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As is my usual modis operandi on Sundays I write about individuals who have gone beyond the call of duty. Stuart Hetrick is such an individual.
In the middle of the night Stuart Hetrick was awakened by a call from his daughter, Sarah. As a retired doctor, Stuart Hetrick had spent his life being awakened during the night, but this phone call was special as Sarah had just been involved in a horrific car accident.
On May 27, Ms. Hetrick was on the first leg of a 30-hour drive from Austin to northern Montana to spend her summer months hiking and reconnecting with friends. At half an hour past midnight, she was just north of Amarillo, only 30 minutes from the town she was planning to stay in that night, when she was hit head-on by a driver who was on the wrong side of the road.
Regaining consciousness in her wrecked car, confused and in shock, the marketing professional realized she couldn’t feel her leg.
“I tried to move and get myself out but realized my leg was stuck in the door, and I couldn’t reach my phone,” she told The Epoch Times.

A passerby who stopped to help asked Ms. Hetrick who she wanted to call, and she gave him her dad’s number as she knew it by heart.
At one of the darkest moments of her life, being able to talk to her father, Stuart Hetrick, a retired doctor, was an invaluable experience. He stayed on the phone with her while paramedics and emergency services arrived, assessed the scene, and started the process of getting Ms. Hetrick out of her crushed vehicle.
Ms. Hetrick was then taken to a hospital in Amarillo where she immediately underwent extensive emergency surgery to place a rod in her femur where it had snapped in half.
Being in San Diego meant that Dr. Hetrick couldn’t get to Amarillo until 1 p.m. the following day.
However, as soon as he arrived, he poured all of his energy into supporting his daughter. He was there “probably 75 percent of the time,” only leaving over the weekend of Father’s Day to spend time with his 92-year-old father.

A week after her accident she had a second surgery to insert another rod in my tibia/fibula and plate on her ankle.
With his daughter bed-bound, Dr. Hetrick, who owns a private medical practice, answered her questions, addressed her worries, and advocated for her.
In addition, he also brought her mail and food, opened packages, tidied her room, and retrieved her belongings from her smashed vehicle. He did everything possible, so his daughter could focus on her recovery.

Following her eventual discharge from the hospital on June 19, the crash survivor went to recuperate with her dad and stepmom in San Diego. Functionality is slowly returning to her damaged leg. She has also been progressing in her physical therapy and dealing with the aftermath of shock and trauma, aided immensely by those close to her.
“I’ve learned there’s purpose in every trial,” she said. “Even in the dark moments, God is with us, and no matter what happens to us, we can trust him. … We’re never alone.”
Stuart Hetrick’s response to what he has done for Sarah … “I just did what fathers are supposed to do!”
8/25/24

Was it revenge?
Or was it just a coincidence that RFKJr announced that he was withdrawing from the November presidential race right around the time that the DNC was winding down.
Why could it be that RFKJr might seek some revenge on the Democrats?
First off, some might think that a presidential candidate, RFKJr, who had both his father, RFK in June 1968, and his uncle, JFK in November 1963, struck down by an assassin’s bullet might be at high risk for some wacko to try the same thing. To me, a rational person would have to admit that an attempted assassination of RFKJr was not entirely out of the realm of being a possibility. But the Biden administration did not think so! Was it because RFKJr had the audacity to challenge Biden?
For whatever reason this was like a slap in RFKJr’s face. Could it be that this snub played a role in RFKJr’s recent decision making?
When RFKJr realized that he was not going to be elected, he sought a meeting with Kamala. Whereas Kamala refused to meet with him, President Trump recently met with RFKJr on more than one occasion. Could this snub of RFKJr by Kamala have played any role in his recent decisions?
From C&C:
“Contrary to the many misinforming headlines, Kennedy is not “suspending his campaign.” He will withdraw from the ballot in ten tossup states, and will ask his supporters in those states to vote for Trump. By remaining on the ballot in the other states, Kennedy acts both as a firewall for cheating and also as a brake on any unexpected Biden surge. (A third-party candidate protects against cheating because, in a 3-way race, it is much harder to figure out how many ‘votes’ cheaters need without giving the game away.)”

For whatever reason I am happy that RFKJr has now thrown his support behind Trump. Even though RFKJr was only projected to win about three percent of the vote, in some swing states this very small number of votes could well shift the total in the direction of Donald Trump. While I do not think that Trump will only win some of these swing states by a small margin, wouldn’t it be the perfect piece of satire if these two snubs by the Dems actually gave the Presidency to DJT!
8/28/24

As, many of you are aware our local “newspaper” is very liberal. Long ago I stopped writing letters to editor because that same “newspaper” only prints those letters with a leftward bent. So the other day I was surprised when a rational letter was actually printed.
The headline above the letter read:
Cash grants helped those in need, but should our government adopt such programs?
The letter was as follows:
“In experiments, San Diego researchers gave cash to low-income people. Here’s what they learned.” (Aug. 10) Kudos to the cash aid programs of Jewish Family Services for making progress toward helping people get a new start on life.  Impoverished families and individuals are worthy recipients of such gifting and in need of help.  The economic stability, wealth-building potential and ability to plan for the future are worthy attributes of this kind of funding.  Such programs go upstream to head off homelessness before it gets embedded in people’s lives.
But I caution against unforeseen problems that such entitlement programs can create when adopted by government.  Government programs are by their nature coercive, anonymous, and incomplete. The recipients of support and the taxpayer never meet. Individual relationships and community social support are never realized except by chance. Cash programs generally meet material needs, not relational needs.  Citizens need to help each other by directly investing in each other’s lives. That can’t easily be done in a government-funded program.”

The other issue with government entitlement programs is that there is never a choice for the individual tax payers as to whether or not they approve of the recipient individuals or recipient groups. For instance, is it appropriate for the government to give away the money paid by an agnostic taxpayer to a solely Christian group? Would it not be better for Christian taxpayers to give to Christian individuals or groups, and allow the agnostic to give to individuals or groups that are more aligned with his philosophy?
If the answer to that question is ‘yes,’ then the way to accomplish this would be the same as it is to innumerable other questions and quandaries … strive to get the get government more and more out of our lives!
8/23/24
www.californiacontrarian.com

After having read the vast majority , but not all, of Stephen King’s books, I am now forced to wonder if his most recent one, “You Like It Darker,” is mere feint. Certainly it is not one which I can advise anyone to buy. It is not up to what I have come to expect from this author. It is a compilation of short stories, and I am having trouble wading through it! So last night instead of starting another mediocre short story, I switched to You Tube to watch parts of the Trump rally in Asheboro, North Carolina. Without question I made the right choice!
As opposed to the ramblings at the DNC, Trump’s speech was full of policy. (No! I have not watched any of the DNC where Trump’s name has apparently been mentioned about ten times more frequently than any statements concerning those issues which concern Americans the most … inflation, the economy, immigration, and crime.) The DNC appears to be one feint after another.
One of things Donald Trump spoke about was fixing our military. He plans to demand those involved in the disastrous pullout from Afghanistan to resign. “I will ask for the resignation of every single senior military official who touched the Afghanistan disaster,” Trump promised, adding “I want their resignations immediately.”
He also commented on his plan for critical race theory and transgenderism in the military. “On Day One, I will get critical race theory and transgender insanity the hell out of our US armed forces,” Trump promised hotly. “We’re taking it out.”
“If you want to have a sex change or a social justice seminar, then you can do it somewhere else. But you’re not going to do it in the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Space Force, or the United States Marines. Sorry.”
He explained, “Our warriors should be focused on defeating America’s enemies, not figuring out their genders.”
BRAVO !

One interesting happening during that rally was that Trump left his now see-through protective bulletproof glass box to go to an older woman who had fainted in what appeared to be the first row of the audience. Medical help was asked for, and Mr. Trump immediately left the stage to be at her side. Soon she recovered enough to receive a hug from him.
Not exactly the mean curmudgeon that the Dems have painted him to be!

Tonight I plan to try to again read Stephen King’s latest book as it cannot be worse than listening to tonight’s DNC speech by Kamala.
8/22/24

The other day someone asked me, “Do you think that the Justice Department is evil?”
Initially, I thought the question was rhetorical, but she pressed on, “I’m serious. Do you think that the Justice Department is evil?”
As I had not previously thought about the Justice Department in those terms, I put the question right back to her. “Do you?”
She had apparently given that question some thought, as she replied, “Absolutely! Think about the following.”
She then proceeded to tell me about the following from the Daily Wire:
“A group of Christian pro-life activists, including an 89-year-old survivor of a communist prison camp in Eastern Europe, face over a decade in prison after they were convicted on Tuesday in a federal trial in Michigan. A jury found Chester Gallagher, Heather Idoni, Joel Curry, Justin Phillips, Cal Zastrow, his daughter Eva Zastrow, and 89-year-old Eva Edl guilty of engaging in a conspiracy against rights and violations of the FACE Act. Edl was forced into a camp as a young child by Yugoslavian communist dictator Josip Broz Tito before fleeing to the United States. The seven were prosecuted by the Biden administration, which has been using the conspiracy against rights charge, originally designed for the Klu Klux Klan, to go after pro-life activists. They face over 10 years in prison and hundreds of thousands in fines upon sentencing. The charges stemmed from a peaceful demonstration, which the defendants called a “Rescue,” where the group sat and stood outside of the Northland Family Planning Clinic in Sterling Heights, Michigan, alongside a group of other pro-life activists.”

She then continued, “Who other than the devil would prosecute an 89 year old concentration camp survivor for standing quietly outside a Family Planning Clinic? When Eva Edl dies in prison, do those prosecuting lawyers, U.S. Attorney Frances Carlson, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sunita Doddamani, and trial lawyer Laura-Kate Bernstein, get extra kudos on their Justice Department scorecard?
“I get that there are different opinions about abortion. But, come on, using the conspiracy against rights charge, which was passed in 1870 to deal with groups like the Klu Klux Klan, not peaceful protesters, seems like a bit much to me … unless the Justice Department is evil! … I rest my case!”
When she finished, I briefly thought about what she had just said, and responded, “Yes. It does seem to me that the Justice Department is indeed evil!”
8/21/24
www.californiacontrarian.com

Years ago I was saying that this EV thing could not last, and now there is another chink or two in the EV wall.
From Hot Air:
“General Motors had kind of a biggish announcement on 7/23/24. It is again slowing its plans for all-electric vehicles by further delaying a second U.S. electric truck plant and the Buick brand’s first EV.
The six-month delay in retooling the electric truck plant in Michigan, until mid-2026, also means GM will not achieve a prior target of having North American production capacity of 1 million EVs by 2025.

GM’s U.S. EV deliveries increased 40% during the second quarter compared with a year earlier to 21,930 units. Still, EVs made up only 3.2% of its total second-quarter U.S. sales.

It is also quite probable that they have one eye on November and don’t want to commit any more resources than necessary to something whose government underpinnings could be shortly kicked out from beneath it.”

First Ford, then GM, and now Porsche.
From the Daily Sceptic:
“Porsche has scrapped its sales targets for EVs amid a slump in demand. A previous goal of 80% by 2030 has been watered down and the company now says sales will depend on uptake and how the technology develops.”

So the EV ball keeps rolling downhill. Can the bottom be close at hand?

8/20/24

One of the things that Americans are concerned about is inflation. Everyone is living with it. We are all dealing with it in are day to day lives, even though those that know best are trying to convince us that things aren’t really so bad.
From an Epoch Times column by Jeffrey Tucker (founder and president of the brownstone Institute):
“Inflation cooled, lower than expected,” read the financial press on the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July. One only needs to look carefully: when month-to-month changes are down, those alone get the headline. When they are up, as they are in July, the headline focuses on the 12-month trend. Every time.
Based on the data release we have, the “cooling” is actually up from June to July, if you can believe it.”

President Joe Biden appeared at the Creator Economy Conference, the first event ever hosted by the White House’s Office of Digital Strategy (CNBC). CSPAN: Reporter asks about inflation. President Biden: “I told you you’re going to have a soft landing… my policies are working. Start writing that way, okay”
However, we are all living in our real-life day to day world. We all know that inflation is a bi**h. They can all try to tell us how rosy things are, but their gaslighting will not work.

Back to Jeffrey Tucker:
“However, there are still times when the truth seeps out. CNN commissioned a well-constructed poll of about 2,000 random people to find out where they stand on personal finances. The headline number: nearly 40 percent of Americans are struggling to pay their bills. That is up from 28 percent from only three years ago, and a higher number than back in 2008–09, the period known as the Great Recession.
Two-thirds of people say that the number one issue they face is the cost of living and paying their bills. The typical American is spending nearly $1,000 more per month compared with three years ago just to pay living expenses. That is according to Moody’s, but it also fits with the intuition we all have. It suggests a dramatic decline in real household income, despite what the Bureau of Labor Statistics claims.
The survey further reports that a third of Americans say that they have to take an additional job to make ends meet. This has disproportionately affected Latinos and black Americans and those under the age of 45.”

For the next few months expect a gaslighting frenzy by the Kamala/Walz team. However, I doubt that their “inflation is no longer a problem” spiel will actually convince anyone that what we are living is really a mirage.
8/19/24
www.californiacontrarian.com

As the Olympics are now becoming a more distant memory,
just one more Olympian who deserves our praise and respect.
From Aleteia:
Ukraine’s rhythmic gymnast Taisiia Onofriichuk came to Paris, despite having recently witnessed some of the most lethal airstrikes from Russian forces. Her trainer Iryna Blokhina shared with Reuters: “We didn’t know if we would even get here, because during the last attack before we left, we thought we wouldn’t survive.”
She went on to explain that training for the event had also proved incredibly difficult, with the noise of the airstrikes leaving gymnasts unable to hear the music that was going to be accompanying them during their routines. They eventually had to find a location where fewer attacks were taking place.
However, this did not stop Onofriichuk from getting to the finals in the Women’s Rhythmic Individual All-Around, and placing an impressive ninth!

Kudos to Taisiia Onofriichuk, not only for coming in ninth, but more importantly for just competing under the most dire of circumstances.
8/18/24

Before we Americans actually hear any of Kamala’s actual policies are there any groups of Americans that should be seriously thinking long and hard before voting for her?To me the answer is obviously, “yes!” Where to start? … Let’s start with Catholics.
FROM CV NEWS FEED:
Catholic columnist and author Ashley McGuire recently stated that Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris is a “bigot,” referring to the vice president’s “blatant discrimination against people of faith, particularly Catholics.”
McGuire, a Senior Fellow at the Catholic Association  laid out Harris’ anti-Catholic history in an article for the New York Post, beginning with Harris’ 2018 targeting of Brian Buescher, a Knight of Columbus who was running to be a federal judge at the time.
“Then-Sen. Harris subtly criticized the charitable and fraternal organization for being an ‘all-male society comprised primarily of Catholic men,’ then not-so-subtly slammed it for adhering to [Buescher’s] faith’s core — or “extremist,” to use her word — beliefs about life and family,” McGuire wrote.
She added that Harris arranged for Buescher to be asked if he would resign from the Knights if his position as judge were confirmed in order “to avoid any appearance of bias.”
“That’s what they call a religious test for office, and it’s illegal,” McGuire pointed out.

McGuire also highlighted the legislation that Harris has sponsored in the past, such as the Do No Harm Act and the Equality Act. The first act would have required healthcare workers or charitable organizations to provide abortions or contraceptives, without exceptions for religious beliefs, while the second would have required faith-based organizations to hire people who opposed their religious values by living in same-sex unions or under “transgender” lifestyles.

Harris also supported the California FACT Act, which would have required crisis pregnancy centers—including the Catholic and Christian sites—to refer women to abortion facilities, going against their religious beliefs. She also wanted faith-based corporations like Hobby Lobby to cover abortion pills in their healthcare plans for employees, once more violating the religious principles and values of the Christian company.
“Both cases were casualties at the Supreme Court, which stepped in to defend the conscience rights of religious Americans,” McGuire wrote, adding, “Kamala Harris does not think you can be both a Knight of Columbus and a federal employee.”

While I have many, many reasons to not vote for Kamala, her obvious anti-Catholic prejudice when questioning Brian Buescher is way more than enough for me to agree with Ashley McGuire that Kamala is, indeed, a “bigot,” as a zebra doesn’t change its stripes.
8/17/24
www.californiacontrarian.com

How aware are most Americans about the positions taken by the two presidential candidates. On 8/15/24 I sent out the list of the twenty promises that Donald Trump made if he were to be elected.
With the DNC starting on 8/19/24, I would guess that a lot of promises will be made by Kamala without reference to her prior positions on these same issues. Are most Americans familiar with her prior positions?
A recent study by Media Research Center discovered that large
majorities of registered Democrats and Independents who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 — exactly those who would be expected to support Vice President Kamala Harris in this year’s contest — are mostly in the dark about many of the controversial and radical positions Harris has taken.
This poll was conducted for the Media Research Center by McLaughlin & Associates between August 2 and August 5. The survey consisted of 1,200 people — 800 registered Democrats plus 400 Independents who reported voting for Joe Biden in 2020.
The results are as follows:

% aware % unaware
Harris would consider allowing death
row inmates to vote 14% 86%
Harris supported the elimination of
private health insurance 19% 81%
Harris promoted a fund to bail out
violent protesters during 2020 riots 22% 78%
Harris supported abolishing ICE 23% 77%
Harris was named the most liberal U.S.
Senator in 2019 25% 75%
Harris said it should not be considered a
crime to enter the U.S. illegally 26% 74%
Harris co-sponsored the Green New Deal 27% 73%
Harris never visited a conflict zone on
the border as Border Czar 28% 72%
Harris supported cutting funding for
the police 29% 71%
Harris supported reparations payments
to atone for slavery in the U.S. 29% 71

To me the most revealing thing about this poll is just how uninformed a large cadre of very likely Kamala voters are about her positions on a number of very important issues.
The question remains:
Is there any way to inform them? They certainly will not get this info from MSM.

8/16/24
www.californiacontrarian.com