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Sunday, January 27, 2008

Trying to get ready to Vote

As February 5th approaches and the race between political ads heats up I am irritated, confused and just plain mad that we don’t have a better way to review the facts. Specifically I am referring to Propositions 94-97 that deal with the Indian gaming compacts here in California, but I am sure this is an analogy for what is happening in the rest of the country. It’s a shining moment for capitalism, he with the most money yelling the loudest. I have read about the corruption of the Pechanga Band, the charge of Union busting, and the unfairness of how four out of 104 tribes will hold a third the gambling rights in California. I have read about how ‘signature blockers’ were used to try and keep the props off the ballot, apparently so the compacts could go forward unexamined by John Q Public. I also have concerns about how the actual tax assessment will be figured, the thousands of gambling addicts who will have yet more slots to suck up their money and the resulting impact that has on society, not to mention the feeling that we as a state are being bribed big time. I then began my online search for advocates of the propositions, certain I would find compelling reasons to vote for the props, but that side of the equation was hard to find. So hard in fact that I only found one other side; money, it’s always about the money and having more of it to spend. In the beginning I thought, well this sounds good, more help to Indian Nations who aren’t involved in gambling for schools and healthcare etc. But then I read that there are over 60 other tribes with compacts, so that is much less of an impact than I originally guessed. And then more money for the CA budget, but I’m already mad about the way we overspend so why do I think having more money will solve anything? What do they say; you can’t just throw money at a problem. So while I couldn’t find anything concrete to sink my teeth into, I did come away with an impression of wrongness that will leave me voting NO on the props. I think. I still have several days before I have to mail my ballot in to be counted. At least the Presidential race is clear to me

Barack Obama
all the way baby! Anyway, back to my original point, one of the best sentences I read in this three day foray of research was a comment left in someone’s forum asking about how ridiculous it is to watch the political process being played out at signature tables in front of the grocery store. The person paid to gather signatures who often doesn’t understand the issue and describes it incorrectly whether by ignorance or intent. And in front of him there is the bully (aforesaid signature blocker) who is pacing back and forth between the shoppers and the petition, voicing his concerns in much the same way. What a pretty picture that paints, I mean, I know what I feel like coming out of the grocery store, and trust me when I say I am in no mood to make a rational decision about signing anything. So now we have three suspect people in the equation and in these hands we place the power to make or break legislation, how crazy is that? So now that I have strayed from my original objection, the total waste of political ads that are interrupting my ‘pursuit of happiness’, I am spent and not even interested anymore. I’ll just use the DVR and skip the garbage. Apathy at its best, or worst, or whatever, at least I am going to vote even if it is just a crap shoot.

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