What is next? Just read a piece about how restraints or seat belts are going to be required for dogs riding in cars. Something that we’ll have to buy and have installed and will become part of the inspection process to get your vehicle registered.

Even if you don’t have a dog, you’ll have to get the restraints in case you might have a dog ride with you. Only in California. (Maybe New York, too.) The proposal has some hefty fines attached, along with some mandatory classes you’ll have to take in order to have a dog in your vehicle.

So soon you might have to buy something you don’t need or don’t want, and if you don’t, the government will exact a fine upon you. Hey, it has been done before. It is called the Affordable Care Act. That has been judged to be a law within the confines of the Constitution, so I guess dog restraints will be “legal,” too.

I know our elected officials have avoided telling us the truth a few times. “You can keep your health insurance, period.” “You can take a train from San Francisco to Los Angeles in three hours.” “I live within the boundaries of Saugus School District.” “Of course I live in Santa Clarita.” “There are WMDs in Iraq.” “North Vietnam fired on our ships in the Gulf of Tonkin.” “I am not a crook.” “The attack was the result of spontaneous demonstrations protesting a video.”

Then there are those “not quite” lies we hear and read about. “We are investigating it and will have the results soon.” “I have a bill to move Cemex out of the Santa Clarita Valley.” “We will get to the bottom of this and hold those who caused the problem accountable.”

Don’t you just love it? We must love it. We keep electing the same folks.

I really think the last president who didn’t tell us lies was George Washington. If the lips of a politician are moving, you can bet the truth isn’t being spoken, or that politician is just eating a meal.

When are we going to get tired of this? This wonderful stuff we want to hear and never comes to fruition. As a nation, we’ve been through “a chicken in every pot” and other such sayings. When are we going to learn that lunch, health care, health insurance, parks, monuments and local civic landscaping aren’t free? We have got to realize it is our money being spent. Our tax dollars from many sources that are being wasted on any number of items.

We’ve been told the Cemex bill couldn’t be put through because it was considered an “earmark.” What in the heck was the drought relief bill that was just before the House?

Can you imagine if our mandatory car insurance were sold like the now mandatory health insurance? Can you imagine if you got a subsidy for your car insurance so you could afford it?

Just some random thoughts that I keep having all the time. Usually I have those thoughts when I see the “Covered California” advertisements on TV.

When did we really have a “health care system” in the United States of America? I’ve had classes in systems analysis, and what we had was in no way a “system.” We had a lot of insurance companies, doctors, hospitals and the like, that provided services in health care. It wasn’t a system, and some might argue that what we are getting isn’t a system, either. But knowing that doesn’t stop the lies and deceit of those we elect.

I’ve said it before and I keep saying it: The most important part of our political process starts at the local level. Period. Our city councils, judges, dog catchers, sheriffs, are that level. Next up the food chain are the various county reps, followed by the reps to our state government. Eventually we get to the federal government and elect them. We must remember through this whole process that we elect those who have been bought and paid for by various lobbyists, special interest groups, and those who can afford to give to campaigns.

That is why the upcoming elections are so important to our little valley – a chance for some new faces on the Santa Clarita City Council and maybe some new reps to the state house and a new face to be our congressman. All of it is so very important. Few will show up at the polls, though. I wish that weren’t true.

The career politicians depend on folks NOT voting. They really do depend on all those who are too busy or non-involved or lazy or whatever, to get elected. Sometimes a mostly uninformed group gets out and votes. Maybe that is how we’ve gotten Governor Moonbeam for four terms.

Whatever the reason, each and every one of us has to cast our ballot in each and every election. This is a job we have to do for ourselves. We can’t sign up on line and have someone do it for us. Each one of us has to take the time to get out of the chair, off the couch, and go to the polling place. (We can just get it out of the mailbox and send it in, too). If we don’t, we still get what we didn’t pay for because we didn’t vote.

Just to test you, there was no article about getting seat belts for dogs. I didn’t see it on the Internet. I am investigating and will find the perpetrators and hold them accountable. I have not lied about this. It was all pure fabrication. Maybe it was a video after all.

Darryl Manzer grew up in the Pico Canyon oil town of Mentryville in the 1960s and attended Hart High School. After a career in the U.S. Navy he returned to live in the Santa Clarita Valley. He can be reached at dmanzer@scvhistory.com and his commentaries, published on Tuesdays and Sundays, are archived at DManzer.com. Watch his walking tour of Mentryville [here].