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This website is intended to showcase the trials and tribulations encountered by the mild-mannered Brian Latimer
(otherwise known as … well … Brian Latimer), in attempting to create his presence on the web.

Well, that may not be the real "purpose" of this site, but you get the idea.

 

The voting public are idiots

posted by Brian on 11/3/2004 08:01:09 AM  

Alright, so we've suffered through yet another Voting Day, and (as expected), there are several people up in arms about the results - or lack thereof

But, regardless of those concerns, I have a huge issue with a local initiative for those of us in Santa Clara County, CA - that of Propositions 65 and 1A, regarding local government funding.

These propositions would close the loopholes in the current statutes, which allow the state legislature to dictate how local tax revenue is spent. In effect, they seek to prevent local tax revenue being taken away to pay for state programs - and ensure that the taxes levied and intended for local uses (schools, community programs, public safety, etc.) must remain local.

Sounds pretty good, right? Well, that's my opinion. But, this is fact: In the time since the original measure (Proposition 65) was submitted, a new and better measure (Proposition 1A) was drafted and placed on the ballot. This proposed new amendment would completely supersede the old - those who want such a provision put into place were instructed to vote for it instead of Prop 65, simply since Prop 65 could not be removed from the ballot, due to the election timeframe. No matter how one felt toward the initiative itself, voters were urged to vote against Proposition 65, and let their voices be heard regarding the issue at hand, using Proposition 1A.

Let me say that again: The same people who put Prop 65 on the ballot, recommended that users vote against it, and instead vote for Proposition 1A. Every voter information guide provided no arguments in favor of Proposition 65 - each indicated that people should vote for Proposition 1A, instead. One example: http://www.voterguide.ss.ca.gov/propositions/prop65-arguments.htm

And yet, what happened? As reported, 3,139,041 people voted FOR the proposition. Over 3 MILLION people! What the … ??? Even a cursory examination of the voter information would have provided this background information, people!

I'm pretty much convinced this country has no business being left in the hands of its own people - as many of us are far too stupid to be trusted with such a responsibility.

(And don't even get me started regarding the misleading attempt to modify the Three Strikes Law which was initiated by the father of a convicted murderer, in order to try and get his son off. This measure was defeated (whew), but only by the most narrow margin - again, over 4 MILLION people voted for this completely unnecessary change to an existing law.)

Do your homework, people! Voting is a privilege which you should take SERIOUSLY! The random-letter-selection system you used in gradeschool, of selecting "C-A-D-A-B-C-A-B-D-C" as your answers to multiple-choice questions, is NOT a valid approach for filling out a ballot! Get out there and vote - but VOTE SMART!
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