I hadn't realized the government was funding ngos until doge reported on it. Just like in first amendment cases where the government is not allowed to pay/coerce a third party to censor you, it's not okay for the government to fund ngos.
It is not just federal money. Look at King County in Washington (home of Seattle): "Grant funding in 2019-2020 was $22 million, and in 2023-2024 had grown to more than $1.5 billion." Much of this has been unaccounted for, as this recent article discusses: https://tinyurl.com/2cfeedyx
Clearly, someone has been studying the fraud rampant in Minnesota. Or vice versa. See “Feeding Our Future.” Fraud, waste, abuse, plus incompetence. The King County Executive’s response to the audit: “we hired lotsa people with no experience or talent because covid, but we’ll do better now. And get some outside consultants to help.” (A weekend off the internet was not enough for me.)
Right. Been studying non profits at the grad student level and federal etc grant aid to ngos is considered the source of all beneficence, and a totally normal way that things work. Government support of desirable goals and all that. 0.o
They do their best to say that whatever problems there may be in any government/government-related system, it can only be overcome by throwing more money and people at it. As well, Progressive talking points are the only ones given airspace, anything to the contrary of course is labeled ‘anti-progressive’ and instantly dismissed with no further discussion allowed.
I’ve noticed as a very mature returning student too, that most of my classmates that are under 40 have zero questions about any of this and those of us who do have questions are very careful about how we ask them.
In theory, I don’t oppose the practice. Not every government function has to be done by government employees. Paying other companies or organizations can be more flexible and efficient. In practice, though, it often becomes a mess.
"In theory" - and in the past - I might have agreed. But now my antennae go up for opaque and layered arrangements like this. Tired of seeing billions of dollars wasted and the people scammed instead of served by their government.
...and there is a difference between contracting with the federal or a state government to perform specific work and being the beneficiary of a grant from the federal or a state government for policy-related purposes and, at times, opaque details and not clearly defined goals.
It reminds me of the Hallandsås tunnel project, started in 1992 and finished in 2015, originally budgeted for $100 000 000 it came in at ca $1 250 000 000.
The 5.4 miles long tunnel shaves of about ten minutes for the trains using it.
This is why we need hard caps on tax expenditure and referendums on every tax increase, and every proposed use of taxes for projects above the cap.
Because since it's OPM the politician's are pouring onto their corporate bumbuddies, they don't appreicate how wasteful they are being, even if they happen to be acting with the best of intentions.
And the idea that the state/federal can sue-by-proxy a private land-owner to run them off the land is vile. A tin-pot dictator or warlord is more honest than that.
Seems logical, given how they either void words of all meaning or just invent neologisms as a matter-of-course; c.f. racism, sexism, Bad Guy of the Day-ism, -phobia, et cetera.
In hindsight, it is obvious it must happen (and has happened/been made to happen) to words they think they adhere to the actual meaning of too, and thus also their self-perception and subsequent actions.
Just to clarify, the 5.4 miles long Hallandsås tunnel was not built to shave about ten minutes for the trains using it. It was built to change the route from single to double track. A tunnel was less work and cost than widening the terrain of the old route. The route capacity almost tripled, though the original plan of a sixfold increase apparently didn’t pan out (THAT may be the Cali tie-in).
The problem with the old rail line's stretch wasn't that it was too narrow but that it was too steep for cargo trains to go up or down except at decidedly reduced speeds.
Democrats don’t bother proving their ideas are constitutional, they just go around it. Like having the EU censor or using NGOs to get things done they aren’t allowed to do. But keep telling us democracy needs to be saved from Trump.
During the time that I lived in California (actually twice, from 1980-1984, and 1996-2003) I was not paying much attention to politics until I was dragged kicking and screaming into ridiculous electricity bills at the turn of the century. I can't imagine living there now without screaming and running naked through the woods.
"I can't imagine living there now without screaming and running naked through the woods." Sorry, but from what Chris writes, you'd be running through the homeless camps.
This is sort of like a meme that you'd see on Twitter......
"We're going to have high-speed rail done by 2015. High-speed rail is the centerpiece of our campaign, which is why we're going to have it done by 2018 -- because the citizens of California deserve a high-speed rail system by 2020........"
Land grabs by the "environuts" have been destroying the state slowly for years. The coastal elites love to keep the peasants out of their feudal fiefdoms. These wild spaces are not meant to be enjoyed by the public. But damn, you sound so chic at the coke and cocktail parties in San Fran. The train to nowhere. It's a kickback scheme. If they wanted to fund a real high-speed rail system, the first line should have been from Palmdale to Vegas. It would have run 24/7 and made billions. Everyone knows the Party train would have been a hit, and getting millions of cars off the 15 would have saved all that pollution. 🤔 Corruption thy name is Cali...
It’s common for governments to work with land trusts and environmental organizations to accomplish conservation projects of value to all parties. For decades, the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) and the Nature Conservancy among others have worked with various governments in the PNW and elsewhere on land purchases and other projects. The nonprofits acquire the land in question and either manage it or transfer it to the government entity. That’s the model. It would not be at all surprising that there was, er, perhaps an extra closeness in whatever transpired at Point Reyes, but what exactly will be interesting to discover. My takeaway from years of experience was that real estate is a particularly scuzzy business no matter who’s involved.
The Point Reyes fiasco sounds like a USAID scam to line pockets and generate political contributions. Remind me, how much does Nature Conservancy contribute to Big Blue?
HSR? Stupid, stupid, stupid.. Which is to say, Corrupt, corrupt, corrupt.
For those twelve ranchers, it's done. They signed the settlement agreement, and some have already departed. But the more general future of Point Reyes is not clear.
"More populated areas...such as Gilroy and Palmdale."
Gilroy and Palmdale!? ROFL. Have these people ever been to California? Gilroy? Best known as the Garlic Capital of the World, and Palmdale? The longest stretch of almost nothing on the way to Edwards AFB, chosen for it's total isolation to test new technology planes like the X-15 in the old days and, currently, the F-22s?
I guess their motto is, "Pretend to build it, and they will pay."
Eh, the Palmdale/Lancaster/Rosamond sprawl was getting pretty grotesque the last time I was out there about a decade ago (family in the area). An almost unbroken chain of suburban yuck from the foothills all the way out to that other little hill on the opposite end, and more sprawl reaching toward Mojave, which consisted of a couple gas stations and a strip mall when I was a kid (and, tbf, still does, less the strip mall which is mostly closed down).
So. There are people there. How many of them want to get to Garlic Town as fast as possible on the regular, I don't know. Not many if I had to wager.
Here in Annapolis MD, a “conservancy” organization acted as a go-between to purchase water front parkland for the County. This land was supposed to be open space low impact due to its critical area location. The County then gave them a $1.00 per year long term lease and green-lighted the construction of a two story modern monstrosity of a building on the edge of the cliff overlooking the river and bay. They would cut down trees, build roads and parking, rent space to other nonprofits and have events there. Thankfully the public opposition was strong enough to kibosh it. This is how these folks operate. Be vigilant!
Wouldn’t it be REALLY cool to create a kind of chunnel along the San Andreas Faultline? What a fabulous underground “ railroad”! It would easy to do. Using bunker bombs along the center of the fault line. I mean, duh, they already have the map!
I was born in L.A. Calif in early 1950s and lived there most of my life. This article confirms once more how glad I am that I left. The insanity there is off the chart! I've followed this Pt. Reyes rancher story ever since it first started. For decades I spent every weekend going to Pt. Reyes to hike, take in the beaches and explore nature. It's an extremely beautiful place and very dear to my heart. Lots of wildlife everywhere. I've known a number of people who lived there. It used to be not very expensive to stay at a hotel there for the weekend, but now it's off the chart, only for those who have big bucks. I remember seeing the ranches as I drove around Pt. Reyes and many of them had signs up with name of the ranch and the year it was established - those 14 ranches were pretty much all established in 1800 and they are dairymen. They have been in the family for about 150 yrs, some even longer than that. That is a HUGE accomplishment for those farmers and they are extremely proud of holding on to that farm for all those years. When I first read about this, the farmers were absolutely horrified at having those farms sold out from under them, because that is exactly what Calif was doing. I'm also horrified and very sad for these farmers. No amount of money would ever get them to sell those ranches.
Chris have those ranches been taken over already?
re: the train in CA - Palmdale to Gilroy is the same as L.A. to San Francisco??? What are these people smoking? When I was growing up Calif was a destination spot, lots of people wanted to move there and did, it was #1 in most everything. It's an extremely beautiful place and when I was young, things were affordable and life was good. Now it's become crazyland and nothing the govt does there makes any sense to anyone who is still using even one fourth of their feeble brain. I don't know that Calif will ever recover from the rape of this once great state.
Some of the ranches are closed and gone, some are winding down. They're all supposed to be fully shut down soon. NPS won't answer my questions, and I haven't driven up for a while, so I don't have an up-to-date list of who still has cattle on the ground. I talked to one rancher as the trucks rolled away with the last of his cattle. Hope to get up there soon.
Thank you for the update Chris, much appreciated. I'm so very sad about this. Those poor ranchers, my heart goes out to them. IIRC they were under some sort of gag order so they can't even talk much about it?
Are we truly the species that braved the Atlantic, were the pioneers who fought and settled the West, landed on the moon? Who actually built the interstate highway system, the Hoover Dam, the Golden Gate Bridge?
After reading Mr Bray's article, and experiencing the dumb-ass (doctrinal term for politicians) trolley car system in Tacoma--it is much easier to believe aliens came to earth and built all of this--and we just all awoke something in the mid-sixties to begin breaking everything.
That train to nowhere is more Asshoolery and Gilroy and the garlic festival, no thanks, I will drive not . They shut it all down for Covid and restarted July 2025 . Check out LA County bribes .. money is going somewhere 🧐. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=94JOK59yc0U
Will be offline on Tuesday morning, so comment among yourselves for a while. Back soon.
Have fun, if that's the aim!
“ talk among yourselves “ an old SNL skit
I hadn't realized the government was funding ngos until doge reported on it. Just like in first amendment cases where the government is not allowed to pay/coerce a third party to censor you, it's not okay for the government to fund ngos.
It is not just federal money. Look at King County in Washington (home of Seattle): "Grant funding in 2019-2020 was $22 million, and in 2023-2024 had grown to more than $1.5 billion." Much of this has been unaccounted for, as this recent article discusses: https://tinyurl.com/2cfeedyx
It is insane.
Wow! A city providing $1.5B in grants!! Not a chance there aren’t kickbacks going on left and right.
Actually quite sane for them. Corrupt grifters.
How long have they been robbing us blind?
All govts rob their “citizens”. It’s just that we’ve forgotten that lesson and so we’ve taken that robbery to unimaginable heights.
Clearly, someone has been studying the fraud rampant in Minnesota. Or vice versa. See “Feeding Our Future.” Fraud, waste, abuse, plus incompetence. The King County Executive’s response to the audit: “we hired lotsa people with no experience or talent because covid, but we’ll do better now. And get some outside consultants to help.” (A weekend off the internet was not enough for me.)
Grant money to NGO's is now a big business. Moves big government spending off budget so it becomes invisible to taxpayers.
Right. Been studying non profits at the grad student level and federal etc grant aid to ngos is considered the source of all beneficence, and a totally normal way that things work. Government support of desirable goals and all that. 0.o
They do their best to say that whatever problems there may be in any government/government-related system, it can only be overcome by throwing more money and people at it. As well, Progressive talking points are the only ones given airspace, anything to the contrary of course is labeled ‘anti-progressive’ and instantly dismissed with no further discussion allowed.
I’ve noticed as a very mature returning student too, that most of my classmates that are under 40 have zero questions about any of this and those of us who do have questions are very careful about how we ask them.
Many of the under-40's are unable to process any criticism of any government program.
Exactly: a program not working is supposed to be proof that more money is needed to do more of the same thing.
Big bucks were suddenly going out with IRA bucks to NGO’s. I could only find out what they were doing with the bucks via (lengthy) FOIA. Not clear what the deliverables would be, nor whether anyone was watching. Very different from USG contracting, with deliverables, timelines, competition (!!!) and a host of other regulations. Perhaps the grazing on NPS should have been competed.. and the ranchers allowed to compete? Then there’s examples like this.. I asked several journalists and they weren’t interested in reporting on this.https://forestpolicypub.com/2024/11/12/national-baptists-masticate-on-the-coconino-is-this-forest-service-grants-really-about-equity/ and https://forestpolicypub.com/2024/11/13/more-info-and-opportunity-to-ask-questions-about-the-coconino-national-baptist-convention-project/
In theory, I don’t oppose the practice. Not every government function has to be done by government employees. Paying other companies or organizations can be more flexible and efficient. In practice, though, it often becomes a mess.
"In theory" - and in the past - I might have agreed. But now my antennae go up for opaque and layered arrangements like this. Tired of seeing billions of dollars wasted and the people scammed instead of served by their government.
...and there is a difference between contracting with the federal or a state government to perform specific work and being the beneficiary of a grant from the federal or a state government for policy-related purposes and, at times, opaque details and not clearly defined goals.
The government is using NGOs to get around the Constitution and do things it is forbidden from doing.
Yes, and that’s a misuse of the system.
Nothing ever works if done by government employees. Witness DMV offices and Social Security offices…..oh, almost forgot the IRS . Any questions?
True. Because the government is basically crooked.
A rude awakening, innit? NGOs are totally GOs. What a surprise!
It reminds me of the Hallandsås tunnel project, started in 1992 and finished in 2015, originally budgeted for $100 000 000 it came in at ca $1 250 000 000.
The 5.4 miles long tunnel shaves of about ten minutes for the trains using it.
This is why we need hard caps on tax expenditure and referendums on every tax increase, and every proposed use of taxes for projects above the cap.
Because since it's OPM the politician's are pouring onto their corporate bumbuddies, they don't appreicate how wasteful they are being, even if they happen to be acting with the best of intentions.
And the idea that the state/federal can sue-by-proxy a private land-owner to run them off the land is vile. A tin-pot dictator or warlord is more honest than that.
Democrats can't be bothered with the messiness if democracy. Hence the inside baseball game of sue and settle.
Seems logical, given how they either void words of all meaning or just invent neologisms as a matter-of-course; c.f. racism, sexism, Bad Guy of the Day-ism, -phobia, et cetera.
In hindsight, it is obvious it must happen (and has happened/been made to happen) to words they think they adhere to the actual meaning of too, and thus also their self-perception and subsequent actions.
Just to clarify, the 5.4 miles long Hallandsås tunnel was not built to shave about ten minutes for the trains using it. It was built to change the route from single to double track. A tunnel was less work and cost than widening the terrain of the old route. The route capacity almost tripled, though the original plan of a sixfold increase apparently didn’t pan out (THAT may be the Cali tie-in).
For anyone really interested in the project, go here and use machine translation, as the Swedish page is much more comprehensive than the English one:
https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallands%C3%A5stunneln
The problem with the old rail line's stretch wasn't that it was too narrow but that it was too steep for cargo trains to go up or down except at decidedly reduced speeds.
And, just think. They could have used “ imminent domaine”. Another theft by the State
Democrats don’t bother proving their ideas are constitutional, they just go around it. Like having the EU censor or using NGOs to get things done they aren’t allowed to do. But keep telling us democracy needs to be saved from Trump.
Do now. Apologize later.
During the time that I lived in California (actually twice, from 1980-1984, and 1996-2003) I was not paying much attention to politics until I was dragged kicking and screaming into ridiculous electricity bills at the turn of the century. I can't imagine living there now without screaming and running naked through the woods.
"I can't imagine living there now without screaming and running naked through the woods." Sorry, but from what Chris writes, you'd be running through the homeless camps.
I kind of think she’d fit right in. It sounds like screaming and running naked through the homeless camps is precisely what they do out there.
LOL, even worse!
"Naked through the woods" just means insane, 'round these parts.
Here in the South, we call it “ nekkid”
Yeah, I know - I blew it :)
Or be shot dead by gangbangers while passing their cannabis farm.
😂🤪😜
This is sort of like a meme that you'd see on Twitter......
"We're going to have high-speed rail done by 2015. High-speed rail is the centerpiece of our campaign, which is why we're going to have it done by 2018 -- because the citizens of California deserve a high-speed rail system by 2020........"
It’s like when I’d ask my dad for $20, and he’d reply, “ten bucks, what do you need five bucks for?”
Excellent. Gonna try that…
this cracked me up!
We have always had high-speed rail!
"...... after the completion of our masterpiece in 2038!" ....to be continued...
Land grabs by the "environuts" have been destroying the state slowly for years. The coastal elites love to keep the peasants out of their feudal fiefdoms. These wild spaces are not meant to be enjoyed by the public. But damn, you sound so chic at the coke and cocktail parties in San Fran. The train to nowhere. It's a kickback scheme. If they wanted to fund a real high-speed rail system, the first line should have been from Palmdale to Vegas. It would have run 24/7 and made billions. Everyone knows the Party train would have been a hit, and getting millions of cars off the 15 would have saved all that pollution. 🤔 Corruption thy name is Cali...
Maybe its a good idea to reintroduce grizzly bears to the bay area.
It’s common for governments to work with land trusts and environmental organizations to accomplish conservation projects of value to all parties. For decades, the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) and the Nature Conservancy among others have worked with various governments in the PNW and elsewhere on land purchases and other projects. The nonprofits acquire the land in question and either manage it or transfer it to the government entity. That’s the model. It would not be at all surprising that there was, er, perhaps an extra closeness in whatever transpired at Point Reyes, but what exactly will be interesting to discover. My takeaway from years of experience was that real estate is a particularly scuzzy business no matter who’s involved.
It is a terrible innovation to bind private entities, charitable or profitable, to the government. That was pioneered by the Italians in the 1920s.
yes, fascism isn't new. But that doesn't mean it's a good idea.
The Point Reyes fiasco sounds like a USAID scam to line pockets and generate political contributions. Remind me, how much does Nature Conservancy contribute to Big Blue?
HSR? Stupid, stupid, stupid.. Which is to say, Corrupt, corrupt, corrupt.
So corrupt they ought to change the name to Chinatown National Seashore.
“Forget it, Jake, it’s Point Reyes.”
I feel for those ranchers and hope justice prevails for them.
For those twelve ranchers, it's done. They signed the settlement agreement, and some have already departed. But the more general future of Point Reyes is not clear.
I was absolutely thinking exactly of that Chinatown story line reference! Exactly that. Is there a water angle to latch onto? 😂
"More populated areas...such as Gilroy and Palmdale."
Gilroy and Palmdale!? ROFL. Have these people ever been to California? Gilroy? Best known as the Garlic Capital of the World, and Palmdale? The longest stretch of almost nothing on the way to Edwards AFB, chosen for it's total isolation to test new technology planes like the X-15 in the old days and, currently, the F-22s?
I guess their motto is, "Pretend to build it, and they will pay."
Eh, the Palmdale/Lancaster/Rosamond sprawl was getting pretty grotesque the last time I was out there about a decade ago (family in the area). An almost unbroken chain of suburban yuck from the foothills all the way out to that other little hill on the opposite end, and more sprawl reaching toward Mojave, which consisted of a couple gas stations and a strip mall when I was a kid (and, tbf, still does, less the strip mall which is mostly closed down).
So. There are people there. How many of them want to get to Garlic Town as fast as possible on the regular, I don't know. Not many if I had to wager.
If you fund it, they will come in their pants.
Here in Annapolis MD, a “conservancy” organization acted as a go-between to purchase water front parkland for the County. This land was supposed to be open space low impact due to its critical area location. The County then gave them a $1.00 per year long term lease and green-lighted the construction of a two story modern monstrosity of a building on the edge of the cliff overlooking the river and bay. They would cut down trees, build roads and parking, rent space to other nonprofits and have events there. Thankfully the public opposition was strong enough to kibosh it. This is how these folks operate. Be vigilant!
Wouldn’t it be REALLY cool to create a kind of chunnel along the San Andreas Faultline? What a fabulous underground “ railroad”! It would easy to do. Using bunker bombs along the center of the fault line. I mean, duh, they already have the map!
I was born in L.A. Calif in early 1950s and lived there most of my life. This article confirms once more how glad I am that I left. The insanity there is off the chart! I've followed this Pt. Reyes rancher story ever since it first started. For decades I spent every weekend going to Pt. Reyes to hike, take in the beaches and explore nature. It's an extremely beautiful place and very dear to my heart. Lots of wildlife everywhere. I've known a number of people who lived there. It used to be not very expensive to stay at a hotel there for the weekend, but now it's off the chart, only for those who have big bucks. I remember seeing the ranches as I drove around Pt. Reyes and many of them had signs up with name of the ranch and the year it was established - those 14 ranches were pretty much all established in 1800 and they are dairymen. They have been in the family for about 150 yrs, some even longer than that. That is a HUGE accomplishment for those farmers and they are extremely proud of holding on to that farm for all those years. When I first read about this, the farmers were absolutely horrified at having those farms sold out from under them, because that is exactly what Calif was doing. I'm also horrified and very sad for these farmers. No amount of money would ever get them to sell those ranches.
Chris have those ranches been taken over already?
re: the train in CA - Palmdale to Gilroy is the same as L.A. to San Francisco??? What are these people smoking? When I was growing up Calif was a destination spot, lots of people wanted to move there and did, it was #1 in most everything. It's an extremely beautiful place and when I was young, things were affordable and life was good. Now it's become crazyland and nothing the govt does there makes any sense to anyone who is still using even one fourth of their feeble brain. I don't know that Calif will ever recover from the rape of this once great state.
Some of the ranches are closed and gone, some are winding down. They're all supposed to be fully shut down soon. NPS won't answer my questions, and I haven't driven up for a while, so I don't have an up-to-date list of who still has cattle on the ground. I talked to one rancher as the trucks rolled away with the last of his cattle. Hope to get up there soon.
Thank you for the update Chris, much appreciated. I'm so very sad about this. Those poor ranchers, my heart goes out to them. IIRC they were under some sort of gag order so they can't even talk much about it?
Are we truly the species that braved the Atlantic, were the pioneers who fought and settled the West, landed on the moon? Who actually built the interstate highway system, the Hoover Dam, the Golden Gate Bridge?
After reading Mr Bray's article, and experiencing the dumb-ass (doctrinal term for politicians) trolley car system in Tacoma--it is much easier to believe aliens came to earth and built all of this--and we just all awoke something in the mid-sixties to begin breaking everything.
bsn
That train to nowhere is more Asshoolery and Gilroy and the garlic festival, no thanks, I will drive not . They shut it all down for Covid and restarted July 2025 . Check out LA County bribes .. money is going somewhere 🧐. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=94JOK59yc0U
Not just a train to nowhere, but an extremely expensive bullet train to nowhere. Some variation on that should be Newsom's 2028 campaign slogan.