I'll say it again. Pathetic. Voter turnout last week was 20.45 percent in Stanislaus County.

Democracy requires participation, folks, and the fact that you don't care means you often will get the government you deserve.

* * * * *

Some people really take life a bit too serious. I received an email from a woman who seems so tense that her head may explode.

Rosita Fonteles writes: "Why do we continue to waste energy at the end of the year with the illuminated Christmas decorations?"

She proceeds to say "...we need to save energy because we extract it from nature and thus compromise the environment. If it is generated by thermoelectric, it implies burning raw material extracted from nature and its process contributes to global warming. The energy generated by hydropower depends on fresh water, which is increasingly scarce on the planet. So for LIFE it is important to save water and energy."

To recap, she suggests we are compromising our very lives by burning Christmas lights.

Okay-y-y-y-y...

* * * * *
Wait, did she say water is increasingly scarce on the planet? There is the same amount of water on Earth as when dinosaurs walked. It's just some places don't have enough fresh water at their disposal.

Oh, and did you know that science says every breath has been the same air breathed in by dinosaurs, Julius Caesar or Jesus Christ?

* * * * *

You may get tired of hearing my rants on our state Attorney General Xavier Becerra but as long as his office floods my email with his pontificating drivel and overt hatred of our president, I can't resist commenting.

On Nov. 2 our leftist activist chief law enforcer - appointed by Gov. Moonbeam, not elected by the people -exaggerates for his causes. (Becerra orders so many lawsuits against Trump the attorneys are guaranteed work.) In October he filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Trump Administration's new rules that will "deny" - his word - women access to contraceptives. That's really a falsehood - there is no denying. The access is still there; it's just that he has nixed the Obamacare requirement that employers provide birth control to employees with no out-of-pocket costs.

Becerra is outraged that 55 million women cannot get free birth control pills or condoms or device of choice. With Planned Parenthood saying pills cost $15 to $50 depending on coverage and type of pill, we're not denying anyone of anything any more than I would be denying a person from buying beer at the 7-Eleven because I'm not paying for it.

This was purely a religious freedom issue, something for which Becerra never advocates. The Obamacare policy exempted churches, while religious-affiliated groups that objected had to allow a third-party administrator or insurer to handle birth control coverage. The 2014 Hobby Lobby decision expanded exemptions to for-profit "closely held" corporations. Trump is merely expanding the protections to any nonprofit group, non-publicly traded company, or higher education institution with religious or moral objections - and making the third-party provision optional for groups with "sincerely held" religious beliefs.

So it's rather silly to hear Becerra say (overlay a dramatic score for a few seconds while you read the drama queen's quote): "Donald Trump wants businesses and corporations to control family planning decisions rather than a woman in consultation with her doctor. These anti-women's health regulations prove once again that the Trump Administration is willing to trample on people's rights."

I wasn't aware that freebies were an American right - with maybe the exception of a court-appointed attorney.

Becerra is an enemy of the church, people of faith, the unborn, corporations, those who advocate immigration law, border protection advocates, all Republicans, anyone supportive of gun rights and he freaks out when he hears the name Trump.

If you think California lawmakers have gone bonkers - as do I - then just know Becerra is huge part of the problem, along with Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsome and Kamila Harris. We have a change to get rid of him next year.

* * * * *

Becerra also announced last week that he wants to intervene in a federal lawsuit (Stockman v. Trump) challenging Trump's ban on transgender individuals serving in the military. He suggests that Trump's action is "illegal, discriminatory and un-American actions to harm our people or our military."

Considering how he supports taxpayers paying for sex change operations of those in the military, and how there is a vast suicide rate among transgenders, I don't think the military is a place for them either. Our military should not be used for social engineering purposes.

* * * * *

Criminals don't miss a beat, do they? It seems turds of human-beings are preying upon those who lost homes in the fires up north. The EPA has been alerted that people affected by the fires may be receiving fraudulent calls from people* (*turds) posing as EPA staff and asking for financial information or offering grant awards. The EPA is not asking for personal financial information like Social Security numbers or bank account numbers and is only contacting people regarding household hazardous waste collection.

Reprehensible.

* * * * *

Let's see if you get lost, like I did, when I read a quote on water storage by Democrat John Chaing, who is state treasurer but wants to be your governor. Before I get to his quote, do you remember state Senator Anthony Cannella's 2013 comment about the state's Democratic lawmaker waging holy jihad against water projects? Cannella said, and I quote: "We've got to have more storage. There's like a Holy Jihad against water storage. I don't understand it. I really don't get it."

So when Chiang was in Turlock last week, he was asked about water. Here is a direct quote: "We will implement the best tools that we have available, but we're not going to have sufficient funds to try to capture all the water, especially a year with a heavy rain pour because the finances sometimes don't work. You may have massive rainfall one year and nothing happen for the next four years and the financial equation to make that work just doesn't work."

So is he saying since we can't "capture all the water" that we should capture none of it.

Um, Mr. Chiang, do you realize that dams are solely intended to set aside water for times when it doesn't come naturally out of the sky when we need it? Does that not compute with you? You're state treasurer so follow this: It's akin to saving up money for times when you don't have as much so you don't starve or go bankrupt. Do you realize that had we not build any dams in our area that during our last drought we would have had farms go belly up and cities going dry? The city of Modesto is an example. Modesto takes water from the ground and the Modesto Reservoir, which takes water from the Tuolumne River, which continues to flow year round because of something called the Don Pedro Dam! No dam, no water. Tell that to New York City born and Chicago-raised city boy John Chiang.

The state hasn't built a dam in decades, so don't give us that "we're not going to have sufficient funds to try to capture all the water." They aren't even trying to capture ANY water!

Geez.

If you're a farmer, I would think long and hard before ever pulling the lever for this man, or his primary challengers.

* * * * *

Did you hear about the women's basketball coach at New Mexico State who lost her job? Seems a video turned up.
Not that kind of video; one in which she shared her Christian testimony and said she gave up a lesbian lifestyle because of God. It seems the NMSU administrators didn't like what Camille LeNoir had to say seven years ago and let her go. Reason? They said lesbians on the team would not feel comfortable any longer. LeNoir said she's never treated anyone differently based on their orientation and points out she used to be a lesbian. She was told to take down the video or be fired. Sounds like big education's continued assault on Christians to me.

* * * * *

A woman spoke at Momday's City Council meeting in protest of the water rate increases. She mentioned how her neighbors didn't know anything about said subject.

Surely they are not reading this local newspaper. We've covered it ad nauseam. It is a pure and simple case for reading the Courier to stay abreast of local government - the one layer that has the most impact on your life.

Do you have any feedback about this column? Let Jeff know by emailing him at jeffb@cerescourier.com. He will read it, promise.