Nowhere is nothing like it used to be and everywhere is what nowhere once was. I'm staying here. As one of our Santa Barbarans yelled in a movie “Remember the Alamo!” I'm ready, Davy! Besides, where else in this country could I be walking down a street, see some broken down old guy across the way and think “Did I make out with him when I was a teen and he was a cute young hippie?”
I read this piece with a great deal of sadness and the realization that the California that we all knew and grew up with is gone. I believe it can come back, but, in a different form and, hopefully, better.
Approximately 1.6 million conservatives Left California in the previous few years. If they had stayed, that would’ve made the difference between the super majority that we have right now and a conservative legislature. I have often thought of leaving in California but will remain to fight.
California, as we remember it through our long & fond memories, is to never return, as with the remainder of the United States & The World… unfortunately, the decades, and hundreds of years in some cases, of mismanagement (by design) and abuse, has left a wake of destruction…
Fortunately, the worm is turned, and we are seeing the systematic destruction of the Old Guard, but it’s a war that we all must step up and fight, locally, here in California, across the nation. We are in the final battles of The Silent War…
TRUTH & TRANSPARENCY IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD> Transparency and Prosecution is the ONLY WAY forward to save our Republic and safeguard such criminal and treasonous acts from occurring again…
Let’s not give up on CA yet - once we dump the Dems we can start getting our beautiful California back on track. The fact that they’re doing their best to slide into oblivion gives us hope for a good shot.
I’ll tell ya what’s needed - a Governor like Steve Hilton. Conservative, practical and with some great traditional ideas. Trumpy’s having a more profound effect than most people realize, and Hilton, with his administration's connections could maybe bring back some of the good old days!
NO! Not another foreigner! Not another recent immigrant as CA Governor. We need a Californian! An acculturated American, smart business pro who loves our state and country. These dual citizens and foreign borns aren’t the leaders we need. Can’t we find to support one Californian super star in our population of 38M? Make CA Golden Again!
Hey Montecito, I absolutely agree about _no more foreigners_! - lock the door and keep ‘em out! Except for Steve Hilton - I followed his TV show and have seen his comments here and there - he’s more American than most U.S. politicians. Even tho he’s kind of a foreigner, (are people from England ‘foreigners’ ?), he’s got our values.
I’d love to find an American as conservative, smart and practical as Steve Hilton for CA Gov - have anyone in mind?
Boy, that is one vivid dream! Funny how they’re always scattered with truth’s and fantasy. I wish everyone had a chance to grow up in the California of yesteryear. It was such a magical place.
I was fortunate to grow up in Santa Barbara in the late '40's - 50's - and before the idiots of the late 60's. I was surfing before it became popular from '65 on up.... (a crowed day in late 50's early 60's was 5 guys at Hendry's, Leadbetter, or the Ranch.)
State and San Roque/Las Positas was the "sticks".... Lemons, what was left of the Walnuts, and Goleta was the grocery store for the ranches "out there." Post WWII military was mostly gone. It was a time when Mom would hand us a bag lunch (yes a real brown bag) and say go up to what is the Cater Water Plant and spend the day.
No longer.
Santa Barbara was the last of the hold outs for "compassionate? density" but that was gone by the 1980's. The ethic of work and honesty was fast fading when I started working full time in the summers (1959). Working for $1 week allowances (mowing, taking the garbage out, finding week-end jobs was considered "beneath" most of the kids in my neighborhood by 1963. Yep S. Calif is gone. Sacramento and the "everyone" is due housing and government supported jobs today is the rule. Think I am kidding look at the fast approaching government destruction of the carrying capacity of both land and "we demand housing." No longer affordable without government handouts.
Mr. Griswold is right. The California I once knew is gone but it is being hammered into dust by the we are government comply crowd. (Right Marti, Helene, Gil, Falcone, Dave, June, and the list goes on).
Ok, have a good day. Remember UCSB has an enrollment of about 40K this year.
A client from Colorado asked this week if this was Northern or Southern California? I said I prefer to call it "Coastal Central" as awkward as that sounds. But I hope to separate it from the twin horrors that SF and LA have become.
When I think back in nostalgia I am all too aware that the reasons I came to SB in 1975 and immediately decided to stay are GONE. Yet I remain now for other reasons, long evolved, persistent.
Been thinking about this piece and jotted down some memories of my own
I fell in love with California over 30 years ago and moved here in the ‘90’s
But the Appalachia is my home.
Everyone knows California, subject of books, songs, movies…but Appalachia…not so much.
Remembering autumn in the Appalachia as a young man walking to school thru the woods:
Everyone is both rich and poor at the same time. there is no frame of reference in the woods. No politics. No ocean or surf. No great causes…The smell is all around and through you…wood and dead leaves rotting everywhere you step and look. Winter bite in the air, you can see your breath for the 1st time since last winter ended. Walking quiet through the woods. Chilled air carries sound further. The only sounds being dried twigs cracking beneath my feet and my own breathing so I switch to silent mode by breathing through my mouth, stepping more carefully deliberately breaking any pattern or rhythm. You don’t see deer, raccoons, squirrels and birds as much as you “feel” them. You know exactly where they are and they know exactly where you are. There is equilibrium in the woods. I would go this way for half of an hour or more before reaching a clearing where my school was. Long before this point I could just make out the sound of the highschool marching band practicing, over a mile away, preparing for football season….The noises and voices of my schoolmates pull me completely out of the peaceful woods and into a different world.
A world without equilibrium.
I would quicken my step and abandon the quiet and yell to join in.
I miss that world most of all, that walk in the woods, Appalachia in the Fall. 😊
Eric, that’s a heartfelt, well-written tribute to this ancient neck of the woods. I consider myself blessed to reside near a river where I can paddle, and have land enough to enjoy routine visits from critters who know they’re among friends.
I could, however, live nicely without the frequent encounters with yellow jackets. Ouch! But they’re relatively small considering the size of those monsters I remember assaulting us at Jalama!
Always great getting to read you, Al. Thanks for this. I think you should pen this into lyrics and turn it into: Anthem, Hymn, March or Dirge. You would need to decide. Shades of Van Gogh that dream has.
Thanks, David. I feel a little twisted about even writing the piece. My love for the Golden State runs deep. I also have amassed much enmity for politicians who seem bent on ruining it.
I'll dare to call it what it is: White erasure. As our people are erased, our norms are erased. People are not equal. They are not interchangeable. We were lied to about that.
The "It’s Not Happening" and "It’s Happening But It’s a Good Thing" phases are key components of modern propaganda strategies, particularly as described in the "Law of Salutary Contradiction" and the "Law of Merited Impossibility." These phases represent a deliberate shift in messaging: first, denying an event or trend to disarm opposition, and then, once the event occurs, re-framing it as inevitable and desirable to justify its implementation and silence dissent.
This pattern is evident in political discourse, where claims about immigration, gender identity, or surveillance are initially dismissed as conspiracy theories before being celebrated as necessary or progressive outcomes.
"It’s Not Happening" Phase: This phase involves the denial of a current or emerging phenomenon to prevent public concern or resistance. For example, the Biden administration denied that it was shipping illegal immigrants on military planes, despite evidence suggesting otherwise.
Similarly, the idea that allowing self-identification of gender would lead to inappropriate behavior in spaces like locker rooms was dismissed as a "conspiracy theory" or "alarmist bigotry".
This denial is often used to enforce a new social order by labeling opposition as irrational or hateful.
"It’s Not Happening as Much" Phase: While not explicitly detailed in the provided sources, this phase can be inferred as a subtle downplaying of a phenomenon after initial denial. It may involve minimizing the scale or impact of an event to reduce public alarm, often through selective data presentation or framing. This tactic aligns with the broader strategy of controlling perception by manipulating the narrative around a trend.
"It’s Happening But It’s a Good Thing" Phase: This phase, known as the "Law of Salutary Contradiction," occurs when a previously denied event is acknowledged but re-framed as positive or necessary. For instance, once the demographic changes from immigration are undeniable, they are celebrated as a "glorious trend" that ensures a more "vibrant" future and a permanent Democratic majority.
Similarly, the NSA spying on Tucker Carlson was initially dismissed as a "conspiracy theory," but later justified as warranted due to his "treasonous contacts" with Russian officials.
This shift allows the ruling class to claim moral authority while dismissing criticism as backward or unjustified.
These phases are part of a broader propaganda model characterized by continuous, rapid, and inconsistent messaging, as seen in Russian disinformation campaigns that change narratives when exposed.
The effectiveness of such strategies lies in their ability to manipulate public perception by controlling the narrative across different stages of an event’s emergence.
Each people has a unique biospirit. Generations (especially children raised on antiwhite media) are different, true. But biology has consequences. Values like honesty, keeping a clean environment, consent for sex, "fighting fair", etc.
Third world countries are the way they are because of the people in them.
When third world people come here, they bring their ways here and the California my people made turns into the California their people make.
I'm sorry that this goes against the religion of our time, but facts are facts.
elce: You hit it right between the nostrils: "Raid the treasury and hire the relatives" is exactly why so many countries fall into disrepair and eventual bankruptcy. Which is, of course, what has happened to so many of our cities both large and small. Sadly, Santa Barbara has finally fallen into that black hole from which there is no evidence that anyone or anything escapes. Just before we descend into that hole-of-no-return, I have no doubt voters will have passed legislation to give everyone (hey, maybe even non-citizens too; compassion knows no bounds!) a "guaranteed income."
Nowhere is nothing like it used to be and everywhere is what nowhere once was. I'm staying here. As one of our Santa Barbarans yelled in a movie “Remember the Alamo!” I'm ready, Davy! Besides, where else in this country could I be walking down a street, see some broken down old guy across the way and think “Did I make out with him when I was a teen and he was a cute young hippie?”
I read this piece with a great deal of sadness and the realization that the California that we all knew and grew up with is gone. I believe it can come back, but, in a different form and, hopefully, better.
Approximately 1.6 million conservatives Left California in the previous few years. If they had stayed, that would’ve made the difference between the super majority that we have right now and a conservative legislature. I have often thought of leaving in California but will remain to fight.
California, as we remember it through our long & fond memories, is to never return, as with the remainder of the United States & The World… unfortunately, the decades, and hundreds of years in some cases, of mismanagement (by design) and abuse, has left a wake of destruction…
https://x.com/wallstreetapes/status/1964894148244459764?s=61
Fortunately, the worm is turned, and we are seeing the systematic destruction of the Old Guard, but it’s a war that we all must step up and fight, locally, here in California, across the nation. We are in the final battles of The Silent War…
TRUTH & TRANSPARENCY IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD> Transparency and Prosecution is the ONLY WAY forward to save our Republic and safeguard such criminal and treasonous acts from occurring again…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2qIXXafxCQ
PS…Great Article, surf is up…hope to see you riding the Rincon waves soon again
Thanks for this piece. I am from where you are now (Appalachia) and 1st fell in love with the California of the 1970’s.
It was a magical place to be sure.
I’m sorry for your loss. I miss the Appalachian mountains and family and slower simpler pace of life I once had.
I am guessing our respective hometowns miss us as well, but we have changed as much as the places we remember.
You can’t go home again except in our dreams; and living in the past is self indulgent. But it is nice to reminisce from time to time.
Let’s not give up on CA yet - once we dump the Dems we can start getting our beautiful California back on track. The fact that they’re doing their best to slide into oblivion gives us hope for a good shot.
I’ll tell ya what’s needed - a Governor like Steve Hilton. Conservative, practical and with some great traditional ideas. Trumpy’s having a more profound effect than most people realize, and Hilton, with his administration's connections could maybe bring back some of the good old days!
NO! Not another foreigner! Not another recent immigrant as CA Governor. We need a Californian! An acculturated American, smart business pro who loves our state and country. These dual citizens and foreign borns aren’t the leaders we need. Can’t we find to support one Californian super star in our population of 38M? Make CA Golden Again!
Hey Montecito, I absolutely agree about _no more foreigners_! - lock the door and keep ‘em out! Except for Steve Hilton - I followed his TV show and have seen his comments here and there - he’s more American than most U.S. politicians. Even tho he’s kind of a foreigner, (are people from England ‘foreigners’ ?), he’s got our values.
I’d love to find an American as conservative, smart and practical as Steve Hilton for CA Gov - have anyone in mind?
Boy, that is one vivid dream! Funny how they’re always scattered with truth’s and fantasy. I wish everyone had a chance to grow up in the California of yesteryear. It was such a magical place.
I was fortunate to grow up in Santa Barbara in the late '40's - 50's - and before the idiots of the late 60's. I was surfing before it became popular from '65 on up.... (a crowed day in late 50's early 60's was 5 guys at Hendry's, Leadbetter, or the Ranch.)
State and San Roque/Las Positas was the "sticks".... Lemons, what was left of the Walnuts, and Goleta was the grocery store for the ranches "out there." Post WWII military was mostly gone. It was a time when Mom would hand us a bag lunch (yes a real brown bag) and say go up to what is the Cater Water Plant and spend the day.
No longer.
Santa Barbara was the last of the hold outs for "compassionate? density" but that was gone by the 1980's. The ethic of work and honesty was fast fading when I started working full time in the summers (1959). Working for $1 week allowances (mowing, taking the garbage out, finding week-end jobs was considered "beneath" most of the kids in my neighborhood by 1963. Yep S. Calif is gone. Sacramento and the "everyone" is due housing and government supported jobs today is the rule. Think I am kidding look at the fast approaching government destruction of the carrying capacity of both land and "we demand housing." No longer affordable without government handouts.
Mr. Griswold is right. The California I once knew is gone but it is being hammered into dust by the we are government comply crowd. (Right Marti, Helene, Gil, Falcone, Dave, June, and the list goes on).
Ok, have a good day. Remember UCSB has an enrollment of about 40K this year.
The California we knew is gone thanks to Newsom and the corrupt politicians. We don’t even have a good senator or rep anymore. Sad.
A client from Colorado asked this week if this was Northern or Southern California? I said I prefer to call it "Coastal Central" as awkward as that sounds. But I hope to separate it from the twin horrors that SF and LA have become.
When I think back in nostalgia I am all too aware that the reasons I came to SB in 1975 and immediately decided to stay are GONE. Yet I remain now for other reasons, long evolved, persistent.
A pretentious brand SB may well be, but weirdly enough it is a rare magazine I read that doesn't somewhere in it mention the city.
Glen shaped a handful of my boards. He was a great person.
You can’t go home again. 😊
Been thinking about this piece and jotted down some memories of my own
I fell in love with California over 30 years ago and moved here in the ‘90’s
But the Appalachia is my home.
Everyone knows California, subject of books, songs, movies…but Appalachia…not so much.
Remembering autumn in the Appalachia as a young man walking to school thru the woods:
Everyone is both rich and poor at the same time. there is no frame of reference in the woods. No politics. No ocean or surf. No great causes…The smell is all around and through you…wood and dead leaves rotting everywhere you step and look. Winter bite in the air, you can see your breath for the 1st time since last winter ended. Walking quiet through the woods. Chilled air carries sound further. The only sounds being dried twigs cracking beneath my feet and my own breathing so I switch to silent mode by breathing through my mouth, stepping more carefully deliberately breaking any pattern or rhythm. You don’t see deer, raccoons, squirrels and birds as much as you “feel” them. You know exactly where they are and they know exactly where you are. There is equilibrium in the woods. I would go this way for half of an hour or more before reaching a clearing where my school was. Long before this point I could just make out the sound of the highschool marching band practicing, over a mile away, preparing for football season….The noises and voices of my schoolmates pull me completely out of the peaceful woods and into a different world.
A world without equilibrium.
I would quicken my step and abandon the quiet and yell to join in.
I miss that world most of all, that walk in the woods, Appalachia in the Fall. 😊
Eric, that’s a heartfelt, well-written tribute to this ancient neck of the woods. I consider myself blessed to reside near a river where I can paddle, and have land enough to enjoy routine visits from critters who know they’re among friends.
I could, however, live nicely without the frequent encounters with yellow jackets. Ouch! But they’re relatively small considering the size of those monsters I remember assaulting us at Jalama!
Fantastic perspective!
Thanks for the link. What a pure voice he had.
lol - you have a very active subconscious. Are you doing or taking something to trigger these dreams. If you are, tell me so I can do it too.
Lol Lou. Seems old age has improved my nightly theatre.
Thank you, elce. That is very interesting.
Always great getting to read you, Al. Thanks for this. I think you should pen this into lyrics and turn it into: Anthem, Hymn, March or Dirge. You would need to decide. Shades of Van Gogh that dream has.
Thanks, David. I feel a little twisted about even writing the piece. My love for the Golden State runs deep. I also have amassed much enmity for politicians who seem bent on ruining it.
I'll dare to call it what it is: White erasure. As our people are erased, our norms are erased. People are not equal. They are not interchangeable. We were lied to about that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_genocide_conspiracy_theory
Ah, you're still stuck in phase 1. We're well past that phase now:
Search Result AI summary:
The "It’s Not Happening" and "It’s Happening But It’s a Good Thing" phases are key components of modern propaganda strategies, particularly as described in the "Law of Salutary Contradiction" and the "Law of Merited Impossibility." These phases represent a deliberate shift in messaging: first, denying an event or trend to disarm opposition, and then, once the event occurs, re-framing it as inevitable and desirable to justify its implementation and silence dissent.
This pattern is evident in political discourse, where claims about immigration, gender identity, or surveillance are initially dismissed as conspiracy theories before being celebrated as necessary or progressive outcomes.
"It’s Not Happening" Phase: This phase involves the denial of a current or emerging phenomenon to prevent public concern or resistance. For example, the Biden administration denied that it was shipping illegal immigrants on military planes, despite evidence suggesting otherwise.
Similarly, the idea that allowing self-identification of gender would lead to inappropriate behavior in spaces like locker rooms was dismissed as a "conspiracy theory" or "alarmist bigotry".
This denial is often used to enforce a new social order by labeling opposition as irrational or hateful.
"It’s Not Happening as Much" Phase: While not explicitly detailed in the provided sources, this phase can be inferred as a subtle downplaying of a phenomenon after initial denial. It may involve minimizing the scale or impact of an event to reduce public alarm, often through selective data presentation or framing. This tactic aligns with the broader strategy of controlling perception by manipulating the narrative around a trend.
"It’s Happening But It’s a Good Thing" Phase: This phase, known as the "Law of Salutary Contradiction," occurs when a previously denied event is acknowledged but re-framed as positive or necessary. For instance, once the demographic changes from immigration are undeniable, they are celebrated as a "glorious trend" that ensures a more "vibrant" future and a permanent Democratic majority.
Similarly, the NSA spying on Tucker Carlson was initially dismissed as a "conspiracy theory," but later justified as warranted due to his "treasonous contacts" with Russian officials.
This shift allows the ruling class to claim moral authority while dismissing criticism as backward or unjustified.
These phases are part of a broader propaganda model characterized by continuous, rapid, and inconsistent messaging, as seen in Russian disinformation campaigns that change narratives when exposed.
The effectiveness of such strategies lies in their ability to manipulate public perception by controlling the narrative across different stages of an event’s emergence.
source: https://search.brave.com/search?q=phases+of+propaganda+%27it%27s+not+happening%27+%27it%27s+not+happening+as+much%27+%27it%27s+happening+but+its+a+good+thing%27&source=desktop&conversation=61d8f96502ec05a5719eb2&summary=1
Better get a full head of hair and start making babies.
Each people has a unique biospirit. Generations (especially children raised on antiwhite media) are different, true. But biology has consequences. Values like honesty, keeping a clean environment, consent for sex, "fighting fair", etc.
Third world countries are the way they are because of the people in them.
When third world people come here, they bring their ways here and the California my people made turns into the California their people make.
I'm sorry that this goes against the religion of our time, but facts are facts.
elce: You hit it right between the nostrils: "Raid the treasury and hire the relatives" is exactly why so many countries fall into disrepair and eventual bankruptcy. Which is, of course, what has happened to so many of our cities both large and small. Sadly, Santa Barbara has finally fallen into that black hole from which there is no evidence that anyone or anything escapes. Just before we descend into that hole-of-no-return, I have no doubt voters will have passed legislation to give everyone (hey, maybe even non-citizens too; compassion knows no bounds!) a "guaranteed income."
And no doubt this UBI will be digital in nature and come with some gnarly behavioral strings attached.
Exactly. It's happening here right now. See the Santa Barbara City College Board of Trustees.
I moved to SB 40 years ago next January. Yes it's changed but most of it is the same to me.
Santa Barbara has held up much better than 90% of California.
Try visiting some of the formerly nice neighborhoods in Modesto.
I did once, in 1977 when our bus had to change drivers on our way from Phoenix to Northern CA, to a summer camp.
Glad you got to see them before they were so White erased.
Feel free to go pick some veggies.
Spoken like an old-school Californian. I'm with ya.