California Budget Gridlock: When are the people going to rise up?

The mess California finds itself in is every Californian's concern. And the answer to get out of this $14 Billion deficit requires regular people to get involved in ways we haven't ever before. In California and only 1 or 2 other States, it requires a 2/3 vote to approve the State budget. That is 67% of the elected officials voting in favor of the budget. We have been without a budget for many, many months and we now risk being bankrupt as a State. The legislature is within 3 votes needed to pass the budget, but Republicans, on ideological grounds, are opposing it. Does this sound familiar?

So what can we do as citizens of the State? Well, first we could all support a budget change to a needed 50% plus one majority to pass the budget. But that law can't get passed because the Republican minority wouldn't vote for it, as their power would be gone because California is predominantly Democratic and a Progressive State.

One thing not explored is what powers Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger really has to end this crisis. He has called a State of Emergency and the Legislature is meeting to try to resolve the problem but no one is budging on their positions and the stalemate continues. Reporters this morning are saying that small groups of non-government people are working behind the scenes to come up with some solutions. This is very good news if true.

But one thing that needs consideration is some local pressure from citizens in the communities where the 3 Republican votes are needed, and those vested interests need to abandon their ideological views for more pragmatic ones. Many people will lose their jobs and people need to care about all Californians plight with this budget mess. I for one, would be willing to pay more California taxes, as most Californians also would. For those Republicans who are tired of paying California taxes, leave the State and go find another home where you can have such a beautiful place to live but don't have to pay taxes. It's called Nevada! But no one really lives there.

Where did the first SubPrime loan originate? President Bush!

That's right, when President Bush was an Oilman and was driving his Oil Company into bankruptcy, he was bailed out with the first Sub Prime loan. The banker? The Saudi Royal family who never expected to really get the loan paid back, but wanted the Bush family to "owe them", which they collected on handsomely. Back then Oil was only $19 barrel or cheaper. Saudi Arabia was and is the largest Oil producer in the world with their vast reserves. So think about this a moment, they have something worth $19/barrell safe in the ground. The have maybe several Trillion barrels. They see then VP Bush, George W's father, going to become President after President Reagan leaves office. They see the Soviet Union disintegrating. And they make a very small bet on the Bush family.

This President, George Walker Bush, went bankrupt, bankrupt our country, started a war and overthrew Saddam Hussein, caused more turmoil in the Middle East and has rattled the saber against Iran, coincidently Saudi's enemy, but has repaid his debt to his "Godfather!"

Oil now is just pennies away from $100/barrel.

The Middle East: End of, what will be called, a relatively peaceful era.

When historians look back at the last 40 years, they will write that it was the peaceful times before chaos ensued. This chaos was prompted by the ineptness of the United States to forge diplomatic efforts in the search for peace. It will be said, that while there was turmoil in the intervening years, it was nothing compared to the chaos that took place afterwards. And historians will heap much of the blame on President Bush and his Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. It will be written that they abandoned the search for a 2 State solution for the Palestinians and Israel, following a Laissez-fare approach to foreign policy. The current inept government of Israel is also to blame. Neither searching for peace on their own as a priority, they showed their weakness with Hezbollah in Lebanon and they stayed in Lebanon too long. this has emboldened the warriors around them to pursue conflict. Israel and the United States wanted elections in the Palestinian territory and so they went forth and Hamas, the strong militant faction aligned with Hezbollah, gained ground. Hamas now flexes its muscle on Fattah and everyone loses, especially the innocent.

President Bush's legacy will be a continuum from his personal life. He is known for driving his Oil business into bankruptcy. Now as leader of the free world, he has bankrupt the country, bankrupt our good will around the world, bankrupt the Middle East peace process, started a war in Iraq which is bankrupting the people of Iraq who he said he wanted to give democracy to, bankrupt the support we had after 9/11, bankrupt our military to the point where it is beyond broken, bankrupt our border security so that we have 12-20 million illegal immigrants that we didn't have before he came into office and he has bankrupt any support for the Republican party for a long time.

I can't wait for what the future will bring - NOT!

President Bush repeats his own history, this time, in Iraq

I have been searching for an analogy for this President's decision-making prowess from a historical perspective. I have looked at other Presidents and their folly. But it was only when I examined this President's historical background did I find a reason for his current thinking and repeated mistaken actions with respect to Iraq. It happens he used the same thinking process when he was in the Oil business when he continually poured good money after bad until his company went bankrupt. Does this sound familiar? It should because his strategy for Iraq is throwing away more human lives after others until he has bankrupt our Human Treasure, our young men and women serving our country in the Military. We have all heard from the military experts themselves that the Military is almost broken. This President wants to ensure this job is the one successful one he can do before leaving office.

We have little to do but what is called for in this situation: initiating proceedings to impeach both the President and the Vice President. You can read previous postings such as
HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS to get a list of reasons why we should. But this latest decision should seal their fate alone.