The Angry Buddhist

Tomorrow will be a most beautiful day if my fellow Californians follow my lead and vote to help destroy Arnold Schwartenegger's massively unjustified super ego by sending the propositions he has endorsed down in flames. And believe me, even though he'll make believe it doesn't bother him, it's going to piss him off like an old roid rage.

A vote against propositions 73, 74, 75, 76, 77 and 78 is six votes against Arnold. Half a dozen votes against putting more power in the hands of the a muscle bound inadequate thinker. And a man with questionable motives and even more dubious methods.

The election of Arnold Schwarzenegger was a giant step backward for California. His celebrity worshipping appeal brought out the worst in our election process, mixing unfocused anger with the uninformed public's desire to "stick it" to the man, to authority and to the system. Voting for a faded, low-brow, action movie star, who speaks and acts in a cartoon manner appealed to the equally faded, low-brow fans of such movies. What a great way to Punk all those bureaucrats in Sacramento who kept us from winning the lottery or driving by ourselves in the carpool lane.

The irony so clearly lost on these gene pool shallow enders is that they are exactly the kind of nameless, faceless "fans" who Arnold has never given a shit about. Arnold doesn't even see them as real people. He never has.

We're all just extras to Arnold, just background people who don't get a credit at the end of the movie, don't have any profit participation and most disdainfully of all, have zero juice to help Arnold in any way. So Arnold doesn't even see us. And if we boo, or hiss or ask a pointed question designed to embarrass Arnold he could give a flying fuck on a rolling donut. He is programmed to just laugh and smile and encourage you with a line like, "I love your passion, you're fantastic!"

Too bad that act has worn thin as the extras all across the state have found their role just as unsatisfying as the extras in Arnold's movies.

And your Angry Buddhist also says, don't buy into the scam that Arnold is a successful businessman, because he isn't. That's just image building bullshit. There is simply no real evidence of that. Buying up California real estate with movie star millions isn't anything special. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby did it over half a century ago and nobody was crazy enough back then to think either one of them should have been Governor.

How come people are so depressingly stupid today?

Part of it is the scam constantly being perpetrated on them. Like pretending that Arnold's intelligence is impossible to deny when you talk to him. That's just not true. That's just something other celebrity types foist on you to validate their own self worth.

I've talked to Arnold. I'm unimpressed with his intelligence. He sounds like a dumber than average actor if you ask me, and that's sinking pretty low with the insults, ain't it? But that's the truth as only your Angry Buddhist will reveal to you. This is a Nazi sound-alike who has never once uttered a single original, or creative thought. He has charisma - if you're unsophisticated enough to fall for it - but he doesn't have the smarts.

It's not as if Arnold ever wrote anything or ever once had an innovative solution to anything. He can barely do more than repeat cliche rote sentences that become his predictable responses to every question.

The proof is in the pudding. Given the platform and the credibility that goes with the office he blitzed his way into he has kept none of his promises to the people, tried nothing new or different, and became the new record setter in the all the categories he criticized the last guy for.

Given the bully pulpit and insane popularity numbers he chose to repeat ad infinitum, movie lines written by screenwriters that never really applied or related to the subject Arnie was supposed to be talking about. Even worse, his impossible to hide core bully boy personality has burst through like an alien through the chest of an outer space dude whenever the stress got to him. Name calling at the pathetic third grade level would be a step up for Arnie who smiled like a moron while he threw down with the "Girly men" wisdom.

A lot of people are simply impressed by an oppressively aggressive personality if it's backed up by big box office receipts in the movies, television or the music. Those people are shallow and worthy of scorn and shunning.

This time the polls say that jerks are down to about 35% statewide, but don't let that fool you. Jerks in California are at record high numbers.

So are people confused by these dumb ass initiatives on the ballot. So I'll break them down for you as only an really furiously angry Buddhist can.

But before I let her rip, stop what you're doing to pay attention to this.

It's time to give this whole initiative process the big dirt nap. They're a fucking waste of time and the whole system - like every single other aspect of politics today has been so co-opted and bitch-ified by money that we should just shit can the whole idea. We get almost exclusively big business and right wing attempts to find new ways to screw us and this year is no exception. So lets get enough signatures soon for an initiative to ban all future propositions.

But until we do, you can get several swings with the big mallet hammer like the one they use at the carnival using Movie Star Arnold's brightly dyed hairdo as your target to ring that bell and win yourself a stuffed shirt. STEP RIGHT UP!

PROPOSITION 73
Wants to force scared pregnant teenage girls who have such bad relationships with their parents that Mom and Dad have no clue they're going about to become grandparents, to notify those parents if she's going to have an abortion. If those lousy parents don't know their little girl needs to have an abortion, what place is it for the state government to tell them? Republicans always want to force themselves into a woman's uterus through the government at the state, local and federal level. But the Angry Buddhist says Republicans have fucked up everything they've gotten their hands on in the 21st century so they should just shut the hell up for a few decades.

PROPOSITION 74
Makes it harder for teachers to get tenure and makes it easier to fire teachers during their first five years teaching. What a croc of shit this one is. First the Governor screws the schools out of billions promised them then he wants to scapegoat the teachers because they've stood up to his phony acting job and haven't bought into his movie star charisma. It's hard enough to get people to teach in California's pitiful public school system at the crappy pay we give them. But of course it's more important to never have any new taxes than it is for kids to know anything more than how to use cell phones and video games.

PROPOSITION 75
Right now, if you're in a California union and you don't want any of your dues money to go to political campaigns you have to opt out. This initiative if passed would make you have to opt in. It's on the ballot because unions in California support Democrats and they don't like the Governor - mostly because he has tried to screw them and diminish their power every way he can. Must have been the terrible job the Screen Actors Guild did getting him a good wage and benefits as an actor. The real big money fucking up California politics comes from corporations and the friends of America's most evil and creepy cult - The Chamber of Commerce. But nobody talks about shareholders having to opt in to include it. A vote against this one is a vote for the people like firemen, cops and EMS pros who are fighting this untalented actor who keeps pretending to be a hero, but has never done anything heroic in his life.

PROPOSITION 76
This knuckleheaded initiative would let the governor declare "a fiscal emergency" and then slice and dice any program by any amount he chooses. Giving this kind of power to a low life like Arnold is the moral equivalent of giving Ted Sizemore an 8-ball of coke and the key and alarm code to Heidi's house.

If this initiative passes, governor celebrity boy could undo decisions made by voters previously. School funding, health, police and emergency rooms, among other expenditures, would be at big risk from the man who doesn't really give a shit about the health and welfare of anyone but himself.

PROPOSITION 77
This is the one where Arnold wants three retired judges to redraw all the district lines for state Senators and Assembly people. Arnold wants to do that because right now the lines were all written by the Democrats in the time honored gerrymandering manner - which means they're rigged to let the Democrats have the best chance at winning each election. That's just wrong and unfair and I'm against it -- unless it means that Republicans get any advantage or improved chance to get elected. Since Republicans are evil, untrustworthy, selfish, screw-you terrorists, they must be stopped at all costs. Even if it means giving the crooked, but less evil Democrats an unfair advantage. So screw you Republicans! The Angry Buddhist says take ALL the money out of politics. Force them to run only on a small amount of public funding and restrict the campaigning to a three month stretch. THAT's real reform.

PROPOSITION 78
This is the scam initiative bought and paid for by the pharmaceutical Mafia to keep you from voting for Proposition 79 which was put on the ballot by consumers trying to get a break on killer prescription prices. All you have to do is take a look at the who's who list of companies that have made obscene profits shoving overpriced pills down our throats to know you have to vote against it just to protect your own interests. What the drug companies are offering in 78 is an insulting pittance. Worse than that, if they wanted to offer crappy discounts that still guarantee them a fortune what the hell do they need a proposition for? They can roll out that program tomorrow.

PROPOSITION 79
This one is the one the drug companies are scared shitless of. They've been lying about it and fighting it every step of the way. It would mean they'd have to offer some decent discounts for the people who need them most financially. Your Angry Buddhist is voting YES on this one.

PROPOSITION 80
This isn't the perfect solution to the electric energy mess in California but it is a good start to fixing things. This was put on the ballot and is backed by one an activist group the Angry Buddhist greatly admires. Vote yes to piss off the power companies and improve your energy karma.

There isn't a doubt in my mind that none of what Arnold has done has come from his desire to really do some good and help California or Californians.

Out-of-control egos, and movie stars trained in the special rules that exist just for "The King" are the wrong environments for breeding smart, compassionate leaders.

Everyone has met the kind of stuck up, self-centered, attention-demanding, bullies who believe their career success makes them superior to those who haven't been as lucky or as crooked as they were. Everyone has wanted to publicly slap those kind of people down and personally humiliate them. Why? Becasue they have it coming and deserve it.

Tomorrow on election day here in California we get that chance.