I voted

-

I haven't had much time to check in here for awhile. Some interesting stuff has happened along the way. I've been to San Diego. I spent a lot of time looking for an anti-virus and firewall program that didn't screw up my computer as Norton did. And I voted.

 

We had an election last week. Measure W, to approve a study to consider the implications of a public takeover of Cal-Am, died on the vine. I thought it was amusing to see all of the NO on W signs. The "on" was in small type, so it looked like NO W from a distance, blazing in Republican Red. Amen to that, the W in the White House, naturally.

 

I actually voted for Measure W. I went back and forth on it for a long time. My problem was that my distaste for Cal-Am and the Water Board are equally strong. In the end I decided I could afford $14 dollars for more information. After all, it didn't commit us to anything but a study. But everyone else was tired of studies. Can't blame them for that.

 

I was disappointed that Prop 77, the redistricting initiative, failed. It would have brought an end to political Gerrymandering. The idea that it would have given power to three judges was a  pile of poop.

 

I voted against Prop 73. Nobody had made the case that there was an actual problem that needed to be solved. Nobody was offering any actual examples of parents who were not notified their daughters were having abortions. It seemed like a non-issue.

 

I voted for 76, which would have smoothed out the peaks and valleys of the state budget by requiring us to put aside some money in good times to get us through the bad times. Isn't that basic common sense? The allegations that it gave the Governor too much power were exaggerated. The only time the Governor would have extra power is if the legislature failed to act on a declared budget emergency within a specific period of time.

 

As for the others, they were too complex for me to understand. I felt they were all matters that should be taken up by the legislature because we elected them to do that sort of work for us. So I voted No.

 

We had electronic voting for the first time. It was easy to use and fast. A roll of paper tape, sort of like a cash register tape but with better printing, left a paper trail that rolled back up into the machine after giving me a chance to verify that it recorded my vote accurately. It was a good system. But if it hadn't been for the paper roll, I would have asked for a paper ballot as the only way to assure an accurate record of my vote.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The problem with Car Week

-
Image
So another Car Week has come to and gone from the Monterey Peninsula. And as usual the community is divided into two camps. On one side we have people who are frustrated with the traffic, crowds, and noise. The other side is telling these folks to stop whining because "it's good for the economy." The second group has no sympathy for the first, and often goes as far as telling them to move away if they don't like special events and the tourists that come along with them. How did this come about? Car week evolved slowly over several decades. The core event is known as the Concours d'Elegance (which is pronounced properly by maybe half of the local population). The Concours began in 1950 as a single Sunday display of classic automobiles. I remember going there as a kid once, after Sunday School. I watched my dad run his hand over a smoothly polished fender, so I did the same. Suddenly a very cranky man came up behind me saying "NO, NO! FINGERPRINTS!" as...
Read more

Calling the police has gotten harder

-
Image
It has gotten harder to call the police. The last few weeks I have made several attempts to report illegal fireworks to Seaside PD. We've always used the non-emergency number 831-394-6811 to do this, and our call would be promptly answered by a dispatcher who would take the information and immediately enter it into the system. Now one must jump through several hoops with no guarantee the system won't disconnect you before the report is made. And I'm getting fed up. Instead of having our calls answered by a human, a machine will answer, much as it does for every business you call these days. First it tells you that this number is not for emergencies, and if you have an emergency you must hang up and call 911. Then they say it again in Spanish.  Next, you are instructed to choose English or Spanish. Next it tells you that they're busy answering emergency 911 calls and implies that your non-emergency concern is an imposition on their important work. Then the voice asks...
Read more

Oh, Nikki, you're better at math than that.

-
Image
And then there were two. Earlier tonight I watched part of the debate between Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis. DeSantis is a jerk, and I can't take him seriously. Haley, on the other hand is a smart gal, and offers some hope for bringing some level of sanity back to the Republican party. But she often dumbs things down to appeal to the simple-minded (mostly Trumpers), and that drives me nuts. Case on point: Haley promised that if elected she would eliminate the federal gasoline tax to reduce the tax burden on working class Americans. Moderator Dana Bash pointed out that the federal gas tax raises over $50 billion annually and is used build and maintain highways and bridges. She then asked Haley how she would pay for those things without it. Haley responded first by evading the question and talking about taxes in general. But eventually she got back around to the gas tax. She employed a classic Republican talking point saying the states collect the...
Read more