I submitted the I-1068 petition half full of signatures. I’m pretty happy with that, even though it’s a drop in the bucket when compared with the overall signature requirement. If you’re still interested in signing the petition, no worries, you can still sign the petitions at these locations. Today was merely the deadline for submitting them via USPS.
Archives for : Politics
Like many folks around the region, I have in my hands a petition for I-1068: the Marijuana Reform Act, taken from a copy of The Stranger. This act calls for the removal of civil and criminal penalties of marijuana possession and use. I’m not normally a fan of initiatives but I feel that this is one area where our representatives have absolutely failed us, time and again, and will continue to do so for generations. Although this act would have no bearing on the federal government it is an enormous step in the right direction.
They need about 300,000 signatures in order to meet the legal requirements and have a buffer to cover for rejected signatures (which run at about 18%, apparently). Each petition sheet only has 20 blanks and I hope to fill them all. 4 down, 16 to go. Don’t be surprised if I come a-beggin’ for a signature.
And of course, I voted for Barack Obama. I’m proud of my vote, and I think he will make a great President. That said, the decision was incredibly simple. The only other viable candidate is so disappointing, anti-”elite” (read, anti-intellectual), and just plain despicable, that it would be impossible for me to vote for him.
I sincerely wish the choice was between two viable, reasonable candidates.
Hillary Clinton’s new health care proposal has too much emphasis on “insurance” and not enough on “care”. It reads like it is a gift to the insurance industry, rather than a true benefit to the populace. The middle-man insurance companies will continue to raise their rates and care will become ever more expensive, only under Clinton’s plan they’ll have even less pressure to keep costs low: after all, the poor will get a tax credit to pay for any increase they mandate.
I’m particularly bothered by her comparison of health insurance to car insurance. One only needs car insurance if they choose to drive. Under her system, one would need health insurance if they choose to live. I’m fine with people choosing to die, but I do not think that is something in which the government should be involved.
Barack Obama’s plan seems better to me, although it still has too much emphasis on the insurance side of the business, with his National Health Insurance Exchange. His plan only requires coverage for children, which I am OK with because they are not in a position to make an informed choice themselves.
Under either system, if everyone receives better health care, then I suppose the ends may justify the means, but I’m not a fan of that type of logic.
Ultimately, I would prefer a universal single payer system, tax-payer funded, to streamline billing and service offerings, and to recognize we as a society believe that good health is a right and not merely a “race to the bottom” insurance model. This won’t magically make care less expensive, but it removes the highly costly middle-man, who has a huge incentive to keep costs high. And then perhaps we will see more focus on the cheaper “prevention and cure” and less on the indefinite “treatment”.
<rone> "If we had those 40 million (aborted) children that were killed over
the last 30 years, we wouldn't need the illegal immigrants to fill the jobs
that they are doing today." -- Tom DeLay, 2007/07/13
This is brilliant! What source of labor could be cheaper than the unwanted, abused, and neglected-as-children? Oh but damn, who would we hire to pick fruits and vegetables to feed them? Might have to bring in some outside help on that…
Keith Olbermann: Bush & Cheney: Resign already.
From IRC:
<Arian> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh9rFNPeKx0
<Arian> damn yo
I think I could get to like this Olbermann guy.
If “macaca” is a racial slur powerful enough to bring down a Senator, why is it used so freely by the press? When they’ve had to use the word “nigger” they’re extremely cautious about it, often preceeding the report with a statement that “the following may offend”, or something along those lines.
I’m the last person to suggest that the press or media should censor anything; I’m just curious about the inconsistency.