In March of 2007 I wrote an article about how easy it was to manipulate the voting public. Back then there was a ballot initiative to put a tax on oil produced in California. Miraculously the price of gas at the pump dropped dramatically before the election, million dollar ads were pumped out against the proposition, and the oil tax was defeated. Not long after the proposition was defeated, the price of gas jumped back up again.

Now it is 2009 and California is facing a long running budget crisis. The legislature refuses to cut back on the bloated government bureaucracy and the Democrats do not have enough votes to raise taxes. So once again, the state government as abrogated their responsibility by issueing several state propositions to solve the budget impasse. Now it is not surprising that the California public, faced with a recession. the loss of their homes, loss of jobs, and shrinking wages, are really not too thrilled with the governments plan to protect their golden egg. Most polls show that the propositions are going to go down in defeat. This has triggered a massive campaign to persuade Californians to give more of their money to the government. Governor Schwarzenegger has been going around the state warning voters that if we do not approve this bloated plan that we will lose teachers and fire fighters due to the budget cuts. And the state employee unions who are the real power in state government have been spending millions of dollars on scare tactics that are mimicking the same threat. If you don't vote yes, then teachers and fire fighters will lose their jobs!

Hmmm...teachers and fire fighters will lose their jobs. These ads don't warn against the loss of any jobs in the other thousand or more state agencies. Only the ones that are most important to the voters. But I have digressed, and need to get to my point. We are days away from the special election, and have been subjected to several threats of losing fire fighters if the propositions are not passed. Then all of a sudden, a huge fire breaks out in Santa Barbara. Wow! What a coincidence. Boy, I am sure glad we had all those fire fighters available to put out that huge fire. What would we have done if they lost their job? Maybe we need to vote yes so the fire fighters will not lose their jobs.

Now I don't want to sound like I am disparaging the hard work of fire fighters, but doesn't this seem to be a little suspicious? Just before we go to vote a big fire breaks out to remind us how much we need fire fighters. Is it a coincidence that the fire broke out in a conservative dominated county where people are less inclined to vote for the propositions? Why can't the government, do their job and eliminated out dated, unneeded, and waste full government programs? Everyone knows that there is plenty of waste in government, and that the budget could be balanced without sacrificing needed services. But the government will not do that. Like an addict, they cannot control themselves. I hate to say this, but I would not put it past the state government or the state employee unions, to stage a fire in order to convince voters that we must vote for this bloated government. I think the fire in Santa Barbara should be investigated as arson, unless proven other wise.

And I definitely think that we need to vote no on propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E. The Governor Schwarzenegger and the State Legislature need to do their jobs and fix the problem that they created.

- Thomas Paine 2

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