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Opinion
I cannot believe the Democrats are pushing for Measure O!
I agree with the goal of many citizens to legalize marijuana. Legalization will take the greed out of the weed, but Measure O is not about legalization. It is about the cultivation of marijuana in Lake County.
Measure O may have good “medicinal” intentions, but it is pie in the sky ideology.
Marijuana is unregulated, not taxed and not legal to grow for profit or pleasure. Growers have repeatedly proven they abuse the good will of the citizens who want to support true medicinal needs, but not the profit seekers.
Measure N, in just a few short months, has cleared out much of the “for profit” grows in our neighborhoods. To pass on ordinance that allows marijuana back in our backyards is wrong.
Why? Because when residents were allowed 6 plants under the interim ordinance before Measure N, they didn’t grow six plants, they grew 20 or 32. Under the guise of “medicinal marijuana,” growers did not comply then; they are not complying now (over 80 abatements in the last three months). Check the facts with the Lake County Community Development Department.
Bottom line, until legalized, marijuana cultivation is not a medically driven product, it is profit driven.
So when you go to vote on Nov. 4, vote no on O because it is the right thing to do for Lake County. It doesn’t matter what political party you are affiliated with.
I encourage community members to read the voters ballot information and vote no on O to save Lake County and maintain safe communities for our children, our seniors and everyone.
Measure O is not a political party decision; it is your decision for the future of your community.
Vote no on O.
Bruce Hollander lives in Kelseyville, Calif.
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- Written by: Bruce Hollander
I’m running for Congress because our country is threatened by an economic crisis that was caused by Wall Street.
We don’t just have stagnation or a slow recovery. We are locked in an economic depression. The American standard of living has declined by two-thirds since 1970. Neither party in Washington has solutions and they are gridlocked over wedge issues.
To top it off, the Supreme Court led by the RATS cabal (Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Scalia) hasn’t made it any easier with recent decisions in Citizens United, the Hobby Lobby ruling and the denial of voting rights cases.
America can do so much better. My program, “The Next New Deal,” offers the leadership and ideas both parties need to restore the traditional high living standards that make America great, and the 30 million new, high-wage, productive jobs needed to make the American Dream possible for all.
The Next New Deal is nothing more or less than the fulfillment of FDR’s vision, fueled by the one-two economic punch of a 1-percent Wall Street sales tax and the deprivatization of the Federal Reserve.
The Next New Deal will force our Federal Reserve System – as our Constitution demands – to finance the needs of the American people. We must start with a $5 trillion credit facility to rebuild our crumbling public infrastructure – roads, hospitals, schools, power, water and more – across the board and coast to coast.
This will give America the demand we need now for good jobs, and the basis for sustained economic growth in the 21st century.
We will make the Federal Reserve act like a national bank, offering credit at low- or no interest, and over long maturities for activities supporting our general welfare.
In addition to our infrastructure, we must provide 0-percent refinancing to reduce the crushing burden of $1.3 trillion in high-interest student loans.
Is your home underwater or in foreclosure? How about a 0-percent interest federal loan to keep you in your home? I will fight for it! We will force the Fed to cough up 0-percent financing over 100 years to repair and rebuild the infrastructure destroyed in our district by the recent earthquake.
My opponent Mike Thompson and California Gov. Jerry Brown don’t know how to finance the superhighways, fast rail, modern power systems, water projects, canal and port improvements, hospitals, schools and other infrastructure we desperately need. I do, and I will fight for the credit to make all these things possible.
Financing at close to 0 percent will also be available for any productive business, from the largest firms down to local restaurants, repair shops and drycleaners. They all get 0 percent because they produce real wealth, unlike Wall Street’s zombie banks and hedge funds who steal the wealth we produce.
By lowering the cost of capital for business to almost 0 percent, we will empower these companies to pay a living wage, with a pay floor of $15 per hour for all workers.
With a public credit facility to finance our needs, we also need to rein in Wall Street and the financial sector.
Thanks to a 1 percent Wall Street sales tax on the many trillions of stocks, bonds and derivatives sold each year on Wall Street, we will not only reduce dangerous speculation in our economy; we will roll back all austerity measures at the federal and state level.
Through revenue sharing from The U.S. Treasury to states and localities, this means no more “sequestration,” no more tax increases for businesses or households in California. We will shift the tax burden from your back to the Wall Street banks and hedge funds who crashed our economy.
A 1-percent Wall Street sales tax will allow us to maintain vital social services. With Wall Street finally paying its “fair share” we can offer all persons Medicare for All at a premium of $100 per person per month, with free coverage for those who cannot pay.
By taxing Wall Street transactions, we will put an end to the current subsidy granted to flash traders and high frequency traders, and tilt the playing field back in favor of tangible physical production. We can then begin tax reform from the bottom up, doubling the standard deduction and tripling the personal exemption so that an average family of four will pay no federal income tax on their first $60,000+ of income.
Finally, I appeal to the desire for peace among all persons of good will in the district.
I am appalled by the warmonger rhetoric coming from Republican Senators like John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who are promising new land wars with Syria and Iraq if their party takes control of the Senate. I will be more than a “no” vote against foreign adventures.
I will be a leading voice and vote for peace – be it in Ukraine, the Middle East or Israel-Palestine. I will challenge the intelligence community to prevent them from creating new threats to our country as by-products of their ill-advised and reckless covert operations.
In particular, I will act to shut down all unconstitutional activities by The National Security Agency, CIA and other lawless intelligence community players.
If the Republicans dominate Congress, the reactionary Koch brothers will be calling the shots in Washington, especially because of President Barack Obama’s track record of weakness.
As for my opponent Mike Thompson, he has never stood up to fight for the people of our district, and is more interested in currying favor with Paul and Nancy Pelosi than with providing concrete benefits for the Fifth Congressional District.
My platform provides practical and accessible solutions to the main problems facing our country today. And, if you are looking for a protest vote, be assured that support for my program will send the loudest possible message to Washington that people in this part of the country demand an immediate change of course.
James Hinton lives in Napa, Calif.
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- Written by: James Hinton
I have seen some signs around that claim Measure S is overtaxing the poor.
Measure S proposes a half-cent sales tax on every dollar spent on taxable goods. This means that a number of items do not get any tax such as food, prescriptions, medical services, utilities, house payments and rents. The basic necessities will not be taxed.
Other items will be subject to the sales tax and estimates have shown that individuals earning an average income in Lake County will pay around $30 to $35 annually in additional sales tax whereas lower income individuals will pay an average of $15.
Without Measure S there stands to be increased cost of living such as water bills and possibly property taxes.
The other effect that could occur should Measure S not pass is the county having to defer or reduce services should there be increased costs to preserve and protect the lake.
Monies would have to come from the general fund to address lake issues and there would be less money for libraries, senior centers, maintenance of infrastructure, etc.
With Measure S we can estimate the cost to each individual. Without it we have no idea what it will cost each individual and what services will be affected.
Scott Knickmeyer is chair of the Save the Lake Committee 2014, which is supporting the passage of Measure S in Lake County, Calif.
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- Written by: Scott Knickmeyer
The fearmongering no on Measure O “hit piece” makes me think that perhaps Harry Anslinger has been reincarnated in Lake County as a political consultant.
Anslinger was a former Prohibition agent who spread lies about cannabis as America’s first drug czar, creating the reefer madness of the 1930s and leading to the federal criminalization of marijuana in 1937.
In his own words, he went after “[N]egroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers [with] their Satanic music, jazz and swing [which] result from marijuana use.”
Revered jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong were thrown in jail for smoking cannabis, and millions of cannabis arrests followed.
I know that Lake County’s voters are much too smart to fall for the outrageous scare tactics of the No on O campaign and the modern day prohibitionists.
Smart voters deal in facts, not fear. And the fact is that Measure O effectively balances patient rights with the right of neighbors to be free of nuisances caused by cultivation.
Measure O protects patient access, our neighborhoods, the environment and the economy, and is self-funded by fees charged for collective cultivation on large rural acreage parcels.
Please don’t be fooled by the No on O “liar flyer.” It is nothing but outright lies, innuendos and fearmongering.
On November 4, vote yes on Measure O.
Ron Green is an attorney. He lives in Lower Lake, Calif., and has been active in advocating for Measure O.
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- Written by: Ron Green