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ELECTION 2012
Mountain Views News Saturday, September 29, 2012
ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION
LAUNCHES IN CALIFORNIA
The Office of the Secretary of the State of California announced
it will launch the much anticipated California Online
Voter Registration by noon (PST) Friday. Online Voter
Registration will offer increased accessibility for the 6.4 million
unregistered eligible voters in California; 3 million of
which reside in Los Angeles County.
Dean Logan, Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters, will
be available to provide comment and expert insight into the
impacts of California Online Voter Registration for Los Angeles
County and California voters and elections.
Benefits of Online Voter Registration:
• Paperless online voter registration will save tax payers
money by reducing the need to process paper forms.
• Approximately 80 percent of Californians already use
the internet, making Online Voter Registration a fit for the
Golden State.
• Online Voter Registration will improve the quality and accuracy
of County Voter Files. Less manual data entry means
more quality assurance and time to confirm and process paper
forms.
• The convenience of online voter registration would provide
for more up to date records, which might also reduce
the number of provisional ballots cast.
• Online Voter Registration benefits the environment by reducing
waste.
• Online Voter registration will provide increased registration
security by ensuring instant delivery.
How does Online Voter Registration work?
• The online registration portal can be accessed at www.
lavote.net or at www.sos.ca.gov
• The process uses your California Driver’s License or Identification
number to match your voter registration information
to Department of Motor Vehicles records.
• The Secretary of State obtains the registrants’ signature
image on file from the DMV. This information will then be
provided to the counties and added as the official signature
of record on the voter file. The applicants’ information must
match in order to complete the registration process providing
increased registration security.
• Individuals who do not have a California Driver’s License
or an Identification number can still use the online portal
but will be required to print the form, sign it and mail it
back.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO VOTE ONLINE GO
TO: www.lavote.net
NOVEMBER 2012 LOCAL BALLOT MEASURES
Measure A Appointment of County Assessor -- County of Los Angeles (Advisory Vote Only - Advisory Vote
Only)
Do you support seeking to change the California Constitution and the Los Angeles County Charter to make the
position of Los Angeles County Assessor an appointed position instead of an elected position?
Measure B Safer Sex In the Adult Film Industry Act -- County of Los Angeles (Ordinance - Majority Approval
Required)
Shall an ordinance be adopted requiring producers of adult films to obtain a County public health permit, to require
adult film performers to use condoms while engaged in sex acts, to provide proof of blood borne pathogen
training course, to post permit and notices to performers, and making violations of the ordinance subject to civil
fines and criminal charges?
Measure J Accelerating Traffic Relief, Job Creation -- County of Los Angeles (Continuation of Voter-Approved
Sales Tax Increase - Majority Approval Required)
To advance Los Angeles County’s traffic relief, economic growth/ job creation, by accelerating construction of light
rail/ subway/ airport connections within five years not twenty; funding countywide freeway traffic flow/ safety /
bridge improvements, pothole repair; keeping senior/ student/ disabled fares low; Shall Los Angeles County’s
voter-approved one-half cent traffic relief sales tax continue, without tax rate increase, for another 30 years or until
voters decide to end it, with audits/ keeping funds local?
Measure ALF Density Limit re Assisted Living Facility -- City of Sierra Madre (Ordinance - Majority Approval
Required)
Shall an Ordinance be adopted to amend Sierra Madre Municipal Code Section 17.35.040 (“Core Density Limit”)
of the People’s Empowerment Act (aka Measure V) to permit development of an assisted living facility consistent
with the Kensington Assisted Living Facility Specific Plan not exceeding two stories, thirty feet in height and
seventy-five assisted living suites, for the parcels located at 33 North Hermosa Avenue an 245 West Sierra Madre
Boulevard?
STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURE
QUICK-REFERENCE GUIDE
30 Temporary Taxes to Fund Education.
Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding.
Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
31 State Budget. State and Local
Government. Initiative Constitutional
Amendment and Statute.
32 Political Contributions by Payroll
Deduction. Contributions to Candidates.
Initiative Statute.
33 Auto Insurance Companies. Prices
Based on Driver’s History of Insurance Coverage.
Initiative Statute.
34 Death Penalty. Initiative Statute.
35 Human Trafficking. Penalties.
Initiative Statute.
36 Three Strikes Law. Repeat Felony
Offenders. Penalties. Initiative Statute.
37 Genetically Engineered Foods.
Labeling. Initiative Statute.
38 Tax to Fund Education and Early
Childhood Programs. Initiative Statute.
39 Tax Treatment for Multistate
Businesses. Clean Energy and Energy
Efficiency Funding. Initiative Statute.
40 Redistricting. State Senate Districts.
Referendum.
WHO IS ON THE BALLOT?
President/Vice President of the United States
Gary Johnson/James P. Gray, Libertarian
Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan, Republican
Roseanne Barr/Cindy Sheehan, Peace and Freedom
Thomas Hoefling/Robert Ornelas, American Independent
Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala, Green
Barack Obama/Joseph Biden, Democratic
United States Senate
Elizabeth Emken, Republican
Dianne Feinstein, Democratic
US Congress - District 27
Judy Chu, Democratic
Jack Orswell, Republican
California Assembly - District 41
Chris Holden, Democratic
Donna Lowe, Republican
California Senate - District 25
Carol Liu, Democratic
Gilbert V. Gonzales, Republican
District Attorney; County of Los Angeles
Alan Jackson
Jackie Lacey
LEFT TURN/RIGHT TURN
HOWARD Hays As I See It
GRAMMA IS SMARTER THAN
PRESIDENT OBAMA BELIEVES
“Sorry People of America this
not the Pehavior of our ESLAM
and Profit.” - Sign held by protester
in Benghazi, Libya (spelling
copied from sign)
It’s tough when there’s a deadline
for your column, but you
procrastinate because you
just know some late-breaking
event will flash in the headlines
right as you hit the “send” button. Perhaps that
happened to Greg Welborn last week when, after
writing of Libya being a nation “out for our
blood”, we had news of another massive Libyan
demonstration, another compound stormed by
protesters and another building set on fire.
This time it was 30,000 in the streets of Benghazi
– protesting Islamic militias of the sort that invaded
the U.S. consulate a week before. The compound
this time was the headquarters of Ansar
al-Shariah, the group thought to be behind the
attack on our consulate. In an A.P. report, the
militiamen first tried to scare the protesters away
by firing rifles in the air, but soon gave up and
took off in whatever vehicles hadn’t already been
torched.
It doesn’t look like they’ll be back. The Libyan
military took over the compound after the protesters
left.
Those 30,000 in the streets of Benghazi weren’t
there just to proclaim “No to the militias!” They
were also there to express solidarity with us in
mourning the loss of our ambassador, Chris Stevens.
“Libya lost a friend” was seen on one of the
banners, as police joined with, rather than stood
against, the protesters.
The report told of the situation in Darna, an East
Libyan city which had been a headquarters for
Muslim extremists and a point of departure for
many of the jihadists heading off to fight in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
“The killing of the ambassador blew up the situation”,
says a young Muslim cleric there, who himself
has received death threats for speaking out
against extremists. That was the tipping point,
he explained, convincing the masses that unless
they stood up and did away with these yahoo jihadist
militias, their revolution might be in vain.
Another Muslim resident explains his own piety,
“We are not infidels for God sake. We have no
bars, no discos . . .” but “we don’t want the flag of
al-Qaida raised over our heads.”
The cleric conveyed his fear of what could happen
if the Libyan people failed to take care of the situation
themselves. If the militias grew and were
perceived as a threat to the United States, then
the U.S. military might become involved. If that
happened, the people would side with the militias
– and the extremists will have won. That, unlike
what you’d hear from Greg and the war-profiteers
from the Bush Administration now advising Mitt
Romney, is the way it works in the real world.
(Bill Maher suggests that if the embassy protests
in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen had happened
during the Bush Administration, they would’ve
known just what to do – invade Iraq.)
One of those who well understood the dynamic
was Osama bin-Laden. In a document taken
from his compound when he was killed, he reportedly
complained about the new line from
Washington. With President Obama emphasizing
it’s not a war on Islam, but on al-Qaeda, it was
much harder to get recruits.
Many of those now condemning our Mid-East
policy under President Obama are those who
warned that supporting rebels fighting Gaddafi
would hand Libya over to jihadists. Instead, we
saw moderates trounce fundamentalists in elections
last July. A survey last month shows 54% of
Libyans approving the leadership of the United
States, “among the highest approval Gallup has
ever recorded in the Middle East and North Africa
region, outside of Israel.”
Our approval in Egypt is 16%, but that’s still ten
points higher than it was when Bush left office.
As Tom Malinowski of Human Rights Watch was
quoted in the NY Times, “Part of what we’re seeing
is the residue of support for 30 years of the
Mubarak dictatorship”. There’s also the balancing
act of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi of the
Muslim Brotherhood (USC grad and former professor
at Cal State Northridge, with two of his five
kids born in California).
“We are taking heat from both sides”, the Times
quotes a spokesman for the Brotherhood. When
they sent out a Twitter message (yes, the Muslim
Brotherhood uses Twitter) in Arabic expressing
solidarity with the protesters, then another in
English in sympathy and support of the embassy
staffers, our embassy Tweeted back, “Thanks. By
the way, have you checked out your own Arabic
feeds? I hope you know we read those too.”
It was after a late-night call from President
Obama that President Morsi went on national
television to remind it’s a “religious duty to protect
our guests and those who come to us from
outside our nation . . . I know that the people attacking
the embassies do not represent any of us.”
Some have dealt in other ways with countries
struggling into democracy. In the aftermath of
the 9/11 attacks, one of the more moving expressions
of sympathy and condolence came in a candlelight
vigil at Tehran’s Mohseni Square. President
Mohammad Khatami issued a statement,
"On behalf of the Iranian people and the Islamic
Republic, I denounce the terrorist measures,
which led to the killing of defenseless people, and
I express my deep sorrow and sympathy with the
American people."
A few months later, President Bush declared Iran
part of the Axis of Evil, and spoke of increasing
our naval presence in the Persian Gulf. Iranians
turned to the Mullahs, and the Mullahs turned to
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
We aren’t aware, of course, of most of what’s happening
in foreign affairs. Around the time Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta was in Beijing offering
those conciliatory remarks that upset Greg,
we were conducting joint maneuvers with the
Japanese off Guam. Perhaps Greg wasn’t aware of
them. But I’m sure the Chinese were.
Did anyone notice that Team Romney addressed
the AARP meeting last week and weren’t chased
off the stage, tarred and feathered, or even pelted
with tomatoes? In fact, there was actually some
strong applause, which evidences a lot more
common sense among our seniors than the press
and the liberal elites grant them. The liberal
narrative is that Romney wants to push gramma
off the cliff, gramma’s mad, and gramma’s going
to vote for Obama. That narrative seems to be
losing its sticking power with seniors, and for
good reason.
First, let’s deal with the issue of the AARP’s
credibility, or should I say lack of credibility.
Recently released emails from the House Energy
and Commerce Committee show that the
AARP worked hand-in-glove with the Obama
administration to push Obamacare despite
knowing that the overwhelming majority of
their membership despised the legislation. The
emails show AARP leadership telling the White
House that phone calls were running 95% against
the legislation and then asking the White House
to keep that information “close” so that seniors
wouldn’t realize they were being sold out.
The reason this strategy didn’t, hasn’t and won’t
work is because seniors are smarter-than-the-
average-bear. With some intuition, and common
sense fine tuned over the course of their lives,
they’ve figured out what Obamacare will really do
to them, their families and healthcare in general.
For example, there’s that pesky little McKinsey &
Company study which concluded that upwards
of 80 million Americans will lose their healthcare
plans and be forced into the government’s
program as Obamacare is phased in. That of
course directly contradicts the president’s solemn
promise that “if you like your healthcare plan, you
can keep your healthcare plan”. If this were just
one study, we might be justified in questioning
the conclusion; after all, 80 million out of a
total American population of 300 million is a
whopping 26%, and almost sounds unbelievable.
Unfortunately for the administration, it may
well be that McKinsey & Company was actually
taking it easy on Obama.
It turns out the McKinsey report was at least
the fourth study which has documented and
predicted staggering losses of coverage. The
National Center for Policy Analysis concluded
that employers would be forced to drop healthcare
coverage on 87 to 117 million Americans because
of Obamacare. That pushes the percentage up to
39%. The other studies have all verified similar
amounts and cited the same cause and effect.
It’s really a matter of simple economics – even
simple math. The average annual premium cost
to employers for a single worker or a worker and
his family runs about $4,100 (single) or $9,700
(family). Obamacare will impose additional
burdens and costs on the employer. Should
the employer decide to drop health coverage
for employees because of these extra costs,
the employer only pays a penalty of $2,000 per
worker. In a tight economy or in the face of
competitive pressure
from abroad, many
employers will drop the
coverage and pay the
measly $2,000 fine.
The insidious nature of
Obamacare is that it is
both increasing the cost
of medical coverage and
driving more people into
what will be second-
rate, government run insurance policies. Some
commentators have argued that this is precisely
the goal of the Left, that they want Americans to
have essentially equal coverage, and the best way
to accomplish that is to force everyone into the
same policy. We may never know the truth of
their motives, but it’s pretty easy to figure out the
truth in the projected results.
Sadly, the devastation doesn’t just stop with the
degradation of healthcare coverage for 1/3rd of
our population. Obamacare will cause a fiscal
disaster which will make the current budget
troubles look like a proverbial stroll in the park.
At the time of its passage, the Congressional
Budget Office estimated Obamacare would cost
the taxpayers $511 billion if 24 million people
were pushed into the government plan. That
means we’re really looking at somewhere between
$1.7 trillion (if “only” 80 million Americans lose
traditional coverage) to $2.4 trillion (if upwards
of 117 million do). All that would be on top of
the $1 trillion dollar deficit the government runs
now.
As bad as all this is for gramma’s family, it’s going
to be even worse for gramma herself. The fine
print of Obamacare reveals that the 15-member,
unelected Payment Board is specifically directed
to reduce payments to doctors and hospitals.
There is no provision in the law for the Payment
Board to allow increases to doctors and hospitals.
The law also strips $716 billion from Medicare
in order to push it down to fund increases in
Medicaid. Right now, without the affect of the
payment board, more than 50% of the doctors
in this country refuse to take more Medicaid
patients. When their Medicare reimbursements
are further reduced, gramma has figured out that
it’s going to be tougher, if not impossible, to find
a doctor.
The bottom line, which seniors are realizing in
droves, is that being given a new government
health insurance policy (or being forced to take
it) isn’t the same as actually receiving medical
care. Obamacare will reduce the supply of
doctors, decrease the quality of care for seniors
and ultimately bankrupt the country. Gramma
has figured out that Romney is trying to pull
them from the brink, not push them over a cliff.
About the author: Gregory J. Welborn is a freelance writer
and has spoken to several civic and religious organizations
on cultural and moral issues. He lives in the Pasadena area
with his wife and 3 children and is active in the community.
He can be reached at gregwelborn2@gmail.com
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