Many bloggers these days are prefacing their posts with, “I’m sorry for bringing up politics…” On the other hand, there are entire blogs devoted to politics. I am not nearly knowledgeable enough to speak only of politics (but this blog is YOUR blog, so you may guest post if you’d like!), but neither will I apologize for using this platform to support the candidates, propositions, and ideals of my choosing.
*Caveat emptor: There are those who will chalk this post up to the liberal Bay Area propagandists, but I’ll point out that I grew up in a “red state,” and while I am the child of immigrants, they aren’t traditionally liberal, either.
The presidential candidates and their running-mates have been hashed and re-hashed (no drug references, please), so this is just a brief support, qualification, or condemnation:
- Barack Obama: Yes, he can. YES, WE WILL.
- Joe Biden: Kind of an “expected” politico who hearkens back to the founding fathers. I’m not anti-Old White Man (I love George Clooney and Anderson Cooper too much for that), but he does fit that mold of D.C.
- John McCain: The OWM of all OWMs. Not really, but he is older than Alaska, home to his running-mate. Would be good to me, because he likes women named Cindy. And, speaking of his running-mate…
- Sarah Palin: It is insulting to assume that she’d represent me simply because she is a woman, and I am a woman. She’s supposed to warm the cockles of American hearts, but you know what? I don’t look like her. I don’t speak like her. I don’t wink like her. You might argue that her vagine is my vagine, and therefore we are kinswomen, but you know what? My vagine has not brought forth 5 children. We are vagine proprietors, but we certainly are not vagine sisters.
I will vote for Jerry McNerney for Congress.
I will vote for Jennifer Hosterman for the mayor of Pleasanton.
Propositions! Some high-profile; others, unknown. Here we go!
- Bond Measure Prop 1A: High-Speed Rail. We don’t have money to pay for this right now, but it’s not as though the State of California produces a timely budget anyway. I’m voting YES for HSR, because someday, we will be able to pay for it, and we should start planning for it now. On other continents, they hop/skip into other countries. If I could pay for gas, I could hop in my parents’ car, drive for 8 hours, and still be in California. Clearly, we need more efficient public transportation.
- Initiative Statue Prop 2: Farm Animals. I’m voting NO. My biases: my maternal grandparents own a chicken farm (for eggs, not for poultry) in Taiwan; I worry how the Californian economy will further suffer if farmers are held to (I won’t say “higher”) this new standard. My rationale: First of all, most Californian livestock regulations already conform to what the proponents of 2 demand. The largest impact would be on chicken farmers, and I don’t believe that the new regulations would create a better product from them. “Free-range” chickens are often only “free-range” and un-penned because their wings are clipped. That is no way to live. Moreover, I have seen humane (yet caged) treatment of chickens firsthand. These “standards” are an unfortunate anthropomorphic interpretation of chickenhood. Second of all (yes, second. I don’t only put money before humanity.), I cannot afford to pay $3 for an egg, or–more extremely–not be able to find Californian eggs at all. Many farmers would be put out of business by Prop 2; we would only be increasing our carbon footprint if we imported eggs from other states.
- Initiative Statute Prop 3: This needs further research. To be continued…
- Initiative Constitutional Amendment Prop 4: Parental Notification for teenaged abortists. Uh-oh. Watch out for the liberal propaganda! It is unfortunate that there exist teenagers who feel compelled to seek abortions. (Clearly, they are just not as honorable as Bristol Palin, who is honorably keeping her future of Alaska and marrying her baby-daddy. Snark. Snark.) Yes, we need to make sure they have the information for their decision, and ample counseling before and after they make their decisions. But, the most extreme example of why Prop 4 is a bad idea is Teeny Bopper A, who has been raped by her father. Um, do I need to spell out why “parental notification” would be a bad idea? I posit that many parents feel threatened by this idea because they worry about losing communication with their children. Well, step up your game, parents. It would be unfair to say, “If you were a good parent, your kid wouldn’t be knocked up in the first place,” but there are things you can do throughout your child’s life to facilitate communication. Don’t wait for it to come down to doctor notification. It’s not unfair to say, “If you were a good parent, you would foster trust in your child for yourself, and you would trust your child to come to you.” Unless, you know, you’re Oedipus Rex.
- Props 5-7: Low-profile propositions. Because these aren’t so glamorous, I am still not done with my research. To be continued…
- Initiative Constitutional Amendment Proposition 8: Limits on Marriage. NO. No, no, and no. I’m not calling this the “Ban on Gay Marriage” because I believe that this doesn’t affect only the queer community; this affects all of us. No, I’m not planning to marry anyone, man or woman, anytime soon. But, that’s just the point. It’s not like I’m going to find some guy, go to the city council, and say, “Hey, I need a marriage license. Not one of those old-fashioned ones. I WANT A GAY ONE!” No one can force me to gay-marry, just as no one can force a church to accept those who gay-marry. I think this is a term so ludicrous that it bears repeating: gay-marry. People who are painting this as a freedom of religion issue don’t seem to realize that we get our civil rights through civil unions. Because I’m not of a Western religion, I will probably be getting a “civil union” anyway. Again, this has nothing to do with what your own house of worship will need to accept. You clearly know your religion much better than I do, so you know what your church/temple/mosque wants and doesn’t want. It has everything to do with government recognition of the contract between two people (for love, money, or state residency); it has everything to do with being comforted by the presence of your spouse when you’re on your deathbed; it has everything to do with basic human dignity. Counter-worry #1: Churches will lose their tax-exempt status if they don’t perform gay marriages. NO. In fact, the “danger” of losing tax-exempt status comes when churches politicize (I almost said prostitute; it’s similar) themselves, as some churches have recently done. Counter-worry #2: Children will learn in schools that gay marriage is correct. Hm. (Here’s what I envision this meaning–I go into a second-grade classroom. I say, “Children, today, we will learn about gay marriage.” We all paint rainbows on our faces and I tell them about sodomy, because that’s what gay people do. Oh, and also, they’re all simpering male hairstylists. Right. Snark. Snark.) We don’t really “teach marriage” in classrooms anyway, despite references to health class requirements. Children already know that different marriages work differently–by the time we’re in elementary school, we know plenty of people who, unfortunately, have divorced parents or other “non-traditional” families. Only you can tell your kids what’s right. You have the right to teach your children that two men marrying is improper, or that two women marrying is wrong. If that’s what your church teaches you, then that is what you teach your children. That’s not what the government aims to change. This is not a freedom of religion issue because the government is not changing the religion or how you raise children. This is a human rights issue. I’m voting NO on Prop 8.
- Props 9-12: More research needed. To be continued…
These are my policy views. I would love to discuss them with you.
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