Comments on: Random thoughts of an idle mind — and an Open Thread

By: Mike Devx

Mike Devx — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 20:42:57 +0000

Beefrank, when it comes to Obama and crony capitalism, NOTHING is too cynical. There is absolutely no reason to automatically believe that any particular business owner believes in free market principles. Crony capitalism and corporate welfare appear more and more to be the order of the day. It is just another symptom of the general ongoing, and accelerating, decline of our once-great country.

By: beefrank

beefrank — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 18:28:27 +0000

It would not surprise me if another oyster farmer or aquaculture entrepreneur, who just happens to be related to or is a Obama bundler, shows up in a couple of years with a new lease. It will be PR’ed how the administration brings small businesses and environmentalists together. Am I being too cynical?

By: MacG

MacG — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 06:32:02 +0000

Baskins Robbins went out of business in San Rafael due in part to a non renewal of their lease. Same for Issac’s coffee shop that was on B street years ago. Shame that one. The reality is that When the current owner of the oyster farm bought the farm from Johnson he knew the lease was nearly up, and it has bought the farm. I would say it is how capitalism works but the difference is that the landlord usually leases to another for a higher fee. In this case the Government loses revenue which makes total sense.

By: beefrank

beefrank — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 00:15:02 +0000

The outcome of the Drake's Bay Oyster Company is sad and reminds me of the similar outcome regarding the Sonoma Artisan Fois Gras company in Napa and their attempts to dance with the Sacramento devils. It is amazing how liberals never learn even after they repeatedly vote their own into power and enact their 'soft tyranny' policies. After November 6th, I heard references to the Weimar Republic and parallels to policies unilaterally and unconstitutionally enacted by this administration. On a recent visit to Marin, I was reminded about the Angel Island deer herd relocation fiasco in the 80's and its wasteful efforts where the entire herd eventually died because their food supply drastically changed and unexpectedly they did not understand predators. 'Hello, Mr. Coyote. Happy to meet your pack.' Liberalism is a disease and unfortunately it is seriously infecting our economy, schools, politics, social culture and environment. However, I am inspired by John Paul Jones' declaration, 'we have not yet begun to fight' because we cannot take these abuses quietly.

By: DL Sly

DL Sly — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 20:34:06 +0000

“Not only do the growth, reproduction, and death of trees respond to light intensity, moisture, temperature, and nutrients, but trees, in turn,strongly affect these environmental factors in a locality, and the survival of individual trees depends on their interactions with neighbors and on their species, size, age, and vigor...." Indeed! In some specie of tree, they require catastrophic (as defined by Man) events within their lifecycle. Witness the Lodgepole pine where the cones must have the extreme heat of direct flame in order for them to open and spread their seeds. As to the Gorebal warming fantasy, I've always found humourous the arrogant belief by some people that Man can do in a paltry 10,000 +/- years what the Universe has not been able to do in billions -- and believe me, between the two? The Universe has the real weapons of mass destruction. *shakes head incredulously* 0>:~/

By: Charles Martel

Charles Martel — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 20:11:21 +0000

Book, Interior Secretary Salazar just shut down Drakes Bay Oyster Farm on Tomales Bay. As of December 1, 30 workers—most of them Mexicans and American Indians—will be out of a job.

To her credit, Senator Feinstein accused Salazar of using “junk science” to uphold the U.S. Park Service’s long-held desire to oust the farm and return its patch of Tomales Bay to a “wild” state. Good for DiFi. Proof that even a broken clock is correct at times.

The most anti-human thing about the extreme environmentalist movement, which has taken over relevant parts of the federal government, is its primitive concept of what a balanced ecosystem consists of. The oyster farm has provably not deteriorated the water quality or fauna of Tomales Bay, which is ranked as California’s cleanest, most pristine saltwater estuary. It was a perfect example of human activity blending artfully and well with nature. While seals and waterfowl went about their business for generations undisturbed by oyster farming, the farm existed as a small and—dammit, I’m going to use the C word: colorful—employer that pleased tens of thousands of customers over the years with succulent, write-home-about ersters.

I’m so sick of the feral government.

PS: I like mine straight out of the shell, or with Tabasco, or grilled, or with a spritz of lemon. <–Typical male behavior, no?

By: Bookworm Room » Found it on Facebook — Socialism versus Capitalism

Bookworm Room » Found it on Facebook — Socialism versus Capitalism — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 19:49:46 +0000

[...] In an earlier post, I ranted about the nasty vapidity that characterizes the “posters” my liberal friends put up on Facebook whenever an election draws near. I also mentioned that my conservative friends consistently post more substantive articles and images. This one, from my brother-in-law, manages to be both pithy and substantive. It packs a world of ideas into a picture and two sentences. [...]

By: Caped Crusader

Caped Crusader — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 18:20:18 +0000

Always the same refrain:

http://www.gocomics.com/stevekelley/2012/11/27/

By: Dennis Elliott

Dennis Elliott — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:11:15 +0000

Book,

Some time ago you were soliciting sources of good information concerning gloabl warming. It’s a difficult subject and so politicised that finding valid sources is extremely difficult. I have recently run across one that is refreshingly objective, written by a man whose work I have appreciated for years.

The book is “The Moon in the Nautilus Shell” by Daniel B. Botkin and it’s available trhough Amazon.

Botkin is an ecologist and an elegant writer. The book isn’t something that you can read with the kids and tv going in the same room (at least for me) but it is very interesting and informative. It begins with background ecology and ecosystems information and gradually builds to a broader way of viewing the natural world including the current discussion of global warming. One passage that struck me personally (I am a forester) is the following:

Among the bases of global warming “science” is the interpretation of tree rings from trees in isolated regions and unkown provenance. Tree response to a single environmental factor is subject to substantial interpretation as is evident in the quote above, which results in a situation ripe for mischief.

The book isn’t specifically about global warming but includes it in the discussion of how to view natural phenomena.

I hope you, and others reading your blog, enjoy it. By the way, it would be perfect for those days of winter coastal storms.