Letters to the Editor

Edited by Jim Buckley

(The Comment section after every featured article is always active with opinion, but occasionally we run letters that SBCurrent receives via e-mail and never appear as Comments. What follows are two of those recent missives.)

Too Gross, Too Depraved, Too Sad

For me, the Opening Ceremonies stained, tarnished, and diminished the 2024 Olympics.

The whole production was an ambush on the Olympics' leadership and the reportedly 1 billion world viewers who tuned in for a splashy send-off for the every-four-years athletic competition that enthralls the world with mostly friendly and good-natured national rivalry.

What did this gay, mostly unknown (outside France), French opera director give the global community in his opening ceremony?

At his worst, he gave us a blasphemous rendition of Christ and the Last Supper.

In Santa Barbara, groups entering floats in our annual "Holiday Parade" aren’t even allowed to use Santa Claus as a theme, much less a Nativity scene or anything that smacks of religious dogma or supernaturalism.

Yet, in Paris, an irreligious modernist can keep the Olympics in the dark about his theatrical intentions for the Opening Ceremonies and then thrust loathsome quantities of sexual perversion, lust, and sacrilege, on an unsuspecting audience anticipating something no worse than "PG" substance for family viewing.

Hearken back 40 years to 1984 and the Los Angeles Olympics. Hollywood was enthusiastically onboard in showcasing its state-of-the-art production values to bring the very best of American culture to the world. There wasn't a hint of controversy in anything displayed in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. And it was patriotic to the core. Americans were happy to host the Summer Olympics once again and a respectful if not totally adoring world was anxious to bask in our national confidence and prosperity.

Compare 1984 with this Olympian throwback to the French Revolutionary days and its trashing of Christianity and thrashing of cultural values associated with Christianity.

I say "no, thanks" to most of these upcoming 2024 Olympic contests. I feel sorry for many of the qualified athletes who must perform to their highest standards under the pall of such unprovoked, unnecessary assault on their very core values.

I may occasionally take note of the medal count for the largest nations...

...But I'm not going to add my eyeballs to the Nielsen Ratings for this Olympics.

That's too bad, really. The Left infects, tears asunder, and destroys everything it touches. It can't leave anything alone.

People cannot find joy and happiness in any activity that's not polluted and contaminated by attacks on their very reasons for joy and happiness.

Sad - sad - sad!

David Samuel McCalmont

Santa Barbara

(Editor’s note: I’m still watching much of the Olympics so as not to make the athletes pay for the sins of the organizers. But here’s a reminder that if U.S. voters should decide to put a Democrat back in the White House in November, this country will be joining France and the rest of the official degenerates on that trip down the Seine! – J.B.)

“Environmentalists” Setting Humanity Back

We were cruising along the channel off the Santa Barbara coast, looking for humpback whales. When one came alongside, our captain shuttered down the engine, and we watched as a mother and her calf came closer. They began circling our boat, and we cheered each time they came around. She seemed proud to show us her youngster. What magnificent intelligent animals.

Two hundred years ago, whalers sailed the seas, killing whales for their oil, fuel for our lamps. When oil was discovered in Texas in 1901, our energy no longer required killing leviathans of the sea. Over time we learned to cleanly extract oil and gas from their underground reservoirs, fueling our engines, planes, and generating electricity for growing industry. Gasoline was manufactured to be lead-free, and we had catalytic converters, lowering emissions. Despite using petroleum, our air became cleaner, and we sourced our fuels from the earth with little damage to wildlife.

Then came along environmentalists with scare tactics of global cooling, global warming, and finally “climate change,” when the others didn’t work. Solar and wind power were pushed down our throats, with solar panels and wind turbines and batteries from China. Materials sourced with child labor and manufactured by prisoners, to become hazardous waste when their useful lives are completed.

Especially in California, and across our nation, electric vehicles and all-electric homes were mandated. Where do they think the electricity will come from? Solar and wind do not create enough energy to fuel our vast requirements for electricity; backup must be petroleum based. Government subsidies for green energy are the only thing keeping this scam going.

Now we know the failings of electric cars, not functioning in extreme heat or old, and the difficulty of recharging batteries. Back to our beginning, now California is approving research for building a massive floating offshore wind industry. Hundreds of giant turbines, tall as a 70-story building, 20 miles offshore, sites within 583 square miles. Billions of dollars to restructure ports, not to mention the turbines themselves, all to provide 13% of California’s electricity.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to restore our oil and gas industry? We already know how to do it cleanly. Off the East Coast, hundreds of whales and marine animals have been killed by turbine activity and countless birds to land turbines also.

Time to use common sense and think ahead. Reconsider this crazy climate change agenda before we destroy our coastline forever.

Gretchen Kieding

Solvang

(Editor’s note: Don’t know why people aren’t putting their faith in technology and ingenuity if the seas rise and/or fall as they have done throughout history. If Holland, for example, can deal with their citizens living on and farming land that sits behind a massive sea wall below sea level, no doubt the U.S. can figure it out too. – J.B.)

State Street Mall is Good Idea

I travel often to big and small cities around the country and the world. Every town has some sort of central road that is shut off to cars. Santa Barbara is beautifully designed with one-way streets on both sides of State Street to support this. It seems very silly to be fighting this at all.

Instead, let’s all focus on making it the best we can. The sooner we get behind this as a community, the sooner we can make it thrive.

All the love,

“Holding onto the past is an excellent way to stay still forever.”

~Anonymous

Matt Turner

Santa Barbara

Calling Common-Sense Candidates

The presidential ticket isn’t the only important election on the ballot this November 5th. In Santa Barbara County, well over 100 elected positions will be up for grabs, the majority of which are on local school boards. Serving in these positions is the best, most effective way for parents, grandparents, and patriotic citizens to get involved and make a positive difference in the direction of our community. Getting elected to a local board and raising common-sense questions can go a long way towards improving outcomes. 

Being a school-board member is not a magic bullet, but it is a seat at the table. 

To find out which specific elected positions you are qualified to run in, click on this “District and Elected Official” link, and input your address. You may be surprised by how many local boards you are qualified for. Full information on the election timetable and process is available on this “Candidate Filing” link.

Keep in mind that in most cases candidates need to have all their documents filed by August 9.

There is not much time. 

A few of these boards may not be contested, meaning that just by being qualified and applying you can be selected and serve. In other cases, the November 5th election will determine the winner. In either case, it is clever for those common-sense candidates to reach out to those active and familiar with the election process to best understand the lay of the land.

In the Montecito area,  reach out to Cheryl Trosky (ctrosky@gmail.com),  for other south county positions, contact either James Fenkner (JamesFenkner@gmail.com) and/or Christy Lozano (christylozano5@yahoo.com). In the north county, Colleen Estrada (cgestrada@gmail.com) is a great point of contact.

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