March 25, 2015
CalifQrni Commentary_
To Vote, or Not To Vote?
by Jon Coupal
Voter turnout in California is class weighs in on ways to solve
low. Just three weeks ago, the this "serious problem" of voter
election held in Los Angeles disinterest and will sometimes
saw an embarrassing 10 stooP to promoting gimmicks
percent turnout. And, of course, to gin up turnout. On the Los
the statewide turnout just last
November was almost as bad.
Irrespective of political
affiliation, the immediate
reaction among those of us who
are politically engaged is that
low voter turnout is not good
for democracy. But perhaps
we should challenge that bit of
conventional wisdom. Is voting
for voting's sake really a good
thing?
Members of the self-serving
political class, made up of
politicians and the special
interests that support them,
complain about the lack of
voter participation because they
believe they should be seen
as patriotically promoting the
democratic process. But their
faux sincerity is based entirely on
whether or not they see a greater
pol!tica! advantage to a higher
voter turnout. If they believe
that a higher turnout will drive
more low information voters,
who can be easily persuaded
by glossy mailers, they are all
for more voters. (At one point
itwas suggested that Los
Angeles should increase turnout
by providing those who vote
a chance to win cash through
a lottery system.) If they don't
think that the additional votes are
likely to help them, they will do
nothing substantive to actually
encourage greater participation.
Then there are the members
of the "social engineering" class
who are constantly looking
after our welfare. Their thinking
parallels that of those who want
to control how much fat we eat,
how much soda we drink and who
want to get us out our cars, They
know what is best for us, and
what is best for Us is that we all
vote. (Daniel Webster once said
that "the Constitution was made
to guard the people against the
dangers of good intentions.")
From newspaper editors to
academics, the "do-gooder"
Angeles ballot was a city charter
amendment, Which passed, that
moves local elections so as
to coincide with the state and
federal elections that take place
in even-numbered years. Almost
no consideration was given to
the fact that local issues will
now become bUried under the
publicity surrounding races for
president, governor, Congress
and the Legislature. And if
even-numbered years make
such a big difference, why were
the elections in 2014, an even-
numbered year, ignored by so
.many voters?
There is no one reason
why more eligible voters don't
participate. Some say that voting
makes no difference, so why
bother. Others may actually
be exercising their right not to
vote because they simply don't
see the need. Others might
intelligently conclude that they
are not personally informed
enough and are satisfied with the
decisions-made by those who
are more informed.
Let's just hope that the scolds
and manipulators will relax
and let citizensexercise their
constitutional rights as they see
fit. Just as it is legally and morally
wrong to prevent citizens from
voting, we would find it extremely
unpleasant to live with a system
under which voting became
compulsory.
Don't believe• that could
happen? In the 2002 Iraqi
presidential elections the turnout
was 100 percent and Saddam
Hussein received every one of
the 11,445,638 votes. We suspect
that many of those "participants"
would have enjoyed the right not
to vote.
Jon Coupal is president of
the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers
Association -- California's largest
grass-roots taxpayer organization
dedicated to the protection of
Proposition 13 and the advancement
of taxpayers' rights.
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Time will explain it all. He & a talker and needs no questioning before he
speaks.
-- Euripides
R.F.D. ' by Mike Marland
by Linda Thistle
8 1
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Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way
that each row across, each column down and
each small 9-box square contains all of the
numbers from one to nine.
DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: * *
* Moderate ** Challenging
*** HO0 BOY!
© 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.
It's believed that the shortest
scheduled airline flight is from
the Scottish island of Westray to
its neighbor island, Papa Westray,
Flight time is two minutes,
bI weaver
° It was a wise man, Will Rogers, who observed, "Half Our life is
spent trying to. find something to do with the time we have rushed
through life trying to save."
• Cleopatra's husband was her brother, Ptolemy.
• Melanie Roberts, a 41,year-old Ohio woman, was forced to have
her left leg amputated. Shortly thereafter, while still recovering, she
was shocked to receive a $600 bill for the funeral of her leg. Evidently,
she was supposed to pay for the limb's burial -- and the bill was even
broken down into the separate costs for the plot, the minister, the
Crossword
ACROSS T-- 7- 7--
1 Actor Cobb ....
5 One 12
9 Upper limit 15---- ----
12 City of
India is
13 Forbidden
21.
act
14 In vitro cells 25 26 27 --
15 Standard
16 Solidarity 32
symbol 37 -- -- --
17 Archaeo
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7 Foot part
8 Youngster
9 Last few
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10 Enthusiastic,
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11 Senate
staffer
20 TV's "French
Chef"
22 Massachu-
setts politico
John
24 Sacred
composition
25 Low card
26 Charged bit
27 Tend the
grass
29 The View
54
50 Capri, e.g.
51 Triumphed
52 Malaria
symptom
53 Deposited
54 "Acid"
55 Pinochle
ploy
56 Pairs
DOWN
1 Highway
division
2 Hollywood
clashers
3 Blunders
4 Chef with
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5 Prejudiced
6 Bleak,
20 Green
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21 Tackle
moguls
23 Ostrich's
cousin
25 Woodsy
shout
28 1983
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32 The sort
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33 Leg bone
34 Ahead
36 Swell
37 Catcher's
place?
38 List-ending
abbr.
39 Play area
42 Meadow
44 "Phooey!"
48 Praise in
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49 Boring
© 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.
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30 Medical
research org.
31 Rotation
duration
35 Flood
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39 Prolonged
cry of grief
40 Fusses
41 Tear asunder
43 Hebrew
month
45 Biblical
brother
46 Advertising
award
47 Kesey and
Follett
49 Beavers'
creation
hearse and the gravediggers.
• The name "Alice" means
"noble kind"; "Amy" means
• "beloved"; "Angela" means
"messenger of God"; and
"Amanda" means "lovable."
• During the Muslim feast of
AI-Adha, a sheep was to be
sacrificed on top of a four-story
building in Cairo, Egypt. In a fit
of terror or anger, the doomed
sheep rushed the executioner,
who then lost his balance and fell
• to his death.
• Ever wonder why so many
coin banks are shaped like pigs?
Here's the story: In ancient times,
a lump of clay was called a "pygg."
A clay bowl formed from. this
lump would often be used to hold
loose change, and it was called
a pygg bowl bank. According to
legend, at a later point in history,
a potter unfamiliar with the term
received an order for several of
these pygg bowl banks. Instead
of the bowls, he made coin banks
shaped like pigs; they became
such a hit that they're still around
today.
• The Puritans wouldn't allow
the singing of Christmas carols.
Thought for the Day: "'A little
knowledge is a dangerous thing.'
That is why so many persons
don't fool with it."
-- Dan Kidney
© 2015 King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Weekly SUDOKU
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4. Boxty
5. Colcannon
6. Coddle
7. Crubeens
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IRISH
Dishes
9. Irish Boiled Dinner
10. Soda Bread
Source: homecooking.about4om
King Crossword --
Answers
Solution time: 24 rains.
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