David Kelsen

Blog

  • Everytime You Go Away, You Take a Piece of Meat With You

    PART I

    The Rendevouz Room, 1988

    A young but frivolous group of slightly stupid musicians mount a stage covered in rotting orange plush carpet and old duct tape.

    Their mission:

    Entertainment.

    It’s the first time the group has attempted to crack this smelly crowd of regular suds swaggers and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be pretty.

    A cloud of stale cigarette smoke hangs face level and Tina, our singer, releases a dry, lung-damaged cough, buy it’s okay.  She’s a smoker.  She can’t sing that great anyway.

    There’s a twist in my pre-gig martini and in the night.  Our regular drummer is double booked.  He took the higher paying gig, just like the rest of us would have.  The keyboard player, Paul, asked one of his friends to sit in.

    He assured us the guy was good and we all believed him because, well… we didn’t have anybody else.

    The guy, we’ll call him the drummer, was alright.  That was, until the end of the night when things started getting freaky.

    We’d been on freaky gigs before, like when Andy, the 60+ year-old owner of the Bunkhouse would do a complete striptease in the middle of the dance floor.  A gay, 60-something, overweight man suggestively removing all of his clothing in middle of biker bar in Garden Grove.  Freaky.

    I could tell this was going to be exactly the same, but different.

    Stay Tuned.

  • buckle up it’s going to be a bumpy night

    1 in 10 homeowners behind on mortgage or in foreclosure. 533,000 jobs lost in November. Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. US Big 3 automakers asking for $34 billion bailout. 30 daily newspapers up for sale from New York to Los Angeles. Temp worker crushed to death in black friday free-for-all. Pirates make a comeback in Somalia.

    Welcome to earth, 2008

    Do you clean your own toilet? My definition of prosperous depends solely on whether or not you have a toilet to clean. If you have your own toilet, you’re not doing too bad. What about this other stuff? Not really important.

    Fat and happy

    Ignore practicality and common sense and go with what feels good. Believer of belief, believe and all that you wish will dematerialize. Stay within predefined, controllable boundaries of observation and comprehension, disavow ideas that don’t suit you. Blindfolded travel.

    Don’t look back

    Forward thinking.  Irrelevant past.

    Next.

    Same as it ever was.

    Dedicated to Neil Aspinall 10/13/1941 – 03/23/2008

  • McCarthyism in San Clemente?

    San Clemente still embroiled – You’re a Jerk, and I’m not

    In response to Jim Cogan’s letter, (San Clemente Times, Vol.3, Issue 45, Nov. 6-12, 2008)
    Mr. Cogan is a wonderful writer. His eloquent, articulate and image-evoking pen is no doubt the reason he is so revered. Writing style aside, his robust command in communicating a message is equaled by few, particularly in the hack-ridden “letter to the editor” arena. I may not always agree with his position, but I delight in his wit and rhetoric.

    Comparing Rick Collins effort to enlighten San Clemente to McCarthyism however, is farfetched. The tactics may bear similarity, but certainly not the motivation. A recent newspaper article publishing an email thread proving councilman Wayne Eggleston was less interested in due process than a business owner’s rights was reason enough to question his integrity.

    Planning commissioner Brenda Miller, a fervent Charles Mann supporter and intimately involved in the anti-measure C effort and Mann campaign, exercising illegal behavior could be seen as an example of corruption and cronyism. The Mann campaign website proudly displays an image of Mann and Eggleston smiling near the Marine monument in the pier bowl. Mr. Mann’s attempts to mislead the residents of San Clemente on the measure C ballot arguments were well documented.

    The problem was that the Pacific Golf rezoning issue made Charles Mann a rockstar. Save San Clemente Open Space, (Mann, Jim Smith and Gary Hopp) set up a perfect Davy and Goliath scenario and Pacific fell full-force into the trap. I mean how hard is it to vilify a “Los Angeles” developer. That said, it was important to loosen the foundation of what could be perceived as a collusive power grab in city hall. The only way to broadcast that message effectively was with a broad stroke in a grand gesture. That’s precisely what Mr. Collins did. You may not agree with Mr. Collin’s but there is truth in what he says, and if at the very least it leads you to pay closer attention to what takes place at 100 Avenida Presidio, it was worth it. Sorry Mr. Cogan for the poor grammar.

  • San Clemente: Congratulations Bob, Jim and North Beach

    The highly emotional, and sometimes controversial November 2008 elections in our Spanish Village by the Sea are behind us, FINALLY!

    City council incumbent Jim Dahl and newcomer Bob Baker narrowly beat Steve Knoblock to nab two city council seats.  Measure W (North Beach Project) was approved by 53.4% of the vote.  Measure V (open space initiative) was a clear winner.

    This political season was once again rife with vehement disagreement and biting criticism.  Opposing sides accusing each other of deception and fact distortion.  Apparently it’s not enough to simply disagree on an issue in today’s political climate and sort things out with intelligent thoughtful debate.  One group here in San Clemente finds it necessary to exaggerate certain aspects of an issue, and when that doesn’t work, they simply use their own math and spend tens of thousands of dollars to saturate the landscape with their skewed message of divisiveness.  Self-proclaimed defenders of posterity, employing questionable tactics in an exercise of ruthlessness.

    One Notable event this cycle includes Save San Clemente Open Space stalwart and planning commissioner Brenda Miller being popped for illegally removing anti-Mann/Baker signs.  Ms. Miller was a fervent opponent to Measure C and intrinsically involved the Save San Clemente Open Space activities with Charles Mann.  Obviously, Ms. Miller was also involved with Charles Mann’s bid for a seat on the city council.  I remember Ms. Miller from the referendum petition drive in the summer of 2007 and a wave of suspicion washed over me upon learning that she had been chosen to be a planning commissioner for the city. Her recent actions in the removal of legally placed campaign signs is unacceptable and her next official move should be resignation of her position.  It would be the honorable thing to do, however honor is an unpracticed trait in the crowd she runs with.

    Poor grammar aside, my heartfelt congratulations to Barack Obama, and the democrats, Jim Dahl, Bob Baker and the supporters of Measure W.  My intentional omission of Measure V is predicated on the opinion that the spirit behind it was purely for campaign purposes.  This assertion is supported by the actual text of the measure itself.  Upon close inspection of the document there is overwhelming evidence that it simply has no teeth, no current application and most likely will be shelved and forgotten.

  • JFK: Nobody Comes Close

    Courage

    Conviction

    Confidence

    Composure

    Conscience

    Command

    Character

    Class

    In 1960 presidential candidate John F. Kennedy addressed the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. His message was simple, but his delivery was phenomenal. It’s astounding how relevant this speech is today, the mark of a truly extraordinary individual. How often these days we absorb the hyperbolic praise applied to those who scarcely deserve it.

    Watch how JFK handles a room full of Protestant ministers in Texas.

    I’ve split the video into 4 sections, the entire series is 46 min. long.

    THE INTRO – Welcome, prayer, introduction of JFK

    [flashvideo filename=vids/JFK_Ministers_Intro.flv /]

    THE SPEECH – JFK’s moving and amazingly pertinent speech.

    [flashvideo filename=vids/JFK_Ministers_Speech.flv /]

    Q & A PART 1 – JFK takes questions from the audience, this is where it gets interesting.

    [flashvideo filename=vids/JFK_Ministers_QA_01.flv /]

    Q & A PART 2 – JFK shows what made him truly great.

    [flashvideo filename=vids/JFK_Ministers_QA_02.flv /]

    It’s important to note that this event took place while JFK was in the midst of his presidential campaign against heavily favored Richard Nixon, who had just spent 8 years as vice president in the white house with a very popular Dwight D. Eisenhower.  The room was filled with suspicious and in some cases slightly hostile protestant ministers.  To call the command he exhibited in this gathering impressive is a gross understatement.  He set the tone for a generation and inspired the world.

  • Residents First?

    Are the residents really first? or is it just another political slogan?

    Can Mann be trusted?
    Can Mann be trusted?

    City council candidates Charles Mann and Bob Baker regularly reference their participation in Save San Clemente Open Space (SSCOS), a group formed to stop the rezoning of 50.5 acres at Pacific Golf and Country Club. Candidate Mann is a founder of SSCOS, however Mr. Baker originally was a supporter of Pacific’s plan to convert 9-holes of private recreational open space into 224 single family homes and Golf Villas.   Actually each of the founding members of SSCOS signed petitions in support of the project initially.  One of the SSCOS founders (a real estate developer) even demanded right of refusal on two lots or houses.  When contemplating casting a vote for someone to represent my best interests as a resident of San Clemente, I’ll consider those who come closest to my views on civic issues.  But first I need as best as possible to develop a level of trust for that individual, which includes gaining a sense about one’s ethics, honesty and overall character.  On the national level we have a plethora of media reports as well as sites like factcheck.org and snopes.com to monitor the veracity of statements made by the candidates, and stories or accusations related to them. On the local level it’s more difficult to determine who to trust.

    The deception employed by SSCOS was addressed when Judge Warren Siegel ordered Mr. Mann to modify the language in 12 of 13 points in the arguments against Measure C he submitted to be included on the Feb. 5th ballot.  Judge Siegel ruled that the text was “false and misleading”.  However Mr. Mann, in Orwellian political doublespeak, claimed a victory.  Two examples of unethical behavior from SSCOS include:

    A founder of SSCOS attended and spoke at the emotionally charged Talega parents meeting regarding the Capistrano Unified School District boundary changes in Dec. 2007.  He told the parents that if Measure C passed, their children would have less chance of attending their neighborhood school, Vista Del Mar, because the proposed development fell within Vista Del Mar’s boundaries.  The allegation was false, children from the proposed development would’ve been slated to attend Clarence Lobo, and the man speaking was not a parent of school age children, nor a resident of Talega. An obvious use of deceptive tactics to take advantage of San Clemente resident’s emotions.

    The superintendent at Pacific and his wife were enthusiastically involved in the attempt to educate residents during the referendum petition drive in the summer of 2007.  A neighbor and close friend was approached by an SSCOS founder as she left Wal-Mart and aggressively encouraged to sign the petition.  When the neighbor refused, citing her friendship with the couple, the man lied saying that the wife had already signed and the superintendent wanted to, but would be fired if he did. The neighbor knew better and left.

    Switched positions mid-game
    Switched positions mid-game

    These two examples of questionable ethics were not isolated events, in fact they illustrate the standard operating procedure of the organization that candidate Mann lead.  Mr. Mann continues to mislead residents in his statements regarding Measure W.  Is this the behavior of a candidate you can trust?

    Lastly, I am saddened when viewing the images of our wounded brave men and women of military who are risking their lives to give you the opportunity to choose this November.  But I am enraged at the dishonor shown these protectors of our quality of life by those who disregard integrity and choose to manipulate the masses for their own self-serving agendas. Please choose wisely in November.

    David Kelsen,

    Former Director of Food & Beverage

    Pacific Golf and Country Club

  • San Clemente: Yes on Measure W

    The Miramar theater
    The Miramar theater

    I’ve been staring at the embarrassing, dilapidated, health hazard we call the Miramar theater for several years now in the hopes that someone would either burn it down or blow it up. But then along comes The Lab. My first experience with the Lab was the Anti-Mall in Costa Mesa. The architectural design is artistic and smart, but besides that, there weren’t any mega-monopolistic corporate chains within smelling distance and the atmosphere was cool and relaxed. Upon initial earfull that the Lab was doing North Beach I immediately gained a historical perspective. Well that’s not true, but it did suddenly justify not decimating the Miramar. Why? Parking. You can wax nostalgic all day long, but if there’s no place to park, nobody’s coming. The passing of measure W validates the idea of a Miramar renovation. If you are a Miramar supporter, but against Measure W, then you are contradictory and therefore irrelevant.

    Dave Kelsen
    San Clemente Resident

  • Lights on, Nobody home – Adios mi amor

    Is anyone paying attention to what vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is saying?  

    Why is an ethics violator recklessly lobbing character assasination darts into the air?  

    If this is the strategy, are McCain campaign advisors frantically posting their resumes on Monster.com?

    Answers to these questions and more on Ramblings, forthcoming.

     

    Palin guilty of ethics violations
    Palin guilty of ethics violations

    The state Personnel Board investigation found that Gov. Palin did commit ethics violations by allowing her husband to use her office and position to put pressure on state employees in the effort to fire state trooper Walt Monegan.

     

    To date, two other ethics complaints are being investigated involving Palin.  One, by activist Andree McLeod, alleges that state hiring practices were circumvented for a Palin supporter. The case is not related to Monegan’s firing. The other, by the Public Safety Employees Association, alleges that trooper Mike Wooten’s personnel file was illegally breached by state officials.

    In what could concievably be called Palin-speaque “let’s just call a spade a spade.”

    After watching Palin’s carefully scripted (yet still clumsy) responses in the vice presidential debate, is there any question that anything she says is NOT meticulously composed?  The Republican propaganda machine is far, far too controlling to allow someone of Palin’s popularity to fly solo.  

    So what could possibly be the motivation behind sending this inexperienced, slightly stupid, albeit affable, less-than-squemish curd out to do the dirty work?  

    Let’s consider the two possible outcomes.  

    If the Republicans win, party loyalists can laud the feisty, fresh exhuberence of a political outsider who helped champion the cause and initiate true change in a stodgy, suffocating, good-old-boy network.  

    If the Democrats win, she’ll become a scapegoat for all the incoherent, asnine blunders made obviously by campaign organizing underlings with more venom than gray matter.  

    Either way, she’s screwed.  

    If the Republicans win, she’ll dissappear.  I expect a few controlled appearances, but for all intensive purposes, her political career will be over.

    If the Democrats win she’ll be disowned and fade back into the perpetual Alaskan dusk, never to be heard from again.

    by David Kelsen – scourge

  • 10 oversimplified steps illustrating why the bailout is bad idea from a historical perspective

    And 8 easy ways to fix it

    by David Kelsen

    Here is the chain of events as it has played out over and over again, throughout history, because people just don’t pay attention.

    • A country incurs an expense it cannot fund organically
    • A country borrows from a source other than it’s own government to acquire the funds necessary to complete or continue whatever that thing is.
    • After much more borrowing, the country no longer has the ability to borrow
    • A country decides to print more currency (or make currency available based on a theoretical expectation) to further support the thing, whatever that is
    • The amount of money (or the promise of more money) increases, the amount of goods and services do not
    • Demand increases with the advent of more money, the costs associated with suppling the new demand increase incrementally
    • Prices go up – goods and services progressively become less affordable – money is devalued
    • A country sets price limits on goods and services
    • Suppliers and manufacturers can no longer afford materials or the labor to produce materials –  supplies diminish – people starve (or fling themselves from buildings and bridges)
    • Rationing rears it’s ugly head – unemployment and crime grow like bacteria on roadkill

    Over-dramatic?

    Maybe…, well actually no, events similar to this have been recorded as early as 218 A.D. in Rome.  If interested look up Diocletian, John Law, Germany (1920-1923) or just google “Hyperinflation”.  This is not a new thing, and yet the powers that be insist on reliving the past, as in:

    “My foot is still bleeding from the last time I shot a hole in it”.

    What do we do?

    1. The housing market needs to hit bottom (estimates; late 2009 to mid 2010)
    2. Financial derivative bundling needs to vanish
    3. Companies that operate poorly need to fail
    4. Banks that participated in funky practices need to take the hit.
    5. Executives that commandeered a failed business and/or presided over questionable practices need to be compensated on bottom-line performance
    6. Politicians need to leave the party behind and start working for the people and the country (instead of their buddies)
    7. Oil companies should disburse profit-sharing checks – TO THE WORLD POPULATION
    8. Potato chip packagers need to fill the damn bag

  • MCCAIN IN FAVOR OF ABORTION!

    By David Kelsen

    McCain in favor of abortion
    McCain in favor of abortion

    Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, admitted on Saturday (10/11/2008) in Johnstown, Pa. that Republican presidential candidate John McCain is IN FAVOR OF ABORTION in cases where the pregnancy threatens the woman’s life. Additionally, In an interview on “Meet the Press”, McCain stated that cases of rape and incest are legitimate exceptions to anti-abortion views, which is in direct opposition to The National Right to Life stance. John McCain also told associated press reporter Ron Fournier that he would not support the repeal of Roe vs. Wade. McCain has got this voter thinking, What is going on? When it came to so-called legitimate exceptions, Dan Quayle correctly answered yes to the cheap-shot attempt by a savvy 11 year-old girl (obviously a democrat) in 1988. When asked if she should bring a baby to term that was conceived by paternal incestuous rape, the illustrious Mr. Quayle responded:

    “You’re a very strong woman… Though this would be a traumatic experience that you would never forget, I think that you would be very successful in life. ” —-

    Of course at the time, the girl was 11 years old, and not technically a woman. Quayle’s sharp sense of character assessment aside, telling a complete unknown prepubescent she’ll be successful post excruciating traumatic event is simultaneous artificial encouragement and deep ignorance. Which brings us back to McCain. Flip through some of his documented quotes sorted by presidential race and you’ll find a variety of different answers pending on the year, which makes sorting by relevance that much more difficult. Cut back to abortion, what determines a threat to a woman’s life? A physical condition exclusively? What if the expectant mom is a sociopathic convicted felon for child sexual abuse? How will she take to the child she was forced to birth? Or as in the example brought before VP Quayle, can you say with complete confidence that an 11 year-old girl’s life would not be threatened by a pregnancy and subsequent birth? Who are YOU to determine someone else’s fate? Pro-lifers call abortion murder, yet they can justify murder when the expectant mothers life is threatened. Why…? If pro-lifers believe as they say and life begins at conception, then why are there any exceptions? Murder is murder.
    The abortion issue is too complex for a one-size-fits-all ruling. The decisions need to be made by the individual families involved. Diversity is one of our country’s greatest assets. The over zealous religious right believe that their way is best and continue to impose themselves on those who do not believe as they do. Some call that lack of respect. The republican spin-doctors are using the highly charged emotional juice from this issue to further their agenda. Freedom and the right to choose is called Democracy. What’s it called when the government chooses for you?

    (the statements above are all true, although some may appear out of context, the author accepts no responsibility for the enlightenment of others through manipulation.)