The Golden State’s earthquake weather

Editor’s note: The powers that be at WND.com have told Michael Ackley he may submit the occasional column. As Golden State madness has accelerated, Ackley continues to give in to the urge to stay in the game. Hence, the items below. Remember that his columns may include satire and parody based on current events, and thus mix fact with fiction. He assumes informed readers will be able to tell the difference.

Although the term seems to have fallen from common usage, every Californian above a certain age has heard his elders refer to “earthquake weather.”

It is a meteorological phenomenon that may occur at any time of the year. It is most common in the spring and fall, when a spell of storm-free quiet descends over the Golden State.

The days are windless, the air is soft and languorous. In the spring, the planting is done and the waiting begun for first buds to show themselves. In the autumn, the harvest is done, and the fields lie fallow and quiet.

Nothing much needs doing, but every dawn seems expectant, and the old folks nod knowingly and say, “earthquake weather.”

The climate frequently blesses California this way, just as earthquakes frequently visit the state, and quakes are as likely to occur in the Imperial Valley, north of the Mexican border, as off the northern coast, where the San Andreas Fault bathes in the Pacific Ocean. There is a correlation, to be sure, and it is unavoidable where weather and geology so frequently coincide.

And so, we had earthquake weather Thursday, Dec. 5, and we had a pip of an earthquake, a magnitude 7, just off the coast in the “Mendocino Triple Junction.” It was felt not just in the coastal mountains, but clear across the state, where the fertile soils of the Great Central Valley lap against the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

There was some damage ashore, but even where the most goods were shaken from the market shelves, the geological upset was taken with a studied, “that-was-a-good-one” insouciance.

The earthquake faults have settled into the usual pattern of gradually diminishing aftershocks. You might say the same phenomenon is taking place in the wake of the Nov. 5 election quake. (And there’s a segue for you!)

Only Gov. Gavin Newsom and his myrmidons haven’t gotten the message of the historic, GOP landslide. Even the weaselly Sen.-elect Adam Schiff is smart enough to lay low. But the governor has called an extraordinary session of the state legislature to make sure legal challenges to whatever the new Trump administration attempts will be “adequately resourced.”

“Adequately resourced” means “have enough money.” This will be a neat trick, because Newsom’s budget for next year anticipates a $2 billion deficit. Of course, the deficit is way down from the $47 billion of this year.

And how might “adequate resourcing” be accomplished? Veteran observers of the budget process figure the state’s time-honored accounting principles will be applied. In layman’s terms, those are lie, cheat and steal.

Meanwhile, you can find regular gasoline for less than $4 a gallon in the Golden State, but don’t get used to it. California’s Air Resources Board waited until just after the election to impose regulations estimated to add another 47 to 65 cents to the state’s gasoline tax.

This is in keeping with Newsom’s determination to save the planet from climate change on the backs of the poor and middle class.

But there is hope. Assemblyman Josh Hoover has co-authored Assembly Bill 12, which would void the ARB’s new regulation. 
Hoover said, “One study estimates that the average Californian will need to earn an additional $600 to $1,000 pre-tax, just to cover the increased cost of gasoline.”

Hoover calls such a burden unacceptable, “especially when families are already struggling to make ends meet.”

If the Democratic supermajorities in the California Assembly and Senate follow Hoover’s lead, it will show at least some Dems have gotten the message of Nov. 5.

Lessons in loyalty: TV’s late-night hosts apparently have forgotten how they sucked up to President Biden as recently as the first half of 2024. The poltroons have found a new source of comedy: making fun of Biden’s mental decline.

Forgiveness: Meanwhile, Biden wants to let Ukraine off the hook for $4.7 billion in debt. Well, if it’s good enough for education loans …