Opinion

We are told, and have come to accept, that the Occupy movement lacks focus, direction and purpose. How can a group be successful without a linear plan and a list of demands? How does camping in a park solve the world’s problems? Onlookers often say that in the last two months, Occupy has yet to accomplish anything. After Thanksgiving, however, I want to offer seven reasons to give thanks for the Occupy movement.

Leave it to Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Legislature to come up with a way to raise $50 million a year from rural homeowners who live in areas served by CalFire with a new state responsibility area fire fee. But here’s the real rub — CalFire won’t spend any of that money actually fighting a wildfire anywhere across this great state of ours. Instead the money goes to fire prevention activities.

Leave it to Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Legislature to come up with a way to raise $50 million a year from rural homeowners who live in areas served by CalFire with a new state responsibility area fire fee. But here’s the real rub — CalFire won’t spend any of that money actually fighting a wildfire anywhere across this great state of ours. Instead the money goes to fire prevention activities.

Judging by the example of the Super Committee this week, this certainly is no time to play a game of follow the leader because there doesn’t seem to be anybody out in front!

Talk about disheartening — I really didn’t think the members of Congress would let the American people down one more time, but here we are again, stuck between the perpetual partisan rock and a hard place.