Category: Uncategorized

On Sundays I talk about individuals who deserve our praise and respect. The following is from upworthy.com

Shariya Small was a fourteen year old who delivered triplets in a hospital in Indiana, and her nurse Katrina Mullen took note. Small’s babies were premature, born at just 26 weeks, when the average gestation for triplets is 33 weeks, according to ReproductiveFacts.org. Due to their early birth, the babies, Serenitee, Samari and Sarayah, had to stay in the NICU at Community Hospital North in Indianapolis for more than five months, according to Today.com.
During their time in the NICU, Mullen noticed the young mom visited her babies alone, not appearing to have much of a support system. “She’d be there alone for days at a time sitting at her babies’ bedside,” Mullen told Today.com.
Eventually, Mullen gave Small her phone number before the babies were discharged from the hospital. It quickly became apparent that Small did not have a support system, as she called Mullen often asking for advice. Out of concern, the nurse went to visit Small an hour away, where she was living with a family member.
The condition of the home was concerning enough, but Mullen became even more worried when she saw how thin Small’s son Samari was. It turns out he had to be admitted to the hospital, which prompted a visit from Child Protective Services, who determined that Small and her three infants would need to enter foster care. She gave the social worker Mullen’s information and things began to fall into place.

To make a long story short Shariya Small was adopted by Katrina Mullen, and thus Katrina Mullen became an instant grandma to three toddlers.
To make this story even better, Shariya finished high school and is now in college studying sociology.

7/28/24

The following is part of my attempt to provide my readers with some interesting medical updates.
Today the topic is Dengue Fever. Perhaps, one might ask, “Why, as isn’t Dengue something that occurs only in tropical or subtropical locales?”
I had always thought that this mosquito transmitted illness basically occurred in only certain locales in the Americas … notably in South America and Central America. But then the other day, I read something which surprised me.
From the Epoch Health:
“Nearly 250 people have been infected with dengue fever, a virus spread by mosquitoes, in three northeastern U.S. states, according to data provided by federal health officials.
So far this year, New York state has reported 143 cases, and New Jersey has reported 41 cases, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data released last week. Massachusetts has also reported 59 cases.The only other U.S. state with locally transmitted cases so far this year is Florida, with nine cases. Puerto Rico has reported more than 1,700 dengue cases this year, CDC data show.
“Dengue, which is sometimes referred to as ‘breakbone fever,’ is caused by a virus transmitted by a type of infected Aedes species mosquito’s bite.
Symptoms usually start between four and 10 days after being bitten by a dengue-infected mosquito, according to the Mayo Clinic. It generally causes a high fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit and can include several other symptoms.
That includes muscle, bone, or joint pain, vomiting, nausea, pain behind the eyes, swollen glands, and a rash. In some cases, the symptoms can become life-threatening in what is known as “severe dengue,” dengue hemorrhagic fever, or dengue shock syndrome, according to the Mayo Clinic website.”

Could it be that Dengue has become more frequent in some parts of the U.S. because of the increased numbers of individuals now in the U.S. from South and Central America?
Health officials say some people can experience no signs or just minimal symptoms of a dengue infection. Nonetheless, these people carry the Dengue virus and thus when they are bitten by a mosquito, this same mosquito can then transmit the Dengue virus to someone else …etcetera, etcetera.
Hmmm!

7/27/24

At this point perhaps a rhetorical question … but will Kamala Harris actually be the Democrat’s nominee for President? To me it appears that her honeymoon period is already not going well even though it has just started. Ergo, this leads me to suspect that she may not be the nominee. In fact there are multiple reasons why I have this suspicion.
First off why would Joe Biden immediately endorse her after he was forced out and “decided”to no longer seek the nomination? Basically, it appeared to me as well as to many others that after the “border czar” kerfuffle, that he did not give her any further responsibilities, which was a sign that he didn’t think highly of her. Could it be that Joe was p.o.-ed that many Dems were turning against him, and endorsed Kamala as a form of sweet revenge, knowing that she cannot beat Trump.
Second, at this point Obama has not come out with an endorsement of her. Could it be that he also feels that she cannot beat Trump. Is Michelle waiting in the wings?
Third, many of the new polls show that she is not doing well on multiple fronts. One would think that because she is now honeymooning, that she should have a bump in the polls. But that is not happening, and as the American people discover how far left her views are, her polling will only get worse.

Furthermore on 7/24 in a 220-196 vote, the House passed H. Res. 1371 introduced by House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) with the support of all present Republican lawmakers — plus six Democrats seeking to look tough on the border amid Democrat disarray and an illegal alien crisis thanks to their own party’s policies.
To me these six are in essence saying that they cannot win re-election with Kamala on the ticket. I predict in the next few weeks prior to the Dems convention that there will be more concerns about the harm that might come to other Dems on the ballot if Kamala is at the top.
In general, I have not spoken to a single Republican that is not confident that Trump will thoroughly defeat Kamala. The Dems are well aware of what the new polls are showing.
So again I ask, “will Kamala Harris actually be the Democrat’s nominee for President?”
Hmmm!
7/26/24
californiacontrarian

Once again as I often do, let’s start out with “let’s be clear.”
Right now since we are in the Kamala honeymoon period, let’s be clear that we should be announcing that Kamala Harris is a San Francisco radical leftist. According to GovTrac, her Senate voting record is more liberal than Bernie Sanders, the Democratic Socialist from Vermont.
What are some of her actual policies?
In the past she has called the 16-24 age group … “stupid,” while at the same time advocating that sixteen year olds be allowed to vote.
She wants to decriminalize the illegal crossing of our border, while advocating for legal representation and health care for illegals. These opinions while being the “border czar” and yet never getting close to the actual border!
She was all-in for cancelling the Keystone Pipeline, and was also all-in when it came to cancelling offshore drilling and fracking! Kamala, where is our energy going to come from?
Likewise she is all-in for EV-school buses even though they have been proven to be unreliable and expensive.
I could go on about her wanting to ban plastic straws and the consumption of red meat, but at this point, I think that everyone gets the idea.
To me when someone says that no logical person could be this far off base, Kamala Harris immediately pops into my head.
As far as foreign policy is concerned the fact that she chose to speak to a sorority instead of attending Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress says it all.
Let’s be clear … Kamala Harris is a left wing nut-job!

7/25/24
californiacontrarian

How many of you believe everything that is coming out of the White House? Perhaps better stated, “how many of you believe anything that is coming out of the White House?”
Did Joe Biden just recently have Covid?
Granted to some this may seem like a dumb question, but let’s stop and examine a few things first before we answer, “of course, he had Covid.”
First, he is seen walking around without a face mask after the diagnosis had been made. For those who have been hard and fast about how wonderful and necessary face masks are in preventing Covid, why would JB not be wearing one?
Could it be that this Covid diagnosis was just a convenient way to keep Biden in “isolation” and thus hidden and out of sight?
Why was Biden’s dropping out of the campaign done the way that it was? … On Twitter!!! For a President to make a historical statement on Twitter is beyond believability. Certainly a statement to the American people from the Oval Office would be the more acceptable way to make such an announcement.
On 7/23/24 J.B.’s voice was heard communicating with Kamala Harris during a Harris presentation. Why was only his voice heard? Although I am not usually a conspiracy theorist, with the precision of AI these days, could this not have been an AI construed version of Biden’s voice? Why was there not a live Zoom video feed of him speaking?
And finally there have been reports that while Biden was in Las Vegas, he suffered some sort of neurological event, and that he was very close to being transported to the hospital. Certainly, that does not sound like Covid. Did he have a TIA (transient ischemic attack)? [Recall that since he does have atrial fibrillation and does take blood thinners, a TIA is something which happens to someone with this diagnosis.]
Is this whole scenario believable?
Hmmm!

7/24/24
californiacontrarian

It’s been a few years now, and auto makers are finally reverting to making cars that consumers want to buy. My question is, “What took them so long?”
After the initial surge of EV buying by those few who could afford them, makers of EVs are now finally waking up:
From Townhall:
“Ford has done a complete reversal on its plans for an electric sport-utility vehicle plant in Canada so it can focus on what consumers actually want: more combustion engine heavy-duty pickup trucks.
In an announcement, Ford said it would invest about $3 billion to expand Super Duty production on one of the company’s most profitable and in-demand vehicles, including $2.3 billion for retooling a plant in Ontario originally intended to be the EV manufacturing hub, with the rest going toward facilities in the U.S. and Canada.”

From the NYT:
“The shift in consumer sentiment is now forcing many automakers to pull back on aggressive investment plans, and pivot, at least partly, back to the internal-combustion engine vehicles that still account for most new car sales and a large share of corporate profits.”
My question to Ford and other makers of EV trucks … why did it take you so long to figure out something that to many of seemed like common sense according to Sutton’s Law.
( Willer Sutton, a bank robber reputedly replied to a reporter’s inquiry as to why he robbed banks by saying “because that’s where the money is.”)
As Axios notes, Ford’s latest move is not hard to figure out given that Ford’s EV unit lost $4.7 billion last year while the Ford Pro commercial business raked in $7.2 billion.
7/23/24
californiacontrarian

Because things, especially bad things, often occur in threes, I admit that I was somewhat hesitant to write the following. Is the third shoe going to drop? First of all from Mark Levin: “How the hell does a guy,” who has “not even [a] military background” or “law enforcement background” mange to “get access to a building which is a staging ground for local police and Special Ops” carrying something as big as a rifle.” Similarly, how does this young kid get access to a nearby roof with a clear shot at Trump without the Secret Service spotting him? And finally why was the FBI so quick to say that the shooter acted alone? There are basically only two simple answers. Either the Secret Service and the FBI are incompetent … or there is some funny stuff (intentionality) going on. Likewise, how is it that days after this boondoggle, this headline from Bloomberg: “A Routine CrowdStrike Update Crashed the World’s Computers” Again unfortunately we are left with the same simple choice. CrowdStrike or somebody at CrowdStrike is incompetent … or there was some funny stuff (intentionality) going on. From C&C: “Google Whistleblower and senior developer Zach Voorhies yesterday posted the CrowdStrike crash error log, which can be easily found in internal computer files if you know where to look. And then Zach diagnosed the error, which appears to be the most basic kind of C++ programming mistake. The gist is that the error pushed by the so-called “Global IT Security” company bringing down the world’s critical infrastructure was so basic that it tends to suggest either grotesque, DEI-levels of incompetence or intentionality.” Napoleon once said, “Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.” So here again we are faced with the same choice … either incompetence or some funny stuff (intentionality) was going on. I have my suspicions … You all can make your own individual choices. Hmmm! 7/22/24 californiacontrarian

race Jo, Her Mother, & Pastor John

On Sunday I profile individuals who have demonstrated amazing bravery and courage. Grace Jo, her mother and Pastor John Yoon are such individuals.
First the background:
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, North Korea lost its biggest economic supporter, and so the flow of critical imports into North Korea stopped. The communist regime was unable to adapt, and the state-controlled economy collapsed.
The little food available was distributed by the regime according to each individual’s political standing and loyalty to the state. Particularly in the northern part of the country where Ms. Jo’s family was from, many were left to fend for themselves.

The following is a mere summary of the harrowing efforts of the Jo family to escape from North Korea.
Excerpts from the American Essence magazine:
In 1996 when Grace Jo’s grandmother caught six newborn mice near their home in North Korea, the whole family was overjoyed. Finally, one of them would have something to eat.
Little Grace was only 5 years old, and seriously malnourished. The famine in North Korea had been ravaging the country for half a decade, and the family of seven—mom, dad, grandma, and four siblings—sometimes spent up to 10 days with no food at all, surviving by just drinking water from a nearby stream.
So when the family found the mice, the adults had to make a big decision: Which child would get to eat them? Young Grace’s hair had turned yellow and dry, and she wasn’t able to walk properly due to being malnourished. So she was the chosen one to eat the mice, which were boiled and added to a soup with some grains of rice and corn. “We didn’t have salt, so it was a very plain flavor,” Ms. Jo, now 33, recalled.”

In the summer of 1998, Grandma also succumbed to starvation. Not long after the family buried her in the mountains, six government officials showed up and told Ms. Jo’s mother that they would be evicted from their home. “In North Korea, the house, the work, everything, will be assigned by the government,” Ms. Jo explained. “But they did not assign us a new home. And they kept asking us to leave, which meant we would become homeless.”
That’s when the mom decided to flee to China.
It wasn’t an easy journey, hiding both from people and wild animals that roamed the rocky mountain trails. But after three nights and four days on foot, they eventually made it to China.

Living in China wasn’t easy, as North Koreans are not considered refugees. Instead, they are repatriated if caught. So Ms. Jo, her older sister, and her mom had to live in hiding throughout the 10 years they spent in China.
They were repatriated on several occasions and ended up spending 13 months in a Chinese prison. That’s where they met the man who would eventually help them escape.

Pastor John Yoon grew up in what is now North Korea before the Korean War. He found his way to the south during the conflict and there, found faith. He decided to devote his life to ministry work. While in China, he realized he could help North Koreans to escape.
It was a dangerous endeavor that put his life at risk, and after being discovered, he ended up in the same Chinese prison as Ms. Jo and her family.
Subsequently after getting to America, Pastor John organized a fundraising campaign to help rescue the Jo family and raised $10,000, which he used to bribe North Korean officials. The Jos were released near the border with China. Again, they crossed the Tumen River and spent two months in hiding. Once they got the chance to drive the 860 miles to Beijing, they received protection from the United Nations. From there, they were able to fly to America as refugees in 2008.

Ms. Jo is now an American citizen and human rights activist dedicated to telling youth about the horrors of living under a communist regime. “We don’t want that similar thing to happen in America,” she said.
Grace Jo also founded a nonprofit, the Grace Jo Foundation, to help North Korean kids who resettle in America and other countries to adjust to their new lives and have a good education.“I’m hoping to help those North Korean children to become leaders because they will be the first ones who will go back to North Korea once North Korea opens its doors, and they will become the bridge between North Korea and the world.”
7/21/24
www.californiacontrarian.com

I have to admit that I did not watch the entire Donald Trump speech at the RNC on 7/18/24. In fact I did not watch very much of the RNC. Let’s be clear … I am going to vote for Trump, and because I live in California, my vote will not matter. I did see snippets of Trump’s speech and was moved by his recollection of his attempted assassination, but I did not watch his entire speech.
However, what I did watch in its entirety was the relatively short eleven minute speech at the RNC by Tucker Carlson. In fact, because I thought that it was so good, I watched it twice. Like Trump’s much longer speech Carlson’s speech was also done without notes or teleprompters. To me it was a speech from the heart by a concerned American.
There were multiple impressive parts. One part had to do with telephone calls. One call was from Trump to Carlson’s wife years back while Trump was President to console and reassure her after she had a very scary episode involving Antifa at her front door.
The second telephone call was on the same night as the assassination attempt. “I reached out to Trump within hours of it, that night, and what he said to me that a night having just within shot in the face, he said not a single word about himself. He said only how amazed he was and how proud he was of the crowd which didn’t run,” Carlson said.
Again referring to the assassination attempt Carlsons said,
“But being a leader is very different. It’s not a title. It’s organic. You can’t name someone a leader. A leader is the bravest man. That’s who the leader is. That is true in all human organizations. This is a law of nature. And in that moment, Donald Trump months before the presidential election became the leader of this nation,” Carlson said.
Hopefully Donald Trump be the nation’s leader a second time.
I may listen to Carlson’s speech again for the third time, and would suggest that you listen to it at least once. In fact, if you have already listened to it, listen to it a second time.

7/20/24
Californiacontrarian

Different than in most states politicians in California seem to be intent on carrying on with economic stupidity … driving jobs and consequently taxpayers out of California. To refresh everyone’s memory back in 2020, a brash statement by a local Democratic state politician, Elena Gonzalez, helped drive Elon Musk’s Tesla out of California.
From the Daily Beast in October, 2021:
Tesla founder Elon Musk indicated Friday that his decision to relocate the company to Texas was prompted by a California lawmaker’s mean tweet. In May 2020, when the pandemic was raging and Musk opened Tesla’s factory in defiance of local restrictions, California Assemblywoman Lorena S. Gonzalez tweeted “F*k Elon Musk.”
In October, 2021 shortly after Musk announced the move, a Tesla fan site tweeted a blog post titled, “Tesla Moved its HQ to Texas Following Explicit Offer from California Assemblywoman,” to which Musk replied, “Exactly.”
With thousands of jobs and thus millions in taxes lost to Texas largely in part to that gaffe by Elena Gonzalez, a Democrat, one would think that the California Democrats would have gotten smarter.
But they haven’t !
From Townhall:
“Congratulations to the leftist radicals doing their best to run California into the ground, you’ve finally gone far enough to officially drive space exploration innovator and media mogul Elon Musk to move his companies SpaceX and X out of the Golden State and into the welcoming arms of the great State of Texas — along with their significant economic impact.
The ‘final straw’ according to Musk was California Governor Gavin Newsom signing a bill into law that prohibits schools from implementing rules that require parents to be notified if their child begins identifying as transgender.”
From BlazeMedia:
The law, AB 1955, first introduced by gay Assemblyman Christopher Ward (D) and championed by the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, prohibits school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools from introducing or enforcing rules, regulations, or policies that require employees to disclose to parents “any information related to a pupil’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”

A recent tweet from Elon Musk:
“I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children.”
As a result, Musk said SpaceX and X would move headquarters from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase in Texas.

Ouch! … I never thought that I would say that Gavin Newsom is as clueless as Lorena Gonzalez, but similar to Ms. Gonzalez, Newsom’s economic stupidity will be felt long after he is out of office!

www.californiacontrarian.com