Surely, I must have heard this guy wrong. “What was that?” I
inquired.
“The Bullet Train. They just said on TV that it’s coming to
California.” He said, “Don’t these shooters have enough bullets without
bringing in another train load?”
All right, he’s a little mixed up. “The Bullet train is a
train that goes something like 150 miles per hour.” I said.
“Geez, these nuts can’t get their bullets fast enough?”
Now I am bewildered. “Did you vote in the 2008 election?” I
asked.
“Sure, I voted for Obama … and again for him in 2012.” He
said proudly.
“What about the propositions? Do you remember prop 1A, also known
as the California High-speed Rail proposition?”
“I don’t even look at those propositions. I only vote for
the President. The other stuff on the ballot isn’t very interesting so I ignore
it. Sometimes, I might even vote for some of the other Democrats, though.”
“Wow! How do you decide which ‘other’ Democrats to vote
for?” I had to ask.
“Easy. I watch MSNBC. If they talk about a Democrat, he’s
worth a vote.”
Trying not to visibly shake my head, I said, “Do you have
any idea how the government works?”
“That’s a stupid question. Of course I do. The President
runs everything. He tells all the states what to do.”
Given the way the Obama administration is shaping up, that
might be a hard point to dispute, even though that is not what the US
Constitution or State Constitution says.
It was time to get this conversation back on-track. “Okay,
let’s get back to the Bullet Train,” I said.
“The Bullet train is not a train full of bullets. It’s a
super fast commuter train that will supposedly run from San Francisco to LA. A
$9.9 billion bond issue to raise money for the line was voted on in 2008. The
referendum passed by a 52.7% margin. The original cost estimate when the
proposition appeared on the ballot was $33 billion, but it has now mushroomed
to $91.5 billion for full completion of the 800-mile line.
“During the lifetime of this boondoggle, our illustrious
Governor, Jerry Brown – a Democrat – has insisted on pushing this train down he
throats of Californians. The controversy is enormous, including the massive
cost increase, route selection, use of existing – low speed – tracks, and
phasing of the project that lead to calling it the ‘train from nowhere to
nowhere.’”
A look of amazement crossed his face, and I mistook it for
understanding. “No bullets?” He asked.
“No! They are not carrying bullets on the bullet train.” I
said.
“Good,” He said. “The Democrats don’t like bullets.”
“Are you married?” I asked.
“Going on five years.” He said.
There goes the gene pool. I thought to myself.
“Congratulations, “ I said, and left with half a glass of
beer standing on the bar. I just lost my taste for it.
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