Santa Barbara Current : Common Sense

King of the Jews

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 13:30:41 GMT

Long Live the King

I’m wondering when King Charles visits the Donald at the White House, will all the used signs be reconstituted and marchers gather yet again to protest “no kings?” Will the protestors march outside Christian places of worship on Easter as Christians celebrate the rising of the King of the Jews?

In some respects, we all live in our own bubbles. The No Kings, Free Palestine, Black Lives Matter, Climate Change, Abolish ICE protestors have their heads filled with so much absurdity they find comfort surrounded by like-minded activists. They think the rest of the country shares their views. Their vision is the right one and everyone must agree with them.

On the other side, there are millions more who think that what the marchers are doing is stupid, a waste of time, and none of it makes any sense. Yet the traditionalist viewpoint kind of lives in its own bubble of sorts as well.

Neither side is willing to waiver. The big difference is that the demonstrators chanting in support of the cause of the month are regulated to a loud yet small segment of society who all share some odd behaviors. I won’t disparage them because we’re all part of humanity, but they express themselves through bizarre dancing, crazy costumes and terrible singing. And for the most part, they’re members of the senior citizen crowd. Of which I too am part.

Most people still have to work, even if a protest is on a Saturday. After putting in forty hours at a job, why would you want to waste your days off screaming about something you’re not even sure what you’re screaming about?

The No Kings protests wouldn’t exist if the American Doctor Evils hiding in their lairs weren’t putting up the money and working the Trump haters into a lather. To witness the mind manipulation is somewhat amazing. If the communists funding all these various movements took away their contributions and guidance, the sheep would be running in circles unsure of what they’re supposed to do.

When put on the spot and asked what they’re marching for, none can provide a cohesive answer. It’s become more of a social gathering where they all work each other into a frenzy over one man out of the nine billion on the planet. It’s like trying to talk to someone who has just downed six shots of tequila; to a sober person none of what they say would make any sense, but the drunk person knows exactly what they’re saying.

I’ve become a renewed fan of American Idol this season.

I’m just some old guy and what do I know about what’s coming after I stop breathing, if anything? The last episode the contestants were asked to sing songs of faith. I was a bit surprised considering how the left, the media, and Hollywood, enjoy disparaging and going after Christians. My takeaway wasn’t so much what they were singing, though I will admit I drew some tears over the magic and beauty of their voices and some of the songs chosen. However, what I found more intriguing was watching the other contestants, judges, and audience, and their reactions.

It was heartwarming to see the young fellow contestants mimic the words, stand up, arms raised in praise. They represent America’s future and they’re going to be leading with a strong belief in God, lots of faith, and hearts filled with love.

I think it’s a pretty safe bet none of those kids are going to dress up like frogs and scream about hate. Even the judges were moved by the emotions the singers conveyed. Carrie Underwood makes no secret of her strong faith. She leads by example. When she sang her song, “How Great thou Art,” it took all I had to keep it together. That woman can not only sing but she also fills her words with powerful emotions and drenches them with an authentic love in what she believes.

After Charlie Kirk was murdered it also revealed how many Silent Majority youths had turned to God as part of their lives. The numbers were staggering. Here too, these clean-cut, clear-headed young kids didn’t have their hearts ravaged with revenge when Charlie was assassinated, they rose up and united and became even stronger.

Just like another guy did a few thousand years ago.

I don’t know what it’s going to take to steer the ship on the right course for all those who carry so much anger into the streets. I fear that even once Trump is out of office, they still won’t find peace.

America has become an us-against-them country. One side vocalizes their dissent and disrupts the country. The media loves to exploit and embellish the marchers because it advances their own agenda and draws more viewers.

The other side quietly goes through their lives trying to make things better. They don’t need to scream or march around to tell everyone how they feel. They’re at peace within themselves.

Easter is like the Super Bowl for Christians. It’s also a day many Christians bow down before their King.

I guess it would be safe to say, not all kings are bad.

An Early Celebration of the Real Earth Day

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 13:31:39 GMT

Santa Barbara lays claim to being the birthplace of Earth Day. Just a heads up: every day is Earth Day. The “earth-savers” love nothing more than to put on a display and show how they care more than anyone else about the world upon which we all walk.

I think old SB has perhaps the largest concentration of wannabe environmentalists clustered in one place. Though there are certainly other coastal cities that would take exception. Santa Cruz could be one.

Recently, the same enviro gang re-emerged to exhibit their distaste for, guess who, Donald Trump, for reopening oil drilling off the coast of Santa Barbara and moving the stuff through the evil pipeline. I don’t know where they find their toys, but this group created a black tube depicting an oil pipeline inscribed with all the usual platitudes.

What I would like to know is how many filled up their cars to drive to the beach to protest? And, if they had electric cars, I’d like to know how using coal plants in Utah to charge those cars makes it okay. And before they left their houses, they charged their phones, turned off the lights and the coffee pot. After their procession through the sand, perhaps they converged on a restaurant that used natural gas to fire the stoves and ovens, electricity to keep the AC running so they could cool down from all the excitement.

Back home they flipped on the lights, turned on their own AC if they have it (t’s been hot; climate change, you know), and sat down to watch the local news, beaming with pride showing the public how much they care about the environment.

The truth is none of those marching could go a couple days without power. Wind wouldn’t do squat and solar is great during a sunny day, but it won’t put gas in the car or charge your EV enough to drive to another No Kings march.

It’s well known by now, but bears repeating. These self-absorbed environmentally concerned individuals close their eyes to the reality that all their luxuries are provided courtesy of filthy oil-filled tankers waddling across the oceans. The recovery processes in the country where the oil comes from is, let’s just say, not as Earth-friendly as it would be if it were drilled in, say, California. But then, the enviros couldn’t chest thump about what a clean and virtuous state California is.

Iran isn’t blowing up windmills. The world will come to a crawl if dinosaur sludge stops flowing. Meanwhile, California continues with its stupid-is-as-stupid-does nonsense suing the Trump administration yet again. California liberals are determined to remain morons just to keep things as expensive as possible.

While the rest of the country is panicking that fuel prices are getting up to $4 a gallon (some states were bragging about below $2), Californians wished for years it was down to four dollars.

I want to see the Earth Day crowd go to rallies on donkeys and pick up the polluting poop along the way. Even little Greta Thunberg has moved on from climate change to “Free Palestine” to Serbian corruption protests.

It’s whatever the flavor of the month is that gets under the skin of activists to keep finding paint and cardboard to whip up more signs.

For the moment the dust has settled a bit over ICE, but there remain strong embers ready to explode into flames as soon as the next round of exporting criminals’ fires back up.

All these people are on the wrong side of common sense.

The left continues digging their Birkenstocks in the sand demanding it’s their way or no way. The result? The poor must suffer on their behalf by way of sky-high fuel costs, exorbitant rents, and trying to create extremely costly energy sources from out of thin the air.

I’m not against new forms of energy to keep Mother Earth healthy. I just think there needs to be a level of honesty and a pause in the hypocrisy for all the “causes.” I ask myself, why don’t we see these silly displays in Nebraska, Missouri, or Arkansas?

The answer is simple; most people work for a living. Away from the coasts live the Americans who keep America’s heart beating strong. They don’t have time for silliness.

They’re the ones who put the steak or hamburger on your plate. Or if you’re a vegan, the corn and the grain used to make bread or granola bars. They provide the milk for your cereal.

Those are the real environmentalists. They nurture and take care of the land. Their lives and livelihoods depend on it. For them, Earth Day truly is every day. They’re not marching against the oil that keeps their tractors running, or the fertilizer required to make the plants grow. They don’t look for accolades or a “Thank You” for doing their part to protect the planet. Because it goes without saying. They’re just doing their job. They get up in the morning, put their head down and get to work.

I can only venture a guess when they settle down at night to catch a little news and see a bunch of people screaming about this or that they shake their heads. Probably grateful they don’t have to put up with such irresponsible behavior.

They’re exhausted and need rest to do it all over again the next day.

The self-appointed Earth watchers are all the same actors rotating roles in the same movie.

Time to change the script.

Different Worlds, Same Country

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 13:31:09 GMT

I recently flew to Bozeman, Montana to visit my grandson. It was 80 degrees when we left Solvang and 20 degrees up there. For a couple days winds reached over 90 mph. However, weather is not the only difference.

My first exposure to Montana was 55 years ago. I was eighteen. A friend and I bought a used VW bug for $400. It had no heater. We drove across the country to Washington, DC, in January! We didn’t pay attention to things like weather. We were kids. We encountered one of the worst ice storms in years.

We had to keep two tires off the edge of the highway so we could maintain some traction and wouldn’t slide off the road. Semi-trucks would fly by and splash slush on our tiny windshield. The miniature wiper blades barely kept it clean enough to see where we were going. We were wrapped in blankets nearly freezing to death. Our AM radio picked up nothing. We had no such thing as a cell phone or GPS.

We had a map.

We also had little money and no credit cards. We saw signs along the road where farmers and homeowners rented garages and sheds for $2.00 a night. That was luxury, sleeping with the mice. Even worse, we wanted to enjoy a beer (yes, we were only 18) after our harrowing day on the open road and discovered there were places that were called dry counties.

It was devastating.

To this day I’m still amazed we managed to pull it off and survive.

We spent six months in the District of Columbia where we studied to become dental technicians. We finally had enough of the foreign land of the east.

Right Back Where We Started From

So once again these two stupid surfer kids headed back to California taking the northern route this time. This put us square in the middle of a late massive blizzard in Montana. The landscape looked like huge piles of marshmallows. And of course, Murphy’s law arrived. The Bug hit a rut and the front axle broke. I can’t recall how we managed to get to a small town with one sketchy hotel, a church, a coffee shop and a bar. We had to wait four days for the roads to open back up and get the part to fix the VW. During our stay we went back and forth from the hotel room to the bar. We discovered Lone Star beer. I know, it’s a Texas beer, but at least it wasn’t a dry county.

Once back on the road we made a beeline for Washington state to visit my buddy’s old girlfriend who ended up shunning him. We said screw it and drove eighteen hours straight back to Santa Barbara.

One thing for certain, Montana is not California. Even though Bozeman is now being nicknamed Bozeafornia.

It was quite a treat in a Walmart to see a man open-carrying a handgun on his hip while checking out with his young daughter in the cart. No one gives it a second thought or bothers paying any attention to such a thing. And you won’t be pulling any crap on the guy either. And that’s as it should be. It isn’t the dads, the farmers, the honest folks who do the killing. And it isn’t a gun that comes to life to do the shooting. It’s crazy people who over the years liberals have felt sorry for and either don’t send to jail or let them out of prison to rape and kill again.

In Montana you can get a permanent plate for vehicles over 11 years old. No more registering again, ever. California not only charges a fortune for registration, but we keep paying more every year. Compounded further because we pay even more for our cars to get smog checked on top of it all.

Another money-making joke.

When we went shopping or out to dinner, I kept noting things were cheaper. No sales tax. There isn’t a tax a California Democrat hasn’t created to squeeze the people for more money. They keep coming up with taxes on top of taxes and yet they still don’t have enough and can’t balance a budget. Fraud numbers are running over $48 billion. and I bet its tons more. Expose these thieves, Nick Shirley.

Our state won’t do it.

Opening Up the Pipeline

You can bet the Democrats are loving the Iranian conflict because it gives Newsom and company cover to raise gas prices even higher. They’ll never take responsibility for their idiocy and ineptness. It will also increase the state’s tax coffers giving the Democrats even more money to piss away. Making life that much more difficult in a state with good weather but corrupt, incompetent politicians.

However, there is a glimmer of hope for the state. Trump flexed his presidential muscles and ordered offshore drilling and oil delivery to resume off the Santa Barbara coast. Of course, the enviros are having a conniption fit; the sky is falling. The downside is that it bails out Newsom where he can have it both ways. Get the much-needed oil production he knows the state requires while at the same time fight it and look like an oily hero to the hippies.

I almost feel sorry for Montana and other states getting overrun. I spoke with an older woman waitressing. She said she had to work again, earning entry level wages, because things had gotten so expensive. Others said the same thing.

Maybe it’s time for states like Montana to put up a border wall and keep out the riff raff. Neighboring Idaho has been a lost cause for years.

The Moral of the Story

California is a beautiful place. It’s the people who have been running it who screwed it up.

Something must change.

It’s a Matter of Survival

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 13:31:44 GMT

This has been the longest dry spell for me that I can ever recall. I usually have half a dozen columns swirling through my head. Some completed sitting on my desktop for further review. Others waiting to be finished.

These past weeks I’ve been unable to write anything.

Why?

That’s what I’ve been asking myself every day.

As soon as I start to approach writing a national or world topic, the situation changes. I can’t ever recall seeing such a flurry of activity going on all at once. Massive fraud, the Epstein saga, Maduro, Iran, and every step of the way Democrats take the wrong side.

Yet that shouldn’t be enough to make my mind go blank. So, I opted for a bit of rambling.

We all have personal things we deal with. Our own demons or family problems. A lot of the times for many it’s financial. You combine external, political, and personal, things swirling in your head and you can become that deer in headlights.

That’s where I am right now.

And I know I’m not alone. Many, if not all of you are or have been in similar situations.

No matter how hard you try to compartmentalize and move forward, your head can be clogged to such a degree, it’s impossible to clear it.

As Americans, we’ve got it made. Plenty of energy to keep the lights on, gas to warm the homes, grocery stores filled with everything we can possibly ever need, and freedoms other countries can only dream about.

So why do we worry so much? Why are so many people on anti-depressants, take calming drugs, drink alcohol and require therapy to get through their daily lives?

Pot Smoking, Beer Drinking Punk Gets Old

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 14:31:56 GMT

I am now a senior citizen.

Have been for quite a while.

Three giveaways: my hair is as white as snow; I really enjoy reading my AARP magazine; I eat dinner at four.

I feel fortunate to have lived 72 years and honestly, I’m quite surprised that I have. As a teenager I was a pot smoking, beer drinking, surf punk. I got married two weeks past my teens. I was …

The Grand Scheme of the Left

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 14:32:00 GMT

I’ve been tinkering with a political hypothesis. I don’t want to label it a conspiracy theory because that could be taken as not being true.

My wife and I will be celebrating 53 years of marriage this summer. I reminded her the other day how we met as teenagers and now, we’re senior citizens.

When we were young(er) we went on a couple cheap cruises. Each …

The Joys [and Responsibility] of a Right to Carry Permit

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 14:30:44 GMT

I had written in the past how my life was threatened because of expressing my opinion. The intolerant left hates when you don’t agree with them. So much so, they’re willing to kill over it.

The upside is that it got me a Concealed Carry Weapons permit (CCW) in a county where they’re as rare as a red-legged frog.

I love having the right to carry arms. Howe…

Contemplating Trump Derangement Syndrome

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 14:30:56 GMT

How does one go about deprogramming the human mind once it’s been infected with a derangement syndrome? Deprogramming is made even more challenging when the patient isn’t aware he is ill. The individual needs to concede he’s not thinking clearly before he’s open to becoming healed.

The first line of treatment is having patients completely detach themselv…

A Search for Sanctuary

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:32:11 GMT

photo by author

Since I moved to Solvang, I avoid going to Santa Barbara as much as possible. It’s not the same city I grew up in. Granted, it’s a pretty place. Politically it’s always been liberal. Even when I was young, we used to say we liked the city except for the politics. Or course there’s the vocal side that love it for its liberal ideology and t…

In Remembrance of Passing Time

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 14:31:27 GMT

With a tip of the hat to Marcel Proust, right about now, like me and Monsieur Proust, you’ve been asking yourself where did the year go? And five minutes from now, you’re going to ask yourself the same thing again; where did 2025 go?

Worse, you’ll also wonder where did the last ten years go? 20? And so on.

I was shocked to learn on December 8^thit had bee…

The Christmas Season is Officially Upon Us

Sat, 22 Nov 2025 14:30:22 GMT

I love the Fall. There’s a sense of calming. The air is different. The light being lower in the sky offers a softness to the landscape. The leaves changing color bring along with it the scent of wood fireplaces, peppermint, and warmer clothes.

Unless you live south of the equator.

As much as I enjoy Fall, I really love Christmas. Christmas invokes a happi…

Sierra Club Gets Lost

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 14:30:34 GMT

When Two Worlds Collide

In the ‘70s we were advised to buy jackets; global cooling was on the way. In the ‘80s global warming was going to fry the planet. In the ‘90s we were told climate change was what we had to worry about. All over the planet there was climate change. Who knew?

Environmentalists love that stuff. It boosts their movement. They can proc…

Thanking Our Veterans on Veterans’ Day

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 14:30:56 GMT

I recently watched a ‘60’s classic surf movie, “Big Wednesday.” The one with Jan Michael Vincent and Gary Busey. Being an avid surfer my entire life, like many of my friends, t we thought he surf movies of old were corny and silly. Only, in this movie, I came away with something more than just watching a bunch of kids playing at the beach. It hit home i…

Contemplating World Peace

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 17:00:10 GMT

I generally write a new column a week. But something happened the last couple weeks. I couldn’t formulate anything. I had what authors always term, “writer’s block.” Only, I’m not writing a novel, just expressing my opinion and views. And I’ve never been short of either.

I think what was making it difficult was the amount of “news” and lying that goes on…

Thoughts On a “Second Coming”

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 13:31:10 GMT

Had a young and simple man going by the name of Jesus not been publicly crucified but had died of natural causes, would the world have remembered him? Would history have paid as much attention? Would the church have gone on to call him Son of God?

How would the story be different?

Had John F. Kennedy not been slain, would the memory of his presidency have…

All Lives Matter

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 13:30:36 GMT

"Charlie Kirk comforting Iryna Zarutska" A.I Art shared by Senator Ted Cruz

In Contemplation of My Death

I’m 72, same age when my father found out he had pancreatic cancer. Up until then I never heard of it or how deadly it was. Months later he passed. That was twenty years ago.

It was a grueling slow death. I began to get the same stomach pains he descr…

As California Goes, so Goes the United States

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 13:30:41 GMT

I wrote in generalities in my last column addressing the wannabe president, Gavin Newsom. I’d like to add some reminders of how bad this empty suit would be for the country should he get that far.

It wasn’t that long ago, weeks, when Newsom on his podcast made a right turn and started leaning toward the middle. He even had, God forbid, a Republican on hi…

The One-Party State Protects Its Turf and Its Power

Santa Barbara Current — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 13:30:25 GMT

What Happened to the Woke Agenda?

Nothing stirs up a liberal more than the truth. When faced with reality, blinders go on and the Left won’t make eye contact.

There’s still a disturbance in the force. It’s always been there but was suppressed when Donald Trump sucked the juice out of the Left’s light saber. Suddenly, DEI was vanquished. Climate change bec…

Young, Helpless, and On The Road

Santa Barbara Current — Sat, 16 Aug 2025 13:30:44 GMT

The other day I came across a severely wounded fawn on Ballard Canyon Road in Solvang. My heart was breaking observing the tiny spotted animal in obvious pain and helplessness. I looked around for the mom, but the creature was all alone. I was on a bicycle and there wasn’t much I could do. I started to ride away, and accepted nature would take care of i…

Don't Blink

Santa Barbara Current — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 13:31:19 GMT

I was reflecting in bed the other morning, as I always do before I get up. Robin Williams popped into my head. I was recalling the first time I saw him. It was on TV; he was doing a live show in San Francisco and one of his bits was impersonating Nadia Comaneci, five-time Olympic gold medalist for gymnastics. He spoke in her high-pitched tone and was fu…