intheav.com Blogs - mattkeltner - Matt's Blog & Postings

Everybody In, Nobody Out

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:36:01 -0700

In any given year, 45 million or so working Americans go without health coverage. With the current economic crisis, that number is expected to increase. This isn't "naysaying", it's reality. As it stands, the U.S. is the only industrialised nation without a national health plan. Aggravating this factor is the reality that U.S. taxpayers -- many of whom go without healthcare, as already mentioned -- are currently subsidising national health plans in Afghanistan and Iraq. The government of Mexico is in the process of developing a universal healthcare system. The global map below is illustrative of the healthcare scenario in individual nations. Nobody disputes that the U.S. is in the midst of a healthcare crisis, so what can we do to remedy this issue?

"Liberal" -- the most abused word in the political lexicon.

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:17:29 -0700

Travis (911bagman) stated explicitly that the mislabeling of fellow bloggers as �liberal� is �rudimentary� and needs to end. I couldn�t agree more. And, besides, what�s wrong with being a liberal anyways? During the local primary race for Assembly, it was amusing � albeit pathetic � to watch two very conservative Republican men attempt to lambaste eachother as �liberal� in campaign literature. As a liberal, I readily acknowledge that the best ideas don�t always originate on the left, and many of our conservative counterparts sometimes have the upper hand on quite a few issues. In my comparatively shorter life, I have been too many places and seen too many things to ever label myself a �conservative�. To me, the word �conservative� denotes someone who holds to a Simpleton-like mindset. I have been called a liberal and I don�t have a problem with it in the slightest. Liberalism is compassion. Liberalism means remembering those less fortunate than you and doing what you can to make their lives better. It means tolerance and broad-mindedness. Most importantly, liberalism means embracing a socially-responsible attitude. If you lived at the top of a hill where a creek supplied water to the people below, would you pour toxic chemicals into the creek � letting them wash down and poison members of the community who lived below you? If you answered �no�, then you might just be a bit of a liberal yourself. Always hold firmly to the thought that each one of us can do something to bring some portion of misery to an end -- Anonymous

Chew on this...

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:55:38 -0700

-------------- Matthew W. Keltner EDBI 476, Dr. Garcia Critique No. 2 July 10th, 2008 Critique No. 2 � THE BASELESS ATTACK ON THE �WESTWARD MOVEMENT� IN UNITED STATES HISTORY. �A unit called �the Westward Movement� is mainstream and Eurocentric because it focuses on movement of European Americans from the Eastern to the Western part of the Unied States. The Ogala Sioux were already in the West and consequently were not moving westward� --Page 254, Ch. 10 � Approaches to Multicultural Curriculum Reform, by James A. Banks. To imply that a curriculum called �the Westward Movement� of white Americans, in the context of U.S. History, is �Eurocentric� is not only petty demagoguery, it plainly ignores the fact that westward movement of white Americans was itself the catalyst for developing what eventually became the United States of today. Since the Ogala Sioux were not directly responsible for the development of the U.S., and transient European Americans were, it seems obnoxiously trivial to allege that the curriculum is �Eurocentric�. History is what it is and facts are facts and you can�t simply gloss over them to appease everyone else�s sensitivities. If you�re actually reading this, you probably think I am some Bill O�Reilly-watching, conservative Republican. The truth is, I am not. I am a Democrat � a relatively liberal one actually � who chooses to think independently. I also have a deep passion for the subject of History and I have a really hard time when History is purposely twisted for any reason. Getting back to the subject: We can mention that the Ogala Sioux and other First Nations people were the victims of theft and unfair land acquisition. As a matter of fact, we *should* mention this. Manifest Destiny, while important in the development of the U.S. as a nation, certainly was not one of it�s brightest aspect either. Finally, I wish to reiterate my point: to say that a discussion of westward movement is somehow �biased� or �Eurocentric� is not only absurd, it is also academic dishonesty under the guise of extreme Political Correctness. -------------

McCain, it is (unfortunately)

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:52:18 -0700

Polls from various news organisations found that a substantial number of Hillary Clinton's Democratic and Independent supporters would cross party lines and vote for Republican John McCain if Barack Obama took the Democratic nomination. I regret to inform you that I am one of them. I'll be joining a loose coalition of disgruntled liberal Clinton supporters, socially-conservative union members, left-leaning Catholics, quite a few Jews and many Hispanics. After having enthusiastically voted for Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004, I will vote for John McCain, with little -- if any -- enthusiasm, in 2008. To me, Barack Obama is a farce. He has made just as many gaffes as George W. Bush, yet, the mainstream media are reluctant to point this out. Instead, we must rely on rightist blogger-journalists like Michelle Malkin or Ann Coulter to get an objective view of the guy. Whats more, I find Obama's ties to vitriolic, xenophobic, anti-Semitic and homophobic ministers highly disturbing. One of my stronger "conservative" (I actually prefer the term libertarian) streaks tends to be my support for the Second Amendment as enabling citizens the right to bear arms. Obama's record in this area is shoddy at best. I don't believe John McCain is a war-monger at heart, nor a homophobe or xenophobe, but he must make motions in those directions to capture the farthest right of his party. Obama, on the other hand, says one thing while his associations seem to say another. I think that's just creepy. What's creepier to me, however, is the gloss-over the media is doing on him. Why the fierce push to get this man in office? I can only think of him as a type of Manchurian candidate. Having been either a registered Democrat or Independent for almost my entire voting life, I never thought I'd see the day when I voted for a Republican president. I can only hope though, that McCain has retained some of the qualities from his "maverick" days of sponsoring bipartisan Senate legislation in favour of patients who struggle with America's lopsided health care industry and those who immigrate to the U.S. for economic opportunities and enrich the American experience. In short, I expect McCain to govern from the ideological centre of politics.

Choose your Assemblyman wisely!

Fri, 16 May 2008 11:16:21 -0700

Now that the state Supreme Court has determined that *all* taxpaying consensual adult human beings have the right to have their partnerships acknowledged on a civic and fraternal level, I fully expect Republican state Assembly candidate Steve Knight to come forward, full boar, and use the judgment of the Supreme Court to stir up the local hornet�s nest of religious voters. As if a marriage between two adults of the same sex actually had any bearing on people who attend conservative places of worship and conservative marriage ideals? Proposition 22, the initiative brought before state voters in 2000 by then-Sen. William J. �Pete� Knight, R�Palmdale, was a deceptive measure that sought only to capitalize on fear, ignorance and hatred. California has changed. The bulk of the state�s voting population now resides in coastal counties where same-sex relationships are widely accepted. These counties have sent Democratic majorities to Sacramento for the last decade and will likely continue to do so. Democrats from more-conservative inland counties (Kern, Fresno, Tulare, Stanislaus) have and will continue to ally with their coastal colleagues on gay rights issues because, doing so, is politically expedient for them as well. Note to our local Republican candidates for Assembly: Using gay men and lesbians as a battering ram in your election campaign will do you no favors in your endeavor to achieve office in a state government dominated by those sympathetic to social equality. Just ask legislative Husband-Wife team Sharon and George Runner who�ve watched -- befuddled -- as many of their proposed bills have been mocked, gutted and ripped to shreds in state capitol chambers. The Antelope Valley and the greater High Desert are desperate for an Assembly member who won�t make enemies of three-quarters of the rest of the state. An Assembly member who will cross the aisle frequently to work with Democrats and, in turn, be able to easily acquire Democratic support on issues that will positively affect the High Desert region. If the residents of the Antelope Valley and the rest of the High Desert continue to elect social Neanderthals, then they can expect this area to remain the laughingstock and garbage bin of the rest of the state.

Wright is Wrong!

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:08:44 -0700

Once again, the media � from broadcast television to the blogosphere � is abuzz with news of fresh, controversial comments made by Jeremiah Wright, Sen. Barack Obama�s longtime pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. In remarks to the National Press Club in Washington, Wright claimed that the U.S. government had likely engineered HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, specifically to target the African American population for genocide. Obama has attempted to distance himself from Wright. Wright�s remarks would be laughable if they weren�t so patently sad. Even worse, it seems that Wright and a good-sized chunk of the African American population are very misinformed with regard to the actual history of the AIDS virus in the U.S. and abroad. In it�s July 1994 edition, National Geographic came out with an extensive article on viral illnesses, and specifically HIV. The virus originated in Africa amongst primates, where it has been identified as Simean Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV). A similar retrovirus also exists in cats and is called Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). HIV has been traced back to SIV. The virus is believed to have species-jumped sometime early on in the 20th century. In 1959, a British sailor died a mysterious and sickly death after having been stationed in East Africa. Tissue samples preserved later revealed that the sailor was HIV positive. In the U.S., HIV first took off in the gay and bisexual male population. It was first known as GRIDS (gay-related Immune Deficiency Syndrome) and thought to be a cancer. At this time, gay populations in major U.S. urban areas were ravaged. For the most part, the epidemic was ignored because of the primary population involved. In worse cases, the disease was seen as God�s punishment for homosexuality and bisexuality. HIV did not take route in the black community until the late 1980s � an entire 10 years after it had begun to be noticed amongst gay and bisexual men. When black basketball player and presumed heterosexual Magic Johnson announced to the world his HIV positive status, suddenly, AIDS became something that everyone was concerned about. Since then, AIDS and HIV prevention programs have incurred huge sums of philanthropic donations and government funding. For Wright to say that blacks in the U.S. were the targets of intentional HIV infection is an outright lie!

Earth Day and everyday

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:05:09 -0700

If we�re honest with ourselves, most of us have an innate desire to be more �green� and eco-conscious. Lately, however, being Green-minded has taken on a sort of cachet that makes it appear financially out-of-range for many. It�s not. Furthermore, we shouldn�t have an eco-conscience just one day out of the entire year. It should be ongoing. To be �green� does not entail spending thousands of dollars on installation of solar panels for one�s home, driving a hybrid, wearing Birkenstocks or making pilgrimages to Whole Foods. You can be �green� in subtle and affordable ways each day: 1.) Use a minimum amount of electricity in your home during the day. Enjoy the sunlight and make the most of it. 2.) In mopping and cleaning your tile floors, use a vinegar-water mix, instead of products with a chemical base. 3.) Avoid flushing antibiotics and other medications down the toilet or pouring them down the sink. 4.) Buy desert-friendly plants that require minimal water for your garden. 5.) Incorporate rocks and other natural elements into your garden. 6.) Try to limit the amount of meat you eat to a reasonable portion every week. Doing so reduces methane in the atmosphere as well as the demand for beef and frees up land used by farmers. 7.) Limit your intake of fish to prevent over-fishing of the world�s oceans. 8.) Purchase fruit from local farmers. Doing so guarantees that you are supporting the U.S. economy and U.S. regulations that forbid the use of dangerous pesticides. You can purchase local fruit from Ben�s Corner, the Whole Wheatery or the Vons supermarkets in Lancaster and Palmdale and at Scattaglia Farms in Littlerock. 9.) In the evenings, enjoy candlelight in place of electricity. 10.) Make use of your city-issued recycle bens. 11.) When giving gifts, look to things like hand-made toys, bags, blankets or quilts � things that wont be discarded too readily and used for a long period of time. 12.) If your entertainment pursuits rely on use of our local deserts (Off-Road Vehicles, etc), use the provided pathways and avoid harassing and threatening animals and the destruction of plants or rocks. 13.) When going out, plan your route carefully to save gasoline. Feel free to add or share something that you might do already�

Maybe Barack was right?

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:27:17 -0700

You don't necessarily have to like presidential candidate and Sen. Barack Obama to fully understand some of his recent remarks on economics and the relation to social issues. For those who might have missed it, Sen. Obama was speaking to an audience at a political event in San Francisco when he drew a correlation between those at the lower rungs of the economy and their overtly-manifested reactionary views on abortion, migrant labourers and homosexuality. Sen. Obama described these individuals as "bitter". Sen. Obama, without mincing words, stated that those suffering from economic hardship are so angry at their situation that they often find solace in attacking feminism, immigrants and gays. Sen. Obama, apparently, is very in-touch with the American psyche -- at least on this matter. You needn't go any further than this very site for demonstrable evidence. Blogger Bill Bernier, a.k.a. "138hwy", or better known locally as "Billy", has used the word illegal, in describing immigrants, a total of 128 times in the past two years. In addition, he has made derogatory remarks with regards to the sexual orientation of other bloggers a total of *78* times starting in December of 2007. In the month of March 2008 and thus far in April, he has used the pejorative homo a total of *41* times. Taken as a whole, you may disagree with a large portion of Sen. Barack Obama's platform, or you may have supported Sen. Clinton as I initially did -- or, you may be a supporter of Sen. McCain, regardless though, you've got to lend credence to the fact that, on this very issue, Obama was spot-on about "bitter" individuals. Now, it will be up to GOP political operatives in the mold of Randy Hall to exploit this bitterness once more, from here til' November.

Denise and Sherry

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:03:28 -0800

I like Denise. We joke about her being my �other Mom�. I will always like Denise because she is educated, friendly, open-minded and compassionate. If I stay registered in Lancaster, I will certainly be voting for Denise come April 9th. I didn�t like Sherry Marquez. There�s a part of me that remains suspicious over her connections to Lancaster Baptist Church. However, deep down � and despite her gaffes about �aquifers� and �prayer� -- I think she is really motivated to do good for the city of Lancaster. It has taken me a long time and much introspection to reach this conclusion. Do I personally like Mrs. Marquez? No. The reason: I don�t know her. But strangely, Denise and Sherry have a bit in common. They�re both mothers and grandmothers. Both attend churches and mean well. They�ve both apparently experienced crime in their neighbourhoods and are concerned about the welfare of their own families and the families of their friends. I think, for both of them, this was a primary motivation in running for office. If Sherry Marquez is truly �independent� as she claimed to be in the Valley Press article on March 20, 2008, then I would like to see her work with Denise as a fellow mother, grandmother and concerned citizen. In the end, it would be nice to see two women on the City Council, rather than have it remain male-dominated, as it has been for almost two decades now. I don't expect this will be a popular post and I'm sure I will be crucified, but hey, it's Good Friday after all, right?

The cost of Iraq

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:54:01 -0800

Cost of the War in Iraq

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To see more details, click here.

The above counter was activated on March 20, 2003 as a coalition of U.S. and international forces began the invasion of Iraq. Just something to think about every time you hear a conservative Republican mention what a "waste" of money Social Security and other necessary programmes are.

They want to divide you.

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:25:55 -0800

It should be obvious, at this point, that there is an elite group of people with a special interest in maintaining their grip on Lancaster city politics in order to ensure that the monetary flow to their own pockets is not stanched in some way. Like an octopus, their tentacles are squeezed tightly around Lancaster City Hall. And now, they've got a death-grip because so many people are finally waking up and the "what if" scares them! They are corrupt, brazen, money-hungry and disdainful of democracy. Their use of local government ties to enrich themselves bares a resemblence to the fascist economic workings of Nazi Germany. They'd like to have you believe that their status as "AV natives" makes them appear to care for the well-being of the local community. But that's a lie also. Do you actually think they plan to stick around after their millions have been made? We know, for a fact, that two of them have already left town with bundles. I don't need to mention specific names, but anyone with an I.Q. over 100 should be able to figure out exactly who I'm referring to. The people I speak of are counting on a bloc of voters that attend Lancaster Baptist Church to carry them through. And, while not a huge bloc per se, it is sizable enough to make a difference in the outcome. Wake up concerned citizens! The stakes are too high to split your votes among 6 different candidates. Pick a slate of candidates that are sincere and stick with them. You know who they are. They are the ones who want to return city government to the people. To make it accessible for everyone. To deal with issues that can be handled on a local level and don't involve superceding state, county and federal powers. They are the ones who who wish to end the flow of money from the city trough to the pockets of the elite. Vote wisely. But, most importantly, get behind a workable set of people who want to move your city forward. Don't foolishly divide yourselves and your votes.

Barack Obama: Corporate Whore

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:57:11 -0800

Do you remember, awhile back, when Socialist blogger Guy Marsh stated that there was essentially no difference between any of the candidates and that all of them -- including Sen. Barck Obama -- were bought and paid for? I understood, perfectly, what he was talking about. Did anyone else? Barack Obama, on one hand, trumpets sophomoric phrases about "hope" and "change we can believe", etc. Behind the facade, however, he is no more anti-corporate than Sens. Hillary Clinton or John McCain. Was anyone really naive enough to believe otherwise? To me, the race for the White House has become utterly uninspiring. We've got an archaic war-monger one side and a two-faced plagiarist on the other. -------------snip-------------- *OBAMA DENIES ASSURING CANADA ON NAFTA* By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer SAN ANTONIO - Barack Obama said Monday that his campaign never gave Canada back-channel assurances that his harsh words about the North American Free Trade Agreement were for political show � despite the disclosure of a Canadian memo indicating otherwise. According to the memo obtained by The Associated Press, Obama's senior economic adviser told Canadian officials in Chicago that the debate over free trade in the Democratic presidential primary campaign was "political positioning" and that Obama was not really protectionist. -------------snip-------------- http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080303/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_nafta

One last post...

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:32:44 -0800

If you haven�t yet seen it already, I would recommend *There Will Be Blood* starring Academy Award-Winner Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano. The film, by director Paul Thomas Anderson, is based on Upton Sinclair�s book Oil. In Oil, Sinclair gives a scathing critique of the brutal nature of early American capitalism as it was played out in California�s Central Valley during the era of the oil tycoons. For those unfamiliar with Sinclair, he gained particular fame for his 1906 novel The Jungle, which dealt with conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry and caused a public uproar that partly contributed to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in 1906. With his proceeds from The Jungle, Sinclair opened a commune. As a child, his favourite heroes were Jesus Christ and Percy Byshee Shelly. In 1906, Sinclair was unsuccessful in his bid for Congress as a member of the Socialist Party of America. In 1911, Sinclair moved to Pasadena, California and founded the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Conservatives in California attempted to label Sinclair a �communist�, while leaders in the Soviet Union decried him as a �capitalist�. There Will Be Blood pits Day-Lewis, a greedy and kaniving oil barron against Dano, a folksy preacher with a cult-like congregation in a small Central Valley town that is struggling to stay afloat. In the end, one of the two main characters dies a horrible death through bludgeoning. The filming and the score on the movie are excellent! Again, if you haven�t already, go and see it!

I'm moving...

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:57:18 -0800

Yes, to Newhall at the end of the month. Have fun, everyone! Bye. I'll continue to check my e-mail here for PMs.

Fighting AIDS in Africa

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:26:33 -0800

Dear Editor (of the Antelope Valley Press), Your Tues., Jan. 29 editorial read as a complimentary advertisement for Desert Vineyard church and it�s �Step into Africa� exhibit about the effects of HIV/AIDS on that continent. Let�s be frank here; African nations could drastically reduce the devastating consequences of HIV/AIDS if their indigenous were being properly educated on condom use and other safe-sex practices. However, due to the regressive politics of George W. Bush and the previous Republican Congress, any financial aid to Africa thru the U.N. was stripped of measures and programmes that included sex education, birth control and family planning, thereby, prolonging the viral pandemic and unwanted births � all of which has only served to worsen social conditions in many African nations. For those truly concerned for the welfare of Africans, this should be obvious. Somehow, I think the Desert Vineyard exhibit is more about proselytisation and less about supporting honest and scientific solutions to the AIDS crisis. Matthew W. Keltner, Lancaster