When you’re deciding who to vote for in an election of your mayor, city council, or other local governments, what qualifications do you look for?

Do you look for a candidate who has a firm grasp on the global geo-political picture?  Of course you don’t.  If you’re searching for a mayor, you’d likely vote for a candidate who you believe will be able to handle graffiti problems, look at bids for new playground equipment, and maybe deal with union issues. 

That’s pretty much it.

Sure, there are other aspects of the job, but one thing you’re not looking for is a candidate who understands issues in the Middle East.  I don’t care if you live in rural America or Chicago or New York or Los Angeles, you don’t vote for someone because of their expertise in international politics.

Because no matter what city you live in, that city has no jurisdiction in any sort of international political affairs.

City of Idiots

There’s a town not too far from here with a population of about 7,500.  So, in the whole scheme of things, it’s an insignificant speck.  In February, during a special session of the city council, they voted to pass a resolution demanding, among other things, an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Big fucking deal.

You should know that the council didn’t make their decision lightly.  It came after months of meetings, discussion, and testimony from dozens of citizens.

I happen to know that particular city has one of the biggest homeless problems around.  I could be wrong here, but I think that time would have been better spent dealing with people squatting in the parking lot outside city hall instead of passing a resolution about a war on the other side of the planet.

Because their resolution don’t mean shit.

I’m reminded of the phrase “stay in your lane”.  Essentially, that means that you should mind your own business and stick to the things you know something about.  If you’re in government, you should heed that advice and stick to things the voters elected you to do.

And one of the things they didn’t elect you to do is to pass meaningless resolutions concerning things you know nothing about.

It’s OK if you have your own, ill-informed, opinion.  But don’t use your position to swim outside your lane.  Unless you’re talking about things that are directly related to the job you were elected to do, you have no business speaking for, or on behalf of, anyone other than yourself.

And that includes wasting time and money passing useless resolutions.

It gets worse…

It’s not just local governments.  Attorneys General in a bunch of states have passed similar resolutions demanding various things from Hamas and Israel.

Guess what?  Their resolutions don’t mean shit either.

Do you think Hamas cares even a little bit about what some local politician in California thinks?  I’d say that’s highly unlikely.

It’s not like the leader of Hamas jumps down from his camel and says to himself, “Well, I was going to lob another hundred missiles at the infidels.  But the mayor of a small town in California is demanding that I don’t.  So…now I’m not so sure.”

And it’s not just state governments.  More than a hundred countries have passed similar resolutions demanding that Hamas immediately release all of the hostages they’re holding.

Ooo.  That sounds ominous.

Or what?

OK.  I’ll bite.  You’re demanding that Hamas immediately release all the hostages…or what?

That’s the first question that came to my mind, and you can bet it’s the first question that pops into the mind of whoever is running Hamas.

So what if 100 countries are demanding the hostages be released?  What are they going to do if Hamas doesn’t cave in to their demands?

Nothing.  That’s what they’re going to do.  Well, that’s probably not entirely true.  They’ll probably pass more resolutions.

I repeat.  Big fucking deal.

Unless your demands come with a very big stick, what would make you believe Hamas gives a crap about what you think?

Just imagine all the time wasted by politicians passing meaningless resolutions about things well outside the issues they were elected to deal with.

And it’s not just international politics.

On the Border

Last week, Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, released his plan to make it easier for women from Arizona to get abortions in California.  They can’t get abortions in Arizona because of the State’s near total ban on abortions. 

Arizona has since started repealing the law, but it will likely still be in effect for another few months. So, Gavin felt he needed a plan.

If you’re ever driven into Nevada, I’m sure you’ve noticed that there’s at least one casino next to the highway as soon as you cross the state line.  I guess that’s for people who are really, really Jonesing to throw their money away.

Well before you get to Nevada, you’ll see dozens of billboards planted alongside the highway by casinos to let everyone know that they have the loosest slots around.

I’m imagining Newsom has a similar plan.  I can see it now.  Well before you cross into California on I-10 you’ll see billboards alongside the highway, placed there by clinics, enticing young women from Arizona to come to them for an abortion. 

Maybe some of them will even offer free drinks and a buffet.

I know, I know, I’m not taking advantage of the perfect opportunity for a “loosest slots” joke.  I’ll leave that one up to you.

Now, I don’t know how you feel about this, but I believe California has enough problems of its own.

So, Gavin Newsom doesn’t need to go looking for problems elsewhere.  He should focus his energy on fixing the things he’s broken since he took office.  As should the governments of other states that are poking their noses where they don’t belong.

Besides, providing abortions is a private industry thing.  Governments shouldn’t be involved at all.  

If there’s a large enough demand for abortions for Arizonians, private industry will present a solution.  If there’s not a large enough demand, then it’s not a big deal and nobody cares.  Either way, it’s not the responsibility of the government from a different state to provide abortions for women from Arizona.

And it’s not just California.  State and local governments everywhere are passing meaningless resolutions whose sole purpose is to garner favor with potential voters. 

Every minute elected officials, and their staff, spend thinking about these useless resolutions is time not spent working on the issues that truly impact the people who elected them.

Let’s Pass a Resolution

And that really needs to stop.

If you’re one of those elected officials, I have this to say to you:

I hereby pass a resolution demanding that you immediately stop wasting time on shit that has nothing to do with why anyone voted for you.  I further demand that you stay in your lane and do the job you were elected to do.

What?  You don’t care about my resolution?  That is exactly my point.