Connecting the Dots

by Charles Plume de Cheval

(Santa Barbara Current editors regularly invite residents and visitors with varied opinions and observations on the condition of the city, state, and/or country to express their sentiments on this site. Additional details on submitting an article to us are presented in our About section)

The Three-to-One Presidential Gang Bang

Many of us watched this travesty between Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump and have seen and heard plenty of ensuing commentary. Yes, it was painfully one-sided and the side that talks incessantly about the “end of democracy” delivered a televised charade of the democratic process.

Trump was rightly prompted to stay away from attacking Harris on the myriad places where she is vulnerable. Ms. Harris, however, followed her instructions and took the opposite approach. She attacked Trump personally and below the belt every chance she got. Right on cue, she baited him and successfully deflected any thoughtful comment on the state of the economy, which is his strongest suit.

She openly mocked and smirked through each of his responses.

To those of us on the other side, her behavior was beyond unbecoming, and certainly not representative of what we should expect from a would-be leader of the free world.

Kamala repeatedly taunted the Donald with tales of and from his disgruntled former associates. Her barrage did, however, backfire some, in that it gave him the opportunity to deliver one of his best comebacks: "Yeah, I fired them!” He went on to point out that the present administration has not fired anyone – neither the people in charge of the fiasco of the Afghanistan withdrawal, nor the bunglers who’ve mismanaged our southern border.

No one.

Nobody.

Not a soul.

•••

The Mean Streets of Santa Barbara

But, enough about the debate; I want to focus on the connection between what happens nationally and how that affects us locally and – literally – on the streets of Santa Barbara.

Much has effectively been written about the takeover of our streets: the bulb-outs, the traffic reduction to one lane, the actual closures of full and well-traveled blocks of our many traditional thoroughfares from the eastside to the westside, including and most especially the downtown corridor.

We’ve all experienced the difficulty of going “cross town,” when it used to be effortless, easy, and even graceful, thanks to Captain Haley’s masterfully planned Santa Barbara street grid.

But with so much street construction on so many corners, it has become difficult to clearly examine those many projects, most of which are neither being funded by the city, nor do they even originate here.

Rather, these projects are devised, developed, and funded by state and federal agencies. The cities are complicit with the state and federal mandates coming from a particular political affiliation.

Santa Barbara is no exception.

Former Santa Barbarans visiting for the weekend asked a current resident, “Are you all immune to how hard it is to get around town, and how unappealing Santa Barbara is now? There’s no window shopping, nothing to buy, and State Street is gross. Are you accustomed to it because you have watched it change over time?”

My answer:

No, most of us are yelling and swearing at every intersection that is blocked or detoured, at the endless street construction, or changes due to repaving and restriping.   Even if we’re really hungry, we don’t go to State Street to find a place to eat; it is too hard to maneuver. We look for a good restaurant elsewhere in town. Coast Village Road in Montecito (controlled by the City of Santa Barbara) is thriving. Maybe we’ll go there. As for downtown, we may venture there to attend an event at the Granada, but that’s about it.

Mailing It In

Would you like to take a guess at which political party is orchestrating the changes that are happening nationwide, not just in California? These activities are occurring in every state that marches in lockstep with the current power structure in DC.

Reflecting on that and with the presidential and local elections six weeks away, what has become common practice is mail-in ballots that are accepted for a two-week (or longer) period, giving new meaning and inspiration to the practice of ballot-stuffing.

It should be noted that at the San Roque branch of the United State Post Office, stolen mail bags have been reported since July. Attempts to steal mail bags from the Patterson branch have so far failed.

This wasn’t reported until September 15.   

If your checks can be stolen from the trusty post office, if federal employees have failed to secure mail bags, imagine what can happen with bags stuffed with election results.

They can simply disappear.

And not just locally.

Prediction: no one in Santa Barbara will be fired; there will be no accountability for this negligence. Exactly mimicking our current federal government: no oversight, no consequences.

Mismanagement at SBCC

Speaking of a lack of oversight and situations where no heads roll, Santa Barbara City College has discovered enormous financial problems with fake student accounts created to steal financial aid to the tune of $8.6 million dollars. Yet the institution is again campaigning for a bond for infrastructure and delayed maintenance.   

Let’s forget implementing another bond measure; let’s instead institute some oversight and consequences and spend the money saved on crumbling infrastructure.

Hello?

People keep putting their hand out for more pie, but there is nothing left on the plate.

•••

Giving Up

Most Santa Barbarans have relinquished State Street to tourists, bike riders, and the wandering homeless.

We contact the mayor, but God bless him, he is the sound of one hand clapping.  And that just doesn't make enough noise.

SUBSCRIBE TO SANTA BARBARA CURRENT NOW!

When you commit to an ANNUAL subscription to SBCurrent.com (available for a piddling $100  (28 cents a day, less than $8.50 per month: the price of just one Latté Grandé), you’ll not only join a select group of erudite humans out to put civilization back on the right track, you will also receive a freshly printed Santa Barbara Current bumper sticker free of charge! The benefits of a yearly subscription to SBCurrent.com just never stop!

Measuring just under 8.5 by 3 inches, The Santa Barbara Current bumper sticker is a stylish reminder that a forum for common-sense opinions and honest public discourse has not completely disappeared from the face of the Earth, or even from Santa Barbara County. Designed and privately printed by an avid Current reader and opinionator, Jeff Barton, this bumper sticker applies easily and will make any vehicle (or forehead) handsomer and/or more beautiful.   

If you are already one of our yearly ($100 per annum) subscribers, you too are entitled to your very own FREE Santa Barbara Current bumper sticker. Just email editor@SBCurrent.com with your full mailing address and we’ll ship it off to you. Valid while supplies last. 

This limited-edition bumper sticker is also available for purchase at $10 each (two for $15). Send a check to Santa Barbara Current, 836 Anacapa Street, Suite 895, Santa Barbara CA 93102.

---

Paid for by Thomas Cole for Congress FEC #C00842757. To learn more about Thomas Cole and his platform, and to support his campaign, please go to www.thomascoleforcongress.com or call him directly at ‭+1 (805) 637-4702‬.