Excerpts from Cato's campaign platform
Dogs – There has a lot of criticism of Cato's treatment of dogs. Because there has been a healthy debate, he has devised a compromise. "Dogs and their owners need life-long learning to maintain a pleasant environment for all," he states. "Dogs, at best are friendly and affectionate. At their worst, they can be nuisances and dangerous." He believes all dogs should be restrained by training and by leashes, unless they are in dog parks or at home in their backyards. "In particular, dogs must be acclimatized to cats, so they won't annoy them when they are on their cell phones working."
The high cost of gas – "I have had several bad episodes of gas and have lost friends because of it. For this reason, I have stopped eating Friskies Mixed Grill."
Health care – "In a recent comparison of countries in the developed world (looking at indicators of good health) the United States ranked 12th or second from the bottom. The countries compared (with the first being the best) included Japan, Sweden, Canada, France, Australia, Sprain, Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium, the United States and Germany. Could it be that our health care delivery system is too focused on disease and not health? What is we focused on the health improvement of populations?
"Taking principals developed in Great Britain and Canada, I would seek to bring together stakeholders from health care (including the industry itself and public health officials), groups representing social justice, education, social services, finance, agriculture and the environment, to create whole population health systems, from birth to grave that would improve the health and economic status of all Californians.
"We are losing the creativity and productivity of whole populations in the State of California. Thi is due to poverty and social injustice. Good health requires a good start and a good finish. Our environment both of the community and the state, educational system, and employment with an equitable wage are part and parcel of what allows individuals to maintain both good physical and mental health. If we focus on improving these things, we create an environment where people really thrive. We are not just offering health care insurance, we are assuring a future that blazes with vitality.
"I don't believe that our antiquated health delivery system, nor our thoughts on what constitutes good health will change over night, but I do believe, this great state holds some of the most creative people in the world. As the world's fourth largest economy, it is within out grasp to tap the talent of our people and lead the rest of the nation into re-envisioning what our health system should be.
"I have a plan to allow business and individuals to trade on the health of our populations in a market similar to the commodities market where futures in air pollution and health care insurance are already traded. If we can speculate about pork production and the futures of pork bellies, can we not trade on the future health and productivity of whole populations? "
Education -- "My opponents are busy talking about education, but they really do not have a plan to fund it. Good education requires money and the will of the populace to support and foster it. Money for education from the lottery is not a real commitment. If Steve Westly was really committed to funding schools through gambling, he would propose allowing casinos whose funds were earmarked for education to open in California. This would create much more income for education and be a whole lot more fun for gamblers than the lottery. Still, it would take several cities the size of Las Vegas with their powerhouse gambling establishments to fund California's schools. This is not a bad idea.
PETA - "On the whole, I approve of animal rights advocates, but this organization lobbies for straight vegetarianism as a way to save animal life. I cannot condone this. I eat animals to live. I cannot live on carrots! Further, this organization advocates that humans keep their cats indoors. Impossible! What PETA needs to understand about cats and cat safety is that cats need funders and fund raisers to stay alive, active and healthy. We need someone to pay for all our services. We need maids, cooks and chauffeurs. We need afternoon sun and a few choice rodents to keep us purring. To PETA I say, consider the whole cat. Cats are not happy sitting inside with nothing to do; they need the sun, the rain, the stars and the moon to be content!"
Bird Flu -- "As potential vectors of infection, I call on all felines to make a commitment to maintain a quarantine if and when the bird flu hits California. I am busy developing a plan to enact in case of such a public health emergency. I expect my fellow felines to cooperate fully with the authorities and to even stay inside, no matter how painful, to avoid infecting our dependent population of human fund raisers. We must care for our maids, cooks and chauffeurs, it is only fair."
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