In Fornicalia, every proposition on our ballot went down in engulfing flames. Not just little but Bigly and Ugly. At first blush, our electorate took their collective right fist and rammed it into Governor Arnold Schwarzennegger’s stomach. For someone who knows how to punch and fight, Arnold exhibited little if any will to put up his dukes, much less unleash his own barrage of counter-blows.
Common sense got beaten down by a barrage of repetitive, misleading ads that were occasionally outright lies. The campaign against Gov. Arnold was absolutely effective and, as such, Fornicalians sent a remarkably conflicting message to the rest of the country, and that would be: yes, we hated Gray Davis and voted him out, voting Arnold in under the guise of regime change trumpeting our need to turn government “back to the people” and remove the influence of “special interests.” Then we said we liked things just as they were via this election. Huh?
Except, of course, that “our own” oxen were subject to becoming gored and special interests once again stomped on clearheaded ideas. As I’ve always indicated, never let rationality, common sense, proportion and logic get in the way of a good screwed-up decision process. Hence, the ill-educated Fornicalia electorate spoke; and what they said is:
- We can’t be bothered to actually read the propositions;
- We are confused when more than a couple propositions are on the ballot;
- When we hear lies repeated more than twice, we believe them;
- When things are the least bit confusing or we as voters are the least bit fatigued, it’s easiest to simply vote no;
So here’s what we believe in Fornicalia:
- Parents have no right to be notified before abortions can be performed on girls under 18;
- Teacher tenure will continue to be 2 instead of 5 years;
- Any Fornicalia union can continue to use members’ dues for any political purpose against the wish of the individual member, who has no say;
- There are no spending limits for the State of Fornicalia; we may continue to spend more than we receive in taxes from the taxpayers;
- We like our gerrymandered districts in Fornicalia; it keeps those currently in power and gosh, why should we brook those pesky incumbents?
- There should be no discount prescription drug program for the state (fine by me);
- There should be no incentives paid by the state to prescription drug companies (fine by me);
- We will not re-regulate our energy market (fine by me).
In San Francisco (you’ll really appreciate this!), voters decided to ban handguns and oppose the presence of military recruiters in city schools. City of San Francisco residents passed their Proposition H, which requires city residents who already own guns to turn them in to police by April 1, 2006, and makes it illegal to buy, sell, distribute and manufacture firearms and ammunition in the city.
One out of 8 US citizens currently live in Fornicalia, the 6th largest economy in the entire world, not just our nation. Sturdy American stock of all ethnicities settled in Fornicalia originally because it offered the dawn of a new tomorrow, there was promise of an unfettered future where people could make their fortunes with hard work, minimal if any regulation, new hopes and adventures.
But here’s the rub: according to the New York Times, in 2004 half a million people left Fornicalia for other parts of the United States, while fewer than 400,000 Americans moved into the state. The net outflow has risen fivefold, to more than 100,000, since 2001, an analysis by Economy.com, a research company, shows — except that immigration from other countries and births have kept the state’s population growing.
In the San Francisco, Fornicalia area, more people are leaving than arriving. Housing prices are beyond horrendous and this has the the literal driving force behind the trend. Most people move to adjoining states like Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Arizona, but the trending also indicates more folks moving to the Southeast and Midwest.
Whereas financial issues weigh heavily upon the minds of those leaving Fornicalia, I submit that an even greater emerging issue will be social and political philosophies.
To all this I say: Fornicalians will in fact reap what they sow; this is the Dawn of a New Tomorrow, taxpayers will foot the ultimate price, and we get what we deserve.
To the rest of you in other states: beware. What happens in Fornicalia first happens elsewhere later. So guess what? Here come our “state-d” thoughts, beliefs and trends!
Are ya ready?
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An afterthought: Arnold Schwarzennegger really is a fighter at heart. He’s been a huge competitor and this has translated to his being a clever and productive businessman. Arnold has taken a big hit; he may be down but don’t count him out.
The R’s lost because they insisted on an expensive, unnecessary election and that pissed off a lot of people. You can’t get people to vote with you when you insult them.
Very well said. I thought I had heard that at least the parent notification had passed. I am bummed for you guys. I also am bummed for Arnold because I think he seems to be doing such a good job. I was listening to Rush today and he said Arnold did as good as he could against the unions. But I agree with you not to count him out.
Did you hear about the topless protesters? Unbelievable!!
II: expensive, relatively. The state spends that on toilet paper annually. Unnecessary? Not at all. The sooner you put a cap on spending in re P-76, the more money you save. Gov. Arnold was elected with a clear and obvious mandate from the people — and the people left him in the cold.
And if you mean “insulting” people when you have the temerity to refuse to cater to their never-ending hunger for more cash and bennies — well, yeah, you’re right. He insulted them.
People gave the Austrian Oak lip service until they realized: “Holy crap, he means ME!”
Yep. He meant me and you. I’m a union member, my friend, and I voted for P-75.
Great post. That’s what happens with governments gone whacko, the good people all live for greener pastures and you are left with the whacky and unproductive, along with others that decicided to stay. Thus, liberalism continues to go out of control until it gets so bad, the bad guys are finally kicked out, which is what happenned to Gray out Davis.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t gotten bad enough in Fornicalia for that to happen.
Complain about Fornicalia all you want Eddie. It’s the 5th largest economy in the world notwithstanding its problems. When Illinois or Arkansas can claim that title, you have something to say. Otherwise, CA is still, by far, the best state in this country. We have defense, agriculture, high tech, bio tech, etc. We’re obviously doing something right.
BloZep – there is a base on both sides of the spectrum and there are always the middle, who are issues, not party line, voters. It is the middle who do not like being spoken to as if they are idiots. They are the people who expect their elected officials to act more dignified than calling people “Girly Men” and they are the people who make or break elections. They are the people not to insult.
My parents are life-long Republicans and they voted against all of Arnold’s propositions because they are turned off by his mean-spiritedness. You can insult the left all you like, but it is his arrogance and that of the party that is eating away at its own base. I used to be a Republican and left the party for the same reason.
Well gosh, first, II: “Girly men?” That’s the Oak’s persona. You knew what it was when you voted for it. The word itself, “insulting,” and its application to your point — I’m still out in left field on that one — insulting in terms of what? Telling the truth? Telling the people what they don’t want to hear? If that’s the point, well, yeah, I guess he is insulting.
But let’s go over the basics: yeah, given, II, the state is currently doing better than under GD. But it USED to be the center of everything, used to have only THE finest schools, freeways, vast miles of verdant, agricultural lands, abundant energy, resources.
Part of my job entails running to the Bay Area, and then to San Diego and LA up and down I-5. I’m watching our agricultural lands disappear — a past part of our very GREATEST strength as we were breadbasket to the nation. I watch the Colton yard, LA, Long Beach, Sacramento, Roseville, Sparks, NV, railroad yards and their connecting lines bereft of reefer cars carrying produce and perishables OUT of this state.
I’m watching our freeways chunk up into asphalt bits. I’m watching our concrete overpasses crack and flake. I’ve endured power outages. Boutique gas. The price of crude diesel #2 actually exceed that of regularly-cracked gasoline. I’ve watched Union Pacific and BNSF raise their bulk shipping rates despite the fact they store literally millions of gallons of diesel on their property. We haven’t built ANY power generation stations and yet we refuse to vet who enters this state.
We have NO infrastructure nor the apparent will to do much about it. In my opinion, Fornicalians will have to suck up to a BIGGER cup of “mean spirited” if we’re to survive. Fornicalia is SO big it’s running on momentum — so good so far.
Know what? I’d love a 5% pay raise. I’d love free health care. I’m a union guy — that’s my job, to want MORE. My county exective got a 40% pay raise and a $14,000 teak desk. He ain’t no private corporation CEO; he’s a friggin’ government toady. That’s apparently his job too: to want more.
It’s a matter of basics, II: more going out of the coffers than coming in? Bad. Me and others like me always wanting more and free and more and free? Bad. No power? Bad. No infrastructure? Bad. Sacramento County bled 1,500 students this year; 1,500 students last year. We’re closing two MORE schools. But hey — teachers got a better package.
So, II, Arnold is mean-spirited. I guess you could stretch it and say if someone draws a line, that’s MS. I don’t think I’m insulting, BTW. I think I’m just telling it, and ME, how it is and what I’d better get used to.
Here’s more of what we all better get used to: legacy costs and their destructive forces. GM and Ford are about to tank. The two biggest, most certain prototypes of an international industry are going down, and those UAW costs are killing them.
Yep. I still want MY cut. I want free and more. ‘Cause hey, it’s not my money, is it?
I’ll clue ya in: it’s always my money.
BZ,
Great retort. Hey, II, one of the great luxuries of living in America is we get to meet people who moved OUT of CA for the reasons that Zeppelin stated. Hey, I am not complaining, my brother lives in Vegas and he does very well because that economy is booming due to CA’s wealthy rejects and entrepeneurs.
The fact is, CA businesses are leaving for greener pastures, and it consistenly has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. The statistics tell a different story than what you try to pass of as truth. Hey, I am no hater of Cali, in fact I loved my trip there. Yet I don’t have to live there, that is the difference.
Cali is the past, Florida is the future.
Eddie, I fear you may be right.
BloZep – all the problems you cite are attributable to what? I assume you are going to tell me that everything wrong with CA has to do with “liberals”, but you can’t keep blaming everything on liberals. R’s have had the governorship of this state for a very long time.
You’ve seen agricultural lands disappear as have I. Please tell me to whom? Valencia (N. of Los Angeles) used to be agricultural lands, but was handed over to developers to build to their heart’s content. It is an eye-sore now and I doubt the environmentalists pushed for that. Oxnard and Ventura have lost agricultural lands to real estate developers. Did the Republicans object to that? I used to live in Playa Del Rey that HAD wetlands close to the ocean. The “liberals” fought tooth and nail to preserve the area, but lost to the Playa Vista developers. Did the “conservatives” fight to preserve the land?
I don’t understand your complaint. I thought all you Republicans believed in unrestricted development.
Outsourcing is taking a heavy hit on the entire country, but that is capitalism at its finest. The problem is that no one wants to adapt to that reality. We couldn’t have Wal-Mart and Target without outsourcing. Ford and GW are going to tank because they put their eggs in the SUV basket, which has been a disaster since the gas prices went up. And, if they haven’t moved their operations to China to save on labor costs, it is their own fault. Bad management will sink a big corporation quicker than any union will. I work in the entertainment industry, union capital of CA, and they manage to do just fine.
Fiscal responsibility is such a wonderful thing. I just wonder why you don’t speak with such passion about GW’s credit card spending spree (indebting this country to China).
Ask your friend Ted Stevens why the taxpayers are paying for a bridge no one will use.