(A response to Jacob Zellmer’s Letter to the Editor printed below)

Dear Mr. Zellmer,

Ordinarily, letters to the editor are limited to 250 words. However, I welcome yours because I enjoy a good debate and seldom find anyone interested in engaging.

As my editorial of 12-6-17 states, it was written in about 30 minutes, so I appreciate the fact that you wrote yours "rather quickly" as well. Your letter was 1,000 words in length. My rushed editorial was 390 words in length. So I will squeeze-in that small excuse here.

I truly enjoy arguments, especially concerning religion and politics, though most people don't. I'm sure you understand that it takes much longer to answer a detailed critical letter than it does to initiate one - speaking of space in particular. I'll do my best, as tightly as possible. If my efforts don't suffice, we can continue the debate into future editions.

You have laid-out scores of arguments, each deserving a response. If I am to make any headway here I will have to restrict myself to a "bullet" format.

After reading your letter I have to say I envision my editorial pinned to a logic class bulletin board, for the next fallacy discovery assignment. I would not fare well, but not as badly as you might expect. Writing speedily sometimes invites the fallacy of hasty generalization, among other things, of which I willingly admit. I should not have used the word "ignoramus" because it has an offensive connotation, which I didn't intend. This is shooting from the hip while in a hurry.

But let's begin.

The general point I wished to make is simply that Americans, students at every level, and others, don't appreciate their American heritage, mostly due to ignorance of their American past. I based this assumption on personal experience and online statistics. I was reminded of this after noticing reference to a recent poll. (Millennials aren't satisfied with capitalism and might prefer a socialist ...www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article182765121.html.

Nov 4, 2017 - Millennials prefer socialism over capitalism, a YouGov study from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation Fund. (Other studies show similar results).

I don't vouch for the accuracy of any poll (see last presidential election polls).

General ignorance of essential information, in this case American history, can reasonably be placed at the foot of the institutions responsible for disseminating it - places of learning, schools and colleges. The information is either transfered or not. Too often today it is not sufficiently transferred. Those who don't know our history can hardly be expected to recognize our exceptional place in modern history, for that reason. Children don't go to school to be educated. They go to school to educate themselves - if the curriculum is absent, opportunity is retarded.

For time's sake I would like to clarify some of my more obvious logical fallacies:

"Proof" of such educational deficiency would be better described as "widespread" instead of "wholesale".

Addressing some of your cruel syllogisms, I have to admit of some slovenly logical construction here as elsewhere. Speedy writing can produce the fallacy of hasty generalization. Not every form of socialism is "bad." It's just that America's form of democratic republicanism is superior - exemplified by America's comparative freedom and material achievements. Many socialist-type nations (like the old "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics") have magnificent-sounding constitutions, but are, and were, fraudulent misrepresentations seeking power. The National Socialist German Workers' Party didn't work out so well either.

Today many European nations successfully represent a mixture of socialism and democracy like those in Scandinavia. However they are not as free as Americans - most lack a Bill of Rights, or subscribe to an established religion, and could not defend themselves against a Russian attack, as happened in the Republic of Crimea. But no time to explore this issue.

Without America's exceptional accomplishments, social, technical, and military, there very likely would be no Western-European "democracies", socialist or otherwise, in existence today. America may be loaded with imperfections (as all other nations) but it is the glue that holds the free world together today, indisputably. Res ipsa loquitur! (Hey, you started it with ipso facto).

Moving right along, I agree, elite college entrants probably have better historical understanding. But saying this involves us in the logical fallacy of argumentum ad ignorantiam. You have insufficient evidence for making that assertion.

To a reasonably informed person, I think knowledge of American history does in fact lead to the conclusion that America is an exceptional place. This does not diminish the historically immoral and malevolent facts, like slavery. But this is where being reasonable and informed comes in - where understanding that white Americans fought to the death (600,000+ deaths) with white slave owners and sympathizers to end slavery - and were victorious.

Then you point to my most egregious logical fallacy, my assertion that "No intellectually honest person can fail to acknowledge Divine intervention in America's birth and growth."

This was clearly a fallacy-infected statement. The idea of Divine intervention is certainly a matter of faith, and a matter of my faith. But your criticism is badly stated. "...must hold certain faith beliefs to be intellectually honest." I have no excuse here, the statement is clearly wrong. But while it may, as you say, "conflate faith and reason" I believe that faith, reason, and the Gospel are not incompatible - so did Thomas Aquinas.

You're wrong again in stating holding different beliefs "is intellectually dishonest." People under those circumstances could be many things other than dishonest - for example, just naive.

Jacob, I truly appreciate your letter. I should have known better than to have sought to solve the problem of evil in 390 words. I shall repent.

Your letters are always welcome.

***

Response to Dec. 6th Editorial

Dear Martin Farrell,

I grew up in Fillmore and still consider it home. The Fillmore Gazette has been a way for me to check in on what’s happening in Fillmore while I am out of town and for that I am grateful.

I am writing in response to your Dec. 6th editorial. The structure of some of your arguments don’t seem valid and I find it difficult to accept the truth of some of your premises. I’ve written this rather quickly, and so despite the critical nature of my response, I hope this comes across as respectful.

Your first paragraph cites an anonymous polling organization as evidence that millennials are more attracted to socialism than democracy. It is then asserted that this data is “proof” of the wholesale failure of our educational system. To make this assertion you need to have the following assumptions, (1) every form of socialism is a bad political or economic system, (2) anyone who thinks otherwise must have received a bad education, and (3) an educational system that produces people who disagree with my opinions is a failed educational system. This is an interested line of argument, but it has flaws. First, there is no reasoning given in your op-ed for why we should believe (1). And so (2) is a non-starter. (3) is odd because it assumes that everyone with opinions opposed to your own are irrational or at least their arguments are irrational or unintelligible.

The second paragraph then narrows in on how you think educational systems are flawed: American history has been hijacked by “radical Left fake history.” I think your point here is that because American millennials are ignorant of American heritage, they are more likely to think socialism is better than democracy. It isn’t clear what makes you say that millennials are ignorant of American heritage. Do you mean that (1) millennials must be ignorant of American heritage based on their attraction to socialism, or (2) millennials are ignorant based on personal experience you’ve had with them, or (3) millennials are ignorant of American history because of external data/polling? You also don’t make clear how knowing American history causes a person to think socialism is a bad thing. First, socialism isn’t defined in your op-ed, so it isn’t clear what you consider socialism to be. Part of the confusion here is that you contrast socialism with democracy even though socialism as a form of government isn’t mutually excluded from democracy. This is why “social democracy” and “democratic socialism” are forms of government. So, I wonder if socialism vs. democracy is in some ways a false dichotomy. If I had to guess, I’d say that millennials are more critical of capitalism than of democracy.

Your argument for why American history is important is that America is “exceptional”: it has thrived for 240 years as a democratic republic. The assumption you make is that students who know American history better will be more critical of socialism in all its forms. I don’t see why this is the case, unless learning American history is a form of brainwashing in which all political systems besides American democracy and capitalism are portrayed as irrational. Studying American history should let students see the ways in which democracy (and capitalism) have been both successful and not perfect, i.e., both systems have flaws.

Part of your op-ed criticizes elite colleges and universities for devaluing studies of Western Civilization, which was mostly, as far as I know, universities dropping the requirement for students to take Western Civilization courses. You claim that the chant was “Hey-hey, ho-ho, American Civ has got to go,” but my Google search of this phrase only brought up, “Hey-hey, ho-ho, Western Civ has got to go,” (at least for what happened at Stanford; if I am wrong here, point me to the relevant news articles). Western Civilization would include all European, American, and colonial history, which is much more than just American history. (Interestingly, Plato is a part of Western Civilization, and he hated democracy.) The required courses that were dropped were in Western Civilization, but charitability causes me to think the university still required courses in history, philosophy, art, etc. of world civilizations (and this might include western civilization).

So, your most pointed claim here strikes me as odd. You say: “Some (most ?) of our colleges and universities, those touted as the greatest, have for decades now produced a crowd of history ignoramuses.” First, it seems likely to me that students who get accepted into elite colleges probably have a better understanding of history (world, western, and American) than those who are not accepted into elite colleges; They probably did well in their high school history courses. Hence, calling people with elite college degrees “a crowd of history ignoramuses” seems mistaken. I think this point holds even if you only mean that they are American-history ignoramuses. Second, requiring college students to take American history doesn’t necessarily make them less of an American history ignoramus. Students can do the minimum to pass classes and so remain “ignoramuses.”

I think part of your conclusion on this subject is viable: “…it’s not too much of a stretch to conclude that most American citizens are dangerously ignorant of their own American history…” But it doesn’t necessarily follow that knowledge of American history will make you “acknowledge its greatness” and think America an “exceptional” place. Yes, America is good in certain ways, but history also shows the ways in which America has slaughtered and enslaved people. Why would people of color, after coming to know American History, ipso facto think that America is an “exceptional” place?

Lastly, you make this excessive claim: “No intellectually honest person can fail to acknowledge Divine intervention in its [America’s] birth and growth.” My understanding of Divine intervention is that it is a matter of faith (for the most part) and not knowledge. So, it is odd for you to claim that every intellectually honest person must hold certain faith beliefs. This conflates faith and reason and it also claims that everyone who doesn’t hold your beliefs is intellectually dishonest – this seems unreasonable to me. This letter has already become very long, so I won’t go deeper into this part.

With respect,
Jacob Zellmer
PhD Student in the Department of Philosophy
University of California, San Diego

More frequently these days I find myself fighting against a sense of being overwhelmed. The issues, national, state, and local, appear like a tsunami of ungovernable challenges. I get fed-up and want to head for a cabin in the woods with a trout stream nearby - without cell phone, computer, or TV. I guess many other people feel the same way sometimes.

****

Well, just got an alert on a structure fire down Grand Ave. Back now, half-an-hour to finish this piece.
Fillmore was spared the Thomas Fire. The hills behind town burned, but thanks to a perfectly directed drop from one of the "Sky Cranes" the beautiful Bears Haven area was saved from near immediate destruction. The huge flames were mere feet from the top of the pine grove.

****

Our crazy governor Brown's draconian new restrictions on firearms and ammunition will descend upon California gun lovers in a couple of weeks. We need immediate help from our Supreme Court. Brown is infringing upon our Second Amendment rights by nibbles. That's the new preferred plan by radical liberal psychos. California will never be the same again, obvious when you consider Brown's probable successor.

I never cared for Judge Roy Moore, but Alabama's new Senator Doug Jones is a true bleeding liberal. His win jeopardizes Trump's complete agenda. The Never Trumpers have become the enemies of our democracy, together with our crooked FBI, CIA, etc. It's hard to understand why our Attorney General Jeff Sessions has not been replaced by now. Good man that he is, he's also incompetent in this office. He's too nice a guy.

Trump must tear-out the Obama holdovers, root and limb. They are succeeding in their efforts to kill off the Trump agenda. Republicans seem unable to get anything done.

****

I see Putin is building up his nuclear weapons. Russia Sharply Expanding Nuke Arsenal, Underground Facilities... Of course all of our enemies are doing the same, even little North Korea. I hope they fixed that B-1 bomber that broke down on Guam. We may need it to show how strong we are.We can't even pass our defense budget. Sometimes I think the American people have become too stupid to survive.

Turkey's Erdogan is another piece of work. We store a half-dozen nuclear bombs in his back yard. Maybe it's time to retrieve them?

Next week maybe I can find some positive things to discuss. I will do my best.

It appears that the City of Fillmore has been spared the flames of what has become one of Ventura County's fastest spreading wildfires, although smoke is coming our way.

As I write these words Ventura is still dealing with serious fire threats and has lost many structures to date. The fire has nearly reached the ocean near the Fairgrounds. The strong, cold east winds have driven these fires, particularly the Thomas Fire, from our county's eastern border. Maybe it was St. Thomas Aquinas who diverted the flames around Thomas Aquinas College near Ojai. Thank God the College remains unharmed. Los Angeles County is still confronted by dangerous fires in the city itself.

****

It seems a little ironic that these fires have threatened Fillmore at a time when the construction of our new $9 million fire station (actually the county's) is about nine-tenths completed. It will be a good thing to have this facility online (with our own Volunteer Fire Department) for fire threats in the future. It seems we can expect this sort of wild fire threat about every 5 years.

Let's pray for those hundreds (possibly thousands) of families who have lost their homes due to these fires - only weeks before Christmas - personal tragedies too numerous to count; and to keep our fire-fighters safe.

****

Emergency information for Thomas-Ventura fires: readyventuracounty.orghttps://www.wsj.com/articles/socialism-capitalism-seen-in-new-light-by-younger-americans-1512561601

****

Polling organizations are finding out that our younger citizens, call them millennials, are more attracted to socialism than democracy. This is singular proof of the wholesale failure of our educational system, from grade school to college level.

Not only are American millennials shockingly ignorant of American heritage, the study of "civics" and American history have been superseded by politically correct, radical Left fake history. This is a huge shame. It's also a tragic loss to those who have advanced through our educational system because American history is so uniquely exciting and socially important.

No other attempt to grow a democracy has lasted more than a hundred years, including the first, in Greece. America has thrived for 240 years as a democratic republic and become the richest, most powerful nation on earth. That alone makes us "exceptional."

We have survived wars, poverty, and pestilence, by the grace of God. All of our Founding Fathers believed in the miracle of America because they personally witnessed the flow of such blessings. I would recommend two recent books that seek to certify these unique "miraculous" blessings throughout our history: "The American Miracle", by Michael Medved, and Bill O'Reilly's "Killing England". Both are famously easy reads. Both are exciting and chuck-full of fascinating facts. American history is extraordinarily interesting. No intellectually honest person can fail to acknowledge Divine intervention in its birth and growth. To prefer any variation of socialism to our democratic system is an admission of raw ignorance.

Some (most ?) of our colleges and universities, those touted as the greatest, have for decades now produced a crowd of history ignoramuses. Remember: "Hey-hey, ho-ho, American civ has got to go." And it did. These words were pronounced during the heyday of the American Left, the rebellious Yippies, Hippies, Yuppies, and Puppies - who now occupy the upper levels our commerce and government. I guess they eventually learned that they had to join-up to succeed in our commercial culture.

Anyway, it's not too much of a stretch to conclude that most American citizens are dangerously ignorant of their own American history, and therefore fail to acknowledge its greatness, and can't admit that America is indeed an "exceptional" place, compared to any other nation on earth - so far.

Read those two books and you will appreciate how God has, and continues to bless America.

The greatest commercial undertaking in Fillmore's history is underway.

Rotorcraft Support, Inc. has come to town!

Rotorcraft will be accompanied by a second business, The Guardian, a company dedicated to fighting forest fires; it employs approximately 15 full time men who will be at fire sites 9 months of the year. Those employees will be training in Fillmore when not attending to fires.

Rotorcraft Support, Inc. will bring in 58 full-time employees. The property itself is owned by a Rotorcraft affiliate.
This development was facilitated by our City Manager, David Rowlands, assisted by Fillmore City Planner Kevin McSweeney and staff - both doing extraordinary work for our city. Kudos to both.

So, it is the season to be grateful for this serendipitous happening - Rotorcraft and Guardian will be up-and-running about the same time our new 3-story housing development is expected to be opened, around 2018-2019. By then, another big plan will have been brought to fruition - our huge new County Fire station. The combination of our already famous Fillmore Volunteer Fire Department, our new County Fire Station, and The Guardian fire service, together with our outstanding Ventura County Sheriff's sub-station, should make Fillmore the safest town in the county.

These two new business developments will cause a commercial surge in Fillmore and spark more growth in our Business Park.
This is truly a new day for our city.

****

After all of this good news I am reluctant to begin writing of the bad in our world.

With so many cultural distractions confronting us being the top headline on Drudge this morning - in red font, we almost forget the imminent mortal danger America faces with North Korea, China, Iran, and Russia.

For years now we American citizens have been assured by our devious, feckless and corrupted government engineers that North Korea and Iran cannot and will not become nuclear threats. And the talk was repeated by both parties while in power. The last 8 years under Obama was a complete sell-out of national security while this political slick-talking dandy schmoozed with our enemies.

There is hardly time to deal with such treachery now. It's time to fix bayonets and assume the position of readiness. Negotiate all you want but that's a fool's undertaking. North Korea has outfoxed us for the last time. Mr. Ratus Horribilis Un has finally shown the world that he was not kidding about having atomic weapons, and intercontinental missiles to go with them. Why would we doubt his vaunted claims to possession of thermonuclear (hydrogen) bombs, which can be smaller in size while delivering 1,000-times more destruction?

We can be sure now that he has both, and the means to deliver them anywhere in the world. The single issue is - how can we stop him? With Un's complete targeting of South Korea's capital city by hair trigger artillery manned by fearsomely dedicated troops, under orders to fire at the first show of enemy force, it's a daunting issue to be sure. We can attack those arms preemptively, threatening the South Korean capital, and move on up the peninsula with smaller, atomic weapons. Or we can capitulate and assure another communist nuclear threat to the West, forever.

I would shoot first and fast.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I am republishing President Abraham Lincoln's proclamation for the first national celebration of Thanksgiving Day, to settle any question about to Whom exactly we are giving thanks. The proclamation was signed during the final year of our Civil War - America's greatest bloodletting - sacrificing more than 600,000 souls.

Giving thanks to Almighty God for the unprecedented blessings he continues to shower upon these United States of America is an essential American tradition recalling the first Thanksgiving held in the autumn of 1621, which included 50 Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag Indians, lasting three days. It also demonstrates the essential religious belief shared by all of our Founding Fathers, even Thomas Jefferson. Religious belief in a benevolent God was acknowledged by all Founders (even agnostics ) to be the necessary center of this republic, and of all republics. This belief had nothing to with an "establishment" of religion. It was simply a public acknowledgment of the central principle of a Supreme Benevolent Creator. Thomas Jefferson saw no contradiction to this and his firm belief in the separation (non-establishment) of church and state.

America, once again, needs to humble herself in order to offer Thanksgiving to the Almighty God Lincoln sought during the most devastating trials of our Civil War.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving from the land of the free, and home of the brave - and grateful.

***

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

It has pleased Almighty God to prolong our national life another year, defending us with His guardian care against unfriendly designs from abroad and vouchsafing to us in His mercy many and signal victories over the enemy, who is of our own household. It has also pleased our Heavenly Father to favor as well our citizens in their homes as our soldiers in their camps and our sailors on the rivers and seas with unusual health. He has largely augmented our free population by emancipation and by immigration, while He has opened to us new sources of wealth and has crowned the labor of our workingmen in every department of industry with abundant rewards. Moreover, He has been pleased to animate and inspire our minds and hearts with fortitude, courage, and resolution sufficient for the great trial of civil war into which we have been brought by our adherence as a nation to the cause of freedom and humanity, and to afford to us reasonable hopes of an ultimate and happy deliverance from all our dangers and afflictions:

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday in November next as a day which I desire to be observed by all my fellow-citizens, wherever they may then be, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe. And I do further recommend to my fellow-citizens aforesaid that on that occasion they do reverently humble themselves in the dust and from thence offer up penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Disposer of Events for a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony throughout the land which it has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling place for ourselves and for our posterity throughout all generations.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of October, A.D. 1864, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
Secretary of State.

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The American Poultry Association put on their annual event a few weeks ago. I attended for the first time. The 4-H members among others had a collection of decorated eggs from various birds on display. Many hundreds of chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys were judged.

The variation of different birds is incredible and beautiful.

Many thanks to Dave Andersen, president of the Association for his hard work in bringing the show together. Next year be sure to attend the show. You will be surprised at the beautiful display.

*****

The Texas Church Murders.

The recent slaughter of innocents in Sutherland Springs, Texas is a soul-crushing memory. The perpetrator's demonic concentration on killing each and every person he could find tells us the human race can never eliminate the problem of evil. It is the dark side of human nature which we can only deal with as it exposes itself.

Contrary to the ignorant comments of some liberal lawmakers, prayer is the most powerful way of dealing with the evil side of humanity - it facilitates the virtues of wisdom and prudence which tell us how to react, in the instance and in the future. Wisdom tells us in a general way, prudence is more specific. Both virtues are empowered by prayer, and prayer necessitates God.

I know this sort of religious talk stirs-up clouds of Leftist hatred, especially amongst atheists, but this is just this man's understanding and belief - my opinion - and I lean on my First Amendment right to express it.

I also lean on my Second Amendment right to criticize those who again holler for more gun restrictions. These calls are best understood as "infringements", which are forbidden by this Amendment. The Liberal Left hates firearms and always promotes their schemes to restrict, and eventually confiscate, most of the 350+ million firearms owned by Americans today, by prefacing their intentions with the word "reasonable". Actually, there is no "reasonable" way to "infringe" a God-given right to self-defense - especially in America. Our God-given rights do not belong to Caesar, so Caesar has no authority to take them from us. Our American Republic is not imperial, regardless of its pretentions.

It is supremely ironic, and instructive, that two American men (one a firearms instructor for the National Rifle Association) and the other a common American citizen, witnessing the shooting, grabbed their AR rifles and chased-down the criminal, neutralizing him with accurate firepower. One of the men ran to his pickup barefooted, driving up to 95-miles-per hour to catch the killer before he was able to shoot anyone else.

Both the killer and his pursuers were using the same kind of weapon, an AR simi-automatic rifle. These two very humble men are both heroes. Without the fact that they were able to "keep and bear arms" further slaughter would certainly have happened.

We are Americans. Unlike virtually all other subjects, citizens, or communist slaves, our country was blessed by God in a unique way; in His providence He gave us John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, and a host of other freedom-loving geniuses. Among those special rights they insisted be a part of our Constitution was our Second Amendment - most important to them except only for our First Amendment, intended to enforce the others by force if necessary.

So, it is with a heavy heart that I feel it necessary at this sad time to have to remind the Liberal Left of the serious nature of our right to keep and bear arms for self defense - and defense against government infringement. Our freedom of religion is first of the five freedoms guaranteed in our First Amendment. That freedom was absolutely violated by the killer in that Texas church. Our Second Amendment right to arms was quick to halt further bloodshed.

Should our Liberal legislators seek to confiscate our arms (as in Australia, England, and all of the rest of the world) it's not unreasonable to expect more bloodshed, as in our own, bloodiest, Civil War.

But the cry for more gun regulation and confiscation has already begun - even on the very day of the massacre. The radical Liberal Left despises logic. They cannot be convinced of reality. They don't, for example, understand that evil men do not comply with the law - that's why they are called outlaws. All the anti-firearm laws in the world have no effect upon evildoers, they only, and severely affect law-abiding citizens. The old saying, guns don't kill people, people do, is another reality Liberals can't understand.

But a reality, a fact they should understand is that even serious talk of banning or restricting gun ownership sparks a fierce gun-buying urge in the law-abiding public. I anticipate such talk this time, again, will sell a million additional firearms across America, adding to that 350+ million already at hand. Attempting an Australian "solution" will cause civil war.

God bless our Second Amendment and those who act to keep us safe and free!

The American Poultry Association held its annual show at the Ventura Fairgrounds, Saturday. More information and photos next week.

The Fillmore City Council celebrated the opening of the long-awaited dog park on Saturday.

This is another promise kept to the residents of our town. The enclosure, located at Two Rivers Park, was greeted with excitement by many of our 4-footed friends. The park is separated for large and small dogs with plenty of room to run.

Good job, Council!

*****

The world and national news has become so dark and threatening these days that more than a few people have stopped watching TV. That's not hard to understand, but reality will seek us out regardless of our attempts to ignore it. America must toughen-up and prepare for the unprecedented social and military challenges clearly and presently facing us. Most of the conflict to come is self-inflicted. It's as though we have a subconscious death wish expressed through the truly stupid policies of our former government. It's largely the product of wide-spread, liberal-Left Political Correctness, socialist leanings, massive moral corruption (Judeo-Christian animus) and the absence of common sense.

America has undergone a nearly complete change since the 1960s. We've lost our sense of special purpose in the world, which was to stand as an example of honorable leadership, strength, and goodness.

We have abandoned the guidelines which made us great. We have corrupted our youth, debased our currency, emasculated much of our military, isolated our religious faith, and politicized our judicial system. The zealots of the radical Left have eaten away much of the clear, original intent of our Constitution - especially our Bill of Rights. Radical jurists (especially in Courts of Appeal) have for 50 years strained to dilute the fundamental meaning of our law. The courts of law have become a legislative wing of the Democrat Party.

In the face of these civic enormities we are met with intense, traditional Islamic attacks, such as the most recent jihadist murders in New York by Sayfullo Saipov. Democrat lawmakers let him in, together with millions of other suspect Muslim arrivals. At the same time, these same Democrats demand further infringements upon the right of the [American] people to keep and bear Arms for defense. Daniel Greenfield sums it up well in his latest column: [The Jihadist] "Sayfullo Saipov had come here in 2010. In that short amount of time he managed to amass criminal records in Pennsylvania and Missouri for traffic offenses. After stints in at least three other states, he went on a killing spree that took eight lives and wounded as well as traumatized countless others.

Dem leaders in New York are already rolling out the standard messages urging everyone to go back to life as usual. Mayor Bill de Blasio called the attack “cowardly”. But the attack wasn’t cowardly. It was vicious and murderous. It’s Bill de Blasio and the other politicians who crippled the NYPD because they were afraid of political pressure from Linda Sarsour and CAIR who are the real cowards.

They are cowards with blood on their hands.

The New York media’s first response after the attack was to try and blame road rage. Before long, you will see it running the standardized “Muslims fear backlash” stories that are a staple of every effort to sweep the latest Islamic terrorist attack under the rug along with the blood and the bodies.

Islamic terrorists like Sayfullo Saipov are able to do what they do because they have a long list of collaborators like the ACLU, Democrat politicians, Federal judges and the mainstream media.

While law enforcement fights a desperate battle to stop the next Saipov, the men and women tracking the terrorists know that if they get their man, the media will make them the villains."

(Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam.)

The nation's West coast is threatened by the same "ACLU, Democrat politicians, Federal judges and the mainstream media" as our East coast.

The citizens of California have to deal with the most liberal governor in the country, Jerry Brown, and his likely political progeny after 2018. He is an agent of tyrannical Democrat dreams, of higher taxes, more regulation, and most important, draconian restrictions on firearms and ammunition. Like all liberal Democrats, he enjoys inflicting those regulations on Californians which deprive us of our Constitutional rights - our freedoms. It's all about control.

These issues are all one bundle of corrupting liberal policies contributing to the weakness of our nation.

Condemn how you will Present Donald Trump for the manner of his leadership; he remains strong and resolute, much like President Jackson, in a time of dire need. Our enemies recognize his strength - why not more of us?

Be glad, be very glad, that Hillary Clinton lost the election.

The City of Fillmore is facing one of the greatest threats to its future ever. Last night the City Council did the right thing by deciding to notify the Environmental Protection Agency that it strongly opposes Seneca Oil's proposal to extend its fracking operation closer to our aquifer.

Our very deep and ancient aquifer, near the confluence of Sespe Creek and the Santa Clara River, is responsible for the fact that Fillmore has never suffered a true drought. We are essentially water independent. I think we are unique among southern California cities in this regard. Elsewhere, water has to be piped-in from the central valley aqueduct or the Colorado River.

Fillmore must defend this rare and precious supply of drinking water by all lawful means. We are apparently late to the fight, with State and Federal approval already lined up for the Seneca fracking extension.

It's time to write our state and federal senators. This is not just another protest against fracking. This is a demand that our unique fresh water aquifer be protected. If something should happen to allow any contaminants from this special method of oil extraction to contaminate our aquifer, it could never be cleaned-up, we would lose our water independence, and have to depend on the aqueduct.

Let's fight for our water independence! Write to your state and federal senators and representatives asking them to halt this dangerous extension.

****

We are about to witness the single greatest political scandal in American history. It involves two former presidents, two former attorney generals, an assistant attorney general, two former FBI directors, and what appears to be an additional cast of thousands.

It is almost unbelievable. That swamp we keep hearing about is about a mile deep and twice as poisonous. Democrats have been harping for more than a year on the alleged "collusion" between the Trump organization and Russia. The accusations never stopped, till now. After an exhaustive witch hunt the nation can clearly see this alleged collusion never existed. The whole charade was designed to cover up a true criminal collusion between Hillary Clinton's crowd of liars and thieves, Russian operatives - and Putin himself. This was a wholesale sellout of American security.

The scope of this criminal conspiracy is just breathtaking. I can no longer believe in the fidelity of the FBI, CIA, State Department, Attorney General's office, IRS, as they now function. This is wholesale federal corruption on an unparalleled scale. We will surely see this corruption in all departments of government that functioned under the Obama presidency. It will take years to sort-out these corrupt connections and crimes - at a time of unprecedented military threats to our nation.

It is no longer a wonder that President Trump is incessantly attacked from every side, including his own party. Regardless of how offended or disturbed by his political or social tactics, he, and his tactics, are exactly what is needed to effectively drain the swamp. Can anyone see Hillary Clinton doing this job? She and her friends compose the stench of the swamp. I don't apologize for once referring to Hillary as the Bitch Goddess of Untruth - though it did cost me a particular subscription - from an agitated lady with beautiful handwriting. Hillary Clinton is no lady! She is a criminal among criminals.

Now, we need a more forceful Attorney General to bring the indictments against Hillary and her gang. If that happens my faith in government will be restored.

In Memoriam, Roger Campbell.

Roger Campbell passed away this week. For those who knew and worked with him over the decades especially, he will be greatly missed.

I knew Roger as a hard working councilman and mayor shortly after I came to Fillmore in 1989. He loved politics and I enjoyed working with him on several events over the years. He was also deeply involved in the city's Volunteer Fire Department. Former Fillmore City Manager Roy Payne's tribute on front page details Roger's long association with the Fire Department.

Thank you Roger for all those years volunteering for the City's welfare.

Rest in peace, Roger Campbell.

***

I'm sure I'm not alone in my feelings of loathsomeness for Hollywood these days. Hearing more and more of traditional Tinseltown debauchery forces one to recall an aphorism in the Book of Proverbs, "As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly" and replication is what it's all about; that's where the money is. I can't avoid wishing the worst for Hollywood, the world's greatest purveyor of pornography, violence, and social degradation of every kind. A financial wipe-out of that place would go a long way to cleansing the national conscience and saving our children's innocence - at least for a while.

I stopped going to the movies a long time ago. There are a few that I regret missing, but really only a few. What passes for star quality today leaves me unimpressed - I don't recognize half their names.

It's difficult to describe movie quality today because most of the negative adjectives seem too weak. It's like referring to Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill as a film needing a parental guidance caution. It's just one big disgusting ball of rot, with Harvey Weinstein and friends just the most recent attraction.

Hearing of what those young girls had to tolerate to get a job in Hollywood, the infamous casting couch, the line-ups, is not news. It's the scope of the ancient problem and recent details that tends to cripple the conscience and beg for justice.

I think it's fair to point out that most of the responsible parties involved in this Hollywood darkness are closely related to the political darkness in our nation. That's where the Clinton and Obama money is, that's where America's "establishment" sentiments are located. The problem is just one infectious liberal blur.

I just learned of the passing of Bud Woods. I remember him as the cheerful manager of Fillmore's Safeway market when I first came to town in 1989. I haven't had the opportunity to read his obituary, but I will always remember him as a very conscientious, outgoing man, always willing to assist his customers with a friendly smile. He was a good man. Rest in peace, Bud.

****

I've always been a strong "fair market" conservative. I think, with all its faults, capitalism is the best economic system yet devised. So I support projects which keep it humming along.

Fracking is one of those great inventions which has turned America away from the dreaded economic cliff of Peak Oil. Most knowledgeable oil men, not too long ago, warned that the time of oil scarcity had arrived. It looked like we were running out of oil and would fall into infamous OPEC hands. This was described as Hubbert peak theory, which still makes a lot of sense - except for the timing.

All of a sudden America was the world's largest oil producer, or soon will be, thanks to the invention of something called fracking. Basically, it is a method of extracting the most oil by forcing water into oil producing areas. It was revolutionary.

Fracking has its enemies, however. Earthquakes have been attributed to fracking, and the fear of contaminating clean drinking water is another concern. Both concerns have been raised by the fracking that is going on north of Fillmore, about 2 miles above our Sespe Basin aquifer. If our aquifer was contaminated, the city would lose its main water source, possibly forever.

Years ago, in a conversation with then (now deceased) prominent hydrologist Ted Bear, I was told our aquifer was one of the deepest in the country. I guess the confluence of the Santa Clara River and Sespe Creek make it so. It's fairly brackish, but certainly free of oil and its dangerous parts. I'm also told that, due to our deep aquifer, Fillmore City has never known a true drought. For the most part we have been self-sustaining for more than 100 years.

Area oil fields have also been with us for more than 100 years, though not nearly as long as we have enjoyed an abundance of clean water.

So, I'm happy with the new success we have had with fracking; it has set us free from the threat of Middle East blackmail - as in the 1970s oil embargo - when we couldn't find gas.

But the issue of extending fracking in the oil fields just a few miles above our Sespe aquifer is alarming. It would no doubt be a huge financial gain for Seneca, but it would be a Russian roulette gamble for the City of Fillmore. Any incursion of oil, by fracking itself, or an earthquake, could possibly cause a catastrophic contamination of the aquifer, which could destroy Fillmore's water source forever.

From what I know, the Seneca company has an exemplary reputation for running a clean operation in the hills above Fillmore. I've taken a tour of their fracking operation and it is squeaky clean. They show special concern for the condors in their area as well.

While I admire Seneca's conscientious business ethic, my concern for the future health of our aquifer, and the risk posed by fracking even closer to our water source, forces me to oppose the proposed extension. The move to extend the operation so close to the aquifer is a gamble that should not be taken. The threat of future contamination, even years into the future, is simply too dangerous, and if it should happen, it could never be fixed.

No matter what words are used to express grief, sorrow, and anger at the criminal slaughter of innocents as happened in Las Vegas this week, they are empty. How difficult it is to try to understand such evil, and the person who patiently plotted to assure its success.

After the screech "why?" - we thunder for an answer to "How?" - how can this be stopped? How wretched can a human soul become to do a thing like this? Unfortunately we can take little comfort, and find few answers when we look to human history. Evil is as old as creation, and Good has always been absent, too slow, or too cowardly to stop it.

Whether it's a "religion" that exalts in the crucifixion of children, sex slaves, mutilation of women, and the burning alive of its adversaries (Sharia law) or the demented individual who sheds his conscience in exchange for animal status, it shakes normalcy to its core. Someone tell us why these affronts to God happened: The Nazi Genocide, The Rwandan Genocide, The War in Darfur, The Zunghar Genocide, The Armenian Genocide, The Bangladesh Atrocities, The Communist Holodomor (Soviet famine-Ukraine), The Great Leap Forward.

And tell us why so many continue to deny this phenomenon of evil.

I can tell the world one thing for certain: The tools of these extraordinary mass murders were not responsible. It was not the knives, swords, blunt instruments, stones, or guns that caused these murderous events - it was the men who held them, and the ideas that drove them to do such horrendous things to other human beings.

Only a fool can fail to understand the difference between an inanimate object and a criminal act, between the tool and the criminal. It is the action of the criminal, not the existence of an object, that is the responsible cause. What should worry sensible people here is the fact that this difference has to be explained to half the populace - over and over again. If I had the authority I would demand that the subject of LOGIC be taught at all levels of high school. It may be too late for most at the college level, their professors have already convinced them of their omniscience.

With the rest of the nation, I grieve over, and pray for, the victims of the Los Vegas attack. But I also brace myself for another coming war against firearms by the well-funded (and ill intentioned) armies of radical Democrat anarchists who haven't yet learned to think correctly.

Our Second Amendment is nearly at the top of the list because the Founders knew radicals would always try to disarm the people. The Second Amendment is absolutely necessary for the defense of the other nine in our Bill of Rights. James Madison understood this and so do those who think logically and love freedom.

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller's most important mission is to destroy President Trump and as many associates as possible. Former Director James Comey has been a close friend of Mueller's for more than 25 years, yet Mueller is tasked with investigating Comey. This conflict of interest is both incredibly improbable and obviously unlawful. But nothing is done about it.

Trump should fire Mueller, another dirty cop, despite the uproar that will follow.

The President is in serious danger from the radical Left and those several billionaires, like George Soros, Michael Bloomberg, Warren Buffett, Pierre Omidyar, Tom Steyer and George Soros’s own son, Jonathan, who fund many powerful anarchist groups.

It's hard to understand why Trump doesn't clean-out the liberal Leftists who are undermining his administration.

****

The NFL, and all professional sports leagues who have chosen to disrespect our flag, our national anthem, and therefore our great nation, should be boycotted. The only thing most of the members of these teams respect is money (averaging $2.4million per year) so it's time to cost them a few dollars. Don't buy team colors, stay away from the games, and be verbal in our disrespect for them. I may not have graduated from high school without my love of football.

I don't watch football games for their political messages; I watch to get away from politics for a short time. Colin Kaepernick wants to be a free agent - let him float away.

Direct TV will refund the cost of its football package if done in protest. Check it out.

And all the coaches who have encouraged our youth to "take the knee" during the playing of our national anthem (including 3rd graders!) should be publically identified, and fired.

****

Mr. Ratus horribilis Un of North Korea says he will begin to shoot down U.S. military aircraft after being insulted by President Trump by being called Little Rocket Man. Well, nations have gone to war for less (see the War of Jenkin's Ear). China has always had the unique ability to take negotiations to the very edge before giving-in, and China is in full control over North Korea, despite appearances. So if North Korea does in fact shoot down a U.S. bomber, or set-off a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific, we will know for sure the tether to China has been broken. Still unlikely.

But North Korea's nuclear factories must be destroyed. They are assembling many atomic bombs, and now, so-called hydrogen bombs. The latter can be 1,000-times more powerful than a traditional "atom bomb" and can be smaller, which facilitates the construction of nuclear missiles, and their greater range.

Just as dangerous, or even more, is North Korea's traffic in nuclear bomb technology (hello internet) and fissile material - uranium and plutonium, to other eager bomb makers like Iran.

Let's also not forget that fissile materials North Korea (and Iran) have been making are deadly in themselves as "dirty bombs". They can render huge areas uninhabitable for hundreds of years.

Then, shall we think about Electro Magnetic Pulse threat? This could wipe out our entire electric grid, especially as wobbly as it is. No computers, phones, cars, planes, etc. Then, the man with the mechanical typewriter, plenty of paper and a bicycle would be king. Ironically, the federal EMP commission is ENDING its work this September 30. I guess they see no danger in this greatest threat.

I don't mean to be cynical here, just want to emphasize the importance of destroying Mr. Un's bomb and missile works.

After more than 30-years-worth of negotiations, it should be clear to reasonably intelligent humans that further negotiations with North Korea on this issue are just dangerously foolish.

Time, once wasted, can't be retrieved. The time that the free world has wasted negotiating with intransigent communist North Korea has strengthened its hand to the point where there is nothing more to negotiate.

If we don't initiate a preemptive strike on North Korea soon, Mr. Un, under the auspices of communist China, will call Check Mate - and Iran will follow suit.

That scenario would prove to be the greatest loss to the free world, ever.

The nuclear missile fashion rage these days, among friend and foe alike, tends towards the smaller,W54 warhead variety, in bunches. It takes us back to the 1960s when the 1-man Davy Crockett atomic mortar was deployed to 2000 locations in Europe. One of the smallest nuclear weapon systems ever built, with a yield between 10 and 20 tons TNT, and highly mobile.

Would the hit-and-run driver, who rammed into that flatbed truck yesterday near Olive Street, please claim your front bumper and license plate which you left at the scene.
Thank you.

*****

As always, the Gazette aims to be ahead of the news curve, so I thought I would tell everyone that our country will soon be engaged in a war. Remember, you heard it first at the Fillmore Gazette.

While this report may seem a little flippant, I'm deadly serious. War is more probable than not.

My recent research meanderings in the area of American military defense, particularly nuclear and naval, leave me wanting to construct a bomb shelter and stow away some water and grub, just like the 1950s. Our enemies are ready; in my opinion we are not.

America has abandoned the practice of civil defense. Unlike the Cold War years (some may recall the duck and cover days) the government has neglected to notify us of available public shelters against nuclear fallout. It no longer designates private or government-owned buildings to which the public could find safety in such an emergency. Emergency water sources, for example, don't exist as they should, as well as accessible food supplies. Sufficient medical resources are just as lacking. All because we don't believe an attack will happen.

Emergency water could be efficiently supplied with a little thought, even after an atomic attack. Immediately after such attack finding water will be critically important for drinking and flushing away fallout particles. I don't know why Homeland Security doesn't construct multiple, simple gravity-fed water sources around the city, since it has said, eventually an attack is inevitable. Recent events make it now highly probable.

Build water sources with concrete-encased, earthen-covered,100,000 gallon tanks, every 5 miles or so away from the expected target area, near main highways. Survivors will more likely die without a source of water. This is a simple, inexpensive preparation, guaranteed to work.

Food sources must also be available for millions of people. They must be as available as water, and secure as possible from theft and riotous looting - which will require armed guards.

Like it or not, America's feckless government during the past 30-years has facilitated North Korea's ability to strike our homeland with multiple nuclear missiles, from land and sea. We have waited too long.

North Korea has the ability to launch these weapons from submarines, any one of which could approach the U.S. from points in the Pacific. I don't think Kim Un would waste his missiles on Guam, or even Hawaii. He would try for Seattle, Los Angeles, or San Diego. Even a near-miss, or a complete miss anywhere, would change America forever, and entice Russia, China, and Iran to join the fray, overtly or covertly.

I have always taken pride in America's defensive strength, going back to the Reagan years and the so-called "missile gap." Today we have some remarkably capable weapons, but so do our many nuclear-armed enemies - Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. Include in this enemy's list our pretend friends like Turkey and Pakistan who would likely turn on us - because they are Sharia devotees - which a good 80-percent of Islam is today. Think of 80-percent of a billion-plus. All reports to the contrary are dangerously false.

Most recently I have admired our navy's Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear aircraft carrier. That's the one with no urinals.

This is a super carrier which travels with a heavily armed escort of missile-destroyers, at least one submarine, and the latest in radar-sonar and other counter-defensive electronics. Its nuclear "engine" produces huge quantities of electrical power which runs the entire ship. No more steam generation like all earlier super carriers.

It has $13-billion worth of armament, is a 1,100-foot long floating airport manned by 3000 sailors, and billions of dollars worth of jet fighters, bombers, helicopters, and intelligence planes. It is indeed a fierce behemoth.

What worries me about this great ship, and the next couple now under construction, is the fact that our enemies now demonstrate contempt for its capabilities. Russia boasts it can destroy our whole Navy. " US General Frank Gorenc [quoted] as saying: “Russian electronic weapons [can] completely paralyze the functioning of American electronic equipment installed on missiles, aircraft and ships.” And satellites. Russia proved this a few years ago when "a single Russian war plane flew several times around American destroyer the USS Donald Cook in the Black Sea several years ago, disabling its systems and leaving it helpless."

This is a fact. Do we have a counter-measure to protect our ships, or are they just sitting ducks on the pond?

Other serious problems exist regarding the safety of our ships. During many so-called war games, with allied countries attempting to destroy our carriers with their submarines, they have been successful. Our carriers are vulnerable to enemy atomic submarine tactics.

The weapons themselves are hyper-sophisticated as well. We are now dealing with torpedoes that travel over 200-miles per hour, thanks to special supercavitating torpedoes developed several years ago by Russia, like the VA-111 Shkval.

Another sword of Damocles hanging over the carrier projects is the anti-ship missile. These are plentiful and accurate. Even that little rat Un claims to have a few. They can be launched by sea, air, or land. And, I'm not worried about the many that can be handled by our Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. I'm worried about showers of missiles intended to overwhelm the entire carrier force. Systems on land, air, and sea can deliver far more firepower than even a well-armed carrier force, continuously.

So, I'm glad we have impressive super carriers, I really am. But even with substantial air and anti-missile defensive support, they are very vulnerable. This is why, Mr. Ratus Horabilus Un, is so confident. He has China, Russia, and Iran in his corner, grinning like Cheshire Cats, in anticipation of the show.

Prayer, my friends, prayer is the best shelter.

I haven't given up on our Sespe Creek access. It's a crime as well as a shame that one butthead homeowner has halted entry to this federally protected, and state constitutionally mandated, open public navigable river.

The legal remedy is clear and absolutely available. But I'm only one person with many challenges of my own. It is our RIGHT to enter the southern point of Sespe Creek and to travel and recreate up the entire 31-mile area. But rights mean nothing at all unless they are exercised.

Any obstruction, threat or physical impediments keeping the public out of Sespe Creek are (by state and federal law) patently unlawful, with both civil and criminal penalties available. The threats by the homeowner (falsely threatening trespass prosecution) and the County's steel fence obstructing safe parking, are both unlawful.

Who wants to help tie the bell around the cat's neck?

*****

Ants! They're all over the place. It does no good to ignore them. I have them in my office, on my chair, on my arm. They even ride on my fingers while I type - I guess they like to go for the ride.

Oh well. I guess we need the small problems to be distracted from the big ones.

****

I hate to think I've become so redundant in my old age, but it's apparently true. I just can't get the image of the USN Gerald R. Ford, atomic supercarrier and largest warship in the world, with a male crew of 3000, sailing away without urinals. Reminds me of a cartoon I saw a long time ago, with a construction manager talking to the architect, staring up at a very high-rise apartment building. The caption read, "Elevators? What elevators?"

Our newest $13-billion-dollar, 1,100 foot long carrier has the very latest radar and sonar systems and a new electromagnetic catapult for launching her planes. But, "Every bathroom on the Ford is, for the first time, gender-neutral, equipped with flush toilets and stalls, according to Navy Times." "Bathroom-design experts have said sit-down toilets are less sanitary and take up more space, and most of the Ford's crew members are men."

Sailors will no longer refer to the "head". Now they will have to say "Excuse me sir, I have to go to the toilet". Isn't that special? And about being "less sanitary" - just ask any mom in America with males in the house. It's just all unimaginable. The tradition of the urinal must be respected. Feminizing our ships-of-the-line will prove to be a dangerous innovation. I can hear the mutinous push-back now, written on small post-its throughout the lower decks - "Leave the seats up". And the feminist counter attack - "We aim to please. You aim too please."

It's going to get ugly.

To say that today's scientific achievements are extraordinary is an understatement. At the same time, too many scientific claims are ludicrously overstated, often contradictory when stated as fact. A physicist-spokesman for a popular TV science program recently told his audience that evolution is no longer a theory but a fact. Ah, the arrogance of genius.

Several times during the past year I've read reports alleging that science may achieve a sort of immortality for mankind - just requiring some clever gene adjustments. Today the Drudge Report tells us that the maximum age for humans is about 114-115 years. I suspect that the gene-adjustment guys are looking for a little research money, and are probably liberals. On the other hand I would guess that the life-limiting data comes from a conservative research group. Shame on both camps for any bias - where is that vaunted scientific method?

Our satellite, Voyager 1, has traveled about 13 billion miles from earth since being launched in the 1970s and is still going strong. Science programs tell our kids, and kid-like-thinkers, that it has reached the very edge of space. I've often wondered what that edge looks like and where it would stop. Can we kneel down and peek underneath? Will Voyager come to a screeching halt before falling off the edge? What lies beyond the "edge" of space? Or, if no edge exists, and Voyager is into some sort of an incomprehensible, universal, infinite orbital course, or just a straight course, might this mean that God has created his universe to mystify and humble His human creations? That something could exist beyond man's ability to comprehend would prove to be hugely embarrassing for folks like Stephen Hawking who believe everything can be known because there is no God to limit man's understanding.

Well, whether it's quantum mechanics or automobile mechanics, if man is as smart as many scientists claim, we should know what's at the edge of space, or beyond. Or, do we have to wait until we get there? Where is there? If Voyager is able to travel another 13 billion miles from home will we then be able to know how big God's universe is? Will we then be smart enough to know that there is indeed a God, and that we are operating in His infinite universe?

I really wonder, since our best engineers and technicians don't understand the need for urinals on the world's largest supercarrier (Gerald R Ford) manned by a crew of 3,000 men.

The new carrier has cost the nation $13 billion and will travel on God's finite oceans without urinals. The Voyager has traveled 13 billion miles into God's infinite space and doesn't need them. Kudos to the space engineers for getting things right.

"Why Johnny Came Marching Home. A Fighter Pilot's History of Why We Lost the Clandestine Air Wars in Southeast Asia." The author, Russ Goodenough, Combat Fighter Pilot USAF, flew 148 combat missions throughout North and South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
Enlarge Photo

Following my column this week is an introduction to a truly extraordinary book by Air Force Captain Russ Goodenough (ret), entitled: "Why Johnny Came Marching Home - A fighter Pilot's History of Why We Lost the Clandestine Air Wars in Southeast Asia". A look at the endorsements tells us how important this book really is. During the following weeks the Gazette will be posting excerpts from the text online. What I have read of the book so far verifies many stunning revelations of political corruption and incompetence throughout the maintenance of that long war. This is a must read for anyone who cares about "real facts".

****

Pray for the people in Texas and Louisiana struggling with the greatest rainstorm in American history.
Giving credit where it's due, President Trump is handling the rescue efforts superbly, with the great help of many federal, state, county, and volunteer assistance. It's good to see America coming together again.

****

Why Johnny Came Marching Home
A Fighter Pilot's History of Why We Lost the Clandestine Air Wars in Southeast Asia
By Russ Goodenough, Combat Fighter Pilot, USAF Capt. (ret).
Captain Goodenough flew 148 combat missions throughout North and South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

It's my distinct honor to introduce this extraordinary new book by one of Fillmore's native sons, Russ Goodenough. Among the many books written about the Vietnam War, the air war over South East Asia in particular, this book is unique in its detailed documentation of the political corruption and incompetence which caused us to lose that war.

The name Goodenough Road is familiar to every Fillmore resident. It's named after the author's grandfather, who was an early farmer-homesteader here. Russ was born in Los Angeles, but grew up in Fillmore, graduating from Fillmore High School in 1958.

The preface to his book states: "His introduction to writing started early. While in high school, he wrote weekly stories for the local newspaper, the Fillmore Herald, relating to what had transpired at the high school football games. He would quarterback the team and write about it afterwards." "My personal preparations for war and connection to Southeast Asia began as a young boy in a Southern California ranching and oil town. It started in a movie theater in the little town of Fillmore, California. In 1949, at the age of nine, I paid my 10-cent ticket fee to see a movie called "Fighter Squadron" at the tiny Fillmore Theater. I still remember my seat, which was on the left side of the balcony in the "loge" section.

The endorsements of this book speak to its authenticity and distinct revelation of the "real facts"
about the air war in Southeast Asia. Russ Goodenough is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy.

"This is a serious document about war, its history, its conduct, its folly, with lessons learned for soldiers, sailors, airmen and politicians. Russ Goodenough writes with passion. He knows of which he speaks. He has been there, done that. Feel the G's, smell the cordite. Strap in with Russ for a wild and dangerous ride through aerial combat in the Vietnam War."

Air Force Major General (ret.) Don Sheppard, former CNN Military Analyst and co-author of "Bury Us Upside Down".

"Using his personal combat logs and correspondence, Russ Goodenough creates and unparalleled account of the air wars in Vietnam and Laos during the mid-1960s,which beyond providing pinpoint details of combat operations, convincingly conveys the terror, exhaustion, and frustration experienced by American fighter pilots. His work goes far beyond the war story and stands as a damning condemnation of the political decisions that exposed aircrews to totally unnecessary levels of risk and the appalling loss of airplanes and lives."

"Although the knowledge I gained during a 1965 Pentagon assignment directed toward assessing the potential for escalation left me with serious doubts about the conduct of the war, I never understood the magnitude of the consequences until I read Russ' book. This is a landmark piece of literature that should be read by anyone concerned with the politics of war."

Robert F. Davey, MBA, PhD, USAF Instructor Pilot (F-5) during time of SSEA Air Wars; Author of "Moon War"; Professor Emeritus, Aerospace Engineering, California State Polytechnic University.

Purchase on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Why-Johnny-Came-Marching-Home/dp/1544902336

The Gazette will have a special photo treat about the recent eclipse next week. Stay tuned.

****

So Mr. Un from North Korea didn't attack Guam after all, and Japan, South Korea and Los Angeles seem safe for the time being. That doesn't change a thing. More diplomatic words will accomplish nothing. Ultimately North Korea will deploy a multiplicity of nuclear weapons. Our archenemies, Russia, China, and Iran will continue to encourage and supply North Korea with more of the same.

We should worry, in particular, about small nuclear weapons. Doing a little research on historic US efforts to miniaturize these things I came up with one of the smallest of these devices, what was called the Davy Crockett. It was a recoilless spigot gun (much like a mortar, with a 1.7-mile trajectory) that was developed in the late 1950s for use against Soviet and North Korean armor and troops in case war broke out in Europe or the Korean peninsula. It weighed about 50 pounds. I can't see why any interested military power today should have any trouble hammering one of these things together. Something so small needs no large missile to launch, from land, sea, or air.

Ultimately, Mr. Un will have to be destroyed. Sorry to put it so bluntly, but this just a fact of life if we wish to continue living freely.

****

While I'm worrying about American freedom, so closely bound to our superior military might, how about that newest of multi-billion-dollar aircraft carriers? By golly, the Navy has done it again (I don't mean crashing another multi-billion-dollar super destroyer into another commercial tanker or cargo ship). I mean it has made a supreme, unprecedented contribution to sexual equality. Our newest and greatest aircraft, the USS Ford, has been built without urinals.

"Amid all its upgrades and advances, the US Navy's newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is lacking one feature: urinals.” Every bathroom on the Ford is, for the first time, gender-neutral, equipped with flush toilets and stalls, according to Navy Times.

Isn't that just special? I hope the men who man this behemoth will leave the seats up! I'm going to do a little more research on this remarkable design feature. I'm wondering if the naval architects and engineers were sufficiently gender conscious to provide bedets and vanities as well.

What in the hell has happened to our Navy?! The Navy was first to waffle under gender neutral pressure. The Obama White House led the way by appointing flakey top brass and cabinet appointees. It's time for America to re-activate some male testosterone. Our military services are built and trained to kill people and blow things up. That's what it's all about.

Obama's weak military and civilian "leaders" have made us a laughingstock within the ranks of our enemies.
It's time to clear the decks of so-called transgender troops. Let's see if Trump continues to be a man of his word.

www.apnews.com/2c7387e3138d4fa9b5a2b560a58a2c40/North-Korea-photos-sugge...

www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2017/08/23/100-richest-tech-billionaire

www.wral.com/thousands-protest-at-unc-chapel-hill-silent-sam-2-protester...

I've had too many distractions during the past couple of months to pay sufficient attention to the threat presented to Fillmore by a “beach nourishment project” sought by the City of Malibu.

I will research what I can of the construction contract terms, involving the City of Moorpark, Malibu, and the quarry involved. The City of Fillmore has joined the County of Ventura in a lawsuit to halt the proposed project. The project itself is so environmentally absurd that I have to draw a deep breath before describing it. It involves dumping fresh sand onto Malibu's mile-long Broad Beach, which a storm took away a number of years ago. Rocks, and a make-shift sea wall, keep the sea from wiping-out a string of houses along the beach today.

CORRECTION: The Grimes Canyon quarry has no part in this bizarre plan. My apologies for any such inference in my previous reports. I understand that, under this particular proposal, any sand would be transferred from a quarry near Happy Camp, NOT GRIMES CANYON. It is proposed, however, to truck the 500 belly-dump trucks (per day) down Grimes Canyon -approximately one per minute (according to reports in the Malibu Times). The Ventura County proposal "included 22,000 round-trip truckloads of sand being brought in from quarries in Ventura County over local roads, including PCH, and then being dumped into the Zuma Beach parking lot and picked up by earth-moving equipment." Then, of course, there is the return trip.

This work is expected to be repeated about every 5 years. Polaris Materials Corporation, wants to provide the sand.

An alternative to this dusty, dangerous, and road-busting idea has been suggested. That would be to mine the sand off British Columbia and ship it to Malibu where it would be pumped onto the beach as a slurry. I'm not kidding.

I can think of a couple of other alternatives. Why not consult the Chinese? They have become expert at creating islands and beaches in the South China Sea, and they work fast and cheap. Or, maybe a sea wall is more practical - consult 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. There's a guy there who knows a thing or two about walls. But, really, there's one common sense method which has apparently been ignored. Why not dredge-up the same sand which was washed away. It's still down there! This method is used regularly to clear-out harbor entrances. Dredging equipment is not particularly attractive, but a little camouflage and a few plastic palm trees and, voilà!

Congratulations are in order to our City Council members for their unanimous vote, at last night's meeting, to keep medical marijuana cultivation out of Fillmore.

Several members struggled to overcome the temptation of easy money from pot. The money can be huge, and Fillmore sure could use some of it to lower our water bills, pave roads, and support our swimming pool. Money usually wins out over morals. The construction of that sort of plantation would have stained Fillmore's reputation forever, and our children would have seen us, likewise forever, as hypocrites.

For those of us who care about such things, this vote is evidence of good character.

Again, congratulations, Council.

****

Our world is growing more dangerous day by day, as never before.

I would be less concerned about America's safety if Obama had not squandered our defense system for 8 long years. Combine his near criminal negligence with his foolish diplomacy and extraordinary naiveté about the atomic nature of our evil enemies (Iran, Russia, China, North Korea and ubiquitous Islamic terrorism) and we are on the cusp of all-out war.

While North Korea seems most immediately dangerous, each of these aggressive enemies will not hesitate to join the fray with the U.S. once the inevitable match is struck. What then?

Thanks to our recent history of unpreparedness, it's largely too late for us to circle the wagons. I sometimes think I'm the only person in the US who has voiced some concern about what we use to call civil defense. The clear and present danger of atomic attack from North Korea is real. I've listened with dismay over the past 10 years or so as our "experts" kept saying, "North Korea may have an intercontinental missile in 8 or 10 years". Well they now have it.

They haven't produced their new weapons through native ingenuity. The launchers are identified as made in China. Most of this deadly stuff has been given to North Korea by China, and Russia, while a open source in atomic information is traded with Iran as well. This is why North Korea has been so astonishingly quick to acquire the technology.

China is the main enemy. They are using North Korea as a franchise. China has no fear that North Korea would ever dare to attack it. The same holds true of Russia, and Iran. They all stand amused at the prospect of Kim Jong-un throwing his next atomic tantrum. Kim has always been immune to the West's sanctions. He needs nothing - China provides everything. He has many and various missiles, capable of ship, sea, and ground launch to chose from.

We have done nothing to create an effective civil defense system. Where would we go; what would we be expected to do, in the event of an atomic attack? Sounds like a question from a 1950's comic book. Who has an answer at this late date? I sure don't.

"Get Over It! We Are Not All Created Equal"
Captain Katie Petronio

The LGBT organization, now a well established sub-culture in America, has come to prominence during the past 15 years or so as a distinct group. Among its beliefs is equal treatment under law in every facet of national life. If this were possible, and attempted, women would suffer unequally. Our Judeo-Christian ethics, the infrastructure of American life and tradition, demand that LGBT culture be rejected by our military organizations. More specifically, women in combat units. I have nothing to say about members of this culture participating in any other organizations, and women are especially required and welcomed in most all other elements of the American work force.

Radical LGBT members have pushed for decades to place women in ground combat units. This is a direct threat by fostering "conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline" which destroys unit cohesion.

This rule of exclusion (from combat) is not new. The rule is thousands of years old, for good and obvious reasons. First is the ancient natural law protecting women from harm. Second, the related common sense understanding that women are special, exhaulted members of society, responsible for bearing and nurturing new human life. They have been “by the laws of nature and of nature's God” designed for that highest, unique and most invaluable role. Men, by that same law, because of their superior physical strength, are designed to protect women and children from harm, while holding them in the highest respect and acknowledging their absolute equality in dignity.

This is why no army in human history has been composed exclusively of women. Let's forget the myth of Amazonian culture. This is why the men are expected to defend women against harm and treat them with special respect; why the husband defends his wife, the father his daughter, the brother his sister. This is why women and children were first in lifeboats on the Titanic. This is what the obligation of manhood means. This is the natural order of human experience, while not ignoring the failures of this natural tradition. This is also a fundamental Judeo-Christian commandment, which demands special protection for the widow and orphan.

These rules, brutally sabotaged in the 20th Century, are still under attack in the 21st Century by the Liberal Left anarchists and socialists (see Venezuela for a current socialist example).

A main concern is the preservation of our high Judeo-Christian military traditions, which are greatly threatened by pressure from feminists, LGBT culture, and weak military leadership. Destroy this moral ethos and America will begin losing her wars. So the first issue is the moral imperative that women should not participate in infantry combat.

Women in combat? Let's hear from Marine Capt Katie Petronio, who "led a combat engineer platoon in direct support of Regimental Combat Team 8, specifically operating out of the Upper Sangin Valley. My platoon operated for months at a time, constructing patrol bases (PBs) in support of 3d Battalion, 5th Marines; 1st Battalion, 5th Marines; 2d Reconnaissance Battalion; and 3d Battalion, 4th Marines." Captain Petronio was a special woman even before her combat experience. She is a patriot and a hero, and she is honest about women in combat. Her statement to her beloved Marines, "Get Over It! We Are Not All Created Equal"

"...my main concern is a question of longevity. Can women endure the physical and physiological rigors of sustained combat operations, and are we willing to accept the attrition and medical issues that go along with integration?

As a young lieutenant, I fit the mold of a female who would have had a shot at completing IOC, and I am sure there was a time in my life where I would have volunteered to be an infantryman. I was a star ice hockey player at Bowdoin College, a small elite college in Maine, with a major in government and law. At 5 feet 3 inches I was squatting 200 pounds and benching 145 pounds when I graduated in 2007. I completed Officer Candidates School (OCS) ranked 4 of 52 candidates, graduated 48 of 261 from TBS, and finished second at MOS school. I also repeatedly scored far above average in all female-based physical fitness tests (for example, earning a 292 out of 300 on the Marine physical fitness test). Five years later, I am physically not the woman I once was and my views have greatly changed on the possibility of women having successful long careers while serving in the infantry."

" I was a motivated, resilient second lieutenant when I deployed to Iraq for 10 months, traveling across the Marine area of operations (AO) and participating in numerous combat operations. Yet, due to the excessive amount of time I spent in full combat load, I was diagnosed with a severe case of restless leg syndrome. My spine had compressed on nerves in my lower back causing neuropathy which compounded the symptoms of restless leg syndrome. While this injury has certainly not been enjoyable, Iraq was a pleasant experience compared to the experiences I endured during my deployment to Afghanistan."

Captain Capt Petronio soldiered on: "... the rate of my deterioration was noticeably faster than that of male Marines and further compounded by gender-specific medical conditions. At the end of the 7-month deployment, and the construction of 18 PBs later, I had lost 17 pounds and was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (which personally resulted in infertility,...”

"Regardless of my deteriorating physical stature, I was extremely successful during both of my combat tours, serving beside my infantry brethren and gaining the respect of every unit I supported. " "I was the senior Marine making the final decisions on construction concerns, along with 24-hour base defense and leading 30 Marines at any given time."

By Capt Katie Petronio, Originally posted in the July 2012 issue of the Marine Corps Gazette. "Compiled by Marine Corps Gazette staff" "Get Over It! We Are Not All Created Equal."

Read her inspiring story.
The reason women cannot be found in the ranks of men's professional sports leagues is the fact that women biologically are not able to perform physically to the same level as men. The reason men cannot be found in birthing centers is because they cannot give birth. No one but the most virulent of feminists continues to challenge these facts. This is not discrimination of the evil sort. The problem is - the more obvious the facts, the greater the feminist resistance. We have to stop listening to the radical Leftist lies if we want the strongest military possible. Military service is not a right - it's a privilege.

The feminist-Left and LGBT agenda has churned American military affairs to an astonishing degree. They have undermined traditional military discipline and order for more than 30 years. Everything pertaining to military readiness is now unbelievably compromised.

I don't count myself a veteran because there was no combat between the Korean War and Vietnam War. I served 3 years, training for a war that wasn't there yet, as millions of others. That experience was in the old Army. It was an all male regular army, with some draftees. When the shooting started 2 years after my discharge, women came into their own as indispensible heroic doctors and nurses in Vietnam.

Everything was simple in that time. Permission to get married was needed. The Fort Bragg division was completely independent. We had our own kitchens, cooked our own food, kept the barracks hospital clean, and policed the grounds before chow. We slept in 4-squad barracks, double-decker bunks. Only NCOs had rooms. Each company platoon had its own rifle racks in barracks. We enjoyed numerous inspections.

We were extremely cohesive as squads, platoons, companies, and a battalion. We ate together, worked together, and partied together in Fayetteville. It was rock-and-chisel simple, but nowhere near as sophisticated as today's Special Forces. We could, and did, move out to Fort Kobe, Canal Zone, Hon River, Korea, and Luzon, Philippines, on short notice. The absence of a war made it easier. The absence of women made it possible. We could do this because the organization was simple; we had no thought, for example, about sending pregnant troopers home, or treating feminine issues. I can only imagine the unit chaos if a female trooper occupied one of those bunks, or latrines, or showers. But all that was a very long time ago.

Today, the combat unit is not a simple organization, largely due to the influx of women and the LGBT influence upon weak military leaders. Only Special Forces and SEAL-type groups have so far escaped the distraction of women in their units.

It's time to simplify our ground combat units again, and the circumstances under which they deploy and fight. Resistance to President's Trump's orders banning women from ground combat began instantly. The extent that LGBT influence has impressed even flag officer levels has just been revealed by a Coast Guard Admiral Paul Zukunft's recent statement. He publically rejected the Commander in Chief's order to end LGBT members from military service.

”Adm. Paul Zukunft said his first action upon becoming aware of Trump's tweets [to ban LGBT service personnel] was to have his office reach out to all 13 members of the Coast Guard who have self-identified as transgender." "... the commandant of the Coast Guard is speaking out, saying he has no intention of leaving transgender Coast Guardsmen out in the cold." This is precisely what combat soldiers fear, focusing on protecting an individual female when tactics demand otherwise for the survival of the group. Zukunft has sold out his thousands of sailors for 13 "special" sailors. I wonder what General George Patton would say.

Just in: "...two other four-stars and former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- retired Army Gen. Martin Dempsey and retired Navy Adm. Mike Mullen -- have publicly supported transgender service members." This is an unprecedented military crisis.

This is Trump's acid test moment. If General Kelly also rejects Trump's command, we are in real trouble.