I’m Mad as Hell, and I’m Not Going To Take It Anymore

OK, I’ve had it.

I’ve had it with the partisanship of politics — people unable to compromise for the good of the country… people thinking only of their party first, and the country second.

I’ve had it with people putting down solutions without proposing something better. Fine, so you don’t like Obamacare. Before you do a blanket repeal, how about proposing something that achieves the same goals in a better way. For example, if we are to get truly affordable health care, how about we standardize and control the costs of health care. If users of health care were charged the actual cost plus a reasonable profit — across all users, instead of the inflated and arbitrary costs that are done today, we would probably see a net lowering of costs. We should limit insurance companies to reasonable profit, and insist that executives thereof make no money than the doctors.

I’ve had it with how we treat the defense industry. I’ve been working in the defense industry for over 25 years. We’ve gotten so dysfunctional with our budgeting processes that it actually costs more money to make things. Companies cannot plan effectively without a long term funding plan.

I’ve had it with a government that is not serious about cybersecurity. This is true not only at the Federal level, but at the state and city level. We need to ensure there are state procedures to protect all the information collected by the state. The approaches currently taken by the state legislature are a joke; we need people knowledgeable about cybersecurity in charge.

The state needs to do something to repair its crumbling infrastructure. Our road system, which is the backbone of commerce in the state, is crumbling. Bridges and other structures are in disrepair, and it takes far too long to get anything fixed. Further, if we’re going to be spending money on transit, it needs to be on modalities that will be used, are cost effective, and that cover movement of people where they need to move.

I’ve long believed that complaining about a problem is not the way to solve a problem. Given the effects of the sequester, now is as good of a time to do something about it as any. There are cutbacks going on, and everyone is running scared. Further, my state senator just won election to the LA City Council. So, starting today, I’m going to explore running for public office for my state senate district. Anyone want to help? What’s the first step? According to the website, I either need to pay a filing fee of around $960 or collect 3,000 signatures. I also need to file some statements of intent and open a campaign account. I’ll need money. I’m horrible at rubber chicken dinners and fundraising. I wonder if I could use Kickstarter? I could offer some wonderful patronage positions as incentives.

Music: Sammy Davis, Jr. Greatest Hits (Sammy Davis Jr.): “What Kind Of Fool Am I”

 

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along The Road (on cahighways.org) as this entry by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link below; you can sign in with your LJ, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. There are currently comments on the Wordpress blog. PS: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

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And The First Thing I’ll Do as State Senator…

The first thing I’ll do as state senator is figure out how to prevent corporate cafeterias whose kitchens are closed for remodeling from putting out such a bad selection for lunch. Tomorrow, I’m bringing my lunch.

While eating my so-called lunch of a chicken salad wrap (I consider tortillas kosher l’pesach, as they aren’t risen), I was reading about the kerfluffle about Google changing their logo yesterday to honor Cesar Chavez, a leader who didn’t rise from the dead, instead of Jesus, who apparently did. Of course, I see it differently. In my eyes, Google changed their logo to honor Chavez on Cesar Chavez Day, a legal holiday in California, where Google is headquartered. I’ll note that if Google hadn’t changed their logo at all yesterday, no one would have been upset. It is only because they chose to change it, and didn’t change it to honor Jesus, that a number of self-righteous Christians have gotten upset.

Google is a private company. They can choose to honor whomever they want to honor. If people don’t like it, they can take their business elsewhere, although Google makes that extremely sticky. They could take their business to Microsoft, which honored the religious nature of Easter by putting up pictures of… eggs. Oh, right, eggs were a pagan custom, not mentioned in the Bible. Just like Christmas trees.

Personally, as someone who is not Christian, I’m glad that Google kept their doodle non-sectarian (just as the state should). For those that choose to worship Jesus, there’s a place to do that. It’s not on the Internet and it is not in Government offices or schools. It is in your local Church. There you have the experts on his teachings, in a house where he resides, free of the influence of the marketplace and the government.

Easter is not made by a Google doodle. Easter is made by an individual’s faith. So please stop picking on a successful California business that recognizes the wide variety of people that make up this great state.

Religions often preach that we should turn the other cheek, that we should not let perceived insults get under our skin. They preach that we should love one another. But far too often, these are words not practice. If it is our religion to which we perceive an insult, we go to war. We are willing to love, as long as it is those like us. Don’t believe me? Those who are often the most vocal about theocracies in the Middle East are often equally vocal about how this should be a Christian nation, and who get offended and go on the virtual warpath when a corporate doodle honors a non-sectarian leader. To my religious friends I say: If you want your religion to be a beacon to the world, then you have to live your life to be that beacon. The Christian faith, as I understand it, is more than eggs and trees, and family dinners. It is words and deeds and doing good in the community — doing good for the poor, needy, and downtrodden. It is those good deeds (what in Judiasm is called Tikkun Olam – repairing the world) that government can do.

At least those are my thoughts. Remember to vote for me for your state senator, and help to contribute to my campaign as soon as I get the Kickstarter site set up. Plum patronage positions will be available.

 

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along The Road (on cahighways.org) as this entry by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link below; you can sign in with your LJ, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. There are currently comments on the Wordpress blog. PS: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

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