The Ten Best National Parks

On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service, a new federal bureau in the Department of the Interior responsible for protecting the 35 national parks and monuments then in existence and all that would be established later. The Act states "the Service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks, monuments and reservations…by such means and measures as conform to the fundamental purpose of the said parks, monuments and reservations, which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

I love our national parks and agree with filmmaker Ken Burns that they may well be "America's best idea." (In case you were thinking democracy was our best idea, the Greeks of Athens invented that in the sixth century B.C.E.) So in commemoration of this week's centennial of the NPS I'd like to share my list of the 10 best national parks I've visited.


1. Yellowstone. America's and the world's first national park is unique. The park is huge, and provides the best opportunity in the lower 48 to view natural America as it was before European settlement as a nearly pristine ecosystem replete with buffalo, elks, moose and wolves. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River and its thundering waterfall would be a national park in its own right. The primeval wildlife combines with high mountain beauty and Yellowstone's incomparable geothermal wonders to make America's signature park like no other place on earth.

2. Grand Canyon. For the first-time visitor, the sight approaching the Grand Canyon from the south, when the chasm first comes into view, is one of the most stupefying senses of awe a human can experience. No number of pictures already viewed can do justice to or diminish the sense of awe in sighting the sheer expanse of this greatest of all gorges. As Theodore Roosevelt said, "Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is to keep it for your children, and for all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American... should see." There's plenty of good hiking and rafting to be enjoyed as well.

3. Yosemite. To me, the single most beautiful spot on earth I've ever experienced is Yosemite Valley. The stark walls of granite, razor sculpted peaks and magical waterfalls juxtaposed between verdant forests and meadows and a Sierran blue sky present an unforgettable image.


4. National Mall and Memorial Parks. The National Mall in Washington, D.C. is beautiful, and stirring for every American. The Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, Franklin Roosevelt and Martin Luther King memorials evoke the dreams of self-government and freedom that founded the nation. The Vietnam, Korea and World War II memorials are moving and somber reminders of the sacrifices made for our country. The National Archives, national museums and Smithsonian Institution units are endlessly fascinating. Every citizen should put this park on their bucket list.  

5. Glacier. The crown of the continent comprises awe-inspiring alpine vistas of the high Rockies. Forests, lakes, falls and plentiful wildlife complete the picture. You'll remember Going to the Sun Road for the rest of your life. It is the one park where my wife and I fought back tears on the day we left. See Glacier before climate change melts the last glaciers in the park.

6. Zion. This marvelous canyon is an oasis in the Southwestern Utah desert. The Virgin River has carved a seemingly impossibly narrow gorge out of the rock, creating one of the best hikes in the National Park System. Zion also boasts fantastic rock formations and a great auto tunnel. 

7. Gettysburg National Military Park. A must-see for history buffs, Gettysburg lovingly preserves the battlefield of the crucial three-day engagement that determined the outcome of the Civil War. Book a tour from a professional guide to get the most out of your visit.

8. Carlsbad Caverns. One of the world's largest and most spectacular cave systems, Carlsbad's natural underground sculptures range from the massive to the intricately diminutive. It's a fairyland of beauty that makes you wonder how much else might be hidden under the surface of the earth just awaiting discovery.

9. Hawaii Volcanoes. Nature at its rawest is on display on the Big Island of Hawaii. Lava formations, fields, and tubes you can walk through side by side with verdant tropical forest show the creative yet destructive power of vulcanism. Here you can also see the constantly erupting Kilauea and marvel at lava flows entering the sea. 

10. Glacier Bay. The beauty and power of moving ice are on display here as at no other national park. The size of the glacial wall and the thunderous roar of calving, as immense blocks of glacial ice break off and crashing into the sea are unforgettable. The scene has a primeval power I've experienced nowhere else.

County Dems Awarded Big Grant

 This week's entry is a follow-up to last week's piece on Tom Steyer's visit to Visalia. It didn't take long for Tulare County's whirlwind effort to bear fruit. County Democratic Chairwoman Ruth McKee announced at the party Central Committee meeting on Thursday, August 18 that Mr. Steyer's Nextgen California Foundation is awarding the Tulare County Democratic Central Committee $34,700 for voter registration and get out the vote efforts. As far as extant records or anyone's memory can say, that is more money than the local party has ever had at one time. 

The time line went like this. Ruth says, "I heard about the grant from Martha Gamez of the state party on July 29. She e-mailed the pertinent information to me on that date. The grant deadline was July 30. I called Katelyn Haley (a Steyer assistant) anyway on Monday 8/1/16 and asked if they would extend the deadline. She agreed and encouraged me to submit our proposal. I submitted the proposal on Wednesday, 8/3/16. Two days later, on  Friday 8/5/16, Katelyn called me and asked me to put together a round table on 8/13/16 as Mr. Steyer was going to be in Visalia. The amount of $34,700.00 was a number that I calculated, after eight hours of number crunching. Knowing what these funds could mean to our Committee, I jumped on it."

 

I was interested in learning how the funds will specifically be used. Ruth reports, "We are currently forming a committee to manage the funds and to run the project. At this point, Nextgen is in the process of drawing up the contact for me to sign. We do have plans to locate an office to train the canvassers we plan to hire. I anticipate a major percent of the grant funds will be spend on canvassing."

 

The Louie Campos for Congress campaign recently sent out information from the County Registrar of Voters showing that Democratic registration had gained about three percent on the Republican total in the past three months. The present totals find the Dems with 45,754 and the GOP at 62,009. That's a difference of 16,255. The two-party ratio stands at 42.5% Democratic and 57.5% Republican. Indeed, the historical county records show that Democratic registration has grown by 3,000 and Republican by only 500 since August of 2014. The fact that the county is over 60% Latino and that Donald Trump is the Republican presidential nominee offers Democrats a strong opportunity to improve those numbers further. Local Democrats have always been massively outspent by the Republicans, with their ties to agribusiness and industry in the area. This grant may well prove to be a crucial element in the effort to turn the county from red to blue.

 

 

 

Tom Steyer Visit Sparks New Hope for Tulare County

This morning a group of local Democratic activists met with Tom Steyer and his wife Kat Taylor in Visalia to discuss furthering social justice in our area. The philanthropists are dedicated to economic, environmental and democratic justice and see the Central Valley as fertile ground to break the hold of uncaring selfish interests in the region. Tom ran Farallon Capital for 26 years until selling it in 2012 and is reputedly a billionaire. The pair were also in Tulare County to open a community bank along the lines of the one they have opened in Oakland. The model is to provide startup capital for small businesses and consumers at lowest possible interest rates and to drive unscrupulous gougers out of the business of preying on the most vulnerable in society.



Tom and Kat spent most of their time listening to the concerns of the local activists. For example, Maria Herrera spoke of antiquated and contaminated water works. She reported that some localities and county governments intentionally refuse to take advantage of available state funding, hoping that water shortages will drive poor communities of color out of their homes.

Abigail Solis and Tom Chamberlin spoke of the progress made in voter registration, and Tom made an appeal for office space and support to accelerate this effort. Congressional candidate Louie Campos emphasized the need to retain a focus on the Democratic Party and its candidates being the champion of the issues that truly affect people: clean air, good water, jobs and education. Joe Altschule talked about identifying people's self interest with their voting behavior. Jose Verduzco and I brought up the need for a four-year university in the area as an economic opportunity engine. Kathleen Dowling spoke of the serious social problems caused by economic hardship. Mike Maldonado, Joanna Zagarra and others expressed their eagerness to contribute in any way they could to bring success to a greater involvement and representation of the majority in the county. Central Committee Chairperson Ruth McKee was instrumental in setting up the meeting. Al Aguilar, Susanne Gundy and Alex Gutierrez contributed to the discussion as well.

A major focus on personalized approaches to voter registration, motivation and turnout is certain to be one outgrowth of the meeting. Doug Kessler explained how such an effort has achieved great success in Fresno. For the first time, there is real hope that the hard work of grassroots activists in the area may at long last be augmented by the kind of financial resources that could make a real difference.

Clinton on Education

I went to Hillary Clinton's web site to see where she stands on education issues. A visit to her site is very instructive in itself. She has detailed sets of policy plans on innumerable topics. These are specific, include references, and are interwoven into a coherent whole. It is clearly the work of a candidate and campaign that has thought deeply about national imperatives and human needs and has paid attention to the specifics of what it would take to effectuate constructive change.

Clinton has seen the research on early childhood education and wants to give it a boost. She would make preschool available for all 4-year-olds in America, double the Head Start budget, and cap any family's child care at 10% of their family earnings, to be guaranteed by subsidies or tax credits. The integrated nature of her planning is evident here, as the funding would come from specific tax reforms detailed in her Tax section, including instituting the "Buffet Rule" (millionaires have to pay a minimum 30% tax rate), closing the carried interest and offshore loopholes and assessing a Wall Street transactions tax.

Among her plans for K-12 education are a program to double the Build America Bonds program to reconstruct decaying schools, to give federal help for computer literacy, recognizing that half a million computer jobs are currently unfilled, and a program to "elevate the teaching profession" to attract and better train the highest caliber of teachers, including through higher pay. There would be an extensive expansion of career technical education for those going into blue-collar trades.

Her higher education plans show she has a keen understanding of what is holding many people back from achieving to their potential. Hillary proposes a $1500 scholarship for child care expenses for college students who are parents. Her plan would make all community colleges tuition free, public 4-year colleges tuition free immediately for all families earning less than $85,000 and for all families earning less than $125,000 within four years. She would allow current student debts to be refinanced at current interest rates, helping 25 million people. Student loan costs would be capped at 10% of a person's income, and would be erased after 20 years, after 10 years if the graduate took a public interest job. She would fund expanded child care at universities to handle an additional 250,000 children, making it possible for more young parents to attend college.

In general, Mrs. Clinton's education policy approach is to make learning more universal and accessible for all our people. She would recycle some of the revenues more recently given in tax breaks into providing greater opportunities for more Americans to get the skills they and the nation need to compete in the contemporary world.