Don’t Feed the Traffic

When I was a little girl, my favorite book was A Fish Out of Water. Based on a short story by Dr. Seuss, it’s about a little boy who buys a goldfish and is warned by the pet store owner only to feed the fish a little bit. The boy didn’t listen and he fed the fish too much, and the fish kept growing and growing. First, the goldfish outgrew his bowl, then the bathtub, and later a public swimming pool. Each growth led to another disastrous result until the little boy learned his lesson.

Did we learn our lesson from 2009 when we let Caltrans close the 101 Southbound? Because it’s about to happen again. We are about to feed the ever-growing traffic fish. These planned roundabouts will speed up local traffic, but that will just lead to more cars getting off the 101 at Hot Springs, Olive Mill, and San Ysidro in order to bypass 101 traffic congestion. 

When our political representatives approved this ill-conceived plan, almost a decade ago, there were no navigational GPS traffic apps alerting drivers to take the most efficient route, regardless of whether it’s a highway or a back alley. And because our roads run parallel to the 101, if we make them more efficient, more drivers will use them. While this is a thrilling proposition for Caltrans (it may speed up 101 traffic), roundabouts will negatively impact our community and lifestyle. Look at the drawings and try to imagine how dangerous it will be for tourists and residents to walk and bike safely across the planned Olive Mill bridge to and from Butterfly Beach. 

The increase in our local road usage will lead to more road wear and tear and less safety for bicyclists and pedestrians. People who now do errands on foot or bicycle – such as my husband and I – will be more likely to use their cars. And of course, more cars on the roads makes Montecito a less appealing place to live, vacation, shop, and dine. Hopefully, the County is taking at least the potential monetary losses into consideration, since so much of its funding comes from 93108 residents, landlords, stores, and hotels. 

Alternatively, if we make our main roads and bridges safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, and less appealing to non-local traffic, more people will choose car alternatives, fewer cars will use our roads as an exodus from the 101, and we can incentivize locals and tourists to shop and dine more on CVR and the upper village. A pedestrian is always more likely to stop and shop in a local store than someone speeding through on route to Ventura or L.A. 

The solution: Open a southbound 101 ramp at Cabrillo. That will make the 101 a better alternative for the GPS apps for through traffic. Once that’s done, we won’t need the roundabouts and we can focus on sidewalk, bike path, and road designs that meet the needs of local usage and tourism.

Jane Wood Orfalea
Montecito

(Editor’s note: We certainly agree with your sentiments; however, the new four-way Stop signs at both ends of Coast Village Circle have already made positive contributions to traffic flow, in that drivers are required to stop so frequently along Coast Village Road that many have opted simply to stay on 101. It’s a trend we highly encourage. – J.B.)

Prohibition and 3-D Printers 

Supporters of “common-sense” gun safety might want to Google “End of Gun Control” and read the commentary by Dr. John Lott regarding 3-D printers.

Technology has given birth to an amazing and affordable product called a 3-D printer.

With free downloadable blueprints anyone, including criminals, pranksters, community activists, Trump supporters, and other right-wing conspirators are able to create 3-D customized coffee cups, plastic wrenches, specialty tools, self-watering plant boxes, coin sorters, parametric hinges, artificial body parts (a.k.a. vibrating appendages), personalized Swiss Army key chains, bottle openers, undetectable HDPE high-density plastic daggers, and soon, unregistered fully functional firearms.

Anyone interested in making bombs, booby-traps, poison pills, C4 explosives, detonators, or other “tools for terrorists” should not use those words as Google search terms. Big Brother will be very interested in your motives. Instead, purchase an eBay copy of The Anarchist’s Cookbook, or just download the entire book in PDF format for free. Since curious minds want to know, don’t forget to visit Amazon and purchase a copy of the 1907 edition of G.H. Hiscox’s Henley’s Book of Formulas. For history buffs, Henley’s contains most of the original chemical instructions for everything found in The Anarchist’s Cookbook.

OMG, I just realized that Hiscox’s book is also available online for free as a PDF file. How will the world survive with all this dangerous information readily available to women, children, minorities, and terrorists?

An 11th-hour “declaration” by a liberal lone-wolf federal judge, Robert Lasnik, temporarily bans the distribution of 3-D firearm blueprints despite a prior Justice Department settlement, on First Amendment grounds. An uppity millennial libertarian, Cody Wilson (DefCad.com) successfully argued that anyone in the U.S. should be able to upload-share-download 3-D instructions, for home-use non-resale purposes, printable firearms, or more specifically, components that could be assembled into a working gun.

According to Dr. Lott (best-selling author of More Guns, Less Crime), this landmark “freedom of speech” decision, notwithstanding, Judge Lasnik’s righteous indignation signals the death knell for gun control laws worldwide. Since May 2013, more than 100,000 illegal downloads of the Liberator blueprints have already been completed, primarily from Spain, Brazil, and Germany, countries with repressive gun (and speech) laws.

Who would’a thunk it?

Liberals, focused on the 500 million straws disposed of daily, should celebrate that these plastic waste products can now be recycled into something useful, perhaps even “life-saving.” From an artistic standpoint, the beauty and danger hidden within pieces of 3-D plastic is in the eyes, or, more appropriately the hands, of the beholder. Warning to readers: Do not visit this government hacked/monitored site: (http://3dsha.re/product/gun-8-mm-printable/), or the other 4,000+ sharing websites, containing questionable 3-D blueprints of Michelangelo’s David, and instructions for rebuilding demolished full-sized Confederate statues of the Civil War, using Legos.

There will be much debate, possibly a rewrite or elimination of the 1988 Undetectable Firearms Act, Section 922, Title 18 USC, specifically Subsection 2, paragraph A, section A:

(2) For purposes of this subsection— 

(A) the term “firearm” does not include the frame or receiver of any such weapon;

In 1920, supporters of Prohibition rejoiced, believing their actions would reduce violence, addictions, alcoholism, save broken families, prevent auto accidents, halt liver disease, decrease murder rates, diminish assaults, and improve moral behavior. Instead, the Volstead Act fed black markets, organized crime, bootlegging, tax evasion, and spurned the mockery and disrespect for the law. 

The decades of religious zeal and uncompromising attitude of gun control advocates is responsible for driving gun purchases through the roof. It is the constant “fear of confiscation,” real or imagined, which currently spawns millions of blueprint downloads and is making Cody “Capone” Wilson rich and famous.

The 3-D printer is a 21st-century version of the underground “Speakeasy” and the unintended consequences will be just as traumatic.

More printers, less crime…?

Dale Lowdermilk
Santa Barbara

(Editor’s note: I’ve long been familiar with The Anarchist’s Cookbook and was actually opposed to its publication (in the late 1960s, early ’70s as I recall). However, you are correct, as its existence has been known and probably used by many with evil and/or cruel intentions over the past 50 years. One danger you failed to mention, which surprised me, was that with a 3-D printer, one can readily reproduce the most dangerous item of all: a plastic straw! – J.B.)

“D” Stands for “Divided”

Those of us who live between Carpinteria and Goleta are becoming a divided community. Traffic is the cause, but not the root cause. For that, one has to delve a bit deeper. Anyone who has lived in this community for a decade or more (for me, it’s been 40 years) has seen a recent and dramatic uptick in development. It’s not limited to one area, but is inclusive of all. This is a radical departure from the building moratorium of not so long ago.

This was illustrated, unwittingly, by a friend who had been away from Santa Barbara for several months. To celebrate her return, we went down to our favorite spot in the Funk Zone. After greetings and salutations, she looked around and was stunned and speechless. Slowly she asked, “What happened? What happened to my town? This is crazy!”

I responded, “Well, I hate to get political so quickly after seeing you again, but this has everything to do with politics. You and I are on opposite ends of the political spectrum. If you voted in the last election, or any others, then the people you voted for are directly related to and responsible for what you say you don’t like.”

“Think about it,” I said, “Elected officials on both the city and county councils are now, and have been for decades, those with (D) behind their names. It has been by their hands and under their watch that UCSB and SBCC have grown totally out of control. It is they who green-light all of these new housing projects.”

I’ve never seen her so quiet.

Another friend, who lives in Goleta, and I were talking recently. She said that she hardly ventures beyond the confines of Goleta due to traffic. We invite each other to gatherings, but neither of us are inclined to fight traffic on 101 or what’s now spilled over onto surface streets. She said she knew why all of this development is going on: “It’s the Republicans,” she stated factually. “They’re the ones who are doing this.”

Hmmmm.

I asked if she knew how many Republicans were in our local government. She said she didn’t know but was certain they were behind all this.

I gave her some homework.

“Next time we talk, I want you to tell me how many people with (R) after their names sit on any of the city or county councils.

When my Goleta friend and I spoke again a few days later, I asked about her homework assignment. “Do you know how many people with (R) are in our local governments?” She sheepishly replied, “Very, very few. In fact only 2 out of 22, depending on how you count them.” 

I pressed a little harder, “Is there a conclusion you can draw from what you now know?” 

Truth is sometimes hard to swallow. She said, “The people behind this are the ones I voted for.” Yep.

Only a few years ago, there wasn’t even a thought about traveling back and forth between Goleta and Montecito, now… it’s a nightmare. Of my 40 years in this community, almost 35 were spent in Goleta; I now reside in Summerland. I’ve hardly exercised my membership at Costco in the last few years due to the clogged freeway and surface streets. Instead of having a united community consisting of several towns, we now have enclaves separated and isolated.

This utopian fantasy of high-density housing only exists in fiction or in the minds of local officials. The reality is what we’re all living and feeling, and that’s… disconnected from each other.

When it comes time to vote, keep in mind the building, the traffic, the disconnected communities – and if you like and enjoy it, then vote (D) for Delighted. If not, consider that

(D) stands for: Development

(D) stands for: Divided

(D) stands for: Disconnected

Carol Cannon

Summerland

(Editor’s note: Good letter, great observation! And, you are exactly correct… about everything, including the political affiliations of our various elected officials. As far as being “divided” into small enclaves, right again. I live on Middle Road and – because of those wonderful new four-way Stop signs at Coast Village Circle and Coast Village Road – I can once again easily travel to the beach and back from my house, without fear of becoming trapped in traffic. Before the Stop signs, it was becoming increasingly difficult. Remember too that the one area along most of the Central Coast that has not over-expanded is… Montecito. We have, for the most part, restrained building and, with the help of the Montecito Association, have mostly resisted the clarion call of construction. I am almost content to spend more time at home when contemplating that this little enclave has protected those of us who live here from the cacophony that surrounds us. – J.B.)

Hiking for Danny

At the end of this month, I’m setting out with a group of hikers to raise funds for the Daniel Bryant Youth & Family Center in Santa Barbara. I’ve been working closely with the programs at the treatment center over my last six years with CADA, and have been profoundly touched by the competent and compassionate counselors and their success at turning young lives around. 

I’m hoping, if you feel inclined, that you will check out the following GoFundMe page for hike details and the opportunity to support: 

www.gofundme.com/summit-for-danny-internation

Many thanks! 

Catherine Remak
Santa Barbara

Russian “Which (sic) Hunt”

The American people aren’t buying any notion of a “crime” related to the president. Thus, the people aren’t going to go along with any secondary “crime” such as “obstruction.”

In Richard Nixon’s case, at least there was a fundamental crime to which he and his people conspired to “cover up.”

With President Trump and Russia, there was – and is – no crime! In this day ‘n’ age of social media, any evidence of pre-election wrong-doing, or “smoking gun,” would’ve been leaked many moons ago.

The American people know this, which is why few people in pollsters’ focus groups consider “Russia” to be a central or overriding political issue going into the last 90 days before the fall election.

The people are politically more sophisticated in 2018 than 44 years ago. Today, voters aren’t going to pay attention to “due process” crimes, such as “obstruction of justice,” if there’s no evidence of a crime having been committed, which was the basis of a special prosecutor being established in the first place.

This whole charade is nothing but smoke ‘n’ mirrors for delirious anti-Trumpers… and a full-employment program for Democrat lawyers. A bottomless legal budget is the engine driving hundreds of lawyers and legal staffers to find discrepancies in Trump peoples’ testimonies and depositions, which could give them grounds for indicting, and maybe convicting, people for “due process” crimes.

This isn’t going to work, any more than Ken Starr’s push to impeach and convict Bill Clinton in 1998.

The primary reason is the American people care more passionately about much greater threats to the American body politic than Monica Lewinsky or Vladimir Putin.

It’s really no more complicated than that.

David S. McCalmont
Santa Barbara

(Editor’s note: Here’s what we believe may have happened to get us here: during one of the “debates” between candidate Donald Trump and candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. Trump looked plaintively at the camera and said – we’re paraphrasing here – “Hey, Russia, maybe you can find those thirty thousand missing e-mails?!” From that, some over-eager staffers probably tried to contact someone connected with WikiLeaks to track them down. There were likely some meetings to that effect, and now that this has gone on so long with strident denials from the president and his minions, it would be extremely embarrassing to reveal those meetings if they actually occurred. There was no crime committed that we can ascertain, except perhaps for the most likely one being that of Mrs. Clinton for setting up a jury-rigged and extremely vulnerable home server system for reasons yet to be explained. – J.B.)

Liberal and Proud

I don’t believe you are going to print my letter, because your political point of view is always against the Democratic Party, but history has been proven that honesty, respect, and love to another human being are the most important facts in our civilization).

I am a proud liberal.

I am a liberal because I want freedom; I want the chance for prosperity; I want as few people suffering as possible; I want healthy children; I want to have crime-free streets. The argument is how to achieve them…

We liberals believe in government action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all. It is the duty of the government to alleviate social ills and to protect civil liberties and individual and human rights. Believe the role of the government should be to guarantee that no one is in need. 

A woman has the right to decide what happens with her body. The decision to have an abortion is a personal choice of a woman regarding her own body, and the government must protect this right.

Due to prevalent racism in the past, minorities were deprived of the same education and employment opportunities as whites. The government must work to make up for that. America is still a racist society, therefore a federal affirmative action law is necessary. Due to unequal opportunity, minorities still lag behind whites in all statistical measurements of success.

The death penalty should be abolished. It is inhumane and is “cruel and unusual” punishment; imprisonment is the appropriate punishment for murder. Every execution risks killing an innocent person.

A market system in which government regulates the economy is best. Government must protect citizens from the greed of big business. Unlike the private sector, the government is motivated by public interest. Government regulation in all areas of the economy is needed to level the playing field.

Public schools are the best way to educate students. Vouchers take money away from public schools. Government should focus additional funds on existing public schools, raising teacher salaries and reducing class size.

Support the use of embryonic stem cells for research. It is necessary (and ethical) for the government to fund embryonic stem cell research, which will assist scientists in finding treatments and cures for diseases. Embryonic stem cells have the potential to cure chronic and degenerative diseases, which current medicine has been unable to effectively treat. 

Oil is depleting. Other sources of energy must be explore. The government must produce a national plan for all energy resources and subsidize (partially pay for) alternative energy research and production. Support increased exploration of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power. Support government control of gas and electric industries.

Global warming is caused by an increased production of carbon dioxide through the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas). The U.S. is a major contributor to global warming because it produce 25 percent of the word’s carbon dioxide. Proposed laws to reduce carbon emissions in the U.S. are urgently needed and should be enacted immediately to save the planet. Many reputable scientists support this theory.

Support free or low-cost government-controlled health care. There are millions of Americans who can’t afford health care and are deprived of this basic right. Every American has a right to affordable health care. The government should provide equal health care benefits for all, regardless of their ability to pay.

Support welfare. Including long-term welfare. Welfare is a safety net, which provides for the needs of the poor. Welfare is necessary to bring fairness to American economic life. It is a device for protecting the poor.

And finally, any moral progress humanity has made over the centuries and millennia has been made in the direction of expanding our understanding and application of fairness and the avoidance of harm. In every example I can think of where our morality is a clear improvement over the morality of the past – democracy, banning slavery, religious freedom, women’s suffrage, et cetera – the core values being strengthened have been the values of fairness and the avoidance of harm: the liberal values, the ones that can be applied to everyone.

I’ve been a proud liberal since I was old enough to make a choice. And now I’m prouder than ever. Because humanity’s moral evolution has, in every instance I can think of, been in the direction of humanity becoming more liberal.

Leoncio Martins
Santa Barbara

(Editor’s note: Yes, well, we would dispute pretty much everything positive you suggest was because of “liberals,” so there’s no reason to go point by point. However, we will note that it was a “benign” government that perpetuated the “prevalent racism in the past.” Under the rule of the Democrat Party, which dominated politics in all the states of the Deep South, “minorities were deprived of the same education and employment opportunities as whites.” The Democrat-sponsored Jim Crow laws and Democrat enforced segregation in the South is why “government must work to make up for that.” We’re with you in seeking to move on from government-sponsored segregation, as has the Republican Party since, well, since its formation in the late 1850s. – J.B.)