Saturday, June 27, 2009

A View on California



Note: This is from Pat Buchanan's blog. Buchanan, 71, is well known populist conservative. Alphonse Vinh, a reference librarian for National Public Radio and a friend of Pat B. had collaborated with him as a ghost writer for his memoir of his failed presidential bid in the early 90s. Alphonse Vinh is a son of a famous and well respectedVietnamese-American in the community

PJB: California, Here We Come!
By Patrick J. Buchanan
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — In just a few weeks time, California hits the wall.
And Americans should take a good, long look at the fiscal and social wreck of the Golden Land, because California is at a place to which all of America is heading.
In May, when five fund-raising proposals were put on the ballot, Gov. Schwarzenegger pleaded with the overtaxed Californians not to make their state “the poster child for dysfunction.”
As The Economist writes, “On May 18th, they did exactly that.”
Arnold went to the White House for U.S. loan guarantees for new state bonds. But with the president’s approval rating wilting because of a belief he is spending too much, the Obama-ites slammed the door.
In Sacramento, a Republican blocking force is resisting any new tax revenue. And with the state under a constitutional mandate to balance its budget, yet facing a $24 billion deficit this July, a chainsaw is about to be taken to state government.
Some 38,000 of 168,000 state prisoners may be released. As Barack Obama is pushing universal health insurance, California will cut Medi-Cal for the poor. Education will be slashed, resulting in a shortened school year, thousands of laid-off teachers, school closings and an end to summer programs in a system that has plummeted from the nation’s best to one of its worst, as measured by dropout rates and academic achievement.
The 10 campuses of the University of California face cuts that may result in 50,000 fewer students and 5,000 fewer teachers.
What makes her fiscal crisis relevant to us all is not only that California is our most populous state, with one in eight Americans living there, but California has a gross domestic product larger than Canada’s.
Moreover, the demography of California today is the demography of America tomorrow, just as the social and fiscal policies of California in the last decade mirror those of the U.S. government today.
One-third of all U.S. wage-earners today have been amnestied from paying U.S. income taxes, as the top 1 percent haul fully 40 percent of that huge load. So, too, in California, the well-to-do and the wealthy are hammered, which is why many have quietly closed their businesses, packed and gone back over the mountains whence their fathers came.
Under George W. Bush and Obama, the U.S. government has undertaken huge new responsibilities: No Child Left Behind, Medicare prescription drug benefits, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the takeovers of banks and auto companies, bailouts without end and national health insurance.
California, too, spent lavishly in the fat years and issued bonds when state revenues did not cover the costs, bringing its once-sterling credit rating down to the nation’s lowest. So, too, U.S. Treasury bonds, T-bills and the American dollar are now increasingly suspect.
Demographically, California is where America will be in 2040.
White folks, who are leaving California as they did in the millions in the 1990s, are below half the population. Hispanics, their numbers surging due to legal and illegal immigration, are well over a third of the population. The African-American share of California’s population is also falling, as the Asian share is rising, again from immigration.
Los Angeles, which is what most large American cities will look like, is the most diverse city on earth. Has diversity been a strength?
In the prisons and jails, and among the scores of thousands in street gangs and the underclass, a black-brown civil war is underway.
In October 2006, the Financial Times reported the findings of the famed author of “Bowling Alone” on what diversity has wrought:
“A bleak picture of the corrosive effects of ethnic diversity has been revealed in research by Harvard University’s Robert Putnam, one of the world’s most influential political scientists. His research shows that the more diverse a community is, the less likely its inhabitants are to trust anyone — from their next-door neighbor to the mayor.”
“In the presence of diversity, we hunker down,” said Putnam. “We act like turtles. The effect of diversity is worse than had been imagined. And it’s not just that we don’t trust people who are not like us. In diverse communities, we don’t trust people who do look like us.”
“Professor Putnam,” said the Financial Times, “found trust was lowest in Los Angeles, ‘the most diverse human habitation in human history.’”
Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan carried California nine times. But the state is now a fiefdom of liberalism. John McCain’s share of the vote was smaller than Barry Goldwater’s. California today believes in Big Government, open borders, diversity, multiculturalism and the politics of compassion. But what liberalism has wrought in California, its native-born are fleeing.
Still, where California is at, America is headed.
Californians who are running away from the communities and towns in which they were raised have Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Utah and Nevada to head to. But when all of America arrives at where California is at today, where do the Americans run to?

Friday, June 26, 2009

Vietnamese Language and Cultural Instructor

Foreign Service InstituteThe Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the U.S. Department of State is recruiting a Vietnamese Language and Culture Instructor. This is a direct hire renewable position (NOT a contract position). Applications will be accepted from US citizens and non-citizens with work authorization (we cannot sponsor applicants). This position is located in Arlington, Virginia, in the School of Language Studies, Foreign Service Institute (FSI/SLS), in the Department of East Asian and Pacific Languages (EAP). The Vietnamese language program is one of many offered by the School of Language Studies to provide language training and cross-cultural awareness to prepare employees of the Department of State and other foreign affairs agencies for their specific assignments. The incumbent primarily works as a classroom instructor in teaching speaking, reading, and listening comprehension skills to a full range of students at all levels of language proficiency, including those for whom standard course materials and curricula are not appropriate.

Applications will be accepted through July 7, 2009.

Go to http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/ for the detailed vacancy announcement and information on how to apply. Search for FSI-09-27 in the What box.
Additional information can also be obtained by calling (703) 302-6813 or emailing FSIJobapplications@state.gov.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

A View From Vietnam with Dr. Kim Ninh




Date: June 25, 2009 (Thursday)
Time: 5:30 PM
Merchant's Exchange Building, San Francisco


Vietnam is experiencing growth pains and is striving to bring its physical and financial infrastructure up to speed. It faces daunting prospects as climate change threatens the fertile, highly populated Mekong Delta region, which is also facing threats from upstream dams and diversions. Learn more about Vietnam's institutional capacity to respond to these 21st century challenges from The Asia Foundation's Vietnam Country Representative, Dr. Kim N. B. Ninh. Very limited space and reservations needed today. Hosted by The Asia Foundation. non members: call 415 743-3357

Job Opening at Santa Clara County

Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society (SCVAS) seeks qualified candidates for the position of Environmental Advocate. The Advocate will promote the mission of SCVAS by advancing our goals with local governments and the public, cooperating with other local environmental groups, and interacting with colleagues at Audubon California in Sacramento . The Advocate reports to the Executive Director. This is a 3-year / 32-hour per week position.The mission of SCVAS--a local chapter of the National Audubon Society—is to preserve, restore, and foster public awareness of native birds and their ecosystems, with a focus on Santa Clara County . Santa Clara County is at the southern tip of San Francisco Bay and may best be known as a world leader in electronic technology. Affiliated with the National Audubon Society, SCVAS is a separate nonprofit entity withits own staff, programs and Board of Directors.

GENERAL DUTIES

1. Represents SCVAS at government meetings and hearings; works with the SCVAS Environmental Action Committee and other volunteers. • 40%

2. Coordinates conservation projects and campaigns, arranges And participates in meetings with community activists, and keeps The organization abreast of issues of interest to SCVAS.• 20%

3. Prepares background materials, talking points, and recommendedcourses of action for issues or projects SCVAS may wish to pursue, and supports SCVAS fundraising efforts.


Skills and Abilities:

1. Passion for conservation campaigns, environmental policy, community organizing.
2. Demonstrated experience in environmental advocacy.
3. Bachelor' s degree: environmental studies, planning, public policy, and/or conservation biology.
4. Ability to successfully represent SCVAS to the public in a professional manner, especially in public speaking.
5. Demonstrated ability to communicate complicated issues to a lay audience, both orally and in writing.
6. Knowledge of the California Environmental Quality Act, and ability to apply that knowledge to preparation of comments on Environmental Impact Reports

COMPENSATION:This is a 4/5ths time position, funded for a minimum of 3 years. Salary will be based on relevant experience and will be competitive with comparable positions in the field. We offer medical, dental, sick and vacation leave. SCVAS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To apply, email a cover letter and resume to Bob Power at: bob@scvas.org.

Slow Voter Turnout in Santa Clara County for Midterm Election?

  Mirroring the voting trends in California, the voters in Santa Clara County have not returned their mail-in ballots as expected.   With ...