January 31, 2008
Dear Everyone:
Some years ago it looked like I might be out of
town on business on
Election Day.
So I requested, and received, an
Absentee Voter Ballot.
And I discovered something.
It was easier. So
much easier.
No stumbling around in the dark, trying to find an
obscure home garage on a misnamed
cul-de-sac.
No standing in line, waiting to use some rickety voting “booth”.
Just sit in the comfort of your own living room, with plenty of
time to consider the pros and cons and make your decision.
Then drop it in the mail and you’re done.
And no waiting for Election Day to arrive.
You could actually vote weeks before Election Day, should you so
choose. Of course, you ran
the risk of voting for some politician before he/she dropped out, but it
was a risk worth taking.
So next Election, I requested, and received, an
Absentee Voter Ballot again.
And again. Eventually, I got
a message from the
Secretary of State that I had been added to a list of
people who would only get an
Absentee Ballot unless they heard otherwise from me.
How’s that for service?
So last night, I sat in the comfort of my own
living room and looked at my choices.
I already knew who I was going to vote against as
nominee for the
presidency (keep that man/woman out of the
White House!) so that didn’t
take long. All I really had
to consider were the initiatives.
In
The first one had something to do with fuel taxes.
But, evidently the people who got all the signatures to add it to
the ballot had found another way to fix the problem.
The only Pro was (I kid you not):
“Vote No on this initiative.
We don’t need it anymore.”
(Don’t you wish they were all like that?)
The second one had something to do with funding for
community colleges. Since
I’m always in favor of education, that was easy, too.
Next up was a bit of chicanery cooked up by a
couple of politicians looking to do an end run around
term limits.
No.
Then there were the last four, all having to do
with something called “Indian Gaming Compact.”
After he was elected, and before he was re-elected, the
Governator came to a profound conclusion:
Californians hate paying more taxes; and Californians refuse to
give up any tax-supported services.
What to do?
He made a deal with four Southern California
Indian
Tribes who already have “gaming” agreements to let them add more
slot
machines, in return for which, they will give a larger percentage of
their “take” to the government to use to pay for said services, etc.
Everybody wins, right?
Personally, I feel that
The Cherokee played by the book, electing delegates
who took the case to the
Supreme Court and won!
So now that some tribes have figured out how to use
their federal land for “gaming” and are making money out of it, I say
good for them. Don’t you
love the way they’ve taken the “bl” out of “gambling” and changed it to
“gaming”? Sounds so much
more sporting, like when the
Vice President shoots a lawyer.
But then someone pointed out:
If “gaming” is such a good way to fill the state’s coffers, why
not open it up to everyone?
Oops, just ran into NIMBY.
Oh, well. I voted my
conscience and sealed the envelope.
Dropped it into the mailbox this morning.
All done.
So, next Tuesday, or whatever day your primary
falls on, and you’re standing out there in the cold, think to yourself:
Absentee Voter Ballot.
It’s the easy way to vote.
Pete
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