Letter From California

by paradox

11/06/05 0520.55 pst
San Jose, California

Precisely 50 hours from now I will walk down to my polling place, face a ridiculous machine that likely will not count my vote and vote No on every single initiative in the most distasteful and offensive democratic process I have ever participated in.

There is nothing of any value in any of the initiatives offered—the election itself is absurd farce of a gross incompetent who could not legislate (what a concept in the world’s oldest democracy) and therefore held an election to obviate the legislature.

Of course if the initiatives lose the real nightmare scenario is born—a governor who cannot function and has no means to initiate any action to any issue. All this fun and games happened, of course, after Arnie chucked a perfectly legitimate election, got the nomination in a rigged primary and reached ascension from a somnolent, ignorant, duplicitous, entertainment-addled populace.

The press coddled him, he lied through his teeth, the place is going down the tubes along with the cretin’s approval ratings. Yeah, we’ve seen this movie before. What a double dose of joy Democracy has delivered to the citizens of California in the last five years.

Even if every initiative held real value upon implementation I would still vote No on every single one. The initiative process has wrecked California—the revenue base and basic representation rules leave us shouldering Mississippi in the ranks of busted, skinflint, mean, and dysfunctional government, all as the result of terrible initiatives.

Glancing at the vicious hit list currently being offered (gut the unions, fuck the teachers, suppress and punish girls, rig the democracy, create Emperor Governor) one easily sees how the freaks have captured the place. To grant legitimacy to any of this incredibly mean and heartless farce is impossible. I’m never voting yes on any state initiative in my life as long as I continue to live here.

Californians, it seems, are content to dream of a future just as reality exists now. We could have a state 20 years from now with vibrant, attractive schools stuffed with new textbooks, cutting edge equipment for every student, qualified teachers, and daycare.

We could have sparkling new high speed rail networks, broadband wireless for every citizen in every square mile, clean ports, great parks for camping and recreation, and confidence from business to invest. We could also finally begin to restore and heal some of the worst environmental degradations we inflicted upon ourselves in the last century.

But with no politician brave enough to even state the revenue base is completely busted and must be fixed in the first year of the next governor’s term hope remains extremely dim. Solutions to California’s easily ameliorated problems seem totally impossible in an environment where honesty and forthrightness are rare. California isn’t a mess because we face unique geopolitical or economic issues, it’s wrecked because the character traits of honesty, compassion, and responsibility among the press, politicians and populace are comparatively low.

So we will continue to stumble along out here, a sad cripple inflicting great amounts of pain needlessly upon our citizens, building nothing for the future and stupidly lying to ourselves in the present. Reputable polling indicates only the vicious punishment to our girls has a chance of passing, but even if all of them failed it still won’t be acknowledged that, once again, we wasted another year in disgusting, rank immaturity by not fixing the revenue base. Until that gets done we’re still going backwards.

[California’s revenue base takes in too little in a regressive system. Fixing it means stating the truth and defending values, so don’t look for any progress soon.]

Perhaps, if we grow up, the generation forty years now will see the state as it should be. For the rest of us California will fade out in our short lives as a place that could have been and was, but failed on our watch. It’s the plain truth and I refuse to sugar-coat it or duck responsibility for it.