California's Special Election - Nix the Six
For those who haven't heard, California is having a special election next Tuesday, called by Der Gropenfuhrer in a last-ditch attempt to bypass the state legislature via "the will of the people."
California's initiative process is seriously broken. Anyone with a million bucks can get enough signatures to place propositions on the ballot that attempt to address complex issues with deceptively simple verbiage. For example, Proposition 81, the "Puppies are Nice" initiative sounds good, but did you know the fine print actually calls for power companies to cover the Monterey Peninsula with a vast array of exercise wheels on which tens of thousands of puppies will toil daily to generate up to 10 Kilowatts of electricity?
Okay, so there is no Prop 81. Unfortunately, there are Props 73 through 78, all of which are bad ideas that will empower corporate and idealogical special interests to the detriment of ordinary Californians. Here's the rundown:
NO on 73: Proposition 73 would prevent pregnant minors from getting an abortion unless their parents have first been notified by the doctor. Sounds reasonable, right? What parent wouldn't want to be notified if their daughter is having a medical procedure. But look at it this way, if your daughter doesn't trust you enough to come to you for help with a problem of such magnitude, would you rather she seek medical care in a safe modern clinic, or in a back alley somewhere? Nearly three decades of research show that most affected teens already inform their parents when they need help, and that the ones who don't would rather risk their health than do so. The proponents of Prop 73 are willing to put teens in danger in order to further their agenda of restricting access to abortions. Get the facts at: No on 73 and then Vote NO on Prop 73.
NO on 74: This one is typical of California initiatives. Rather than try and deal sensibly with the problems of our educational system (underfunding, overcrowding, underfunding, lack of resources, did I say underfunding), this proposition posits that all our problems are due to tenured teachers. Its proponents want you to vote for this so you can feel like you've done something and then go back to sleep. In fact, Prop 74 does nothing to help our schools. It exists only to punish the teachers' union for standing up to the Governor's budget cuts. Read about it here and then Vote NO on Prop 74.
NO on 75: This one is especially pernicious to anyone who is pro-labor. It would require unions to get written permission every year from members before their union dues could be put towards political campaigns. It would, in essence, stifle a union's ability to promote progressive causes at the ballot box without putting any such restrictions on corporations' abilities to promote their own agendas. People who think, in principle, that union members ought not to be forced to finance campaigns with which they don't agree should know that members already have the option to opt out. This proposition is a sick, cynical attempt at limiting debate on issues that affect working people, and anyone who votes for this ought to be ashamed of themselves. More info is here. Vote NO on Prop 75.
Are you sensing a theme here, yet? Onward...
NO on 76: Not much to say here. This is a pure-and-simple power grab by the Governor to take direct control of the California budget. It would relieve him of the burden of having to actually negotiate with the legislature. Even if you trust Arnold with this amount of power, how will you feel about it when the next Gray Davis is in office? Besides, if this one passes, can annexing the Sudetenland be far behind? More on 76 here. Vote NO.
NO on 77: I'm not saying that redistricting isn't an important issue, or that it might not be necessary to address it via the initiatives process, but this is the wrong Proposition at the wrong time. Scientist and science-fiction writer David Brin recently wrote a thoughtful piece on the evils of gerrymandering at his blog, but even he doesn't support Prop 77. Aside from the fact that there's no proof that redistricting will result in more competitive elections (only campaign finance reform will do that), consider these two facts before voting: 1) Prop 77 would force immediate redistricting using census data that is five years old. California's demographics have changed quite a bit since the tech bust. How can we have fairer districts if they're not based on current data? 2) Redistricting won't affect only our state legislature, it will also affect our Congressional delegation in Washington. Texas recently redistricted to ensure a Republican majority in their delegation. California Repugs are hoping that redistricting here will do the same for them. Read more here and vote NO on Prop 77.
Can you stand one more NO vote?
NO on 78: As the old saying goes, if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit. An effective grass-roots effort (no million-dollars for paid signature gatherers) put Prop 79 on the ballot, which would force drug companies to negotiate discounts with the State for its uninsured citizens. In a panic that they might have to do something good for society, Big Pharm quickly bought enough signatures to put their alternate Prop 78 on the ballot. Prop 78 calls for voluntary participation by drug companies, with more restrictions on who would receive benefits. Hoping to further scare and confuse the voters, DrugCo has also mounted an expensive media campaign against prop 79 without really pushing for 78. Machiavellian. Learn more and vote NO on 78.
And just so you think I'm not totally negative:
YES on 79: It's not the universal health care that we need, but it's a first step. I've said all I need to above, but you can learn more about why Prop 79 is a good thing here. (Have you ever known Consumers Union - the Consumers Report people - to take a stand on a public initiative? I don't think I have.) YES on 79.
YES on 80: This is another grass-roots initiative to restore regulation and reliability to our power market by requiring businesses to buy their power from public utilities. There's some good information at CalPIRG's site. No more Enrons. YES on 80.
Help take a stand against executive power, corporate greed, and fundamentalist ideology. Vote NO on 73 through 78. Help support grass-roots involvement. Vote YES on 79 and 80.
California's initiative process is seriously broken. Anyone with a million bucks can get enough signatures to place propositions on the ballot that attempt to address complex issues with deceptively simple verbiage. For example, Proposition 81, the "Puppies are Nice" initiative sounds good, but did you know the fine print actually calls for power companies to cover the Monterey Peninsula with a vast array of exercise wheels on which tens of thousands of puppies will toil daily to generate up to 10 Kilowatts of electricity?
Okay, so there is no Prop 81. Unfortunately, there are Props 73 through 78, all of which are bad ideas that will empower corporate and idealogical special interests to the detriment of ordinary Californians. Here's the rundown:
NO on 73: Proposition 73 would prevent pregnant minors from getting an abortion unless their parents have first been notified by the doctor. Sounds reasonable, right? What parent wouldn't want to be notified if their daughter is having a medical procedure. But look at it this way, if your daughter doesn't trust you enough to come to you for help with a problem of such magnitude, would you rather she seek medical care in a safe modern clinic, or in a back alley somewhere? Nearly three decades of research show that most affected teens already inform their parents when they need help, and that the ones who don't would rather risk their health than do so. The proponents of Prop 73 are willing to put teens in danger in order to further their agenda of restricting access to abortions. Get the facts at: No on 73 and then Vote NO on Prop 73.
NO on 74: This one is typical of California initiatives. Rather than try and deal sensibly with the problems of our educational system (underfunding, overcrowding, underfunding, lack of resources, did I say underfunding), this proposition posits that all our problems are due to tenured teachers. Its proponents want you to vote for this so you can feel like you've done something and then go back to sleep. In fact, Prop 74 does nothing to help our schools. It exists only to punish the teachers' union for standing up to the Governor's budget cuts. Read about it here and then Vote NO on Prop 74.
NO on 75: This one is especially pernicious to anyone who is pro-labor. It would require unions to get written permission every year from members before their union dues could be put towards political campaigns. It would, in essence, stifle a union's ability to promote progressive causes at the ballot box without putting any such restrictions on corporations' abilities to promote their own agendas. People who think, in principle, that union members ought not to be forced to finance campaigns with which they don't agree should know that members already have the option to opt out. This proposition is a sick, cynical attempt at limiting debate on issues that affect working people, and anyone who votes for this ought to be ashamed of themselves. More info is here. Vote NO on Prop 75.
Are you sensing a theme here, yet? Onward...
NO on 76: Not much to say here. This is a pure-and-simple power grab by the Governor to take direct control of the California budget. It would relieve him of the burden of having to actually negotiate with the legislature. Even if you trust Arnold with this amount of power, how will you feel about it when the next Gray Davis is in office? Besides, if this one passes, can annexing the Sudetenland be far behind? More on 76 here. Vote NO.
NO on 77: I'm not saying that redistricting isn't an important issue, or that it might not be necessary to address it via the initiatives process, but this is the wrong Proposition at the wrong time. Scientist and science-fiction writer David Brin recently wrote a thoughtful piece on the evils of gerrymandering at his blog, but even he doesn't support Prop 77. Aside from the fact that there's no proof that redistricting will result in more competitive elections (only campaign finance reform will do that), consider these two facts before voting: 1) Prop 77 would force immediate redistricting using census data that is five years old. California's demographics have changed quite a bit since the tech bust. How can we have fairer districts if they're not based on current data? 2) Redistricting won't affect only our state legislature, it will also affect our Congressional delegation in Washington. Texas recently redistricted to ensure a Republican majority in their delegation. California Repugs are hoping that redistricting here will do the same for them. Read more here and vote NO on Prop 77.
Can you stand one more NO vote?
NO on 78: As the old saying goes, if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit. An effective grass-roots effort (no million-dollars for paid signature gatherers) put Prop 79 on the ballot, which would force drug companies to negotiate discounts with the State for its uninsured citizens. In a panic that they might have to do something good for society, Big Pharm quickly bought enough signatures to put their alternate Prop 78 on the ballot. Prop 78 calls for voluntary participation by drug companies, with more restrictions on who would receive benefits. Hoping to further scare and confuse the voters, DrugCo has also mounted an expensive media campaign against prop 79 without really pushing for 78. Machiavellian. Learn more and vote NO on 78.
And just so you think I'm not totally negative:
YES on 79: It's not the universal health care that we need, but it's a first step. I've said all I need to above, but you can learn more about why Prop 79 is a good thing here. (Have you ever known Consumers Union - the Consumers Report people - to take a stand on a public initiative? I don't think I have.) YES on 79.
YES on 80: This is another grass-roots initiative to restore regulation and reliability to our power market by requiring businesses to buy their power from public utilities. There's some good information at CalPIRG's site. No more Enrons. YES on 80.
Help take a stand against executive power, corporate greed, and fundamentalist ideology. Vote NO on 73 through 78. Help support grass-roots involvement. Vote YES on 79 and 80.
posted by Ken Sharp at 2:36 PM
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