"Goodbye, Meg..."

I had a big problem with the last Gubernatorial race in California, mainly because of a couple of commonly held fallacies by the people that were running for office, and, for the sake of argument, I'm not going to include Jerry Brown in this posting... since I didn't hear or see any ads to the effect of said fallacies that he endorsed.

Now bear in mind that I said, "Hear or See", since that's all that I mean... that's not to say that they weren't out there, it's just that I didn't see or hear them. So here's the bullshit that stood out for me (in, of course, numbered form):

1.) California needs to be run more like a business.
2.) The two female contestants didn't really display their political party affiliation in their commercials.
3.) Fiscal responsibility is always the best policy.

For the first problem, let's think of that statement in an objective fashion... what kind of business are we talking about here? Enron? Exxon-Mobile? Blackwater? Taco Bell? Or, are we talking about E-Bay, which in the case of Meg Whitman, was (and continues to be) a very profitable online auction service that she ran as a CEO.

But let's talk honestly about E-Bay for a minute, shall we? E-Bay is a great service... I mean, where else can I buy a damaged Spongebob Squarepants-themed sex toy at 3 AM? Now, I know many of you are thinking "Wal-Mart", but unfortunately, they don't even sell CD's that haven't been altered by prudes so that the original lyrics are present and accounted for... so we're not there yet as a people.

However, E-bay isn't a business that I would be proud of running, since it's a business that is run by the people that use it, not by CEO's like Meg. You've used E-Bay, right? Is there anything about that site that makes you think that it couldn't be run by some stoner college drop-out living in an illegal sub-let in Queens? No... E-Bay sucks, that's why Amazon does so well... you do everything, from getting an account set up, to monitoring the auctions to finally stuffing that rare Star Wars collectible into an old box that you used to use primarily to move your kitchen drawer full of condiments from various fast food joints from apartment to apartment and labeling and mailing it yourself.

And keep in mind, that, although I am a Liberal, that doesn't mean that I hate E-Bay because their office doesn't have a mandatory eco-friendly all-Hemp-wearing Hawaiian shirts Friday or anything... E-Bay is a great idea, but like many things in this country, it has become a monolith of ridiculous proportions.

California shouldn't be run like a business, since California isn't a business... it's a fucking State. The notion that you, as a manager of some sort, hired and fired the right people at some internet-based business and signed a couple of budget proposals doesn't mean that you're qualified to run a State with 10% of the population of this country... to even entertain such an idea smacks of the kind of dangerous arrogance that previously led the people of California to elect Arnold because, "Hey, he played a total badass in all the Terminator movies man!" without taking into account his character died in every installment.

California has a lot of problems, and they can't be quickly or easily solved by catchy phrases, Barbara Walters-esque soft light filters or the right publicist... they require extensive governmental experience and political accumen. Neither or which either Meg or Carli had or have... hence, why they lost.

I'll post the other two in my next post, as this one went a bit long.

"Welcome..."

Hi, this is Todd... hence the title of the Blog itself.

Speaking of the title, "toddscomicblog.blogspot.com" was already taken... by me. Over five years ago.

Why am I not writing on that one? Because Blogspot couldn't get it done, so here I am at the "Electric Boogaloo" version of my blog... but with far less dancing.

And a better plot.

The short version of my personality, stances and experiences, for those that are unaware of who I am (because looking at my old blog and all the posts would be a bit tedious):

1.) I'm a Liberal (Green Party since 1998).
2.) I'm kinda tall.
3.) I'm an Atheist (a Liberal Atheist!!! A shock!!!).
4.) I'm a Veteran.
5.) I'm a Comic Book Artist (What?! Does he live with his Parents too?!).
6.) I've done Stand-Up in the past.
7.) I enjoy reading books on a wide variety of topics (Currently on Middle Eastern History).
8.) I like making numbered lists.

So thank you for checking out my new blog, and I'll get to cracking on new pieces very soon... check back later if you've got the time.