Letters to the Editor

by Jim Buckley

(The following is just a trickle of some of the many comments, observations, claims, and suggestions received by Santa Barbara Current, a publication which is reader supported and receives no direct or indirect USAID or nonprofit funding. To enhance your reading enjoyment, please follow the Comment thread that appears immediately after each column. If you’d like to contribute a letter to the editor, please add your city/town in your comment.)

Ban Medical Coverage for Illegals

Can one imagine how much better U.S. healthcare would be minus 12 million illegal migrants? Like education, criminal justice, and housing, the added burden to the system makes wait times, cost, and outcomes less optimal.

My daughter spent a couple years in Barcelona on a student visa. Before she was granted the visa, she had to have proof of medical clearance along with health insurance. Countries in the EU do not have the capacity or the will to provide care for millions of undocumented migrants. The simple fact remains, undocumented immigration has a negative impact on us all, especially on healthcare. Hospitals along the Mexico-U.S. border are struggling to even keep their doors open due to the influx of migrants.

Lastly, tort reform is needed and expanded, whereby pain and suffering is limited in jury awards. In California we do have MICRA (Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act) which currently caps awards for medical malpractice to $390K for injury from medical errors and $550k for wrongful death. Not perfect by any measure but needs to be further expanded to include loser pays court costs.

LT

Santa Barbara

(Editor’s note: Medical coverage must be paid for and certainly should not be covered by taxpayers for those residing in the U.S. illegally. Anyone here, whether legally or otherwise, should have to at least pay for some kind of minimal insurance. Many people pay Mexican cartels thousands of dollars to get here, so they should simply add the cost of that insurance to their outlay.

However, that “loser pays” is a tough one; in the past I would have agreed, but now that compensation has been capped, I don’t believe someone who sues a doctor for an imagined or real misdeed should be penalized for doing so. Besides, with such a low cap on medical malpractice, the number of lawyers willing to take such cases has been greatly diminished. – J.B.)

Let the Lies Begin

Amid the whirlwind of scrutiny surrounding the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and President Trump's administration, the focus has often been on bureaucratic overreach. However, a local story from Santa Barbara County, where I ran for Congress last term, sheds light on a more insidious aspect of government involvement: the funding of political propaganda to influence U.S. elections.

In the 2023 election cycle, my campaign against incumbent Democrat Salud Carbajal was fierce. As a conservative candidate, I challenged him on issues such as border security, education policies, and traditional values. Carbajal responded with expensive local TV ads and avoided debates, presumably to deny me a platform.

But the narrative took a dark turn with revelations from DOGE's investigations. It appears that the U.S. State Department, through USAID, allocated $603,686 to Media Matters for America, an organization known for its left-leaning advocacy.

Here's how it unfolded in our district:

1. Funding from the State Department: With a budget of $60 billion, the State Department's allocation to USAID was meant for international development, not domestic political warfare. Yet, this money found its way into the coffers of Media Matters.

2. Media Matters' Role: Known for its aggressive stance against conservative viewpoints, Media Matters was tasked with managing the fallout from my campaign's aggressive tactics against Carbajal.

   

   Media Matters received $603,686 from taxpayers via USAID. Is it any wonder Salud Carbajal was one of the first congressmen to speak in support of continued taxpayer payments to USAID?

3. Targeting and Smearing: Media Matters scoured my social media and campaign materials, seizing on a comment I made about the Paul Pelosi incident as supposed evidence of my "hate," or extremism, distorting it for their narrative.

4. Dissemination: The fabricated or exaggerated stories were then distributed to local media outlets in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, creating a coordinated media blitz in the weeks leading up to the election.

5. Influence on Voters: This barrage of negative coverage likely swayed undecided voters, providing Carbajal with an indirect and unreported donation-in-kind, which should have been declared to the Federal Election Commission.

6. Ethical and Legal Questions: Is this not a form of election fraud?

The implications are chilling. When the government uses taxpayer dollars to back one political ideology over another, it undermines the democratic process. It's not just about who won or lost in California's 24th; it's about the integrity of our electoral system.

This scenario raises significant questions about the neutrality of government-funded initiatives and the sanctity of journalism. It also helps explain why Congressman Carbajal has been so active recently pushing back on DJT’s new tech. If we're to preserve the essence of democracy, we must demand transparency, accountability, and an end to the government's role as a puppet-master in our elections.

Thomas Cole

Santa Barbara

(Thomas Cole is a former congressional candidate (thomascoleforcongress.com) in California's 24th District.)

(Editor’s note: But it is so much fun watching the idiotic antics of Mad Maxine Waters and the rest of the now irrelevant Democrat leadership as they whine and moan about oligarchs. Why would you want that to end? – J.B.)

Government-Funded “Journalism”

This is a major story: Elon Musk cuts the cord on USAID and suddenly Politico – the major domo mouthpiece for Democrat talking points – can't meet its payroll, which has never been a problem in the past. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

This story is so potentially scandalous on several levels. Taxpayer dollars meant to alleviate starvation and promote economic development overseas subsidizing a domestic partisan political journalistic enterprise? Prepare some federal prison cells for the masterminds of this banana republic grand scheme.

Why should it be any different at home than abroad? USAID money has always been known abroad to be distributed to anti-American NGOs (non-governmental organizations) disguised as humanitarian efforts to relieve suffering.

Elon Musk describes that filthy agency as a "ball of worms… no apple can be found.” Corruption is so endemic to USAID that one can only conclude lying, deceit, and corruption is the prima facia qualifications for its existence.

I'm suspicious of every non-traditional legacy media business that flows so fluidly against the financial grain of reality in this age of the internet and the post-newspaper age. There are scores of online news websites skimping along on next to nothing. Then, there's outfits like Politico that appear to float effortlessly on helium and attract highly paid talent to fill its slots. Where's the f#@%$ng money coming from? Most of these businesses operate like non-profits or public-private consortiums. Revenue from consumers of their products amounts to less than 25% of their budgets.

If our local MTD bus company, for example, was on the take from some dark corner of a government agency such as USAID, and that agency was put out of business, MTD couldn't pay its bus drivers either. Worse yet in the eyes of ruling elites, those sitting atop the pyramid of bureaucracy at MTD, making $300,000+/year salaries couldn't be paid either. That'll create a greater political earthquake than bus drivers trying to meet Santa Barbara rent payments.

David Samuel McCalmont

Santa Barbara

(Editor’s note: Good points. There are many proposed bills floating around Congress – just waiting for another Democrat majority – that will “support” local journalism by subsidizing salaries of “journalists” who will then, naturally, toe the government line. Be careful. Be very careful. Once those kinds of bills are passed, welcome to government-supported […controlled] editorial content. – J.B.)

Somebody is Going to Get Hurt

I frequently walk the sidewalk between East Beach and the marina and invariably a young (or not so young) thoughtless punk flies by me at 20, 25, even 30 mph. Some of these bikes have tires the size of motorcycles. This is beyond dangerous. Pedestrians are walking 1-3 mph and not expecting a speeding vehicle to pass by so close. These are motor vehicles. The fact that their engines are electric should make no difference. I see no Teslas on the sidewalks. If there ever should be a law on the books and to be enforced, it is “No bikes of any kind especially motor bikes on sidewalks.” They belong on the street and should any of these thoughtless punks make a mistake as they invariably will, they will most likely hurt themselves along with an innocent stroller.

Chris Anderson

Santa Barbara