"That's Why Teachers, Firefighters, Police and Organ-Grinders All Support..."

"Youse gotta vote for Proposition X-for the children"

Is the above guy a cop, firefighter, teacher-or just a union thug?


Here in California, in addition to the madness of the presidential election, we are treated to our local and state elections as well as a plethora of ballot measures, most of which have been put up by our local governments to pass more bond measures.

It's enough to drive you crazy. Talk about insulting the intelligence of the voters...well, on second thought.

Most of California's ballot measures are requests for the voters to authorize new taxes to pay for...saving the state. If you take the ads seriously, you would conclude your choice is between destroying the state and ...destroying the state. You wouldn't believe the arguments we are subjected to; eliminating our dependence on foreign oil, saving the environment, protecting our children-all if we pass one more bond measure or increase one more tax.

Then there are those "endorsements". How many times have you heard that police, firefighters and teachers ALL support this or that? Am I exaggerating? Check this one out.

There is some guy named Mark Ridley Thomas who is running for LA County Supervisor. Anyway, his ad starts off by talking about the people who work 24-7 to serve and protect us-our teachers, firefighters and police. Guess what-they "ALL support Mark Ridley Thomas for LA County Supervisor".

As we used to say in high school,every last swingin' you know what.

Translation: Their unions are endorsing Mark Ridley Thomas.

Then there is CAIR attorney, Todd Gallinger, who is running for Irvine City Council and has put this up on his campaign website:

OC FIREFIGHTERS ENDORSE TODD GALLINGER

"We are very honored and pleased to announce that Todd's candidacy for Irvine City Council has been endorsed by the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association - local 3631. These are the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day to keep us all safe, and now they are in our corner!"

At least he mentioned the union-that is really in his corner.

But it gets worse.

Proposition 8 is a ballot measure that would make it law in California that marriage is between a man and a woman. A similar measure was passed by voters a few years back only to be overturned by the State Supreme Court. So here we go again. Now whether you agree on the gay marriage issue or not, it should give you pause that the California Teachers Union has spent one million dollars of its members dues to fight Proposition 8. Are they saying that every teacher in California is against proposition 8? Clearly, they can't because there are a lot of teachers in the state who not only support proposition 8, but have spoken out bitterly against their dues being used for political purposes that have nothing to do with education (except the debate about whether gay marriage would be promoted in the classroom)and which do not reflect their personal beliefs. Of course, none of that matters to the all-powerful Teachers Union in California. They are a liberal advocacy group very much into political issues.

All of this, of course, should serve as a monument to the fecklessness of government, whether it be at the local, state, or national level. We, as a people, should be doing everything in our power to limit government's reach into our lives and our wallets. In California that battle has been lost. Hopefully, the rest of the nation is not following close behind.