
Thursday, November 17th, 2011
![ARTIFICIAL GRASS Firenze Sage: Humpty Dumpty revisited ...[artificial grass illegal]](http://freedomok.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ARTIFICIAL-GRASS.jpg "ARTIFICIAL GRASS")
Aftificial grass now illegal in Glendale, CA
The city of Glendale is imposing a ban on artificial grass. Notices are going out to homeowners whose front yards are covered in turf.
Geneva Dotson says she was forced to pay crews $3,000 to rip up her brand new front yard after receiving a notice from city hall.
City officials say the concern is related to the plastic and chemicals used in the artificial turf.
When asked why the fake grass would continue to be allowed in backyards, officials had no answer.
City officials say they plan to press criminal charges against those who do not comply.
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A mind that can criminalize front yard turf but not backyard turf is a mind that can sell guns to Mexican cartels.
FirenzeSage48@gmail.com
Tags: artificial grass illegal, CA, criminal mind, Glendale
Posted in Freedom, Government, Law, Politics | No Comments »
![GROCERY STORE 300x146 Aptos Psychologist: Bigger is not better [Safeway to double in size in Aptos, CA]](http://freedomok.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/GROCERY-STORE.jpg "GROCERY-STORE")
