Month: August 2024

I used to think that the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) was a responsible medical journal, but for me that opinion changed as JAMA became progressively more leftward leaning.
Recently JAMA published a new study that shows a rise in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among American college students. PTSD rates increased by 4.1 percentage points, jumping from 3.4 percent in 2017-2018 to 7.5 percent in 2021-2022.
Over the five-year period from 2017 to 2022, the researchers also observed an increase in the prevalence of acute stress disorder (ASD) among college students. ASD prevalence rose by 0.5 percentage points, growing from 0.2 percent to 0.7 percent over the same timeframe.
The team examined student populations from a diverse array of 332 higher education institutions across the U.S., encompassing a broad geographic range and various institutional types. Their extensive survey captured data from nearly 400,000 college students, with females comprising a slight majority at 57.7 percent.
While I have no reason to doubt these increases in PTSD or ASD, I do doubt the supposed cause for these increases. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who conducted the study, suggest the stark increase likely stems from a combination of events, including campus shootings, nationwide racial tensions, and the loss of loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.
JAMA apparently bought this claptrap and instead ignored the obvious.
First off, campus shootings are few and far-between. Nationwide racial tensions exist only in the minds of Democrats. Loss of loved from from Covid were not limited to the families of college students.
How could it be that a “reputable” medical journal and its “researchers” missed the obvious answers as to why this has occurred?
First: The lockdowns of young healthy college students during Covid to supposedly save them from a disease which basically had a negligible effect on their age group should be blatantly obvious.
Second: Because of the misguided concept that everybody should go to college, many students in college just cannot handle the unwarranted pressure on them. Additionally, a lot needed loans in order to pay for the college studies that they are not equipped to handle. This only adds to their stress especially if they do not finish with a degree, or if their attained degrees are not marketable.
Third: Young people today are being constantly overwhelmed because of “climate change.” Once one buys into this concept, depression (PTSD) and anxiety (ASD) are totally explainable, and college students are very susceptible to the persuasions of their left-leaning professors.
The fact that JAMA published this drivel only reenforces my opinion that it is no longer a responsible medical journal. JAMA is not what it used to be.

8/10/24

Some states have instituted common sense measures to attempt to insure that the only votes that count are legit.
For instance, from BlazeMedia:
On Wednesday, 8/7/24, Governor Youngkin of Virginia, issued Executive Order 35, which aims “to protect the casting of legal ballots by legally eligible voters in Virginia’s elections.” The EO listed several Virginia voting regulations that those living in other states likely wish they had:
* 100% paper ballots,
* strict chain of custody for all ballots as well as daily reconciliation during the early voting period,
* “no mass mailing of ballots” — application for mail-in ballot required,
* 24/7 monitoring of all drop boxes,
* no “voting machines,” only machines designed to count ballots, and
* strict prohibition against hooking counting machines up to the internet.

In addition, the EO explained recent efforts to clean up voter rolls by conducting audits and tracking voters who have since moved out of state or passed away. Nearly 80,000 deceased voters were removed from the commonwealth’s voter rolls in 2023 alone.
Perhaps even more importantly, 6,303 noncitizens who are still alive and who either “purposefully or accidentally registered to vote” in Virginia have likewise been removed, the EO claimed.

Why aren’t all of these regulations adopted by every state? They all seem like common sense if indeed one wants the voting to be legit. But there lies the rub … it seems that the Dems do whatever they can to make sure that legitimate voters can easily be neutralized by illegitimate or dead voters.
Why?
From Daybreak Insider:
Glenn Youngkin: Call me crazy, but I think American elections should be decided by American citizens, and Virginia elections should be decided by Virginians.

I agree with Glenn Youngkin.
What about you?

8/9/24
californiacontrarian

Back at the end of July as the presidential campaign entered the final 100-day stretch, Republican nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, rallied supporters in a state that hasn’t backed a Republican candidate for the White House since 1972.
Was this a fake or was this part of the plan all along? What plan?
Could it be that campaigning in Minnesota, making the blue state of Minnesota appear to be in play, was something of a charade, potentially forcing Harris and Democrats to devote resources in a state they would likely otherwise ignore?
Likewise could campaigning in St.Cloud, Minnesota have been a part of the plan to persuade the Dems and Kamala Harris to pick the present governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, to be her running mate?
If this was Trump’s plan, it appears to have worked. There have been multiple explanations as to why this lackadaisical governor of a blue state was chosen as Harris’s VP choice. The reasons that I like the best include future impeachment insurance if Harris were to be elected … after all who want Tim Walz to be the president!
The other potential reason for this strange choice of a running mate was to try to win Michigan. It is thought that even though the governor of Pennsylvania as the VP choice might go further to gain Pennsylvania’s electoral votes, Josh Shapiro is not only Jewish, but also a strong backer of Israel in its conflict with Gaza, and this could potentially keep Arabs in Michigan home on Election Day. Of course if Trump were to win Michigan like he did in 2016, or if he should win Pennsylvania, then there will be plenty of second guessing about Harris’s VP choice.
But for me, I think that the “fake campaigning” by Trump/Vance in Minnesota was part of the plan to force Harris to choose Walz as her running mate and it is already paying dividends.

8/8/24
www.californiacontrarian.com

As we all are aware it’s summer and because it’s summer it is warm. At this point in some places this summer seems to be exceptionally warm, but comparatively speaking how warm is it? It seems that it depends on how many years back one goes back when comparing.
Per chance, I happened on this today.
From Watts Up With That:
“The past nine years (2015 to 2023) have been the warmest years within the 174-year observational record of the WMO.” Since WHO is one of the “internationally recognized entities” worshiped by NATO’s High Command, one would have thought that someone would have done enough basic research to work out that it only came into existence in 1950 and that, therefore, the 174-year global-temperature dataset is not WHO’s dataset. It is, in fact, kept by the Hadley Center and the University of East Anglia.
NATO also says:
“Global increase in the number of extremely hot days”: Yet again, NATO has failed to check its facts. In those parts of the world where temperature records have been kept for at least a century, it is plain that the Grapes of Wrath dustbowl years of the 1930s set far more heat records than have been seen since. The United States is a good example –

So yes, compared to the late 1960s and the early 1970s it does appear warmer … however, not compared to the 1930s.
Hmmm!
8/7/24
www.californiacontrarian.com

Over the years I think I have been pretty consistent about how I fell about certain things. For those of you that need convincing , go to www.californiacontrarian.com and check all the way back to April, 2017.
One of my constant and recurrent themes is how the Democrats consistently and repeatedly advocate for things that are going to be adversely felt the most by those among us who are the most economic vulnerable. Kamala Harris is no different from other Democrats in this regard.
From the Daily Wire:
“The Biden-Harris administration proposed a new rule that would allow illegal immigrants to access taxpayer-funded college preparatory programs that were meant to assist low-income American citizens. The new proposed rule from the Biden-Harris Department of Education would allow illegal immigrants who qualify for the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) to access federal TRIO programs targeted to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs.”
While at first glance this might sound kindhearted, when one puts on glasses, it becomes apparent that if a non-citizen is able to take advantage of this largess, it essentially means that some disadvantaged or disabled individual, who is a citizen, will be excluded.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) put it succinctly when he blasted the proposed rule from the Democratic administration, noting that it would allow illegal immigrants to take the spots of American citizens (Daily Wire).
I feel sorry for DACA individuals who are here through no fault of their own over the years. However, I have been consistent in stating that their situation should be similar to that of actual American citizens with the caveat that they should never be allowed to vote nor should they be eligible for handouts from the government.
8/5/24
www.California contrarian.com

On Sunday I write about individuals who act on principle, and should be praised for this. Tanja Benton is such a person … a person who had strong religious beliefs and refused to get the COVID vaccine, based on principle.
I was always against vaccine mandates for younger individuals, and so it easy for me to admire a person who stood firmly against vaccine mandates.
(For those of you who did not believe in religious exemptions for the COVID vaccine, the question that comes up is, “Could you admire a person who stands up for what he/she believes in, if you do not believe in that same thing?” Here you could be for the person, and not necessarily for what that person believes in … but I digress.)
From the Epoch Times:
“BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee officials told Ms. Tanja Benton in August of 2021 that she would need to be ‘fully vaccinated’ to keep her position. Ms. Benton refused, saying aborted fetal cell lines were involved in the development of the COVID-19 vaccines and she couldn’t ‘in good conscience consume the vaccine, which would not only defile her body but also anger and dishonor God.’
While Ms. Benton said her position became fully remote in 2020, BlueCross BlueShield said it would have involved some in-person interaction with clients.
Ms. Benton was told to pursue other positions within the company and applied for two. But she was fired on Nov. 4, 2021, and was told five days later that, ‘Unfortunately, all positions require the vax now,’ according to an email.
Tanja Benton had worked at the firm for 16 years when she was fired.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, presented with the case, cleared Ms. Benton to sue her former employer.
Her lawsuit charged that BlueCross BlueShield violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which says an employer may not “discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment” because of that person’s religion. Employers can disregard religious exemption requests if they can prove accommodating them would create an undue hardship.
BlueCross BlueShield “cannot prove that allowing Plaintiff to continue her employment as a Bio Statistical Research Scientist without being vaccinated for COVID-19 constitutes an undue hardship,” the suit stated. The company “also cannot show that it made any good-faith efforts to accommodate plaintiff’s sincerely held religious beliefs.”
To make a long story short,Tanja Benton won her lawsuit.
She was awarded $177,240 in back pay, $10,000 in compensation, and $500,000 in punitive damages, according to a document made public by the federal court in eastern Tennessee on June 30.
Her sincere religious beliefs combined with persistence and resolve paid off for Tanja Benson.
8/4/24
www.californiacontrarian.com

The Gaza pier was one terrific, terrible waste of our taxpayer money by Biden/Harris, but this is not an isolated instance of wasting taxpayer’s money by the Democrats in charge.
Look at what is happening in North Carolina ( from the Epoch Times on 6/26/24):
“The U.S. government has allocated $387 million since 2022 to care for unaccompanied migrant children at a North Carolina school campus that has yet to house a single child.
Illegal immigrant children entering the United States without a parent or guardian have never been placed at the Greensboro campus, which remains unoccupied but operational, according to a government fact sheet updated June 14 and a former employee interviewed by The Epoch Times”
But it gets worse … “Although the 100-acre Greensboro facility is empty of children, hundreds of employees worked 24 hours, seven days a week training and preparing to receive children this spring, the former employee said. The facility includes 31 buildings, an $18 million athletic center, a natatorium, and a 22-acre lake.
“The campus, once a Jewish boarding school, was ready to receive children at the Greensboro Influx Care Facility on March 15, according to an Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) fact sheet.
“The Greensboro facility is the latest of three such sites for unaccompanied minors aged 13 through 17 managed by the ORR, which operates within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), which is a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“Two other influx care centers are in Texas: Pecos Children’s Center and Dimmit County Children’s Center. None of the Texas facilities currently have children either, according to ORR, which recently closed a fourth facility at Fort Bliss, Texas.”

So let’s get this straight … in anticipation of large numbers of illegal migration children, the Biden/Harris administration spent vast millions of taxpayer dollars on various centers, including the one in North Carolina. But these centers were never operational, most likely because these children were directly released into the U.S. … where and to whom??
Hmmm!

8/3/24
www.californiacontrarian.com

Once again the Democrats, specifically Joe Biden and his inflation, is taking its toll on those who can least afford it.
From the San Diego Union on 7/1/24 Tribune by Kristin Taketa:
“More than 6,400 students enrolled in San Diego Unified this past school year were considered homeless — and that number is likely an undercount. Homelessness takes different forms, and it could mean students and their families are living in a shelter, in a vehicle or doubled up in somebody else’s home.”

How many these 6,400 are children of illegal immigrants? Although I read and then reread the newspaper article more than once, I can find no mention of the legal/illegal status of these families/children. Then I emailed the article’s author and asked her that specific question … after more than a month, still no response!
Is this problem an offshoot of Joe Biden’s open border policy or Joe Biden’s inflation? Either way how does President Biden or the Democratic California governor, Gavin Newsom, propose that this problem be solved? … all is quiet on this western front!

San Diego school board Trustee Richard Barrera thinks that schools have a responsibility to help students whose families who are experiencing homelessness in particular, because schools are often the most stable place in a student’s life, Barrera further said, “School staff may be better able to help families because they have developed trust with families that other government agencies may not share.”
“And it’s critical for schools to address poverty issues such as homelessness, because they often prevent students from being able to attend school at all.
“The issue of homelessness is obviously something that is growing in San Diego, and schools can’t simply bury their heads in the sand and not pay attention to the issues that students are dealing with outside of school,” Barrera said.

I do not have a problem with providing some form of protected shelter for these children so that they can attend school, but the question has to do with who is paying for the expected expenses of these children/families? To my way of thinking, it should be the federal government or the state government, and not the local school districts.

8/2/24
www.californiacontrarian.com

As we are all painfully aware our recent and still present out-of-control inflation has caused the price of most everything to go up significantly … food, gasoline, transportation, and, yes, home prices and consequently homeownership has become a pipe dream for many.
From CNN.com:
“The dream of homeownership feels out of reach for many American families.
The vast majority (86%) of current renters in the United States say they would like to buy a home — but can’t afford one, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS released Monday, 7/29/24.
Among those same renters who can’t afford to buy a home right now, 54% think it’s unlikely they’ll ever be able to, the poll found.”
And to make matters worse, in order to try to stem inflation there has been an increase in interest rates which makes home ownership further out of reach for many.
Again from CNN.com:
“Younger people especially are having trouble buying a home right now. The CNN poll found that 90% of renters younger than 45 say they’d like to buy but can’t afford it, compared with 79% of those age 45 and above.
Not surprisingly, younger Americans are more hopeful that situation will change.
Most adults (53%) younger than 45 who want to buy but can’t afford it believe it’s at least somewhat likely they’ll eventually be able to buy a home. That’s compared with just 32% of those 45 and older.
Among renters who want to buy but can’t afford it, 40% say the biggest barrier is saving for a down payment, according to the CNN poll.
Nearly a third (31%) say the biggest obstacle to buying a home is high interest rates. Just 17% say the inability to qualify for a mortgage is the biggest hurdle.”
So there you have it … inability to save for a down payment because high inflation is eating into any possible saving, and high interest rates … both ravages of Biden/Harris’ inflation.
Thank you, Joe/Kamala!

8/1/24
californiacontrarian