Obama's Eligibility Still in Question

Evens the “ch’mos” who were in Fort Leavenworth with Lt. Col. Terry Lakin, the military physician who was court-martialed for refusing orders because he could not get confirmed Barack Obama’s eligibility to be commander in chief, recognized that Obama’s release of a Hawaiian birth document last year didn’t resolve the question.

That’s according to Lakin’s new book, “Officer’s Oath: Why my Vow to Defend the Constitution Demanded that I Sacrifice my Career.”

The just-released book explains what happened in his case, and more significantly, why.

The officer had served with distinction, but decided that based on the available information, he had questions about whether Obama is eligible to be commander-in-chief of the U.S. military and order soldiers into war.

He had tried for years to obtain confirmation through the channels inside the military, through his congressional representatives, and other available channels, to no avail.

So he decided that his oath of allegiance to the Constitution required him to refuse an order from the chain of command headed by Obama. That would, he thought, force the issue, and possibly get an answer.

He got an answer, but not to the question: He was court-martialed and removed from the military. He now has joined a civilian physicians’ practice where he sees patients daily.

Get the book about the officer who challenged Obama now, in Terry Lakin’s “Officer’s Oath.”

In his book, he relates that he was in Leavenworth serving what amounted to a 5-month sentence when Obama released the document he represented as a copy of his original Hawaiian birth documentation.

That’s the document that Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s investigators have concluded likely is a forgery.

But other prisoners called his attention to the news report about Obama’s action and comments, and then asked him.

“One question, Terry.”

“Shoot.”

“All you were asking for was a birth certificate, correct? If Obama had nothing to hide, how come he didn’t release it a long time ago?”

“I guess what they say is right: no one knows a con job better than a convict,” Lakin wrote.

He addresses his case in chapters titled, “Of Paramount Importance,” “The Truth Matters,” “Doing What is Right,” “Crossing the line,” “Duty, Honor, Country,” and “Walking Righteous.”

The episode with the question from one of the “ch’mos,” (child molesters) comes in the chapter titled 27 April 2011, the date Obama released the document and posted it on the White House website.

Lakin notes that Obama claimed to have “had every official in Hawaii … confirm that, yes, in fact, I was born in Hawaii.”

“‘Every official in Hawaii’? I guess the president did not consult with Tim Adams. During the 2008 election cycle Adams served as senior elections clerk for the city and county of Honolulu,” Lakin wrote.

Adams stated that, “There is no hospital record of his birth in Honolulu … and the Hawaii Department of Health told us in the Elections Office that there was no birth certificate.”

To read the rest, Click here!

The 6th Day

Courtesy of PutLocker.com

Can Obama Even Count that high in his lifetime?

City Retiree's Plan to sue Stockton

A group of Stockton retirees is seeking a restraining order against the bankrupt city's efforts to cut their health benefits, part of the city's "pendency plan" aimed at keeping it solvent while it seeks protections from creditors.

The city informed retirees by letter they must pay their premiums by July 30 or "medical coverage will be canceled retroactive to July 1."

Promises of lifelong health benefits have been blamed in part for Stockton's failure, which was also brought on by the housing bust, unemployment and borrowing for downtown development that did not bring expected results.

PHOTOS: California cities in bankruptcy

Dwane Milnes, who was Stockton's city manager from 1991 to 2001, has been widely criticized for giving retirees full retirement healthcare in return for agreements from unions not to seek raises. The unfunded liability for those benefits is $417 million.

Milnes now represents the retirees in bankruptcy-related negotiations.

"It is not unfair to make changes in the retirement plan," Milnes said. "The world changes and when the world changes you have to adapt. But the question is, how do you change it in a way that is respectful of those most in need?"

Plaintiff Alfred Seibel, 58, a retired parks worker, said he can't afford the premiums and can't afford to lose coverage.
With the city's cuts, Seibel's health insurance costs would be $1,126.66 per month, or about 51% of his net income.

"I am already taking generic meds for cholesterol and triglycerides against my doctor's advice, I can't afford the $70 co-pay. My wife cries all the time. She don't understand how when they promise you all this stuff, then they [can] just take it away," he said in court documents.

A retired parks caretaker who worked for the city for 31 years, Seibel also suffers from a work-related herniated disc and enlarged lymph nodes that doctors say are from chemicals he used on the job.

The suit seeks class-action status covering all retirees, but Milnes said he and other managers with higher incomes would be willing to give up their benefits.

"The ones we're talking about are the ones who worked for us for years. For crying out loud, we know them, we know their families. We know about their breast cancer, their husband's diabetes," he said.

The budget the Stockton City Council adopted slashed contributions to current employee and retiree health benefits and eliminated benefits for employees with fewer than 10 years of city service. It eliminates city-funded medical benefits for retirees by July 2013.

There are about 2,400 city retirees, about 1,000 of whom receive health benefits. Two-thirds of the city retirees do not meet poverty requirements for California's low-income healthcare program but cannot afford private insurance, Milnes said. Those who are over 65 can get Medicare, but they must pay for medications and doctor's office visits.

Stockton Vice Mayor Kathy Miller said the lawsuit was not unexpected.

"All I can say is that there is a group of retirees who think it's more important for the taxpayers to pay 100% of their retirement than to keep police officers on the street," she said. "They know the situation. They know 80% of our discretionary income is for public safety. There is no way we can close the budget gap without these cuts. But they think they should come first."

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San Bernardino bankruptcy: Other California cities could be next

— Diana Marcum

Expert sources on Calif. governor’s new green-building order

April 26, 2012
The following UC Davis experts are available to talk about the bold targets outlined in the governor’s green building order issued April 25. The executive order (B-18-12) aims to ensure that state facilities waste less energy on lighting, water, air-conditioning and heating.

UC Davis leadership in California energy savings

Nicole Woolsey Biggart, director of the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center, holder of the Chevron Chair in Energy Efficiency, and professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, is an expert in organizational theory and management of innovation, and can discuss the barriers to implementation of energy efficient technologies in the commercial building industry. The Energy Efficiency Center works with inventors, utilities and investors to propel promising energy efficiency solutions to the market, with a focus on lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and water use and transport. Contact: Nicole Woolsey Biggart, Energy Efficiency Center, (530) 304-5052, nwbiggart@ucdavis.edu.

How to slash lighting energy use

When the California Public Utilities Commission called for a 60 to 80 percent statewide reduction in electrical lighting consumption by 2020, UC Davis was the first large institution in the state to act. Guided by UC Davis’ California Lighting Technology Center, campus administrators began a Smart Lighting Initiative to reduce the campus's electricity use for all lighting by 60 percent by the end of 2015. Already, some campus facilities have achieved greater than 70 percent savings with the latest technologies. Contact: Michael Siminovitch, CLTC, (530) 747-3835, mjsiminovitch@ucdavis.edu. Also reach Siminovitch through Kelly Cunningham, CLTC outreach director, (530) 747-3824, kcunning@ucdavis.edu.





How California purchasing power can drive change

“The governor’s new executive order provides an opportunity for the state to further demonstrate leadership by using its purchasing power to drive innovation and adoption of efficiency technologies and strategies,” said Anthony Eggert, executive director of the new UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy. Before Eggert came to UC Davis in January, he advised Gov. Brown on clean energy and efficiency policy. Contact: Anthony Eggert, UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy, (530) 752-1083, areggert@ucdavis.edu. (Traveling in China until April 29; use e-mail, expect delay.)

Curbing lighting’s big energy appetite

Lighting accounts for nearly 30 percent of California's electricity use. Due to continued use of inefficient lighting, much of this energy is wasted. The California Public Utilities Commission has called for a 60 to 80 percent statewide reduction in electrical lighting consumption by 2020. The California Lighting Technology Center at UC Davis works closely with state agencies, manufacturing partners, and the research community to add new requirements in the pending state building code. “Upgrades for state facilities represent a significant opportunity to achieve our energy efficiency goals, provide green jobs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions statewide,” said Michael Siminovitch, director of the California Lighting Technology Center and holder of the UC Davis Rosenfeld Chair in Energy Efficiency. Contact: Michael Siminovitch, CLTC, (530) 747-3835, mjsiminovitch@ucdavis.edu. Also reach Siminovitch through Kelly Cunningham, CLTC outreach director, (530) 747-3824, kcunning@ucdavis.edu.

Making rooms comfortable with less energy

Energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning/cooling (HVAC) is the mission of UC Davis’ Western Cooling Efficiency Center. The center is supported by the California Energy Commission, as well as industry affiliates including utilities, manufacturers and contractors. Its research has changed California Title 24 policy to make rooftop packaged cooling units more efficient. The center has also installed and evaluated energy-saving strategies for the CEC’s Public Interest Energy Research program, such as “demand control” kitchen ventilation. Western Cooling Efficiency Center director Mark Modera developed Aeroseal, for sealing HVAC ducts in homes, recently named the “best home improvement” product by This Old House Magazine and currently under study in a Stockton home. Modera holds the UC Davis Sempra Energy Chair in Energy Efficiency. Contact: Mark Modera, Western Cooling Efficiency Center, (530) 754-7671, mpmodera@ucdavis.edu.

Less energy to use and move water

Almost 20 percent of electricity used in California is spent moving, using and treating water. Frank Loge, director of the UC Davis Center for Water-Energy Efficiency said, "Public policy and business practice have treated water and energy as separate resources, but they are inexorably linked.” The center’s researchers have worked with the UC Davis Child Family Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to commercialize water- and energy-conservation technologies, such as a system to convert wastewater into biodegradable plastic (being developed by Micromidas in West Sacramento). Center researchers have also begun work on a statewide strategic plan for water-energy conservation. Loge is a professor of civil and environmental engineering. Contact: Frank Loge, Center for Water-Energy Efficiency, (530) 754-2297, fjloge@ucdavis.edu.http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10221&preview=yes




About UC Davis

For more than 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has more than 32,000 students, more than 2,500 faculty and more than 21,000 staff, an annual research budget that exceeds $684 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges — Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools — Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.

Additional information:

Governor's Executive Order B-18-12
California Lighting Technology Center
Center for Water-Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency Center
UC Davis West Village
Western Cooling Efficency Center
Media contact(s):

Sylvia Wright, Energy Efficiency Center, (530) 304-2697, swright@ucdavis.edu
Kat Kerlin, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-7704, kekerlin@ucdavis.edu, Cell: (530) 750-9195