ballot rundown
It's almost November! Time to dig out your coats, put the warm blanket on the bed, cook up a turkey, and go through your California ballot! Preferably with a California wine, which makes everything a little easier on the brain.
People:
Governor: According to the latest polls, Phil Angelides is gonna get pounded like a redheaded stepchild. Since Ah-nuld is probably going to win, I would say to make sure he doesn't win by much. Vote Libertarian. Vote Green. Vote Porn. Hell, vote Democrat.
Rep Watson: She's a nut, but she's a reliable liberal/progressive, and she's not embroiled in any scandals and I can't believe people are having to make that decision this year. "Well, he's been accused of taking money from that Ambramoff guy and he's a do-nothing douche, but his opponent is a Democrat! What to do?" Yikes.
That's just the warmup. Now, the important stuff: The Propositions:
These "1" propositions are all part of a "Rebuild California Plan" sponsored by Ah-nuhld, added to the ballot by a bipartisan legislature, and backed by pretty much everybody. The only people not on the list seem to be the California Republican Party. Make of that what you will.
Prop 1A: Would force the gas taxes that we already pay to be used for highway repairs and transit projects instead of getting siphoned off into other things. No new taxes, and the freeways might get fixed. Yes!
Prop 1B: Would have the state taking out more bonds to fix roads, and add anti-terrorism measures to CA ports. Finally. Supporters say "it won't raise your taxes!". Yeah, because it's funded by a massive bond debt. Duh. So.. not happy about the bonds, but terrorists are worse, and who doesn't want less traffic? Yes.
Prop 1C: More bonds. Up to 2.8 billion for housing for homeless, battered women, seniors, disabled, veterans, or all of the above. Oh my gawd, that's expensive. Still less expensive than having homeless disabled senior veterans living on the streets, battering each other. :P
Prop 1D: Ooo! More bonds! 10 billion-- Jesus Christ on a pogo stick! 10 billion dollars! What the hell could possibly be worth 10 bil-- repairing and retrofitting schools. Ugh. Fine. Glad it's my grandkids that are paying this shit back. Yikes.
Prop 1E: Yet more bonds. A paltry 4 billion this time, for repair to flood control stuff and levees. After what happened with Katrina, we'd better vote Yes on this one, cause we sure as shit aren't getting help from the feds.
Prop 83: Would increase penalties for sex offenders and require certan kinds of sex offenders to wear GPS bracelet for the rest of their lives. Fuck Megan's Law. There, I said it. It's a waste of police time and resources, it's not effective, a frightening amount of the data gathered is outdated or just plain wrong, and shouldn't someone who's done time be allowed to go free?
Actually it's not the increased penalties that bother me the most (although the thought of someone getting smacked with a felony conviction for one underage photo is a scary thought. MySpace would be full of felons, eh?), but it's the part about how offenders will have to wear a GPS monitor, for the rest of his or her life.
Seriously, if someone is so dangerous that s/he can't be trusted to live in society without constant monitoring because they're likely to snap at any minute and offend again-- maybe they should stay in JAIL. That's what jail is FOR, people. Lock 'em up, toss the key, and leave them there. Running out of space? Why not think about paroling some of the nonviolent drug offenders? Would you rather live next door to the guy who smokes pot, or the guy that molests children?
It's not like a lil' ankle monitor is a deterrent, because sex offenders can still get in trouble wherever there are people. And it's only a matter of time before someone figures out a way to get the thing off.
Finally, how much will this crap cost? Are we going to have our already cash-strapped cops playing nanny and keeping GPS tabs on everyone? Are we going to have to build even more jails for the zillions more people that will be serving time? Hell no!
Prop 84: Yay! Bonds! This time 5.3 billion for water conservation and flood control and this sounds a lot like 1E, doesn't it? I'm gonna say a careful yes, but I think I have to read up on this more.
Prop 85: Would require a 48-hour waiting period and parental notification before a minor can have an abortion. Yes, let's force doctors to make a bad situation worse for a woman who's already pretty freaked out as it is. What about minors who don't have a parent they can trust? Well, the courts can decide! Uh-huh. Think about what a pain in the ass it is at the courthouse while you're over 18, not pregnant, not freaking out and just trying to pay off a ticket. Now multiply that frustration by a million. While this would discourage teenagers from getting abortions, it would encourage them to have illegal abortions, or have children that they can't care for. It doesn't help anyone, so what, really is the agenda here?
And do we really need to amend the state constitution for this? Voting No, obviously.
And a side note, I remember reading some abortion statistics which pointed out that out of all the abortions that are performed, something like 80% are for women that are over 18, in the first trimester. And yet, people that would seek to ban abortions always seems to be fixated on underage women. Your daughter could be having SEX! OMG!!!!!!11!
Prop 86: Would increase taxes by $2.60 per pack of cigarettes, to be used for "various health programs". Whoa. We already pay a pantsload of taxes on cigarettes, and it's no big secret that smoking isn't good for you. Somehow, I doubt this will help much, espeically since it doesn't seem to be specifically for anti-smoking stuff. If anything, people will start importing smokes from Mexico. No.
Prop 87: Would tax oil companies up to 4 billion to offset the cost of research into alternative energy. Rad. We need to do this sometime, and California can actually be a leader in the business of alternative fuels. The down side is that the cost of this will probably be passed on in high gas prices-- yuck. Still.. it's better to get this going NOW, instead of waiting until gas prices get even higher. Hell yes.
Prop 88: Um.. no. Would impose a $50 tax on each parcel of land in California to be used for schools. Which means that homeowners get yet another tax to deal with. Rural schools would get screwed, and it seems that urban schools would get the bulk of the money, I think. We need the money, but I don't think this is the best way to go about getting it.
Prop 89: Phew. All this typing is making me tired. And this one is confusing. I'll get back to it.
Prop 90: Would limit the state's eminent-domain powers, meaning that the CA government would have a harder time taking private property for public projects. I'm gonna say Yes on this.
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Don't agree with me? You have until the 23rd to get registered to vote and cancel me out. Go! http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/votereg_notice.html
People:
Governor: According to the latest polls, Phil Angelides is gonna get pounded like a redheaded stepchild. Since Ah-nuld is probably going to win, I would say to make sure he doesn't win by much. Vote Libertarian. Vote Green. Vote Porn. Hell, vote Democrat.
Rep Watson: She's a nut, but she's a reliable liberal/progressive, and she's not embroiled in any scandals and I can't believe people are having to make that decision this year. "Well, he's been accused of taking money from that Ambramoff guy and he's a do-nothing douche, but his opponent is a Democrat! What to do?" Yikes.
That's just the warmup. Now, the important stuff: The Propositions:
These "1" propositions are all part of a "Rebuild California Plan" sponsored by Ah-nuhld, added to the ballot by a bipartisan legislature, and backed by pretty much everybody. The only people not on the list seem to be the California Republican Party. Make of that what you will.
Prop 1A: Would force the gas taxes that we already pay to be used for highway repairs and transit projects instead of getting siphoned off into other things. No new taxes, and the freeways might get fixed. Yes!
Prop 1B: Would have the state taking out more bonds to fix roads, and add anti-terrorism measures to CA ports. Finally. Supporters say "it won't raise your taxes!". Yeah, because it's funded by a massive bond debt. Duh. So.. not happy about the bonds, but terrorists are worse, and who doesn't want less traffic? Yes.
Prop 1C: More bonds. Up to 2.8 billion for housing for homeless, battered women, seniors, disabled, veterans, or all of the above. Oh my gawd, that's expensive. Still less expensive than having homeless disabled senior veterans living on the streets, battering each other. :P
Prop 1D: Ooo! More bonds! 10 billion-- Jesus Christ on a pogo stick! 10 billion dollars! What the hell could possibly be worth 10 bil-- repairing and retrofitting schools. Ugh. Fine. Glad it's my grandkids that are paying this shit back. Yikes.
Prop 1E: Yet more bonds. A paltry 4 billion this time, for repair to flood control stuff and levees. After what happened with Katrina, we'd better vote Yes on this one, cause we sure as shit aren't getting help from the feds.
Prop 83: Would increase penalties for sex offenders and require certan kinds of sex offenders to wear GPS bracelet for the rest of their lives. Fuck Megan's Law. There, I said it. It's a waste of police time and resources, it's not effective, a frightening amount of the data gathered is outdated or just plain wrong, and shouldn't someone who's done time be allowed to go free?
Actually it's not the increased penalties that bother me the most (although the thought of someone getting smacked with a felony conviction for one underage photo is a scary thought. MySpace would be full of felons, eh?), but it's the part about how offenders will have to wear a GPS monitor, for the rest of his or her life.
Seriously, if someone is so dangerous that s/he can't be trusted to live in society without constant monitoring because they're likely to snap at any minute and offend again-- maybe they should stay in JAIL. That's what jail is FOR, people. Lock 'em up, toss the key, and leave them there. Running out of space? Why not think about paroling some of the nonviolent drug offenders? Would you rather live next door to the guy who smokes pot, or the guy that molests children?
It's not like a lil' ankle monitor is a deterrent, because sex offenders can still get in trouble wherever there are people. And it's only a matter of time before someone figures out a way to get the thing off.
Finally, how much will this crap cost? Are we going to have our already cash-strapped cops playing nanny and keeping GPS tabs on everyone? Are we going to have to build even more jails for the zillions more people that will be serving time? Hell no!
Prop 84: Yay! Bonds! This time 5.3 billion for water conservation and flood control and this sounds a lot like 1E, doesn't it? I'm gonna say a careful yes, but I think I have to read up on this more.
Prop 85: Would require a 48-hour waiting period and parental notification before a minor can have an abortion. Yes, let's force doctors to make a bad situation worse for a woman who's already pretty freaked out as it is. What about minors who don't have a parent they can trust? Well, the courts can decide! Uh-huh. Think about what a pain in the ass it is at the courthouse while you're over 18, not pregnant, not freaking out and just trying to pay off a ticket. Now multiply that frustration by a million. While this would discourage teenagers from getting abortions, it would encourage them to have illegal abortions, or have children that they can't care for. It doesn't help anyone, so what, really is the agenda here?
And do we really need to amend the state constitution for this? Voting No, obviously.
And a side note, I remember reading some abortion statistics which pointed out that out of all the abortions that are performed, something like 80% are for women that are over 18, in the first trimester. And yet, people that would seek to ban abortions always seems to be fixated on underage women. Your daughter could be having SEX! OMG!!!!!!11!
Prop 86: Would increase taxes by $2.60 per pack of cigarettes, to be used for "various health programs". Whoa. We already pay a pantsload of taxes on cigarettes, and it's no big secret that smoking isn't good for you. Somehow, I doubt this will help much, espeically since it doesn't seem to be specifically for anti-smoking stuff. If anything, people will start importing smokes from Mexico. No.
Prop 87: Would tax oil companies up to 4 billion to offset the cost of research into alternative energy. Rad. We need to do this sometime, and California can actually be a leader in the business of alternative fuels. The down side is that the cost of this will probably be passed on in high gas prices-- yuck. Still.. it's better to get this going NOW, instead of waiting until gas prices get even higher. Hell yes.
Prop 88: Um.. no. Would impose a $50 tax on each parcel of land in California to be used for schools. Which means that homeowners get yet another tax to deal with. Rural schools would get screwed, and it seems that urban schools would get the bulk of the money, I think. We need the money, but I don't think this is the best way to go about getting it.
Prop 89: Phew. All this typing is making me tired. And this one is confusing. I'll get back to it.
Prop 90: Would limit the state's eminent-domain powers, meaning that the CA government would have a harder time taking private property for public projects. I'm gonna say Yes on this.
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Don't agree with me? You have until the 23rd to get registered to vote and cancel me out. Go! http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/votereg_notice.html