I wasn't going to comment on this because much has already been said about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's defense of legislative junkets by claiming they are crucial for rural legislators. According to the governor, these hayseeds from Fresno, Riverside, Turlock and the like can't compete with metropolitan-area lawmakers because they haven't been to the big city and heard the big talk.
That set everyone off. What was the governor thinking when he launched into that diatribe? Plenty of commentators have weighed in, but I have to add my thoughts on the statement by the governor.
He's an odd one. Just when you think, he has his tongue under control, he goes off and says stuff like this: It's good for legislators "from those little towns" to go out in the world and see worldly things like "an airport," or a "highway that maybe has 10 lanes" or even "a highway on top of a highway."
I'm wondering what goes through the governor's head just before he launches into such talk. One minute he's in a lucid conversation about the structural deficiencies in the state budget, and then the conversation goes haywire. Kerpow, zapp, bam. He goes glassy-eyed.
Maybe he's reverting back to an old movie script locked into his brain. He's going along nicely, and then something pops into a slot in his brain, and he just starts talking uncontrollably. That's one theory. But I think I may have it figured out. The only logical explanation is the governor's brain has been taken over by zombies. They're probably Democratic zombies intent on making the governor look bad.
I dunno. I think the zombies can take a vacation.
..good stuff, Jim. You seem to aquire a greater sense of irony as the day grows long.
Maybe the guys from the big cities should take junkets to Wasco,Laton and Minkler to better understand small,small town America.All this JUNKeting... no wonder nothing is getting done.