News and Current Events - 2012

[garyd]

That was a lot more than I was going to say about it, Garyd, but I would add that Gray Davis did not do anything wrong or recallable, either.  Darrell Issa poured two million dollars into signature gathering needing a rather low number of them because the previous election had historically low turnout.

I might also point out that Davis received more votes NOT to be recalled than he did when he won.

He also re-implemented a car tax that angered people on top of the energy problems you cite above,
and Ahhnold promised to get rid of it, which he did, which meant 4 billion dollars lost revenue the next
few years for the state.

I might argue that we have an impotent legislature BECAUSE of Prop 13 that requires 2/3 to pass anything.  That's like saying we can only elect people with 2/3 vote.

Amd other minor quibbles.

Agree with you about the 2/3 rule but nobody trusts anybody out here so I can understand why it has been difficult to eliminate.  (It has been changed for some local revenue issues).
Agree, Davis did not really deserve to be recalled but he was also his own worst enemy.
Arnold actually had some very good ideas, very similar to what Brown is trying to do, but  Arnold simply did not have the political savvy to get it done.  Brown has the savvy but, as I already said, we are ungovernable.
We elect local and regional reps based upon poor assumptions on our part and this gets us where we are which is a mess because none of those we elect have  a clue about fiscal management, how to actually work with trade unions, and what is at stake with the health and pension plans they approve with absolutely no understanding of what they are doing. 

As an example our local Republican county organization just spent a lot of money and energy assisting a local mayor get elected to county supervisor.  She is a decent person, a so so mayor but she didn't need to be much more since we have a very good city manager government.  She is a Mormon and, of course, we don't agree with her on any of her positions regarding social issues. However, she comes across as smart and fiscally responsible, which she probably is.  Problem is, she will use this position to move on to State government where her stupid religious views will be a problem.  They could also be a problem at the supervisor level.  On the other hand, she has a good mind, knows how to read a budget, knows how pension and investment plans work, and has the ability to actually manage County staff so that fiscal irresponsible plans do not become policy. 
It is a difficult balancing act for the voter.

[doodler]

I'm in agreement with you two. It's time to stop looking for slurs in every little statement, oral or tweeted!

[Lyle (Mooska)]

I'm in agreement with you two. It's time to stop looking for slurs in every little statement, oral or tweeted!

But guess what?  That is EXACTLY what all three of you did when I asked Stan a question about his post. You, Stan & Kathy all chose to think I was calling him a racist. Why is that you were looking for a slur in what I posted you might very well ask yourselves?


So I asked you a question. What was actually on my mind was that if you possibly didn't know that I might be doing you a favor in pointing it out so that others might not think that of you. I didn't accuse you of anything. That three of you think that I was actually saying you're racist is more telling on your parts than it is mine simply because I asked a question you still have never answered. So I can only assume you now have a motive in doing so. If you don't believe what I'm saying that is on your heads, because I know what you are saying against me is not true, and so I may throw your remark of me being stunningly ignorant  right back at you, especially because you chose to do it in reply to someone else.  If what I wrote caused you offense, however unintended, I forgive you for thinking incorrectly of my intentions.

[Lyle (Mooska)]

we are ungovernable.

Heh, I'd like to look at it a bit more optimisitcally!

[huntinbuddy]

All those heroes that conservatives keep harping on--the firefighters, policeman, nurses,
etc. -- belong to these public employee unions and many of the jobs being eliminated
are those people.  Good luck if your house catches fire.  

You left an important one out that the liberal public always like to suck up to....and that is Teachers unions.  Gawd, you gotta just love them, all those billions they collect in dues.  And every bit of it goes for education of course!  

Firefighter, and police pension plans have bankrupted a number of cities in this country.  As for my house, let the damn thing burn.   It's what I pay insurance for.

[Marge_Innavera]

It's almost compulsory to refer to firefighters and police as 'heroes' even if they hold desk jobs; the hostility of conservatives toward teachers still has to be deodorized via a reference to teachers' unions.  After all, we're not quite far enough down the road to third-class nationhood to be completely open about the uses of illiteracy.

I suspect that quite a few people would be happy to watch their neighbor's house burn, as long as their own stays unscorched.

[huntinbuddy]

We wouldn't be on the road to illiteracy at all if the money collected for teachers union dues were used for education.

[Sandy]

We wouldn't be on the road to illiteracy at all if the money collected for teachers union dues were used for education.

That money comes out of teachers' pockets, not some general fund. Besides, unionized labor in this country is only 12% of the work force, or lower. We had better literacy when there were more union employees.

[huntinbuddy]

That money comes out of teachers' pockets, not some general fund. Besides, unionized labor in this country is only 12% of the work force, or lower. We had better literacy when there were more union employees.

We are still missing the point here.  What is the money being used for?

[brokebacktom]

We are still missing the point here.  What is the money being used for?

What is all Union money being used for? Or how about Corporate money what is that money being used for is another question that could be answered too.

[huntinbuddy]

What is all Union money being used for? Or how about Corporate money what is that money being used for is another question that could be answered too.

Only if it is a public corporation should that concern anyone.  Private companies can do whatever they want with their money.   Teachers, on the other hand, are public employees.

[doodler]

But guess what?  That is EXACTLY what all three of you did when I asked Stan a question about his post. You, Stan & Kathy all chose to think I was calling him a racist. Why is that you were looking for a slur in what I posted you might very well ask yourselves?


So I asked you a question. What was actually on my mind was that if you possibly didn't know that I might be doing you a favor in pointing it out so that others might not think that of you. I didn't accuse you of anything. That three of you think that I was actually saying you're racist is more telling on your parts than it is mine simply because I asked a question you still have never answered. So I can only assume you now have a motive in doing so. If you don't believe what I'm saying that is on your heads, because I know what you are saying against me is not true, and so I may throw your remark of me being stunningly ignorant  right back at you, especially because you chose to do it in reply to someone else.  If what I wrote caused you offense, however unintended, I forgive you for thinking incorrectly of my intentions.

The pot calling the kettle black? Pun intended?
Perhaps you are unaware that you have a habit of... calling people's attention to other meanings of expressions? Or maybe it is just a well intentioned attempt at education?

[doodler]

We wouldn't be on the road to illiteracy at all if the money collected for teachers union dues were used for education.

Union dues... regardless of the union... are for running the union and promoting the interests and welfare of its members. Do you think auto workers' union dues should go toward designing a more fuel efficient vehicle?

Only if it is a public corporation should that concern anyone.  Private companies can do whatever they want with their money.   Teachers, on the other hand, are public employees.

That has nothing to do with their union. Firefighters, cops, garbage collectors, transit workers, school crossing guards are all public employees too.  Why single out just the teachers?

[janjo]

As it used to say on car stickers here in the UK, "If you can read this, thank a teacher."

[fritzkep]

An extension of which I saw once in Nebraska, "...if it's in English, thank a soldier." Only, "soldier" was misspelled as "solder".