Don's Tuesday Column

THE WAY I SEE IT by Don Polson        Red Bluff Daily News 11/26/2024

        Round-a-bout etiquette; state news

Past Thanksgiving columns told the story of the first Thanksgiving, and how that meal shared with Native tribal visitors celebrated the abundance of the free-market economic model. The nearly colony-killing results of their initial collectivist approach to providing for their food, clothing and other needs was documented in Governor Bradford’s diary.

Starvation threatened after the settlers pursued a “from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs” model. Labor was assigned according to their talents and capabilities; the fruits of their labor were put into a common store; distribution to the colonists was supervised. Bradford recounted that there was laziness on the part of men who produced more than they needed only to see it given to families who produced less than they consumed. Supplies were reduced by thievery as human nature is wont to do.

Bradford’s solution to this deadly spiral was simple, and not particularly genius: Use self interest to benefit all—“Whoever will not work, will not eat.” Colonists could keep all they produced; excesses could be bartered among them or shared as they saw fit. The result was a lesson that echoes to this day: So much food was produced—using Native crop skills learned by eager, and hungry, Pilgrims—that the First Thanksgiving was a tribute to the “better angels” of human nature in sharing their abundance.

It was America’s first “lesson learned” about free enterprise and it’s life-elevating results. Pray that Americans continue to freely pursue their self-interests and, thereby, provide abundance and opportunity for all.

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While back home in Red Bluff, we had occasion to use the new traffic circle at the South Main Street freeway exit. It’s well constructed and, when motorists acclimate themselves to the use of entrance and exit procedures, will have folks not missing traffic signal wait times.

Rule 1: A vehicle in the circle always has the right-of-way; entering the circle must be delayed until a safe space appears. Rule 2: Use your turn signal to tell drivers waiting to enter, that you are exiting. It greatly expedites the process. It’s the law in Oregon and may be the law here; drivers may need to be educated with public notices.

Seeing the experiences of Bend, Oregon’s two dozen or so traffic circles, it can be said that they provide relatively modest slowing, while being an improvement over traffic signals for low volume intersections. However, traffic volumes in some locations overwhelm the round-a-bout such that a signal would work better.

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California is not “showing the way” when it comes to election procedures. “Liberal Incompetence at Work: Democrats Still Counting Votes After 2 Weeks for House Races,” shows that California is leading the “race to the bottom” when the results of House races can take weeks to be determined.

Thank Democrat rulers for selling voters on the “convenience” of mail-in voting; it is subject to endless fraud as any warm body can be “signed up” to receive ballots with nary a check of their legal eligibility to vote. In person voting results are usually known that same night while the mail-in ones pile up, subject to suspiciously “found” stacks of ballots.

Stories abound of people moving out of state while continuing to receive ballots, even for family members who’ve left the household, and even when the relocated voters have established voting in their new state. A talk show caller described how the only ballots still coming to his Tennessee home (from CA.) were for his Democrat-voting daughter. Hmmm.

“Election Integrity Win for Huntington Beach, CA, As Judge Rules They Can Proceed With Voter ID” (Redstate.com, 11/17). Gov. Newsom’s administration launched a legal challenge to that city’s voter ID law, proving its antipathy toward any effort to prevent vote fraud. 83+ percent support “proof of citizenship” and “requiring photo ID to vote” (Gallup, Thehill.com).

Writing at the New York Post, Susan Shelley asks “Has California’s progressive facade been shattered beyond repair?” November election results suggest an electorate souring on the left. On top of the Republican U.S. Senate and Presidential candidates getting about 40 percent of the vote (Republicans=25 percent of Calif. registered voters), Democrat progressives were thrown out by voters in San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles (two mayors and two district attorneys).

Moreover, Prop 36, the tough-on-crime measure opposed by Gov. Newsom and Sacramento Dems, passed by 69 percent.

Left-of-center journalist Lee Fang summed up the dire state of progressive fortunes: “Democrats won super-majorities in California a long time ago and cities ended up getting less safe, housing got more expensive, and the high speed rail just sat there, never getting completed. Can't restore faith in the party until you fix the state that has come to define it.”

Our sometimes columnist, Allan Stellar, posts his thoughts at allanstellar.substack.com. He’s understandably distraught over the election but believes the progressive message is a winner long term (I’m paraphrasing). Honestly, I rather doubt it.