Important Stuff

Dear Reader: Thank you for taking the time to click into this page. You may wonder: just who is this "Newsstand Greg?"

I formerly lived in San Luis Obispo and worked at Mission News. New ownership says it will reopen soon. It and Esquire News in downtown Pismo Beach are two of the few surviving newsstands on the Central Coast. I'd call into Dave Congalton's afternoon talk show, KVEC AM 920, and over time gained the nickname 'Newsstand Greg.'

As things evolved, I met a dear woman and the best reason to move to Lompoc, midway between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. The town is lovely in its own valley; a breathtaking view when you drive in down the Harris Grade.

Many here could be described as conservative with a pro-military emphasis. Vandenberg Air Force Base is next door so that's understandable. Salt of the earth conservatism is something my Dad let me know about early in high school. Important stuff such as:

* Root out the waste and fraud in federal, state and local government.
* Every US veteran whoever went into harm's way deserves the benefits Uncle Sam promised them.
* Balance your own checkbook and expect legislators to likewise balance the state and federal government checkbook.

Dad also demonstrated "doing the right thing," how a young man should behave. He raised a family of 12 children and drove an hour each way to his stockbroker job downtown. Sam was the "conservative" example to me for 37 years.

But, I can't help thinking how most of that important stuff has slowly become irrelevant to the conservatives of today. I listen to their flamethrower rhetoric, illogical reasoning and "win" at all costs mentality. I scour the local newspapers for letters that question these tactics to see if I'm the only one who notices something's wrong.

I wonder what could really be important enough to call Congress back into session early and get the President to cancel his weekend plans? The capture of Osama? A balanced budget? Or interfering with a husband's ten years of agonized caregiving for his brain-damaged wife?

That's what is on my mind at the moment. I'll write about national topics with a local reference. Local topics with a national reference. All the while remembering, as someone once said, "all politics is local." --Newsstand Greg Sphere: Related Content