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Stafford Betty's June 11 Community Voices column, "Materialism: The creed of the scientific fundamentalist," gave support and an invitation to the domain of the paranormal while at the same time creating a quite amazing caricature of those of us who hue to the methods and canons of science. For starters: We are not all materialists, and science does not call for scientists to be materialists. We are called, while practicing science, to follow the scientific method and the evidence it produces wherever it leads. Good science requires healthy skepticism, objectivity, clearing of the mind of presuppositions and prejudice which shape an investigation, and suspension of conclusions as its starting points. It then moves to close and careful...
In the past few weeks several letters and articles have appeared in The Californian whose authors decry the lack of morality among our population. They believe that the world would be perfect if we all lived by the moral principles of the...
Stafford Betty's June 10 Community Voices article, "Materialism: The Creed of the Scientific Fundamentalist," almost literally cries out for a refutation. The word "fundamentalist" as used in the title is a form of dismissal and mildly...
The National Transportation and Safety Board recently proposed a change in acceptable blood alcohol level: The NTSB is recommending the threshold for drunken driving in the U.S. be reduced from .08 to .05 BAC, or blood alcohol content. Is...
One of the main differences between democratic and totalitarian states is seen in their relative degree of control over citizens' communications. Control requires awareness, and awareness is best maintained by surveillance, by monitoring...
Since the 1990s, the number of Bakersfield subdivisions governed by homeowners associations has skyrocketed. The Community Association Institute estimates more than one in every six Americans now lives in an association-managed community....
I appreciated reading Lois Henry's May 12 column, "Silt chokes lower Kern and the explanation is muddy," calling attention to Southern California Edison's negative impact on the lower Kern River canyon below Democrat Hot Springs. Though...
Many are quick to speculate about corruption and tyranny in our community's law enforcement agencies, but has anyone ever bothered to ask whether the problem is the community itself? Police officers I know personally have described the...
Sam Goldwyn famously said, "Don't confuse me with facts. I've already made up my mind." This quotation applies to many scientists who think their materialist doctrine is based on good science. What is a materialist? It's someone who...
More than 65 million people, or 29 percent of the U.S. population, provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend, according to the Caregiver Action Network. They are parents caring for their disabled...
The June 2 Sunday Forum article by Audrey Chavez, "Caring for Dad wasn't supposed to involve this much heartbreak," is a painful reminder of the many ways our nation's priorities have been turned upside down. Failing in elder care is only...
When it comes to confrontations between police officers and citizens, I've just about seen it all. For 31 years it was my great privilege to serve the good people of Kern County as a deputy district attorney, retiring in 2005. I graduated...
It is shameful for Rep. Kevin McCarthy to criticize the backlogs and delays in processing disability claims of veterans. In fact, this congressman is part of the problem. He pays lip service to the concerns of returning service members,...
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CSUB awards Haggard, Owens top honors (9)
He’s Dr. Merle Haggard now. The bad-boy hero of the rebel strain of music that put Bakersfield on America’s cultural map half a century ago did something Friday he hadn’t done since he was 9: He sat still in school.
Silva family files federal claim (6)
The family of David Silva announced Friday it has filed its long-expected federal civil rights claims against the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, six sheriff’s deputies and a sergeant, two California Highway Patrol officers, the county and the state alleging excessive police force killed him.
Key green light for California high-speed rail (5)
SACRAMENTO -- The California High-Speed Rail Authority won approval Thursday from a federal railroad oversight board to start construction this summer on the first leg of what would be the nation's first bullet train.
The Panama-Buena Vista Union School District Tuesday night unanimously approved a contract of employment to hire Kevin Silberberg as its new superintendent.
Local attorney arrested in shooting of his wife
A Bakersfield attorney’s rocky marriage, marked by a divorce suit and a history of loud, public arguments, reportedly erupted into violence early Wednesday morning when police say he turned a gun on his wife and fired.
Coroner's office identifies woman found dead in garage
A woman found dead in a southeast Bakersfield garage Tuesday was identified Friday as 18-year-old Mia Ramirez of Bakersfield.
Sheriff's Office makes arrest in homicide
After a search that lasted much of Tuesday afternoon, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man on suspicion of homicide in connection with the discovery of a woman’s body in a southeast Bakersfield garage.
Condemned murderer of elderly woman dies of natural causes
An inmate condemned for the fatal 2007 beating of a 90-year-old Bakersfield woman died, June 2 of natural causes, Corcoran State Prison announced Monday.