It’s the ladies of the clan that suck the blood, using the protein to produce eggs. The average female can live from three to 100 days and they can lay 100 to 300 eggs at a time.

As some of you may have guessed, I am a bit of a history buff. So I’m going to tell a historical story.

It’s December, 1941, and it’s a day of infamy. In one two and a half hour period of time, a sleeping nation was jolted from it’s lazy pre-Christmas funk and thrust head long into a period of time known as the Second World War. In this state of “total war”, the major participants over a very short period to time, would place their economic, industrial and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort.

It is also a period of time when government actions took place that were based solely on racial prejudice, war hysteria and a complete lack of political leadership.

One such action called for the internment of all persons of Japanese ancestry, to be forcibly removed from the West Coast of the United States and placed in War Relocation camps. Then president Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in February, 1942, and 110, 000 Japanese Nationals and Japanese Americans were uprooted, forced to sell homes, belongings and businesses at a loss and take up residence in camps that had been shot-gun placed in the interior of the United States in areas that were almost uninhabitable.

I’ll spare you the gory details, but this was a period of the great West Coast Unrest. Journalists, most notably William Randolph Hearst, citied the need to be watchful of the peoples of the great yellow nation. Racial hated and treatment towards anyone who even looked Asian was cruel, painful and in some cases, final.  The relocation of whole families under the guise of protecting the citizens seemed the most reasonable answer.  Internment was popular among many California white farmers who resented the Japanese American farmers. These individuals saw internment as a convenient means of uprooting their Japanese American competitors. In fact internment was likely responsible for a massive influx in immigration from Mexico. Significant labor was necessary to take over the Japanese Americans’ farms at a time when many American laborers were also being inducted into the Armed Forces.

So, in 1942, 100,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, 62% of them U. S. citizens, were trucked/bused to Assembly Centers in such places as Sacramento/Walerga, Marysville/Arboga, Stockton, and Woodland California, to name but a few. From these assembly centers, entire families were shipped to camps located in Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Arkansas and California. These Internment camps were set up in desolate and hostile country. Temperatures waffled between 100+ during the summer and a minus 5 in the winter. The housing consisted of a tar paper, clapboard hut that could house as many as 10 families. Each family was resigned to living in a 10 foot by 20 foot area.

But the Japanese people interned in those camps persevered. In December 1944, at the end of the war, they were given $25 and a train ticket to their former home. In some cases there was no home to go to. Their losses were compounded by theft and destruction of items placed in governmental storage. A number of persons died or suffered for lack of medical care, and several were killed by sentries. Racial hatred and rights violations became a normal part of their return to their previous homes.

The phrase “shikata ga nai” (loosely translated as “it cannot be helped”) was commonly used to summarize the interned families’ resignation to their helplessness throughout these conditions. This was even noticed by the children, as mentioned in the book “Farewell to Manzanar”. Although that may be the view to outsiders, the Japanese people tended to comply with the U.S. government to prove themselves loyal citizens. This perceived loyalty to the United States can be attributed to the collective mentality of Japanese culture, where citizens are more concerned with the overall good of the group as opposed to focusing on individual wants and needs.

It was eventually decreed that the ten sites on which the detainee camps were set up are to be preserved as historical landmarks: “places like Manzanar, Tule Lake, Heart Mountain, Topaz, Minidoka, Amache, Jerome, and Rohwer will forever stand as reminders that this nation failed in its most sacred duty to protect its citizens against prejudice, greed, and political expediency”.

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This week, the Expresso Riders, of which I am a part, will be traveling to Midway, Utah, for a convention of BMW motorcycle enthusiasts. On the way, we will pass by several of these Internment Camps. I hope to visit and pay respects at the Minidoka, Idaho camp and the Heart Mountain, Wyoming camp. My wifes parents were sent to Heart Mountain in 1943 as “transferrees” from the camp in Jerome, Arkansas. Her sister was born at the Heart Mountain camp’s hospital. To relive that time in history through their eyes and their stories is a testament to their survival as a family. The chance to be at or near that geographical location, to see today what they may have seen in the past, can only be understood and appreciated by someone on the outside of a historical event gazing backward into history.

I once asked my father-in-law about life at the harsh conditions at the camp in Heart Mountain. I asked about bugs, mosquito’s, etc. And he said, “Nope, no mosquito’s in camp. If was just too damn cold, or the wind was blowing like crazy for any bugs to live in”.

Until next week…

The Canadian sprinter beat American favorite, Carl Lewis, in an incredibly emotional 100-meter sprint – only to have the medal taken away when he tested positive for anabolic steroids. Adding insult to injury, research completed years later indicated that rival Lewis was just as likely boosting his performance with the same substance.

Hey… interesting debate going on. Helmet laws…

There are two sides to the debate. Are we allowing the government to dictate to us how we should live our lives and by doing so are we allowing the government to take over our lives? Or is this just one way the government is making us live a little longer by making us safer when we ride?

By requiring two wheeled riders to wear a helmet, is the government eroding our personal freedoms?

As a very good friend of mine. Mr. Brian Hall, said, “Personal freedoms, and their erosions are an issue; however, not in this case. A “riders choice” to not wear a helmet can and does affect the rest of us.”

Case in point:

Personal side to helmet debate

August 19, 2008

I read with great interest your opinions in the Aug. 17 edition of the Chicago Tribune on the motorcycle helmet law in Illinois (“To don or not? A legal question,” Perspective). Let me share with you both the story of my colleague and friend, Greg Bowman.

I got to know Greg as a colleague in the Illinois State Bar Association. Via email, we struck up a friendship and then after meeting in person, he invited me to work on some cases with him. We became good friends in addition to our work together and in April 2007 conducted a trial as co-counsel, which we learned in June of that year that we had won (an improbable win because of the case).

Greg had a lovely wife and six children that ranged from the ages of 10 ? 24. He had begun life as a farmer then went to law school when farming became difficult in the 1980s. He was also an avid motorcycle rider and a volunteer with the Patriot Guard Riders (http://www.patriotguard.org/).

While continuing to work on other cases, I got an e-mail one Monday morning that gave me the sad news that Greg had died in a motorcycle accident. Knowing Greg well and that he frequently went on long motorcycle trips and was very skilled at riding, I first assumed someone had hit him. Then I learned that he died on a stretch of road south of Galena that seems deceptively straight, but makes a turn and can catch even the most skilled riders off guard.

Still, I wondered how this could happen to my friend. How could someone, who would possibly become my partner in a law firm, die off so quickly and young? Then I learned that, contrary to every time I had ever seen him ride, he decided to ride home to Princeton from Galena without his helmet on. I had never known him to ride without his helmet. His wife told me that he almost never rode without a helmet. And even though he missed the turn on his ride home, the helmet would have saved his life. Instead, he died alone on that road home from Galena until a local policeman on a routine drive by that area found him.

Greg left behind his wife and six kids (three of whom were still minors) his parents, his in-laws, three brothers and their families. He also left behind his law practice, which didn’t provide much remaining revenue for his family. He also left behind many friends who felt the cruelty of an early death because of a helmetless ride.

When anyone debates the helmet law in Illinois or when I see folks riding motorcycles without helmets, I think of my friend Greg. You can debate the legal sides of it all day and all night, but what gets lost in that debate is the impact on the family and friends by a preventable death; the death of a motorcycle rider that could have been prevented by wearing a helmet.

Is freedom really worth that kind of loss? In this one person’s opinion, it isn’t.

–Robert C. (“TJ”) Thurston

Thurston Law Offices, P.C.

Huntley, Ill.

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and one more…

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Grieving relatives of a Tracy man killed last week in a motorcycle accident dispute assertions made by the CHP, such as a claim that he wore no helmet.

Relatives of a Tracy man who died last week in a motorcycle accident remembered him as a man who loved life and had a soft spot for animals, and they’re hurt that authorities portrayed him as reckless on his Harley Davidson when he crashed.

The California Highway Patrol reported that last Friday at about 1:55 a.m., David James, 47, lost control of his bike on a curve on Camino Tassajara between Dublin and Danville. He was thrown from his 2004 Harley at about 65 mph into a pole and a well pump before he landed against a building. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

But what adds pain to his already distraught mother, sister, wife Rene James and friends is that fact that the CHP reported he wore no helmet.

He did wear a helmet, they insist, and it was lying with a hole in it on the ground at the crash site with all his other belongings, which some of his friends and relatives cleaned up the day after the crash.

James’ family suspects he might have fallen asleep on the bike. But they say, too, he was an animal lover who would have swerved to avoid hitting a deer. The CHP said the curve in the road is posted at 40 mph, but his sister Lori Veitenheimer of Spokane, Wash., said he could have taken that turn safety at the speed he was traveling when he crashed.

It was a road he knew well, said his mother, Mary James.

His relatives said he was returning from the home of a friend and former co-worker, Chuck Jackson, 54, of Danville. The two hung out together that night, smoked a cigar or two and watched the Olympics, Jackson said.

Jackson worked with James for years at Pitney Bowes in Oakland, a large manufacturer of mailing machines and postage meters. James was a customer service manager there, and the people he used to work with took the news of his death pretty hard, his friend said.

“He was always volunteering to help people,” said Jackson, 54.

He moved to Tracy after his mother did 13 years ago and worked in construction before a devastating fall from a three-story building in 2000, when he broke 22 bones and spent three months in the hospital.

“They told him he’d be disabled for life,” his mother said.

But he slowly recovered, learned how to walk again, and began to put his life back together. “He did things they said he’d never do again,” she said.

Working full time wasn’t one of them, though. His back was in constant pain, and though he liked to work with his hands and tinkered with woodworking, tile, and other crafts, he could only work in short spurts at a time and had been on disability since his fall, his mother said.

His injuries made him an especially cautious motorcycle rider, said his mother, rather than an irresponsible one.

“David would never be careless on a bike,” Mary James said.

His relatives said he spent much of his time in recent years nursing animals he rescued from the streets, feeding kittens by hand with an eyedropper until they grew strong enough to feed themselves. His home had six cats, a dog and a horse.

“He was just a good person,” Jackson said. “It’s a tough loss.

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It’s funny how this debate goes on and on. And it’s just that; a debate. In many ways I am glad that there are laws that require things like helmets and seat belts. Yet I empathize with those who feel their freedoms are being infringed upon.

I also hear the lamenting voices of those left behind by someone who could have prevented their families grief by obeying the laws of self preservation. And I hear the righteous indignation of those who are now required to “pay the freight” for those who are injured and cannot care for themselves.

Is it the government trying to take control of your freedoms? Or is it common sense law issued for those who don’t have any common sense?

Please; always wear a helmet and make sure it’s fastened correctly when you ride any two wheeled vehicle.

Loosing one’s life cannot be compared to losing a gold medal. Remember; they don’t play the “Star Spangled Banner” when you’re on the “podium of finality”.

Until next week…

In fact, the two French men, who re-invented the famous suit in 1946, weren’t exactly two piece pioneers. The skimpy style dates back to ancient wall paintings.

I’m going to get political again… dang it!

Here in California, we are going through some tough economic times. I’m not intimating that the times in other states are not as bad, but I can only offer what I see in the state in which I live.

The LA Times is reporting that there are 1300 foreclosures every business day in this state. Banks and lenders have now foreclosed on $100 billion worth of California homes over the past two years. Is this predatory lending or consumers not quite up to the challenge of reading the fine print?

More people are looking for jobs. California’s unemployment rate was 6.9 percent in June, up from 6.8 percent in May, the state Employment Development Department reported. A year ago, in June 2007, California’s unemployment rate was 5.3 percent.

Prices for goods grown/manufactured in this state have skyrocketed over the last year; Inflation is at an all time high; Gas prices soar, airlines are ticketing/surcharging your baggage…

Times are tough. It may get a lot worse. Heck, in your state, things might actually be improving. But here in California, we have a larger issue.

The State of California is without a budget… We are going on our second month now…

And to help ease the crisis, the governor has decided that the state employee gets the short end of the stick.

Hmm… let’s digest that last sentence a bit.

The Senate and Assembly in the State of CA are in session… no wait… they are not in session… ummm… wait… are they in session? Hmmm… OK… we don’t know if they are in session or not. In fact, if they are in session, where are the elected representatives? I thought “in session” meant you were supposed to be there. Never mind… Let’s look at some sideline info.

The average income (average mind you) of an Assembly representative is over $127,000 per year (not counting per diem, perks and other little nice things like catered lunches). The average Senate representative’s income is over $184,000 per year (also not counting those other nice little things). I don’t think that the average “on the front lines” state worker is making that much. In fact, I am sure that some of those lower level management types aren’t making that kind of income either.

So, knowing this, Governor Arnold says, let’s “axe” the income of those state workers to a little over $6 an hour and managers to $11 an hour. Once the budget mess gets cleaned up (and we are on month 2 with no real end in site) we will reimburse those state workers and all will be well and good. (Doesn’t it make you wonder if this will effect his bid for a United States Senate position in 2010?)

Umm… those representatives that I was talking about? They work for the State of California, don’t they? Is their income going to be cut to $6 or $11 dollars an hour too? HEY! Who just laughed?

Question: If you’re at work and fail to do something in a timely fashion, what happens? You get reprimanded? Maybe have a discussion with your supervisor? All of those things? If you fail to show up for work one or two days a week, put your vacation to Hawaii/Bali/Tahiti on your company’s expense account, should you be concerned? If you continue to fail at your job, what would you expect to happen? Could you get demoted? Terminated?

Question: The State of CA legislature has been late on the budget for how many years now??? What happened to them? They got a pay raise last year, and the per diem rate was raised by $25.00 per day this year alone.

Let’s recap; the elected representatives who are supposed to be doing things for the people of this state are not doing their job and get pay raises for it. Since those representatives are not doing their job, we are going to punish the people who are employed by the state and are really trying to help the people who live in this state, by cutting their salaries. By not paying those state employees, cutting hours and support positions, we invariably punish the people of the state.

Meanwhile, the exalted elected get theirs. Each and every month. In effect, the people of the State of California get the shaft, and we are still no closer to a budget.

Anyone think that this whole budget problem is a little bass..ackward?

Can it be fixed? Hell yeah! How? Is there waste in government education/health/insurance/services spending? Yes sir! Do the individual state agencies buy consumables that are grossly over priced because they have to buy from specific vendors who know they can charge the state a truckload of money? You bet. (Anyone want to buy a “Rollerball” black ball-point pen for $12 each?) Is it ten times harder to terminate a truly non-performing employee from the state payroll? Absolutely. In the private sector, the kind of logistical/managerial crap that we see in government would never happen. If it did, the private enterprise would be closed and forgotten in a very big hurry.

Can it be fixed? Damn straight? Will it hurt much? If it doesn’t then it’s not being done right! In these tough economic times, the pain of straightening things out will have to hurt someone or something. Period. Some jerk who is on the back end of that ball point pen scam will have to take it in the shorts. It would be ABOUT DAMNED TIME!

But then again, this is the State of California legislature. They will probably pass some legislation that will increase some tax by some double digit percentage and the end user… the consumer… YOU… will have to bear the burden. The state employees will also have to work through all of this. They might loose their home, their car, their family. They are pawns in a really screwed up game. But, the dollar amount that each of us will have to “hurt” will help augment the income of our chosen representatives.

The sad part about all this? We elected these clowns… And we will stand in the voting booth in November and do the same damned thing. Therefore, ultimately, you and I are responsible for the budget mess. It just might be up to us to create a solution and submit it to our legislature.

Hey, I have an idea… Let’s propose legislation that says; “If the budget is not passed by July 1st, each and every senate and assembly representative, regardless of sex, MUST parade around the capital in a bikini, selected by a normal tax paying citizen, for every day that the budget remains unsigned.”

We could call it “A State of California Budget Bikini Toll”!

Wanna bet we would have a budget each and every July 1st?

Until next week…