davidology: (gay flag)
I really should start doing this sooner.

I've gone through my ballot and have chosen how I'm voting tomorrow (in the off chance someone might care). A prerequisite to how I vote is a candidate's position on LGBT equality. Any candidate who doesn't support basic, fundamental civil rights clearly is a complete and total moron as far as I'm concerned and unfit to govern (he/she might try running for office where such views are considered normal... say, in Iran).

Anywho here is how I'm voting tomorrow!

Governor - Jerry Brown. Whitman has stated point blank that she would use her position to defend Prop 8. If that isn't enough to dissuade you, she couldn't even be bothered to vote for over 20 years. Let her buy some other state.

Lt Governor - Gavin Newsom (guy is hot, and Lt Governor doesn't really do anything - might as well vote for the guy who isn't bad to look at... amirite??)

Sec of State - Debra Bowen. The Republican alternative has described himself as being "conservative on social issues." 'nuff said.

Controller - Democrat John Chiang. The Republican alternative has publicly stated his opposition to gay marriage.

Treasurer - Democrat Bill Lockyer. I've never had a reason to vote against him. The GOP candidate is known to be rather anti-hispanic.

Attorney General - A key election. Kamala Harris is the best choice here. Republican Cooley has criticized Schwarzenegger for not defending prop 8, and has pledged to defend prop 8 if he's elected.

Insurance Commissioner - Dave Jones

State Bd of Equalization, District 4 - Jerome Horton

US Senator - Barbara Boxer. No choice here. Fiorina is a proud anti-gay, prop 8-supporting bigot. The smug billionaire will set LGBT rights back 20 years if she's elected.

US Representative, 30th District - Henry Waxman. The GOP alternative Wilkerson is against gays in the military and is so radical he doesn't even support stem cell research.

State Assembly, 42nd District - Mike Feuer. I couldn't find much on this election, but anti-choice extremists HATE Feuer, so he must be good.

Supreme Court Justices:
Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye - YES (moderate Republican, has presided over gay marriages)
Ming Chin - NO (voted to ban gay marriage)
Carlos Moreno - YES (supporter of gay marriage)

Court of Appeals:
Robert Mallano - YES
Victoria G. Chaney - NO (couldn't find anything specific on her, but she's supported by bigoted organizations opposed to equality)
Jeffrey Johnson - YES (vehemently opposed by anti-gay groups)
Judith Ashmann - YES (opposed by anti-gay bigots)
Walter Croskey - YES (opposed by anti-gay groups)
Steven Suzukawa - NO (supported by anti-gay groups)
Orville "Jack" Armstrong - NO (supported by anti gay groups)
Paul H. Coffee - YES (couldn't find anything specific, but he is opposed by conservative groups, so I'm erring on the side of caution and supporting him)
Steven Perren - YES YES YES (strongly opposed by anti-gay bigots; he must be awesome)
Laurie Zelon - YES (opposed by anti-gay groups)
Frank Jackson - NO (supported by anti-gay groups)
Tricia Bigelow - NO (could go either way here, but was supported by anti-gay groups, so I'm voting no)
Elizabeth Annette Grimes - NO (supported by anti-gay groups)

Judge of Superior Court:
Office 28 - Randy Hammock - Republican supported by LGBT lawyers
Office 117 - Alan Schneider - supported by LA Times and various other groups I tend to trust
Office 136 - Amy Hogue

Superintendent of Public Instruction - Tom Torlakson (supports gay marriage)
County Assessor - John Noguez (gay candidate)

Prop 19 - YES
Prop 20 - NO
Prop 21 - NO
Prop 22 - NO
Prop 23 - NO (dangerous, disingenuous prop would set back our clean air legislation)
Prop 24 - NO
Prop 25 - YES
Prop 26 - NO
Prop 27 - YES

(using an old turnout.org userpic... seems appropriate, and falls on the right date again!)
 

Resolve

Nov. 5th, 2008 12:29 pm
davidology: (gay flag)
Last night and this morning stung. I never really thought my fellow Californians would vote for hate, but in the end, a lot of them probably had a hard time going against the will of their respective churches.

As much as these people acted as bigots, I'm slowly realizing that many Californians simply don't hate gays. Sure, it's a part of that vote, but it's not 52%. That's simply not who we are. The bigots have somehow found a home with the church, and we've unfortunately found ourselves countering years worth of rhetoric from the clergy and other leaders.

The past 8+ years, they've heard the politics of prejudice and hate preached by the likes of Karl Rove through the very leader of our country. Decent and good people have had that message bolstered by a Republican convention full of rabid fundamentalists willing to go to any length to make us the feared and hated target of their culture war, regardless of the cost to us. They wasted millions of dollars to do nothing but attack us.

I think I'd gotten somewhat complacent in my little bubble here in Southern California, and that's what makes this sting more to us, I think. We've had our very foundations rattled, in a place where we've felt safe to be ourselves, where we felt not just tolerated, but respected. The battle isn't just being waged here though. This whole event has made me realize how critically, critically important it is we take up this fight at all levels.

I do have some hope that with Obama, the Republicans will no longer have the White House from which to spew its messages of intolerance.

To the leaders of the Catholic and Mormon Churches, however, I kind of hope there is a hell. I'd love to see you judged by your actions this election. You spent millions of dollars that could have helped people to hurt people. If there is true evil in the world, you exemplified it with your bold-faced lies, your fear tactics, and your abhorrent bigotry. You've masterfully shown to the world why the separation of church and state must, must be maintained.
In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.
-Thomas Jefferson, 1814


 

Bittersweet

Nov. 4th, 2008 10:59 pm
davidology: (gay flag)
Obama

I cheered. We all cheered as McCain conceded defeat.

It was a truly a surreal moment, however, at the Henry Fonda Theater when they introduced Obama as the next POTUS. I actually teared up as I watched and listened to our new President.

It was amazing. It was truly, truly amazing. In all of the elections in which I've participated, I've never been so ecstatic, so moved, and so inspired. He's a great orator. In the end though, the real victory is that his election is symbolic of and sends the message of a course change that is so woefully needed by this country.

After his speech though, my friend informed of Prop 8's status, which was just depressing. I remember how surprised I was when Prop 22 passed, but this is years later. Little has apparently changed. The fact is, I live in a state that right now cares more about the rights of chickens (prop 2) than it does of its own citizens.

I know the fight isn't over, but I'm drained. Why do I have to feel as if I need to fight for my rights every, single election?

I guess I should be happy our country took a new direction tonight. I'm really disappointed in my state right now though.

I always thought we were different. I spoke to a friend in the south who reminded me that we still have it much better off than they do. It still stings though. In some ways, to be honest, I think it stings more. I didn't realize so many in my own state felt the way they do.

Here's to Hope. For tonight, though, I'm going to take my Ambien and go to sleep before the Prop 8 bigots announce their temporary victory. Our fight continues tomorrow...

 

It's time

Nov. 4th, 2008 10:01 am
davidology: (California)
Let's do this...



I've never been this anxious about an election before—even when Prop 22 passed, I wasn't this affected.

The sad part is, regardless of how this goes down tonight, at least near half of our state will have supported discrimination, and that's disappointing. I hope we show the country we're not about that today.

*crosses fingers*
 
davidology: (Default)
Historic vote cast...


Historic vote cast...,

Originally uploaded from my mobile by davidology.



Done and done.

In the end, it really was a toss up. I still go back and forth in my head. I could happily go for Hillary, but I think Obama sends the right message: being tired of the same old politics. A good orator, a good leader is certainly something this country could use.

In the general election, I will happily cast my vote for either candidate. It's been a long time since we've had a choice where we didn't have to hold our noses as we selected the candidate. The gravy? it was an historic vote regardless of whom you chose, and you'll get to do it again in November—regardless of the winner.

I'm really glad I could be part of it.

 
davidology: (Default)
So my weekend began on Thursday night when I went to see Hillary ("Hilldawg") Clinton at the Abbey. I've still not made up my mind for whom I'll vote, but I went nonetheless. When the first woman who may very well be a contender for the Presidency comes a couple blocks from your pad, you go.

I wish I could as enthusiastic about a candidate as some of the attendees were, but I'm just not there yet. I'm not a "Hillstar" (that's what apparently they call themselves).

Nonetheless, it was a very nice event. Hillary spoke very well and convincingly. She wouldn't come out and endorse gay marriage, but made it relatively clear if you were reading between the lines that it wasn't because she didn't think gay marriage shouldn't be legal, but that it was a process, and civil unions were a necessary step in that direction. It's not the answer the idealist in me wanted to hear, but it's perhaps an honest one (or at least a politically expedient one).

She talked about a lot of things, most of which I'm sure you can read in a bajillion places so I'll skip it and leave you with a link to my Flickr set of that night.

Hillary Clinton

Sanitation

Nov. 8th, 2006 09:18 am
davidology: (happy)
Republican Douche Santorum has his ass handed to him

While it's all fun and games to do some well-deserved gloating today as we take our country back, stop the wanton corruption, and begin to reverse some of the horrid damage that has been done to our country in the past 6 years, we need to keep in mind the real victim here: Dick Cheney's Halliburton. Something tells me their sweetheart contracts are about to get a lot more scrutiny.

Please keep Halliburton in your prayers.

 
davidology: (California)

Okay, having already figured out the candidates, I've finally gone through all the propositions, and I think I've mostly decided. I still need to Google some of the judges to make sure none of them is batshit crazy (assuming I can find anything about them online).

Anywho, this isn't meant as recommendations—just the decisions I've come to and my reasoning behind it. If you disagree, you have until around 18:00 PST to change my mind.

Prop#      
1A Transportation Funding Protection YES I'm leaning YES on this one. Too often politicians get voters to approve money for fixing things we want fixed only to have that money diverted and then them hit us up for money again. Only concern: will this prevent using gas taxes for the exploration of alternative fuels?
1B Hwy Safety, Traffic, Air Quality YES Our freeways are in dire need up upgrades.
1C Housing / Emergency Shelter NO Torn on this one, but leaning towards NO, only because housing prices are out of control for everybody. I think there's a better solution. This feels like a stop gap for certain classes. I could change my mind by tomorrow, but probably not.
1D Public Education Facilities NO I'm only leaning towards NO because I feel as if we just approved money for the same exact thing.
1E Disaster Preparedness YES Paying for maintenance is cheaper than footing the bill after the fact (as we saw after what happened to New Orleans). We also know we can't rely on the federal government for shit.
83 Sex Offenders NO GPS for monitoring sex offenders? Problem here is the term sex offender is applied so haphazardly that I can't even consider this. You could probably be labeled a sex offender for getting caught skinny dipping.
84 Water Quality, Safety, Supply NO It sounds as if 1E covers a number of these, so I'm going NO.
85 Waiting period-abortions for minors NO Absofuckingly not. NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. I'm so sick of the fundies trying to roll back Roe v. Wade and acting like a zygote is an effing human being. It's not. NO, NO, NO, NO. NO!
86 $2.60 per pack Cigarette tax YES 86 & 87 have some of the most disingenuous ads opposing them. They have done more to sway me in favor of these props than anything. Sorry, to my smoker friends, but I don't care if they use the funds to skin baby seals to make panties for Celine Dion with the money. If it means being downwind from cigarette smoke one less time, or one less cigarette butt ending up on the beach, or one less cigarette butt thrown out a car window causing a brush fire, then it was worth it. Besides, I don't like New York besting us for most expensive tobacco products. We need to reclaim our title! It's on!
87 Alternative Energy/Oil Drilling tax YES I've gone back and forth on this one. I was initially leaning towards NO, but then the No on 87 ads just got ridiculous. The one that says we should vote NO because Prop 87 "contains 12,000 legally binding words." ZOMG NOT WERDZ!!11!1 The ads are insulting to the voters' intelligence. For that reason alone, I'd vote YES. I do feel better about my vote after Clinton decided to support the bill.
88 Education Funding, Parcel tax NO Housing in this state is ridiculously out of control. I'm not adding to it.
89 Political campaigns, public funding NO Although I'm generally in favor of publicly funded elections, if done I think it should be mandatory and all 3rd party funds eliminated. I'm not sure this goes far enough. Also, not sure raising corporate taxes is a good idea considering how high they are now.
90 Govt Acquisition / Private Property NO If CalTrans needs to buy your property to expand the freeways, then let 'em do it. Needs of the many, yadda yadda yadda. Plus, I hate traffic.


Supreme Court Justices

I'm voting YES for both of the Supreme Court Justices based upon this neocon website. The bigots on that site clearly can't stand these two judges (just read the site; they're batshit crazy). So vote YES for both Supreme Court Justices! I'm glad they posted that. They made my decision so easy.



Important Links you might need/want

L.A. County Polling Locations

SmartVoter.org - Nonpartisan info put out by the League of Women Voters. Summarizes the propositions; gives links to candidates' sites, etc., etc.



November 7

Oct. 27th, 2006 04:10 pm
davidology: (presidential flip off)
As I sit here hours from the beginning of my Halloween weekend, before I leave work and head into fun, I realize there's an election coming up on me fast and furious. I hate being up until 3 am the night before reading the proposition issues and lists of candidates the night before, so I want to stay ahead of the game this time. I might as well write about it as I make my decisions.
Party Change
I'm a little more excited to go to the polls this time. I finally made my party change official and turned in the form. That only took, what, a couple of years?!? So I no longer will have to face the humiliation of being handed that dreaded pink ballot. It always felt like a glowing scarlet letter A as I walked, hiding my face, towards the voting booth.

First is governor. I don't think Angelides has a shot. Hell, I don't even really like him, and I've been pretty anti-Arnold since he vetoed the gay marriage bill. The thing is, truthfully, I don't think Arnold's done that bad of a job (outside of being a complete and utter coward on the gay marriage bill). Despite this, I don't think I'm going to vote for Ahnold.

Now, I know some of you are probably thinking, "Don't be a one-issue voter." I don't think that's it. I think it's really more of a concern that, when pressured, this guy has shown he will cave to the religious right nutjobs controlling the today's Republican Party. I don't even think Arnold is against gay marriage, and absent pressure from rabid hate-mongers, he probably would have signed it. I might change my mind by election time, but I think I'm fairly sure I'll throw away a vote towards Angelides. To Angelides credit, he is a member of Equality California. I don't think he has a shot, but I might as well cast my protest.

Lt. Governor really doesn't warrant much thought. I'll throw my vote along party lines to Garamendi. I'd like to continue reminding the Republican Party how marginalized they are in California, just as they do gays nationwide.

Secretary of State. Both McPherson and Bowen actually seem like good candidates. I hate voting along party lines, but then the Democrats aren't the ones who turned the country into red vs. Blue. I'll vote for the Democrat, Bowen.

Controller. I'm going to go with the Times endorsement on this one, and keep it along party lines. Again, no need to hand the GOP any unnecessary victories. Chiang.

Treasurer. Bill Lockyer. The guy who had the balls to shoot a canon across the bow of the automobile industry when they sued to stop our initiatives to clean our air. I think he's done a great job as Attorney General, so I'm voting for him without reservation.

Attorney General. Definitely Jerry Brown. First, he's crazy (I like that). Secondly, and most importantly, Repugnantcan Poochigian is an ultra conservative nutjob. He's against gay marriage, and Equality California gave him a score of 0.

Insurance Commissioner. I'm going to vote for the Republican Poizner here. I've never cared for Bustamante. I think he's a crook, and I think he'll sell insurance customers out in a second.

U.S. Senate. No brainer here. Veteran Dianne Feinstein. She's represented our state well. Not that he has a chance, but Republican Mountjoy is an ultra right-wing nut case. Just check out his site if you have any question of that. The man's a raving lunatic and reminds me a lot of that rabid homophobe Peter Knight.

U.S. Representative. Again, this shouldn't even be a question for anyone. We have to take the House back from Bush. I'm voting for the Democrat, Waxman.

State Assembly, District 42. This is an interesting one. The Republican, Steve Sion is openly gay, which isn't really a risk running a district that includes West Hollywood. Nonetheless, in the current political climate, I don't trust giving Republicans any more legislative votes anywhere. I'm not sure I trust the wisdom of any gay person who is still a Republican today. The party basically has a platform saying we're second class citizens. Fuck em. I'm voting for Democrat Mike Feurer.

As far as Judges and Board of Director of the Water District.... Well, I just don't know. If anyone has a judicial scorecard of sorts, I'd welcome it. Otherwise, I'm just going to look at SmartVoter.org and do the best I can.

That's enough for now. I'll save the Propositions for finalizing my decision on the propositions for another time. Post your agreements/disagreements. You have a week to change my mind! :)

 

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