by Jack Lee
There are a couple of things on the republican slate I will not endorse. I will be voting YES on Prop 2 for the ethical treatment of farm animals. This issue was not just invented out of thin air, there were darn good reasons why so many people were moved to sponsor it. They saw the evidence. Now they are asking you to cast your vote based on your character and not your wallet. Even if you think farm animals don’t know they are being abused, that they don’t know the difference (which is unlikely), we know the difference..
People who support the NO vote say it will cost too much. I say that is a false argument, I know what it costs to raise animals right, and it’s not that much more. The big commercial producers should have addressed this problem long ago before they started cramming chickens into cages too small to move in, but they didn’t and now it’s up to us as an ethical society. We’re a better people than to tolerate animal torture, like they do in China and many parts of Asia. In China they raise dogs in small cages and club them to death for the meat and fur. What we do here to some farm animals isn’t much different….in some ways its worse. “Two weeks ago, video from an undercover investigation at Norco Ranch, owned by Missouri-based Moark, was released to the public showing pitiful images of animals abused at a California factory farm. The undercover investigator not only recorded images of four to six birds crammed into small cages and unable to extend their wings, but also dead birds in cages, birds with legs or other body parts caught in the wire caging, and the animals living in absolute filth and squalor…”
Democracy and human rights is not and should not be, our only government export. The ethical treatment of our farm animals matters, it’s just another measure of our good character on display for the world.
Next, I also like the idea of a high speed train to SoCal. The Reps oppose because they say it’s too costly, but I think we’ve lost that pioneer spirit that built the first Continental railroad! It united a young America. Let’s do it again, let’s show them our spirt and our vision, for our current and future generations!
I really like the concept and I think a high speed rail is a first rate ride into the future for California. Imagine a train going 200 mph for hundreds of miles! It will be a fantastic tourist attraction and a cost effective way to connect people and commerce in this long state.
The timing for this project could be better, but it will never be exactly the right time, kind of like the Auburn Dam we’ve been waiting on for the last 30 years. There are times when you just have to be brave and say lets do it, recession or not, it’s right for California and America. (We also need the jobs and money to spent here!)
The railroad bonds ($9.95 billion) will get us a good start. I think the costs, as they are currently planned are probably too high, 800-miles for about $50 billion, some say it will be closer to $60 billion, but I would rather spend that money here than in some 3rd word country, wouldn’t you? I think if we had the will to really do it right, that means we let the free market bid it, and we keep government and “fair wage” laws out of it, we could do this project for far less than current projections.(Did I mention, we desperately need the jobs!!!)
If completed on schedule the proponents expects ridership to be at 88 to 117 million passengers by 2030. That will be a real good return on investment! The high speed train offers a quality ride at a very low price, about 60% less than air. (And we really, really need the jobs…not WPA jobs, real jobs!)
Now this was no bullet train, but I recently took the train down to San Jose from Chico, it was clean, quiet and really cheap. The seats were big and cushy. And there were meals available in the dining car. I had a great time. The cost was a mere $38! The plane fair to San Jose was $235. Sure it was faster, but planes are cramped, sneezes get recirculated over and over. You don’t have the roomy conveniences or the scenery that you’ll find on a train!
It’s time for the US to get our passenger rail service back to where it should be and California is a great place to start. (We criticially need the jobs in California and money to be spent here too!) Look folks, I’ve rode my share of passenger trains around the world and we are decades behind. A few high speed rail lines would go a long way to re-introducing folks to the greatest way to travel there is!
We know railroads can move cargo cheaper than any other method and given the congestion of cars and trucks on the highways, the risks and the high cost of fuel, the railroad just makes a lot of sense for passenger service! If we do it right I have no doubt a high speed train will become one of this states greatest tourist attractions as well as a practical service.
Lastly I want to ad this about voting in general. As for our republican candidates, OK, I know some of them are definitely not your first choice, nor mine! However, if you can find a candidate that supports 3 out 5 of your top issues, then support that candidate and don’t hold out for perfect! You’re never going to get that perfect candidate, unless you’re a liberal democrat under the spell of Obama.
LETS ALL GET OUT THERE AND VOTE SMART NEXT TUESDAY