Post Election Reflection.....

First a couple of brief, unrelated thoughts that I've been considering in the wake of our most recent elections:

- I said it in 2008 - I'll say it again now. I disagree with him about most everything but I sincerely hope Obama is able to make good on his promise. If he is, we all win......based on his track record however, I'm not feeling super confident in that.

- Entering this election cycle my most sincere hope was that our Nation's media would again return to the role of informing the populace rather than attempting to shape public opinion. To actually report facts and question the Government as opposed to serving as hagiographer. I held little confidence that this would occur and it seems my pessimism was justified. The mainstream press served as a marketing department for the incumbent rather than honest journalists and we are the worse for it. (...and before your reply "B,B,B,But Fox!" save it, they're biased too and at the end of the day it's one network vs CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, NPR/CfPB).

- A note to the GOP; Obama didn't win this election, you blew it. You allowed candidates in the races and topics into the discussion that had no place being there. Look, I hate the very idea of abortion and pray for any woman that is in a position to consider it but....Roe v Wade is settled case law. Debate whether it's good case law or not until you are blue in the face but it isn't going anywhere without a constitutional amendment. Nobody has the political will, let alone the political capital to make that happen...and honestly, I'm not convinced they should if they did. Knowing this to be true, there is absolutely no point in discussing it. It isn't going to change. Ever. Ever. No, really, not ever. Discussing it as an "issue" works like a charm if your goal is to fear-monger to those in favor of it or to gin up enthusiasm in those who would like to see it abolished but it's a pointless red herring that distracts from that which actually does bear discussion.

- Further, as a conservative I feel I need to point out to the "Republicans" that the Moral Majority is neither particularly "moral" nor are they the "majority" and any candidate for office that would suggest that a pregnancy by way of rape is "Gods Will" or other such bullshit should be run out of town, and any electoral race he/she is involved in On. A. Rail.

- Washington, Deleware and Maine all now have Marriage Equality and both Colorado and Washington voted to legalize weed while California (the State most Americans think is the source of both) still has it's head up it's ass on both matters.

Speaking of California......People voted for programs and individuals who have failed miserably and done what is probably irreparable harm because those programs or individuals promised more free crap and to "stick it to the man" (despite their demonstrable inability to do either very well).

California, like the Nation as a whole does not have a revenue problem. It has a SPENDING problem. Increasing taxes without addressing spending will not solve it. We've only to look to Greece, Spain & Italy for examples of how this is going to go. We will reach a tipping point, we will get to the point where there simply is no way to keep giving away more free crap. We will have to cut back, a lot, to fix it. The response of the populace to those cuts is going to suck.

Changing tack a little bit........In 2011, 254 California companies moved some or all of their work and jobs out of state, an increase of 26 percent over 2010 and five times more than 2009. The state has roughly  the third-highest unemployment rate in the nation, hovering at over 10 percent. Just a decade ago, California was the world's fifth-largest economy, it has since dropped to ninth. This has not only resulted in less economic prosperity and opportunities for Californians, but in less revenue for state and local governments.

Chief Executive Magazine & Forbes Magazine have voted CA the worst state in the country in which to do business for respectively, 8 & 9 years running. Sacramento locked in gobs of spending when revenue was temporarily up, and has at every turn avoided cuts now that it's down. They've increased regulations that will boost family energy costs ~$2,500 by 2020 and created a massive new regulatory authority to second-guess the production decisions of every manufacturer.

The state’s S&P rating is the worst of all states, while its Moody’s credit rating is the second-worst. While our median income is the 10th-highest in the country, we also has one of the highest tax burdens on income. According to the Tax Foundation, the state also has the third-worst business tax climate in the country.

All the while, the dopes in Sacramento continue to increase regulations, pass new fees and taxes, and build up massive debt through borrowing and deferrals, putting an increasingly difficult burden on an economy trying to struggle back to life. All while other states are working hard to make their economies more competitive and in doing so, pulling business and jobs away from CA.

Our neighbors are at fault for this. They have elected Jerry Brown, Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, and Diane Feinstein and a raft of useless State Senate & Assembly hacks more than once. Villaragoisa is Mayor of LA. Gavin Newsom is Lt. Governor. Kamala Harris is AG. The LAPD will not enforce Driver License and insurance requirements against illegals and the people of LA are ok with it? SF & LA are sanctuary cities where Federal Laws regarding illegal immigration are ignored. Mayors & Sheriffs all over the state are acting in direct defiance of the Constitution regarding RKBA and in so doing exposing said municipalities to expensive lawsuits (see Second Amendment Foundation and Calguns Foundation v Sacramento County) that they will lose. We've doubled-down on the same people and policies that have brought our schools from the best in the Nation to among the worst. And on and on and on......

If there is an award for the stupidest populace as well as the worst run state we should win it. We keep sending the same feckless boobs to Sacramento, we keep voting for every stupid proposition that has "Kids, Schools, Teachers or Animals" in the title all based on the premise that "the govt should do something" and for the perennially unfulfilled promise that more govt will make things better. It isn't, it hasn't and it never will.

But all is not lost. California, warts and all, is still the best place in the country to live and still despite decades of decline at the hands of Democrats represents the greatest promise. Victor Davis Hanson explains why in this typically great and typically verbose piece for City Journal http://www.city-journal.org/2012/22_4_california.html .

I'm staying, for now, and rooting for recovery of this State but we have massive problems that need to be fixed sooner rather than later. My hope is that my neighbors come to the realization that the people and policies that have brought us to our current "state" will not and cannot be the people and policies to repair it.