Archive » July 20, 2007

 

Farm Workers Needed

 

I heard about a very interesting program the other day regarding the issue of what people in agriculture have started doing in Colorado to replace farm workers who presumably are illegal aliens who have not shown up for work. I know that this was a huge concern of many farmers around the country including here in the Santa Ynez Valley. Many of the workers, who have come to work year after year at a particular season, this year, are nowhere to be found. Apparently, rumors have been flying in the illegal alien community that changes in our immigration policy are coming and, whether good or bad, they must be prepared for them. As a result, many of these workers have either already left the U.S. or did not come back into this country as they have for years. Crops, when ready, cannot wait to be picked and processed or they will be lost resulting in the farmer losing, at the minimum, a half a year’s wages.

What Colorado has done is to use female, non-violent prisoners to harvest crops. Interviews with some of these women revealed that they felt it was some of the hardest work they had ever done. Talking to the persons in charge of the prisoners, it became obvious that this work was too much for some of the women who quit fairly quickly.

I think this is a novel way to provide a substitute work force in agriculture which is sorely needed. I also believe that perhaps some of these women are learning how hard people have to work to put food on their tables, clothes on their backs and medicine to keep them healthy. These are all things provided to the public by farmers and ranchers all across our nation. You cannot get up in the morning, be awake for five minutes and not use something that a farmer or rancher produced. Think about it.

 

Health Care

 

There is much discussion these days about health care and, once again, this is a very complex issue. Employers can provide health care for their employees if that expense can be covered by the income generated by the business. Those who don’t work for whatever reason can apply for a myriad of plans but they must pay for them out of their own pocket. I have heard on many occasions that many people would like to support universal health care, thereby providing health care for everyone modeled after European or Canadian plans.

I would like to share with you two experiences I have personally had with the universal health care of Canada. I would hope that not all experiences are like this but it would not surprise me if it were typical. The wife of a friend of my husband who is Canadian needed some kind of surgery on her two knees. She hobbled around on crutches for TWO YEARS before she got taken care of. It was considered an “elective” surgery. Recently, I found out that my 10-year-old granddaughter who lives in Canada has a heart problem. Some preliminary tests have been done which show an abnormality, but the echocardiogram which would define what the problem is, how severe it might be and whether something immediate needs to be done to correct it- well, she’s been placed on a six-month waiting list. This is outrageous and we are looking for another solution.

My experience with European healthcare is not any better. This time it’s about my brother-in-law Chris, who is English, who has been refused any treatment for his heart failure because he smokes. Basically, he was sent home to die. I have heard rumblings that there are those here in the U.S. who would deny health care to those who smoke or ever smoked, those who practice substance abuse or those who are overweight.

This is really unconscionable and utterly inhumane because it is precisely those people who have the greatest need for medical care in many cases. And what do we do about all those 12 million people here illegally? Are we supposed to fund the care for them as well? They clearly have no respect for our sovereignty so why should we take it upon ourselves to pay for their health care? Or, as some say, we would be doing ourselves a favor by keeping them healthy because they come from places where health care is virtually non-existent and we would be preventing the spread of some horrible diseases? I am reminded of the news article last year about the gentleman from some other country who had to be jailed in order to make him take his treatment for a contagious disease. And let’s not forget the guy who traveled to several destinations in Europe and then entered the U.S. by a circuitous route through Canada having been told he had an antibiotic-resistant disease. What kind of person would willingly infect his friends and neighbors not to mention complete strangers with tuberculosis? Certainly not someone we need to pay for in this country, in my opinion.

 

What’s Good for the Goose

 

Are you familiar with the saying,”What’s good for the goose is good for the gander”? This refers, in a different way, to the sentiment that people should be treated equally. This is a feeling that to me is part of the American values I treasure. Unfortunately, not everybody feels that way as is the case with Santa Barbara County. Even though residents of the county are repeatedly assaulted by county planners when trying to build their home, as in the situation described by Andy Caldwell two weeks ago about the family out on the coast applying for a building permit for their home who was forced to give up the whole point of that property, a spectacular ocean view, to satisfy some selfish person driving down the highway who didn’t want to see the house. I know of another case recently of a family with an Arabian horse enterprise who tried repeatedly to build a home to their liking and was constantly rebuffed by county staff to the point where they abandoned the property and moved away. These are, of course, not isolated cases. Unfortunately, this is an all too common occurrence in this county. I have heard of horror story after horror story of people trying to build something they are entitled to according to zoning. Of, course we all know that the zoning rules mean nothing here - there is no truth in zoning and hasn’t been for the last 30 years. It just depends on who you are whether your wishes are accommodated or not. This does not apply to yours truly which I have had to find out the hard way.

As for the gander, the county, different rules must apply. I hope you focused on the letter written about the Santa Ynez airport expansion sponsored by several Valley community groups and I hope you have called or emailed them for more information as this project will affect you. I find it baffling that the county feels there will be no environmental impacts due to this historic expansion with a large increase in helicopter traffic. This is private helicopter service not just emergency services. We all appreciate the emergency services and would never deny them access but not all private helicopter pilots are courteous or respect private property or animals.

Contrary to the declarations by the county that there is only mediocre or unimportant (my words not theirs) agricultural land surrounding the airport, I would have to differ. Having lived in the flight path of that airport, having an airstrip on the ranch, having a pilot’s license as a 16-year-old, growing up in the backseat of my father’s airplanes, I know a bit about what I say. Immediately across the fence from Gainey’s vineyards and other agricultural fields, and the Meadowlark Ranches is my quarter horse breeding facility. Perhaps the county has not read about the World Champion Quarter Horse mares that reside there, giving birth and caring for, hopefully, future World Champions. Surely they are part of the environment and even more surely, they will be impacted by an expansion of the flight path over their home.  I guess the residents of Meadowlark or the Gainey families aren’t important to the county either. I wonder who or what is?

 

Outrage

 

I have been reading a book this past week by Dick Morris entitled “Outrage” which chronicles the graft and corruption at the national level in the United States. It should be required reading for all high school students as it is the most wide-reaching tale of disgusting behavior on the part of the elected officials of both parties that I have ever seen in print. There are lots of books from one side or the other slamming whatever is the opposite party. They are obviously slanted although some of them are pretty well-researched and give references which I like to check for myself. I long ago gave up taking the word of a single person as multiple sources are considerably more reliable.

I am not trying to tout Mr. Morris’ book but it did educate me as to some of the finer points of political tricks such as “earmarks” which are ultimately used to score funding for one’s re-election which is always Priority #1. I am beginning to wonder how much of this is practiced on the local level as certain groups always seem to have funding to push their agenda forward and others are always struggling to get people who don’t have the time or money to get involved because they are working hard to earn a living. It seems that there are people whose entire lives are devoted to pushing their agenda on everyone else. There is no dissension allowed. You’re only ok if you believe as they do. Doesn’t that sound a lot like what the radical Islam folks are doing? Believe as I do or I will kill you? I don’t think these folks in Santa Barbara County have gone that far but the attitude is the same. This is not the American way. We have always prided ourselves on freedom - freedom to be who one is, freedom of religion, freedom to have your own opinion. So, how does lying to the public or at least preventing them from knowing the truth support freedom? This is why the Journal exists, to tell you what’s happening in your community. You decide whether you like it or not. Just be aware that knowing may require you, from time to time, to speak up along with your friends and neighbors. That is what a community is all about.