Impulsestorm :: :: Conan: The Govenator

?Conan, what is best in life??
?To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women and children.? This, Arnolds single longest line in the entirety of Conan the Barbarian, seems to mimic his style as governor of California. He framed his entire recall campaign around the idea of us sending him (or rather Conan, Col. Matrix, Maj. Dutch, the Kindergarten Cop, the Terminator, or The Eraser depending on your particular movie preferences) off to Sacramento to battle ?the special interest groups? and save Kalifornia from bankruptcy.

Considering the fact that he is sitting in the governors office, it obviously worked.

He has since decided to take advantage of this strategy to further his agenda from Sacramento. If someone holds up his proposals, he frames them as slaves to the special interest groups he has sworn to battle, and hefts his metaphorical sword to play to the crowds (also known as the California voting population). However, as of late he seems to have overstepped his bounds. As part of his plan to save California money, he has proposed several cuts in benefits to Policemen, Firefighters and teachers. When they resisted, they found themselves being labeled as nothing more than ?special interest groups? draining the lifeblood from California by Arnold himself.

I would be very hesitant to compare those who protect our homes, property, and lives to leeches. These are people who put their lives in danger for comparatively low pay for us, if anything we are the ones who are leeching off these fine men and women. To add insult to injury, Firefighter and Police union groups across the state (or excuse me, the leech groups) supported Arnold in the recall election only to be turned on in this fashion.

Similarly Teachers are public servants whose educational qualifications could get them much higher paying jobs, but they choose to take on the responsibility of teaching the youth at the very attractive starting pay of 30,000 a year.

The fact of the matter is that these are people who provide the most vital functions in the state, and choose serving the greater good over pursuit of personal fortune. These are people who are lauded as heros in times when we see just how valuable they are, and these are people who give so much, yet receive so little in return. In spite of this, I don?t see anything wrong with granting them a ?cushy pension? plan so that their years of service are duly rewarded in retirement.

Regardless of what you?ve seen him do in the movies: Arnold is not going to teach you Physics, he is not going to be there if your house starts to burn down, and he is not going to be there if you find yourself threatened with crime. The people he is attacking, however, will. Even though Arnold has been quoted as saying that he is ?ready for a fight?, and of all the battles availible to him this is the wrong one to pick. ?But that to is another story to be told......?

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