Longest Day of the Year

I am back from a trip to Sacto; I had to go to get a break from the consistent south swell that showed for two weeks straight. No - not really, going to Sacto is always lame, but the south swell part is true. Starting June 3 - the south ramped up and stayed in the overhead to chest high region. On the 13th day of the swell, the buoys read 4.6 feet from between 185 to 215 at 17 seconds. The direction was choice, and all points were firing. The Cut-Away was really fun for the whole swell - I mostly showed up on the higher tides as the wind peaked. The window offered good waves and a smaller, more experienced, crowd. Today - it's small and crowded - back to normal. It was a good start, but we're owed more.

Notes From the Field -
The second week of May begins, it’s Mother’s day. No surf today and none in near-sight. No worries. It was a beautiful day, and moms all over deserved our attention. More than anything women attend to – motherhood is the foundation of life. Like water.

First we’re told that a government health care plan could doom the insurance industry – no tears here. But in a swift move to revive the blood-drained patient, realizing that if the patient dies the blood will no longer flow, the insurance industry has offered to slow the profit train – pockets bulging - hospitals, insurance companies, drug makers and doctors plan to tell Obama they'll voluntarily slow their rate increases in coming years – one wonders why the rates increased at the rates they did – It’s plain to see. Rampant greed feeding off the fear of bad health and possible catastrophe – you must have health insurance. Now, when there is a possibility the gravy train will end, when lobby money will no longer stop the common masses from realizing their constitutional right “….domestic tranquility and the general welfare”, the insurance companies insist they can help – let’s be reasonable. The bullshit is all time.

Check the news flash - “The industry groups are trying to get on the administration bandwagon for expanded coverage now in the hope they can steer Congress away from legislation that would restrict their profitability in future years. Insurers, for example, want to avoid the creation of a government health plan that would directly compete with them to enroll middle-class workers and their families. Drug makers worry that in the future; new medications might have to pass a cost-benefit test before they can win approval. And hospitals and doctors are concerned the government could dictate what they get paid to care for any patient, not only the elderly and the poor. There's a sense among some of the groups that now may be the best time to act before public opinion, fueled by anger over costs, turns against them.”

But wait – “Healthcare industry leaders are now claiming President Obama substantially overstated their pledge this week to reduce costs.” Regarding single payer – “It’s widely acknowledged a single-payer system would put insurance companies out of business, because they wouldn’t be able to compete with its cheaper costs.”

And more news: The Pentagon budget for secret operations is now larger than the entire military budget of Britain, France or Japan.

President Barack Obama declared Wednesday he would try to block the court-ordered release of photos showing U.S. troops abusing prisoners, abruptly reversing his position out of concern the pictures would "further inflame anti-American opinion" and endanger U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gee, I’m sure the fact that Obama thinks the pictures would inflame, and one’s own imagination, brings the combustible material and oxidizer into the explosive range. Hey man, nice shot.

“The plan would achieve Obama's goal of universal health coverage through a regulated insurance market. Insurers would agree to significant concessions such as not charging more to people with pre-existing conditions. In return, they want to quash a government-run insurance plan that Obama supports beacuse of fears the plan would put private insurers out of business.” The concern over the putting private insurers out of business – why?

“It’s like living in an ant hill.” Like cattle at the feed trough, consumers kept alive for corporations to feed on. Just enough work, but not too much; just enough free time for consuming, but not too much; just enough thought, but not too much….on and on. They need us to consume, some production, not much thought.

There are five different clusters of definitions used in the Supreme Court's case law on corruption. Each of these clusters understands the problem with corruption--the essence of the threat that it expresses--as different. The clusters can be loosely described as gravitating around these concepts: criminal bribery, inequality, drowned voices, a dispirited public, and a lack of integrity.

I would have to look back and see if I wrote anything regarding surf. That is because I cannot remember the last time I surfed anything over waist high. The glide has been a great during the interlude, but how about a week of something over waist high.

June 3, 2009: Surf starting to show from the south, 2.2 feet at 14 seconds. Long waits, cold water, wind, and kinda’ lined up, but it was great to be on the SB once again. The swell maps indicate there will be swell from the south for a few days – of course it looks like the swell will be at its biggest during this weekend. If the mid-week is any indicator, the crowds should be large – and there is a contest to boot. JTH, my friends. Now – I know I have praised Rick, Joe, et. al. for their work creating the cut-away; however, I saw Rick surfing at low tide the other day, and the kelp appears to be staging a comeback. Let’s get to work boyz – no excuses – work first, pleasure later. The reefscaping work needs attention – let’s not have it happen again.

Back to healthcare: You have heard me argue that the constitution plainly states that a primary aspect of government is health care; “…insure domestic tranquility, …..promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” It’s obvious that domestic tranquility, general welfare, and secured blessings all require healthcare. And what about socialism – here, it’s all about corporate socialism. There is a concern that if there was a government system, the number of participants would allow consumers to leverage their power and drive costs down – hence, the insurance companies couldn’t continue gouging the consumers – oh, then they say they would go out of business – so, the government must allow continuation of the artificially high profits the current market provides – socialism for corporations, capital markets for us. Proof - Republicans strongly oppose a public plan, as do private insurers, who contend it would drive them out of business. "A government-run plan would set artificially-low prices that private insurers would have no way of competing with," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday on the Senate floor. I would argue a government plan would force pricing back to where it should be, to a place where a market with true competition would drive them.

Now they are floating the idea of taxing health care benefits from employers to help pay for the uninsured. Wait a minute – I was under the impression I was already doing that. I’ve been told the 30 percent/year increases in my health insurance and escalating medical costs were due in large part to having to subsidizes all those uninsured folks going to emergency rooms and hospitals, and not paying for it. Now the brain trust wants me to pay for it thrice – once to the insurance companies, once to the medical industry, and once to the government – sounds typical.

Finally -
Count no day lost in which you waited your turn, took only your share and sought advantage over no one. -Robert Brault  ¶ 5:03 PM