Propositions for CA elections – my vote

Proposition 19 - Yes -– The legalization of Marijuana. Marijuana essentially is legal in California anyway. The terminator just lowered the penalty for an ounce of marijuana to a mere 100 dollar fine. I have never been under the belief that pot will increase in usage or lead to other harder drugs. It will however lower incarcerations, and put competitive pressures on the Mexican cartels. It will be taxed and regulated, and therefore bring in money to the depleted tax coffers.

Proposition 20 -Yes - Redistricting of congressional districts, initiative constitutional amendment – When I look at some of these propositions, I look at who is against or for them. The Sierra Club is against it. That is enough for me to vote for it. Proposition 20 allows independent citizens to draw California redistricting lines instead of the politicians. Allowing the politicians to draw the lines allows entrenched politicians to remain in power. As Dr. Phil would say, "How is it working for you so far?" FAQs http://www.yes20no27.org/facts_yes20_QA.html

Proposition 21 - No – Establishes $18 Annual Vehicle License Surcharge to Help Fund State Parks and Wildlife Programs, Grants surcharged vehicles free admission to all state parks, Initiative Statute – You have got to love it, another tax on our vehicles in the guise of funding state parks. While State parks are important, why do you charge everyone a vehicle surcharge even if some may not use the parks. State parks should charge vehicles an entrance fee when they use the park. Not everyone should have to pay a vehicle fee, because not everyone uses the parks.

Proposition 22 –yes - Prohibits the state from borrowing or taking funds used for transportation, redevelopment, or local government projects and services. Initiative constitution amendment. This initiative is just common sense. If funds are dedicated for a specific purpose, that is where it should go. This initiative prevents the state from raiding certain funds into the general fund - similar to a "let's rob Peter to pay Paul."

Proposition 23 – yes - Suspends implementation of Air Pollution control law (AB 32) requiring major sources of emissions to report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, until employment drops to 5.5% or less for full year. Initiative Statute. I agree with Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina when they say the passage of AB32 will cause companies to leave California for more a more amicable business environment, and it will cost jobs. Brown is against suspending prop AB 32 – Why not? He was the one responsible for starting CARB, the California Air Resource Board which operates with impunity and no oversight. It has cost jobs, and responsible for the MTBE fiasco. California operates like a fiefdom which is part of the reason we are dropping into the abyss. We enact green policies that make it more difficult to operate in the once golden state, so businesses look elsewhere for greener pastures – not in California. Prop 23 suspends the implementation of AB32. The only problem is prop 23 did not go far enough, AB 32 should be repealed. At least, this is a start.

Proposition 24 – no – Repeals recent legislation that would allow businesses to lower their tax liability. Initiative Statute. You have to love the explanation on the ballot. It says it will increase tax revenues. Tax increases in this economy will cost jobs and cause companies to further emigrate to other states. Not sure how that will raise tax revenues. California is the highest taxed state in the union apart from New York. How has it worked for us so far? The California Teacher's association loves it hmmm.

Proposition 25 – no – Changes legislative vote requirement to pass budget and budget related legislation from two-thirds to a simple majority. Retains two-thirds vote requirement for taxes. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. Why would I want to make it easier for the legislature to increase taxes? I think not.

Proposition 26 – yes – Requires that certain state and local fees be approved by two-thirds vote. Fees include those that address adverse impacts on society or the environment caused by the fee-payer's business. – Currently, the legislature can pass fees instead of taxes (they just call them fees) by a simple majority. This will stop that. I am for anything that prevents this legislature taking us further into the abyss, and this is one step.

Proposition 27 – no – Eliminates State commission on redistricting. Consolidates Authority for redistricting with elected representatives. You might wonder why this proposition is backed by incumbents like Barbara Boxer because it keeps them in power. Need I say more. Here is a good article on why. http://www.theunion.com/article/20101006/OPINION/101009874

Alameda County Propositions

Proposition F –no - – Alameda County Transportation Improvement Measure – adds a $10 local registration fee to vehicles. Soon our vehicle registration fees will be as high as our property tax (hyperbole) suppose to raise money to repair and maintain local streets – hey what happened to the stimulus money?

Proposition G –no – Ohlone college Job training / Quality Education Fund $349,000 bond to improve and continue affordable college education. – okay who is paying for the bond again?

City of Newark –

Proposition U – yes – establishes a 3.5% utility tax user tax for five years. I thought long and hard about this one. Had to recently go to the city council to prevent closure of Newark's parks. Newark is in dire straits, and it cannot afford to get rid of the police at Newark's schools. It also says it will close the Silliman Center (a recreation place in Newark.) The Silliman center has only been open for about five years, and now they want to close it. Personally, I can care less. It is cheaper for me to go to 24 hour fitness than to use the facilities at the Silliman center and for inferior equipment. They charge an arm and a leg. They have a youth program that my children never went to. So, in a word, they can close it for all I care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elections have consequences – now what? The ramifications of Health Care Reform

I haven't blogged for awhile, but last night's death knell to freedom prompted me to write this new blog entry.

Much of my wife's family came to the United States as political refugees escaping the corruption, socialism and the Daniel Ortega type of liberation theology oppressive style government that was and is Nicaragua. Little did they know that just shy of 32 years would their style of government be the type of government we now embrace in the United States. We are now witnesses to the change about which Barack Obama spoke. We are seeing the disappearance of what the United States of America was to the New United States of Europe. This is not a time for celebration; this is a time for mourning. We will enter the five states of grief Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance as described by Kubler Ross. But once we enter that fifth stage, we must stand up strong, regroup and begin the fight. We cannot sit on our laurels, and let the inevitable happen. We must take back our country.

 Before the election of Barack Obama, few knew who Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi were. But, those of us who were paying attention knew very well who they were. We knew that this country would effectively be run by three people, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and the newly elected Barack Obama - But what happened after Scott Brown won the election in Massachusetts. We thought the health care bill was dead, but not Nancy. On January 28th, Nancy said the following, "We will go through the gate. If the gate is closed, we will go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we will pole vault in. If that doesn't work, we will parachute in. But we are going to get health care reform passed for the American people for their own personal health and economic security and for the important role that it will play in reducing the deficit." She did not waver; she continued the fight. We need to learn from her example; we can take this country back.

 Make no mistake; this is the legacy President Bush left us. When Republicans lose their way, conservatism fails. When conservatism fails and becomes indistinguishable from liberalism, voters see no reason to keep the party in power. But, even after the election of Scott Brown, I sometimes wondered if Republicans were really getting it. Some did but some did not.

If this reform stands, what will happen? First the insurance industry will collapse. Insurance companies will not be able to make a profit given the new federal mandates. We will see larger insurance companies merge with the smaller companies, but that will not be sufficient. The entire insurance industry will be obliterated. Once the insurance industry is gone, Barack Obama will blame the insurance industry for its demise, and then say we needed a public option from the start, and the only way to pay for it is through more taxes. One tax which they are already looking at is a European style VAT (value added tax). The VAT is added to every part of the production cycle of a product thereby substantially increasing the price of consumer goods. This will have the added effect of lowering productivity. Companies will also look for other countries where it is cheaper to do business.

 Of course, the immediate effect will be to increase the unemployment numbers, because thousands of new people will become unemployed. The AP reported the following:

Caterpillar Inc. said the health-care overhaul legislation being considered by the U.S. House would increase the company's health-care costs by more than $100 million in the first year alone.

In a letter Thursday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio, Caterpillar urged lawmakers to vote against the plan "because of the substantial cost burdens it would place on our shareholders, employees and retirees."
Caterpillar, the world's largest construction machinery manufacturer by sales, said it's particularly opposed to provisions in the bill that would expand Medicare taxes and mandate insurance coverage. The legislation would require nearly all companies to provide health insurance for their employees or face large fines.
The Peoria-based company said these provisions would increase its insurance costs by at least 20 percent, or more than $100 million, just in the first year of the health-care overhaul program.

This is only the beginning. Companies will begin to layoff because of increased costs. Investor's Business Daily listed 20 ways Health Care Reform will take away our freedoms. I believe there will also be a backlash against Mexicans. Barack Obama lied when he said, "Illegal Immigrants would not be covered under this health care reform." Barack Obama was a constitutional law professor. Constitutional attorney Judge Napolitano says this about covering illegal aliens, "There is no question that under the present law, Congress simply cannot pick and choose which "persons" to whom it will afford social benefits and to which "persons" it will not. How could the president not have known that?" When everyone's premiums begin to go up, the quality of care begins to go down, and taxes begin to increase, Americans will look for a scapegoat. Mexicans will be the scapegoat, because people will see that they are paying for healthcare for illegal immigrants. This is currently happening in France with the Muslim population. In 2006, the average unemployment rate among Muslims in France was 21%. The Muslim situation became so bad, that the French went to the polls and voted in a center right politician Nicolas Sarkozy. He campaigned in part to deal with the Muslim problem. I have a couple of friends in France, and both have told me that the average Frenchman is tired of the Muslims coming to France, using the social services and not contributing to society. Mexicans come to the United States to work hard for their families, and to earn a living they cannot earn in their own country. But, the fact remains that they will be covered under this so-called health care reform. The idea that illegal aliens are covered will not matter until the health care Americans receive goes down and until taxes begin to rise (which will be sooner rather than later). Americans will then look for someone to blame, and illegal immigrants will be the likely culprits.

 This is nothing less than a loss of liberty. The left believes they have won another big one towards complete government control over our personal freedom. Whenever you ask a liberal how we are going to pay for this, they always revert to the Iraq war somehow thinking that it is analogous to what Barack Obama is doing. It reminds me of a certain friend. The wife is the sole breadwinner. Her husband has not been able to find a job. They have five kids, rent and a car payment. The wife impulsively decides to buy another 33,000 dollar car. She doesn't make a lot of money, but for some reason, she buys a car knowing she cannot afford it. But, it doesn't seem to be a problem. It is like the bumper sticker that says, "How can I be overdrawn, I still have checks." This is the liberal mindset, and this is the way our government continues to operate.

 I fail to understand how any Christian who believes in the sanctity of life could ever have voted for the most radical abortion president this country has known. Stupak can no longer say he is pro-life. Phyllis Schlafly put it succinctly when she said in response to Stupak's "yes" vote,  "It is naive for any elected official, especially one who describes himself as 'pro-life,' to expect that a promise to issue an Executive Order that reasserts the intentions of the Hyde Amendment will be fulfilled by the most pro-abortion president to ever sit in the White House. Perhaps Mr. Stupak and his fellow pro-life Democrats forget that President Obama's first Executive Order was the repeal of the Mexico City Policy to allow for international funding of abortion." Trust Obama on the sanctity of life? – I think not.

 I was reminded of the fact that God continues to be in control. When it appears God has abandoned us, that is when He is doing His work, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 We must not be disheartened. This may be what is required to purify the party. This has to happen. This is a fight between good and evil, and we will eventually win. We have to persevere, but we must not rest on our laurels.

 If you are a conservative and value your freedom, get involved. Facebook is a great medium. Those who are most impressionable and who have not yet been brainwashed are the youth. We have to teach the youth. They do not remember the Carter years or the Reagan years. We must teach them. Make an impact on anyone who will listen. If you have determined the person will not listen and is wrapped up in leftwing ideology, move on. And, if you know how to communicate conservative principles, think about running for office. If you speak Spanish, get involved with the Spanish community, because there are currently no media outlets that reach the Hispanic community on conservative principles, and most of all if a person refuses to stand up for life, then go to the next person, because a person who refuses to stand up for life will not stand up for what is right. That is the way we effect change.